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Living the frugal lifestyle

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Tornado Condor

Tornado Condor

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As a poor college student, i've been trying to live as cheap as possible while maintaining a healthy life style.

One of the biggest things i've done to save money is to buy and prepare my own food. Eating out gets EXPENSIVE quickly and the cost piles up overtime. A decent meal can be $2 or less while eating out costs $5+ easily.

Also, slickdeals is a godsend for whenever you need electronics. You just have to be patient to get a decent price on them.

What do you do to be frugal?
 
When I don't have my kids I'll go to work sometimes 3 and a half hours early just to suck up their free coffee, electricity, and wifi. The other upside is roughly once a week my manager is like "Hey, so-and-so called off. Want some overtime?"


Free shit is my jam, dawg.
 
Track your finances! This way you can keep track of precisely where all of your money goes and set limits.where necessary.
 
While students are poor, they generall don't have many expenses either. You just have to not spend money on stupid shit and you'll be fine.

Make your own food.
Don't buy junk food.
Get pissed before going to a bar/club.
Buy second hand.
Work every now and then to get some income.
Use the libraries.
 
zoukka said:
While students are poor, they generall don't have many expenses either. You just have to not spend money on stupid shit and you'll be fine.

Make your own food.
Don't buy junk food.
Get pissed before going to a bar/club.
Buy second hand.
Work every now and then to get some income.
Use the libraries.
Click to expand...

Loans do pile up.

To add to your list, universities usually offer paid studies to students. I've done several psychology studies and gotten $10+ for each.
 
salva said:
What do you do to be frugal?
Click to expand...

at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with the following

Laptop (Thinkpad T430)
Smartphone/tablet (Note II)
Firearm (Glock 19 Gen4)

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
XxmDSoKl.jpg


its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with a Laptop, a Smartphone, and a Firearm.

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones

1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
XxmDSoKl.jpg


its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...

cot damn
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with a Laptop, a Smartphone, and a Firearm.

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
XxmDSoKl.jpg


its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...
So you basically live out of a bug out bag?
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with a Laptop, a Smartphone, and a Firearm.

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...

Wow. I envy your independence.
 
Food is the toughest expense for me to track. I'm on a strict $6.00 a day budget and it can be very difficult to make it work. Obviously, I never go out to eat and sometimes, ramen becomes my best friend.

(I fucking hate ramen.)
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with a Laptop, a Smartphone, and a Firearm.

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
http://i.imgur.com/XxmDSoKl.jpg?1

its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...
What about like a hammer, screwdriver, or dishes??????!!!!
 
Food is my weakness, really need to crack down on that.

Never buy anything on sale just because it is on sale, ask if you really want/need it.
 
Piano said:
Track your finances! This way you can keep track of precisely where all of your money goes and set limits.where necessary.
Click to expand...

Yeah, if you aren't already tracking finances (and budgeting!), you definitely should be. Just keeping track makes a big difference in how you think about these things.
 
xxracerxx said:
So you basically live out of a bug out bag?
Click to expand...

basically I plan to get rid of even more stuff.

I don't miss my old life of acquiring and to some extent hoarding stuff and materials.

its so much easier this way, I don't have any photos (all be digitized and stored on the cloud and a back up external HDD and SSD in my "bug out" bag.
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with a Laptop, a Smartphone, and a Firearm.

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
XxmDSoKl.jpg


its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...

Laundry must be frequent. And if you trash those shoes you're fucked.

What about kitchen stuff? Or do you eat out?
 
Bro Space said:
basically I plan to get rid of even more stuff.

I don't miss my old life of acquiring and to some extent hoarding stuff and materials.

its so much easier this way, I don't have any photos (all be digitized and stored on the cloud and a back up external HDD and SSD in my "bug out" bag.
Click to expand...
Do you ever have a plan of meeting and settling down with someone?
 
xxracerxx said:
Do you ever have a plan of meeting and settling down with someone?
Click to expand...

some day maybe , I can probably just integrate with there life I suppose.

A man once told me to be prepared to leave your home at any time with just the contents that could fit into a briefcase.

It's very... liberating to not be controlled by useless crap.
 
Unless you travel a lot, that sparse life style is tiring after a while.
I follow a lot of people dedicated to adventure motorcycling and this is almost always the case.
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with a Laptop, a Smartphone, and a Firearm.

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
XxmDSoKl.jpg


its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...

I have a place, but I'm there so rarely I pretty much live out of my pack when I'm not weekend dadding. Not to the extent you do, though.

Nice work. I'm dead serious. The idea of having a ton of shit is terrifying to me. Maintaining that sort of lifestyle seems so intimidating.

It's kinda fucked up. I've never been homeless, but everywhere I go I'm scouting out potential places to sleep where nobody would see me.

Smart phones are amazing for consolidating entertainment and utility. I want to buy a solar charger for mine just in case I ever need one. Their kinda expensive though, maybe just one of those units that lets you charge up with standard batteries.
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with the following

Laptop (Thinkpad T430)
Smartphone/tablet (Note II)
Firearm (Glock 19 Gen4)

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related
XxmDSoKl.jpg


its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...

oh sup emily chu
 
Horseticuffs said:
I have a place, but I'm there so rarely I pretty much live out of my pack when I'm not weekend dadding. Not to the extent you do, though.

Nice work. I'm dead serious. The idea of having a ton of shit is terrifying to me. Maintaining that sort of lifestyle seems so intimidating.

It's kinda fucked up. I've never been homeless, but everywhere I go I'm scouting out potential places to sleep where nobody would see me.

Smart phones are amazing for consolidating entertainment and utility. I want to buy a solar charger for mine just in case I ever need one. Their kinda expensive though, maybe just one of those units that lets you charge up with standard batteries.
Click to expand...

well I've left out these two things that are in my backpack

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B006ZRYU9O/?tag=neogaf0e-20

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009USAJCC/?tag=neogaf0e-20

a solar charger and a portable battery pack

I might get something like this in the future to replace my laptop and it can charge via micro USB
Thinkpad Tablet 2 (full windows 8 Pro + Wacom Pen)
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B009TLA7P4/?tag=neogaf0e-20

and considering all the tech, I would not be able to live like this during the 90s.
 
Cyan said:
Yeah, if you aren't already tracking finances (and budgeting!), you definitely should be. Just keeping track makes a big difference in how you think about these things.
Click to expand...
Know how much things cost before you buy them. My grocery lists are rarely ever more than $5 off from the actual total.
 
Bro Space said:
some day maybe , I can probably just integrate with there life I suppose.

A man once told me to be prepared to leave your home at any time with just the contents that could fit into a briefcase.

It's very... liberating to not be controlled by useless crap.
Click to expand...
Sup umop_3pisdn
 
salva said:
Eating out gets EXPENSIVE quickly and the cost piles up overtime. A decent meal can be $2 or less while eating out costs $5+ easily.
Click to expand...

Oh no $5, help me.
Seriously, $5 for a meal is a problem? What kind of meal do you get with $2? And that can't be all for the day, I need around $10 daily for food.
 
I've got too many physical books to be a minimalist, but aside from them, I can probably pack my life into a suitcase. It is quite liberating to unclutter once in a while and think about what one really needs in life.

I am living on a pretty limited income right now, budgeting is a bitch.
 
I live on about $50 per week for food. I get a couple fast food meals ($5 subs), cook a lot of pasta and onions/cheese, oats for breakfast, drink dollar Arizonas and water at 30 cents a gallon. My girlfriend and I split cooking meals a decent amount. Probably less than 7 pairs of clothes. Maybe. 1 pair of pants, couple shorts, probably 7-8 shirts/briefs/socks.

No car, room consists of laptop, mattress, sheets/blankets, suitcase. Products in the bathroom. Works while I'm in college, but not ideal by any means. Certainly not envying anyone else doing it.
 
A program I've been trying out lately is called:

You Need a Budget

It's software that helps you develop a budget. Easy to use and quite friendly. May end up buying it. There's also a mobile version that goes along with this, but that's an extra $5.
 
Hot damn as soon as I saw his first post I KNEW it was emily chu and was waiting for him to be called out. You would think that you'd be wise enough to change up the posting style and the exact details when posting with an alt but what do I know, I only have my uni's webmail to use to register here and I'll be damned if I'm risking that shit.

I'm a college kid too and I do the basics like eat out maybe once a week and drink at home before I go out. Also, find out any time there is free food on campus and fucking go. There is so much free shit on a college campus it isn't even funny.
 
Bollocks said:
Oh no $5, help me.
Seriously, $5 for a meal is a problem? What kind of meal do you get with $2? And that can't be all for the day, I need around $10 daily for food.
Click to expand...

See, once in a while paying $5 for a meal is not bad but if you do it frequently the cost piles up. You can get bread, ham, etc. to make your own meals and you will save SO much.

Also, check your local bakery before closing time to get some of their bread for super cheap.
 
salva said:
What do you do to be frugal?
Click to expand...

I bought a japanese sports car instead of a german one and will only buy a TV not bigger than 70".

Also, I'll skip on Base jumping and Speedboat cruises for the wohle year.

Seriously, don't spend money on fast food, learn to cook, skip on meat/poultry/fish every other day, buy seasonal items.
 
Bro Space said:
at age 26

I don't buy what I don't need and sold everything I own CL in the past 3 years.

Hence forth I'm left with the following

Laptop (Thinkpad T430)
Smartphone/tablet (Note II)
Firearm (Glock 19 Gen4)

random stuff like
7 pairs of clothes
7 pairs of socks
1 pair of sneakers
1 wireless mouse
1 pair of in ear headphones
1 desk
1 chair
1 bed
1 backpack (for important stuff)
1 duffelbag (for clothes)

thats about the extent of things I currently own.

Pic related

its easy and frugal as hell to live like this, I can move in under 5 minutes.

Laundry becomes a joke.

trick is not to buy anything, it's a great way not to fall into any debt.
Click to expand...

91825667_DeNiro_answer_2_xlarge.jpeg


"A guy told me one time, "Don't let yourself get attached to anything you are not willing to walk out on in 30 seconds flat if you feel the heat around the corner."
 
When you go to the movies figure out what the end time is and look for another you might want to watch.

Buy contacts in bulk and then report that you never received them. They will send you another shipment for free.

Donate blood as a way to get a free STD test.
 
mac said:
When you go to the movies figure out what the end time is and look for another you might want to watch.

Buy contacts in bulk and then report that you never received them. They will send you another shipment for free.

Donate blood as a way to get a free STD test.
Click to expand...

Seems shady...

I really need to work on my diet. Shitty eating habits leads to all my spending being on food :|
 
mac said:
When you go to the movies figure out what the end time is and look for another you might want to watch.

Buy contacts in bulk and then report that you never received them. They will send you another shipment for free.

Donate blood as a way to get a free STD test.
Click to expand...

Interesting...
 
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