Being Frugal: How to Live a Less Expensive and More Productive Life

This article is written in response to Be Frugal: Living Well on Less Money by Bailey Landon, which is about being frugal. I am fully supporting this article and hope to provide additional tips on living a less expensive and more productive life.
I have often been told that I am too frugal and refuse to spend money on anything. I have also found that my parents and siblings are the exact same way. That’s right; we are the family that would only go to a restaurant if there is a buffet and a special. We never buy soda in a restaurant, nor do we choose to go to movie theatres for public entertainment. Its just too expensive, besides the movie comes out on video within a year, (yes we are too cheap to buy DVD players) and it will eventually be on network television. 

Clipping coupons is the normal expectation, and we never really buy anything that is not on sale. Even if it is on sale, we won’t buy it unless we anticipate getting our money’s worth and using it for at least the next five years (if not longer). 

Did I mention garage sales? We love them! I must admit as a child I was rather embarrassed to go garage sailing (especially as a pre-teen), however, now I find the greatest treasures and furniture from them. 

Yep, I even remember going grocery shopping on Saturdays around lunch time and getting a free meal from the free samples. Okay, so maybe my family is a little extreme. Perhaps it is a little abnormal to only order the cheapest thing on the menu, and wait for gas to go down before buying it. Maybe it is a little strange to get excited when an item we’ve been waiting to buy finally goes on sale. (As previously mentioned, it would be silly to buy it at wholesale price.)