Date: Fri 29-Aug-1997

Publication: Bee

Author: KAAREN

Quick Words:

Frugal-Gazette-McIntyre

Full Text:

Spreading The Word On The Virtues Of Frugality

(with photo, newsletters)

BY KAAREN VALENTA

Cynthia McIntyre practices what she preaches.

A registered nurse, she was traveling extensively as a spokesperson for the

Red Cross transplantation program when she decided on a lifestyle change that

would permit her to spend more time with her family.

"The two free (airplane) tickets I got from 50,000 frequent-flyer miles in one

year weren't enough to make up for missing the important events of my

children's lives," she said. "So I decided to simplify my life."

She quit her job, started a national publication, The Frugal Gazette , which

she publishes from her home on Sugar Lane in Newtown, and designed a seminar,

"Living Within Your Means," which she presents at community colleges around

the state.

Cindy McIntyre has been frugal for as long as she can remember.

She was nine years old when her grandmother taught her how to make soap and

pickles. Since then she has diligently sought the cheapest way to cook, clean,

buy groceries, pay for college tuition, remodel a house, maintain a car,

purchase clothes, and generally make a dollar stretch twice as far.

In fact, she figures she has cut the living expenses of her family by 40

percent without a noticeable change in their standard of living.

"There are lots of simple, easy ways to save money," she said. "For example,

we used to eat out pizza every Friday night at a cost of about $30 for a

family of four. But if you make pizza instead with a pre-made dough and sauce,

and preshredded cheese, you can do it for $5.44. Add a beverage and a homemade

salad and you're still saving a lot of money. I figured that over 18 years I

could save $22,000 by making pizza at home."

How Much Is Enough?

In her seminars, Mrs McIntyre asks participants to do some soul searching.

"I ask people to look at their values and equate them with their spending

habits and goals," she said. "The concept of enough also is very important.

You don't have to spend above your means. If you have go buy something with a

credit card, you aren't being thrifty."

"You don't have to prove anything by spending," she explained. "Self

confidence and self-assurance don't come with spending. You can say `I have

enough,' rather than `I am frugal.' Anything beyond enough is clutter."

Seventy percent of marriages that fail break up because of money problems, she

said. "And if you're in debt, don't think your children don't know it."

The seminar attempts to "get you back on track," she said. "Sometimes I call

it `So You Want To Go To Disneyworld' for kids and parents who want to learn

to budget their dollars."

To teach their children, Branden, 14, and Alyssa, 10, about handling money,

Cindy and her husband, Rick, a software engineer for a Stamford company,

opened McIntyre Federal, a family "bank" which uses IBM's "Cash For Kids"

software.

"It explains the concept of banking and you can do projections on savings,"

Mrs McIntyre said. "But McIntyre Federal doesn't pay interest."

Ways To Save

In The Frugal Gazette , Mrs McIntyre covers a broad range of topics. The lead

article in the July 1997 issue discuss how to clothe your child for $100 a

year. Don't ever pay retail, Mrs McIntyre advises.

"Shop for clothing at wholesale clubs, consignment shops, yard sales, discount

stores, thrift stores, factory outlets, off-price stores, department store

clearance centers, catalogue outlet stores and designer outlets" at specific

times of the year when the end-of-the-season sales are held.

Her tips tell you what infants, pre-school and school-aged children need in

fall/winter and spring/summer wardrobes and how to go about finding these

items. Once the clothing is outgrown, she recommends that you hand it down to

a younger sibling, sell it at a consignment shop or at a yard sale, or donate

it to charity and take a tax-deduction.

The May 1997 issue explains "chain cooking," a term given to a cooking method

used by many home cooks.

"If I'm making a dish that freezes well, I'll double everything and freeze the

extra one," Mrs McIntyre said. "Over the years that has saved me many times

from having to eat out."

Sometimes chain cooking involves preparing multiple recipes with similar

ingredients - such as several Italian dishes that contain spaghetti sauce or

several recipes that contain chicken.

"I recently interviewed Andrea, a working mother of four, who has successfully

practiced this method for almost a year," Mrs McIntyre said. "She prepares six

weeks' worth of meals in a single day. She has found it to be invaluable in

reducing her family's food bill and reducing her stress."

If you decide to try chain cooking, Mrs McIntyre offers a lot of advice. Be

well rested and "don't plan to prepare the food on the same day it's

purchased. Grocery shopping can be very tiring," she said.

Growing your own vegetables can save money if you have a frugal garden, Mrs

McIntyre said in another article. If you spend money on unnecessary, expensive

garden tools, equipment, fertilizers and plants, you can wind up spending more

to grow the vegetables than to buy them at the supermarket or farmer's market.

Her suggestions include inexpensive, chemical-free methods for pest and weed

control.

Grocery Store Violations

When she started producing the newsletter in July 1996, Cindy McIntyre began

really looking at pricing in grocery stores.

"I got so mad about mis-pricing that I went to all the big chain stores in the

area and found an average of 20 to 30 violations per store. Then I called the

State Department of Consumer Protection.

"I drove up to Hartford to meet with the commissioner," she said, "and as a

result, seven stores from the largest grocery store chains in Connecticut were

targeted for inspections and cited for violations."

There are plenty of laws on the books to protect consumers, but consumers must

be smart shoppers and know the law, she said.

"For example, if an item is on sale and you're charged a price higher than the

sale price, you're entitled to receive one of these items free of charge ,"

she said. "However, you must ask for the free item - it won't automatically be

given to you."

For More Information

A free sample copy of The Frugal Gazette is available by sending a

self-addressed, stamped envelope to The Frugal Gazette, PO Box 3395, Newtown

06460-3395. The newsletter is published monthly. Subscriptions, normally

$15.95, are $12 for subscribers who mention this article in The Newtown Bee.

Mrs McIntyre also is on the Internet at www.frugalgazette.com.

On Thursday, September 4, from 6 to 9 pm, she will present the seminar "Living

Within Your Means" at Naugatuck Valley Community Technical College in

Waterbury. Pre-registration is required. The class is $39. For more

information, or to register, call the college at 203/575-8029, Monday through

Friday between 8 am and 5 pm, before September 3.