What do you do to save money?

Great topic ttthayden!!
I had no idea about the cloth diapers, I'll have to check that out...I hate putting the disposables into the waste, I'm always trying to cut down on trash!!
The biggest cost saving in my home is food. I have 2 refrigerators in my kitchen and both are always full. But I buy in bulk whenever frozen foods (ie meats, fast snackers etc.)are on sale. When boneless chuck roasts are 99cents a lb..but tons of them and then cook them all at once in a roaster and shred and freeze them. It's costly at the time but lowers the weekly grocery bill immensly. I do the same with chicken, pork and steaks (though I don't pre-cook the steaks!!)With lot's of kids I've always got something in the freezer to make dinner in between all their activities. And I shop the same with everything else..whatever cereal is on sale..that's what they pick from for that week..same with veggies, fruit, drinks EVERYTHING...I rarely purchase anything from the grocery store unless it's on sale. And it forces them to try different things also!
Same with fast foods which we rarely do..but when Del Taco has their 3 for 99cents on Tuesdays..we'll have fast food out..take n bake pizza has a special on.. we'll get that.
I'm not sure how much money it saves but with all the food we go through, it's got to add up!
Going to amusement park, the kids games, just about any outing..we bring lots of water and food. A bottle of water from a stand is 1 to 2$...I get a whole case for that!!
As previously posted..thrift stores and craigslist are invaluable to me..and my kids would prefer to go to the thrift stores and shop because they can get good brand name clothing for much less. Though every once in awhile they also will buy something from the outlets that you mention.
And the wood burning stove sounds like a great idea.. I'm looking for one on craigslist!! Having it installed is less that what one tank of propane will cost..what is bio mass fuel??

Biomass fuel is a replacement of coal, oil and natural gas. This fuel is used to generate heating and electrical appliances. It is a natural fuel abundantly available and the costs are cheaper than other sources of energy.

In today's world when everything is becoming expensive and energy is getting extinct, it is better to use renewable sources of energy. For example, solar cookers can be used for cooking food. This way, we are saving the cost of fuel.

Biomass fuel also helps in saving a lot of power and fuel and the costs are also much lower than other heating and electrical appliances.

Good post, ttthayden. :D. People will come to know something new through your post.

Oh, I forgot about my crock pot. It is much less tempting to eat out when dinner is waiting in the crock pot!

Biomass fuels are renewable energy sources. I am particularly interest in corn stoves. The idea that I could grow my own heating fuel facinates me.

Oh, and if anyone is interested in cloth diapering their child, shoot me a pm. I moderate a couple of cloth diaper message boards and I will give you a link. I don't want to break any board rules by just posting the links.

My son is 17 months old and we have purchased about three bags of disposible diapers in his lifetime. The last time we bought them was in August of 04, when I was unexpectedly hospitalized.

Ben and TT..thanks for the info on biomass..I will have to look into it more though my kids will hate it..haha..they complain already because I compost and recycle or burn whatever possible rather than taking it to the landfill. But because of the compost our garden is stupendous and they don't complain then!! They'll get it.

Buying meat in bulk does save a lot of money...I was low on money for a couple months after I moved and my mom bought me meat in bulk and it cost like 65 dollars but it lasted SOOOO LONG. Also, it definately is the little things...I calculated that I spent 40+ dollars a month at dunkin donuts...I would get a coffee every day during the week and a few times on the weekends. You don't realize that you spend so much when you are just shelling out 2 dollars at a time for it.

And the biggest one is DONT EAT OUT for like a month and see how much money you save. We were behind on our bills and I made coffee at home & we only went out once a month for two months and we caught up so fast.

Sarah, you are so right! It is amazing how much money you can fritter away a buck or two at a time!

Going to moms house for dinner always helps too :wink:

ALSO COLLECT CHANGE....when we were having a tough time we rolled pennies and you'd be surprised how quickly they add up!~

Well,

I am just getting going on this, but so far this is what I have discovered...

I clip coupons. Yes, I spend a bit for the Sunday paper (that I only get for the coupons). I have found a "grocery game" website (just google grocery game, you will find it) and it has been a HUGE help to us. I have spent less than I normally do, and able to have a bit of stockpile on things I have gotten free or cheap. Another thing is I finally got my youngest child potty trained. We still use a "night time underwear" (aka, a cloth pull up OR a disposable, if they were on sale). I also use Freecycle a lot. I have gifted a lot there as well as recieved several really nice things to help us out. I have also discovered the joy of a cool fall night with popcorn and a good movie or book. Also, check your local library for movies! I have gotten some AWESOME titles from there, absolutly free! Plus you get a week of check out time. We too save change. I do online survey's to recieve extra cash for birthday and Christmas gifts. Speaking of Christmas gifts, I have found that a basket of goodies is always fun and appreciated. For example, all the samples you get in the mail (shampoo, lotions, etc) I have saved up and will divide up between my neices with a few inexpensive items thrown in. All for under $5 each. I also do movie baskets. I throw in a $5 gift card to local movie rental store, a bag of micro popcorn (buy in bulk) and a couple of cans of soda or tea bags. This too can be under $10, but very appreciated.

Hope this helps. Just what I do. :)

Those are great ideas! In fact, I was just reading about the grocery game in a magazine today!

Good Ideas Beeps!

Thanks! I have really gotten into the idea of "baskets" for holiday gifts. The possibilities seem endless and you can really make them reasonable priced.

Another money saver, for those who like to cook is to make homemade soup once a week. It may not sound huge, but soup is a BIG budget stretcher. I make cream of potato, beef barley, chicken noodle, the list goes on. Saturdays seem to be great for soup in our family. I make a BIG pot in the morning with a loaf of homemade bread or biscuits and we have soup for lunch and dinner. The crockpot works awesome for this. I will happily share recipes if anyone wants them. :)

Hi beepshouse

Truly, this is a very good idea. :D

Please share some tasty recipes with us. Do create a new topic for each recipe in this 'pub section'.

Thank you, I am feeling hungry now and I am waiting for your recipe. :D