New frugal mamas thread? - Page 3

[2BMamaof3]

Hi all. I think a frugal lifestyle is a GOOD idea, and I am making lots of progress. Mostly I'm making progress because I don't have a choice, there is just no money!! But I've learned so much over the last 4 years (when my lifestyle changed dramatically...I quit work and moved to Canada to be with my husband and he is our sole provider).

This week I did not have to buy a birthday present for my daughter. Well, I spent 20 dollars on the birthday party AND presents...normally this would have been 200 in all. So that is a HUGE change. I made her gifts out of items I already had or recycled, and the major activity for her party is a homemade pig pinata. I'm quite pleased with my first foray into frugal birthday parties.

OH, and we're having a big family/friends get together party tonight, but we're doing it POT LUCK style instead of me shelling out the dough I don't have to feed a bunch o people. I'm excited!!

Abby

[root*children]

Good for you! I love frugal parties! All our b-day parties have cost next-to-nothing - homemade streamers, scratch cakes, homemade/YSed gifts, etc.

Another frugal thought on travelling I had wanted to mention earlier is ride-sharing. Our local college radio station does this, but if your's doesn't, it would be easy enough to put a note up on a bulliten board at your local college. My ads always say something like..."Mama with kids has room in the min-van for passengers to ___. Non-smokers only. Need to share gas cost, and possibly driving. Females or couples preferred. Must be patient, b/c it'll be slow ride (gotta let the youngins out to run around every once in a while!)"
Usually works well for females who don't necessarily want to drive 8 hours with some crazy guy!

Well, no yardsales here today on account of the rain. But I did go to consignment store and bought a Baby Bjorn for 8 bucks.. (eBay!)


Nak!

[Mama Faery]

Just subscribing to the thread.
We didn't do any yardsaling this weekend (but the season for it is going to be gone soon, New England's weather is so temperamental!) but today there's a %50 off sale at our local Savers thrift store...so I think we may be going later today! DH needs some casual clothes and maybe we'll find some good stuff for Rowan too.
Anyway, hope you all had a great weekend! I need to learn more about being frugal from you all...money is so hard for us to deal with right now...
Take care!

[juliewol]

Did anyone here ever dumpster dive?

This past week, we checked out the dumpster of our local middle school, I this is what I found:
Primo 3 hole paper punch (I'd been wanting one of these)
French, Spanish & German books
French tapes
many science books
unopened set of math & science CD-ROMS
and a few other things.

[root*children]

Our subdivision dumpster has the best stuff ever! We've found so much stuff there, I can't even remember it all. Umm.. record player with two speakers, boxes of clothes, DS's bed, set of dining room chairs, loads of yarn & homeschooling supplies that we sold on eBay, loads of other things I've freecycled or sold at our subdivision yardsales (hey, I figure if these are the kind of people to throw perfectly good things in a dumpster, they're probably not the same people to go yardsaling!). It really drives me nuts how wasteful people are. I've become friends with the man who tends the dump, as he will sometimes help me load heavy items into my van

ETA: oh yeah, and right after Christmas last year, I found a Talking Barbie Townhouse, with a gazillion little annoying pieces, and sold it on eBay for over 60 bucks! (sheesh!)

[Mama Faery]

I have a question about dumpster diving...I'm totally interested in it, but, how do I find a good dumpster to dive in? I don't really want to slog through yucky trash, but is that sort of par for the course? I'm just wondering. As young high school/college students, my friends and I would go through college dumpsters and find good stuff...is that what I should do? Look for upscale sorts of places or college dumpsters?
I'd love to check it out...
Oh, on the Savers front; we were there for a while, and Rowan did great with the huge crowds and bright store...I found a ton of clothes for him including some soft quilted winter one-pieces, plus four skirts and two tops for me, and DH got a shirt and a wooden marble game...we spent about $25. Score.

[SpiralChrissy]

We went to the Greek Festival today. Instead of going earlier in the weekend, we waited til the last minute when admission was free. So, we saved $6 and I usually lug home something that I "have to have" but this time I didn't do it! We only spent $6.50 on food and came home

[Meli65]

Just signing on and looking for ideas ... we are more or less scraping by on dh's income and having trouble paying for
doctor bills :

Question -- who has had luck with Ebay for things like kids' clothes? I do well with garage sales and Goodwill when I can get there although neither of these work very well with ds in tow. I haven't had the patience for Ebay so far but if there are true bargains to be had .....

[wenat]

Ebay is great for some bargains, but once you factor shipping in, it's not so wonderful. You can get brand-name clothes for $5, but then there's another $5 in shipping ... double the cost.

[juliewol]

[QUOTE=renae][COLOR=Indigo]I have a question about dumpster diving...I'm totally interested in it, but, how do I find a good dumpster to dive in? I don't really want to slog through yucky trash, but is that sort of par for the course? I'm just wondering. As young high school/college students, my friends and I would go through college dumpsters and find good stuff...is that what I should do? Look for upscale sorts of places or college dumpsters?


I usually go to certain dumpsters.
Like now, with the school year beginning, I look in school dumpsters. They throw away a lot of perfectly good materials, that I fish through and share with other homeschoolers. There's also not any yucky stuff, since they haven't started serving food there yet. In June, after the year ends is another good time to hit school dumpsters. We get lots of hardly used markers, art supplies, etc.

Every few months, one of the expensive dept. stores has a dumpster, where they throw out perfectly good clothes, with the label still attached. I've gotten some nice things from there, also.

And, since we're renovating, I keep an eye out for dumpsters
at construction sites. I've gotten old (but nice) doors, wood scraps I've needed, and pieces of rebar from them.

I don't usually go through dumpsters that would have regular garbage - unless there's something sticking out that I just have to have

[beaner&tiegs]

I haven't tried out dumpster diving, but I do find wandering through allies to be a great source of free stuff- we've gotten a great dresser, some old wooden doors, a window, cabinet, pavers for our garden, etc. It's often how I put my baby to sleep on a nice evening, and then after she's asleep I leave her at home and drive back to pick up what I've spotted!

[dawnk]

Hi!
I am just joining on, but frugal nonetheless. I would love to hear more about saving for birthday parties. My son is turning 2 on Saturday and we are having it at the local park. I am planning on making the cake from scratch and DH is making salsa with our abundance of tomatoes, however I still cringe when I think about everything else I will have to buy. I need balloons, paper products (can I get away with using something else as I HATE paper waste but have nothing suitable for a picnic for a ton of people?) and I also need some kind of table cloth, beverages...the list goes on. DH won't ask for it to be potluck since we are throwing the party so that is out. Any advice would be much appreciated!
I also wanted to throw in that I went to a yard sale this past weekend, and it was getting really hot and this one house wanted to close up and go swimming so they said to take a bag and fill it with clothes for $1. I got so many clothes for my 2 year old, mostly Kitestrings. I was so geeked! and then at another one, they had a box of free new in the package Christmas/birthday bows.

[weebitty2]

The BEST dumpsters I've EVER found were college ones at the end of the school year. Textbooks, clothes, random odd things (we got a couple gorgeous vases, and a box of about 30 pewter statuettes - wizards and dragons) .. and our entire living room set. Also got DD's dresser, a large area rug, and end tables .. because most college kids get 'em cheap during the year, then don't want to lug them home for the summer.

[root*children]

I was going to suggest college dumpsters, too. Of course, I always miss the time that the year ends, and haven't gotten to em in time!

Birthday parties: well, if alot of people are coming we do it away from meal times, say 1:30 or 2:00, so that everyone's (hopefully) eaten lunch, then we can just put out snacks. We do have a big stash of reusable table ware just for parties, that doesn't match at all, and is all from thrift stores, but looks fun that way! And it's super cheap, b/c it's all the plastic stuff, not the nice china! For drinks, we just have jugs of water, and maybe one of those big jugs of apple juice... what kid needs soda anyhow? We had our last party at a park, and I had come prepared with balloons, homemade & yardsaled streamers, etc. But we got there and realized there was nowhere to put them! So maybe that won't even be an issue for you. For tablecloths, we also find fun colorful ones at the thrift, and then I don't really care if it ends up getting stained or something. Have fun! parties at parks are so easy, so don't sweat it, the kids don't need any entertaining!

[CindyC]

Well, we did dumpster diving when I was in high school, but that was to collect cardboard for recycling. I was trying to pay for a trip to Mexico.

I guess the key for lowering the cost for parties is to limit the guest list. In our family, no matter the time of day, they expect to eat. We usually do a modified potluck where my mom and a couple of aunts will contribute side dishes. We don't ask, they just offer.

I have heard complaints on freecycle about offered items not being picked up.

Another idea is to *hold* a yardsale. Can make some money that way.

[tboroson]

Hi, new here! I'm *trying* to learn to be more frugal. I know lots of stuff in theory, I just have to get into the swing of practicing it It's mostly, for me, a matter of thinking ahead - like, baking a loaf of bread *before* I run out and have no time in the next two days and know I'll need some before I have enough time...

Anyway, as for dumpster diving - I used to. Haven't done much lately, mostly because my husband is averse to the idea and hates collecting things just because they might be useful some day... But, I ditto the college dumpster idea. I knew exchange students who would throw away whole computers that were only 9 months old, because they were too difficult to take back home on the plane. Carpet remnants, sofas, you name it.

And, for birthday parties, I have a few suggestions. I don't have a whole frugal birthday plan yet but here are a few things that come to mind. This time of year, you can find plastic picnic ware at hell-mart or Target really cheap. Like, $0.10 or $0.25 each. Of course, if you're buying for a big party, this could really add up; But, over the course of only a few parties, it will really pay off if you can afford it now. The big disadvantage is that you'll have to lug all those dirty plates home from the park... Also, you can pick up a piece of fabric off a $1 or $2 rack to use for tablecloths, and use it later to make something. Or just keep reusing it it for tablecloths in the future. Of course, you don't need the fancy decorated napkins and plates that cost way too much money - or, if you do want them, you can buy just one pack and put them on top of a pile of plain ones. As for balloons and streamers, personally I don't worry about their price - it's like $0.89 for a pack of streamers and something like $1-2 for a pack of balloons (depending on if you go to a dollar store or a party store). You can do a nice decorating job for under $5. I agree with the dh who says no potluck, it's not very polite to say "Hey, come celebrate my child's birthday - you bring the food!" But, in my experience, most of my friends and family will offer to bring something and I have no qualms about taking them up on the offer. If this is the case in your crowd, invite early enough that there is time for these offers to roll in. Then you'll be able to take them into account when it comes time to plan/buy the rest of the food.

Ok, here's a question. Do any of you keep a price book? What method do you use? I tried using a Pocket-PC (got it for free when my dh's work was upgrading and throwing away quite nice but older model ones.) But, the batteries didn't last very long, and since I didn't turn it on often to see that the batteries were low and recharge it, every time I turned it on to enter something I'd find it was dead. Then I'd have to reconfigure it and reload my spreadsheet from my computer... it became a big pain in the tuchus. I tried a handwritten one, but I don't carry a large enough bag to keep the notebook with me all the time and frequently forgot it. Plus, I never found a method of organizing a handwritten one that I liked. (I'm too computer-perfect anal retentive, I want it alphabetized, and no cross-outs allowed!) So, currently my price book is a spreadsheet in the computer that could theoretically be loaded onto my Pocket-PC, but I'm bad about sitting down with my receipts. Plus, I'd like to list prices for things that I didn't buy at a particular store, but know I'd like to keep track of (i.e. if I'm at a new store and see things I regularly buy but don't need that trip, I'd like to note their prices.) Can't do that without a portable method.

[root*children]

We do keep a handwritten price book. Once a page gets several cross-outs, I just re-write the page. Mine measures probably about 5"x7". My mom and a friend of mine have theirs on index cards, which fit into most purses. Since we don't go grocery shopping all that often, I usually remember to bring it. I really only must have it when going over the weekly sales fliers, which I do at home anyhow; or when I go down into New Mexico to Sam's Club, Big Lots, etc.

[juliewol]

Wow, college dumpsters .....
I hope I remember this around June!

I usually just give stuff I don't need away. Many years ago I had a yard sale, with tons of baby stuff I thought would sell. I was there all weekend, & made about $50 max. Just wasn't worth it.

The hard part of going to yard sales is self control. I've gotten better at just buying what I need or really, really want, instead of buying junk I'm tired of in 2 weeks.

[girlndocs]

Originally Posted by juliewol

Wow, college dumpsters .....
I hope I remember this around June!

Start peeking in May

[tboroson]

Index cards - perfect idea! Thank you! And, at 46 cents for a pack of a hundred, they're a frugal choice even if bought new