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Home > Uberfrugal and not-so-frugal behaviors

Uberfrugal and not-so-frugal behaviors

October 13th, 2011 at 05:02 am

I've been thinking about the things we try to really cheap out on and what we decide to spend more on.

I think some of our choices are a bit different from the priorities of many, but many are probably right in line.

Uberfrugal areas:
-Transportation. We don't have a car, I haven't for over 10 years. NT gave his up when he moved here about 6 years ago. We get completely reimbursed for one bus pass, another one is at a student rate so costs about $30 per month, and the other is at full price ($85) but paid for pre-tax. We're thinking about joining a carshare service, which I'm estimating will come out to about $90 per month. And once in a blue moon we get a taxi or rent a car. Since we don't have a car, we're able to rent out our parking spot for $85. Overall, our current transportation costs are about $30 per month, and may go up to nearly $120. When you factor insurance, gas, repairs, parking, car payments or the other possible car expenses, I think we come out extremely cheaply.

-Baby clothes, toys and equipment. We get whatever we can as hand-me-downs, gifts or garage sale finds. Some things we had to buy new for safety reasons, like the carseats. Other things we couldn't find satisfactory hand-me-down versions of. But I think overall, we spend a fraction of what people would expect.

-Phone service. We have three cheapy, basic cellphones with prepaid service, and I've finally gotten our costs down to about $50 per month (and that includes the occasional phone replacement when one gets lost or broken). At less than $17 per person per month, I think we're way under the curve of the average American (although not the curve of SA bloggers, LOL).

Hair/grooming. We get our hair cut (or in the case of AS's dreads, washed) every 5 weeks. Our barber only charges $15 each for the 2 haircuts and $10 for the hairwashing, but he's a good friend and way too cheap, so we usually pay $70 for what would be a $40 bill (we throw in another $5 if he trims little AA's bangs, and will pay another $10 on top of that when he gives her a full haircut). Still, at most $85 every 5 weeks for 4 people still seems cheap to me. And for grooming, we mostly go for supercheap stuff, though there are a couple of things we're willing to spend a bit more on (like AS's love of Body Shop shower gels).

Mixture of frugal and spendy:

Food. On one hand, we cook almost all our meals at home, which is highly unusual at least in our social circles. When we do eat out, though, it's usually not Domino's or Olive Garden; we usually try to have something special (not crazy high-end, but nice). And, while we do cook at home, we invest in a CSA (community supported agriculture) share. Though it's a good deal for local organic produce, it's still more expensive than supermarket veggies. There are certain other ingredients where we'll go for the more expensive option (such as my favorite vegan cheese, and NT's British tea). Plus, when we feel a high-end piece of equipment is important, we don't shy away from getting it (Vitamix blender, Kitchenaid mixer, marble pastry board). Then again, some of our dishes are hand-me-downs, chipped and faded, and just plain worn-out looking. It's a schizophrenic mixture, our food/money situation.

Home. Our home saves us money in that it's reasonably priced for a condo in our area, and the small space keeps us from buying a ton of stuff. Also, the location enables us to be car-free. However, we've got that ARM that has treated us well so far but could someday start to bite us. And our condo fees are over $500 per month. It includes maintenance and repairs on the building and grounds, utilities, security desk, and basic cable, but still, it's a lot.

Electronics. As I said before, our phones are super cheap, as is our bedroom TV. But we have a really nice TV ($600), camera ($600) and laptop ($2000 I think?)

Entertainment. We go to the movies maybe once or twice a year, and we just cut back our cable and Netflix to save money. We hardly ever go to plays or museums. But we do have a fairly extensive DVD collection, and NT has easily $10K worth of LP records. Oh, and we have a Wii and about a dozen games, including Rock Band and Guitar Hero, which were really expensive.

Clothes. We'll put off and put off buying, and shop at Old Navy, H&M and Target when possible. But if we have a windfall of money, we're not averse to a big shopping spree with some higher-priced items (rarely if ever over $100 per item, to give you an idea of what we consider higher-priced).

Not-so-frugal:

Travel. This is one area where I think we're way above average. It's one of our great loves, and I'm so glad we get to indulge it. I set aside $850 per month, and we use every penny, usually saving it up for two or three semi-lavish vacations per year. Sometimes we spend more than that, if we can save up extra side income in advance of a trip.

Diapers. It's very important to us not to use disposables, but we're not equipped to clean our own cloth diapers (and our daycare doesn't do cloth). So we have a diaper cleaning service that also sells us compostable disposables for the daycare to use, and we're about to move onto compostable wipes. All of these options are much more expensive than if we just got disposable diapers and wipes at Target. There is a cheaper way to avoid disposables (making and cleaning your own diapers and wipes), but with all of us working 40+ hours per week and not having our own washing machine, this is something we're willing to pay a premium for.

Cleaning. A lot of people would laugh that we hire a housecleaning service but don't have a car. But to me, this is something I don't resent spending money on. Every four weeks we're forced to declutter and our service deep-cleans in ways we tend to put off. Total luxury, but one that really adds to my quality of life.

***

Those are the only categories of note that I can think of right now. If you actually got through this blabby rambling post, I'm interested to hear people's opinions on my assessments. It's hard to judge your own spending and figure out where you stand. Some of the things I think are superfrugal might seem like unnecessary luxury to you. And I've got two different places to compare to, my regular real-life/social networking social circle, and this community. So in some areas I feel really frugal compared with my friends and acquaintances but kind of spendthrift compared with some of you guys.

9 Responses to “Uberfrugal and not-so-frugal behaviors”

  1. Frügal Says:
    1318481585

    As for the car sharing idea... Do you not pay for gas? I think the way it works is, you fill it up when you're done with it. Yes? Either way, it is still a great deal!

    We do own our car, but only pay $60-130/mo in gas, $106/mo in insurance (we're young!), and $136/mo in payments. Only. Haha! Funny thing is... This is the least I've paid for a car since I was 18. >.< Gotta love consumerism, eh!

  2. ceejay74 Says:
    1318482480

    Nope, no gas charges; it's just $15 per month membership & insurance, then you pay $6 per hour and $0.25 per mile while you have it out. If we used it 4 times per month at 2 hours each, and went about 10 miles each time, it would be $73 per month. I'm figuring we'll use it less than that some months and more on others, so hoping it'll average out to $90 or less per month.

    We'll see how we like it, but I'm figuring we'll just want it for the occasional date, bigger shopping trip or pediatrician visit. We're doing fine with one kid, but I feel like with another on the way, we should have another transportation option. Lugging one stroller on the bus is bad enough! Smile

  3. Frügal Says:
    1318510683

    That is so awesome! Wish we could do that, but the snow here prevents us from riding bicycles year round, and our mass transit system is laughable.

  4. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1318516956

    Ceejay, your arrangements sound good to me. You know well the things that you value enough to save and splurge on, and you are thrifty on other things to make it possible. You aren't just following the crowd or thoughtlessly bumping from purchase to purchase.

  5. louise Says:
    1318518750

    You have high-maintenance hair if you have to go that often. The most frugal thing you could do would be invest some money in a pair of scissors and cut your own hair.

    Why do you spend so much on travel when you have 1/3 of a million dollars in debt?

    If you want to know what frugal really is, then read the Tightwad Gazette, and it will show you how you can really start to make money and cut your debt.

  6. MonkeyMama Says:
    1318518865

    I don't think it matters what anyone thinks - what is important is that you have the money to spend on the priorities that you want to, and you don't spend so much on the things that do not matter! Once you get that figured out, you have it mastered.

    I notice a lot of frugal types like to pay for fleeting experiences like vacations. We are just wired differently. I rather buy something I can enjoy for a long time, myself.

    I was just thinking about this yesterday. I see people going bankrupt all the time over cars and shelter, so I think these are the biggies most people should focus on to save money, but it doesn't mean that I don't appreciate that the little things add up. I had to run to the store 2 days in a row, and was thinking how unusual that was (I can easily have a no-spend 2 weeks without thinking about it). I was just wondering how many of my friends who think I am so hoity toity to have a gardener paid more for their latte habit. Probably ALL of them. (A lot of them thought I Was crazy to pay so much for "preschool" too, but they all have infinite car payments. Preschool was an extremely temporary expense, in comparison - probably smaller. I think people should worry about themselves more).

  7. MonkeyMama Says:
    1318519214

    I didn't see that comment before mine since posted at the same time I guess. Perfect example of not to care what others think. Wink

    Frugality is not a contest. IT is highly personal. It is a means to an end. Never having had any non-mortgage debt, I get just as nasty comments sometimes, simply for enjoying some things and not being frugal in ALL areas, so, you can't win.

  8. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1318528428

    Louise, ceejay has a very positive net worth.

  9. ceejay74 Says:
    1318530568

    Haha, MonkeyMama, good timing! I had a snarky response all set to go, but I read your comments and lightened up. Smile It is interesting how every item on my list is midspectrum, with plenty of people spending way less or way more than I do. That's why I tried to insert many caveats into my entry, because I know I'm subjective in assessing my own spending levels, as are most people.

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