Replacing your washer or dryer

 

One of the things I do as a frugalista is research high dollar purchases.  Educate yourself on various features of the item and how they affect the cost to start off.  Know exactly what you want before going into the store and purchasing the item that has features you don't need.  If possible, familiarize yourself with the brand and compare store prices.

Unfortunately I am currently in the market for a new washing machine and have no idea what I actually want.  So I was very happy to come across the following article from Mary Hunt of Everyday Cheapsake that goes into everything you need to know before making the purchase of a washer or dryer.

Click here to go to the article and check out her blog while you are there.

Thoughts from a frugalista!

 

Frugal people understand the value of their money and don't indulge in unnecessary spending.

Being frugal is not being cheap.  A simple explanation is possessing an awareness of being over indulgent in spending.  Ask yourself "do I really need this?" before making purchases.

I'm a serious frugalista!  Read on for some of my thinking on being frugal.

In the past, I would overwork myself to make more money.  For what?  So I could purchase more stuff?  Currently, after a lifetime of overindulgence in my purchases, my house is stacked with way too much stuff that I should never have bought.  Now I have to get rid of the unnecessary stuff so I can live an orderly life and be comfortable in my surroundings.  

I often laugh at my former self for foolishly spending money instead of realizing that retirement and a fixed income was in my future.  What was I thinking?  Or was I thinking at all about my crazy spending?

One of the most important things I do to make it easy to stay frugal is to keep a budget and stick to it.  

My favorite way to overindulge and spend too much money is ordering meals from Door Dash rather than having to cook a meal for one that I really don't like to do.  If I didn't keep a budget and track my spending throughout the month, it would be so easy for me to overindulge in placing those orders.

Set financial goals!

Tracking my spending throughout the month keeps me living within my means.  I am aware of the fact that I am living on a fixed income through Social Security and have to stretch those dollars and leave enough at the end of the month to go toward my savings to cover emergencies.

Don't spend more on name brands . . . buy generic!  You'd be surprised at the difference in cost.  From what I have found in my research, most items are made at the same factory.  The only difference is the label and the cost.

I could go on and on!  I've gone through some rough financial times and try so hard to not go back.  There are so many little things I do that I will discuss in future posts.

A great article on how to be a beginning frugalista . . . click here.

How to Save on Your Electric Bill

 

My electricity bills went up drastically this year until my AC unit stopped working and was too expensive to fix.  That is when I realized how much it actually costs to have the luxury of air conditioning.

Anyway, I found an article that gives many tips on saving on your electricity bill.

Click here to go to the article.