Author Archives: Peg

Save money at the movies

Posted on by

I remember the days when my brother, cousins and I would go see a movie in the theater for $3 or less. We wouldn’t just go see one movie either. Oh no. We’d sneak in to see another movie after watching the first one. Or if we really liked the one we just saw, we’d wait outside while they cleaned the theater and then go see it again.

Back in those days the theater staff didn’t care if kids (or adults) snuck into more than one movie. But even if we hadn’t been sneaky and just saw one movie, $2-3 seemed a reasonable amount to pay.

Nowadays, it’s a whole ‘nother story. Gone are the days of sneaking into more than one movie–they check tickets now. Gone are the days of $3 tickets.

Or are they?

When Marcus and I became Super Frug, we agreed that we would try to never pay full-price for a movie. Whenever we want to go see a movie, we ask ourselves whether we think the movie will come to The Crest. The Crest is a second-run movie theater in Shoreline, just north of Seattle, that only charges $3 per ticket. Many of the movies we want to see show up at the Crest within 1-2 months of being released.

If we don’t think the movie will show at The Crest, and we absolutely have to see it in the theater, then we’ll use discount movie tickets from Costco. At Costco, you can buy discount tickets for Regal theaters for $7.50 each or $8 each for AMC theaters. That’s a savings of $2.00-2.50 per ticket!

Our Super Frug goal was to redeem only one pair of Costco tickets per month. Because $15/night at the movies is still spendy, especially if you’re movie buffs like us and like to go a few times each month.

Remember, being Super Frug doesn’t mean denying yourself the things that you love. It means finding ways to spend money on what you care about, and less on things you don’t care so much about.

Before you go to the movies again, do some research.

1) See if there’s a second-run movie theater in your area.

2) If there isn’t one, see if your local theater offers a discount card. Landmark Theatres in Seattle sells a movie pass for 5 Sun-Thur evening shows for the price of 5 matinees.

3) If you’re a member of Costco, buy some discount tickets. If you’re not a member, see if one of your friends can buy the tickets for you and you’ll reimburse them.

You can be Super Frug and still have fun.

In the spirit of Siskel & Ebert, “We’ll see you…at the movies!”

Popcorn photo by Petr Kratochvil.

Email, RSS Follow

Get a bread machine

Posted on by

Fresh-baked bread is one of my favorite pleasures. I love the way it smells, the way it tastes and the way it looks. A fresh-baked loaf of bread always makes me want to lay my head down on it like a pillow and just breathe in the wonderful scent. I love to eat an extra thick slice with a thin layer of ghee* spread on it. Heaven.

Did I used to bake my own bread? Nope. Did I buy bread from the local bakery on our street? You bet. Every week, out went $5 from my wallet for a small loaf of bread.

Then I turned Super Frug.

Suddenly, that $20/month bread habit seemed awfully spendy. The Silver Fox and I stopped buying from the cute local bakery and started buying bread from the supermarket. That sucked. After eating fresh, tasty loaves from our local bakery, we were spoiled. Everything from the store just tasted bad.

So, we took our friend Jeff‘s advice (a bread machine devotee for years) and bought a bread machine. For $15. From Value Village.

It’s easy. Just add flour, water, salt, oil and yeast and hit START. A few hours later, you have a tasty loaf that’s better than anything you get in the store.

Instead of spending $5 a loaf, we now spend 62 cents per loaf. You heard it right. 62 cents a loaf!

Some tips to follow:

1) Only buy a bread machine if you eat bread on a regular basis.

2) Buy used. People donate bread machines to the Goodwill, Value Village and other secondhand stores all the time. You can get a practically brand-new machine for $10-$15 instead of $75-$200.

3) Our friend Jeff uses a Panasonic so we bought one too. It works great. Do some research on brands online before you go shopping.

4) Follow the bread machine’s directions for a loaf of basic white bread. If the instruction manual is missing, do an online search. They’re pretty easy to find. Print it out and keep it in a binder.

5) Once you know how to make a basic white bread, and you know how your machine works, start experimenting with other flavors and types of bread. Check out the Bread Machine Digest for ideas.

6) If you eat a loaf a week like we do, be Super Frug and buy your flour in bulk. We buy a 50-pound bag every 4-5 months from the Cash & Carry. We keep some flour in a big Tupperware in our kitchen and the rest we keep in a few food-grade 5-gallon white buckets (which you can get for free from bakeries and from the bakery section of your local supermarket).

7) Home-baked bread has no preservatives. Eat it within 4-5 days.

Have fun and happy baking!

* Ghee is clarified butter. According to Ayurvedic medicine, ghee in moderate amounts is good for your health. It tastes great too. We make our own. Here’s a recipe.

NOTE: We don’t let the ghee cool. We just pour it in a glass PYREX container with a lid. Also, unlike the recipe, we use a fine mesh strainer instead of cheesecloth.

October 23, 2013 UPDATE: This year as an experiment, I cut gluten out of my diet. Lo and behold, I feel a lot better! I have more energy, less bloating, a lot less GI distress. I never thought I’d say this but now that I feel good, I actually don’t mind not eating bread (and a bunch of other things). Time to sell or donate the bread machine!

Email, RSS Follow

Super Frug bath and body

Posted on by

One of the things that got me going on the Super Frug bandwagon was trying to figure out how to spend less on beauty products.

Here’s the breakdown per month. $35 on face moisturizer. $5 on face cleanser. $7 on body lotion. $15 on shampoo and conditioner. $4 on olive oil soap.

Total: $66 a month = $792 a year!

I could have used $792 to take a nice vacation or take creative writing courses or sign up for a year’s worth of yoga classes. Holy crap! It made me mad just thinking about it.

I was getting totally jacked by the beauty industry. I said, no more. I was a woman on a mission. I was going to find a way to decrease my dependence on beauty products and still look and feel good. Here’s what I did.

Face Cleanser & Moisturizer
I found a technique called the oil cleansing method. Basically, you massage oil into your face to get out the dirt and impurities. Then you hold a warm, damp washcloth over your face to steam it. Then wipe off all the oil. Keep rinsing the washcloth and wiping off the oil until your face is clean.

NOTE: Buy yourself 7-10 cheap washcloths (you know those ones you can buy in a bundle from Fred Meyer or Target) so you can use one a day. Don’t reuse a used washcloth that has old oil on it. Also, wash your washcloths on HOT in the washing machine and add 1/2 cup of Borax to deep clean.

After your shower, if your face is a little dry, place 5-10 drops of oil between wet palms, rub your hands together vigorously and then pat and lightly massage your face with the oil-water combo. Use a tissue to dab areas that get too oily.

There are lots of different oils to try. I started with organic sunflower oil but it started to make my skin pink and itchy after 1 1/2 years. So I switched to using expeller pressed extra virgin olive oil during the fall, winter and spring, and organic, expeller pressed grapeseed oil during the summer.

After doing this cleansing technique for about two years, I now clean my face daily with just warm water and a washcloth. I do the oil cleansing about once a week. I moisturize with the oil-water combo every day. My skin looks great. Experiment until you find the right regimen for yourself.

Cost: $6 for bottle of oil that lasts 6 months = $1/month!

Body Lotion
I used to love Curel Sensitive Skin lotion but they recently changed the formula and I didn’t want to put more chemicals on my body. It worked great so why change it? I even called the company and told them so. Alas, it didn’t change their minds.

So, on my search for another no-fragrance, low amount of ingredient lotion, I noticed that Jergens Sensitive Skin Relief had the EXACT same ingredients as my old Curel. Turns out they are all the same company. Huzzah! I have yet to find a fragrance-free, low ingredient lotion that is as cheap and effective as JSSR.

Cost: Approx. $7 for 16 oz. bottle that lasts for 1 month.

Body Soap
I’ve tried all kinds of soaps and I still like Kiss My Face’s Pure Olive Oil Soap the best. It’s fragrance-free and only has 3 ingredients: olive oil, water and sodium chloride (aka. salt).

I have figured out through reading up on bathing that you don’t have to lather your body every day. In fact, doing this (when you’re not covered in dirt) can result in much drier skin. Most days, your body is fine with just a water rinse and a scrub with a wet towel. Once I realized this, I used less soap and my skin became less dry. And I saved money!

Cost: Approx. $4 for 8 oz. bar that lasts 2 months = $2/month!

Hair
I have read a lot about using a baking soda and water slurry for washing your hair and following it with a cider vinegar and water rinse. I tried it for almost two weeks, but it just didn’t work for me. The baking soda slurry cleaned well but it left my scalp and hair feeling very dry. The vinegar conditioner left my hair shiny (which is good) but still left my scalp feeling dry (not good) and my forehead area pinkish and sensitive (really not good).

I decided to try a different technique that I also read about online. Washing with water. Yes, you heard that right. Wash your hair with water as if you are shampooing it.

If you need to condition it because you have dry or frizzy hair, then do so. But you don’t need to shampoo every day. In fact, shampooing every day can dry out your hair and scalp which then causes you to condition every day. It’s a vicious cycle. Your scalp has oils that help to keep it conditioned. Washing them away is washing away your natural conditioner.

This is my new regimen. Day 1, I wash my hair with shampoo. Day 2, I wash it with water. Day 3, I wash with water. Day 4, I wash with water. Day 5, I wash with shampoo.

It took me weeks to find the right regimen that worked with my hair type. We are all different. Experiment. Note that your regiment might change with the seasons. Experiment and find what works for you.

Cost: $10 for shampoo that lasts 6 months = $1.67/month!

Total Savings
Instead of spending $66/month, I now spend $11.67/month. Instead of $792/year, that’s now $140/year.

That’s a savings of $652/year!

You don’t have to spend a lot of money to look and feel good. I hope these tips will inspire YOU to find new Super Frug ways to clean, moisturize, look good and still save money.

Bubble bath photo by Petr Kratochvil.

Email, RSS Follow

Create your safety net

Posted on by

I read somewhere that Humphrey Bogart called it his f*ck you fund. Some call it an emergency fund. I call mine the compound.

Whatever you choose to call it, it’s crucial to set up a special fund with money to survive on in case you lose your job, your partner loses his/her job, you absolutely can’t stand your job anymore and you quit (hence Bogart’s f*ck you fund), you have sudden health problems, etc.

With this special fund in place, you can worry less and enjoy your life more. Being Super Frug isn’t about deprivation, it’s about living well on less. You can’t live well if you’re worrying about how you’re going to pay for an emergency.

You’ve heard that old saying before: pay yourself first. That’s what it’s all about. Even if you have debts to pay off and can only save $20 from every paycheck, that’s fine. Start now.

Where to stash your cash?
Set it up in a savings account or a separate checking account. You want to be able to withdraw your money easily and quickly in case of a real emergency. The credit union that I bank at allows me to have as many savings accounts as I want, no charge.

How much should you save?
Some people say you should save enough to cover your basic needs (rent/mortgage, utilities, phone, groceries, health insurance, car insurance, gasoline, bus/train fare, etc.) for 3 months. Others say 6 months. Some say a year. I’m paranoid about stuff like this so I aim for a year’s worth. Everyone is different. Choose the number of months that sounds right for you.

Why do it?
We all need a cushion in case of emergencies and major life changes. With it, you will feel taken care of and confident in your daily interactions with money. Without it, it’s like performing a trapeze act without a net. You could lose all that you’ve worked hard for. Don’t wait. Create your safety net today.

Email, RSS Follow

Becoming Super Frug

Posted on by

I started being frugal out of necessity. I wanted to live a life free of a 9-to-5 job and I wanted to live on my own terms.

When I quit my job at the University of Washington to start my business, Prelaw Guru (formerly known as The Personal Statement School), I knew that it would take years to make a good living. In most cases, it takes 7-10 years to foster and grow a successful freelance business.

I had started two solo businesses in the past that failed (though they were great learning experiences). I thought for years that I wouldn’t go into business again. It was much easier to just go to work and have someone else pay me. But, seven years after closing my last business, the freelance bug bit again. I wanted to run my own show once more.

I had to figure out ways to spend less money so that my business-building years were not unbearable. I really didn’t want to get another job so I started to learn how to be super frugal–or what I like to call Super Frug (pron. sooper froog).

Being Super Frug is not about being cheap. It’s not about the lowest price. It is about quality over quantity. If you buy quality, then you only have to buy once…most of the time. Something of quality will last you for decades, if not the rest of your life. Buying less means you have more money to save and/or spend on other areas that are important to you. It also means less waste.

Being Super Frug also means understanding what quality is. It means doing research to find the best buy. For example, studies show that in blind taste tests, consumers often like less expensive store-brand foods (called “generic” or “plain wrap”) about the same, or better, than pricier name-brand foods. Makes sense. Who do you think makes the generic store-brand foods? The same manufacturers that make the brand-name foods! Understanding quality will help you save money.

Lastly, being Super Frug is knowing what’s important to you. Many of us spend on things that we get little or no satisfaction from. Often we blame it all on not making enough money. As the old saying goes, the more you earn, the more you spend. You spend more and yet, you’re not more satisfied. It’s a never-ending cycle. I say, get off the consumerist carousel! Pay attention to how you spend your money now. Figure out what’s most important to you and spend your money on those things. Spend less on the things you don’t care about.

While I’ve always been frugal in some way (learning from my immigrant Taiwanese parents who worked themselves from poor into the middle-class), it wasn’t until I was nearly 40 that I learned how to be truly frugal. My point is, it’s never too late.

Becoming Super Frug helped me to pinpoint exactly how much money I have and how I’m using it. I’m more satisfied with how I spend and save money now than I’ve ever been.

You can be Super Frug too. Just remember these 3 points:
1) quality over quantity,
2) understand what quality is; and
3) know what’s important to you.

 

Email, RSS Follow