Welcome to the Frugal Corner, home of the newsgroup misc.consumers.frugal-living!

The aim of this site is to provide and continually expand the informational resources needed to be successful at pursuing frugality and a simpler way of life. Because everyone has different priorities, the key is to decrease your spending of money and consumption of products in ways that allow you to still be happy and not feel deprived. Buy closer to what your real needs are. Buy used if appropriate. It is also important to consider the environmental, safety of humans and animals, waste generation, and social impacts of your decisions, including the actions of the companies who make the products you buy, instead of focusing only on getting products and services at the lowest possible price.

Resources listed include various aspects of frugality and simplicity that consider things besides just money, including time, drains on your mental, physical, and spiritual energy, general quality of life, and the environment. The more information you have, the more you can save in all areas of your life.

Newsgroups take you to web-based Usenet groups at groups.google.com to make it easier for people to take advantage of newsgroups discussions without having to configure a news reader. You can also search for old messages using the Advanced Search feature.

For the Frugal Corner website, use the search box below. The Google search box will gradually become more useful as I add more of Frugal Corner's own documents and pages.

Search WWW Search frugalcorner.com

Internet Frugal and Consumer Resources

Automobiles, Bicycles, and Other Transportation:

• www.fueleconomy.gov - government website with all the mileage ratings for vehicles going back to 1985
• www.highwaysafety.org - auto safety, including crash test results, seatbelts, airbags, headrests, insurance rates, theft rates; funded by a large group of insurance companies
• www.nhtsa.gov - National Highway Traffic Safety Administation; crash tests on older cars than the above, and other safety issues
• www.autobuyology.org - sane advice to avoid auto dealer and auto-industry tricks
  
• www.intellichoice.com - info on new and used cars
• autos.msn.com - great resource for finding info on used cars going back to 1988

• rec.bicycles.misc
• rec.bicycles.tech
• rec.bicycles.off-road
• rec.autos.misc
• rec.autos.tech

Books, Libraries, and Literacy:

• Internet Public Library
• alt.books
• rec.arts.books
• Recommended: Find the website for your local city or county library. Many now allow you to look up books, put books on reserve, request books from other libraries, and renew books, among other things.
  

Camping and Outdoor Living:

• rec.outdoors.camping
• rec.outdoors.national-parks
• alt.rec.camping
• rec.backcountry

Cleaning and Cleaning Products:

• Household Cleaning Products - need new site
• FabricLink Stain Removal Guide - comprehensive, devoid of obvious ads and promotions
• Stain Removal Guide - comprehensive, but watch the ads and leads to sell you stuff
• Soapmaking - everything you wanted to know about making soap
• Remember never to mix chlorine bleach and ammonia, or any two things that contains these substances, as toxic chloramine fumes will result and can result in serious damage to the lungs. Even ammonia alone without enough ventilation can cause damage. I recommend using cleaners without these ingredients, including non-chlorine bleach, vinegar, baking soda (vinegar and baking soda together are great for the toilet), Bon Ami cleanser, ammonia-free window and glass cleaner, and other safer ingredients.
  

Consumerism Issues and "I Have Too Much Stuff!"

• Overcoming Consumerism
• All-Consuming Passion
• Never Enough Anti-Consumerism Campaign (UK)
  
• Adbusters Media Foundation - counteracting commercial, consumerist culture
• alt.recovery.clutter

Simple Living and Sustainability:

• Context Institute - sustainable culture
• Simply Living - non-profit that promotes simple living
• Pierce Simplicity Study
• Living Lightly
• Seeds of Simplicity - tools educating adults, children, and community abotu simplicity values
• Phinny Neighborhood Association - non-profit community organization promoting cooperation and voluntary simplicity in Seattle, Washington

General Consumer:

• Consumer Information Center (US Gov) - general consumer info
• US Consumer Product Safety Commission (US Gov) - product safety info
• www.consumerreports.org - yes, its the magazine; limited articles and product safety information
• www.epinions.com - commercial site that lets you read and write reviews of your experiences with products and services
• misc.consumers
• alt.consumers.experiences

General Frugal Resources:

• misc.consumers.frugal-living
• Frugal Tip of the Week

Energy and Renewable Resources

• Changing your lightbulbs to compact fluorescents is an easy and fast way to save 10% or more off your electric bill and they will pay for their higher costs over the long term. Some utilities even offer rebates on them.
• Energystar.gov - EPA website with ratings of the most efficient appliances, lightbulbs, and more. Often, they don't cost any more than a non-Energy Star appliance, and if they do, will pay for themselves in the long run.
  
• Fueleconomy.gov - EPA website to help you find higher mileage vehicles, especially if you are looking at getting a newer vehicle
• Biodiesel.org - Run your personal or commercial diesel vehicle on biodiesel and you will avoid imported oil (and not support associated terrorists), drastically reduce emissions including greenhouse gas, and use waste that was going to be landfilled anyways. Biodiesel is usually made from waste vegetable oils from restaurants, industrial sources such as soap-making plants, and other waste sources, though it is sometimes made from virgin vegetable oils. Prices vary widely, but if you have a biodiesel pump within reasonable distance or you run a fleet of vehicles (which can qualify for tax benefits), prices can be within reason for the benefits gained. Prices should keep dropping as more biodiesel plants are installed and biodiesel fuel pumps become more accessible to people. Biodiesel pump locators and distributors are listed on the website.
  

Finances:

• The Dollar Stretcher - free weekly column about family finances on the web and e-mail
• Marketplace Money - personal finance national public radio show
• IRS.gov - the website you hate, but has tons of info on forms, free electronic tax filing, check on the status of your tax refund, and more
  

Food, Cooking, and Groceries:

• National Farmer's Market Directory - Farmer's market listings across the country
• California Federation of Farmer’s Markets - Farmer's markets across California. All produce is fresh California-grown.
  
• Food Co-op Directory - directory of food co-ops; buy natural, healthy foods in bulk for less
• Quick and Easy Veggie Meals FAQ
• Solar Cooking Archive
• Food Safety (US Gov) - food safety resources; see also FDA

• alt.co-ops
• alt.coupons
• rec.food.cooking
• rec.food.veg.cooking
• rec.food.recipes
• rec.food.preserving
• alt.creative-cooking
• rec.crafts.brewing
• rec.crafts.winemaking

Frauds, Scams, and Hoaxes:

• National Fraud Information Center - Internet and telemarketing fraud, indentity theft info
• Federal Trade Commission (FTC) - includes consumer protection info of all types, including identity theft; report frauds and scams to them online
• Federal Trade Commission and SPAM (junk e-mail) - information on SPAM and how to report it to the FTC; see also Junkbusters and the Waste section
• US Postal Inspecton Service - includes consumer mail fraud tips, identity theft info, and more; contact them if you have mail tampering
• About.com Urban Legends - lots of ads; has info on wide variety of urban legends found in Internet e-maiil

Gardening:

• GardenWeb - gardening resources
• rec.gardens
• alt.sustainable.agriculture
• To get rid of weeds and/or grass in an area, lay flat sheets of cardboard down on the area, overlapping with multiple sheets as necessary. Spread a thick layer of organic compost (with no chemical additives) over the whole area. The cardboard will kill the grass and/or weeds and compost into the ground over a few months. Add additional compost if needed. You will find the ground eventually becomes much less hard, so any few weeds that do manage to popup will be much easier to pull. Plant seeds in this area even before it is done composting and transform it.
  

Housing and Architecture (see also Repair section):

• misc.consumers.house
• alt.architecture.alternative
• alt.housing.nontrad

Media Alternatives:

Explore reading, listening, and watching sources of information in a variety of media so you get perspectives other than what you might find in the narrow field of the big TV, radio, and print companies. You are likely to learn very fascinating and often important information you will not hear elsewhere, due to a variety of interests the big companies consider, such as political ramifications, not offending advertisers, and reaching for the biggest profits. Not everything is hugely profitable nor supports a culture of consumption at all costs. Reflect on how you feel after reading, watching, or listening to various media sources. You may very well find that alternate sources are much less corrosive to your mental health.

• News - gain a wider perspective by reading diverse news sources from other countries by reading Google News.
• Explore a variety of publications online or in a bookstore
• Listen to radio stations and radio programs online (live or download)
• Radio Theatre on the Web - everything pertaining to radio drama; restful alternative to TV

Medical:

• Medline Plus (US Gov) - reading on general medical issues from National Library of Medicine and National Institutes of Health, as well as information on most prescription and non-prescription drugs, recalled drugs, and many more resources
  
• Free Medical Journals - research medical issues in-depth by reading the actual medical journal articles
• Food and Drug Administration (US Gov) - food and drug safety info, medical consumer issues, and more
• CDC (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention) (US Gov) - check for current info on disease transmission and prevention
  
• misc.kids.breastfeeding
• sci.med.midwifery
• misc.health.alternative

Personal Hygiene:

• The Keeper - reusable menstrual cup that lasts 10 years or more; saves money, saves time, and keeps tampons and pads from filling the landfills and sewage systems; reports are that some love it and some hate it

Repairing:

• alt.home.repair - try here for general home repair and appliance repair advice
  
• sci.electronics.repair
• rec.crafts.metalworking
• repairclinic.com - commercial site that sells parts, but has good tips on what parts to replace with certain symptoms; if you enter in all your appliance model details, it will show most of the parts in your appliance
  

Resale and Surplus (see also Food section for Farmer's Markets)

• OpenAir-Market Net - nonprofit educational and assistance project devoted to outdoor markets and street vendors
• Government Asset Sales - US Government website to find excess inventory they are selling

Rural Living:

• misc.rural

Waste Reduction and Recycling:

• Use Less Stuff - see past Use Less Stuff articles and reports; I recommend reading their Use Less Stuff book
• StopWaste.org - Alameda County (CA) info on reducing waste
• ReduceWaste.org - Santa Clara County (CA) info on reducing waste
• I recommend you also find the website for your city, county and/or state for local info on recycling
• Junk Busters - How to reduce the junk messages in your life: junk mail, telemarketing, junk e-mail
• Junk Mail FAQ - excellent comprehensive FAQ on practically eliminating junk mail
• Household Hazardous Waste - EPA guide
• Household Hazardous Waste - State of California
  
• Please handle hazardous wastes responsibly by taking them to a hazardous waste facility, often run by a city or county. These include lead acid and NiCad rechargeable batteries, mercury containing or contaminated items (fluorescent lights, thermometer, old thermostat with mercury switch), paint (or paint chips with lead), pesticides (especially banned ones; seek out non-pesticide solutions to your pest problems), auto chemicals, waste oil from vehicle oil changes, solvents and strippers, and more. Turn in old bullets to a law enforcement agency for proper handling and to avoid accidents. Always seek out the least toxic method to get a job done.
  

Weddings and Marriage:

• WedFrugal (was Wedding Frugality, but still run by Rachel) - watch the popup and other ads; her advice is usually how to do traditional-style weddings much cheaper, but who says you have to follow the rules?

Books

• Frugal Book List - recommended book list posted on misc.consumers.frugal-living back in 1996

History of misc.consumers.frugal-living and the Frugal Corner website

Recommended Browsers

Last updated 2005-07-22

pinertech@NOJUNKmindspring.com (remove the capital letters to e-mail).