We are not extreme at all!
I think the most "extreme" thing we do is just not shop for "stuff" all that often. I go clothes shoping twice a year (clearance racks), and DH goes maybe once a year, if that. I buy one new pair of "every day" shoes per year, same style, same color (they are relatively expensive and don't go on sale often, but I love 'em and will cry if they ever stop making them!). Most people I know go shoping at the mall every weekend and come home with tons of stuff, other than Christmas shoping, we never do that. It's not extreme, but in today's consumer society, it's unusual to say the least!
We do all the normal stuff, keep the house temp low in the winter and higher in the sumer, I have a veggie garden, DH does his own car repairs and home remodels (working on the upstairs bath as we speak!). I shop sales and stock up when prices are good. I don't coupon but that's mainly because I shop "the outer rim" and our area doesn't double coupons so the few packaged foods I buy it's usually not worth it. (I am jealous of those areas where ground beef goes on sale, I never see that here! Steaks and roasts, sure, but never ground beef!).
I buy in bulk at Costco for things like health/beauty, paper products, batteries, cooking oil and other baking supplies, etc. I bought the big thing of Kirkland liquid laundry soap and it's lasted a year (it helps we don't have kids, fewer loads)! I use only 1/4 cup per load (and I only run full loads) and it all comes out clean. I was everything in cold except bed sheets and towels (I was taught it was more sanitary to wash these items in hot, don't know if it's ture but old habits die hard). Our 1st purchase Kirkland bulk dryer sheets has lasted since we got the membership 2 years ago, we are only just now running low!
When our old washer konked out, instead of buying a new one for $500-$700, we bought used off of ebay for $80. It was three years old but hardly used at all, it has all the bells and whistles and I love it. It's still a top loader but for $80, who cares?
I still drive my '98 Saturn. Runs great and at about 30 MPG it's cheap! I started working from home last June and since then DH takes the Saturn to work instead of his 15 MPH truck. Between me only driving on the weekends to run errands and DH using the more fuel efficiant car, our fuel bill has dropped by over half since last summer, even with all the price increases. This is luck more than being frugal, my company just anounced one day that they needed my divisions space for another department and we were being moved home full time! Came out of nowhere! But we'll keep the Saturn until the wheels fall off. I hate car payments and can't wait until the truck is paid off in 21 months (but who's counting...). Of course by that time the Saturn may need to be replaced, but I'll buy another inexpensive 4 cyl. sedan and keep that one for a decade or longer, too.
We do splurge on some things, we have digital cable with expanded basic. But instead of HBO we have Netflix for movies (we also hardly ever go to the movies, and wait for the DVD release). We also pay for broadband internet. But this is our main entertainment, so I don't feel bad about it.
Our big downfall is eating out. I do cook from scratch most nights but we eat out at least 4 to 6 times a month, and not at cheap places either. We always say we'll cut back and never do, it's just a part of our lifestyle at this point. We work hard and deserve SOME treats, afterall!
My parents worked hard all their lives to save for their retirement, but also took time along the way and enjoy the "moment" as well. Trips to Hawaii for just the two of them, family trips to WDW, road trips all over the mid-west, dad's pool table, the family boat, stuff like that. My mom passed away last fall at the young age of 62, only about 10 years into retirement (Dad is 7 years older and they also retired early). Had they not taken the time to enjoy life and put everything off until retirement, they would have missed out on so much. But at the same time, had they not worked so hard to save, they wouldn't have been able to retire early, and Mom would have spent the last 10 years of her life stuck in an office doing book keeping, instead of enjoying life in sunny AZ in their (very active) retirement community and traveling.
So DH and I are trying to do the same, enjoy the little things and some of the bigger things in daily life, as well as save for "some day when we retire". I guess it's just all about balance.
.
Ours is natural gas and small, only a bit bigger than our electrical box. It's on the wall of our basement and hubby installed it (but he's a handy guy). Our tank heater was electric and the month after we removed it, our bill dropped on average from 20-25%. Our gas usage barely saw a blip in an increase. LOVE it.
)
), but I get free after rebate shampoo and conditioner from Rite Aid. I go whenever they have it in their flyer. 
...QUOTE]
