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Bethany
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 2:31pm | IP Logged
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Well, I recently started couponing. It's like a job but tax free! It does take time, but I haven't paid for toothpaste or shampoo in 4 months (and I have at least a year supply). I originally started because I had a sudden realization that I have FOUR girls who would someday be using large amounts of shampoo and other girly products! And also just to build a stockpile so I could pay the lowest price for certain things. Oh, and I'm also concerned about hyperinflation.
I live in a large city, so it's easy to have my hubby pull through a store while I run in to get whatever is a good deal. If you live far out it would probably take more organizing. This has drastically reduced our budget and we have a very good supply of things we need and use.
Check out HotCouponWorld.com for info and look at different stores for the deals on a given week. Also, go Money Saving Methods she has a lot of interesting ways to save or make money. I know it sounds crazy, but she has a link for online offers, those things you see when you're online saying "win a $500 gift card". I always thought they were a scam, but I actually did one following her advice and did receive a $500 gift card. I've been using that for the past month or so to buy groceries.
All this wouldn't pay other bills, but it could free up money for that purpose.
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Bethany
Wife to Mike, Mommy to Amelia (6/02), Sarah (10/03), Martha Grace (10/05), Rebecca Anne (12/07), Laura Catherine (3/10) and Reed Michael 7/4/14.
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CrunchyMom
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 2:50pm | IP Logged
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Hey, if you go to Home Depot tomorrow you can get a free CFL lightbulb! Free Light bulb
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Lindsay
Five Boys(6/04) (6/06) (9/08)(3/11),(7/13), and 1 girl (5/16)
My Symphony
[URL=http://mysymphonygarden.blogspot.com/]Lost in the Cosmos[/UR
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Syncletica
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 3:06pm | IP Logged
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Wow! Lots of great ideas. Thank you so much and keep 'em coming!
So far, I've turned down the water heater, unplugged my laptop, decided to only handwash dishes (using the dishwasher was a treat for awhile, I was always too cheap to use it, "What a waste of power and money!" (Got funny to hear the 3 and 4 year olds saying that.) Unplugged the kettle, cut down on flushes (dh is now cooperating and says "If it's yellow, let it mellow; if it's brown, flush it down."  I've also been working with a lot less light in the morning. Didn't turn on one light this morning! Yea! (Helps that it's light a lot earlier, of course.)
I wash absolutely everything in cold water. I use dryer balls (from the dollar store, so they probably don't function as well as some others that were just mentioned. The clothes are often staticky.) I've never used bleach in any load. (I guess I can attribute that to having a single dad for a father..only the bare minimum...I must admit I'm scared to put bleach in my loads. Wouldn't it make your clothes all blotchy? I suppose it's only meant to go in with the whites. Pardon my naivete. )
I've hung 2 loads on an indoor drying rack. We have a nice long yard that would be ideal to put a post at the end of the yard and hook up a clothesline. But, I don't think I can do that myself....There's a playhouse at the end of the yard, I'm not sure what I'd hook up there, and it'd be a pain b/c the clothes would go down on an angle and the children would no doubt get them muddy or somehow get them off the line. Hopefully we can get a post....
As for a business, I don't mean a full blown-out business where I have to put out a lot of money to begin. A little something to bring in...a little something. And I just talked to dh, and he said that he just doesn't want it to require his full time help. I never intended that - just to help me out with technical stuff until I know how to do it. He said as long as we don't have to fork out a lot of money to make some money, and that it won't require his full time help (which it certainly wouldn't) it's fine. (On that note, if anyone knows about self-publishing, can you pm me?) (I also intend to follow up on some suggestions given here.)
We don't budget, I've mentioned it to him before, but he just won't do it. I don't get a certain amount of money for groceries or anything. So far, things have been working out, hopefully work will improve. In the meantime it's great to cut back some things and actually have him agreeing. Some of these things he normally would've balked at.
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melanie
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 3:06pm | IP Logged
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Well, I haven't read responses yet, but I had similar laundry issues. Our drier was doing the same thing, and it finally died. I nailed some lightweight chain along our fence as a temporary clothesline. It's sturdier and doesn't sag like the clothesline does. I also lay things across the deck rail,a nd I bought one of those inexpensive drier racks from walmart to use to hang tiny things like underwear and socks. I do laundry pretty much every day. I would like eventually to get an umbrella drier, but haven't yet.
As far as work, what were you thinking of? I have thought of doing some night time daycare. I was a nurse in my prehomeschooling days, and I was desperate for child care for off shifts.
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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MelissaClaire
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 3:25pm | IP Logged
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I think you'll do best by trying to cut grocery and household supplies budgets. Do you have CVS or Walgreens near you? They have tremendous deals you can get (free body wash and tooth paste at CVS this week.)
I've eliminated my household goods budget (diapers, paper towels, toilet paper, toiletries, health and beauty stuff, toothpaste, laundry detergent, body wash) by shopping at CVS. (There's a learning curve to figuring it all out--but it can be done. Check out hotcouponworld.com.)
Do you have a Safeway nearby? They have a fantastic promotion going on right now where if you buy $30 worth of participating products you get $10 back for your next order and they have different products that give you $2 on your next order for every 2 you buy. I've gotten over 120 packets of Bertolli premium pasta sauce (and paper towels, fruits, and juice and bacon and peanut butter and deli ham and the list goes on and on) and spent less than $20, AND I have $68 in coupons that I can use on anything in the store--so I've made $48 in groceries by buying all that pasta sauce. I'll keep a little for ourselves and the overwhelming majority of it has gone to our local food bank.
Lots of different stores have similar promotions. Again, check out hotcouponworld.com. My sister and I (seven2hold) have recently started a blog with some of the ways we save if you're interested in checking it out. Deals are regional, so you might do better by searching for "coupon deals" and your locale. Our blog is Live Large, Spend Less
Also--in many states you can get rebates from beer companies and not have to buy beer. We don't drink beer, but my husband will stop in 7-11 on his way to work some mornings to look for rebates. Bud and Miller Lite often put them our. I just got a $15 check in the mail today from Bud. It was spend $15.01 in "salty snacks" I think included in it was also chicken--so I used my receipt I had from chicken breasts, so I got my chicken for free.
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Melissa
Mom to a dd ('02), ds ('03), ds ('05), dd ('07) and baby due 9/01/09
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Syncletica
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 4:05pm | IP Logged
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I will have to look into these coupon things. There is no Walgreen's or CVS here in Canada. (eta: at least where I am...)
We do have Extra Foods, which is like Real Canadian Superstore, and Sobey's, which now has a Club Sobey's card that you earn points for everything you buy. I'm up to $55.00 in free groceries.
I meant to ask, how does one be frugal with the groceries, when you have a dh who wants meat every supper, does not like soup, nor is he overly fond of beans. I made a chickpea stew one time and most of the rest of us really liked it, but he didn't. I understand you can stretch ground beef with beans...is anyone familiar with simple recipes that are well liked, and if so, can you share them? In my deep freeze, I believe I have approx. 4 pkgs of 1 1/2 lbs gr. beef, 1 small beef roast, a family pack of pork chops and probably a couple pkgs of weiners. (Oh, we're meatless on Fridays, btw, just so you know.) Can anyone tell me a creative way to stretch these meat items?
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sewcrazy
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 5:09pm | IP Logged
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So many great ideas!
I stretch ground beef with rice and black beans often. I have 6 good sized people and can feed us with 1.5 pounds of ground beef. I cook the black beans overnight in the crock pot in beef broth. They will be slightly "over cooked" but that is how my gang will eat them. I also cook the rice with a bit of broth and worcheshire sauce. Then I just mix it with my uncooked ground beef and season. I will use this for burgers, tacos, casseroles, and stuffed peppers or tomatos.
Good luck! Several years ago, we went through a period where I had to live on far less than I thought was possible! You just have to get creative.
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LeeAnn
Wife of David, mom to Ben, Dennis, Alex, Laura, Philip and our little souls in heaven we have yet to meet
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 5:20pm | IP Logged
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anything with sauces.. speghetti sauce for instance.. chop any meat used smaller.. you get meat in more bites that way.. and you can add a bit of bullion/broth to get a good meaty flavor without adding meat.
And I suppose if you had to, you could cook up something seperate for your dh than the rest of you are eating.
But again, you need to work with your dh, show him how much it costs to eat as you are right now.. and then show him a couple of plans (like one with a little less meat and one with a lot less meat) and how much it would cost to eat that way. Perhaps, he just hasn't really grasped the huge difference in cost it can be.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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MicheleQ
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 7:02pm | IP Logged
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CrunchyMom wrote:
| Hey, if you go to Home Depot tomorrow you can get a free CFL lightbulb! Free Light bulb |
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I just have to say. . . I hate these light bulbs --HATE them. They don't give off good light, they HUM (it's enough to make you crazy!) and they don't last in my house. Maybe it's the old wiring in this 100+ yr. old house but these bulbs last no longer than the reg. cheapo ones. So we just try to turn off lights and save that way 'cause I am not using these bulbs ever again if I can help it. Yeah, really I dislike them that much.
OK rant over. 
Peace,
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Michele Quigley
wife to my prince charming and mom of 10 in Lancaster County, PA USA
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SusanJ
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 7:22pm | IP Logged
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About not using the dishwasher--there was a thread awhile back where this was heavily discussed and I think it was pretty unanimous that dishwasher are always more efficient than handwashing. I even remember contributing that my 1963 model with no energy saving options and a HOT drying cycle was better on our water and electric bill. So that might not be the first thing to cut. Adopting a lot of frugality at once can be stressful so do make sure all the sacrifices are worth it!
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Mom to Joseph-8, Margaret-6, William-4, Gregory-2, and new little one due 11/1
Life Together
[URL=http://thejohnstonkids.blogspot.com]The Kids' Blog[/UR
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Syncletica
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:19pm | IP Logged
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Hmmm. Can it really be cheaper to use the dishwasher all the time? For the 'small' amount of brkfst dishes I just run a small flow of water for washing and rinsing with a dab of soap as needed, and for supper dishes I fill up the one sink only about half full and rinse with a small amount of water. For a lot of dishes I may have to empty the sink and do another clean half-sinkful.
I was also going to ask if it is definitely cheaper to make bread at home. My dh usually tells me to just buy it because it's cheaper than using the ingredients and turning on the oven. Yet many things I've read aboout frugality will mention baking bread at home. Has anyone ever figured out costs? A loaf of bread here costs around $1.29 a loaf.
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JodieLyn
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:21pm | IP Logged
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without counting electricity.. I can make a much healthier loaf than I can buy for about 50 cents a loaf.
that's whole wheat, sea salt, honey, yeast, water
The cheapest loaf I can buy is .99 cents on sale and it's no where near the quality of what I can make.
BUT maybe he doesn't like homemade bread? and is using that as an excuse. Maybe he needs to see the actual ingredients you use broken down to a per loaf cost.. and the cost of using the oven broken down.
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Jodie, wife to Dave
G-18, B-17, G-15, G-14, B-13, B-11, G-9, B-7, B-5, B-4
All men who have turned out worth anything have had the chief hand in their own education.
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SallyT
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:28pm | IP Logged
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My husband was also a meat-lover, no-leftovers kind of guy. Seeing the difference that cutting meat made in our budget converted him -- he's the one writing the checks to pay the mortgage. I do try to transform leftovers -- fold leftover veggies into an omelette, stretch things with rice, etc, so that he feels that he's getting a "real" meal every night. And you can buy things like cheap ground turkey or small cuts of meat to mix into sauces, casseroles, etc, to trim costs without totally eliminating. For example, we always eat lamb for Easter, but this year I only bought a small amount, cut it up, and put it in a casserole with rice. We had the lamb taste in a delicious meal for a fraction of what a leg of lamb would have cost.
We were in serious financial straits for a LONG time after my husband finished his Ph.d, and even now, with a job and more resources than we have had in years, the feeling of being in control of our budget really counterbalances, in my husband's mind, whatever sense of deprivation he might have had through my frugal-eating schemes. But it did take time and some bitter experience to make some things taste good to him . . .
And MaryM -- I NEVER unplug my computer. I only did it last night because people were talking about it, and our utilities have been on the high side. This conversation got me thinking for sure.
Sally
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Castle in the Sea
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SuzanneG
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:29pm | IP Logged
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SallyT wrote:
| *no prepared food. At all. |
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This is HUGE! Buying staples only, no prepared food will slash a grocery budget immediately!!!!
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Suzanne in ID
Wife to Pete
Mom of 7 (Girls - 14, 12, 11, 9, 7 and Boys - 4, 1)
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Syncletica
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:31pm | IP Logged
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Jodie - can I have your recipe?
I've never been accused of being a great chef, so it's quite possible that he doesn't like the bread. However, having said that, he has ranted about the Italian breadsticks I've made. I have a tendency, though, for my loaves to be too thick. What's the trick for nice and fluffy? Some have worked out pretty good. I don't like working with dough that sticks to my hands, so maybe I use too much flour. What's the texture supposed to be like? Is the dough supposed to stick to your hands?
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Syncletica
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:37pm | IP Logged
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When you say no prepared food - does that include cans of condensed soup?
What if your dh is *addicted* to snacks? Chips, popcorn, candy.....I can't deny that I, too, have a sweet tooth, but I can go without and be very stingy with myself. I haven't seen the same with him. This seems so impossible when we're on two different wavelengths.
eta: I'm not trying to put him down, don't mean to come across that way, perhaps it's the phlegmatic temperament that makes it more difficult to tighten the belt.
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melanie
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:38pm | IP Logged
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Ok, the "no prepared foods" thing gave me a couple of questions...we mostly cook from scratch, but I have a couple of hold outs in this area.
Like snacks...what do your kids have for snacks? I do still buy some snack foods, and they typically can have one a day of a "junkier" snack. This is relatively speaking, I'm not talking about potato chips and little debbie cakes. I buy a big box of pretzels, goldfish-esque crackers, cereal and granola bars, that kind of thing, and I divide the stuff up into little snack bags and keep them in a bowl in the pantry. That's my big money saving idea for snacks. We can't seem to get away from them completely, though these are cheap alternatives to other stuff, and for any other snacks they need to pick healthier fare,,,homemade breads, yogurt, fruit or veggie, etc. Often the stuff in the "snack bowl" is used for a snack when we are going to be out running around as it is portable.
Lunches---I am forever in dispair of quick and easy lunches everyone likes, and so we sometimes use frozen burritos, ravioli, macaroni and cheese, that kind of thing. 
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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molly
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:48pm | IP Logged
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This thread is near and dear to my heart. I am the queen of thrift and frugality. Caution, some of my ideas may appear radical, as someone pointed out, go easy and slowly adapt to frugality and thrift. If not it is like a diet, you will fail and be frustrated.
1- I feed a family of 8 on 100.00 a week. I shop at Aldis, grow food here, fruits, veggies, meats, milk and eggs. All of our bread comes from a religious order down the road, who gets so many donations they don't know what to do with it. Ask around, you may have an Order in your area, that is happy to share their abundance. They give us so much that I have enough to share with 3 other families, and my freezer is stocked. When I run low I bake bread myself.
This same Order has been known to drop off turkeys, 50# onions, potatoes, and cases of wine  The latter being my favorite of course!
2- Join Freecycle, don;t have a local one, start one yourself, I moderate our local group! I have gotten amazing finds through Freecycle, including a 5' marble Mary statue, upright freezer, Christmas gifts, and new tires for our car.
3-Barter, this is becoming quite popular agian. My dh barters for all our hay, for our animals, and I have bartered lessons in piano and voice. We all have skills we can barter.
4- Give gifts of experiences not materialism! I gave my dd age 11 cake decorating lessons for her last b-day, by simply asking a local mom who has a cake decorating business if she would be willing to teach my dd a couple of tricks. I had, deep in a cabinet, a tin of Wilton supplies that I never used, cleaned them up, put them in a basket, added a bow, and I had one very delighted daughter.
5-Swap; this past Christmas I organized a local gift giving swap. I advertised it on our local HS board, asked everyone to clear out their closets and bring anything from their home that could be re-gifted. It was AMAZING! People brought great and wonderful toys, appliances, clothes, games etc. It was so popular, we are planing a spring swap, I plan to stash away b-day and Christmas gifts from this swap.
6- UNSCHOOL!!!! or, you can get everything you need to educate your dc free from the library or on line sources like Michele Q Charlotte Mason group or Serendipity. I trust Michele and Elizabeth can link to them
There is no need to buy expensive curriculum in this day and age.
If there is a particular HS item you want or need, ask around. I was given free Teaching Textbbooks this past fall, along with boxes of unused books that a former HSer no longer needed.
7- Learn to do it yourself! You mentioned how starting a business would be educational, well so is getting down and dirty. Last week my front loader stopped working. So my dh, learned to fix washing machines. It was ho first time, but he saved us 200.00 in the process and my dc learned along side of him.
OK, enough, I love this kind of talk!!!!
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molly
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:49pm | IP Logged
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Oh, yes I do, use cloth nappies, hang laundry, make my own soap and wash in cold, but I did not want to freak you out
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melanie
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| Posted: April 17 2009 at 8:58pm | IP Logged
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Molly, Molly, Molly....
$100 a week for 8 people...you are my new best friend! 
I do sympathize with those that have husbands that are a bit, um...hard-headed with their food issues. My dh is one. He is getting better. He sees the difference it makes in our budget, and he gets softer about things with time. Try picking one thing he thinks is a big deal and would make a big difference in your budget and work on it, little by little. Let him hang on to a few things that matter to him without giving him grief about it, that helps too. My dh has come a long way. But he still has his, urm, issues...lol. And I can't push him too hard,,,he can't even change as much as *he* thinks he can. Over Lent we decided to give up meat almost completely and donate the money to the food pantry instead. If it worked, we planned to stick with it for the sake of our food budget. Well, two weeks into Lent he came home cranky and hungry from work to a meatless meal and, well, we had a fight that will be known from here until the day we die as "The Meat Fight". And he agreed to do this! But you know, that night, the man wanted meat. There was no meat to be had. It was an issue.
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Melanie
homeschooling Maria (13yo), Kain (10yo), Jack (5yo), Tess (2yo), and our newest blessing, Henry Robert, born 4/23!
slightlycrunchycatholic.blogspot.com
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4Real Forums : Tea and Conversation
Topic: frugal living ideas?
