• Home
  • About
    • Disclosure
  • Categories
    • Daily Outfits
      • Casual Work Wear
      • Travel
      • Holidays
    • How To Wear It
    • Trends To Try
    • Mom Style
    • Maternity Style
    • Thrifty Tips
    • Shopping
    • Beauty
  • Shop my outfits
  • Contact
    • Email
    • Facebook
    • Instagram
    • Pinterest
    • Twitter

Thrifty Wife Happy Life

Helping women love what they wear on a budget

Cheap vs. Thrifty

November 11, 2013 by Katie Haller

The other day I was watching the show Extreme Cheapskate on TLC.  The show is about people who are extremely cheap and how they have found ways to save money.  One lady bought expired food and made her own reusable toilet paper.  Another lady looked for food in the garbage cans outside of upscale grocery stores and washed her clothes while she showered.  There were people peeing in jars, using yogurt cups as glasses to drink from, making condiments from restaurants and digging through dumpsters for furniture.  I was sitting there watching this thinking, “that’s beyond cheap, that’s just weird”.  These people think that they’re saving so much money, but they’re going about it all wrong.  I might be tight with money, but I’m not going to stop buying toilet paper to save a few bucks.

Lately, my husband and I have fallen under some criticism for the way we save money.  It recently happened because of our decision to get rid of our cable.  I never realized how much of a touchy subject this would be.  Personally, I am fine without cable.  It’s been over a week and we are doing just fine.  We have an antenna for all the local channels and we are testing out Netflix and some other services to see which one we will go with.  Besides watching the latest episodes of The Real Housewives of Beverly Hills, I don’t miss it at all.  I feel like our family and friends are treating us like we are “extreme cheapskate” or something like that, because of our financial decisions.

Here is the thing, people keep telling us, “you have to enjoy life and have fun”.  Our response to this is, we do.  I mean, this is why I created this blog.  I want to share with readers that you can live a fulfilling life and still save money.  My husband and I do all the things that other couples our age do to have fun.  We go out to eat, we buy clothes, we go to the movies, we go on vacation and yes, believe it or not, we still watch TV, even without cable.  We are not going to be flushing our toilet once a week or taking ketchup packets from a restaurant to refill our bottle at home, to save a few bucks.

So here are just a few examples of how we save on everyday activities.

Eating out- We go out to eat once or twice a week.  When we do, we look for local bars and restaurants with good specials.  We have one restaurant near us with a Wednesday night pizza special.  $5 Pizza and half off premium beer.  Our bill is usually around $10.  That’s not a bad price for 2 people.  We also use coupons and reward programs at other restaurants.  And since we are thrifty, not cheap, we always still tip 20% on the original price of the food.

Movies- I’ve never been that big on going to the movies, but my Kevin likes to go.  So, when there is something good out that we want to see, we make it a date and go.  What we do is go to a matinee and skip the popcorn.  There is no reason to spend money on concessions at the movies.  They are overpriced and besides that, who needs to consume that many calories while watching a movie?

Shopping- I think I touch on this topic enough in this blog, but basically, I try not to pay full price for anything.  I also try to limit my shopping.  I used to shop a lot more.  Having a full-time job helps keep me out of stores.  I really don’t have time to shop, but I still get it in when I can, because what girl doesn’t love to shop?

Vacations- We try to go on 2 big vacations every year.  Yes, being married to an airline pilot is helpful in saving money on vacations.  The free airline travel is definitely a wonderful benefit, but even if my husband didn’t work for an airline, we would still budget out a big vacation, because they are important to us.  We are planning a cruise to the Caribbean soon.  Cruises are nice because you get to see a lot, there is great entertainment and your food is included.  We usually try to do all-inclusive trips, because they help you plan out your expenses ahead of time.  Also, we have found that it’s best to go during the off-season.  Don’t try to book a trip anywhere during Christmas, Easter or most of the summer.

Having fun, should not mean spending tons of money and saving money, should not mean you can’t enjoy life. You need to be thrifty with your money, not cheap!

Related posts:

Default ThumbnailVacationing on a budget Default ThumbnailHow I Make Money Blogging as a Hobby Default ThumbnailKid-Friendly Spots in Las Vegas

Filed in: Living Life, Thrifty Tips • by Katie Haller • 1 Comment

Comments

  1. Leesa

    March 8, 2014 at 1:37 am

    Haha, I never had heard of that show until I read this post and since I have Netflix my husband and I watched the first episode. Yah, no asking for ketchup packages or asking people for their leftover food, eww. And I might have done cloth diapers, but not cloth toilet paper- no, no, no.

    Reply

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Thrifty Wife Happy Life Profile picture

Hi I'm Katie! Welcome to my blog! I am on a mission to help women build a wardrobe that they love without spending a lot of money doing it. I believe that everyone has the right to feel good in their outfit, no matter what your budget is! I am excited to have you here!
About me

  • Email
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Pinterest
  • Twitter

Follow By Email

Amazon favorites

Shop my Favorites

Maternity Favorites

Beauty Favorites

Search

Archives

Disclosure

This blog contains affiliate links, which means by clicking on and/or making a purchase through a link I earn a small commission.  For more information click HERE!  Thank you for your support!

Follow

@thriftywifehappylife

thriftywifehappylife

Helping women love what they wear on a budget!
Thrifted fashion + Affordable retailers
👨‍✈️ Wife • Mommy
📍Michigan
💌 thriftywifehappylife@gmail.com

Katie || Affordable Fashion
Happy #thriftythursday!! I'm kind of obsessed with Happy #thriftythursday!! I'm kind of obsessed with my latest @poshmark purchase! I've been wanting to do a little upgrade to my purse collection for a while and I found that buying a quality brand second hand was my best bet! This #katespade crossbody purse is exactly what my purse collection needed! 

Good news! I saw lots of the same purse listed! If you're not already on poshmark make sure to sign up using my code: THRIFTYWIFE to get $10 off your first order!!

#thriftyfinds #poshmark #poshmarkfinds #secondhandfashion #secondhandpurse #affordablefashion #budgetfriendlyfashion #katespadepurse #thriftedfashion #thriftedstyle
For the last year, I have been on the hunt for com For the last year, I have been on the hunt for comfortable and affordable bras. I've bought a lot of bras I love and some that I wasn't too crazy about, but I've come to the conclusion that you don't need to splurge too much on a good bra. 

Check out my blog post today on thriftywifehappylife.com to read what my hits and misses of affordable bras are!! [link in bio]

#comfortablebra #affordablebra #womenundergarments #momstyle #momstyleblogger #themominfluencers #affordablefashion #budgetfriendlyfashion #michiganblogger #michiganmom #momootd #newblogpost #newontheblog
Here are some of the new items that I have added t Here are some of the new items that I have added to my wardrobe this spring that I have been loving! ⬇️

Target black midi dress- https://liketk.it/3ELfo
Target black Sandals- https://liketk.it/3ELfo
Target animal print sneakers- https://liketk.it/3ELcp
Amazon gingham dress- https://liketk.it/3ELba
H&M white blazer- https://liketk.it/3ELbQ
J.Crew Factory striped tank top- https://liketk.it/3ELbQ
Amazon floral dress- https://liketk.it/3EL9Y
Amazon belt- https://liketk.it/3EL9Y

Follow my shop @thriftywifehappylife on the @shop.LTK app to shop this post and get my exclusive app-only content!

#ltkblogger #shoppingonabudget #ltkstyletip #ltkunder50 #affordablefashion #whatibought #targetstyle #amazonshopping #amazonstyle #affordablestyle #midwestblogger #michiganblogger
What I wore this week as a SAHM... I had planned What I wore this week as a SAHM...

I had planned to document all my outfits this week, but I haven't been feeling that great the last couple days, so my outfits did suffer as the week went on! He's what I wore Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday! 

Follow my shop @thriftywifehappylife on the @shop.LTK app to shop this post and get my exclusive app-only content!
🛍➡️ https://liketk.it/3Ebzv

#wiw #sahmstyle #momootd #ootdfashion #everydays #everydayoutfit #realoutfitgram #realmom #michiganmom #michiganblogger #midweststyle #momiform #momfashion
I'm not sure if my content is getting better or th I'm not sure if my content is getting better or the Instagram algorithm is finally liking me, but I cannot believe the amount of growth I've had in the last couple months here on Instagram! Almost half of you are new!! 🥰 I'm not very good at sharing about me posts because I never know what to say, so drop me a question in the comments about what you want to know! 

As for the outfit, this cute floral dress is from Amazon! I'm loving the orange this season! I have a discount code for you to use until 4.26.22! Get 20% off with code: 2036KGEQ 

Follow my shop @thriftywifehappylife on the @shop.LTK app to shop this post and get my exclusive app-only content!
🛍➡️ https://liketk.it/3DsUs

#gifted #floraldress #affordablefashion #springstyle #ltkmothersday #ltkstyletip #ltkunder50 #amazonfinds #amazondress #amazonfashion #easystyle #momstyleblogger
Happy Easter 🐣 (a day late). We celebrated our Happy Easter 🐣 (a day late). We celebrated our first holiday at our new house! I hope everyone had a great day!

I was happy that I got to wear my new chambray dress from @loftoutlet however the weather didn't let me wear it the way I wanted.  Michigan Easter's are always chilly! 

Similar dresses linked ➡️ https://liketk.it/3D6YT

Follow my shop @thriftywifehappylife on the @shop.LTK app to shop this post and get my exclusive app-only content!

#easteroutfit #easterstyle #springstyle #chambraydress #sundaystyle #springdress #affordablefashion #budgetfriendlyfashion #affordablestyle #michiganblogger
I am loving this orange gingham dress! Gingham is I am loving this orange gingham dress! Gingham is an easy spring trend that you can bring into your wardrobe. I have a couple tops with blue gingham, but this orange print is so fun! 🍊

Use this 20% off discount code up until 4/19/22: 202NPX3P 

Follow my shop @thriftywifehappylife on the @shop.LTK app to shop this post and get my exclusive app-only content!
🛍➡️ https://liketk.it/3COHB

#ltkunder50 #ltkstyletip #ltkmothersday #amazonfinds #affordabledresses #amazonfashion #affordablefashion #budgetfriendlyfashion #springstyle #cutedresses #gingham #michiganblogger #easystyle
I wasn't sure what to post today. I was debating b I wasn't sure what to post today. I was debating between a picture or a reel, but then I found this picture on my camera roll and I couldn't resist. My little photo bomber is always trying to make her way into my photos. 😜 

This is just a friendly reminder that you never know what or who is behind the Instagram feed. 

#mommoments #lifewithatoddler #momstyleblogger #momsofinstagram #momblogger #momootd #michiganblogger #michiganmom #sahmstyle #sahmlife #midwestmom #behindthescenes #behindthefeed #reallife
Load More Follow on Instagram

Copyright © 2022 · Thrifty Wife Happy Life