Frugal Tips

My husband and I have sat down and made some goals for ourselves, such as being debt free (except house) in 2 years time.
And to do that we will need to REALLY cut down to bare minimums on things...  I would like to know your best ways of being frugal.  We live pretty close to budget much of the time, but there are many times we don't.  I would like to compile a list of tips, techniques and hints that anyone would be willing to share and then share as one big list.  Thanks for your help!!!

My Cup Runneth Over...Chas

07:34 - Sunday, September 30, 2007 - post comment

Untitled Comment

I have learned that making a menu and sticking to it helps a whole bunch. Shopping at thrift stores and garage sales for needed items is another way that I save tons of money. I buy all my clothes, shoes, purses, household items, ect. at these places. Buying in bulk also helps.
Cant think of any more, I have a cold and my head hurts, lol.
Kitty

Kitty - 08:34 - Sunday, September 30, 2007

---

Paper waste.

We have stoped using most paper products and disposable products at our house.Things like paper plates, paper towels, paper napkins, toilet paper, Yes, toilet paper, disposable pads, paper cups, and I am sure there are more.
We also make our own laundry detergent and use very, very little fabric softener.

This has given us a big savings since these things are very costly.
Good luck on your search to be more frugal.
maa's mom

maa - 09:53 - Sunday, September 30, 2007

---

All I can think of..........

*If you smoke, quit.
*If you drink, even 'casually' quit.
*If you eat out, quit. No eating out....ever.
*When you go to the gas station ONLY buy gas. Not gum, candy or pop.
*If you drink bottled water, quit. Buy a filtration system. It's a big hit at one time......but in the long run it's better for you and it's cheaper.
*If you have 2 car payments, sell one car and buy a used car with cash.
*Cancel satellite tv / internet connection / cell phones / cable / satellite radio / magazines / newspaper / or any other unneeded monthly subscription. The library has all of the above services, free !! (well not a cell phone!)
*Designate one day (let's say Friday) for running. Do all weeks worth of driving around in one day. Stream line it so that you are not driving all over...but that you are doing the least amount of driving that you can.
*Stop going to the salon. Hair, nails, toes, facials and all that cost a ton. Better yet, barder for these luxuries.
*Buy in bulk, and freeze. Start building a pantry.
*Put everything that you own, that you have not used in the last 12 months up for sale, via garage sale, ebay or whatever. De-clutter AND make a buck or two doing it.

gokings13 - 06:21 - Monday, October 1, 2007

---

food co-ops

When I lived in TX, I was part of two food co-ops. At one I was able to purchase dry goods like grain, nuts, dehydrated foods, herbs, or cans in bulk at great discounts. Well, 50lbs of grain costs about the same at the co-op as it does down the road at Wildwood, maybe a 1.50 cheaper. But 50 lbs of almonds or apricots is way cheaper than buying 8oz at a time. Each family would order as much as they wanted and we would split the case. My other co-op was a produce co-op. We ordered case loads of fruits/vegetables and split them between families. We ordered from the same company that supplied our local grocery store and had a semi truck deliver to one of our church fellowship halls. I could buy apples at .20/lb or navel oranges for .17/ea. Lettuce ran about .30/head. We were able to order any variety we liked as long as we made up a case. It was always fun on delivery day to get together and share the food and visit. I'd love to get a co-op together here if you're interested! - although, I can't run it, I am about to have five children under six, and I'm feeling a tiny bit overwhelmed. Produce is really more expensive in this area than in TX, and it's going up because of the freeze/drought.

Becky - 08:52 - Monday, October 1, 2007

---

I agree..

with all the other posts, there are some great ideas. I also want to add that I buy powdered milk, all of my kids have drank it although, some now think they have to have regular milk. I use it for baking, pudding, anything that I cook with that calls for milk unless it specifies whole milk. That saves us a bunch of money. You can also wash/reusue ziploc bags. I have taken many of maa's ideas and used them to get rid of paper products in our home. Here is a link to a post I did about ways we save money.
http://www.homesteadblogger.com/homesteadrefuge/68342/
Good luck getting debt free, we are almost completely there. We only have our home to go, that is about 4 years away :)
Blessings,
Rashel

rashel - 10:53 - Monday, October 1, 2007

---

How exciting!

My husband and I are working on a similar plan!

Here is a site that I found that has some fun and interesting ideas! Some are a little too frugal for us, but still there is a lot of good info.

http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

Best wishes on this venture!

Patti

Pattisea - 11:28 - Monday, October 1, 2007

---