Money Savings Tips

[eileenkny]

My dds and dils are finally interested in doing some of those old-time things - so something good has started to come of all this!
Another tip for our quilting addiction: if you love wool quilts, check out your local thrift shops for used 100% wool garments; take them apart (buttons are a bonus!). To make fulled wool, wash separately in very hot water. Better yet, boil on the stove! Then tumble dry on very hot temp. Wool is then ready for applique (hand blanket stitch) May sound like an expensive, time-consuming process, but fulled wool is not a cheap item! (probably for that very reason). I used some of my own fulled wool in the quilt that's posted on my profile.
Linda typing with hunt-n-peck becuz I'm holding my new grandson!

[Margo]

This is a little thing, but I recently learned that the convienence store where we buy gas (one of the cheapest in town, according to the link that Alex posted on today's Daily Blog!) also has a bargain on their MILK!! It's 25% less than the grocery stores!!
Certainly worth checking out, especially if you have children who go through a lot of milk!!

[Margo]

I read somewhere that the longer you stay in the supermarket (or any store), the more you spend. Every minute is money for them. Ever wonder why they put those displays so you have to work the grocery cart around them? So I never go in the store without a list, and my coupons at the ready, arranged in the order they'll be used in the store -- usually the WalMart. I probably save $20 a week shopping sales & using coupons -- fabric money! And I'm in and out of the store as quickly as possible.

I finally had to cave last week & buy some new clothes, and since I am a little broad in the beam, I went to Macy's -- I love their women's clothing. Go late in the week as you can, the sales usually start on Thursdays, and there's usually a coupon in the local paper for 15% off. Most of the clothes were already on sale by 40-60%, then I got my 15% off. Imagine my surprise when the nice clerk said, "I'm going to take an additional 15% off everything, just to make sure you get the best price" -- I don't know what her rationale was, but I love her! I ended up with $5 shirts from Macy's, $15 jeans, wow! So I guess asking the clerk "is that the best price I can possibly get on these items?", and being nice, pays!

I wait for a sale for whatever I need. I had to buy luggage last week, too (the zippers split on two bags this last trip!), and Kohl's had a 40% off sale. And I had a 15% off coupon. And my in laws had sent me a gift certificate. I got out of Kohl's with 2 sets of luggage plus another suitcase for $35!

I try to just buy what I absolutely need, and keep my eyes peeled for bargains, use my coupons and ask for the best deal. These are hard economic times, and we've got to squeeze fabric money out of the budget -- fabric's cheaper than psychotherapy!

Kathy

[Margo]

On the subject of gas -- if any of you belong to Sam's Club, they offer a discount on gas, 5 cents a gallon if you use your Sam's Club card. And our local supermarket has reasonably cheap gas, and if you swipe their discount card, they give 10 cents off a gallon. Between the two options, I've got the Denver area covered!

We were stoopid enough to buy a gas-guzzler car about 18 months ago, so we are running that vehicle as little as possible. We plan to buy a small economy car for husband's commute when the lease on my minivan expires later this summer. Sure hope gas slows down, it's gone up 15 cents a gallon this week in this area!

Kathy

[Margo]

We have a cat for 10 years and regularly feed her dry food, canned food and treats daily. About 6 months ago we took in another stray that grabbed our hearts and my, oh my, the $'s were flying out of our wallets for food. I always bought by the case, large bags and treats when on sale. Decided to take charge and eliminated all canned food. What a difference. Now look for sales and the treats frequently have buy 2 get 1 free coupons on the packages and search the shelves for as many coupon packages as I can find.

[eileenkny]

Our Sam's Club doesn't sell gas, so that's out. Our local convenience store has a milk club, buy 10 gallons, get the 11th for free. Not a bad deal.
We went food shopping and we did great!!! Of course I didn't have to buy much meat, we had enough. But what I did get was stuff that was on sale at 10 for $10-Hunt's spaghetti sauce in the 26 oz can. With a little bit of spice, it almost tastes homemade. DH got his yogurts 10 for $3.99.
We're going to try to buy bulk when it's on sale and stock up. I spent little enough that I can go back next week for a few of those sales. I usually have to wait because we spent so much at the commissary.
Also, our local supermarket has a program where if you're 55 or over, you get a sticker on your check cashing card and you save an additional 5% on certain days. Hey, if I have to be this age, I might as well exploit it :twisted:
eileenkny

[eileenkny]

Kathy

we bought a gas-guzzler car too, two years ago we bought a tahoe, we bought it for the extra room of comfort and were paying for it too, $80.00 to fill it up! I love the Macys sales too & the old navy. "Sounds like we found the same bargains at Macys". I bake breads alot if anyone has a good recipe for the buns like "ryans" has let me know please, I can't find a recipe with the same roll texture. I make wheat/raison breads and rolls but not like ryans has. I have done the bagels,pretzels/donuts. Baking your own breads,cakes,brownies,cookies from scratch saves alittle. Make your own jams/jellies. I Love the fresh hot blue berry bagels.

[eileenkny]

Some of the things we have done here is we are renovating the house one room at a time - strip it to the studs, put in insulation (There was NONE in the walls!!!), drywall, and Low E replacement windows. I wish we could afford to do it all at one time, but the cost is just too much for us right now. Also we have a fairly good sized garden in this year (each year we expand a little further - we are up to 4 plots) with tomatoes, zuccini, yellow squash, broccoli, cauliflower, cabbage, corn, spinach, carrots, lettuce, sweet peas, and a variety of herbs and onions (that sweet basil already smells heavenly!!) I freeze a lot and I also make my own tomato/pasta sauce to can each year.

Another thing I decided to finally get around and do is clean out the house and have a yard sale - the money from the sale will be used to pay for my kid's birthday party later this month. :wink: All stuff left over will be donated to the Goodwill and Catholic Charities. Meanwhile with the summer months ahead and yard sale season looming I will probably prowl other sales for kids clothes and such more than I have in the past.

As for gasoline I am trying to convince my dh to switch me cars. His thinking is that since his drive to work is so long we should save the "good" car (2006 Impala) and beat up his old car (1999 Contour). Up till recently this made sense, but the Impala actually gets much better gas mileage (26+ mpg compaired to about 21mpg on the Contour) Now I am trying to convince him that i really can make due with the old car for what I do.

[eileenkny]

I know this isn't a penny pincher thing but to those of you who are thinking of quitting smoking. There are several avenues to follow. Some of the best ones I can think of and that are probablely the most healthy and helpful are:
1. When you quit, put the money you would spend on cigs. in a jar for 6 months then treat yourself to something fantastic.
2. Do a toxin flush at least weekly. Get those toxins out of your system. This will aid you in your craving for that nicotine.
3. Your a quilter work on a quilt for a breast, ovarian, lung, or hospice patient. All while you are quilting you will be reminded why you are quilting.
4. If none of this helps you and you still want to smoke. Ask your local Hospice or hospital if there is a cancer patient whose family could use a break and if you could volunteer your services to sit with thier loved one. Many times these places are desparate for volunteers and caregivers are so burned out that the break is such a blessing. I can almost guarentee you that the next cig. you light will make you think twice.

My father quit smoking right after my 6 sinus surgery. The Dr. told him that if he didn't then every year I would be having surgeries. The polyps they were removing should precancerous cells. He said it was just a matter of time. That night we came home and I had a nose bleed and a severe asthma attack. Dad never lit up again. He smoked 2-3 packs a day from the time he was 14. He quit when he was 48. Have faith it isn't easy but you can do it. Rachel

[eileenkny]

Rachel

"Thank You for the support", it could be agreat penny pincher thing! Thats alot of money in the pocket in many ways. I Love your insight on the cancer patients/ Hospice ideas/and nursing homes((those are all great ideas)).
Kathy

[eileenkny]

Time for a confession. I was doing very well with my cost cutting efforts and just as pleased as I could be about it until.....I went to my LQS last night for a class. Seems like I can resist temptation just about everywhere but there. Batting was on sale on Thursdays in May, last night was the last Thursday so I had to get three. I needed a quilt backing and that cute quilt from Thimbleberries was made with my granddaughter in mind. Plus the bendable light is one I've been looking at for so long and it was discounted. I figure it this way, I'm doing my part to make sure she stays in business, it's good for the local economy. Now, back to pinching pennies until old Lincoln screams.

[eileenkny]

I hate my BOSCHE dishwasher and will never buy another Bosche product. I hand wash and dry everyday meal dishes but for parties and catering I use the dishwasher... I expect it to work and do what I bought it for... wash and dry my dishes effectively.

I am not an energy hog but MY TIME IS OF VALUE, so if I use the dishwasher I expect it to save me work not give me more.

[eileenkny]

Someone was talking about watering down mouthwash... not a really good idea as you need the full strength to get the benifits...

I do water down the shampoo and conditioner... this is a trick used by many salons....I have a measured pump I use to dole out the shampoo so I know the amounts are the same. .... 2 to 1 ratio works good but you can water it down even more.... the thinned shampoo and condition works just a well as the original shampoo and has the added avantage of being easier to rinse out of your hair easily.

The only drawback with waterdown shampoo is when you travel for some unknown reason the bottle of waterdown procuct seems to leak easier than a regular bottle of shampoo... but most of the time I just use the little bottles of shampoo in the hotel room... I save them all and use the freebies when they are not supplied at other hotels.

[eileenkny]

I grew up with a mom who grew up during the Depression. She's extreme in her abilities to "cut back" on everything! We've always lived pretty frugally and my married kids are pretty good at it too. Here are some of my suggestions:
Utilities: We really scale back our heating/cooling. We put on warm socks, sweats in the winter and drink lots of water in the hot months. We have a programmable thermostat. I have a loveseat in my main sewing area and a TV. That way hubby can spend his time in the same room as me and we only have the lights on in that room.
Food, meals: We have always packed our lunches for work. I really look for grocery bargains and use off-brands wherever I can (sometimes they're just not what we can tolerate). I'm working on not wasting leftovers.
Medications: Other than our prescriptions, all OTC meds are off-brand. They contain exactly the same ingredients. Any pharmacist or dr will tell you that ibuprofen is ibuprofen, whether it's called Motrin or something else. Same goes for Claritin (loratadine) or Zyrtek (cetrizine HCl), Tylenol (acetaminophen) and on and on. Read the labels.

Probably my greatest advice is: "Think before you buy anything." What makes you want to buy it? Will you still want it next week? A great book on the subject is "Living on Less and Liking it More" by Maxine Hancock. I don't agree with everything in it, but it's been a good guide for many years. I think we will all see harder times before they get better, and I certainly want to have enough funds to support my quilting habit. Nancy

[eileenkny]

Time for a confession. I was doing very well with my cost cutting efforts and just as pleased as I could be about it until.....I went to my LQS last night for a class. Seems like I can resist temptation just about everywhere but there. Batting was on sale on Thursdays in May, last night was the last Thursday so I had to get three. I needed a quilt backing and that cute quilt from Thimbleberries was made with my granddaughter in mind. Plus the bendable light is one I've been looking at for so long and it was discounted. I figure it this way, I'm doing my part to make sure she stays in business, it's good for the local economy. Now, back to pinching pennies until old Lincoln screams.

In my humble opinion, you saved money by buying anything sewing related........the prices will go up.....you saved money. I look at it like an investment. Save the saving for somewhere else in your life. just kidding you know.