Comments on: 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget

By: Heidi

Heidi — Thu, 11 Jun 2009 02:48:41 +0000

My frugal tip is something my mom passed on to me. Hang your washing on a clothesline outside! I am mystified that I am the only person in my neighborhood who does this!!! First of all it costs NOTHING to dry them. Secondly you have the added benefit of that lovely lovely clean scent! And third you are helping the environment by NOT consuming power!

By the way… you CAN hang out your wash in the winter. I tried it up north (in Wisconsin) because i did not believe my father when he said gramma did it all the time. They come off the line a bit frozen, just give them a good shake, and allow the clothes to warm up for a bit. Works like a charm and the smell!!! Oh!! Heavenly!

By: Laura M

Laura M — Sun, 07 Jun 2009 14:42:17 +0000

Instead of buying bottles of water, invest in a good water bottle and fill it at the water fountain. Same goes for coffee. Instead of spending $20 a week, spend $40 on a good thermos and make coffee at home.

By: Jennifer Lambert

Jennifer Lambert — Thu, 28 May 2009 17:44:12 +0000

We looked at where we waste money and it was mostly on food. We set up a menu for all meals for the month and don’t eat out anymore at all. We budget for groceries ans I think we’ve done much better this past month. I’d love to have a copy of that book! :)

By: JM

JM — Wed, 27 May 2009 23:39:26 +0000

I have a watering frugal tip. If you need to water plants – collect the drain water from your washer. That’s at least 40 gallons of grey water you can use to water roses, flowers – whatever needs watering.

By: Dena

Dena — Wed, 27 May 2009 12:50:53 +0000

There are so many good ideas everyone has left, I can’t really think of anything new. But since its the time of year for yard sales, save a little money by going to them for clothes, toys etc. I also go to thrift stores they are alot of fun for saving money, just gotta watch it or you can spend alot of money.

By: Maureen

Maureen — Tue, 26 May 2009 23:39:43 +0000

I try and have a “no spend day” once a week. It really makes me think before I buy something.

By: Judy Duncan

Judy Duncan — Tue, 26 May 2009 22:36:26 +0000

If you have to use the clothes dryer, do not turn the dryer on and allow it to run through the whole drying cycle. I have learned that clothes can dry within a half of an hour to forty minutes. Most people just turn the dryer on and leave it until they hear the buzzer, sometimes that could be an hour or longer.

By: Michelle H.

Michelle H. — Tue, 26 May 2009 21:46:13 +0000

Do a written budget once a month! Count me in!

By: Tamara

Tamara — Tue, 26 May 2009 20:46:55 +0000

My frugal tip is to re-use food containers as “tupperware”- i.e. sour cream or margarine containers, spaghetti sauce jars, etc. Also, use the plastic containers from berries to pack a green salad in your lunch… You get the picture!

By: Jill

Jill — Tue, 26 May 2009 04:26:32 +0000

I am real new in attempting to become frugal, but what I have been doing lately with my two “green”, reusable shopping bags are the following:
I use one bag for groceries for the week and the other bag for stuff we NEED that’s on sale. Whenever I go out to run those errands, I try to get everything to fit in the bag that those items are assigned to. If those items cannot fit into its designated bag, then something’s gotta give. I only walk out with what we NEED. I prefer to have the bags to be as empty as they can be.
This exercise has made much more conscientious to our NEEDS. It has been a lot fun and kind of a challenge, but when I get back to the car, I am so proud of myself!
Yay!