conscious consumer/simple living

[stprcsm]

I may be the only one that continually finds these threads helpful and interesting but Ill post for it anyway.

this month has been pretty good.

clutterwise: I gave 3 bags of clothes and fabric to AM Vets, finished a large project (crocheted afghan) using scraps and stash, used zipper and leg of destroyed pair of pants to make a pencil-bag

moneywise: found a perfectly good used backpack I need on ebay for $10 when I had expected to pay at least 2x that in a store. plus its my fav color, olive green. had enough to get a class out of the way this summer at community college.

everyone knows because I say it everytime I post but Im starting school this fall, I hope to not need a credit card, I have never had one but I think it would be safe to have even if I never use it. know nothing about them, what should I look for?? thanks

[naturallysteph]

Ooo! I can be of help here! Credit card tips:

The reason why you DO want a credit card is to build up credit. Credit helps you buy other things -- cars, homes . . . it even helps you rent apartments. The best way to build up credit is to use it on BIG purchases like plane tickets or furniture. Use it a few times a year (or maybe even once a month) and pay it off IMMEDIATELY. ONLY use it if you have the money in another account. Never, ever let a balance sit on it for more than a month. This is very important. But building up credit is a good, good thing that will make your life easier when you graduate.

Look for one with:

+ no annual fee (they often give this option to people in school)
+ low interest rate (make sure there is a cap on what the rate CAN be, make sure that the rate can't change for no reason, and find something under 12%)
+ check their cash advance fees (make sure that the fee is not above 5%, and that the APR -- annual percentage rate -- is not above 19.99%)
+ make sure that the card is with a reputable company (mine was from Citibank and they have AMAZING customer service)

Good luck! Private message me if you have any other questions. My husband and I both worked in banking.

-- Steph

P.S. Your backpack sounds cute!

[deborahthecraft]

I am in an on going anti-consumerism project that really helps keep me from getting into debt.

Eating in/making meals that can be ameal and then part of another meal or left overs for lunch.

Watching sales in the Sunday ads but only for things I NEED.

No sodas,coffees or candy/gum unless it is accounted for and pre-planned.

No new craft materials unless they are to compleate an already begun project and I intend to work on it at time of purchase.

Library-no magazines/books(except for ones I already have subscriptions to,friends in my circle also trade around so we all get to see different stuff)
Clothes;no new ones,re-vamp old or make new ones with on hand patterns and fabric.

No Blockbuster=share a NetFlix subscription with a neighbor or roomate.

Water filter on the tap instead of buying a million bottles per month at $1+ each(that REALLY adds up)

Passes instead of one trip tickets always saves.

Shop for airplane tickets 30 days in advance,minumum 15 days.

This month I have gotten rid of two 20 gallon containers of fabric,shoes and clothes to GoodWill and gave the old VCR (have had a VCR/DVD since Christmas) to the Childrens Center...It feels good to get my space back and give to others.

[vintage piranha]

[naturallysteph]

You're welcome, Tina! I'm glad I could be of help to you!

-- Steph

[amanelle]

I'm trying to do this now. Our income recently went way down, but then again so did our bills. I need to get some money saved up so we can hopefully move across the country at the end this year/beginning of next.

-found a really good foot stool at the Goodwill and plan to recover it. Also found a $5 George Foreman Grill while I was there.

-I need a new comforter and instead of buying one I'm making a quilt out of scrap fabrics.

-Use coupons/sales papers like crazy. It rocks when the grocery store has Cheerios buy one get one free AND I have a $1.00 coupon. That's 2 boxes of Cheerios for $1.00 each.

-libraries/used book stores/half.com

-I have the blockbuster rewards program. I pay $10 a year and get at least one free movie a month plus Mon-Wed it's rent one get one free

-Our Zoo is half priced Nov-Feb.

-I cook a lot of stuff that be frozen. Double or triple the recipe.

-I try one new recipe each week to keep from getting bored.

-baking soda is a good cleaner, I put it in the laundry, vacuum with it, it works well for septic tanks if you have one

-I'm getting ready to have a yard sale to get rid of all of the crap we've managed to aquire over the last 5 years. We'll probably do something fun with the money instead of something smart like saving it

-Vacation in the off season. I go to the beach in October. My hotel room is $22 a night plus the attractions are cheaper.




One thing I learned the hard way about not having a credit card is that you can't rent a car. I drove 30 miles to the airport only to discover that I couldn't use my debit card. I had to have a credit card. A few places will let you use a debit, but they hold a deposit on your debit card ($100-$300 is what I found) plus they are usually more expensive to rent from.

[stprcsm]

Thanks for the credit card info. I already have credit from paying off my car, and living on my own for the last 2 year. part of me thinks that I have lived this long w/o one I wont need it, but then again I lived in the same town as my parents but while at college I wont, -plus my school in in a city so who knows what may happen.

my brother is at the point that he puts as much as he can toward his cc payment (usually more than $100) and it doesnt even cover intrest.

Im pretty thrifty but this college thing is new to me and it seems every week there is a new fee or deposit. $35 here, $50 there really adds up.
luckily there is a kitchen in my dorm so I can cook my own meals instead of a meal plan (cheapest meal plan works out to more than $6/meal =$18/day = $126/week which is crazy since my grocery bill is usually less than $25/week!

[twilight]

I've gotten rid of five trash bags full of fabric, clothes and various junk. (We have a shed at the recycle center called the free pile where you can get rid of stuff.)

I just put a new batch of various stuff on ebay. I'm also trying to finish up craft projects before buying supplies for new ones.
_________________
Craft Revolution-one purl at a time.
My blog:
Crafting Chaos
My podcast show:
The Twilight and Thebes Show

[viggie]

as i get ready to movei find myself leaning in this direction more and i have started planning a lot.

i am inheriting a veggie garden with tomatoes, potatoes, herbs, lettuce, and cabbage among other things and my mom has more stuff down the street so i plan on working meals around ingredients i have readily available.

relating to the veggie one, i have discovered a fabulous farmer's market about 10 minutes away every saturday morning so when i do have to spend i can support local growers as much as possible.

netflix is saving me a ton of money on the late fees i seemed to always rack up at the video rental store.

the library is one of my best friends.

i am going to be needing new window treatments and bedding stuff in the new house but i'm doing lots of hunting online and off for cheap cool fabric so i can whip out the old sewing machine for them

[CraftinFool]

I love getting new creative ideas on saving $.

A lot of what I do has already been mentioned, but here's my 2 cents:

- I get DVDs, books, and audio books from the library. Our library rocks - they have great DVDs and you can rent them for 2 wks. I haven't paid to see a movie in ages (and when I go to the movies I sneak soda and popcorn in, of course).

- When I go shopping (which is not too often), I carry something I'm thinking about buying around with me as I go around the store. It sounds silly, but sometimes it seems like I just need to "be with" the item for a while and often I will put it back and not choose to buy it.

- I get lots of good tips from The Dollar Stretcher at: http://www.stretcher.com

- When I buy CDs or books I get them from used stores, yard sales, library sales, and half.com.

- I bring lunch. No bringy, no eatie. The only time I eat lunch out is like for someone's birthday or something.

- Selling books I've read or CDs I longer need on half.com

- Buying generic health and grocery stuff when I can (like ibuprofen)

- Buying in bulk at BJ's

- Growing our own herbs

[Silky]

I too have been trying really hard to be thriftier...mostly out of necessity but also because it's often an environmentally responsible thing to do. Some other things:

- ride my bike instead of transit or car - always cheaper and healthy too!

- instead of buying a car, I joined a carsharing group

- trying to buy everything used first, then new only if I have to

- yard sales, yard sales, yard sales!! - many good deals to be had

I highly recommend a book called the Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyzyn (I think that's how it's spelled!) - a lot of it is geared toward people with kids, but there's tons and tons of ideas and lots on the philosophy of living frugally. It's also all little articles, since it was originally a newsletter, which makes it great for, ahem, bathroom reading.

[za-za]

[stprcsm]

I have saltines in my car. one of the few foods that can withstand extreams and still be edible ( granted they are usually stale but....stops me from pulling into taco bell where the shells are stale anyway). if they are too stale to eat you can feed them to the ducks for some free entertainment.

[alysia]

This year in my Inequality in Society class are teacher had us read "The Overspent American" by Juliet B. Schor and it really opened my eyes to the buy - and - spend trend she describes. My mom and I were both in the class and have gradually begun to simplify our lives so that they don't revolve around shopping and acquiring material possessions that we don't really need. Stuff that I have accomplished so far:

- I have sorted clothes to give away into piles.
- Stopped buying books and am concentrating on reading the mountain of books we have bought over the past year but never read.
- We have started to share food with friends and family.
- Last year I quit buying magazines.