impulse buying (come out of the store only with what you had intended to go get)
I have to admit previously I often bought items on impulse that weren't on my list. Recently though I have noticed that I have been sticking pretty well to buying what is on my list, and seldom anything extra.
Yesterday I went in to buy a vacuum (I smoked mine Wed), and came out with impulse buys of 3 additional covered plastic containers (totes that were on sale-Christmas colors), 2 larger and one smaller. I attribute my lack of impulse buying to the fact that I have started deep cleaning, and getting rid of a lot of 'stuff'. In sorting and getting rid of 'stuff' I have thought about and discovered that I just don't need any more new stuff. What I will have left after cleaning and decluttering will be things I really like or that have a worthy function, and will be stored neatly.
One bin I bought yesterday was for holding all (I hope anyway) painting stuff...ie pans, rollers, brushes, etc. The bin will keep them all together, organized, and clean.
The other 2 bins don't have a specific purpose, yet, but I'm sure they will be utilized before everything is cleaned and organized.

I've recently been hanging out at The Organizing the Home Forum and that has helped me a lot.

Sue

..."impulse buying (come out of the store only with what you had intended to go get)".

That's why I use grocery money ($125/month - in cash - for two adults) for food ONLY!!! Otherwise your food dollars end up being spent on all kinds of oddball things completely unrelated to food. "What's for dinner"? A new spatula, shampoo, and a magazine that caught my attention as I was in line waiting to check out.

I also limit the amount of grocery money I spend on the most expensive food item - meat. I spend no more than $10/week for meat (meat also includes fish at our house), and I try to keep it to $2 or less per pound. By having one or two days per week that is vegetarian (meatless), and 3 other days that include low amounts of meat mixed with lower-costing meat substitutes, that's more than enough servings of protein.

Sue, I found baskets/plastic tubs/and an assortment of other containers helps me restrict/contain the number of things I have. As an example, I once had bars of bath soap stashed in 3 places in the house and I really didn't have any idea how many I actually had. I purposed a storage container that fits on a shelf in our linen closet FOR bars of soap. When it's full, that's all the soap I buy. It may be half empty before I find a rock-bottom price and stock-up.

Also in the linen closet are small baskets for deodorant, shaving cream, toothpaste and shampoo. I only store as many as will fill those containers and only purchase when I have space -- and at rock-bottom prices.

-Grainlady

It was a lidded plastic bin bonanza at Wal-Mart... the scavenged Holiday decorations section was coming down and being replaced with racks and racks of storage containers. On impulse, I had to buy two of the 20 gallon size - any of the Christmas decorations I have and routinely try to use every year that don't fit are going out.

Spend less is a bit simplistic. If people, as a matter of course, spent less there would likely be little need for a forum such as this. The "new normal" is as much a mindset as it is a dollars & cents reality.

If you just don't go to the store, you don't spend. And that includes going to the store on the internet. So much is simply self-discipline. Impulse buying isn't always bad. If I find something on clearance that I can use, and it's a good price, I make the impulse purchase and have one less thing on the list later.

Having a pantry keeps you from going to the store. OK, maybe one day you'd prefer to have chicken over hamburger, but having burger in the freezer can keep you from going to the store. There's other benefits to that also, such as not spending gas money or wear on the vehicle to go to the store for that unnecessary trip. Also gives you time to do some things at home, whether recreation or productive.

This business of I have to run to the store for _________, always bugged me. Staples such as toilet paper, toilet articles, soaps, cleaners, etc. There's no excuse for not having a supply at home IMO. For convenience if no other reason and I have yet to see a place that can't have an extra package of toilet paper around.

For me, I still use the credit card. I tried the cash and envelope thing and if you're not disciplined enough to use a credit card, what's to say you won't take the gas money when you want a fast food burger? Then take the rent money to put gas in the car, then the electric money goes for rent... For some it works, great. You do what works for you.

But I don't think it can be stressed enough, make and use some type of price list/price book to track prices at least on common purchases and learn what actually *is* a good price. Then the impulse purchases of clearance items become an essential frugal practice instead of a budget buster. And if you do buy a lot, you need to inventory what you have.

If you just don't go to the store, you don't spend.
A while back I was in town with 3 friends, and one needed something from The Dollar Store. They all got out to go in, but I opted to just patiently wait in the vehicle as there was not a single thing that I needed, and probably nothing I 'really' wanted. They really couldn't understand why I would pass up a chance to go in to The Dollar Store, and thought that there was surely something I wanted or needed.
I do however go in when there are numerous things I need and then will stock up on them, but know that it is often hard to resist junk food (candy) purchases.

Sue

I totally agree with this. We rarely go shopping except to the grocery store, and when we go there we usually buy the same stuff every time. No junk food, nothing with sugar, etc. I'd like to buy frozen blueberries, but they add sugar. Why the heck they need to add sugar to blueberries I don't know.

We probably could have a nicer house and furniture, but it is so nice to know its all paid for. That is worth more than "things." A small house keeps us from spending a lot because there is no space, LOL!

Not only is cooking at home from what we have in the freezer thrifty, it is healthier. We avoid buying packaged things that are full of chemicals and preservatives. With two growing teenagers,I like to make as much as possible from scratch or what I can grow in our orchard and garden. If the girls want a sweet snack, they will get out the cookbook and bake something. They are learning to cook at the same time I am knowing that they are eating healthy good food. There is very little you can find in a box that can't be made at home. We save when we shop and we save because we have kids that don't get sick and need to be taken to the Dr. very often.

Hi colorcrazy,

With fewer kids becoming the new norm in many jurisdictions, these days, resulting in reduced need for portable classrooms ...

... perhaps you could find one ... at a good price ... if needed for storage?

ole joyful

Colorcrazy said...

"We probably could have a nicer house and furniture, but it is so nice to know its all paid for. That is worth more than "things." A small house keeps us from spending a lot because there is no space, LOL!"

That works for me too! :)

Hi, Ole Joyful

The tiny house comes with a small lot. There is NO way that I am getting storage. Aside from the family china packed in boxes in the attic for my grand nieces, if anything in this house becomes useless, it gets sold on CL or donated.

We have a lot of hand made crafts on the walls. I would not part with that. But most of the other stuff came from the family. Some of our furniture came from auctions and CL. We paid cash for our one car and most of my clothes for the office come from eBay.

Of course, we do find ways to spend money - we take nice trips. No fancy hotels or meals, but we like to visit different countries. Not getting any younger, so we need to do it while we can. I enjoy my job, so I'm working beyond retirement age partly so that I can enjoy those trips.