The superscrimpers OR Ultra frugal

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thrift | θrɪft |

noun [mass noun]

1 the quality of using money and other resources carefully and not wastefully: the values of thrift and self-reliance.

? [count noun] US another term for savings and loan.

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/8549739/The-superscrimpers.html

The superscrimpers

From the pensioner who dries herself with a flannel instead of a towel to the single mother who trades home-made bread for trout, meet the women who have turned saving money into an art form

Diane Hall and husband Robert with daughters Caitlin and Zara

Diane Hall 36, lives in West Yorkshire with her husband, Robert, 43, a mechanic, and their daughters, Caitlin, 11, and Zara, seven. Last June Diane gave up her job as a forensics reports manager to become a freelance writer

I was working terrible hours, often 60 hours a week and during weekends and holidays, then an incident at work sparked my decision to leave. It was a rash decision. We used to spend money without thinking; it was like water in our hands, and we had zero savings. Suddenly, every penny had to be accounted for and anything that wasn't a necessity had to stop.

Our household spending has dropped by half. I buy food in Tesco and Netto, and get cheap light bulbs and cleaning products at the Wilkinson hardware store. We have to wait until Robert's been paid to fill up the car with petrol and we've had to take the kids off school meals because we can't afford it.

We used to live on convenience food because I didn't have the time or inclination to cook. I had no idea of budget. I'd do the same online supermarket shop every week and whatever we didn't eat got thrown away. Now I do a food shop three or four times a week and cook everything from scratch. Nothing gets wasted. If grapes need eating up, they get thrown in a salad. I've lost a stone without even trying.

If something's not being used it gets sold on eBay. In the past I bought so many clothes I had bin bags of them in the loft. Now I spend Sunday afternoons selling them online. Even if it's just a couple of pounds, it all helps. I rarely buy stuff for myself anymore. The last thing I got was a blouse that cost ?1 from a charity shop.

I don't like worrying about whether the bills are going to be paid. Before, I could walk around with a credit card knowing we could afford things; now I have to take our finances day by day. You can't suddenly decide to have a weekend away; there's no spontaneity anymore. Everything we do has to be worked out to the last penny. It can be quite monotonous sometimes.

But family life has changed for the better. Robert and I used to be so shattered from work we'd just zone out in front of the television while the kids played computer games. We used to be in different rooms; now we're all interacting. We do the chores together as a family. The dishwasher's broken and we can't afford to get it repaired, so while we're washing up we have time to chat about the day.

We can't afford to take the kids swimming every week now, so we treat them once a month if they help out. The kids have mostly embraced it.

I work as a voluntary reporter for my local newspaper, covering community events such as f?tes, coffee mornings and car-boot sales. It's unpaid but through it I've discovered lots of family-orientated events that are free. It gets me mixing within my local village community, which I never had time for before, and the kids have become adept at picking up bargains at local fairs.

We won't be able to afford a summer holiday this year. We recently had a weekend away in a caravan park, paid for with Tesco Clubcard vouchers, and we're planning lots of days out doing picnics and walks. We live near beautiful countryside but we never really had the time to enjoy it before.

Even though it wasn't something I planned, being forced into being thrifty has changed things for the better. It's so easy to spend without thinking. I used to feel guilty about wasting food but never bothered to do anything about it. Now everything we buy is justified. I feel happier with the choices I make. It's been liberating. thewritinghall.co.uk

THE SINGLE PARENT

Lisa Cole 43, lives in Bristol with her seven-year-old son, Toffee

Before I had Toffee my job was managing an apprenticeship training scheme for a railway company. I had a ?2,000 overdraft, hated my job and spent all my time compensating by spending money on clothes, shoes and cocktails. I was so overwhelmed and stressed out with work I jacked in my job. A week later I discovered I was pregnant.

By the time my relationship with Toffee's father broke down four years ago I'd naturally become more thrifty. It was actually an easy transition. I slowed life down and became a bit poorer but a lot happier.

We live on a very tight budget of ?60 a week. I qualify for working tax credits because as a self-employed designer I work over 30 hours a week, but last year due to family problems I earned very little. I also run a website (lactivist.co.uk) but it's a labour of love that doesn't pay me a wage.

Once a week I make my own bread. At 40p a loaf, it's much cheaper than shop-bought and tastes better, too. Toffee helps me knead it and has it freshly baked in his school lunch box. I swap bread for eggs with my neighbour who keeps chickens, and one of the locals is a fisherman so I exchange home-made bread and cakes for rainbow trout. I also make my own yogurt and ricotta.

It's so easy to spend ?40 every time you go to the supermarket, so I figured the less often I went the less money I'd spend on stuff I didn't need. I bulk-buy every two to three weeks and get a local fruit and veg box delivered fortnightly, which I top up with salad and herbs from our tiny garden. The apple tree is another rich source for swapping.

We don't look shabby. I'm wearing Fly London shoes that I bought on eBay, and I buy clothes from charity shops and Primark. The last time I went out I wore a lovely giraffe-print dress that cost a fiver from the market. I try to buy Toffee's shoes when there's a sale on, but he always has his feet measured and I won't scrimp on that. His school uniform comes from supermarkets and he has a favourite green and yellow jacket that I got from the market for a pound.

You need to keep your eye out for bargains. I got free hair dye from an offer on Martin Lewis's Money Saving Expert website and two pairs of glasses for ?20 from a Groupon voucher. You have to plan ahead a bit, too. I use the central heating as little as possible, so in summer we start collecting branches ready to use in the fire.

I account for every penny we spend, including an entertainment allowance of ?10 a week for the two of us. I try to be thrifty when I socialise. I use Tesco vouchers to eat out and the other night I discovered that in All Bar One you can get a ?20 bottle of wine for ?10 if you ask for bin ends.

I buy DVDs when they're on offer, watch them, then sell them on eBay. At Asda you can often get three for ?10 and I'll sell them for the same price or slightly less; in the long run it's cheaper than renting them from the library.

Toffee and I go geocaching, which is a free treasure-hunt game using your mobile phone, and the local cinema does a pound show for kids at weekends. In the summer we go caravanning, which is cheap, and sometimes we'll just camp out in a tent in the garden. We're not missing out on anything. You don't need much money to enjoy yourself.

THE STUDENT

Laura Martin 19, is a second-year psychology student at Reading University

It was quite a shock when I went to university. I'd always tried to be careful and manage my money. When I was in the sixth form I had a part-time job so I could pay for driving lessons, but when you get to university you suddenly have to think about all the little things your parents usually pay for.

At first I didn't really know what I was doing. I'd buy food from corner shops, which was expensive, or I'd get a huge bag of veg that went off before I got around to using it. After a few weeks I got more savvy. Now I buy the value range at supermarkets and cheap meat to put in the slow cooker. I've sussed out portion sizes, too. I used to waste stuff that I'd defrosted and couldn't eat; now I separate food into freezer bags so it's more economical.

In my first year I was concentrating on having fun so I wasn't quite as careful, but then you start to figure out ways to save. I walk a lot to save on bus fares, use Skype for phone calls and regularly check my bank account online to see where my money's going. Some of my friends go wild at the start of term and by the end of it they don't have any money left to go out. I never take my credit card out with me. When I socialise in the evenings, I'll have a few cheap drinks at home first then stick to soft drinks or water.

I buy clothes from places like Peacocks and H&M. They actually last quite a long time; I've got a T-shirt from Primark that I've had for years. I'll buy from charity shops occasionally. I've got a sparkly cardigan that cost ?2.50 and a handbag I use all the time that I bought for a couple of quid.

I've got a job working as a general assistant at Showcase Cinemas. During term time I work all day Saturday and Wednesday evening, and in the holidays I try to get as many shifts as I can. It can be hard, though. Sometimes it feels as if I'm getting behind with my studies, and in holidays I'm torn between staying in Reading to work and going home to Bedfordshire to see family. But being thrifty is good. It makes you more aware of money, and it makes you appreciate it more, too.

I don't deny myself anything; I prioritise what I want to do and budget everything else around it. Last year I went to the Edinburgh Festival; I camped because it was cheaper than a hostel, lived on fish and chips and saw as many free things as I could. That meant I could afford a couple of shows I really wanted to see.

I've got into the mindset of being careful with money, which is handy as I'm considering doing a postgraduate course after I've finished. It only takes a bit of effort to shop around to find the best deals. By being thrifty, hopefully in the future I'll be able to afford things like a car and a deposit on a house.

THE PENSIONER

Tina Watkin 67, is divorced with three grown-up children and lives in Denholme, West Yorkshire

I grew up with thrift. My granny lived with us and she used to cook cheap stews using sheep's heads and pig's trotters. My mum cobbled shoes, made Christmas fairies out of wire and cr?pe paper and taught me to knit and do basketwork. It was like

a factory at our house. Whenever I wanted to buy something she'd ask, 'Do you really need that?'

I've worked all my life. I used to be a telephonist, then after the children were born I had part-time jobs. I've worked in a pub, done market research and been a lollipop lady. It meant I didn't have enough National Insurance payments to get a full pension so I'm on pension credit of ?138 a week.

A lot of my thrifty ways go back to childhood. I remember as a girl my mum taking me to a shop that sold second-hand clothes and I got a beautiful buttercup-yellow suit. I rarely buy new clothes. I'm a trustee of my local charity shop, so I pick up things there, or wait for the sales. Mum taught me dressmaking so I mend my own clothes, too.

I cut my own hair and use a flannel instead of a towel, which saves on using the washing-machine. People who haven't tried it don't realise how well it works! And I use the dishwater to wash the car.

I buy food at the end of the day when it's marked down. You can get real bargains that way. I popped into Morrisons yesterday and got a Chinese stir-fry reduced from ?1.19 to 65p. I buy pretty much all of my food on the last sell-by date. I grow vegetables ? I've got peas, beans, carrots, beetroot, potatoes, rhubarb, redcurrants, lettuce. If I don't finish what's on my plate I freeze it or use it as compost.

One of the biggest expenses is heating. In winter I don't have the radiators on long. I'll put the gas fire on in the front room rather than have radiators on all over the house. If I get chilly I put on a fleece and pop a scarf round my neck. I'd need a lot more heat if I was infirm or lazy, but I'm always on the go. Being active keeps your heating bill down.

One of the drawbacks is that hobbies go by the wayside. I used to be in a choir. We sang at the Royal Albert Hall and at Disneyland in America. It was my passion but I had to give it up because it cost ?140 just to join for one season. I keep myself occupied, though. I'm leader of the Bradford Writers' Circle and work on community radio.

A couple of years ago I worked out a budget but it frightened the life out of me when I realised I had only 47p left until the end of the week. I never did one again. People can get depressed when they realise how little money is coming in, but you shouldn't let it get you down. You just have to learn to economise and find ways of making what you've got go a little further. ageuk.org.uk

[ianr]

This article, which you seem to have copied and pasted in full from https://www.telegraph.co.uk/lifestyle/8549739/The-superscrimpers.html is

By Helen Gent

7:00AM BST 05 Jun 2011

WHY not just inform us of the article, tell us why you want us to read it, and give the URL?

[siousxiesue]

Lisa Cole 43, lives in Bristol with her seven-year-old son, Toffee

Sorry that's just weird..