This week I thought I'd share a tip I use to save money on meat.  Did you know that most grocery store meat dept. will cut meat for free?  Well this is a helpful tip for when whole chickens go on sale or those long tubes of pork loin.  I just simply ask them to cut them up for me.  It is almost always cheaper to buy the whole meats then the pre-cut.  I've even had them cut up huge pork roast and english roast into steaks and some into cubes.  The only thing is you have to go shopping when the meat dept. is open.

You can find other great tips at Biblical Womanhood.

1. Only wash full loads of laundry.  It takes the same amount of electricity to wash a full load as a smaller one so why not make full use of that electricity.

2. And here is a little trick for when you forget to switch that last load of laundry before you go to bed.  Because you know it is going to have that stinky odor in the morning.  Put ½ cup of vinegar in it and run it through the rinse cycle again.  It will get that odor right out.

3. You could also make your own stain remover.  I make mine using 1 ½ tbsp. homemade detergent, and hot water.  I just use an old shout sprayer.  Apply to stain and work in with a soft bristle tooth brush.  Other things you could use for stains are: hydrogen peroxide, castile soap, fels naphta soap, plain vinegar.

4. You can also make your own spray starch by using 2 tbsp. of cornstarch mixed with 1 pint of water.  Put in a spray bottle and shake well with each use.

 Be sure to check out the other frugal tips at Biblical Womanhood. 

This week I thought I'd share some laundry tips.  I'm sure you've heard some of them before but maybe some are new. 

1. Make your own laundry detergent.  It will cut the cost by at least half per load.  Here is the recipe I use.  1 cup of  Fels Naptha soap grated, ½ cup Borax, ½ cup Arm –n- Hammer Washing Soap  mix together and use 1 ½ tbsp. per load.

2. To get your socks super white boil them in water with a slice of lemon.

3. I wash all my clothes except whites in cold water.  The clothes come just as clean and I don’t have to worry about shrinkage or stains being set in.  Sometimes we miss treating a stain and if you wash it in hot water it sets it if you wash it in cold you get another chance to get it out.

4. I try to always dry my blankets, towels, jeans, and other heavy material clothes on the clothesline.  I wash these loads first so that if I have to use the dryer it is for the lighter weight fabrics that dry quicker.

5. When I could use fabric softner, I would use half the amount of liquid it said to use and they still smelled great.  They were also soft.  When I used dryer sheets I would cut them in thirds and they were still effective.  You can also use the used dryer sheets to dust with.  They work just like a swiffer duster.  Now I use ½ cup of white distilled vinegar in my downy ball.  Granted there is no fragrance but the clothes do come out softer than with no fabric softner.  The vinegar helps breakdown any soap residue left in the clothes so they rinse cleaner.  The residue is what makes clothes stiff.

You can find other great tips at Biblical Womanhood.

More trash bill saving tips

1. Rinse your milk jugs out really well cut the bottoms off and use them as little green houses for your seedlings.  You just press them down into the soil so they are stable over the seedlings in your garden.  The milk jug will keep rabbits and other rodents from eating them and they will help protect them against frost.  You can also use cleaned milk jugs to make juice or kool-aide in. 

2. All those wonderful grocery bags you get from the store make perfect trash can liners for smaller trash cans.  Not only will this save you trash wise this will save money from the grocery bill.  I’ve also seen some people that make throw rugs out of them.  Though I’ve never personally done this but I’m sure if you did a google search you could find directions to do it. 

3. Keep your toilet paper tubes for crafts and to store your pantyhose in.  Keeping your pantyhose stuffed in a tube in the drawer will help prevent them from getting snagged or getting a run.

4. Use your newspapers to clean your windows.  Just spray your window cleaner on the window and use the newspapers instead of paper towels.  Your windows will actually come out a lot cleaner and lint free.  We also save our newspapers and junk mail for when we go camping to start the campfire.

 You can find other great frugal tips here.

I noticed I had been neglecting my frugal tips of the week section so I thought I'd better remedy that.  This weeks frugal tips deal with the trash bill.  I'm not sure how it works all over the country but here you get charged by the bag or trash can.  So in an effort to reduce those trash bags here are a few tricks I've started doing.

1. Take the time to tear up the cardboard boxes into small pieces.  You'll be able to get more in that trash bag.  If you live in the country you could burn them in a burn barrel but I live in town so I can't do this.

2.  Recycle your pop cans.  Around here you can get between $0.60 - $0.80 a lb. for them.  I think it's worth the extra effort.

3.  Start a compose pile.  Or you can do like my dad does and dig a hole in the yard.  Place your food scraps in there and put a light layer of soil over it.  When it is full start a new hole.  Not only will this save you money on the trash bill but you'll also be adding nutrients to your soil or garden.

4.  Recycle those cottage cheese, sour cream, yogurt containers.  You can use them for leftovers, freezing broth stock, storing homeschool supplies, and a million other uses.  I also save my old coffee cans.  I use those to pour hot grease in that needs to be thrown away.  When it's full I throw it away and don't have to worry about it leaking in the trash can.

5.  Now for an extreme one that my mother has used for years and yes I'll admit I do it sometimes myself.  She saves all her bread bags from store bought bread.  There is a few uses for these.  One you can use them to store your homemade bread or rolls in.  Two (I must warn you this one usually brings laughs)  in the winter when it is all snowy and wet they work great for keeping feet dry and warm.  Just wear 2 pairs of socks putting the bag on inbetween the layers.  This way no one knows your wearing them and you keep your feet dry and warm.  Go ahead and laugh I know it sounds funny.  My husband found this totally humorous one year when he caught me doing it.  But I didn't have boots and the kids wanted to go out and play in the snow.  Now he's asked me for them a few times.  Also what's a mom to do when the kids get their boots all soaked or somehow manage to always get snow down in them.

I clip coupons and I search the weekly ads for the best deals.  I especially look for sales at stores that double coupons.  I have a Meijer’s, Kroger, and CVS near me that all double coupons.  I have gotten some items for free because of this.

I also try and cook at least one meatless meal a week.  Cutting out the meat not only saves money but it also healthy for your family. 

Another tip in some meals I try to substitute ground turkey for ground beef.  A lb. of ground turkey at Aldi’s is $.69, which is cheaper than ground beef.

I have 2 children in diapers so we were going through a lot of wipes.  My solution to this cost was to buy a 100 shop rags from Sam’s Club for around $16.  I washed them a couple of times to soften them up.  Then I purchased a shoebox tote from Wal-mart.  I place some of them in here with a little water and baby soap.  When they are soiled I put them in a bucket with water.  When I have a loads worth I wash them.  This has saved me a lot of money.

My in a pinch recipe

1 whole chicken ($3.50 at Aldi’s)

4 carrots sliced ($.20 at Aldi’s)

2 stalks celery sliced ($.10 at Aldi’s)

water (free)

salt and pepper to taste (pennies)

rice or noodles whatever I have the most of in storage

2 cans of corn ($.78 at aldi’s)

Poultry seasoning to taste

2 tsp. Rosemary

Boil chicken and seasonings in large soup pot of water until cooked.  After chicken is cooked remove from water and debone.  Place rice or noodles, carrots, celery, corn juice and all into pot and cook. You may need to add more water.  Put deboned chicken back in. Cook until vegetables are tender.  This also freezes well for later.

I can get 2 meals for 6 people out of this dish for around $6.00.  I serve with crackers or cornbread.

Cornbread

3/4 c. roasted yellow cornmeal

1 c. flour

1/4 c. sugar

3/4 tsp. salt

3 1/2 tsp. baking powder

1 c. milk

1 egg, beaten

1/4 c. vegetable oil

Stir together dry ingredients.  Mix liquid ingredients together. Make a well in the dry ingredients, then add liquid all at once. Beat thoroughly.  Pour into greased 8" square cake pan.  Bake at 400 for 25-30 minutes.  Best served warm with a little honey.

Trimming money on the grocery budget is one of the easiest ways to get started living frugally.   There is a ton of ways to make cuts from the grocery budget.  So today I’m going to share some of my tricks.

 I love to have fresh vegetables but they get expensive during the year.  Especially when they aren’t in season.  So what I do is watch for sales on these items.  I keep a certain amount of money set aside for what I call stockpiling funds.  With this money I buy big quantities of the sale item.  For example I wait until Kroger’s sell their broccoli and cauliflower 10 for $10 and buy 10 or 20 of each.  I then take them home and blanche and freeze them.  I also do this with corn on the cob, green peppers, zucchini, and squash.  For corn on the cob I wait for the 12 ears for $2 and I hit the sale hard.  In case you’re wondering I have a very large chest freezer.  The green peppers, zucchini, and squash freeze well for things like stir fries, zucchini bread, spaghetti sauce, and soups.  You can also find vegetables real cheap at roadside farmer markets.  Here is a link to give you some ideas of what to do with zucchini.  http://www.livingonadime.com/articles/zucchini.htm

Learn to can.  During apple season the kids and I go and pick apples at the local orchard.  You can get them much cheaper this way and the kids really enjoy it.  We make our own applesauce, apple butter, and can apples for baking.   Not only are they much cheaper this way, they are also healthier.  I can control how much if any sugar goes into it.  I look at farmer’s markets for deals.  Often if you buy in large quantities you can get a better deal.  Also look for pick your own farms for cheaper prices.  We get berries this way and make our own jams.   We also plant a garden and can a lot of that produce.  But our yard isn’t big enough to grow enough for a whole year, so therefore we look for these deals.

As for canning supplies I got a bunch from a yard sale.  I was at an elderly ladies yard sale and saw a small box of canning jars.  I asked her how much she wanted for them and she then asked me if I canned.  I said yes and she said come with me honey.  She took me to her basement she had boxes and boxes of canning jars she wanted to get rid of.  I got all those jars for $15.  Her price not mine.  I asked her if she knew that some of them were worth more than that.  She said yes but she wanted someone that was going to can with them to have them.  I also learned a lot from her.  I ended up spending a couple of hours at her yard sale as she shared her wealth of information.  I also learned some info about sewing.  I was pretty new at it at the time and she had patterns she was selling for a quarter.  I will never forget her I learned a lot about being a homemaker that day. 

Here is a site where you can get information on canning.  The directions are very easy to understand and follow.  You can also purchase canning supplies from here.  They are very budget conscientious.  http://www.pickyourown.org/allaboutcanning.htm

Also cooking from scratch will save you a lot of money not to mention be healthier for you and your family.  Here is a site with a wealth of information.  My favorite section is make – your – own convenience foods.  I really like the rice recipes, as I am rice challenged.   Just ask my family before trying these recipes I made the worse rice. LOL    http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/

I thought this week I would share some tips on saving money with your electricity bill.  Our home is all electric because electricity is cheaper here than gas.  So here are some things we do to shave a few pennies from our bill.

Did you know that electricity is cheaper after 9 pm?  So I always set my dishwasher to start after 9.  I also try and do my clothes drying after 9 if I couldn’t get them on the line. 

Make sure to clean off electrical stuff, like your computer open it up and blow that dust off those components.  A build up of dust can cause extra wear and tear, which means you’ll have to replace them sooner.  Other things to dust off are the vents on the TV, VCR, DVD, clean under the fridge.  All of this will save you money by them working more efficiently and living longer.

Get yourself a timer for your hot water heater so it only heats water during the hours your going to need it.  Why continuously heat water that isn’t being used?  I have mine kick on about 6pm for the kids evening baths and about 5am for dh and my morning showers.  The water does stay hot during the day especially if you have an insulating blanket on it.

I thought I would start a frugal tip of the week.  These are things I do to save money or cut expenses.  Now some weeks I may share more than one, but on other weeks it may only be one.  I guess it will depend on how well my brain is working that week.

Tips

1.  I keep a freezer bag in the freezer.  In this bag I put all the leftover veggies from dinner.  Usually it’s not enough for another setting.  And if I put them in the fridge for leftovers they usually end up spoiling before anyone eats them.  So I put them in this freezer bag.  After a while when I have accumulated enough, I’ll make a stew or veggie soup with them.  Remember every penny counts.

2.  I also buy the huge cans of spaghetti sauce, diced tomatoes, and tuna from Sam’s Club.  They are cheaper this way.  When I get home I open them up and divide them into meal portions.  I do this by placing a freezer bag in a Tupperware so it will hold the bag while I place the liquids in it.  Note I always label and date the bag before filling them.

3.  I have learned that our local grocery store marks down their meat on Thursday mornings.  So I pack the kids up and we hit the meat dept. on Thursdays.  When I get home I divide the meat up into meals, wrap it in foil, and place it in freezer bags.  Of course label and date.  I wrap the meat for 2 reasons to prevent freezer burn and so I can wash the freezer bag and use it again.  Now when you buy reduced meat you can’t leave it sit in the fridge for very long before cooking it or it will go bad.  So you have to be diligent at meal planning.