Life On The Central Coast

Being thrifty has gone out of style I think. Things being so cheap for the most part it's just easier to replace them. Sad... and wasteful. When I was little, my mom used to tell me “Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without.” Boyd K Packer And boy we did! Our knees were patched our shoes had holes and were coming apart, I wore my older sister's hand-me-downs and when things were purchased, they were of good quality so they would last.  Being thrifty is a state of mind. It's about  using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully.   Think how much money you can save if you aren't a clothing "slave" to style, color, brand, etc. I mean, who can really afford to change out their entire wardrobe, season after season, year after year. I'm lucky to have been a "stay at home" mom, now retired and I could literally wear what I want day after day. I've adopted a fairly simple "jeans and t-shirt" wardrobe. I can ...

If you live in the USA, you probably LOVE instant gratification. You're hungry? Plenty of stores and restaurants open at all hours to help you. Love to shop? Even if your local stores are closed, there are plenty on the internet that are open. Want an IPad, coat, purse, golf clubs, gym membership? If you have credit or money in the bank, you can have it today. Instant.... Gratification.  But what would happen if you decided to wait just a bit? Would you still want it in, let's say 30 days? Thats the question posed today at Frugally Sustainable . Daily Goal:  Begin today using the 30-day list for non-essential purchases.  Sometimes I wonder just how much I "need" something. Is it a true NEED or is it just a WANT? So Andrea is having us print out a list, put the item we THINK we want on it, the date we wanted it and the price leave it on the list for 30 days. Put that list in an area where you see it daily. That gives you a chance to really do some thinking,...

See list of 50 ways to save on groceries  HERE :  Daily Goal:  Pick a few things from the list that you think will have the greatest impact on your monthly grocery budget. I think the money saving ideas I plan to adopt are.... 9. Grow your own herbs . I'm a gardener and LOVE to put things in the ground. This past Fall, hubby bought a really nice greenhouse for outback and I can put some seeds in pots and grow indoors year round. Those herbs at the store that do so much for home cooking will be MUCH more economical this way. 14. Shop at Farmer's Markets . I am lucky enough to live in an area that has numerous Farmer's Markets per week. One of the largest is in San Luis Obispo on Thursday nights. We went last week and found some super deals on local seasonal fruit and veggies... yum yum. It was lots of fun too! 23. Keep your receipts and enter into a spreadsheet . I've done this for our monthly home and utility payments so I already have an idea ...

"Pick ONE thing from this list that you can implement to start saving some extra cash and let us know in the comments and/or in   the forum  what you’re going to tackle." 15 Easy Ways to Save Money On Your Household Bills 1. Buy in Bulk - We do this regularly. Nearly everything we purchase is at either Costco or Smart and Final. We have a pantry area and freezer and are able to store food and most food has a freshness date of at least a year from purchase date. For those items of more of a fresh nature, we will as our kids what they could use and either give them the food or go in on the price and separate out the food. It has saved us a substantial amount of money! 2. Use Coupons - I've tried using coupons and if there is something SPECIFIC I need, I will attempt to use them. We do not, however, use every coupon, every week like some shoppers do. So many of the items are cleaners, hygiene or convenience foods and we make our cleaners, and food from scratch. ...

Over at the Frugally Sustainable Blog , Andrea is conducting the "23 Day Frugal Living Challenge". If you are anything like me, saving money sounds really, REALLY good. (As in, this year I may ACTUALLY get to take that vacation that always seems to cost too much!!) Anyways, you can sign up for her daily newsletter, go to the forum and find out what other like minded people are doing to save money.... or you can just lurk I suppose! But you will definitely GAIN more by participating daily to see what you can do to come up with ways to save money. Last week I was shopping our local Walmart for after Christmas stuff (hope didn't buy a THING!) when I went down their clearance isle and bumped into a single sheer curtain marked down to $2. Now I read ALOT of blogs everyday and I remember seeing SOMETHING about that so I picked it up. Sure enough, Wendy over at Wisdom Of The Moon had done a great little "how-to" about it. Yay! Now I live in California and you can bet...