Cost Saving Ideas for Home

I admire you women who know how to save money.

The only way I can save is just not leave the house...well that used to work until I learned to shop online. So now I have to just not spend to save money...the same way with losing weight..I have to not eat to lose weight.

I am on my way to Walmart today.

 

The best investment I ever made was to buy an upright freezer. When meat goes on sale I buy, buy, buy.
I've had it since 1996, and it's paid for itself at least ten times over.
It's also great for those times that an unexpected bill comes up, and your short on cash for two weeks. At times I could have lived off of the food in the freezer for a good month or two.
Christine

 

I make all my own bread! I got a bread machine a bread machine and make all my own bread. I buy bread flour at Sam's Club for less than $5 for 25 pounds and get the yeast from Sam's for $4.31 for two pounds. It lasts me a long time. I used to bake the bread in the machine too, but discovered if I double the recipe for one loaf of bread I can put it on the dough setting, take it out and knead it a bit then let it rise in bread pans and bake it. Sure makes the house smell good when my guys come in from work!

 

I price-match at Wal-Mart, using the sale flyers of other stores in our area. They will match brand name to brand name. Saves having to run all over town for sales!

I also buy bone-in chicken breasts when they are on sale (sometimes as low as 88 cents/lb.), then cut them off the bone and freeze the breast halves. Then I use the bones with the little bits of meat left on them to make soup or for casseroles. It's amazing how much meat is left on the bones once you cut off the breast meat.

For other meat, I look for packs that have been marked down because they are about to go out of date, then take them home and freeze them immediately.

Also . . . since we surrendered to go to the mission field, so much has been given to us that our cabinets are filled to overflowing at times! So just be a missionary!

 

Our milk at Wal-Mart is $1.98/gallon. It will go on sale at one of the big stores almost every week for about the same price. Occasionally, a store will sell milk 2 gallons for $3.00. When that happens, I'll price match or go to the store that has it.

Did you say **boneless** chicken breasts for $.39/lb.?? That's amazing!

Susan

 

I buy organic or soy dairy products, so those are a little high, and I buy higher prices produce, but I don't buy meat except on rare occasions, so that defrays the cost of the pricier stuff and then some. I spend about $120 a month on groceries, all tolled. If you have a good butcher, you can buy the stuff that's on sale and have them do some work to it. One time ground beef was selling for $3.50 a pound, but there was chuck roast on sale for $2.50 a pound. I picked it up and asked the butcher to grind it once. Best burgers I ever made!

Cow milk around here is about $3 a gallon, and boneless chicken breasts hover around $5 a pound ($3.50 on sale). White potatoes are regularly $4 for 5 pounds. But I buy tofu for about $2 a pound, less if it's on sale.

I don't buy many commercial cleaners anymore - vinegar or baking soda do the trick for most things.

I use far less shampoo than they direct - a dollop about the size of a dime - which makes the bottle last a loooong time.

I switched to Bank of America and started direct deposit, which not only waives the account fee, lets me use online billpay for free. No bank fees whatsoever, unless I use a foreign ATM.

I don't buy garbage bags. It's just me in the house, so I have a small trash can that holds the plastic grocery bags, and I just take them out every day.

I only use about half the recommended laundry detergent.

One thing, too, is to look around in different departments for the things you need. The automotive department of my Target sells some actually pretty nice rags far more cheaply than the equivalent in housewares.

Programmable thermostats have saved my parents quite a chunk of money.

I make croutons and dressings.

I buy black and white postcards and cheapo frames (just glass and a backing with little metal prongs to hold them together), and group them. Everyone always wants to know where I got such great prints.

I buy my cat's food from the Humane Society. Cheap and helping a good cause.

I like to treat myself on things like manicures and Starbuckety goodness, and see no point in spending my money on stuff like paper towels and the like. I don't go too out of my way to scrimp on the little things - my time is valuable, too, and if it's too much work to do it, I'd almost rather spend the money. But most of these take either zero extra time, or the homemade version is better than storebought (croutons . . yum!), so it's certainly not a hassle.

 

So's everything else , but proportionally, it's probably about the same. It's that way with some of my Carolina friends - they pay less in dollars, but not in percentages of income.

My dad taught me the butcher thing - he was a butcher for about 9 months when I was younger, and so I got to learn about meat - - more than I really wanted to know at the time, but it's good info now!

 

I clip coupons and use store cards. I wish they would take coupons at Aldis because that's where I buy everything I can - before going to Krogers.

I use small plastic bags from Wal-Mart as trash bags for the waste baskets in the bathroom and bedrooms.

I keep a brick in the toilet tank to cut down on the water flow which lessens the water bill.

I keep bones to make the stock for soup or broth.

I buy meat ONLY when it is on sale. Then I stock up and freeze it. The meat gets marked down on Wednesday, so that is when I try to shop each week.

We used to have a 'day old' Haas Bakery shop where I bought all our bread, buns, rolls, and the snack cakes that hubby takes to work for his lunch...but they closed down last month. That's costing me some bucks!

I only get my hair cut at the beauty shop twice a year, the rest of the time, I chop on it myself.

I shop for clothes at garage sales, second-hand shops, and consignment shops. Very rarely do I buy new clothes and if I have to, I go to Wal-Mart.

I very seldom leave the house unless I have at least three places to go so I can save on gas. Also, in the summer, I ride my Schwinn to pay the bills instead of driving the car.

I dilute my shampoo, liquid soap and 'body wash'.

When it's time for a new toothbrush, I use the old one in the kitchen to clean those hard to get to places when I'm washing knick knacks etc.

I hang clothes outside to keep from having to run the dryer.

I always buy generic products (with a few exceptions where I will not settle for anything but name brand).

In season, I buy fresh fruits and veggies at the local "Farmer's Market" set up on the town square every Wednesday and Saturday. Much cheaper than the store and much better tasting!

I'm sure there's more, but I can't think of them right now.

 

Well, with 2 babies and a husband in school, living on a pastor's salary is sometimes a challenge. Here are some things we do:
*make baby wipes
*drive vehicles that dont have payments
*grow and freeze fruits and veggies
*eat little meat
*buy generic
*shop at the dollar store for detergents and paper goods
*dilute juices for the girls
*in-laws keep us supplied in diapers. (Isnt that sweet?) We havent bought any diapers in 2 years!
God is really good!

 

Dairy products are expensive here in NJ too. A gallon of milk in a covienience store is around $3 or more, in the supermarket I shop in it is $2.69, butter is outragious. Name brands are close to $5 a pound and store brand is around $3.99 a pound, you can get them on sale sometimes for $1.99 And cheese...geeeeeze! I get mine freshly sliced, don't care for pre-packed. Lands O Lakes goes for $4.29 a pound.
I hate Jersey all around. Its one expensive state, rents are outragious and insurance, car and health is bad.

For the price I am paying to live in a 1 bedroom shoebox, we could rent 2 houses. Health insurance we pay $500 a month and our co-pays and Rx are extremely high, and I won't even talk about car insurance. Most companies won't insure you unless you have points on your license!!! DUH!!

Anyway, I know I left the beaten path on what this post was about, sorry...

So my cost savings idea for all is don't move to Jersey or the west coast!! You'll save a ton of moolah

 

Katie, I never bake my bread in the bread machine. I put it on the dough cycle and take it out, shape it and put it in a regular bread pan. Let it rise then bake it in the oven. Too bad you don't live closer to me! I'ld keep you supplied in flour and yeast!

 

We clip coupons and shop at stores that will double them. There is an Albertson's grocery in a city 160 miles from us and we save enough using coupons to pay for our gas and more! On an adverage we get about $400. of stuff for the cost of $175. to 200. . (for a month) This is not just groceries but cleaners, detergant, toiletries etc....

We ran into a GREAT deal just this last month! Albertson's was having a "TRIPLE COUPON WEEK". And for one week only all our coupons were tripled so we REALLY LOADED UP! (we have A LOT of coupons!)
Over all, retail the cost was about $2000. ! but we ONLY PAID about $550. ! I now have enough stuff to last us a LONG TIME and some to share with others! I was able to get enough shampoo, soap, toothpaste, brushes, etc. to last a year! And we make up "care packages" out of the excess and give to those in church who are in need.....

Coupons are my biggest savings tool I guess.....

 

These are GREAT ladies!

I, too, use the plastic bags from the stores for the garbage pail liners for the small pails. My late husband used to tease me about this dreadfully. Then he stayed with my mother while he was receiving cancer treatment in NYC and LAUGHED because SHE DID IT TOO! He laughed and said he understood where I got it from!

I dilute things like the "Concentrated" dishwashing liquid and softsoap.

When I used to work in a corporate 9-5 job, my household of my brother and one of our sisters used to get restaurant take-out at least 2 or 3x per week. Now the only time I "go out" is for brunch after church. Unless I get asked on a date! Then the gentleman pays!

Our Safeway (Super Market) has gallons of milk, two for about $4.25. At the corner store, the 1/2 gallons go for about $2.25-3, so this is a GREAT price.

We buy the giant packs of TP. We NEVER run out.

God bless!

Princess

 

Like stubbornkelly said, soda and vinegar work great. Vinegar for glass and mirrors leave the glass sparkling and no streaks. Soda clean the refrigerator and whitens teeth too!

I buy the best cuts of meat when they are on sale, chicken breasts too. Plan the meals around the sales. I was a little surprised about the milk prices you all posted, we pay 99 cents a gallon. We eat what is in season with fruits and vegetables. My friend has a big garden and gives me from her supply. Fruit is abundant here so I get apples including my favorite, Red Delicious for 79 to 99 per pound or from friends sometimes for free. Grapes potatoes and broccoli also. Go to the groweres for corn, cantaloupe and water melon. I miss being further north though we used to pick our own huckleberries.

I also make my own jam and jelly since the fruit is so readily available.

 

Oops forgot too, husband cuts his own hair, I cut our grandsons and trim our granddaughter's she keeps it long. My youngest daughter trims mine too. Everyone fishes here to so we have free trout, salmon and sometimes sturgeon, yum smoked sturgeon is great!