I was recently interviewed by Kim at Frugal Hacks here is how is what I had to say:-
Why do you blog?
I blog because the internet is a great sources of information and enjoyment, I thought it was time to give something back any way I could hence Home Life Weekly. Also I was
concerned that the frugal tips which were passed down from my parents needed to be passed on to a new generation. Plus if you can use vinegar to clean windows, get rid of Ants, and then use it as a condiment on my Fish & Chips (a British traditional food) its got to be a good thing. Three products in one, equals a saving in money and our environment.
What does “frugal” mean to you?
It means being smart with your money, without detriment to your life style. For example if you usually buy a major brand orange juice, try an own brand instead to save money. However if the own brand orange juice tastes horrible then switch back or try another. Life is hard enough without having to drink horrible tasting orange juice and denying
yourself of that pleasure for a few cents! It just is not worth it. On the flip side if the own brands tastes good or even better than your current brand, then buy 10 multi packs if its available.
Why be frugal?
Because I like to get a bargain and know I have had the best price I could.
Do you think there is a downside to being frugal?
I think you have to strike a balance between saving money compared to the cost of accomplishing that saving be it having to drive 30 miles to save a dollar, the quality of a product, the time taken to make the saving, features versus cost etc. I call it the FROI which stands forFrugal Return On Investment (Just made up that term). In a nutshell
you have to compare the true hidden costs of a potential saving and not just the ticket price. Now that’s the real skill of being Frugal.
How important is frugality to you? Casual interest, hobby, lifelong
habit, or insane fanatical obsessive compulsion?
Its a life long habit, we work very hard for our money and like to see it go a long way.
Does frugal living come easily for you or is it a struggle?
Comes easy, always thinking of ways to save money. Just thought of one I use often, when you are about to pay at an internet site and see either enter voucher or voucher code, just Google for the site name and voucher code you may be able to find a code you can use for an instant saving!
Do you believe the saying, “you get what you pay for”?
It all depends on what you are buying but the skill of being Frugal is researching this and making an informed decision about the item, the internet is a great place for this and has saved me a few potential buying mistakes. For example one of our tips at Home Life Weekly discusses how to get free Anti Virus software which sells at $49 for nothing.
How does the rest of your family feel about your frugal ideas?
They encourage it as it give us more money in the bank.
We all have moments of glory and brilliance that we want to relive for the rest of our lives, right? What was your best ever frugal idea?
A friend at work had gone to Florida on a fly drive for two weeks and had paid around 1000GBP per person. A friend of mine mentioned there was a site where you could bid for cancelled holidays via an auction. We tried it and paid 500GBP for both of us for the exact same holiday, a saving of 75%!!! Plus we didn’t take the travel companies individual
travel insurance and brought our own for a year which worked out to be the same price, but with more cover.
Do you feel your blog has a special niche of its own?
It’s a blog which is mainly focused on saving people money and improving people’s quality of life, through making their money go further. Articles are wide ranging from how to look after your bra, to how to stop shoes from smelling, to how bid to win and save money on Ebay. I feel if I have saved somebody money lengthened the life of their favourite bra, clothing or shoes, my site has achieved its purpose.
Thank you for your time, Alex.
Well thanks Kim for interviewing me on Frugal Hacks and don’t forget to
visit www.homelifeweekly.com it’s brimming with goods frugal tips and advice.
