Refusing to Pay Full Price
Creative frugality is
stubbornly refusing to pay full price because you know that if you
hold out, the store will have a sale soon.
Although we're sure many you do it frequently, this one must have been a
hard one to put into words. We did not receive many responses that
directly related to holding out for a sale. But we did get some more
good input on creative frugality in general. Here is what our readers
had to say:
"I had wanted the Callaway pattern of Corelle dinnerware for a
year or so. Sometimes it would be on sale for a few dollars off, but it
wasn't low enough. Last fall, Corning ran an ad at KMart: buy two sets
of this pattern and get the teapot, salt and pepper shakers, gravy boat
& saucer, creamer & sugar bowl, serving bowl, & platter (a
$50 value) free! Plus the dinnerware was $5 off per set. That was too
good to pass up. I wanted 4 more dinner plates and 12 luncheon plates,
which weren't included in the sets, but I waited. A couple weeks later a
higher-end store advertised their open stock Corelle at 50% off. I took
the ad to KMart since their open stock prices are less, and they matched
the % off. An added bonus was that the dinner plates were already on
sale, so I got them for 75¢ after the 50% reduction. So all in all, I
got about $170 worth of Corelle for about $92. God blesses us when we try
to be good stewards with what He has given us."
"I never pay full price for anything. When I ‘need’ something,
I shop at the thrift shops. By the time I've visited about 3 of them, I've
found the item for which I was looking, and usually
something I need that was not an immediate need. I've bought new clothing
items which I save for Christmas, tags still on. Also, games, and toys
have been purchased new for $1-$2.
In one of my bedrooms, I have a shelf on which I keep all these items,
including items bought for future birthday presents. It is so much easier
to purchase all year than to run out at the last minutes to buy gifts. I
know if I see it and don't purchase it right away, it will be gone on my
next visit to the thrift shop. ~ Betty
"Here are several frugal things we have done: When we had twins,
we were faced with buying duplicates of several pieces of baby furniture.
We were able to purchase discontinued floor models of matching oak cribs.
The real bargain was the changing table. My husband was given (free) a
6-drawer dresser and 4-drawer chest of drawers. The legs on the dresser
were bad, so my husband built a simple base out of 2x8s . He then made a
solid rail around the top with 1x4s,
putting a divider about two-thirds of the way across the top. We then put
in a cushion for the babies to lay on. They couldn't roll off because of
the height of rail and we stored diapers and wipes in the smaller
partition. When the kids grew too big for a changing table, we used it to
store all their jimmies, diapers, pull-ups, etc. Now that they have
outgrown
that, we have placed it in an extra closet and use it to store games,
puzzles, and extra craft supplies. It is easy for them to open, to keep
things put away and we can close the closet door and hide it completely.
All for only the cost the lumber to make a base and a rail.
Another frugal thing to do: We used a baby wipe container and stored small
squares of synthetic flannel (don't use all-cotton flannel as it ravels
too much) with a little water to use a baby wipes. The wipes got washed
with the baby diapers and saved us a lot of money over the five years that
I had a total of three kids in diapers.
The flannel backed vinyl table cloths also have another use that I haven't
seen mentioned. My aunt picked them up cheaply at garage sales, then cut
them into rectangles and kept a few in the diaper bag. Instantly she had a
changing pad to change the baby in the car, in the park, in a store with
no clean changing area. Since she bought them so cheaply, she didn't have
to worry, if she just threw them away with the diaper. I've been in places
to change my kids that were just not clean, and if I
had not had a changing pad with me, I would not have used that place. This
resolves the problem frugally." ~ Kristi
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"’Necessity is the mother of invention.’ Often my best
creatively frugal moments come when I’m trying to solve a dilemma with
little or no money. One that I’m proudest of happened when we first
moved onto our property, which was not landscaped. (We live in the
woods, but with near by neighbors). Everywhere you looked, there were
rocks; round, river rocks. I couldn’t imagine what to do with them to
tidy up my yard. As I stood outside pondering this, I prayed for God to
give me some inspiration, and He did. I now have a sprawling rock
garden. I gathered them all together, leaving varying sizes of rounds to
fill in with dirt and plants. I can’t tell you how many compliments I’ve
gotten over the years. What that taught me was to be more cooperative
with the hand I was dealt. Instead of looking for how to get rid of
something, look for ways to make it part of the solution!" ~ Karil
"I saw you refer to the vinyl flannel backed tablecloths in your
creative ideas. I use these and also clear or colored heavy-duty vinyl
from sewing store to make a tablecloth that doesn't move when you wipe
it. I lay the tablecloth or vinyl on top of the table, then trim it
about 3 inches or so all around the table (mine's oval). I then get
elastic (like 1/4" or 3/8"), stretch it and zig zag it all
around the edge of the table cloth. I then stretch it and it fits like a
cover over the top of the table and it doesn't move so much when you
wipe it off. When using the heavy clear vinyl, I put
different fabrics underneath for the time of the year (eg. spring,
Christmas, etc). This is a good way to protect your table top or to
dress up a really bad looking table that is still serviceable. That's my
idea!" ~ Ann
Editor's Note: Thanks to these people for sharing their
creatively frugal ideas!
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