I will be doing a mighty load of catalog cancelling, as well. I’m a long-time thrifter, and even if I do order out once in a while, 1 pizza = one week’s worth of food (dinner and breakfast). And I am a long-time proponent of the “Use it up, wear it out, make it do - or do without.” I’ve “done without” for many decades, and I’m not dead yet!

Another way to save $ on food is to shop at the farmer’s market. We have a couple of indoor farmer’s markets that have stalls for local produce, meat, poultry and eggs that are cheaper and higher quality than the grocery store. If you have space for a chest freezer, then you can buy bushels of tomatoes, peppers, and berries and peaches in the summer and cook with them all winter.

I found a couple of years ago that when I cancelled all of our catalogues - which takes a quite a bit of time and effort - I was less tempted to buy things I didn’t need. As a plus, we get less mail and have to recycle less paper.

Not having TV helps quite a bit as we’re not exposed to the barrage of adverts telling us we need to do, buy, watch, or eat this or that particular thing. Dining out is limited to special occasions, and I buy flour and sugar in bulk so I can make breads and cakes and things like that for The Beard. Like Phyllis, we tend to “use it up, wear it out, make it do - or do without.”

I agree with ebay but after getting burned several times recently I will say that you should NEVER BUY CLOTHES FOR ANYONE ELSE on ebay. Ouch. For clothing expenses when you’re just going to have to spend some money (i.e., for my job, I have to wear a suit; for presents) I swear by Marshall’s and TJMaxx (the clearance racks of course). Ditto for shoes. Also for shoes: gotham city online and grapevinehill (ebay sellers) if you must have semi-designer shoes but have 1/4 the money needed. I try to get nice suits - name-brand in the $300 range - and I don’t pay more than $60. That’s still money but a huge savings. Oh, I hear the DC area has something even better than TJMaxx/Marshall’s called Ross’s.

More on food: learn to make your own bread; it’s way cheaper and tastes better. Buy whole hams and turkey breasts and beef roasts on sale and roast them and slice them for sandwiches (saves 50% on deli meat). Buy brick cheese and slice it yourself. Obviously, stockpile tomato sauce and pasta when they go on sale. If you have friends who will socially pressure you to eat out when you’d rather not (i.e. brunch after Sunday Mass, I’ve always found), invest the energy in keeping your house presentable and bacon and eggs and muffin fixings stocked and invite them over. (You’ll spend less feeding everybody than you would going out, and they may take your good example and invite you.) Learn to cook rice and potatoes if you don’t already. Wine is cheaper to buy in the store than in a restaurant, if you must have it. Treats of all kinds (hummus? H’ors d’ouvres?) are cheaper to make yourself. Almost any kind of decadent confection is cheaper AND better at home. Nobody will complain about it as a hostess gift when it’s yummy and homemade, even if it isn’t booze! When getting together with groups of friends, do dinners pot luck. Instead of having people over to DINNER, have them over to barbeque in the summer. The fixings are less expensive, other people will bring everything but the main course, and everyone enjoys it. Create social occasions around things everyone wants to do but that are free and eat chips and soda, rather than going “out.” (I.e. watching sporting events, political debates if you’re so minded, playing board games, etc.) If your budget is a bit looser and you’re looking for other entertainment, become a follower of community theater (tickets only a few dollars and probably more fun that the productions of professionals). Cheaper still at your local college or university. Move into an area that’s wired for internet so you don’t have to pay for your own. (Impractical, I know.) Look for the things you don’t REALLY need if you can get them for free - a community pool, a gym at your apartment complex, an open-to-the-public track at your local high school. Then, you can learn to rely heavily on that instead of adopting a “necessity” like a gym membership. Go hiking at public parks with your kids. Go to the beach. For exercise, go running outside (who wants to run on a treadmill anyway???). To tone your arms, do flys with Ragu spaghetti sauce jars!

When you want to update your wardrobe, do a clothing swap with all your similarly situated girlfriends. Everyone will be happy with the “new” things and it’s free. If you’ve a group of girlfriends in the area (I know I’m sorely neglecting the men), which is likely if you’re in the suburbs, create a complicated system of accounting whereby you babysit for others for free and earn credits that you can spend for a sitter of your own. (I know people who successfully did this.) With these same gals, arrange to cook (inexpensive) meals for a few days for new mothers so they can feed their families without them having to eat out. If there are people you’d just love to get presents, offer to do things you know they really need (babysitting, i.e.).

As many of the above, I swear by thrift stores - if I have need for “retail therapy” (!) or an afternoon shopping with friends or if I just need new jeans (I may only buy work clothes really new) I got to the local Salvation Army, which is tons of fun. All my furniture is hand-me-downs, and when I next need to “upgrade” the furniture, it will absolutely be from Craig’s List. (My car will also need replacing and it will of COURSE be used and I will buy it from Craig’s List or a private seller advertising online, not under any circumstances a used car lot.) All kitchen implements should be bought at thrift stores, as should new winter coats (provided that you’re interested in “long” coats - wool, fur, leather, or trenches. For the sporty type, buy at discounters’ - i.e. TJMaxx - in January).

The only tip I use that I haven’t seen yet is that I cut my own hair. If you have very long or very short hair, it’s quite easy. (Cutting shoulder-length hair would require the assistance of a patient friend.) If you don’t work in an office, a few small errors on your first try would probably be survivable, I think.

Holidays: if you have lots of people to buy Christmas presents for, create your whole list and start looking November 1 at the latest. If you can’t afford that (and Christmas presents even for the “obligatory” people at a firm per-person budget will absolutely bankrupt a normal person. When did this happen???), another suggestion: learn to make artisan chocolates. Many areas offer classes, but you can learn all you need from recipes in the Joy of Cooking or online. Figure say four kinds that you want, buy all the ingredients on sale, make a large batch, make your own presentation materials out of craft supplies, and give each person a small set, beautifully presented. You’ll cut around 75% per person out of the present budget and it will still look lovely. If you wait for the right week around Thanksgiving each year, you can literally get a turkey for free with your grocery purchase. (If your family really likes turkey, get two in this manner and freeze the other for when they’ve forgotten about the first, or for Christmas.) If you have to buy Christmas cards, buy them the week after Christmas cards. If you’d like to make them, make them. If you can see your way clear, don’t send Christmas cards until your budget changes - send them electronically. (You can create something really unique and you only have to make one.)

Wedding presents are a bit of a thorn in the side for the budget. If possible, avoid being friends with young single people at all. (I jest.) My solution has been to collect Bed, Bath and Beyond 20% off coupons (they send me one a month but they honor them beyond the expiration date) and buy presents there with the coupons. If the couple is registered there, it’s easy. If they’re registered elsewhere, see if there’s a name-brand item that might be sold at BBB as well and buy it there. Or look on Amazon. If they registered only at Macy’s and Bloomingdale’s, well, sometimes I feel a bit touchy about that. Unless you (or their friends generally) are of more liberal means, this always strikes me as rather graceless (but what do I know?). If you can’t afford anything on the registry that is not a single fork or the like, buy them something they would have registered for if only they’d thought of it (a pretty vase, a picture frame in the style of those they did register for, a kitchen gadget which you have discovered and swear by). Either their other acquaintance are all affluent and will buy the registry out, or nobody can afford it and they will be justly repaid for being inconsiderate to their guests. You are not required to sacrifice your groceries for the month for someone else’s occasion and it is NOT good breeding to imply the contrary. If you are invited to a wedding that will OBVIOUSLY be so expensive as to demand a present you could not afford, I personally think it would be better to find a polite reason to decline. (I know there are various social conclusions on this point.) Throw bridal and baby showers in your own home. If another lady asks you to help with a shower and she is hosting, make much of the food (including the cake), and take chores off her hands, rather than springing for something that needs to be bought ready-made. Research inexpensive or free shower games (which are plentiful) and do not buy them. For showers when the mother doesn’t have a lot of money, go in with other guests on something pricey that she really needs. Don’t bother (singly or in a group) buying something pricey that she does NOT need.

Many public libraries also have programs for kids, including storytime for little kids. All free.

Netflix is cheap but free is even better than cheap!

Signed, Librarian from a Public Library

P.S. There are a bunch of “frugal” this and “frugal” that websites out there, with lots more great ideas for saving $$. All just a Google search away!

Like that old Yankee saying goes: “Use it up, wear it out, make it do - or do without”.