What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

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clemencia2us
Posts: 11445
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 9:21 am

Re: What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

Post by clemencia2us »

I was finally able to move into base housing.

Even though the COD and I were not married, they had too many vacant houses so they were letting single folks of a certain rank move into housing.

I preferred that over living in an apartment. Had a fenced yard with a storage shed. I could basically walk to work. The gym, golf course, commissary and base exchange were just across the street!! So convenient.

But I never walked to work, since I was always going here and there to different offices on base for work stuff, that no way could I walk everywhere and be on time.

I loved living on base.
mbrudnic
Posts: 4497
Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 7:57 am

Re: What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

Post by mbrudnic »

So I married a man who was not frugal and did not mind credit card debt. I'd use my credit card and if I could not pay it all off, I'd cut way back until it was paid off. Ex-Dh did not get that and did not buy into it. I was a battle to control what I could. I found the Frugal forum on The mining company in about 1996, when I was working full time and DS1 was a baby and in daycare and Then-dh worked as a maintenance man, on third shift. I was still paying off CC debt that then-dh brought to the marriage and we seemed to stand in place due to car repairs, home repairs, etc.

But a lot of the stuff I was reading made sense. My Mom was #2 of 11 kids with parents that did not have a high income. Dad, while his dad was a mechanical engineer that made good money, had a Mom who could and did squeeze a penny for al it was worth. She had lost her Dad at the age of 12.

I still look at Frugal living to get the best bang for my buck. These days I want to save more for retirement.
LogicsHere
Posts: 3126
Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 9:49 am

Re: What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

Post by LogicsHere »

I was fairly young when I started my frugal ways, 19 actually. I had seen a picture of an old woman wearing a tattered dress, a raggedy sweater pushing a shopping cart of all her worldly possessions down the street. I vowed then and there that I was NOT going to be that woman so I spent basically for needs initially. After my husband died, I received a small insurance payout and used that as my savings so that I could spend a few of my "earned" dollars, not so much on things, but travel experiences. I didn't spend all that I made, I was still able to save as I made the wise decision to take some of that money and purchase my co-op apartment. If I hadn't done that not sure where I would be today.
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

Post by HappyDaze »

My parents both "grew up poor" and I "grew up poor". My parents were both extremely hard workers but I remember seeing them both make very bad decisions with money - that even as a young child I knew were bad. I believe they were trying to give us what they didn't have growing up - but we did NOT need 30 gifts each under the Christmas tree - purchased with money I knew they had borrowed from my grandparents - every year. Mom had an expensive "Avon habit" and dad had an expensive "lottery ticket habit" - and sometimes we didn't eat very well.

Fast forward to when I got married - my ex was a terrible spendthrift - and put us hundreds of thousands of dollars in debt (none of which I had to assume when we got divorced - thank goodness!).

I have been POOR a lot in my life. I am no longer poor - but I am still cheap - because I don't ever want to be poor again. Being extremely frugal affords me the luxury of having money in savings, saving for retirement, being able to fund a car repair or root canal without touching a credit card, etc. - and that is priceless. I fully admit that I am way beyond frugal - I am CHEAP in several ways and I don't care.
"All his life he tried to be a good person. Many times, however, he failed. After all, he was only human. He wasn't a dog."

Charles M. Schultz
Prairie Waif2
Posts: 1896
Joined: Thu Jul 16, 2020 11:33 am
Location: Brandon, Manitoba CANADA

Re: What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

Post by Prairie Waif2 »

When the 4 of us kids were growing up, we had it pretty good while Dad was still healthy. Nori was a "stay at home Mom" and Dad liked homemade bread and she would make some every week plus we had a big garden. We always were frugal except Dad did give us very many memories that many kids didn't get to have.

Dad was a cartographer and sold his maps to schools/sheriff and police offices and cities. His territory was everything west of the Missisippi River. Every summer since we were so little we could barely remember, we would camp all summer in whatever state Dad was selling maps in that summer. We saw an awful lot of America and historical places that way.

When I was in 10th Grade, Dad got sick with a wonky Neurological Disorder, Maries Fredricks Ataxia. He went from working one week to two weeks later being in a wheelchair for the remainder of his life. Nori had never had a job outside the family and Dad was an independent contractor for Hearne Brothers' Maps out of Detroit, Michigan. Nori had to bed her sister in the Convent for funds and the convent gave her around $10,000 to pay the mortgage, heating and other bills for the first while. She then got a job at the Coast to Coast Hardware store and with my paycheck from the grocery store going to some food. We scrounged and made it, mostly. Dad spent the last years of his life in the VA hospital so he was fed and taken care of.

I signed up for the US Navy for after high school. I had used all my savings helping the family. Between going to boot camp and the end of the school year, I came to visit my Grandma Georgie In Brandon, Manitob and met David. My guy. Boot camp didn't last long for me as I had to go home and help with Dad. David and I got married 1 1/2 years after I graduated from high school.

We bought our first house for $32K (It's now selling for $130K). We moved from their to a house we had built for us. I was lving large and we never wanted for anything as David had a really good paying job. But, as with most who suffer from CPTSD/PTSD, It pretty much ruined our relationship. I left and went to University on Student loans and lived in cheap apartment and scrounged for food. I made it!

I really was frugal during my student days and went from student days to health problems at 30. It never seemed to end. I found a nice 2 bedroom apartment in Brandon for a very reasonable price with a roommate. I always had a roommate and could thus get along fine with being frugal. Then? the spinal cord injury where the roommate at home while I was recovering, had a very small fire in the kitchen and I was told "NO MORE ROOMMATES!" I was on disability and remained on it except for a few years working the front desk of a hotel. 3 years ago, things got tight and this year much tighter. I can't move out as even though this is a two bedroom, it is CHEAPER than a one bedroom basement suite due to lack of housing in town and the university and community college in town.

So, here I am!! I can't remember how I found frugal living. It was on the old site (Oh! About.com!!) and really enjoyed the tips and recipes. I've started using more dried beans for making things and have learned to just do without. Disability doesn't allow you to have a savings account or life insurance so my $1,100 a month all goes to bills and food (and a VERY tight budget). I'm doing okay due to the help of my friends and what I am learning from all you frugal gals!!

MJ
Got a bit long winded there! Oops!! :-)
Hope has a good imagination.
chocolite
Posts: 1444
Joined: Sun Aug 30, 2015 8:11 pm

Re: What Started You On Your Frugal Path?

Post by chocolite »

I kind of stumbled on the way to my frugal path, lol. DH and I were able to make ends meet, with a little left over for savings and a few "wants" - but then he lost his job. He did a few odd jobs, but it took him over a year to find another job in his field and paying what he was worth. During that time, we lived on my salary and his unemployment, along with his incidental job paychecks, all while paying COBRA to have insurance (my non-profit job at a small adoption agency didn't offer insurance). It was really tight. We depleted our savings and basically lived paycheck to paycheck. Thankfully, we lived in a small house with a very low mortgage.

I'd been a member of a low carb group on About.com for years, and one day I was looking through all the groups and the frugal forum just jumped out at me. So I joined. Started reading every day and learning as much as I could from you fine ladies. Eventually, DH found a great job. He's still with them today and hopes/plans on retiring from them in a few years. We've been able to build an emergency fund that would cover us for 6+ months. And, even though my DH is still a spendthrift in areas, he's tightened the belt in others, so there's progress.
Patty
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