Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[semo233]

I'm curious, how much do you need to use per load of laundry? I only ask because OxyClean isn't that cheap, so I'm wondering how economical the recipe is?

In the original recipe, OxyClean is optional. I would try it without the OxyClean and test it. I only use OxyClean if i have some tough stains or smells (although washing soda is in my recipe).

 

[princess~yo]

I want to try the watered down whole milk thing. We drink 2%, and we all drink way too much. I am worried about the vitamins, though...

I totally understand that. I like to add a little powdered milk to mine when I do it, just to make the milk a little richer (and provide those depleted vitamins). We also drink 2%. I don't premix it, but I know some make the powdered milk according to the package and just add it to the watered down milk.

 

[CobraBubbles]

I thought of another way to stretch something this week. We LOVE buffalo wings, but nowadays it's really expensive to buy a bag of them $10 or so.

So I don't usually have the money to spend for them. We go through about 2 whole chickens a week. Before they are cooked I am cutting off the wings and freezing them (Each chicken = 2 wings = 4 buffalo wings) so by the end of the month we will have 32 buffalo wings

 

[MrsKreamer]

I thought of another way to stretch something this week. We LOVE buffalo wings, but nowadays it's really expensive to buy a bag of them $10 or so.

So I don't usually have the money to spend for them. We go through about 2 whole chickens a week. Before they are cooked I am cutting off the wings and freezing them (Each chicken = 2 wings = 4 buffalo wings) so by the end of the month we will have 32 buffalo wings

I love it.


Along the same line, I have started buying chicken breasts on the bone and making the fillets myself. I would start with the whole chicken, but my DH hates dark meat and only eats breasts...so it works out better for us.

Cutting them myself is so easy and I can make the breasts thinner and they cook up better.

 

[MrsKreamer]

I started buying from Angel Food in November. I love it. The quality is good and my grocery bill has really dropped. Mostly freezer food, so I have had to make sure I have room by the end of the month, this also helps my budget because I have to cook more and eat out far less.

 

[Kycha]

I love it.


Along the same line, I have started buying chicken breasts on the bone and making the fillets myself. I would start with the whole chicken, but my DH hates dark meat and only eats breasts...so it works out better for us.

Cutting them myself is so easy and I can make the breasts thinner and they cook up better.

I have been doing this for years. Then I take the bones and skin and make a broth or stock for soups.

I keep a bag in the freezer for all my veggie ends and leftover veggies. Then when I make my chicken stock, I just throw them in the pot with some herbs and spices. In fact, I made some stock today and I had celery ends, onion skins and leftover carrots. I make sure everything is clean and not mushy before I freeze. Then pull it out as I need it. Once the stock is done, I strain it and throw all the veggies and carcasses away. Then I either make soup right away, or I freeze the stock for later.

 

[MnMomW3Boys]

Great! I haven't seen washing soda in the store either, I'll have to try this one soon ~ thanks!

You can also find it with the pool chemicals...washing soda is sodium bicarbonate which is used to raise or lower(can't remember which one) the Ph in pools, look for a powder and read the ingrediants look for the one with active ingrediant sodium bicarbonate.

Hope that helps.

 

[pampam]

You can also find it with the pool chemicals...washing soda is sodium bicarbonate which is used to raise or lower(can't remember which one) the Ph in pools, look for a powder and read the ingrediants look for the one with active ingrediant sodium bicarbonate.

Hope that helps.

I wonder if it would be cheaper this way. Have you ever compared it pricewise with washing soda?

 

[Mermaid02]

I like my homemade laundry detergent!! Next I'll be making dishwasher detergent- when I use up what I have.

 

[CobraBubbles]

This thread has changed my life...I am like a crazy person always thinking of new ways to stretch things and save money

I did the vinegar and baking soda thing...and I've acquired the ingredients for my own laundry detergent, but have yet to make it (got a couple of bottles for $2 each this month and still working on them).

I've started making my own bread and I'm learning all different things about baking...I've made a loaf of white bread and the no knead kind and both were great! I'm thinking that I will try some wheat next and some english muffins!

I've watered down the juice...no one is wiser. I've watered down the shampoo...didn't like that too much it ran out too fast.

I've learned a few ways to stretch meat farther too and I'm considering a switch to cloth napkins.

I was still drying everything in the dryer but for less time because I don't think my family would get on board with the air drying thing....BUT....our dryer broke and so now everyone's forced to do it

 

[happycampers]

Walgreens has a deal this week where when you buy $20 of Pepsi and Frito Lay products (see the flyer for specifics), you get $10 back in register rewards. I picked up 5/$15 Pepsi 12 packs and (3) 2/$5 Doritos. I know that I didn't need the extra chips to make the $20, but Pepsi and Frito Lay have a "rebate" of sorts right now, where you send in 3 Pepsi and 3 chip proofs of purchase and your receipt and get a $15 coupon book in the mail.

Not taking the register reward into account, that works out to $.25 per can of soda. Perhaps not as great as the price for store-brand, but much better than getting them from a machine. These are for DH who drinks one soda per day at work, so 60 cans will last a long time. Having name-brand soda is a real treat.

I took store-brand baggies $2/100, so $.02 each and divided out the chips. $2.50 per bag for 12 servings works out to roughly $.23 per pack when you include the price of baggies. If these weren't divided out, I'm sure the bag would be devoured in 2 "servings". It's hard to stop eating them when there is still more in the bag. Dividing them up stretches how far they'll go in our house. These will go in the kids' school lunches.

So, I got 60 $.25 sodas and 36 $.23 chips. I originally paid $22.50 for everything but the baggies. I now have a $10 Walgreens register reward and I'll get $15 back in coupons in the mail (5 $2 coupons for Pepsi, and a $3 and a $2 coupon for Frito-Lay products).

 

[debraW76]

We put a (I'm drawing a blank on the name of it!!) -- the same type of rod that might be in your bedroom closet to hang clothes on with a wire shelf above it. Anyway, we put one of those the entire length of our laundry room and use the shelf above for storage and hang clothes to dry on hangers on it. Then when they're dry, they're already on hangers & we just haul them upstairs.

I apologize if this has been asked before (I haven't read the entire thread) but when I do this my shirts get dimples in the shoulders where the hangers were. I would love to start hanging our clothes again? Any suggestions on what I am not doing right?

TIA

 

[Kimberly Hill]

We've moved to cloth napkins and we're down to one paper towel a night to put clean-but-still-wet dishes/plasticware from the dishwasher on, then that paper towel gets recycled to wipe down the kitchen table after a meal. This is HUGE for the family who loves paper products!

So far no complaints... adding tips a little at a time and darn giddy with excitement!

 

[minnie1928]

I've always saved bags that I'm not sure about recycling (for example, WDW colored bags). I've got quite a stash at this point. This week I started painting my dining room and used the bags as liners in my paint tray. This saves me the hassle and waste of water associated with washing a paint tray. Clean up is an absolute breeze!

 

[MELSMICE]

I've always saved bags that I'm not sure about recycling (for example, WDW colored bags). I've got quite a stash at this point. This week I started painting my dining room and used the bags as liners in my paint tray. This saves me the hassle and waste of water associated with washing a paint tray. Clean up is an absolute breeze!

I always do this. I repaint my dance studio every summer. I've always used the regular store grocery bags for paint tray liners. I've had the same paint trays for years. It definitely saves on water because there is really no clean up. Also, great for recycling/reusing something not so earth friendly.

Also, when I'm done with the rollers for that day, I roll them up in grocery store bags. They stay wet for quite a long time so when I return to the job I can just remove the bag & start to use the roller again. It's also great to have a moist paint roller for little touch ups for a few weeks at the beginning of the year when the roller is still moist.

 

[minnie1928]

Also, when I'm done with the rollers for that day, I roll them up in grocery store bags. They stay wet for quite a long time so when I return to the job I can just remove the bag & start to use the roller again. It's also great to have a moist paint roller for little touch ups for a few weeks at the beginning of the year when the roller is still moist.

Rollers and brushes I use ziploc bags because I was afraid that air might get in store bags, I'll try your idea next time. Those are definitely cheaper (free!) than using ziplocs.

 

[moburg]

As I have been reading this thread I came across one that I do yearly or twice a year. Call all the companies I get a bill from (land phone, cell phone, cable, internet, etc.) and see what promotions are out there and where I can cut my bills.
My DH just told me something was wrong with the phone yesterday, b/c it is only saying "incoming call" instead of what the number actually is! I told him, I stopped caller id, call waiting, etc. and am saving us $15 a month. Then I added that I cut our cell bill by $20 just be reducing our minutes that we NEVER used and our Cable bill by decreasing the speed of our internet service ($10) which I don't even see a difference in! That's $45 a month I saved for the coming year (or $540 this years!)
It's always good to read these threads! Thanks for all the good tips!

Sorry, I'm reading older pages and just came across this one. It prompted me to check AT&T's website for prices because I've been considering dropping down to the most basic local line and adding Vonage. I found that they restructured their packages and I can now save probably $20 a month by just getting on one of their current packages.

The rep on the phone even admitted that they will keep customers on old, more expensive packages rather than informing existing customers of a change in packages. HIGHLY annoying!

So, for now, I'm making the change to the newer cheaper packages, but I'm still considering dumping as much of it as I can (still need a land line for DSL service) and going to Vonage. That kind of customer service really ticks me off!

 

[reginaastralis]

NOW MY TIP:
My biggest money saver & health enhancer though has got to be soups. I picked up the "Taste of Home" Soup edition in Walmart a few months ago and my entire family has gone ape over the recipes. Believe it or not my DD9 has been BEGGING for another batch of cauliflower soup for a week, I just made enough for 3 meals out of 1 large head today and will be freezing the rest to dress up otherwise dull meals like BLT's or leftovers (apparently kids will eat lost more veggies if they are pureed in a blender). I've been whipping up one kind or another soup for about 3 months and am thrilled with the low cost and diversity.

Thanks everyone

I also try to do one big main shopping trip a month. It really does save.

I like the idea of making a soup, and possibly not telling my toddler what's in it.

 

[reginaastralis]

This is another thing that I read and thought "DUH!" why haven't I been doing this! LOL.
Thanks so much.

I have been doing this for years. Then I take the bones and skin and make a broth or stock for soups.

I keep a bag in the freezer for all my veggie ends and leftover veggies. Then when I make my chicken stock, I just throw them in the pot with some herbs and spices. In fact, I made some stock today and I had celery ends, onion skins and leftover carrots. I make sure everything is clean and not mushy before I freeze. Then pull it out as I need it. Once the stock is done, I strain it and throw all the veggies and carcasses away. Then I either make soup right away, or I freeze the stock for later.

 

[winnapooh]

Do any of the homemade laundry detergent recipes mentioned throughout this thread work for high efficiency washing machines? We just had to buy a new washer and I'm worried that I will somehow ruin it I'd really like to try the homemade detergent if it works.