I need ideas!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

DH and I just bought our first (and hopefully only) home this week. The mortgage is a bit higher than we're used to paying, and my student loans are coming due in May. So, I need some ideas to save money. We have no kids yet, and only one cat.

Things I already do:
Carpool or bike where I can. We buy gas a bit less than once a week.
Cook from scratch and bake from scratch as often as I can
Use vinegar to clean everything but dishes
Use rags instead of paper towels for cleaning
Compact flourescents in every light
No TV
High efficiency everything in our house, plus I'm not letting DH run the AC much.
I'm trying to make all my own clothes instead of purchasing. That way I can alter them to adjust the sizing and I'll have a MUCH better control of quality.
Will soon be using a reel mower instead of gas.

Things I won't do:
Family cloth
Eat "cheap" food. We buy meat on sale, and will soon be buying in bulk. We go for quality, not price.
Line dry my clothing (darn home owners association won't allow that. I hope to change it soon though).

I've already figured out if I stop going to cafe's I'll save $40 per month, and by being able to do laundry at home instead of the laundromat, there's another $40.

I can't make April a no-spend month because we're getting stuff set up for our house. But June might work....

So, throw your ideas at me. Because I could really use them.

[phathui5]

Re: getting stuff set up from your house. If you're willing to be patient, you could get most of your household stuff on freecycle or at the second hand store.

[Tilia]

It sounds like you are doing great!!!

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

Anne, thanks. We still need to cut back a bit, which is where I'mtrying to get ideas.

phathiu5, All of our furniture is second hand. Quite conveniently, when DH and I moved in together, both of his (divorced) parents downsized their living arrangements, so we got all the hand me down furniture. It pretty much furnished our entire house. We just needed a headboard (handme down from a friend), some couches (love seat and sofa from a coworker for $450) and a desk for my office ($75 from same coworker: I'm a WAHW). So that's all the big stuff. But the little stuff is what's going to hurt. We have paint (ouch$$$) need fabric to make curtains, and a few other odds and ends as they come up.

[momto l&a]

IMO a headboard isnt something you need.

Its something you can wait till the perfect one comes along.

Some people use old doors fence panels ect.

IMO decorating a house take patience to wait for something you love to come along free or dirt cheap.

So IMO Dont rush to decorate your home. Take your time to see what you really need along with what you find will work well for the space you have.

[gret the great]

Can you get drying racks for indoors? Are you allowed to put a drying rack on your porch, patio, back yard...

[boobybunny]

Ditto on the decorating... I have a great friend that has the most beautifully decorated home. It is all things she has found in goodwill, antique stores, in peoples yards. (she will walk up to a front door and ask if they want X, could she buy it for x)

Her headboard is a an old barn door, painted. a regular inside door on it's side is the size of a king sized bed. Her entry way bench is an old wooden bed frame, cut down, and refinished. Her home looks like someone paid 100's of thousands of dollars to have a decorator, and she has done it bit by bit, small find with a touch of work. He place does not look "country" but most of the stuff in it came from old farms.

For her art, she gave her grand sons the colors she wanted in water colors, the brushes and let them go to town on huge pieces of watercolor paper. Very cool, modern art with a personal touch.

[shelbell]

For stuff like paint (or if the need for cabinets, light fixtures, etc. comes up), I'd recommend looking at places like Habitat for Humanity ReStore first. A directory of their locations is: http://www.habitat.org/cd/env/restore.aspx .

Meal planning, batch cooking, etc. can save money while still allowing you to splurge on higher-quality ingredients. There are several good threads around MDC for inspiration.

[StormySar]

Did you know the mortgage was higher than you expected and know your student loans were going to start soon? DH and I want to buy but we hear stories of how mortgages always end up higher than buyers were led to believe and we have a very strict allowence in our budget for how high our monthly payments can be - we've looked at houses but refuse to get anything that is higher than the budget we've set - now I wonder if we should lower our budget just for the unexpected expenses, etc. lol. We'll be moving to a different state before we buy, wont' buy here in MI! ANyway...

Grow a garden - if you can't put an inground garden in, do container gardening. It's not too late to start and you'll save a lot fo money on produce. Or see about getting involved in your local CSA if you have one, or gardening co-op.

bake your own breads, concerve your electricity the best you can (make sure insulation is good on the house, have good windows, use the flourescent lightbulbs that save energy, etc. ). Totally stop unnecessary spending - pop from the gas station, unnecessary snacks, eating out, etc.

just a few ideas :-)

[Sharlla]

My friend and her DH sells plasma two times a week, they bring home an extra $120 a week between them.

[sunflwrmoonbeam]

I knew the mortgage would be higher than we originally expected. We found the perfect house, and it was at the top end of our price range. It's worth it to have to scrimp a little. And I was pretty sure my student loans would be coming up soon. There was some question as to when which ones would go as I took of 6 months in the middle of my college career.

O, and I already have a handmedown headboard that we absolutely love. I guess I didn't make that clear. It's not something we would have spent much money on, and my best friend needed to get rid of hers. So yay!

[Tilia]

Ooo, I have found some pretty nice fabrics for curtains and throw pillows at thrift stores. And ebay too! Or you could make throw pillows out of sweaters.

I think one of the cheapest ways to decorate is with indoor plants. They really make a room look nice! Plus of course, all the environmental benefits.

[BetsyS]

For us, I find I can cut the most money quickly from our food budget. Completely stop eating out (easier said than done for me, but it makes a huge difference) And, I try to balance cheaper meals with more expensive meals. I'm not talking sacrificing quality, but balancing a meal like say, fish or steaks with a meal like chicken casserole or lentils and curried rice. Those are all meals we like (and they all have veggies with them ), but the price per meal is radically different. So, it helps free up money for my wine. :

I looked in to a time of use plan at our electricity coop. It wouldn't work for us, but it would have at one time in our lives--maybe that's an option where you live?

If you're going to be in your house many years, maybe look into an on-demand hot water heater? Less energy use every month, but with a high upfront cost. Lots of times your local energy company (I think they are only gas) will offer rebates.

We pay a flat fee for trash in our current house, but in other places, we've been able to pay 1/2 the price for only one can of a small size, versus 2 bigger cans. Recycling and composting made it easy to have less trash.

Grow at least your own herbs. They are so easy to grow (even me, the black thumb, can do it), and add alot to meals.

I try to remember to fill up with gas (and I have a big tank, so I can go at least 10 days between fill ups) when I see gas at the cheapest place, instead of waiting until I'm out. That means I may only fill up with 1/2 a tank, but I save 10 cents or so on a gallon. Every little bit, you know.

The library!! My very best friend is the library. I get everything there. I go browse at the bookstore (or amazon), then request the books from my library. I get magazines there. Videos. Books on tape for when I'm driving. We also go to story time for kiddie entertainment. I love the library.

[Jennisee]

It sounds like you are alread doing an amazing job! I can understand your reasons for not doing the following, but if you are open to reconsideration, I wanted to mention some things. (But if not, just skip ahead. )

I promise, family cloth is not as bad as it sounds. If you are planning to cloth diaper your children, there is really no difference when it comes to washing. And you can always ease into it by just using family cloth for pee. If you search in the Natural Home and Body Care forum, there are some HUGE threads.

I don't know how much you spend on food, but you can defitely eat high quality and frugally without eating cheap processed food. Whole wheat pasta, brown rice, lentils, beans, potatoes, etc. can make some great frugal meals. (Unless you're low-carb like me, LOL. I eat a lot of fruit, veggies, cheese, and eggs.)

For drying clothes, you can hang a lot of laundry on an indoor drying rack, a shower rod, a baby gate laid across a tub. I hang dry a big chunk of our laundry, and I do it all indoors right now.

Originally Posted by sunflwrmoonbeam

Things I won't do:
Family cloth
Eat "cheap" food. We buy meat on sale, and will soon be buying in bulk. We go for quality, not price.
Line dry my clothing (darn home owners association won't allow that. I hope to change it soon though).

One thing that I'm trying to start doing is to research everything before I buy it (mostly here at MDC, LOL). Partly to find the best price, partly to find the best quality, and partly to simply seek alternatives to what I think I need to buy. One thing I've learned about MDC is that for every item I think I need to buy, someone will suggest a great no-spend alternative, everything from using the library to Freecycling to using outgrown clothes as a fabric source. The Compacting thread in the Decluttering is a great inspiration!

Good luck and congratulations on your new house!

[SleeplessMommy]

Setback thermostat, attic insulation (to decrease AC use) and turn down the hot water heater to the lowest possible setting you can stand.

Consider taking in a roommate (for a few months or years) to bring in extra $$$.

How many years are the student loans for, and can you refinance ?

[Radish4ever]

I agree with the PP about family cloth We're using cloth for pretty much anything - in place of paper towels and toilet paper. I haven't completely eliminated TP (I'm still chicken with the poos lol) but we haven't bought any paper products in FOREVER!

The food budget is ALWAYS where we cut back when we find ourselves scrimping for cash - It's usually very easy to cut back there!

I agree with possibly line drying inside your home