nebula Posted March 17, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 10 Topic Count: 5,823 Topics Per Day: 0.75 Content Count: 45,870 Content Per Day: 5.94 Reputation: 1,897 Days Won: 83 Joined: 03/22/2003 Status: Offline Birthday: 11/19/1970 Share Posted March 17, 2011 This website offers ideas and advices. http://www.americascheapestfamily.com/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Believer1997 Posted March 18, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 66 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 6,363 Content Per Day: 1.12 Reputation: 119 Days Won: 9 Joined: 11/07/2008 Status: Offline Share Posted March 18, 2011 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!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MorningGlory Posted March 18, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 0 Topic Count: 1,022 Topics Per Day: 0.16 Content Count: 39,193 Content Per Day: 6.09 Reputation: 9,977 Days Won: 78 Joined: 10/01/2006 Status: Offline Share Posted March 18, 2011 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!!! I'm 'thrifty' too, sister, and finding designer stuff at WalMart prices is a hobby for me. I don't know if it's genetic or what but nearly all of my family is this way. We have great conversations about where something is cheapest and what is on sale. My kids have never known need but they HAVE known want......as in 'if you want it, you'll have to work for it.' Hasn't hurt them one bit. I even took the 'Food Stamp Challenge' a couple of years ago (it was on CNN) to see if I could live on the same food budget as someone on food stamps. I not only survived....I came out BELOW what the state of Texas allows a single person. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 my fave money saver (don't have time right now to see if it's on that website) is to shop the mexican market ads. keep a notebook that has a folder for all the week's sale ads, and write down in the notebook every item that you might want to buy, along with what it's price is at which store. and then take the whole notebook with you to walmart where they price-match. my second favorite way is actually hobby-specific. i buy my supplies at fire mountain gems, where they have discounts based on how many items you buy, and they don't have to be the same item. and then i get my order together and place it thru a third party who buys in so much volume that he ALWAYS gets the highest discount level, and i pay him at the discount level just below him, which is a bigger discount than i could get on my own since my orders aren't usually large enough. so i'm generally getting about a 50% discount from my original order. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Believer1997 Posted March 18, 2011 Group: Royal Member Followers: 1 Topic Count: 66 Topics Per Day: 0.01 Content Count: 6,363 Content Per Day: 1.12 Reputation: 119 Days Won: 9 Joined: 11/07/2008 Status: Offline Share Posted March 18, 2011 my fave money saver (don't have time right now to see if it's on that website) is to shop the mexican market ads. keep a notebook that has a folder for all the week's sale ads, and write down in the notebook every item that you might want to buy, along with what it's price is at which store. and then take the whole notebook with you to walmart where they price-match. my second favorite way is actually hobby-specific. i buy my supplies at fire mountain gems, where they have discounts based on how many items you buy, and they don't have to be the same item. and then i get my order together and place it thru a third party who buys in so much volume that he ALWAYS gets the highest discount level, and i pay him at the discount level just below him, which is a bigger discount than i could get on my own since my orders aren't usually large enough. so i'm generally getting about a 50% discount from my original order. What you are doing is also what buyers for large merchandisers do as well - smart!!!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest LadyC Posted March 18, 2011 Share Posted March 18, 2011 buyers for large merchandisers shop the mexican market ads and then go to walmart? COOL! (just kidding, i know what ya meant!) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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