Thrifty Storage Solutions
Even the most frugal moms acquire more stuff than we can find a place for. And it becomes a real challenge to keep our homes organized when everything doesn’t have a place of its own. Here are some frugal storage solutions to help you organize (or hide!) the things you need to keep, but simply don’t use every day or which just don’t have a place they belong.
• Find a small wicker or wooden trunk or chest at a yard sale or thrift store. This is great for storing sheets, towels, blankets, etc.
• Use the space under the bed for storage. If you can’t afford the plastic under-the-bed storage bins, use cardboard boxes cut down to size, or plastic bags. This is a great place for keepsakes or memorabilia, off-season clothing, holiday decorations and other items that you don’t need very often.
• Fill baskets, tins, or plastic bins with small items such as extra pens, surplus office supplies, collectible or souvenir magnets, pin-back buttons or similar items and store them on top of your cabinets.
• Don’t forget the space under the sofa or living room chairs. While it may not be deep, you can store magazines, photos albums, and other shallow objects under there.
• Use shelves everywhere you can put them. Bookshelf units (the kind with two to five shelves) can be used for much more than books. Consider putting one in every room:
==> In the kitchen or pantry to hold canned goods and other food as well as seldom-used appliances like food processors, blenders, etc
==> In the bathroom to hold towels and extra bathroom items like soap, shampoo, toilet paper, etc.
==> In the guest room to hold books your guests might enjoy, family photos, a fruit basket, new toothpaste and toothbrushes, guest towels, a candy dish, and various other sundries to make your guest’s stay more pleasant.
==> In the living room to hold all your collections, candles and decorative items.
==> In the den to hold games, CDs, movies and DVDs.
==> In the office to hold business books, office supplies and equipment.
==> In each bedroom to hold… books! (A novel idea – pun definitely intended!)
• Don’t have room or the money to buy shelf units? Hang shelves on the wall. A board hung on simple brackets works great and you can hang them as high as you want to keep items out of reach or out of the way.
• Another shelf option is to buy thick boards and use them with cement blocks or bricks to create shelves. You can often find the materials needed free on Freecycle or Craigslist.
• If you don’t like the look of open shelves, make a simple curtain out of a twin sheet and attach it to the top. This creates a really cute country look and hides whatever is on the shelves.
• File cabinets can hold more than files, too, so make use of every inch of space they offer. Obviously, they’re great for office supplies since they’re typically in the office to begin with. But you can also use them for anything else you need to store and access easily.
• Hang toys from hooks attached to the ceiling in a child’s room. This creates a creative display and keeps the items reachable when needed.
• If your daughter collects dolls or stuffed animals, hang a shelf about 24″ from the ceiling and place all the dolls there. Or hang a “fish net” in a corner to hold them.
• Use canning jars to store buttons, marbles, pasta, rice, beans, etc. They not only create clean, dust-free storage, but they look good, too.
• Save plastic containers from butter, coffee creamer, yogurt, coffee, etc. and use them for small toys, craft items, scrapbooking embellishments, etc.
• Cover cardboard boxes and shoe boxes with colorful self-adhesive paper, fill them and create a “wall” of storage in your bedroom, guest room or anywhere else you need them.
• To easily locate items stored in boxes and bins, number each box in the top right hand corner. Record the contents for the box with the corresponding number in a steno book or spiral notebook. Keep your “box list” handy and you’ll never find yourself digging through storage boxes again.
There are dozens of ways to use recycled items and things you have around the house to create frugal storage solutions. Use your imagination and let these ideas kick-start your own.
Quick & Delicious Meals with 4 Ingredients or Less
If you’re looking for ways to save money when cooking at home, the simpler the recipe, the better. In fact, using four ingredients or less will almost ensure you a frugal meal to feed your family. Some of the recipes you cook on a regular basis would probably fit in this category. Here are some of our favorites gleaned from years of use. Rest assured, these simple dinners will also meet with family approval so you don’t have to worry about leftovers!
The Quickest Tacos
1 lb. ground beef.
1 pkg. taco seasoning mix
1 pkg. tortilla shells
Brown and crumble the ground beef in a medium skillet. RInse and drain to remove added fat. Add the taco seasoning. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Heat the tortilla shells in the oven or on top of the stove. You can add shredded cheese, lettuce, tomato, sour cream, etc. if desired, but it’s not necessary.
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Manwich® Sandwiches
1 lb. ground beef.
1 can Manwich®
1 pkg. hamburger buns
Brown and crumble the ground beef in a medium skillet. RInse and drain to remove added fat. Add the Manwich® sauce. Bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat and simmer 15 minutes. Serve on hamburger buns. You can add mustard, dill pickle slices, and potato chips if desired, but it’s not necessary.
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Easy Chicken Pot Pie
1 can shredded chicken
1 can cream of mushroom soup
1 can whole potatoes, chopped
1 roll crescent roll dough
Preheat the oven to 350°. Spray a 8″ x 8″ square baking pan with cooking oil spray. Unroll and spread half of the crescent roll dough in the bottom of the pan. Mix chicken, soup and potatoes. Pour into pan. Top with remaining dough. Bake for about 30 minutes or until golden brown. You can add a can of mixed vegetables and a chopped onion, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
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Waldorf Chicken Salad Subs
1 pint prepared chicken salad (from the deli)
1 apple, sliced thin
4 slices sharp cheddar cheese
4 sub rolls
Place 1/4 of the chicken salad on each sub roll. Add 3 of the apple slices and 1 slice of cheese. You can add 10-12 grape halves and 2 T. chopped nuts to the salad before use, and serve with potato chips, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
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Crock Pot Italian Beef Subs
1 chuck roast
1 c. Italian salad dressing
6-8 sub rolls
Spray crock pot with vegetable cooking spray. Trim all fat from roast and place in crock pot. Add salad dressing. Cover and cook on low 6-8 hours or until meat falls apart. Shred meat. Serve on sub rolls with about 1 T. juice added to each. You can serve with pepperoncini or jalapeno peppers, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
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Hamcos
1 lb. ground beef.
1 pkg. tortilla shells
1 tomato, chopped fine
shredded cheese
Brown and crumble the ground beef in a medium skillet. RInse and drain to remove added fat. Return to stove and heat thoroughly. Heat the tortilla shells in the oven or on top of the stove. Serve on tortillas with tomato and shredded cheese. You can add shredded lettuce and sour cream, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
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Chili Slaw Dogs
1 pkg. hot dogs
1 pint prepared Cole slaw (from the deli)
1 can chili
1 pkg. hot dog buns
Place hot dogs in medium sauce pan. Cover with water and bring to a boil. Boil 5-10 minutes or until hot dogs are thoroughly done and plump. Heat chili. Serve hot dogs on buns with chili and slaw. You can add mustard, ketchup, relish, etc. and serve with potato chips, if desired, but it’s not necessary.
As you can see, these are truly simple recipes. Hopefully, they’ll get you thinking about other meals you can prepare that are quick, frugal, healthy and delicious!
Decorating Your Home with Candles
Love candles? Who doesn’t! That’s why our homes are filled with candles of all shapes, sizes and scents. Sometimes, it’s hard to know what to do with all those candles we acquire through home parties, gifts, crafting and yard sales. Here are some tips and ideas for using candles throughout your home to help create a warm, comfortable environment while showing off all your waxen treasures.
• Always light a candle at least once so that the tip of the wick is burnt rather than white. This creates a much warmer atmosphere.
• Be safe when burning candles. Keep them away from children, pets, curtains and drafts. Never leave them burning when you go to bed or leave the house. And watch them closely when they burn down close to the candleholder so they don’t break and spill hot wax.
• Consider the effect you get with varying colors, sizes and shapes of candles. For instance, all-white candles make a striking centerpiece for wedding showers and parties. Bright striped candles add excitement and liven up a sunroom. And soothing pastels create calm and serenity in a bath.
• Display your candles in a variety of ways around your home. Place a few together on a bathroom vanity. Set one or two on the kitchen counter. Place one atop a bookshelf in your office. Even if you don’t burn them all, candles make an excellent addition to any room.
• Floating candles make an attractive “candlescape” for your dinner table. Fill a shallow glass dish with water. Add 2-3 small floating candle and some large flowers such as magnolia blossoms.
• Jar candles or container candles can be decorated with ribbons, trims, self-adhesive appliques and more to match your decor or the mood of your room.
• Keep candles from developing a hole in the middle around the wick, burn them one hour for every inch in diameter – at least the first time you light them. For instance, burn a 1″ round taper one hour, and a 3″ round pillar three hours when you first bring them home for the best results.
• Make a lovely centerpiece by grouping several candles of varying sizes and complementary colors on a mirrored tray. Use smooth, small river rocks to fashion a border around the outside of the tray, if desired.
• Napkin rings make the perfect size holder for tealight candles. Just be sure to protect the surface underneath from wax spills.
• Placing candles in the refrigerator before burning will make them last longer.
• Scented candles smell strongest at the bottom, so if you want a strong scent, sniff there before you buy.
• Reduce the amount of smoke candles emit when they burn by keeping the wicks trimmed to 1/4″.
• Use your imagination when selecting candle holders. Think outside the box and opt for items such as vintage saucers or bowls, flower pots, wire baskets and more.
There are many more ways to use candles around the house. Dig out all your candles and potential candleholders and create some new, stunning decorations for your home.
Successful Debt Reduction Strategies for Frugal Moms
Frugal moms know that one huge way to save money is, logically, to reduce the family’s debt. Having to pay out less money each month for credit card payments, medical bills, mortgages and other loans will allow you to spend more of your income on what you choose. It will also make your family more financially secure and allow you to invest and save more. The problem is, how to go about reducing your debt. Here are some ways to begin:
• Commit to paying off your debt.
Make a firm decision to begin today to reduce the amount of debt you owe. Work out a simple budget that shows exactly what you owe, how much you can pay each month, and when you will pay the debt off completely by following your plan.
• Start small.
While you will have to pay on all your bills each month to remain current, focus on paying off the bill with the smallest balance first. When that’s paid off, take the money you were paying on that bill, and with your regular monthly payment, pay the combined amount on the bill with the next smallest balance. Then, when that bill is paid off, take the money you were paying on both bills, and with your regular monthly payment, pay that combined amount on the next smallest balance… and so on until all your bills are paid off.
• Stop incurring more debt.
Stop using credit cards. Refrain from taking out additional loans. And stop buying anything you can’t afford or don’t really need. To have the best results, you’ll also need to learn to save money in a variety of ways. Every dollar saved is a dollar that help pay off your debt more quickly.
• Pay off your bills with the highest interest rate first.
This will typically be your credit cards, but not always. Check your monthly statement to be sure, then pay off those high interest debts as soon as you can.
• Never pay only the minimum amount due.
Financial experts agree that paying only the minimal amount on your bills, especially credit card bills, will keep you in debt the rest of your life. Sadly, that’s what finance companies want because that’s how they earn their money.
But you can get out of that debt trap by paying at least double the amount due on your credit card bill each month, triple, if possible. In addition, add $5-$10 to the principal on your mortgage and other loans each month. (Be sure to designate the amount to go toward the principal). That way, you’ll begin to see some real changes in the amount you owe on your bills and you’ll begin to truly reduce the amount of debt you owe.
• Use any extra money you receive to pay toward your debt.
You can earn additional money in many ways from having a yard sale, to getting an income tax refund, or selling some things on eBay. Whenever you earn additional income or get money you don’t need to live on, use it to pay off one of your bills rather than squandering it on something else. It may take discipline, but the reward of a debt-free life will be worth it!
• Refinance your loans if it will save interest.
After you’ve paid on a loan for awhile, talk to your financial institution to see if it would benefit you to refinance the loan. If doing so only adds more time to the loan, without saving you interest, it’s obviously not worth it. But if it would lessen the amount of time you have to pay and allow you to pay the loan off more quickly, it may be worth considering.
• Restructure your mortgage.
A friend of mine switched her monthly mortgage payments to a bi-weekly accelerated mortgage plan. This shaved seven years and thousands of dollars off her mortgage with an added payment of only $5 more each month! Check with your bank or mortgage company to see if this type mortgage could work for you.
• Consider a balance transfer account.
While this isn’t your best option, it may be worth it to find a loan or credit card with a lower interest rate that would allow you to transfer your high interest balance without additional costs. Be very careful with this, and be sure you are truly coming out better in the long run. This will only work if you have good credit and pay your bills on time.
As you can see, there are many ways to eliminate debt. Most situations will require using more than one of them, but whatever you choose, begin immediately to reduce the amount of money you owe. Your financial stability depends on it in these uncertain economic times.
Save Money with Crock Pot Cooking
Looking for ways to make frugal meals for your family? Fall in love with your crock pot! Not only is it easy to use and clean, it allows you to purchase less expensive cuts of meat and still come out with tender, juicy, delicious meals for your family. Here are some recipes that will almost guarantee you’ll learn to love your crockpot after the very first one you try.
Crock Pot Apple Cobbler
(Courtesy Free Quick Recipes)
4 med. apples, peeled, cored and sliced semi-thick
1/4 c. honey
1 t. cinnamon
2 T. butter, melted
2 c. granola cereal
Topping:
2 T. granola cereal
ice cream
Place all ingredients in crock pot. Mix well. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours. Sprinkle with granola and top with ice cream, if desired.
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Crock Pot Pork Chops & Potatoes
4-6 pork chops
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 onion, peeled and sliced
1 can mushroom soup
Trim fat from pork chops. Layer chops, potatoes and onion in crock pot in that order, making 2-3 layers of each depending on size of your crock pot. Spread with mushroom soup. Cover and cook on low 5-6 hours or until meat is tender.
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Crock Pot Cabbage Soup
1 onion, chopped
1 green peppers, chopped
1 can tomatoes, chopped
6 potatoes, peeled and chopped
3 carrots, sliced
1 small can mushrooms
3 stalks celery, chopped
1/2 head cabbage, chopped
1 pkg. onion soup mix
1 can bouillon or chicken broth
1 small can vegetable juice
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1 t. parsley
1/8 t. garlic powder
water
Place all ingredients in crock pot. Add about 8 c. of water to completely cover all ingredients. Mix well. Cook on low for 6-8 hours or until vegetables are tender.
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10 Can Vegetable Beef Stew
(Courtesy Free Quick Recipes)
1 lb beef stew meat, cubed
2 t. flour
2 cans whole potatoes, drained
1 can sliced carrots, drained
1 can lima beans, drained
1 can peas, drained
1 can green beans, drained
1 can whole kernel corn, drained
1 can diced tomatoes with liquid
1 bay leaf
1 large can V8 juice
salt & pepper to taste
Coat beef with flour, salt and pepper. Place in crock pot. Add remaining ingredients and mix well. Cover and cook on low for 7-8 hours.
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Little Smokies in a Crock
1 pkg. Little Smokies
1/2 c. grape jelly
Place Little Smokies in crock pot. Add jelly. Cover and cook on low for 2-3 hours.
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Cowboy Casserole
1/2 c. onion, chopped
1 1/2 lbs ground beef
6 potatoes, peeled and sliced
1 can pinto beans, drained
1 can tomatoes
2 T. flour
1 t. salt
1 t. pepper
1/8 t. garlic powder
Brown ground beef. Rinse and drain. Place in crock pot. Cover with onion, potatoes and pinto beans. Mix tomatoes, flour, salt, pepper and garlic powder in small bowl. Add to crock pot. Cover and cook on low 7-8 hours.
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Easy Beans & Franks
1 lb. hot dogs
2 cans pork & beans
1 small onion, chopped fine
Cut hot dogs in 1″ slices. Place all ingredients in crock pot. Mix well. Cover and cook on low 2-4 hours.
Developing a Frugal Mindset
Ever wonder why it is that some people can seemingly live so well on an extremely small income and others – who make a lot more money – struggle to just get by? A lot of the reason is in the way people think about money.
Regardless of how much money you make, frugal living requires a frugal and thrifty mindset. It requires you to evaluate, or possibly reevaluate, how you think about a variety of things such as the way you view money, your level of materialism, or your attitude toward consumerism. Consider for a minute what your core values regarding money and frugality are.
• Do you buy spend your paycheck on what you want then sometimes find you don’t have money to pay the bills?
• Do you think it degrading in some way to buy used merchandise, i.e., someone else’s “junk”?
• Do you insist on buying only brand name merchandise thinking that generic is in some way inferior?
• Do you feel that you and your family deserve the good things in life whether you can legitimately afford them or not?
Don’t get me wrong! This is certainly not said to condemn. It’s just that when money is tight or when financial hardship strikes, we may have develop a more frugal mindset in order to simply survive. Sadly, not everyone knows how to do that.
Maybe you feel the need to save money now in the current economic situation even though you’ve never had to worry about it before. Or maybe you see changes coming that will soon require you to be more frugal. Whatever your individual circumstances, you may simply feel the need to become more concerned about how much money you spend and what you spend it on.
If that’s your case, here are three simple things that may help you to begin changing your attitude toward money and frugal living in general.
1. Look at money as a tool, rather than a status symbol. While there are many people who might disagree, money is truly designed to be used to acquire what you and your family need and want. Period. While it can be used to help you appear prominent and it may gain you a measure of status and respect, the underlying truth is that money is a tool to help you create a comfortable life for your family.
If you have enough money to create a luxurious lifestyle, that’s all well and good. But if you don’t, then for your sanity’s sake and for your personal survival, you’ll have to learn to adapt your thinking and make your lifestyle the best it can be with the money you have available.
That doesn’t mean you’ve somehow failed, or that you should be less content with what you have right now. It only means that you have to work to save and earn the money needed to create the lifestyle you want. And until that time, living frugally will help you live the best you can with what you do have.
There is no shame in not possessing everything you want, or even everything you need. Learning to manage your money and your attitude toward it will only help in the long run.
2. Realize that to manage your money properly, you must first spend it on the things you need, and then – if there is any left over – you can spend it on the things you want. A lot of people get in trouble when they reverse the order of this basic money management principle. They want what they want, so they spend their money on their desires then have nothing left with which to buy food or pay rent.
You must learn to discipline your spending so that your family’s needs are provided for first. Sometimes the only way to do that and have anything left over for the “extras” you desire is to live more frugally than you’re used to doing.
3. Learn to distinguish between a want and a need. Once you realize that you must provide for your family’s needs first, you must then decide what constitutes a need rather than simply a desire. Need are things we can’t live without such as food, water, clothing, shelter, transportation so we can work to provide for our needs. Wants are all the extras – even if they feel like needs!
Junk food, cable TV, movie rentals, new or brand name clothing, a new car every couple of years, a fancy home, etc. are desires, not needs. American society, in particular, has led us to believe that everyone is prosperous and if we’re not, we deserve to live as if we are. Our consumer mindset has led us to expect so many more things than we actually need to survive.
If your family is struggling financially, look closely at everything you spend your money on and ask yourself, is this something I really need, or can I live without it? The answer may surprise you.
It may be hard for some of us to examine underlying attitudes toward money and thrift, but with so many people losing their jobs, prices rising continually and no quick fix in sight, it’s critical that we all develop a more frugal mindset. It may be our only defense in a world filled with economic upheaval and uncertainty.
Frugal Parenting Tips for Sending the Kids Back to School
School will be starting up again before you know it. And with that comes a lot of added expense for budget-burdened families. But there are ways frugal moms can save on the cost of getting the kids ready to go back to school. Here are some ideas to help you begin.
Plan what you’ll need.
Look at every piece of clothing in your child’s closet to determine what still fits and is wearable. Eliminate what she can’t wear and make a list of what’s needed. Don’t forget shoes, socks, underwear, etc. when you’re planning and write down sizes to make it easier to shop when you’re alone.
Evaluate how much “new” is really needed.
While kids would try to coerce an entire “new” wardrobe out of Mom and Dad each year, many parents are coming to realize that just isn’t necessary. As long as the clothes your children wore to school last year still fit and are in wearable condition, it’s not a law that they have to have a completely new wardrobe. A few new pieces are a nice treat, but most parents wear their clothes for more than one year and no one says kids should be different.
Get an early start.
By watching your local sales papers, shopping garage sales and thrift or consignment shops and knowing what you need in advance, you can save considerably in outfitting your children for school. This will also give you time to get everything washed and ready to wear, and make any minor repairs you may need. Shopping for back to school things will cost, but you can minimize the damage to your family’s budget with preparation and planning, and a decent amount of leg work.
Ask the school for a supply list, if possible.
Many teachers or school secretaries can provide this early, if not, use one from the previous year to at least get started on the basics such as pens, pencils, rulers, etc. Some things you’ll be able to use from the previous year, but you’ll typically have to purchase some supplies. Often you can find excellent sales on school supplies by shopping early, so knowing what each child will need will be a tremendous help.
Swap with other frugal moms.
Read Save Money by Hosting a Swap and learn how to set up a kid’s clothing swap with friends and neighbors who have school age children. For the best results find families with kids both younger and older, or smaller and larger, as the case may be. That way you’ll all be able to share the clothing you have on hand while finding things to fit your own kids in return.
Check your local dollar stores.
Everything is a dollar stores always have great deals on school supplies and are usually the first place to look for such items. But know your prices! Sometimes you can find the same items in larger packages or better quality brands on sale somewhere else. Just stay alert to what the going prices are by watching sales papers and weekly ads.
Shop garage sales, consignment stores and thrift shops.
Good used kids clothes are a common commodity. The trick is to know what sizes you need before you go since you obviously won’ be able to t return what doesn’t fit. Be sure to check each item thoroughly for stains or damage before purchasing. And if you have a picky child, it’s best to take her along, especially if you’re concerned about something she may not wear.
Minimize colors.
Just as in shopping for your own clothes, you can save money by staying within a few basic colors, you can do the same for your children. Choose a few coordinating colors based on what they like best and search for a variety of pieces that can be mixed and matched. This will stretch your wardrobe budget and still provide your child with everything he needs to wear.
There are ways to send your kids to school without breaking the bank. Use your creativity and look for viable options that fit your family’s budget.
12 Ways to Shave $100’s off Your Budget Every Month
1. Eliminate junk food such as cookies, snack cakes, etc. Your family will not only eat better and be healthier, but you’ll consume less calories and spend less on your food bill.
Minimum Savings: $15 week x 4 weeks = $60 per month
2. Make your own coffee and take it with you every day rather than stopping at your local coffee shop. You can pick up an insulated to-go mug with a sipper cup lid at a yard sale for 25¢ if you don’t have one and save a small fortune every month with this strategy alone.
Minimum Savings: $15 week x 4 weeks = $60 per month
3. Eat breakfast at home rather than stopping for a donut or sausage biscuit. Even a cheap breakfast out costs more, and contains more calories, than a bowl of cereal, a banana, and a glass of juice.
Minimum Savings: $15 week x 4 weeks = $60 per month
4. Pay your bills on time. Eliminating even one late fee every month can add up to savings. And often, paying bills late becomes a routine so the savings in this area can be much more than listed here.
Minimum Savings: $15 per month
5. Balance your checkbook and don’t let your account become overdrawn. This will eliminate insufficient funds charges from your bank which are outrageously high, as well as helping to eliminate late fees as mentioned above.
Minimum Savings: $30 per month
6. Eat out no more than once a week. When you do eat out, choose a less expensive restaurant, share a meal with your spouse and drink water rather than soda or tea. Also, if you take the kids, choose only restaurants where they can eat free.
Minimum Savings: $40 per month
7. Stop buying paper and plastic products whenever possible. Eliminate paper cups, paper plates, plastic flatware, paper towels, paper napkins, etc.
Minimum Savings: $25 per month
8. Cancel your gym membership and look for alternative exercise options that don’t cost anything. Ride a bike, go for a swim, jog, walk the dog, play volleyball with the kids, etc.
Minimum Savings: $35 per month
9. Borrow a movie from your local library instead of renting one each week. Once you’ve seen everything the library has to offer, swap movies with friends or start a neighborhood movie swap group.
Minimum Savings: $20 per month
10. Use your debit card instead of withdrawing funds from a bank where you don’t have an account. While banks promote access to their huge ATM network as a great benefit, “foreign” ATMs charge for every transaction made on their equipment by a non-member. And your own bank will charge you, too! Use your own bank or your debit card to save these fees when you don’t have cash.
Minimum Savings: $15 per month
11. Eliminate convenience products such as fabric softener sheets, disposable dust cloths, facial cleansing cloths, etc. and use wash cloths or cleaning rags instead.
Minimum Savings: $10 per month
12. Learn a craft such as knitting or scrapbooking and make your own gifts. Purchase supplies on sale or at yard sales and thrift stores for even greater savings. You can even sell what you make or swap with others for what you want or need.
Minimum Savings: $25 per month
Unusual and Wacky Ways to Save Money
Some people are creatively frugal, saving money in ways most of us only hope to mimic. Others, however, take frugality to the extreme. And most of us probably fall somewhere in the middle. Here are some unusual ways to save money that many of us would even consider wacky. They are gleaned from a variety of sources to offer a glimpse into the wilder side of the frugal lifestyle. Maybe you wouldn’t be comfortable practicing some of the most extreme measures of frugality, but they’ll certainly make you think about other possibilities!
• Marry a handyman (or woman). The ability to make household and automotive repairs will literally save you thousands of dollars every year.
• Wash and reuse foil and plastic zipper bags. (To be safe, though, never reuse them if they contained raw meat.)
• Find a frugal spouse and stay married. Divorce is expensive!
• Save money on your wedding flowers by picking up a couple of floral arrangements from the ground at your local cemetery the night before the wedding. (Never steal them from a grave, though!)
• Stop buying kitty litter by potty training your cat. Most cats can be trained with little effort, though for best results, start when they’re young. The savings may make it worth the time.
• Stop smoking! Forget the health benefits which are too numerable to count. The savings can add up to nearly $2,000 a year!
• Wash your car when you fill up the gas tank using the squeegee and soapy water that most stations provide.
• No car wax? Try furniture wax. It’s said to work just as well and typically costs less.
• Don’t want to drink plain water when you dine out? Add a couple slices of lemon (which most restaurants provide free), and a packet or two of sugar or Splenda to make your own lemonade.
• Hot tea drinkers can take their own tea bags and ask for a cup of hot water. Make it decaffeinated and you won’t seem as cheap since few restaurants offer decaffeinated tea bags.
• Join a local group at Freecycle.org and find all kinds of things you need that someone else was going to throw away.
• Stop buying paper products. Instead of Kleenex, use a handkerchief, instead of paper napkins, use cloth, instead of paper towels, use a dish cloth. If you’re really frugal (or broke!), you can even use newspaper instead of toilet paper.
• Save the plastic containers you get from restaurants when you carry food home and use those for leftovers so you don’t have to buy plastic wrap or freezer bags.
• Remember grandma’s old adage, “Find a penny, pick it up, all the day you’ll have good luck” – and you’ll be a little bit wealthier, too!
• Save all the ketchup, mustard, mayonnaise, salt, pepper, napkins, straws, etc. that you pick up at restaurants and don’t use right away. Never throw away what can save you money.
• Buy generic or store brand cereal and eat more of it. You can still find cereal for less than $2 for a large box. Add milk and you’ve got several meals for pennies each.
• Set up shop at your local print shop rather than supplying an office in your home. You can plug in your lap top and use their electricity, plus use a stapler, paper clips, rubberbands, etc. that most print shops provide for their customers. You can even use their phone in most cases.
• Need to send a fax? Ask a friend who works in an office to do it for you.
• Instead of renting a house or an apartment, live in a camper. Find a cheap used camper if you don’t own one, or borrow one from a friend. Ask for the monthly rate at your local campground and you can live for around $300 a month – with electricity, water, and Internet included. Don’t have a shower? Not to worry… use the bath house. Just take your own towels.
• Hungry? Dry dog food is safe, nutritious and costs only pennies a day. And people who know say it tastes better than canned.
• Shop the after-Christmas sales for all the gifts you’ll need the following year. Wrap, tag and hide them until next December.
• Use only rechargeable batteries.
• Buy only battery operated clocks and other items that could run all the time and cost money.
• Before you go to bed, unplug TVs, radios, your stove and other appliances that continue to use electricity.
• Check local restaurants, the library and other places that have a lost and found department for items that were left and never claimed.
• Look for new items at yard sales and thrift stores. Use them for gifts or sell them on eBay.
• Get free books by offering to write free book reviews for your local newspaper.
• Recycle an old toilet or bathtub as a planter in your yard. Makes a great conversational piece, too!
• When dining out, choose the largest meal you can. Eat what you want and take the rest home for another meal or two during the week.
These are just some of the many unusually frugal ways to save money and get what you want and need for less. Be bold and take initiative. You can learn to save in ways you never imagined and have fun in the process!
Saving Water Equals Saving Money
As summer heats up, water becomes a much more valuable commodity, especially in drier or drought-burdened locales. That alone should give us incentive to save water in every way we can. But of course, saving water means saving money, and what could be better than that? Here are some ways you and your family can save water all year round, but especially during the “dog days” of summer.
• If you suspect you have a water leak, ask the water company to inspect it just to be sure. If you find you do have a leak outside that has affected your water bill, ask for a credit. The water company will often comply.
• Never use running water to thaw meat or other frozen foods. The safest method for defrosting foods is overnight in the refrigerator.
• Never let the water run while shaving, washing your face or brushing your teeth. You can easily brush your teeth while you’re waiting for water to get hot enough to shave or wash your face. And always fill the basin for these tasks to save the most water.
• Be sure your toilet tank isn’t leaking. Add a drop of food coloring to the tank. If the toilet is leaking, the water in the toilet bowl will change color in about a half hour. If you do have a leak, flush the toilet so the food coloring doesn’t stain, then check for worn out or malfunctioning parts. Fixing a toilet is relatively inexpensive and easy and can save considerable amounts of money over time.
• If you have an older toilet with a large tank, place a brick in the tank to displace some of the water. It will use less water for each flush, but you’ll never know the difference in the way it works. Also be sure to replace or adjust the handle if it sticks allowing the water to run.
• Don’t flush unless you need to. While I can’t advocate disposing of toilet paper anywhere other than the toilet as I’ve seen some people do, it does make sense to not flush facial tissues, bugs or other trash down the commode unless you were flushing anyway.
• Reuse dish water and other “brown water” by pouring it on your garden or outside plants.
• Run your dishwasher or washing machine with a full load only. If you must clean a smaller load, be sure to adjust the water level and temperature correctly.
• Dripping faucets are not only annoying, they cost money. But changing a washer on a leaky faucet is a very inexpensive fix that can save thousands of gallons of water every year.
• Keep a pitcher of drinking water in the refrigerator. It saves having to run the tap to cool the water every time you want a drink.
• Take shorter showers and eliminate baths if at all possible. Change out your showerhead to one that uses less water, or one with a cut-off valve that lets you shut off the water while you lather.
• If you have children who are too young for showers, fill the tub only one-third full and put the stopper in the tub before you turn on the water. Once the water gets hot, it will quickly heat up the cold that pours out first.
• Water your lawn only when absolutely needed. Set out a barrel to collect rain water and use this free resource to irrigate plants when you can.
• Rather than fully washing your car, rinse off the dust. This saves a lot of water, and it’s often all that’s required to keep your car looking shiny.
• Be sure your water heater is insulated so it runs as little as possible. Some people are satisfied with slightly hot water, while others want it practically scalding. Whatever your preference, set the hot water temperature at the lowest setting needed for your comfort.
• Install an aerator on your kitchen and bathroom faucets if you don’t have them already. Less flow saves water.
• Choose water-wise plants when landscaping to minimize the amount of water needed to keep your plants healthy. Consider cacti and succulents, as well as pine trees and a variety of hardy grasses and ground covers.
• Use a broom rather than the hose to clean driveways and sidewalks
There are many, many more ways to save money by saving water. Develop the habit of using less water and not only will your budget benefit, but the environment will be improved as well.
