(In case this is your first time reading The Dollar Diet blog, my family and I are on a quest to go the entire month of February without spending any money. No kidding. We'll pay the monthly bills, put gas in our cars to get to and from work and spend just $10 a week on milk and produce, but that's it. If it's discretionary, it's off limits. Click here to read the introductory post.)
One of the best ways to save money, I have discovered over the years, is to surround yourself with frugal friends.
If you have keeping-up-with-the-Joneses types of friends, you're an oddball for cutting up old t-shirts into rags. You're an eccentric, at best, for outfitting yourself in thrift shop finds. And you're downright weird if you happen to let slip that you dip into the recycling bins to hunt for coupons.
But in frugal friendship circles, you're a genius.
Here are a few more truths I've discovered about my dearest, most thrifty, companions:
*Frugal friends understand that when you suggest meeting for lunch you really mean, ”Let’s go to Chick fil-A, use a coupon and bring our own drinks.”
*Frugal friends get excited when you tell them you bought half a dozen cake mixes, used coupons combined with a sale, and walked out paying just the tax.
*Frugal friends brag about what they didn't buy.
*Frugal friends fully comprehend the depth of the loss when you realize you left your coupon binder in the grocery cart never to be seen again.
*Frugal friends consider coupon swaps a major social event.
*Frugal friends admire your skill when you tell them how little you spent on a gift for them.
*Frugal friends call you from their cell phones when they spot a good deal at the store.
*Frugal friends don’t let other frugal friends pay full-price.
