5 laws of being Frugal

4.) Watch your pennies and your dollars will follow- This is an age old piece of advice, which still holds true today.

Very interesting saying to ponder. I wonder how many people here will bend over and pick up a penny that they see or have dropped ?

I’ve been able to make a pair of shoes last me through high school when I wore them almost every day from how careful I was. I know someone else who always had stuff break on them since they weren’t too terribly kind to their possessions.

I’m actually going to try a new cat food since its much much cheaper than what I use for my ferret, the only thing I’m worried about is she’s a picky eater…But you never know the results until you try.

I also pick up those pennies, but I like to keep them in my coat pockets for luck…that is until they get too heavy. I think JoAnn is right…it is a saying to ponder. Nice post 🙂

My aunt is actually really good with finding money on the ground, she’s found a $20 bill before.

As for picking up pennies. I do. I have heard from several different people that save change that loose changes easily adds up to hundreds of dollars a year. So we save all of our change in a gallon pickle jar. One time DHs wages got garnished for an old tax bill he didn’t know he had. We had a plastic shoe box of change under our bed and that box bought us groceries the whole time his wages were garnished. Several weeks.

Now for making things last. I have a gray 100% wool cape that I wear nearly every day in fall and winter. It was used when it was given to me. The label says made in West Germany. So I am pretty sure this cape is close to twenty years old. I can see myself wearing it for many more years. The cape has a big advantage over a coat in that if your weight flucuates it will still fit.
Tracy in VA

I love this post and I wanted to add that a pair of shoes last me at least 5 years !!! ANd that doesn’t mean that I wear a bunch of different pairs. I have a pair of tennis shoes, a pair of slip on sandals, & a pair of black dress shoes !!!

If you take real care of your items then they will last.

My Husband Mike is 6 foot 8 and wears a size 16 in shoes. So you can only imagine how much just one pair of shoes cost him and he doesn’t have an option of buying his used. There really aren’t that many people with feet that big ya know ??

So he takes VERY good care of his shoes and I help. He has had the same pair of tennis shoes since he was a 15 and he will be 31 in March. They still look great. I clean them carefully and use shoe polish . Others have laughed at us using shoe polish on tennis shoes but when one pair of shoes can be easily over 300 dollars you do what you have to.

I also have many clothes from my teen years that still look great and are still in fashion.

So if you pay attention to what you buy you can really make stuff last.

I always pick up change I find on the ground. I also save change from the store. I have a jar labeled “FUN MONEY” and that’s where it goes. When there’s something special I want to do that’s where the money comes from. You’ll be amazed at how fast it adds up. I think I read this tip in a Suze Orman book a long time ago. :045:

I always pick up money from everywhere. My 4 kids know to pick spare change and put it into our huge money jar in the kitchen. We have been filling that money jar for at least ten years. If ever we get around to wrapping all of that money, we are going to have lots of money!

Great post ~ covers all the basics!