Frugal

Every parent of young children is continually looking for new activities to do with their kids.  Preferably activities that are inexpensive or even free. One option I have is to take my kids to Riverdale Farm which is located near the downtown core here in Toronto.  Of course this particular activity isn’t available to everyone [...]

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Three years ago Ramit Sethi wrote a post that made me laugh and think of my parents (it also looks like it might have subconsciously been influencing my post last week).  In it he talks about how his parents are very generous with him, but they (and, according to Ramit, all Indians) HATE to pay [...]

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Unfortunately, the economy is still down, and this year the pressure is still on to find cheap gifts for loved ones.  The 2008 edition of the “Four Pillars’ Last Minute Cheap Gift Guide” is still relevant for gift giving, but if you need more modern ideas for what to give on a budget, we’ve got [...]

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Thanksgiving made me think about fun and inexpensive ways to decorate the table and here are some of the results, a potato turkey, an apple turkey and a nutty turkey.  These food animals can be used to decorate the table at Christmas, Thanksgiving or any other time of year that you need a bit of [...]

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I’ve done a number of posts on extremely cheap individuals (Daniel Suelo, Charles Long, Don Schrader) and groups (Freegans) but have always had a soft spot for stories about the Economides (self-professed to be “America’s Cheapest Family”). While they certainly aren’t shy about self-promotion, I think they’ve actually built a unique lifestyle that works for [...]

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I touched on hitchhiking in a previous post, but felt that it deserved a deeper treatment than I gave it at the time. For those not familiar with the term, hitchhiking refers to getting rides, for free, from generous motorists who have a free seat and are willing to take you to (or at least [...]

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The Bag Lady recently posted about Daniel Suelo, a man who has “quit using money like a bad drug“. I always find people, like Charles Long, Don Schrader or the Freegans to be interesting in their ability to opt-out of the Western economic and social system and chart their own course, living how they want. [...]

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I’ve written in the past about people like Charles Long and Don Schrader who make me seem like I should be called Mr. Spendthrift, not Mr. Cheap.  An entire group who also makes me look like I’m throwing money around like a drunken sailor are the Freegans.  At our recent get together, neither Preet nor [...]

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My apologies again for anyone who tried to comment on the “Bedtime Stories” post.  Somehow I managed to turn off comments on it. A couple of times I’ve referred to a trip across Europe I took after my second year of my undergraduate degree.  I was originally inspired to take the trip after Gil White [...]

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I’ve been finding that it’s increasingly difficult to even understand, let alone benefit from, the “deals” that are being offered by stores.  It’s apparently a Canadian thing (according to a friend in the US), but we regularly get coupons for fast food.  It’ll be something like a free fry and drink, if you buy a [...]

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With two little people around the house, Easter is a time of fun.  Here is one of the ways we enjoyed ourselves.  We made edible art out of eggs and some onion skins we had collected the last couple of weeks. Collect onion skins. Wrap the eggs in onion skin.  For varied patterns, add smaller [...]

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I was really impressed with the comments and discussion when a post on VOIP services (and specifically Vonage) generated a lively discussion last year.  Along similar lines, I’d be very interested in what people have been using for their ISP in Canada, especially anyone based in Ontario. I used Bell years ago, and without fail [...]

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With the economy in a downturn, this year more than ever the pressure is on to find cheap gifts for loved ones.  Luckily, this is Mr. Cheap’s forté, so without further ado may I present the 2008 edition of the “Four Pillars’ Last Minute Cheap Gift Guide”. Pine Cone Bird Feeder:  A perennial favourite, this [...]

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There’s a wave of frugality going through the world, as people are worried about jobs and money in light of a looming recession.  I’m amazed at how people have developed the expectation that spending $65 monthly (or far more) on a TV subscription is a “necessity”.  Possibly this attitude will be re-examined in the current [...]

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One of my uncles (by marriage) loves to gamble.  He doesn’t bet the mortgage payment at the horse track or anything like that, but if there’s a possibility to win money, his eyes light up. One of the meanest presents I’ve ever given was a fake lottery ticket I put in his stocking.  After scratching [...]

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I wrote last week about the value, as I see it, of keeping track of things in order to make changes in your life. While a common refrain in personal finance is to spend less than you earn, its obviously quite difficult for people to do so. I think part of the reason is that [...]

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We have a ritual in the Cheap clan.  Whenever a member is “nearing the end”, we all gather around the matriarch or patriarch.  They’ll look each of us deeply in the eye to convey the gravity of the situation, then when their hour approaches, hold the gaze of a younger member of the clan (who [...]

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