Yet another frugal thread.

[Willow]

Ok we all know the usual things to do. Turn off the TV when no-one is watching it, get rid of cable/satellite.

Done that...we have no TV.

 

Turn down the central heating 2 degrees. People still have central heating?!!!

We have a log fire, and we heat one room and we wear woolly pullovers and have blankets on chairs and sofas for people to wrap up and we have wheat bags in the beds.

 

Grow your own veg. yes, doing that.

 

Cook from scratch. Been doing that for years.

 

I could go on, but I'm sure you have the idea. So...any new ideas out there? Coupons are no good, we don't have them in my country.

 

My latest ideas are:

Have leaf tea instead of tea bags so you can put less in a teapot at a time. (I'm English!)

 

Never use just mince. Cook all mince on arrival at the house with an equal amount of brown lentils, then freeze. This makes it go twice as far, but is much cheaper.

 

I'm looking at removing all paper products. We already have rags instead of kitchen paper and hankies of course. We are now looking at the tp. Aggghhhh. But here maybe the laundering of b*m rags will outweigh the cost of buying tp?

 

We wash clothes in cold water...have disconnected the hot. Undies, dishcloths etc that NEED hot are washed in a bucket of hot first (no, NOT together!) We do not have a dryer. We line dry and in winter we put a rack in front of the log fire at night time.

 

We drink water during the day. Kids get milk at breakfast, I get tea. Tea and milk again when dh gets home.

 

Any more ideas? I do have time. Most things cost in either money or in time. Money I do not have, time I do.

 

Christmas. Stockings consit of things people need, toothbrushes, socks, undies etc. Small gift for anyone under teenage. Presents though, I simply don't know what to do. Each kid used to get $50 spent on them. This year?

 

Willow.

[Guest Virginia Dawn]

I don't know if you've been doing this, but I've recently started using the cheapest good foods more often.

 

Lately potatotes have been very inexpensive, so we have had potatoes in as many forms as I can manage: mashed, baked, potato soups, potato pancakes, fried shredded potatoes, fritatas, casseroles, etc. Potatoes for at least one meal a day. No body has complained. In fact I don't think they have noticed.

 

Really cheap foods here in the US: carrots, potatoes, oats, rice, apples right now, cabbage, onions.

 

Last night we had beef (hamburger or mince) and cabbage soup with a simple homemade bread, and baked apples for desert.

Tonight we had shepherd's pie. That had 3 of the cheap ingredients: potatoes, carrots, and onions, plus some corn and hamburger I got on sale.

[LaxMom]

Well, if it makes you feel better, there probably wouldn't be much you would use coupons for - they're normally only for packaged foods. Assuming you're in the UK, you probably don't have the cold storage to stock up on meats, etc, on sale, like people do here. (Though you could pressure can mince for shelf storage, as my Amish friends do).

 

Toilet rolls are also probably not such a big expense that switching to cloth would provide significant savings. Oil lamps instead of ambient electric lighting? (No idea how pricey lamp oil is) More vegetarian meals?

 

From what you've described, you can't cut too much more out of "the norm" before you venture into Dickens territory.

 

 

 

Christmas. Stockings consit of things people need, toothbrushes, socks, undies etc. Small gift for anyone under teenage. Presents though, I simply don't know what to do. Each kid used to get $50 spent on them. This year?

 

Willow.

 

What about handmade gifts? I plan to make reversible flannel pajama bottoms for mine. Do you knit / sew? Thrift stores (here) often have garments that can be used for yardage. You could make bean bags for tossing, roll-up game boards, bags, etc., and could do it without a pattern, even.

[Erica in PA]

I don't know if you've been doing this, but I've recently started using the cheapest good foods more often.

 

Lately potatotes have been very inexpensive, so we have had potatoes in as many forms as I can manage: mashed, baked, potato soups, potato pancakes, fried shredded potatoes, fritatas, casseroles, etc. Potatoes for at least one meal a day. No body has complained. In fact I don't think they have noticed.

 

Really cheap foods here in the US: carrots, potatoes, oats, rice, apples right now, cabbage, onions.

 

Last night we had beef (hamburger or mince) and cabbage soup with a simple homemade bread, and baked apples for desert.

Tonight we had shepherd's pie. That had 3 of the cheap ingredients: potatoes, carrots, and onions, plus some corn and hamburger I got on sale.

 

I do this too! You're right, it saves a lot of money. I use carrots, potatoes, rice, apples, and onions a lot! I should use oats and cabbage more. I just stock my fridge and cupboards with the most affordable foods, and it is pretty amazing how many thing you can make from them!

[Caribbean Queen]

My goodness! You can't get more frugal.

[thescrappyhomeschooler]

One year, when we were low on funds, my mom made bean bag toss games for all the kids. She got old cardboard boxes from the grocery store that they were tossing out, she painted them yellow, drew a smiley face on them, and cut a big hole in the middle of the smile. She then sewed bean bags out of fabric scraps and filled them with popcorn. Everybody thought they were fantastic.

[Garga]

Wheat bags and mince. Wow. You really are English. I had to look those two up on the internet. :001_smile:

 

I can't think of anything that's not obvious.

[OnTheBrink]

 

Turn down the central heating 2 degrees. People still have central heating?!!!

 

 

If we didn't have central heating, we'd have no heat at all. Why is central heat so shocking?

 

But, to answer your questions, I'm not sure what you could do to reduce costs more. I've seen tv programs where people would unplug whatever they weren't using (lamps, stereos, computers, etc) to reduce electricity costs. I know someone who makes her own cloth sanitary napkins. You could make your own laundry soap, dishwashing soap, household cleaners.

 

You could join a food co-op, if there's one in your area. I just tried out a co-op and found it very beneficial and there are so many people in the co-op that sharing cases of goods happens frequently, so I'm not stuck with a case of something.

 

For Christmas, you could do home made gifts. OR, if you are crafty and have some crafty friends, maybe make things and trade for gifts.

 

Money is tight for me this year, too. I cut out land line and cable TV, and am toying with the idea of cutting back on some other services that I love, but can find other ways of getting my needs met without the expense.

[Peri]

You could try cleaning yourself with water instead of using tp or do a combination of both. Clean with water and then dry with tp. You won't be using as much tp that way. I don't like the idea of using rags for that. I think there would be too many used in a day to keep up with.

[Laurel]

Do you already make your own cleaning solutions and laundry detergent? You can use baking soda and vinegar to wash your hair. I've used homemade toothpaste as well. I use a menstrual cup, and as a pp mentioned, you can sew your own cloth pads.

Since you grow your own food, do you process it to store for the winter? Canned tomatoes, pickles, fruits, etc. Frozen veggies (freezer space depending).

 

You're already doing all the typical "frugal" things (and much more), so it may help if you shared what you do spend your money on, and then maybe people who have been there can share their creative solutions.

[Pajama Mama]

We use a programmable thermostat. The temp dips down at night when we're under the blankets and heats the house before we wake up. We use power strips on all of the computer, music and TV extensions. They get turned off each night. We unplug the microwave and other items when not in use(my microwave does not need to keep the digital clock running all day).

[CalicoKat]

for Christmas I'm planning on making pyjama lounge pants from the top bed sheet. No one here uses the top sheet.

 

http://www.sewnews.com/articles/To_All_a_Good_Night_Shorts

 

I've got the Stitches & Pins book that has a pattern in it already.

[OnTheBrink]

for Christmas I'm planning on making pyjama lounge pants from the top bed sheet. No one here uses the top sheet.

 

http://www.sewnews.com/articles/To_All_a_Good_Night_Shorts

 

I've got the Stitches & Pins book that has a pattern in it already.

 

What a great idea! We never use the top sheet, either.

[nevergiveup]

I don't know if you have Freecycle available to you but it is a good resource--lots of times people are giving away craft items, pet food, toys, whatever. You never know what you might find there and you can post if you are looking for a specific item. Someone on Freecycle needed a person to fix their push lawnmower and my son helped them out--didn't cost either of them a thing.

 

If you know any hunters, lots of times they don't use all their meat--good friends of ours never eat all the deer they get.

 

Trade labor. You need something done/fixed but can't do it yourself, do something for them that they can't do.

 

Cut your own hair. I cut the dh and the kids' hair and one time I went wacko and cut my own pretty short. Didn't turn out too bad, either...

[Osmosis Mom]

You could try cleaning yourself with water instead of using tp or do a combination of both. Clean with water and then dry with tp. You won't be using as much tp that way. I don't like the idea of using rags for that. I think there would be too many used in a day to keep up with.

 

Yes. Many people only clean themselves with water (in a jug) and only some dry off with tp. Some use a small towel, but this is after they are already clean. This goes for any kind of bathroom business.

[Garga]

Yes. Many people only clean themselves with water (in a jug) and only some dry off with tp. Some use a small towel, but this is after they are already clean. This goes for any kind of bathroom business.

 

How do you get the water onto yourself? Use some sort of syringe? I'm asking honestly. I just can't picture how you get the water onto you, since it's on the underside of you. (This question is awkward.)

[LaxMom]

How do you get the water onto yourself? Use some sort of syringe? I'm asking honestly. I just can't picture how you get the water onto you, since it's on the underside of you. (This question is awkward.)

I would imagine you'd use (ironically) a peri bottle. You know, the kind they give you in your post-natal care bag at the hospital, with the spray top?

(Only ironic because Peri brought it up.)

[Pretty in Pink]

Do you have anything that you could sell for extra money (I know we have a spare lawn mower, spare washer/dryer, outgrown children's clothing, discarded toys, unused baby equipment, unused kitchen appliances, tons of random stuff in the attic).

[Peri]

How do you get the water onto yourself? Use some sort of syringe? I'm asking honestly. I just can't picture how you get the water onto you, since it's on the underside of you. (This question is awkward.)

 

A pitcher ... a can ... any container that can hold water will work. You just lean back and pour and splash with your hand.

[Peri]

I would imagine you'd use (ironically) a peri bottle. You know, the kind they give you in your post-natal care bag at the hospital, with the spray top?

(Only ironic because Peri brought it up.)

 

:lol:

[Guest RecumbentHeart]

Most ppl I've heard of using family cloth (cloth tp) that do not also use cloth diapers wash their cloth with their towels. They are sanitized by either high heat in the dryer or drying in direct sunlight.

 

A fireplace insert would heat your home far better than a log fire as the fire itself actually sucks air out and up the chimney. Of course, a fireplace insert is an upfront investment since they cost a couple hundred usually even when bought used but between ours and the baseboard heaters in the bedrooms that get turned on during frosty nights we have eliminated the use of central heat.

[lgm]

If you're up in the dark, have you optimized your lighting?

[Macrina]

You're doing great! I looked into using a wash board and getting rid of the washer too- but I don't have enough time. We're on the same track as you- no tv, wood stove, no dryer, own garden...we have NO paper products other then paper. No menstrual stuff except reusable, no TP, no paper towels, no kleenex.

 

look into bartering with other naturally minded families in the area.

 

Are you canning?

 

We only eat meat 2x a week (esp since we do local grass fed meat.)

 

Are you sewing your own clothes?

 

Homemade Christmas gifts?

 

Make your own cleaning and HBC care products.

 

Do it yourself hair cuts?

 

Walk/bike/public transport?

[Macrina]

Most ppl I've heard of using family cloth (cloth tp) that do not also use cloth diapers wash their cloth with their towels. They are sanitized by either high heat in the dryer or drying in direct sunlight.

 

Also, if the family is large enough, just have a large enough supply of cloth TP so that by the time you go through it all, you have a full load. Washing once every 1-2 weeks instead on 1-2x a week.

[Willow]

Some new ideas here, thank you, particularly the bean bags. One of my teenagers is into juggling and I have some really really bright material in my scraps box! Bright juggling bean bags!

 

I'm not canning yet because I don't have a canner...BUT ...I'm joining the community garden and they do have a canner. I've got a request out for canning jars on freecycle. It is early spring here, so I hope by midsummer to be organized in this direction.

 

Wood, I should have mentioned, we do buy but we also get a fair amount free off the beach after a storm, also a good source of seaweed for the compost and liquid feed. Our house is a wooden beach shack, so we could not put in a different fire place because we have no chimney. The logger flu goes up through the roof. We also cook ontop of the logger. Its not the most efficient, but a kettle sits there full time so I always have boiling water.

 

We do make our own cleaning products, and buy bulk vinegar etc at the bring your own bags and bottles bulk buy place.

 

We have a car for dh to get to work, the dc and I either bike or bus or walk. My Christmas pressie last year was bike panniers, so I can even get the shopping home on the bike now. Dh also car pools a couple of days a week.

 

All hair cuts we do at home, clothes come from op-shops, and I make performance clothes for circus. (Kids in kids circus) I keep an eye out for bright scraps at material shops, and also bright and gaudy clothes that do not sell at op-shops are often very cheap to me and I can remake them into performance outfits.

 

Meat, we do eat, but I have a friend with a farm. Grass fed beef. I teach her son one day a week, she pays me in homekill beef.

 

We are going through the shed for things to sell off, from our more affulent days. However we were never great buyers of things even then, but I have hopes of finding a few things. The kids are also going through their things to sell online to buy pressies for each other. We make all our birthday and Christmas cards, and recycle those we get given to make new ones.

 

Its actually almost becoming a game now, saving money. It can be very dragging and draining, but the kids have finally come around and are always coming up with bright ideas to save money instead of pleading with me to spend it!

 

The only big thing i think I can save on now is the internet connection, I could go back to dial-up. BUT I use free online HS resources and do a lot of reading aloud from the Baldwin Project, and my elderly parents live half a world away and we use Skype to talk to them, so I really really want to keep my internet connection!

[Osmosis Mom]

I would imagine you'd use (ironically) a peri bottle. You know, the kind they give you in your post-natal care bag at the hospital, with the spray top?

(Only ironic because Peri brought it up.)

 

Honestly, people all around the world if Muslim must wash with water in order to be considered clean. They basically use their hands. Yes. SOme people choose to wipe a bit first then do the water... Just saying.

 

I can't imagine going to the bathroom with I can't wash with water (even if peeing). It's just plain yucky to me. But I guess I digress....

[Barbara in NH]

Willow,

 

We have been canning for several years now, we learned by trial and error. The Freecycle suggestion is great for jars, we also have a "Share Shack" place at our dump where people leave things that they can't use and wish to share w/others. This has been a great place to find jars, sometimes we purchase the ball canning lids but that is much less expensive than buying both & have found many other things at the "Share Shack" too.

 

We used the Blue Book to get many ideas and recipes. We use boiling water method, so only need a large pot, jars w/lids and have added a canning tongs (that's what we call them--to retrieve jars from the boiling water) & a canning funnel, which is very efficient and we find we waste less.

 

We try to get as much fresh fruit for free. We pick blueberries, blackberries & apples. (We have neighbors w/apple trees that don't use all their apples, we ask if we can pick them when they have had their fill. We have not bought apples at all for canning in 2 years this way.) We once through Freecycle found a person w/a pear tree that was overflowing and welcomed people to pick pears. Also last year we bought tomatoes when they were inexpensive and made our own salsa (we love salsa).

 

We get a lot of things from thrift stores & Salvation Army in our area. One of our other favorite bargins is in the summer here many churches have rummage sales with everything from clothes, books, games, kitchen items, & more and in the last hour or 2 of the sale they let you fill a bag for $2.00 (anything you want to put in it). We have done really well with this. They also sometimes have items that are free outside the building. One of our local thrift stores does this at the end of each season too.

 

My daughter and I mark these days on our calendar and I can't tell you how many clothes, coats, kitchen items, cloth, craft supplies, towels, linens, books, games & once 3 boxes of canning jars (these were free) we have bought for only a few dollars.

 

We also really try to stock up on canned or dry food when there are sales. We try to always replentish our pantry in this way.

 

With the cleaning, we use Borax often and it is great for cleaning floors and you don't need much, just a brush & some elbo grease.

 

We live in NH and we keep our thermastat at between 50-56 at all times, we wear sweaters & sweatshirts. (Due to allergies we cannot use wood and honestly I think I would die w/how hot it is in homes that I go to w/wood stoves.) Also we use quilts on our beds (Down alternative type due to allergies & flannel sheets of course).

 

Another tip if you want to keep your thermastat low is silk underwear. This makes all the difference in the world for me. I wear it all winter the lightest weight, and am very comfortable going inside & out. The only time this isn't true is when I'm in someone elses home who keeps the temperature much higher than I'm used to.

 

One last thing, we like to give coupon books for gifts. These are homemade books for things that help or pamper the other person. Time alone w/Mom or Dad doing whatever they want, use this coupon to exempt someone from 1 chore. My children make ones for each other and for my husband & I--wash or vaccumn the car & other things that are extra chores, etc.

 

You have a wonderful attitude to make it a game.

 

Thanks for the tips,

 

Barbara in NH

[tex-mex]

Honestly, people all around the world if Muslim must wash with water in order to be considered clean. They basically use their hands. Yes. SOme people choose to wipe a bit first then do the water... Just saying.

 

I can't imagine going to the bathroom with I can't wash with water (even if peeing). It's just plain yucky to me. But I guess I digress....

 

 

But isn't it considered why the left hand is not used when eating? Most of those cultures use the left hand (no cloth or tp) and a bidet. This is what I understand? Many people eat with their right hand (no utensils) and keep the left hand behind the back or under the table.

[Colleen in NS]

We live in NH and we keep our thermastat at between 50-56 at all times

 

Do you ever have problems with condensation or mold on the interior of the outside walls? I've tried to have the temp lower than 60, but those walls start to get moist and moldy.

[Tangerine]

Wheat bags and mince. Wow. You really are English. I had to look those two up on the internet. :001_smile:

 

I can't think of anything that's not obvious.

 

I had to look up wheat bags too! I've always heard of making those with rice. I'd love to do it, but I have no microwave.

[Dawn in OH]

I do a lot of "frugal" things but didn't originally begin doing them to be "frugal". And there's definitely much much more I could be doing, if I had the resources. (We are currently living in an apartment so that does place some limitations on one).

 

I make my own cleaning products (but not soaps...yet). Because I was concerned about mine and the children's exposure to so many chemicals. It turned out to be a big money saver.

 

I do A LOT of cooking from scratch. Again, it was health reasons. I won't touch aspartame and want to avoid High Fructose Corn Syrup and a few other ingredients including a lower sugar and sodium diet. It turned out to be another money saver.

 

I use a Diva Cup. Mostly because I had "issues" with the other products. It has ended up saving me money though.

 

Yes, I run around shutting off lights, computers, etc. purely for the money savings.

 

We don't have cable/satellite tv. Not about cost. We just don't watch tv.

 

We don't have cell phones. I don't talk on the phone much. I don't WANT to talk on the phone. But I am considering getting a pre-paid or pay-as-you-go cell phone as the kids and I are beginning to get out more for homeschool events and we live in an area where things are really spread out. If something happen to our car we would not necessarily be able to walk to anywhere other than a field of corn or apples.

 

I buy locally raised organic beef. Again for health reasons. But as it turns out, I get a darn good price on that beef. I saved a lot of money on meats over the past 3 months since we began doing this, and we got to eat cuts of beef I wouldn't normally buy due to the cost.

 

I use homemade, but not cloth baby wipes. They are much less expensive and much gentler on my sensitive little ones bottom. This started when he was first born and kept getting rashes no matter what brand of wipe I purchased.

 

I don't have much of a garden, due to the apartment situation. I would have a huge garden if/when we lived in a house. Again, not just for the money savings, but I feel better knowing where the food came from.

 

I will cut other expenses somewhere before I live on beans and rice. I don't feel that is an adequate diet, especially for the children. I've talked to people that really do LIVE on beans and rice. I won't do that. We have fresh fruits, and vegetables. I pay a little extra for chicken without "solution added to enhance flavor". But I don't buy a lot of the expensive items like cereals, pre-packaged foods, processed foods, boxed mixes etc.

We don't buy chips and sodas. We rarely eat out. I'm a very good cook and the prices are outrageous. I'm always disappointed with the quality of the food versus what we paid for it.

 

We do hair cuts at home. My 3 boys (husband & 2 kids) need their hair cut about every 3-4 weeks. I just can't see packing up, loading everyone into the car and then paying someone to do something as simple as cutting those boys hair. Their hair is really easy to cut.

[Reya]

You can do a LOT with $50!!!

 

Bagged tea tastes like dirt, anyway. :-P

 

I've never done it, but you can do half regular milk and half powered, and supposedly, you can't tell the difference.

[Amber in AUS]

Maybe instead of thinking up ways to be more frugal you need to assess where your income goes. Do you have a written budget? Whenever we need to tighten the straps we sit down and get it all on paper and look at where the money really goes. Then i can see immediately where i might need to cut back, some things you can't change like insurance costs but you can change the amount of water, power, gas you use etc.

 

HTH

[Osmosis Mom]

But isn't it considered why the left hand is not used when eating? Most of those cultures use the left hand (no cloth or tp) and a bidet. This is what I understand? Many people eat with their right hand (no utensils) and keep the left hand behind the back or under the table.

 

Cleanliness is considered half of faith so please know that Muslims have been washing their hands and brushing their teeth for 1400 years (toothbrush was a root). We do eat with our right hand as it is Sunnah and do not wash down wit our right hand, but yes, my left hand is medically speaking as clean as my right (as is it for everyone else...). Just FYI.