September 2009 Weddings
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Our tech team has launched updates to The Nest today. As a result of these updates, members of the Nest Community will need to change their password in order to continue participating in the community. In addition, The Nest community member's avatars will be replaced with generic default avatars. If you wish to revert to your original avatar, you will need to re-upload it via The Nest.
If you have questions about this, please email help@theknot.com.
Thank you.
Note: This only affects The Nest's community members and will not affect members on The Bump or The Knot.
What frugal/ anti-frugal things do you do?
I stole this from MM.
Frugal- I save decorative bags that peopl give us gifts in, like b-day or holiday bags and re-use them. I buy cards from the dollar store 2/$1.00 instead of the nice ones.
Anti-frugal- we drive two brand new trucks, we eat out more then we should, i get my nails done twice a month, Jon plays poker once a week, i could keep going on 
Re: What frugal/ anti-frugal things do you do?
Frugal: We are hardcore budgeters/ savers. We go to multiple grocery stores to get the best deals each week, only eat out once per week on average, shop at Costco for whatever we can. We bought a new to us car this year, but with a decent down payment and good credit our payments are <$200.
Anti-Frugal: Going to law school (my loans are >50% of my take home pay each month), I have a nail polish buying habit I'm trying to break and of course love to buy fabric for quilts. We've also been on a spending spree for the last 3 months with the holidays and buying new furniture for our much bigger place, so that is going to stop in Feb since we're finished with the big stuff.
Stand up for something you believe in.
frugal- I sale shop for household items like no one else. Since I work for a grocer, we get a ton of coupons so I usually stock up on the items we get coupons for. Sometimes unnecessary and I give them away. I also re-use a lot of things and repurpose as much as possible. We also do a lot of purchasing like whole chickens and use them for two meals saving the bones and back parts for stock. We grow a lot of our own veggies and can or freeze for use all winter and I make almost all of Charlottes food.
not frugal- we spend WAY too much on wine, i have a personal trainer, I have a nanny for Charlotte which is way more than daycare and we splurge on things like lobster dinner vs. going out which could be seen as frugal as well.
Frugal: I save gift bags too, and I almost always buy the cheap-o cards unless it's for someone I really like. We try to eat out only 1-2 times a week (except for this week because we've both been sick), pretty much all of the clothes we buy are on super sale/clearance, we use coupons (I don't clip them, we just get online and get the ones for things we use a lot, like diapers.), we drive two older but paid off vehicles, I do my own nails, I cut Guy's hair, I only get my hair cut once a year.
Non-frugal: We don't shop sales when it comes to groceries - we just buy whatever we need for the week, regardless of the price. We have a dog who requires very expensive care due to his allergies and we spare no expense on him. We both have smart phones with data plans even though we don't need them for work. Ellie wears disposable diapers. Ellie gets a toy any time we go to walmart. Ellie is spoiled.
Frugal: I only shop sale and clearance racks when I buy for myself and I'm always holding onto coupons for everything, we maintain a strict budget when it comes to food and items for Sam, we hardly eat out -- maybe once every other week, we've paid off our vehicles and are driving them into the ground, we use Amazon Mom for diapers and wipes, I use hair color out of a box, and I'm a fan of Groupon/Living Social sites for deals on excusions and other local ammenities. I, too, save gift bags.
Anti-Frugal: we both have iPhones, I get my nails done every other week, Loki is on prescriotion diet food, when food shopping there are certain items I am really picky on regarding name brands, I'm going back to school sans loans, and I would buy Samma a whole new wardrobe than use offered hand-me-downs
updated 10.03.12
Frugal - Coupon, shop at Wal-mart, make more meals at home, Jon takes my car to work instead of his truck which is much less gas.
Anti-Frugal - Have 2 car payments that total a tad more than our mortgage combined
(Yeah thats never going to happen again!!)
I'm sure that I am missing a ton from both, but this just popped into my head
Frugal- I re-use/repurpose where possible. I normally buy clothes only on sale unless its something I aboslutely need. We use only the meat that Andy kills for our red meat, I never ever buy beef. I clip coupons for groceries (Andy will only buy stuff with a coupon and a sale, I'm not that frugal). We buy non-name brand stuff for things that don't really matter in taste/texture, we stock up on most of our household stuff at Costco. I started doing my own manicures/pedicures except for occasionally. I no longer color my hair and I only get a cut 1x per year. We eat out <1 a week.
Not- Frugal: Andy buys the best of the best things that he wants for hunting. I buy only name brand handbags. We have an absurd wine collection. We spend a lot of money on vacations and trips that we want to take. We don't conserve gas, we drive all over the dammm place. There are certain things I refuse to buy cheap- for instance my FIL was telling me I should buy hand soap and body wash for 40 cents at Dollar Store and I turned my nose up and was like... uh no. B&BW thank you. I can afford it.
ETA: I would also rather die a slow death than have to go to those disgusting cheap stores like Ollies, Big Lots, Christmas Tree Shoppes, etc etc etc.
The only time I go to Christmas Tree Shop is when I'm looking for blatantly cheap things that I dont want to spend a fortune one, ie curtain rods. Or if I'm looking to make something like a generic gift basket for someone, I'll go there for supplies.
updated 10.03.12
Of those mentioned, CTS is the most tolerable because at least it is clean. I just cannot stand when a store is a clustfvck of shiit. Cheap shiit at that.
Frugal: I clip coupons every week for groceries and baby items. I re-use gift bags also. I also go to 3 or 4 different stores for groceries just so I can get the best deal. H wants a new car but since his is paid off we are driving it for a few more years especially since its an 08. I cook at home during the week or we will eat at my moms.
Anit-Frugal- We eat out way to much on weekends, almost every meal. I have no problem buying no name but there are a few items I only buy name brand. I haven't carried a bag that is less that $300 in a few years and I get a new one at least twice a year. I drive a brand new car, my second one in 2 years cause I didn't want my old one anymore. We splurge on things for the house, do we need new couches..umm no, do I want them..ummm yea. I waste gas. I have no problem driving an hr to meet someone for lunch and then drive back.
probably more I just can't think right now
frugal: re-sing gift bags, using coupons and sales whenever possible for everything - clothes, food, personal items. Use generic brands for certain things. I price compare like a crazy person (not EVERYTHING is cheaper at Costco, yo). We don't eat out often (cheap takeout MAYBE once a week or every other week, actualy dining out less than once a month). I haven't bought beef in months because we have 222lbs of elk in the freezer. I menu plan like a crazy person.
non-frugal: I refuse to buy anything other than name brand for certain things - toilet peper, paper towels, laundry detergent, etc. When we do go out to dinner, it's often a really nice place and $100+ bills are not abnormal. We drink a lot of wine. We both drive newer cars (have 2 car payments). Our dogs eat pretty high quality dog food. I let Scott spend $800 to get his elk head mounted *smacks forehead*
This is true. Things that are generally cheaper at Costco that we buy: soda (when I was drinking it), Monster Energy drinks (H drinks 1/day), bulk snacks (popcorn and nuts), roasted chickens, paper products, Ugg-like boots, generic meds (their version of Zyrtec is $16 for a year's supply, 1000 ibuprofen are $8) and some meats (ground turkey is cheaper there unless it is on sale somewhere else- it hasn't been on sale in weeks, so we broke down and bought it)
Stand up for something you believe in.
exactly - meat is one of the main things that I can get cheaper elsewhere if it's on sale. Not on sale, Costco is cheaper, but I can regularly get chicken breasts, pork tenderloin, etc cheaper at one of the 2 grocery stores I go to. Same with some of the produce. Not all produce, but things like cucumbers, bell peppers, most fruits.
Frugal: drive 2 paid off cars, "dumb phones", coupon clipper, sometimes visit 2 grocery stores in 1 week, love generics, never (really never!) buy myself an article of clothing that's over $30. I have things worth more than that, but they were on clearance or gifts.
Anti-frugal: We spend a lot on trips. Most of our trips are cheap, but we take 4-5 a year, so that adds up. We also go on lots of date nights.
Frugal:
-I buy most of my clothes at outlets, on sale, or from eBay.
-I do monthly budgets, and stick to them pretty strictly.
-We try to eat down the kitchen monthly. D hates this, but whatever. I hate grocery shopping, and we typically never waste anything doing it this way.
-We use our credit cards then pay them down each month, so we always have points. This is how D was able to get pretty much every video game that came out in the last few months for free.
-We only have one car, and we don't have to make payments on it.
ETA: No smart phones. No cable.
Anti-frugal:
-We drink a lot of bottled water. It's just a convenience thing, we like being able to grab and go.
-I get monthly facials. And I use Dermalogica products at home.
-That one car is a Jeep, which means gas sucks.
You know what I have recently found to be super cheap at Costco? Shampoo. At the grocery store a small bottle of Herbal Essence or Pantene is $4, sometimes 2/5 when its on sale. But at Costco, its $4.99 for a GIANT bottle which is the size of 4 regular size ones.
I also have recently found that some of their frozen stuff isn't as cheap as the grocery store. I like to buy a few (totally terrible for you) frozen items to keep in the freezer for quick meals or weekend lunch or when one of us is working late like chicken patties, fish sticks, perogies. Fish sticks at Costco used to be cheap, now its $13.99 for a bag of 40. At my grocery store I get 112 for $9.99. Yea I'm fish stick frugal. *lifts head*
I'm pretty cheap lol.
Frugal: cut coupons/shop sales, will buy generic, will gladly accept hand me downs for Weston, pretty much all of my nice/brand name clothes were my sisters, I rarely ever go shopping and pretty much never buy anything that costs more than $20 for myself and only look at clearance/sales when it comes to me, I rarely buy any accessories(haven't bought shoes in over a year, jewelry in years, and my purse was a gift from my bosses 2 years ago), dye my hair from a box, hair cut rarely, only times ever had my nails done was for my wedding and once for a gift, my car is paid off and plan on keeping it for awhile, don't eat out often...
Not frugal: my guilty pleasure is Starbucks, both have smart phones, when it comes to Weston, I will spend money a little more freely....
Wow, I really am cheap. It's not that we don't have the money, I just don't like to spend it!
ooooh right.... Starbucks.
Frugal: I allot myself $20 every 2 weeks for Starbucks.
Anti-Frugal: sometimes, this doesn't always work...
updated 10.03.12