Your environment makes a big difference. We live rurally and homeschool - our circle of friends for the most part are a lot like us. Thrift store shopping is normal and celebrated. Summer gardens are common conversational topics. Aldi is the hip store. Nature walks and outside time is encouraged. It’s also very common around here for people to have small groups that they do kids clothes swapping in. Around here, people have bigger families yet still probably spend less and have a smaller “carbon footprint” than a lot of big city people.
My grandparents lived through the depression. Even though my grandmother wasn't frugal, my grandfather definitely was. He told me to never go into debt unless it was for a house. He told me that if I couldn't afford it, I didn't need it. If I purchased anything using a credit card, make sure that the entire balance is paid at the end of the billing cycle. Even though he had 2 credit cards, he barely used them. He paid cash for everything, including his cars. He told me to make sure to always balance my checkbook and to shop only once per week. When I was younger, I can count on one hand how many times we went out to eat. We only ate out on special occasions. I missed them very much.
Our washer broke a few months ago, and I searched the internet and TH-cam for solutions. I ended up finding a TH-cam video showing me how to repair it. $28 in parts later, it works like brand new 👍🏻
Good for you Lisal! I found the same to be true for my clothes dryer. The belt on my dryer snapped. With TH-cam tutorials and less than $20 for a replacement drum belt, it's working well again.
The thing about being frugal is it allows you to spend your money on the things you think are most important. We are basically frugal, yet we have whatever we want. We ate out pre-covid much more than we do now. We use coupons at the grocery store, but we purchase whatever we want. Until we moved into town, we had 5 acres in the country with a giant garden and apple and peach orchard. (We are very much fruit snobs and are very selective in what we buy at the store. LOL) I'm jealous of you having blackberries...my favorite. We were even able to pay cash for our custom built dream home. When we were approaching retirement we had three goals. 1. Have no debt. 2. Pay for our son's college education. and 3. Retire at age 55. We were able to do all three!!
I wanted to share that my family were missionaries and it was a way of life to live frugally as I grew up and then later as I stayed on the 'field'. We did all of this. My Mom made bread every week, she washed tin foil over and over again, even washed plastic bags till you couldn't anymore, she sewed many of our clothes, and, naturally all of our food was made from scratch. Before we were fortunate enough to have piping coming from the river to our home, we had 50 gallon drums that collected rain water, we boiled it for drinking, heated it for once a week baths, brushed our teeth with it and only struggled during the Dry Season when we had to bring water from the river. I guess you can see that I miss it and I'll stop there.... :)So, listening to your talk brought back many memories! Thanks
This video hits home with us! We do the homemade almost everything! Even some clothes which I would like to sew more....eventually. My grandmother taught me to sew, baked endlessly with us and for us, etc. We rarely eat out etc. THIS is why its soooooooo important to hand these habits down to our children and grandchildren! Better life,,,,Don''t follow the culture !!! Thanks Robin!
Oh my gosh, I refuse to throw food away! I plan very carefully for our week. It’s just hubby and I and neither of us have a problem with eating leftovers. Mon- Twiced baked potatoes and salad Tues- usually a pasta dish or Mexican dish Wed- Chef or Cobb salad Thur- Salmon or we make sushi Friday- Pizza and salad Sat- We order out locally Sun- leftovers from Tues dinner I don’t like having the “what’s for dinner” on my mind all of the time, so this works for us! ❤️
Hi Robin - What a great video. My parents went through the depression and they taught us many valuable frugal ways. Dad told us that if you scrimp on the necessaries you would have plenty of money for the luxury’s. HA! I still have ledgers where he wrote down every dime he spend. $7 a dress for Donna, $1.50 haircut for Bill, etc. Bill and I were given an allowance of $1.00 a week which was a lot back them. Most kids got 50 cents but Dad told us we were to pay God first so we would put 25 cents in Sunday School collection, Then he said we were to pay ourselves second so we put 25 cents in our banks and then we could spend the last 50 cents anyway we wanted. I used that practice all my life. I have some friends that are in their 70s and have still not learned how to manage their money. So sad. Thanks for reminding us of these good practices. Love in Christ.
Thank you Donna! I love hearing about your parents. They taught you well. Hopefully we can help a few more people see the wisdom- before they have to learn the hard way. God bless you my sweet friend! 🧡😊🧡
You're amazing Robin I've been following you for a while cuz I do love all of your videos but by far this is the Best. Congrats And keep on uploading You always inspire me ❤❤❤
Sounds like our grandmothers were very much alike in their thinking. I had forgotten that many of the frugal things I do I actually learned from my grandmother. Even though we are empty nesters we still buy in bulk when we can. I have learned that almost anything can be stored in the freezer. I especially use my freezer for recipes that make too many servings for us to eat in a couple meals. I just separate the recipes out into smaller containers and freeze them for later. This weekend we had surprise guests and I was able to pull out Vegetable soup and cornbread from the freezer for supper and a breakfast casserole and biscuits and muffins for breakfast. I had nice meals to serve and I got to have time to visit instead of being in the kitchen.
@@FaithandFlour I recommend this too, although we tend to store separate ingredients. We prepare them in bulk, make them convenient to use, so later cooking becomes much easier.
Don't just buy ONE whole chicken. When they're on sale at .89 a lb or less, I'll buy the limit (usually four), cut them all up and vacuum seal them in various configurations for single meals (chunks, cutlets, wings & drumsticks, etc.) and make a big pot of bone broth from the carcasses and skins. If you take the carcasses out after they've simmered for about 30 minutes, you can pick almost a whole pound of meat off of them that is great to use in enchiladas, chicken salad, or similar meals. Skim the fat to use for frying chicken stir-fry, to substitute for part of the fat in pie crusts for chicken pot pie (not more than half of the fat, though, it is too .soft to use 100%), to use instead of butter in making chicken stuffing, or similar uses. Heck, if you want to leave no trace you can make schmaltz and grieben from the fat and skin, and after you've finished making and straining your bone broth, pressure cook the bones until they crumble easily, dry and use in your garden as bone meal. -- Zero waste!
I do not own a microwave or a television. I have a great life without them. And by the way TH-cam repeats the evening news --- without commercials ---several hours after the broadcast ---- so I am watching the 6pm news at 11pm on TH-cam with no commercials ---- works for me ! And the microwave ..... never ...although a convection toaster oven is just fine. ✨🌞✨
Wow that's interesting with the clothes drying. I always wondered why American you tubers put all their clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them up. Here in Australia a majority of people hang their washing up outside in their backyard to dry which definitely saves dollars. We also have a water tank which collects the rain water for the garden etc. Many houses here have water tanks and we also have solar power.
Thanks Robin! I loved this topic. I have done a lot of those things all my life. One thing I started doing when my children were small, was to buy christmas themed fabrics in Joann's fabrics, and made them into bags to wrap presents. It made it so much easier to wrap large items as a guitar, or items hard to wrap as a ball. I also used silky ribbons that I can reuse over and over. My mom also taught me to use cloth napkins. I grew up in Chile were electricity is expensive, so we try to turn lights off when we are not in a room. I also try cooking lentil soup once a week. Not only is it healthy and delicious, but it is a meatless day. My husband has been taking lunch to work for 15 years. I use the dryer bc it saves on ironing items but I try to only have my children's jeans and husband shirts a few minutes to avoid shrinkage. I finish the drying process by hanging the clothes in the bathroom curtain bar. The air from the vent finishes the job. I love public libraries. When my children were school age we went there each week. The librarians knew our family well. I think we borrowed every illustrated history book, and we did so many beautiful art projects with ideas from library books. We took advantage of interlibrary loans also. Now my two older children still love thrifting and find wonderful treasures in local places. I wish I knew how to repair items. I can sew and have done curtains and pillows but have no idea how to repair electronics or anything really. Thanks again. God bless
Thank you for this! Some of the things we do is line dry. My husband installed an Amish pulley style clothesline and I love it! We also have chickens so that we always have eggs and also a way to dispose of our food scraps. We compost as well and then use that for our gardens. I’ve just started learning how to use leftovers because there is an art to it and definitely a novice.
Karen M my mum had a pulley when we were growing up. I would love one again in my own flat. The old houses were better for them as they had high ceilings.
Also Robin, if I may recommend a TH-cam channel to your subscribers called “Dad, how do I ?” It is perfect for people who want to fix things and learn how to do things…
Thank you for sharing this! I was just thinking today that I need to learn more basic skills that my husband does. I appreciate my husband, but I think me and my 2 Young adult girls would benefit from this channel.
I remember my grandmother ironing the wrapping paper and then put it back on a card board tube with rubber bands. And the sticky type bows went in a box with foil on the bottom. That way the bows didn't crush or shift in the box. My daughters chastise me for saving the boxes, bags, and ribbon at holidays. But it has been ingrained in me!
When my children were young they played travel sports volleyball & baseball, this was in the 2000s I alwsys packed an icecgest full of water,gstiraides ect, sabdwiches,hinemade pudding, sliced fruits & cheese on breakes& between innings Mom always had food ready right now, when my son was un huge griwthspurts, hes6'4" now at 25 years old he ask & eat string cheese through the holes in the back stop, water too. The other Dads laughed one large tall guy told ne my son reminded him if himself when he was in high school, wheres the food!
I appreciate all your information. The only detail I find may vary from place to place is the land line comment. In my case, the land line saved our lives in an emotional way. I had considered not having it because we had cell phones. But, then, Hurricane Maria hit our beautiful island of Puerto Rico. All cell phones were out. The communication towers fell. My family in the U.S. couldn't communicate with us and I thank the Lord for that land line. How it worked? I don't know. All I know is that through that land line I could hear the voices of the loved ones that we worried sick for us. Keep up with your channel. I enjoy watching and learning.
Land lines, that you don’t plug into an electric outlet, use so little electricity that it is supplied from the telephone outside line itself, that’s why it worked 😃
Hi Robin, I have just finished watching a video about being frugal, Firstly being of a generation who’s Mother had to be frugal, because of not having a lot of money frugality was the norm. I am a 71 year old lady and have always done everything on your list as a normal practice, in fact for instance my Hubby and I have been married for nearly 50 years, my three piece suite was purchased a few years after we got married it is a very good oak suite and has been reupholstered 3 times since we bought it, and is just as good as new. We have always been debt free apart from when we had. Mortgage. But we have certainly saved a lot of money over the years. It enables us to have a very comfortable lifestyle. Everything you mentioned brought joy to my heart, some things cooking from scratch etc, takes longer but is so delicious, and you are not having to be eating all these nasty preservatives etc that they put in food these days, and definitely apron on and baking days. Well done you for making this video, some of the younger people that don’t do or realise about these things, might get on board that don’t realise always about these things. Congratulations on your video, loved it, hope I have not waffled on to much, but I feel strongly about these things. kind regards Joy Nash UK.
Hi Robin! What an interesting topic you chose today, and what great advices you gave us! Thanks for all the time you put in to research it! Your tips are so valuable! I also loved the previous video you did on the subject, and this had led my husband and I to rethink our eating out habits, both for specialty coffees and restaurants! This is one area where we would spend without thinking, and I must confess, it was often due to the fact that I didn’t meal plan properly! 🤔 Listening to you today made me saw the need to be frugal in my life also in a spiritual way. When you mentioned gratitude, and being content with what we have, I realized that everything that I am blessed with (home, car, food, clothes, etc.) comes from God. I know that not everyone may agree with me, but really, it dawned on me this morning that I am the steward of the things that God gave me, and that I have to take care of it, not waste it irresponsibly. It was like an aha moment for me! 😯Thanks again for a great video, and have a blessed week! 💜🙏💛
Thank you Monique! I think you hit on the most important message here! Whatever we have is a gift 🙏 that we have been trusted to steward responsibly. 👍😊🧡
Monique, I completely agree with your sentiments. God gives us everything we have - He allows us to use His gifts however we choose, but He is glorified when we are good stewards of His blessings. Thank you for your beautiful words. Diane
@@jimmiepatrum Diane, thank you for your kind words! I was not sure if I should write about the spiritual insight Robin’s video has given me, but I choose to do so because it was such an enlightning moment for me! Your comment encourages me! Have a blessed day!
Much needed video! We had gotten in a bad habit of eating out, because we were both working insane hours. However, when the pandemic hit my husband and I decided it would be best for me to become a homemaker instead of me spending 4 hrs in the car just to commute back and forth for work… we saved so much money by me not commuting as far and just by me cooking. It really allows you to watch what you are putting in your body and helped me lose weight too. Meal prepping is key!
I love this video and the message of frugal living. My grandparents were children of the Great Depression. I was married just over a month ago and have so enjoyed setting up our home and “nesting” with my new husband!! While being blessed with an ABUNDANCE of gifts to fill our home, I have been gradually trying to get in touch with those that went before us and were able to do so much with so little. Thank you!
I love these tips and I hope my young adult children take more of these ideas to heart as they get older. It does boggle my mind how freely they spend money, especially on things like eating out. I also used cloth diapers a lot of time but I have not come across any parents of young children who do that anymore. If I am fortunate enough to have grandchildren at some point I will become a master of thrifting baby clothes and items. No baby ever cared whether he or she was dressed in new or used clothing.
I too had older parents (1919/1924). I do all of these except warm my bed with the bean bag. I also wash out plastic ziplock bags, reuse glass jars, wash and reuse aluminum foil and stretch meals. When money was tight growing up, she used to stretch milk by mixing it with powdered milk.
Thank you Robin this is a very useful video for all ages as we should all be mindful of how we use the earth's resources. Here in Northern Ireland I no longer own a dishwasher microwave coffee maker or tumble dryer among other things. I enjoy watching laundry blow on the clothesline whilst I have a cup of tea. Washing dishes by hand in a plastic basin in my sink as I cook means less clearing up and means I can manage with fewer utensils. I grow our salads herbs vegetables and fruit as well as medicinal plants and flowers for cutting for our home for sharing ànd for family graves. I'm going to try to learn more things from you as I love your videos Robin and you have a nice generous attitude to sharing knowledge with all of your followers. God bless you from vera in Northern Ireland.
Hi I use a French press coffee maker... it is just like making a pot of tea as you just pour boiling water over the coffee grounds and push the plunger when it is brewed. No extra power used. Cheers.
My grandparents and parents would do all these things :) I'm so happy and thankful they taught them to me. Their generations in France lived through the hardships of World Wars and most people appreciated so much what they had, and a frugal way was the only way. Many of these frugal tips are also part of the French culture, and they are mainly common sense . My mother and grandmothers also reused fabric as long as it was good, what we call upcycling today: ie sewing pretty apron, napkins, handkerchiefs, pillow cases or smaller sheets out of the strong parts of double sheets that were worn out in some places. Using shoe boxes or any box to organise things in their drawers and wardrobes, which looked just as neat as Mari Condo's today :) Using up soap bars till nothing was left (put the soap left overs in a jar of water and they'll become liquid soap. Repairing everything that could be repaired and they did everything else that you mentioned. I remember my mum taking her tights to be mended by hand in a department store when I was little, it was fascinating to watch, but that job later disappeared. My children have lovely memories of the hot water bottles my parents put in their beds during the winter holidays :) My husband and I do everything you said except for garden-related tips as we don't have one, but buy fresh produce at the street markets where they are inexpensive, local and fresh, and preserve a lot. Our children also learned most of these tips and now our grandchildren will hopefully learn the many benefit of a frugal life, which is also so ecological and the best thing we can do for their future. Thank you for this wonderful video content! It deserves to become viral!! :)
Thank you Robin, so many wonderful tips as always. I don't understand people who don't like leftovers either - soups and stews are always better the second day. The turkey soup that my grandmother would make from the turkey carcass and all the leftover vegetables was my favorite part of the Thanksgiving eating, it was SO good! Moving to a tiny town in a rural area cured us of the eating out habit. When we do splurge once a month or so or for birthdays, we patronize our town's pizza parlor and bakery to support local businesses. Love the "buy the whole chicken" tip - I always do that and make a game out of how many meals I can get out of it, including soups made with stock from the bones! ;)
I am a bit late making a comment but one way we save water use is putting a bucket under the hot water tap while the cold runs out. I use the cold water before the hot water comes out to water plants, wash down the patios and patio furniture, mop the floors and any other items that may need to be washed but does not require hot water. I also wash most of my clothes in cold water too. This action has really save on our water bill.
I thank you for the effort you put into preparing your videos. Your care and commitment clearly show in the quality of content you put out. Such great ideas to get one rethinking how day-to-day activities can be costing more money then we realize. I will be putting a lot of these tips into practice.
Saving small amounts on several things--either ways we do things or items we buy, do really add up. We had a pastor whose grandfather started a local bank back in the early 1900s and he said his grandfather always said, "Take care of your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves." I always try to buy everything on sale, so I rarely pay full price for anything, especially groceries. Each time I save a little on purchases, I recall that saying about watching your pennies. Thanks for a great video.
Last winter we started taking hot water bottles to bed. They are ones that have a furry animal cover. I think they are for kids but we love them. They are very warm and cuddly.
I cook dry beans from scratch without electricity. I use the haybox method and utilize a igloo cooler and a couple of old wool coats. I dye my clothes when they become faded versus donating them.
Thanks for the tips and the recipes for the homemade cleaning products! The only tip I *might* disagree with is the advice to "never buy using credit." We recently moved to a new state and bought a home. We needed a couch, and although we could afford to pay for it in one lump sum, we put it on credit because the purchase was interest free due to a promotion (which allowed us to use those immediate funds for other things we needed around the new house), and we used a cash back credit card that gave us 1% for the purchase on 1% for each monthly payment. It certainly can be dangerous to use credit if you're irresponsible, but when you treat your credit card like a debit card and pay it off monthly (or, in our case, every two weeks so we never incur interest), you can actually stand to gain in cash back, travel vouchers/miles, or other rewards.
A little twist on the Buy The Whole CHICKEN idea that may be even cheaper these days is to the buy the bag of CHICKEN QUARTERS. You still get the bones and extras to make broth etc with, but only $0.55 per pound, even now!
So much great info here! My dad, born in 1933, *hated* leftovers and doggy bags because he thought it made us look “poor”-believe me, we weren’t rich. I, of course, love leftovers (because they cut down on cooking) and *always* take home uneaten food I’ve paid for from a restaurant. 🌷
Good ideas. On my rare restaurant meals, I bring a small container from home. Before I start, I set aside about one third of the meal in my container. I don't overeat, and I have a lovely follow-on meal later in the week.
First of all, wow is your smile contagious! I like the baking day idea, that makes a lot of sense for oven energy costs. I would add to the credit card that you can work with the system. My husband gets cash for using it smartly and our credit scores unfortunately matter since we rent. I do about 90% of these ideas! I also like to save jars to be used as flower vases, I trim flowers from my shared property, reuse plastic bags, sell items online, and above all like you mentioned when I take the time and care for our home I thank God because wow is He good.
My mother often mentioned WW2 rationing and "making do". Knitting and dress-making were skills that she passed on to us. Pot luck dinners are still very popular here especially amongst church circles. Our city has many free markets, fairs, art galleries, out-door music, kids activities which are great value. I'm content with a simpler life-style. Thanks Robin for sharing your excellent ideas! 🇳🇿
Robin, I love your ideas. A while ago I became aware of just how much money I was spending mindlessly. After some assessment and adjustments, I was shocked at how much extra money I was able to save monthly. Several small increments do add up over time to substantial amounts. I remember my dad and our neighbors sharing tools and skills on a regular basis. I loved small communal living. Thank you so much for sharing. Melissa 🌼
My father would never heat the home over 55°. He would say when it’s 0° outside 55 as a heat wave. He also used a woodstove in the kitchen next to his electric stove. Bring water to a boil then throw fresh coffee grounds in the water so he wouldn’t have to buy coffee filters. Then streaming of course. I don’t go to that extreme but I sure am glad I know where to cut back in life. Being grateful for what we have is a golden rule
Hello wahw i didn’t know that you can not everywhere dry your clothes outside I live in Belgium and I am so happy that in the summer I can dry clothes and sheets outside everything smells sooo good when it dried outside ❤️🌹
When Mum went "window shopping" in 1970's & 1980's, she'd go when the shops had closed for the day or on Sunday (in my childhood most shops were closed on sunday, by law). We lived in a village and had no car, so trips to the nearby town were rare anyway. We had a bakers, a butcher and a post office/ general store - there were also vans operated by shops in town, such as the "fruit and veg van" and the "pop man" selling returnable bottles of "pop" (soda).
My first comment: I love your channel! This topic is close to my heart. I also was very close to my grandmother (Oma) who was 19 when the great depression hit and immigrated from Germany to America during the great depression. Such wisdom in frugality! I also wanted to add that you can stream workouts online if you don't want to buy CDs. Thanks again for all of your great content!
In the summer we have a GRILL DAY. We fill our grill with different meats and seasoning. We eat the fish and veggies first then freeze the rest. The grill is going and heated up. Plus it keeps the heat and mess outside.
BUY THE WHOLE CHICKEN-I have done this for years. As a young bride ( many years ago) I asked the butcher at the store to show me how to cut up a whole chicken. It saves a lot of money. I even keep the extra bits like the back bones to make broth. ’
What a "blast from the past". Lol Being from a very small farming community in the Midwest, being frugal was simply our way of life. I'm 71. As a young working RN my first memory of stepping outside the frugal box was to buy pregrated cheese!! What a luxury, I thought. My husband and I have always lived frugally. We are definitely of like mind on this so it has never caused an issue in our marriage/family. Great advise from a wise woman.
I love buying food in bulk and then I divide what we will eat this week and freeze what we can save for a future date. The same with baking multiple loaves of pumpkin bread. I bake three at a time save one, eat one, and share one.
I have found that buying a whole chicken is more expensive than buying a whole already roasted chicken, by $4-5. So I usually buy the roasted ones. I also save the bones, skin, erc and boil it all down for a nice batch of broth. I can freeze or can it in jars. I do most of things you suggest, learned from my mother and Nana who also was born in 1913.
Most of these things I do. The eating out we limit to Friday nights and either do take out or eat out with Friends. During the height of the pandemic we did take out. My daughter started coming over and cooking dinner one night a week and is still doing it. I love coming home from work and not having to cook and we get to visit after dinner. The other big thing that has saved me lots of money and that is the "one in one out" this applies to clothes, shoes, houseware, toys, decor, and anything that takes up space.
My sister and I have gift bags that go back and forth between us. I use it for her birthday then she uses it for mine. We have some for Christmas too. Back and forth they go, occasionally they go to my parents but always find their way back to one of us!
I have several heat packs I made with rice instead of corn. We take them to bed sometimes too. We also use them on our toes when relaxing or on cramps and sore muscles.
Really great list! My grandparents lived this way, while raising children during the depression. My parents lived this way after growing up in the depression. It's in my bones to live this way. I love making something out of nothing...in so many ways...too much to list here, but here are a few examples: 1) From the 1970's I started removing clothing labels and sewing them together in a little miniature patchwork to create cloth to make garments. 2) I used to go to dry cleaning shops which did alterations and ask for any denim that had been cut off while hemming jeans. I'd take that home and, again, make a patchwork of denim pieces to sew into other garments. 3) In the late '60's, we'd take the loafers we wore all school year and cut out designs in the leather to turn them into sandals to were in the summer. It was cool back then. We knew we'd need new loafers in the fall for the new school year. 4) Pick flowers from a flower garden, dry them, make an arrangement of them and frame it as a gift to give someone. 5) Instead of buying drainage rocks for house plants, I go to the yard, or anywhere outside, and pick up rocks. I don't want to risk getting contaminants in my house plants, so I spread the rocks out single layer in a large cake pan and put the pan with rocks in the oven long enough to kill bacteria. Cool and use. There are so many more..I could go on and on, but that's enough for now. Love your videos.
That's a huge surprise to me hearing that you're not allowed to hang washing outside. I'm in Scotland UK and despite our changeable weather I hang my washing out almost every day. I can't imagine not being able to do that. Great video. Thanks for sharing x
Thanks. I do quite a few of these things though not all. I have always preferred doing TH-cam exercise videos rather than having a gym membership, there are so many wonderful exercise videos on TH-cam. Unfortunately now due to health issues I have been told the only exercise I can do is go for gentle walks. I also have always reused wrapping paper and gift bags.
I keep a plastic water pitcher next to our kitchen sink. When I need to run the water til it gets hot I put the pitcher under the stream until it gets hot. Then use the water from the pitcher for animal bowls and plants in the house.
I grew up under my grandparents roof and they were young adults during the Great Depression as well. "Waste not, want not" is definitely something I heard a lot.
I’ve done all, but a couple of these things all my adult life. Effortlessly. The only thing I would add is to try to recycle even broken things by giving them away on a free forum, even if you can’t imagine a use for it
We’ve been using what we call unpaper towels instead of paper towels. They are the size of a half sheet paper towel. I do keep 2 rolls of paper towels but 2 will last me all year. I use it only for gross stuff that I don’t want to wash (like dog throw up) we also use cloth napkins (handkerchiefs) they are soft and wash easily and come in great patterns now.
I used to live paycheck to paycheck before meeting my husband. He taught me really great habits and we've been able to reach goals I used to not think we're possible.
I reuse wrapping paper and rarely do we turn on the heat in our bedroom, we just add more blankets on the bed. Last night it was 45f here and we still had our windows open. The room was cool but the bed was so cozy!
Wrapping paper, i don't reuse but the tissue paper i reuse that when i can. I fold it up nicely and neat and put it away with care. Gifts bags i do reuse those as well.
These are wonderful tips. I am frugal and would say I do almost all of the tips you shared. And I love the one about buying whole chicken. One chicken will make several meals for my husband and myself. I always take the bones and skin, and cook them in the crock pot about 10 to12 hours to make chicken stock. If I don't need the stock right away I put it in a mason jar and freeze it. I feel being frugal is helping me be a good steward of the money God has given us. I really enjoy your channel.
We’ve been implementing a lot of these since I became a SAHM & it’s been an immense help with our one income budget. My grandmother was born in 1912, and, like you, I learned so much about frugality from her including food preservation. This video is so relevant to how we’re choosing to live-thank you! Btw, we love our microwaveable heating pads too!😊
I started buying whole chickens, especially the discounted ones packed the day before. As soon as I get home from the store, I put it in the pressure cooker. Then I put the rest of the groceries away, and have a coffee, by which time it’s cooked, about 15 minutes, including coming to pressure. I let it cool, cut into meal portions, and save the stock which is very rich. One chicken will make about sIx portions plus soup. The cooked chicken speeds up meal prep as well.
We already do a lot of these things. I learned from my grandparents and my parents. We also have a garden. We put summer produce in the freezer for winter.
I batch cook several meals parts (meat, vegetables, & carb) in one day based on what is on sale that week, use minimal seasoning, divide them into family-size portions, and then freeze. Then later in the week or month, we take out one family-size portion, heat it up adding seasons, gravy, or sauce. Then any left overs are refrigrated or frozen in single portion containers for a future indiviual meal.
I have been reading more about using what you have up before restocking. I'm working on that currently. I will hunt up recipes that call for my leftover ingredients before buying more. We go picking wild raspberries when they're ripe. Making coffee saves you a fortune. I use newspaper to wrap gifts. We feed mosquito larvae to our goldfish. Containers left outside collect rainwater where the skeeters lay their eggs. We rarely buy lunch unless we choose not to buy dinner because buying lunch is cheaper.
first overseen. Late wealthy uncle got only Sunday paper. He'd read it. He'd remove funnies to wrap Christmas gifts. Remov e n use all coupons on items He'd use. He'd roll rest of paper n use metal coat hanger to tie. He'd use it in his woodburning stove n cook on top of it. He'd then take out ashes add to compost hence no waste.
Decluttering is fine and necessary but don’t declutter everything. Make a point to use and enjoy what you have. The easiest is clothing. Buy the best quality item you can afford. Keep you house clean. So many things get ruined because a house is not tidy. The rest I do pretty much. The last thing is - remember the formula is different for each family. At the end you need to live efficiently and affordably. It every tip out there is going to change your life- but many will. And living this way will give you a completely different outlook on life. There will be less drama, stress and definitely less depression and hopelessness in your life.
Great video. My parents grew up during the depression and passed many tips on to me. But you reminded me of many of them that I should be using again. Thank you.
I live in a small townhouse in Arizona. It’s too hot to do outdoor activities, and I don’t have the space to exercise so a gym membership is a necessity. Public transportation takes a lot longer to get to places. Time is money too!
My friend sent me some corn and wheat bags this past winter and I love them! I put them in my bed to warm it up! I was brought up this way as my father was a school bus driver and we had a poultry farm!! No credit cards just cash. We were able to go on vacation and go away for a weekend! My brothers woul feed the chickens and make delivery. It was mostly trips to the mountains and we would stay in cabins!
We always saved Christmas wrapping when I was a kid. It went neatly in a box and most of next years gifts, especially for within the family was wrapped over and over with it!! It was fun to see Christmases from the past. LOL !!! I sort of do this now with gift bags, I definitely save them and reuse.
You are beautiful inside and out. Love your videos. We were home from Hawaii for a week and now we are in Mexico for 3 weeks. My husband owns timeshares so I tidy up everyday too. God bless.
I never understand why people throw out so much food. I don’t necessarily like leftovers but I don’t mind eating them “repurposed” into another meal. I do enjoy Costco and Sam’s Club but the quantities are just too massive for our little empty nest of two. Good tips, Robyn! Especially the eating out! I think I learned a lot of good frugal tips from The Frugal Gazette. One thing I always do is cut the toothpaste tube open to use every last bit. There is a lot of toothpaste still in the tube when it appears empty.
I'm live in Europe. I always meal plan. When we were working, I would make the evening meal with 2 extra portions for lunch. Cheaper and healthier. I still meal plan having checked out our diaries - no waste food. It just takes a bit of thought.
Great video....I too often think about what my grandmother would have done. I remember growing up my elderly neighbor would always reuse tinfoil. I always thought it was strange but looking back I know she probably got the idea from her young adult years during the Great Depression. Thank you for sharing your tips and insists....always so helpful.
Great video Robin! I am naturally a frugal person but I do go through times where I get tired or overwhelmed with life and I will get a bit lazy towards being frugal. This was a good reminder for me. 🎃 we use rice bags for warmth in the winter and they are great.
When my husband and I were first married (early 90's) we depended heavily on tips from The Tightwad Gazette and Mary Hunt (I think now she's Everyday Cheapskate). This was back when things were done via newsletters (instead of blogs). Such great advice, some things are a bit outdated now, but still very good resources. The normal "save money" tips did not help us much because we were already frugal. I mean I was doing the 10 item wardrobe unintentionally, lol! Two pairs of pants, one pair of flats and one pair of tennis shoes - that sort of thing.
The Tightwad Gazette was compiled into a book which I purchased when my children were young. I learned so much and was inspired to take being frugal to a new level when life demanded it.
Nice to hear such a sensible lady sharing some standard, proven, timeless tips on sensible frugality. Glad I'm not the only one thinking this way. The woman has an 18 year old car and its still going. Love it! The apron one is definitely something new I'm adding. In a world of commodity, luxury, fast fashion, continual competition and the unnecessary rat race of the "next best" thing, where saving and frugality are looked down on, this is a breath of fresh air. Cheering myself into a happy dance for practicing many of these habits. 😆
Your environment makes a big difference. We live rurally and homeschool - our circle of friends for the most part are a lot like us. Thrift store shopping is normal and celebrated. Summer gardens are common conversational topics. Aldi is the hip store. Nature walks and outside time is encouraged. It’s also very common around here for people to have small groups that they do kids clothes swapping in.
Around here, people have bigger families yet still probably spend less and have a smaller “carbon footprint” than a lot of big city people.
My grandparents lived through the depression. Even though my grandmother wasn't frugal, my grandfather definitely was. He told me to never go into debt unless it was for a house. He told me that if I couldn't afford it, I didn't need it. If I purchased anything using a credit card, make sure that the entire balance is paid at the end of the billing cycle. Even though he had 2 credit cards, he barely used them. He paid cash for everything, including his cars. He told me to make sure to always balance my checkbook and to shop only once per week. When I was younger, I can count on one hand how many times we went out to eat. We only ate out on special occasions. I missed them very much.
Our washer broke a few months ago, and I searched the internet and TH-cam for solutions. I ended up finding a TH-cam video showing me how to repair it. $28 in parts later, it works like brand new 👍🏻
I love that Lisal! Well done! 👍😊🧡
Good for you Lisal! I found the same to be true for my clothes dryer. The belt on my dryer snapped. With TH-cam tutorials and less than $20 for a replacement drum belt, it's working well again.
Awesome!
My husband is amazing at how he is able to fix things or maintain them. TH-cam has been a very valuable resource for us!
The thing about being frugal is it allows you to spend your money on the things you think are most important. We are basically frugal, yet we have whatever we want. We ate out pre-covid much more than we do now. We use coupons at the grocery store, but we purchase whatever we want. Until we moved into town, we had 5 acres in the country with a giant garden and apple and peach orchard. (We are very much fruit snobs and are very selective in what we buy at the store. LOL) I'm jealous of you having blackberries...my favorite. We were even able to pay cash for our custom built dream home. When we were approaching retirement we had three goals. 1. Have no debt. 2. Pay for our son's college education. and 3. Retire at age 55. We were able to do all three!!
Those are excellent goals - we are on track as well and it feels great! 👍😊🧡
I wanted to share that my family were missionaries and it was a way of life to live frugally as I grew up and then later as I stayed on the 'field'. We did all of this. My Mom made bread every week, she washed tin foil over and over again, even washed plastic bags till you couldn't anymore, she sewed many of our clothes, and, naturally all of our food was made from scratch. Before we were fortunate enough to have piping coming from the river to our home, we had 50 gallon drums that collected rain water, we boiled it for drinking, heated it for once a week baths, brushed our teeth with it and only struggled during the Dry Season when we had to bring water from the river. I guess you can see that I miss it and I'll stop there.... :)So, listening to your talk brought back many memories! Thanks
Use it up
Wear it out
Make it do or
Do without!
I love that saying!!! 👍😊🧡
I have this on an index card on my computer monitor. I read it many times a day. 🙂
This video hits home with us! We do the homemade almost everything! Even some clothes which I would like to sew more....eventually. My grandmother taught me to sew, baked endlessly with us and for us, etc. We rarely eat out etc. THIS is why its soooooooo important to hand these habits down to our children and grandchildren! Better life,,,,Don''t follow the culture !!! Thanks Robin!
So true Virginia! Thank you! 👍😊🧡
Oh my gosh, I refuse to throw food away! I plan very carefully for our week. It’s just hubby and I and neither of us have a problem with eating leftovers.
Mon- Twiced baked potatoes and salad
Tues- usually a pasta dish or Mexican dish
Wed- Chef or Cobb salad
Thur- Salmon or we make sushi
Friday- Pizza and salad
Sat- We order out locally
Sun- leftovers from Tues dinner
I don’t like having the “what’s for dinner” on my mind all of the time, so this works for us! ❤️
Hi Robin - What a great video. My parents went through the depression and they taught us many valuable frugal ways. Dad told us that if you scrimp on the necessaries you would have plenty of money for the luxury’s. HA! I still have ledgers where he wrote down every dime he spend. $7 a dress for Donna, $1.50 haircut for Bill, etc. Bill and I were given an allowance of $1.00 a week which was a lot back them. Most kids got 50 cents but Dad told us we were to pay God first so we would put 25 cents in Sunday School collection, Then he said we were to pay ourselves second so we put 25 cents in our banks and then we could spend the last 50 cents anyway we wanted. I used that practice all my life. I have some friends that are in their 70s and have still not learned how to manage their money. So sad. Thanks for reminding us of these good practices. Love in Christ.
Thank you Donna! I love hearing about your parents. They taught you well. Hopefully we can help a few more people see the wisdom- before they have to learn the hard way.
God bless you my sweet friend! 🧡😊🧡
You're amazing Robin I've been following you for a while cuz I do love all of your videos but by far this is the Best.
Congrats
And keep on uploading You always inspire me
❤❤❤
Sounds like our grandmothers were very much alike in their thinking. I had forgotten that many of the frugal things I do I actually learned from my grandmother.
Even though we are empty nesters we still buy in bulk when we can. I have learned that almost anything can be stored in the freezer. I especially use my freezer for recipes that make too many servings for us to eat in a couple meals. I just separate the recipes out into smaller containers and freeze them for later. This weekend we had surprise guests and I was able to pull out Vegetable soup and cornbread from the freezer for supper and a breakfast casserole and biscuits and muffins for breakfast. I had nice meals to serve and I got to have time to visit instead of being in the kitchen.
That’s great Sheila! One day I hope to have more freezer space so that I can do that too! 👍😊🧡
@@FaithandFlour I recommend this too, although we tend to store separate ingredients. We prepare them in bulk, make them convenient to use, so later cooking becomes much easier.
Don't just buy ONE whole chicken.
When they're on sale at .89 a lb or less, I'll buy the limit (usually four), cut them all up and vacuum seal them in various configurations for single meals (chunks, cutlets, wings & drumsticks, etc.) and make a big pot of bone broth from the carcasses and skins.
If you take the carcasses out after they've simmered for about 30 minutes, you can pick almost a whole pound of meat off of them that is great to use in enchiladas, chicken salad, or similar meals.
Skim the fat to use for frying chicken stir-fry, to substitute for part of the fat in pie crusts for chicken pot pie (not more than half of the fat, though, it is too .soft to use 100%), to use instead of butter in making chicken stuffing, or similar uses. Heck, if you want to leave no trace you can make schmaltz and grieben from the fat and skin, and after you've finished making and straining your bone broth, pressure cook the bones until they crumble easily, dry and use in your garden as bone meal. -- Zero waste!
Excellent! I love that! 👍👍😊🧡
That is brilliant!
P123 York how do you vacuum seal meat/chicken. Do I have to buy a machine to do this. Thanks.
I do not own a microwave or a television. I have a great life without them. And by the way TH-cam repeats the evening news --- without commercials ---several hours after the broadcast ---- so I am watching the 6pm news at 11pm on TH-cam with no commercials ---- works for me ! And the microwave ..... never ...although a convection toaster oven is just fine. ✨🌞✨
Hello Ann, how are you doing today.
Wow that's interesting with the clothes drying. I always wondered why American you tubers put all their clothes in the dryer instead of hanging them up. Here in Australia a majority of people hang their washing up outside in their backyard to dry which definitely saves dollars. We also have a water tank which collects the rain water for the garden etc. Many houses here have water tanks and we also have solar power.
Thanks Robin! I loved this topic. I have done a lot of those things all my life. One thing I started doing when my children were small, was to buy christmas themed fabrics in Joann's fabrics, and made them into bags to wrap presents. It made it so much easier to wrap large items as a guitar, or items hard to wrap as a ball. I also used silky ribbons that I can reuse over and over. My mom also taught me to use cloth napkins. I grew up in Chile were electricity is expensive, so we try to turn lights off when we are not in a room. I also try cooking lentil soup once a week. Not only is it healthy and delicious, but it is a meatless day. My husband has been taking lunch to work for 15 years. I use the dryer bc it saves on ironing items but I try to only have my children's jeans and husband shirts a few minutes to avoid shrinkage. I finish the drying process by hanging the clothes in the bathroom curtain bar. The air from the vent finishes the job. I love public libraries. When my children were school age we went there each week. The librarians knew our family well. I think we borrowed every illustrated history book, and we did so many beautiful art projects with ideas from library books. We took advantage of interlibrary loans also. Now my two older children still love thrifting and find wonderful treasures in local places. I wish I knew how to repair items. I can sew and have done curtains and pillows but have no idea how to repair electronics or anything really. Thanks again. God bless
Thank you Paula! Such good tips! God bless! 🧡🍁🧡
Thank you for this! Some of the things we do is line dry. My husband installed an Amish pulley style clothesline and I love it! We also have chickens so that we always have eggs and also a way to dispose of our food scraps. We compost as well and then use that for our gardens. I’ve just started learning how to use leftovers because there is an art to it and definitely a novice.
I love that Karen! Such great ideas!
👍😊🧡
Karen M my mum had a pulley when we were growing up. I would love one again in my own flat. The old houses were better for them as they had high ceilings.
Also Robin, if I may recommend a TH-cam channel to your subscribers called “Dad, how do I ?” It is perfect for people who want to fix things and learn how to do things…
What a fantastic suggestion! I didn’t know about this channel and I just saw their wide array of videos. Wonderful!
Thank you for sharing this! I was just thinking today that I need to learn more basic skills that my husband does. I appreciate my husband, but I think me and my 2 Young adult girls would benefit from this channel.
What a great idea for a TH-cam channel x
I remember my grandmother ironing the wrapping paper and then put it back on a card board tube with rubber bands. And the sticky type bows went in a box with foil on the bottom. That way the bows didn't crush or shift in the box. My daughters chastise me for saving the boxes, bags, and ribbon at holidays. But it has been ingrained in me!
Hello Melissa, how are you doing today.
When my children were young they played travel sports volleyball & baseball, this was in the 2000s I alwsys packed an icecgest full of water,gstiraides ect, sabdwiches,hinemade pudding, sliced fruits & cheese on breakes& between innings Mom always had food ready right now, when my son was un huge griwthspurts, hes6'4" now at 25 years old he ask & eat string cheese through the holes in the back stop, water too. The other Dads laughed one large tall guy told ne my son reminded him if himself when he was in high school, wheres the food!
My beloved stepmom born 1912 said we are better stewards of our money when we don't have that much very true
I appreciate all your information. The only detail I find may vary from place to place is the land line comment. In my case, the land line saved our lives in an emotional way. I had considered not having it because we had cell phones. But, then, Hurricane Maria hit our beautiful island of Puerto Rico. All cell phones were out. The communication towers fell. My family in the U.S. couldn't communicate with us and I thank the Lord for that land line. How it worked? I don't know. All I know is that through that land line I could hear the voices of the loved ones that we worried sick for us.
Keep up with your channel. I enjoy watching and learning.
I’m so glad that worked for you! I can fully understand why you would keep the land line after that experience. 👍😊🧡
Land lines, that you don’t plug into an electric outlet, use so little electricity that it is supplied from the telephone outside line itself, that’s why it worked 😃
Hi Robin, I have just finished watching a video about being frugal, Firstly being of a generation who’s Mother had to be frugal, because of not having a lot of money frugality was the norm. I am a 71 year old lady and have always done everything on your list as a normal practice, in fact for instance my Hubby and I have been married for nearly 50 years, my three piece suite was purchased a few years after we got married it is a very good oak suite and has been reupholstered 3 times since we bought it, and is just as good as new. We have always been debt free apart from when we had. Mortgage. But we have certainly saved a lot of money over the years. It enables us to have a very comfortable lifestyle. Everything you mentioned brought joy to my heart, some things cooking from scratch etc, takes longer but is so delicious, and you are not having to be eating all these nasty preservatives etc that they put in food these days, and definitely apron on and baking days. Well done you for making this video, some of the younger people that don’t do or realise about these things, might get on board that don’t realise always about these things. Congratulations on your video, loved it, hope I have not waffled on to much, but I feel strongly about these things. kind regards Joy Nash UK.
Thank you Joy! I feel strongly about these things too and hope that more people will see the wisdom! 👍😊🧡
Hi Robin! What an interesting topic you chose today, and what great advices you gave us! Thanks for all the time you put in to research it! Your tips are so valuable! I also loved the previous video you did on the subject, and this had led my husband and I to rethink our eating out habits, both for specialty coffees and restaurants! This is one area where we would spend without thinking, and I must confess, it was often due to the fact that I didn’t meal plan properly! 🤔
Listening to you today made me saw the need to be frugal in my life also in a spiritual way. When you mentioned gratitude, and being content with what we have, I realized that everything that I am blessed with (home, car, food, clothes, etc.) comes from God. I know that not everyone may agree with me, but really, it dawned on me this morning that I am the steward of the things that God gave me, and that I have to take care of it, not waste it irresponsibly. It was like an aha moment for me! 😯Thanks again for a great video, and have a blessed week! 💜🙏💛
Thank you Monique! I think you hit on the most important message here! Whatever we have is a gift 🙏 that we have been trusted to steward responsibly. 👍😊🧡
Monique, I completely agree with your sentiments. God gives us everything we have - He allows us to use His gifts however we choose, but He is glorified when we are good stewards of His blessings. Thank you for your beautiful words. Diane
@@jimmiepatrum Diane, thank you for your kind words! I was not sure if I should write about the spiritual insight Robin’s video has given me, but I choose to do so because it was such an enlightning moment for me! Your comment encourages me! Have a blessed day!
Much needed video! We had gotten in a bad habit of eating out, because we were both working insane hours. However, when the pandemic hit my husband and I decided it would be best for me to become a homemaker instead of me spending 4 hrs in the car just to commute back and forth for work… we saved so much money by me not commuting as far and just by me cooking. It really allows you to watch what you are putting in your body and helped me lose weight too. Meal prepping is key!
I love this video and the message of frugal living. My grandparents were children of the Great Depression. I was married just over a month ago and have so enjoyed setting up our home and “nesting” with my new husband!! While being blessed with an ABUNDANCE of gifts to fill our home, I have been gradually trying to get in touch with those that went before us and were able to do so much with so little. Thank you!
I love these tips and I hope my young adult children take more of these ideas to heart as they get older. It does boggle my mind how freely they spend money, especially on things like eating out. I also used cloth diapers a lot of time but I have not come across any parents of young children who do that anymore. If I am fortunate enough to have grandchildren at some point I will become a master of thrifting baby clothes and items. No baby ever cared whether he or she was dressed in new or used clothing.
So true Jody! 🤦♀️ Have a blessed Sunday!
🧡🍁🧡
I too had older parents (1919/1924). I do all of these except warm my bed with the bean bag. I also wash out plastic ziplock bags, reuse glass jars, wash and reuse aluminum foil and stretch meals. When money was tight growing up, she used to stretch milk by mixing it with powdered milk.
Excellent! I love it! 👍😊🧡
In my area 1 gallon milk is $2.30. 1 gallon dry milk is $4. No longer a savings for me.
Thank you Robin this is a very useful video for all ages as we should all be mindful of how we use the earth's resources. Here in Northern Ireland I no longer own a dishwasher microwave coffee maker or tumble dryer among other things. I enjoy watching laundry blow on the clothesline whilst I have a cup of tea. Washing dishes by hand in a plastic basin in my sink as I cook means less clearing up and means I can manage with fewer utensils. I grow our salads herbs vegetables and fruit as well as medicinal plants and flowers for cutting for our home for sharing ànd for family graves. I'm going to try to learn more things from you as I love your videos Robin and you have a nice generous attitude to sharing knowledge with all of your followers. God bless you from vera in Northern Ireland.
Thank you! It sounds like I could learn a lot from you! God bless! 🧡😊🧡
Hi I use a French press coffee maker... it is just like making a pot of tea as you just pour boiling water over the coffee grounds and push the plunger when it is brewed. No extra power used. Cheers.
My grandparents and parents would do all these things :) I'm so happy and thankful they taught them to me. Their generations in France lived through the hardships of World Wars and most people appreciated so much what they had, and a frugal way was the only way. Many of these frugal tips are also part of the French culture, and they are mainly common sense . My mother and grandmothers also reused fabric as long as it was good, what we call upcycling today: ie sewing pretty apron, napkins, handkerchiefs, pillow cases or smaller sheets out of the strong parts of double sheets that were worn out in some places. Using shoe boxes or any box to organise things in their drawers and wardrobes, which looked just as neat as Mari Condo's today :) Using up soap bars till nothing was left (put the soap left overs in a jar of water and they'll become liquid soap. Repairing everything that could be repaired and they did everything else that you mentioned. I remember my mum taking her tights to be mended by hand in a department store when I was little, it was fascinating to watch, but that job later disappeared. My children have lovely memories of the hot water bottles my parents put in their beds during the winter holidays :) My husband and I do everything you said except for garden-related tips as we don't have one, but buy fresh produce at the street markets where they are inexpensive, local and fresh, and preserve a lot. Our children also learned most of these tips and now our grandchildren will hopefully learn the many benefit of a frugal life, which is also so ecological and the best thing we can do for their future. Thank you for this wonderful video content! It deserves to become viral!! :)
Thank you Bri! Those are all great ways we can be more frugal- and I agree that this way of living seems like common sense! 👍😊🧡
Thank you Robin, so many wonderful tips as always. I don't understand people who don't like leftovers either - soups and stews are always better the second day. The turkey soup that my grandmother would make from the turkey carcass and all the leftover vegetables was my favorite part of the Thanksgiving eating, it was SO good! Moving to a tiny town in a rural area cured us of the eating out habit. When we do splurge once a month or so or for birthdays, we patronize our town's pizza parlor and bakery to support local businesses. Love the "buy the whole chicken" tip - I always do that and make a game out of how many meals I can get out of it, including soups made with stock from the bones! ;)
I am a bit late making a comment but one way we save water use is putting a bucket under the hot water tap while the cold runs out. I use the cold water before the hot water comes out to water plants, wash down the patios and patio furniture, mop the floors and any other items that may need to be washed but does not require hot water. I also wash most of my clothes in cold water too. This action has really save on our water bill.
I thank you for the effort you put into preparing your videos. Your care and commitment clearly show in the quality of content you put out.
Such great ideas to get one rethinking how day-to-day activities can be costing more money then we realize. I will be putting a lot of these tips into practice.
Thank you and God bless! 🧡🍁🧡
If you like ice tea, I've made sun tea. Take a gallon glass jar but in your tea bags and fill with water. Set in the sunlight until done.
Saving small amounts on several things--either ways we do things or items we buy, do really add up. We had a pastor whose grandfather started a local bank back in the early 1900s and he said his grandfather always said, "Take care of your pennies and your dollars will take care of themselves." I always try to buy everything on sale, so I rarely pay full price for anything, especially groceries. Each time I save a little on purchases, I recall that saying about watching your pennies. Thanks for a great video.
Last winter we started taking hot water bottles to bed. They are ones that have a furry animal cover. I think they are for kids but we love them. They are very warm and cuddly.
I cook dry beans from scratch without electricity. I use the haybox method and utilize a igloo cooler and a couple of old wool coats.
I dye my clothes when they become faded versus donating them.
Thanks for the tips and the recipes for the homemade cleaning products! The only tip I *might* disagree with is the advice to "never buy using credit." We recently moved to a new state and bought a home. We needed a couch, and although we could afford to pay for it in one lump sum, we put it on credit because the purchase was interest free due to a promotion (which allowed us to use those immediate funds for other things we needed around the new house), and we used a cash back credit card that gave us 1% for the purchase on 1% for each monthly payment. It certainly can be dangerous to use credit if you're irresponsible, but when you treat your credit card like a debit card and pay it off monthly (or, in our case, every two weeks so we never incur interest), you can actually stand to gain in cash back, travel vouchers/miles, or other rewards.
A little twist on the Buy The Whole CHICKEN idea that may be even cheaper these days is to the buy the bag of CHICKEN QUARTERS. You still get the bones and extras to make broth etc with, but only $0.55 per pound, even now!
So much great info here! My dad, born in 1933, *hated* leftovers and doggy bags because he thought it made us look “poor”-believe me, we weren’t rich. I, of course, love leftovers (because they cut down on cooking) and *always* take home uneaten food I’ve paid for from a restaurant. 🌷
Yes! Doggy bags! 👍😊🧡
Good ideas. On my rare restaurant meals, I bring a small container from home. Before I start, I set aside about one third of the meal in my container. I don't overeat, and I have a lovely follow-on meal later in the week.
My mom used leftovers for not just saving money but also for convenience, nutrition and saving time.
First of all, wow is your smile contagious! I like the baking day idea, that makes a lot of sense for oven energy costs. I would add to the credit card that you can work with the system. My husband gets cash for using it smartly and our credit scores unfortunately matter since we rent. I do about 90% of these ideas! I also like to save jars to be used as flower vases, I trim flowers from my shared property, reuse plastic bags, sell items online, and above all like you mentioned when I take the time and care for our home I thank God because wow is He good.
My mother often mentioned WW2 rationing and "making do". Knitting and dress-making were skills that she passed on to us. Pot luck dinners are still very popular here especially amongst church circles. Our city has many free markets, fairs, art galleries, out-door music, kids activities which are great value. I'm content with a simpler life-style. Thanks Robin for sharing your excellent ideas! 🇳🇿
That sounds wonderful! 👍😊🧡
Robin, I love your ideas. A while ago I became aware of just how much money I was spending mindlessly. After some assessment and adjustments, I was shocked at how much extra money I was able to save monthly. Several small increments do add up over time to substantial amounts. I remember my dad and our neighbors sharing tools and skills on a regular basis. I loved small communal living. Thank you so much for sharing.
Melissa 🌼
Thank you Melissa! Those little things really do add up. Amazing right?! 😀
Have a blessed Sunday! 🧡🍁🧡
Thanks robin I’ve been learning so much from you
Such great ideas! But heads up, it is illegal to collect rain water where I live, so check that in your area first!
Why on earth is that illigal? It makes no sense to me….
My father would never heat the home over 55°. He would say when it’s 0° outside 55 as a heat wave. He also used a woodstove in the kitchen next to his electric stove. Bring water to a boil then throw fresh coffee grounds in the water so he wouldn’t have to buy coffee filters. Then streaming of course. I don’t go to that extreme but I sure am glad I know where to cut back in life. Being grateful for what we have is a golden rule
Hello wahw i didn’t know that you can not everywhere dry your clothes outside I live in Belgium and I am so happy that in the summer I can dry clothes and sheets outside everything smells sooo good when it dried outside ❤️🌹
I agree! I miss that! 🧡🍁🧡
Reused everything! Sometimes 3-4 times or uses! The colorful comics of the newspaper were used as wrapping paper!
Sunday funnys ( color) saved for wrapping paper! Always save wrapping paper & guft bags!😊
When Mum went "window shopping" in 1970's & 1980's, she'd go when the shops had closed for the day or on Sunday (in my childhood most shops were closed on sunday, by law). We lived in a village and had no car, so trips to the nearby town were rare anyway. We had a bakers, a butcher and a post office/ general store - there were also vans operated by shops in town, such as the "fruit and veg van" and the "pop man" selling returnable bottles of "pop" (soda).
My first comment: I love your channel! This topic is close to my heart. I also was very close to my grandmother (Oma) who was 19 when the great depression hit and immigrated from Germany to America during the great depression. Such wisdom in frugality! I also wanted to add that you can stream workouts online if you don't want to buy CDs. Thanks again for all of your great content!
Hello Miami, how are you doing today.
In the summer we have a GRILL DAY. We fill our grill with different meats and seasoning. We eat the fish and veggies first then freeze the rest.
The grill is going and heated up. Plus it keeps the heat and mess outside.
Great ideas Robin our kids could not live how our Grandparents lived enjoying your videos and family love from Eugenie your friend xxx
BUY THE WHOLE CHICKEN-I have done this for years. As a young bride ( many years ago) I asked the butcher at the store to show me how to cut up a whole chicken. It saves a lot of money. I even keep the extra bits like the back bones to make broth. ’
Yay Beth! I love that! 👍😊🧡
This is how we Asian have been living.
What a "blast from the past". Lol Being from a very small farming community in the Midwest, being frugal was simply our way of life. I'm 71. As a young working RN my first memory of stepping outside the frugal box was to buy pregrated cheese!! What a luxury, I thought. My husband and I have always lived frugally. We are definitely of like mind on this so it has never caused an issue in our marriage/family. Great advise from a wise woman.
Thank you Beth! We can learn so much from the traditional values of the past. New is not better! 👍😂🧡
I love buying food in bulk and then I divide what we will eat this week and freeze what we can save for a future date. The same with baking multiple loaves of pumpkin bread. I bake three at a time save one, eat one, and share one.
Wonderful! I love that! 👍😊🧡
I have found that buying a whole chicken is more expensive than buying a whole already roasted chicken, by $4-5. So I usually buy the roasted ones. I also save the bones, skin, erc and boil it all down for a nice batch of broth. I can freeze or can it in jars. I do most of things you suggest, learned from my mother and Nana who also was born in 1913.
Most of these things I do. The eating out we limit to Friday nights and either do take out or eat out with Friends. During the height of the pandemic we did take out. My daughter started coming over and cooking dinner one night a week and is still doing it. I love coming home from work and not having to cook and we get to visit after dinner. The other big thing that has saved me lots of money and that is the "one in one out" this applies to clothes, shoes, houseware, toys, decor, and anything that takes up space.
My sister and I have gift bags that go back and forth between us. I use it for her birthday then she uses it for mine. We have some for Christmas too. Back and forth they go, occasionally they go to my parents but always find their way back to one of us!
I love that Carmen! 👍😊🧡
I like to cut the bottom of beauty product tubes to scrape out every last bit. I just use the cut-off portion to close it up so it doesn’t dry out.
I have several heat packs I made with rice instead of corn. We take them to bed sometimes too. We also use them on our toes when relaxing or on cramps and sore muscles.
Thanks for this the eating out for convenience gets me every time! It’s lazy on my part.
Really great list! My grandparents lived this way, while raising children during the depression. My parents lived this way after growing up in the depression. It's in my bones to live this way. I love making something out of nothing...in so many ways...too much to list here, but here are a few examples:
1) From the 1970's I started removing clothing labels and sewing them together in a little miniature patchwork to create cloth to make garments.
2) I used to go to dry cleaning shops which did alterations and ask for any denim that had been cut off while hemming jeans. I'd take that home and, again, make a patchwork of denim pieces to sew into other garments.
3) In the late '60's, we'd take the loafers we wore all school year and cut out designs in the leather to turn them into sandals to were in the summer. It was cool back then.
We knew we'd need new loafers in the fall for the new school year.
4) Pick flowers from a flower garden, dry them, make an arrangement of them and frame it as a gift to give someone.
5) Instead of buying drainage rocks for house plants, I go to the yard, or anywhere outside, and pick up rocks. I don't want to risk getting contaminants in my house plants, so I spread the rocks out single layer in a large cake pan and put the pan with rocks in the oven long enough to kill bacteria. Cool and use.
There are so many more..I could go on and on, but that's enough for now. Love your videos.
That's a huge surprise to me hearing that you're not allowed to hang washing outside.
I'm in Scotland UK and despite our changeable weather I hang my washing out almost every day. I can't imagine not being able to do that. Great video. Thanks for sharing x
Thank you Lynn! 🧡🍁🧡
I have used a big fan and a Laundry rack to hang out clothes in my home.
Use a bucket to collect the cold shower water before it heats up. Use to flush the toliet, water house plants, fill your pets water bowls etc.
Thanks. I do quite a few of these things though not all. I have always preferred doing TH-cam exercise videos rather than having a gym membership, there are so many wonderful exercise videos on TH-cam. Unfortunately now due to health issues I have been told the only exercise I can do is go for gentle walks. I also have always reused wrapping paper and gift bags.
Hi Robin! I really enjoy your videos. My husband's grandmother would say: Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without. ❤️
I keep a plastic water pitcher next to our kitchen sink. When I need to run the water til it gets hot I put the pitcher under the stream until it gets hot. Then use the water from the pitcher for animal bowls and plants in the house.
Hello Teresa, how are you doing today.
I grew up under my grandparents roof and they were young adults during the Great Depression as well. "Waste not, want not" is definitely something I heard a lot.
I don’t reuse wrapping paper. I do re use gift bags too!! Always have 💕
LOVE LOVE this video!!! Please do more videos on Frugal living, especially with Holidays coming up. Thanks!!!
Thank you Jeannie! 👍😊🧡
Love this!! I think these old ways are a lost art. Thank you for sharing.
I’ve done all, but a couple of these things all my adult life. Effortlessly. The only thing I would add is to try to recycle even broken things by giving them away on a free forum, even if you can’t imagine a use for it
We’ve been using what we call unpaper towels instead of paper towels. They are the size of a half sheet paper towel. I do keep 2 rolls of paper towels but 2 will last me all year. I use it only for gross stuff that I don’t want to wash (like dog throw up) we also use cloth napkins (handkerchiefs) they are soft and wash easily and come in great patterns now.
Thank you so very much. Many of these ideas I use and didn’t know any different. I like to save money in every thing we can.
I used to live paycheck to paycheck before meeting my husband. He taught me really great habits and we've been able to reach goals I used to not think we're possible.
That’s wonderful Diana! 🧡🍁🧡
@@FaithandFlour I really appreciate your content! My parents never talked about finances and it was such a disservice. Thanks for all of tips!
I reuse wrapping paper and rarely do we turn on the heat in our bedroom, we just add more blankets on the bed. Last night it was 45f here and we still had our windows open. The room was cool but the bed was so cozy!
I love that! 👍😊🧡
Wrapping paper, i don't reuse but the tissue paper i reuse that when i can. I fold it up nicely and neat and put it away with care. Gifts bags i do reuse those as well.
These are wonderful tips. I am frugal and would say I do almost all of the tips you shared. And I love the one about buying whole chicken. One chicken will make several meals for my husband and myself. I always take the bones and skin, and cook them in the crock pot about 10 to12 hours to make chicken stock. If I don't need the stock right away I put it in a mason jar and freeze it. I feel being frugal is helping me be a good steward of the money God has given us. I really enjoy your channel.
Thank you Sheri! Great ideas! 👍😊🧡
We’ve been implementing a lot of these since I became a SAHM & it’s been an immense help with our one income budget. My grandmother was born in 1912, and, like you, I learned so much about frugality from her including food preservation.
This video is so relevant to how we’re choosing to live-thank you!
Btw, we love our microwaveable heating pads too!😊
That’s great Tracy! That’s how we made it work on a single income too! 👍😊🧡
I started buying whole chickens, especially the discounted ones packed the day before. As soon as I get home from the store, I put it in the pressure cooker. Then I put the rest of the groceries away, and have a coffee, by which time it’s cooked, about 15 minutes, including coming to pressure. I let it cool, cut into meal portions, and save the stock which is very rich. One chicken will make about sIx portions plus soup. The cooked chicken speeds up meal prep as well.
Hello Evelyn, how are you doing today.
Hello Evelyn, how are you doing today.
We use the comic section of the Sunday paper for wrapping paper.
We already do a lot of these things. I learned from my grandparents and my parents. We also have a garden. We put summer produce in the freezer for winter.
Way to go Jan! 👍😊🧡
I batch cook several meals parts (meat, vegetables, & carb) in one day based on what is on sale that week, use minimal seasoning, divide them into family-size portions, and then freeze. Then later in the week or month, we take out one family-size portion, heat it up adding seasons, gravy, or sauce. Then any left overs are refrigrated or frozen in single portion containers for a future indiviual meal.
Hello Margaret, how are you doing today.
I have been reading more about using what you have up before restocking. I'm working on that currently. I will hunt up recipes that call for my leftover ingredients before buying more. We go picking wild raspberries when they're ripe. Making coffee saves you a fortune. I use newspaper to wrap gifts. We feed mosquito larvae to our goldfish. Containers left outside collect rainwater where the skeeters lay their eggs. We rarely buy lunch unless we choose not to buy dinner because buying lunch is cheaper.
first overseen. Late wealthy uncle got only Sunday paper. He'd read it. He'd remove funnies to wrap Christmas gifts. Remov e n use all coupons on items He'd use. He'd roll rest of paper n use metal coat hanger to tie. He'd use it in his woodburning stove n cook on top of it. He'd then take out ashes add to compost hence no waste.
Decluttering is fine and necessary but don’t declutter everything. Make a point to use and enjoy what you have. The easiest is clothing.
Buy the best quality item you can afford. Keep you house clean. So many things get ruined because a house is not tidy.
The rest I do pretty much.
The last thing is - remember the formula is different for each family. At the end you need to live efficiently and affordably. It every tip out there is going to change your life- but many will. And living this way will give you a completely different outlook on life. There will be less drama, stress and definitely less depression and hopelessness in your life.
Great video. My parents grew up during the depression and passed many tips on to me. But you reminded me of many of them that I should be using again. Thank you.
I live in a small townhouse in Arizona. It’s too hot to do outdoor activities, and I don’t have the space to exercise so a gym membership is a necessity.
Public transportation takes a lot longer to get to places. Time is money too!
My friend sent me some corn and wheat bags this past winter and I love them!
I put them in my bed to warm it up!
I was brought up this way as my father was a school bus driver and we had a poultry farm!!
No credit cards just cash.
We were able to go on vacation and go away for a weekend!
My brothers woul feed the chickens and make delivery.
It was mostly trips to the mountains and we would stay in cabins!
I love that Judith! God bless! 🧡🍁🧡
We always saved Christmas wrapping when I was a kid. It went neatly in a box and most of next years gifts, especially for within the family was wrapped over and over with it!! It was fun to see Christmases from the past. LOL !!! I sort of do this now with gift bags, I definitely save them and reuse.
What a wonderful tradition! I love it!
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You are beautiful inside and out. Love your videos. We were home from Hawaii for a week and now we are in Mexico for 3 weeks. My husband owns timeshares so I tidy up everyday too. God bless.
I never understand why people throw out so much food. I don’t necessarily like leftovers but I don’t mind eating them “repurposed” into another meal. I do enjoy Costco and Sam’s Club but the quantities are just too massive for our little empty nest of two. Good tips, Robyn! Especially the eating out! I think I learned a lot of good frugal tips from The Frugal Gazette. One thing I always do is cut the toothpaste tube open to use every last bit. There is a lot of toothpaste still in the tube when it appears empty.
Thank you Jeanie! The tooth paste tip is great! I hadn’t thought of that! 👍😊🧡
I'm live in Europe. I always meal plan. When we were working, I would make the evening meal with 2 extra portions for lunch. Cheaper and healthier. I still meal plan having checked out our diaries - no waste food. It just takes a bit of thought.
Wonderful Ely! 👍😊🧡
Oh my goodness, your kitchen looks amanzing❤ so stylish!
Great video....I too often think about what my grandmother would have done. I remember growing up my elderly neighbor would always reuse tinfoil. I always thought it was strange but looking back I know she probably got the idea from her young adult years during the Great Depression. Thank you for sharing your tips and insists....always so helpful.
Thank you Lisa! 🧡🍁🧡
My grandma was born in 1910 & did a lot of the same things your grandmother did. I do a lot of those things still today I learned from them.
We are blessed to have such amazing grandparents! 💛😊🧡
@@FaithandFlour yes most definitely.
Great video Robin! I am naturally a frugal person but I do go through times where I get tired or overwhelmed with life and I will get a bit lazy towards being frugal. This was a good reminder for me. 🎃 we use rice bags for warmth in the winter and they are great.
Hi Tammie! Aren’t the rice/corn bags great? So cozy! Have a blessed Sunday!
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When my husband and I were first married (early 90's) we depended heavily on tips from The Tightwad Gazette and Mary Hunt (I think now she's Everyday Cheapskate). This was back when things were done via newsletters (instead of blogs). Such great advice, some things are a bit outdated now, but still very good resources. The normal "save money" tips did not help us much because we were already frugal. I mean I was doing the 10 item wardrobe unintentionally, lol! Two pairs of pants, one pair of flats and one pair of tennis shoes - that sort of thing.
I love it Melanie! 👍😊🧡
The Tightwad Gazette was compiled into a book which I purchased when my children were young. I learned so much and was inspired to take being frugal to a new level when life demanded it.
Nice to hear such a sensible lady sharing some standard, proven, timeless tips on sensible frugality.
Glad I'm not the only one thinking this way. The woman has an 18 year old car and its still going. Love it!
The apron one is definitely something new I'm adding.
In a world of commodity, luxury, fast fashion, continual competition and the unnecessary rat race of the "next best" thing, where saving and frugality are looked down on, this is a breath of fresh air.
Cheering myself into a happy dance for practicing many of these habits.
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The spirt snack bar usually charged $2.00 fir a 16 ounce bottle if luke warm water!😳😡