# What's the most frugal thing you have done?



## stl_08 (28 April 2009)

Was it worth it and how much did u save?


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## nulla nulla (28 April 2009)

Sold my fishing boat and bought an Omega watch. Now I get 365 days a year usage from my expenditure, don't pay registration, maintenance or running costs and don't have mates freeloading off me when i go fishing. I've had the watch for eight years and have saved thousands of dollars (and my marriage).


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## The Owls (28 April 2009)

One of the most frugal thing I did was only last week I bypassed 1 service station drove around the block to another to save 2 cents a litre. When I left the service station I hit a concrete truck barrier on the road which resulted in a new trye. Cost of tyre $270.00 saving on petrol $1.60.  Being frugal is expensive.


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## Tysonboss1 (28 April 2009)

I like to live as frugal as I can, Some of the things I have done include.

Gave up drinking alcohol for 12 months, saved $1000's, now only drink about twice a month.

I have so many frugal things I do on a daily basis it would be impossible to name them all.

I have designed my living habits so that I spend less than $250 / week, That includes everything, meanwhile I earn over $100K a year.


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## Trevor_S (28 April 2009)

Sold my 3 motorbikes and now only ride pushbikes.  I have 2 pushbikes, a road bike and a mountain bike.  Better for the environment, better for my health both physical and mental (very therapeutic heading off into the bush on the local mountain bike trails as the sun is rising, kookaburras, whip tail wallabies, red tail black cockatoos, sulpher crested cockatoos, gallahs and a bandicoot this morning and).  

I also don't fly as much anymore, better for the environment and save a crap load of money.   I used to travel about 6 times a year, last year, not at all, this year, no plans at all either and prefer to go bushwalking and exploring locally.

Saved $1000's but I tend to live a frugal lifestyle anyway.  

Here is an article on thrift.

http://travismorien.com/invest_FAQ/content/category/7/430/53/


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## bowman (28 April 2009)

1. Quit drinking

2. No car

The car thing happened by accident - literally. A friend wrote off my car and it turned out he was currently unlicensed, so no insurance payout for me.

I had a lot of other cr@p going on in my life so after drowning my sorrows in alcohol, I quit drinking, embarked on a nutrition and exercise program and decided to see what would happen if I didn't replace my car for 12 months.

Now it costs me $30 a week to go food shopping ($5 for the bus there and $25 for the cab back) - a damn site cheaper than owning a car.

At other times I ride my bicycle everywhere - it's approx a  25k round trip to Woolies, the fish market and the beach.

I'm sure I'll get a car again next year (either a Hyundai i30 or a Porsche 911, depending on how my trading goes ) but for now I'm getting fit and saving a bundle.


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## theasxgorilla (28 April 2009)

Too many to list.  Recent examples...

Volvo V70 just coming off lease bought direct from Volvo dealership, with a major service and four new summer tyres for 100,000 SEK, market value 150,000 SEK.  Can probably drive 60,000 kms and still sell it for the same price we paid.  Thats 1.5 years of driving and a couple of European roadtrips.

If I use my expat tax status in NL to import the car I bought 12 months ago in Sweden I can avoid hefty import duties usually levied when importing cars to NL. High car sale taxes in NL mean the net result is that the current NL market value is the same I paid for the car 12 months ago in Sweden.  Net result, I drove the car 20,000 kms and owned it for 12 months and avoided the usual depreciation and additional credit crunch devaluation.

Since its a faily common assertion that the two biggest purchases most people are likely to have are cars and houses anything one can do to minimise the inevitable depreciation associated with owning a car the better of they ought to be.

Lastly, if I order polos from Hilfiger.co.uk instead of Hilfiger.nl I save 10 EUR per shirt.  Four shirts for summer = 40 EUR, I can have a lot of fun for 40 EUR.


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## helicart (28 April 2009)

1.
Work out each family member's energy expenditure, and required Calorie and macronutrient intake, spreadsheet a fortnightly menu plan that calculates exact qty of ingredients and makes shopping list,  go to shops and buy that 

Savings -> >$2000 a year on food spoilage, no obesity, optimal nutrient intake, 90% reduced probability of diabetes, artherosclerosis, debilitating arthritis.  1 trip to supermarkt per fortnight 1 trip to fruit and vege shop per week.   75 hr pa travel time saving.

2.
Bought a bicycle and do calisthenics in the backyard. 

Savings -> $2400pa on couples membership at trendy gym. 90 hrs pa travel time saving

3.
Cashbook Spreadsheet -> automates everything once I have downloaded csv file from banks monthly and run macros on the transactions.  qtrly BAS, net worth, income tax return estimate, cash flow, additional debt servicability. 

saving -> $2000pa on accountant filing my BAS.   60 hrs pa on bookkeeping. 

4.
Use the best accountant and solicitor I can.

saving ~$500k in the last 10 years. time saved = heaps. 

5. 
The time saved above is spent reading quality finance info. 

-> acgr for 8 yrs to FY08 =24%.


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## Farencue (28 April 2009)

Trevor, thanks for the Travis Morien link.

20 years ago when I was very young and working in a high paying job in mining in the NT, our town was targeted by the SE QLD "property floggers" who seemed to be giving kickbacks to my accountant.
I thought buying a house in "Brisbane" would be a good idea but was unsure about the $230,000 loan I would be taking out with the encouragement of the bank, accountant and smooth talking salesman.  It wasnt a step I was comfortable with at 20 years old for a few reasons.

During this time I had to fly to Sydney and had a few hours in Brisbane.  I jumped in a taxi and went out to where the "prestigious estate" was being built.  One look at the setup on reclaimed land and my mind was made up that nobody except the taxi driver would be taking my money.

That $60 taxi fare was the best $60 I ever spent.


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## metric (28 April 2009)

got the free trial of 'body trim'....read the book, watched the cds...

sent the lot back within 30 days. total cost $13 instead of $250 (?).

and have lost 17kg....


.


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## RamonR (28 April 2009)

Eat weeds

I regularly pick dandeloin,catears and cobblers pegs to add greens to spicy asian type soups


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## bowman (28 April 2009)

RamonR said:


> Eat weeds
> 
> I regularly pick dandeloin,catears and cobblers pegs to add greens to spicy asian type soups




Hey, come on over to the weight loss thread. I wasn't going to mention it but I picked some juicy dandelion leaves earlier on my morning walk.


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## RamonR (28 April 2009)

bowman said:


> Hey, come on over to the weight loss thread. I wasn't going to mention it but I picked some juicy dandelion leaves earlier on my morning walk.




I avoid picking weeds outside my property.
Two main reasons, I have plenty anyway but mainly you can't be sure that pesticide hasn't been applied.


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## Julia (28 April 2009)

If my dogs swim a lot they get ear infections.   Instead of incurring $70 vet bill each time for consultation and medication, as soon as there's the first sign I just put a drop of peroxide in the ear and it clears it up.

Doing your own pool servicing saves about $50 per time.

It's good not to get obsessed about saving though.  My mother used to wash and re-use Gladwrap!!


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## kincella (28 April 2009)

ouch poor dogs....the ear infection is because of water in the ears...just take a towel and dry the ears thoroughly each time....saves the price of peroxide and pain for the dogs....

if I give up the alcohol and ciggs can save about 11.000 per year
they are the two things I cut down on when things get tough

brother recently had a prescription...chemix ??? and stopped smoking within 2 weeks...saved $100pw....actually its over 6 months now....

I have to psyche myself up for this...those two are the next bad habits to lose
cheers


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## sam76 (28 April 2009)

i find my pr0n for free on the internet rather than buying it from the service station, lol


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## Timmy (28 April 2009)

Haircuts.  Cost money and time!  I used to get my hair cut at Gowings for $5.  When the price went up to $10 I started going to a local place instead.  Then I bought some clippers and now either do it myself or with some help from my wife.


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## prawn_86 (28 April 2009)

Tysonboss1 said:


> I have designed my living habits so that I spend less than $250 / week, That includes everything, meanwhile I earn over $100K a year.




Do you live at home still? And do you have any fun??


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## Real1ty (28 April 2009)

I am wearing thermal garments under my clothes as i sit here and type this rather than turning on the heating.


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## Soft Dough (28 April 2009)

1. Married a naturally beautiful wife - no make-up costs
( plus I get personalised catering, dry-cleaning and other free "extras" )

but seriously she is a gem of a wife, who is frugal too.

2. One car - the savings are immense

3. Use things until they are broken

4. Cook meals every night.


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## outback (28 April 2009)

Julia said:


> If my dogs swim a lot they get ear infections.   Instead of incurring $70 vet bill each time for consultation and medication, as soon as there's the first sign I just put a drop of peroxide in the ear and it clears it up.
> 
> Doing your own pool servicing saves about $50 per time.
> 
> It's good not to get obsessed about saving though.  My mother used to wash and re-use Gladwrap!!




Now that's frugality at its best.


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## helicart (28 April 2009)

sam76 said:


> i find my pr0n for free on the internet rather than buying it from the service station, lol




HAHAHAHAHA....yeah but everyone does that so it is hardly frugal, in a relative sense. how about going one step further and getting your chicks for free (to quote dire straits)



Timmy said:


> Haircuts.  Cost money and time!  I used to get my hair cut at Gowings for $5.  When the price went up to $10 I started going to a local place instead.  Then I bought some clippers and now either do it myself or with some help from my wife.




Same.....been using electric clippers on me since I was 38 and couldn't disguise the receding hairline further. I figured I've saved $2800 pre tax. for an outlay of $50. cagr = 40%pa




Tysonboss1 said:


> I have designed my living habits so that I spend less than $250 / week, That includes everything, meanwhile I earn over $100K a year.




Do you run a car and include depreciation for when you have to replace it?
Care to fill out the budget planner in this spreadsheet? Seriously, I'd be interested.


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## prawn_86 (28 April 2009)

Thats quite a nice budget spreadsheet Helicart. 

Thanks


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## GumbyLearner (28 April 2009)

Back in the Bachelor days at the end of a big night, I would pop into
the local pizza joint and get delivered home with a large capricciosa.

Saved on taxi fare and enough left ready for breakfast in the morning.


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## helicart (28 April 2009)

prawn_86 said:


> Thats quite a nice budget spreadsheet Helicart.
> 
> Thanks




Thx, it's been a work in progress for 4 years, and I am pretty sure I have all the bugs worked out......but let me know if you find anything suss. 

Several schools and community groups use it for teaching budget planning.

The funds available for investment rely on running solver addin with a macro....if you don't have it installed in excel, you might get an error when you hit the solve button. the solve function just determines how to split investement +CF between two partners on different salaries. if you haven't got a partner just ensure it is on 100% and don't hit solve.

I haven't put 09's tax tables in yet either....


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## trillionaire#1 (28 April 2009)

i also now cut my own hair with clippers
ive stopped buying premium fuels
ride my bicycle or walk/catch a bus more often
trimmed my food bills(actualy bullsh..i just got 3 atlantic salmon steaks from the market)oh well toast for dinner tommorrow night.


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## Tysonboss1 (28 April 2009)

prawn_86 said:


> Do you live at home still? And do you have any fun??




I live rent free in a flat that is at the rear of my business premises.

yes I have fun, But I choose things that are low cost.

The reason I can live so cheaply is mainly because,

I have no rent to pay,

I don't pay for fuel, (I haven't paid for fuel for my car in 18months, because one of the suppliers to my business gives Caltex reward cards and woolworths gift cards if you sell a certain amount and I average about $400/month of cards)

a big chunk of my food bill is covered by the woolworths gift cards, and I resist Buying take away or other expensive foods.

But also I am very frugal in spending in general,


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## Tysonboss1 (28 April 2009)

helicart said:


> [
> 
> 
> 
> ...





Yes I run a car it's a 97 commodore I paid $10,000 6 years ago, But as I said in my last post I don't pay for fuel, and all maintaince comes out of the $250/week... I also don't believe in buying new cars.


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## prawn_86 (28 April 2009)

That makes sense then. Rent and food are my biggest expenses. I believe in eating well; good quality etc. One has to enjoy something in life, its not all about saving money


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## Tysonboss1 (28 April 2009)

That is a nice spread sheet heli, I will have a play with it later.

I prefer to use the claytons budget myself where I just put $500 a fortnight into my credit card and thats my spending limit, if there is no room on my card, I don't buy anything.

And all the rest of my money goes into investments.


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## kincella (28 April 2009)

used to know this bloke at tennis....he did not turn on his electicity....think he ran candles...got to the stage if he invited the players around for drinks after tennis...they refused to go.....another female did similar..so she could afford to travel overseas once a year...
of course they did not use heating or cooling...??? could not be bothered asking if they cooked or had a fridge....
that is too extreme....
I like to live in comfort....I dont waste electricity...that ad with all the black balloons is scary...I turn everything off when I am finished.....long life globes etc....buy whitegoods with the highest star rating....use the egg timer for showers....to save water
its the grog and ciggs I can save a heap on.....food costs are reduced on my current water diet...but thats not a big deal anyway


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## kincella (28 April 2009)

BBC radio this morning talking about training the afghanistans to become policemen....said they had to teach them so much stuff... including personal hygiene, like having a shower, shave and learning to use a toilet....

guess they live a frugal life....but little or no education


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## theasxgorilla (28 April 2009)

GumbyLearner said:


> Back in the Bachelor days at the end of a big night, I would pop into
> the local pizza joint and get delivered home with a large capricciosa.
> 
> Saved on taxi fare and enough left ready for breakfast in the morning.




I like that one!


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## aaronphetamine (28 April 2009)

I cut my own hair and I buy my alcohol from the bottle shop and get smashed before I head out clubbin and I live at home while I'm at uni so that cuts down my costs heaps!


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## helicart (28 April 2009)

Tysonboss1 said:


> That is a nice spread sheet heli, I will have a play with it later.
> 
> I prefer to use the claytons budget myself where I just put $500 a fortnight into my credit card and thats my spending limit, if there is no room on my card, I don't buy anything.
> 
> And all the rest of my money goes into investments.




I just updated the tax formula to FY09, but Rudd will probably change it in the next Budget.


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## Old Mate (28 April 2009)

GumbyLearner said:


> Back in the Bachelor days at the end of a big night, I would pop into
> the local pizza joint and get delivered home with a large capricciosa.
> 
> Saved on taxi fare and enough left ready for breakfast in the morning.




That's the best idea I've ever heard


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## helicart (28 April 2009)

GumbyLearner said:


> Back in the Bachelor days at the end of a big night, I would pop into
> the local pizza joint and get delivered home with a large capricciosa.
> 
> Saved on taxi fare and enough left ready for breakfast in the morning.





Kudos+++ Gumby.....If you applied for a job with me and told me that, the job would be yours on that alone.


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## ColB (28 April 2009)

A mate of mine would take half a dozen beers around to a friends place when we would go there for dinner.  He always left them in his esky so if he didn't drink all of them he'd take them home.  I thought it was just common courtesy to leave what you didn't drink with your host considering they'd gone to all the effort and cost to usually prepare a really nice meal.

It got to the point where myself and one of the boys would empty his beer into the fridge just to take the p##s out of him.  The irony is he is worth quite a few bucks and isn't that quite often the case.  The ones with the money quite often find it difficult to part with it.

Prawn sums it up....Quote: "One has to enjoy something in life, its not all about saving money."

Gumby, you definitely win hands down, but if you were 'really frugal' you would have gone without the pizza


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## GumbyLearner (28 April 2009)

ColB said:


> A mate of mine would take half a dozen beers around to a friends place when we would go there for dinner.  He always left them in his esky so if he didn't drink all of them he'd take them home.  I thought it was just common courtesy to leave what you didn't drink with your host considering they'd gone to all the effort and cost to usually prepare a really nice meal.
> 
> It got to the point where myself and one of the boys would empty his beer into the fridge just to take the p##s out of him.  The irony is he is worth quite a few bucks and isn't that quite often the case.  The ones with the money quite often find it difficult to part with it.
> 
> ...




Well in the strictest sense of the word 'frugal' your correct ColB.

But I wonder if the Government would recognize this as innovative and
offer the consumer some carbon credits for such an endeavour? 

I'm certainly not going to drive after I've been to the pub. I could use a taxi which I could either wait, hail or call. The phone call of course involving the use of energy. 

If I order a pizza to my home, this would involve the business transporting the product to my abode anyway.

Surely turning up at the shop, ordering and requesting that I accompany my meal home does seem to cut down on time and energy/resources.

Mmm..carbon credits? I wonder if I could claim a deduction for such activities. Probably not, even though I'm using the same service to achieve the same goal. 

As the message under nomore4s avatar says, "Common sense isn't that common". Too right!


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## tech/a (28 April 2009)

Got rid of my first wife.

The second thing was getting rid of No 2

The third thing was finding No 3 She was wealthier than I!


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## marklar (28 April 2009)

Bought an apartment in the CBD so I could walk to work, saving on car costs & public transport. 
Got a job that requires me to travel regularly, so I don't feel the need to get out of the CBD for holidays. 
Make my own bread. 

m.


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## joeyjoejoe (28 April 2009)

i do plenty lol

only use ATM if it is "my banks " no exception (they are not getting my $4)

haircuts have gone from $40 to $9 by changing salon

shop at aldi where i can instead of coles

petrol on tuesday only

sign up for m4/m5 cash back scheme

make my own cafe quality Cappuccinos from home before work.

cook at home instead of eating out.

bring a bag with your own lunch/dinner to events such as football games or the easter show

never buy new clothes

heres the best one of all

i work in a CBD i wont say where.. and there is a large parking station that is near by. where its 2 hours free parking . alternate parking is $7 a day

parking rangers come normally at 10am (to try and catch the "all day parkers" and mark your car with chalk and if they chalk is still there 2hours later they will fine you $81.

so im in a email syndicate with my work where 3 times a day 10.30 12.30 and 2.30 some one on the list (growing list of over 100 people) has to go and check the cars have been "marked" and then email the whole list. (it works out to be your turn once every fortnight or less. and if they have been marked you simply go there with a cloth and water and scrub off the mark..... all to save $7 a day


but we are saving $2000 per year (enough for a 1-2 week holiday) so why not???

and it works.......i haven been fined for the last 7 months.....

i swear i could survive for a whole year on just one fortnights pay

why do I do all of the above?? i became that way when i lost some $$ on a margin loan in the crash of Dec 2007

I have recovered now but have kept my new attitude


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## arae (28 April 2009)

I pose as an art enthusiast to get invitations to private art exhibitions. Each one lays on copious amounts of free wine, beer and food. I have no interest in art.


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## Naked shorts (28 April 2009)

I dont put any ice with my single malt whiskey while Im having a really long hot shower.


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## nunthewiser (28 April 2009)

Naked shorts said:


> I dont put any ice with my single malt whiskey while Im having a really long hot shower.




LOL awesome! and i thought it was only me that enjoyed a drink in the shower


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## trillionaire#1 (28 April 2009)

when i take the car into the cbd i park it on war memorial drive 
to escape parking fees and walk into town.


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## It's Snake Pliskin (29 April 2009)

Reusing tea bags until they give a bare tint of color after the 5th or more cup of tea.


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## long88 (29 April 2009)

This is the best joke i've ever read.


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## GumbyLearner (29 April 2009)

marklar said:


> Bought an apartment in the CBD so I could walk to work, saving on car costs & public transport.
> Got a job that requires me to travel regularly, so I don't feel the need to get out of the CBD for holidays.
> Make my own bread.
> 
> m.




I make my own bread too. And I meditate. It really helps.


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## Gilbert (29 April 2009)

Instead of buying an ipod I simply hum tunes to myself.


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## GumbyLearner (29 April 2009)

Gilbert said:


> Instead of buying an ipod I simply hum tunes to myself.




Sounds economical! Are you as mad as a cut snake?


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## prawn_86 (29 April 2009)

trillionaire#1 said:


> when i take the car into the cbd i park it on war memorial drive
> to escape parking fees and walk into town.




Live in North Adelaide (for about $10pw extra than burbs outside the parklands) so just walk to work and uni


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## Nyden (29 April 2009)

Ahem, let's see.


Use a laptop instead of a desktop computer
Don't drive
Go 'out' maybe 10 times a year
Use Skype as often as I can
Never buy lunch (I just bring a muesli bar or 2)
Don't drink soda, or alcohol
Rarely buy takeout
Use Student cinema vouchers
Try to only buy items on sale
Repair old things, rather than replace
plus, much more!

Skype is especially great, especially if you have yourself an iPhone, or iTouch - and are able to use free WiFi (McDonalds, uni, etc) to call other people.

The laptop is another biggie. The wattage usage on a laptop is substantially less than that of a desktop computer. Heck, they have laptops that run on the energy equivalent of a light bulb now! Whilst some of the more high-end desktop computers, at peak - can use anything above 500watts - just a message to all you gamers out there.


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## nomore4s (29 April 2009)

Some of you have got issues:

Getting with my ex, for some reason i had nothing to spend & I learnt to live off nothing.




Hold on..... that ended up costing me an arm & a leg


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## Ghetto23 (29 April 2009)

Instead of buying a pool, I just painted a blue rectangle in my backyard to fool overhead planes.


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## outback (29 April 2009)

prawn_86 said:


> Live in North Adelaide





That's taking frugal to the extreme.


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## prawn_86 (29 April 2009)

outback said:


> That's taking frugal to the extreme.




LOL. Believe it or not but it does actually work out cheaper by the time you take travel time, parking etc into account :


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## Struzball (29 April 2009)

When the tins of whole peeled tomatoes at coles are on sale I stock up.  Typically they only have the brands with pictures on them that cost around $1.50+, but sometimes they have the plain homebrand or savings brand.  Recently they had it for 79c so I stocked up.  
My best memory was when they were 30c around a year ago so I learnt some awesome things to cook with bulk tinned tomatoes.

I wait until the 18 packs of kleenix cottenelle are on sale for under 50c a roll, then I buy a few packs.  By the time I've run out of them there's another sale.  I may be stingy at groceries but i'm not gonna wipe my a*s with crap!


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## Trembling Hand (29 April 2009)

prawn_86 said:


> LOL. Believe it or not but it does actually work out cheaper by the time you take travel time, parking etc into account :




But what if you want to actually go into the real world. How much does it cost to time travel from the past into the present where the rest of us live Prawn? :


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## helicart (29 April 2009)

OK found him....

The No.1 most frugal person on the face of the planet is

*Buddha Boy*

no eat
no drink
no shelter
no transport
no puter
no internet
no booty
no needy broke friends

just sits and meditates in the forest

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=v29clGMWU84&feature=channel_page
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ram_Bahadur_Bomjon

And has created export income for his village......
How happy are they....a business with no input costs....


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## Green08 (29 April 2009)

living on air - now I've heard it all

Buddha Boy
needs 
no toilet
no kitchen
rarararara

I like to live abit in frugalness.  Use the toilet rolls as seed containers then pop them in the ground to grow. 

I can't do frugal with Chocolate


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## JackC (29 April 2009)

Some water under the bridge now, but as a young lad working part-time in a supermarket I used to damage food items that I wanted & come back the following day to purchase them out of the knock-down basket for a fraction of it's normal price.


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## helicart (29 April 2009)

Gawd, this thread is doing my head in.....Just had a shower, which is where I usually clean teeth and floss.....and lo and behold, there I am re-using yesterday's piece of floss...    :bite:


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## Naked shorts (29 April 2009)

helicart said:


> .Just had a shower,




With no single malt!?


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## bluelabel (30 April 2009)

My wife saves us bundles, she never misses a sale!

But seriously i had an aunty who used to by 2 ply toilet paper, split the roll and get 2 rolls of TP out of one roll.  needless to say we never had christmas at her place.

:bier:

blue


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## Bolle (30 April 2009)

Bought Allen Carr's book about stopping smoking.  Cost - $40 hardback.  Has so far saved me over $20,000 and will continue to save me money every day for the rest of my (much-longer) life...

Bought small brick villa-unit instead of large sprawling weatherboard house.  Cheaper to maintain, cheaper to heat/cool, and cleaning up takes about 2 seconds.

Get rid of second car, just share the one.  We both get more exercise and save HEAPS of money on maintenance/fuel etc.  Not to mention that if i have to walk to the shop for something, i think twice about whether i need it or not.  Spouse often rides bike to work, and we can put baby in pram and walk places.

Grow as many veg and herbs as you can.  Herbs will grow in even the most useless soils, they're really tough.  Your food tastes better, your health improves, cheaper than dry dead herbs at Coles.

Shop at Aldi.  

Learn to do anything you can for yourself, instead of paying someone.  I'm all in favour of getting lawyers and accountants to do the nitty gritty stuff, but i'm not paying someone else to paint my bathroom or mow my lawn or reupholster dining chairs if i can do it myself.

In short, live 'small', walk everywhere, and eat fresh food.  Nothing new really, Europeans have been doing it for centuries.

Sell the tumble dryer and buy a clothes rack instead.


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## Glen48 (30 April 2009)

My ex wife would tear up old rags to save money buying Tampons... we lost about 2 Million $


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## kenny (30 April 2009)

GumbyLearner said:


> Sounds economical! Are you as mad as a cut snake?




Of course not, Gumby! If he was mad, it would be even more economical as there would be someone humming inside his head for him.

Cheers,

Kenny


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## glads262 (30 April 2009)

Struzball said:


> When the tins of whole peeled tomatoes at coles are on sale I stock up.  Typically they only have the brands with pictures on them that cost around $1.50+, but sometimes they have the plain homebrand or savings brand.  Recently they had it for 79c so I stocked up.
> My best memory was when they were 30c around a year ago so I learnt some awesome things to cook with bulk tinned tomatoes.
> 
> I wait until the 18 packs of kleenix cottenelle are on sale for under 50c a roll, then I buy a few packs.  By the time I've run out of them there's another sale.  I may be stingy at groceries but i'm not gonna wipe my a*s with crap!




hell, I thought I was the only one!!! When the diced tomatoes came out at 20c, I bought about 60. Coconut cream was also 20c, got about 60 too. Didn't buy any for about 3 months. I reckon that has saved me a hundred bucks.

I also do this with, toilet paper, Cheese, toiletaries(especially shampoo/cond), cereals, basically anything that lasts.

I would estimate that I would save about $2000/year. All it means is buying in bulk when something is on special. 

People (including my wife) give me crap about it, but I don't see them going on a ski trip once a year at a cost of about $3000.(accomodation paid for)


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## helicart (30 April 2009)

When in India, Nepal, and Bhutan (teaching Tibetan refugees advanced first aid and english), I didn't use any toilet paper at all for long periods.... 

helps to have a bar of triclosan based soap though...


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## ColB (30 April 2009)

> Originally posted by *Jack C*
> 
> Some water under the bridge now, but as a young lad working part-time in a supermarket I used to damage food items that I wanted & come back the following day to purchase them out of the knock-down basket for a fraction of it's normal price.




Nice one Jack!  When I was a teenager working in a supermarket I couldn't wait until the next day so I used to eat Yoghurt in the coolroom out the back.

Who is the most dishonest though?


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## stl_08 (30 April 2009)

You got to squeeze every penny, I got this suit cheap because some guy died in it, and see those girls they use to be men


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## Julia (30 April 2009)

Bolle said:


> Sell the tumble dryer and buy a clothes rack instead.



No, never.   Giving towels, nightwear ten minutes in hot dryer before a shower costs peanuts and is lovely on a cold night.

I'd hate to be so obsessed with saving money that I couldn't enjoy small luxuries.


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## JackC (1 May 2009)

ColB said:


> Nice one Jack!  When I was a teenager working in a supermarket I couldn't wait until the next day so I used to eat Yoghurt in the coolroom out the back.
> 
> Who is the most dishonest though?




I wouldn't like to say, but obviously I wouldn't do anything this dishonest now I have matured!
I did get fired from a rival supermarket one time (yes - just the one time!) after getting caught eating the pick & mix lollies. Management made out like I'd stolen the 'Queens Jewels' & really couldn't see the funny side - unlike me


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## prgudula (1 May 2009)

thought of sharing more Frugality ideas and website dedicated for it

Frugality and Simplicity are in! And they are GREEN

http://greenlivingaustralia.com.au/frugal.html


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## JTLP (1 May 2009)

If we were living in Europe we could all weigh just one piece of fruit, put a sticker on the bag and then fill it with more fruit post weighing (this saved me a lot of money whilst travelling).

Other frugal things? I take the Night Rider (Melb) home from the city. Journey is about 20 mins, can use the same ticket I bought going into the city, and you get to see a lot of colourful characters on the bus :

Something else I like to do is when I come home from work/nights out/sport etc I just empty whatever loose change is in my pockets/wallet and throw it all in a big bin. You'd be amazed at the amount you end up with when the bin is full!


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## lionfish (2 May 2009)

Grow my own vegies. I haven't purchased salad greens in 8 years!

I also make my own yoghurt for about 30 cents a kilogram versus the $3.50-$4 at the supermarket.

Or this one for the hard core frugals: your local take away Indian curry can be heavily diluted with milk/cream.  We can get three great meals from two tubs of curry without any loss of flavour!


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## Smurf1976 (2 May 2009)

I wouldn't call myself frugal as such, but I've always tended to seek out _value_ as opposed to something that is merely _cheap_.

Main thing is I tend to buy reasonable quality, look after it properly and keep it until it's worn out. Appliances, furniture, cars and so on. I don't go for luxury, but I always try to buy things that are well designed, well built and likely to last. And, within reason, I maintain them properly too.

This approach seems to be working well financially so far and avoids a lot of hassle with cheap goods breaking down etc. 

Using the same logic, I don't bother with 5 star hotel rooms or first class travel. If I'm going on holidays then I'm not going there for the flight and to sit in a room all day so I'm not going to spend too much on those things. But if some local attraction charges $150 to get in then I'll just pay up and consider it part of the cost of the holiday.

Same as I generally don't wear expensive clothes. I'm at home today and about to do some gardening - I just don't need the latest fashions to do that so my $25 jeans and $15 jumper will be fine.

And I certainly don't buy ridiculously over priced junk food. Either I'll eat at home or go somewhere that actually serves something decent. I'm not paying $20 for a few lumps of sugar and trans fats shoved in a paper bag that's for sure. 

Nor am I paying $2 for a litre of water when there's 80,000 litres of the stuff running off the house roof for free every year, there's a creek over the back fence and the mains supply is neither metered nor restricted. Paying for water in that context would be quite simply very poor value.


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## Timmy (2 May 2009)

Whenever I give my thoughts on something I restrict it to just 2 cents worth.


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## awg (2 May 2009)

biggest saver: depreciation on motor vehicles

especially if you have multiple drivers in the family and dont put them in a company.

over a lifetime, the amounts are huge. I buy 3yrs or older.

still on vehicles, I am a fanatically light braker, pads and discs last an eternity when I am the driver. (this could be a whole new thread!)

most frugal?..I shop at Bi-Lo, whilst there, I buy $1 no-name choc bics.
my teenagers do not like them and wont eat them.
this means, I am able to enjoy a biscuit with my coffee, so i save double
(they taste ok to me..scotch finger, with choc top)


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## ojm (2 May 2009)

awg said:


> still on vehicles, I am a fanatically light braker, pads and discs last an eternity when I am the driver. (this could be a whole new thread!)




Another good tip is get to know a mechanic. Saves bucket loads.

My next door neighbor is a mechanic, and services my car at his home. Costs bugger all. Normal service is around $85. When brakes are done also, add about $100 on. A major 200,000km service on my Commodore cost about $240. Most of these costs are parts cost. He doesn't charge much at all for labor.

If I eventually move away/whatnot, a good mate of mine is an apprentice mechanic, so he can take over.


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## awg (2 May 2009)

ojm said:


> Another good tip is get to know a mechanic. Saves bucket loads.
> 
> My next door neighbor is a mechanic, and services my car at his home. Costs bugger all. Normal service is around $85. When brakes are done also, add about $100 on. A major 200,000km service on my Commodore cost about $240. Most of these costs are parts cost. He doesn't charge much at all for labor.
> 
> If I eventually move away/whatnot, a good mate of mine is an apprentice mechanic, so he can take over.




You are correct.

I do many repairs myself, but that is on my vintage cars

however, on modern vehicles, self service is increasingly impractical, for a variety of factors.

Like I said, probably should be a new thread...but,

On a recent car, an older Audi, a fault developed, which, I diagnosed myself.

I rang the dealer for a quote on parts and labor, Parts $100, labor $440.

When i said how come, they told me you had to remove manifold.
I said "no you dont".....Service manager dissed me over the phone.
End result, fitted the part myself, without removing ANYTHING except the faulty bit, took 30 minutes.

Charges for mechanical service is about $65 per hour, and that includes the mechanic farting & scratching his ar$e, phone calls, talking to customers etc etc


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## Calliope (2 May 2009)

In the last two years my hairdresser put up her prices from $12 to $15 to $18.    Each time I extended my time between haircuts by a week.


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## RP_Automotive (2 May 2009)

JTLP said:


> Something else I like to do is when I come home from work/nights out/sport etc I just empty whatever loose change is in my pockets/wallet and throw it all in a big bin. You'd be amazed at the amount you end up with when the bin is full!




I do this too except chuck it all in my bag.....I work in the oil & gas industry so lots of travel...it got to the point where my bag was nearly overweight for some flights so I emptied it....$300 odd in change sittin there, and I got lots of exercise lugging the heavy bag around 

The most frugal thing I do? Invest 50% of my pay in the stock market every paycheck...Hopefully it will pay off one day.

P.S. I love that story about ordering a delivered pizza and catching a ride home with the delivery guy.....


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## Warren Greenspan (3 May 2009)

The wife and I NEVER spend a $5 note. We put them in a container and periodically bank them for a future holiday. $4000 since feb 08. Pain free.


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## matty2.0 (3 May 2009)

I usually don't worry with small petty things, like coffee. I just pay and don't think about it.

But when it comes to BIG ticket items, like investing your capital, buying a car, buying a house, or renting accomodation ... I get really, really analytical and frugal. e.g. I know I need a new car, but I've been analyzing and assessing all the angles for almost 6months to 1 year now ... same with buying a house. 

But I plan ahead, and plan early, and I budget well ... so that's all good.

I think your quality of life decreases a bit when you worry about small things everyday/constantly - you'll save a lot more by doing the math properly on the bigger ticket items. 

I like the saying; "penny wise, but pound foolish".


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## theasxgorilla (3 May 2009)

matty2.0 said:


> I think your quality of life decreases a bit when you worry about small things everyday/constantly - you'll save a lot more by doing the math properly on the bigger ticket items.
> 
> I like the saying; "penny wise, but pound foolish".




Agree on all counts Matty.  I think paying attenting to big ticket items and recurring costs is more important.  Doing so allows you "not to sweat the small stuff".


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## theasxgorilla (3 May 2009)

Calliope said:


> In the last two years my hairdresser put up her prices from $12 to $15 to $18.    Each time I extended my time between haircuts by a week.




Unfortunately that wouldn't work in slob-allergic Sweden...I'd be evicted


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