The Frugal Life

On Valentine’s Day 2008, millions of people around the world bought expensive gifts and treated their partners to expensive dinners and days out. Of course, I’m generalising now because some may have been frugal and some may not have celebrated Valentine’s Day at all but regardless of how much you spent last year, you will probably be thinking about how you can cut back this year.

If you are looking to save money on Valentine’s Day then why not be frugal with the following tip. You’ll save a fortune!

• Cook your partner a meal at home. Buy a few candles and make your favourite meal from scratch. You’ll save a fortune by paying supermarket prices for your restaurant meal!
• Invest in a few bath salts and have a romantic bubble bath together. This is incredibly cheap but one of the most relaxing and romantic things you can do together on February 14.
• Make presents for each other that demonstrate your love without spending a penny. As corny as it may sound, photo albums, mix CDs and other similar items are incredibly thoughtful without being expensive.
• Choose ecards over real cards or make your own. Valentine’s Day cards are very expensive if you buy them from stores so choose the cheap but no less expressive options instead.
• Borrow a DVD from a friend or rent one rather than going to the cinema. Dim the lights, invest in popcorn and away you go!
• If you want to go away but don’t want to pay Valentine’s Day prices then just delay your Valentine’s Day by 2 weeks. You’ll be able to book into a hotel or go on a break for half the price by delaying it for a few days.

I was reading an article about how much the credit crunch is affecting the level of public donations made to charities today. Interestingly, street vendors that collect money have not found their donation levels to be any different as a result of the fact that the same people will offer up their change every time they see someone collecting for a worthy cause. However, other charities have found a major difference in their donations… especially those that rely on private donations and membership fees. As such, the credit crunch is proving to be a problem in society in more ways than one.

There are ways that you can still donate to charity without actually spending a penny though and now is the time to look into those ways and means. I’m always looking to contribute in some way, whether that is finding £1.50 for the Big Issue seller or throwing a few pence in a tin. However, I’ve been running an appeal for Greyhound Rescues for some time to help reduce their credit crunch funding deficit and many people are helping out. I collect used stamps and foreign coins because a couple of the Greyhound Rescue charities I support have arrangements to convert them into cash to help save these beautiful creatures. Stamps and unspent holiday coins are just two examples of free items that you can send on to various charities though. Here are some more:

• Mobile phones and ink cartridges can be recycled for cash to help raise money
• Old clothing that you no longer want or need can be sent on to various charities, whether via charity shops or direct appeals for help
• Toys that are no longer used can be sent to children’s charities
• Old pet equipment can be sent to animal rescues and charities for use
• Tins of food that you will never eat can be passed on to local shelters

Just be creative! There are loads of ways that you can help out charities in your time of need to aid their time of need in the credit crunch without spending one single penny! Why not? After all, there is always someone worse off that you and helping out will make you feel better as well.

I’ve seen so much in magazines, on TV and on the Internet about being frugal in recent weeks that is seems like a major economic trend rather than a personal lifestyle choice at the moment. Everyone seems to be turning to frugality to relieve their own financial woes and make the money they do have in every household stretch that little bit further. Frugality is most definitely the way forward for me and my husband in order to help us reach our own economic goal. That goal is getting out of the house we live in now and into our own house within 3 years (depending on the lending trends of course).

I hate living where we live at the moment. I don’t like the house or the area but we rent it off a woman I used to work with so we can do pretty much what we want. Unlike with our previous landlord, we can have pets and decorate as we see fit. We also have one of the cheapest rents available around here so I’m not going anywhere until we buy our own home! However, to do that we need a decent deposit so that is what we are going to save money for this year and next… and why we need to achieve a frugal lifestyle to do so!

I’ve actually written a motto on a piece of paper and pinned it on the board in the kitchen. It reads:

Everything is good for something!

I truly believe that. After all, one man’s junk is another man’s treasure so unwanted items can be sold on Amazon or eBay, or even traded on Tradeyourstuff or Music Magpie. Any leftover food can be thrown together in some sort of dish, even if its a stew or broth to be frozen and eaten later. Every broken item can be used for parts, even if it is only nails or screws the ca be used for repairs later. Everything has some sort of use so waste is not an option. It can save money or make money.

Tomorrow we start with the tips and recipes!