Lessons from the frugal front on getting through the recession

McClatchy Newspapers (MCT) - Call them cheapskates and tightwads. That's cool. Some of your neighbors know "frugal" isn't a four-letter word.

They were clipping coupons and sniffing out bargains long before the rest of us found ourselves doing the same in this recession. So in these tough times, we seek frugal lifestyle advice from:

_Kristie Martin, owner of A Quiet Sole Reflexology (www.aquietsole.com) in Overland Park, Kan., whose parents were born during the Depression. "I think that's where some of my ways of living come from, because of my ancestors. So I'm born into it, so to speak."

_Janet Robinett, an educator for Be Centsable workshops, who lost her job the day before Thanksgiving "like everyone else" but found a new job teaching others to be thrifty. The Olathe, Kan., mother of two teenage boys spends less than $40 a week on groceries.

_Larry Roth, the keeper of www.livingcheap.com and author of "Living Cheap: The Survival Guide for the Nineties," who lives in Kansas City, Mo. He's preparing a Communiversity class on frugal living tentatively called "We're All in This Together."

In good times, Roth says, people like him are often seen as "unpleasant, off-the-wall-type people, and the media coverage usually exaggerates the more eccentric things we do."

Frugal is not cheap, frugal is smart, our thrifty neighbors say.

Here's how these three do it.

FIRST, GET IN THE MOOD

Frugality is a mindset, Martin says. "I think right now, we're to the point where people feel like they have to be frugal, and that's not a pleasant feeling. It's always better if you can do something that you want to do rather than what you have to do."

Think of living close to the bone not as depriving yourself but as a way of being prepared for those proverbial rainy days, "so when there are drastic changes like the ones going on now, it's not going to be, 'Oh my goodness, what do I do?'" she says.

One school of thought says that it takes 21 days to create a new habit, so give yourself three weeks to try on frugality, Martin says.

"If you can do it for 21 days and really give it your all, you have a better chance of succeeding," she says. "But if you go in with a lighthearted effort, the chances of your success are greatly diminished.

USE COUPONS, EVEN OUTDATED ONES

Here's the thing about coupons. Blah, blah, nothing new there, right?

Yet so many people ignore them, Robinett says. "The stores want nothing more than for you to use those coupons, because they get face value plus 8 cents," she says.

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The people who take her Be Centsable workshops learn tips like planning meals around the coupons they already have in hand, rather than wasting time on the hunt.

One more coupon tip from Roth: "I always tell the cashier to scan the coupon and see what happens," no matter the expiration date, he says. "Frequently the actual terms are somewhat less stringent than the terms stated on the coupons."

USE CREATIVE GOOGLE SEARCHES

Martin is partial to a pricey skin soap. Using Google, she typed in the words "cheap" and "inexpensive" and "thrifty" with the name of the soap to find the best prices.

Use adjectives like that to describe what you're shopping for when you Google "and you'll come up with a bunch of different sources," she says.

That's how she discovered Scented Monkey (www.scentmonkey.com), a Web site that offered a great deal on her favorite perfume, Bora Bora.

FREE HEALTH CARE

Tip of the week from www.becentsable.net: For the rest of 2009, the in-store Take Care clinics at Walgreen's will offer free tests and treatments for minor ailments to anyone who lost their job and health insurance after March 31. Find them at www.takecarehealth.com.

SIGN UP FOR IN-STORE SAVINGS

Frequent shopper cards, issued by many grocery stores and drugstores, can let you walk out with free stuff _ legally.

For instance, CVS has an "Extra Bucks" program that can be combined with coupons for good deals, Roth says.

"Frequently you can get some items free that way or even come out ahead," he says. "I haven't paid for toothpaste or shampoo for a long time."

DON'T BUY CHEAP CLOTHING

At first blush, this advice sounds at cross-purposes with frugal living. But Martin, who used to shop at Wal-Mart and Target for her clothes, argues that in the long run it doesn't pay to buy cheap (often cheaply made) clothing because "I had to keep repurchasing clothes," she says.

But she's smart about the pricey stuff. She found a German supplier of Birkenstocks through eBay several years ago and bought several pairs for $50 each, close to half the typical cost.

LOW-COST PRESCRIPTIONS

Ask your doctor whether you can take cheaper, generic prescription medicines, Roth advises. Wal-Mart and Target are two places that offer $4 monthly prescriptions, and some stores, including Hy-Vee and Target, offer 90-day supplies for $10.

Staying healthy is key to a frugal lifestyle, all three of our thrifty sources said. "The healthier you are, the better you feel. And we all need to do what we can to help ourselves feel better, both physically and mentally," says Roth, who walks his two dogs three miles every day.

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LEARNING TO MAKE CENTS

Janet Robinett teaches one of the area's Be Centsable workshops. (Go to www.becentsable.net to find one.) The workshops, offered nationwide, cost $25 per person or married couple. Many of the participants have been laid off, Robinett says. Once you take a class you can access all of the insider information on the Web site, including printable coupons and an up-to-date rundown of sales in metro grocery stores.

STORY OF A 'CHEAP' WOMAN

At www.carrieonthecheap.wordpress.com, a 25-year-old Overland Park accountant who uses the pen name Carrie Bradshaw _ the heroine of "Sex and the City" _ blogs about living frugally in Kansas City.

This "frugalista" says:

_Sign up with clothing stores online. Some will e-mail you coupons.

_Use www.restaurant.com. You'll find restaurants that offer gift certificates at discount. "It's cut my dining-out expenses more than half," she told us.

_Rent from the public library. "I just got 'Entourage,' the fourth season," she says.

_Take a part-time job with a perk. She works part-time at a gym and gets a free employee membership. Think clothing stores and those employee discounts.

___

© 2009, The Kansas City Star.