Posted in Simple and Frugal Living
I put out the plea last week for everyone to rally together and list your favorite frugal tip. We had several to participate and I appreciate each and every one!The first one is from Wendy and her blog A Sunny Place:
First of all - Read the Tightwad Gazette Complete - she's truly the queen of frugal.
Frugal things we do:
Bulk/stock up shopping -shopping more often gives way to buying things we don't need (at least for me it does) So Last Nov we bulk purchased diapers, toilet paper, Kleenex, Sant. Knap., etc and
--Can when items are in season - we canned up a storm in the fall (over 300 jars of stuff) and grocery shopping was local for milk, fresh carrots, etc.
-- Cut our cell phone back to a pay as you go plan - and use it ONLY AS NEEDED and it cut the temptation to talk on it excessively and saved us a bundle! We now spend $200 per year for 2 phones rather than $65/month.
--Stay home! :0) Be a true stay at home mom!
--Buy used clothing (maximize garage sales, hand me downs, Goodwill is the best place!)
--www.homeschoolclassifieds.com has helped make homeschooling affordible to us!
--Don't shop. The only stores I frequent on a regular basis is our local Goodwill and the grocery store. I can't tell you the last time I went into a department store, honestly.
-- Keep a price book - and when you see great sales - if it's local - stock up (on need type items),
--Buy local - especially in the fall and can and freeze what you can. I chop and freeze green peppers and make our own pizza sauce, so I make the dough from scratch and only the pepperoni is purchased - I ration the pepperoni to only a limited amount of pieces per pizza. We eat this weekly - a treat for all - and fairly economical.
--Don't go out to eat. Last year as a family we went to a sit down (Bob Evans) out 1X - with 3 free meal coupons. We went Fast Food a couple times and got carry out pizza only a couple times in the entire year (1X with free pizza coupon).
--Find a scratch n dent type store near you. we have been able to find a variety of things at our local one.
--Buy ingredients and extras (such as chips, etc) are treats (even store bought cereal - try to limit our consumption greatly!) - make foods from scratch.
--Cancel your subs. to the newspaper, or extra magazines you don't really read - find someone to give you theirs when you are done (we get several different magazines second hand from those who know we will read them and are done with them).
--Find local great prices (we have a potato farm nearby and buy 100 lbs at a time in the fall, local dairy sells ice cream half gallons for $2 - including occasionally organic, etc
--we use cloth knapkins (Goodwill $.50 or make your own - we've done both)
--use rags/towels instead of paper towels.
--replace some light bulbs with flourescent
--brown meat - 1 lb and divide into 3 portions - freeze 2 and use only one - in soups/spaguetti sauce, etc. You may not miss it - or supplement with beans or lentils to help with filler
--make a pot of coffee in the morning, and then turn off - then I warm up later in the day for my mid-day coffee what was left from the morning, and don't make a new pot. Some also say you can just add more grounds to save on grounds. I tried, and I must be too spoiled -I didn't like it! But an idea for some...
--we make so many things from scratch that the other day my 6 yr old asked "Mom, can we make our own gum?" :0)
Our next was from Susan at DHC Farm
Here are some links to some posts I've made on my blog about our favorite way to save money.
http://susangodfrey.blogspot.com/2008/04/how-to-spread-grass-fed-ground-beef.html
http://susangodfrey.blogspot.com/2007/05/10-easy-ways-to-go-green.html
There's a bunch more there too :)
Liese at High Desert Blog had a friend suggest one of her posts
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/highdesertblog/95022/?#c145781
Jill at Faith, Hope and Love has a few tips of her own...
Here are a couple of tips we use to save money:
Find your local salvage grocery store. Okay, so it's not superwal-mart and you'll have to dig in cardboard boxes for items, but it's well worth it with name-brand cereals (even organic at times) at $1 a box and canned foods around $.10 a can.
Serve smaller portion sizes. Okay, so not really a money saving tip, but I tend to king-size our family's portions and making them smaller gives us a better chance of having leftovers for lunch which is not only a money saver, but a time saver as well.
Pack your hubbies (or your own) lunch. This will save you about $25-30 per week or more depending on where you dine!
Carpool to the grocery store. With gas prices so high the neighbor from the next farm and I go together about 1x a week.
Buy less=spend less. Forgo the gourmet starbuck coffees and needless clothes and shoes just because they're way cute! How many clothes do we need really? With twins, I've discovered that if I pared all of my children's wardrobe down to about 9 outfits per week, my laundry would be much less--again, not only in time spent, but in money spent.
These tips are not revolutionary, but thought they might help!
Monica at Books, Bedlam and A Lively Hope
has these thoughts...
Here are some of mine:
Don't assume that just because a store *says* they have the lowest price, that they do. Compare store circulars and shop around, then stock up when items are at their rock bottom price. Most stores are now being built close together, so this should not involve a lot of driving around, either.
Don't go to the dollar store to just browse...and if you think they have something there you need, don't assume that a dollar is the lowest price you can pay for it. You'd be amazed what I have bought for much less than a dollar on the clearance shelves at other grocery/discount stores.
Don't waste money on buying cleaning products without first investigating the uses of vinegar, baking soda, and hydrogen peroxide. There are a lot of good cleaning ideas here: http://www.ecocycle.org/hazwaste/recipes.cfm
Learn to sew.
And of course, for entertainment, education, information, and all sorts of good things, use your local library!
Regina at Homesteading Wife in Training
What I try to use coupons for items that I use regularly and use them on the days the coupons are doubled.
Also buying bread from bread outlets. They sell bread and other baked goods that the supermarkets send them when the bread is getting close to the "sell by" date. They sell it at reduced prices and often have coupons for getting free items when you have bought a certain amount of items.
Faith Farm
There are already so many wonderful ideas posted. When I think about saving money I think about my entire house and lifestyle. Take for example right now the three F's (Food, Fuel, Feed) are taking more of our finances, so once you have cut as much as possible from those areas I look at where else I could save money. Turn off lights, I only use the clothes line to dry clothes, I shop for cheaper insurance, canceled newspaper subscription (Too busy this time of year to read it anyway), consolidated freezers (I can use one until harvest), Do necessary tune-ups on vehicles (for fuel savings). In general I trim up the budget everywhere. A dollar saved here can go towards the increased cost in another area. We have increased the size of our garden area, fruit trees and bushes, chicken yard, and rabbit breeder stock. It sounds odd to be increasing in areas but if prices continue to increase we will need to provide more for ourselves and others in these area's. If we plan ahead now and this continues like they say it is then it will be easier down the road.
Kristin Hoffman offers her help on making your own pet food!
I too saw the FaithFarms post! Excellent idea. Last month I went to buy dog & cat food and it had gone waaaay up! In one month! So I figured I could buy a bag of rolled oats at the feed store (about $15) and add my extra eggs, skim milk, buttermilk, table scraps and my dogs would eat better for a lot less money. I also make corn bread for them once a week with some things I already have on hand. The cats are getting milk from the cow & the occasional raw egg. I can get organ meats and bones from the local custom butcher for free. So my feed bill went from $50/month to $15. And the animals are healthier too. I know there is a bit of controversy over feeding all raw vs. grain/cooked but we can't afford that and are doing the best we can!
Belle at Born a 100 Years Too Soon
My homemade laundry soap really gets the laundry clean!
I have the recipe on my blog with a picture tutorial, if you would like to add it to your post.
Here is the link to the post with the homemade laundry recipe - http://homesteadblogger.com/homesteading/86780/
Another thing that really saves money is cloth menstrual pads and cloth wipes.
We use the cloth wipes instead of toilet paper. You might want to mention on your post about how it can save money.
I do sell cloth wipes and pads for those who can't make them themselves at my blogspot store - http://www.homesteaderbelle.blogspot.com/
Michele at Urban Homesteader
Wow, so many great ideas. Mulching is a great way to reduce garbage and help your garden thrive. I like to reuse as much as I can - ie: clean mayo jars and PB jars to store bulk spices. Garage sales, thrift stores, I can everything, dehydrating, forage for "freebies" such as wild fruits and berries - strawberries, blueberries, blackberries, choke cherries, plums, apples, dandylions, ect. I'm relocating closer to work to save wear and tear on my truck along with gas $$$. We have a small store that sells slightly damaged canned goods, soaps, TP, cerials, ect for CHEAP. Buy on sale and getting extra at that time. Use coupons (sadly nobody here doubles) when able, along with many of the ideas already listed. What a great idea!!!
Mama Duke at Humble Beginnings
We do several things to save money. Here's a short list.
1. Consolidate trips into town to save on gas $$.
2. Cook and bake from scratch as much as possible.
3. Make our own body wash from cheap shampoo. Pour shampoo into larger, empty body wash container, add half that amount of water and pour in epsom salts (about 4 TBSP). I put the lid on and shake it all up. For the container, I use an old baby shampoo bottle w/ a pump on it. It costs me about $.96 for a huge bottle of body wash compared to $3-$4 for a small bottle.
4. I make our own wipes as well by cutting a roll of paper towels in half, putting each half in a huge coffee tin. I fill up a small pot with water, add some baby oil or glycerin, a little bit of baby soap and let it come to a boil. Once it boils, I take it off the heat, let it cool down and then pour it over the papertowels. Once those cool down, I put the lids on.
5. Garden, garden, garden and can, can, can. For what I don't grow in the garden, I'll buy at farmer's markets or go to a local "pick your own" farm and then can those items.
6. I also can our venison and chickens (when they go on sale). This cuts down on what's in the freezer.
7. I make meatless meals about 2x a week. And, those meals that we do have meat, there's usually leftovers for lunch the next day. In fact, we usually eat all leftovers for lunch the next day.
8. I buy items in bulk when they're on sale. I also find it's cheaper for me to buy laundry soap locally than to pay for the shipping on the Fels Naptha (which isn't sold here locally). Shipping is getting expensive.
9. I always buy flour, sugar, oil and butter when I go to the store so that I always have some on hand. Always...without exception.
10. My hubby gets paid weekly and I get paid every 2 weeks. Regardless of how much gas is in the vehicles, we fill up every week. Sometimes I only put in $20 worth of gas but I know it's always full and never worry about it (plus it's a mental thing that I'm spending less on gas). It's weird, but it helps.
11. I make all of our household cleaners using peroxide, vinegar or baking soda. I have a bottle of ammonia that I also use to make an "every day" cleaner. It's lasted me more than a year.
12. We use baking soda to brush our teeth. In fact, our children now think toothpaste tastes funny.
13. I now buy "store brand" items at the grocery store instead of the "name brand". Although I despise the store brand as the quality's not as good, it's cheaper.
Anissa at I love my Husband
Great advice so far, ladies! This was a wonderful idea for everyone to learn from each other.
My two cents:
~Learn to make your own bread
~Stop using your dryer. If you have a small yard here's a great space-saving clothes line:
http://www.sunshine-dryer.com/
~Make your own spice blends at home. There are tons of recipes out there to make your own chili powder, Italian Seasoning, etc. We all pay an arm & a leg for those little McCormik bottles of spices. If I can save $3 just by blending spices I already have in my cabinet then I'll do it! Here's the food website I use all the time to find those recipes:
http://www.recipezaar.com/
~THRIFT SHOPS are the bomb for year-round savings! Garage sales are wonderful seasonal savings (where I live). Swallow your pride & start saving. Anyone with children at home with save a bundle on children's clothing at thrift shops. Childrens clothes can cost just as much as adults sometimes depending on the age of the child.
~Think outside the box. The hardest part for me has been to rethink how I was trained as a child to do things. Just because mom always did something a certain way doesn't mean that that was the best or cheapest way.
~Measure out your dishwashing soap, laundry detergent, etc. I have a 1/3 cup measuring cup on my dryer I use to measure out my soap every time. It's just too easy to dump in way too much soap into my washing machine. The same goes for my dish washer. I measure out 2 T. into each compartment.
~Read "The Tightwad Gazette". Check with your local library & they may be able to borrow it through the inter-library loan system.
***Thanks!!!!!! You guys are so great, these tips are wonderful and I know that they will be an asset to the readers here at HSB!***
From my Homestead to yours...
~Chas~
Chasity L. Burrell
Senior Editor Homesteadblogger
My Cup Runneth Over at Heritage Acres Farm
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