...My Grand Dad was born in 1894...had a dairy and 10 kids...he and Grand Ma always made ends meet. He did a lot of things to save a dollar. Here is one of the best. In the evening he would relax on the porch and chew plug tobacco when he was done he would wad it up into a ball and leave it on the porch railing over night, then come morning he would put it in his pipe and smoke it . I come from a long line of 'thrifty' folk.
Hard to soar like an eagle when you're tied to a turkey! Yes I said that and no, she's not looking. I guess in her own way she tries, but nothing like me. A good example of how we differ. Dealing with wet boots/mitts/facemasks/tea towel whatever. I said that I should make a little rack or figure a good spot to tie a line not in the way. First thing she says is we can just buy one...
I try to fix stuff and or maintain stuff myself, mainly cause you can't get good help these days....besides that I just am a simple kinda person that doesn't really require much....
My Dad taught me a lot...He was big on change the oil and grease the equipment...and don't ever get caught leaving tools outside...I did leave some wrenches in the woods one fall, he found them, I never did that again...never ever!
I'll add that I buy all of my work clothes from the second hand store, $20 worth of pants lasts me over a year, 4-6 pairs for that price. In my profession, I've got nobody to impress. Pants can really take a beating, seems every time I fix a hole in them I catch it on the edge of some steel and re rip it anyways. Tear mender from the local fleet farm had extended a few pairs of pants lives as well. Super easy to do.
That's not thrifty.. that's hardcore to the bone right there. I never knew my paternal g'father, he died shortly after I was born. My maternal g'father was quite the character, a heavy drinker, quite the lady's man, and stubborn as the day is long in June. I also lived with him for a year after my g'mother died, and up until that point, I had NEVER seen that man cry or succumb to any pain. I am not the man he was, whether that's good or bad is yet to be determined. (He was not a perfect man by far.) But, I do try to honor his memory as much as my parents. Hell, I even use my manners on occasion, wouldn't want my mother to think all her time was wasted. Our elders had a uniquely different set of problems to tackle, and I think we have it pretty easy in this day and age.. comparatively speaking. Chaz
As far as work clothes go.. we had a uniform service and changed to a new company, the old company let us buy the workpants at $5 each. Have 11 pair of workpants that cost me $55 and have worn them for 3 years now. No holes, but I do have to sew some buttons back on some. Chaz
e for Pretty much the same Price Rite - probably the same as Aldi's for some things - stock up sale prices elsewhere OTA TV which usually isn't even plugged in - just internet The dryer is unplugged, just about all LED lights Our electric bill is under $30/mo, sometimes under $20 T-mobil senior plan for phones, no more land line Garden, canning, chinos, and shirts from VF outlet or LLBean, but groceries (on sale) are paid for with LLBean card which has 2% rewards which pays for clothes (when 25% off or more) , although we're kinda clothed out and exploring the next rewards card. When I was buying gas at Stop&Shop I would buy gift cards there to earn points for stores like Best Buy and use the gift card to purchase. I'll buy Target cards on Black Friday 10-15% off and use them thru the year. I NEVER pay cash, there's usually 10 or 15% to be made somehow someway. We downsized to a much smaller house when everyone else was upsizing and their kids had moved out ! At the time we downsized it was to also spend Winters in warmer weather and a huge change in income and lost investments killed that plan. Always exploring ways to have the same things for less. and toss things we really don't need.
My wife cuts my hair We both take leftovers to work for lunch I rarely buy coffee at convenient stores, I make my own in the morning Wood stove and my wife dries a lot of our clothes on a rack or on the clothesline Do as many home repairs and remodels myself if I’m capable of it We don’t eat out much and if we do it’s usually at a diner.
I've always been frugal and am fortunate my wife is more frugal than I am.... I suspect most guys couldn't say the same. This year we've been spending a lot of money with a new house and have splurged on a new furniture, but in general here are some of our saving strategies: Our new home is very efficient, the old one wasn't We garden a lot, can food, buy food in bulk. My wife cooks large meals and freezes them to eat for the next week or two. We pack our lunch for work. We rarely eat out...maybe once a month and that's usually a pizza or something simple I drink cheap coffee, she doesn't drink coffee. Rarely buy new clothes unless needed (for example, my wife bought her wedding dress off ebay - did I mention she's frugal???) Drive vehicles for years and years. A couple years ago was the first time we've ever bought a new car, but it was a great deal. Use tax deduction as much as we can. Many of our purchases can be deducted with our rentals or farm. We have slow internet and basic cable package with an older TV. I take my garbage to the dump instead of having it picked up. We cut firewood and have a lot of chores, don't need a gym membership I feel some of my biggest saving has come as a result of helping others... I have a friend who is essentially a handyman...I help him with his projects, and he helps me with mine. He's far more knowledgeable on home repairs so I've benefited a lot from this savings. In return I've taught him how to be a landlord and provided fruit and nut trees for his home. I let someone cut firewood on my property in exchange for clearing some of my land. Since then he excavated my property for my home and helped me pour and set the concrete while giving me a great deal. I also had two dogs pass away within the past couple years (in the winter), he came out with his excavator and dug the graves for no charge. I also let him park his dump truck on my property for a couple months. I once brought 3/4 cord of split firewood to my mechanic as a gift (we had recently spoke of wood heat), following that he provided a lot of free labor on our vehicles. He now stores some of his private vehicles on my property (saving him storage fees) and I continue to get free mechanical help. He thinks he's coming out ahead and I feel I'm coming out ahead. I helped a friend with his beekeeping business, in return I've gotten bees and bee equipment for cheap and free bee keeping knowledge
We used to have a hot tub. Built it's own room for it with cedar walls and ceiling. We also got to using it less over the years. So, out it went and we brought the washing mashine and dryer up from the basement, and put in a 2nd toilet. We get much more value from that room today. Sent from my SM-T280 using Tapatalk
I am a minimalist by nature, and VERY frugal, so while I guess I could go on forever about particular things I do to save a dollar, the truth is, we carrying on the mantra of: "Do as much for myself as I can" nets me the most return. This year we saved a lot of money by not using a stock tank heaters for the sheep. Instead we figured out quickly just how much water the sheep would drink, then filled their stock tank with that much water and no more. They got the water they needed, but it saved me from keeping standing water from freezing. That saved me about $225 or more per month in electrical savings.
If it's a resistance type elec heating element, they are terribly inefficient. But obviously more water takes more elec to keep above freezing temp. I would think depending on temps just trying to keep 10-15 gallons of water above freezing could be quite costly.
Well I made a part for my siding brake saving 42 dollars but then I cut my finger and had to go to the ER for stitches so I managed to lose, well I do not know yet, I am sure I could of bought a new brake though. Thats what the wife said when I got home,
Metalworking can be a biotch.. it's sharp as hell and there's no avoiding it. Hope your finger isn't too bad/cut too deep. Not sure that the injury is a direct result of saving a few bucks.. but it wasn't successful at saving any either. Not to be a total smart alek.. but ya do know that gloves are cheaper than hospital visits. Hell.. mighta saved you $38.50 Hope ya heal quickly Chaz
It is not the amount because it depends, but rather the areas that we are trying to keep from freezing. A stock tank this time of year has to be with the flock of ewes that have yet to lamb. Each individual ewe with her lambs has to have ice free water, then the ewes with lambs in the mothering-pen needs ice free water. Having so many different areas that need ice free water adds up when the heaters are 1500 watts per heater. Granted they run off a thermostat, but it still adds up. If we move to our other house, which will require a new barn, I'll put in some geothermal stock tanks I dreamed up, but I cannot retrofit them in my current barn unfortunately.
the problem with gloves when using abrasive disks is, instead of an abrasive cut, it sucks your hand in and I probably would be missing a finger as opposed to 6 stitches. Only second set of stitches in 57 years. Point taken though, with that being said I have never worn gloves doing anything.
I work with grinders and steel every day, using cut off wheels and grinding pads and soft grinding pads, I rarely use the grinder with no gloves, and it seems whenever I do, it bites me, I want paying close enough attention one day just sharpening a soapstone, ground a pretty good chunk of skin off in a hurry. Had I been wearing gloves it wouldn't have happened . That being said, when I get a new grocery at work or at home, the first thing I throw in the trash is the safety guard. They just get in the way and if you know how to use the tool properly it's safer without it (in my experience) not that I condone that .
