Is frugal the new black?

To the parents who are apprehensive about the cost of college - suggest that you get your child busy now doing several things:

* Research schools - what programs do they have that are interesting to the student and what is the cost of tuition, fees, and room & board? Make a chart to compare college programs and costs. Visit college campuses, if possible, to get a first-hand look and feel for each school.
* Plan to take college entrance tests such as the ACT and/or SAT in the spring or early summer of the junior year in high school, so you will have scores when you need them to apply for scholarships in early fall. Really prepare before taking these tests (sample tests on test company website, books from test company which can often be found in libraries, or a low-cost prep or free course through h.s. or university). Don't just walk in to take tests unprepared or take a cursory look at sample questions before test day - sit down and take entire test sections under timed conditions to work on pacing and completion of as many items as possible. Your higher score after preparation can help you earn money for college!
* Apply for several scholarships, not only at the school(s) where you are applying, but also search out and apply for scholarships sponsored by community organizations, your church or church governing organization, state-sponsored scholarships, etc. Don't be put off by low amounts - even $300 or $500 scholarships add up and can be used to pay for books and other expenses.
* Ask your h.s. guidance counselor, college financial aid office, or check with other parents about legitimate websites to search for scholarships - there is good, free info on the Internet, but stick with legit. sites that do not charge for this information.
* Put in admission applications early (end of jr. year, beginning of senior year - check college websites for early deadlines) and ask if there are scholar days or scholarship events that you can participate in. * Parents, I know you may not initially agree with this recommendation, but consider borrowing, or allowing the student to borrow, a reasonable amount of money to cover basic college costs, if that becomes necessary. Like mortgage loans, education loans can be a wise move if loans are for minimum amounts needed, the student completes his/her degree, and then secures a job made possible by the degree. Consistently, research shows that income goes up with amount of education.

These are the things we are doing, and they are working for our family. Our daughter has received scholarships worth over $40,000 due to her good grades and high ACT score at a school she is excited about attending this fall. She did not make the required ACT score the first time, even though she had prepared, but with additional preparation, she made it the second time.

We live in England and things are getting tough here too! But as a nation we've been used to throwing things away, especially food & clothing! It's not good for your pocket nor your environment, so we're all having to learn to "think" before we spend our hard-earned cash and try not to be so wasteful!

We've had to make cut-bacs not just privately but also in our business. Our company: www.btc-nw.co.uk has had to make cut backs too by sourcing better suppliers, etc. Hard times are ahead and if we survive this downturn we'll survive anything! Good luck all!

You can be poor but not stupid.
Some ways to cut costs.
Power bills skyrocketing?
Shut off your water heater when not using. You would be surprised how much power it uses. I cut my power bill by all most in half by turning it off.
Drink cold coffee instead of re-heating it in the microwave. Who wants a hot drink on a hot day anyway.

Buy products new or used on Ebay and save the trip to the store. I bought a VHS DVD player for just $10. new there plus $10. for shipping.

If you're really mad about your power bill use a flashlight instead of the lamps.

Use rain barrels for watering your outside plants plastic tubs would work too.

Scavenge at the local dump. You would be surprised what people throw away.
I painted my two story four bedroom house with nothing but paint I got at the dump. Granted mixing it together to have enough limited the color choice but it sure saved me a lot of money.
I also paint all my inside rooms with paint I got from the dump.

You smoke? Try Cheyene cigars, they taste more like cigarettes flavored and only cost $1. a pack. Cigars type of cigarettes don't have the tax like cigarettes have.

Local dollar store sells soup for .25 cents a can compared to a dollar or more.
Wal-Mart sells food when on sale at or below cost when the post it on sale. I only buy products on sale and then stock up on tat item. I buy by the case. I never buy am item that is not on sale. I never use coupons because even with a coupon the coupon.

There are places that give away free clothing and household goods. You just need to ask around. Our local crisis shelter does. No questions asked.

Never buy a new car. As soon as you drive it off the show room floor it deprecates. If the car dealer don't want to deal with the price take your business somewhere else. My daughters car a Ford Corsica I bought for $800. Two years ago and gets 30-35 miles to the gallon. We use her car most of the time now while my car sits.
Find people you work with or work near you that you can commute with to share the cost of gas.
Where I live we don't have ANY public transportation so I commute to "town" with my kids.
What ever happen to the public bulletin boards of people looking for rides or what to share the cost of gas to different destinations?

Grow a garden. Beside fresh vegetables I bet you won't get sick from growing yourself. Like people do with store bought vegetables.

Use a fan instead of the air conditioner. If it's cooler outside than in the house turn the fan so the hot air is pushed outside. At night turn the fan so it pulls the cool air in. In the morning when it starts to heat up outside close up the windows. Your house will stay cooler longer.
Windows acting like a green house? Put sheet of Styrofoam over the windows. This is also good to do in the winter to keep cold air out. Keeps curtains, shades closed on sunny sides of you house to keep the heat out.

Just finished our pancake dinner for my husband and me. Less the $5. Our dinners are no thrills anymore. No cookouts either, charcoal is too much money and meat-forget about it! Isn't this the American Dream.

Something I did off and on over the years, I have now begun to do constantly. Go to garage sales. I check newspaper listings everyday. On my way to work, I pay attention to signs of current and upcoming garage sales. I go out of my way to drive a route to work that takes me through some middle to upper income neighborhoods. There are two high traffic areas where sales that are not listed in the newspaper have signs posted on the corners. These neighborhoods most often have gently used clothing and other items, and most of the time the prices are a fraction of what I would pay in a store. I buy quality name brand clothing for myself, my husband, my sons, daughter, and grandchildren. I even picked up a few things that my daughters fiancee was impressed with, and he was pretty skeptical that that would ever happen. He is now the owner of several Tommy Hilfiger shirts that look as though they have never been worn.

There a few rules that I go by that I have picked up over the last few years. Number one is to go to more affluent neighborhoods where many times you find items that still have tags on them. Stay away from your own childrens neighborhood, lest your children should end up wearing something that thier friends can identify and thus cause some embarrasement to your child. Sometimes you will find things overpriced, but just smile, thank the hosts and head to the next sale. The next rule is to only buy items that look new. No torn or stained items that kids would be embarrased to wear. Another rule is to get there as early as possible after the sale starts. I recently found a Nike brand, weatherproof Chicago Bears coat that is valued at well over two hundred dollars, that looked brand new. I was driving to work and stopped just as the sale opened and saw the coat and got it for five dollars. My two grown sons have been having a bidding war over it. If you can't stop on the way to work, go on your lunch hour or on your day off. Watch for neighborhood garage sales, especially in higher income neighborhoods.

In case any are wondering, my grandchildren love the items that I buy, since I buy in-style items that look as new as in the store. I take the grandkids with me on occasion and they love to go. The younger ones love to toy shop as well as look for "cool" clothes and the older girl, (13), loves to find inexpensive treasures and is excited that she has so many different things that she would not otherwise own, if not for garage sale prices. Since April I have already bought enough clothing for all of my grandchildren to start school in. I have also found new winter coats with tags still attached. I found a sale in an affluent neighborhood where I found seven bags of clothing my own size that were brand names and about half or more that still had tags. My husband and children often joke that I could resell on ebay and make a killing.

I hope this posting will give some more idea's about stretching your dollar a little more.

On the Today show 9 July 2008, you interviewed a family about cutting there budget in half. I am sorry but I am totally offended, this family had to give up there Starbucks, having someone wash there car, having someone cut there grass, and getting there feet done. This is not a typical family in today's society, at least not from what I am seeing. Many of us in the real world have always done these chores and this with both parents having to hold down one or two jobs and raising a family. I normally let some of these things go by without a comment, however showing an article such as this is a disservice to the majority of hard working families that are trying to figure out if they buy gas for there car so they can get to work or do they buy food or much needed prescription drugs for there health. I normally feel that Meredith Vieira is a fine reporter and does and excellent job, however that she would do a report on a family that is not in financial straights and apparently do not have a clue as to how many people in the US are affected by the economy is a disservice to her and to many others that really do have to cut there budgets in half. Many of these people are not part of those privileged to have others doing things that are everyday chores, they are struggling to make house payments, put food on the table and gas in their autos. Many of us that have made it to retirement age are watching our retirement nest egg dwindle away and many of our government officials see a show such as you aired today and they find it appalling but feel that folks can give up there Starbucks for a while and not realizing the pain that is going on in our country. In actuality, folks have to give up a lot more than what you portrayed as a family that was having a tough time. Get real, if you are going to show something like this at least show what the real America is starting to get like, poor income families, mediocre income families, and yes higher income families are really hurting and they cannot afford to get there feet done and they are having a hard time putting food on the table and this winter keeping warm do to the high cost of propane and oil.

yeah yeah....i went to the grocery store and a bag of clementine oranges (the little bitty oranges) was $9.00 a whole chicken was cheaper. I mean, I could buy some meat and potatoes and some greens for 9 bucks and that's a real meal. Although I agree with everybody that this has been a wasteful country (i find stuff on the sidewalk all the time that I actuallly take home and use), and maybe it's about time we learned to conserve, but, there's a difference between LEARNING to CONSERVE and being FORCED TO whether you want to or not. THIS IS AMERICA !!!! We expect more and I think we should. If you lower your expectations, they will give you less. FOR THEM TO MAKE THE STATEMENT THAT AMERICANS ARE "EMBRACING" THIS WAY OF LIFE IS CRAP. What "experts" are saying this? THIS IS PROPAGANDA...!!! Oh, it's okay people, you can't pay your light bill, but you just go ahead and "embrace" this lifestyle of heat exhaustion and freezing in winter. I have been shopping at goodwill, etc. for many many years, well for almost 30 years. I have always loved buying 2nd hand stuff and now refuse to pay full price for brand new clothes (maybe new on sale, but usually 2nd hand) and it had not only never bothered me, I have been proud to tell people what I got and for how cheap. I am a little worried that more and more people are shopping at goodwill because it would make it harder on people like me who always have had to. Plus the more people have to shop 2nd hand, who's going to be donating? ALSO I SOLD MY CAR ALMOST 2 YEARS AGO and had my gas furnace at home turned off (using little electric heaters) RESULT? Well I can't go all around town shopping for deals, but, i have alot more money and my legs are in great shape!!! SCREW THE HIGH OIL PRICES - TRY TO BUY A LOT LESS GAS AND SEE IF THE PRICES DON'T COME DOWN. Not everybody has the ability to get rid of their car like me, but they could change from gas heat to electric, etc. and stick close to home buying less gas. If collectively people would just pick a couple of weeks to chop their gas buying in 1/2 or more the gas companies might get some kind of a message. but just sitting around crying about it won't change anything. As long as they have us by the balls, they will continue to gouge their way to the destruction of our country and lifestyles. FIGHT BACK

Two of my small ways to save money are:

1) I've never purchased paper towels -- not a single roll -- ever. Why buy something you know you're going to throw away after a single use? Especially when you can use a sponge (if sponges get dirty or start to have an odor, just pop them in the microwave in a dish of water for 2 minutes and the microbes are destroyed). Paper towels as a product are just stupid in my view.

2) I never buy garbage bags for use inside my home. Instead, I buy a small garbage can that is approximately the size of a grocery bag and use my old grocery bags as liners.

I know...these aren't earth-shaking ideas, but just small ways to keep some of your money from going down the drain and being a bit greener.

In one sense, the inflation problem has not hurt me too badly. I've always owned and driven small Toyotas, so fuel efficiency and auto reliability are not big problems. I average barely 10,000 miles per year on my car as I do my errand running after work before going home. I've tended to live a simple lifestyle, so I don't worry about too much about getting lots of possessions in the first place (e.g., no VCR, no cell phone, taking one holiday trip every few years while staying home most of the time, etc.). I try to buy and eat whatever's on sale in the grocery stores, and when I eat out I have an array of coupons, discounted gift certificates, etc. I can use at the less spendy places. Thanks to the Internet, I can shop year-round for birthday and Christmas presents whenever something's on sale. I also look for online surveys that pay money as well as ads looking for paid participants in various odd jobs, mock juries, focus groups, etc. to supplement my pocket money. All in all, it's been fun trying to beat inflation!

To those people worrying about paying for your child's college education:

Believe me, you will do your child(ren) a HUGE favor if you have them pay for at least part of their education. Maybe loans, maybe a part-time job -- but they need to contribute. And have them fill out all the financial aid paperwork with you so they understand the expense and work it takes to pay for college.

I work at a university. Every day, I see students blowing off class, laughing off homework, content to get C's and D's because "D's get degrees!". Their parents are working like dogs to pay for their education, and the children treat it like it's just another way to postpone being an adult. They do not appreciate or comprehend the hard work and sacrifice that goes into paying for that education; they just assume it's their birthright, that Mummy & Daddy OWE them and HAVE TO pay for their higher education.

This is way cool. My College degree was in Horticulture- and now it's back in vogue! People all over are asking me how to keep their veggies going.......

I am encouraging everyone to start a seed bank of their favorite varieties - in Heirloom style. These are sustainable varieties that you save the seeds to plant next year. The net is full of advice and contacts. Because of the veggie scare (I think it is dirty hands of the migrant workers) people are growing their own again in mass!!!

Well, let's just say I always had a lead foot and now I drive the speed limit. Unfortunately my bmw takes 93 octane only... but fortunately, it has a little mpg monitor so I keep easing off the gas. I've also completely stopped going to the local cafes near my law firm altogether, I've stopped spending money on basically everything. I used to go out to eat at upscale restaurants in the area (I live in an area that's known for this), and now I do that MAYBE once a month. Switched from high-end wine to domestic beer. I basically do nothing and go nowhere. I know it sounds extreme, but seriously in order to cope with nearly $400/mo for GAS ALONE, I had to make major setbacks.

But i USED to be a spender. So long Whole Foods, so long mall (I go to the outlets now, IF I can't find anything online).

My biggest concern is this... I'm an attorney in my late 20's, single, with no dependents, and i'm making all these cutbacks. I've never been cheap in my life. I've always been called just the opposite. If most of America's doing this, what's the future going to look like?? It's kind of scary.

What worries me even more is that while we're sitting here ailing over a sour economy, China's economy is growing at something like 10% a year and I think India's right along with that. I hope we get it together. I liked the days when America led the way, when our economy was strong, and when we had a quality of life unparalleled in the world. I hate to see it turn out like this.

Dont worry, when we no longer can afford to buy the stuff China mills out, thier economy will tank too. They cant afford to keep paying any price for oil when nobody can afford to buy the stuff they produce. We still do lead the way. When we use an alternative source of energy, the world will follow. If not, they will have to sell to other countries, like saudie arabia.

I was raised by frugal grandparents (products of the depression) and have continued that lifestyle to an extent. I have always shopped thrift store and yard sales (I rarely pay full price for clothing, unless it is specifically needed, such as a uniform). I shop carefully at the grocery store to get what is on sale or can be reduced with a coupon. By being careful in our spending, my family has been able to live on a smaller income and endure the hard times. We may not always have the newest and best, but we don't worry about how we will pay for what we have. We are also not suffering in this economy as much as many we see around us. I am always looking for a way to save and I am glad that this lifestyle is becoming more mainstream, although sad that people have been so deeply hurt by the suffering economy. www.curlsngrins.blogspot.com

We better stop worrying about China.......... We need to worry about the mess right here at home. The foreclosure and credit card mess is going to ruin even the most frugal. Everyone needs to face the fact that our 401Ks. IRAs, stock portfolios, etc were booming because of the mortgage refinancing, housing boom, crooked accountants creating creative financial statements and the credit card mess.

We cannot depend on Freddie Mac, Fannie Mae, FHA or the government to bail out everyone. If we (as a nation) are going to keep from losing everything, we are going to have to choke down major losses in our investments, refinance these mortgages with lower principal balances, fix the rates, extend the life of the mortgages and allow people to keep their homes. There would have to be stipulations that they cannot take out anymore credit......... or else the mortgage will become immediately due. But then.. who is going to police all of this?

Then I read today that people are lining up for the new Ipod phone. What is going on in this country? If all of this greed and needless consumer spending doesn't stop, everyone is going to wait in line for a loaf of bread and a bottle of water.

This nation needs to wake up and that includes our bloated politicians who spend big money on stupid stuff, useless things, entertainment, hosting parties, limousines, huge homes. jumping on a plane to go somewhere just cuz. Make 'em pay for their cell phones, laptops, internet connections.......

Oh I could go on and on and on and on......

Many years ago I lived and worked in the USA, at Houston. I enjoyed your good life on a level of expenditure that I can only describe as 'peanuts' Our local airline 'Texas Air' use the word 'Peanut' to describe reinforce its low cost flight service messages. Indeen the Texas Air tickets has pictures of Peanuts all over their cover. 'The Peanut Airline' later became 'Continental Air' and even swallowed up Eastern.

The point is that in the past 30 years the US electorate has grown to demand a life of plenty for 'Peanuts' which the government cannot deliver because itself spends mega bauck on trying to make the rest of the world just like America. Well we have news for 'Uncle Sam' and that is that 95% of the Worlds Nations do not want the 'American Dream'.

What ther US needs to do to get themselves out of the mess they've got us into is to moderate the national consumption of consumables by requiring citizens to pay a truly economic price for all comodities, especially food and energy.

One other thing the US Government might try harder to mind its own business better before further interferance with the rest of the World.