I've been a fan of this family and their down to earth approach for saving money and tips for living well and living within your means. When my children were young, I was in a coupon club and was a devotee of the "Coupon Queen" - that lady that would go to the grocery store and get $500.00 worth of groceries and pay $1.58 .... My mom used to get a kick out of all my "tips" and coupon quests. My parents and grandparents had lived through the Depression and little did I know - but, I was a step ahead of many of my trust-fund friends with thriftiness. That is how I would like to be described - thrifty. Frugal sounds kind of desperate to me and the term 'cheap' is just .... cheap.
I think the important thing in adopting a lifestyle of living within your means and saving money is to do it in such a way that you don't feel deprived or make others feel that way. When the children were very young, I loved the fact that they had older cousins and gently used clothing was in great supply. Some of my friends and I used to swap a lot of children's clothing and I'm pretty sure I never bought a maternity outfit - I always knew someone who was all too happy to give me theirs! But, as my kids grew older, I had a child who loved clothes and just HAD to have certain clothes - my mother forgot all about thriftiness when she had grandchildren and I had to gently put a lid on her giving my children so much. I told my little clothes hound how much money I had to spend on her clothing and if she wanted a closet full of labels - she would have to save her allowance and find ways to help pay for what she wanted. This worked beautifully and by the time she came home from her 1st year of college - she had found her comfort zone and had a roommate who loved consignment stores and Goodwill!!! I was thrilled with this turn of events.
In any case - I love to save as much money as possible and these days, I'm finding a lot of people who are also embracing the simpler lifestyle. I have a friend who works for a large company and lots of ladies there have Treasure Thursday - once a month - during lunch period, they have a "swap meet" at work - she's gotten some really great buys and the company encourages the employees to participate and to also take advantage of a lot of company sponsored free seminars on saving for the future and economy cooking forums and even health and diet tips....
Every weekend the newspaper here has a long list of 'free things to do' - from outdoor art and crafts shows, to free lectures, seminars and whenever something looks good - we try to attend. We love picnics at the local parks here - a lot of history in this area. Our local library has great selections of movies, music, books, etc. - Free! I think if you look at cutting back and living a simpler life - it's challenging and in so many cases - it can be fun. I enjoy my yard more - I have wonderful neighbors who "pass along" plants, etc. and in the warm weather - I don't think there is anything more fun than firing up the grill and having a potluck dinner with friends and neighbors in our yard. Some of those people lived through terrible times also and can really give great tips on how to save. Not too long ago I was upset with myself, because some unexpected bills cropped up and I couldn't do something special for someone who deserved a great birthday - how silly I was in worrying about my 'inadequate' gift - he loved it and said it was one of the best birthdays ever! It proved what I've known nearly all my life - some of the most meaningful gifts didn't cost a lot of money.
Pass those saving tips to me - I like to read them - Thanks Nebula!!!