what areas do you save money?

[cherylw]

I baked 2 loaves of bread on Saturday...for first time!!! It really wasn't that hard. I did it to see if it would be worth baking vs buying since we eat a lot it..bread doesn't stay around long here. They all loved it..although I will be making wheat the next time.

 

I also plan to start making my own detergent again...I did once but dh didn't think it was working (because there was no scented smell:glare:). But now that we are so financially strapped, he likes the idea.

 

We will be getting little chicks soon from our 4-H program so then by late summer we will be getting eggs! yipee!!

 

I was wondering what other areas many of you thrifty-nifty ladies do to save a dime here and there????:001_smile:

[kamom]

We're having a snow day here in NY so this is where I end up while the kids play outside=)

 

To save money I try to find our clothes at consignment shops rather then buy new. I avoid going shopping for the fun of it , bake our own bread and cook from scratch. I use coupons and try to make good use of sales. I plan a menu around what's on sale that week.

[Baseball mom]

I love reading this kind of thing. I am always on the lookout for new ideas

 

stock up on sale items that we normally use

plan meals around what I have on hand or on sale

stay home more

use the library instead of buying

 

Your homemade bread sounds yummy

[Cindy in C-ville]

Well, our income has decreased by 3/4 over the past 18 months, so we have drastically changed our lifestyle including:

 

1. No more eating out

2. No more Starbucks

3. Kid buy their own clothes or we purchase necessities at Goodwill

4. No internet/land line at home

5. No more quick trips to Target that end up costing $200

6. No medical insurance for dh or myself

7. Selling our "nice" vehicle

8. Dropped Audible/Netflix/Southern Living subscriptions

9. No purchasing of plants for landscaping

10. Preparing to sell our house

 

I could get all sad about these things, but honestly I'm not. Okay, I'd like for dh and I to have medical insurance and that will hopefully change soon. Really, I feel like we're finally getting a handle on good stewardship, carefully considering purchases, and working together on our financial plan. All in all, it's very good.

[fairytalemama]

I've been gradually working on this (and blogging about it) since the beginning of the year.

 

1. We turned down the thermostat. We've saved $30 so far.

 

2. We gave up paper towels...except for cat puke clean up. :tongue_smilie:

 

3. I made my own foaming hand soap using this suggestion. And it works!

 

4. I don't know if it's saving money, but I've been baking bread (and making pizza dough) using the master recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and everyone loves it!

 

5. We ditched the cable TV and went to phone and Internet only. We're checking out more movies from the library and it's working out fine. As long as we get PBS dh and the kids are happy! :001_smile:

 

6. The kids are wearing all hand me downs (thank goodness for friends!) with the exception of underwear and socks.

 

7. I go shopping less. This has been the biggest saver for us so far. The more I can stay out of the stores, the less impulse purchases can be made ;), and the more we save.

 

I've been spending some of the money we're saving on basic emergency prep. I'm still working away on getting 72 hour kits together for the cars. Next stop --- a 50 gallon barrel for emergency water storage in the basement! The rest of the cash is going towards a Disney World trip we're planning for October 2012.

[Dayle in Guatemala]

Our income varies so much because we are missionaries supported by people back in the US. Each month is totally up in the air, financially, so we have to be frugal.

 

1. We don't eat out. We do theme nights at home and that works out to be a lot of fun.

 

2. We buy all our clothes 2nd hand. Shoes we buy new because they last longer (we go through shoes a lot here because we walk a lot and it's cobble stone--tough on the shoes)

 

3. We only rent movies once a month or so.

 

4. I can't use the library because there isn't one, so I spend a lot of time online looking for what we need, book-wise, that is cheap and used.

 

5. I make EVERYTHING from scratch.

 

6. We are going to start growing some of our own veggies at our house here and we were even thinking of getting a couple of chickens, but, I'm not sure how that would work with a small yard and 2 dogs and a cat.

 

7. We don't travel unless we need to (renewing visas and such).

 

8. With gas at over $4.25 a gallon, we try to watch our driving and double up on our trips when needed.

 

 

Some things we can't cut back on--our electric bill here is out of control because of all the extra fees and charges they add on for electricity and our internet/cable is an obligatory fee that we have to pay with our house rent.

 

Food here is expensive (I know you wouldn't think so) as far as dairy, cheese, meat, bread, etc. One thing I do is buy at the open air market, which I actually love, and barter which is awesome. We can eat for pretty cheap fruit and veggie-wise, but, everything else adds up and so our food bill isn't as cheap as it was in the US because there's no coupons or sales. It is what it is.

 

We have been doing a lot of staying home and doing theme nights with the kids and inviting people over for things like that as well. It's been fun and we don't miss going out as much.

[Mergath]

I make everything possible from scratch- bread, stock, mustard, you name it.

 

I don't buy cleaning products. I use mixtures of vinegar, baking soda, and water for everything that needs to be cleaned.

 

We get movies and music from the library. The CDs we rip onto our computer, and then burn onto our own blank CDs. Don't know if it's technically legal, but it's certainly cheaper than downloading or buying music.

 

The biggest is renting a duplex instead of owning a home. The rent is low, and the utilities are included, so no matter how much prices change, we pay the same amount. The landlord takes care of all repairs and mowing, shoveling, etc. We're long-term renters, so the landlord lets us do pretty much what we want with the place, short of tearing out a wall or something. And if dh were to get a good job in a different city or state, we can pick up and leave within a month.

 

We also buy all of our clothes from local thrift stores. I get high end clothing that is brand new for a buck every time I go.

[MomOfOneFunOne]

Probably the first thing I'd recommend is search this site for frugal threads. You'll find a ton!

 

I bake my own bread and many other baked items.

 

I make my own butter/buttermilk and TODAY I'm going to try my hand at making my own yogurt. We use it almost every single day and if that saves money, it'll be a big one!

 

I stock a pantry instead of buying by the week, two weeks, et c. plus I still menu plan each week so I don't get caught w/o pulling everything together and not having a meal.

 

I can and freeze as much produce as I can during the summer. I learned to can beans in Jan and Feb b/c I was spending too much on canned beans for many of the recipes we love (minestrone, enchiladas, et c)

 

We don't eat meat. That's not for reasons of frugality but when I look at or hear about meat prices, I wonder how anyone affords it.

 

We pay for netflix, the least expensive option with instant download. We have movie nights on the weekend, usually twice, and watch a DVD or instant download. We don't pay for anything else in terms of television (cable, dish, et c) and again, when I hear how much it costs, I don't understand why anyone has it.

 

I look for inexpensive options for expensive things I want. For example, my daughter LOVES horses and wanted lessons. I looked into it and we almost went with one but I considered the ppl we know with horses. I approached a mom with a teenage daughter to give my daughter lessons. They don't show or compete at all. We go, they groom the horses together and saddle them and ride together for about an hour. She's learning to canter, trot, whatever. We pay for more than twice the amount of time spent on horseback PLUS grooming and tacking time (which is included in the places I looked at around here). This saves us a ton. I'm currently looking for someone to teach us sewing.

 

We got chickens for the eggs so we could save money on that. They jury is still out on pay-off. With 5 chickens and 3 ppl, we get way more than we can eat and my daughter (who has ALL the chicken chores) gets $2/dozen for them from ppl we know. Still, with the cost of food and electric (we kept a light out there during the bitter cold to keep them laying through the winter) I don't know if it evens out. I can tell you that we were paying more than $2/dozen for free range/organic fed eggs.

[Peek a Boo]

1. thrift stores

2. shopping around for best deals on utilities/insurance [esp auto] when possible

3. we have 3 vehicles and parked our truck when Mr. Boo was unemployed. It's still parked as we build our savings back up. Our van is the only vehicle that holds all 7 of us, but the little mazda gets much better gas mileage when we don't need to take the van. It's worth it to keep them both accessible.

4. Bread: Nature's Own at the Dollar Tree. I don't cook too much. ;)

5. stock a pantry and freezer

6. Mr. Boo does our auto work-- i know that saves a bundle He also builds bookshelves [for when i drag home another box of books....!]

7. no cosmetic house decor or landscaping stuff unless it serves a practical purpose.

8. instead of buying the cheaper versions of things that end up breaking repeatedly, we try to invest in good tools that will serve us well. This can be hit and miss, but can openers are a pet peeve of mine, lol....

9. eta: hanging clothes up to dry

I agree- lotsa good threads in the search engine here. find the ideas that work for your family, pass on the ones that don't. :)

Edited March 7, 2011 by Peek a Boo

[MomOfOneFunOne]

 

1. We turned down the thermostat. We've saved $30 so far.

 

2. We gave up paper towels...except for cat puke clean up. :tongue_smilie:

 

3. I made my own foaming hand soap using this suggestion. And it works!

 

 

 

 

 

Ah, yes . . . we do these, too!

 

We bought a $40 digital thermostat several years ago and it paid for itself in no time. We have it set for 50 overnight, 70 at 5am, 60 the rest of the day. We also have it set to return to 60 every few hours so if I get chilly, I can crank it up a bit but it'll automatically go back down if I forget to do it. Saves a ton!

 

We never did use paper towels regularly but have some in the garage for dog vomit.

 

Ditto the soap.

[NicksMama-Zack's Mama Too]

I've been gradually working on this (and blogging about it) since the beginning of the year.

 

1. We turned down the thermostat. We've saved $30 so far.

 

2. We gave up paper towels...except for cat puke clean up. :tongue_smilie:

 

3. I made my own foaming hand soap using this suggestion. And it works!

 

4. I don't know if it's saving money, but I've been baking bread (and making pizza dough) using the master recipe from Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and everyone loves it!

 

5. We ditched the cable TV and went to phone and Internet only. We're checking out more movies from the library and it's working out fine. As long as we get PBS dh and the kids are happy! :001_smile:

 

6. The kids are wearing all hand me downs (thank goodness for friends!) with the exception of underwear and socks.

 

7. I go shopping less. This has been the biggest saver for us so far. The more I can stay out of the stores, the less impulse purchases can be made ;), and the more we save.

 

I've been spending some of the money we're saving on basic emergency prep. I'm still working away on getting 72 hour kits together for the cars. Next stop --- a 50 gallon barrel for emergency water storage in the basement! The rest of the cash is going towards a Disney World trip we're planning for October 2012.

 

We do all of the things you listed and a few more:

 

8. The Diva cup and washable glad rags/fleece pantyliners have replaced store-bought products.

 

9. Napkins and old dish towels replaced paper products.

 

10. Cook from scratch and buy in bulk.

[BakersDozen]

We hang our clothes (except for whites) all year long (dh hung clotheslines inside the house). I make our laundry detergent. We shop sales and use coupons and never go out to eat. I also watch two boys during the week in the afternoon and their mom brings snacks for all the kids (fruit and something "fun"); that saves us quite a bit of $. My dh bought foam insulating sheets for all the windows in our house and those paid themselves off right quick since our heater rarely goes on now.

 

One of our biggest savings is bread products. The homeschool group got on the list for bread pickup from Wildflower Bread Company so every Thursday night my dh and I go and get 3 HUGE black bags of fresh bread! We distribute this among the families in the group plus keep some for ourselves. I love that we haven't had to buy bagels, muffins or bread in about a year.

[Lara in Colo]

This year I bought quilts/blankets at the thrift store (on the 50% off day) and covered the windows. Wow, what a difference. The furnace runs way less.

 

I coupon.

 

I line dry every chance I get (warm days and all summer)

 

We rarely eat out.

 

Redbox once a month.

 

My biggest "extra" is internet and I hate paying for it!

 

Lara

[Truscifi]

We buy second hand clothes or hit the sales at Bealls (a Florida chain that has lots of stuff on clearance and provides most of dh's work clothes).

 

We run our ac at 80 in the summer, 72 in the winter (we are working down to 68, but I hate being cold :tongue_smilie:), and not at all in the spring and fall.

 

We rarely eat out, cook most of our food from scratch, and shop sales and use coupons. We have a weekly meal plan and I follow my grocery list religiously - no impulse buys. When we do eat out for a special occasion we use coupons for that too - gotta love Restaurant.com.

 

And this year we are raising a pig for the freezer, buying half a cow from the local university's ag dept, and hopefully soon to be raising chickens for eggs. Oh, and expanding our gardening and composting operations.

[sleepymommy]

We do many of the things already mentioned:

 

Make our own foam soap

 

Cook from scratch/Make own stock

 

Line dry

 

Use kitchen towels instead of paper towels

 

I use cloth tp for #1

 

I use cloth pads

 

Try to only take the car out for errands I can combine

 

Reuse glass jars for storing

 

I usually only buy produce that is on sale and plan my menu around it

 

Make homemade popsicles/ granola

 

Buy from food co-ops. I get a lot of my pantry items, nuts, seeds, herbs, etc in bulk for a good price from these co-ops.

 

I'm not really handwork handy so I keep a "toy store" in the storage for my boys. When there is a really good sale on something they might like (toy/game/arts and crafts), I buy and keep it in the "toy store" and pull it out for their birthday/holidays. This has saved me money and time. I don't have to run out for a gift and spend full price on anything. As they get older though, I'm sure they will start to get more picky.:tongue_smilie:

 

We buy meat in bulk direct from a farm.

 

We use vinegar with tea tree oil and rags for cleaning.

[ChrisOR]

We saved $50 (!) last month off our electricity bill simply by line drying everything. Granted, my dryer is old and sometimes needed two cycles to complete, but I'm guessing $25 savings could be had if someone has a "normal, working" dryer.

[fairytalemama]

We do all of the things you listed and a few more:

 

8. The Diva cup and washable glad rags/fleece pantyliners have replaced store-bought products.

 

 

I had never heard of the Diva Cup before. I don't want to get graphic' date=' but is it just as effective as the disposable way or a lot of work?

 

We saved $50 (!) last month off our electricity bill simply by line drying everything. Granted, my dryer is old and sometimes needed two cycles to complete, but I'm guessing $25 savings could be had if someone has a "normal, working" dryer.

 

That's amazing! When it warms up, I think I'll give line drying indoors a shot. I'm kind of afraid to do outdoors because of all the outdoor allergies in our household. ;)

[mommy4ever]

Our biggest area of savings is in our heating bill. We invested in a wood-burning insert for our fireplace 8 years ago. We rarely run the furnace all winter. And it's completely off April to October/November.

 

Our gas bill sits at $50, where before it was near $200.

 

Another area we save in, is simply the fact we follow a budget. I love Gail Vaz-Oxlade http://www.gailvazoxlade.com/resources.html for her no nonsense approach to dealing with your bills, debt and budget. Due to her, we are living within our means!

 

We cut expenses in groceries, but working with what we have, having that set budget, and watching for sales.

 

Clothing, for the 2 older girls we ask that kids get gift cards or cash, and they buy their own. DS16 has worked full time for 7 months, so he buys his own.

 

Transportation - we use discounted gas as much as we can, I'll try to use the small car as opposed to the SUburban as much as possible.

 

We buy used vehicles instead of new. Usually under $1000.

 

We don't travel. We rent a seasonal campsite where our trailer sits 24/7/365. It saves on gas to go, and it's cheap for us to go. It also give the kids something to do, for the $1000/year, it is cheaper than a weekend trip anywhere.

[nono]

We get movies and music from the library. The CDs we rip onto our computer, and then burn onto our own blank CDs. Don't know if it's technically legal, but it's certainly cheaper than downloading or buying music.

 

 

 

:lol::lol: Now, that's funny! Maybe stealing isn't illegal where you are, but it sure is here. And, I live in New Jersey, which some might say has a pretty murky interpretation of legal and illegal.

[Kalmia]

1. Miscellaneous Ideas.

a) Choose simple hairstyles that only need to be cut a few times a year. Learn to cut your family’s hair (there are books on this).

b) Choose a fuel efficient car that fits your family. Do not buy a huge SUV so that you can haul around the rest of the soccer team. Their parents have cars.

c) Mow your own lawn.

d) Clean your own house.

e) Learn to do simple household repairs.

f) Do your own interior and exterior house painting.

g) Use the library.

h) Shop for needs (clothes, garden tools) and disposable items (toys) at yard sales and thrift shops. Buy books at library book sales: (10 to 50 cents per book)

i) Give up cable TV or at least downgrade to the basic channels.

j) Give up the daily paper, read online.

k) Hang your laundry. To avoid stiff clothes, dry in dryer for five –ten minutes then hang on clothesline. (Dryer is one of the biggest electricity using appliances-can be

50 cents per load.

l) Avoid “shopping†as a form of entertainment.

m) Shop around for the best price for appliances and household items.

n) Buy used furniture, choose solid wood items that will last.

o) Most factory outlet stores do not really have bargains (especially upscale brands). However bread outlet stores are usually half price and often carry more brands than advertised on the sign.

p) Cook from scratch

q) Keep track of supermarket sales and stock up when items reach 35-50%

r) Distinguish between “needs†and “wantsâ€

s) Use less: measure dish soap, laundry detergent, toothpaste, shampoo, etc. Keep reducing the amount until you reach the smallest portion that still gets the job done.

t) Avoid fancy grooming products.

u) Keep a “price book†to determine which grocery items are cheapest at each store you shop at. There is no one source that is cheapest for everything! Warehouse stores are often overrated compared to 50% sales at regular supermarkets.

Avoid fancy cleaning products, most of them are toxic. Here’s what we use: bon ami, dishsoap, Murphy’s oil soap, and vinegar.

 

Read The Complete Tightwad Gazette by Amy Dacyczyn. It was written in the 90s so her prices are out of date, but her advice is timeless.

[waa510]

I'm really not a thrifty expert by any means but here's what we do so far:

 

-I utilize the grandparents!! :) They love buying for the kids so I tell them what we need (a.k.a. what I'd rather not spend our money on) and that helps us out a lot. MIL works for Avon so she is always sending her samples or freebies to us, and sends the girls character shampoo and body wash for birthdays or Christmas. Sounds silly, but I haven't had to buy toiletries besides toothbrush/toothpaste for my kids in over a year! With them buying the kids some cute clothes, I also don't have to spend as much. My Mom lives in FL so fall/winter stuff is on sale a lot as it's not in demand as much there..so she'll get my kids a wardrobe for $20. She also works hard to find winter stuff at goodwill from those who have moved to FL and don't need them anymore.

 

-Hand me downs! I have lots of friends who had a girl, then a boy and are done so I get a lot of clothes for dd2 this way. I also save everything not destroyed by dd1 for dd2.

 

-I use goodwill! We live in a wealthy county (although I'm certainly not living in the richest part of it!!) so our goodwill can get some great stuff in for much cheaper than buying new. My kids always get compliments on their goodwill clothes :lol:. I also buy my jeans there as I can get 4 pairs for the price of a brand new pair. I'm in the process of getting back to my pre-dd1's-pregnancy weight, so this is a great way to have stuff that fits without spending a ton.

 

-We use sites like swagbucks for Amazon gift cards for curric. supplements and even birthday or Christmas gifts for the kids or family. I also use paperback swap to help with school book needs, and use the library book sales to get some awesome deals.

 

-Use birthdays for the frivolous things you don't want to spend money on yourself. My mom is insistent on getting me something that only *I* can use, and not the kids so I get her to buy me a Nook, or a Victoria's Secret giftcard to get new undergarments that I'd rather not spend our $$ on.

 

 

Wow. This sounds really bad, when reading it over. It sounds a bit manipulative. :tongue_smilie: My mom is sweet but giving/receiving gifts is her love language so she spoils everyone she cares for. I might as well make it work for us!! :D

 

 

I forgot about no cable! dh put in a satellite thingy on a wall shelf in our bedroom and it picks up all the channels we watch, like abc, fox, nbc, and pbs and qubo for kids.) It was $20 online and works really well. It just wasn't worth it for us to get cable. We can use netflix or hulu for any episodes we miss or shows on channels we don't get.

Edited March 7, 2011 by waa510

[Carrie12345]

I don't *think* I have anything new to add to everyone else's, but I want to see my list in print to make me feel good about myself! :lol:

 

Cloth diapers (Econobums covers, prefolds, and fitteds sewn by me, plus some hand me downs from my sister)

Cloth napkins/dish rags/cleaning rags, etc.

Homemade laundry detergent

Washing most of the clothes on 'cold'

Cooking mostly from scratch, including bread

Growing vegetables (and hopefully preserving this year!)

We plan to order a dispenser for the shower so the kids don't waste so much shampoo and soap

Also ordering a new clothes line!

Couponing and knowing my grocery store prices (I've saved $545.65 in the new year, though that's down for me)

We're big on electronics and video games, but do a lot of trade-ins.

Rec League sports instead of pricey lessons

Vinegar and baking soda instead of expensive (and smelly) cleaners

Switched back to a basic coffee pot. I plan to go back to Keurig as soon as we pay off one more credit card!

"Vacation" is visiting Grandma down south

Taking good care of curricula so it can hold up for 5 kids!

[newbie]

Nowadays everything.

[LostSurprise]

Lots of good suggestions.

 

I don't have anything new but I've found that when transitioning to homemade bread we eat less if I keep it all in the freezer. You can thaw and warm it for 45 seconds (for a roll) or 2 minutes (a loaf) and its good as new.

 

This way the bread isn't out and easy to grab, and it doesn't dry out.

 

If you go on a free day, all-purpose and bread flour are very cheap at Sam's Club (less than $1 lb.)

 

Bulk flour, beans, rice, pasta, and canned tomatoes can make a wide variety of cheap meals.

[waa510]

I had never heard of the Diva Cup before. I don't want to get graphic, but is it just as effective as the disposable way or a lot of work?

 

 

 

That's amazing! When it warms up, I think I'll give line drying indoors a shot. I'm kind of afraid to do outdoors because of all the outdoor allergies in our household. ;)

 

 

 

The Diva Cup is fantastic. i think it's better as it doesn't need to be 'changed' as frequently. Here's the site..we've saved a ton from my using it. http://www.divacup.com

[Wabi Sabi]

Things I have done:

 

1. Cloth diapered- Admittedly spent a small fortune on the first child, but spent next to nothing diapering our second child.

2. Gardening- Growing and canning/freezing our own produce. We had to build raised beds due to not being able to dig (septic system) so the initial start-up expense was high though.

3. Chickens- We love having our eggs! However, building our coop was not cheap even though I used as much found lumber/used materials as possible. Chicken feed isn't particularly cheap and in all honesty I probably pay more per egg than grocery store eggs, but you absolutely cannot beat the taste.

4. Grow out my hair- Short hair required too much expensive product and I couldn't afford the super-frequent trims anymore.

5. Bread from bakery outlet store- I buy a dozen or so loafs at a time and freeze them. 100% whole wheat, no funky additives and cheaper than making it myself.

6. Cloth napkins and rags

7. Diva cup

8. Thrift store clothing (mostly name brand stuff too!)

9. Dh works from home a couple days a week to save on gas.

10. We keep a stocked pantry/freezer and only buy certain staples when they're on a remarkably good sale so that I don't get stuck needing to buy them at full-price.

11. Drive the small car as much as possible, only drive the van that gets poor gas mileage when absolutely necessary.

12. Trade books/curriculum with a friend.

13. We've never paid for a babysitter and have been lucky to always have friends with whom we've swapped childcare on an as-needed basis.

14. Buy laundry detergent from Sam's Club. $13 bottle of eco-friendly detergent lasts us about 4 months. Tried making my own detergent but didn't care for it.

15. Vacations always involve either tent camping or going to visit friends/family who have invited us to stay with them.

[cherylw]

Some great tips from everyone on here..

 

When we built our house, we installed a Hardy Heater. It has been WONDERFUL! It's a wood burning furnace outside. It was a little costly upfront but I believe it's already paid for itself without us having a large electric bill or gas bill...and we get to stay toasty in the winter!

[Woodland_Mom]

I'm not doing it right now, but in the past I've done once-a-month cooking. This gave me the ability to pull things out of my freezer every night. I loved this, especially when I was too tired to make dinner.

 

I made a list of things we could do without and tried to stick to it. We all have things we can give up! Mine included many things that have already been mentioned.

 

I also made a list of free or nearly free things we could do. Oftentimes, we invited friends to join us to make our outing even more fun.

 

I became a light mizer: lights off whenever leaving a room!

 

My dad does the magic-jak phone. This was a god-send for him.

[secular_mom]

We use a bidet attachment for our toilet http://joybidet.com/

We bought ours from Amazon (free shipping)

 

Cloth pads and cloth for TP for me, we just ordered a bidet for the hall bath too so hopefully the kiddos will be keen on using cloth to dry their bottoms too- kids use SO MUCH TP

 

Cook from scratch as much as possible

 

Stay home- saves on gas and keeps us from window shopping and such

 

Netflix instead of cable

 

No landline phone service- our cells work fine for all our phone needs

 

DH does all vehicle maintenance and repair

 

DH builds all our computers except for his laptops

 

I want to get a soy milk maker so we can make as much milk as we want at home

 

I started using oil to clean my face so no more expensive facial products, I use aloe vera oil mixed with tea tree oil on my scalp (psoriasis) and then wash my hair with baking soda (just a bit in the bottom of a cup mixed with hot water until it is dissolved), I use oatmeal or a baking soda bath (oatmeal stuffed into a stocking that I put underneath the running water and leave in the tub- I get $0.33 knee highs from Wal-Mart and pour some oatmeal into the bottom, tie a knot in it and cut it, tie a knot in the bottom of what's left and continue filling the stockings/just dump the baking soda under the running water and then use a regular wash cloth for washing with the bath water) for cleaning my body and am about to start making my own deodorant. I use oils for moisturizer.

 

I can't use commercial air fresheners/potpourri/etc. so I add some essential oil and some alcohol to a spray bottle for a nice scent and we use baking soda as a deodorizer for our home as well as some charcoal things that go in our closets. I'd like to make some candles too.

 

We have a steam mop to use on our hard floors and I love it- and we have our own Bissell carpet cleaning machine (though if it was my choice we wouldn't have any carpet).

 

That's all off the top of my head, I'm sure there's more that I'm not thinking of

[Jennifer in MI]

That's amazing! When it warms up, I think I'll give line drying indoors a shot. I'm kind of afraid to do outdoors because of all the outdoor allergies in our household. ;)

 

We line dry indoors all year - warm and cold!! Try it! I know it saves us a lot of money. I don't think we've used the dryer but maybe twice all year and that was when we came home from vacation and had 4 loads! I didn't have room to hang all of that.

[Sukale]

Keeping my house cleaner saves me money. If I couldn't find socks for my 2 yr old I would run out and buy a new pack. Then later when I put all the laundry away I would see that she had plenty of socks, they just weren't any in the drawer. The same with all the kids clothes. Also with school supplies. We would need to start a project and could find the needed supplies. We would go buy all new stuff, then a week or so later when I would clean up the play room I would find all of the stuff I just bought.

 

So having less stuff but knowing where everything is has helped a lot. My dd may only have 5 pants but if I keep up with the laundry that is plenty.

[cherylw]

Keeping my house cleaner saves me money. If I couldn't find socks for my 2 yr old I would run out and buy a new pack. Then later when I put all the laundry away I would see that she had plenty of socks, they just weren't any in the drawer. The same with all the kids clothes. Also with school supplies. We would need to start a project and could find the needed supplies. We would go buy all new stuff, then a week or so later when I would clean up the play room I would find all of the stuff I just bought.

 

So having less stuff but knowing where everything is has helped a lot. My dd may only have 5 pants but if I keep up with the laundry that is plenty.

 

Ha, this sounds so much like myself. We have way too many clothes for all of us. I am so greatfull for all the hand-me-downs..mostly nicer stuff than I would buy..but the boys end up with so much, I can't seem to keep it all sorted and put away....well, I really could but just need to be more disciplined and make them help out.:001_huh:

[FO4UR]

Every area.

 

Before spending even a dime, ask yourself if you *really* need to buy this. Before deciding to make everything from scratch, ask yourself if the time taken from your routine is going to cost MORE money in another area. (If you spend all of your time making something you could have bought cheaply, neglecting other things that cost more $, you didn't save anything. Time is something that needs budgeted too.)

 

For me, it saves time and money to have a rotation...a rotation of meals to cook, a rotation of clothes to wear, a rotation of chores to do, a rotation of ....and routine to keep it all going. Most wasteful purchases I make are due to falling off of our routine and needing to pick up something quick for dinner (even if it's a convenience food from the grocery).

[JFSinIL]

Since we already do not eat out or go out the only real way to cut back for now is groceries. Since I bake most everything bake-able already....not much to cut there, either.

 

Maybe I won't get bifocals for the second year in a row. Sigh.

[memmerrill]

1. We don't spend too much on rent.

2. We don't use paper towels or napkins.

3. Cloth diapering

4. We keep driving our old cars that we don't have car payments on.

5. Use the library!

6. We look for clothes at the thrift store.

7. We don't have expensive hobbies.

8. Gardening (sometimes, anyway)

 

That's about all I can think of for now. :)

[Peek a Boo]

I'm holding out on our landlines cuz if someone is choking/about to pass out, you can't give them your address. And they can't get an accurate address with cell phones where we are.

[secular_mom]

I'm holding out on our landlines cuz if someone is choking/about to pass out, you can't give them your address. And they can't get an accurate address with cell phones where we are.

Why couldn't you give them your address?