How age affects your frugality.....

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Jackielou
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Joined: Tue Aug 25, 2015 7:51 pm

Re: How age affects your frugality.....

Post by Jackielou »

As CG says, there comes an age....

Lots of things we never did here and still don't do. Hubby did not do any work on the vehicles as those were not his forte, even as a youngster on the farm he did not work on fixing the machinery.

Our garden has gotten smaller over the years, mainly because Hubby and I can no longer get up and down so easily. I didn't do it this year, but I hope to buy more at the Farmer's Market to preserve for the freezer (carrots, beets, peas).

Hubby has started to notice that because of his age he can't do the same around the house that he used to. He laid all the carpets, and flooring for years, but not any longer we hire out.

I still use the library, but I also buy books. I have returned to buying second hand or getting free books on my Kobo if purchasing a book. Mainly because book prices are ridiculous.

Still combine errands in order to save on gas.

Now our frugal methods are more tempered so to speak. We have learned that quality, or good workmanship go a long way to making something beautiful and lasting. You can't always buy it second hand so spending a bit could in fact mean a great deal of saving in the long run.
Jackie
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Dgflorida
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Joined: Wed Oct 07, 2015 8:10 pm

Re: How age affects your frugality.....

Post by Dgflorida »

Excellent post ohjodi. I learned a lot from reading the responses. Like several of the others, I feel that I was always frugal, but in different ways now then when I was younger. When I was younger, I had a lot more responsibilities to deal with and less time to focus on frugal habits. I was working towards my financial retirement goals and cramming as much life experiences in as I could. Now I am on the other side of most of those things and slowing down. Certainly, I was frugal enough then since I achieved my financial goals.

On the whole, I feel that I am physically healthier than I was 5 years ago thanks to keto diet and the resultant freedom from thyroid medication. But now it takes longer to do things or time is shorter. Not sure which. And like several others, I am having to pay others to do work that I would have done myself when younger. Mentally, I feel slower which is very frustrating. Sometimes the time it takes me to make a decision costs me a frugal opportunity. Sometimes, it saves me a bundle.

I still like to grocery shop and the older us spend less because we buy less, eat less. But for every other kind of shopping, the older us prefer Amazon delivery. Shopping in stores is tiring, frustrating and not cost effective. Our social interactions and learning opportunities are mostly online. Technology has really helped us continue to be frugal and mitigated the impact of aging.

So to answer your question what we do differently now is use a lot more professional services and a lot more technology
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LWolfT
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Joined: Fri Aug 28, 2015 10:46 am

Re: How age affects your frugality.....

Post by LWolfT »

Great topic ...

Oh, yeah, there comes a time ....

We're still able to do things like gardening and some of the home repair/maintenance jobs, but there are things we can't do now. (Like gutter cleaning ... DH can no longer handle the behemoth ladder he bought to do that job.)

We've shifted frugality into different areas because I have more time. When we both worked full-time, we ate out more, did more take out. Now, I have time to cook. I have time to comparison shop, watch for deals on needed items. (CG, I'm with you on online shopping ... makes it so much easier to compare.)

It's sort of ironic: Earlier, I valued convenience because I lacked time. Now, I value convenience because I lack patience. I'll shop the superstores (I need the exercise, LOL!), but I also make use of the order online/pickup services — especially for something specific.) And yeah, this lettuce might be 50¢ cheaper at store X, but I'm not near store X, and I'm not going to spend the time and gas to drive over there.
Quilter51
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Joined: Sat Aug 29, 2015 6:04 pm

Re: How age affects your frugality.....

Post by Quilter51 »

Admittedly I "retired" earlier than some others due to not being able to get a job after caring for John. But when I look back at the early years of retirement, I was big on the "more time than money thing". I never canned or gardened or did serious home improvements lord knows, but mainly did my own yard work, made all my gifts, occasionally worked part time or sewed and sold stuff, cooked from scratch and so on.

Now I've gotten to that place where my health and relaxation and time are more important and I am willing (and admittedly able within some reason), to pay for shoveling, do things like order groceries via delivery, dine out at least once a week, and take advantage of others who are willing to do my labor for me.
HappyDaze
Posts: 4186
Joined: Tue Oct 15, 2019 11:11 am

Re: How age affects your frugality.....

Post by HappyDaze »

This is a great topic Jodi! My "age" cost me $45 earlier in the winter -

Normally I walk to work - so it doesn't matter HOW much snow is in my driveway - I just walk to work. However, back in December, I had an out of town meeting - that turned out to be one day before I thought it was -

and as I was shoveling and shoveling and shoveling...I thought "THIS IS CRAZY" and I went inside and grabbed the PennySaver and called a guy who plows. He asked me what time I had to leave in the morning - I said 7:30 - he said "I'll be there at 6:30" - and he was.

His cost was $35 but I felt a generous tip was in order.

Just a couple years ago that would have been out of the question and I would have finished the whole job myself. UGH.
"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
Grannysewstoys
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Re: How age affects your frugality.....

Post by Grannysewstoys »

I no longer drive. but when i did I always took the cost of getting there into figuring any savings. It doesn't make sense to spend 50¢ getting someplace to save 42¢.

I do 99% of my grocery shopping at H-E-B, it is locally owned. Priced are close to Walmart. It is also very close.

I don't hang clothes on the clothse line. I did hang the dresses to finish drying but I had to go out before the dryer finished.I know that 1/2 hour in the dryer is more than enough to remove wrinkles from knits. The dresses I hung up are made up of a similar fabric to T-shirts.

I used to sew all my clothes. I no longer do.

I don't buy frozen meals for one, not because of the saving but because of the high sodium content. I wanted Pizza I bought a frozen pizza $5. I will get 4 meals from this pizza. I did add a tiny can of black olives and mushrooms. No it wasn't as good as delivery but it was much less then delivery. I did buy a new pizza pan this morning. I had a in-store coupon for 1/2 off so I saved there too.

I bought bleach this morning, I bought the smallest bottle as the larger ones are too heavy for me. I still use white vinegar instead of fabric softener. But I now buy the 1/2 gallon jug not the gallon one.

Since I no longer drive, I do buy refrigerator shelf stable milk. It lasts unopened for about 5-6 weeks. This is important as buying milk as frequently I would need to do is difficult when you don't drive.

Penny
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