Frugal Living Ideas

Are yes,the multi-thread post replys-lets start shall we?

MTR said:
Too needy, that's the problem had one of these, spend your life cleaning the suckers. That's where nespresso/capsules come into play, no work, good coffee.
There's a thread on this, I am not a coffee snob, but I don't like dish water either.
Click to expand...

My ex-faltmate lurved the coffee machine-noisy buggers-he thrived on exchange ;)


LoneWolf said:
Here is a list:

Reuse everything.
- you buy a bottle of pasta sauce, you will soon have a new bottle for storage

DIY everything.
- do not throw away any good PKG materials, try to reuse them, combine them and new ways, to create wall art / frames / mirrors etc...
Why buy them for hundreds of dollar when you can make your own?

Fix everything.
- that split in your pants do not equal them been in the bin, patch it up and you'll be right to go

Save everything.
- You never know, your junk today can be of your treasure tomorrow
Look at the hipsters, apparently can be trendy to use old junk?

Grow everything.
- you may even earn yourself a few extra dollars ;)

Negotiate on everything.
- everything comes with a price, and that price is set by someone, why pay for RRP?

Find new ways.
- there is always a cheaper deal out there, always!
Click to expand...

Your reading my mind LOL

The Fence said:
Buy meat by the whole body.

Full lamb carcass or a side(1/2) of beef.
Going for around $8/kg at some butchers.
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90$ for a lamb down the road,i couldn't do it,what's my option a local butcher?

datto said:
Pretend to be a vagrant and solicit alms.

Go to soup kitchens and other charitable organisations for a free feed, clothes etc

What?

anyone got a spare redback?
Click to expand...

Druitt the land of oppurtunities for the so-called beggar lol.

spludgey said:
I'm working in the field. Let's do the calculations.
We'll assume you get 4kWh/day/kWp and pay 28c/kWh. And let's say you're using 70% of your generated electricity and get a FIT of 8c/kWh and the price for a 5kW system is $6k.

So it's 6000/(5*365*4(0.7*0.28+0.3*0.08))=3.74 years.

Not ages in my books! Plus you get free electricity for another 20 years after that.

Definitely worth it for me, I put 5kW on my roof and it cost me $5700, including a full meter box upgrade.
Click to expand...

Ok spludgey,what are you getting in return $ for $ from the retailer?Are you getting the same return?LOL

Where are you in the field btw?

DEC said:
And reality is the panels may well be dead in 10 years or less.
Click to expand...

Yes DEC,101% correct but not may well...Proof is in the search!

DEC said:
You assume that all the two bit companies that manufactured a lot of the cheap imports used will be around in 25 years
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Ha Ha,good one DEC!

Singo said:
Thanks for the example spludgey. We just moved to the new PPOR, so not sure about the energy usage. 5kW should be enough for us. If we can get the money back (savings) in 5-6 years, that would be sufficient.
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Good luck!

Ps.I haven't tapped on all,more to come.
 
Our skipping tenants always leave behind cupboards of food.
Closets of toilet paper, facial tissues, paper towels, cleaning supplies etc.
We have tons now..

My former FIL died this month, and I was given anything I wanted...more food :) (otherwise they were going to dump it)
Could have had anything else in the house I wanted too....so I took an antique sugar cannister (only sentimental value...I liked my former in-laws)

Might be a good job..clean out homes of deceased estates.
 
Spades said:
90$ for a lamb down the road,i couldn't do it,what's my option a local butcher ?
Click to expand...


How much do you pay per kg for lamb cuts now ?

Last full lamb we bought was $7.50/kg. it was 20kg so $150 all up.
Was all cut up the way we wanted it, bagged, cutlets crumbed and sausages made out of all the off cuts etc.

The same cutlets in the window are $27/kg.

Last side of beef we had was $5.90/kg.
You fill out a form for how you want it cut up and how many steaks/cuts per freezer bag you want packed.

It's nice tucking into fillet steak at $5.90/kg. even sausages are dearer than that bought separately.

Just ask around the butchers. Most around here do it.
Even if you go halves with a friend/family.
 
Ausprop said:
whilst I find this thread quite depressing, am curious to know what is the motivation for the frugality... money or environment? if money then its just a question of how far you can go without
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For me/us it's always been the money first, environment second. Still try to do a bit for the planet though.

We often have in the past - and still - go without, for the sake of a more prioritized purchase.

Wife and I almost never spend money on clothes for ourselves, and when we do it is pretty much always a sale item....bathers in winter, etc.

We still look for ways to spend less on the items we need, and buy very little we would like but don't need. Pathetic really, but times are bad for us (again) so you have to do what you have to do.

For example; almost all clothes items for the kids as little ones are from 2nd hand places such as the OpShops (kids don't know or care).

The older (13 year) boy is harder now; there is always the keeping up with the peers aspect.

Food and household necessities are Aldi first (close to home), market second (further away) and Ritchies third as a last resort if the other two don't have what we need.

Own one car.
 
Spades said:
Vege patch is on the list,no brainer,tastes better as well...Also try prickly lettuce,dandelions etc...Free for all!Better for you internally/externally and add to casseroles and or eat raw.
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Awesome. I had no idea there was another "weed eater" on somersoft! :)

It is incredibly ironic that many of the "weeds" people work so hard at eradicating in their garden are fantastic eating. Most don't realise that lettuce is in fact a very "domesticated" plant in the same family as dandelions and thistles (anyone who has grown a lettuce to flower and seed will realise).

We also harvest chickweed and sorrel (very neutral taste in salads).

Unfortunately, gone are the days these can be safely picked form parks and roadsides - way too much herbicides and pollutants.

Parsley, jerusalem artichokes ($6 a kilo at coles!!!), calendula and warrigal greens have also taken on "weed status" in our yard (we don't propogate it - they just pop up!)

The Y-man
 
Cant believe no-one has said split 3ply toilet paper into single ply yet! Geez, you guys don't know how to live too frugally! :p


pinkboy
 
The Y-man said:
Awesome. I had no idea there was another "weed eater" on somersoft! :)

It is incredibly ironic that many of the "weeds" people work so hard at eradicating in their garden are fantastic eating. Most don't realise that lettuce is in fact a very "domesticated" plant in the same family as dandelions and thistles (anyone who has grown a lettuce to flower and seed will realise).

We also harvest chickweed and sorrel (very neutral taste in salads).

Unfortunately, gone are the days these can be safely picked form parks and roadsides - way too much herbicides and pollutants.

Parsley, jerusalem artichokes ($6 a kilo at coles!!!), calendula and warrigal greens have also taken on "weed status" in our yard (we don't propogate it - they just pop up!)

The Y-man
Click to expand...

Hey Y-man,have you tried Nasturtium?

Not a weed but a plant as you may well know anyway?

I have about 10-20sqm's of the stuff growing wildly down the rear of my yard.

Peppery taste and great in salads.

And they're high in vitamins A, C (10 times as much as lettuce), and D.

People could benefit from the Medicinal properties of weeds and plants.

And hey,there free!

pinkboy said:
Cant believe no-one has said split 3ply toilet paper into single ply yet! Geez, you guys don't know how to live too frugally! :p


pinkboy
Click to expand...

Ha ha...I buy the 1 ply...Though i have to fold it a few times :( <TMI.

Good for the septic tank :)
 
Spades said:
Hey Y-man,have you tried Nasturtium?

Not a weed but a plant as you may well know anyway?

I have about 10-20sqm's of the stuff growing wildly down the rear of my yard.
Click to expand...

Tried growing - failed miserably in my yard for some reason :(. The nasturtium flowers taste (and look) sensational too.

The Y-man
 
Solar (semiconductor) panels are an interesting one from a sustainability point of view I think.

From what I heard, in highly developed places like Australian urban areas, my understanding is that the carbon/ecological footprint of manufacture is greater than that of the ecological "savings" over the expected life of the unit.

Totally different equation however in places like rural india where burning kero etc is the alternative.

The Y-man
 
My work pants are from the Salvos..... :eek:

Before everyone starts making assumptions:

- They are brand new factory seconds with some very minor defects usually stitching was incomplete in one section so they had to restitch

- my workplace is not "suit and tie" (can be required to carry machines etc)


The Y-man
 
Ausprop said:
whilst I find this thread quite depressing, am curious to know what is the motivation for the frugality... money or environment? if money then its just a question of how far you can go without
Click to expand...

My motivation for frugality is self reliance / independence / freedom from controlling forces, being financial (mainly) or otherwise.

What I mean by that is, I don't want to be locked into a life where I am forced into taking a particular course of action due to lack of money. One of the most powerful frugality concepts that's stuck with me is one of the most basic - around what percentage of your income you can save, and how this has an effect on how long you have to work. For example, if you have a 50% savings rate, for every single year you work, you can take another year off.

Paraphrasing a quote I read it's like your current self rewarding your future self for previous efforts 'Hey future self, you worked and saved hard this year, so now you can take next year off'. The more you save, the better this works. I know there are arguments around 'why limit yourself with this small thinking' 'you should be focusing on building a huge asset base and think big' etc however in the early years, or for people who are simply quite conservative or don't have a desire to spend a lot, frugality thinking works well (I probably sit somewhere in the middle - don't need to spend big to be happy but am still working to maximise my asset base to give me options).

So once you're in a position that your current self has been sufficiently rewarded for saving and investment achievements by your past self, you have so many more options in how you spend your time, and ultimately this is your most important criteria to independence. If you're super keen you can also apply this to other aspects of your life (eg independence in being able to grow your own food, build your own house, fix your own possessions, make your own clothes, etc)
 
Spades said:
Ok spludgey,what are you getting in return $ for $ from the retailer?Are you getting the same return?LOL

Where are you in the field btw?
Click to expand...

I work in energy management and we look at everything to do with electricity. Currently we?re installing solar at some of our sites and I was part of the team that did the financial viability analysis, calculating paybacks, etc.
As I stated before, I calculated the above factoring in a FIT (feed in tariff) of 8c/kWh. Which is what you get from AGL in NSW for residential solar. This is less than a third of what they charge you for electricity, but it still helps. My 70% self usage figure that I used probably would only apply for properties where someone is at home during the day for at least some of the time. Otherwise this will be a bit lower. But either way, solar still have very decent returns.
 
Ausprop said:
whilst I find this thread quite depressing, am curious to know what is the motivation for the frugality... money or environment? if money then its just a question of how far you can go without
Click to expand...

It's just natural for some of us.
We are content with less consumerism.

as MMM (Mr Money Mustache) would say "frugal is the new fanciness"

As a fellow Canadian, I'm enjoying reading his blog...so far only 1/2 way thru.
 
Ausprop said:
whilst I find this thread quite depressing, am curious to know what is the motivation for the frugality... money or environment? if money then its just a question of how far you can go without
Click to expand...

If you can't beat them join them:)

Some of the ideas for saving are OK, its just what suits.

I throw out bags of food from my fridge each week, I spend $300 pw on food shopping and only have 1 child at home and go to dinner at least twice per week. No one will eat left overs the next day, because they just wont.

We spend $800 bi-monthly just on our electricity bill because we use aircon reverse cycle 24/7, heating/cooling.

I know its about time I started looking at not being so wasteful.

Am looking at some of these tips, one immediate change for me will be to reduce my shopping bill, I know I can do this just by listing menu for 7 days.




MTR:)
 
MTR said:
If you can't beat them join them:)

Some of the ideas for saving are OK, its just what suits.

I throw out bags of food from my fridge each week, I spend $300 pw on food shopping and only have 1 child at home and go to dinner at least twice per week. No one will eat left overs the next day, because they just wont.
Click to expand...

Have you tried turning the leftovers into a completely different meal?

yesterday, as a quick lunch we had manwich burgers.
Today I used the leftover meatsauce and incorporated it into a baked bean casserole. If there are any leftover tomorrow, it will probably go into a chili.
 
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