What do you do to save money?

[Katie T]

I thought it would be a fun way to get more ideas of other ways to save money if we all told what we do to save ourselves some money. We need to trim out budget as much as possible and I am at a loss at what else can be done.

I will kick it off~
cloth diaper
mama cloth/diva cup
line dry clothes
homemade cleaners
bake my bread
can food
cook from scratch
window open when I can
heat with wood
garage sale
make some of the things we need. (sewing is all I know but am going to learn to crochet so I can make some new washrags for the kitchen).
rent movies and books from the library instead of buying.

So give me your best ones ladies!

[1jooj]

garden and put up the food
thrift
lots of dried beans, lentils, peas
whole-foods diet
exercise to stay healthy
avoid soda and junk food
DIY most home and car jobs
hand-me-downs (kids AND grownups!)
drive older cars (easier repairs, cheap insurance, no car payments)
read a lot
barter
take time to evaluate purchases
work from home

[Fillyjonk]

three things I do that have taken me 32 years to learn.

First off, if I can possibly afford it, I buy quality. I don't go for the bells and whistles, or new, I go for something at the top of my price range that will LAST. This tends to work out both for the planet (obvioulsly), and my pocket long run because quality stuff tends to have good resale value. I get a lot of tools and so on from car boot sales (yard sale for americans?)-they've usually lasted someone else a fine long time, so odds are they've got a bit longer in them. Plus I love that the tools I use for knitting, sewing, woodworking, gardening and so forth have been used by hands other than mine.

Second, I don't buy a higher spec than I need. I spend a long time before each purchase working out what I need. Not what the advertisers tell me I need. Not what some kid on a blog tells me I need. But the bare minimum I can get away with. I always look down a spec. And then, as above, I buy the best quality I can afford. If possible, I get something I can repair myself if (when) it goes wrong.

Third, I watch no tv and my kids watch very little (they watch dvds, just not broadcast stuff). I find myself getting very dissatisfied with my life after just an hour or two staring at the magic box. My house looks like it has 3 homeschooled kids rampaging through it all day, because we do as much as we can ourselves and so there are tools everywhere, plants on the windowsill, veg and fruit waiting to be made into jam and chutney, sewing, knitting and crochet projects everywhere etc etc, books open all over the freaking place, and so on. I don't live in martha stewarts house and I am learning to make peace with that. Clutter comes with an active life, but I have found this so hard to accept, as I tend to equate successful parenting with an orderly house. More fool me. I'm learning to deal with that.

[rere]

Other than things that have already been mentioned...

I make all the presents that we give.And I make as many as I can out of things that have been given to me for free or thrifted items.

I plan activities for my daughter based on all the different free days.

Before I buy almost anything I ask my mother.Her and her friend are always getting rid of stuff.You never know what I might get for free.

Here are some things I've made out of reused materials.

And here is my house full of free stuff.

[Katie T]

Thanks ladies, I do garden and put up what I harvest. One of my favorite parts of summer. I need to get better about not just buying the cheapest of something though, great reminder thanks!

I need to get better about using dried beans and such in cooking. That would really help bulk up the meal, add nutrition and stretch a buck! Thanks

rere~ Amazing is all I can say. I love to be crafty but have no where near the ideas you have! I am so inspired now! I did make aprons for everyone for Christmas, felt food for the kids, stuffed animals from hand me down material (as was the aprons). I am going to make a wall hanging for my parents for Christmas this year. I will try to keep some of your super neat creations in mind to cut down on my gift giving bill! (One reason I am so stressed out!)

Thanks everyone I really appreciate it and have gotten lots of great feedback!

[SunRise]

Originally Posted by rere

Other than things that have already been mentioned...

I make all the presents that we give.And I make as many as I can out of things that have been given to me for free or thrifted items.

I plan activities for my daughter based on all the different free days.

Before I buy almost anything I ask my mother.Her and her friend are always getting rid of stuff.You never know what I might get for free.

Here are some things I've made out of reused materials.

And here is my house full of free stuff.

Thanks for sharing - love your freestuff home and all the crafty things you have made - I have to figure out how to make those sweater mittens (but I dont have any sweaters with holes in the elbows yet ) And the fabric buckets are nifty. My aunt made my son a fabric ball, which I love. Oh to get back into making things!

[zebra15]

I try to use what I have before buying anything else. Declutter has helped with that. I find so much hidden away (I've lived in 3 places in 4 yrs) and stuff is all over in boxes.

I try to combine driving trips, the grocery store I shop at gives 10c off per gallon of gas for every $100 you spend in a month. So I buy gas there.

I shop on line thru mypoints.com

I have someone collecting coke points for me and I cash them in for nike gift cards for DS. (takes awhile but its well worth it for shoes and clothes)

Right now Im shopping the loss leader at BTS sales so we are stocked for the upcoming year of homeschooling

[rere]

Originally Posted by Katie T

rere~ Amazing is all I can say. I love to be crafty but have no where near the ideas you have! I am so inspired now! I did make aprons for everyone for Christmas, felt food for the kids, stuffed animals from hand me down material (as was the aprons). I am going to make a wall hanging for my parents for Christmas this year. I will try to keep some of your super neat creations in mind to cut down on my gift giving bill! (One reason I am so stressed out!)

Thanks!You should come join the homemade holiday thread.Lots of good ideas over there!

Originally Posted by SunRise

Thanks for sharing - love your freestuff home and all the crafty things you have made - I have to figure out how to make those sweater mittens (but I dont have any sweaters with holes in the elbows yet ) And the fabric buckets are nifty. My aunt made my son a fabric ball, which I love. Oh to get back into making things!

Thanks!

[Mommy2Austin]

One of the many things we do:

Turn the hot water heater down to about 105-110 degrees. Thats about as hot as we can stand to shower. It saves us a lot on our electric bill along with out CFL Bulbs.

[APBTlover]

Of course you ladies have already covered a lot of the good ones! A couple I didn't see:

*DH does most of our car maintenance and repair. No, he's not a mechanic, but with determination and the appropriate Haynes manual, he (and most people) can deal with most of what comes up.

*We buy used books. Lots of them. There is a fabulous, gigantic, cheap book sale here annually and we stock up on books at $.50-$2 each. Bored? Grab a book. Trying to figure out how to do that crochet stitch or fix that faucet? Grab a book. Winter evenings are especially great for reading aloud snuggled on the couch instead of renting a movie, too.

[sewaneecook]

We do a lot of the things already mentioned. Here are a couple more:

One way we save is to not eat out. So, when I'm tempted to go out to eat, I take one of my premade freezer meals out to use. I'll often make a double recipe of soups, sloppy joes, and other easily frozen meals that can be thrown in the microwave or the oven on a busy day or one that I don't feel like cooking from scratch.

For using dried beans: Cook them in large batches and freeze them in meal size servings. Makes them as convenient as canned, but healthier and cheaper.

I make lists of things each child needs in the next size up from what they currently wear. When I find great sales, I pull out my list to see if the sales match our needs. I often find things cheaper new than I would at the thrift stores.

Like others, I buy quality furniture, clothing, and other household items. Even with the abuse of 2 kids most of our furniture still looks new because it's the good stuff. Most of the clothing that DS1 wore was higher quality (bought at deep discounts!) and looks almost brand new now that DS2 is wearing them! Cheap price doesn't necessarily equal a bargain.

[provocativa]

I make money from my excesses and hobbies. I wanted raw, grassfed milk, so I started a milk delivery club. I like to culture foods, so I started selling my yogurt. I used to like alcohol, so I made my own raw beers or wines (just can't justify spending money on wine when the kids need x or y). Need to get back to that, now I'm a bit lazy and just don't drink. I freecycle and craigslist like a madwoman. I ask the farmer's market folks for their bruised fruit. I don't buy clothes. I curb shop. Pay attention when you drive by stuff- last week I got a 900 air compressor, just sitting on the curb! If I had a truck I would go so far as to learn the garbage routes. I do my own appliance repair- washers, hvac, etc. I don't use electric lights during the day. Almost all the food I buy is on sale, and I belong to a UNFI buying club. I have stopped going to our local health food coop except on their discount days. I wash my hair with soap, not shampoo.

[carfreemama]

Rere, O.M.G!! I especially love your owl bucket and your pink bunny.

We turn our hot water off for all but 1 hour a day. That has saved us hundreds and hundreds per year.

Line dry, even in winter.

Swaps and bartering. High on my list of things to expand on.

Share with other families things like tools and magazine subscriptions.

Bake our bread. I bought a flour mill a couple of years and we buy our grain at the co-op we volunteer at, at the member discount.

No car.

Changing my thinking. Dd wants time with me, not things from me (mostly).

No cable.

Second-hand furniture.

Budgets for everything.

Cloth pads. I love them!

Tonight is date night with dh, which is pretty rare. I bought good chocolate with a coupon and we are going for a walk. I will brew fresh coffee for our thermal mugs and we will take our treats to the park. We don't need to spend $50 on supper!

[rere]

Originally Posted by carfreemama

Rere, O.M.G!! I especially love your owl bucket and your pink bunny.

We turn our hot water off for all but 1 hour a day. That has saved us hundreds and hundreds per year.

Line dry, even in winter.

Swaps and bartering. High on my list of things to expand on.

Share with other families things like tools and magazine subscriptions.

Bake our bread. I bought a flour mill a couple of years and we buy our grain at the co-op we volunteer at, at the member discount.

No car.

Changing my thinking. Dd wants time with me, not things from me (mostly).

No cable.

Second-hand furniture.

Budgets for everything.

Cloth pads. I love them!

Tonight is date night with dh, which is pretty rare. I bought good chocolate with a coupon and we are going for a walk. I will brew fresh coffee for our thermal mugs and we will take our treats to the park. We don't need to spend $50 on supper!

Thanks!Isn't that owl fabric great?!

Your date night has to be the sweetest thing I've heard in quite a while!

[carfreemama]

Date night was awesome! Zero cash spent. I want to think up more ways of having zero-dollar-dates that are really special and surprising for dh! It's actually MORE fun, because there's no stress about what we're spending; although I know it's okay to indulge sometimes, too.

[jimblejamble]

Rere, can I have your house please?

I...
cloth diaper
hang dry as much as I can (apartment...not a whole lot of room so I hang dry what I can)
cook from scratch
buy in bulk and/or shop at Costco
mama cloth
about to start family cloth
filter water instead of buy it
very little driving
have recently stoped running the AC alllll day, instead I spritz myself off with water, keep the windows open, wear loose light clothes
sold C's car...saves us about $15/month on insurance and it's nice getting a check every month
no TV (we have one but no channels)
shop at thrift stores (today I got 4 like-new shirts for the price of a pair of socks from the mall, LOL!)
...and lots of other stuff mentioned here already

[Katie T]

Loving all the ideas! I had never thought to turn my water heater off. That is totally do able as is many other things mentioned! Thank you thank you

[Nicole730]

So far we've:

no cable
got netflix - no more buying movies or going out for them
buy almost all kids clothes at rummages and some adult too
freeze discount produce for later
cloth diaper
occassional family cloth
diva cup
line dry, only outside, so not usually in the winter
have a local online network of mom's, that I can ask if I am in need of something, usually there is someone who has what I'm looking for
cut back on going out to eat


I find the water heater one intriguing...hmmm

[Ruthiegirl]

I don't buy stuff! Even cheap stuff, or stuff on sale, or stuff from Goodwill. I am much more careful about buying only what we need and not 'stockpiling' a bunch of clothes and things.

Just yesterday I had some free time, so I went to Goodwill. I found some lovely fabric that would be nice on the window seat, some frames that could be cute if painted, and some pants for my ds. And then I looked at this armload of stuff and thought, "What the heck am I doing?" I don't have time to reupholster the window seat, I don't need any more frames and my son has plenty of pants with more to come from a friend who hands down to us.

I am purposefully working towards a mental state where I can say that I have enough and enough is enough. My walls a bit bare and my furniture is worn, but it is fine. It is enough me and more than many have.

So, that's my big way to save money. I don't buy anything.