The bulk of this article was originally posted at my sister site, Simple.Organized.Life. Some of you may wonder why I am posting this here on My Two Dollars, but the reason should be obvious — frugality! Who can’t use 2 GB of free online storage?
So, you think you are frugal? You don’t have anything on these Freegans. According to Wikipedia, Freeganism is an anti-consumerist lifestyle where people employ alternative living strategies based on limited participation in the conventional economy and minimal consumption of resources. Freegans “embrace community, generosity, social concern, freedom, cooperation, and sharing in opposition to a society based on materialism, moral apathy, competition, conformity, and greed.” The lifestyle involves salvaging discarded, unspoiled food from supermarket dumpsters, known as dumpster diving. So…now how frugal do you think you really are?
This coming weekend, I am not going to spend a dime. Especially after all my visitors and exorbitant dining out expenses this month, a weekend without spending could really help my budget out. While I do normally try to watch my spending, even a few bucks every day adds up to a lot at the end of the month! If you have never done it, I highly recommend trying a “No Spending” weekend, where you don’t spend any money on anything other than regular household bills that might happen to be due at the time. This means no movies, no stops for coffee, no meals out, no museum visits — nothing that costs any money. But if you can’t spend any money, what kinds of things can you do by yourself or with your family instead? So many people think you have to spend money in order to have a good time, but that is totally untrue! Here are a few things you can do that cost absolutely nothing:
If you haven’t checked out the My Two Dollars Free Magazines page lately, you might be missing out on free subscriptions to your favorites. Why pay for a magazine you want when you might be able to get it for free? But remember – don’t just get one because it’s free, get it because you actually want it. Unwanted free stuff just makes more clutter and waste!
This giveaway has ended. It’s time for another book review and giveaway, and I think some of you guys are really going to be interested in this one! Frugillionaire: 500 Fabulous Ways To Live Richly & Save A Fortune by Francine Jay is a book about just that – being frugal, learning how and where to save money, and how to live a more rich life without spending a lot of money. Celebrating frugality as a lifestyle choice and not something to feel deprived by, the book has inspired me to look for even more ways to be frugal with my money. I thought I was being frugal, but there are so many more ways I could be doing more! As defined by Ms. Jay, “Unlike millionaires and billionaires, frugillionaires aren’t defined by the number of zeroes in their net worth, or the haute couture in their closets. They don’t have personal assistants or private planes. They don’t summer in the Hamptons, winter in the islands, or fly to Paris for the weekend. Quite the contrary: frugillionaires master the art of frugality – living richly while saving a fortune.” Well said, and exactly the way I try to live my life and preach here almost daily. I am no more concerned with being wealthy than I am with who is on the cover of tabloid magazines this week – I am interested in neither. I just want a comfortable life that means something more to me than what is in my driveway! So while I have been working on being frugal with the money I do have, this book definitely opened my eyes to even more possibilities. From saving money on entertainment, travel, children, holidays and food, it is quite a valuable resource for those looking to be more frugal with their money. 500 more ways! I totally recommend to anyone to pick up this book if you can – it’s worth every penny. But luckily for one of you, I have a copy to giveaway to a lucky reader…for free!
