Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[Dismom55]

I add 1 tsp apple cider vinegar to a glass of water, sweeten with a pkg of splenda when I am retaining water. Works everytime. I also use white vinegar to remove hard water stains and wash windows.

 

[dsilva51]

Give up paper towels and paper napkins. Buy a bunch of good quality (on sale of course!) white dish towels. They will last forever, can be bleached of stains and can be used for drying hands and are great for covering laps really well while eating...so they're perfect with kids...less stains on clothing!

I did this, I bought clearance cloth napkins at Kohl's for .74 cents each with a 30% coupon and we set the table with real napkins at night! Love it!

 

[dsilva51]

I switched from my expensive liquid shower gels back to good ol' bar soap. Walmart had sleeves for bar soap that are the same material as the loofah ball thingies and it works out well to lather the soap without washing a ton of wash clothes. I thought my skin would feel dry but nope the only part that feels dry is my hands because I use liquid on them more or from dish soap. I use Dove bars right now but want to try some homemade natural ones. Oh and I have found that my hair is good with every other day instead of daily washing. I got a sturdy shower cap that has held up for well over a year now.

I gotta have purified water but I bought a water cooler and refill 5 gallon bottles. If I had a house or more permanent living arrangements I would have got reverse osmosis installed instead even if just on the kitchen sink. But this way I can use my glasses from home(well plastic I can't stand drinking out of glass). I picked up a stainless steel water bottle at Walmart for $5 so I can refill it when I go out of the house and dd can take it to school for her desk(water allowed, actually required).

I'm not working now but when I do I bring my own lunches. DD will bring her lunch to school and we are getting a bento box so no baggies needed.

Laundry definitely does not need as much detergent as they recommend on the cap. You can cut that down or even learn to make your own for pennies a load. Dawn dish soap is a good stain fighter. I usually don't use dryer sheets and get dryer balls it cut the static enough for me and naturally freshened the load. They soften too so no softener needed either. Vinegar in the towels helps too.

A friend of mine just had her washing machine repaired and he said that you need to use 1/2 of the detergent. All of these detergents are SUPER concentrated now and do damage to the machine over time. His best suggestion was to fill the machine with water, add 1/2 the detergent, let the clothes soak over night and wash in the morning. I've been doing that and my clothes come out fantastic!

 

[dsilva51]

Also,

I never hit the grocery store before hitting hotcouponworld. Those ladies are amazing! They find every amazing deal out there and where to get the coupons to match. If anyone is not familiar, it has almost every grocery store and big box store listed and the weekly sales. Many times it can give you next weeks ads too!

 

[SKWDW]

Bump! Time for more painless "stretching things" budget tips

 

[Nik's Mom]

Coupon Mom is another great website. http://www.couponmom.com/
Go to the message boards for loads of tips. Plus, you can select your store, check off the sale items you are interested in and print your grocery list from there. Plus, the site will tell you which items have coupons available!

 

[Boomdocker]

a friendly bump - great thread.

 

[disneyfan55]

As a great germ killer I have 2 spray bottles- one white vinegar the other with peroxide. If you spray a counter top/table/any surface it kills most all virus/bacteria and is not harmful to you. I also use these to clean fruits an vegatables. Of course they are well rinsed afterward but neither are harmful and destroy germs.

 

[pampam]

Bumping it up for more great budget tips.

 

[disneyfan55]

Well about 2 weeks ago I joined a site called asamom.org and have got many many tips on saving money, herbs, saving etc. They can give links etc and many many ideas. Hope this helps. You don't have to be a mom to join either. I just have looked at discussions on the site.

 

[DawnM]

Have you seen one of these?

http://www.amazon.com/Mr-Coffee-BVM...1?ie=UTF8&s=home-garden&qid=1290613528&sr=8-1

As much as I LOVE Dunkin Doniuts caramel iced coffe it's not cheap so I make my own. On Sunday nights I make a full pot of coffe and put in pitcher in the fridge. Come morning I use my big re-esable sports bottle and squeez in some hershey's syrup, cream and coffee and voila! A full pot of coffee and one bottle of syrup (aboutr $2) lasts me all week, rather than paying $3.62 per cup of large iced coffee at DD!

 

[disneyfan55]

With all the talk about inflation, although this has probably been said, everyone should stock up while items are on sale. Prices have been rising for groceries/basic items like toilet paper etc. Also, small gardens are a good idea. I actually have 2 about 12" pots that I'm just planting some lettuce in. Also, sprouting seeds are a good thing for fresh veggies exp. since cold weather is upon us. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!! Turkey bones make great turkey stock for soup. A turkey goes a long way. Make sure (esp here in NJ where many stores have it) to pick up your free turkey or whatever you can get. (between my adult children and myself we got 3 - 1 22 lb turkey and 2 hams for Christmas) Also many baking supplies are below cost!

 

[DawnM]

The problem is, you can only stock up so much.

I believe we will never see food prices cheap again. I am not trying to be a doomsdayer or a pessimist, but I want to be realistic.

DH just got a raise for the first time in 2 years. He suggested we add it to our food budget. Not a bad plan, but it may only cover what we have been eating/doing all along with inflation!

I have asked for a TV for the kitchen for Christmas (well, we have a TV, I have asked for the cable line to be routed into there so I can get TV) because I have a feeling I will be spending far more time in there making even spice mixes (taco seasonings, etc...) from scratch to save $$.

Dawn

With all the talk about inflation, although this has probably been said, everyone should stock up while items are on sale. Prices have been rising for groceries/basic items like toilet paper etc. Also, small gardens are a good idea. I actually have 2 about 12" pots that I'm just planting some lettuce in. Also, sprouting seeds are a good thing for fresh veggies exp. since cold weather is upon us. Happy Thanksgiving to all!!!!! Turkey bones make great turkey stock for soup. A turkey goes a long way. Make sure (esp here in NJ where many stores have it) to pick up your free turkey or whatever you can get. (between my adult children and myself we got 3 - 1 22 lb turkey and 2 hams for Christmas) Also many baking supplies are below cost!

 

[MELSMICE]

I have definitely started couponing more.

Don't know if I posted this way back when, but I save the last pieces of bread from a loaf at the end of the week & put in the freezer. We like to have big breakfasts on Sundays & I will use the frozen bread for french toast.

It's also good for grilled cheese or some other kind of grilled sandwiches.

I just used 4 half loaves today to make the stuffing for the turkey tomorrow. There was nothing wrong with it, but after a week it's just not as fresh & I like fresh bread for my lunches.

I used to save it for bread crumbs, but how many bread crumbs can you have?

 

[tink20]

Any tips on how to get your family onboard. I told DD, no more bottled water, she can use a refillable bottle, and you would have thought I took away her cell phone.

I am new to the Budget Board, I am really going to try to start saving, I already do somethings instinctly, but lots of the others things can be added to help out. I am only at page 14 and have already learned alot.

 

[happycampers]

Been with this thread since it started, but I can't remember if this one's been mentioned...

We stretch store brand frosted flakes by combining them with plain corn flakes which are cheaper per ounce and have less sugar. I do the same thing with flavored and plain toasted oat cereals.

 

[rnorwo1]

Been with this thread since it started, but I can't remember if this one's been mentioned...

We stretch store brand frosted flakes by combining them with plain corn flakes which are cheaper per ounce and have less sugar. I do the same thing with flavored and plain toasted oat cereals.

I'm just joining and I'm reading the posts backward, so I'm really on my first page. Anyway, I love this tip... we don't eat alot of cereal, but when I do buy it I buy the reduced sugar frosted flakes (has to be name brand for the reduced sugar), so this is a perfect solution.

I am in full new year mode... I am now on 4 threads in addition to this one: organization, destashing, how to make a budget, and use it up, so all we need now is a "healthy meals that you can make in 30 min thread" and my family will be set for 2011!

 

[shortbun]

Give up paper towels and paper napkins. Buy a bunch of good quality (on sale of course!) white dish towels. They will last forever, can be bleached of stains and can be used for drying hands and are great for covering laps really well while eating...so they're perfect with kids...less stains on clothing!

I only buy napkins for special occassions and now I have red cloth for Christmas that I blended with summer orange for my fall table. I had green ones already that matched our summer table cloth too so now I have red and green for Christmas and no more paper. I get my kitchen towels at the Salvation Army store, you would not believe the great deals there!!! My girlfriend found about a dozen never worn items with tags to give her 15yo daughter for Christmas and it really beefed up her gifts for less than $30 total.

'Stocking up' has never worked well for me. When I finally run out, the item is priced higher and it balances out. I do buy a couple when I see a good sale or cook a lot and freeze.

 

[semo233]

All of our cereals get put in airtight plastic containers since a pantry moth infestation several years ago. Since then, I buy the BIG bags of cereal at WalMart and put them in the plastic containers. No one has noticed the change! I have even found some coupons on the big bags (can"t remember the brand)

 

[rnorwo1]

We always have fruit that goes bad, especially bananas, but I don't want to have things around here like banana bread and stuff that we don't need to be eating anyway. So I've been making smoothies for breakfasts and snacks. I usually add flax seed oil for health benefits (not frugal, but very healthy.) If you have alot of fruit you can freeze it and have an icier smoothie when you're ready for it.