Frugality in the other areas of your life

[Floordford]

I had wondered if the majority of those here were also penny pincers in other areas of their life. Or if you guys recycled. Or were just conservative all around.

Myself, I try to recycle. Not spend unwisely. I try to keep a tidy apartment. I don't wash my car as much as I probably should because I feel bad letting go of that $5. Im not a penny pincher but i definitely try to spend wisely. I do as much work on my car as possible. I used to work at a Ford dealership so my skills are not weak by any means. Over all, I can stand to live life with a little less than others. And im okay with not over extending myself to get rich.

[bikin' Ed]

I use water from the dehumidifier to water plants or flush the toilet

[Daox]

I don't really ecomod for frugality's sake. There are much better reasons to do it IMO. Plus, I find it to be more fun and challenging versus modifying for power. I do extend this mentality to the other parts of my life. I think we Americans are wasteful to the point it disgusts me.

That being said, all of the mods I have done to the Paseo have way more than paid for themselves. The Prius is coming up on paying for its mods too and that includes a PHEV kit that has barely been used that was not cheap.

[Old Mechanic]

Disciplined AC and heat use, passive solar incorporated into the house in design and geographic location. Full width front porch that blocks direct sunlight in summer while allowing significant solar heating in winter. Garage semi submerged for warmer temps in winter and cooler in summer.

Recycled close to 200 salvage vehicles, with the vast majority being fuel efficient. Have been driving fuel efficient cars since I bought a new 84 CRX 1.5 in late 1983. Averaged 44 MPG in that car for 50 k miles.

Working on prototyping my patented hydraulic in wheel drive.

regards
Mech

[Frank Lee]

Frugal is good; living beneath my means has lead to having plenty!

[Old Tele man]

...I'm constantly monitoring our electrical power usage: hourly readings and 6-hour intervals. So far, our "summer A/C" scaling looks to be roughly:

• 00:00-06:00 = 10%
• 06:00-12:00 = 20%
• 12:00-18:00 = 40%
• 18:00-24:00 = 30%

...or, 30% in mornings and 70% in afternoons...which makes sense when you consider that our summer solar "heating" begins at about 06:00 and doesn't wane (drop below 100ºF) until after 18:00-19:00.

[larrybuck]

Being frugal all around, just makes good sense! The game is always on: how many days can I go w/o having to go to a store to buy anything?

[SentraSE-R]

I, too, find frugality a virtue. I paid off my home mortgage in 9 years.

[sid]

I paid off my mortgage in less than six years. 25 years later, I still think it was the best financial move in my life.

My experience is that if I want something, if I am patient it will frequently fall in my lap for either free or next to nothing. Impatience is what cost me money.

A problem is that it sometimes takes a couple of years before that "want" falls in my lap. Sometimes, you just can't wait that long.

[swede]

Wow, you guys make me feel like a spend-easy fella.

Mine is; I replaced the shingles on my house this year, and used a lighter color shingle rather than the black that was on the house to minimize heat load in the summer. That, and while I reshingled (yes, I did it my self, house and garage) I installed roof vents to reduce the amount of hot air trapped in the attic, thus lowering the heat load on the house yet again.

Small things, but noticeable differences..........

Swede