My Frugal Life

Hello, I began to be frugal many years ago. I found myself disabled and living on $700 a month SSI. I could not make ends meet for anything. I ate at the food kitchen two weeks out the month with my 3 year old. She is now 22 years old.

I since learned that cable TV was not required to live with. I cut it off and kept the WiFi. I can't live without that. I asked for any discounts and had a coupon added to bring it from $55 to $40 a month for one year. I gave up the house phone and bought the Magic Jack.

At the end of the year, I call in for another coupon and go from there with the WiFi. I added Netflix and Hulu to my household and that is what I watch. I find it just dandy to pay less than $20 a month for TV shows and movies. I stopped going to the movies once I learned Netflix would soon have it.

My light bill was very high. I began shutting off the breakers before leaving the house. I also removed a lot of stuff that had lights on it. I learned that from the light company. The bill started to get lower for me. I stopped turning off the breaker after that. I do not turn on my TV until after 6 p.m. unless I have guests over. I won't lie, I limit company as often as possible to save my light bill. My light bill went down even more.

The summer time arrived and I was terrified to have the air on. I ran two fans and kept my windows shut along with blinds closed. At night, I would open the window and run two fans. When the air had to go on for the entire week night and day. I was very upset. I was freaking out to be honest. The bill was $49 and for that I am proud.

I was sitting with a friend in Mc Donald's and she told me of a company that she joined and they offered her a gift card. It lowered her bill as well. I do anything to save and also joined it. My bill went down and I also was paid $25 for joining. I since got 3 people under me and they are all happy to get lower bills.

I reward myself once a month with $7 for take out, no more pizzas ordered to my address. Due to all the cut backs, I put $50 in savings every month. Next month, I will start with $80. Instead of shopping the malls, I started shopping on wish.com. They have nice clothing and you can order a size up and look very nice.

I don't buy Uggs any more, I buy Bearpaws ($40 at Marshall's - black and blue.) I need nothing more for winter. I wear my down coat and change up my hat, gloves and scarf. It makes me feel like I bought something new every year. I have a insurance card that gives me $65 a month to get stuff like pain pills, toothpaste and mouthwash. I give my neighbor some and she gives me garbage bags and toilet tissue.

Another thing I did was to call for my free phone from the Medicaid program. It works with my LG tribute and they let me keep my phone number. Next month, I no longer have a phone bill. That is how I get to add $30 more to savings. I do a few sites online every day like Swagbucks and Crowdtap. I use those Amazon cards for cleaning supplies and rewards.

The one thing that hurt my budget was going to the laundromat. The dryers were too expensive and not hot enough. I found a mini washer on Amazon.com It was the best money I could spend. I put it in my spare bedroom on top of two milk crates. I fill it with two buckets of water and now pay nothing to wash clothes. The best thing is my light bill has not gone up.

I am now living on $766 and I can help other people who are worse off than me. The one thing I wish I could do was afford better food. I stopped buying steak for a few months. Last night, I found sliders for $6.99 and bought them. That will be what I buy when I crave a steak. I cook as much as I can in my crock pot as well.

I registered with lots of sample sites. Ilovetoreview.com sends full sized samples as you see here. I have prime and sample free stuff.

I could go on forever but you get it. Thanks for reading about my frugal life.