Is frugal the new normal?

armyknife

To my mind, frugality is in part about making money work for you, rather than you work for money.

Caterina

Thank you GQ for the info about mattresses, ours is soooo comfy but it is showing some signs of wear, it might stay on for a while but I will also investigate your leads.

I shop in w8rose! And in Marx'nSparx! They have the best YSs ever, fantastic bargains, great service, super quality, voucher an'all! And free tea and magazines and newspapers (w8rose that is). Having said that, my first port of call is the local shop, followed by the farmers market (a lot cheaper than supermarkets, contrary to widely held belief), the supermarkets are used as top ups and convenience stores at YS time.

Am completely, unashamedly and openly middle class and frugal in the old sense of the word at the same time, not nouveau-thrifty!

TiredTrophy

Oh dear, kittie, I did think I was being clear, sorry. No, frugality and miserliness are not the same...and I would not go 'accusing' people .but I know of those who go so far to save a few pennies that they lose sight of the fact that life is made for living! And these people can be found on other threads on MSE as well as in RL.

TiredTrophy

Yes csarina, thats me but expat! I grow veg, use local farms and markets, but back to Blighty for knickers!!
I don't do waste.

meritaten

I haven't read all the last couple of pages - just wanted to add my 'two-pennorth' to the buying expensive discussion.

my wise nan always told me that when it comes to Carpets and Mattresses to buy the very best you can afford - because if you aren't walking on one you are sleeping in the other! in other words - good quality will last longer than cheap. I take it she meant other goods too - if you want it to last invest in good quality - but if you can get it secondhand or in a sale, then that is real thrift.

[Deleted User]

I've just read through all the posts and it makes interesting reading. I've never experienced the cliquiness (is that a word?) that has been levelled at some of the OS threads, I've always tried to welcome new folk in but they rarely stay long enough to let us get to know them properly, it's a shame!

We live in a relatively prosperous village in Hampshire, we are frugal, I don't really care what my fellow villagers think of that but no one has ever looked down on us for living life the way we choose to. We have very little that hasn't been pre-loved, my joy in life is to find a treasure in a charity shop or at a boot fair and I really like a good bargain too. My neighbours go off on cruises, fly off to the Bahamas (next door went last Thursday)buy lots of fashion clothes and accessories and good luck to them I say, wouldn't do for us. I had a visit from a near neighbour last Sunday and gave her a tour of the garden with our polytunnel and greenhouse, past the higgledy woodpile and as she left
she said to me you really ARE Tom and Barbara Good!!! but she was happy to take some spare veg! I think we don't value the same things as other folks do and posessions and status are meaningless nothings to us, I don't buy clothes etc. unless something wears out, I've just by the way bought a new pair of H*tter shoes but only because my old pair have cracked soles and these were much reduced in a sale and we had also a 20% off voucher for the garden centre they came from. That should see me OK for the next few years. I do also shop at W*rose, it's the only supermarket I can walk to, the rest are a bus ride away. I very rarely buy anything unless it's reduced though and find I don't spend any more there than I do anywhere else. We are frugal because that's who we are, I don't expect anyone to need an explanation for why, they wouldn't understand the answer if they had to ask anyway!

Caterina

MrsL, or should I say MRS GOOD, that's a heck of a compliment! I can only aspire to be a Barbara Good!

DevilsAdvocate1

FairyPrincessk wrote: »

GI think what many of us are intrigued by is the idea of 'playing at being thrifty' while actually spending a great deal. The trend is something many of us have said we don't find objectionable although I think most of us are a bit interested in it. In particular a lot of us have had experiences of being judged for being frugal by the very people who are now interested in fashionable thrift but still have little interest in other aspects of an OS lifestyle.

I remember some years ago when my children were small, a friend wanted to go out for the day during the school holidays. She asked me to suggest somewhere as she didn't have much money and she knew I often took my children out cheaply.

I suggested a science museum where there was so much to do you could easily spend a day there. It was free entry too. We decided to take the bus as this was quite reasonable and would add to the day out for the children.

Anyway, I explained that I would be taking a packed lunch and thought she'd do the same. She didn't, deciding instead to buy lunch in the cafe. The cafe was very expensive.

At the end of the afternoon, I walked down the ramp to avoid the gift shop. However, she took both her children in and gave them an amount to spend. Think it was £2 each. However, both her children whined because they wanted something bigger and she ended up spending around £10 on them.

We then walked to the bus stop. On the way, we passed a Starbucks and she insisted on going in. I did buy a latte. However, my children were satisfied with 20p each for a small pack of sweets they were selling at the till for charity. My friend bought both of her children a cookie, but as we were eating in it was not cheap (think it was £1.80 per cookie).

Overall, I spent about £5 in total. My friend spent nearer £30. But the funny thing was, at the end of the day, she said she wouldn't let me chose where to go again as it had been so expensive :rotfl:

melanzana

To me being "frugal" is just plain being sensible!

Buy what you NEED not what you want, don't borrow to buy except for your home.

I enjoy life, but I wouldn't spend money on something I kind of like but don't really need. Plenty of charity shops now have that stuff that I used to buy!

I eat well, cook my own (occasional black mark there though), and love cooking up things. Therefore I spend my money on good kitchen stuff like pots and pans.

I could go on, and of course each to their own, but to me being a frugal sod is being a sensible old sod too!

Enjoying the thread.

[Deleted User]

I try to find a reuse for stuff if I can, and often get given stuff as my friends know I will either reuse it, or find someone who can use it instead
Re the saucepans I am still using three of my original saucepans that were a wedding present to my OH and I in 1962.I only have one of the lids left, but apart from that they are fine.

I did splash out on an almost new non-stick copper bottomed milk pan and lid whilst on holiday.I spotted it in a CS in Ryde and it cost me all of £1.99.I don't think it had been used and there wasn't a mark on it Quite heavy based as well my holiday bargain. :)

My DGS G/F Katie spotted a nice all-weather jacket in Cowes CS for £3.00.sort of yachties jacket, new they cost in excess of £45 when she got it back to the holiday house she found a pound in one of the pockets a real bargain for her as she is a penniless medical student.

I love a good boot sale, but because the weather has been bad I haven't managed to get to one this year, fingers crossed this Sunday it will be a bit brighter.

I did splash out a shed load of cash this year on a nice new MacAirBook lap-top as my desk-top one is on its last legs but DGD Holly managed to get it for me via her student card and a £119.00 discount so I am quite happy with that.

My only other buy for myself this year were a new pair of Sketchers trainers with memory foam inside they are fantastic and as my old pair lasted me 6 years I am happy that these will do as well,even though they cost me £49.00 if they do, then its just over £8.00 a year for comfy feet well worth the expence I think.At my age I must have happy feet or I get grouchy

My frugal ways helped to pay for these things, and I owe nobody a penny and have no debts at all, which helps me sleep easy at night. If folk want to spend more than they can afford then its them that lie awake worrying about it not me