Chronically Underprivileged
and Conspicuously Frugal"(TM)
"Frugality without creativity is deprivation."
--Amy Dacyczyn
Our Mission:
To build a community of "freaks***" who are making creative thrift fashionable and fun, sharing their bold and brilliant ideas, thereby making it easier for all of us, over time, to save gobs of money in the process.
Your Fearless Leader/Frugal Freak #1:
From January 2001 to February 2007, Cousin Clifton T. lived (survived) on $4,000 to $6000 per year (before taxes!)--raising his standard practice of "creative bookkeeping" to high art and making him, however unexpectedly or unintentionally, quite qualified to create and share this
blog and work to fulfill its mission.
What about the freaky part?
"Great ideas have always encountered violent opposition from mediocre minds."
--Albert Einstein
"All truth passes through three stages. First, it is ridiculed. Second, it is violently opposed. Third, it is accepted as being self-evident."
--Arthur Schopenhauer
(***In other words, those who first espoused any idea or practice were derided by their contemporaries as "freaks."--CCT/FF#1)
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To borrow a chapter title from Amy Dacyczyn, author of "The Complete Tightwad Gazette," who is quoted above, this blog seeks to go "Beyond Lentils and Oatmeal," with the aim of building a new community, culture, and aesthetic of proud "grunge-meisters," who, for example, don't lie about how much their clothes cost (the #1 lie women tell other women according to surveys), but whose clothes themselves brag about how little they cost--and thus how smart and resourceful their owners are!
"Why just look at the funky retro pattern on that vintage Goodwill bargain bin hospital gown--and worn backward as a cape!"
Soon Hollywood celebs will wear handmade (by themselves!) patchwork outfits on the red
carpet, serve dirty beans and rice at their swank soirees, and proudly drive 20-year-old econoboxes--perhaps precisely so they can pay the chauffeur a liveable wage, donate more at that next charity ball, or tip their next outstanding waiter or bartender a hundred dollars!
So hang on and prepare to live on less than you ever thought possible--and actually enjoy it!
Some basic requests and caveats:
Haters, please, play elsewhere.
No sanctimonious guilt-tripping please!
All ideas presented herein are merely suggestions.
Do with them as you will (or won't).
Frugality, freaky or otherwise, really is an individual thing.
Do your own thing--even if you have to take a shower afterward (literally!):
For example, I'm too afraid of contagion, vermin, and sharp (maybe also rusty!) objects to go dumpster diving, BUT I once worked with a man who got a dozen frozen (i.e., safe) turkeys around Thanksgiving that way!
His cooperative household of about 10 (a frugal freak family if ever there were one) went through at least one turkey recipe every week for an entire year!
More power to him!
Of course, then (in 2002), he was a "freak." Now, he's a "freegan" (albeit obviously omnivorous), and anthropology and economics students write their Ph.D. theses about his "subculture" and "lifestyle."
Conversely, I know others who wouldn't be caught dead in a thrift store:
"Ewwe! It's like other people's BEE-OHH!"
(That's what laundromats are for, dear.***)
In contrast, I constantly get compliments on my wardrobe (designer labels and all) even though 90% of my clothes (and bling) come from thrift stores or ones with "Dollar" in their name.
My personal best was a practically brand-new Hugo Boss leather jacket with a suggested retail price of $595.00
for (are you sitting down?)
$25 at "Pennies For Change," a thrift store here in Durham, NC which donates all proceeds to the Durham Crisis Response Center ("Shop To Stop Domestic Violence"):
Go to:
http://www.durhamcrisisresponse.org/pennies.html
for more information, including a brief but powerful video, followed by a series of thumbnails for additional clips--a great and timely cause.
(Another wonderful thing about thrift stores is the vital causes they support.)
***For the record, thrift stores are required by law (at least here in NC) to launder all donated clothing--which, no, doesn't mean they all comply with the law--but hey, that's why I wash my thrift store purchases before wearing them--that and because I'm allergic to most harsh detergent residue.
Besides, just think of how many people tried on that "brand new" pair of jeans you just bought off the rack at Target!
(I know. You didn't want to think about that, did you? Oh well! Too late!)
And the "flip side" is that:
"One person's luxury is another's necessity."
The above-mentioned laundry is an example:
Some people will only buy high-thread-count linens, but will wash them in the cheapest generic bargain-basement detergent they can find.
I, on the other hand, buy used but funky-colored (no, not funky-smelling(!)] linens at the local Goodwill "Household" Bin, but, again, wash them in (barely) pricier liquid detergent.
My current fave (for the price) is Food Lion's store-brand "Free and Clear".
I also throw in some Oxy-Clean for extra stain-fighting, but I get it at the Dollar Tree for, yep, a dollar, not at the "As Seen On TV" boutique for (same size) six or seven dollars!
Yes, the cost of the exact same item can vary that much from one store to another(!)--one of the reasons I started this blog.
Start comparing and doing that with virtually everything you buy and the money you'll save will start to add up, and you too will be a Frugal Freak!
And so, our frugality challenge of the week:
From "How To Live Rich When You're Not" by Rebecca E. Greer (paraphrased for concision)(Merchant link to order this book coming soon!):
Do you really need all of those convenience foods or would you rather have filet mignon and lobster more often?
Do you really need season's tickets to the opera--or would a really kick-@$$ stereo and some CDs or MP3 downloads mean more?
Do you really need all of those taxi rides--or would you rather ride the bus wearing a fur coat?"
SO, tune in next week for my answers, when we'll also begin a series asking the question, "RUAFF?"
***(Are you a Frugal Freak?). ***
(Sorry, folks, the formatting has gone all weird on me--will try to fix soon.)
Meanwhile, please also reply with your answers to the above three questions:
filet mignon and lobster versus convenience foods;
stereo and CDs versus season's tickets;
taxis versus bus with a fur coat.
And no preaching, foodanistas, please, about the poor lobsters and fake versus real fur!
The above-quoted book was written in the 1970s,
well before the founding of PETA in 1980 in Richmond, VA,
which, BTW, I attended, when it was still "Mobilization For Animals."
Our first March On Washington follwed soon after--6,000 attendees,
not bad for a brand-new cause!
The theme is financial priorities; you get the idea and don't pretend you don't
(it's called being "disingenuous" and it's most unbecoming--leave it to the politicians).
Otherwise, as always, please respond regarding this weeks' topic above, or with any
(respectful) questions or comments you may have on being a Fellow Frugal Freak!
'Til then, later and Peace Out,
--CTToth, a.k.a. FrugalFreak#1
