February Frugal Bootcamp: Frugal Basics

 

We are a consumer society.   If there is something that will enhance our experience with any product we have no problems choosing to discard what is working perfectly well and exchange it for the fancier item.  This is just as true in foods as it is in electronics or appliances or cars.  The manufacturers are innovative and listen to the consumer.  What has aggravated them, what problems did their customers experience.  They then employ someone to brainstorm and invent solutions to those problems.  On the one hand, this is a good thing.  There are features of many products that have made them far more safe and far more user friendly, not to mention affordable.  But also has a downside.  The consumer becomes the monster that demands more.

I am not against improvements  but I do suggest humbly that sometimes, sticking with the basics can be the better experience.

I feel we lead a quality life because of the choices we've made.  My husband retired after working for years upon a modest salary.  I have been a stay at home mom and wife for the past 24 years.   We own our home and are debt free.  We routinely give to chosen charities and missions and add to our savings each month.  We accomplished all of  this on a low income.  One reason why we've managed so well is that we learned early on the beauty of basics and how subtle enhancements can lift them from the ordinary into the extraordinary.

I shared last month five basic vegetables that I buy fresh and keep on hand year round.  We don't just eat those five but they are the foundation upon which we build our produce each month.  We begin with those and then add a few others that are well priced.   In my area availability of fresh foods at reasonable prices is high.  I live in a state with a moderate climate and within easy distance of Florida.   While you may be knee deep in snow, along about Valentine's day we begin to see fresh spring produce flood the markets.  I can buy asparagus and strawberries this time of year for little.  They are most welcome, too!  But it's those five basics which are always available and inexpensive that allows us to make the choice of having other seasonal foods while they are inexpensive.   

Our proteins are largely ground beef (venison this year but usually beef) and chicken.   We like steak and roasts and tenderloins quite well but I've built a large repertoire of recipes that use these two basic proteins.  I also include eggs, tuna and dry beans into our basic proteins.  We might then purchase a roast  or tenderloin to add to our proteins but we rely on those basics which are budget friendly.  

Our pantry is filled with basic goods.   I can enhance any food with a low cost array of spices and seasonings.  I don't need fancy packets of mixes and costly ingredients.   I seek high and low in various stores for the goods that fill our pantry.  In the past I bought groceries from the drugstore, the dollar store and off clearance end caps in department stores as well as at the grocery store.   

And so goes our grocery budget.  But we also prefer basics in our wardrobe.  I usually have jeans, and dark trousers or skirts on hand as a base for colorful tops and blouses and scarves.  I pick up my clothes  from clearance racks and thrift stores.     John prefers jeans and black shirts.  He has a closet full of black polo and t-shirts.  Occasionally he deviates and has something in a dark hunter green or what he refers to as blackred, which is a dark red with a black overcast or undertone.   He buys three and four shirts at a time in his color range when he sees them on sale.   Our wardrobe suits us just fine.  It fits with our lifestyle.

Our cars are quality models bought used.  My Camry is now 15 years old.   I've owned it for 8 years.   John's Civic is 14 years old and we bought it used about 9 years ago.   They don't have blue tooth or back up cameras (though both are features we'd love to have and hope to get in our next vehicles), but they are good models with a lot of life left in them for all that they are old vehicles.

Long ago, I despaired of our running through furnishings as quickly as we did.  I finally realized it wasn't us, it was the poor quality furniture we'd purchased.  Now we buy good quality used pieces, hardwoods that have been kiln dried.  I've learned to make slipcovers and to reupholster in a passable way.  Our home is unique to us and has a clear personality that one bought right from the show room floor will never have.

Our phones are usually about to be discontinued or have just been discontinued when we buy them.  We replace batteries and maintain them and when they die we go buy another newly discontinued model that is low in price.  We get good service from our phones.  I've had my current phone now for about five years, I think and my last one was ten years old.    Our computers are basic models.  

So are most of our appliances and they pay off well.  My old GE dishwasher died after 25 years of use and who can complain over that?  I've owned my gas stove for nearly 20 years already and though I wish at times for an oven light and a window in the door as well as a broiler that doesn't sit on the floor...I can't complain.  My stove works well and has worked all these years without a single repair.   

When it came time to replace my slow cooker this year I chose a simple model with three temperature settings and no timer...Why?  Because I only use the slow cooker when I'm at home!  I don't need a programmable model.  I don't need something that will switch off at a certain time.  I'm here to control those matters.   

When we bought our home we'd looked for two years solid for a house that was reasonably priced and in a suitable location.   We finally decided to purchase a piece of property and get a manufactured home.  We looked at all sorts of models in all sorts of price ranges.  In the end we chose a moderately priced home with moderate finishes.  We spent extra on storm windows and a front porch.  

It's not the nicest home you'll find, I'll admit that, but after 25 years living in it, it's held up well.  For one thing we took good care of it and we're slowly renovating it (oh sooo slowly, lol) but we're choosing good quality basics to replace the older finishes.   We eventually added a deck and several years later we had that covered with a roof to make a large back porch.  We recently replaced the plastic skirting with a concrete board product that has cut our electric costs by nearly 25%.  We're now planning to work on our bathrooms.  We've already replaced the toilets.  Next we hope to finish the small guest bathroom and then we'll do a little more detailed reno on our master bath.   After that we'd like to build a laundry area onto one end of our back porch and eventually to renovate our kitchen.  I've already planned what I want in each room.  Our renovations will all be modest and use lower cost basics.  We have a pretty clear idea of what materials will cost in all but the kitchen cabinets.  

I'm not by any means saying that in order to live a frugal life one must have the basics and only the basics.  But it is possible to build a solid base of basics upon which one may layer better quality items and have a lifestyle that appears to be more luxe than it cost to have it.