Rhonda Cannata
Having spent a good portion of my adult life as a single parent, I discovered a plethora of ways to live well on very limited means-including DIY whenever possible (create, up-cycle, repair/mend), buy quality things at discounted prices (or be humble enough to acquire them for free), take care of what I have, and use everything to its fullest potential. And, as it turns out, many things that can be costly to hire are not rocket science to do myself!
I acquire quality items for free or at deeply discounted prices and have discovered many of my fav belongings by dumpster diving, picking up items curbside, or buying second-hand via thrift stores, auctions, yard sales and online. Many times I have selectively bought brand name clothing at yard sales or on half-price thrift days and after my kids outgrow it, sell whatever I can (often at a profit or break-even rate) to a shop that buys and sells gently used kid’s clothes.
With regards to housing expenses, I found that renting vs buying a home has many money-saving benefits. Renting allows me the security of fixed-rate expenses. I can plan our budget and not have to worry about major unexpected housing costs (new roof, furnace, plumbing, etc.). I cut costs when I work as a resident caretaker and allow my apartment to be the showing model in exchange for a significant rent reduction. I capitalize on other people’s wastefulness when other tenants discard useful items. I salvage them and clean, repair or up-cycle them to keep or sell.
Birthdays and holidays can be expensive. I purchase colorful, festive party décor on thrift that go with any party theme and reuse them over and over. I bake and custom decorate them using the kid’s toys or hand crafted embellishments. I reuse whatever I can. I create my own greeting cards (cut up and modify cards we have received into new cards). Many of these practices are as much about conserving resources as they are about saving money.
As a designer, one of my fav things about being thrifty is being able to change the color scheme and décor of a room with custom accessories on a shoestring budget. Being thrifty not only allows me to expand my resourcefulness, but also taps my creativity. It’s really fun to challenge myself trying out new projects and seeing how much creative flair I can add to personalize my living spaces. Perhaps the biggest lesson I have learned with applying all my frugal tactics is that there are many ways to define “rich”. From my perspective, if I can cleverly structure my life so as to afford myself the time and freedom to abundantly do what is most meaningful to me with the ones who matter most, I have acquired a level of true wealth that most only dream about.
