How Thrifty Are You?

Shelly, over at www.mycouponteacher.com has posted her "Thrifty Thursday" article. She asks 10 questions to see how thrifty we are. I thought this would be fun to answer- please remember, this is NOT meant to start arguments; we all have different thrifty ways- and they are all OK! Here are mine:

1. Do you use coupons to save over 50% or more on your groceries?

Yes (well, combined with sales!) I am using a spreadsheet designed by Angela at www.thecouponproject.com to track my savings; I am currently at about 67% for the year.


2. Do you reuse paper products like foil, plastic baggies, or plastic utensils?

No. To me, that would defeat the purpose of these things, which is convenience. That said, I also don't use paper products very often (other than napkins). I also use dishrags and towels rather than paper towels most of the time.


3. Do you buy things like clothes, home goods, or entertainment items for full price?

No. I look for good deals there, too. Sales, coupons, etc.

4. Do you eat out more than once a week?

It depends. Sometimes yes, sometimes no. I happen to realy enjoy eating out - and I hate to cook. So, I feel like we eat out a lot, but we cut our budget in other places to allow for more eating out. It's all about what's important to you and budgeting based on your own lifestyle choices.

5. Do you feel an obligation to take free samples or toiletries in hotels?

An obligation? No. But when we stay, we sometimes use them, and then I'll take then. But I also don't shove them all in my bags each night so that they'll get replenished and take those too.....


6. Do you send in more than one mail in rebate a month?

I focus more on sales and coupons, but I do rebates when I hear about a good one, like Olay's $15 rebate going on now. (Go to www.olay.com for details). I also do Rite Aid when it's good enough to entice me, but not every month.

7. Do you feel an obligation or need to stop at every yard sale you pass?

I am not a morning person, so we don't even go when we are in town. But my in-laws go every single week-end, so when we visit, we go too. It's actually a fun way to visit, and they are in an area where there are lots of sales, so in the spring and summer we usually find lots of goodies. I love books, and have collected over 1600 of them, mostlt at $0.25-$0.50 each at yard sales.

8. Do you recycle items on Freecycle or for money?

We have an annual yard sale to clean out the house, and what doesn't sell is donated locally to the salvation army or a similar organization. I used to Ebay some things, but the items I had- books, puzzles, etc. were such inexpensive items that it's really not worth the time anymore.

9. Have you lowered all your bills to the smallest amount you can pay for acceptable services?

Oh, yeah. My husband got into energy savings a little over a year ago- in a very big way, lol. In the past year and a half or so, we have replaced washer, dryer, dishwasher, hot water heater and refrigerator with energy star appliances. He's looking for a newer (but still used) stand alone freezer now. We have also replaces almost all of our bulbs with CFL's. I know this sounds like a lot, but all of our appliances were getting "aged" anyway. (And we'd budgeted to replace them). Some, we sold and got a lottle back out of. The washer is a front loader, and has saved us on the water bill. All told, out energy and water bills are about half what they used to be.


10. Have you figured out the best way to save money is to spend less and stretch all you have as far as you can?

Hhmmm....not sure exactly what this question is asking, but probably no. I am horrible about using leftovers, so I still have waste there. In fact, I cleaned all the science experiments out of the fridge yesterday. One was so bad, the tupperware may have to get tossed as well, lol! And I - gasp! - occasionally throw away lotion, etc. with a bit still left. I hate clutter, and I have such a stockpile of non-food items (bought very inexpensivelly) that I may sometimes be more wasteful than I should be.

Thank, Shelly! This was fun to take part in- can't wait to read others answer!