The Extreme Frugalista

Frugartsy

What if?

It might be wise not to take for granted the things we see for their sole purpose of which they were made and intended for and it is up to our imagination to see what else they could be or used for.

There is a sense of pride in using conventional items in unconventional ways and to know money has been saved in not having to purchase, even though at times it is simply just required, a tool or item for every occasion. Need not to mention the carbon footprint we are reducing by not having to drive to the store on every occasion leave alone reducing energy and emissions in manufacturing and their demise after use.

Frugality can be seen as using only what is needed sensibly while saving all around, money and energy waste. It makes proud sense and it is a way to live green naturally.

Frugality takes time and effort but the outcome is one of self satisfaction in circumventing what is status quo.
Maria Ludwig Michael Mies Van Der Rohe would often say “less is more”.

Credit Cards: They Keep The Interest

Credit cards can be very convenient when paid promptly.
Living on credit cards not only is living on false riches but it contributes to impoverishing to deeper and deeper levels because purchases through credit cards if not paid promptly will cost ten fold.

Lured by incentives such as low rates one can easily be swayed into following the wrong direction. And once balances reach a certain amount the rates will change, administering a vicious long term blood siphoning grip.
In simple words, credit cards offer the ecstasy of a convenience to get us hooked and create the agony that later keep us financially strapped to their higher insatiable demand.

“You did it to yourself” one might say. The answer is true yet very questionable.
A proverb from the old country says:
Opportunity makes the thief.

The most depressing day of my neighbor’s life was when he finally realized that in his life time he would not have been able to repay his debt. Transferring continually to lower balances, calling the banks, consistently paying much more than the minimum payment and even not spending made no significant changes.
What quelled the problem was selling his house and he was lucky to have one to sell.

He has been credit cards free for fifteen years. Does not carry cash, keeps some change in the car for the parking meter and lives instead off the Debit Card.

Having cash on hand makes it easy to spend and makes us momentarily forget how hard it is to make.
The debit card gives the flexibility of the credit card and it can be frugally used only for needed expenses.
Keep the amount in the debit card low and if it cannot cover the purchase today, oh well, maybe another day.
Once used to it, it is really no pain at all.

It might be fair to say that credit card rates should match the feeble rates that banks offer for savings or CD accounts but this would not be sufficient to cover their waste nor their greed.

Below is a list of non offensive ways in which some people go about stretching their dollar. These ways may be considered extreme and not acceptable by others while interestingly enough, they help protect the planet. Then again, what is pride for some people is an embarrassment for others.

• Air freshener. See soap.
• Bows. Some people save bows from presents they receive and very carefully unwrap the presents to also save the paper. Recirculate any bows that make sense and the ones that can be enhanced in a personal and unusual way; sometimes by adding long spiral pig tails or altering the bows themselves. The bow is what celebrates and announces the present, it can become an individual’s personal signature.
• Dental floss and dental floss picks are washed and sterilized with rubbing alcohol by many people. Is that any different than reusing the same toothbrushes daily?
• Dumps. Take a few things to the dump and see what your creative mind can bring home.
• Hair conditioner in the lack of shaving cream will shave very nicely.
• Insects are widely used as a delicacy and as a staple for survival in some cultures.
• Lint. Some people collect it from their clothes dryer to easily start fires in their fireplaces. Some other people collect lint from friends and use it for stuffing things. The same is true with animal hair.
• Lotion bottles are often cut open by many women who may discover the bottles still contain enough to go on for weeks. Often the pump is not long enough to reach the bottom of the bottle.
• Mayonnaise when nothing else is available is a wonderful sun screen and sun tanning solution. This might not sound nor smell so good being in the comfort of our homes but if stranded in the woods for days it is a welcome solution.
Mayonnaise is also known to be good for the skin.
• Mouthwash can be diluted a bit with water. Dentists do it.
• Panty Hoses are wonderful to strain oil and other kinds of paints.
• Paper towels. Most of the time we do not need a whole paper towel no matter what size the manufacturer makes it. A good practice is to cut it in half and often in quarters. Most of the time a fraction of the overall towel will do the job perfectly.
Paper towels can be cut even more to make napkins. A regular napkin can offer an attractive presentation yet be an excessive amount of wasted paper.
Some people use paper towels to wipe clean spills such as water or to dry their hands. They will then let the paper towel dry and later reuse it for a dirtier spill. A reused paper towel seems to have more absorption.
• Pencil extenders make it possible to use as much of a pencil as possible. It is fun to see how much of a pencil one can use and when dealing with expensive color pencils, the extenders make much $en$e.
• Plastic bags from the produce section at the supermarket are good enough to freeze food. They are convenient, on hand, get a second chance in life and save us from using brand new bags. The image shows some hamburgers with a space between them. This is so the package can be folded for storage and the meat will not stick together. Eventually the hamburgers can be removed as needed.

• Plastic bags, baggies and Ziploc bags are washed over and over and reused by many people. Small plastic bags from the produce and meat departments at groceries stores
work very well for smaller garbage cans provided your household is not a large one and you recycle. The bags are easy to tie and being small, they need to be tossed more often than the larger ones thus keeping the infectious garbage out of the house.
• Plastic ware such as forks, knives and spoons can be washed after a party, especially if they were the real nice kind say, would that be frugal? Cheap? Convenient? Eco friendly? Intelligent?
• Rags. Old socks and T shirts can be reused for dirty jobs in the garage.
• Saliva. Cleaning with saliva might sound disgusting yet those famous ‘spit shine’ words are true. Saliva contains natural mild proteins that make cleaning safe and easy. It is so mild and efficient that it is used in museums throughout the world to clean famous paintings with no damage.
Saliva is also very efficient in healing wounds through its content of protein.
• Shampooing hair daily is not healthy because it removes natural protective oils from the hair. Some people dilute their shampoo a little bit.
• Soap. Used bars of soap at garage sales, even the tiny ones, will sell because some people melt them and make new bars of soap. Smaller used bars of soap can also stick to one another if wet and pressed together.
Strong aroma bars of soap such as Irish Spring can make a great and long lasting air freshener for chest drawers and the automobile. Place in low cut socks and disperse them throughout.
• Toilet. Some people flush once a day. Some people flush overnight deposits in the morning. Some people flush by pouring recycled gray water rather than using the toilet tank lever.
• Toilet tank. A brick or jug filled with water stored in the tank can save considerable amounts of water reducing waste of resources.
• Vacuum cleaners. Attachments are usually of standard sizes and therefore they can sometimes be used with a ‘new’ vacuum. It is good to have a variety.
The cord is usually strong and can provide an extra extension cord just by adding a plug at the end of it.
• Windex can be diluted a bit with water. It is strong enough for most tasks.
• Zipper sticking. Rub some candle wax or a bar of soap over the zipper.

*Images: see image details for credits