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Food
Budget Tips - form the UC
Berkeley Parents forum
How
long could you go without spending any money? Read how
someone in England has gotten by without
spending any cash in 14 months.
Frugal
Tip - Many appliances use electricity even when
turned off. The Lawrence Berkeley National Lab has a
list of the watts used for by products in stand by mode.
You can save money on electricity costs by actually
unplugging, and not just turning off, many electrical
products.

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Household
Budget Tips
One
of my main hobbies has always been to collect books on budgeting,
investing and saving money. My hobby has allowed me to be
able to be a stay at home mom for almost twenty years, despite
living in one of the most expensive areas of the country.
I hope you
enjoy the frugal living tips I've collected over the years.
Featured
Articles:
My Current Project
is to have a zero waste home like the Johnson
family in this Sunset magazine article. I do not think
I will ever get to the point where we truly have zero waste,
but we certainly have a lot of room for improvement from where
we stand today. Lately I have been thinking hard about just
how many disposable products we buy each month that there
really is no need to buy. We just buy them because we are
so used to advertising that we think using disposable paper
towels, tissues and pens is the normal thing to do. While
it might be the common way of doing things in the U.S., it
is far from being frugal and it creates extra waste for landfills.
Here is my list
of alternatives to disposable items and consumer goods. I
really like the idea of helping the environment and saving
money at the same time.
Consumer
Item
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Green
Alternative
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1.
Paper towels
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Cellulose
sponges and washable cloth towels
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2.
Single use Batteries
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Rechargeable
batteries
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3.
Small juice bottles
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Lunch
juice packed in a washable sports bottle
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4.
Store bought, single use, water bottle |
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Tap
water in a washable sports bottle |
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5.
Sandwich bags |
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BPA
free plastic sandwich box |
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6.
Disposable pens |
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Refillable
pens |
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7.
Disposable mechanical pencils |
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Refillable
mechanical pencils |
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8.
Plastic or paper grocery bags |
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Cloth
grocery sacks brought from home to store. Some stores by us will give a 5 cent credit per bag. |
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9.
Wrapping paper |
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Reusable
gift bags |
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10.
Christmas cards |
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A
personalized family Christmas newsletter sent via email |
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11.
Nonconsumable Christmas gifts |
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Consumable
gifts - chocolate, cookies, bread, nuts, natural soaps,
candles, lotion,and lip balms. Also gift cards and event tickets. Our kids enjoy discount movie passes we buy in bulk from Costco., |
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12.
Staples |
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Reusable
paper clips |
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13.
Disposable scrubbing pads |
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Stainless
steel scrubbing pads |
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14.
Stamped letters |
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Email |
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15.
Hardcover and paperback books |
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Borrow
books from library or buy ebooks. |
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16.
CDs |
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Download
from iTunes or Freegal (free music downloads from many local public libraries) |
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17.
DVDs |
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Rent
movies and TV shows from library or use services like
Netflix, Amazon Prime, free Roku channels or network web sites. |
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18.
Magazines in the mail |
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Online
web sites and online library subscriptions. |
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19.
Fresh Christmas tree |
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Fake
tree we have reused since the 80s |
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20.
Checks |
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Pay
bills online |
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21.
Plastic wrap |
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Reuseable
storage containers |
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22.
Computer paper |
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Use
both sides |
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23.
Note paper |
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Backs
of used enevelopes for shopping and errand lists |
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24.
Disposable diapers |
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Cloth
diapers |
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25.
Cardboard emery boards |
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Metal
nail files |
I have to admit
I personally haven't quite got the hang of reading books on
Kindle yet. As a family we still save money though because
I gave my Kindle reader to one of my kids and he uses it regularly.
He gets many classic, out of copyright eBooks for free on
Amazon.
In past years I
used to probably go over the top with gifts for the kids.
They are older now and mainly want money, so it makes it easier
to have a minimalist Christmas. For this holiday season our
kids are each getting money as their main gift, plus one recyclable
paper gift bag / stocking substitute each filled with things
like ear buds, candy, cookies, movie gift certificates, clothing
items, etc.
My frugal husband
will be happy with a box of chocolates from a warehouse store
and a used book on local bike trails I bought at a library
book sale for $1. For people outside the immediate family
we are either giving gift certificates or personalized gift
baskets filled with consumable items bought at a warehouse
or outlet store.
Frugal
Thoughts -
The
way to wealth is as plain as the way to market.
It depends chiefly on two words, industry and
frugality: that is, waste neither time nor money,
but make the best use of both. Without industry
and frugality nothing will do, and with them everything.
Benjamin
Franklin
The
best education in the world is that got by struggling
to get a living.
Wendell Phillips
The
world has not yet learned the riches of frugality.
Cicero
I
have learnt to seek my happiness in limiting my
desires, rather than attempting to satisfy them.
John
Stuart Mill
There
is no dignity quite so impressive and no independence
so important as living within your means.
Calvin Coolidge
Every
generation laughs at the old fashions, but religiously
follows the new.
Henry David Thoreau
Libraries
will get you through times of no money better
than money will get you through times of no libraries.
Anne Herbert
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"Tis
the riches of the mind only that makes a man rich and happy."
- Proverb
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