mines going to get long....
*we don't have cable. we have internet and for all the downloading we do, the most suitable plan was $49.95 which is doable for us.
we don't watch much tv, don't go out to the cinema (now, how does one take a 4 and 2 year old and keep them sitting there anyway?) and don't hire out any movies from the video store (dh has a lot of movies downloaded onto our media player by his IT freinds at work)
*we don't go out for fancy dinners... sometimes we get take out (which is prob once a month) and if its indian or chinese food, i make my own pot of rice beforehand. much cheaper!
*no lights on in the day time - there is sunlight for gawds sake!
*i am starting to exclusively wash on 40C and line dry. i do not want to use the dryer anymore when the sun and wind are there for FREE.
*while we don't use anything anti-bacterial of the sort in this household (even vinegar).. i am all about clean hands and so we wash hands regularly. i ditched the liquid hand soap and starting using a soap bar instead. it's relatively ok ingredient wise and costs $2 for a packet of 5. 1 bar of soap lasts one week with all the handwashing after using the toilet for 4 people and me and dh using the soap in the shower. i use a totally organic gentle body wash for the kids though and buy it in the bulk pump pack as its cheaper in the long run. all in all, switching from using that same liquid soap exclusively for handwashing/shower/baths to using it just for baths saves us about $18 a month.
*i am going to start using cloth TP for me and the girls. i have several old t-shirts to cut up and use.. it's just a matter of taking the plunge. i am somewhat worried about this (the whole stink issue) and whether the washing and hanging of all these little rags will just not be worth it in the end (since we go to the bathroom sooo many times a day). i can't imagine hanging up 60 rags after only 2 days use... but i am going to try.
*we don't use paper towels at all - rags and lightly soiled clothes will do. it all gets washed in the end and the floors get mopped with hot water and a little dish soap every night. we do use tissues for blowing noses though... never for wiping spills or drying hands (my sister is the queen of tissue wastage and sometimes i want to throttle her).
*even though we are in spring, it is still quite cool around 4pm everyday. so instead of putting the heater on, we get dressed in warmer clothing. we have a few soft and very warm polar fleece blankets that are for the couch and the girls love to sit there and cuddle up with the blanket.. and the heater stays off!
*we have many home days. up until recently, they used to be filled with resentment.. i wanted to go out, i wanted to shop etc.. to top it off we have no safe parks around here.. so the kids play in the grassed courtyard and we have a mattress here in the lounge room that they jump on to thier hearts content. lots of exercise and still at home. some days i fill the kitchen sink with warm water and dish soap and they wash some small dishes and the bench tops and have a very grand time doing it. the key to staying at home is keeping it interesting for both you and the kids. then it doesn't seem like such a chore.
when we go out which is about once a week? we go to the kids favourite (nostalgic for me) chocolate store (darrel lea) and they get to pick a treat of thier choice. they almost always go for the dark chocolate bar and at $4 in total once every week, it is totally doable and makes "going out to town" for the kids an absolute treat and NOT a "right".. which i think is a dangerous mindset to have. the girls at the shop know my dd's well and always make thier trip a little special too which is even nicer.
*i don't have coffee or any hot/cold beverages outside of the home. never got used to it to begin with so i haven't really had to break the habit. i only have a coffee when i have a migraine, so it's not a daily or even weekly thing.
*i am in the process of reducing phone calls.. each local call costs us 17.5c and a few local calls here and there can add up very quickly. i am impatient by nature when it comes to info and when i am trying to do something i can make several calls in one day.. so now, i email dh instead of calling him (we are already paying $50 for the net every month, so why not!) and i will call my mum once every two days. if its possible, i will email for any info and not call, but if its unavoidable then i will call... i am aiming for a $40 a month phone bill (not $110+ like it was last month) and so far it looks attainable. i have just learnt to accept that i need to wait for an answer and not have to call every frigging time.
*washing dishes in the dishwasher turned out to be more frugal for me. i use much less soap than handwashing (yes i have issues with liquid soap usage) and it is also more frugal on time which is important when most everything you do is either from scratch or just done by yourself really.
*i go shopping for presents way ahead of time to find something suitable and get the best deal. i set a budget and work within it.
*we do things ourselves like mowing our own grass, removing weeds, removing leaves from the gutters, washing our cars by hand, doing general checks for the cars and even fixing them when problems occur (my dh is a mechanic part time so this helps).
*i buy the kids books discounted and keep the receipts. i read it to them the night of purchase and if they don't take to it then i return it for a refund on my next shopping trip. i buy books once a month or every two months. i do this often and so we end up having a good rotating selection with not much spent. i am not very good with our local library and frankly, thier selection of books absolutely sucks in every way.. so does goodwill's selection. and i think i'd accumulate more in late fees with the library than if i just purchased the book outright (almost every book we borrow ends up late - i am very bad with that sort of stuff). we have many, many books which were all purchased new but at a discounted rate (close-outs, sale time etc). speaking of which, tonight i am going to the latest close-out book sale and my gosh there are many children's books there to choose from! i've set a budget of $20-30 for tonight. i love books and it contributes to the "things to do" list at home so it's a justified expense. when we tire of the books and they are not favourites we give them away and share the love...
*i cut dh's hair... he cuts mine into a straight shoulder length cut.. i cut the kid's hair too... i am not a qualified hairdresser but we do a good enough job. once a year i'll treat myself to a professional hair cut (usually before christmas) and at $15 once a year, it's ok. $15 once a month ($180 a year) is just a big fat no though.
*i wax/pluck my own eyebrows, underarms etc.. i wash my face with ground up oats and don't wear any makeup except lipstick/lipgloss if we have a special occassion to go to (wedding/dh work function). a $20 stick of lipstick will last me 4-5 years.
*i pick and choose where i want to be frugal. some things are just not worth spending on (e.g paper towels) when i can be more environmentally friendly and frugal by using a rag. some things (like having a good selection of books) is important to me and i try to get them as cheaply as possible. yes not 100% frugal by walking to the library instead.. but i am investing in my children's reading habits and imagination, plus it keeps boredom at bay! i'd rather spend the 20-30 every several weeks than go without because the free selection of books available at my local library are only good for burning. another place where i pick to not go without is going into the city in the month of december and watching all the christmas displays and festivities (there are quite a few at different dates so it's a few trips). there is the cost of gas and the cost of parking (no food, since we bring our own
) but, there is also the making of memories for our kids and that's just something i will not miss out on to save some bucks. i'd rather hang up 60 rags every two days and use that money saved to take our little ones to all the festivities at christmastime.
sit down and think carefully about what is important to you. if it came down to it, everyone could do everything from scratch and make do without almost anything but essentials like food, clothing and water.. but we choose not to because we all have different priorities/likes/dislikes. my priorities are having healthy food, keeping family life fun *at home*, fostering a love of learning and making christmas special. so i work around everything else to ensure that these things that do matter to us as a family are received in the end.
(one of my examples of doing without: i sit here typing all of this on my laptop with the broken keyboard, malfunctioning battery, no mouse pad working and half the time i have to keep re-setting the USB cable for the portable mouse because the laptop is not recognizing it.. and i do it because while it is a pain/annoyance with all the mishaps, it STILL does the job in the end and so long as it keeps doing that then it doesn't need to be replaced).
We dont do that at all. Even on special occasions we BBQ some nice steaks or something instead.
for ideas and inspiration. 
