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Post by Melissa Norris on Mar 24, 2015 9:06:08 GMT -5
Well let's have a mini- tightwad thread~
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Post by veronica on Mar 24, 2015 10:37:46 GMT -5
I have been trying every month to look at another aspect of my budget and see if things can be changed/cut to lower the budget. We love our Keurig, but we bought the office brewer (on a great sale at Staples) and the myk-cup doesn't fit. After reading a lot of reviews, I found that one type does fit - the solo k3cup, and bought that for $9 after I used some Amazon credit. We'll still buy some k-cups since we like the variety, but as we were spending quite a lot on kcups, I hope this will help cut the grocery budget some.
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coco
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Post by coco on Mar 24, 2015 13:07:34 GMT -5
I put a few small pots and a small shovel in my trunk, so I can have it on hand when asked if I would like some divisions of perennial plants, it seems when I go to visit relatives lately I find them already doing yard work now that it's warmer.
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Post by cindy1959 on Mar 24, 2015 14:42:34 GMT -5
I've been using a new floor cleaner that really works - gallon of warm water, cup of vinegar, and a touch of Murphy's!! Can't remember who recommended it.
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Post by lemonthyme7 on Mar 24, 2015 18:15:10 GMT -5
I save my foam boxes from when I buy mushrooms to start my seeds in. They are easy to write on with permanent marker and a pencil pushes easily through the bottom to make drainage holes. In the garden, I use old cut up mini blinds as plant markers. I write with permanent marker on the side that faces out and in pencil on the other side as sometimes the marker fades by the end of summer. I save seeds from my tomatoes so I want to be able to have the correct variety name. I raise mostly heirloom/open pollinated tomato varieties and have about 350+ varieties in my collection.
We also have used the reusable k cups in my husbands Keurig. I do grind the coffee fresh at the store as we find that is the secret to the reusuable cups - making it a smaller grind so the coffee doesn't taste to watery. I usually set it a notch coarser then expresso when I grind. I do buy k cups too if they are a good kind that I have a coupon for so I can get a good deal. I don't drink coffee so that helps too!
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Post by becka03 on Mar 24, 2015 21:07:29 GMT -5
If I have anything to say about it- it won't be MINI!! LOL
This month- I have started making sure I start a stock of any bones/old veggies- and start it around 3 or 4 pm- then I can strain it after 24 hours after cooking- I try to start it on Tuesdays- our trash night- so that I reduce any trash - that isn't really trash!
I am switching from plastic to glass- I can not stomach eating out of plastic anymore- it is amazing the work arounds you can do! mini mayo jars- any jar can serve as a leftover or lunch container!
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Post by manygoatsnmore on Mar 24, 2015 23:49:14 GMT -5
I've been on a Goodwill Outlet kick lately - today I washed all the clothes I bought on my last trip there Saturday. I'm still working my way through all of the linens, comforters and formal dresses. I'm setting aside anything that doesn't fit me or Abby and will try posting them on fb classifieds to see if I can make enough money to make my shopping fun into a paying concern. I found 4 pair of men's jeans of various sizes there, so like-new they're still stiff! Lee, Wrangler, Kirkland and Rustler brand. I will post them for about 25-50% of the new price and see what happens. Most of the clothes I bought were for Abby - she now has a 4 season wardrobe that is not only sufficient, but ample - and really, really cute! I added a walking boot (for foot injuries), hinged knee brace, tyvek suit, and winter coats to our prep supplies, even bought a fancier model of my Hoover carpet cleaner there. In the past month, I've found numerous down comforters and down pillows - name brands, high dollar, high end comforters. All of this cost me .89/lb! A couple shirts weigh about 1#, so most of the clothes were about .50 each, for clothes that are in really great shape, no stains, holes or obvious wear, and currently in style. Yup, I'm sold on GWO, lol.
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Post by greenmother on Mar 25, 2015 8:46:35 GMT -5
When we moved a few months ago, my husband thought I was crazy to bring all of our "throw out" clothes. Today I'll start turning them into a new rug!
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Post by Belldandy on Mar 25, 2015 13:52:20 GMT -5
There's still snow on the ground here, but we've been saving plastic food containers and styrofoam trays for drainage and transplanting. I'm starting a couple of seeds, but we also grow vegetables from celery, lettuce and bok choi stubs.
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Post by aftermidnite on Mar 25, 2015 14:44:11 GMT -5
I have been in a clear out.... get rid of stuff frame of mind ..
I have to bring all of my craft supplies stored in my Mom's unused basement here ...
They seem to be causing my Mom undo stress because she cant get down there to mill thru ....and claim anything that strikes her fancy because of steep cement stairs leading down there .
She has said I can store them in her unattached garage ..which for her is code for ....
"Please put them out there so I can go thru ..mill thru and claim anything that I want since anything on my property is MINE to do with as I wish .."
My dear sweet landlady and my cousin have offered storage spaces in their mini barns to keep anythingI want to but I need to sort thru what I need to keep and what has been damaged by mice or dried out from lack of use ...
Everything down there came from my second bedroom that was crammed full of crafting supplies before daughter moved in with me...and there is a lot of stuff...
Big huge project for me right now with my mobility limitations...
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sss3
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Post by sss3 on Mar 25, 2015 15:29:23 GMT -5
Was cutting buttons off old top, remembered something to do w/label. Did this once for a friend. Used a denim blouse for this. Take label, sew along side placque of top, top to bottom in a row. People are always curious about the labels.
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Post by mythreesons on Mar 25, 2015 15:35:19 GMT -5
I've been canning up Taco meat to add to my home canned goods..The hamburger was on sale so I took advantage of it.I made extra for supper so no cooking anymore for me today.
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Post by homefire2007 on Mar 25, 2015 17:28:42 GMT -5
It's been a wild and woolly week at work with extra hours (I'm not complaining...believe me! ) but I did make time to cut out some fabric totes and simple hobo purses. Purchased the upholstery fabric at the thrift store for pennies. Printed out a pattern and I'm ready to go when work calms down. Took out my last frozen turkey from the November sales and it is thawing as we speak.  |
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Post by hmsteader71 on Mar 25, 2015 17:35:23 GMT -5
They lowered our mortgage payment by $23.00 because of us overpaying last year. Since the amount is already fixed in our budget I'm going to continue paying it so that hopefully next year it will lower even more. Hoping this will help us pay it down a little quicker.
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Post by Belldandy on Mar 26, 2015 7:39:10 GMT -5
Was cutting buttons off old top, remembered something to do w/label. Did this once for a friend. Used a denim blouse for this. Take label, sew along side placque of top, top to bottom in a row. People are always curious about the labels. Cool. I've used labels sewn onto towels as loops to hang them. The labels are sturdy and just the right size. |
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Post by nbc3mom on Mar 26, 2015 10:33:30 GMT -5
Last month our electric company started a two-tiered billing plan - peak (2-9pm) and off-peak (other times, weekends, holidays). Because I am not home from work until 4:30pm, I decided to do all of the laundry on the weekend instead of in the evening. My bill this month was 30% peak and 70% off-peak - I think it made a difference! My goal is to have less peak usage each month. Check with your utility company to see if they offer a similar plan.
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Post by SixGunn on Mar 26, 2015 10:48:42 GMT -5
They lowered our mortgage payment by $23.00 because of us overpaying last year. Since the amount is already fixed in our budget I'm going to continue paying it so that hopefully next year it will lower even more. Hoping this will help us pay it down a little quicker. Hubby pays all the bills every month. He has started making at least two house payments every month. We should have the place paid off soon.  |
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maura
New Member
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Post by maura on Mar 26, 2015 11:04:05 GMT -5
They lowered our mortgage payment by $23.00 because of us overpaying last year. Since the amount is already fixed in our budget I'm going to continue paying it so that hopefully next year it will lower even more. Hoping this will help us pay it down a little quicker. Call the bank and make sure the extra $23 is going towards the principle. |
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maura
New Member
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Post by maura on Mar 26, 2015 11:08:06 GMT -5
I’ve been saving up old blue jeans. Going to make a rag quilt as soon as my sewing room is set up in the new place. It’s all preshrunk!
Our washing machine broke and I ended up having to go to a laundry mat twice while I shopped around for the best machine at the best price. It worked out well. I was checking the Sears store and found floor models that were 50% off. Now I have a top of the line washer and dryer, as well as pedestals that were also half off. A little patience, a lot of money. I haven’t had a dryer in 15 years, but we will soon be in town and are getting older, so I wanted to have the back up.
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home2stay
New Member
Not much status! Lots of initiative!
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Post by home2stay on Mar 26, 2015 12:14:02 GMT -5
]I am switching from plastic to glass- I can not stomach eating out of plastic anymore- it is amazing the work arounds you can do! mini mayo jars- any jar can serve as a leftover or lunch container (quote)
I am in the same process, for health & environment. I rarely find glass I can use at GW so I invested in 2 pitchers & some containers with silicon lids. Learning to be more careful when washing too!
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ann
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Post by ann on Mar 26, 2015 12:54:38 GMT -5
When you cut buttons off a discarded garment, string them together before putting them in your button box/jar. When I was little I loved helping grandma by sorting thru her button box to find matches. Now days I prefer finding them already together! BTW I inherited grandma's button box - an antique tin that is labeled "Decker's Pork Tenderloins". I still use it but mostly for buttons still on cardboard packaging. The box also still contains the buttons grandma saved as I can't bear to get rid of them. The buttons I string are kept in a glass jar.
I'm managed to keep my grocery spending under budget so far this year. I'm shopping from a list made from the grocery ads. I use some coupons, but most of the stuff I buy is not name brand. Aldi is my favorite store followed by Fareway and lastly HyVee. I use cloth shopping bags that I replace in the car as soon as they are emptied. I use one bag to store all the rest folded neatly inside.
Before I retired I was spending $10 to $15 a month on bread. I started baking our whole wheat bread in January 2013 (retired Dec. 2012) and have not purchased a loaf since. Cost so far has been zero as I'm using stored flour, whole wheat, salt, sugar and yeast. Yeah, I know I paid for the stuff that's stored and eventually I'll have to buy again, but for now zero cost.
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Post by horseyrider on Mar 26, 2015 14:46:55 GMT -5
Melissa, are you aware you can sticky this thread? Then you can boot it at the opening of the next month.
This is my first post on this forum. I'm admin on two other ProBoards forums. These folks give a huge amount of latitude to people, only asking that there be nothing like nudity or illegal stuff. Your own standards will be more than enough for civil company.
I'm glad you did this, girl! You deserve much better than you were given. I am beyond shocked at the doin's on HT, but so glad to see so many familiar faces.
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Post by starlady on Mar 26, 2015 19:02:14 GMT -5
I'm discovering that Rouses's (local-ish grocery chain) has the best loss leaders in town. Last week I got chuck roasts for $2.99/lb - the week before it was chicken legs for $0.47/lb. This week they have their store-brand 8-oz blocks of cheese for $1.50/each. 8-oz bags of shredded cheese are the same price. I got a dozen blocks and 6 bags of shredded -- will put extras in the freezer for later. They also had 10-lb bags of russet potatoes for $2.49 -- got 2 bags -- and Nabisco crackers (Triscuits, Wheat Thins, etc.) for $1.88. I see a lot of baked potatoes (with cheese!) in my future...  |
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Post by bellad on Mar 27, 2015 15:22:53 GMT -5
Rethinking my freezer space and need to come up with a way to keep peppers totally separate from my fruit! Lost 2 bags of peaches and a few bags of blueberries because they somehow got close to the peppers. I'm thinking some type of basket that the peppers can go in and be as far away from the rest of the produce as possible. I hate wasting food, although the blueberries went to my dsis's chickens. The peaches were sugared for cobbler.
This could be a bit gross to some but I still use paper towels so they get more than one use. If all that's been done is wiping hands after washing or it's held a sandwich it goes into a box for anything the cat or dog needs picking up after or wiping up spills off the floor. I've also used them with my homemade grease cutter and wiped off the stove with them followed by a wet dishcloth or clean wet paper towel.
Garage sale season is starting so I have a list made of things to look for.
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Post by susieneddy on Mar 27, 2015 15:36:03 GMT -5
They lowered our mortgage payment by $23.00 because of us overpaying last year. Since the amount is already fixed in our budget I'm going to continue paying it so that hopefully next year it will lower even more. Hoping this will help us pay it down a little quicker. I did that a few yrs ago and it really helps getting the principal down quicker |
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