Share Your Best Ideas for a Frugal Lifestyle

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The best advice I can give is to decide what is important to you and focus your spending there. Then decide what isn't as important to you and focus your saving there.
If travel is important to you then look for ways to reduce your spending on dining out. If your wardrobe is important to you, look for ways to reduce your spending on entertainment.
We often spend on autopilot. If you can adopt the simple habit of thinking twice before pulling out your wallet, you will be ahead of the game.

Melissa Tosetti of CA 5:11PM August 18, 2008

Pay yourself first. Put a set amount of each paycheck into a savings or mutual fund account or a 401K or some account of some type that will earn money for you---and do not take it out until you retire or have a genuine emergency that you cannot fund any other way.
Then, make do with what's left. Prioritize your spending on genuine needs---not wants.
Do so without borrowing.
Yes, most people need to borrow to buy a house. But only buy one in a price range and with a mortgage you can afford---and make an extra payment as often as you possibly can. That will save (as in make) you literally thousands of dollars.
Credit cards are not to be used for loans. There are many available with no fees or charges of any kind---provided you pay the statement in full within the grace period every time it comes. Use it as a checkbook. Do not charge more than you have.

HillbillyBill of TN 11:48AM August 14, 2008

David Wann's use of the phrase "restoration economy" (which I coined in my 2002 book of the same name) is rather different from mine. In that usage, it referred to all of the disciplines and industries that are restoring the planet's natural and built environments. But it's not totally off the mark.
In my latest book, reWealth! (McGraw-Hill, 2008), I tell the stories of people who restore nature or revitalize human communities for a living. One of the interesting characteristics of such work is that it usually restores and revitalizes the folks who do it.
In this sense, it's far more restorative than the kind of renewal that comes from merely having more time for leisure. I used to live in Florida, and saw many folks destroyed and prematurely aged by having too much leisure time, and too little reason for existing.
Wann correctly points out that this leisure time is best used on activities that are personally important. But, if he's going to use the phrase "restoration economy", it might be best to focus even more precisely on the activities that restore us the most. I posit that those are the activities that leave our world healthier, wealthier, and more beautiful. Restorative activities, in other words.
What's especially important about this concept is that these aren't just volunteer activities that folks do in their personal time: millions of people are now actually restoring the world for a very rewarding living. It's their profession. Our world is so damaged already that it's beyond the capabilities of part-time or hobbyist restorers, as important as they are.
Our entire economy has to become primarily focused on renewing the places we've already developed, and on restoring the damage we did to our natural resources along the way. Now THAT'S a restoration economy. The good news is that the global restoration economy already accounts for some $2 trillion annually, and is tapping an inventory of restorable assets that's conservatively estimated at $100 trillion.
What's more, it's the fastest-growing sector of the world economy. This kind of wealth-creation is called "rewealth". We're shifting from development to redevelopment. From depletion of resources to replenishment. From destruction and degradation to restoration. From dewealth to rewealth.
Earning rewealth restores us both personally and globally.

Storm Cunningham of DC 2:10PM August 13, 2008

"A vote for the Democrats will demand a Frugal Lifestyle." This message paid for by the Party of Fear.
Spare me your vapid mongering.
ANYWAY! Here's a great suggestion that saved me $840 last year. Cancel your cable TV and do some Netflix. Not only will the quality of what you're watching go sky-high (I finally watched some great HBO series) you might be inclined to broaden your horizions, pick up a book, and realize the Republicans, the party of borrow and spend, have driven this country into a hole it can't possibly get out of. And you also might stop watching brainless nonsense like The O'Reilly Factor.
oops

Flibbitygibbit of DE 6:43PM August 12, 2008

(All inspired by a genuine desire for voluntary simplicity)
1. What can I do without?
2. What can I do with less of?
3. Do I really need this?
4. Will it clutter up my space?
5. Will it clutter up my life?
6. What will it cost me to keep it?

Robert Bigelow of LA 6:16PM August 12, 2008

Groceries are a huge expense for our family. We have found that with a little planning the grocery budget can be stretched much further. Planning meals in advance ensures that the cupboards are not bare forcing an unplanned evening out at a restaurant. Leftovers are rarely wasted and as an added bonus you never have to have the "what should we eat tonight" discussion.

SG of IA 6:07PM August 12, 2008

Believe it or not, I've started buying store brand items. Mainly only in fruit punch and iced tea. They're 99 cents for a half gallon...I'm sure they're chock full of sugar, but I really want something to drink other than water.
I've rediscovered the incredible, edible egg...omelets are super easy to make and quite filling.
I'm also a fan of cooking a large amount of food on Sundays, and then eating that the next 3-4 nights. Sure I eat leftovers all week, but it's time I don't have to spend on cooking.

Veronica of NY 5:31PM August 12, 2008

Rather than figure I'll find a way to pay for something later, I ask myself if I need this pair of shoes or HBO more than I need to pay off debt or buy a condo. The answer is usually no, which means that I probably actually need something if I buy it, or have decided it has value to me. I don't completely deprive myself, but I try to stay clear on the bigger picture.

Aryn of CA 2:13PM August 12, 2008

Elect leaders that enact a national health care plan. This is the one that's gonna absolutely kill the financial status of families making less than $100K if we don't get it done.
Government is doing more than half of it now. Medicare on the upper end (and thank goodness or your parents and grandparents would already be broke), and Medicaid on the poor end. You, oh dumb-as-a-post wage earners, are paying the freight for both and putting your financial life at risk every day for the benefit of bet-makers (insurers) who out-lobby you in Washington. You also should be on the "big can't-cancel-you plan.
Wake up. Wake up. Wake up. The gorilla is trashing you.

Daniel David of NM 2:03PM August 12, 2008

I find that people who spend a great deal of money tend to go to the stores/mall for the sake of shopping. I go to the store with a need in mind.
Also, fixing things yourself can be rewarding. Instead of shopping to pass the time, you can read about how to fix a problem and save the money on the repair. Simple things like oil changes and home maintenance are good examples.
Now I know that someone will say "you're taking someone's job." While I believe that trickle down economics is real, I think the trickling down is now going to China, India, and other parts of the world that are doing our work for us. Until I get paid more, I can't pay someone else to do things for me. :-)

anonymous of SC 1:44PM August 12, 2008