Just wanted to start a conversation about ways to save money. I live VERY frugally, but I feel blessed and rich with what matters in my life, freedom, family, time, friends and health.
So I'll be adding ways I save (mostly by making, growing, cooking, etc) and recipes or tips and I hope others will benefit and share their ideas.
Here's one I've been doing for probably 12 years, making my own laundry soap. A 5 gallon bucket costs less than $2, I kept old laundry soap containers and refill them. Over the years I've gotten newer empty bottles from friends. It costs about 33 cents per container, the same size that at the cheapest is 3 or 4 bucks in the store. It works great and you can add essential oil if you want it scented. Here's a link to a recipe, there's also recipes online for dry powder if you prefer that. It's just 3 ingredients, all at Walmart and all cheap. Suuper easy to make. This one practice has saved me hundreds of dollars. Let me know if you try it and have questions. (not my website, I just chose one that looked like the same recipe I use)
https://www.mrshappyhomemaker.com/homemade-liquid-laundry-detergent-plus-a-free-printable-label/
Any new ideas on saving…
Any new ideas on saving…
Savings and spending
One word….Aldi . So much cheaper and really good products.
I'm growing lots of giant winter squash, you can keep them for months in the winter in a cool room. buy seeds at dollarseed.com , huge packs of all sorts of seeds for a buck each.
Over the years - when I've had money and didn't have money - I've lived by one rule: I only buy something if I really need it or really want it. That pretty much covers it all.
Im firm believer if u cant buy it outright then u dont need it. Never use rent a center or things like that
Here's a cleaning hack, if you have a swiffer mop you can use a microfiber cloth ( like the ones dollarr tree sells) instead of the throw away refills. It fits perfect. Good for the budget and the environment.
Cat B: Thanks. I never wanted to get a swiffer because I didn't want to be buying refills and throwing them away, but I didn't know how to get around it. Now I think I'll try one. I would do almost anything to make floor cleaning less unpleasant. It's my least favorite housework.
Love all these ideas! Many thanks for sharing!
Here's a cleaning hack, if you have a swiffer mop you can use a microfiber cloth ( like the ones dollarr tree sells) instead of the throw away refills. It fits perfect. Good for the budget and the environment.
Will look into this! Thx for the tip!
I'm so glad the Swiffer hack is helpful, honestly my Swiffer has sat untouched for probably 10 years for the most part until realizing during the pandemic that I could use the microfiber cloth.
Here's a tip for gardening/food, if you have an old potato that's sprouting chop it up into chunks and plant it. This works for a sweet potato also. I just dug up about 20 potatoes from one old potato chopped up that I planted several months ago. Digging them up was really fun like some kind of treasure hunt🤣
Here's a DIY recipe for getting rid of ants, I don't know about you but this time of year they come in my kitchen and start wreaking havoc with the dog food bag. Rather than buy the little traps you can make your own ant bait by mixing 1 tablespoon of borax with a tablespoon of honey or maple syrup.. Mix it in a small jar lid or something like that that. This is harmful to kids or pets just like any ant poison so make sure it's Out Of Reach. You can also put it in liter bottle caps and place it inside cabinets. Works great they take the borax back to the nest and it kills them.
Pay for car insurance every 6 months or annually. I pay my monthly premium to my savings so when it's time to make the lump sum payment, the money is all there. I save about $300 a year doing this.
For inspiration in saving money by spending less, there’s a wonderful book by Judith Levine called "Not Buying It: My Year without Shopping." You can probably find it in your library, and you can hear her read from the book on a YouTube video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9WEwcijWuhQ. Although it’s not a how-to book of handy hints, it’s very entertaining and full of amusing anecdotes. It will make you think.
Thanks @Ann J I'm always listening to books on YouTube so I'll check it out.
@Shaina P Awesome tip!!
Here's a tip for gardening/food, if you have an old potato that's sprouting chop it up into chunks and plant it. This works for a sweet potato also. I just dug up about 20 potatoes from one old potato chopped up that I planted several months ago. Digging them up was really fun like some kind of treasure hunt🤣
@Cat I love this! I have a few sprouted potatoes in the fridge as i type this. How do you know when they're ready to be dug up?
@Shaina P. Try to cut them up so an "eye" or sprout is on each piece, plant about 4 inches deep space them out. They will bloom eventually and after the blloms die they are ready. But, my recent batch died before blooming and I still had a lot of potatoes!
Any ideas??
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Here's a tip for gardening/food, if you have an old potato that's sprouting chop it up into chunks and plant it. This works for a sweet potato also. I just dug up about 20 potatoes from one old potato chopped up that I planted several months ago. Digging them up was really fun like some kind of treasure hunt🤣
@Cat I love this! I have a few sprouted potatoes in the fridge as i type this. How do you know when they're ready to be dug up?
Yes, digging up potatoes was the most fun I've ever had gardening. They spread underground and you can't tell where you'll find them until you dig. You won't get rich doing that, but it's really enjoyable.
P.S. You can plant a sprouting onion to get scallions, even on your windowsill all your round.
It is fun. Growing giant squash is fun too, i'm growing giant pink banana squash or the first time this year, they are HUGE.
