Are you “frugal”?

hi neulichuang, With the economic crisis that we are experiencing right now everyone must learn how to be frugal. Life seems to be harder and harder as time goes by. If we will not be wise in using what we have, we will end in poor situation. With this I say that I am a frugal person. Just like what you mentioned a while ago, we also do that at home. We still reserved the water we used in washing clothes. We use to to water the plants and for flushing the toilet and washing the rags. We also save electricity. We do not iron clothes everyday. Instead, we just put together all clothes to be ironed and iron it in one day only. If the flourescent light is not in use, we turn it off, and also the tv and radio. And if we have money, no matter how small or big it is, we always save it for emergency purposes. We did not buy things that is not that necessary. When I open my computer, I not use it for gaming purposes or for watching videos.I use it to work online and learn online and after that, I turn it off to save electricity bill.

I think I fall in this category. One instance is that we use the water that we used for laundry to water the plants. I also don't wash my clothes immediately especially when I did not sweat anyway so that my clothes won;t easily fade. There is really nothing wrong with being frugal. It's just being practical.

i definitely am... i always try to save money as much as i can and only spend it on really necessary thing... especially in recession time nowadays... i really have to think of ways to spend my money wisely... i usually shop around to find the cheapest price if i want to buy something... i turn off all my electrical appliances from the main switch to save electricity... i don't throw away any food... i bring my own lunch box to work... and many more... it really does save me quite a lot of money over the years by doing these... take care and have a nice day...

I have been trying very hard to be frugal but sometimes I feel that it is still not enough to combat the economic crisis. The best tip I guess is to live within your means and choose a lifestyle that you can afford. I have learned a few tips so let me also share it with you. Before buying something ask yourself, Do I really need it? or is it just a want? Can I afford it? Will I be borrowing money for this? (i.e credit card, loan). Give yourself 24 hours to decide before you *BUY anything that's around $100.

I have been trying very hard to be frugal but sometimes I feel that it is still not enough to combat the economic crisis. The best tip I guess is to live within your means and choose a lifestyle that you can afford. I have learned a few tips so let me also share it with you. Before buying something ask yourself, Do I really need it? or is it just a want? Can I afford it? Will I be borrowing money for this? (i.e credit card, loan). Give yourself 24 hours to decide before you but anything that's around $100.

As we receive our salary, normally we spend it all in our monthly expenses and if there is left, we save it for future use. However, I learned in one of my favorite television shows, it should be the other way around. The best way to save is to include the savings in our monthly budget. When we receive our salary, we have to oblige ourselves to save a specific amount and we spend only on what is left. I think it's reasonable and more effective. Most often, the flow of money is out of our hands not to mention the uncontrollable price hike of basic commodities. So I think if we are serious about savings, we have to make a monthly savings and avoid buying excess of what we need. Being thrifty is never meant to deprive yourself of what you want. If you really want to buy something as a gift for yourself, you can probably wait for a grand sale. If it is hard to control yourself, you can force yourself to stay in your house instead to avoid temptation. There are many ways to save but the important thing is self discipline.

Hi neulichuang, it's nice for us to live a frugal life during this economic depression as all the prices of daily necessary go up hike tremendously. We could save our daily expenses in many simple ways depend on whether we willing or not to take the trouble to do it often. Of course I will keep the water after washing rice to water my vegetable plant as it is good fertilizazer I place the outlet of the washing machine pipe in a big container to accumulate water to flash and wash the toilet bowl, outdoor floor, etc. Swith off all the electric appliances as well as the water faucets when they are not in use. I use the peels of fruits and other useless stuffs when preparing meals, as well as the fallen leaves of my two rambutan trees, weeds and other solid wastes to make compost. I plant some vegetable plants in my compound. I have my own fresh vegetables from the harvest. I'm happy that this save me some daily expenses I hope this at least do a little help to keep our environment healthy. Happy posting

Hi neulichuang, There are many ways you can save money. I take public transport instead of owning a car. Even that, I take the bus/train rather than the cab. It is cheaper. When my daughter was younger, I spent a lot on cab fares. But now that she is older, I can afford to bring her on the train or bus, which she greatly enjoys. I borrow books from the public library instead of buying. I have stopped buying books for quite some time now. I try to budget for expenses in a month. Even though we may not know the exact amount our bills are going to amount to, but a rough estimation is still better. Then I would allocate our monthly household money to those bills and expenses. Then try not to overspend. We also patronise cheaper shops rather than the other stores and manage to save quite a lot from there. I think that all the little bits that we do, in the end it will amount to a significant amount.

We buy cheap. As cheap as possible. We only buy store brand stuff. We use reusable plastic containers instead of plastic baggies, and we didn't even buy those, they just came with sandwich meat in them.

That rice water on your plants, actually helps them to grow much better. There is something in the rice that acts as a sort of natural fertilizer. Am I frugal, yes, but maybe not as frugal as you. I do not wash clothes unless I have a full load. I wash only in cold water, unless heavily dirty clothes. I use cold water to wash dishes. I save containers rather than throwing them out or buying expensive tupperware. We have only one car, and car pool when we can. We attempt to grow our own veggies, I am hoping this year will be the best yet. Starting in August I buy one gift every paycheck for Christmas, to ease the burden of shopping. I collect gemstones, and now make my own jewelry for myself, and gifts. My kids make a lot of handmade gifts for friends, and loved ones. We give old clothes, and shoes away for someone else to use gently used ones, and the same with toys. I used to sell them all, now I just find someone that needs them.

ever since i've been conscious about the environment and strictly followed my rules on eco-living (e.g. turn off lights when not in use, do not overuse water, unplug appliances, etc etc). especially now that electricity rates shot up, i am all the more conscious of energy efficiency. since i became a stay at home mom (ergo no income) i became stricter in my budgeting. i became very conscious on my purchases especially personal effects and groceries. unlike before, before the weekend sets in i think of what to buy. not now! i try to save and be more frugal but not to the point that it discomforts out family.