Read here quite a bit, post infrequently, and only noticed this topic because it was 'showcased' on the DS front page.. That said, great topic, but...it isn't what I thought it would be. To me, single means NO kids, and I think that was the original intent, but as always a topic like this gets co-opted by single parents (mostly 'mommies'). Why? The whole DS site seems devoted to them already - busy mommy this, busy mommy that, single mom this. Please, how about a topic for people who AREN'T parents? A lot of the posters on this thread indicate no kids, but then it gets sidetracked onto the needs of single parents - again. Someone who is single and childFREE lives a totally different life than the 'single mommy'. Their issues aren't our issues. We're feeding, caring for, paying for, ourselves - period. This has been one of my long-standing complaints with the DS in general - the focus on famblees and single 'mommies', and to heck with childfree people of all ages. Even when a DS 'tip' or article COULD apply to anyone, it's always slanted/titled something towards parents or the childed. For those unaware of the 'phenomenon', there is a large, and growing (is it ever!) 'community' of childFREE people in this country. We have to pay mortgages/rent, utilities, car payments, insurance, food, medical, etc. just like everyone else - except WE don't get the breaks (financial or otherwise) parents do. We pay taxes (if homeowners) for schools we don't use, subsidize the health insurance of parents at work with our higher rates, and get left holding the bag for those with kids with longer hours at work, more of the overtime, less desireable hours, etc. We take far less from the community, get less in return, and are expected to like it as we struggle to make ends meet. And we are SICK of it. How about a topic that truly addresses the unique 'frugality' issues of being single/childFREE?

Treasurehunter, why the anger toward single parents??? Everyone can learn something from the articles. I read about two parent family homes all the time and I take what I can from them and go on but the anger in your statement...scary.

I could point to this post and say 'I rest my case'. Did any of the 'mommies' even READ the post that started this topic?? The author specified SINGLE people with NO DEPENDENTS. That means no kids. And yes, I am angry that everything HAS to revolve around parents - single or otherwise. It's as if single, childFREE people have no needs, or are all rolling in the dough so we needn't concern ourselves with frugality. You 'mommies' have NO clue what the reality for us is like, because everything is about YOU/your kids. I've read a lot of other DS forum topics, and there are PLENTY of them - most, in fact - that address all the parent/kid stuff. Why can't you give US one stinking topic to discuss OUR problems and frugal stratagies???? And yes, we, the childFREE community, ARE angry. We have a right to be. We get marginalized at every turn - including right here at the DS. We come to the DS for tips on how to survive these hard times and are forced to scrounge the site like starving dogs looking for bits of food in a garbage dump. When we do find something (like THIS topic), before we can take a 'bite' the mommies swoop in and take it over.

 I don't think you're seeing the issue clearly. I am "single," with no kids at home and I find nothing to take offense at when those who have children talk about them. There is no reason to draw the line between "us" and "them." We are all trying to find and share ways to make our resources stretch farther. 

Due to your angry attitude, we'll be moderating your posts for awhile, just to keep the forum friendly.  

 

Like Treasurehunter, I am single and child free - and I admit that I do occasionally get annoyed when threads such as this one are started for single, child free people, and suddenly the ideas I am hoping for are overrun by tips for parents with children; it makes it harder for me to find what I am looking for.  But get angry about it?  At what?  A computer screen?  A faceless unknown on the other end of the internet?  I reserve my anger for more personal things, or those that are more hurtful to me.  

But I will agree that it would be nice to have a thread that addresses the particular needs of single child free adults without having pick through the rest of it.   There are some things that are peculiar to those of us who don't have children.  For example - gift giving is unequal between families (single or married) with kids and singles without, which creates a disparity in cost outlay - but that discussion gets lost in how single parents pay for gifts for the children of other families.  Buying in bulk is something I do whenever I can - but it's hard to do with perishables because they go bad before I can eat or otherwise process them... but that gets lost in discussions of how to buy enough for growing children.  And so on.  So yes - I would like to see one thread - out of all of those on this site - that addressed the problems specific to being a single adult living alone without having it be taken over by the needs of parents, single or otherwise - because my concerns are rarely addressed in the context of living alone.

karenteacher:

I would like to see one thread - out of all of those on this site - that addressed the problems specific to being a single adult living alone without having it be taken over by the needs of parents, single or otherwise - because my concerns are rarely addressed in the context of living alone.

Could you and/or TreasureHunter start a new thread stating what your concerns are that are rarely addressed?

bluesong:

karenteacher:

I would like to see one thread - out of all of those on this site - that addressed the problems specific to being a single adult living alone without having it be taken over by the needs of parents, single or otherwise - because my concerns are rarely addressed in the context of living alone.

Could you and/or TreasureHunter start a new thread stating what your concerns are that are rarely addressed?

 

That's what this thread was supposed to be...  that's kind of the problem.  Here's the original post that started this thread - note the last line:

karenteacher:

bluesong:

Could you and/or TreasureHunter start a new thread stating what your concerns are that are rarely addressed?

 

That's what this thread was supposed to be...  that's kind of the problem.

 

Maybe if you'd throw out some specific topics (cooking for one, traveling alone, etc.) it would help?  

How about the difficulties of time management when you're a single, frugal person?  Without a spouse or even a significant other, I often can't always do as much as I'd like in terms of frugality.  Ex: cooking every night and still getting all the chores done.  I often have to choose, especially because I work long days sometimes, and usually cooking for myself loses, which I find frustrating.

I think if I had a spouse, even if I was working full time, we could split some errands or trade off whenever one person got too busy.

I've been divorced much longer than I was married and my kids are adults and out of the house for 7 years.  It's much easier to be frugal when you're single, especially if you had an ex like mine .  It used to really grind me that I could pinch, save, sacrifice and he would go blow it without a second thought.  It wasn't that he was trying to be mean, it was just a different way of looking at things.  Now I can have cereal for dinner, keep the heat turned down, or do whatever else I don't mind doing without to save money.  Some of the things I do might seem kind of gross even.  I admit I don't always wash my dishes everyday.  On a work day if I have oatmeal for breakfast, lunch (brown bagged of course) at work and a sandwich and fruit for dinner, it seems more wasteful to fill the sink with hot sudsy water for a few things.

I have learned things from other threads that especially applied to single people.  I was impressed by Deborahmichelle's portion control and freezing little bits that I probably wouldn't bother about.  One of my pet peeves is how much food I waste.  I bought a small (7 cf) chest freezer last week and hope to make good use of it.  The best deals for meat are on the family packs but now I have space to invest in several different cuts, individually wrap them and just take out what I need.  If you can't tell I'm really excited about the possibilities (and not eating chili every day for a week if I decide to cook).