When your income suddenly drops significantly....

[besroma]

What measures have you taken to bridge the gap?

 

Now that sequestration is official, many people will face months of significantly reduced income.

 

I thought it might help to share financial moves that others have made or are planning to make.

 

We are disconnecting our land line, our Audible subscription, and Amazon Prime. We do not have hulu, netflix, or cable.

 

We will be eating primarily from our pantry and freezer, but we have a large family, so I am not sure how long we can do that (certainly not until September).

 

We will probably need to discontinue savings towards retirement even though we will lose the match since all of our expenses (health care, etc.) remain the same, while our pay is cut.

 

 

[thebacabunch]

We were in the same position with California furloughs. We started couponing and did all the other things you suggested. We ate a lot of beans and rice. We made our own bread often.

[Crimson Wife]

Some things:

 

-parked the car as much as possible to save on gas. The nearest bus stop is a 20 minute walk so I don't normally take the bus, but it does cut expenses a lot to use mass transit vs. the car.

-lots of soups/stews, egg and bean dishes, "breakfast for dinner", and stretching whole chickens.

-dropped my individual cell plan to piggyback on my parents' family plan. I'm not super-thrilled with the network, but it's not worth paying $85 more per month for Verizon.

-Our local mothers' club organized a clothing swap and I swapped out some clothing I had been saving for a potential future son for stuff that my kids could wear at the time. This may not save any money in the long run if we do ever have another boy, but it definitely helped in the short run.

-I sold an ugly old gold heirloom ring of my great-uncle's that had been sitting in my jewelery box. I felt bad about that, but my great-uncle was the sensible type and I'm almost certain he would've told me to stop being sentimental and take the much-needed cash.

[TeenagerMom]

If you don't already have a clothes line, get one ASAP! Line drying the majority of our laundry has cut my electric bill by 30-50% in the Spring/Summer months.

[lil' maids in a row]

We have been able to sell several things on Craigslist. It is a nice way to easily get some cash and reduce clutter.

 

We shop at thrift stores. It feels like a good moral decision (I'd rather support a charity than a company) and it saves a lot of money.

 

We "shop" at the library. We take full advantage of our town's wonderful parks for entertainment and exercise.

 

Turn the ac up and the heater down. We put the kids in charge of the "light brigade" (they are great at switching off all the unneeded lamps). Hang clothes out to dry. We try to wear things twice before we wash them.

 

Invite company over for smores and hot chocolate or some other fun dessert instead of an entire meal.

[happypamama]

Consider a timer for your hot water heater so you can keep it turned down when you're not using it a lot. You might also look for programmable thermostats for your heat. We have an old house, which has two heat setups. One is the main floor, which is heated by a wood-burning furnace, and the other is the upstairs, which has electric baseboards. We turn the main floor up during the day and down at night, vice versa for the upstairs. We also have window AC units, so we only cool the rooms we are using, which saves us a lot of money. It's a little chilly in the bathroom on the coldest days of winter and a little warm on the hottest summer days, but when I remember that I'm not paying to heat/cool them 24/7, it's not a big deal. You might also talk to your electric company and other utilities to see if they can do a budget plan. We use a lot more electricity in February and August, and much less in April and September, but we pay the same all year, which helps avoid big surprises in the big months. Some utility companies will analyze your house for efficiency too, though I haven't personally tried that.

 

Definitely use thrift stores. In my circle of friends, good scores at the thrift store are celebrated! I'm so glad to live in a time when thrift is chic!

 

Watch your circulars for grocery sales. We live too far to receive them, but they're online. In the summer, hit the farmer's market shortly before closing, because often the farmers won't want to lug home the leftovers and will sell them cheaply.

 

Talk to your mortgage company and other creditors to ask about hardship plans.

 

Consider raising your deductibles on insurances, such as auto and home.

 

Apply for food stamps and other help if you need it. Look into CHIP healthcare for your children. Don't be embarrassed. So many people are in similar situations. If you need help to feed or heal your children, apply for the help.

 

Be patient and gentle with yourself. It is HARD being right on the edge of everything, realizing that you need to find the time (and energy) to do X or Y so that you can save a few dollars, because every penny helps. It's honestly exhausting. Sometimes, especially if you have small children, you just don't HAVE five more minutes in which to do a task. It is draining and worrisome to have things be so tight for a long time. Be gentle to yourself.

[happypamama]

Also, find yourself some little treats and fun that don't cost much (in time OR effort), and indulge in those occasionally. We take full advantage of free and cheap activities where there's a cap for the family in the price, or where children under a certain age are free. But take a few dollars and buy some ice cream or cookie ingredients, or buy some extra gas and go to a state park, or something -- little stuff like that, if you possibly can, helps to keep everyone from feeling too deprived.

 

If family members ask what you would like at gift-giving occasions, suggest extras like movie tickets or museum passes or other things that your family might otherwise have to skip. Or ask for necessities like snowpants or swimsuits for the kids or warehouse club memberships.

[Garga]

More on clothes drying...

 

I have a clothes line stretched across my unfinished basement to pin up towels and rags. To dry my clothes I put them on clothes hangers as I take them out of the washing machine and hang them on shower curtain rods. I have a full sized bathtub and a shower stall. We added an extra spring loaded shower cutain rod in each tub/stall and I hang the wet clothes on hangers on the rods. Most clothes will dry overnight.

[gardenmom5]

We are disconnecting our land line, our Audible subscription, and Amazon Prime. We do not have hulu, netflix, or cable.

 

We will be eating primarily from our pantry and freezer,

 

I've been there.

cancel newspapers (for those that still have them.) (job ads are more readily accessed online, not in a print newspaper.)

depending upon contract, internet would be ramped down (we needed it for job searches). if unemployment is prolonged, cell phones would be cut to one as the contract time came up.

 

a complete mental readjustment on what is a "necessity". e.g. store bought yogurt is a luxury. ice cream is a luxury. juice is a luxury. convience foods of most any kinds are a luxury. we did lots of bare bones cooking from scratch. cheaper shampoos, etc.

 

thrift and consignment stores for kids clothes. cleaning out the basement/attic and holding a garage sale.

 

I learned to give my dh a haircut. I hated it, I dreaded it, it caused me tremendous anxiety, but every single time I cut his hair was probably worth $20. that adds up. I either wore my hair long or cut it myself. (plastering it to my neck, and just cutting straight across.) dh cut the boys hair, and I cut the girls hair.

[happypamama]

Oh, haircuts! Great idea -- I didn't even think of that because we've always cut our own hair. DH has a set of clippers that he uses for himself and the boys (a $20 or so set of clippers seems to last about 5 or so years; I just looked, and amazon has the set he has for about $40, yikes, but currently on sale for $22), and I trim DD's hair and my own (mine is crazy long, so I put a ponytail holder around the bottom of the braid, snip across, and have DH even up anything funky).

 

A friend of mine goes to a local beauty school and gets her hair cut there for really cheap, and she's been pleased.

 

I also dilute conditioner, and it doesn't seem to make a huge difference.

[freeindeed]

Disconnect land line

Verizon $50 a month per phone pay as you go (unlimited talk and text)

Hubby is an avid deer hunter, so we have a deep freeze full of meat

Lots of meals with cabbage, wieners, and make almost everything homemade-including laundry detergent and cleaning supplies

Couponing and rewards programs from stores

Clothes shopping at Goodwill or other thrift stores

Budget entertainment expenses

No eating out-or only on rare occasion (or when you can get a really good deal)

Shop around for best homeowner/car/etc. insurance

Have a yard/garage sale

[BakersDozen]

Even before dh had a lovely pay cut we line dried clothes (including towels and jeans, then threw those in the dryer for 3 minutes to soften once dry), didn't have TV/cable, etc. When things got even tighter we did strange things like cut paper towel rolls in half (wow, were we surprised to see how much longer our paper towels lasted and how much we wasted using a full paper towel all the time!). Water is turned off during showers rather than staying on while shampooing hair, washing, etc. Dh is the only person at his work who sought out others to carpool with; that has saved us so much money, it's just awesome. We use coupons like crazy for nonfood items (toilet paper is a big one). We bought pieces of foam insulation and put it in our windows at night which really helps keep our heater from working overtime.

[Desert Rat]

Dh was laid off for 16 months.

 

Bartered and traded whenever possible.

I started cleaning houses and still do.

Stockpiled, couponed and cut down on expensive food-no snacks, good cuts of meat, etc.

Used curriculum, upped our library usage.

Cut down on trips around town. Carpooled with relatives to combine shopping trips, etc.

Sold extra toys, games, collectibles on ebay (Christmas is the best time for toys.)

Sold big stuff on craigslist.

Accepted all job opportunities people were willing to pay us for: yard work, clearing out garages, organizing pantries, errands, house sitting, babysitting. We even helped liquidate an estate.

Graciously accepted gift certificates and offers of financial help. (This was, by far, the hardest.)

 

That's off the top of my head. We still barter and trade quite a bit. I have a useful skill that people love. I clean houses and make mean baked goods. We trade computer help, plumbing, etc. for my cookies (small jobs) or house cleaning (for the biggies).

[CupOCoffee]

<<listening and taking notes>>

 

We don't:

 

eat out

have cable

have cell plans

go to movies

drive a lot

buy unnecessary junk foods -- cakes, cookies, ice cream

 

So we already don't do a ton of "extras". I am seriously on the look out for places to cut. I just spent $250 on groceries that I hope and pray will last for 2 weeks since that is waaaaaay more than I wanted to spend. But I was shopping with the idea in mind to stretch, stretch, stretch what I was buying.

 

~coffee~

[justasque]

Cloth "paper" towels - I cut old towels and serged the edges. (I realize a serger isn't cheap, but if you have one, or a friend does, it's an option.)

Cloth napkins - cut old men's cotton dress shirts, hem the edges or use a serger.

Cloth baby wipes & diapers. (Again, I used thin towels for the wipes.)

Cloth mamma pads. This can save quite a bit, even if you only use them for light days and just-in-case. Sew your own; there are many patterns on the web.

Beans & rice.

Buy only nourishing food; drink water.

Second-hand everything.

Barter - it uses your skills, builds your resume, and gives you references.

[FloridaLisa]

Do you have a written budget? Is it on paper? That was the key to slashing our expenses when dh's company had an across-the-board 15% paycut several years ago. Because you can't cut the fixed expenses, you have to cut more in the discretionary categories like food, clothing, gifts, fun money, school/curriculum. Some categories can stand a severe cut if it's temporary (clothing, school, fun money) but you will only want to slash these severely if it's for 6 months or less. If you are making longer-term cuts, try cutting across the board. Look at every single item and try to cut it including:

• phone bill -- bare bones
  
• cell phone -- no data plan, fewer phones for the family
  
• car insurance -- study your declarations page; raise the deducible, drop collision on older cars, drop the stacked UM/UIM coverage, make sure you're getting all discounts (ask your agent), shop rates with other carriers
  
• home insurance -- study your declarations page, raise the deductible, check to see whether you're home is overinsured (some policies automatically increase home value every year while home values have been stagnant/declining), make sure you're getting all discounts, shop rates with other carriers
  
• clothing -- do without, mend, swap, shop thrift stores
  
• food -- I couponed when things were tightest; homemade, homemade, homemade; no processed chips/snacks/cereals but homemade muffins, popcorn, soft pretzels, cookies, brownies, breads instead; OATMEAL for breakfast; no fruit drinks but water or iced tea; milk only at breakfast; meatless meals several nights a week of pasta, quiche, pancakes and eggs; beans/rice dishes. Garden the most expensive vegies/spices like tomatoes, peppers, basil.
  
• extracurricular -- cut or look for low-cost options. It takes scanning community pages, asking around with friends, looking at what churches offer, to find low cost options [in my community we have free karate through church, summer theatre programs through church, community summer swim team, county sports; you could even organize your own small sports league with other families]
  
• gifts -- get creative (hello, Pinterest); make homemade; buy sales ahead (Christmas, birthdays), shop garage sale (this category is probably my hardest!)
  
• entertainment -- family movie nights from the library; potlucks with friends; parks, free community outings, hiking, etc. can all be had for little or no cost
  
• no eating out -- it's the drive through that kills my budget! Pack lunches, pack snacks, take drinks in the car, stock cheap go-to meals for those nights when you would normally order pizza (Zatarain's beans/rice is one of my go-to dinners.)
  
• cars -- change your own oil; keep tires inflated and don't drive as much. There have been a fair amount of things we haven't attended in the last few years because of the gas.
  

 

I could go on, but you have to really examine every single category of spending and begin to find ways to do it yourself, do it cheaper or let it go.

 

Lisa

[readinmom]

We did the following:

 

Couponing

Menu planning

Public library instead of bookstore, amazon

Decluttering the house and selling on craigslist

Became conservative with electricity (line drying, etc)

Homemade cleaning products

Began a debt paying strategy (Dave Ramsey)

 

It wasn't easy at first. We lost roughly $3,000. a month due to job loss, and 3% cut in pay due to furlough days.

[Lang Syne Boardie]

My advice is to keep a close eye on whether all the extra frugal moves are working, or whether it's time to do something drastic in order to survive. I've cut it a little too close before, sure the radical frugality would pull us through, but prices are higher and times are harder now, and all the beans and rice and homemade haircuts can't make up for all the necessary expenses. Sometimes we have to consider looking for extra jobs, having more family members working, moving in with relatives, taking the government aid, and other measures we might have ever considered in our recent past. Just watch those figures and see if you're really moving toward the black or if you are continuing to sink.

[Lily_Grace]

Dh and I have had the benefit of knowing when we're going to lose income. Even with a raise, we'll be down about 20% come August due to a move. In the past few years we've...

-made a list of things that NEED to be in the budget no matter what, and then slowly cut those down:

-car & credit card payments:gone, and we've continued to do the Dave Ramsey program

-cell phones: pay as you go, non smart phones.

-tv is now a show bought on Itunes once a month and library videos. ($25 vs. the $80 otherwise)

-we all got bikes, so our gas can last longer

-we made a binder full of cheap, healthy meals.

-our kids have gotten used to unextravagant holidays. 1-2 gifts on birthdays and a handful at Christmas.

-we have two drying racks to be used indoors or out, and we now know to find out when the peak hours are for electricity - kw hour prices can almost double then.

-we rely on a dehumidifier and fans more than our air conditioner to bring down the house temp.

-I have a garden started outside for the things I'd spend the most on: fresh herbs, bell peppers, baby spinach..

-I signed up for our area newsletter to tell us when events are. Most are free, and we get by with doing a sampling at food festivals before going home to a big dinner/lunch.

[Anne in CA]

It really is the little things, zip loc bags - don't need them, plastic wrap. Soda, juice- things of the past, milk is for cereal only, a garden for the little things, lettuce, green onions herbs, the things that really take a small chunk of change is important now. I have sooo been there, that is why I am sooo, sorry. Salad dressing can be made much more cheaply than purchased bottled.

 

My BIL tells about when his father made a huge budget mistake and their whole family had to eat potatoes that they had planned to give to their food bank for three months as the main dish in every meal. All of them still love potatoes, their mom made it fun. That is really your mission, if you make it fun, a game, your family will remember this time with fondness and use this hardship to grow together instead of bitter.

[jhschool]

These are really useful. I think with us the biggest thing is the mind frame and thinking

we should always get what we want. Like a cafe au lait at the coffeehouse I like is $3.80.

Which is absolutely crazy, because if we make it at home it's about $1. And it would be less

if we didn't buy Kcups.

Or if I'm at Whole Foods and I forgot to pack a lunch, and I have a tiny bit of pot pie at their

hot bar, it's about $3.50. And the sandwich from home would have been way less money and

a lot more food.

So it is a lot about mental discipline. And the cellphones...we are going to switch to pre-paids

as soon as the plans run out because it's a huge amount of money.

 

Abebooks has helped a lot, because I can find most things for very cheap, and often they don't charge

shipping. I am spoiled with amazon, but if I am willing to have a not-so-new book, abebooks is a

great alternative.

[DawnM]

Agreeing with many.

 

We went bare bones for over a year and we learned there are many things we thought we needed that we don't and even though we don't have to be bare bones any longer, there are many things we have left out of our budget because they simply aren't needed.

 

We cut:

 

Activities: boys stayed in boyscouts because we find that to be the best bang for our buck. We cut out Tae Kwon Do and Guitar, which were more expensive and the kids weren't enjoying them as much.

 

Extras: cut out home phone, satellite TV, contract cell phone plans, eating out other than very cheap kids' eat free nights and such.

 

Fix the old: We fixed our old computer, fixed our old car, sewed up broken purse straps, mended socks, whatever it took to make the old last as long as possible

 

Combined trips: We would leave an hour or two early for things like scouts so that we could also hit Costco as it is up that way, run any errands over that way, etc.....Bikes would not work here as we live a bit out and the nearest anything is 4 miles but they are narrow two lane country roads and no way I would allow my kids to ride bikes on them. We have had 2 adult bike riders killed in the last couple of years on them.

 

Made a BUDGET: Bare bones budget on paper, write down everything spent, cash envelopes if necessary. If you go in to the grocery store with $70 in cash and no other way to pay, you HAVE to pay close attention to what you buy.

[FaithManor]

The Farmer's Market is your friend and if you go about one hour before closing, usually the garderners reduce their produce price so they don't have to take it home since more will be ripe tomorrow. Plan a lot of meals around the market once it's up and going full tilt - usually July around here. If they make you a deal on tomatoes and you do not have the necessary stockpile of supplies to can them, you can blanch them (short plunge in boiling water to loosen the skins), remove skins, and bag in ziploc freezer bags, pop in the freezer, and use them to make pasta sauce, chili, and what-not all winter.

 

Check out what you can do for extra cash in the agricultural areas. During the month of July, our local u-pick blueberry farm hires teens ages 14 and up all the way through retired folks, to pick so many lbs. of blueberries per day. It's a commission, not an hourly deal. I think they give you two quarts of blueberries and then a commission per lb picked. I think it worked out to about $3.00 an hr which is of course, pathetic for an adult, but fun pocket money for the teens and it's nice work. All of the pickers are friendly, there is usually a barbecue lunch put on by the farm family, and no one stands over you demanding a quota or anything like that. The local teens love that gig. The blueberries are sold by the quart to those that don't want to take the time to pick, to area restaurants, and at the farmer's market. But, you need to get your teen's name on the list early because there are a lot of kids clamoring for the job and especially in our area where jobs for anyone under 18 are just about non-existent.

 

Negotiate with your dentist. Even with dental insurance, we still pay around $25.00 for every cleaning. That adds up. Ask if they'll waive your co-pay under the circumstances. If not, consider foregoing the routine screening between now and then, and just make sure everyone is vigilent about oral care. If you suspect work is needed that you can't afford, consider the closest university with a dental school. I know someone who had crowns done for free and the work was high quality because every step was supervised by the faculty.

 

I second Dawn's caution about bikes if you live on country roads. The shoulders here are approximately 24 inches and the drainage ditches mammoth. Every year we have bikers injured or killed on the main roads. Our ds's are limited to a handful of side roads with normally so little traffic that they rarely meet a car while riding and we'd never let them ride to town to run an errand. You have to live in a bike friendly - built for bikes and pedestrians - area. Much of the midwest was, unfortunately, not built for this.

 

The other thing you might consider is if you have any experience with livestock, consider taking up farm sitting. Many, many livestock owners cannot get away for a vacation and have a hard time covering chores when they have emergencies. DS, our 14 year old, does this though we severely limit his clientel due to his age which limits his income. Generally, this will not mean handling a dairy herd - this takes a level of expertise that most laymen do not possess - but, grooming, feeding, and putting horses out to pasture, bringing them in at night if they are stalled, tending water tanks, collecting eggs, mucking out horse stalls, feeding and watering chickens, etc. At ds's favorite farm, he tends three horses, a small flock of sheep (and this literally means counting heads each night, closing gates, filling water tanks, and keeping an eye out for signs of illness or injury - the sheep are not time consuming unless it's lambing season and most shepherds don't leave their flocks much during that time of year!), small flock of chickens, four ducks, barn cats (who just have their water changed and a little food put out once per day), and two farm dogs that like him to throw frisbees for them for a few minutes each day. It takes him all of 2 - 2.5 hrs. per day and the farm owner pays him $20.00. That's great pay for a kid his age! His clients are generous with him because they know they can trust their animals to his care and do not want to have someone else steal him away. If he does full on farm sitting, overnight, taking care of the house, etc. They leave generous amounts of fun food in the house for him and pay $200.00 a week.

 

Also, consider a summer job. Our local library runs so many summer literacy and tutoring programs in addition to all kinds of activities during the summer, that they usually hire two adults from June - August. It's minimum wage, but it's still extra money and the work is rewarding, but not taxing in general.

 

Faith

[Lily_Grace]

I have one more - don't buy what you'll only use once.

 

My neighbor and I have an agreement - we share produce from our garden and anything we're not using ourselves. That means when I needed 6 mason jars, I didn't go out and buy a pack. I went shopping at The Store Next Door. When she needs to fill her tires, she does the same, and comes over to grab one of our pumps (we have both, car and bike). There's no point in her buying a pump and me buying mason jars. They're used so infrequently that it benefits the both of us to share. She sews, so I can take my kid's patches over. I knit, so I can make her kids hats. When we do need something big, we go in together and rent - the electric shears to cut down hedges and tree branches are gotten on a weekend when we're both available.

 

The best way to save a buck is to see what you can do to avoid spending it.

[lil' maids in a row]

I found that frequenting some blogs really helped me keep a good attitude during the times we have had to cut back. Did you know there is a blog about line drying your clothes? Those people are committed, and they don't do it because they are broke but because they are saving the earth. Zero waste home is a blog about a family that tries to create no trash. I read it, and suddenly feel very hip. It reminds me that avoiding wasteful purchases like plastic wrap and ziplock bags and disposable napkins, is a really great thing to do even if I didn't need to be thrifty. A little inspiration and a good attitude go a long way.

[TeenagerMom]

I love Budget101.com. They have recipes to make just about ANYTHING from home!

 

I have learned to make my own laundry soap. I tried dishwasher detergent and it didn't work out too well in our ancient dishwasher. Making my own washing powder saves me a TON of money and I honestly think our laundry is cleaner. I also don't buy any cleaning products with the exception of Lysol toilet bowl cleaner. I clean a majority of the house with vinegar/water/baking soda.

[Jerico]

Our biggest things we've done is:

Drop the Internet if the price went up.

We went on my parents cell phone plan for a cheaper rate (they have never passed along the bill but have paid it for us.)

Cut own hair.

Contact any alumni associations- we got some really good deals for our insurance through our university.

Look into a health sharing plan, like Samaritan's.

We've always lived on little so we didn't have to slash much. Our kids haven't been in activities, except swim lessons once. Our vacations are only to visit family with an occasional overnighter just us using our credit card points. Is there anything to refinance to get a better rate (maybe your mortgage? If you own.)

[Crimson Wife]

If you don't already have a clothes line, get one ASAP! Line drying the majority of our laundry has cut my electric bill by 30-50% in the Spring/Summer months.

 

Check your local zoning laws because they may prohibit clothesline use (BTDT).

[Amber in SJ]

When we needed to have a huge garden to feed us (dh's pay dropped by 60%, he was woking 2 days/ per week) We used the bathtub water to water the garden. Even during the super short showers we'd stopper the tub and then bail it out onto the garden. The mild soap everyone uses for shampoo & bodywash is perfectly fine on the garden and may actually discourage some pests. Yes, it was difficult and yes, it made us feel like were living in a third world country but we made it through those two years without racking up debt by doing things that some considered extreme. The "grey water" from the washing machine went onto non-edible plants. Normally I wouldn't care about what our lawn looks like but three of the houses on our cul-de-sac found themselves under water and had to sell quickly. I didn't think it woud be nice for them if we let our lawn die or go to weed.

 

Amber in SJ

[texasmama]

Google to see if there is a salvage grocery store in your area. I have frequented one for about ten years now. I cannot get all our food there, but we are able to eat very well and save money (about 75% off retail). I shop there no matter what our financial situation (which has varied a great deal for a long time) just because I am unwilling to spend more than needed for food and other items. Yesterday, I got avocados 8 for $1 and organic yogurt 4 for $1. I also found gluten free bread for $1.50 a loaf. I bought 8 loaves and will freeze what we don't use right now.

[Baseball mom]

Great ideas. I am always on the search for more ideas since dh lost his job. Here are a few things we do. Not huge savings but every little bit adds up.

 

always take a refillable water bottle when you leave the house, no stopping for drinks. In the summer we keep a cooler in the car and toss them in there to keep cold. (I put old soda bottles full of water in the freezer and use these in the cooler for ice)

 

take snacks with you. I take a rubbermaid container with some snacks if we are gonna be out and about. Crackers or nuts can hold off hunger until you get home. Nuts easy to take in an old peanut butter jar.

 

take a picnic if you are going to be gone for a long time

 

use reusable containers for storage instead of ziploc bags

 

use a cookie sheet over a casserole dish while baking instead of foil

 

cloth napkins, rags for spills instead of paper, old socks and torn shirts (clean of course) in the rag bag for really dirty messes (then can be tossed if something you don't want to wash)

 

line dry as much as possible. I also hang things on hangers in the house. I want dh to suspend an old ladder from the ceiling in our laundry room (high ceiling) so I can have some more room for the hangers

 

if using your dyrer try to keep the loads going. try to get the stuff out of the dryer as soon as it stops or a few minutes before and then add the next load so your dyer doesn't have to cool down, warm up, cool down etc.

 

create new dishes using leftovers or have leftover buffet night

 

make good friends with the library

 

shop at goodwill or thrift stores

 

plan meals around what you have or what is on sale

 

try to make your favorite resturant meals at home -- I did this and dh decided he prefers mine to a couple of his favorite resturant dishes

 

tell friends things you need and offer things you need to get rid of

 

get creative with what you have

[texasmama]

Here is a link to a list of salvage grocery stores by state. I hope it can help someone. http://www.moneytalksnews.com/2009/04/16/salvaged-grocery-store-list/

[mommymilkies]

Great tips! Dh's raise actually ended up in a gross cut for us, and my child support has been sporadic, at best. We've had to cut like crazy, and the budget crisis could put dh's work at risk, again.

 

We've drastically cut food portions. I use about 1/2 lb. beef for 6 of us (one veg) for a meal. I use it as a flavoring instead of main course. We schedule eating time to cut down mindless snacking.

 

I sell about anything not bolted down at the worst times. Amazon trade in has gotten us quite a bit to use for school books.

 

I make most of our furniture using borrowed tools from family. I make bookshelves, cubbies, etc.

 

Sewing/knitting clothes. I find good sheets to sew with at secondhand stores, or sweaters to frog and use for yarn sometimes.

 

Cloth diapering

 

Price matching at Walmart until they just changed their local policy

 

I've been wearing most of the clothes I own for 5-15 years. My kids all wear hand me downs unless I find a really good clearance deal. Family buys them clothes for holidays

 

We have Friday night movies in their room and air popped popcorn.

 

I wait to buy almost everything we need for tax returns-seeds, shoes, school books, household fixes like new toilets, bulk food, etc.

 

We make almost everything we eat from scratch. Even if we travel or have to be out of the house.

[itsheresomewhere]

No matter what the budget is remember to take care of yourself. Often, people forget to take care of themselves and become resentful. That resentment can take a toll on the already stressed family and marriage. Look for free or cheap things to do, read, take a long shower/bath, just do something to take care of yourself.

 

Also, I often find that looking at the stores clearance sections are cheaper than my thrift stores. Especially in children's clothing.

[Renthead Mommy]

The only paper products i buy are toilet paper and tissues. Don't let the dread of making napkins and papertowels scare you off! (they did me for awhile)

 

For papertowels I have about 30-40 micro fiber cloths, (which came in packs of 10) but you can use other things as well. I also have cloth napkins. I wanted them for a long time but wanted to make them from a bunch of fat quarters I had that I was never going to quilt with. However I didn't have a serger and couldn't bear the thought of hemming all of them. Then I realized I could use my pinking shears! The first couple washes the loose threads and bunch up and you have to pull them off, but once all the loose ones work off, you don't have that problem again. You can use clearence material from the fabric store, or sometimes Goodwill. Also Goodwill sheets or tableclothes. But don't let the thought of buying new cloth "paper" products or the fear of having to sew them stop you from using them. As for tissues, you can also do cloth hankies. It worked for years, as long as you don't mind washing them. We don't do that, but I have enough cleaning rags and napkins that they pile up till I have a full load with things like dish towels thrown in.

 

I also wash most things on cold water. Line dry as much as I can. Don't run the heated drying cycle on the dishwasher. I also use the AC as little as I can get away with because I just don't really like AC. We also garden and make our own cleaning supplies. I started all that for enviornmental reasons but later realized it really does cost less to do it that way.

 

Do you pay for your trash pick up? We compost all food scrapes (which then go into the garden), recycle almost everything (TP tubes, the box tampons come in, everything). With that, we create about 1 bag or less of garbage a week. At our old house I had to take the recycling to the nearby recycling center. If I wanted to I could have cancelled our trash service and taken the trash to the dump.

[Laura Corin]

We have reduced our grocery bill by 50% by:

 

- buying veg in season or frozen

- meat/fish on sale only

- more beans/pulses

- menu planning at the shop based on what is cheap that week

- shopping at Aldi

 

We have reduced our heating bill by 25% by:

 

- reducing the thermostat by 2 degrees C

- only running the heat when we are home. We have a timer, so the heat kicks in half an hour before we get home, or half an hour before we wake up. It goes off half an hour before we go to bed.

- if we are cold, we put on more clothes or run the wood stove in the sitting room - we have free wood.

 

We have cancelled some services:

 

- reduced cable bill by taking fewer channels

- changed mobile phone supplier and put everyone on the same service, so that calls within the family are essentially free

- cancelled magazines

 

Other things:

 

- no book buying - intensive library use

- bargain hunting with coupons

- never accepting the price given for a service that renews, whether it's insurance, auto recovery.... Always shop around and go back to the original supplier with the competitor's quote. I've always had it matched.

 

Increasing income:

 

- I took a free training course (free because my income was low) and got a job.

 

Hope that helps

 

Laura

[besroma]

Thanks for all of the responses. I am sure they will be helpful to many of us.

[mommymilkies]

How does Amazon trade in work, exactly?

 

I went through books I wasn't overly sentimental about and looked up the ISBN on Amazon. When you click on the page, there is an amount (in small writing!) over on the right that says trade in value. NOT all books are available for the trade in program, but I found many old textbooks were and some religious books and exercise DVDs that were OOP. You click on the trade in, select what quality it is in (good/new, etc.) and then it prints a postage paper for you to attach to the box of trade in items. You don't pay shipping, Amazon does. Then you drop it off at USPS or UPS for them and when they get it ~1-2 weeks later, they give you that much money on an Amazon gift card. I think I explained it poorly, but it is really simple. The hardest part is finding which materials you have that they will take for trade!

[2squared]

These are really useful. I think with us the biggest thing is the mind frame and thinking we should always get what we want. Like a cafe au lait at the coffeehouse I like is $3.80. Which is absolutely crazy, because if we make it at home it's about $1. And it would be less if we didn't buy Kcups. Or if I'm at Whole Foods and I forgot to pack a lunch, and I have a tiny bit of pot pie at their hot bar, it's about $3.50. And the sandwich from home would have been way less money and a lot more food. So it is a lot about mental discipline.

 

I'm finding that it's easier for me to save money if I plan ahead. Last weekend we went to my dd's basketball tournament. We were gone for over 6 hours including lunch time. I planned ahead and packed lunches, snacks, and drinks for everyone. I let my dd buy a lunch with her teammates, but the rest of us picnicked in a corner for a fraction of the cost of eating at the tournament.

 

The other thing I do is wean my family from our splurges, but I have to be intentional. We love going to Subway, but that's an expensive trip for a 7 person family. I created Sub Saturday as a replacement splurge. I make homemade sub bread and buy various meats, veggie toppings, and chips. My kids prefer my homemade meal, and it costs a fraction of a Subway meal.

 

My kids also like eating meals at Dairy Queen, but once again, that's an expensive treat. In the summers we like to run to DQ for an ice cream cone in the evenings. Much, much cheaper than a full meal but just as fun. If I plan ahead (like tonight), I will have a pail of ice cream and toppings here at home for an even cheaper option. If I'm really on the ball, I'll make homemade cookies. It's all about intentional planning.

 

Another thing we do it is split up a lot. When a kid has a performance or sporting even, one of us will take only that kid to the activity so we aren't paying for everyone to get in along other inevitable misc expenses.

 

We are all about season passes for entertainment. We purchased a family pass for the public school events, and now we often go to sporting events as evening entertainment and we often take along other kids turning it into a social event for them. We also have a season pass for the local arts group. Dh & I can go see performances for a date night or I can take the kids on a Mom/kid date or we can take friends for a social event.

[Once]

Garden if you have the space.....great Science for younger kids. Beware of the $50 Tomato Syndrome.

Cut off the smart phone line

Cut hair myself.

Vegan/vegetarian cooking, in season, local market.

Freeze/preserve extra seasonal produce.

I food scavenge and it has become a strange quirk of mine. Rhubarb grows like crazy around here.....ask neighbours if they would share...all do. Apple trees left wild....still eating apple sauce from the fall. Zuchinnis most of the time people are giving them away in baseball bat sized portitions. Take anything and exchange with people when you can. They will remember you the next time. Pumpkins store well with little effort and are versitile.

Locally I can buy wheat very cheap all year long. Make my own bread now!!!

Sell said bread.......babysit, house clean, mow lawns, shovel snow, homestay student....etc.

My husband can find contracts at work like a magician.

Soups stretch really well.

Find a friends with kids a little older and a little younger than yours and share curric and 2nd handclothes.

Go to the dentist once a year for preventative care. That expense is worth it.

[Renthead Mommy]

I just read an article which made me think of this thread.

 

Other things to consider is canceling your lawn service and mow/ rake it yourself, again all that going into your compost for your garden.

 

Cancel lawn chemical service.

 

If your sprinkler service was blown out and turned off for the winter, don't have the spring turn on done. Leave it off and water the lawn by hose hook up sprinkler, and only water when absolutely necessary.

[FaithManor]

Also, if you are going to garden and you are on city water service, build a rain barrel (how to's all over the internet and it's not expensive) to house rain water. You'll want to collect water for dry spells. It's costly to water a garden from city water supply and the chlorinated water negatively affects many plants anyway. Use your collected rainwater to irrigate your garden and do it after sun-down. You won't go through as much water because you will lose so little to evaporation. Watering during the day can be a real waste.

 

If anyone has free hay, straw, or bark mulch (many people who heat with wood will end up with a large pile after splitting their logs and creating kindling), take them up on it. Mulching your garden will reduce weeds, ants, and water useage.

 

If you like plants, many nurseries hire for April through mid-June when the rush to get veggies and spring landscaping plants ready is on. Often you can work late afternoons and evenings, Saturdays and Sundays so it would be flexible for homeschooling. Put the extra money away for car repairs and unexpected healthcare costs.

 

Sign up for drawings for everything. Recently, dh and I, on a whim, tossed our names into a bucket for reduced price gym membership. We received a phone call last week that we had won. Turns out it's $16.00 a month - very short drive to the gym and it's a nice facility - for one year for the entire family. That's just dirt cheap for five people and the boys love working out. That's much cheaper than many summer sports programs and we were the second name drawn, the first family got a year free. We've also in the past year won $100.00 in groceries as well as some garden tools. I don't know if people just aren't taking the time to put their names in drawings so the competition is low or if we've been extra lucky, but someone has to win and it may as well be you!

 

Seasonal sales will be coming. Now, it's different in each part of the country, but in Michigan there is often a large sale on chicken in May, beef in late September, early October, and eggs in June. This is due to the fact that all of the free range chickens begin just seriously putting out eggs in the late spring - lots of sunlight, lots of bugs to eat, not hot yet - older hens get sent to the butcher...many flocks are "weeded" in May around here to make room for the new chicks being grown out, and steers go to slaughter in autumn after the pasture begins to wane and the farmers face feeding those things hay all winter long. Take advantage of the sales. If you can find some work for a little additional income, use some of the funds to put up meat. If eggs go one sale for $1.00 a dozen, you can actually buy many, many dozen. Take all the eggs you can't use in a timely manner, break up the eggs slightly with a whisk (do not scramble them hard since you don't want to infuse them with a lot of air) and fill ice cube trays with the egg mixture (using a little bit of salt in the mixture will help the eggs freeze well). Place inside gallon bags or wrap with several layers of cheap plastic wrap and secure with rubber bands. One cube of eggs is the equivalent of a grade A medium egg and two would be a grade A extra large which is just fine for baking. These can be kept in the freezer for up to one year. Thaw in the frig well in advance. They thaw more like raw meat than water so it does take a while. Eggs are such a good source of protein and calories for growing kids, that I highly recommend this method when money is tight.

 

One of our favorite vegetarian meals, is lasagna and to keep the iron count up, I use frozen chopped spinach, very, very finely chopped in the sauce. As long as I'm conservative with the amount and don't go spinach crazy, the boys eat it up without missing the meat.

 

The best way to keep kids from eating you out of house and home during tight times is a stout breakfast. Baked oatmeal plus a scrambled egg with cheese, a little milk to drink or some yogurt, and a serving of fruit will hold a lot of kids through until lunch. However, let them have cereal or a couple of pieces of toast, and they'll be hungry in an hour or so. Cereal really does not stick to the bones and neither does pancakes, waffles, toast, and most muffins - some muffins you can do with wheat germ, chopped fruit, etc. and get enough fiber in there to help hold them but putting protein in there for a growing kid is difficult, so I tend to shy away from muffins. Homemade granola with oats, sunflower seeds, chopped apples or dehydrated berries, a drizzle of honey, and served with milk will stick to their bones much better, but I still recommend that the kids start the day with an egg no matter what else you serve with it.

 

If you have a dog, make sure you give him some of the trimmings from meats, brown rice, broth, etc. to cut way down on pet food costs. The bits and pieces left that do not constitute enough leftovers to be worth saving, can be be given to him even if it isn't an ideal diet. Also, watch the local newspapers. Several times a year, local vets will do a low cost pet-health check-up that includes reduced price vaccinations and includes significantly reduced rabies shots and registration. It's underwritten by a grant from an animal group and the savings is HUGE. This might keep you from having to get rid of a dearly loved pet because those vaccines really add up. It even includes spay and neuter for $35.00 which is just a ridiculously low price.

 

Know your HOA rules and consult with the township to find out which rules they can legally enforce and which ones they cannot. Some townships are cracking down on HOA's having rules that violate state and local ordinances. For example, a man in northern Detroit decided to keep five laying hens in the backyard of his very nice home in a rather swanky subdivision with an HOA. The HOA went after him and lost because Michigan has a right to farm act so if your township ordinance does not prohibit backyard chickens, your HOA can't either. It's entirely possible that the HOA will try to tell you that you cannot have a backyard clothesline, but your township says you can. Slowly but surely, HOA's are losing since many courts say local and state law trumps HOA no matter what you signed in order to buy or build a home there. It's worth knowing what your rights are. It's also worth trying to get your neighbors on your side to petition HOA's for changes. Become the environmentalist in your neighborhood and get people to vote their conscience. A clothesline is so much better for the environment and in order to keep the peace, you could suggest a compromise. Anyone who puts up a clothesline agrees to hang out towels, sheets, and street clothes, but NOT whites or underthings. That's probably the main thing that will bother the HOA...row after row of high end homes with bras, undies, and lingerie hanging out for the everyone to stare at. We've got an elderly neighbor across the street who is quite quirky - probably has a mild dementia - and so I humor her by not putting our undergarments on the line. Those are fairly easily dried on the drying rack indoors and then tossed into the dryer with a homemade dryer sheet for five minutes on air fluff in order to soften them up.

 

Some state parks are now offering nicely cultivated plots for community gardening. If you want a garden and do not have the land for it, put your name on the list if the drive to the park is not cost prohibitive. While you are at it, get a state park pass. In Michigan, you can get them at the time you renew your car plates and it's $20.00 for the entire year. This makes for cheap, exciting day trips/mini-vacations. Our state parks have grills, pavilions, nice bathroom facilities, often centered around lakes and rivers, etc. The DNR runs a wonderful ranger program for kids. When ours were young, they made plaster casting "fossils", took lively nature hikes, make dream catchers, went wildlife watching, you name it with park rangers and summer interns (college students). They had a blast! I don't know what other states are doing, but we also have a program for camp hosts. Usually these are retired couples that are given a cabin or campsite for free for the entire summer and a small budget for entertaining park campers and day visitors. Outdoor movie night, hot dog roasts, smores, sing-a-longs, story night, night-sky watching, you name it, these hosts have done it. Again, it ends up being a lovely form of cheap entertainment. We purchase just one pass per year for our mini-van. Even the state-parks in the winter are beautiful. Some of the snow hikes are just not to be missed and some of the parks allow sledding. It is a LOT of fun to sled down the dune to the water's edge or even out on the ice when things are really fast!

 

Also, when apples are cheap in the fall, if you don't have the time to manage two or three bushels, you can get away with the following - set the kids to peeling to help you out and then core and quarter. Throw the quarters into freezer bags. You can make applesauce, apple crisp, apple pie filling, or stick them in muffins (I make homemade muffins with fruit for snacks not for breakfast) and granola later on without having to go to a lot of work. I've BTDT at harvest time, slaving over mounds of apples, making applesauce, and well, I'm all for this short-cut now!

 

Faith

[LisaMarie6]

We actually have done something a little different. We gave up our expensive cell phone plan and got a digital line. Then picked up a $15/month prepaid cell for emergencies. The cost of unlimited long distance and internet is cheaper with our cable company than paying cell charges.

 

No cable t.v., kept Amazon prime because of the shipping costs and lending library. Gave up Netflix.

 

We have two vehicles, but one is just for the whole family to go out, the other is a cheap gas saver car.

 

Don't go out to eat or order pizza, we cook from scratch for the most part.

 

Turn the heat down in the winter and the air temp up in the summer.

 

Shut off lights as much as possible.