Wednesday, October 8, 2008

Saving Money and BRRR

Hey y'all, how's it going? Really, how are you doing with these crazy economic times? I guess I am not too stressed, I trust that God will provide what we need. And, I am not retiring too soon. But still, it has given me lots to ponder. I watched Oprah today, which was a rare occurrence. It was on saving money, being thrifty.

Now there is plenty that we as a family already do. We don't buy coffee at coffee shops, well rarely. We rarely eat out. We try not to buy clothes just because. And of course my home is furnished and decorated on the way cheap. But, I know there are still areas where we could cut back. Unplug things that are not in use. Using more coupons. Driving less. Fewer movies (I love going to the movies!). So I wanted to hear from all of you. What are you doing to cut back? How do you save money? Leave me a comment with a money saving tip and on Sunday I will pick a winner and send you a little something in the mail. What will you win? I haven't decided yet, this is my first giveaway, but it is sure to be fabulous!



On another note, I took this picture of this great house on a beautiful fall day. Alas, the fall weather is quickly leaving us. The high for Friday is 38 degrees and there is snow in the forecast for the next 3 days--arg--I am not ready!

23 comments:

  1. okay we could all do with some money saving tips. first I clip coupons and also print them from the internet and we do not use our cc anymore for nothing. Hope you get some great ideas I'll be back to check later:)
    julie

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  2. Instead of buying pricey packaged goods, I save money by buying fruits, vegetables, and lean meats. It's a common misconception that eating healthier is more expensive. I find the opposite to be true. In addition, natural foods are filling and satisfying, so you eat less.

    I also eliminated highly processed foods and beverages, such as snacks and sodas, that do not have significant nutritional value. On that same note, my primary beverage is water out of the tap. Bottled water is expensive and the non-recyclable plastic bottles are detrimental to the environment.

    Great post idea!

    Amy

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  3. We are now making our own biodiesel from used cooking oil. After diesel hit $5.00 a gallon here in California my husband said, "That's it!". After A LOT of research and A LOT of WORK we now produce about 20 gallons of biodiesel every other week at a price of $.90 a gallon!

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  4. well basically what i do is make a monthly bajet n cut down my expenses on certain things whichis not essential(new clothing, eatin outside, n etc) not only i also change certain branf to a cheaper one ;]

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  5. What a beautiful house. SNOW?!!

    I have really cut out unecessary driving and shopping. I am a nanny so I stay at home with a little boy all day. I used to get bored and go shopping and driving around. Not so much anymore. :)

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  6. We have started a family budget at our house. With 3 young children and one income, things were starting to get tight. We now begin each month by writing ourselves a check and then cash it. We divide the cash into certain areas of expense for the month and use only what we have. Ex. My grocery shopping cash is $300 and I can't go over that for the month. This is a Dave Ramsey approach and is so doable for families and makes for a happier, less stressful life. :) I also have started baking the children's snacks and they are much cheaper and MUCH healthier!

    Give it a try!

    Hugs,

    Hollie

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  7. I have started making my own cleaners and soaps...definitely saves money!

    I've also been bringing my lunch to work...also my bagels for breakfast.

    Every little bit helps!

    Hugz,
    Michele

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  8. Like you, our home is decorated and furnished on the cheap.

    I do try and use coupons. The biggest thing is that I try and do most of my food shopping at the local butcher shop and a local farm. They are both appreciably less expensive than the grocery.

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  9. Several years ago we were on water restrictions and to get water for my outside plants, we put a bucket in the shower to catch the water while you are waiting for it to get hot and then we set it out of the shower while we get clean, and when the bucket is full we water plants with it. Even though we are no longer on water restriction we still do it to preserve water supply and to save on the water and sewer bill since it went up so high. We also collect rain water in trashcans from the down spouts, and we used to catch the air conditioner water in the basement but that is no longer feasible for me to do. I also am trying to cook more things that we can eat more than once, and use coupons more.
    Jean in Virginia

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  10. One thing that we have cut out some is eating out. That saves a lot. Now when we do get to go out, it just seems more special. Another thing is that we never go to the movies anymore. They come out so fast now on dvd,we figure we can wait and watch them in the comfort of our own home. Also finding more creative ways to use leftovers. I'm also pulling out my crockpot this week. I can make more than one meal if I use it. Also its better than heating up the whole kitchen. Now when it gets cold weather, I will bake more and that will also warm up
    the kitchen. I just started using coupons again. I forgot how much that helps.

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  11. Well we were already on the cheapy side.. we don't buy name brand foods too often.. we shop sales & use coupons..

    But now we don't eat out too much & we think before we drive.. combining trips and nixing the ones that aren't absolutely necessary.... I am even scaling back on my curbside shopping to practically nil.. & I did less craft shows this years. as I was doing it as an outlet.. I barely broke even - so it wasn't missed...

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  12. I don't have any big ideas for saving money. We do pretty much what you do. I was impressed when I found a pair of shorts at the thrift stor for 50 cents, and in MY SIZE! I love the Fall picture. I miss so much the "seasons" in Chicago. We still have the air conditioning on here in Florida.

    Debbie in Florida

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  13. Being frugal and "cheap" is a lifestyle and you have to think it with everything and not just a few things. You have to learn how to do without. You also have to fully understand the difference between want and need. I have set prices in my mind for grocery shopping and I will not buy certain items unless they are on sale and/or I have a coupon. And if the price is excellent, I buy in bulk. I also know where milk, gas, eggs and fruit/veggies are the cheapest. I pretty much live in Walmart because they really do have the best prices in my area. We don't have all the latest gadgets, we visit the library for all of our reading, we never go to the movies (there is so much on TV to see) and we do the family vacation every 4 or 5 years, not every year. We keep our cars until they die, pay all the bills at the end of the month (including all the credit card bills) and we do a lot of walking when it's close enough. We go to yard sales and we have a few of our own. Like I said, it's a lifestyle and we fully embrace it. :)

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  14. I am a bargain hunter, so my first stop for anything we need is to check out the clearance sections at stores. I rarely buy anything if it isn't on sale unless we really need it like a food item. Our home is decorated economically too. Our coffee table came from someone that had put out a sign saying FREE STUFF. I sign up for free samples, get coupons online, and search for coupon codes before I buy anything online. I stock up when there is a buy one get one deal too. We turn off unnessary lights durning the day. We have had to turn the heat on already this year, but are keeping it set lower than we would usually want it. Every night I place a glass of water by my bed. If I haven't finished it by the morning, I water the plants with it.

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  15. I don't look at the flyers that come in the mail. If I just throw them out, I won't be tempted to "need" stuff. Saves us lots of money!

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  16. Cool I need to some in the money saving tips....let's see...I don't eat out for lunch so I save on gas and food by bringing me something from home. I work full time.

    I have saved on my energy bill by using the new lightbulbs that they have. Those swirling ones...sorry can't rememeber the name but we have been using them for a year and we really have been able to tell a difference in our electric bill.

    Another thing my hubby set the thermostat down on the water heater but he put on a timer to cut it on an hour before we get home from work and then he sets the timer at night so the timer will cut it on a hour before we get up for the hot water to shower. Sounds really a pain but it really has helped...Our electric bill has only been 140.00 to 150.00 this summer. We did turn the air up when we leave in the morning. So all in all living in our home twe really have saved a bunch just by doing those few things...I love the fact the electric bill has been a lot cheaper this year than in the past cause of those few quirks.

    Other than that not much more have we done...I did cut back on food somewhat...I basically cut out on sodas which saved us a bunch because we drunk those all the time. It was hard but I survived. Just drink from the well which is not bad. If I don't buy sodas why by bottle water...no savings if I did that.
    Ok I will hush now...
    I will be checking back to see what other ideas you get cause with things in such a bad time I need to do more to save.

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  17. I do non-shopping... I browse the catalogs, drool over things, dream, turn the corner of the page down and then close the book, turn over and go to sleep.... In the next week or so I throw out the catalog!! I never feel deprived. Kinda' like filling your shopping cart on line, turning off the computer and going to bed. BYW the snow here in north Wyoming is beautiful.. it is a hot chocolate, good book kinda' day... stayed in my PJ's as long as my DH would tolerate (LOL)

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  18. Coupons coupons coupons! Couponmom.com has saved me tons latly! toothpaste for 17 cents!! can't beat that!

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  19. Hi, I found your blog through several other blogs. :)

    I'm super frugal as I need to be. I do enjoy it though and wouldn't live any other way. In doing so I'm able to be home full-time on a modest income. The end result is worth anything that is given up!

    One thing I do is to plan out my grocery shopping. I plan out the amount I have to spend & write the items down on a list with the prices next to them. Subtract any coupons you will use. I leave a few extra dollars for any unadvertised deals I may come across. I'm pretty good at remembering prices so even with changing prices I can be fairly close. By shopping "before" you go to the store, you have more control of what you'll spend - there won't be any surprises.

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  20. At this point I feel it's more of what don't I do because I feel I do everything. I make a lot of things to save money - everything from food to stuff for the house.

    Manuela

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  21. I thought I had left a comment, but don't see it.

    I do NOT use credit cards, only debit or cash.

    I love to shop CVS and use mfg. coupons with ECB's to buy most of my health and beauty products. Fun to see what you can get for close to nothing.

    It is just DS and I so we do eat out, but not restaurants, just fast food. I try really hard to pack my lunch or come home during the week.

    I took the Dave Ramsey course and altough I do not follow his entire philosophy, I work in as much as I can into my budget.

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  22. I have 4 children, so I spend time making a menu and plan my meals with what I have in my pantry. With little in the bank, I was able to make 15 meals with significantly less groceries purchased than if I just went and shopped without planning.

    We also cut back on going out to eat and I pretty much stopped shopping for clothes every week like I used to! I miss the retail therapy though! LOL

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  23. We split a cow with friends-everyone's share is $2/lb!
    I shop at Goodwill on Sunday for the .99 colored tag clothes, mostly pants. I exchange clothes with friends for the boys also. I have 4 boys and am buying very little in toys anymore. I sell and shop on Ebay, go to yard sales and thrifts, and mostly make do. I have been at home for 10 of the 14 years since my kids were born. Occasional 12 pack of cheap ($2) soda, no junk food and very little fast or going out. We now focus on "whole nutrition"- if it "ain't " worth eating, don't buy it!
    I find that coupons are on convenience food so I don't use them but am willing to look. I buy about 10 things I have found to be cheaper at Wal-Mart. Everything I else I can be patient and wait for it to go on sale. We live in the middle of nowhere so Shopko is for stuff and Econo foods and IGA for grocery so you'd think Wal-Mart would be may place but it is horrifically expensive here.
    I buy bread at the Sara Lee store or make it with my breadmaker.

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Thanks so much for taking the time to comment, I really appreciate your kind words!