Comments on: How Not to Fail at Frugality

By: Aaron

Aaron — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 22:45:01 +0000

Love the site!! I just found it through a GTD retweet for one of the GTD articles. In this one I have to comment about my own experience with homemade laundry soap. Horrible! The clothes after about a year are absolutely dingy. They just never would get “clean”. They were clean from a germ point, but not a visual point. So I got a box of GAIN and found that only 1/3 to 1/2 of the recommended amount actually works. So with a FULL load I just put in 1/3 of a cup. Our clothes are actually brighter and cleaner than with the homemade.

By: Belinda

Belinda — Fri, 13 Aug 2010 13:19:05 +0000

The premise of the “latte factor” is flawed, in my opinion, as a means of promoting frugality and responsible finance. The people who are buying lattes are generally middle income people who can afford them. It does chip away at their financial independence in small increments, and getting people to realize that is good.

However, for most people struggling financially – the 10% of unemployed Americans, for instance – lattes are a luxury they never see. They are literally trying to put food on the table. It kills me that people would feel deprived by having to miss a daily cup of expensive coffee when others are struggling just to eat.

For those in true financial straits, the “laundry detergent factor” is much more applicable. Teaching people how to make NECESSARY items that they are used to paying Proctor & Gamble for is very effective. Let’s continue down that path and quit harping about luxury lattes.

By: Doug Warshauer

Doug Warshauer — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 10:56:19 +0000

I love the idea of the “laundry detergent factor.” That is a a tag that should stick.

By: Carolyn

Carolyn — Thu, 12 Aug 2010 04:32:11 +0000

I love what you’re saying in this article, because it’s SO TRUE! There are plenty of ways that people can save money, but at a certain point you have to also analyze what you’d be missing and how that would make you feel. If it’s truly important to you then you should find ways to incorporate it into your life, which it doesn’t seem like most frugal blogs take into account. Nicely written!

By: Amanda

Amanda — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 21:40:23 +0000

To defend the detergent I mix 1 c borax 1 c washing soda 1 bar soap, keep it dry and use 1 level tbsp. Takes a 15 min to make and simple to store.

By: Aaron

Aaron — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 20:41:10 +0000

According to this appliance repairman in the NYTimes, most people use 10-15 times the soap they actually need in their dishwasher and washing machines. So there's no need to buy up ingredients to make your own soap . . . just use 1/10th the amount you normally would. Same stain and grease-fighting power, at 10% the cost.

By: Ryan

Ryan — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 19:22:43 +0000

8% over two decades? Good luck with that.

By: Thousand Pennies

Thousand Pennies — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 18:08:15 +0000

Great post–I linked it at:

athousandpenniesaday.blogspot.com

It’s a great insight into an established concept.

By: JP

JP — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:27:18 +0000

Suggested revision:

“Investing it at 8% interest”

Those days are long gone. Plug in something more appropriate for the next 20 years, like 4-5%.

By: kate

kate — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 17:14:38 +0000

I’m good at being frugal…and then I suddenly blow it and treat myself. The mistake I make is to not put the money I save aside. And, the thing I don’t remember is that frugality is not an end in itself. Rather, if I don’t spend money on things that don’t matter all that much to me, then I have it available for things that do. Years ago, when I waitressed, I would take my tips and put them in empty cans – labeled with what I wanted to save for. I think I need to adopt a similar strategy with my paycheck and with what I save when I am frugal. Helpful article. Thanks.

By: Stern

Stern — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 16:37:05 +0000

Dude – good advice on being frugal – completely impractical on the 8% return tho…especially for people only investing their latte money.

You gain credibility with your examples of how to cut back & save. Kind of ruin your credibility when you toss numbers out like that and no one can replicate. Just 2 cents bro…thanks.

By: Becky

Becky — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 15:59:07 +0000

@#8 Kathy – DITTO to your response!!

The latte factor is useful. However, when I heard about it, I felt, “well, how about for people to never had the daily latte…how about some other suggestions.”

I did cut cable. Thrilled with not just the money saved, but the time I gained, and the improved sleep!

I would say my problem lies in having so many people around me poo-poo the idea of how easy it is to make basic coffee at home. I have a hard time locating other “frugal people” for that support network, as opposed to being made to feel cheap. It’s an emotional downer. It’s not easy to just “change friends/jobs”.

By: Rebecca Romot

Rebecca Romot — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:44:53 +0000

The main point of this article is very sound. Understanding what you spend money on and why is very important to becoming financially wiser. Never spending any money ever will get you out of a bind, but it doesn’t teach you how to use money and often leads to counterproductive spending binges. It comes down to making appropriate choices and recognizing that what is appropriate is an individual thing. (Much like the idea of being ‘rich’ or ‘comfortable’ is rather subjective.)

By: Art

Art — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 13:40:03 +0000

Put me firmly in the “stop talking about laundry detergent” camp. I only buy liquid detergent on sale and my two person household does four to five loads a week. Making my own detergent would save us about $10-$15 a year and be a pain. Plus we wash in cold water and never had success with powdered detergent in the past.

Unless you are doing a crazy amount of laundry or actually enjoy making your own detergent, I do not see the point with the possible exception of cutting down on packaging(we do recycle the containers).

By: getagrip

getagrip — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 12:37:10 +0000

What kills me about the “latte” factor is that it’s just an example! People defend or attack it completely missing the forest for the trees. It’s just an example of how spending consistantly small amounts of money on something that’s become a routine habit need to be reexamined because they are costing you significant money, especially since most people have half a dozen such habits. It’s not just the latte. It’s the latte every morning, lunch out every day, dinner out every weekend, buying a couple of books every month, gym memberships you don’t use and haven’t canceled, subscriptions to magazines you don’t read, automatic fees to services you forgot to opt out of, etc. It’s not about the specific example, it’s about waking up and paying attention to the death by a thousand cuts you are taking in your financial life.

By: bobijub

bobijub — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:43:03 +0000

lattefrugal frugallatte – clean your clothes with milk.
or evenso you can avoid using soap by cleaning your hands by brushing?
lattefrugal frugallatte does really different meaning for each and every being.

just a more extreme example:
most of the people would gladly consider employing a driver for high-high-high level managers is carelessly wasting the money of the company.
but a real owner should think that a high-high-high-level manager’job is to “manage” and not having fun with driving.

a smilingfacecover “howto ….. in five short quick easy steps” book really is unable to give you the wisdom of properly selecting your own latte and laundry equivalents if you refuse the effort of thinking over your own economy, own soul and own existing habits.

but anyhow. the introduction of the latte-laundry phenomenon is a good base to start thinking things over considering this aspect too.

so start thinking. and do not refuse to learn new things. it does not hurt. it’s much easier to think if you do not have many aspects. but the outcome of the thinking can be more effective, if you really do know several aspects. one of an additional aspect can be the latte-detergent aspect.

By: Gretchen

Gretchen — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 11:04:28 +0000

Where are you getting 8%?

By: Systemizer

Systemizer — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 06:12:11 +0000

The rural work-from-home family man with two cars in the driveway tells “Carrie Bradshaw” to make her own laundry detergent.

Misogynist.

By: ML

ML — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:04:25 +0000

I think the overall point is that frugality does not take shape in the same way for each person. Specifically, each person has to put into place lifestyle choices that save money but also still allow them to enjoy life. For example, I think that making detergent is not a good use of my time (also, I have a high efficiency washing machine, the homemade soap would ruin it. I load up on All or Wisk HE detergent when it is on sale for $3.99 per bottle). I find other ways to save money that still allow me to have enjoyment in my life. Having a lot of money in the bank is nice but not doing fun things on occasion will make for a dull life.

By: jay

jay — Wed, 11 Aug 2010 04:04:23 +0000

Back in the days… Amy Dacyczyn always advocated cutting back, tightwadding, to the point that it became uncomfortable, then add back to just where it was acceptable. She pointed out that over time, the comfort level would be reached at a lower and lower price point (for want of a better word). So while now, one needs a latte 4 days a week, maybe in six months, 2 days a week will do. The thing about being frugal is that its a dynamic process, and if one is aiming for ultimate savings, you don’t make a single set of changes, but are constantly reevaluate your practices.