Ten Things Frugal People Love

Things Frugal People Love

You have a frugal friend.  Or maybe you are the frugal friend.

In my blogging travels for the last eight years I have met many frugal people.  The more time you spend around frugal people you notice that they have some things in common.  And they love to talk about them.  As I sit to the side listening to frugal friendships develop I often hear of the evils of expensive lattes and the love of double coupons.  These are my findings!

Ten Things Frugal People Love

I LOVE My Water Bottle

My love for the water bottle has grown immensely over the last few years.  My water bottle was picked out by my nephew-whenever I see it I think of him.  So while it has some emotional attachments for me the frugal benefits for carrying it are numerous.  I purchased it at Busch Gardens and get a discount on any drinks when I use it in the park.  (If you visit parks check out Ways to Save Money at Busch Gardens Williamsburg– they will likely apply to your park too!)

Drinking water is beneficial for weight loss which helps not only my self-esteem (which cuts down on stress eating) but also helps keep visits to the doctor at a minimum. Drinking water all day also helps keep cravings at bay, curbs my appetite and helps me stay hydrated.

With water I am not tempted to buy soda.  I’m also not tempted to buy bottled water because I have free water in my hand.  I have discovered there are water fountains almost everywhere.  I never have a hard time finding somewhere to fill it up.  And I see many water bottles when I do frugal speaking engagements.

If all the rumors I hear are true people drink more if the bottle has a straw.  So grab one like this Camelbak with the pop up straw or if you are shooting for your 64 oz a day (like I try) grab this Hydr-8 Water Bottle – Time Marked Air Insulated 32 Ounce Mug.  Or you can head to your local dollar store and grab several in multiple colors.

Board/Card Games

Frugal people know how to entertain themselves at home.  They don’t need to spend $50 at the movies or pay to eat out.  I absolutely adore “game night.”

I have some dear friends that are my “game friends” and I’m not actually sure I have ever been in public with them.  Some of my favorite nights are spent at their house after the kids have gone to bed.  We sit around with some snack food (and my water bottle) and play Settlers of Catan, Skip Bo, Five Crowns Card Game and/or Pandemic.

Piggy Bank/Change Jar

I have a vase full of change that sits on my dresser.  When I use cash and come home with change in my pockets I throw it in that vase. When we were kids we had a GIANT jar that sat on the floor and I watched my dad throw all his change in it.  As an adult my change jar is a symbol to me.  It’s a daily reminder that I need to save and I come from a legacy of saving.  The money in it has come in handy many times for emergencies or I wanted to do something fun but didn’t have the budget.  Ask anyone frugal you know and they have somewhere their change accumulates.

Library Card

My library card is a treasure.  I get to walk into somewhere with magazines and DVDS and CDs and books and I can take ANY of them home with me for FREE (assuming I can remember to return them on time).  It’s free knowledge!  I also take my nephews and nieces on library dates where we go pick out books and read.  It’s a completely free date and especially nice when the weather isn’t fantastic. Or I can just prop my feet up and read a book somewhere without feeling obligated to pay $5 for a cup of coffee!

Blankets/Sweatshirts

I will confess that this is NOT a frugal characteristic I share with others.  But I am one of the few frugal people I know who will not bundle up with blankets or throw on a sweatshirt rather than turn on the heat.  Most of my friends have blankets thrown on their couches or coat racks full of sweatshirts by the front door.  I do have an electric mattress pad and it’s one of my favorite things in my house.  I do live in socks however to keep my feet warm.

Lunch Box

Frugal people do not buy lunch out every day.  The dent you can put in your checking account spending $8 a day on lunch makes me want to cry. Frugal people pack their lunch.  I have a dear friend who takes great pride in the fact that in the seven years he has worked at his company he has eaten lunch out TWICE.  Seriously.  He grins like a crazy person when he tells you.

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs

Energy Efficient Light Bulbs are one of my favorite inventions of all time.  I am 5′ 4″ and none of the lights in my house are at eye level.  A good Energy Efficient Light Bulb can last ten years.  That is TEN YEARS in between dragging out a step ladder and changing a light bulb.  They are absolutely more expensive to buy at the beginning but over time compared with replacing cheap light bulbs (plus they help out your power bill) they pay for themselves many times over.  I have replaced all my light bulbs as they burn out and my bill has absolutely gone down.  I purchased the Bioluz LED A19 6w (40 Watt Equivalent) ECO Series Soft White (2700K) Light Bulbs 6-Pack from Amazon and have loved them ever since.

Toolbox

Frugal people will try to fix it themselves before calling for paid help.   They pull up the You Tube videos and figure it out.  A good friend of mine wanted to add carpet to his stairs but the cost for installation was insane.  So he bought remnant carpet, watched some videos and he and his father in law installed it one Saturday.  It looks fantastic and his pride shows when he tells you about it.

Netflix/Hulu/Amazon Prime

Frugal people don’t have cable.  With all the different options available to watch your favorite shows why pay the cable company with their expensive boxes to rent and terrible customer service? Most people pay over $100 a month for their cable! You can still have all the local channels with an HD Antenna (and they even make them indoor for people who can’t have anything outside) and watch everything else online.  Click here and see what HD Channels are available in your area.

Refrigerator/Freezer Containers

Whether you prefer Rubbermaid, Tupperware or Gladware almost every frugal person you know probably has a drawer of them.  Mine is underneath my oven- it’s full to the brim with lids and containers.  Leftovers are treated as gold in a frugal person’s house- very little gets thrown away.  Losing food to freezer burn is just a shame- by keeping a good set of containers in the house food can last practically forever!

So what did I miss?  What frugal thing can you not live without?