I have been inspired by my visit to Want Not, the frugal blog link I posted below. I like these kinds of tips– you know, real things you might actually do to save money. Not gross or weird, just sensible. And perhaps the kinds of things others might not think of.
Anyway, I’ll start: My favorite family-friendly, money-saving practice is… making my own yogurt. Really. It’s not hard at all. I used to buy those little cartons of kid yogurt at the grocery store, but as the kids grew they would eat two of them at a time. Expensive. So I started buying the larger yogurt cups– also expensive when you multiplied them by several kids. Since I liked the idea of feeding my kids such a healthy, wholesome, calcium-rich food they loved, but balked at the price tag I found a solution:
Enter Yogourmet. I paid even less for mine on eBay. Now making yummy yogurt is as easy as pouring milk, adding starter (or a small cup of plain yogurt), plugging it in, and leaving it alone for four hours. I make 2 quarts at a time for a fraction of what I would pay at the grocery store. And the nicest thing is that I can make all kinds of flavors and control how much sugar I add as well as the fat content. And no artificial colors or sweeteners!
So, spill it. What kinds of creative things do you do to keep your family budget in line?
Don’t buy ANYTHING, other than a house, (because you have to live somewhere) that you cannot pay for NOW. If you cannot afford it, do without and save your money until you can afford it. You will save very much by not paying interest. Instant gratification costs many dollars in compounded interest.
I cut the girls’ hair. No trips to the hairdressers for the 4 girls saves quite a lot. Before Hannah’s 1st communion I let her hair be cut professionally, just in case! But a Haircut at over 20 Euros 4 times a year , for 4 girls….over 320 Euros a year!
Otherwise we try to save a lot on drinks. We drink a lot of water from the tap.
I braid my daughters hair, to save the time and money for salon. My kids love eating bread, so I learnt how to make bread, different type. Some days I can bake 8 pounds of bread, so that perhaps the next day will be a little bit free. Most of all, I have learnt to buy only what we need.
Although I don’t belong to the FlyLady listserv, I have a family member who does and passes occasional words of wisdom to me. One idea she shared with me was the FlyLady test. Now I try to remember to ask myself two things before I either buy something new or keep something that is cluttering up my space…."Do we really need this?" and/or "Does this make me smile?" That has really helped simplify my life.
Before I make just about any purchase (other than groceries/diapers/soap type of things, of course!), I try to see if I can find it on ebay. I’ve saved a lot that way. Also, if there is something I need to purchase on a website, I ALWAYS google to see if I can find an online coupon code for free shipping or a certain percentage off my order.
We very rarely go out to eat as a family, and if we do, it’s generally for breakfast at a mom-and-pop kind of diner where the breakfasts average $3. This is considered to be a big treat and is reserved for special occasions. Also, if I take the kids to DQ (also a big treat), I will order several large blizzards and ask for extra cups and split them. This saves quite a bit of $$.
I have several books on Frugal Living, and I try to dig them out every now and then to refresh my memory and re-inspire myself when I find my frugal mindset slipping.
When my kids were little, I used to make a lot of "homemade" things. This wasn’t just to save money, but my daughter was allergic to wheat and to buy all that premade "wheat-free" food at the healthfood store would have cost me a small fortune. I used to buy a giant sized bag of special flour, and it would last me a few months. Everything from cakes, cookies, bread and muffins used to be made from it, and most of the time the whole family enjoyed it. My daughter is now 22, and has outgrown her allergies, and just graduated college. With the money I saved, I figured her first year of college was paid for.
I think the biggest thing I do to cut expenses is homeschool. I do use a curriculum but it comes with everything and I’m not paying private school costs. Plus, I don’t have to shell out for school lunches and trendy clothes or toys for the kids- they are happy in thrift shop duds, there aren’t any snobby kids telling them any different!
We try not to go out to run errands as much, saves gas and the temptation to buy more stuff. If I need it I put it on a list and try to go out without the kids in tow.
We make going to the local libraries an outing, plus many have programs for the kids- this summer there is a wool fair, art programs, storytime, puppet shows, and a homeschool family of 8 that fiddles- all for free. We also get a family membership to one museum each year- for the price of less than 2 trips we can return and see everything at our leisure for free.
I save quite a bit of money buying our families meat only when it is on sale. I will buy 30-50 pounds of chicken, beef, or whatever happens to be on sale ( usually 1.50 a pound or less). I put it all in the freezer so we can have a variety of meals. I also save by purchasing my side items at discount stores like Aldi, Big Lots, or even Dollar stores. For my family of 5 a dinner that I make for $5-$10 ( with left overs) would cost us $40 and up at local resteraunts. I also pack my husband’s lunch for work with leftovers.
I cut my own hair, and the kids’ hair, too (people always marvel, so I must do a decent job … but I always add that the true secret to cutting one’s own hair is not caring a *whole* lot about my appearance. 🙂
We get tons of hand-me-downs from a best friend (a garage sale queen) and in turn, I give her newer stuff my kids have outgrown so that she can sell it all (along with the returned hand-me-downs) at her annual garage sale. Consignment shops and Goodwill are also good for clothes.
We probably spend a bit more than we should at Christmas, Easter and on birthdays, but we don’t buy toys, CD’s, etc. during the rest of the year. I am, however, a sucker for books. I do buy used books at Half.com, but also will often pay full-price in order to support the author.
One of the best things I’ve done for my budget is I’ve cancelled my membership in Costco. For a family of six, this seemed almost counter-cultural. But I found that when I went there, I ended up buying all this stuff (HUGE quantities of it) that I didn’t need, or even want. I just decided that I would buy my diapers and laundry detergent when I needed it, at the supermarket or drug store and keep my purchases to just that. All the packages of fruit roll-ups and giant boxes of cereal can stay at Costco.
One of the things we do to save money is take out cash for my grocery and household expenses. I find that I am much more cautious buying my groceries etc. if I have only a certain amount to spend. Before we went to the cash system, I would run in the store for just a few items and come out with $100 worth of groceries. Now if I only have $20 left at the end of the week and need milk and bread, I go in the store and come out with milk and bread and not every sale items we MAY need.
I use coupons and save so much that way. Combining coupons with sale prices (and store coupons) and rebates, I get all our toothbrushes, toothpaste, shampoo, body wash/soap, pads for free or just pennies. I stock up when I hit a good sale and trade coupons with friends to get more than one of a good coupons. Last year I was able to get 20 bottles of shampoo for tax, Stayfree pads for 64 cents each, toothbrushes and toothpaste for tax, and many bottles of body wash for free. THese are all sitting in an extra cupboard and that way I can pull from my stash instead of running to the store. This saves atleast $100 a year.
I cut our hair. It looks fine and is free. I try to make all our meals. We do go out to eat sometimes but I try to find coupons for the resturant or go when they ave a good deal. Sign your children up for their birthday clubs (many large retail chains have this) and you usually get a free meal for their birthday.
Consignment shops and garage sales. I never buy clothing new (except for underwear) and it saves so much. I then sell the outgrown clothes at a yearly garage sale and make my money back…then I have cash to buy the next season’s clothing. Some of our area consignment shops/thrift stores have "bag sales" where it’s $5 or so for a bag of clothing. An excellent deal when I can get great brand names and resell them later on for more than I paid. Call your local stores to see if they have sales.
Library and school book sales. I find wonderful books at these sales for cheap! I often buy things that I know will sell on eBay and make money off my shopping. I find wonderful magazines (Countryside, Mother Earth, Muse) and educational books. Our local Catholic school recently had a sale and I got adorable Catholic readers from the 50’s and 60’s for 25 cents each!!! I will use these for when the kids are ready to read. I also got HUGE boxes of assorted envelopes for 50 cents each…with well over 500 envelopes to a box. Call your libraries and schools to see if they have sales.
I’m sure I could list ideas all day. We live on a VERY small income and yet we were able to buy a house this year thanks to all the frugal tips I have put the use. Our income is below $24,000 a year and I am a stay-at-home mom but it can be done.
I do all my wash, except whites, in cold water. Everything gets hung on an outside line to day. I control this well by doing one or two loads of wash daily. Every morning, a wash goes in immediately. I also make our own pizza. Homemade pizza is easy and quite delicious. My family loves it. We don’t buy cookies or birthday cakes; these are always homemade.
This one is not so much for the moms out there, but our husbands. I am lucky to be married to a handyman, who enjoys learning how things work and how they’re made so he can build or fix the things we need. I am surprised to see how much money our friends and family spend on hiring out jobs and paying for services. Some routine things, like changing the oil in your own vehicle(s) are so simple and cheaper to do yourself. Materials and parts can cost a lot, but paying someone else to do the labor will (usually) double or triple the cost on most home improvements and vehicle repairs.
Well, we try to save money and do better sometimes than others. We are a family of 5 currently and these are some things I try to do:
I cut the kids hair and do a pretty darn good job of it, if I say so myself. I am the only one who gets mine done professionally. 🙂
I do use coupons when I shop. I used to try and shop sales and coupons at multiple places every week, but found it was not worth my time away from home. Now I just try to make good choices, buy lots of store brands at Kroger and I buy my meat at Sam’s.
When we do get that occaisional fast food meal I don’t do the meal deals anymore, esp. not the kids meals. I stopped doing it and for a little while the kdis missed the "toys" but now they don’t care. As Ray Guarendi said, isn’t it just treat enough I bought you a fast food burger???? I usually buy the smallest/cheapest portions I can. We all share a side – usually way more than enough and I get drinks at home!
Garage sales are great as long as you don’t buy things you don’t really need 🙂
Again I always shop the internet and look for free shipping on different products.
I used to make my own baby food with my first one, but that started to get way too time consuming – so I just buy the cheap brand or use the millions of coupons for sale ones.
We don’t do the video rental store (not very Christian atmosphere anyway). I use the library for our DVD rentals. And of course for the jillions of books we check out!
We use left over computer paper (the perforated kind) for drawing. My husband brings stacks home from work. It usually has printing on one side, but you can’t tell. We also use both sides of computer paper for test/scratch prints on the computer.
We also use those special light bulbs too. The spiraly looking kind – just about everywhere.
I wish I could think of more. I love the yogurt idea, Danielle!
Here’s a great one my sister Susie taught me. Let’s say you are in a store and you’re being tempted to buy a lovely upholstered porch swing (or some such thing) to bring home and use for family barbecues, get-togethers, and rainy day snuggling. Ok, now, use your imagination and picture the item six months later…the back cushion is faded and pilled and the bottom cushion is dirt-stained all along the front edge and has many grape juice splotches and smells like potty training. The rest of the structure has sun spots and rain splatter stains. There are a number of bugs on/in it. It makes an odd, anxious squealing every time it swings backward. Do you really want to pay $200 to have this clutterbox of an eyesore on your front porch? No, thank you! Temptation gone. Wearing the old "six-months-later" glasses when shopping prevents a lot of needless spending.
I have just discovered making yogurt "popsicles" – I buy the organic yogurt from Trader Joe’s in vananna, strawberry, french vanilla – I purchased popsicle molds from Target – pour in and freeze – my kids think they are getting the biggest treat in the world! No high fructose corn syrup!
About making yogurt: my homemade yogurt always turns out kinds "stringy"…as in a spoonful doesn’t really separate from the whole thing but instead leaves a string from the bowl to my kids mouth which then settles onto their shirts and the table top. Any suggestions? And what is your favorite method of flavoring yogurt? My kids and I don’t care much for plain yogurt…
Dawn, you could try adding some unflavored gelatin to your cold milk or some powdered milk to your warm milk mixture– I don’t always use it, but that seems to make our yogurt richer and creamier. Also, if I am using lowfat milk, I let it "incubate" for longer than the 4 hours– it just seems to need more time to thicken up. I usually make vanilla flavored yogurt (just add sugar and vanilla extract) and then add berries, bananas, or canned fruits when it’s all done. The most popular flavor is when I add a can of crushed pineapple.
Beware of wasting money on "created needs" that are inspired in us by various companies…baby food for example, …a breastfed baby can go from breast milk to well diced table food without ever needing pureed carrots from Gerber. I was all into making my own baby food with my first child, and she wouldn’t touch it. She is nine years old and to this day despises "mushy food". So, she had no table food until she was 8-9 months old when she started eating smooshed up bits of whatever we were eating. Ironically enough, now pediatricians are saying that too-early introduction to table foods can trigger allergies….
Some other "created" needs we do without or have decided to use sparingly (i.e., when traveling) include disposable baby wipes, most varieties of household cleaners, smell-good stuff you plug into your wall, special toothpaste for babies, various cosmetic lotions and potions for mom, and most all convienence foods. There are other products we do choose to use,,,you just have to realize that it is a want, not a true need, and decide if that particular product is really worth it to you.
I have a price limit that I will not exceed: for meat it is $2 a pound, for fruits and vegetables it is $1 a pound. If it costs more than that, I do not buy it. This really eliminates most choices at the store, but when there is a good deal I stock up.
Also, I buy flour in 50 pound bags, sugar in 25 pound bags, etc.
A few of things we do…
–We cloth diaper…it’s surprisingly very easy. It’s an investment to buy good diapers at first; but you’ll make up the cost when you have more than one child. Line drying them also helps.
–We went down to one car. We’re still a small family so we sold my husband’s car and bought a Scion xB which has great gas mileage (for a non-hybrid). We’re holding out for a fuel efficient minivan! Besides the savings in gas, this brings us down to only insurance for one car. He bikes to work when I need the car.
–We changed banks and opted for a credit union. Our savings is in a money market account which gives us a higher return rate.
–We make all our purchases on our Discover card and pay off the balance each month. By the end of the year, we’ve made a couple of hundred dollars in the "cash back bonus." We use this money for Christmas gifts, traveling, or extra treats for ourselves.
–We don’t have cable…as we really don’t have time for it.
–We only have one cell phone with a cheap plan.
–For home phone we’re currently looking into Vonage. The standard package is a great deal and half the cost of our current carrier’s which offers less features.
–Whenever I want to buy anything my husband’s response is: "If you need it, buy it." Those six small words have saved us a bundle so far!
–Finally, we make sure we keep up with our tithing…when we do we often find that we have enough for what we need.
We’ve been back and forth over the years and now accept that there will be seasons when we have to or want to spend more like for my anniversary away take out when people are exhausted etc. Having saved other times takes away the guilt.
Most of the time I cut hair but it was a real treat to have them done at the Mall before Easter when Dad started his new, better job.
I bake a lot in winter so its a treat to buy bread in summer when I don’t want the air and stove fighting each other.
My Kenmore was 20years old and I sew a lot so I cried when my husband bought me a new machine for Christmas.
He would say its all about Gratitude– will you be grateful for this expense tomorrow?
I also Homeschool, can, use cheap cleaners, do the yard myself. He also fixes things, builds things, and stores things so we can find them unbroken when needed. (an under-appreciated skill_)
Best for the community: Our Food Bank Farm
Pay $400-$550 a year for a share or share plus.
Pick up 1-3 grocery bags of organic produce a week from 6/1 till 10/1
U-pick 1-2 bags of veggies/flowers/herbs a week from 7/1 till 9/1
Plus get 2 winter share bags.
Everything left on Friday goes to the Food Bank.
This was possible because of the donation of a farm to the food bank. Efforts are being made to preserve historical farm land in our area and avoid McMansions. Then they fund raised to have refridgeration available. They have donated over 15 tons to date and I pay 1/3 the price I would for veggies. If everyone talked this up to the local food banks/ soup kitchens/ historic societies etc. it could really spread across the nation. Imagine cheap organic veggies cheap everywhere!!
my favorite frugal living tips are not very scientific but they work for me – when I keep to them;-)
1. Stay out of the stores except when an actual item is needed. Less temptation, less stress, less "oh I NEED that"
2. Make a menu and grocery list before grocery shopping.
When our budget is really tight I have to take cash and a calculator to the store with me. The way food has gone up and the way my son is eating these days I need to start doing this more often.
3. Don’t buy processed food very often. At our house they think it is quite a treat for raviolis or frozen chicken nuggets. Also juice made from concentrate is a lot cheaper that the plastic bottles. I do admit to a deep affection for juice boxes however – hey we’re all human.
4. We don’t eat out very often. We don’t subscribe to anything but the most basic cable plan for better reception.
5. I shop garage sales for play clothes and have always done pretty well with this.
Every month my husband gives me a set amount of cash. With this, I tithe, pay the gas & electric bills, buy groceries, and save what I can for Christmas & birthdays, clothing, and whatever else we need. There is not much for things we don’t need, but every now & then we’ll get a treat. I only use cash. That way I know exactly how much I can spend & am not tempted to buy what I don’t have money in my hand for.
We don’t have cable (and, hence, no TV at all, since we don’t get any other reception out here – TV is a waster of time better spent doing other things anyway), we make our own cakes and cookies for parties, and only have dessert on some Sundays and special days like birthdays.
We don’t use baby food. Our 6 kids have breastfed exclusively for at least 9 months (one of them for more than a year). When they become interested on solid food, we grind up what we’re eating and they eat that. We cloth diapered the first two, but our kids have been close in age, so having two or three in cloth diapers at a time was not healthy for my sanity LOL!
We eat out very rarely (for our anniversary to a nice restaurant, once every couple of months I take the kids to Taco Bell or Chick -Fil-A). Most of the time if we’re going to be out all day running errands, we will pack a lunch and a cooler of water. We don’t drink juice much. Of the few "convenience" foods I buy, I usually get the store brand (crackers, oatmeal). I make sure I regularly take inventory of the pantry, refrigerator & freezer so I don’t buy something I already have. I also plan meals a week at a time and don’t go grocery shopping without a list.
We check out DVDs and books from the library & only buy things like that for Christmas or birthday gifts. We do not use credit cards. If we don’t have the cash, we cannot afford it, period.
That’s kind of cool. Yogart is one of those products that hardly anyone makes themselves.
You can also make your own yogurt the low-tech way. There are insulated yogurt makers that are like a thermos fitting around a glass jar, but I have also had success with my improvised yogurt maker. Warm your milk and put it and the yogurt starter in a glass jar. Wrap it in a towel and put it in a small cooler. I leave mine overnight.
I am so intrigued by this yogurt maker. Does the yogurt still contain "active cultures"? (is healthier) Thanks for responding or emailing me. I would like to purchase this maker.
I also make yogurt. Heat the milk to 180 degrees, let it cool to 115, then pour it in containers, stir in 2 T starter per quart, and put them on a heating pad. I cover them with a towel and a soup pot. The heating pad keeps them at the right temp and 8-10 hours later it’s done.
We are still a small family of four and I was throwing out an incredible amount of food. So, now after cooking a couple of meals at the beginning of the week I don’t cook again until all the leftovers are gone. This has eliminated a lot of waste!
A lot of stores in my area have "free after rebate" offers and stores like Staples and Rite-Aid don’t even require you to send in the receipt and UPC codes. All you have to do is go online to their website and create an account(just the first time) and type in the code on your receipt and you are on your way to free dry erase markers, Sharpies, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. Walgreens is really good too because they have a monthly rebate form, which you do have to mail in with the receipt, but if everything is on one receipt it is simple because they dont require UPC codes either.