Update on the Photo Book deal

Remember:


The code is MCBOOK add at check out.
It's good for $30 off any MyCanvas book now through
November 3.
www.mycanvas.com.

Their 8x8 20 page book is $30
So, free book plus $7 shipping!

Got it today and WORTH IT! Hardcover book, great quality, I am thrilled and ordering a bunch more!

More details on the BIG Albertsons sale 1st week of November!

Here is the email I got from Wayne at the Broadway Albertsons in Idaho Falls:

Huge Surprise Hidden Savings just discovered!!

Some things that just started today....we will have more product in the store Saturday. We have some on the shelves today, but here are the deals.

• ConAgra Foods Inc,.Holiday Bonus Save $10 on your next shopping trip when you purchase $20 or more in participating products in a single transaction.
  (some of the ConAgra Items: Pam cooking spray, Peter Pan peanut butter 2/$5.00, Orville R. Popcorn, Chef Boyardee, Crunch and Munch 10/$10, Hunts tomatoes 10/$10 - also part of the spend $50 get $10 in free meat!, Swiss miss cocoa-10/$10 right now!, Hunts Spaghetti sauce, and more!!)
  
• Save $15 on your Thanksgiving shopping trip when you purchase $30 worth of participating products in a single shopping trip-Knorr, Breyers, Hamburger Helper, Progresso, Ragu, Pillsbury, Cheerios, Best Foods,.

These are all on right now. Come see us.

That's the email.

But, here is one BIG deal I see right now:
Hunts tomatoes: Buy 50 for $50, get a $20 coupon on your next order PLUS $10 in FREE MEAT! That is $30 free for you right this second!

Now, all of these deals will be working together on Wednesday. Plus meat will be on sale.


If you want in on this action, here is what I suggest you do:

Watch here and I will post more whenever I get new info.

Email Wayne here:
s00145.adir@albertsons.com
And tell him you want on the list (do me a favor and tell him that Kimber sent you).

Put aside some grocery money because this deal is going to be messy, complicated and totally fun!

I am so excited it actually hurts! Yay!

HAWT! movie theater ticket deal for Madagascar!

Link
Check this out. Gotta either stay up late or get up early for it!

For the first 250 people every day until November 1st, you can buy 1 ticket and get 1 FREE!
Must use a mastercard to buy the tickets!

Woot!
(I suggest matinee for maximum penny pinching)

Now we can go to the movies for cheap before Christmas!

Albertsons psssst!

Next week there should be an AMAZING deal. Save your money... (as in, I'm skipping out this week)

Halloween deals for the family!

This might only work for Utah... but I think it will work in Idaho too!

If you bring your kids in costume to Sizzler next week, from Oct 27th to Nov 2nd, you get up to 2 free kids meals (10 & under) per one adult entree purchased.

Idaho Falls:
Dr Slaughters House of Terror will turn into Dr Slaughters House of Enchantment!
(fairies, superman, happy nonscary stuff)
October 25th from 1-3pm
At the old Fred Meyers Building on Yellowstone
costumes are optional
Kids ages 0-9 (must have a grown up with them)
this is totally FREE!

Trees and Cheese Recipe

I love this for a good vegetarian meal. We try for one dinner without meat a week!

You will need:

a bunch of pasta (I use whatever I have on hand)
a cup or 2 or broccoli
a cup 1/2 ricotta cheese
Some garlic
Some extra virgin olive oil
seasonings


Boil the pasta
Steam the brocolli
Toss it in a pan with chopped garlic that was cooked with the evoo
Toss the ricotta over that and stir until hot
Season however the frick you want to.

Total cost:
Pasta $.50
Broc: $.50
garlic $.50
Evoo $.25
Ricotta (1 container) $3
Total $4.75 IF YOU DON'T BUY EVERYTHING ON SALE!
If you buy onsale:
Pasta $.25
Broc: $.0
garlic $.10
Evoo $.25
Ricotta (1 container) $3
On sale total:
$3.60
(really, I paid that for those items)

Plus, this fed the family and will do leftovers for at least 2 meals for everyone. It made a TON!

HOT DEALS online! photo book and web domains!

First:
Go Daddy domains at $1.99!
www.godaddy.com

Second:
The code is MCBOOK add at check out.
It's good for $30 off any MyCanvas book now through
November 3.
www.mycanvas.com.

Their 8x8 20 page book is $30
So, free book plus $7 shipping!

I ordered one last night and I can't wait to get it! Think of grandparent gift here!

How I spent $0 at Albertsons today

Okay, this is complicated, but it works.

First off, on Monday I went to Walgreens and bought $10 skippy peanut butters. With my coupons I got them for $75ish per jar. I got a register reward coupon (if you want to call it that) for $5 off my next order. I also bought jello, spices and a few other things, but they don't matter as much.
Then I did another transaction of 1 childrens Dimetapp and 2 Robutussins and got another register reward for $10.
Total I spent $30


So, today I went to albies and did the General Mills sale. I had coupons for everything I bought and I also bought some soups for Sam. I used my 2 register rewards PLUS a coupon from Broulims for $10 off when you spend $25 on General Mills products (ooooh, tricky!).
My total was actually -$.58, but I don't keep overage.

Sound complicated? It was, but totally worth is as that made ALL those groceries (about 50ish items overall) from both Walgreens and Albies only $30 TOTAL.

And that, is how you grocery shop!

What to do with PLUMS!

Okay, people, we need to talk about plums.

Seriously, if I see one more jar of plum jam I might lose it. And prunes and prune juice just don't do it for me.

Here is a great use for plums that will honestly make your family love you forever:

Take your plums, wash them, half them and fill sandwich bag sized freezer bags with them.
Stick them in your freezer.

When you feel like it, make plum pie.

Plum pie is easy. Get a box of tapioca and follow the pie filling instructions for the blueberry or cherry pie.

Toss in the pie crust of your choice.

Enjoy AWESOME pie.

There you go. No more crappy plum jam.

Children's Place sale again!

Woot! I love Childrens Place!

extra off
15% off all purchases HAA8 - exp 11/2/08

Childrens Place

Some new(ish) tips for saving on utilities

I just learned some of these tonight (and remembered some of these) and I wanted to share:

To save on power:
unplug everything. If you aren't using it, unplug it.
You could in theory unplug your fridge and/or freezer at night too. As long as it is shut, it'll stay cold.
I was given and idea about putting motion sensors on your freezers and I'm going to be further investigating that...

To save on your wash:
Use cold water all the time
Dawn gets out the worst stains
Use half of the amount of detergent you are told to use (and the same goes for dishwashing soap).
Also, clean your lint trap! Wash it and everything!

Any other ideas?

Cheap Halloween Costumes

Witch

Take an old adult black tee shirt, turn inside out if there is writing on it. Shred the bottom and the sleeves. Find a bandana or scarf that is black or otherwise “scary” and used as a belt. Buy a witch hat at the store.

Cost: $.97

Mummy

White, grey or even tan sweats underneath. You could even use thermal underwear is you are brave. Wrap with ace bandages or for the authentic look, toilet paper.

Cost: $5 (for a lot of toilet paper)

Ghost:

Take a white sheet you don’t need every again and cut an entire HEAD HOLE. Paint your child’s face white or great and grey their hair too (white shoe polish works great, but is a nightmare to get out. I prefer clown white stage makeup, available at costumer shops.

Cost: For the clown white: $5

Daddy or Mommy:

Let them pick some clothes out of your closet that you don’t mind having ruined. For mom, toss on a lot of make up and pearls, something silly. For Dad, paint on a beard, maybe hand them a newspaper or remote to carry around.

Cost: Free

Rock star costume:

Let them pick out of family member’s closets for ideas. GET PERMISSION! Use kool aid and dye their hair a funky color. Make a guitar out of cardboard.

Cost: Free

Other ideas for getting costumes:

-Go to the DI and look for some fun clothing.

-Borrow from people who have kids in dance class. There is a wealth of costume ideas there.

-See if Grandma has old clothing too.

Spending to Save (seriously you guys!)

One important tightwad rule is that occasionally spending the big bucks is needed in order to save money in the long run. It took me a few years to truly catch on to that principle. But, now I swear by it. I still throw up a little in my mouth when we buy something that’s more than $30 and/or less than 50% off, but financial lessons of the past always soothe my stomach and my bank account. There are some ground rules to this philosophy…

Everything must earn its keep. We’re pretty firm on this rule. From the couch to the kids, if something isn’t earning its keep, it’s at risk of being sold on EBay (ask my daughter if you don’t believe me). This is a tough rule because tightwads are also usually packrats, so you really have to cling to this rule in order to not fill your life with unnecessary clutter. My rule goes like this: If it hasn’t been used in a year, it goes. Simple. Occasionally I’ll break this rule for things like baby clothes or gear (i.e. the stroller I haven’t used in two years) and other items that WILL have a use down the road, but the exceptions are rare. On purchasing, I like to determine how much I need to use something before it has earned its keep. I’ll use a friend of mine as an example here. Now, she’s Canadian, so we give her leeway in the common sense department (said with love people), but the woman buys a new purse every six months! I buy a new bag… hardly ever. Let me compare the last bag purchase of hers to my last purchase. Her bags average $50, even on sale. She uses them daily, so it’s costs her $.27 per day to use that bag. My last bag purchase was a great sale on a $55 bag. I got it with two other bags for $15 total. I gave the other bags away as I didn’t need them, but I’m still saying this one bag cost me the full $15. For six months this bag costs me .08 to use daily. I love this bag and will be using it for at least another year or two or more, so in two years it will cost me $.02 a day to use this bag. I can deal with that. See the difference?

Think ahead and prevent. This one has been a hard rule to learn. As poor newlyweds Sam and I did not take the best car of our car. We had the oil changed maybe yearly and NEVER had any tune ups. So, when our transmission went out, we really had no one to blame but ourselves. We spent twice what our car was worth fixing it than we would have had we just taken care of the car. Not a mistake we will repeat again. Yearly medical check ups are another way to prevent a bigger bill. Yes, it’s expensive to see the dentist, but a cavity is easier to fill before it’s a root canal. Not only is the tab higher, but the time off with work, extra child care… that bill can climb.

Another example (and lesson in my own stupidity): I had a lovely kitchen aid mixer given to me when I was first married. It was used, but still worked great and had many accessories. I never used it and it sat on or under my counter collecting dust for years. Finally, a friend of mine kidnapped it and it has been loved ever since. This never bothered me until this year when I decided to really focus on baking to save money and live more healthily. When I looked over the wasted money we’d spent on cheap hand mixers and other kitchen items that had broken almost immediately after being purchased I realized I could have bought that kitchen aid twice over! True, it wasn’t earning its keep when I had it, but it was free and I had the storage space. A big example of a costly mistake from not looking ahead on my part.

Take some time to research. This is a pain, but worth it. Because you’re thinking ahead, you should have time to research a purchase. Don’t buy the first product you come across, make sure you get the best product for your money. If I buy something that runs more than $50, I expect it to last me 10 years or more. That limits me when I purchase, but again, saves money down the road.

As I went on my quest to buy a mixer, I researched a lot of brands. I had a list of appliances I wanted for cooking and I had to find one that could do most, if not all those tasks and had a price tag I could stomach. In the end, I found kitchen aid really was my best bet… if I could find a good deal.

Find a deal if there is one to be had and buy with cash! This is my favorite rule. I love deals. I believe there is always some sort of discount or bonus to be had; we just have to be patient and/or creative to find it. For me, I used eBay. I found a refurbished model from a reputable seller (research people!) for less than half the price I would pay at a store, including shipping! And, it was in the price range we could afford! Woot!

We had also budgeted for this purchase because we don’t believe in using credit for a consumer purchase like that (for the record, everyone is different, but unless it’s a necessary car or a house, we only buy cash or we don’t buy at all), so we spent the money and a few days later, my beautiful kitchen aid mixer had arrived!

Commit to the lifestyle change. Now, this goes back to the first rule. You bought the product, now make it work for you! Some products that have earned their keep for us include our chest freezer (we can buy bulk meat and save a bundle), my sewing machine (it more than earns its keep), our children (they have washed the lower half of my walls every week since they were old enough to hold a rag and rub it all over) and of course, my beloved mixer. I’ve had to make a conscious effort to use the mixer, but it saves me so much money. I bake bread weekly, we bake cookies instead of buying at the store and soon we will be able to grate our cheese (therefore making bulk cheese purchases more worthwhile) and veggies and grind our own wheat! And we keep coming up with more ways to use that mixer!

If you do the research on any expensive item (and only you can define expensive), find the deal, commit to using it, you will find that these big ticket items will save you more money in the long run and make themselves and worthwhile and even beloved members of the household. If you’re a freak like me who talks to and names appliances, that is.

Recipe:Easy Creamy Peas and Spuds

(recipe courtesy of Mandy Miller)

-1 large bag of frozen peas

-6-8 spuds

-1 cube of butter

-1 cup of flour

-1 large container of half and half

Directions:

Chop up your spuds and boil them just like you do when you are making mashed potatos. Cook your peas in another pot on the side to be added later. In another pot, combine the butter, flour and half and half to make a white sauce. When the potatos are ready, mash and use the white sauce to help with the creaminess. Then add the peas and mix together.

This will serve at least 10 people and freezes great. Also great as a topping for Shepherd’s Pie or mixed in with homemade chicken soup.

Store bought cost: $5

Veggies from the garden cost: $3

Clothes Shopping: not for the faint of heart

I’m going to admit I’m not an expert at school shopping since my oldest is just now starting preschool. But, I am fantastic at buying clothes dirt cheap, so I’d like to pass on some ideas to you.

First off, take an inventory of your child’s clothing. I like to lay out everything by season and size. I pick through and see what has stains/holes/etc and I put them in my salvage pile. These are patched if possible, converted to quilts, or dust rags, etc. Now, I see what will fit for the entire year. That goes in front of me. What is almost or already too small goes in the box I’ve got at my side labeled “Child X’s clothing, age X.

Time to go shopping! Make your list. If your kids are old enough to help, give them a copy of their list and the amount of money you will spend.

I have 3 main ways of shopping. A few notes about my shopping style. I try to buy clothing a year to two years in advance. I also only buy in the off season. Because I’m buying in advance, I have a lot of time to browse this way. Just bear this in mind.

1. In the stores

I don’t buy anything until it is on the clearance rack that has that lovely “take an additional 30-50% off”. I have trained myself to ONLY shop in that section of the store and not even look anywhere else. I have a self imposed limit per article of clothing. If the clothing isn’t in my price limit it needs to be lined with gold or actually be able to put itself on my child. Otherwise, it is not worth it to me. I check all my return policies and keep my receipts for the amount of time I can price adjust them. Then, I watch for sales. If I shop at Sears (just a random store) and 28 days later I see they are having a sale on something I bought, I take my receipt in and get credit back for the difference. Sometimes I just take all my receipts in with me and have a cashier check them for me. I have saved over $40 in one store at one time doing this.

2. Online

When I shop online (and I do a lot) I again, ONLY look at the clearance or outlet sections of the store. I also search for online coupon codes. If I don’t have a code, I don’t shop. I make lists of sites where I have found great deals and I check them regularly for sales. If they don’t have the size I need online, I call the bigger store (the brick and mortar store). For example, I once called The Children’s Place in Boise to see if they had some dresses that the online store was out of. They did, so I reserved all of them and called my friend who lives in Boise. She bought them all and the next time I was in town, she gave them to me. I got 5 dresses for $25!

3. Garage Sales

Before you squirm, remember, soap washes things. That’s why we use it. I always haggle--- unless I can tell that a family NEEDS the money. If I find a place with pretty good clothing, I will give them my number, offer to buy whatever is left after the garage sale and usually they will call me with a great deal on all of the rest of it. I buy it, sort it and keep what I want, then I use the rest to trade other people for things I need, or I sell on ebay.

A few more tips:

-Buy what will last. If you buy cheap quality, it will wear cheaply.

-Kids will live with what you can afford. If they don’t like your budget, let them use their allowance or do work for you to earn money for what they want.

-Trade with friends and family when you can. I trade clothing with a friend of mine as our girls are different ages. We just initial the clothing and when it is outgrown it is returned. Just don’t loan anything extra special if you want to keep something for posterity.

-Barter! Have a friend can some food for you in exchange for clothing, or trade some boy clothes for girl clothes.

-Control yourself. Yes, it’s cute, but do you NEED it? If you don’t, walk away. The end.

-Take good care of it, even when it’s been outgrown. You never know when a surprise baby will show up or when you could trade someone for something good (i.e. 2 years of clothes for a used washing machine).

Using these three main methods and the above tips, I have clothed my children quite well for less than $200 each a year. If I can do it, so can you!

How much clothing does a kid need?!

(This is a minimal amount intended for people who do laundry once a week. With care, this should last a year.)

-2 pairs of jeans

-a pair of khaki and black pants

-a pair of fun colored dress pants

-1-2 pairs of “play” pants

-4-6 short sleeve shirts

-4 long sleeve shirts

-3 sweaters for layering

-2-3 “play shirts”

-4-6 church outfits (can be mix and match or total outfits)

-14pairs of white socks that all match

-1 pair of tennis shoes

-1 pair of brown and black shoes (these can be church worthy shoes)

-1 pair of boots

-2 lighter jackets

-1 heavy winter coat with a hood

-2 sets of mittens, scarf and hat

Online sources for discounts

Pinchingyourpennies.com

Naughtycodes.com

Couponcodes.com

Couponcabin.com

Local sources for discounts

-Sunday’s Post Register

-Your local library (for money saving books)

-The Jefferson Star

-Friends and family who know of good deals

Recipe: Tortilla Pie

Ingredients:

1 package of tortillas

1 can of salsa

1 lb of hamburger

1 can of kidney beans

1 can of black beans

(optional)

½ lb of Pepper Jack cheese

Directions:

-Cook your hamburger

-Toss in your salsa and drained beans and mix it up

-Lay a tortilla (or two) flat along the bottom of a casserole dish (8x11)

-Pile on a layer of meat and bean mixture

Put another layer of tortillas on, then mixture etc. until you’re done

Put dish in an oven at 250 degrees and let cook until hot (about 1 hour).

I actually used 2 smaller casserole dishes and froze one for later. The smaller portions easily feed a family of 5.

Total this cost me $5 to make, so $2.50 per meal or $.50 per family member (for a family of 5).

If you add more beans and cheese, this is great meatless too and even less expensive!

Diaper Pails and Dollar Signs

I realize this is a highly controversial topic and I know I could potentially out myself as a card carrying crazy lady, but we live in a day and age where I just can’t hide who I am anymore.

I’m a cloth diaper addict and I love it.

I spent a lot of time researching different kinds of diapers, how to care for them and parents’ experiences, good, bad and poopy. When we had our second baby, I’d made up my mind that I would attempt to cloth diaper. I just had to convince Sam.

I decided an ambush would be the best approach.

By the weeping, wailing and gnashing of teeth you would have thought I’d asked him to cut off his arms. But, he finally agreed to try a few out.

So, the diapers were purchased and the big day arrived. Immediate reaction? Love from everyone. Even Sam was sold. It’s been over a year and a half and we are loving cloth.

Now that you have a first hand account of cloth diapering, let’s get down to the nitty gritty.

Costs:

This is important. The average baby goes through 10 diapers a day (unless you are waiting to change them when the diaper actually sags to their knees… but you wouldn’t do that, right?) Even with coupons and buying in bulk, you are probably spending about $.17 per diaper, so $1.70 per day. Let’s say you buy 18 cloth diapers. To buy the style of diapers that granny used, you would be buying prefolds. You would spend about $100 for the cloth, the covers and the other little odds and ends you need to buy. Within 1.75 months you would break even from what you would have spent on disposables. In one year you would have saved $586.55. I can think of a lot of things I could do with $586.55, how ‘bout you?

Now, let’s use the same equation but buy fancy diapers like what I use. I’m lazy and I wanted easy cloth, so I buy pocket diapers. Each diaper costs around $17 and I own 18 right now. I broke even in 5.35 months and saved $380.55 my first year. I plan to use these diapers with the next baby too (and any others that follow, so by the time I am done with diapers (let’s say in 4 years) I will have saved $3432.75 since I began cloth diapering.

Cleaning:

This is where everyone gets freaked out. Let me say this once: Kids poop. It will get on you at some point. Soap is your friend.

Here is how my diapering goes. I change the diaper and carry the dirty one to my bucket in the bathroom. I use a garbage bag liner and a boring old laundry detergent bucket. I shake any waste off the diaper if it’s solid and I don’t sweat the rest. I toss it in the bucket and I’m done. I wash every 1-3 days. The wash routine is simple: 1 cold rinse. 1 cold wash, 1 hot wash and 1-3 rinses depending on my mood. Then I either line dry or use the dryer, again depending on my mood. That’s it. And before you get all grossed out about poop in your washing machine, think off the dirty gross clothes you wash and then wear in there all the time. Surely grosser things have gone in there and by the magic of modern technology, they come out clean. Hence the title washing machine.

Convenience:

Okay, take a large Ziploc bag and put it in your diaper bag. If you need to change a diaper when you are out and about, put it in the bag, then dump it where it belongs when you get home. That was rough, eh? Seriously, it’s the same as “regular” diapers except you aren’t adding to a landfill. Oh and you’ll never have to make a midnight run for dipes again.

Sometimes the rantings of a crazy lady make sense.

More facts for you:

Cloth Diapering Facts

Environment

- 27.4 billion diapers are used yearly in the US

- Disposable diapers are the third largest consumer item in landfills and in households with small children, make up 50% of waste.

- It is estimated that a disposable diaper takes 250-500 years to decompose

Health

- Disposable diapers contain traces of Dioxin, a carcinogenic chemical that is listed by the EPA as the most toxic of all cancer related chemicals.

-Other toxins in disposable diapers include: Tributyl-tin (known to cause hormonal problems) and sodium polyacrylate (linked to toxic shock syndrome)

-Diaper rash was nearly nonexistent before the use of plastic pants in the 1940s.

For more information:

Online:

Diaperpin.com

Diaperjungle.com

Realdiaperassociation.org

Clothplanet.com

Mothering.com

Learning a Talent and saving a buck

I have some decidedly manlike characteristics. First and foremost is my fondness of jokes about bodily functions. (Incidentally, this is the key reason Sam decided to marry me.) Second is my insane refusal to read directions when making anything. Sometimes this works in my favor (my chicken noodle soup is pretty amazing, many will admit) and sometimes it blows up in my face (the dresser I put together for my daughter falls apart every time a drawer is opened).

With this in mind, I was never talented when it came to sewing. I tried a lot, but after about 20 minutes of using every word I had picked up as a child during calf branding season, I would usually shove my sewing machine back into a corner and whatever “project” I had been attempting into the garbage. At some point I just decided that sewing was not going to be my talent in this lifetime.

One day I found myself needing to be able to sew in order to help my family financially. I had prayed often trying to find a way to help out while staying home with the kids and over and over again I felt that I should try to sew again. In desperation I sat in front of my sewing machine one morning and said and very heartfelt prayer along the lines of, “I don’t have the patience, talents or knowledge to do this, please help me to find all three.” Then I started to sew. My first project was not good. But, I finished it. My second was also not good, but again, completed. I continued to work and eventually I saw improvements. I took some lessons and asked for help when I needed it. I researched my machine online, types of fabrics and threads. I read sites about sewing techniques. One day I woke up and had an email about how professional my sewing looked to someone across the country. That was 6 months after I started. Now I sew professionally several hours a day, every day. (And occasionally for fun.)

What changed? Why was I suddenly able to sew well when for years I had been an embarrassment to the world of sewing? A few things factor in. Desperation is a powerful motivator. Patience can also help. But, what I found most important was constant prayer and keeping my end goal in site; helping my family.

Learning a new skill is not always easy or even enjoyable. But, if it will better your family in any way, it is certainly worth it. I have a firm testimony that the Lord will multiply our talents in any particular area when we have a righteous desire. Now, that doesn’t mean that if I start baking bread I’ll become a master chef down the road, but I will be able to learn how to make bread without burning down my kitchen or poisoning my spouse (unless that was the plan all along…).

Having said all this, what is your goal? What is a talent you wish you had? Do you want to cook more meals from scratch? Sew or just mend clothing? Or maybe you just want to figure out how to budget better or grocery shop more efficiently. These are all skills that could potentially greatly benefit your family. So, now I ask you this: What is stopping you from trying---no, what is stopping you from succeeding?

Back to sewing, here some specific steps I took in order to develop this skill:

1. Prayer. I prayed before I turned on my machine, when I was confused and often when I finished. I still do. Why? Because to be blunt, I need the divine inspiration to work that machine!

2. Lose the pride and ask for help. I hated this. But, I sought out knowledgeable sewers and begged for help.

3. Research. I love the internet. I can find free patterns, instructions and even people to help me with whatever I’m doing.

So, take the time, develop a talent you WANT, to have, and grow financially and spiritually!

[Ed. Note: please see the sewing instructions articles on page 4 for easy sewing patterns you can try.]

Levels of Frugality

*Yes, I have done (or am currently doing) all of these tightwad habits, so feel free to ask me about any of them if they interest you! There are many other ways to be thrifty, I just wanted to make a small list to give you specific examples to think about on your own time.

(For my entertainment, we shall use the following Star Wars based levels: Paduwan, Jedi Knight and Jedi Master. Enjoy.)

Paduwan Tightwad

(For those who need the training wheels)

1. Keeping Cool Whip/Margerine tubs to use as tupperward
2. Doubling a casserole and freezing it for later eating (can also freeze one person meal portions for lunchtimes)
3. Tearing dryer sheets into ½
4. Buy sale items
5. Dry your razor after each use to extend the life of the blade
6. Make your own baby food (just mash it up)
7. Buy food on sale or in bulk
8. Use coupons to buy a pizza at your favorite resturaunt
9. Use half the amount of dishwasher/laundry soap/shampoo (did you know you only need 1 tablespoon of dishwashing soap to clean your dishes?)
10. Make your kids earn their allowance (and pay them slave wages!)

Jedi Knight Tightwad

(A more advanced, yet still not extreme level of frugality)

1. Putting fabric softener on a rag and putting in the dryer instead of a dryer sheet
2. Make your own bread each week
3. Make your own baby wipes with paper towels(ask me for a recipe!)
4. Keep your receipts and get price adjustments at stores when items you have purchased go on sale
5. Breastfeed (even if you haven’t had success in the past, this is still possible to accomplish with subsequent babies and FREE help is available in our area. Ask me where to go!)
6. Use a clothesline in the summer to dry clothing
7. Get cheap haircuts
8. Grow a garden
9. Buy a frozen Pizza instead of going out to eat
10. Start a dinner coop and impose a budget

Jedi Master Tightwad

(I also call this the Black Belt Tightwad--- not for the faint of heart, but very rewarding financially and, at least to me, personally)

1. Cloth diaper your baby (and use cloth wipes!)
2. Wash and reuse baggies and bread bags (not if there was meat in the bag though)
3. Make fire starters with toilet paper tubes and dryer lint
4. Use a clothesline year round to dry clothing (one indoors and one outdoors--- the added winter benefit is that drying clothes inside like this can help humidify your home a bit)
5. Cut your family member’s hair (like you can do worse than your 3 year old with the scissors)
6. Grow a garden and can it, dry it, use every last bit of it
7. Make pizza from scratch instead of buying a frozen one
8. Dumpster dive
9. Use cloth pads or reusable cups for your menstrual cycle (diva cups or mama pads are common brands)
10. Take all your old stained unusable clothing and sheets, cut them up and use them instead of paper towels for your cleaning around the home

The great milk experiment

I ran this experiment about a year ago and so the info is no longer accurate, but the idea is good and I thought it would be useful to people who are trying to find ways to cut cost. The general idea is, do your research! Find deals by really looking at the entire situation!

Goal: To find the better all around price for milk throughout one month

Category 1: WIC (lower income provided food)

Category 2: Grocery store shopping

Category 3: Reed’s Dairy home delivery

Category 1:

Average price for 1 gallon of 2% milk: n/a

At 8 gallons of milk per month: n/a

Category 2:

Average price for 1 gallon of 2% milk: $3.29-4.02

At 8 gallons of milk per month: $26.32-32.16 (Averaged to $29.24 to compensate for when you can’t find a deal)

Category 3:

Average price for 1 gallon of 2% milk: $3.40

At 8 gallons of milk per month: $27.20

Add delivery fee 2x per month: $2.50

Total cost: $29.70

At this time, the clear winner is of course WIC. But, since not everyone qualifies, we have to look at the other categories. Category 2 is the marginal winner here. But, we’re not done with this experiment yet. We need to add in the outside factors. Two major factors include the cost of gas (which can be nonexistent if you walk to the grocery store--- plus the benefits of the exercise) and the cost of the “extra” incidental items that are picked up along the way. While I am not yet finished with this experiment, these are my unofficial findings so far:

Category 2:

Cost of Gas: $1

Cost of incidentals (on average) per visit to purchase milk throughout the month: $10

This increases the total monthly cost to: $51.42 (if you pick up milk 2 times a month)

Now Category 3 is the clear winner. But, Category 2 can still win if self control is learned and applied AND instead of driving to the local store, walking.

Recipe: Shepherd's Pie for cheap

Ingredients:

2 cups of mashed potatos (use the potato pearls from the LDS church cannery for ease and the cheapo factor)
1/2 lb of hamburger (or ANY kind of burger)
1 can of corn
Shredded cheese (however much you want)

Directions:

Brown the burger

Dump it in a casserole dish and mix in drained can o' corn

Pour the mashed spuds over is and spread nice and smooth

Sprinkle the cheese on

Bake until the cheese is all melty at 400 degrees

Eat!

Cost:

Spuds: $1
Meat: $1
Corn: $.50-free if you canned your own corn like we do
Cheese $.50

Total cost: $3

This feeds our family of 5 plus we have leftovers for lunch for the whole gang.

Enjoy!

$10 Tuesday at Serenity Spa in Rigby!

$10 mens haircuts on Tuesday! Woot!

Serenity Salon Spa & Tanning

432 Farnsworth Way #1

Rigby, ID 83442

208-745-1553

Deal for your food storage! Honeyville Farms!

Just did a quick copy and paste.
We love their dehydrated eggs! Taste great, awesome for cookies! Also the dehydrated strawberries rock!


Greetings from Honeyville Farms:

SUMMARY: "BIGSAVINGS" Discount Code good for 10% off your entire order* from October 3, 2008 thru October 8, 2008 at 6:00PM PST. Stock up and save!

LONG VERSION

We're living in some pretty crazy times right now. Everyone seems to be tightening the belt and saving wherever they can. Online food orders have surged in this time of uncertainty. That's why we're offering huge savings for a limited time only. From Friday, October 3rd, 2008 thru Wednesday, October 8th we're offering 10% off your entire order*. Simply enter the discount code: BIGSAVINGS during checkout to receive your instant savings on every item in your cart. This is a great time to stock up on your favorites or try something new.

Visit us at http://store.honeyvillegrain.com. Remember to type in BIGSAVINGS as your discount code when checking out. Act now as this discount will end on Wednesday October 8, 2008 at 6:00PM PST. If you have any questions, concerns, or just want to place an order over the phone call us, toll-free, at (888) 810-3212 and ask to speak with Internet Sales. We're happy to help.

Chris Ondatje
Director of E-Commerce
Honeyville Food Products, Inc.
chriso@honeyvillegrain.com
(888) 810-3212 ext. 107

*10% off does not apply to shipping. BIGSAVINGS discount valid for INTERNET ORDERS placed from Friday, October 3, 2008 thru Wednesday, October 8, 2008 at 6:00PM PST. For assistance call (888) 810-3212 and ask for Internet Sales.


This message was sent by: Honeyville Grain, Inc., 11600 Dayton Drive, Rancho Cucamonga, CA 91730