The other day driving into work I heard an interesting conversation between two radio hosts. The topic was related to fall and when should you turn your furnace on. One of the hosts actually told a story of a close friend who lived in NY state who doesn’t ever turn his furnace on in the winter, even if it is 10 below! This close friend of the host lived alone, so he didn’t have to worry about the comfort of others. Now, I don’t know how factual this story is, but I believe their are frugal people out there who live to this extreme. That got me thinking about when frugal living is taken to an extreme and it becomes more of a hazard. Not turning your heat on in the middle of winter in the north doesn’t inspire too many people to come over and visit. Is this person sacrificing any type of social interaction by not turning on their heat? Has this persons frugal ways cost him relationships or close friends he may have had by choosing an extreme way of life? How does he keep his pipes from freezing in the winter and causing damage to his home?
I think each person or family has different thresholds and tolerances on finding ways to saving money. For example, I have been reading some posts recently on Early Retirement Extreme about a money saving tip being used that involves living in an RV! The would not be an easy way to save money for my famiy. Not that there is anything wrong with it (in fact, I admire this behavior), but raising two young boys in an RV would add a lot of extra stress to our lives.
After listening to the radio talk show, I started thinking about frugal behaviors practiced by my wife and I that other people may think of as extreme. The following list is a brainstorm of these frugal behaviors by my wife and I that have been considered extreme by others in the past.
- Heat - We set our thermostats in the winter to 62 degrees while we are sleeping and 66 when we are at home and awake.
- Air Conditioning - We keep our A/C set at 82-84 degrees in the summer.
- Hair Cuts - I get my haircut 4 times per year. I should get it cut monthly as fast as it grows, but I try and save money by limiting the number of haircuts I get per year. My wife actually cuts our two son’s hair but is hesitant on cutting mine.
- Eating Out - We rarely do it.
- Vacations - Haven’t been on one for over 3 years.
- Phone - We don’t have long distance, caller id, and call waiting. We only have local service in order to get DSL at home.
- Home - We are slow to decorate, paint, and purchase furniture for our home. We take our time and only buy items at a discount.
- Cars - I have a small Saturn car that is not very easy to fit two car seats in, but it is paid off and I will drive it until it dies.
- Food - Our oldest son loves plain pasta. We will often make a meal out of cooking pasta and throwing some seasoning on it with a vegetable side. This is a very cheap and quick meal.
- Water - We don’t water our grass in the summer, instead relying strictly on rainfall.
- Entertainment - Our entertainment budget relies solely on free movies from the library and going to parks.
I am sure I have forgotten several items, but it is a start. I don’t believe any of the items listed above are extreme at all, but many friends and family do. What frugal behaviors that you practice are questioned by others?
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Dawn 10.27.08 at 12:24 pm
When I wasn’t a landlord, I turned the heat off completely at night. It would get down to 47 or so at the lowest, but not so low I was worried about pipes. I can’t do that any more though, since the tenant and I share a furnace.
I use a french press coffee maker. A kettle heating up for 10 minutes on the stove uses less electricity than my coffeemaker. Actually I have to say, the added benefit is my french press coffee is actually better than the coffeepot stuff.
I save and reuse foil. I also save the wax paper packaging bags that come inside cereal and cracker boxes for deposing things I want to keep tidy while in the trash - like grease from cooking.
I save all my vegetable peelings and scraps in a bag int he freezer. In another is chicken bones, and in still a third is red meat bones. When I have enough I pop them in a my soup kettle with lots of water and a few spices and make my own stock.
karla (threadbndr) 10.28.08 at 11:40 am
My office thinks I’m strange for brownbagging as much as I do.
passivefamilyincome 10.30.08 at 6:36 am
karla - I get hassled all the time for not going out to lunch with co-workers. I tell them it is nothing personal.
Jane 10.30.08 at 10:26 am
I use to live in NYC and becasue I lived in a co-op they were required to have the Heat on Oct.-April if the outside temp. was below 55 degrees no matter wat the temp was inside. (we had radiator heat.) now that I live in a house I keep the heat set at a modest 68 degrees. I kind of miss wearing tank tops and shorts inside when it was below freezing.
passivefamilyincome 10.31.08 at 12:46 pm
Jane - Did you have any control over how warm it was with the radiator heat?