Live Simple: More Frugal Money Saving Tips

In earlier articles we pointed you in the direction of living simple. We have discussed the principles behind it and we have discussed the reasons why we think it is crucial that more people embrace this frugal lifestyle.

Now we are going to discuss some very specific ways that you can save money. Some will appear radical, especially to those of you who have grown accustomed to the convenience of modern living. Some you may already do and if so, this round of applause is for you!

Wherever you stand on the “change spectrum,” you can always improve. In order to embrace Living Simple, change must happen. The economic times demand that we take back our lives and quit spending frivolously; take back our lives and get in touch with those things which are most precious, namely time and loved ones. Take back our lives!

In today’s world of instant access on the internet, it is inconceivable why more people don’t do maintenance jobs themselves rather than pay someone to do them. Auto mechanics charge between $70-$100 per hour to do work on your vehicle. The same rates apply for most repairs on appliances, plumbing, and electrical malfunctions.

The love of my life, Bev, changes the brake pads when needed on our Honda Fit. She has never been trained in auto mechanics; rather, she went to the School of Hard Knocks and learned to provide for herself. She gets on the internet, types in “how to change brake pads,” and then does it.

How many out there know how to change the oil on their cars? It is so easy to do that this author can do it. Do you know that I know people who do not know how to change the tire on their car? They would rather pay AAA a yearly fee and have them come out and change the tire. Ludicrous!

It is time-consuming and a waste of money to cook a new meal every night. My mother taught me a valuable lesson early on in my life. Every Sunday she would cook two large meals, and then we would eat from those meals, or variations from those meals, for the rest of the week. You can buy a roast and a turkey and have food enough for at least a week, and you will have only cooked one day.

This will seem like heresy to some modern inhabitants of this planet, but it is not necessary to throw clothes in the laundry after only one wearing. I wear the same pair of jeans for an entire week. Sweatshirts will go weeks without washing. Underwear most definitely one wearing, but there are few other things in our household that get washed immediately after using.

Appliances like a washing machine use an incredible amount of energy, and the more they are used the more likely they will break down. As a matter of fact, the more you wash your clothes the quicker they will wear out.

As for clothes dryers….our family hung clothes out on a clothes line from April through October and man oh man did the clothes smell good. Hardly anyone does this anymore because it is inconvenient. For ten bucks you can buy a clothesline and two hooks; you can use ten bucks in energy doing five loads of clothes in the dryer. You do the math!

Does anyone know what a trip to the doctor costs, or how about a trip to the hospital? If I ask that question to someone who has no medical benefits I’ll bet they will know.

This author has not been to the doctor since 2002; the same for the dentist. If I get the flu I eat chicken noodle soup and drink lots of liquids. If I get a cold I sneeze! I do not get flu shots because I have allowed my body’s immune system to grow strong and do the work it was designed to do.

Above all that, though, is the fact that I live a healthy lifestyle. For most of my life I have been active physically. For most of my life I have eaten responsibly. In other words, I have practiced preventative care to avoid necessary care.

Oh, I can hear the screaming already, but seriously, how much longer do you want to pay the oil companies for gasoline? So much of our car use is for things that do not require a car; a car is merely a convenience for a large percentage of the trips we take.

You can buy a new motor scooter for a couple thousand dollars; you can make up that expense in a year or two while you putt along getting 100 mpg. Better yet, a bicycle costs nothing to operate, and you will be improving your health in the process.

It is beyond me why people still pay for newspaper or magazine subscriptions. Everything you could ever want to know is on the internet. I have friends who have ten magazine subscriptions. Of course, they don’t have time to read those magazines, but they look good sitting on their coffee table.

Again, and I’m going to beat this point into the ground, living simple is, in part, cutting down on expenses and living a frugal lifestyle. We are building a chicken coop for next year. I saw one online that was selling for $400. Are you kidding me? I could go on a vacation for $400! I can find used lumber on craigslist for free and build my own chicken coop for the cost of the screws and wire mesh.

Please understand that I know nothing about carpentry, but I already have two doghouses and a goat shelter under my belt, so a chicken coop doesn’t even register on my concern meter! Come to think of it, with a friend I even built a deck twenty years ago. Heck, I should hire out for those of you who don’t want to do this yourself.

Do it yourself! Those three words can save you thousands and make you feel pretty darn good in the process.

This one bears repeating: if you have to buy something on credit then it better be an emergency with no other options. There is a huge difference between need and want, and the sooner you grasp that concept the better.

When I get one of those offers for a new credit card from one of the banks, I take their self-addressed envelope and put cardboard in it and send it back to them. They have to pay the extra postage and it makes me feel good. Win-win situation!

I understand that many people are facing some tough economic choices, and there are times that they feel it is necessary to charge grocery items or medical care. This section is for those who feel they NEED new living room furniture but they don’t have available cash so they charge it. No one needs new living room furniture! No one needs a new microwave! No one needs a new television! Period!

Next spring millions of Americans will go buy lawn seed, or fertilizer, and they will spend hours working out in the yard, and spend hard-earned cash watering that lawn, and then at the end of the summer they will fertilize again, and….for…..what?

We didn’t water our lawn this summer! Not once! It turned brown and we didn’t have to mow it. Very cool! We will not fertilize it this fall! In the backyard, we are digging up the sod and replacing it all with raised garden beds.

We took a walk around the neighborhood yesterday; we were amazed that every single one of our neighbors had a brown lawn. I love our neighborhood!

My days are limited here on Earth and I’ll be darned if I’m spending even a fraction of my remaining time mowing and watering a lawn. We probably save $100-$200 each summer by not doing any lawn maintenance, and that is money we can spend on much more important items, like chickens so we will have fresh eggs and meat next year.

Like I have said all along, Living Simple requires a complete alteration in our thinking. Once you have adopted this way of living you will be surprised just how easy it is on a daily basis. In fact, you will start thinking of ways to expand upon your original efforts, and then great benefits will occur.

You will have more money, but just as importantly, you will have more quality time with which to enjoy life and loved ones.

Living Simple…..Frugal Living….The New Revolution…..Make it happen!

2012 William D. Holland (aka billybuc)