Frugality Choices that Work

In my frugal journey, I have come to figure out some very important choices. I have disconnected my VOIP. My home phone is still a basic line, no caller id, no call waiting. Any long distance is on our cell phones or in an emergency. We can call long distance on the home phone. That is a cheaper choice than the long distance plans or the VOIP. See VOIP doesn’t work when you have kids and your number is long distance from school. I also changed our cell numbers so they were all local, we have had our numbers so long that when we got them they were not local numbers. I do have an answering machine but I rarely turn it on, my theory is whoever needs to talk to me has my cell phone. This choice was more of a sanity issue versus frugal. Couching the enjoyment of life is the only reason to strive for frugality I felt good knowing that letting my phone ring when I was not home was okay.

The main difference with my kitchen is we eat what we have, there are times we crave different food but if it is waiting in the frig or cabinet I don’t need to buy more food. Monthly we still go to Sam’s and buy basic food, the food we eat a lot of. I have seen some bloggers say you don’t save that much money, but with having two small stores on the big stuff we save a lot. With those two premises, we buy less and less, if when in doubt you don’t go to the store you don’t spend money. I go to stores overall much less, it helps that I no longer work in retail.

The other costs that I have cut back on is laundry, I found a recipe online from Christi at Motivated to Change for a laundry soap that is perfect for my clothes, I even used it for Dunk’s FFA jacket that was dry clean only. I have one of those fancy front entry washing machines, so not all homemade laundry soap will do. Then I read somewhere that ¼ cup of vinegar is a perfect fabric softener. Years ago, I quit fabric softener all together, but once we bought the fancy machine, I wanted to try it again. The cost of real fabric softener adds a lot of cost per load to each load of laundry. I thought I would try the vinegar on a load that didn’t matter like the boy's jeans. Whoever blogged that it was cost effective and scent effective was completely accurate, the clothes don’t smell like vinegar at all. I then read several other blogs that said the dryer balls you can buy are perfect to fluff your clothes in the dryer. I have always used tennis balls with bulky items like comforters, but these balls have bumps and they work much better. All I buy is the Tide for the boy’s sweaty, stinky clothes. No doubt that is the bulk of my laundry but still no fabric softener only cheap generic vinegar is so much cheaper.

Slowly I have seen an income difference; it takes months of saving for you to feel the difference though. It is like watching grass grow, the result is beautiful but the process is a lot of work. I hadn’t said much about it in awhile but my long term goals have not changed at all.

As a side note, I have decided to update posts that I previously wrote. The tribute to Denise Gallagher has had many hits, and as I find things I add to it. As well I have added to some of my political ramblings. So just because you have read it before doesn't mean it is the same. Tony will remain on top until I can get past it, hopefully God and I can move forward soon. I am being a stubborn learner, so be patient, God has a challenge with me at times. Several online cancer buddies have passed away recently, and Tony and Denise were just too much too soon. My faith is a work in progress, and God knows how I deal with the Beast. I get mad, then I channel the anger and I get over it.

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