Living a Little More Frugally--Useful Tips
As we get ready to adjust to one income living, we are preparing by doing a few things differently, I thought I would share some of them with you!
1. We bought a $35 indoor laundry hanger. This is the start of month 3 in which we haven't cut on the dryer! The results--a little over $30 decrease in our electric bill! The cons, the crusty towels--but if you can't get over that--all you have to do is put them on the tumble cycle in the dryer--it is the tumbling that makes them soft, not the heat!
2. I read a book about cutting your groceries in half. I really didn't think we had much room for savings here because we already only spent $400/month for the 4 of us. And i am not going to fool with all the coupon mess! The first month...we decreased our expenses to $280. Last month, we spent $306. What did we do differently--bought groceries once a month--I preplanned our meals using the Wed sales ads and comped prices at Walmart. Wow--thought the results were pretty good!
3. Our budget monster...gas! Our budget for the month for gas--$650--ridiculous I know--but trips to Nettleton and a job that requires travel--that's what it comes to! So, we went ahead and bought a car--we had been pretending to have a car payment for a while, so we finally just bit the bullet...The result--going from 19mpg to 32. I will confess--I couldn't write the check--it made my stomach hurt--so Johnny came to the rescue! Just a thought--paying cash for everything really makes you consider long and hard before making a purchase--paying $200/month for the rest of my life feels better at the time than writing that lump sum payment! This is the first full month with the new car, so we'll see what the real savings are at the end of the month! But, the savings will increase a lot when I am not driving 30 min to work and back everyday and traveling around from school to school!
4. Cleaning supplies--I have been making my own laundry detergent for a while now. At first, I didn't like that it did not leave my clothes scented. I have since kept adding and changing the recipe and I love it now! The savings--about $130/year! I also make my own comet and all purpose cleaner--not sure about those savings--I haven't ever really thought about it. I have tried multiple dishwasher detergent recipes but none of them really work well at all--if you have a great one, send it to me!
5. Negotiating--I called our Internet company the other day and got our monthly service decreased from $59/month to $39/month. And actually, for the next three months they are letting us have it for $19/month--and I am still under no contract/obligation. Unfortunately, it isn't good service--but it is our only option out here in Jugfork, MS!
6. The best frugal living advice I can share--GET OUT Of DEBT--it is possible--we are living proof--we haven't regretted the sacrifices we made as we mailed in our last "payment" in 2005. It wasn't easy and it took tons of discipline--but following those simple baby steps that Dave Ramsey outlines in his book--they really work! The biggest difference maker for us--the budget--keeping track of every penny and only spending what we had budgeted!
We'll it is time for me start getting ready for church! Hope you have a great day and have taken time to do some things that have some meaning!
1. We bought a $35 indoor laundry hanger. This is the start of month 3 in which we haven't cut on the dryer! The results--a little over $30 decrease in our electric bill! The cons, the crusty towels--but if you can't get over that--all you have to do is put them on the tumble cycle in the dryer--it is the tumbling that makes them soft, not the heat!
2. I read a book about cutting your groceries in half. I really didn't think we had much room for savings here because we already only spent $400/month for the 4 of us. And i am not going to fool with all the coupon mess! The first month...we decreased our expenses to $280. Last month, we spent $306. What did we do differently--bought groceries once a month--I preplanned our meals using the Wed sales ads and comped prices at Walmart. Wow--thought the results were pretty good!
3. Our budget monster...gas! Our budget for the month for gas--$650--ridiculous I know--but trips to Nettleton and a job that requires travel--that's what it comes to! So, we went ahead and bought a car--we had been pretending to have a car payment for a while, so we finally just bit the bullet...The result--going from 19mpg to 32. I will confess--I couldn't write the check--it made my stomach hurt--so Johnny came to the rescue! Just a thought--paying cash for everything really makes you consider long and hard before making a purchase--paying $200/month for the rest of my life feels better at the time than writing that lump sum payment! This is the first full month with the new car, so we'll see what the real savings are at the end of the month! But, the savings will increase a lot when I am not driving 30 min to work and back everyday and traveling around from school to school!
4. Cleaning supplies--I have been making my own laundry detergent for a while now. At first, I didn't like that it did not leave my clothes scented. I have since kept adding and changing the recipe and I love it now! The savings--about $130/year! I also make my own comet and all purpose cleaner--not sure about those savings--I haven't ever really thought about it. I have tried multiple dishwasher detergent recipes but none of them really work well at all--if you have a great one, send it to me!
5. Negotiating--I called our Internet company the other day and got our monthly service decreased from $59/month to $39/month. And actually, for the next three months they are letting us have it for $19/month--and I am still under no contract/obligation. Unfortunately, it isn't good service--but it is our only option out here in Jugfork, MS!
6. The best frugal living advice I can share--GET OUT Of DEBT--it is possible--we are living proof--we haven't regretted the sacrifices we made as we mailed in our last "payment" in 2005. It wasn't easy and it took tons of discipline--but following those simple baby steps that Dave Ramsey outlines in his book--they really work! The biggest difference maker for us--the budget--keeping track of every penny and only spending what we had budgeted!
We'll it is time for me start getting ready for church! Hope you have a great day and have taken time to do some things that have some meaning!
Sarah's been fiddling with a dishwasher detergent recipe for a while now. She's using Borax, Washing Soda, Citric Acid, and Kosher Salt with mixed results.
ReplyDeleteAfter some searching I'm seeing people using equal parts Washing/Baking Soda and Borax. People are using that for clothes and dishwashers. We might have to try that as our laundry detergent recipe is a little more complicated.
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/cleaningtipsandrecipes/qt/Dish_Detergent.htm
http://www.reddit.com/r/Frugal
Thanks Chris! I have tried the equal parts and it didn't work for us! I also tried one with lemonade--both leave everything very cloudy. I'll have to try using the salt.
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