The recession in the United States has probably quadrupled in the last few years to the present time. These are trying times. Business owners suffer because people stopped buying new things, and we resorted to used stuff from yard sales and craigslist. In return business's goes bankrupt without sales. It is normal for people to save their money. In times of uncertainty, people embark on the frugal life which can sometimes be daunting.
But what is frugality?
Wikipedia defines it :Frugality is the quality of being frugal, sparing, thrifty, prudent or economical in the use of consumable resources such as food, time or money, avoiding waste, lavishness or extravagance.[1][2][3][4] In some contexts it may also be the practice of acquiring goods and services in a restrained manner, and resourcefully using already owned economic goods and services, to achieve a longer term goal
Can I be frugal without being branded as Poor, Hobo and Red neck?
Who cares about names in these trying times. Us human beings resort to calling names to demean just to feel superior than the rest of humankind. If somebody call you names, check his/her status, and you'll find out that their indebtedness has soared high more than yours. For as long as you don't smell bad from not taking a shower you're just fine.
How can we go about with life in spite of these challenges?
You are in control of your life. Life's outcome is what you make out of it.
Here are some ideas on the road to frugality to make you stop worrying and start living.
Food: Buying fresh food in season, and canning them for storage is a great idea. You can also plant seeds and harvest them in due time. Just make sure that you label and date your products. Here is a link to canning:
http://www.pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htmClothing: Why buy new ones when you can still use your old ones? Some TV shows gives you idea to be fashionable by redesigning clothes, thus adding or diminishing styles, giving it a new look. You may need some magazines to redesign clothes. Holes? Some nice stitching works. Here's a link to designing clothes:
http://www.wikihow.com/Design-Clothes
link to designing babies clothes http://www.make-your-own-baby-stuff.com/baby-clothes.html. You can always use the google search engine to find things on the internet.
Yard sales is a good source of used clothing. Most of these clothes are fairly new, especially children's clothes, since kids grow up really fast and the price from yard sales : you cannot beat it: One, two or three clothes for 50 cents to a dollar.
Furniture: If you just moved to new home, and the house is empty, you can purchase furniture's from a estate sale or perhaps the rental store where they sell used furniture's. I would advice that you not to buy old mattresses though, unless a relative or a friend you know is giving it away. I bought my furnitures new at stores that have big store sale. My couch cost me half of the normal price. There's a store that we use to have in the Tri-cities called liquidation store. They sell new appliances and furnitures at half the price and even lower. Maybe you can find one in your area.
Look for big anniversary sale, or closing out sales, if you don't like used furnitures. Also there's a section in the furniture shop, where they sell refurbished furnitures for half the price and even lower. These are returned items that they cannot sell at a regular price.
Second hand household stuff that you need to avoid buying : Rugs, Carpets, mattresses, socks, under wears (haha)
Coming up: Avoiding more big expenses!
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