Bringing Frugality Up a Level

For the past couple of years, frugality has been a means of survival. It wasn't an option. We learned to be very, very frugal in order to scrape by and pay our rent, buy groceries, and put gas in our cars. And even that was quite the struggle.

With two incomes now, we have a little more leeway, and I'm learning to re-adapt our frugality. It's hard. After several years of deep struggle, it's hard for me to spend money on anything. This is a good thing in a way, but...well, after several years of struggle, we also NEED to spend money. Everything is worn out and used up. We're also trying to improve our overall quality of life while still living frugally...and getting the most of out of what we have while paying down debt.

Some things we're doing lately:

--Saving money at the grocery store. I plan on starting a newspaper subscription and getting a printer to increase my coupon savings. Still, I do pretty well matching the coupons I have (I get them usually from my grandmother or from apps) with sales. I've also established a baseline pantry that allows me a little more leeway while shopping. This week, for instance, there is a good price on diapers. So, I'll scrimp on the grocery budget (relying more on our pantry and cheaper foods) to stock up on diapers. That will save me in the long run...and it means that, next week, I'll have extra because I won't have to buy our usual diapers. This also helps me stock up and not run exactly from week to week, which is very stressful for me. I hate HAVING to go to the store mid-week because we've run out of everything. My goal is to stockpile, stockpile, stockpile...on sale. :)

--Saving money on clothes. J and I both desperately need some help in this area. I'm trying to remember to hit up our local thrift stores on a regular basis. We've always enjoyed thrift shopping; we just haven't had the money for even that for the past couple of years. This is a great way to extend our wardrobe for less. We can also buy nicer brands that will last longer since they are cheaper. My thrift store buys have been wearing MUCH better than the things I've bought brand new at other stores.

--Relying more on cash. We both spend way more money if we use our debit cards. The envelope system is very helpful.