The Save Money Thread!

[DanieMarie]

Tips, patterns, recipes, links, etc....all things free and cheap!

-I'll start.....if you like old movies, www.archive.org has a ton of public domain stuff available to download!

-When I go grocery shopping, I look through my cupboards and my fridge and stuff first, see what I have, look at recipes and plan what I can make using those things. Then I buy the rest of the ingredients. Otherwise I'll just go to the store and buy whatever looks tasty and waste food because I get stuff I don't really need.

[Celest]

Re: The Save Money Thread!

my tip:
Sundays I usually cook a roast for a 'friends and family' dinner, so now I just stick another roast (maybe pork) or a large chicken or turkey in the oven and cook it at the same time. Slice it up, put it in containers and freeze for later in the week. Just a couple of minutes in the microwave and dinner's ready. It saves quite a bit on the electricity bill. I usually cook extra potatoes/rice the same day too.

[Caelia]

Re: The Save Money Thread!

I like to make my own detergent, and I believe thal has a recipe listed somewhere. As an extra bonus the ingredients used to make the detergent are also useful as household cleaners in other ways. I use borax as a dishwashing soap. I use washing soda as a general cleaner, along with baking soda and vinegar. I mix up some water with some castille soap when I wash dishes by hand. I also grate my castille soap so it goes further.

[DanieMarie]

Re: The Save Money Thread!

As I posted way back on the old forum, I can be a somewhat impulsive shopper sometimes. I use shopping like some people smoke or drink. Online shopping is the worst because it's so EASY. I can have a lot of self control if I'm actually out in a store but online in the comfort of my own home, forget it.

I made a list to look at of little reminders from keeping myself from buying. I told myself that a) I have to stop and think for a bit first, and b) ideally I should wait 24 hours and then reassess the buy.

Also the list is set out into 2 categories: first I have things I might want to buy and things I can do to curb that impulse. For example, if I want to buy clothes, I first have to go into my wardrobe (which you can see is NOT small in the picture post thread) and put together at least 3 new outfits out of things I already have). Or I can look at my patterns and huge closet full of fabric, or whip together some quick accessories that will change my "look." OR if I want to buy books (I big one for me because it always seems justified even if it's not), I have to go look at my bookshelf and pull out all the books I haven't read yet so I can stare in the face at just where more books will get me. The second category I have is emotional responses that usually cause me to buy and other things I can do to help. Like if I'm feeling lonely, I can make plans with friends to look forward to, call someone, or write a letter or card to a family member I haven't talked to in a while.