Best painless "stretching things" budget tips?

[WDWFromTheirEyes]

Great tips, I'd love to hear more.

 

[pigletto]

My biggest stretching tip is a new addition in our home.
We were just given a chest freezer as a gift.
I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am to check out the big deals in our grocery stores (there are 3 in our town).
When there is a super (pull you into the store) sale on meat I go in and get the maximum allowed (maybe a few days in a row) and now have a freezer full of pork loin, roasts, chicken, bacon, pizzas, e.t.c all at at least half the price I would have paid with my weekly shop.
We are eating better.. stretching our budget way farther and have more choices.
I can't believe how much money we wasted because we only had our tiny fridge freezer.
And the feeling of having weeks or months worth of food in our freezer is really comforting

 

[DMRick]

Because they get paid in pounds, the prices aren't as bad to them as they are to us yanks. And when they come to the States, everything is half off! So don't bother feeling sorry for them.

That is true. Our son loves to shop here. But still..taking into account the conversion, their gas is way more than ours a gallon. In Ireland (euro's..so it costs us $1.56 to buy one euro) it was about $8-9 a gallon in his area (but what a great bus system they have). I also shopped (trying to get ahead on their Christmas shopping..then leaving the items there to save myself shipping costs), and found the prices very high on the items (I would have paid a lot less in the US), even without the conversion.

We are definately paying attention now, and combining trips.

 

[DMRick]

So, do I just put the clothes in without any detergent, or do i put detergent in the soak? And do I just put the clothes in the washer and soak and it runs like any of the other cycles.

My soak is from 2-15 minutes, and at the end, it's an extra gentle wash/rinse.

 

[Br'erBriere]

I recently bought a house (I have no idea why in this economy) but to save money for closing,couches, tv, bedsets, etc I decided to not buy any more groceries until I moved out of my apartment. I have saved a good amount thus far, and closing is going to be less than expected, so now I'm just motivated to see how long I can go without buying food while eating what I have.

Not only have I lost some weight since I have no junk food, but the creations I made thus far I am quite impressed with...

ramen noodles + two hamburger patties + manwich sauce. cut up the burgers and mixed them all in a caserol dish together and it was amazing.

ramen noodles + beef flavoring + can of peas + hot sauce = another very filling dish

I have 4 cans of tuna left, 1 box of mac and cheese, 1 box of some scalloped potatoes, 1 can of peas, a whole bunch of soup, 2 cartons of ramen noodles, and some frozen chicken. Hopefully I can make some more creations to last me for atleast a month!

 

[Shelly F - Ohio]

The other day I was at WalMart and they had tomato plant for sale from $1.25 to $2.95 depending on what type of tomato you want.
So I thought gosh if I spend $2.95 on a plant I can spend that same amount at the grocery store and get 1 or 2 tomatos. But with just 1 tomato plant I can get several tomato's. If I get too many tomato's then I will share them with other family members.

 

[polineedyan]

I tried the "water down your dishsoap" advice. I just kept adding water 50/50 each time I washed. "refilling the bottle"..if you will. It totally worked, and even at a diluted state, I found that I had more than enough suds to clean the same as before..try it, it works..

 

[Todd&Copper]

The other day I was at WalMart and they had tomato plant for sale from $1.25 to $2.95 depending on what type of tomato you want.
So I thought gosh if I spend $2.95 on a plant I can spend that same amount at the grocery store and get 1 or 2 tomatos. But with just 1 tomato plant I can get several tomato's. If I get too many tomato's then I will share them with other family members.

I tried tomato plants the past two years. Last year, I got about 10 tomatoes total. The year before, I don't think I even got 5. And vine ripened tomatoes were on sale at Food Lion this week for $1.29/lb. Between the constant watering (the plants need lots of water), the fertilizer and the daily search for giant tomato worms (SOOOOOOOOOO nasty), I decided to give it a rest this year. Maybe next year I'll try again, but I am tired of being disappointed with the tomatoes. My herbs, however, are doing swimmingly!

Good luck with your plants!

 

[polineedyan]

My biggest stretching tip is a new addition in our home.
We were just given a chest freezer as a gift.
I can not even begin to tell you how excited I am to check out the big deals in our grocery stores (there are 3 in our town).
When there is a super (pull you into the store) sale on meat I go in and get the maximum allowed (maybe a few days in a row) and now have a freezer full of pork loin, roasts, chicken, bacon, pizzas, e.t.c all at at least half the price I would have paid with my weekly shop.
We are eating better.. stretching our budget way farther and have more choices.
I can't believe how much money we wasted because we only had our tiny fridge freezer.
And the feeling of having weeks or months worth of food in our freezer is really comforting

If you like beef, just by a side of beef from a butcher. Youll pay heavy at first, but you can get a whole (or half) cow in there!

 

[sandisuze]

I Need to STOP taking my Hubby (and sometimes) kids to the stores with me.

Example :last night hubby and I go to Publix only for milk and eggs for Breakfast.
I had 10.00 & didn't bring my wallet- I wasn't driving
Hubby Brings wallet- HE spends 35.00
I am at the checkout lane.
so I think back to Target and Sams visits and realize I go over budget cause DH is with me. He either distracts me from my list or slips stuff in the cart.

DD is not so bad she is very good about not asking for stuff
Stepson is another story -ya would think at 15 he would stop begging for stuff.
DH is staying Home - just gotta figure out a way to keep him away from my shopping trips!
I love him very much.. but he's gonna cut into my WDW funds and that's NOT good!

 

[rottiemom]

I tried tomato plants the past two years. Last year, I got about 10 tomatoes total. The year before, I don't think I even got 5. And vine ripened tomatoes were on sale at Food Lion this week for $1.29/lb. Between the constant watering (the plants need lots of water), the fertilizer and the daily search for giant tomato worms (SOOOOOOOOOO nasty), I decided to give it a rest this year. Maybe next year I'll try again, but I am tired of being disappointed with the tomatoes. My herbs, however, are doing swimmingly!

Good luck with your plants!

Every year I try tomatoes and every year I'm lucky if I get a handful before the frost sets in. I had one year where there was a month's worth of nonstop yellow pear tomatoes and it was heaven. Last year I got 5 tiny, tasteless, dry specimens. I also didn't get a single zucchini last year because we had a woodchuck that would come by & harvest the flowers before I had a chance to. I spotted him in the driveway this weekend, apparantly he's setting up housekeeping underneath our shed . So I feel like I'm planting a garden for the woodchuck.

I've actually been toying with one of those upside down planter things for this year (woodchucks can't jump, right?)

 

[hsmamato2]

You could also stretch real maple syrup with simple syrup (one part sugar, one part water, microwave) and maple flavoring.

Around our house, we use real maple syrup, but we put it in little tiny pitchers for the kids. I got sick of watching them dump half a bottle of syrup over their pancakes. The think the pitchers are cute, I find I use less syrup.

Not a bad idea..in our house we don't allow the kids to pour it themselves...sounds mean-but ds was dumping everywhere! Dh makes some from our trees,but still...... I was raised this way,use a little of the real stuff vs a lot of the fake stuff......

 

[MELSMICE]

But with just 1 tomato plant I can get several tomato's. If I get too many tomato's then I will share them with other family members.

You can also make fresh spaghetti sauce with the tomatoes. I do it every year & it's so simple. I don't even blanch & peel the tomatoes - too much time. I juscut off the tops, quarter & puree them, them add some tomatoe paste & a few other things. My family won't eat any other sauce.

We should be planting our garden over the next few weeks. I can't wait!!!

I Need to STOP taking my Hubby (and sometimes) kids to the stores with me.

I always buy more than what's on my list, thus spending more money, when DH comes with me.

 

[gilby]

I am going to try making my own laundry soap and using white vinegar for my fabric softner. Can you add scents to them for a little different smell?
I am excited to try this, I am sick of spending so much money on fabric softner.

 

[jenniferma]

Hi-- not sure if this is all about grocery stretching (sorry I didn't read the whole thing).. but we found a way to stretch $$ in outdoor home issues-- I for the last few years have been growing a packet or two of seed perennials. It takes year to get them going-- but I have a ton of Daisies (got to share some with my neighbors this year) and have a forget me nots, and beautiful bell flowers! Those are so expensive at the nursery, but the seeds are only 99 cents! This year I am trying to grow a butterfly weed.

We also grow our own herbs-- basil is so easy too.. and you can make it into pesto and freeze it all winter long.

have a great day!
jen

 

[lisaj68]

I stopped using the heated dry cycle on my dishwasher and also use the china/crystal setting and cut my washing time from 104 minutes down to 35!

I read earlier in this thread that another poster uses the dryer for only towels and jeans. We hang the jeans to dry and throw them in the dryer when they are fully dry (and hard and stiff) for only 5 minutes, and they soften up as if they were in there a whole hour!

LOVE the tips here, keep them coming!

Thanks! I tried this last night and when all my jeans were dry this morning, I threw them in the dryer for 5 min. and it worked great!!!

The dryer is something that I have been trying to use less and this idea will cut back my dryer usage a ton.

Now, about whites and towels......!

 

[Kycha]

The other day I was at WalMart and they had tomato plant for sale from $1.25 to $2.95 depending on what type of tomato you want.
So I thought gosh if I spend $2.95 on a plant I can spend that same amount at the grocery store and get 1 or 2 tomatos. But with just 1 tomato plant I can get several tomato's. If I get too many tomato's then I will share them with other family members.

I tried tomato plants the past two years. Last year, I got about 10 tomatoes total. The year before, I don't think I even got 5. And vine ripened tomatoes were on sale at Food Lion this week for $1.29/lb. Between the constant watering (the plants need lots of water), the fertilizer and the daily search for giant tomato worms (SOOOOOOOOOO nasty), I decided to give it a rest this year. Maybe next year I'll try again, but I am tired of being disappointed with the tomatoes. My herbs, however, are doing swimmingly!

Good luck with your plants!

Instead of planting in the yard, try a container garden. You use much less water and don't have as many problems with pests. I had a salsa garden last year. I had 2 tomato plants and a pepper plant that did really, really well. I also had a shallow pot for lettuce(looseleaf variety-mesclun). The pot was filled with potting soil and I could just throw some lettuce seeds on the top and water. Within days, I had enough for a salad. This stuff was fast growing and prolific. One packet of seeds lasted the whole summer long. Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck with the onions and garlic.

 

[NCardella]

I tried the "water down your dishsoap" advice. I just kept adding water 50/50 each time I washed. "refilling the bottle"..if you will. It totally worked, and even at a diluted state, I found that I had more than enough suds to clean the same as before..try it, it works..

I tried it too and hardly noticed a difference!

 

[Todd&Copper]

Instead of planting in the yard, try a container garden. You use much less water and don't have as many problems with pests. I had a salsa garden last year. I had 2 tomato plants and a pepper plant that did really, really well. I also had a shallow pot for lettuce(looseleaf variety-mesclun). The pot was filled with potting soil and I could just throw some lettuce seeds on the top and water. Within days, I had enough for a salad. This stuff was fast growing and prolific. One packet of seeds lasted the whole summer long. Unfortunately, I didn't have much luck with the onions and garlic.

I have tried container gardening - had even less success with that, but thanks for the suggestion.

 

[jenniferma]

I can't grow tomatoes either! The only part of our yard that gets enough sun is the front yard...

My Mom has a great spot that faces South-- she grows tons of nice tomatoes. I think you need good soil and tons of sun!

cheers!
jen