You Think You're Frugal? You Ain't Frugal.
Filed in archive Buying Stuff on November 30, 2006
If you ever read any other personal finance blogs other than mine (and you don't, do you?). you would find that a common theme is how to live frugally, especially among the many twentysomething bloggers whose decent-earning years are still to come. To be honest, I don't generally read these posts because I've already lived them and am happily no longer scratching for every nickel. (See? There's advantages to being in your 30s.)
But then I happened upon this---the ultimate frugal living post. Actually it is more than a frugal living post, as its title makes clear: Nourishment on a Desperate Income:
During one month, I was reduced to only spending $10.71 total on food...
Trent gives some tips to those who won't look back on their poor days as the "good old days" but will instead look at them as the "bad old days when I almost starved to death." Some of the tips are obvious, e.g., eat at home versus going out to eat, but some of these are truly inspired and/or bizarre. My favorites:
3. Keep a hen or two. This seems somewhat silly, but female chickens are very good at producing food. You can unabashedly feed them whatever scraps you have and they produce eggs very regularly. If you're careful, you can keep them in a small cage in your own apartment; a friend of mine kept one in a pet porter for several months. Just be aware of the smell; you should line their living area with paper and expect to clean it a lot. You can do this by using scavenged newspapers and rotating them daily, but leave the papers that the chicken scratches together for a nest alone.
Spoken like a man who's kept a hen or two. There's more:
9. Join a church. Quite often, congregations will have a free meal right after church and then another meal on a weeknight, usually Wednesdays. Even if you're not a believer, you can get away with two free meals a week. If you attend two churches, you can sometimes score as many as four a week (Sunday breakfast and lunch and two weeknight dinners). I usually felt bad about this, so I would volunteer to do some minor work around the church (cleaning, etc.), but that's up to you to decide.
I told you this was beyond frugal. Next:
11. Have friends over for a potluck dinner. Make something inexpensive for your dish for the spread. Most of the time, people will leave their leftovers behind, not wanting to deal with them, and you'll have a wide variety of food that will last for days for the cost of only preparing one dish.
Personally I find that sneaky, but that's not to say it isn't clever. But wait, there's more:
13. Ask for leftover bones at a butcher shop. A good excuse is to claim that they're for your dog. Expect to hear a lot of "no," but boiling these bones for a long time can provide a good deal of protein, particularly from the Marrow.
I don't want to for one second give the impression that I would make fun of anyone living below the poverty line, but I could never in a million years imagine myself asking for leftover bones at a butcher shop. I'd hit up the church for a meal, maybe even keep a hen, but I draw the line at the butcher shop.
Trent has other ideas, too, like hanging out at store grand openings to try to win shopping sprees and other more practical advice.
So, now I ask you: You think you're frugal? You ain't frugal. Trent---he's frugal.

Permalink: You Think You're Frugal? You Ain't Frugal.
Tags: frugalness cheap frugal think finance home think+frugal frugal+frugal personal+finance
Vote for You Think You're Frugal? You Ain't Frugal.:
|
Rating: 5.20 out of 5 vote(s) cast.
|
Response from:
Arthur Chaparyan
(12/01/06 4:42am)
Other than out of extreme need (homeless perhaps), why would you want to do that? You saved a couple of bucks in exchange for your dignity, pride, and the respect of your friends and family. You don't need to splurge but having a couple of decent meals a day is something anyone - especially someone who has the money to pay for a computer and Internet access - can easily afford.
Response from:
wilson ng
(12/01/06 11:01am)
I think it is important to note that being frugal and being cheap are not the same.
Being frugal means not spending for unnecessary things, but I think it does not mean skimping, or losing your dignity.
Being frugal means not spending for unnecessary things, but I think it does not mean skimping, or losing your dignity.
Response from:
Pat
(12/01/06 3:36pm)
Hey, I'd do all of those things. Cheap and frugal ARE different, but when you need food, pride is useless. Do what you have to (as long as it's legal). Trent had some good ideas and it's wise to think through the possibilities before bad times his. Never say never...
Response from:
Chui
(02/08/07 8:40pm)
Throwaway bits from butchers ... it's actually delicacy to some. A friend told me how his grandfather from Greece came to Australia, and being very poor, turned up at home with caviar. Turned out the local fishmongers were throwing them away, because back in the 30s, Australian tastes were meat and 3 vegies. "Live like a pauper, eat like a king".
Another tip: fish heads are a delicacy among Asians. Learn how to cook and enjoy them and you'll have a nourishing meal for very little money. It's far from gross, and is the most tender bits of fish you'll find.
Another tip: fish heads are a delicacy among Asians. Learn how to cook and enjoy them and you'll have a nourishing meal for very little money. It's far from gross, and is the most tender bits of fish you'll find.
Response from:
Jennifer
(09/28/07 5:23am)
Arthur, I beg to differ. Justin, thanks for your article. We normally are okay, but we just went into the hole recently, and instead of climbing out, we've dug a bigger hole, and we're not sure how. Now we have: leftover spaghetti, 1 pound of hamburger, 1 pound of cubed steak, 1 can of applesauce, and 2 mostly-eaten boxes of cereal to eat off of for the next week, along with a 9 year old. We are in desperate need, with no money, and we don't know what to do. We looked around and cannot even find something to go to the pawn shop with. Swiping some ketchup packets aren't going to feed us, but we'll probably have to swipe some salt, because we're out and can't afford the 50 cents to replace it! It really bothers me that my daughter is going to suffer, but hopefully it will be a good lesson for her in the future.
My husband suggested a yard sale this weekend, but there isn't exactly much time to get it together, nor do we have much to sell. I don't think people come to "junk" sales, so it will probably be ridiculous, but we're going to try it, anyway. If we make $5, that's $5 we didn't have.
If you have any ideas on what sells good (we don't have baby things), let me know!
My husband suggested a yard sale this weekend, but there isn't exactly much time to get it together, nor do we have much to sell. I don't think people come to "junk" sales, so it will probably be ridiculous, but we're going to try it, anyway. If we make $5, that's $5 we didn't have.
If you have any ideas on what sells good (we don't have baby things), let me know!
| RSS | |
|
| |
| Yahoo! |
|
| Addthis |
|
| Bloglines |
|
| Follow us on Twitter! |
Most Popular
About This Site
Banking
Best of
Blogging Issues
Book Reviews
Buying Stuff
Careers and Money
Charity
Credit
Did you know
Economy
Education
Finance
Financial Advisors
Funny
General
Greatest Hits
Happiness
Health
Housing
