Many people have asked us how we are managing to spend a year on-the-road, traveling the USA to help people.
The long answer is a combination of sacrifice (we sold EVERYTHING, remember?), preparation, and grace. The short answer is: we live very frugally.
Tim is planning to write a breakdown of the financial side of our expedition over at GiveEveryDay.com soon. For now, I’ll just say that we are really only spending money on the bare necessities: fuel, groceries, cell phones, insurance, and our health care co-op.
We rarely eat out. We wear hand-me-downs. We don’t own a TV. Right now, we’re staying at a free camping site at a county park in Tomball, TX (which is surprisingly wonderful, by the way).
We also use electric heaters to help offset the cost of propane. Honeywell sent us their new EnergySmart Cool Touch Heater ($49.99) back in January and it’s been a great addition to our RV. It’s small, portable, and super simple to use. We especially love that it’s cool to the touch so curious little fingers can’t be burned. According to the Honeywell website, “EnergySmart™ Technology regulates power consumption to help save up to 35% on energy bills vs. conventional heaters.”
How do you live frugally? Share your top tips.
WIN IT! One winner will receive a Honeywell EnergySmart Heater ($49.99)! To enter, leave any topic-related comment on this post prior to Tuesday, March 15th at 11:59 p.m. All generic comments like “Enter me!,” “Love it,” and “Cool stuff!” will be disqualified. Winner must provide a US mailing address.
* Honeywell sent me a sample for review purposes and is also providing 1 product for the giveaway.
*UPDATE* The winner is #51 Annette D. Congratulations!
as far as living frugally, we try to use coupons (I’m learning how to use them!) and we don’t do a whole lot of “extra” unnecessary stuff.
I’m excited about the heater because I’m a cold weeny! I love to be warm 100% of the time!
What a neat product. It gets so cold here!
I think this heater is new and love to try its new design
Thanks for the giveaway…would loved to have had a Honeywell / EnergySmart Cool Touch Heater this past winter: our home office is the coldest room & the place is an ice box at night when I am catching up on work !
senorpiero [at] yahoo [dot] com
When I need something I “shop” first on Freecycle then at the thrift stores. I’m a pack rat and rarely throw anything away but I try to share extras and unneeded items on Freecyle for others to use.
I also enter many giveaways for items that aren’t within my budget. And sometimes I actually win!
We budget and do not avoid debt by figuring out where each dollar is spent.
I have always been frugal but am learning a lot of ways lately to save more money and create less waste. My place is very poorly insulated. I do my best to bundle up instead of using a heater, but it’s great to know there are energy efficient ones out there.
We could use a heater like this for our cold basement
This would be perfect for our room downstairs.
spcale at yahoo dot com
Our gas bills are s high – I’d love to try out this heater!
Our family uses free-cycle and we shop sales or goodwill. Very rarely do I buy something new and full price. We were lucky enough to get a great dryer from free-cycle when ours broke and a new one wasn’t in our budget!
I use a lot of coupons and my contest and twitter wins to save money.
Would love to have this to use in our smaller bathroom. Perfect for heating it up when taking a shower.
ardy22 at earthlink dot net
We use coupons!! By pairing coupons with great deals, you can usually purchase free to almost free items each week. By doing this you gain a stockpile which is very helpful.
we keep the house 60 in the winter and 80 in the summer to save money. we also carpool to and from work to save gas.
Our teen has his room in the finished basement. In the winter he could sure use something to take the chill off and this would be perfect. I like that it’s cool to the touch too, because our youngest one is a very curious toddler.
I live frugally by using coupons, looking for any deals on the products I want to buy, and try not to be wasteful with electricity, food, money, etc. Thanks for the great giveaway!
Here in south Florida, we don’t have much need for heat. But 4 or 5 days each year, we DO need it. Rather than turn on the furnace, I use several small heaters like this Honeywell just to heat the room in use (i.e., the bathroom). Saves big time on the power bill – heating uses more energy than cooling.
We could really use this for our guest room – it’s like a meat locker in there!
Good for you! I live frugally also, I served all last year with AmeriCorps and only had $1000 a month, so it’s easy to be frugal once you’ve “had” to be frugal!
nancymeyer1 at gmail dot com
I commend you for what you are doing we too are living more frugal, when we moved to texas we got a much smaller place so we could cut are rent in half, we don’t eat out, and have purchased all of are furniture from craigslist and get clothes at yard sales but we are a much more happy family than before in the bigger place.
Heaters always worry me about how hot they get, so it is reassuring that this heater is cool to the touch. Seems like a needed safety protocol for all heaters.
I live from paycheck to paycheck, so I do every and anything I can to save. I use coupons, shop the sales, repurpose whenever I can and I am spending less of my grocery budget on meat. It’s hard, but I am better off that a lot of people.
I am one of those people who is always cold–in our living room the wall heater is on the far wall and we have really high ceilings so I sit on the couch wrapped in blankets. I would love to have a heater I could put nearby.
kakihararocks@gmail.com
I shop at different stores to get the best deals. And use coupons when possible.
Reuse! Clothes, Shoes if we can ~ luckily I have 3 BOYS so that helps. Less plastic/paper and more cloth :)
Our house is very old, no good heat. I would love to try this in the den.
We reply on space heaters a lot. Our house is very open and hard to heat. We keep it relatively cold by most people’s standards and heat the bathrooms and play areas with space heaters. We also wear warm slippers at home :) While my coworker’s gas bill was close to $600 one month this winter, ours was just under $200.
I too love that it stays cool to the touch, not only for child safety but also pets who want to lie too close to the heater.
I know someone who has a thyroid problem that can’t be regulated well and they are always cold. This energy smart unit would help a lot.
turn down the thermosaut during winter ty.
I spend hundreds of dollars in heating bills each winter and my home still feels cold! Poor ventilation is a waste of money and the worst part is that you don’t even feel like you are getting your money’s worth. I would love to have this by my couch to keep warm and save on the heating bills. If I like it I will likely buy one for my daughter’s work office because she says it is always cold there as well.
Live frugally by filling clothes washer and dish washer only 1/2- 3/4 full of cleaner, reusing dryer sheets or tearing one in half. Flushing toilet after 2 uses unless… filling gas tank up with 1/2 premium and 1/2 regular grade to make it come out to plus grade-costs less doing it this way for plus grade, when skinning potatoes for mashed potatoes save the skins for pan fried dutch fries, use powdered milk vs regular milk, use boxes from pepsi cubes as little disposable garbage cans, use plastic milk jugs for various things(mini wash pan, food storage, disposing of grease in) using appliances at night vs daytime to save energy, shutting off phantom type appliances when not in use, the computer and microwave. electricisland(at)gmail.com
I’m always cold so this would be great in my bathroom.
Shaunda.Eppes at gmail dot com
i re use everything!
yes, even foil if i have it, bags,fabric..
tattgiff at centurytel dot net
We use the dishwasher as least as possible, keep the lights turned off unless we need them… This would just help even more.
Lyndsey.Rullman at hotmail dot com
We use the dishwasher as least as possible, keep the lights turned off unless we need them…
Lyndsey.Rullman at hotmail dot com
We live frugally by using coupons on almost everything we buy. Ebay is a great place to find not only grocery coupons, but we saved a TON on our bathroom remodel by purchasing Lowes and Home Depot coupons on there as well. We also chose to do a lot of small, but fun, summer activities with our girls instead of a large vacation. We buy an annual pass to our county park that has a beach and bike trails. We also follow blogs and twitter to see what other great savings others are willing to share on products we use.
Thanks!
Theresa
I try to run the dryer as little as possible. I have a line outside and an indoor line that can stretch though the house if the weather doesn’t allow hanging out. Our power bill really dropped when we stopped using it every load that we washed.
We could use this in the frozen tundra of North Dakota to help keep our heating bill down.
we try to close doors off to the rooms we dont sleep in – to save on heating
It is amazing what you are doing, especially with children. And I will be interested to see how you budget to manage at GiveEveryDay.com.
We also use an electric heater or two in our RV. This prize would be a great addition.
My children’s playroom is the coldest room of the house, this space heater would definitely come in handy! I am frugal and always use coupons whenever I can. I enjoy reading your blog a lot!
The heater looks nice. I’d like to have a personal heater to be able use when we are cuddled up at night watching TV.
we ust propane to heat. And at the price of propane this would really help to save on heating costs
We had a hard Winter and lost our gas because of overload in our community this past Winter. We needed this then but it would be a great thing to have for future Winters.
We’ve found living frugally is, for the most part, a feel-good experience. We know we’re “reducing our carbon footprint,” we’re saving money on a tight budget and we’re more aware of what’s really important in this life: quality time together. Sometimes we miss a major treat – like a new car or something – but not enough to go back to the crazy consumer life.
We live frugally by using coupons and only using cash to make purchases.
madamerkf at aol dot com
We live as frugal as we possibly can…we grow a garden ,freeze and can everything we can,I use coupons to buy whatever we need at grocery..i never pay full price for cereal and we eat whatever brands we get for free or nearly free using coupons. We heat with a wood burner..and of course early morning sometimes are rather chilly..if no one woke up during the night to refuel the heater…so this heater would come in handy to warm the bathroom quicker in the mornings
We use the heck out of coupons!
This would be great in my freezing cold bathroom.
dolniaks[at]consolidated[dot]net
During the summer we don’t use our central air. We have a window unit in the den and spend our time in there. It saves us over $100 every month. I was thinking about doing something similar in the winter, with one of these little heaters, because heating costs have been really high.
Thrift stores! We never buy clothes new. We also go to a crisis center that has clothes donated to it. They will have fill a bag for a $2 sales and we get a lot of clothes.
tdlsfm(at)gmail(dot)com
Living with four kids in a Jewish community you have to live frugally with the cost of tuition. But that doesn’t mean I don’t use disposable! i would waste so much time washing things if I didnt. We LOVE hand me downs and we pass on things too. We don’t do vacations or trips unless they are free (or free with miles) and don’t go out to eat except for birthdays. There are plenty of ways to save without inconveniencing. My building is a little too generous with heat (except on the coldest days of the year when the boiler goes kaput) so we don’t really need the heater. Besides doesn’t it raise electric bills and isn’t a portable heater a fire hazard?
I love how compact this is. It would be a great addition to our 3-season room.
we always turn off lights when we are not in the room, unplug appliances when not in use, and dont turn on the heater until we are popcicles. ;) saves money and energy. We also buy generic instead of brand name.
Matt and I log every expense in this pretty elaborate excel spread sheet. It really helps us keep on track every month……..and the best part is you can evaluate where every penny has gone. Of course when you track every expense you always think twice before buying something. I also read the book “America’s Cheapest Family” by the Economides family…….they are from Phoenix. This book inspired me to clip coupons and much more.
I also purchase the boys’ clothes at second hand stores. Also, I have been using cloth diapers (given to me by Jennifer) on Bryce……..I am not convinced that they save too much money though, since I do a lot of laundry because of them.
I don’t need the heater, but I wanted to leave a comment anyways. I love to talk finance and how to save money, so that’s why I left a comment. : )
Oh, I also make the baby’s food in a food processor. This saves A LOT of money. It’s pretty easy too. I puree the food in the food processor, then I pour it into ice cube trays. Once it is frozen I transfer the food into a large plastic zip lock baggie and I place it in the freezer. Then I just take one or two servings out and place it in the refrigerator to thaw.
Living frugally has been helping my family keep the nice things we have. I use coupons for everything and I deal shop. I am always on the look out for stuff I can use to help keeping my deals going. I have cut our monthly living down to $1000. Thats with all my bills and food cost.
Wow! You’re good. I need some tips from you!
We got rid of our propane the winter before this one…and have been heating with wood and electric space heaters. It’s been much more efficient. We exclusively use a small space heater to heat our upstairs room. Love that the newer ones have the thermostat adjustment to help conserve energy when they can!
We try to keep the furnace down and just dress warmer. In the summer we try to not use the ac as much. We also do more baking in the winter, which also keeps the house warm. Making more foods from scratch help too.
I use small heaters in various rooms as needed, to make them comfortable when we are in them, rather than turn the heat up in the entire house. I am not sure how much I am saving since I think these little heaters are little energy pigs. I would love to try this Honeywell heater and see some savings.
dchrisg3 @ gmail . com
I make almost everything from scratch…like this http://www.foodnetwork.com/recipes/alton-brown/granola-recipe/index.html . Made it today, it’s PERFECT. Finally found a granola bar recipe that is natural and super yummy, I’ll type it up and get it to you.
I also wash our diapers and don’t ever buy clothes new, try to trade for everything at used store. I shop Costco, don’t coupon because they don’t usually have alot of coupons for the kind of food we choose to eat but I’m finding that Costco is going healthier.
I may try that granola! It looks so easy…and much more affordable!
I’d also love your granola bar recipe. Are they crunchy or chewy? I much prefer the chewy variety. :)
I am always cold in our house – to the point where it can be beautiful outside (gotta love California weather) and I am wrapped up in a blanket with a sweater inside. It would be nice to sit in my office and not be cold so I can just focus on working instead of wrapping up my toes to keep warm.
We live frugally by cutting back on the extras. We rarely eat out, buy in bulk when feasible, look for deals at other times. We’re lucky to live in a warm climate, but even so it does get cooler in winter. I try to avoid turning on the heat unless absolutely necessary, what amounts to less than a dozen times in a year. A small space heater might really help out at those times.
The heater we have in our nursery is SO not energy efficient. This looks like a great item!
This could be so useful and conservative to me.
we live in a condo and the sunroom is always cold because it is poorly insulated! the heater would be perfect for that room!
this would be awesome to warm our baby’s room in the winter when the rest of us are still warm!
I’m the person in my office who keeps her scarf on all day and sometimes wears fingerless gloves. I’m cold while the rest of my crew is comfortable. I could really use this Honeywell heater. I can see it now, proudly waiting for me under my desk. I arrive in the morning and the first thing I do is plug the heater in and turn it on (I would always unplug it when not in use; better for the environment). Then I’d take the voicemail messages, remove my coat, start my cup of tea and finally go through the email.
I do my best to coupon and follow several money saving blogs to snag deals. I also rarely pay full price for clothes. Clearance shopping, consignment stores, etc. are my go to place for snagging great fashion finds at a fraction of the cost!
I’ve been jobless this winter. Running the heater all day is killing me in gas costs. This would really help.
Thanks for the giveaway >^..^<
I live frugally by not buying unless something is on sale (super sale), even food! And I’m lucky enough to have room for a good sized garden and I can lots of what I grow for the rest of the year!
i guess the best way i live frugally on a regular basis is to check the sales of all my area grocery stores online noting the price and store on my list then taking advantage of walmarts price matching program
We are trying to save more as well by not eating out as well as not heating/cooling the house as much. Very cool heater, btw!
I like how small and portable it is, yet provides what seems like (after reading about it) a lot of heat.
I like that it saves over 35% vs conventional heaters.
Very cool that this heater is cool to the touch. We have a space heater, but I’ve judged that it just gets too hot to use while Darah is small and might want to touch it.
Frugal tip….we line dry our clothes, even during the winter months! I actually wrote a guest post about how we do it. http://www.vanderbiltwife.com/2011/01/guest-post-how-to-line-dry-inside.html
That indoor clothesline is probably in use 75% of the week!
This would be great help with a convalescing friend living with me. He needs the warmth and can’t keep the whole house that warm without sky rocketing the utilities. (Once was enough)
my heating is shot – this would be great!
I always buy on sale combined with a coupon. I also use price comparison sites to find out where to get something we need for the best price. When it comes to groceries, we get a lot for free or next to nothing. I utilize coupons and rebates for practically every aspect of our lives.
I am EXTREMELY frugal with my everyday living but have been known to spend money when quality counts and on trips/vacations. Trips are kind of my exception because we don’t do a lot of them and in my opinion experience trumps material any day of the week.
As far as utilities go…you should see a Minnesota winter heating bill! It would probably make you feel better about your own fuel cost, which I’m sure are anything but cheap. We keep our thermostat set at 65 degrees which is pretty chilly compared to other households but I prefer to wear layers rather than pay an extra $100 or more per month. Thankfully we get a break in the spring/summer/fall and typically only have a REAL need for A/C a few times a year.
I like to use little heaters like this for under my desk at work because my feet get so cold. Brrrr!
I wish I had some super-genius tip to live frugally that would amaze you…..but I don’t. We also don’t eat out a lot and most of our entertainment is either free (parks, libraries) or we have found ways to get a discount. If I won this, I would turn down the heat in our house, and use this in whatever room we’re in.
I can’t even begin to tell you how much I miss the library! That’s a big downside of living on-the-road – no library card!
We love using heaters in the house, but need some newer ones. This looks like a great one. I bet it is warm!
I’d love one to keep my son’ room extra warm throughout the night; he sleeps best when it’s about 10 degrees warmer than our room.
With regard to “Miss Independent,” it is amazing how grown up children can become seemingly overnight. They blossom and begin to have their own thoughts and opinions. While it is a little sad to have them grow up so fast, it is an amazing thing to be a part of.
This is great. Living in FL we don’t usually run the heat, but I would love to have this on nights when it does get chilly and we’d want to have heat.
danielleaknapp at gmail dot com
I am starting to use coupons now to try to save money. I wish I could get the hang of it and know how to do it right to save money like I see bloggers do but I don’t have a clue yet. I have already been gardening and canning and freezing them for winter to help with costs there. I am trying but sometimes it gets hard.
We coupon and follow several blogs that help us to get a lot of free items. Every week I stock up with free foods and household items. It is the only way we get by.
My mom lives in a RV and I would love to win this heater for her.
We live in a 30+ yr old triplex with aluminum windows, so heat leaks out pretty badly (and we can’t put plastic up because it will mold >.<). So we don't turn our heaters up past the beginning of the "comfort zone" (which I would assume would translate to around 60*F in todays heating figures). We wear blankets, and warm clothes. We also don't want to turn them up and have the heat seep out of the windows and have huge electric bills. With where we keep it now our electric/heating in the winters is $120-140/mo, which is fairly decent, if we had our heat in the comfort zone or higher we would be paying at least double. (and we live in Northern Idaho where it can get very very cold).
We also try to keep all lights and electronics off and unplugged if we aren't in the room with them, that helps keep the electricity/heat bill down too. We are moving to a newer build (2005! :D) in a week so hopefully the heat is better but we will still keep it low to keep the bill low. This little heater would be awesome to help us keep our heating costs low in the Fall-Spring (our cold months lol)
Out of necessity I think very carefully before spending any money. I use coupons and only buy on sale items. I unplug electric items not in use. I have not bought any clothes in almost 2 years. I reuse many items including plastic bags. I have lowered my thermostat and open my curtains when the sun is shining in to warm the room.
I make soup out of leftovers
You are close to where we live! I am in Kingwood, just north of Houston. I hope that you are enjoying Texas!
I am not a native Texan. I am from North Carolina and my son will be going to school in NC this Fall. This heater would be wonderful for him to take with him. He was born here in Texas and is not used to the cold weather. I hope that you will have a chance to visit North Carolina. It is an absolutely beautiful state.
It sounds like a great way to help with heat. One thing we do to live more frugally is to buy a lot of things second hand. Most of my wardrobe has come from thrift stores, and honestly, no one would ever be able to tell and it saves us so much money.
I wish I was more frugal than I am…I’m a work in progress in that area! But, one thing I do use is cloth diapers. They have saved us a ton of money and I actually really like using them. The one area I need the most help in: buying groceries. I really don’t want to use coupons because I have limited patience trying to find them, but I know that would save us a ton of money as well. Sigh…see I’m a work in progress! ;)
To be honest, we don’t really live frugally. It’s been a while but we stopped buying paper plates and cups so I guess that counts. Lately I have been wanting to start donating a ton of things though and live a more minimal life as far as some things go. Would love to one day move to Jamaica so I’m starting to get rid of things way in advance.
Wow! I imagine you guys are living quite frugally. Mathew and I have set a budget, as of January. We are in our third month and still trying to figure out how to stay within it! Each month we get a little better, and we’ve been making adjustments as necessary. I feel like even things like using a heater instead of turning on the heat in your house (or RV!) makes a difference.
I always use coupons when I shop and only buy the necessaties. (btw, we have family in Tomball)
We have a really old house, so keeping our heating as efficient as possible is important, and it can get expensive with all the drafts… We have a film on all our windows, but still, a space heater near your toes in the winter and a blanket is better than heating the whole room to 68 degrees!
konecki (at) gmail
We have stopped eating out to save money
Our mini heater just went kaput. Time for a new one!!
This would be perfect for our extra guest room which is the coldest room in the house since it sits above the garage! I love the fact that it is cool to the touch. Thanks for the giveaway!
Our computer sits right next to a window, and in the winter it gets very chilly. This little heater would be just perfect by the computer. Thanks for he chance to win!
I’ve been known as the craigslist queen. Much of our lavish :) furniture is from our craigslist community. New or lightly used is my requirement. Our most recent purchase was a new couch from Value City Furniture that someone bought and then realized was too big for their home. I was able to purchase it for 1/2 the price at VCF!!
We use cloth diapers and I made all of our baby food. We don’t eat out that often and we don’t pay for cable.
I think it is pretty cool what you are doing! I don’t think my husband could handle a year in an rv. The heater would definately come in handy in my house as we use oil and it is very expensive right now.
I have a heater but try not to use it too much because of the energy cost, this one would be much better than the one I own.
We heat with wood to save on heating costs. It’s quite a bit of work to cut and stack the wood for a whole winter, but we actually enjoy the time together, and need the exercise too!
these heaters are a good idea because most of us spend time in one room or so when we’re home–you can turn the overall heat down and use a Honeywell heater for the area you are in at the time
We make a budget and stick to it, planning out everything. It really seems to help. We also try and reuse as much as possible.
Very timely post! I’ve been meaning to get a small heater for our basement. It can get REALLY cold down there in the winter. My mom is coming to visit soon and will be sleeping down there. I love the idea that this heater doesn’t get hot to the touch.
this is a great prize
I am so dying to read the article about how you are living frugally – I feel like being on the road might make me spend MORE money b/c I would want more “creature comforts” whenever I went shopping! LOL
My tips – we try to use reusable whenever possible. We have worked to eliminate things like paper plates, throw-away Swiffer pads, and even started using GLASS STRAWS! They are small savings, but they do add up, and also the reduce the need to make an extra drive to the store b/c we’re out of paper plates or something (so savings on gas and time too!). We also set a budget and work REALLY hard to stick to it – every month, we re-evaluate to see where we went off course, and then we adjust our budget to improve our spending the next month!
We pretty much never go shopping…except for groceries.
I take advantage of Triple Coupon Day at the grocery tore. I save a bunch!
Since the previous home owners lied about our fireplace being able to be hooked up to gas {it can’t! Our chimney is filled with cement} we use space heaters and it’s a constant fight over the one good one we have!
One of our biggest frugal habits: my husband cuts hair for himself, our two boys, my sister’s husband and her two boys. At $10-15 each every 4-6 weeks it would add up quickly.
Tim cuts his own hair too. My sister cuts my hair. But I’m too nervous to cut our girls’ hair. Fortunately, we don’t have to cut it very often. ;)
We are sort of in the opposite position as you right now. We have a very large home. When it gets cold it would be nice to use space heaters for just the rooms we use instead of heating up the whole house. But with two little ones I don’t feel safe using them. This cool-touch feature is new to me and sounds like a great solution.
being on a fixed income and disabled i have no choice but to be frugal-no new clothes/dinners out/shop off price for food/no fance pricey gadgets and gizmos -NY winters are hard on the budget as many know -i did have a small heater after 15yrs of winter use it started over heating had to be discarded
I have 2 bedrooms at the end of the heating duct that are always cold. I have a heater for one, but need one for the other.
My boss really likes it cold in the office – seriously, you could hang meat in here! This would really help.
The Honeywell heater sounds perfect for an RV. We are “as much as we can” timers and are on the road about 65 percent of the time.
Good luck in your travels.
The back room of our house (and also our youngest’s room) is the coldest. Always 5 or more degrees colder than the rest of the house. We always have to take the chill off with a space heater. The one we use right now is the one for the garage (gotta keep my husband’s hands warm when he is creating beautiful furniture!).
cut up old ts and socks for diaper wipes- Id throw em away anyway and theyre much cheaper and better for the baby than commercial ones.
I have never heard of a health co-op. What a brilliant idea. I am going to share this with my husband Greg and discuss if something like this might be beneficial for us. Do you keep your insurance in case of hospitalization, where the cost can run easily into the thousands??
Samaritan Ministries is fantastic (and super affordable). We highly recommend it: http://www.samaritanministries.org/.
We didn’t keep any other insurance, but I think the co-op covers us up to $250,000 (and then there are options after that too). So far, we haven’t had any medical bills at all…which we are very grateful for.
Living frugally? Our biggest budget buster is the grocery store, so I make a monthly menu ahead of time, as well as a detailed shopping list, and shop for the month (vs week to week). Not only am I saving gas by not making multiple trips to the store, I’m not buying impulse items anymore.
On another note, we added a mudroom to our house this past summer, which has helped us tremendously to contain the snow and mud of the wet winter season. Unfortunately, it is unheated . . . meaning we still have a mess of boots, hats, gloves, snow pants, coats (you get the picture) hanging in the front hall to dry. Winning this space heater would help us safely heat the mudroom and get winter paraphernalia out of my house, once and for all!
My husband needs this for his 5th wheel.
I try to re-purpose things we already have when we find a need for something…if that means repainting the old needing love coffee table to give it a second life then I’ll do it, I am now a master of spray painting. I also buy most of my items handmade, from second hand sites/stores or garage sale-ing but only if we truly need it. I did splurge a little on my bedroom redo recently but everything I did buy new was on sale/discount/Craigslist and I am OK with that. Living in Alaska with 4 little boys I scour the off season sales for items I will need next season and often I can get at least 2 of some items for what I would pay new later on….so each end of season I buy 2 new highly discounted pairs of winter boots for each boy for next year! It’s worked out exceptionally well for 3 years now, and at 75% who can beat that! I do the same with winter coats (A Columbia winter coat for $5?! woohoo!), mittens, and all the other accessories needed for a long cold winter. The really nice thing is that if boot don’t get used for one boy, I put brand new boots away for another, for another year. I do love getting a good deal.
we have cut out eating out.. we had to it cost sooo much. I have always used coupons, and i go to stores that double them.. so i save lots of money
love these- we have one and need another since moving- we do not turn on the gas since it costs so much- we insulate and heat the rooms we are in
Let’s see… we garden, we cook from scratch, we wear thrift store clothes, we use Freecycle for furniture and home items, we do without, we eat mostly vegetarian, we eat foods that are in season, I research sales online before heading to grocery stores and make lists of sales at each store and plan the week’s menu around those sales (a huge pain but it saves so much!), we volunteer at our local food coop and get a discount along with our membership for helping… I love living frugally because it lets us be so wealthy in terms of time together and freedom. :)
I don’t know that I can declare how I live frugally. But, I TRY to not buy things that we don’t need. I don’t want to waste the money. And, I don’t want the extra stuff laying around the house.
We could use a smart little heater like this one, though!
Oh I am so cold-natured, that I wonder if you guys are warm enough in your whole RV with just that little heater?? I hope so!
Frugally? My current thing is trying to collect coupons and utilize them to their full potential…and still be healthy in my choices…at least partially anyway.
We actually have a “regular” heater too, but we save on costs by using space heaters. (We don’t pay extra for electricity, but we DO have to pay for propane.)
We heat primarily with wood – and have considered a heater of this nature to help keep the kids bedroom warmer. Also we don’t eat out often – it’s amazing how much money you save by simply eating at home!
We turned our thermostat down this winter — I didn’t think I’d ever choose that as a money saver. I usually am a wimp about being cold! But I got used to it very easily and it has been effective.
We also don’t eat out often. It is not such a pleasurable experience with two ages two and under. Shy spend the money of you can make something delicious at home and enjoy it with an impromptu dance party by your two year old without the glares of other customers? We save money by making most of our food from scratch as well. No packaged or processed foods and no impulse buys.
best frugal tip? Don’t buy stuff you can’t afford! ;)
But seriously, it really is just as simple as knowing the difference between a need and a want, and then spending accordingly.
We are generally frugal people for many reasons…our personal nature, its a generally greener approach to living, limited funds. But this winter we definitely did not chop enough wood at our new home and we’ve been feeling it. In general its between 30-40 degrees when we rise and gets to about 50 degrees during the day…and that’s with our little heaters. I would love to win this, as I’m too frugal to invest in another since we really should just chop more wood next fall. But, it would be a lovely addition to the home.
My brother and his family also live in a 5th wheel. They have had so much trouble with their heat this winter. I think a heater like that could come in handy.
We don’t use consumables as much as the average family, I bake most all of our bread and goodies, and we are just generally content with less. I think we are minimalists, but with 4 children sometimes our house doesn’t look like it!!
Living frugally – let me count the ways!!! Have gotten rid of almost everything disposable – we use cloth napkins, dish rags in the kitchen, cloth diapers on our son. I don’t buy cleaning products- make my own. And, I have started doing more baking to eliminate needing to buy already made products in the store (bread, biscuits, tortillas, even crackers).
We live frugally as well….although we aren’t living in an RV. :) I feel like we’ve sacrificed a lot so that I can stay home with our kids. I don’t use any paper products in our kitchen (cloth napkins and microfiber cloths instead of paper towels). I pack my kids lunches in reusable containers instead of plastic bags. And I try to only buy items when they are on sale. I rarely pay full price for things. We also keep our house very cold……around 62 degrees in the winter (even when it’s 30 degrees outside!). We bundle up and pile on blankets to stay warm. This heater seems like it would work well for us too. :)
Your posts have really made me think about what is important in life. I think little things make a big difference and make you appreciate what you have. Having a warm bed is one of those things. This sounds like a perfect heating unit to do that.
What a great way to conserve propane! We currently rent and get all utilities included so I’ll admit we don’t conserve as much as we should. We do unplug all things that aren’t being used and make sure lights aren’t on when no one is in the room!