Shaners quick guide to living cheap – 20 frugal tips

Posted on 26. Jul, 2008 by Forest in Freebies & Offers, General Articles, Saving Money & Finances

One of my regular readers and blogging friends sent me this snappy little article out of the kindness of his heart! Shaners doesn’t beat around the bush and this article is no exception with 20 quick firing thrifty and frugal tips for us tightwads!

Shaners can be found blogging at many places but his home site is ShaneHiggenbottom.com. I suggest you go check him out :) , he is a lot of fun once you get to know him.

shane higginbottomA big part of living in a frugal way is Learning to be frugal with your money.
Learning to save money instinctively is crucial to develop frugal living skills.
By starting early, and turning saving into a habit, you’ll be preparing your self and your family to
grow financially stable.

Check out these 20 frugal tips to save money and make it a family affair:

  1. Add to a savings account regularly.
  2. Stick to a budget.
  3. Set savings goals.
  4. Instead of hiring that plumber or contractor to do odd jobs learn to do them yourself.
  5. Eat out less.
  6. Learn basic plumbing or auto repair.
  7. Give handmade gifts and cards.
  8. Shop sales.
  9. Use coupons.
  10. Compare prices – don’t buy anything at full retail cost unless YOU HAVE TO.
  11. Read library books instead of purchasing them.
  12. Consider buying second hand computers, dvd’s and cd’s.
  13. Don’t carry money, cultivate the art of window shopping, just don’t buy any windows.
  14. Check out the thrift shops, yard sales and the classifieds – you can often find brand names.
  15. in excellent condition for the fraction of the retail cost.
  16. Repair rather than replace.
  17. Take good care of your possessions.
  18. Buy well made products that wont need to be replaced as quickly as some others
  19. Stick to shopping list – Avoid impulse buying.
  20. Buy in bulk – shopping at warehouses or stores that sell in bulk is a great way
  21. to save money.
  22. Go to the matinée showings at the movies instead of full-priced shows, or rent DVD’s instead of buying them.


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16 Responses to “Shaners quick guide to living cheap – 20 frugal tips”

  1. shane

    26. Jul, 2008

    Hey forest, thanks for that yeah I’m a cheapo and being frugal goes aloooooooong way. I really dont the point of having to keep up with the joneses and all that other non sense, yeah sure theyre look pretty, more pretty than me but I can guarantee you this those 20 tips will put more money in your bank account and some more in your retirement fund. Id rather retire well than be pretty

    Reply to this comment

  2. Save On Gas

    26. Jul, 2008

    I agree big Shane… You gotta save money anyway you can, and it’s the little things that will add up over time. Great list :)

    Reply to this comment

  3. Zath

    27. Jul, 2008

    Some good money-saving tips there, I’m all for saving money wherever I can – I’m a true Yorkshire-man in that sense! ;)

    Reply to this comment

  4. Forest

    27. Jul, 2008

    @Save, The little things def count, they are the most important.

    @Zath…. I still have never been to Yorkshire. Cheers for stopping by.

    Reply to this comment

  5. shane

    28. Jul, 2008

    Hey guys glad you enojyed, unfortunately for me my biggest thing is still the impulse buy , especially when I am grocery shopping on a hungry empty stomach, mmmm chocolate chips cookies

    shanes last blog post..Share your mix tapes with Muxtape

    Reply to this comment

  6. Forest

    28. Jul, 2008

    Yes we all do this!! I just ended up buying a bunch of samosas (remember what they are Joe?) and almost got some chocolate but was a good little boy…. if the GF wasn’t with me I would have been coming home with a bag of pringles, chocolate and somasas!!

    Reply to this comment

  7. Lindsay

    29. Jul, 2008

    Buy the one-ply toilet paper that comes with 1,000 sheets on a roll. :P

    I actually make a pretty good living and don’t worry too much about the little things, but I hate running out of toilet paper, so I always buy the stuff that lasts forever, heh. Was that too much personal information for a blog comment? Hm…

    Lindsays last blog post..Apply the Daffodil Principle to Your Writing

    Reply to this comment

  8. Forest

    29. Jul, 2008

    @Lindsey,

    Thanks for stopping by…. and great tip. Even if you earn way too much much for your own good it does not hurt to be a litte frugal :) . The less you use the less impact you have on the environment… less trips to the shops means less fuel used etc etc, it all adds up.

    Reply to this comment

  9. Max

    15. Aug, 2008

    Hi – just wanted to say good design and blog – cu

    Reply to this comment

  10. Max

    20. Aug, 2008

    I don’t mean to be too in your face, but I’m not sure I agree with this. Anyhow, thanks for sharing and I think I’ll come to this blog more often.

    Reply to this comment

  11. Aubeard

    30. Aug, 2008

    Hi, nice blog!
    Re:#13- I have 4 sisters whose lives seem to revolve around “shopping”. Even when they don’t need anything, they are quite content to shop. They ALWAYS find something they “Can’t live without!!!” and usually buy it. After a week or 2, the item ends up in a drawer, cabinet, attic, basement….Get the picture?
    When I go shopping, I have a list of what is NEEDED. Go straight for it and get my best deal, or if not I just don’t buy it. I’ll check out the Sunday circulars and online, then get it later at a good price. This is not to say I won’t look at stuff while in the store. But it pays to ask yourself if it is something you NEED (and will use)-or just something you WANT? (and probably won’t really use.) By the way, I often inherit these very things my sisters MUST HAVE after they are bored or realize they just don’t need it.
    I am a firm believer in living as green as possible-this great Earth we live on has limited resources, it is time to stop squandering them.
    My daily newspaper comes in a long and narrow plastic bag to protect it from rain etc. The bag is recyclable – BUT is also reusable. They are perfectly safe to use for food as the ink on Newspapers has been Vegetable based since the 1940’s. ( I always do a quick inspection of the bags anyway to check for rips or other defects.)
    I stopped buying ziploc bags that cost about $.10-.20 each by using these newspaper bags at least once more before recycling them. They are particularly good at replacing those 20 cent each “Freezer Bags with 2 layers to prevent freezer burn” as they are long enough to pack with whatever food you have, twist the bag and double back over the item and then either knot or twist tie them (squeezing out the excess air before hand). Since they are effectively “free”, I have calculated a savings of well over $35 a year for the last 4 years-a conservative estimate of $140 just for Freezer bags! The food doesn’t get ice buildup or freezer burn, saves money and helps save the enviornment! I also use them for daily leftovers etc. in the fridge, holding chips etc for kids car trips, groups of pencils & crayons, etc, etc, which has probably saved an additional $300-400 in that same time period (as well as saving on something most people don’t realize is a PETROLEUM BASED PRODUCT that just helps jack up the price of gas by buying new!)
    Keep up the good word!

    Reply to this comment

  12. Forest

    30. Aug, 2008

    Hey Aubeard,

    What an awesome awesome tip!…. I always reuse bags but never have for freezer use…. plus I never knew th ink was vegetable based.

    As for the green aspect. I completely agree we should. I try to keep my footprint low. I try and buy local food when money allows and always opt for the least packaging.

    We rely on so much we don’t need.

    Sometimes it hard to be frugal and environmentally conscious… if you order 150 freebies from the net, that’s 150 little plastic containers!! So you have to find your position and juggle yourself around that.

    We do need to reduce our dependency on oil. Some people believe that when it runs out….. it will not be a smooth transition to renewable energy. They could be poverty, death, maybe disease and the city certainly will not be the best place to be!

    I am not sure what I believe but I sure as hell know that a silly little hybrid car won’t save the planet! oil is in almost EVERYTHING so we have to cut our usage in all parts of our live.

    Reply to this comment

  13. bonnie

    23. Nov, 2009

    Hi, I’m from the states. I use the bread bags and potatoe bags for scooping poop. Yes, i know, I have 2 Jack Russells and they can make a mess when camping. I reuse the newspaper bags also for poop. To buy poop bags cost money so why not use bread bags for free. Don’t for get the BIG BAGS stores give you when you buy a pillow. I use them for trash bags. Save your popcorn bags from the microwave, great fire starters for fire place or camping. Don’t forget to go pick pinecones. Great for fire starters also and camping. hugs bonnie from The Eastern Shore of Md.

    Reply to this comment

  14. Forest

    24. Nov, 2009

    @Bonnie,

    Thanks so much. All fantastic ideas…. So many people just waste all this stuff!

    Reply to this comment

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