Frugal Brainstorming

Julie’s Frugal Ideas

Keep in mind that these suggestions are temporary. Once we are out of debt (everything but the house) we will loosen up a little bit. Some of these things we may continue because they are smart and make sense. The more of these ideas we put into practice, the sooner our total debt will be paid off.

Food/Groceries/Grocery Shopping

~Follow Hillbilly Housewife’s $45/week menu once a month (www.hillbillyhousewife.com)

~Follow Hillbilly Housewife’s $70/week menu once a month

~Bake treats from scratch (cinnamon rolls, banana bread, zucchini bread, cupcakes, cakes, brownies, etc.)

~Plan dessert 3x a week to keep dh from eating candy and ice cream on his way home J

~Cook double and freeze half; do this at least once a week

~Leftover Night once a week

~Shop for food once a week

~When shopping, only buy what is on my list

~Leave debit cards at home

~Use Dave’s cash envelope system

~Plant a garden

~More With Less cookbook

~Use what we have in the pantry/freezer for our meals

~Buy a large jar of applesauce and put into small containers for boys’ lunches

~Make pudding/jello and do the same

~Make sure they bring home their water bottles each day

~Make KoolAid once a week and put into their water bottles

~Get creative with their sandwiches: tortilla wraps, ham and cheese, peanut butter and jelly, peanut butter and honey, turkey and ham, cheese, chicken salad

~Eat meat/poultry with dinner twice a week

~Have beans and rice/beans and cornbread, eggs and homemade biscuits/bread, baked oatmeal and scrambled eggs several times a month

~Use Betty Crocker cookbook for basic recipes

~Have cold cereal on Saturday mornings only

~Shop at bakery outlet

~Base menus on sale ads

Our Time

~Stay in town from 8-11, then pick up ds5 and go home for the afternoon

~Do Sonlight at park or library

~Make Fridays library days; be sure to get books back on time; 1 book per person

~Work in garden on Saturday afternoons

~Sunday afternoons have to be a time of rest; after lunch, the kids and I need to go to bed for the afternoon

~Budget Committee Meeting each Sunday evening

~Use my planner

Selling Our Stuff/Getting Rid Of Excess

~Ask Dad to find a home for the horses

~Do not pay for a U Haul for moving to new house

~Get rid of cell phones

~Only basics on Verizon phone bill

~Have garage sale

~List piano in paper, on Total Money Makeover forums, and on Craig’s List

~Shop garage sales on Saturday morning for things to resale

~List items on eBay Sunday pm (8ish)

~Buy Weight Watchers book on eBay and count points manually; cancel Weight Watchers online

~Collect cans and take to recycling center for kids’ spending money

~Sell weight bench

Conserving

~Use cloth diapers at home; disposable diapers when we leave the house

~Put panties on dd2 at home; disposable diapers on her when we leave the house

~Save $50 a month for car repairs and keep the van as long as possible

~Fix things as they go wrong; don’t wait until there are 5 things needing repair

~Keep thermostat at 64 (daytime) 62 (nighttime) in winter and 80 (daytime) 78 (nighttime) in summer

~Set program on thermostat so we don’t have to adjust it

~Conserve water by using faucet aerators

~Use compact fluorescent light bulbs

~Use rechargeable batteries

~Use clothesline or clothes rack

~Use low-flow showerheads in both showers

~Set a timer in the bathrooms for showers

~Run errands once a week (Fridays)

~Use powder dishwasher detergent instead of tabs; see if powder is really less expensive than tabs or liquid

~Use 4 cleaners only (bleach, window cleaner, all purpose cleaner, vinegar)

~Wash everything in cold water

~Sew patches in the boys’ and dd2's pants

~Put bibs on babies

~Keep SA8 stain treatment on hand all the time; buy several

Bargain Shopping/Smart Purchases

~Stock up on essentials (diapers, wipes, toilet paper, toothpaste, laundry detergent, dishwashing liquid, dishwasher detergent, shampoo) when they go on sale and/or I have a coupon

~Pay $89 for yearly membership to Total Money Makeover online instead of paying monthly (25 cents a day if I pay yearly)

~Take advantage of rebates at Walgreen’s and CVS

~Check Money Saving Mom’s blog at least weekly for bargains and freebies

~Shop at consignment stores and garage sales for mine and kids’ clothes and shoes

~Shop at Kohl’s sales for dh's clothes and shoes

~Research refillable ink cartridges

Smart Things To Do

~Get hay crop going on back part of land (mow the whole thing, get rid of tires and metal, fertilize)

~Cut up credit cards (videotape it and send it to Dave Ramsey’s TV show)

~Get papers organized so that all receipts and warranty paperwork is filed and I can easily find it

~Keep desk clean and organized

~Keep checkbook balanced

~Take Shonda Parker’s Naturally Healthy Family course ($300)

~Use Trilight herbs to treat illnesses

~Give kids a good quality vitamin; try giving them the full dose of Juice Plus

~Clean, paint, and repair this house so we can get our deposit back

~Learn to cut the kids’ hair

~Put Pay Per Posts on my blog

~Do taxes; e-file

~Look for ways to have “free fun”

Frugal Reading List

Not Just Beans by Tawra Jean Kellum

A Simple Choice, by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Frugal Living For Dummies(R), by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Unplug the Christmas Machine: Putting Joy Back into the Holiday, by Jo Robinson

30 Days to a Simpler Life, by Connie Cox

Eat Healthy for $50 a Week: Feed Your Family Nutritious Delicious Meals for Less, by Rhonda Barfield

More-With-Less Cookbook, by Doris Janzen Longacre

365 TV-Free Activities You Can Do With Your Child, by Steven J. Bennet

Unclutter Your Home, by Donna Smallin

Dinner’s in the Freezer: More Mary, Less Martha , by Jill Bond