Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday! This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it! 

Comments

Re: intersection of frugality and the automobile

[(Anonymous)]

Hi,
We didn't have a car for six years as we would borrow a car from friends once or twice a month to g to town to buy groceries and animal feed. Our friends decided to buy a new electric car an offered for us to continue borrowing it. The problem was it did not have much storage capacity. We couldn't get all the animal feed in the car.

We bought their old car and continue to go to town twice a month now for cello lessons and shopping. Because we did without a car for so long, we hardly use the one we have. That is going to make it last a long time and we get a super deal on car insurance as we put so little mileage on the car. We bought the car for cash and spend very little on fuel.

So, I think cars shared by close friends and family can be useful. Also, renting a car when you really need one. There are a lot of car-share programs in cities. My sister used Modo for years in Vancouver. I think a lot of people are unconscious about their car use.

As things become more expensive, people will have to economize on their car use. Better to get good habits around auto conservation before you are forced to.
Maxine