Saving on Needs

[Iggy aka IG]

What's the longest time you've gone....

....without having to go grocery shopping?
....without having to buy HBAs?
....without having to fuel up your vehicle?

Feel free to add your own. 

[The Captain]

What's a HBA?

[busymom]

Oooo! This sounds like a challenge. And I LOVE a good challenge. 

I've gone over a week without needing to fill the gas tank. (But the poor car was practically running on fumes.)  I can't say for sure about the other categories, but it sounds like I need to try to stretch it out... 

[Iggy aka IG]

Jun 12, 2014 13:37:32 GMT -5 The Captain said:

What's a HBA?

Health and Beauty Aid. 

[Iggy aka IG]

Jun 12, 2014 13:38:16 GMT -5 busymom said:

Oooo! This sounds like a challenge. And I LOVE a good challenge. 

I've gone over a week without needing to fill the gas tank. (But the poor car was practically running on fumes.)  I can't say for sure about the other categories, but it sounds like I need to try to stretch it out... 

Thanks, Busy!  An Everyday Cheapskate article inspired this thread.  Little Ways to Save Big  Well, this plus the fact we've been eating out of the freezer and pantry trying to lower the inventory. 

[The Captain]

HBA = months and months .  I don't wear makeup and buy soap and shampoo in bulk when it goes on sale.

Canned goods = months - we're living out of our pantry due to the move.

Gas = can only last two weeks tops.

Clothing = havent' bought any new in 6 months - we're on a spending diet due to the (again) move.

[kittensaver]

The longest I ever went without shopping was 10 weeks. I was laid up in a hospital for two and home in a wheelchair for 8 more. DH shopped for groceries for us, but that was IT - no HBAs, no clothes, no nothing. I saved a ton of money . Not willing to do that again, however!

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Grocery shopping.....probably a couple weeks. If I'm getting ready to leave town, I'll deliberately not shop for the week to try to eat things down.

HBA....a year maybe? I tend to buy in bulk. Right now, waiting for another 20% off everything coupon from Ulta so I can restock my moisturizer and shampoo.

Gas....probably a month when I was working. However, I stopped running my gas tank down that low as I was on E the morning of 9/11 and my idiot light went on when I went into work. I had class that night, so 10 pm I was driving around Lexington looking for a gas station that wasn't trying to gouge, or didn't have a line down the street. Told myself never again.

[Iggy aka IG]

I've gone a month for groceries and fuel, and several months for HBAs.  It's easy for me because I receive my commission check once a month, so tend to load up at that time.  During the very lean times, I'd raid DH's piggy bank for quarters, exchange them to dollar bills (sometimes) where I used to work, to put fuel in my Camaro for the 30 mile commute.  Nowadays, as much as I despise going to the gas station, I try now to not let the tank go below half.

I've gone many, MANY months without buying any clothing, maybe even a year or more.  Was excited when I finally bought some new skivvies. 

[NoNamePerson]

Jun 12, 2014 17:33:01 GMT -5 Iggy aka IG said:

I've gone a month for groceries and fuel, and several months for HBAs.  It's easy for me because I receive my commission check once a month, so tend to load up at that time.  During the very lean times, I'd raid DH's piggy bank for quarters, exchange them to dollar bills (sometimes) where I used to work, to put fuel in my Camaro for the 30 mile commute.  As much as I despise going to the gas station, I try now to not let the tank go below half.

I've gone many, MANY months without buying any clothing, maybe even a year or more.  Was excited when I finally bought some new skivvies. 

Sounds like excuse for a party  

[The Walk of the Penguin Mich]

Jun 12, 2014 16:35:13 GMT -5 kittensaver said:

The longest I ever went without shopping was 10 weeks. I was laid up in a hospital for two and home in a wheelchair for 8 more. DH shopped for groceries for us, but that was IT - no HBAs, no clothes, no nothing. I saved a ton of money . Not willing to do that again, however!

I didn't count when I was sick and out of it.  Otherwise, it would have been over a year!

I didn't save much money as what I wasn't spending was going to my medical bills.  Also, I dropped about 40 lbs the first month, which meant that I needed clothes.

I bought a lot online....

[whoisjohngalt]

Well, I haven't bought clothes in almost a decade  - does that count?

[dancinmama]

I created a pretty healthy stockpile of non-perishable HBA and household products during the glory days of couponing when I could get them for free.  There are some products that I won't have to purchase for several years including all paper products, laundry products, household cleaning products, personal care products, etc.

[❤ mollymouser ❤]

What's the longest time you've gone....

....without having to go grocery shopping?
....without having to buy HBAs?
....without having to fuel up your vehicle?
....without purchasing clothing?
....without using the air conditioner?

GROCERIES ... I haven't purchased groceries since yesterday. (Red peppers, cucumbers, radishes, spinach, corn on the cob, and unsweetened vanilla Almond Breeze were all purchased.)  Lately, I'm on a fresh veggies kick, so a grocery store run, ideally, occurs around here every 4-6 days. I seem to be going through a lot of eggs, too. Now, if I completely change what and how I'm eating, I could go a lot longer. But right now, my focus is on veggies. And I will be out of eggs by Friday. By then, I will probably need more eggplant hummus, too. And carrots.

HEALTH & BEAUTY AIDS ... Well, I get my RX via mail-order, so I don't need to drive to CVS and pick them up. And thanks to our good friends at Amazon, I haven't actually gone to a store and purchased these sorts of things since ... last year?  I did order some Free/Clear shampoo a few weeks ago.

VEHICLE FUEL ... I last fueled my car in 2012 (when my wonderful DH was deployed to Afghanistan.) He's the car fueler around here. I suspect I'll need to fuel it again come July since he is deploying again. I don't actually drive much, so unless he uses the car I usually drive, once a month is enough, I'd think.

CLOTHING ... I haven't ordered any clothing online since yesterday. Prior to that, it was Saturday. Crap, I suck at this category, don't I? 

AIR CONDITIONING ... I confess, we've already used our air conditioner 2 days so far this year. It was 110 degrees outside and I was HOT. We average over 50 days over 100 each summer, so I tend to turn it on when it's over 100 or when it's been really hot several days in a row and it doesn't cool off at night. (Or when the air quality is "unhealthy for sensitive groups" ... since I have severe asthma.)

[Blonde Granny]

I just paid the WMT credit card bill, we use that card only for gas when the discounts are offered per gallon. Since my SUV has a large gas tank our usual fill up is $75. The little car doesn't get driven as often. The month the total bill for gas was $227. If I can get DH to stay home a few days each month, it helps.

The rest of the things I don't pay much attention.

[alabamagal]

I once went 3 weeks and 2 days without buying gas!  Work is only 5 miles away, and if I am good about bringing my lunch (lunch trips are usually at leat 10 miles) I can stretch the gas tank.

I can not go more than a week without groceries.  Maybe I am just not organized, or we are too picky about what we eat, but I usually make at least 1 extra trip for something for dinner.  In my previous job a couple years ago, I had 3 grocery stores on the way home from work, no I don't have any, but they are building a Neighborhood Market now and I can't wait!