We're in the process of setting up services for Little Dude, and planning for Kindergarten next year. The girls all start back at their original elementary school today, and we'll be looking into setting up 504 Plans for the Pork Lo Maniac (ADHD) and Cookie (anxiety). We even stopped by to see our friends at the public library today, and it was big fun.
So you know what isn't going swimmingly? Finances. We're carrying a mortgage and a rental. We've finally had some showings on our house in Texas, so we're optimistic, but in the mean time? We're cheaping out.
No cable. No eating out. No land line. No brand-name anything. Keeping the heat low. It's kind of amazing how much we don't need, actually.
Our rental home doesn't have a dishwasher or a microwave, so between that, the cheaping out, and the no furniture, it's like we're squatters or something. Cookie said it's like we're Amish. I agreed and suggested the kids should have more chores.
I do have to spend some money. This house had no blinds or anything downstairs, so I picked those up for cheap at Target. My husband had been living here for a month without that stuff, but he's a guy, and apparently guys are pretty much oblivious to that kind of thing. For example, he was living here with no shower curtain. I suggested he could have bought a shower curtain liner and rings for like three dollars, but he was like, meh. Why spend the money when we'll eventually move our old shower curtain out here?
Although it did disturb him that one our our cats kept watching him shower.
Obviously I brought the shower curtain with me in the van when I drove out here. I can't have the cats watching me shower. It's enough that the kids are constantly banging on the door.
What else? What do you do to cheap out? I have a lot of readers with special needs kids, and you know insurance doesn't cover the half of it. Where do you cut costs so you can still afford the necessities?
I totally lost it at the cat picture. Still laughing as I type this. My cat did that too. Now my kids do. Awesome.
ReplyDeleteAs for stuff on the cheap, it's just trying to enjoy the every day stuff. We go to parks. A lot of them. It helps we are in California so weather isn't too much of an issue. Museums usually have free days so we hit those up, indoor playgrounds are usually cheap, kid play places in malls sometimes. Google has been my BFF for free and cheap kid places.
No cable and landline over here either. Rarely eating out or ordering in. Cutting back on my Starbucks (so so sad isn't it?). Lots of crafts with paper and paint bought in bulk. Use vinegar for cleaning instead of store bought cleaners. Hit up freecycle or other type of free swaps for needed/wanted items and to get rid of others (noisy toys?). We also cut out cell phone plans down as much as possible. No paper towels, just old rags (seems trivial but it adds up and environmentally friendly. Bonus!)
Hope your house sells soon!
I'm so cheap that I send myself links to stuff I want to print, and then once I have a gob of them, I go the library, log into my email and print it all off for free. My library allows 70 free copies A DAY! I'm a homeschooling mom and that's a crap ton of worksheets baby! :)
ReplyDeleteI don't know where in PA you are but we go to all kinds of inexpensive activities at The Mary Campbell Center in Wilmington, Delaware. Special Olympics is a great way to keep the kids active for cheap. They have sports activities year round. Even your girls could play as United Partners if they don't want to be considered 'special' athletes.
ReplyDeleteWe are always trying to save money. Lots of library and playground visits, as you said. I also asked each set of grandparents to get us one bigger Christmas present instead of toys - so we have family memberships to Please Touch Museum and the Philly Zoo and we go there a lot and bring our lunches when we visit so the trip is completely free.
ReplyDeleteWe also have budget envelopes for all kinds of categories (food other than groceries, gifts, etc), which help us limit our additional spending each month. I think the biggest thing is just being conscious of all of those little $10 Wawa trips that really add up.
I cheap out on baby food. I absolutely cannot fathom spending a dollar on a jar of processed bananas when I can mash up a fresh banana almost as easily that costs about a dollar for the entire bunch. When I tell people I make my own baby food they probably get a picture of me as some hippy earth mother type. They should really get a picture of some old Scrooge-y miser saying, "A jar of butternut squash costs HOW MUCH? BAH! HUMBUG!"
ReplyDeleteJust like the above poster, I rarely bought baby food. My mom never did, either. She would just mash up whatever she had cooked for dinner that night (before seasoning).
ReplyDeleteWe canceled our landline, and hardly ever eat out (and when we do we use coupons).
I gotta have my cable and DVR, though. I just gotta.
It definitely takes some time, which is precious to any mom, but I clip coupons. I can save tons of money this way. Last month my husband's cousin (who is a huge coupon-er took me along with her to CVS when they were running good deals, I ended up getting 2 tubes of Crest toothpaste for FREE, 1 tube of Colgate for 77 cents and a whole bunch of other good deals. Take advantage of coupons and you can save a ton of money on everyday necessities!
ReplyDeleteMy BJs membership pays for itself in milk savings in four months. We have four boys we drink a lot of milk. But its also great for cheap bulk staples, like rice, vegetables, frozen meats etc.
ReplyDeleteI [cut] lazily rip all of our dryer sheets in half. How do you make your own laundry soap?! That is A-mazing! Please share!!
ReplyDeleteI freecycle for formula coupons and hit up friends for their unused coupons when Similac does their 'mailings.' I scored over $130 in coupons last month! There's a big chunk of $!
We got rid of cable tv and just Netflix now. $15 vs. $65 is a NO Brainer! *All of the good shows are on Hulu for free [for now] anyway!
Who actually HAS a landline these days [besides my in-laws that live in the dark ages and don't own a computer, just got their FIRST cell phone recently- so they can babysit for FREE and I can actually LEAVE the house!]
Our library rents dvd's but I haven't gotten desperate enough to loose the Netflix. We are down to one car, which Hubs takes to work so trips out are SOOO limited.
Making a Meal Plan has saved us A ton! We plan dinners for the entire week and a semi-flexible breakfast and lunch plan. Toddlers don't generally cooperate with a plan. Wait, um I mean NEVER cooperate with a meal plan. ;) This has saved us from making all those last minute trips to the store where you ALWAYS buy more than bread or milk! *We also get extra bread when its on sale and freeze it. I've learned not to hate my toaster!
For any mom's out there that don't already know. This next information is GOLDEN. We always need some special tlc or time to ourselves *Once a month* during that oh so special time.... Who craves chocolate like I do? Any one? HA ok so here's the gold. IF there is one near you, The Godiva Chocolatier Retail store offers a Bonus Card. Just like the supermarket, its free. You also receive ONE FREE Piece of CHOCOLATE from their case, EVERY MONTH! When you are part of the club. I have a card, Hubs has a card and he works near the mall and picks me out a free piece of HEAVEN. It doubles in his favor when he walks in the door after a long day of poopy diapers and toddler tantrums with that brilliant little gold bag of goodness! It makes all my troubles of the day melt away and Hubs starts out on the good list, even though he forgot to take the garbage out when he left for work and the toddler keeps poking at the diapers wanting to take them back OUT of the bag....
My biggest *non-necessity* expense is actually stuff for school... Stuff for class parties, prizes for the prize box, a weeks worth of snacks for the entire class, donations of raffle items for fundraisers. And the cost buying lunches at school is just insane. Send lunches with the offspring if you don't already. Not only is it cheaper, you might find that they actually eat more, and healthier! And don't feel like you have to always contribute to class stuff. Don't be like me. Learn to say no. ;)
ReplyDeleteOne of the easiest ways to bargain shop is compare price. Don't know about how or where you like to shop but I get every sales paper within an 80 mile radius; get out the coupons, grocery list, and hit Wal-Mart. My last grocery bill was $646. for a month but my savings were over 400.
ReplyDeleteI even make my own hand soap. All the little slivers from the shower I put into a squirt bottle with a little water. It's beside the bathroom sink. I love it. Soap is soap, right?
ReplyDeleteMy husband uses NETTalk instead of a regular land line. $70 for first year, $30 for annual renewal.
ReplyDeleteLove freecycle. Also swaps are great. Buy meat on sale - prep and freeze in serving sizes. Marinade is great for reducing the freezer burn. Great for quick dinners too :-)
Borrow books/ebooks from library. Borrow a book on making cheap meals while you are there ;-) Get free ebooks online. Borrow movies and music from library too. And library passes to museums.
Netflix/Hulu/channel's website for watching shows.
The less I hang out at the mall, the less money I spend. Price shop online before making significant purchases.
Some movie theaters have reduced cost movie times, especially for families or sensory-friendly screenings.
Love making my own detergent (when you have a dishwasher, you can make that too with the same stuff, plus citric acid). Also vinegar for cleaning and for stinky laundry has been a godsend.
ReplyDeleteBut my biggest help was budgeting. Specifically, we give ourselves a "cash budget". Say $50 per monthly paycheck. Each paycheck I get cash out (from Wawa - no service fee!) and then we are ONLY allowed to use that cash for anything we buy outside of the household budget (I budget groceries, meds, bills, etc). We found that we were having cash carry over and not needing to take money out each paycheck. We weren't allowed to use the debit card at all except for budgeted items. It made a huge difference and brings an awareness to where the random $$ is going.
Ohhh, and Amazon has a "Moms Club" that gives you free Prime shipping for 3 months then another month anytime you spend $25 in their baby/kid section. I do all my shopping there which eliminates impulse buys.
SUPER CHEAP fabric softener (I got this from the Duggars' website):
ReplyDelete(1) Fill a large plastic container with half fabric softener, half water.
(2) Cut new sponges in quarters.
(3) Immerse the sponges in the fabric softener mixture.
(4) When you need a dryer sheet, gently squeeze out one of the sponges (it need some moisture in it) and throw it in the dryer with your wet clothes. If you have something that needs extra softening (like towels), simply use two.
I bought a bottle of fabric softener last summer, and I still have plenty left. And that's with five people in our house!
One of my cheap moves is never letting an article of clothing escape our house until it's deemed hazardous or completely disintegrates. As one of the other posters suggested, we use towels instead of paper towels, but I also cut up old shirts, jeans, & other items that are unfit for hand-me-downs as dust rags, scrubbers, etc~~but because we have so many rags, I don't waste time washing them when they get too icky; they go directly into the trash.
ReplyDeleteWe also cut down considerably on our food bill during tight months by buying from Angel Food Ministries at our local church(http://www.angelfoodministries.com/ ), which offers entire meals + bulk items at discount prices; it's a service designed to help combat the US obesity and hunger epidemics by buying locally grown healthy/fresh foods to families who would otherwise be stuck buying the less expensive junk/convenience foods when trimming their budget. You don't have to be in any certain income bracket to participate. During tight months, it's been wonderful, especially because it can also eliminate the need for meal-planning.
We use a doohickey + our XBox(sorry--my husband set it up & knows the real words) to stream Hulu and the $9.99 monthly Netflix service through our TV. (Because you've gotta have internet--how else will you post to your blog? I'd go through serious withdrawal if you stopped. Please don't disappear!)
If you really miss your landline, you may want to look into a Magic Jack.
Books. New books are a necessity, but I don't have access to a library. I use the Kindle reader on my phone and download the free books. (Classics, yes, but when authors are ready to drop their next title, they often offer the first book free, or drop price to $1.)
Ooh--fun one the kids semi-hate: school clothes & shoes get changed Mr. Rogers-like the second they get home. It saves wear and tear, and when they destroy their $1 flip-flops or Walmart specials from playing in the mud, it's better than trying to salvage a $50 pair of tennies. (Yes. My kids are extremely deprived in that they get one- One-- new pair of shoes at the beginning of the year, and another at Christmas/Easter depending on wear/growth. I'm cruel like that.)
For fun, board game nights really aren't as painful as they used to be. (Then again, my twins are older--age 12. They weren't fun to play with until they hit age 10.) Puzzles are still tools of the devil, though.
And when I really, really miss shopping, I go to Amazon and throw everything that strikes my fancy into different wishlists. (Home, clothes, books, daydreaming...) It's fun to look back at the lists months later and wonder WTH I was thinking when I threw those items in the basket. (& if I still sigh about it, I move it to another list and adjust the budget to buy it.)
Good luck~~fingers crossed that this phase is a short one for you!
Instead of dryer sheets soak old rags in fabric softener, let dry then throw in the dryer for about 2 weeks of laundry before needing to re-soak. I have a small (20oz?) bottle of natural fabric softener that has lasted me a year. I despise static and this really works.
ReplyDeleteBorax for toilet cleaner.
Baking soda and mint oil for toothpaste.
I buy a jug of castille soap and dilute it and use it for everything - dishes, hand soap, body wash. Dilute it at like 1 soap:4 h2o.
Tear up old t-shirts for rags instead of paper towels.
Buy in bulk. Find a health food store and buy as much as you can in bulk. Never buy spices in jars, you can spend like $0.10 on whatever you need instead of the $4 jar! And I buy a lot of flour in bulk (different varieties) and bake bread. Much cheaper and after your 3rd or 4th loaf it turns out to be super easy. Also so much cheaper to bake cupcakes for kiddo things.
Oh, gosh, come over here and I'll send you home with some black beans!
ReplyDeleteWelcome back! Hope to run into you someday.
No cable here either. And I love the fact that my boys have no clue who Spongebob is. We do enjoy Netflix though. We watch old episodes of tv shows and cartoons and educational programs through our wii. A lot of people think we are hicks because of the no cable thing though. When my boys beg to watch Nova on PBS before bed it really makes me smile:)
ReplyDeleteNetflix instead of cable. Cheapest cell phone family plan and Skype instead of land line.
ReplyDeleteI cloth diaper and make all my baby food.
Programmable thermostat!!! And insulate your attic, windows, and doors as you can. It's a little investment that will add up. Even putting plastic up on the windows in a rental works wonders. We couldn't afford to insulate our whole attic at once (btw, how does a 120 year old house not have a single bit of insulation in the attic?), so we insulated the nursery first, then the master bedroom when we had more money. We'll do the rest as we can, but those two rooms are much cozier now.
I just started a price list (using Excel) of my frequently purchased items. We live in the middle of nowhere (an HOUR from Target) and I don't have a lot of shopping options, but it does help me figure out whether the Sunday circulars are actually giving me a good deal or just trying to get me to buy stuff. Also, it keeps me out of WalMart unless I absolutely need to go. This could be a good activity to get the older kids involved with, too! Send them on a scavenger hunt in the store to find the prices, and they can do a little math to price compare for you. This helps me match coupons to sales as well.
I have a chest freezer and only buy meat in the "club packs" and certain meats only when they are on sale (I now refuse to pay more than $1.99/lb for ground beef). We cut up pork loins into chops and roasts ourselves and repackage all the bulk meat into portions we will use with the help of wax paper and freezer bags.
My husband and I share one working car right now. He carpools to work as much as possible, and I limit my trips to town. Miles and gas add up fast. Consolidating your errands also helps you stick to your lists and spend less impulsively. And if you use your price list, you will already know where to get the best deals on everything you need. For example, I scored 8 cans of Campbell's tomato soup for $3 at Rite Aid this week (they were 2/$1 and I had a $1 off 8 coupon). That's cheaper than the generic at my grocery store.
Know where the clearance bins are at your favorite stores, too. You never know what you'll find that you actually need.
Your kids will learn a lot about living simply and making smart choices. Make the most of it and enjoy this opportunity, even though it can be hard sometimes!
This sounds like our life EVERY DAY! We almost never eat out and meal plan. During cold weather it's the best because we can get a lot of food for just a little. Example: Whole foods sells their free range rotisserie chickens for $5.99 on Wednesdays. Wednesday we eat chicken and rice a roni or something of the like. $7 for 4 people. CHEAP. Then we freeze the carcas to use for soup later or just dump it in the pot of water the next morning to make our own chicken stock. (Yes my wife is that kind of wife!) Then once the stock is done my wife makes the most amazing home made chicken soup. Another $7-8 of veggies and orzo makes a HUGE pot of soup that we eat on for a couple days and freeze the rest. AWESOME!!!
ReplyDeleteYou may decide you never want cable again. I only had cable for one year in my entire life. I spent so much time watching TV and not actually doing anything that I decided that I never want to live that way again. Yes, we have three kids and they don't have a clue who Sponge Bob or Dora is. SCORE
ReplyDeleteWe almost never, ever eat out and only do take out when it is super cheap (Pappa Johns has a large pizza for $5 on Mondays) and our house rule is that take-out food should be served with a large salad that I always have in the fridge.
We drink a lot of water and mainly use milk in cereal, coffee, cooking, etc... You would be surprised at how long your milk lasts when you don't allow chocolate or strawberry milk in your house.
I find that shopping for bulk things at a discount store like Aldi saves quite a bit of money over the regular grocery store. I can load up a full cart of basics for less than $50, and I wait to buy the name brand items we like when they're on sale at the regular store. Frankly, some of the Aldi brand stuff is very good, especially crackers, cereal, pasta, and other dry goods.
ReplyDeleteI often freeze leftover soup/stew/chili. If you freeze it in individual servings, it's great for lunch leftovers at work or school or home. Sometimes I freeze a larger container (4-6 servings) to pull out for a full meal later on.
Bake some of your own bread, if you like to bake. It tastes far better than anything packaged at a store, and you can modify it to suit your family's dietary needs or preferences.
Dollar stores and seasonal clearance sales are the best for oddball purchases. Clearance racks in the grocery store, and day-old baked goods, are a great place to look for bargains. Keep an eye out for "going out of business" sales, too.
You'd be amazed what you can find at Goodwill or Salvation Army-type stores, especially in the way of cheap entertainment. Occasionally I'll go on their "family day" when much of the clothing and books are half off. Cheap VHS tapes make for inexpensive movie nights.
Many grocery stores have a cycle for what they put on sale. If you have a freezer, you can buy meats when they are on sale and freeze them to use as needed. You still get variety but never have to pay full price. This made a big difference for our grocery budget.
ReplyDeleteBeans, rice, COUPONS (especially if I can pair it with a sale), and keeping our electric on a thrift plan.
ReplyDeleteI also save everything. Everything. I even freeze leftover mashed potatoes because I know they won't get eaten as leftovers.
It is easy, keep squeezing those nickles to keep the buffalo pooping. You are doing all the right things already:)
ReplyDeleteWow, there are some great ideas here! I saved by quitting liquid soaps. I bought the mega pack of ivory bars and the cheapest plastic soap dishes that target had. Now every sink has these. The bar soap lasts sooo much longer. I pared way down on other cleaners and detergents, too, and tried various recipes of making my own instead. Vinegar can do some good stuff! Thanks to who posted that sponge in the fabric softener trick, I need to try that so I can quit buying dryer sheets.
ReplyDelete....lots of parks and library events here, too. And the family pass to the zoo for Christmas so we can go cheap year-round. As a family of 5, it's worth it to get the membership to one place each year and then those are the big outings that we do every few months. We're rotating memberships, aquarium one year, zoo the next, dino museum, botanical gardens with huge kid area, etc. It's a variety, but only one a year. It really eases the pressure for the inevitable bail-out due to the special needs of our son or meltdown-ing preschoolers. We go for however long we can stay and that's it. Then we go back again in a few months and see some more. It pays for itself after one and a half entries for all of us anyway!
Well. We live in the sticks. BUT. Here's a couple of suggestions. There are nine people in our family. We never eat out, we don't go to the movies, we don't eat convenience foods. We shop twice a month. Period. No excuses, unless it's a medical thing, and we go to pick up a prescription or pedialyte, etc.
ReplyDeleteWe do have a satellite, because the Daddy is addicted to television. We also have netflix. NO landline, my internet is paid for by an outside party, because I need it for "the real job". We do have three cells and the Daddy has an internet hotspot through Sprint as well, which is reimbursed through work.
Our BIGGEST money saver? Get this. We lived in a 3 bdrm, 2 bath house for $750 a month. Just over a year ago, the landlord was begging us to move into his vacant rental next door, a 4 bdrm, 3 bath, which was also half again bigger than the house we were in. He thought he could get people into the smaller house, because we had landscaped it. The bigger house was on a dirt lot. We told him we would move next door and do the landscaping for the bigger house if he would keep our rent the same, for the entire time we lived there. He agreed!
Also? I garden, then I freeze/bottle the veggies when they are at their peak, and use them throughout the year until the next harvest. I cook from scratch, always have, even before we found out about all of Logan's allergies. That saves a bundle right there.
Last year, one of the local farmers invited the town to pick corn in one of his fields. We took the kids, picked corn, and played marco polo in the corn field. Our freezer is full of quart bags of the sweetest corn you've ever eaten. Another time last summer, we were given about 60 pounds of peaches because they were over ripe. Now I have sliced bottled peaches in extra light syrup. The same with apricots. 40 pounds of apricots that were so ripe, they couldn't be sold or processed in the cannery. I got them for free and made 14 quarts of jam. I LOVE it, because that means Logan can have things I have made, because there is not corn syrup in them!
I WISH I could make laundry detergent.. you have no idea! But the only thing I can use for Logan is ALL, or else he erupts in bloody abrasions all over his poor little 2 year old skin. I do about 100 loads of laundry every two weeks. So, we joined amazon moms, and our laundry detergent, diapers, and wipes are automatically sent to my house every month... for WAY cheaper than I could buy it at walmart, and FREE SHIPPING!
Okay.. now *I* sound Amish...
Lots of great ideas there! You hear it over and over again. Don't eat out. Simple rule.
ReplyDeleteYou think, oh it's only from the dollar menu, so it only costs $3. But that same $3 would have bought me over a pound of meat on sale. Except for the rare splurge on thick steaks. My rule is never pay more than $2/# for beef or pork, $1/# for chicken. When whole fryers go on sale for $.79#, I buy 20! That way I can cut them up into boneless breasts, or drumsticks, or whatever. I have also been known to put 3 or 4 into the oven then de-bone them all, portioning the meat into meal size freezer bags. My vacuum sealer is my best kitchen appliance except for my coffee maker! When it's on sale stock up! Coupon don't work in my area. Our Sunday paper doesn't have manufacturers coupons in it any more. The store coupons are only good if you spend $25 first, which is fine, if it's my once a month stock up trip but for those quick in and outs for fresh produce, they're a budget breaking inducement.
My price book is my savings bible. If you don't know what it is, check out Mary's blog at owlhaven.net. Her recipe book is chock full of nutritious cheap meals that are company's coming tasty!
Until I started comparing non-necessity purchases as hours my husband has to work and be away from us, it just didn't sink in on how much money I was wasting! Now, I think, this new (whatever it is) costs (how many dollars), that means hubby has to work (how many) hours for me to buy this. Is it really worth it?
It certainly helped my teens when they realized that at $8/hr they had to work 20 hours to buy those $150+ shoes/jeans/trip to the beach. And don't forget to add taxes in the equation! You're taxed on it coming in and going out!
Best wishes for a speedy sale on your house. I know it can be tough, financial stress on top of normal life stress can really push you to your limits! My Mama's little phrase that used to annoy me when I was a teen but so often saved my sanity, "Just pretend this is all an adventure." or like during labor, "Just one more contraction, only think as far ahead as one more contration. One more day, I can do this one more day!
OMG - everybody has such good ideas. A lot of which I never thought of.
ReplyDeleteSadly, my only tip was a money maker and money saver, but relied on you not being married to keeping all four children.
Excited for you to get your furniture tomorrow!
Everyone is so savvy with their budgeting, no? I make all of the soap products, clean with vinegar, cloth diaper and make the baby food, too, but with four kids the REAL saver is CONSIGNMENT! I buy all name brand really nice clothes for my 3 very picky girls at consignment stores (most are great stores, a few are not) for 2 to 5 bucks an item. If they don't totally destroy something, I take it back in when they are done to get a credit towards more clothing (or toys).
ReplyDeleteWe splurge once a year on zoo and science museum memberships, (I prefer having two memberships at a time-buying one every 6 months-so we don't get tired of the same ol' place)and then go all year long. We have paid for our membership in less than two visits.
Also fun for summer is kidsbowlfree.com, where you can sign your kids up to bowl at a local alley all summer and only pay for shoes. (Personally not a fan of bowling, but the kids love it and it's air conditioned!)
I also pay once a year for an Amazon Prime membership, which gets me free 2 day shipping on almost everything all year long, and cut down drastically on shopping excursions. (We have to eat gluten free and they are cheapest for most GF products as well.)
And those dryer balls from the dollar store really work instead of using any form of fabric softener, plus they're allergy and chemical free and only need replaced once a year.
When I making something that can be frozen I make a double batch and freeze one for those nights I'm desperate to just order pizza. Saves a LOT of money and stress in the long run with mo extra effort.
Good luck!
I just wanted to express my empathy with your situation. We moved to Texas a year ago, but were unable to sell our house in the Hudson Valley, NY, so for 7 months we carried a huge mortgage, HOA dues and rent on an apartment in Texas. We were finally able to rent the house in NY, but for hundreds of dollars less than the mortgage and HOA dues, but still better than nothing. In November, we closed on a house in TX and since then have been paying the apartment rent, the new mortgage, and the amount of mortgage and HOA dues left after the sent on the NY house. Thank goodness the lease on the apartment is up at the end of this month, because this is killing us! I just wanted to let you know that you're not alone in having such crappy circumstances. If you can't sell the house within a reasonable time frame, consider renting it for at least the mortgage amount.
ReplyDeleteWe only drink water. No soft drinks, juice, etc. except for hot tea. We eat super oatmeal instead of cold cereal. I make all our breads/rolls/bagels. We buy ingredients not prepackaged foods, with the exception of crackers and cheerios for the baby. We make a meal plan for the month and do all the shopping in one trip except for produce which Hey, Babe picks up at the farmer's market once a week. We drop the thermostat to 50°F at 8 PM and keep it at 65°F during the day. We set our hot water tank to really low and pretty much only use cold water for anything except for showers. We shut lights off and try to stay in fewer rooms in the evenings. We don't have a landline or cable, but we do pay for Netflix. We are going to have a veggie garden this spring and hopefully get a lot of fresh produce from that.
ReplyDeleteNot all of those things will work for every family, but it is interesting to see where people are willing to (or HAVE to) cut their expenses.
Our public library lends out passes to the local zoo and museums. There's a chain in our area called Family Video that rents out kids' movies for free and many others for $1. Groupon. Wash as much clothing in cold water as possible, and hang what you can to dry. Sometimes I will do a big cooking/baking day, turn the heat down and let the oven warm the house.
ReplyDeleteWow! Crazy inventive moms out there. I'm so impressed with everyone's ideas and recommendations. Will forward these to a couple of friends who are struggling right now too. Can concur with the value of Angelfood Ministry's food pantry. Good luck SRMM getting settled and riding out this transition time to finding a new, permanent home in PA. I assume you're using free Wi-Fi at the library or coffee house to keep up the blog. I hope, I hope. We don't want to lose you.
ReplyDelete~physicsmom
Best of luck selling your house! Here are things we do....
ReplyDelete1. Dryer balls! You can even use tennis balls.
2. www.Restaurant.com- $25 gift certificates for only $10. (in case you really want to eat out!)
3. Veggie garden when weather improves. You can even plant in containers if you don't have much space.
4. www.cucirca.com or www.tvshow7.com - many shows (no kids shows though) for free. I have never had a problem with it and McAfee says it is a safe website. Also ABC.com, CBS.com and so on all show their shows for free.
5. ITunes - lots of free podcasts for storytime
6. Library - rent DVD's for you and the kids
7. Craigslist - look for it in your area. There is a section for bartering and for people just looking to give stuff away.
8. Grocery shop more often for less items. You will find you waste less food if you don't overfill your fridge and forget what was pushed to the back. Plus fruits and veggies get used up before they go bad.
Thanks for your blog and keeping us laughing!
Geyenmom
I make my own laundry detergent and I prefer it to the storebought stuff I was using. I still can't believe how much cheaper it is and at 1.5 to 2 batches for under $15 = over 250 loads... Also, it takes almost no time to make, depending on how much "help" the 3 year old is providing - and most of that time is clean up.
ReplyDeleteI'm using this recipe:
6 cups borax
4 cups washing soda
4 cups baking soda
4 cups grated bar soap - roughly 2 bars = 1 cup
I put a cup of borax in the food processor. Then cut the bar soap (usually ivory, felsnaptha if I can find it/get it) up into chunks and add to the borax. Once it is finely ground, just mix in a huge bowl with the rest of the powders.
I do most of my clean up with a vinegar/water/essential oils mixture. Rosemary, peppermint, Eyucalptus, and sweet orange occasionally. They're antibacterial and help repel different pests as well as smelling amazing. Great for counters, floors, spills, and tons of other things.
We just moved this past summer and I've been dreaming of a vegetable garden. I'm not sure I'll get there this year which is disappointing, but it depends on my energy level with minion #2 expected in May. I am committed to 1 raised bed at least for herbs, and have 1/3 bushes cleared from the space. Hoping for this energy spurt to last a bit longer.
Just wanted to chime in about the Angel Food Ministries thing (as a FA mom): If this month's package doesn't work for your family's dietary requirements, it's still worth checking out next month, since it varies.
ReplyDeleteJanuary's box was pretty great for us, and what we couldn't use, I gave to family. This month, however, would be a big waste of money, since my kids can't eat most of it. Next month, who knows?
Not sure if you are in the Philadelphia area, but www.playgroundbuzz.com has a calendar which often has a lot of fun free events.
ReplyDeletenot sure if you have a cash and carry (restaurant supply) nearby, but we buy bags of rice and beans by the 25 lbs and make our own refried beans. pretty easy with a pressure cooker and delicious! we save a ton of money doing that and make our own texmex. restaurant supply stores also tend to have cheap soap and other cleaners in bulk.
ReplyDeleteLOTS of great ideas here and I can't wait to try some I hadn't before!
ReplyDeletere: restaurant.com, watch what the fine print is on the deals, aka "must be $35 minimum" and if you sign up to use them, I'm always getting emails with their sales promo codes - so I wait until it's $1-2 for a $25 coupon. And this is what I get for teacher presents!
I think not only in terms of how much $ something costs but in how much time it costs me. Shopping w/kids vs after I drop them off at school for example - it saves me time and $. Making homemade stuff vs buying depends on how long it takes to make and what it costs @ store. I work from home and I have to figure out if it's cheaper to make and not work, or work and buy.
The biggest thing that has saved us $ is we took the Financial Peace University class from Dave Ramsey. It really opened our eyes when we started using a cash only basis (we pay bills online, but all "shopping" is cash). We have envelopes and cash sorted out for kids, family entertainment, grocery, etc. It's liberating to just know that I check the envelope before I go out and know what I have to spend, thus editing the list while shopping. And I NEVER walk into a store without a list. I mean, nobody mentioned it but I'm guessing it's because that is a given. FPU has you put aside a bit each month for your random "blow" $ - which is nice for a treat at the dollar menu when you just run out of time somedays. It helps not feel like we're constantly living on the cheap.
Menu planning and using the ads is vital around here. I can't get lazy on that one. I found out that the "junk" that someone throws at my driveway each Thur actually has the previous Sun coupons in it, so I don't spend $ on sunday papers to get coupons! sweet! The coupons in my area have been disappointing lately, but I still take a minute to check them, and I tear out the pages I want - my 6 yo daughter then cuts them out for me. :o)
I've had my kids say things like "why, do we have a coupon for it?" and "Mom, can you find a coupon for x product?" and although at first I was embarrassed, now I'm proud. If it wasn't for my grandma who lived through the depression and letting me see her tricks, I don't know that I'd survive in this economy.
Just keep going, knowing that you're teaching the kids as you go, and really, if $ is your problem, you don't have problems!!
I buy almost all my kids' clothing at Goodwill. We have a Goodwill Outlet where you have to dig through huge piles of clothing rummage sale style, but I have gotten excellent condition, brand name clothing for $1.39 per pound. Yes, it is sold by the POUND! I also belong to The Grocery Game - for a small membership fee it matches the current coupons with the current sales at my selected grocery store. The fee is well worth the time it saves!
ReplyDeleteCloth diapers, breast feeding and homemade baby food...
ReplyDeleteBaby clothes and items from Goodwill and Craigslist
We always pack our lunches versus eating out or the school caf!
I know I'm a little late to this post, but I use cloth napkins and real plates. No, I don't have 4 kids at home that generate fifteen loads a week of laundry already, but it's kind of like you can pretend to eat at a restaurant every single day!
ReplyDeleteAlso, my husband tends to throw the paper towels into the sink with the plate, but he won't do this with a linen napkin, so that's a bonus! Sinks should only contain dirty dishes, not garbage.
It's also environmentally better to do this - no garbage generated. Also, you've already bought the plates and napkins, might as well use them, and not have to buy paper ANYTHING anymore!
I do, however, draw the line at toilet paper - we buy that by the case so as to NEVER RUN OUT!
Oh..man. Please tell me you've sold your house. Waiting for a house to sell is so stressful. And the sound of money wooshing out of one's bank account is one of the more stressful sounds.
ReplyDeleteI know this blog was like a year ago, but with 6 people in the family, making your own shampoo might help. I do 1 Tablespoon Baking Soda to 1 Cup water (I also throw in sage or rosemary or mint, but it isn't required). I generally only have to make it every 2 or 3 weeks (though with 6 you might need to more often).
ReplyDeleteBest part? Your hair actually looks better if you only wash it every 2 or 3 days, which saves on both time and water. Or you could hide a book in the bathroom, turn on the water and enjoy a few extra minutes of alone time on the down low before your shower.