Frugal Freaks! (April 1-7) - Page 4

[mchalehm]

Well, I ordered cloth diapers to make the switch for my daughter. It's a little pricey (although we managed to get the basics for around $125), but it'll save us a bundle in the long run. I also bought myself a Keeper--no more buying tampons. Both switches were environmentally motivated, but they'll be financially sound in the end.

Now I'm contemplating grocery shopping. I need to go. I'm so far away from the stores I like, though, now that we've moved. I miss my TJ's just down the street! I used to be close to a Whole Foods, too. Now I have to drive 30 minutes to get to either.

[serenetabbie]

$69.58 for the whole month

Wow Sue that is AWEOME! WTG

The only frugal thing I have really done this week so far is to get the garden going. I used long sticks that have fallen from our giant trees out back to make a fence/trelis along the north side of one bed for the peas, beans and cucumbers. I put in the peas and spinach... I cannot wait to have fresh veggies!

It is too cold yet to hand stuff outside, but I am looking forward to the drop in electric once it warms up

Oh, I did get DD the princess cereal she has been coveting for 50 cents a box, so that was pretty good. I combined a sale with a few coupons and got her 2/$1. She is delighted with the pink frosted flakes (blech). And I arranged to pick up a bunch of hostas for free landscaping from a lady who I know. She was telling me she has way too many, so I told her rather than throw them away i would give them a good home I should get them in a few weeks.

[sanguine_speed]

Originally Posted by mommyddeville

I just looked at the USDA food chart for a family of 2 adults and one 2-year-old on the thrifty food plan. I also have an infant, but I breastfeed her. The chart says that, on a thrifty food plan, I would be spending $358.90. That is a LOT of money. I spend under $200 on food every month, and that includes organic milk for us. We also buy naturally fed pork locally. That chart also doesn't take into consideration that I eat tons of extra food to feed my infant every month. What an eye opener.

In looking at the chart, I also saw that the liberal plan would allow for almost $700 of food for my family every month. Oh my goodness!

I'm suddenly feeling much, much better about my monthly food budget.

Whatever would make you feel badly in the first place about spending under $200 a month feeding a family of four?

[traceface]

Originally Posted by mommyddeville

I spend under $200 on food every month, and that includes organic milk for us. We also buy naturally fed pork locally. That chart also doesn't take into consideration that I eat tons of extra food to feed my infant every month. What an eye opener.

And now can you tell us how you do that?!

[velcromom]

We are at or below the USDA amounts for the thrifty plan for a family of four. And I still think we could do better - if I could get dh to go in with another family on some grass-fed beef, and join the co-op grocery, I think we'd shave a bit off the bill.

Other frugal moves this week:

started seeds for a few special things - heat-free jalapeno peppers (if we get a decent crop we'll smoke them for our own mild chipotle - we like the flavor but not so much of the spiciness) and a leafy celery - I dislike grocery store celery, I love the leaf though. I started them in homemade newspaper pots, free!

We are planning to repaint our home this spring and will be doing all the labor ourselves, so we intend to spend about $300 on paint and supplies.

I made those fleece diaper liners I was thinking of...

and made arrangements to trade child care with a friend for our weekend away, instead of paying outright

have started using half the amount of laundry detergent and also reduced both the fill level and time of wash, just to see if the clothes seemed as clean - they do. Less water, electricity and detergent -

[gret the great]

:
Great ideas here!

My kids are getting functional easter gifts. DS is getting a new bathing suit (salvation army- brand new- .99!) DD is getting a new skirt (new to her- salvation army.99 also) Everyone is getting sunblock, crayons, toothpaste & a new toothbrush Some Jelly beans to make it exciting... they don't get much candy so a few Jely beans go a long way!!

[camprunner]

I stuffed easter eggs for a local easter hunt (had to bring a certain number per child) with Candy from Halloween. We were still eating it. The eggs were leftover from what they got last year at the hunt.

Said "no" when someone tried to sell me something from their home business (we really can't afford anything we don't have to have to survive this month).

Up until this year we've easily been able to get by on $200/month. Since November, we've had a hard time getting under $350. I'm not sure if it is a coincidence that that's when our "baby" started eating solid foods or not. But surely she's not eating $150 worth of food by herself?

[gret the great]

This weeks frugal things for me are- finding DD's birtday gift (a kid sized table she can decorate herself) at the consignment store.

I go to a job lot store every couple of weeks. I spent 100.00 on 2 carts of food we eat regularly & would have spent 400.00 on. Suff like pasta, sauce, cereal, crackers that won't go bad. 32 oz Dill pickles for a buck! I totally stocked up. My sister has a wheat allergy & they had gluten free mixes & flours for pennies. I stocked up on those for her b-day gifts. She loves cookies & cakes but can't usually have them at others houses

[caeden&connersmom]

Originally Posted by amyamanda

Some thoughts from me this week:

Well, I resolved not to turn the heat back on this spring. However, we've had cold temps again and got 5" of snow last night and our house temp was consistently below 55 and finally I gave in and kicked it up to 56 just to warm the place up a bit. I feel like a frugal failure. I hate burning oil. But on the other hand, we're comfortable at 55F - have kept our thermostat there all winter - but below that 52, 53, just feels too cold. Knew y'all would understand my mixed feelings and guilt about this one!!

DH got a new job recently and a raise, and a couple of times lately I shopped and bought a few things I otherwise would not - a bottle of juice, a bag of chips, and even a box of cookies (the kids could NOT believe it - they kept saying 'Wow, we must be rich with Dad's new job!' LOL). I've also been driving more freely, blocking out my usual habit of carefully conserving gas. I think I was just testing my own waters to see how it felt. I now remember EXACTLY where the line is between comfortably frugal and uncomfortably loose with my spending/consuming. It was a good test, because it made me acutely aware of what purchases I felt guilty about (i.e., the unnecessary stuff) and what purchases I felt completely fine and justified about (the only stuff I should be spending my money on). DH and I had a good conversation last night, resolving to keep our spending as low as possible and put all of our money into paying off our debt, fixing up our house to sell, and furthering our plan to buy land and build a mortgage-free house.

Also I sat down at my sewing machine and started going through my mending pile. I hadn't even realized how EASY it is to mend things with a machine. When my kids were younger it felt overwhelming to even try to mend anything. I've resolved to fix easy sewing repairs quickly now so they don't pile up.

Also, not sure if I posted this before, but one of my favorite frugal fixes is to keep superglue in the kitchen. If a toy breaks, or even something like a fat art pencil, superglue saves the day in just a few quick minutes. Fixing stuff is so much better than replacing stuff!!! A friend swears by her hot glue gun and I'm debating whether that might be a worthwhile purchase or not (so far, gut says not, but maybe we could borrow one if we needed it).

One more kind of silly frugal freaky thing - our push button phone broke and all we had to replace it with was our emergency rotary dial phone. I'm too stubborn to go purchase a push-button phone. (actually the push-button phone had been our emergency phone before it replaced a cordless that broke). So we're using this wonderful rotary-dial phone - but can't access our voicemail on it. DH checks the v-mail from work and reports back to me. I figure I'll find a pushbutton phone before long, either from a friend or at the thrift shop (anyone want to send me one for shipping? LOL). It amuses me that I can't justify spending the money to replace it.

Thanks for all the good ideas and motivation in this thread.

Hey, I have one I can send you if you want! We live in ME so not too far, shipping shouldnt be bad at all! Let me know!

[amyamanda]

Thanks, C&Csmom...I was just coming here to update that I did get one from a friend yesterday. But I really appreciate your offer - it was very kind of you to post. This has happened time and again for me, that if I put it out there that we need something, it comes to us.

I guess we're on to a new week now...

[Judegirl]

New thread is up! Been swamped this week, but I've been following along.

Jude