Cheap ...errr....FRUGAL Yaankee tips

COUPONS
My wife saw a couple episodes of Extreme Couponing and started doing it. I never thought it was worth my time, and it does take a little time go get going with it, but she gets our staple items way cheap. Sometimes the basement fridge gets pretty full, but it's staples so they always get consumed.
 
C-pher said:
You're going to have to tell me where. The only one I've been to was out by Milford, and it wasn't that good at all. I've heard that there's one in RI, guys that sell Ham Radio gear and such, but I don't know where that is...or I'd be there.
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Seekonk Speedway on Sundays and there is an indoor one in Swansea, open Sat. and Sunday (Exit 2 on MA 195 - RT 136) to 6 West, same parking lot as Porch and Patio) that is picking up, because the Speedway is outdoors and is probably done for the year - no entrance fee for both.

The Taunton/Raynham Flea MarketRt 24 to Rt 44, is indoor /outdoor, i think it is 50 cents to enter.
 
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green_metalflake said:
MA Flea Market List

This is the best place to start. They are all on there.

The one you are referring to is Grafton. Great deals are not lined up with neon signs, at any of these you have to get there early and dig for them. Sometimes they are staring you in the face too. This summer at Grafton I bought nearly every tool on a retired machinist's table at noon. They'd been sitting there all day and on that day no tool buyers showed up except me. What that cost me was recovered on the sale of one item and most of the rest I kept. But, some weekends have been a bust too when all I've left with is a corn dog from the concession stand.

The advantage New England has over the rest of the US (except mid-Atlantic) is that this is where the country settled first, for nearly 400 years now! There is so much old stuff still in barns & cellars that it continually comes out for sale. With the economy down it is a buyer's market and the goods are there.....if you look for them. I enjoy the hunt, some find that a chore though.
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Feral said:
Seekonk Speedway on Sundays and there is an indoor one in Swansea, open Sat. and Sunday (Exit 2 on MA 195 - RT 136) to 6 West, same parking lot as Porch and Patio) that is picking up, because the Speedway is outdoors and is probably done for the year - no entrance fee for both.

The Taunton/Raynham Flea MarketRt 24 to Rt 44, is indoor /outdoor, i think it is 50 cents to enter.
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Sweet, thanks guys. We'll check them out..
 
Learn to fix your own sh!t! As an example, doing a brake job on a car isn't difficult and will typically save you 2hrs of labor at $100 per. If my mower, snowblower, etc break, I fix them. My deck will need new decking and railings next year. I'm doing it myself.

If you want a shiny new TV, buy last year's model. If you want a new cordless drill or an iPad, buy a refurb.
 
Knuckle Dragger said:
Repeal child labor laws. Kid should be able to contribute to the family.
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Wait a minute... didn't you have a vasectomy in an earlier post?

cockpitbob said:
COUPONS
My wife saw a couple episodes of Extreme Couponing and started doing it. I never thought it was worth my time, and it does take a little time go get going with it, but she gets our staple items way cheap. Sometimes the basement fridge gets pretty full, but it's staples so they always get consumed.
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I agree with this, but add a caveat. I always add gas, travel time, and the value of my time to the equation. It may make sense to stop at Target to save a couple of dollars on TP, (to me at least) if it takes me 20 minutes driving and 30 minutes of my time, it isn't worth the effort. I use coupons for the stores I know I'm going to, but I rarely go far out of my way to buy one item. I just stock up when things are on sale.
 
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Knuckle Dragger said:
Repeal child labor laws. Kid should be able to contribute to the family.
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My dad and his sisters were picking beans in the fields in Oregon starting at the age of 10. They got paid by the pound. They got to keep the $ which meant Mom & Dad didn't have to buy them toys & treats or that nice piece of clothing they wanted but didn't need. So, the whole family made out.
 
cockpitbob said:
My dad and his sisters were picking beans in the fields in Oregon starting at the age of 10. They got paid by the pound. They got to keep the $ which meant Mom & Dad didn't have to buy them toys & treats or that nice piece of clothing they wanted but didn't need. So, the whole family made out.
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This is child abuse. If you don't give the kids whatever they want, whenever they want it, how will they learn to function in today's society?

I'm betting few of the Occupiers sufferd as your dad and sisters did. For shame!
 
One other thing to add: A $15 sweatshirt, and a $10 blanket will save you a couple hundred dollars in heating costs in the winter.
 
Buy a thermos and make your own coffee. You will save at least $500 dollars a year if you drink more than 1 cup a day at work.
If you use a credit card, make sure it has reward points for purchases. If your careful you can make a few hundred back if you put your regular purchases and monthly bills on it.
Return bottles and cans at the redemption center every 6 month or so.
Take out pizza is $10 to $15. Making it at home is $4 or less.
Learn the wonders of a Foodsaver and freezer partnership.
A BJ's membership can be well worth the money if you plan right (split purchases with a friend or family member) and use their coupon book.
Like to go camping? State campgrounds are at least 50% cheaper than privately owned ones.
Shop at a Market Basket if you can. They are the cheapest supermarket I am aware of that doesn't sell moldy products.
JC Penny has some great deals on clothes if you keep your eye on the advertisements.
Reuse mouthwash (just kidding). :)
 
There's no need to rake your leaves, bag them up, and throw them away. Just run them over with your lawn mower several times. :)

It actually works as a good mulch. Next spring, your lawn will be greener.
 
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JoseyWales:2094411 said:
There's no need to rake your leaves, bag them up, and throw them away. Just run them over with your lawn mower several times. :)

It actually works as a good mulch. Next spring, your lawn will be greener.
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Or throw them in a wood chipper when trimming branched...
 
PaulD said:
Learn to fix your own sh!t!
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We have a swap area at my town dump -

I got my 2-stage snowblower there, it a had broken drive belt. (about 4 web clicks and 20 minutes work once part in hand)

I got my Thule roof rack there, it needed a new key. (5 minutes on the Thule website)

I got a huge box fan there with a broken plug. (cut good plug off another piece at dump and swapped it)

<OT rant on>

What the above tells me is that so many no longer even attempt the simplest of repairs. They either lack the knowledge, inclination, or both. Shop class is offered nowhere in schools due to liability, the closest thing now is vocational school. And, vocational school is viewed as where the losers go. Basic hand skills are not seen as valuable.

None of this should surprise me. My neighborhood just endured a ~3 day blackout. This about 8 weeks past a similar blackout during Irene. I spoke with many of my neighbors after Irene and nearly none planned to have basics on hand for the next blackout. So here we were at the beginning of the week, in a blackout again. And so many of them sat in their houses awaiting for the power to come back on, no way to cook, no way to heat, good grief!

</OT rant off>
 
mortgage (why pay rent and pay someone else's mortgage?), car loan, student loan..

ZERO CREDIT CARDS!!!*

married a woman whose salary is twice what i make...

programmable thermostat, set to nice n chilly at night, come up in the am just to take the chill out of the air, then go back down when no one's home
(the cats have fur coats, and they can huddle together for warmth..)

going to be doing a trigger job on my Savage Axis after the pumpkin shoot....
rather than the $90 timney i'm going to try the $2 ace hardware spring/set screw
if it works, i'm a hero, if it doesn't, eh.... i'll ask santa for it for xmas...

Britta in the fridge and on the counter instead of bottled water
make my own coffee rather than the donut shop...

and i turn the condoms inside out after one use to use again....

*though if i did still have credit cards.... i'd probably have a bunch more toys that go BANG.... so it's good that the wife and i paid 'em off and cut 'em up!
 
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PaulD said:
Learn to fix your own sh!t!
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I second that. Last weekend had to fix the washer. This weekend was a dishwasher repair. Total price for parts for both projects was around $80 (plus my labor). Saved a couple of hundred buck right there. Self reliance for basic small appliance and small engine repairs is a great and practical way to be frugal.
 
cjammer said:
I second that. Last weekend had to fix the washer. This weekend was a dishwasher repair. Total price for parts for both projects was around $80 (plus my labor). Saved a couple of hundred buck right there. Self reliance for basic small appliance and small engine repairs is a great and practical way to be frugal.
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Nice job.

Our gas oven stopped heating on Thursday. It got a new ignitor for $50 and replaced it yesterday morning. It took me about 30 minutes and I can only imagine how much a service call would have been.
 
I have an excellent local appliance place (Automatic Appliance) and the'll give me free advice....they know that the sign, "NO USER SERVICABLE PARTS" is a challenge!

Of course, they're my parts source, and when it's too far gone, I generally get the replacement there. Once I had a dishwasher timer break. Part was 80% of a new machine....

One thing I tell the kids - it was invented by humans, and if you go slowly, you'll figure it out.
 
MisterHappy said:
I have an excellent local appliance place (Automatic Appliance) and the'll give me free advice....they know that the sign, "NO USER SERVICABLE PARTS" is a challenge!

Of course, they're my parts source, and when it's too far gone, I generally get the replacement there. Once I had a dishwasher timer break. Part was 80% of a new machine....


One thing I tell the kids - it was invented by humans, and if you go slowly, you'll figure it out.
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What kills me is the stuff that is obviously designed to discourage user-service.

I have a fridge that has developed a leak. After poking around, I find that the drip pan is cracked and that a silicone patch doesn't work well. I can buy a replacement part, but apparently I need to remove the compressor to swap it out. Engineering at it's finest...
 
Dream to Dream said:
What kills me is the stuff that is obviously designed to discourage user-service.

I have a fridge that has developed a leak. After poking around, I find that the drip pan is cracked and that a silicone patch doesn't work well. I can buy a replacement part, but apparently I need to remove the compressor to swap it out. Engineering at it's finest...
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They're building for the intended market - if the majority of your buyers will throw the thing out if the light bulb burns out, then that's the "right" level of engineering.
 
We just bought a new dishwasher last night. I diagnosed the problem to the electronics board. The unit is 10 years old and has the original pump. The pump will certainly fail in the near future. The cost of the board & pump + shipping was more than the new machine we bought with a stainless-steel tub and extended warranty. Sometimes you cut your losses too.
 

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