Frugal moms...

[root*children]

Hi All!
Since yard sale season is now in full swing, I thought we should reignite this thread. Share your scores, tell of yardsaling strategies, other $$-saving strategies, tips on having yardsales, etc.

I just went to a yardsale today of missionaries moving to Africa who were ridding themselves of most material goods. (yay, for me!). I got a huge box of candle-making supplies, a deep roasting pan full of unopened organic oil, spices, wheatgerm and art supplies, as well as (drumroll...) two brand new pairs of Birkenstock (yes, namebrand!) sandals. Total?? 3 bucks!!!!!!!

[hvl25]

OMG!!!!!!!! I am soooo jealous. I know I won't find anything that good around here!!

[Hey Mama!]

I'm so jealous of the Birkenstock find! Good bargains momma!

[Sativarain1]

Julie, you found some great deals!~ would have *loved* to find birks..... we had a community garage sale this weekend it was fun. found a lot of namebrand good quality kids clothes, new balance tennis shoes brand new $2 ... pyrex dishes, nature/animal books...... I love yard sales there are sooo many good finds for not that much money~
(I'm not materialistic and only into namebrands, but I find that kids clothes actually hold up a lot better and last longer) =)

[darkstar]

We have the best thrift stores in the world here in Chi-town. I got a pair of NEW Birkenstock shoes and a pair of Dansko for 2 dollars each. Brita filters for 99 cents for an 8 pack :bigeyes. Thank goodness, I couldnt see paying full price. I got a 5 pound brick of beeswax also for 50 cents. I cannot pay full price for anything anymore. Happy thrifting, garage saleing or wahtever is in your neck of the woods

[mom2threenurslings]

I work for a church, and get to make my purchases at their annual rummage sale while the ladies are setting it up. We've been living QUITE frugally since my husband was out of work for a month (he now has a job...yipee!), so I wasn't going to bother going this year. I had to work anyway, so I went down to the sale to check it out...I found such good stuff that I had to fill a bag (it's a bag sale...$5 a bag). I saw they had two almost-new carseats (formerly owned by a mom I know!) and asked what the price was for them (in case friends could use them, as I knew I couldn't afford them!). I got the two carseats and my bag full of jeans and other clothes for my kids, sneakers, books, cards, coats, etc. ... all for $6!!!

We went to an annual yard sale this year, where we got two bowling balls and a bag last year for $5 total, and were told that if we came back the next day, we could fill a box for $10...any size box. We arrived bright and early the next morning with a computer box....filled it for $10 (oil lamp, lantern, garden tools, a kitchen scale, a case with a beautiful coffee set in it, a Mikasa coffe serving pot, a vase, tools, 40 ball jar dome lids, several containers, about 20 different kitchen utensils, an old metal pin the tail on the donkey game, fabric, a bag full of zippers, and tons more. They had EVERYTHING at this sale!

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

yall got some great finds!!!!




we wenty to an auction yesterday where they were selling off storage unit contents.. we are desperately looking for a bike trailer, so we can get some excercise, start saving money on gas, and just get out of the house a little more often.

[root*children]

wow! eveyone's finding great scores! mom2three... I wish I could find some car seats to replace our skanky ones!

[MamaMonica]

Great finds. I haven't been saling yet this year.

[apri4]

I also live in Chicago. Do you know that this coming weekend May 15-16, St Francis is having a yard sale, they usually have good stuffs cheap..

[Ms.Doula]

Hey hey hey!! Count me in!!! My DH calls me the Queen of thrift!! :love

I havent been yet, Been down & ILL, but Im Going SALE'n next weekend!!!! (after payday) :bgbounce

[Throkmorton]

Oooh, I am the queen of garage sales right now. We just moved into a real house, and picked up a shovel, composter (one of the black insulated ones), a hoe and a spade for $7. Yay me! I also picked up a solid oak table (then dropeed it on my toes. :)) and chairs for $50.
We just moved to a much more expensive area, but apparently the garage sales are awesome. Yay us!

[momto l&a]

I havent been yarding this season yet :angry Between morning sickness, moving and living 13 miles out of town I havent felt like going. Besides they arent in full swing yet. ;) Looking forward to seeing what my good finds wil be :thumb

[root*children]

Has everyone here read The Complete Tightwad Gazette ?
Just making sure...
I'm having trouble finding other books to read on saving money that are as good as that one. Any suggestions?

[FreeRangeMama]

It is "spring clean-up" time here. Everyone puts all the stuff they don't want in the alley and it gets hauled away for free. I consider it free shopping :D Last year I got a patio table and umbrella. This year I got a great wooden rocking chair, I just need to make a few small repairs and refinish it! I have hit a few garage sales too. I found a few good deals. I can;t wait till the sales are in full swing!

[TchrGrrl]

I am envious! We don't have good garage sales around here. :(

[mom2threenurslings]

Has everyone here read The Complete Tightwad Gazette ?

I'm holding my LLL's copy of it hostage :thumb (actually, I'm just having trouble remembering to bring it back...and I keep rereading it and rereading it!). They have some great tips in there....and the cuban bread recipe works well for loaves as well!

Anyone here freecycle?

[root*children]

:LOL I kept renewing my copy of the TWG until it looked so used, that I finally retuned it and bought a used one from Amazon.com.

I'd love to freecycle, but in my area I guess I'd actually have to start it and be the mod. uh-oh, i think i'd collapse under the pressure!

[goodcents]

Funny I just got done doing our budget and seeing where we could cut costs. We livei n Brooklyn so we go to consign/thrift stores but don't have the luxury of sale-ing.

My question is The Complete Tightwad Gazette how good is it really? Is it really worth the 13 or so bucks I have to spend to get it? Can you give me some examples of valuable-the book paid for itself-tips? Thanks!

[root*children]

My post meant to say I renewed the book from the library...
goodcents ~ check your library, they probably have it. There were 3 volumes and the Complete TWG is a compendium.
It is truly inspiring b/c the author has 6 kids and is living debt-free and retired at age 40-something. wow! Taught me how to make & use a price book for buying groceries. Where to make major investments and where not to (bought our chest freezer b/c of it). It's not like any other money saving book I've read. The last ones I checked out from the library were one on saving money by buying nearly everything from the dollar store (=crap), and the other was the Consumer Reports one about getting the best value for your dollar while buying fast food and such!
Amy Dascyzyn's (sp?) book is very practical and real. And serious tightwaddery!

[MamaMonica]

goodcents- TG is a great book. I keep checking it out from the library. Give it a look at the library before you buy in case it's things you already know or don't think it would work for you. Some of it I'd never do, or can't- other things are great ideas.

There's a bigger edition that contains both the TG books- that one would be the best bargain if you're buying.

[Throkmorton]

So, how was garage saling today everybody? What did you get?
I got:
Corningware salt and pepper shakers to go with my collection - 50 cents
a matress for ds's new bed, and a dresser - $10, delivered
Tons of size 4-6x clothes - 25 cents each (total, $2.50)
Electric kettle - $1
Seed sprouter - 25 cents.
Iron, new in the box - 50 cents

[root*children]

I got
*books for selling on ebay;)
*lots of 10c books for us
*kids Burton snowboarding boots for $7
*dinosaur floor puzzle for DS's b-day $3 (a bit more than I wanted to pay, but I know he will LOVE the puzzle)
*very stylish rainbow plaid kitchen towels 5/$1
*free wooden traveling carrier for small animals
*very large tupperwares 25c each

yay! Throkmorton - you got some RAD scores! mattress and dresser for 10 bucks.... delivered!!! NICE!

[mom2threenurslings]

Yesterday I got:
* a big turkey roasting pan w/ cover for 50 cents
* 14 children's books (including several big, hardbound books such as James Herriot's Tales for Children...most for homeschooling) for $2
* a toaster for $3

And I freecycled a trunk-full of clothes which will clothe both of my boys this summer ... and for about 2-3 years to come! (Lots of Old Navy, LL Bean, Children's Place, OP, FUBU, Gap) FREE

My friend, who is visiting from Nebraska (and tag sale virgin) was amazed at what you can get at tag sales and consignment shops. She was planning on paying $15 each for my son and daughter's upcoming birthdays. So far she got my daughter an outfit and shirt and still has $7.50 left in her budget for her ... and she bought my son an educational CD-rom game and a big castle playset and has $8 left to spend on him. She's amazed!

[Kim2002]

We live in a quiet neighborhood of primarily retirees. It's near a main road, but we don't get any traffic at all down at our end. So whenever one of us has a sale, we really don't do well at all.

I was thinking of coordinating a neighborhood-wide garage sale - we would all hold it the same weekend and I would run an advertisement in the local newspaper, make large signs, etc.

Has anyone here ever been a coordinator for one of these things? Any tips or suggestions?

Thanks!

[root*children]

I think if those are advertised well, they can do really well. Our area is full of community sales b/c so much is rural out here. My neighborhood has a yearly yard sale at the bottom of the mountain where there are tennis courts & an old ski chalet (b/c there's a parking lot). Tons of people come to it, much more than would venture up our mountain to find a single one, although some people are into having their own sale. It is the Property Owners Assoc. who makes signs, puts ad in paper, etc. They go around with a bucket to all the sellers and ask for a little donation to reimburse their efforts. They do LOTS of advertising, too. They make nice 8x10 laminated sheets and post them all over town (library, cafe windows, gas station, anywhere they are allowed) about a week in advance. Maybe you could find some other neighbors who could volunteer to help advertise.
good luck!

[guerrillamama]

oh, frugal moms, please help me!!! i am a complete failure as a frugal mom. :crying i am starting to really worry about myself, i just can't hold on to my $$, i don't know what my problem is. even when i am good about tracking it, i still have no willpower. it's hard living in NYC where temptation lurks on every corner. maybe it's easier in rural areas? or maybe the internet kills that theory. anyway, i need help!

i guess i will look for the TWG. one problem for me is i can't buy bulk b/c i live in the city and don't have a car. are all you frugal moms SAHMs?

oh, about yard sales and such ... when i lived in seattle and had a car, my favorite springtime activity was dumpster diving on college campuses during move-out week. those college kids throw out EVERYTHING. big fun. too late now for most schools but if your local college hasn't ended its term yet, definitely go get yourself a sofa!

[Boadicea]

Just wanted to mention that, if after checking out the TWG you want to buy it, you can often find cheap copies on half.com -- I buy A LOT of books there! For you college students, they even have great deals on textbooks, especially around the end and beginning of semeseters.

I am trying, trying, trying to be more frugal. But I'm also trying to steer our family towards a more natural, organic lifestyle, and sometimes those two thigns seem to be opposing forces. Can't wait until this "alternative" lifestyle becomes mainstream so it isn't so darned expensive! <lol>

As for yardsales, I found some good clothes for DD and DS yesterday, and a few more to resell on ebay. In fact, the ones I resell should probably cover the cost of the ones I bought for our use. (Gotta love ebay!)

Here's a question for all of your frugal mamas: How do you yardsale with children? My two year old hates, hates, hates getting in and out, in and out, in and out of the car. And my infant isn't too thrilled with it either. And then I spend half my time trying to keep little fingers away from breakable stuff. (I got to go without DS yesterday because DH was home, but that's unusual.)

Anyway, happy saling to you all!

[root*children]

My kids love yardsaling... well, my youngest is only 10 mon. so I guess he doesn't have an opinion yet :). But he doesn't mind it. I definately can't go power-yard-saling with the kids b/c of the time to get in & out of car = time to change dipes, BF, etc. My older son loves YSing, but I don't really love him to go with me b/c he always just wants to buy junky toys. He started having to bring his own coin pouch to pay for his stuff. Also, if he's with me I can't buy him presents (or buy surprises for DH - he always gives it away!). But since DH is gone all week, he doesn't mind hanging out with DS1 while I yardsale Sat. mornings.
Another thought about that is: 2 yrs. ago, when we lived closer to town, 3 other moms & I started a child-care coop on Sat. mornings. I was the only one using it to go yardsaling, but it worked out well for everyone. I only had to sacrifice 1 sat. morning a month to stay at home.

guerrillamama~ You should definatly check out the Complete TWG. the author lives rural, but she used to live in NYC (i think that was the city) and has great tips on how to maximize storage space, and live frugally in a city

For used books, check out http://www.addall.com
It has a database of every single used book website you can imagine. It just searches all of them and finds the best rates!

I am a WAHM. I do ebay and shipping for Suzanne Arms' local non-profit. Guerrillamama~ I'm sort of in the opposite situation as you, b/c I live extremely rural. But a friend who lives up the mountain from me has had major car problems, and for several months, she would just ride into town with us, and she could buy all her bulk groceries, go yardsaling, to the thrift, etc. Do you know anyone who is also into bulk buying and has a car that could help you out?

[Throkmorton]

I am not really rural, I am in a realively small city. I take DS garage saleing by popping him into the stroller and going. This is a good option if where youi live is flat and you don't mind the walk. Of course, i don't have a car either. Sometimes, DH will keep an eye on DS so that I can go with my grandma, who does drive.

Guerillamama- Friends of mine who do not drive often rant a car once a month, or take a cab. I shop with a wagon to drag DS around it, and that is about as bulk as I get. Of course, it is a pretty good sized wagon, so I can drag home 50 lbs of flour, a couple cases of juice or cans, and some other stuff in one trip. Is there an orgaic co-op or anything that you can find? Do you have a friend who also wants to save money who would split stuff like the cab fare/car rental, huge bags of flour and stuff? Also, I buy a lot of my stuff out of the bulk bins at the nearty grocery store, and it is generally 50% of the pre-packaged price. Plus, i don't have to buy tons.

As for a community yard sale, our neighborhood had one every year on the same weekend, and one person was in charge of putting the ad in the paper. Anyone participating gave her a dollar for the advertising costs. How to organize it? Just talk to your neighbors and say "I was thinking of having a garage sale on x weekend, but if several of us do it together, we will get more people. Interested?"

Steph

[mom2threenurslings]

Here's a question for all of your frugal mamas: How do you yardsale with children? My two year old hates, hates, hates getting in and out, in and out, in and out of the car. And my infant isn't too thrilled with it either. And then I spend half my time trying to keep little fingers away from breakable stuff.

We try to go to community yard sales... or I map out a yard sale route so we can hit the maximum number of yard sales with the least amount of stops.

As for grabby hands ... we have a 'one finger touch' rule. It's insane to ask children not to touch anything, so we allow them to gently touch things with one finger. If they don't follow that rule, they get to hold a hand (the horror!). Our 23 month old is still content (most of the time) to ride in the sling, so that keeps her out of reach of many things. We also allow our kids to stay in the "toy area" or "book area" of tag sales and play with toys or read books while we shop.

I usually take my kids along BECAUSE they often get free items, or people reduce the price for them. We give our kids their own money to spend at the sales, so often if they don't have enough to buy something, people take pity on them! :)

The BEST yard saleing I've ever done was when 9 months pregnant with a toddler (or two) in tow. People gave me baby clothes and supplies for free, gave the kid(s) toys for free, and would offer to carry things to the car for me or get me a glass of water! One woman insisted that I sit in the shade with the kids and she brought out a snack for me and the kids. She excitedly talked to me about her daughter, who was expecting her 4th child ... a girl ... the first granddaughter out of 13 grandchildren! I went back to visit her after my baby was born.

[raleigh_mom]

I don't think I've heard thrift stores mentioned yet. I got DD2's high chair at Goodwill for $15. Today DD1 and I got her two dresses, each $2.25, and a double stroller for..... $15!!!! It is in excellent condition and I am so pleased. I can't believe how many people I know who won't shop there because "That stuff should be saved for the people who need it." Sorry - but that's how I manage to stay home with my kids, and I love it! They can keep all their mall purchases - I love my Goodwill!

I am also a serious grocery shopper,. Using sales and coupons I can usually keep it to around $40-50 per week and keep my pantry and upright freezer full.

[root*children]

I don't think I've heard thrift stores mentioned yet. I can't believe how many people I know who won't shop there because "That stuff should be saved for the people who need it."

I've never heard that excuse used, and most of my friends shop the thrift stores here. I think I read that excuse in the TWG or something. It seems weird though b/c the reason for thrift stores is not to "hook up" the poor folk, but to raise money for charities, right? The reason thrift stores probably haven't been mentioned is that things are generally cheaper at yard sales! Personally, I don't like the Goodwill b/c their prices are so high. I'm trying to convert my thrift-store-shoppin friends to yardsalin by showing off all my scores ;). Granted, when it isn't yard-sale season, I do frequent the thrift stores, just for stuff to sell on ebay mostly. I just had an auction end today for 3 diaper covers I found at the thrift for 25c each, and sold for 41bucks!! yay!

[FreeRangeMama]

I love the thrift stores. My favorite one has $5 a bag sales. I love it!! I get tons of wool mens sweaters for bum sweaters, great kids clothes, stuff to use for fabric, and occasionally something for dh and I. I find some great deals!

[Indigo73]

I love shopping yard sales & thift stores but also consignment stores (how I built my business wardrobe when I used to wear a suit to work) and flea markets. Not to mention my local discounted food store.

[root*children]

I wish we had one of those food stores that sells the damaged packages of food (I can't remember what those are called). I drive 1.5 hours down to New Mexico to go to their Sam's Club and Big Lots to buy food. FYI - for anyone here doesn't do Big Lots - I used to think it was some kind of cheapo dollar store thing, and really alot of it is. I mean, I would never buy clothes, toys, etc. there. But they do have great deals on food. You've got to bring your price book and make sure you're getting a good deal. But there's usually a small selection of organic/natural foods that are closeouts. We buy organic cookies, Recharge, cereal, etc from there. We also buy some food at the local co-op, and buy bulk when there's a great sale at the local chain groceries. We also order from a mail-order coop out of Tuscon.

[Ms.Doula]

dready- you must be referring to the Grocery Outlet! :D We love it. (we still call it the canned food store though!) LOL :lol: They have great closeouts there! I get non-foods too! I get a HUGE thing of SUN laundry detergent for like 3.99!!! (no phosphates in that one either!)
We get all th kids wood toys at Big Lotts as well as gifts for birthday parties, Christmas, ect. And I even have bought things at the dollar store. Its awesome to put together a gift basket of sorts. And a card thats a buck too! Sometimes I'll buy something I can partially make at home- saves us even more! Boy- give me 5-10 bucks, and I can work magic! :lol:

[Throkmorton]

We don't have one of those stores, but I finally figured out where the health food store is in town! Yay! And yes, on their bulk stuff they do beat the supermarket. I mean, who can beat organic corn meal for 20cents/100grams?
The thrift stores around here rock. The church down the road had all the kids items for 25 cents each last week. Oh, i find that the thrift shops lurking in the church basement are a muchg better price than, say, a Salvation Army Thrift Store.

[Indigo73]

I visited Big Lots while visiting my folks - very cool. The closest one to me is over an hour away - the drive would be worth it if there was something else to bring me out that far, but at this point not worth the extra gas. We have a BJ's locally, I like it for bulk stuff and gas.

[mariag]

Just read through....We are trying to keep costs low so I can stay home with ds...It seems for us the grocery bill is always high despite our best efforts....any tips on keeping grocery costs down? We bake our own bread, buy bulk at Sams on the things we can....somehow though it still creeps up....

maria

[root*children]

Making a price book is the most money-saving thing we have for food.That way we only buy sale foods and some from Sams and everything in Bulk. We're also members of a community garden to get lots of produce.

[mamapenelope]

We have the best thrift stores in the world here in Chi-town. I got a pair of NEW Birkenstock shoes and a pair of Dansko for 2 dollars each. Brita filters for 99 cents for an 8 pack :bigeyes. Thank goodness, I couldnt see paying full price. I got a 5 pound brick of beeswax also for 50 cents. I cannot pay full price for anything anymore. Happy thrifting, garage saleing or wahtever is in your neck of the woods


:bawl


Here our "thrift" store, where everything is *donated* by good folk who want to help out, charge FIVE dollars for a pair of kids' shoes!! It's insane, and it's why I yard sale with a list in my hand. I have a running tally of what sizes of every piece of snow gear we have...so if we're missing size Toddler 10 snow boots, we look for those at yard sales. If we're missing a rain jacket in a size we will need eventually (no matter how far off) we buy that, too, if we find it at a yard sale.

This year I got Ds1 NEW Columbia snow pants and a NEW Columbia winter coat for $19 each...usually $60 for the pants and $80 for the coat.

My yard-sale-shopping strategy is go with a list of MUST FINDS and never leave with anything you won't remember you own in a week...i.e., kids' toys that won't hold interest, etc. I let the kids spend their money at yard sales, but they usually buy books. ;)

And we have a huge circle of friends who swap clothes in different sizes back and forth all the time. Today at the park one of my close friends' 4.5 mo was wearing a fleece oversuit that I bought almost 4 years ago secondhand for $.99. :clap

Love, penelope (the frugal freak mama)

[mamapenelope]

Dready*Mama----

Was it you who said you were unhappy w/ your "ratty" car seats? Whoever it was, please look up SafeKids in your area and get yourselves a FREE CAR SEAT. We are Fire Dept., and our dept also distributes SAfeKids free----FREE----bike helmets for all sizes. Doesn't matter where you live or how much you make, come on in and get one. Call your local FD! Maybe they do that, too.

SafeKids is run through lots of places like health clinics, hospitals, and fire depts. I hope you find good seats that make you comfortable with how you transport your kids. If not, I'll MAIL you one! I'm serious.

Love,
Penelope

[mamapenelope]

OMG I just passed 600 posts. I've been a MDC mama since waaaaaay before the big crash, and never have time to post, but lurk a lot...


600 is awesome. Just had to gloat. Totally off-topic.

love, p

[mamapenelope]

OK, one more thing. :p Kids are watching "My Fair Lady" (brought the TV in from the garage for a video...)...

On the frugal grocery front, always buy protein in bulk, and NEVER buy meat if you can help it. Beans, in whatever color, are wonderful, and brown rice in bulk is usually cheap, cheap, cheap. Even if you eat eggs and don't worry about buying bulk eggs, BUY in bulk, for goodness' sakes. (I don't advocate egg farms, btw)...

Protein and fresh fruit tend to be the biggest eaters of our money. We eat what's on sale as far as fruit goes, and go w/ cheapo beans or whatnot otherwise. (Dh does like steak, and I do buy it for him, but he has to cook it).

I used to put my CASH in envelopes when it came into the house...An envelope for food, one for rent, one for utilities, etc...and when that envelope was gone...well...no more of that. It's not a bad system, and not just for those of us who have been seriously "poor."

love,p

[guerrillamama]

speak to me of this "price book" ... i've never heard of it before. what is it?

penelope, i'm gonna try that cash envelope idea! :nod i am finally learning to keep track of my checking account but my cash just slips thru my fingers, i have no idea where it goes. that sounds like a good idea.

keep talkin mamas! i'm learning a lot! :lurk:

[root*children]

sheesh! I just posted this really long post explaining the price book and envelope system and it all got erased. I think I'll just post two smaller ones this time!

mamapenelope~ The only free carseats around here are from the health dept. on the reservation and they're infant size. We need a booster. I think it varies from town to town :)

mariag~ do you use yeast bought in bulk? That is probably one of my best bulk buys! Compare it from Walmart at 94c/oz (in the little 4oz jar) to mail co-op at 17c/oz (buy it in a 2lb bag and store in the freezer). It's also avail. from the health food store for 24c/oz.

We used the envelope system for 2 years and then decided we didn't really like it for several reasons. One, once we got good enough at being frugal, and not buying frivolous things, we had no need for it. Two, it doesn't allow for buying things in bulk that come up on a good sale. Env. system requires you to put the same amount of $$ in each envelope each week. But in the Spring, there aren't any good sales, so we hardly buy any groceries, but in the Winter, all the baking stuff goes on sale, so we need the $$ to buy 200lbs of flour, etc. and not worry that there's not enough allotted $$ in the envelope.

[root*children]

okay, that one didn't get erased, so now I'll do price books :)

I have a small 3-ring binder from the thrift. I bought a calculator that clicks into the rings for the front. Every food I buy has it's own page that are alphabetized. Under each food name, there are columns for: store name, brand, quantity per price, and price per each (lb, oz, etc.). I jot down the info as I go to different stores, also from the mail co-op. Even though Walmart is usually the lowest price, this allows me to search for sales that are cheaper than the Walmart price and then buy in bulk. I record even the stores that aren't the cheapest like Albertsons b/c their sales fliers usually don'tive exact prices, like, "30% off all frozen foods" or "Buy1/get1free butter". Then I can check my PB to find out what the original price is to know if the sale is a good deal or not. I take my PB to Sam's Club and BL b/c their products can vary often. Here is a page from my book:
(WM=Walmart, SB=store brand, DNF=local health food store, TCW=mail order co-op)

Raisins
WM SB 24 oz/$1.96 $1.31/lb
DNF bulk --------- $2.00/lb
TCW bulk 10 lb/$12.33 $1.23/lb
Sam's Sunmaid 72 oz/$5.26 $1.17/lb

Since I've yet to see raisins go on sale we buy them only at Sam's. As with all of our shopping, we buy enough to last until the next sale, or in this case, until our next pilgrimage to Sam's Club.
Hope that helps! If I didn't explain something well enough, please ask!

[FreeRangeMama]

I am pretty lucky because my dh works at a wholesale grocery store. He does the reducing for damaged stuff as well as stuff they usually don't carry. Plus, any slightly bruised produce gets bagged and sold for cheap. Whenever good stuff comes in he buys it :)

Tomorrow a thrift store is having a $5 bag sale. I think I am going to look for some knit or crochet that I can unravel for the yarn. Way cheaper than buying new yarn, and I'm recycling too :)

[goodcents]

Ok - not the cheapest thing but definitely cheaper plus a tax deduction to boot.

We buy museum memberships for our family for the museums we frequent. We buy the cheapest membership with no "extras" like discounts @ the museum stores or mailed newsletters.

For examplem, last year we bought a $20 yearly family membership to the Brooklyn Botanical Gardens. Adults addmission is usually $5. Because we go so often we get in for next to nothing. Plus, we get to write off the $20 as a donation on our tax return, with the admission we can't do that!!

[mom2threenurslings]

Aaaah! Museum admissions! As a homeschooling family, we get an educator discount on museum memberships and are eligible to go to "educator days" at museums and other attractions.

Recently we went to Mystic Seaport in CT and myself, my husband, my MIL, my grandMIL and our three kids all got in for FREE and they had special programs all day. It was great! (Technically we could have gotten two more adult family members in for free because my dh and I are *both* educators).

We love to go to pick-your-own farms ... but only if the prices are right. Actually, sometimes we pay a tad bit more just so the kids can have fun picking things, but usually we can find berries, chinese eggplant, squash, and such for around the same price we'd pay at a farm stand or grocery store...sometimes cheaper. We also pick apples in the fall.

One thing I am going to do this year is call our local apple orchards and see if they'll let me collect their "drops" and sell them to me at a discounted rate. You can use drops for making applesauce, which is very much in demand in my household!

[mummamilk]

DH and I helped out at a community yard sale on Saturday. At the end we brought home anything we wanted for free. Our biggest find a swimming pool.

[root*children]

yaaay! it's yardsalin day! Too early yet, but my 10mo insists on getting up at sunrise, so here I sit, half awake :coffee
We did alot of research (and are still doing) into the local wild edibles. We've discovered oregon grapes, service berries and chokecherries growing right in our own yard. We got a neat book from the library on how to indentify and use all these wild plants.
We also found our cheapest source of apples from a flier posted at a laundromat (she only posted the flier at that store b/c she wanted to only make deliveries in their parking lot!). But come to find out that they are organic and she does bring them into town, so we just had to meet her. They were 50c a lb, but you had to buy at least 11 lb. We bought 40 lbs, and still could have used more. I made mostly apple sauce and apple butter, also fruit leathers and I sliced up some and froze the slices to use for pies and cakes :yum
Looking forward to hearing what everyone scores today at yardsales! Hopefully I'll wake up some more and can get my rear out the door :bolt

[K&JsMaMa]

Has everyone here read The Complete Tightwad Gazette ?
Just making sure...
I'm having trouble finding other books to read on saving money that are as good as that one. Any suggestions?


Yes, I have. A few times. Love it!!! It has some of the best ideas I've found for saving $$$$. It's hardcore.

[Boadicea]

No yardsales for us today. Kids are both sick with high fevers, vomitting, etc. Really can't imagine dragging them around town like that.

I did score at the thrift store this week, however. DH went through his summer clothes and decided that he needed some more khaki shorts. I found two pairs, one Levis and one Gap, both in PERFECT condition, at the Goodwill for a grand total of $3.50. Sometimes the Goodwill is pricey, but then again, sometimes they're great! I would have easily paid $50 for those things brand new ... or I would have if I could have brought myself to buy them brand new.

Happy bargaining to you all! :)

[Throkmorton]

So, what did everybody get?
This week, i tried a new area, and didn't like it. Too expensive. So I got: a cornflower blue corningware percolator: $2.50
coffee press (sensing a theme?) $2
apple peeler/corer: $1
and some other random stuff.

[aka_angelz]

i bought a PRADA skirt at goodwill for 4 bucks!then a few days l8er i saw the same one one ebay for 200(just diff color)!i asked the lady selling it how much it had cost her and she said she didnt recall but atleast 600!!!!!i got a good deal dontcha think:)

[phathui5]

Two things that I've finally just started doing are:

* Not taking the bank card out of the house when I go out unless I'm specifically going shopping or the car needs gas.

* Making up the menu for the coming week on Saturday, going and doing all the shopping, then staying the heck out of the grocery store until the next week.

[K&JsMaMa]

I scored big time today.

I bought a set of brand new glass jars, with brand new seals, the kind with the hingey locking thing on it....10 of them for $1.00 total.

A pair of fall jammies for joshie for .50

4 pairs of socks....3 Tommy Hilfiger and 1 gymboree for $1.00

It was a good day.

[root*children]

I finally dragged my tired self to some yardsales. I tried to go to a neighborhood one in a golf-course neighorhood, but didn't get there until 10 (it's an hour away from my house). So we hardly got anything good as they were all wiped out! But on the way there, I got some:

*webbed belts for DS - 25c
*bag full of wooden toy party favors (spinning tops, yoyos) - $1
*1 pair of flannel-lined Carhartts for DH. They were $5, but DH is excited about them, so I guess it was worth it
*a box of wooden clothes hangers - $1
*aloe plants - 50c
*Far Side book - 25c

Not too much good stuff... oh well, maybe next week...

aka_angelz ~ wow! what a score!!! ARe you going to sell it or keep it??

[Throkmorton]

$5 for a pair of Carhartts? Awesome!
Good scores all around today, even if the pickings were a little slim.

[aka_angelz]

aka_angelz ~ wow! what a score!!! ARe you going to sell it or keep it??
i really liked it!lol.but i think i might put it up on ebay:)i went to the goodwill in gilroy ca.there were sum chanel pants there too-but i thought they were kinda ugly.i was soooooo suprised to see the prada skirt.lol.i had to look at it twice before i realized it was PRADA.a brand way too expensive for me,and honestly i dont see why people spend so much money on clothes!im gonna hit some more goodwills n see wut else i can find hehehe i think im addicted

[Ms.Doula]

today I found 10 TIME LIFE books on Earth, animals, Elements, ect..... (gonna use em for Home schooling) And I got em all for 2.00

I got a Brand new Snugly (New style) for 2.00!!

I got a Floppy seat ( www.floppyseat.com ) for 5.00!!!

A ROXY sweater for next winter... 1.00

a wool sweater for butt-sweater (diaper cover/soaker)...... $0.50


And yesterday... at the thrift store I got;

A Motherhood maternity nursing dress for 3.00

A pair of GAP Overalls in EC for 3.00

[aka_angelz]

i love frugal moms!they find such cool stuff!

[root*children]

I told my husband about the PRADA skirt for $4. He was like :jaw He said that's the brand Katie Curick wears (leave it to my husband to know these things, and not me :LOL)

[aka_angelz]

lol uve got an up to date fashion husband!lol.i didnt know that!i would NEVER EVER buy a skirt like that for so much.i dont c why rich people do?i mean 4 bucks ok,maybe even 10 lol but 600 or more!thats just too much!but hey they have the cash to throw around.personally i dont,so im gonna try n find someone who does lol :)

[mshollyk]

today, i found a picnic basket with plates, silverware, napkins and goblets for $5, and a sewing machine for $15 :)

[Eustacia]

Last week at thrift store :drum:

Brand new Gymboree baby outfit (all tags still attached at the baby panties are still attached to the dress!). It is sooo cute - dark lavender dress with a few white flowers - $2.

In addition a dozen books (Richard Scarry, kiddie atlas, an old Frances book, a Matchbox book dd loves) - .50 each.

I shopped 'till I dropped.

[greenluv]

Hey mama's!

I've been lurking. Luckily, I'm not a creepy lurker. Just wanted to drop in to congratulate you all on such good finds! :thumb

Did one of you post about Freecycle? Seems to me I found the link here. I found a local group and am having fun finding homes for things I don't need and vice versa. I did score a computer thru Freecycle for a friend, so that was cool. I just had to come tell someone who would think the same!

[guerrillamama]

thanks, sounds like a good idea but only if you have the ability of choosing b/w several different stores, right? if you only have 2 grocery stores w/in walking distance as i did in my last apt (not sure yet where i'll be living when i get back to nyc in the fall) then there wouldn't be much point. unless someone can think of a way that it would work?.

(no, i don't have any good friends w/ cars :( )

okay, that one didn't get erased, so now I'll do price books :)

I have a small 3-ring binder from the thrift. I bought a calculator that clicks into the rings for the front. Every food I buy has it's own page that are alphabetized. Under each food name, there are columns for: store name, brand, quantity per price, and price per each (lb, oz, etc.). I jot down the info as I go to different stores, also from the mail co-op. Even though Walmart is usually the lowest price, this allows me to search for sales that are cheaper than the Walmart price and then buy in bulk. I record even the stores that aren't the cheapest like Albertsons b/c their sales fliers usually don'tive exact prices, like, "30% off all frozen foods" or "Buy1/get1free butter". Then I can check my PB to find out what the original price is to know if the sale is a good deal or not. I take my PB to Sam's Club and BL b/c their products can vary often. Here is a page from my book:
(WM=Walmart, SB=store brand, DNF=local health food store, TCW=mail order co-op)

Raisins
WM SB 24 oz/$1.96 $1.31/lb
DNF bulk --------- $2.00/lb
TCW bulk 10 lb/$12.33 $1.23/lb
Sam's Sunmaid 72 oz/$5.26 $1.17/lb

Since I've yet to see raisins go on sale we buy them only at Sam's. As with all of our shopping, we buy enough to last until the next sale, or in this case, until our next pilgrimage to Sam's Club.
Hope that helps! If I didn't explain something well enough, please ask!

[Throkmorton]

Well, you can keep track of which of those 2 stores has a better price. Not to mention, if you happen to find a health food store/farmer's market, CSA that delivers you can figure out if they have better prices as well.
Also, I have figured out that it is cheaper to take a cab home from a gigantic grocery shop at a store across town than buying stuff in small batches from the nearby, expensive store.

[guerrillamama]

Also, I have figured out that it is cheaper to take a cab home from a gigantic grocery shop at a store across town than buying stuff in small batches from the nearby, expensive store.

this is a very good point. :nod:

[mom2threenurslings]

Did one of you post about Freecycle? Seems to me I found the link here. I found a local group and am having fun finding homes for things I don't need and vice versa. I did score a computer thru Freecycle for a friend, so that was cool. I just had to come tell someone who would think the same!

I LOVE freecycling! A computer! Wow! I've gotten tons of clothes, a blender, and a cedar chest so far. I've given away maternity clothes and bras, educational materials and tons of infant/toddler/children's clothes.

ARGH! I have a recording session to go to with my kids tomorrow morning...I want to go to YARD SALES!!! Maybe we'll leave early and stop at a few on the way!

[aka_angelz]

i had such good luck when i bought the prada skirt for 4 bucks i didnt i could find another good skirt like that!but,i did!today at the goodwill in hollister.I found a made in italy Byblos skirt.2 different stores and 2 differnt skirts i lvoe shopping goodwill!only 4 bucks each.:)

[root*children]

I just looked those up on ebay.. someone actually has a $1275 bid on a prada coat!! Who in tthe worldd would actually pay that much for clothes? And if they do pay that much, why in the heck are they shopping on ebay?? I really just can't believe that they are actual bargain-hunters! :LOL
priorities, priorities...

[Throkmorton]

Ok, kids. I have been ordered to bed for the weekend due to some early-preg nasties, so best of luck garage saling, and my spirit of bargains will be there for you!
Get good stuff! Back to bed for me...

[aka_angelz]

I just looked those up on ebay.. someone actually has a $1275 bid on a prada coat!! Who in tthe worldd would actually pay that much for clothes? And if they do pay that much, why in the heck are they shopping on ebay?? I really just can't believe that they are actual bargain-hunters! :LOL
priorities, priorities...

lol i know!but they have the cash to blow so they dont really care.i personally LOVE shppping goodwill.i just recently started learning how to buy *SMART* from my mom who always gets the best deals.wuts the difference between getting a 600 dollar skirt at good will for 4 bucks and getting one at the store for the ACTUAL price?so wut if someone else wore it lol thats why theres a washer and a dryer!never in my life would i spend that much money on clothes!!!!!!!i think theyre psychos

[aka_angelz]

Ok, kids. I have been ordered to bed for the weekend due to some early-preg nasties, so best of luck garage saling, and my spirit of bargains will be there for you!
Get good stuff! Back to bed for me...

i hope u get good rest~take care and get better:)

[aka_angelz]

oh yeah i also found a brand new old navy career shirt for school and some jordache jeans for 3 bucks and 4 bucks.i have to try yard sales though.im barely learning to drive so when i can im gonna go!i also want to try the santa cruz flea market:)where do i look for ads for yard sales?

[Throkmorton]

I know that I wasn't going to go saleing today, but there was an estate garage sale a block away. It was callng to me...
So I got a futon with pine frame, and a set of melamine shelves for $12. Delivered, naturally. Well, the guy helped Chris carry it across the alley. yay!

[root*children]

good scores throkmorton!!
I promised myself I wouldn't go yardsaling today for lack of funds... but ... well you know those neon cardboard signs were calling me ;) I actually only went to one, I suppose cause it's the holiday weekend there just aren't as many. There wasn't anything good for sale, but a huge box of free stuff. So DS chose a Lion King toy and I got a winter coat for DS#2. Total cost = free.

[Modesto Doula]

I've been reading on this thread and reliving my last couple of frugal years =) Lately I havent been nearly so frugal... but in the interest of finding a bargain (and a half dozen receiving blankets for our upcoming homebirth), I stopped at a toy filled yard sale the other day.
I found two brand new proraps, four babies under wraps and a receiving blanket for a quarter a piece. not too shabby...

and we stopped last week at goodwill and picked up a wool sweater for $2 to turn into diaper covers. I think all the CDing mommas here have been regularly searching goodwill though, cause there was only ONE wool sweater in the house!

[aka_angelz]

i had a good day.
2.50 pants for school dressy
2.50 petite sophisticate blk coat
BEBE blazer/jacket 6.99 brand new practically.
gap skirt 2 bucks
gap sweater 5
and some other stuff...

not that cheap but ok:)the bebe suit jacket is a little small on me but a few more work outs and itll fit just the way i want it to:)

[root*children]

Have any of you got a good source for Amish goods? A catalogue maybe? I'm interested in things like a blender & such that don't use electricity.

[Ms.Doula]

Dready- NO. but if you find something, Please, let me know! :D



I went to the thrift store yesterday -Twas 50% off clothing day :wink

I bought a COOL pair of black linen capris with embroidery at the hem line. Very 'India' looking. (I think they do say from india) Only $1.50!

a pair of COMFY cute blue shorts. .75!

a pretty White eyelit nursing dress $2.00!

2 other mamma dresses (just casual, nothin fancy, but CUTE! for $1.75 each!

A HUGE childrens' ask questions dictionary .50

Acouple hardback Dean Koontz Novels (LOVE :love HIM!!) 3 for $1.00!

and a maternity dress (hopefully I'll be PG soon! & can wear it! :LOL) $1.75!


CAN YA TELL I WAS HUNTING FOR SOME MAMMA CLOTHES!!?? :laugh:

[root*children]

My MIL is *trying* to be frugal. I say that, b/c she considers frugal to be ANYTHING below the tag price. She tried bragging to me that she just went to a thrift store and bought 5 things and "only" paid $26. I was like "WHAT??" I didn't think that was a deal at all! I think I've only spent more than 20 bucks at a thrift probably 2 times! :LOL She refuses to go to the (what I consider) good thrifts in Memphis b/c they're in a sketchy part of town :eyesroll silly.

edited to say Good scores on the mama clothes!!

[root*children]

I didn'to any yard sales yesterday b/c we did DS's birthday party. In extremely frugal fashion we had it at a playground in town. Served fruit & veggies with peanut dip and hummus. Also had chips & salsa, goldfish crackers (from Sam's Club), scratch white cake with homemade choc. frosting, cut into a sword shape. Served with thrift store napkins and yardsaled candles.

Did anyone else get to go yardsaling???

[aka_angelz]

I havent done any yardsales :( but as soon as i finish learning to drive im going to go out and look for some! it sounds like so much fun. What i did do yesterday was go to santa cruz to the goodwill bargain barn(which i would recommend to anyone in whichever area ur at to look up...)i found:
a basketball hoop(playskool for da little kiddo)and a basketball
lol my kid likes to try n play basketball with the big hoop we have outside so ofcourse she cant reach it!so this was puuurfect
a fisher price bouncer infant to toddler rocker(the box was all messed up but inside everything had the tags still and was still wrapped in the plastic with the tag still attached!)
my youngest is already on her 2nd bouncer.she wore out the first one and well when we got this one yesterday,we just put the other bouncer in storage.so this will be her third!lol.she loves to sit with us like a big person:)
tons and tons of clothes...banana republic,gap,and some other brands
i found a few jackets for my mom and some school clothes for me yipeee!
and my dad gor a huge samsonite suitcase with keys and a wall clock
a barney a barney book,some crafts tuff etc

all in all it was a good day:) total 20.00
they open again today at 11am so were going again!alot of sellers go there that sell at the flea market,so they grab all the real good stuff but im sure ill find some more things!

[Throkmorton]

Good scores ant Goodwill!
i hardly got a thing. Some clothes, and a muffin tin for giant muffins. I spent $5.
Dreay*mama, I am still looking for amish goods, now, if it was just as simple you wanting a quilt that would be different

[root*children]

aahh... I want a muffin tin for the giant ones! I want the amish-type electric-free appliances, kwim? anyone?... anyone?...
must go now and post some stuff on ebay so I can make some $$!


poor little hummingbirds, I keep hearing..."thunk .... thunk" on our window and see the little buggers bouncing off!

[Indigo73]

Dreadymama,

Do you mean a catalog like Lehmans http://www.lehmans.com?

[Throkmorton]

Nifty! I had never seen Lehman's before!
The Amish facinate me, mostly because we don't have any around here. Mennonites and Hutterites, yes, but no Amish.

[root*children]

oh yes! Lehmans! I've heard of that a long time ago and had forgotten about it. I'm gonna get their catalogue... thanks indigo :D

[aka_angelz]

the bargain barn isnt a goodwill retail store.they sell the clothes there by the pound:)and everything is waaaaaaaaaaaaaay cheap.its a part of goodwill,but its not a store where everything has price tags and is hanged up.no its a warehouse that looks like a dump,but when u look through the stuff u find a bunch of great things:)i was a little scared at first,people running everywhere-the real bargain hunters lol

[Throkmorton]

That's neat. We have nothing like that here. The Sally Ann is over prices, but the mennonites are pretty reliable, as far as ok prices. Furniture at thrift stores is pretty rude. No, i will not pay $800 for a dining set, no matter how nice it is. And that is why I shop at garage sales.
I don't drive, so i stick to sales in my immediate area. I didn't see any major benefit to branching out to other parts of town.

[mom2threenurslings]

I am SO thankful we have so many resources in my area! Yesterday I went to a free clothing swap. I brought clothes that we didn't need/couldn't use - stuff I got freecycling that we couldn't use/didn't need and clothes my kids have outgrown. I then got to take whatever I needed (and can go every month to get clothing as needed and donate as needed). I got two new fall dresses for my dd, two like-new pairs of jeans and 6 shirts, 3 pairs of tights, two leotards and ballet slippers for dd, 2 pairs of shorts for me, a blouse for me, a couple things for my boys and a couple diaper covers. Yippee!

[root*children]

hey mamas!

I'm so stoked, I just started a Freecycling group here in Durango. I hope it takes off! So far, I'm the only member :)

I just wanted to mention another fun thing for frugal mamas. If your kids eat ice cream, you can go to the Baskin-Robbins website and get on their Birthday club (or something like that!). They email a coupon for a free icecream cone to your kids on their b-days every year. My son just used his today and LOVED it! They also send you emails when there will be an upcoming free scoop night! :yum

[root*children]

Anyone still out there?
It's yard-salin day, mamas! (geez I'm jealous of those towns that do yardsales more than once a week!)

I got:
*Fast Food Nation book, Raffi tape, bag of duplo legos = $1.75
*3 kids books to sell on ebay, Burt's Bees soap = $.85
*Grocery bag filled with kids clothes = $1.00
*Rubbermaid juice pitcher (supposed to have stirring spoon attached to the lid, the bottom of the spoon broke off), floating candle, round candle, rubber spatula, wooden spoon = FREE box!
*slipcover for loveseat = $5.00
*DS bought 2 cheapo dinosaur toys & a bouncy ball for $.55

Not many great scores, but still I'm happy to finally be going out yardsaling again!

What did everyone else get??

[Ms.Doula]

I got a couple Gymboree things and a pair of patchwork jeans and a couple cute l/s tops for the
girls for winter... and an AWESOME new book for *ME* all for 3.00

Also a cast iron casserole (pot) w/ lid NEW IN BOX- for 7.00
(5.00 if you concider the fact that the GH of the woman that sold it to us, He gave each of my DDs
a Buck when we left! :LOL

few other lil odd & end things for a couple bucks. Nothing Spectacular....

[mom2threenurslings]

My ds bought himself a bike yesterday (a two-wheeler) for $1. I'm impressed!

[MamaMonica]

We got a free bike- the neighbors put it out. The seat stem was bent. Dh traded it with the seat from our other bike (also free) and both bikes work great now. (One is for ds in two years).

He also got the left pedal off one of their junker bikes to fix the left pedal on ds's bike.

[mom2threenurslings]

OK, there's frugal, and then there's crazy ... I think I've gone off the deep end on this one! :LOL

I was at Salvation Army Thrift Store yesterday. They had a piano w/ a tag on it that said $79.99. I got to the register to pay for my stuff and saw a sign saying "50% off all furniture". I asked if the piano was considered furniture. It was. I bought. $40 for a piano!!!

Here's the thing...we have 48 hours to get it out of the store, so dh rented a truck for tomorrow morning. We have to figure out how the two of us (with three kids in tow!) are going to get a VERY heavy piano onto the truck, then how we're going to get it off the truck and AT LEAST into our garage (we live on an extremely steep piece of property w/ and incredibly steep driveway (going up) and a long flight of stairs to the first floor!). No one is available to help us tomorrow, so this should be interesting! Oh, and the truck rental is about $30, so the total cost of $70 for the piano is still extremely reasonable.

My mom asked about getting a professional piano mover to move it...I laughed, knowing it was going to be expensive. Then I called around just for the heck of it. The minimum price for them moving it from my garage to my living room (not even moving it from the store to my house!) is $250! I think not.

What was I thinking...a $70 piano is awesome, but we may have to play it in our garage! :laugh:

[root*children]

You can rent a piano dolly and get some burly neighbors to help with maybe you making the investment of a couple six-packs of beer :)

what a rad score to get a piano for so cheap!

[pilesoflaundry]

Wow mamas you have gotten some great deals! My dh is yard sale phobic, I have only gotten him to stop at one ever and we got a bureau for $20 and a brand new rocking airplane for $3 that we still have almost 5 years later!

I almost divorced him over this one..we drove past a yard sale that had one of those really nice wooden kitchens for sale. The kind that are like $150 + brand new and he wouldn't stop!! :rant: He said we have too many toys already, but then he goes and buys them new plastic crap at hellmart urgh.

Anyway he is with me on bargin food shopping and clothing just not yard sales. He has weird issues with used stuff but yet if we have a yard sale he expects people to want to buy our used stuff :scratch.

We never ever pay full price for clothing. I buy on clearance or used, I went to old navy the other day and bought just basics, tshirts and shorts for my dd because I hate the rest of their clothing but anyway I got 1 skort, 5 shirts, 2 pairs of boxers for her to sleep in, 2 pairs of capris all for $40 I tallied up the original prices of everything and it would have been $250!! So I got the rest of the stuff she needed for this summer for $40 and it was all brand new so I will be able to pass it on down to her sister so not bad at all :D.

[aka_angelz]

GOOD SCORES EVERYONE!!!!!!!!!!!
I still havent been able to get to a yard sale :( but i will soon! I havent been to the bargain barn either,weve been busy w my little sisters communion so i missed out on Goodwills 2 dollar everything sale that bummed me out :( but were going to the B Barn this wkend!!!!!!!!lol.i love a good bargain,i just wish that my mom would have shown me that there were more places to shop than the mall,i would be a pro by now! my 2 little girls are definetly learning,lol,karina knows how to to pick the best toys lol. By the time their my age (19) they will know how to shop and SMART. Dont get me wrong though, the malls still fun to shop at :) relieves my stress. neways just wanted to say hi to all the frugal mommas! I've got to look into the freecycling groups also,but i doubt theres one in my area.

Happy Bargain Hunting!

[root*children]

yardsale scores everyone??

Sorry I'm a little late in writing this. We got just a few clothes, kitchen utensils. Nothing big. My fave scores were a Hanna Andersson fleece for 50c, and a Miniman shirt for 50c. DS#1 was totally excited to find a pair of mocassins for himself and swim goggles for $1.50. (he looks great digging holes in the driveway with his swim goggles on "so the dirt won't get in" :LOL)

[Throkmorton]

I was really busy dyeing my hair all weekend (blue! yay! so not frugal)
I did wander by a nearby garage sale yesterday and bought a heritage cookbook from the town my dad grew up in. Mmmm, lots of borshct recipes.
Other than that, I got DH a block plane for $15 at the tool store, having a f-day sale.

Steph

[perfect4ofus]

Yeah More frugal moms!!! :) I love TWG I have the "complete" version and highly recommend it. She is hardcore as someone mentioned and has little sympathy for people who "waste" money. She isn't mean just matter of fact. I have read mine through within the first three days glued to it and am getting ready to re-read it again.

As someone else also mentioned we are converting to more organic/whole foods which is a contradiction many times in the food budget and being frugal. I'm making the best effort that I can though.

I live in a small town so the garage sales aren't that great but I hunt anyway, I also drive to another town 15 minutes away and between the two towns get decent deals! It's worth the drive.

I didn't get to go last weekend I was on a trip but the weekend before I brought home 20 yrs. worth of national geographic for $10.00. We are a homeschooling family and when I am looking at books and people chat with me I mention that we home school and I am interested in the books. It's rare that people don't cut me a good deal on books because they know they are going to a good home and will be used! I also got a sewing table cabinet for $2.00 real wood and nice. I use it as an side table because it has decorative legs and you would NEVER know it can hold a machine. Now to find one that fits in it.... 3 awesome bottles of midieval toiletries that are really neat for $1 a piece and a Home interiors wood wall shelf at auction for $3.00 At the same auction I got FREE an 8x10 mauve braided rug~! I was with dd's 5 & 2 and the owner walked up and asked me if I would like to have the rug. My dd's were sitting on it. I said sure and almost got in trouble with the auctioneer! :) She cleared it and I steam cleaned the puddin out of it and it's now in our hs room. Very nice improvement!!! Nice iron plant stand for $5.00 for screened in porch. Holds 8 pots!

Looking foward to this weekend! I'm going to civilization to visit my dad and house sit for mom and there is great sales there! Once dad and I bought a VERY nice farm style oak table and four chairs newly refinished for $40.00!!! I paid over $500.00 for our pre-frugal days!

Happy "Saiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiling" That's what I tell my dh, I'm going sailing. It's because I'm having so much fun just sailing through things and getting great bargains. DH says sailing is fine but just not when he is with me. I think I give him whip lash slamming on the brakes and jumping out at the different sales! ha ha He can't stand it. My dd's are such great bargain shoppers already. When we see things in the store I tell them that if they wait and look for it at sales they can find it cheaper and then still have money left over for other things. Now when they see things they want they say, lets go to a garage sale and find that it's cheaper! YEAH way to go little ones! :)

[root*children]

I'm pretty much over taking DS1 to yardsales, pretty much try to go w/o him when ever possible. He wants to get something at everysingle sale. I know it's all cheap and he usually gets most of it kicked down for free cause he's cutie ;) but I just hate having all the crap in our house. I mean, ther's a reason the other folks were getting rid of the McDonald's Happy Meal toys in the first place, right?

Anyhow, tonite, a thrift store in town had a 75% off everything! YAYA! Got Carhartt's shorts, Teva shorts, gap & AE pants, New Balance & Timberlands shoes for the kids, 12 pr of training pants, wooden towel racks, cakewalk shirt, a bed rail, and some other misc. stuff for... <drumroll> $13.50!! I'm so stoked. Ebay, here I come :D

What frugal things have y'all done for curtains? We live way out in the woods and just got our first neighbors :irked: . So now I have to make some curtains! help, I'm just not a creative thinker. I need to go to the library, too and get some books with ideas.

[perfect4ofus]

A VERY quick and simple inexpensive curtain solution that you can coordinate would be going and picking whatever color sheets with a folded over top that can be used for a curtain rod pocket. twin, full, queen, king, depending on the size of your window. Buy large of course and gather evenly on the rod and it looks nice. Even for those with minimal to no sewing skills. Simply find a nice length for the "curtain" and cut off the bottom and simple fold it over a couple of times and run a straight stitch along the bottom as a hem. You can scour garage sales and thrift stores for remnants of decorative trims for the bottom if you desire. You can also cut the sheet in half lengthwise to create two pannels and do a simple hem along the cut as well. Use the cut off part from the bottom to make simple folded over tie backs etc. Depending on how much you cut off and your sewing skills you can fold the cut off botom in half and attatch it to the top of "rod pocket" as a ruffle of sorts etc. Use your immagination and have fun and go wild! You can attatch a second sheet behind the front one for a lining if you need some extra visual blockage. Go outside at night with the lights on and see if you can "see" anything through the curtains, if you can your neigbors will be able to chances are much better. Add a second layer.

Good luck! Hope that was more helpful than confusing. And of course you can buy really pretty odds and ends bedding at any kind of sale. Top sheets to grandma's pretty sheet set that the fitted sheet is long gone to etc. They make great curtains too. Add ruffles or whatever you are into. Don't forget dye can do a lot for an old sheet too! ;)

[perfect4ofus]

sorry sorry, it's me again! :idea

What about a bedspread? Not the fluffy comforters but the thinish bedspreads that you can pick up at most garage sales for $1.00??? You can hem these up and make a simple fold over pocket on the top for a curtain and hem the sides and bottom as well. They wouldn't need a liner and woud be thicker.

I have also seen a picture of a beautiful cabin where the lady made simple 9 square quilts that fit over the window. During the day they rolled up and at night covered slightly over the window trim. Then during the winter they served as draft protection and were very beautiful and colorful.

Just some more ideas! :) It's late kiddo's are in bed and I'm up! :wave

[root*children]

Thanks for the ideas. I love the quilt idea, and it would look perfect, except for in my room there's 3 windows and 1 closet that all need curtains. I just don't think I want to sew that much :) But I'll possibly do the bedsheets, definatly with a double layer, seeing as we live in the mountains, it'd be nice to have a bit of extra insulation anyhow. I guess I can just get some from Walmart, eh? I've looked and looked at yardsales, etc, but can't find that many that all match.

[Throkmorton]

I got remnants of fabric for one window in my house, and when cut it half it was just a wee bit short. So, I bought some satin blanket binding and sewed that across the top for a pocket. It worked out perfectly, as the girl i was sharing a house with lived on the south side of the house, worked graveyards and they were thick black wool.
If you lived in Canada, I would offer to send you all 9 of the panels of sheers i bought at a garage sale for $2 but I might just post them on my local freecycle group. The shipping would kill me.
Also, if you want insulated curtains, try and find some non-matching thick insulated ones at the thrift shop, preferably in light colours, and cover over all the 70's ugliness with your bedsheets or fabric.

[welove2farm]

I drive 1.5 hours down to New Mexico to go to their Sam's Club and Big Lots to buy food.

What have you found to be some great deals from Sam's that beat Wal-Mart prices. We dropped our Sam's card a few years ago because the prices didn't seem much cheaper than Wal-Mart. Just curious. Maybe we'll get another if we can cut spending even more. I've never been to Big Lots........sounds like good prices there, as well. We live 21 miles south of Durango so Farmington (26 miles) isn't too far for us. You've sparked my interest in both of these places. Clue me in

I must know.......which thrift shop had 75% off?!??!!!!
Was it at night????? I'm envious......what great finds!

Only went to one yard sale on the way home from kid swim lessons/samurai class. One great find........20 plus Magic School Bus books and 15 Magic School Bus newsletters for $1.50. Glad we stopped.

Take care,
Catherine

[root*children]

The VOA thrift on 2nd street in Dgo had the 75% off sale. They have a sale once every couple months and advertise in the Sunday paper. Their sales are always so good, but at weird hours (this one was from 6-8pm).

I just did the monthly pilgrimage to Farmington today. from Sams we buy:

~Butter
~Canola Oil
~sometimes buy their choc. chips, if I've run out of my 99c sale bags
~Chewy Granola Bars *total convenience food, I know, DH would die w/o them, so we splurge there*
~Pure Maple Syrup
~Instant Mash potatoes are cheaper there, but I haven't bought any yet and recorded the price since I use them so rarely.
~Same with powdered milk as mash potatoes
~we buy Bounty paper towels to make wipes
~Big ole tub of Kraft Parm. cheese
~Spaghetti
~Raisins
~Aidan buys their Silk Soymilk. It is much cheaper, but they only carry vanilla
~she also buys pretzels there.
~I have bought /goldfish crackers there, but it was a total treat for DS, so I didn't record the price, although I know it was cheaper.
~Oh and of course Breyers ice cream (you have to buy this huge tub of it)

I started to write the price comparisons, but the post was getting too long. Catherine, pm me if you want them. Do you keep a price book? If so, you can go into Sams w/o membership and just browse with your price book to see if deals are there for you. Also, you can *not quite legally* split the membership with someone. This is how it worked for me: I went in to get mem. just for me, and then the woman asked who else would be on my card. SO I said 'HUH?' and she said someone else from my house could be on it. So the name I thought of was Aidan's. They said she would have to come in sometime and show them a driver's lis. to get her card. So she did and they asked for a phone number, and she gave mine, and they gave her a card. So it was 15 bucks each! That is so cheating, I know. don't bash me for not being super ethical on this one. It is basically a Walmart store after all, I don't feel too bad for getting my money's worth out of their sleezy business :bag:

[root*children]

Oh yeah, at big lots today we found boxes of organic rice cereal for 99c a box and sponges for 33c each and Cannellini beans for 79c a can. Needless to say, I filled several boxes!

[Mother2Amaya]

Just coming to join in and check out the tips and advice... This one-income household MUST be frugal! :D

[Ms.Doula]

:w Amy!!! :love

[Al Dente]

:eyes usually I'm a lurker...but had to ask. PLEASE share how you can make a good meal for under $5! I have been counting every penny since we decided I would be a SAHM, and unless I buy utter crap, the lunch/dinner meals come out to over $5 every time. I guess that's not bad, but it's still too much for us, because it's about $15.00 a day for 3 meals and snacks x 7-you get the picture. I want to spend under $200 for food a month. Do you think it can be done?

For example-whole frying chicken 3.79 (usually it's 99.-1.19 per pound)
Rice-.50
Butter 1/2 stick for chicken skin and rice-1.00
Vegetables-frozen bag is $3.79, probably 1/10th bag-.37

So that el-cheapo dinner still costs 5.66. The chicken will feed us once, but I can use the 6C of broth for other things.



(And dh won't eat leftovers, and he's picky, and so am I, and we love food! :LOL) HELP!

[lovebugmama]

Coming out of lurkdom. I'm just getting started on the frugal thing b/c we are about to have a mortgage :irked: . I just wanted to throw in my advice on some cheap curtains. If you would like to do some cafe curtains to give you some privacy, but still let in light, I've seen them done with old dishtowels. You can get some really pretty and large dishtowels at yard sales and thrift stores (I'm sure you know that).

I hope to get to know you all better soon.

My first ever trip to a garage sale: they were giving away a motorized motorcycle (like a Powerwheels) for free b/c it needed a new battery, which I got at Wal-Mart for $10. Also got a kids tape player/recorder for $1 and almost brand new Chicco ball chase castle for $2. I thought that was pretty good and it got me totally psyched to check out some more next weekend.

[root*children]

Those were great yardsale finds! I love yardsales so much more than just gonig to walmart or something, b/c it's like a treasure hunt, and you never know what you'll come across :love

I also love the curtain idea... that would definatly work for our kitchen... now to find some dishtowels that go together! I found some pillow shams that were quilted at the thrift that I thought would be good curtains for over our videos, but decided instead to buy some pottery barn slipcovers and make some $$ on ebay!

anyhow, hmm... cheap meals... well that's almost all we eat! The butter was really expensive, and the chicken. Is that organic butter? That's one thing we just use too much of to buy OG, kwim? Not saying that's for everyone, just us. Maybe you could cut down on meat to only 4 or 5 nites a week and the cost will average out. You can start a garden to have lots of free veggies and grow lots extra to can/freeze for the winter. We're still eating squash from last year's garden! Some cheap meals:
pizza (homemade, of course)
pasta
mac & cheese (we put sliced veggie hot dogs in it)
baked potatoes (we usually top with cheese sauce - white sauce w/ added cheese & broccoli, DH likes some bacon crumbles on it, too)
stir fry
beans & grains (too many combinations to write)
breakfast meals are always a cheap treat, too (like pancakes & eggs, etc.)

Leftovers are just something you have to deal with, IMO. You don't have to have the exact same meal over again, though. You can use that chicken to make enchiladas or burritos or sandwiches or top pizza, etc. That's the fun part of eating whole foods, is that the leftovers can be reused in so many different ways and it's a totally new meal :)

HTH - I'm sure lots of mamas here will have other yummy suggestions, too.

[Throkmorton]

Ok, meals under $5:
We get chicken legs, back attached 12 lbs for $8.60
That makes 16 drumsticks, and I boil the backs and skin for broth. I just did the broth yesterday, and got 8 quarts. DH bbq'ed the drumsticks, and has several lunches and snacks for him and DS. He loves them cold.
We eat a lot of rice, and buy it in big, 20 lb bags for about $7. Leftover rice makes awesome fried rice, with a bit of that leftover chicken. In fact, fried rice is better made the day after it is steamed.
For breakfasts, we have muffins, or oatmeal, bought in bulk.
Butter is expensive. Why do you need butter on the chicken? I just brush it with the tiniest bit of olive oil (canola squicks me out) before putting it in the oven. We hardly ever buy whole chickens, as they just don't seem to be worth it. We either buy the legs and backs, or boneless, skinless breasts which we use in stir fry. 1 breast will feed all 3 of us.
We buy veggies in season. In the winter, we eat more cabbage and carrots, and in the summer we eat a whole lot of salads and local veggies
As for meat, ground beef is fairly cheap if you eat that. We go meatless 3 days per week, and we buy beef in serious bulk (1/2 cow at a time)

So, for dinner tonight:
Salad: 1 head of romaine (79c), 1/2 green pepper (50c), mushrooms (50c) Balsamic vinegar, um, no clue. to make this even, let's say 6 cents. I paid $4 for a bottle, it has lasted us 6 months.
Rice: really cheap. Let's say 20c.
Veggie burger for me($1.25, as i was out of homemade), hamburgers for the boys (50c each)

So, total that is $3.25. Oh, forgot buns. 25c each (counting condiments), $4 And we have lots of leftover salad. That is a pretty decadent meal. generally, meals go like this:

Homemade pesto sauce on spaghetti, a mennonite sausage for DH and DS to share, salad or steamed veggies.
Homemade brown rice and lentil burgers, fries cut from actual potatoes, same salad/steamed veggies
Stir fry with whatever we have left in the fridge
Spaghetti is big around here.

This list could go on...

[scrapadoozer]

Hi, I am new to posting on this thread (usually lurking) and I must say it's been so much fun reading about everyone's yard sale/ thrift store finds, frugal tips & low-cost meal suggestions. What a helpful, resourceful bunch! My thrift store find for the week was a gorgeous boutique plaid flannel Christmas dress for my DD. Brand new with tags. Retail price: $50. Our cost $2.60! For a simple low cost meal that's still fairly healthy we like to do cheese sandwiches on whole wheat bread with tomato soup and a green salad. Nice tasty comfort food! :)

[MamaMonica]

We have a share in organic farm and prepay in fall to get a discount for the growing season. For about $25 a week we get a big garbage bag of organic produce early in the season and 2 garbage bags plus extras like tomatoes, potaotes, squash and u-pick greens and herbs like basil later in the growing season.

It is work to separate and prepare or freeze it- but it sure is good and we plan meals around it- if it's 5 heads of lettuce, radishes, turnips, etc. we eat sandwiches and salad that week.

Our grocery bill goes way down during the summer because of that. There are a lot of CSA's around now...

Our standard cheap meal is brown rice and baked beans with some vegetable, which can be frozen peas if it's winter.

[cassiemommy]

I'm a frequent lurker to this thread and love to see what other frugal moms do. I thought I'd chime in (finally) to tell you of my garage sale bargains yesterday. I got 2 nice potty seats (for the grandparents' places) for DD for $1 each, a little tykes cassette deck player for $1, some books (novels and even a knitting pattern book!) for a quarter each, and some puzzles for DD for a quarter each. I didn't even spend that much time out, maybe 2 hours, d/t my bad back (I'm 7mos pregnant right now) and was happy that I got what I did. On the grocery side of things, I'm usually shopping at the "day-old" section of the grocery store--and the one that I go to is quite good because some of the things I get there are better than what some other stores sell as 1st quality. Other things I do to save money is hang-dry my laundry (I love it esp when the weather is nice enough for me to do this outside) and we eat-in almost always, but I do splurge on groceries and get steak and seafood and the like, but even then, it's still quite a bit cheaper than to get that type of food in a restaurant! DH thinks it's the thrill of the bargain that makes me frugal (we don't absolutely need to do this, I can go to the library and read books for free)--he's probably right! :D

[Ms.Doula]

Welcome!!! Nice finds!! And congrats on the :baby




OK heres my Next problem........................



Tomatoes :tomato



We have BIG beefsteak Tomatoes comin out our EARS!!! We are givin em away... eating lotts, ect. But I wanna 'save' some for later, or make some sauces, ect. Other than making & freezing spagetti sauce, (cant can) any other ideas??? :love

[Throkmorton]

Why can't you can your tomatoes? It is really easy, they can be done in a boiling water bath.
Now, that said, I hate the stupid things. They give me a rash unless they have been boiling forever and taste :gross I would put an ad in the paper, and seel them for 50c/lb to anyone who will take them. or, you know, buddy up with someone who does enjoy canning, and offer to split them with her if she cans (and promise to give the jars back)

As for garage sales, I got a CD player that appeared to work, but when i got it home and plugged in, I discovered that it had no sound! Gaaaaaah! I felt like throwing it through the guy's window. Bastard. I was not hing any luck yesterday at the sales.

[Indigo73]

My suggestion would be making your own salsa...

[welove2farm]

Other than making & freezing spagetti sauce, (cant can) any other ideas??? :love

We always have tons of tomatoes. A few years ago my 83 year-old farming friend, next door told me to throw them all in freezer bags.....no peeling, no coring.....just wash, dry and toss them in the bags. I do this every year and have tomatoes all winter for soups and sauces. They're wonderful! I save some for canning salsa, some I share with neighbors and the rest are tossed in bags. Easy!

Enjoy!

[welove2farm]

:. PLEASE share how you can make a good meal for under $5!

When we were really, REALLY in the poorhouse we survived on soups and bread and life was good. Soups are filling and can include many bulk ingredients (rice, barley, pasta,etc) plus any vegies, meat, etc. (great way to disguise the leftovers). We purchased bulk powdered broth from the natural foods coop (msg free and yummy). Bread is cheap. If you have a Wal-mart near you they often have a day old rack for breads, cakes etc for up to 75% off. Buy a couple loaves, use what you can and make croutons with the rest for soups or snacks. No Wal-mart......make your own bread, use a breadmaker or whatever is easiest, cheapest. Bagel shops often have bags of day old bread for cheap. We also have a place near by that you can load up a truck load of bread (called hog feed...I'm not kidding) for about ten bucks. This might sound awful to some but some of the bread is good. We haven't loaded up a truck for quite sometime but when we did we would take out the good loaves and freeze them and most of the other bread went to the chickens. I think stores like Rainbow or Holsum do this. Maybe worth checking into.

[root*children]

I've always heard that canning beefsteak tomatoes was not good. If I were you I'd put a big ole bushel basket at the end of your driveway and a coffee can with a slit cut in the lid. And a big sign on the basket that said, "TOMATOES - $1 A BAG". oh yeah, and put some paper lunch bags out too.

[LinzluvsGJ]

I'm jumping in on this thread! :) I love yardsales here in our neighborhood-- military community so we have moving sales around her a lot and people just want RID of their items... cheap! I went to one sale late in the afternoon (usually around here they go until 2 or 4 on a saturday) and a woman had a TON of clothes and little people toys and thigns like that-- all the perfect age for my daughter! I picked out tons and tons of clothes (brand names too...woo hoo) which all ended up half price plus scrapbooking stuff for $2.50 (a big bag of it), and the toys, and she ended up giving it all to me for $20-- I had to have my husband come and pick everything up because I couldn't carry it back w/ me to my house a few blocks away! I got a big duplo table and everything... was definately thrilled. :-D I very rarely buy my daughter any new clothes-- most things she gets new are presents. For her birthday I even shopped resale. She was perfectly happy w/ what she got, too! :)

[Throkmorton]

Beefsteaks are fine to can, they are just more watery than Romas. Make sure to add a teaspoon of lemon juice to them just to make sure they are acidic enough.
I can a lot of tomatoes every year with mom. 300 or 400 jars.
I am contemplating getting this: http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.asp?page=44040&category=2,40733,44734&abspage=1&ccurrency=1&SID= but has anyone found them anywhere else cheaper?

[cassiemommy]

I don't know if beefsteak tomatoes are good for this or not, but a former colleague of mine has her Italian MIL make sun-dried tomatoes for her and they are the absolute best I've ever tasted. I don't work there anymore, but I always think of those sun-dried tomatoes whenever I eat other, not-so-mouthwatering-good, ones!

[root*children]

That's a pretty cool lil contraption, I looked on ebay under 'tomato press' and there were 4 matches. At least one is that exact same model, and is right now at $15.60, with 23 hrs. to go!

[welove2farm]

I may be a bit behind the times but everytime my printer runs dry I dread spending 25-30 bucks on another cartridge. What's the new thing going ? Can I save money refilling my own? Where can I buy the ink?
Thanks!

[Indigo73]

You can buy refill kits at most office supply stores - warning can get messy.

Another option is to buy recylced cartridges. I use this option more often than not.

[root*children]

hey mamas! There were exactly 2 yardsales in our town today, so I went to them both :D I SO scored though!! At one I was checking out a bookshelf and the lady just told me to take it, and I had a pair of shorts in my hand and she said to just take em since they were only 50c. She must have thought they might as well be free since ALL the other clothes at the yard sale were $4.00 and up (still haven't figured out what's wrong w/ the shorts). Then I went to the other YS and bought a push-mower (pretty new) and some kids clothes for $10. DH is going to be so stoked to find out we have a lawnmower! Aack! though I tried to mow with it and our grass is ridiculously long that is doesn't cut it. Maybe I'll hire some 13yo to bring up a gas mower and get it short!

I have figured out one solution to my curtain dilema, but for only 1 window. I strung clothesline across the top (extra from our clothesline) and painted 14 clothespins (again extra). Then hung DS's artwork along it. More like a valance than a full-on curtain. It's so cute and a nice spot tot put it instead of all over the fridge where the toddler just rips it down! 1 window down... 7 to go...

BTW - I LOVE 4th of July, not that I'm super patriotic or anything, but FREE fireworks, parades, etc! WOO-HOO!

Hope everyone has a good weekend!

[serenetabbie]

LOVING this thread :)

I have not gone yardsaling this year at all! I inventoried the kid's clothes and they have enough in the next 2 sizes to make it all seasons (save for underware and socks), and I hate buying too much too far in advance. I do need clothes fo myself though, and for DH.
I mentioned to a freind that while I was moving last year I broke every one of my pyrex baking dishes (dropped the whole box! D'oh!), and she brought me a huge stack from her mom's basement :) Another freind saw us exchanging "junk", and offered me a brand new roasting pan she won at her church raffle :thumb I put out the word to everyone I know that we needed a real table and chairs for the kitchen (we have a folding card table and mismatched folding chairs). What do you know, a freind got a new banquet table at an auction and gave us her old one! Now we just need the chairs :D
I Always ask around if there is anything I need. Last year I was given a whole bunch of perrenial flowers by a lady who heard I moved and had a flower garden bed 4 X the size of my old one that needed filling... how nice! :D
As for tomatoes, I can them as sauce (pizza and spag), and also make sure to can some just plain. it's really really easy, or I would never do it! All you need is a big kettle really :)
and speaking of canning....... I am making wild black raspberry jam this weekend!!!! I am so excited to have found a big patch of yummy, juicy, FREE berries, and they are right in our backyard!!!! :LOL The kids can't wait and have been sneaking into the woods to much the almost ripe ones :love
Have a wonderful tag sale season all! I am looking forward to reading the future posts!

[thistle]

We overspent on our family trip/DH's conference so we are on the ULTRA tight budget until we get the savings back up to acceptable levels. That even means no yard sales or thrift stores for me unless I am looking for something specific! :crying

Anyway, I made a 28 day rotating dinner menu plan, alternating 14 days veg, 14 days meat. It is all pretty budget, though I do buy a few niceties since there will be no eating out at all this month. I also planned a few nights that are breaks for me.

We also have the agreement that any night can become leftovers night if the fridge is getting too full.

Menu Rotation
Week 1

M Spaghetti, Salad, bread
T Tuna Sand, salad, chips
W Black Beans, Rice, Onion, Salad, banana
R Fishsticks, Cole slaw, fries
F Mujadara
S Steak, salad, potato, bread
Su Shephard Pie

Week 2

M BBQ Chick, Rice, Salad, Veg
T Grilled Cheese, Salad, Fries
W Chick Enchiladas, Salad
R Pasta Primavera, salad, bread
F Turkey Burger, Fries, Salad
S Pizza, Salad
Su Roasted Chicken, potatoes, salad, veg

Week 3

M - Taco Salad
T- Chicken Salad Sand, Chips, Salad
W- Veg Stew
R - Sausages, Saurkraut, Salad
F Red Bns N Rice, Salad
S- Chick Stir Fry
Su- Omlette/Migas, Salad, Potatos

Week 4

M- Turkey Meat Loaf, Potaoto , Veg, Salad
T- Veg Burger, Fries, Salad
W-Grill Fish, rice , veg, salad
R - Quiche, salad
F- BLT, Salad, chips/fries
S- Roasted Potatoes & veggies, Salad
Su - Hawaiian Chicken, rice, veg,

[root*children]

yummy! I wish we had rasberries!!! :yum We have chokecherries (only good for cooking, not snacking) and wild service berries (not nearly as sweet and juicy as raspberries, more like raisins :eyesroll ) oh well. We wen't too a B-day party last night were they served choc. cake with backyard raspberries on top!! SO GOOD!!

[Throkmorton]

I am going to have to go hardcore on the frugal recipes this month. DH has decided he needs to go on a low-carb diet :eyesroll which means that our budget will be impacted.
So, he naturally decides to go low-carb just as my potatoes are nearing harvest. Any suggestions for good new potato meals? Last year, I got 80 lbs of them out of one of those little 6lb bags of seed potatoes, and so far this year they are doing even better. :)

[serenetabbie]

Wow Thistle, that's a great list! What is Mujadara?

Throkmorton, I love new potatoes! Wish i lived close, i'd trade jam for 'taters :LOL I am so looking forward to having potatoes and onions next year!!!
We like all sorts of potatoes. New potatoes we usually have roasted or boiled (plain or in salads). One of my favorite comfort foods is potato au gratin or scalloped potatoes with sun dried tomatoes :yummy:. Sometimes we put leftover ham in them. I love latkas (potato cakes) too. My grandmother freezes them like hashbrowns.

[Throkmorton]

Oooh, I hadn't thought about freezing them!
Hrm, think I can convince DH that i need a food processor for this? I really, really do need one, right? :)

[root*children]

Heck ya! food processors ROCK!!! We shred out bulk ordered cheese for freezing, and chopped a zillion pecans our farm relatives sent from Mississippi to freeze. And, how the hell else can you make hummus?? :D

Just have to take this chance to brag that I went to a yardsale yesterday on the 4th run by 8yo's in a parking lot. I bought a pair of Burton kid's snowboard boots for 50c (she only wanted 25c!), and two sets of Patagonia capilene kid's long underware for FREE with the purchase of a $1 video!! WOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!!!!
that just plain rocks.

[Throkmorton]

I limp along, making hummus in the blender. Poor me! I also hand knead pizza crusts, hand grate bulk cheese and thin-slice the carrots. See? I need a food processor! I swear! Now, the only question is, what do i "need" more, my 325 watt Kitchenaid stand mixer, or a food processor? I can get a Cuisinart 14 cup processor with my air miles, but I have been saving my miles for this mixer for 2 years now... Or, for the same number of miles, I could fly to Toronto...
I found absolutely nothing at the garage sales. Good scores!
Of course, I was so depressed I went to the yarn store and spent the $20 I earned by selling off some spare velvet to the guy upstairs.... The yarn was on sale, so I bought 3 pairs of socks worth.

[Indigo73]

No yard sales for us, every penny goes to feeding the family at the moment.

Fingers crossed that dh hears about the job he wants soon.

But I scored a few rather nice things with freecycle and just poking around Livejournal. Over last 2 weeks - 2 aquariums (20 gallon w/ stand and 10 gallon - both with full fresh water setups), a huge well built toy box with safety hinges, a painted playboard, a tot sized wooden tool bench that grandpa is going to get a kick out of and a complete fisher price game table. The only thing dh thinks is missing from the game table is the extra hockey puck. All the mats, balls, nets etc. are all there.

All we spent was the gas to drive and pick it all up. I love free stuff.

[pilesoflaundry]

I went the cheap food processor way, I bought a blender with a mini food processor attachment for around $35-40 on sale. I needed a blender and a food processor and this was the cheapest way to get both. It's an oster and works ok :).

[LinzluvsGJ]

Tupperware also has a small handheld type of food processor called a quick chef. That is what I own and it works really well for things like making salsa. It is $45... though I earned mine as a consultant, though. (hence the reason I actually have one... otherwise I'd probably still be saving! :lol: ) I'd love to get a real food processor eventually... and a good blender that mixes things evenly... and a good mixer *sigh*

[root*children]

I've burned out the motor on more blenders than I'd like to admit. I have the little hand-held mixer that suits our needs. I do LOOOOve my food processor though! Admitedly, I haven't used it as much as I'd like to, but oh well.

[root*children]

yayaya! what a RAD yardsaling day! We (amazingly) got up bright & early and hit the road! I got:
tons of FREE stuff: 20 lbs. of hard red winter wheat, sidewalk chalk, toys
inf. raft for boys for the pond for $5
tripod, clothes, hemp purse, kids books - $2
DS got a scooter/skateboard - $3
good videos for a buck each!
and my big score... two big boxes with wool roving, wool yarn, wool cards, wooden combs & wooden shuttles for $10!! Unfortunatly, I don't work with wool, but I took it to farm market and asked around if anyone wanted it, and lots of mamas were so excited, so I just passed it all on. We took it to the booth of the sheep raiser who was spinning, and she valued it all at over $200!

umm... I think that's it :) Anyone else?

[mountain mom]

we are desperately looking for a bike trailer, so we can get some excercise, start saving money on gas, and just get out of the house a little more often.

Hi there everyone Coming In on the thread a little late :(

Just noticed this post and wanted to say my friend that I childcare swap with and I just split the cost of a double burley (we both have single chariots) that we found in our local used goods paper called the Bargain Finder.

We each paid 75$ for it, although I traded herbal products and honey for my end. :)

I found a yougurt maker at a garage sale a couple weeks ago for .50 and a porfolio for my dried herb collection for 2$.

Well, I hope I can join in on all the frugal tips, thanks!

[stretchmark]

Hi, I am new here, just saw the thread today after yard sailing.

I am not the most frugal person. Mostly I just find ways to be frugal so that I can splurge when I need to. I mostly love the thrill of finding amazing stuff that people no longer want. I love that I can find exactly what I am looking for when I need it.

ANyways, today I scored a 1$ round wicker laundry hamper, I collect those. I got 3 used womens Ts for my recycled clothing business for 2.50, 10 little glass spice containers with the corky lids for 3.00, and DH found some books of Buddhism. DD was the only one to find something in the free box and she brought that home. I also got a set of alphabet rubber stamps, a collectors one, for 9.00. So of course it wasn't the most thrifty morning but we got what we needed.
People around here don't sell super cheap. Taos,NM.
Now in Boulder, Co, where my in-laws live, there were sales on every street and they had good prices. People there are so rich that it seems they just want the stuff out of their lives. Even the salvation army is amzing there. If I lived there, I would be an ebay re-seller for sure, no problem.

OK, I love this thread, hope I make it back here every now and then.

[serenetabbie]

Hey guys!
I went to Lowes today (home improvement store) to pick up some stuff to repair our deck. While we were there I checked on the clearance stuff in the nursery. I love, love, love to do that! We picked up 6 eggplant plants with flowers on them for 50c, an african violet in a cool little pot for 25c, a white mum for 50c, and some assorted houseplants (asparagus fern, polkadot plant, and some others) in need of minimum TLC for $2. Grand total of $3.25 for 14 plants! The eggplants are in the garden already in the spot left from the spinach.. this was really a great thing for me as I love eggplant, and since we only had a tiny veggie garden this year we skipped them :). The last time I was there they had spring bulbs (to plant in the spring that is, bloom in the summer/fall) for 10 cents a pack! We got $1.60's worth.... or about 125 bulbs :) I managed to get them in the ground within a week of the "plant by" date too. I plan to go back again at the almost end of fall planting to see if I can get some cheap spring and summer flowers :thumb Our new house's gardens should look nice in a year or two!!

[Throkmorton]

Wow, good scores guys!
I finally broke down and paid full price for my food processor, at HellMart no less. I really didn't have a choice, everone else was at least $20 more for the same or equivalent model. I got 2 grocery bags of basil, a bunch of parsley and about 30 lbs of apricots this week for free, and I didn't think I could make that much pesto and jam without one.
At the garage sales, I got a pair of shorts, some pants, and 12 pairs of socks for DS for 25 cents and...
My green arborite and chrome 50's kitchen table for $20! Yay me! It is really small, has drop leafs and is just all around very retro chic. it is the exact table I wanted for my kitchen. The oak one (another garage sale score) was way too large for my 40's or 50's kitchen.

[LinzluvsGJ]

I made 80 cents at my yard sale this morning... rather disappointed... *sigh*

[serenetabbie]

okay, tell me why I need a food proccessor! Am I missing something? is it super easy to use? Will i wonder why I never had one if I get one?

I make jam every year, and applesauce usually. One year we got about 60 pounds of apples free.... i suppose anything would have made that task easier! me, DH and my gramma peeled every apple with peelers.

YUm apricot jam! That's like heaven! If my flowers come up I will try to remember to post a picture next season :)

[Throkmorton]

I have had a food processor for 12 hours now.. here are my observations, and what I have done.
It slices a carrot in about 6 seconds. I can grate 9 cups of carrots in about a minute for carrot slaw. Whee!
I made pesto, and it took me less than 20 minutes, start to finish.
I made bread! it took care of that annoying and tiring part where you have to incorporate a ton of flour by hand. :)
Instead of finely chopping 10lbs of apricots tomorrow (about 80) I am going to wash them, pit them and send them through the food processor before i boil the heck out of them for jelly.
I can see it making apple sauce easier, as the apples would cook faster if they were sliced thin, but really what you need is something like this: http://www.leevalley.com/garden/page.asp?page=45729&category=2,40733,44734&abspage=1&ccurrency=2&SID=
Yes, my mom has one, I steal it all the time and I love it.
To the PP, sorry about your crappy return at the garage sale. My mom says that the mark of q true tightwad is when you can't even make money at a garage sale.

[serenetabbie]

Thanks for the feedback on the proccesor!
how'd your jelly turn out?
I actually have a peeler now :) When we got all the free apples we did not ahve one, and I was like "No way am i doing THAT again" :LOL I found it under a pile of games in the Salvation Army for $5 :thumb It's a pampered Chef one!

[chanibell]

Hi,
Sorry if this has already been asked,but can anyone recommend a good juicer for me? Thanks

[Throkmorton]

My jelly turned out great! I found a lower sugar recipe, so that it doesn't hurt my teeth.
I love that peeler, especially now that i live in the land of apples. I might have to get one for myself because I can get juice apples for 10c/lb.

[Ms.Doula]

do share the low sugar recipe. Less $$ for sugar & less cavities & Calories sounds great!!! :love

[Throkmorton]

Would you believe I didn't save it?
found it on www.cooks.com, just do a search for "low sugar jam"

[serenetabbie]

If you cannot find it, I have some I can post. Also, if you use pectin you can just follow the recipie in the low sugar pectin box :) It comes out a little softer, but it is still very good. My mom is diabetic and I make a batch for her every year usually. I have had very good success with lowing the sugar in regular recipies too (I know, it says not to mess with the amounts).
I make low sugar or no sugar apple sauce all the time, it would be too expensive to put up a years woth with all that sugar! Plus it is way too sweet. I love experementing with fruit blends and would love to hear any that worked good for you guys! So far our favorite has got to be apple/plum sauce or apple/peach.

My flowers are coming up!! YAY! I am so excited, i was sure that for that price they would all be duds :LOL

ETA ~ T, I have a freind who lives over on vancouver island. Are you near there?

[goodcents]

Hello Everyone,
I posted this in The Trading Post but thought to ask my frugal mommas too!

I am looking for a Halloween outfit for my dd. She will be 22 months @ halloween time. She is on the petite side so I am sure she could fit something around 18 months.

I don't have anything particular in mind, just planning ahead!

Thanks,
Justine

[Throkmorton]

Thanks Serenetabbie. I am still trying to figure out where the heck that recipe went.
I actually live in the interior of BC, the island is a 4 hour drive, and a 2 hour ferry ride away.
Grrr, the garage sales were no good yesterday. It is way too hot here right now, so I didn't want to be out for too long.

[root*children]

Our yard sales here were nothing to brag about either. :irked: oh well... maybe next week. also I was really tired, and I find that doesn't help my sociability or bargaining skills! Our best scores were a globe on a stand for $3 and a bike for a friend of ours (child) who's been needing one, for $5 in perfect condition. My very best score came from our neighborhood dump! It was my new favorite table lamp that it a piece of wood that is all knotty and nice as the base, but no shade. Why do people throw such good stuff away?? The other day I went to our dumpsters and a woman was emptying out a HUGE load of stuff (note: not trash) from the back of her truck and putting it in the dump. I just kept following her up and taking down the useful things and putting them in my minivan to use or thrift. I kept remarking how *someone* could surely use these things and I would take them to the thrift , and she just kept saying it was all trash and unusable. Then she pointed to bunkbed headboards and footboards and said, "Well, this is definatly trash, I don't even know what to do with it" I told her what it was and she said, "I know it's for a bunkbed, but it's totally useless, there's no frame or matress!" SHEESH! Does she buy all her beds with the linens already on and a mint on the pillow!? I proceeded to load those into my van and she thought I was absolutely nuts! :D

This halloween I'm going to do something we've never done, and sew our own costumes. I guess I'd better get started soon ;) I'm good at sewing patchwork and mending, but when it comes to following a pattern, it can become very time-consuming VERY fast! DS#1 wants to be a knight (that one should be fairly simple, I think) and I'm going to do a dragon for DS#2. Am I getting in over my head here? probably so...

[Throkmorton]

Dragons are easy! Just remember, if you are in a pinch, the hot glue gun is your friend.
Last year, i made DS an Eyeore costume, and the year before, he was a bat. I don't know what to do this year though, he hasn't said what he wants yet.

[root*children]

awesome! I do need a hot glue gun. Maybe for my B-day, that's just before Halloween.

Okay, so I've got to vent this somewhere, and y'all seem like you'd understand! Not a confession, because I wasn't trying to do something so naughty! ;) DH's B-day was last night and he's a spendthrift kinda guy, so we do go out to eat for his b-day every year (a treat, since we only go out to eat probably 4 times a year). We wanted some beers, so we went to the brewery to eat and had never been there before. We didn't even look at the costs of drinks, meals, etc., more than just glancing at the general prices of entrees, etc. We got out bill for $37!! ACK!! So total we paid $45 (inc. tip) for 2 stinkin meals (a burrito & a bacon-cheese burger), one kids meal, and 3 beers!!! OMG! I will never eat there again, obviously, but I just thought that was outrageous! Is this the normal going rate or something?? If we ever eat out any other time, we go to the local pizza shop, where it's fairly cheap, or the chinese place, where there's no option of beer and no need to buy a kid's meal. The part that was most shocking to me was the beer cost! It was $4.50 a beer!!! :eek We could have bought nine beers at the liquor store for that much. Silly, naive me thought it would be cheaper to go straight to the brewery! HA!
Okay, I'm done with my rant!

On another thought... has anyone else thought that we should be AKA: the anti-'diapering forum' thread? :LOL - sorry to those of you who are frequent cute-diaper buyers!! ;)

[cassiemommy]

Just wanted to say that I went garage-saling on Saturday and like previous posters, got nothing. However, on Sunday, we went to pick up some light fixtures that someone was offering on our local free-cycling boards and started talking to the guy who was offering the stuff. Turns out, he and his wife go roaming on garbage days and pick up whatever looks promising, fixes it up if it needs it, then offers it for free. I was quite impressed by his reuse/recycle hobby. They had tons of stuff, in-line skates, puzzles (that he actually goes through to see which, if any pieces are missing), books, small appliances (that he fixes up to make sure they work), exercise equipment, this awesome art-deco type hanging light that must be worth a pretty penny if he were to put it out to the right crowd, nice clothes and stuff that his wife washes before offering it for free,...I just couldn't believe the good heartedness (is that a word?) and altruistic nature of this couple. Even DH was impressed! While we were there, his wife noticed that we were expecting (due in 4wks, yeah!), and got me some newborn socks (including Tommy Hilfiger, GAP, etc ones) just because! Anyways, just wanted to share that there are some really nice people in the world.

[magnoliablue]

Hi mamas. I am new to this thread, and am loving the ideas you all have for being frugal.

I am trying to find a way to rein in our spending and somehow manage to start a savings account or at least an emergency fund.

Our city-wide yard sale is in the next two weeks, and I am hard a work cleaning out toy boxes and dressers to sell.. I am not sure that day is the best as far as selling is concerned, but it does draw a crowd from out of town, and at the very least, it will unclutter the house.

My main issues are trimming the food budget, I prefer to buy organic, but it is starting to be a budget buster, and I am afraid I am going to have to change to conventional until we get on a better track. I would love to know your secrest for saving at the grocery..at the moment I spend about 125-150 for 2 adults and 3 kids 12 and under...which, as it seems from other's posts..is ALOT. I want to bring it down to at least 100.

[root*children]

hey, just wanted to brag that we found a big patch of wild raspberries today! So we're off to pick in a little bit! :yum
I also had a thought I wanted to share, not sure if I have already. But as I'm trying to find some cheap pocket diapers on TP, I'm reading all these posts for pricey dipes & covers! I just wanted to share that if you have a diaper service in your area, you can buy their "seconds" for really cheap! Our diaper lady sells them for $2/dozen!! These are sometimes lightly stained (my kid will stain them anyhow, so who cares, right?) or are just starting to fray on the edges (which is just on the unfinished sides, so I just sew a zig-zag stich on those 2 sides, and they last for quite a while). MY DC is just 12mo, and I don't think we'll have to break down and buy more for another 6 months at least. We bought 6 doz before he was born, so I'd say $12/1-1/2 years ( at least) for DSQ diapers is a great deal!

[welove2farm]

Thought I would add that Diaper Service Quality diapers are good sellers on Ebay, as well. I bought several large bags of diapers from a family that stopped their diaper service. I saved many for my babies, sold some on ebay and sold many of the thin, slightly stained , less than desirable diapers on ebay as rags. I had one guy that contacted me personally several times to see if I had any more used diapers. He had a window cleaning business some place in New York. He said it was cheaper to buy old diapers (for rags) on ebay then to buy "rags" from supply companies.

Picking raspberries........lucky you.

[LinzluvsGJ]

mmmmm..... raspberries. I eyed some blackberries in our commissary today-- but it was $2 for this tiny little container! :eek: My grandpa always has so many blackberries every year (picks them by the 5 gallon buckets and they still go bad) that he doesn't know what to do with them. Too bad they live in another state. :( I'm gonna miss those yummy blackberries (so good on ice cream, cobblers, in fruit salad, in jam....)

[root*children]

hey mamas! I've got two questions for y'all to ponder:

1) Yardsale etiquette (sp?):
If you are at a yardsale where EVERYTHING is over-priced, do you leave, or try to bargain, or let them know that yardsale items should not be so pricey. I've always wanted to do the latter, since I read it in TWG. But I never have. I don't mean to be offensive about it, just to say, very politely something like, "Most yardsales would only charge about 50c for kids clothes". I tend to just leave, but honestly, as frugal as I am, I'm not a huge bargainer. And I'd like to be, it's just I'm much more of a passive type, than an agressive type. Something I need to work on. I seem to hit about 1 or 2 of these yardsales every week, where these people obviously have never been to other yardsales, and have no clue what the going rate is. They assume that since they have name brand clothes that all the kids clothes should be priced around $5 and that's a deal :innocent . WWYD?

2) Strawberries:
We have way too many! :yum They were on sale at the grocery for $1.25/lb. Now, honestly, I'm really into pricebooking, but I don't often record produce, b/c it fluctuates so much. But these were cheaper than the cheapest frozen ones, so I went ahead and bought 6 lbs. What should I do with them? Freeze some for smoothies... um... maybe make some jam? I can just freeze them for now and make jam later though, right? I thought also about freezing some to save for apple season and then make strawberry-apple sauce. WWYD?

[welove2farm]

Freezing might be the best option if you want to store them quickly. I just finished up canning and drying a couple bushel baskets of apricots. I made lots of fruit leather......perfect for those "I'm hungry" times in the car. Making fruit leather in a dehydrater is so easy and the kids love it. I always add a little bit of honey if the fruit is a bit tart. Strawberries would make great leather. Slicing and drying the strawberries would also be perfect for later use. I love dried strawberries on cold and hot cereal. have fun!

Re. pricey clothes at sales. I just walk away realizing that most of those overpriced clothes are going to end up at the thrift shop for half the price. I, too,have been a bit amazed at those kind of sales and often walk away thinking 'what a waste of time'......bummer.

catherine

[Mama Faery]

Hi, I'm new to this thread but seeing as I'm trying mightily to be a SAHM or WAHM, we really have to learn to be more frugal...mind if I join? :shy

As for yard sales, I used to be a good bargainer...I would talk down lots of things at flea markets, but usually it was like "I know this is $3, but I only have $1.50..." and either they would take it, or not. :rolleyes

Now, I am more passive and usually if things at yard sales are too pricey, I leave. We were thinking of having a yard sale of our own sometime this summer, since Rowan was born I doubt I'd fit into many of my old clothes for SOME time, so they might as well make me some money :LOL
Do you know if you're supposed to have a license to have a yard sale? Anyway, just wondering...

Thanks for letting me chime in!

-Renae :fairy

[Ms.Doula]

nothing special required for haveing a yard sale, that Iv heard of.... Unless you live in a "special/exclusive" community. :shrug



Thought Id share this tip I got from the Frugal newsletter I got today:


HOMEMADE FABRIC SOFTENER
I make my own fragrance-free fabric softener for a fraction of the cost of commercial brands. I pour 2 cups of baking soda into a gallon-size container then add 2 cups of white vinegar. I combine them very slowly because the mixture of ingredients fizzes and bubbles up. I add 4 cups of water, mix and pour into a 1/2 gallon plastic jug. In the final rinse, I add 1/4 cup. I have used this with much success. -- Ruth B., Oregon

[Ms.Doula]

Dready mamma! - For your exess berry issue:
(I can vouch this recipe is yummy!)


STRAWBERRY FREEZER JAM
4 pints strawberries
1/4 fresh lemon juice (about 2 lemons)
1 box (2 ounces) MCP Pectin
4-1/2 cups sugar
1 cup light corn syrup
Cook's note: You can also make this recipe with black or red raspberries, blackberries or elderberries.

Wash and rinse plastic containers with tight fitting lids. Use 1- to 2-cup-size containers. Set aside. Wash and remove stems from strawberries. In a bowl, crush berries 1 cup at a time with a potato masher. Measure exactly 3-1/4 cups crushed berries into a large bowl. Add 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice. Gradually stir pectin into fruit and mix thoroughly. Set aside for 30 minutes, stirring every 5 minutes to dissolve pectin completely. Pour corn syrup into the fruit mixture and mix well. Measure the sugar into a separate bowl, being careful to measure exactly. Gradually stir the sugar into the fruit mixture, stirring constantly and adding in small amounts until the sugar is completely dissolved and no longer grainy.

Pour jam into prepared containers, leaving a 1/2-inch space at top for expansion during freezing. Cover. Let stand at room temperature for 24 hours until set. Yield: 7 cups. Use immediately, refrigerate up to 3 weeks, or store in freezer for up to 1 year. Thaw in refrigerator.

You can make different varieties of freezer jam simply by substituting one of the following combinations in place of the strawberries and lemon juice in the above recipe:

-- 3 cups finely chopped apricots and 1/2 cup lemon juice
-- 3-1/2 cups crushed boysenberries
-- 3 cups finely chopped sweet cherries and 1/2 cup fresh lemon juice
-- 3-1/4 cups finely chopped peeled peaches and 1/4 cup lemon juice
-- 3 cups finely chopped unpeeled plums and 1/2 cup lemon juice
-- 1-1/2 cups crushed strawberries, 1-3/4 cups crushed raspberries and 1/4 cup fresh lemon juice

[welove2farm]

Does anyone have any experience with the vacuum sealers that I've seen on the market the last couple of years? I've heard that frozen food can stay in the freezer for twice as long. Better than the 'ol ziploc? Are they worth the money? Any brand suggestions? Thanks.

I like the fabric softner recipe. Do you hang dry clothes? I wonder if it softens laundry that's hung out to dry. I drain my water out to a Snowball tree so the vinegar may be a problem if used on a regular basis. Thanks again for passing it on to us.

catherine

[AmandasMom]

I *love* my FoodSaver vac. I bought it off of QVC. I sometimes use the bags, but mostly I use mason jars and the jar sealer for food. I can use all sizes of jars as long as they are wide-mouth jars. I prepare "freezer meals", which means I make *a lot* of one thing and freeze it for lots of meals over months, and with my FoodSaver everything stays fresh. I also buy bulk meats, cheeses, etc (im vegan but hubby is not) and its a huge savings being able to buy in bulk then package it myself and vacuum seal it. It almost lasts forever! (I do use bags for meats and cheeses). I would buy an automatic model so it cuts off by itself instead of you having to do it. Saves time! QVC had the best price when I bought mine last year.

[welove2farm]

bought it off of QVC What is QVC? Home appliance store? Well, I just checked ebay and there are about 144 listings for many different brands. What brand is yours? Are there brands that you've heard are better than others? I freeze, dry and can year round so this might be just what I need/want. Do you need to purchase a certain type of bag for the FoodSaver? Thanks.

[welove2farm]

I was just popping around some other forums and came across this post re. Simplicity Circles. Has anyone had any experience being involved in one of these groups. It looks like some folks coordinate groups online while others create groups in their communities. I have forever wanted to create a place/group for like minded folks/friends/moms to meet on a monthly basis to exchange frugal living/simple living ideas, natural parenting approaches, resources, healthy living recipes, etc., etc., I did a search for a local group in my area in Colorado and New Mexico (we live on the border) and there weren't any groups. Maybe I'll start one. I'm going to check out the founders book on simple living and see if my philosophies are similar with hers. if anyone's interested in checking out this website it's: shoot.......I don't have the website and from my experience if I leave to find it I lose this post sooooo......if you're interested in checking it out do a goodle search under Seeds of Simplicity.

CAtherine

[root*children]

I always thought of MDC for that sort of thing! :D
QVC is one of those TV shopping networks.

We got a short break from the rain today and found some yummy yardsales! Although I think lots of people cancelled theirs due to fear of the rain! oh well... I spent a total of $9.25 and bought a couple videos, a handful of kids clothes (Gap & patagonia, no less :)), Snowboarder PJ's for DS for Christmas, and a wooden baby rattle & some co-operative games (I may try to sell those on TP ;)).

Also, Catherine.. thanks for the tip on selling the dipes thru Ebay! I have 2 extra dozen that were just sitting around waiting for Reed to have the need for them. So I posted them on Ebay, just to see what I'd get for them, and started it at $2/dz b/c that's what I got them for. They still have 5 days and already are bid on with several "watchers"! I always think that's a good sign if they have bids so early in the week :D yayay!!

[AmandasMom]

QVC is a home shopping channel, here in Nashville it is Ch. 12. FoodSaver is the oldest brand I belive, there are a few others out there, Black and Decker sells them now too. At Wal-Mart they have both B&D and FoodSaver brand bags, I buy whichever is cheapest at the time. You don't *have* to use bags, like I said I bought a crap load of mason jars and use them. I have the FoodSaver Vac 1050, it came with a jar sealer. There is an old thread here somewhere on here somewhere, it is what convinced me to buy mine... ah yes here it is http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=41498&highlight=FoodSaver

The bags, as long as you don't put raw meat in them, can be washed and reused. But I still use mostly jars unless it's a huge freezer meal I'm freezing.

Oh, I also have used my foodsaver for old photos and newspapers (like the complete local papers for the day my dd was born) and important papers. I just cut a bag to a good size, put in my stuff and suck the air out. I also used it to preserve (at dh insistance I thought it was gross) the dried up belly button stump when it fell off of dd.

[welove2farm]

[QUOTE=dready*mama]I always thought of MDC for that sort of thing! "

Yes, MDC is certainly one of the best things going on the web.



"Also, Catherine.. thanks for the tip on selling the dipes thru Ebay."

One other thing. The preferred diapers (although he bought the DSQ, as well)that this cleaning guy wanted were the cheapy Gerber style which are often found at thrifts and yard sales. HOpe the auction goes well.

[welove2farm]

Oh, I also have used my foodsaver for old photos and newspapers (like the complete local papers for the day my dd was born) and important papers. I just cut a bag to a good size, put in my stuff and suck the air out. I also used it to preserve (at dh insistance I thought it was gross) the dried up belly button stump when it fell off of dd.

What a great idea! Thanks for all the info. I'm totally sold.

[cassiemommy]

Wanted to bump this up and say that I scored really big today with some silk brocade. When I got married and had my cheongsam made, it cost like like $20/yard?meter? at the cheapest place and almost double that elsewhere. Today I got enough to make at least 2 cheongsams (and possibly some fancy baby-carrier if I ever strike up the nerve--I don't sew) for only $3! I figure, the most I'd be wasting is $3 and I won't even end up using that much. I'm probably going to give this to a cousin of mine who is an excellent seamstress and has always done my alterations, etc. for me.

[Ms.Doula]

ok, I must be a moron.... I know I live a sheltered life (exept when im here @ MDC of course) but WHAT the heck is a cheongsam?? :innocent

[cassiemommy]

You're not a moron, I should've explained, I was just so excited to get that much silk brocade for so cheap! Anyways, it's one of those body-fitting slim long Chinese style dresses with the high necks and thigh-high side slits (to allow movement). They're pretty, but real buggers to wear--you have to walk with smaller steps, you can't move your arms v. much, etc. etc. It's probably what the ancient Chinese made women wear to make them look more feminine, along with binding their feet! (Just joking, it is in NO way as bad as that!) It's a simpler version of a traditional Chinese wedding dress which is v. ornately embroidered with a dragon and pheonix and v. heavy. The one I got made (the labour for my cheongsam was more than for my wedding gown, if you believe that, it's supposedly a dying "art") is similar in style to the black one here, but of course, for a wedding, it "has" to be red: http://www.anzwers.org/trade/clothing/ .

[Ms.Doula]

:thumb see, now thats proof that I am sheltered. :LOL I know what the chinese dresses looked like. but I did NOT know they had a special name for the wedding version AND I had NO idea that a traditional wedding gown was (gasp) RED!!! :eek

Theres my lesson for the day! :LOL

[Mommy2Brittani]

Also, you can *not quite legally* split the membership with someone. This is how it worked for me: I went in to get mem. just for me, and then the woman asked who else would be on my card. SO I said 'HUH?' and she said someone else from my house could be on it. So the name I thought of was Aidan's. They said she would have to come in sometime and show them a driver's lis. to get her card. So she did and they asked for a phone number, and she gave mine, and they gave her a card. So it was 15 bucks each! That is so cheating, I know. don't bash me for not being super ethical on this one. It is basically a Walmart store after all, I don't feel too bad for getting my money's worth out of their sleezy business :bag:

I kinda do this also...except I haven't even paid for a membership. Dh and I shop there so infrequently that it doesn't make sense to have a membership, so I have 2 very good friends who both have cards, so I go to Costco when they go, and as long as I have cash, it works. It is super cheap though, if you compare prices.

[cassiemommy]

Ms Doula--you're not v. sheltered--I got a crash course in Chinese wedding etiquette when we got married. Both DH and I are born and raised in Canada and really have no idea of all the traditions and the faux pas, so of course the in-laws were quite riled up about all the "unorthodox" things that we wanted (eg. pink wedding invites vs red...I could go on with the million things that were vetoed)!

[Throkmorton]

Cassiemommy, good score! Are you my cousin? LOL. She went through a similar thing right before her wedding, and they ended up having a western ceremony, then a chinese ceremony.
I am so jealous. Now, if you ever want to trade silk brocade for velvet, i'm your girl!

[luna-mia]

I ditto the Total Tightwad Gazette. Its been a real eye-opener!

Wtg on the terrific garage sale finds!! I'm a thrift store mama myself and for less than $20 my ds has his back to school wardrobe all set. YAY!!

[welove2farm]

One of my favorite authors on frugal living is Tracey Mcbride. Her two books are Frugal Luxuries and Frugal Luxuries by the Seasons. She now has a new website: www.frugalluxuries.com

I also love www.LittleCountryVillage.com
Her website is tastefully done and offers so many simple living ideas, affordable homesteads/farms for sale around the country, clever home based businesses., etc. In fact, one of my sisters used her model for a Community Events Calendar business in her small town in Colorado and is making over $600.00 a month for about 10 hours of work a month. It's a fabulous idea for small communties.

Any others to share?

[root*children]

woohoo! my dipes on ebay so for a tidy profit, and we had a really nice yardsalin' day today. Lots of kids clothes, videos, some stuff for ebayin', and we found my favorite yardsale from last year was having their's today. She let me have lots of beautiful, new fabric for FREE b/c they were remnants from curtains she had made. Not big enough to make curtains for me, but definatly enough for several pillow shams, and pillow cases :sew
~Also, Catherine, if you're in Durango next Saturday, this same woman is having her yardsale again, but doing clothes (she didn't have the time to get them out today). Last year she had GREAT like-new boy clothes (around size 8-10 last year) for a quarter each, and nice winter coats for $1. Worth checking out if you'll be up here! (pm me if you want directions).

GEEZ! It's August already! almost no more yardsales :crying

oh yay.. I also got a really nice framed & signed drawing of a nursing Native American mama for $5 :)

[root*children]

oh no! Did I kill the thread? I hope not!!
Anyone have any good yardsale finds today or particularly frugal moments this week?

I had a fairly good yardsalin day. DH had my older DS and I met up with another mama, who left her older DC w/ her DH, and so we just had our babies! What a treat! We actually got to get some x-mas presents, and such for the kids :)
I think my fave find today was a microscope (new! with all the slides, dyes, etc) for $5. Although I'm definatly jumping the gun here, since DS is only 4!

[LinzluvsGJ]

It wasn't too bad this morning. Got two outfits new w/ tags for DD for a total of $2, bought a BIG wicker basket for $1, a small watermelon basket and a cute watermelon sign for my best friend's birthday present 'cause she decorates her kitchen in watermelons, and a like new printer for $2 that I just have to come up with a power cord for.

[Throkmorton]

I didn't bother yardsalin' this morning. My mom and dad are coming over for a visit, so i had to clean, as this is the first time my dad has seen our place.
We are, OTOH, talking about moving back home, where we can live much more frugally, and actually buy a house. At this rate, we will need another 15 years to save up a down payment here for a place, whereas there we can afford a down payment on a very small house or a rather large condo w/yard with what meagre savings we have.

[cassiemommy]

I was getting inspired by my aunt who doesn't really sew, but is off on permanent disability d/t health reasons. We were visiting her in her new house and she was showing me all the window coverings she made herself from extra bedsheets, bedskirts, shower curtains, etc that she had bought when she bought her bed coverings. My aunt is a very frugal shopper (at outlet malls, etc, since she has a dtr in the States that she visits often--we're in Canada), and had been able to get these beautiful sets for a steal. Anyways, she was able to do pretty much all these fancy window coverings in her home for probably less than $100 total--this includes 3 bedroom windows, 2 washroom windows, 2 huge living room windows, a den window, several smaller kitchen windows--don't know if I forgot any other room! She said that when she bought the sheets/shower curtains/cushion fabric, etc, that she always bought extra for the the windows. The really nice thing about doing it this way was that the coverings now match the room decor perfectly, of course! She didn't even buy any patterns, just looked at some home decorating magazines and basically ad-libbed the rest of it. She said that each window took approx a day each, from the cutting of the fabric to having it finally done. Hopefully, some of this talent is genetic and I've inherited some of it :D !

[pilesoflaundry]

Sorry I don't check in here often!

I have done the bedsheet curtains thing too, it's much cheaper if you want matching curtains for your bedset. And they are easy for a novice seamstress because they are already hemmed.

Lately I have found some great clearance sales at the Px (military store) when usually they have crap. I found a nice glass baking set with quite a few pans for $12! And a brand new little people garage with a video in the box on clearance for $7, usually $29. My kids love LP so that was great for me!

I haven't been yard saling really because the few I have driven past had next to nothing out there and it was almost all junk. And my goodwill has trash too, I think the employees must take home the good stuff or because of ebay no one donates anything nice anymore.

[pilesoflaundry]

AmandasMom- I have a foodsaver also and love it! But 2 questions, you mentioned it's only ok to reuse the bags if you don't put raw meat in them, I thought that was ok? I wash them out with the hottest water I can get out of the tap and I also use soap and scrub the heck out of them and I haven't had a problem. So is that ok?

And the jar sealer attatchment, does it really work with mason jars? The kind for canning right? That would be awesome that I don't have to can the old fashion way, I'm kind of afraid to so I haven't used the mason jars I have.

For anyone that cares to know, I have the foodsaver and I got it on clearance at home depot about a year and a half ago. I have heard the kenmore one at sears works as well but I already had mine when it came out. I use it all the time because I buy in bulk, I also got the canisters so I can seal nuts and stuff without them going stale.

[root*children]

We throw out our bags that have been used to freeze raw meat. I just always thought it a little unsanitary. But if it's worked for you so far, I wouldn't worry about it. I'm just paranoid about stuff like that. :innocent

so is everyone having frugal weeks? I just spent $40 at the thrift stores today :bag: But I did get so many great kid's books, lots of diaper covers, and the first Harry Potter book on the 6-tape set!! yay! I'm so excited about that one :D Those things cost 20 bucks or so (I got it for $9).

We are making progress on our curtain situation. I'm so slow with interior decorating projects like this! I found all this remnant fabric at a yardsale from her curtains. So I went to Walmart and got fabric for $2/yard to match the remnants. So the rem.'s will just be trim. I haven't made them yet, b/c I need to find a bunch of white sheets at YS's for lining. Also, the rod I found for the closet curtain is one of those wooden ones. but I got it at the thrift and it didn't come with anything to attach it to the wall. What should I use? Usually they come with 2 matching wooden hook-type things that screw into the wall.

Much love mamas! Hope you're all having a good week!

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

i got some dideesnug fitteds at the thrift store for 1.25 each.... i am not happy with em though....


oh well, live and learn

stick to mdc mamas and such to buy used cloth from, lol

[root*children]

We've gotten a DiDeeSnug from the thrift as well, and didn't like it. Good thing it was only 50 cents! Won't stop me from buying them at the thrift & YS's though. The only covers I've bought from MDC Trading Post are FuzziBunz, b/c we have found those essential for night time, long car drives, snow time, etc. And also, I don't really care if they already have a stain on them or are dingy from being line-dried (which most of the TP'ers do care about) so I have found them for super cheap. I do have to put an ISO post though, b/c nobody usually posts things that aren't in perfect condition! :eyesroll

So my frugal venture for the week, was I decided to try and fix my own printer. It has been sitting idle for several months now, and I meant to take it back to the store we bought it from (an hour & a half away), but forgot last time I went down there. So I got very motivated and sat down with it. After having fixed out mouse, I was feeling rather confident. The fixing involved first shaking out 5 or 6 dried chunks of bread, then dislodging a pretzel. It still wasn't working, and I couldn't figure out what a certain cord was for inside the printer. I shined the flashlight and found out the "cord" was actually our nail clippers that had been very well lodged under the paper feeder, thus not allowing it to pull paper into the printer! I'm so glad I didn't take it to Best Buy and get charged $50 for them to find all that stuff in there, and me look like a moron!

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

I'm so glad I didn't take it to Best Buy and get charged $50 for them to find all that stuff in there, and me look like a moron!


rofl!

[Ms.Doula]

Dreadymama- thats too funny! the kids musta thought it was a toaster!!! :laugh:

[luna-mia]

I scored ds his back to school wardrobe at the Salavation Army. All for about $20. Now THAT was something to feel good about! :thumb

[Bluegrass]

I'm tickled to find this thread! (Ok, so I'm a little slow finding it).
We yardsale every weekend for ourselves and ebay. I'm amazed sometimes at what I see. I recently saw 2 vintage aluminum Christmas trees go for $12 (I was too slow to grab them). I've also had a few pairs of shoes bought for $3 or less go on ebay for between $100-150.
My daughter loves Limited Too clothes, but no way we could afford to shop there. I get all her clothes at yard and thrift sales. Now she has the clothes she likes and I pay 50 cents apiece or so, instead of $20-50.
I have also been trying to cook more at home from scratch, both to save money and eat more healthily. Really, the money I was saving by thrifting was going to eating out, mostly because it was easy. I am enjoying the cooking, and trying to get my crock-pot fired up again.
Anybody know a good website with crock-pot recipes? We're vegetarian, and most of them I've found have meat or are variations of pretty much the same dish.

[root*children]

I'm interested in some vegetarian crock-pot recipes, as well. All the thrift/YS books I see on crockpots are meaty recipes. The only thing we use it for is beans. Although I wish it were bigger. I want to cook a lb. of beans at once, and I always end up having to add more water half-way through (even with a towel on top). hmm...

well, off to get ready for our yardsale tomorrow. It's a neighborhood one at the comm. center at the bottom of our mountain. My goal is to be the cheapest YS there, hopefully doing my part to keep YS prices low! and to get rid of all my junk! :D

[Throkmorton]

about.com has some vegetarian crock put recipes. I do a lot of soups and stews in the crock pot.
Oh, here's the link: http://vegetarian.about.com/library/crockpot/blrecipes.htm

dready*mama, have you checked out the selection of utility hooks at your local stores? Yes, they do spraypaint well. I have also seen brass hooks of the right size for your curtains
wait, you said closet curtain? so it would have a wall to mount it on either side perpendicular to the rod? Well, why don't you just go buy closet rod hangers then? They will run you a whopping dollar or so. :)

As for me, well, I have been busy. My aunt gave me a drop spindle and a sheep's fleece to keep me busy and feed my addiction to fancy yarns...

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

how'd your yard sale go dready mama? get rid of everything?

i need to have a yard sale sooooooo bad, but it is just too dang hot still.


for the vegetarians that want more crock-pot recipes, why nopt just substitute? yanno tvp for hamburger, etc.

[root*children]

Yesterday was absolutely exhausting! I'd forgotten how tiring having a yardsale could be! And I didn't even have to do any advertising. I tried to be the good example of yardsale pricing and had everything priced REALLY cheap. Which I felt good about b/c so many people got great deals! DH even was walking around at other YS's (in the same parking lot) and heard some old ladies talking about my YS having such good deals! :D Anyhow, I don't think I priced anything over 3 bucks, most things were a dime or quarter. I made about $40. At 12:30-ish I started just giving everything away. It was fun b/c the folks next to me got in the spirit and gave all their stuff away, too! So I only ended up having to take 3 or 4 boxes of stuff to the thrift! yay :)!

Throkmoron~ I don't know if a closet rod hanger would do the trick. I want something wooden, b/c it's going to show. I'll check into it though :)

I'm so glad we have our own little thread! I'm getting irritated from reading other threads of moms saying that YSing just isn't worth the time, or that it's "good in theory, but with 3 kids, it's not realistic" yeah right! :eyesroll I just think... sheesh, read the TWG! She has 6 kids, and does it all the time. It's not like you have to bring em all with! A good friend of mine with 5 kids came to our yardsale yesterday, with only her baby, as the older kids were at home babysitting the younger ones, so her and her DH could have a YSing "date" :LOL

[root*children]

Have any of you ever bought meat in bulk. I'm mean real bulk, like the whole cow or something? DH is wanting to do that. But I don't really know what's a good deal, and what's not. Any help or experience?

[Throkmorton]

We buy 1/2 a cow every year. If you are comparing the price of certified organic pre-wrapped beef to buying 1/2 a cow, then it is definitely worth it. It works out to $3/lb for us. Now, if all you eat is ground beef, and a roast once per year, then the supermarket is a better price, although not as tasty or ethical. I know people who sell the cows at $2/lb but I know and love the cows we eat. Right now, Jughead is in our freezer.
It costs us $400/yr and that feeds DH, DS and any guests we have for the whle year. I am a vegetarian. If your DH eats veggies too, then it will last you longer. My DH is a hardcore meat eater.

[mom2tig99Nroo03]

how much freezer space do you need to store half a cow?

[Ms.Doula]

a seprate freezer or a deep freeze, im sure ;)

[Throkmorton]

I have a little 5.5 cu ft. deep freeze, and we can get most of the 1/2 cow in there, with a little in the freezer above the fridge.

[Kleine Hexe]

Do you raise the cow yourself? Who butchers it for you and how do you know you are getting your cow back?

I'm asking because my in-laws raise beef cattle and DH and I would love to set aside a cow for ourselves. My in-laws don't want to do it because they say they had problems finding someone to butcher it and they would not get their own meat back. The person who was doing it was switching their meat and giving them other meat which was not as good. They didn't have proof so they couldn't protest. They just stopped raising a cow for themselves. All their cows they sell at the market.

How do you find someone to slaughter and cut up the meat and trust them? I'd love to find someone.

[Throkmorton]

Well, my parents raise the cows, and Dad knows the old butcher well. The old butcher recommended this guy when he retired, and he seems honest.
The slaughterhouse industry is very heavily regulated in Canada, and there are rules about how to mark beef etc. There are 3 employees at the small local slaughter house, and 2 inspectors, if that tells you anything. I know my uncle has his meat swapped at another place here, but that was years ago.
And quite frankly? The guy would need balls the size of watermelons to rip dad off.
Other people we know do all of the messy parts themselves (killing and gutting) and take the carcass to the university meat cutting program to get it cut into portions.
Like I said, it is a matter of knowing who is trustworthy. This is a very small town, and if the butcher was ripping a rancher off, word would get around pretty quick.

[root*children]

Here's the new thread:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?p=1958455#post1958455

BTW~ I'm still figuring out the whole bulk cow purchase, so any more wisdom is helpful :love

[momto l&a]

I just got for oldest dd a complete bed set for $5 at our local thrift store. I also got a queen duvet cover for .50. If nothing else I use the materal to make the girls something. (dh and I have a queen bed but use king everything but fitted.)

I went to some yardsales but didnt get much good.

The thrift shop was having a $2 a bag for clothes and half off off everything else!

Dh and I are thinking of buying a half a beef, but we would need another freezer as the one we have if full.

[SpiralChrissy]

Can I join? DH is losing his job in 2weeks and I need to get frugal quickly!! Where do I start? I'm so scared!!

[goodcents]

Sorry to hear the news Spiral. Here is a link to get you started (http://www.bankrate.com/brm/news/cheap/331ways/331home.asp)

bankrate.com has a frugal newsletter they send out by email. far warning i havent read this article in full so i am not sure how good it is ~ but at least it is something you can start with right now!

[root*children]

C'mon mamas.. stop posting over here! Here's the new thread:
http://www.mothering.com/discussions/showthread.php?t=187666
:love