“Parents lived thru depression. Brought us up to live below our means. Have followed their advice. No debt. Paid mtge off 15 years. Buy cars cash. First job 1.60 or 1.65 hr. Cashier part time in college. Got 5 cent raise when min went up. Took home 20 wk. When cashed ck put $5 in bank. No atms.”
exactly my circumstance. I’ll add:
1. Buy really good used vehicles (like manufacturer pre-certified, off-lease vehicles) and drive them until the wheels fall off. Don’t buy the highest end lines as the repair costs are through the roof on labor and parts, particularly parts. Never buy a European car. Generally, Japanese autos and some American trucks are the best.
2. Develop repair skills and fix or repair instead of replace. That saves on the costs of new products or paying for outside repair, AND you end up with a VERY nice set of tools.
3. Do your research on EVERYTHING you buy! Both for quality and price. The Internet provides amazing resources for such research.
4. Buy high quality appliances, but never buy the highest end ones because they have too many very costly circuit boards and they don’t work any better than the next lowest line.
5. Lots of little things: cluster your errands (saves time, energy and vehicle wear); buy paper products, cleaning products and personal hygiene products and the like in bulk; pre-cool foods before freezing or refrigerating (this is easy in winter; particularly where snow is available, but cold water from the tap does a fine job by itself); don’t run the water continuously when brushing your teeth, if the climate allows; cool your house with an evaporative cooler instead of air-conditioning; buy high quality used furniture instead of new throw-away junk; haggle whenever possible and even some times when it seems it might not be possible: the only downside is someone says “no”, turn the damn lights off when you leave a room: saves on electricity and light bulb costs; the quality of LED bulbs has finally made LED bulbs worth the cost AND the output spectrums have vastly improved: there are plenty of online options for buying 3000 and 3500 Kelvin bulbs which match incandescent spectrums.
6. Limit eating out, except for special occasions. If you have time, buy high quality ingredients and cook wholesome, healthy, and delicious meals yourself. Cook very large quantities and freeze meal-sized portions to save on cooking time, setup time, and cleanup time.
7. For you youngsters in the corporate world: every time you get a raise, put the new money in your 401K/403B plan ... you won’t miss the raise money because you never had it in the first place...
8. Always live in a house less than you can afford.
9. NEVER keep a credit card balance: pay your credit card(s) off every month.
10. Don’t skimp on routine vehicle maintenance.
I’ve been frugal my whole life, but not cheap. I buy good things and I own good things. I drive good cars. I pretty much buy what i want, when i want. I eat well. I’m generous with charities (Salvation Army) during times of disaster and also make judicious donations to political campaigns ...
You obviously need to be educated about what is acceptable or unacceptable, orthodox or unorthodox, politically correct or incorrect based on the current standards of society.
Didn’t you know you can’t do this? Where are your certifications and proof of paid for education that qualifies you to work on your own car and be non-dependent?
Didn’t you know that you can only be a butcher, a baker, or a candlestick maker? It is unacceptable to practice more than one field of trade at the same time even for yourself.