use cloth napkins also.

Grocery shops ads only - plan your weekly meals around the ads rather than planning a menu and shopping for those items, possibly getting a few on sale. On my reciept, every single item shows it was on sale, plus coupons. I dont think I have paid full price (even for gas!) in over a year on anything!

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Carpe Bargain - Seize the Deal!

We buy all our clothes at either Walmart or Goodwill. Goodwill has really nice clothes here.

That's one that I just can't seem to do - plan a week's menu. I don't know on Monday what I will want for dinner on Thursday. I know myself well enough to know that if I plan on Monday to cook a roast on Thursday, and then am not in the mood for a roast on Thursday, I may cook it as planned, but I won't eat it.
I tend to keep basic ingredients on hand that can be used in a variety of recipes, so that when I decide what to fix, I have what I need.

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When life hands you lemons, ask for tequila and salt and call me over!
Any time God closes one door, She always opens another, even though sometimes it's Hell in the hallway.
Handle every stressful situation like a dog. If you can't eat it or play with it, pee on it and walk away.
Fool me once, shame on you. Fool me twice, prepare to die. (Klingon proverb)
Don't point. You'll poke holes in the air and all the faeries will escape.

Here are many of the things we do to save not spend... Our motto is, the more ya consume, the more tax ya hafta pay... income tax, property tax, sales tax, sin tax, rooms and meals tax, excise tax, on and on and on....
We figured out that over 5 years we will save 100k by changing our consuming habits and reducing what we pay
in taxes

Kitchen:
-Buy dry goods in bulk.
-Borax/baking soda to handwash dishes... salt to scrub pans.
-Baking soda/vinegar replaces DW soap & Jet Dry.
- Vinegar/ammonia water spray for countertops and windows.
-Windows are squeeged or we use newsprint to wipe dry.
- We fill the oven when we use it... 2 chickens not 1, 4 loaves of bread intstead of two, and we bake treats at the same time on the lower level. Freeze the surplus for later.
-Fill the freezer even if it's w. ice blocks... it's cheaper to operate. Same thing w/the fridge, only use water jugs.
-Cook on the woodstove whenever the woodstove is going...even if it's just a pot of chix stock.
-Freeze some chix stock as ice cubes for smaller portioning.
-Avoid canning unless ya can do it using resources other than electricity or gas. It's cheaper to buy on sale and in bulk
-Margarine tubs instead of tupperwear, Simply Orange juice containers are the perfect shape for reuse, and offer a treat of fresh squeezed every once and a while - coupons are usually available too.
-Save a baggie of onion skins, leeks parts, (not carrot peelings) in the freezer with bones from meats so that stock can be made for free
-Reuse every plastic bag that stuff comes in... bread bags are great for muffin & cookie storage. Zip lock baggies for kids lunch crackers can be used indefinitely.
-When the oven is warm, put a bowl of vinegar in it overnight. Wipe down in the morning. Avoid the self-clean mode... huge energy sucker!
-Use energy saving task lights instead of overheads.
-Purchase herbs in bulk if we don't dry our own.
-Buy plastic wrap & foil in restaurant size rolls (huge savings here).
-Save used tea bags for making iced tea
-Compost everything - save out coffee grinds and eggs shells to mix in around rose bushes and tomoto plants
- Buy Canola oil in 5 gallon containers to refill a small one
- Buy olive oil in 1 gallon sizes and do the same.


Cleaning the inside of the house:
-Wood furniture: use olive oil to polish
-Floors: Warm water and vinegar where we can. Add baking soda or washing soap if needed.
-Refrigerator: Warm water/baking soda
-Oven: Vinegar placed in a dish in a warm oven overnight... wipes clean in the morning.
-Microwave: hot water/vinegar in a dish.. let set and wipe clean
Toilets: Ammonia or vinegar. Wet brush, sprinkle salt on it and scrub.
Sink & Tub: See toilets
Chrome: straight vinegar. scrub with salt if need be. Wipe dry.
Vaccum: We use a dyson - works awsome, doesn't break and uses no bags even though it's a hepa.

Gardening:
-Mulch comes from the town dump truck when they trim the trees in our neighborhood
- Garden mulch/weed barrier/water retainer is formed with laid out newprint.
-Compost!
-Water from rain barrels which collect water from the gutter runoff. we use goldfish or minnows in rain barrels to eat bug larve.

Miscellaneous:
- take our own trash to the dump when we pass by.
- Use Skype.com for our house line phone ($3/mo)
- Use Hula.com & others for free tv programming/movies instead of cable. See youtube for install instructions.
- Use the library for periodicals, books, movies
- Use plastic grocery bags for trash bags
- A lemon and salt cleans copper.
- Thin our woods in the spring/summer for winter firewood
- Use a woodstove w. a catalitic converter for twice burning
- Use wood ash on driveway for grit and melting
- Use wood ash for soil improvements
- Borax mixed with sugar syrup to kill ants & nest
- Borax sprinkled around house to deter mice
- Bag Balm works on scratches, chafing, abrasions, sunburns, anything chapped, dry or scaly skin.


Okay... outta time for today... Would love to hear others ideas for frugal living!

Cheers!

Check at thrift stores and consighment shops also.

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* Patience really is a virtue.

We tend to live microwave lifestyles where every whim is a 'need' and we want instant gratification. Even those of us who are learned at being frugal will benefit from slowing down and being even more patient. Do you need to see the latest movie release? Can we make it home to prepare a decent snack there instead of stop at a fast food drive-in? Can't we do without the car for a few days while we save up for a repair? Must the kids see Disneyland this year instead of next? Even taking asprin for a headache is a means of 'instant relief' when just laying down for a nap might be just as effective.

I am constantly reminded - CONSTANTLY - of how my impatience wastes money. Start noticing how patience would have benefitted you and you will also see new ways to save.

* Be prepared.

This is the flip-side to the patience axiom. If I have dinner pre-planned and waiting for me at home, I'm less likely to cave into an eating out urge. If I washed, ironed and hemmed my nice pair of slacks, I'm less likely to race to the store because "I have nothing to wear." If I do the small repair on the roof today, I am less likely to have to pay for a major roof replacement (and other damage) later. Just saving money "for no reason at all" is a way to be prepared. Opportunities are won when we are in a position to jump on them. Think of the current times. So many big ticket items are at bargain prices right now. If we were out of debt and had loads of money in the bank, we'd be in a position to snap up these deals. However, if we're one of the many who are 'in a hole' and needing to liquidate, then those opportunities are lost to us.

* You can't buy a lifestyle.

I see people do this all the time. Signing up for a gym membership doesn't make us healthier. Buying a truck-load of camping equipment doesn't make us 'outdoorsy'. Buying adorable baby clothes and toys doesn't make us better parents. Graduating from a pricy private college doesn't make us well-eduated. And buying the latest item to hit Target doesn't make us stylish.

We tend to seek qualities by what we buy instead of what we do. The other day DD and I were walking through a street fair. On the sidewalk were two guy playing music to earn money. Their equipment was nothing more than a few metal pots and over-turned plastic buckets. I turned to DD, who has be bugging me for drum lessons instead of piano, and said, "See. If you really want to play drums you don't need the fancy equipment." She just smirked. In reality, what DD wants is the cool drum set, not to play the drums. I want her to learn not to try to buy a lifestyle.

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"I've been rich and I've been poor but independently wealthy is where it is at."

My blogs:
Oh!: http://oh-cookie.blogspot.com/
The Foundation Club: http://thefoundationclub.blogspot.com/
12 Months to a Homemade Christmas: http://12monthstoahomemadechristmas.blogspot.com/
Experiences, Not Things: http://experiencesnotthings.blogspot.com/

If you'd like to be friends on Facebook, PM me.

When I returned to part time work 2 years ago, after being home for 5 years, we continued to live on only my husband's salary and bank my entire salary. This income is strictly used for school tuition payments for our children's schools, needed major household repairs (new windows for a 99 year old home), and savings. My checks are direct deposited to a bank 30 minutes away and I have no debit, credit or ATM card for this account which means I have to drive a good distance to retrieve the funds if necessary. Although it would be nice to purchase some "wants", it is better peace of mind to know we have a substantial "emergency fund", especially when my husband was at risk of losing his job last winter.

[quote=magellan;954673]
Kitchen:

-Baking soda/vinegar replaces DW soap & Jet Dry.


WOW!!! I didn't know this - you can use just plain old Baking Soda in the DW? I knew about the vinegar in place of Jet Dry, but Baking soda can be used in place of Cascade or similar???

Interesting and CHEAP!

These really can give you a breather in terms of getting extra budget in your pocket for the "rainy days".