How To Dress Well On A Budget

2009-01-15T19:08:00.000-08:00

Dressing well does not have to cost a fortune. If you take a little time to plan your needs and treat your wardrobe like the investment that it is, you can make a little go a long way. You can also look like you spend a lot of money on your clothes when all you are really doing is combining a few well-chosen, high-quality pieces. Below are several ways you can be frugal and still look like a million bucks

*Take an inventory of your closet and make a list of things you need. Buying from a list will keep you focused and curb impulse buying.

*Buy the best quality of clothes that you can afford. They'll last longer, wear better, and ultimately, save you more money than buying inferior-quality pieces.

*Buy classic styles. These will stand the test of time and not date you as easily as buying into trends.

*Opt for mix-and-match separates. If you buy carefully, a little will go a long way. Five well-chosen shirts combined with two pairs of pants will give you ten combinations, for example.
Two head-to-toe ensembles that don't go with anything else will only give you two combinations.

*Try for a primary color scheme. Build your wardrobe around three to five colors that look good on you. Not only will this allow you more mix-and-match opportunities, it will reduce the number of accessories that you need.

*Opt for solids over patterns. Solids mix and match more easily and are less easily remembered than prints...which will make you look like you have a lot more clothes than you really do.

*Buy on sale whenever possible. Join your favorite store's mailing list to take advantage of "insider" sales notifications. With a little bit of persistence, you can find quality pieces at affordable prices.

Following these simple tips will keep you looking like you spent a ton of money on your clothes. But you'll know different.

What is Frugal Living?

2008-05-09T19:16:00.000-07:00

I'm often amazed at what passes for being frugal these days. So much so, that I decided to start a blog about what is, and is not frugal! Frugal people were the first "Go Green" people. Oh, we may not have known that we were being Green, but we knew we were making do with what we had and saving money at it.

Here are just a few things to describe what frugal is:

Frugal is recycling your aluminum cans
Frugal is buying in bulk and putting up the surplus
Frugal is walking to the market two blocks away rather than driving
Frugal is buying smart, like at Garage sales and clearance sales

Now that you have an idea of what being frugal is, here is what frugal is not

Frugal is not stopping at the burger joint and spending $20 to feed 3 people just because you had a 50 cent coupon
Frugal is not hording all your aluminum foil pie pans to be used as protective hats when "THEY" come to get you.
Frugal is not about being cheap.
Frugal is not buying dry dog food in bulk and making your meals from it (that's called STUPID, unless you like the taste of dry dog food in the mornings)

For far too long, when people said "Oh he's frugal" it usually meant that they were cheap. And when people said "Oh so and so is cheap", most of the time they meant he or she was being frugal.

Chances our that your grandparents, just like mine, were frugal because they didn't have a lot of disposable income. Hell, they were lucky if they had any income!

So, now you should have an idea of what being frugal is and what it is not. Come follow along as I share with you some of my best frugal tips and frugal recipes. If you have something to share, by all means post a comment and share with the rest of us!

Mr. Frugals

How To Dress Well On A Budget

What is Frugal Living?