I need a support group for budgeters!!

[tortoise]

You've only talked about cutting back on grocery and animal feed. Anywhere else you can cut back?

 

[miss_thenorth]

And honestly, don't cut back on meat, it might be cheaper ,but it is not necessarily healthier. you just need to get resourceful. there are many things you can do to cut grocery costs without cutting quality. If you skimp on quality, you might make it up later on in health costs. Search around the forum, and you will find many simple things you can do to save money in the home.

 

[FarmerChick]

Miss is right tho. don't skimp on "good foods" to eat....just be super duper careful watching for sales or bulk or anywhere the price is great!
Any chance you eat deer or your hubby hunts? that is a great source of cheap meat and recreational to boot lol

 

[AnnaRaven]

cackle:
You'd do better to avoid the ramen, and go for lentils and rice or other legumes and grains combos, for the meatless mondays. Ramen is basically salt and carbs and MSG. Not exactly the best diet for anyone, but for those of us who are no longer college age with college age metabolisms, it can really cause problems.

Good luck on cutting back on the grocery bills. That's my focus this year as well.

 

[cackle]

I thought i just replied to this post but can't find it.

We are stretching things like chili by adding an extra can of beans and corn. Then having nachos with the chips from ADLI for a completely different meal. We have a little but not a lot of deer meat. Black eyed peas, greens and cornbread are yet another weekly meal. I get migraines from dairy so mac and cheese are not an option.


I am being real careful on spending and we cut way back on cable, burn wood to cut back on propane, set on 55 at night and use a bed warmer. Drive as little as we can but hard because I work 31 miles away. I know we just have to be careful with every penny and if we do this for 2 years we can get to a place where we can start saving.

Can I refinance while in the middle of a remodel? This was a room that we were working on when the house in MS became so expensive. So it is only 3/4 way done.
Today I did not have to drive in because it was a snow day

Someone suggested I use the extra chickens to barter and I am going to craigslist now and see what I can do.

 

[kimnkell]

I know having money troubles is a terrible thing. I would suggest cutting back on everything you possibly can. The things that we do to save is we cut back on our electricity by heating our dish water, water for our washer on our wood stove and we also do most of our cooking on our wood stove. In the evening I will put a roast on the wood stove to cook all night and then by the next day lunch is ready and we also eat it for supper. To cut back on groceries, I buy meat or whatever I can find on sale and I can it up to use for later. It not only saves money but it also saves time when you are in a hurry to fix supper. In the summer I will can all the produce either from my own garden or when I find it at a farmers market. Making your own bread is a big saver on groceries too. Change your light bulbs to the energy saving kind. They make a big difference in killowatt usage. Order online whenever possible instead of making a trip to town for supplies such as toilet paper, shampoo and soap. There is a terrific website called www.alice.com and they will ship 6 items or more right to to you house for free. They have a lot of great items and some of them are even cheaper than buy them at my local dollar general and I don't even have to leave the house. If I think of anymore things to save I'll add them. I hope this helps some. Good Luck..

 

[cackle]

I know having money troubles is a terrible thing. I would suggest cutting back on everything you possibly can. The things that we do to save is we cut back on our electricity by heating our dish water, water for our washer on our wood stove and we also do most of our cooking on our wood stove. In the evening I will put a roast on the wood stove to cook all night and then by the next day lunch is ready and we also eat it for supper. To cut back on groceries, I buy meat or whatever I can find on sale and I can it up to use for later. It not only saves money but it also saves time when you are in a hurry to fix supper. In the summer I will can all the produce either from my own garden or when I find it at a farmers market. Making your own bread is a big saver on groceries too. Change your light bulbs to the energy saving kind. They make a big difference in killowatt usage. Order online whenever possible instead of making a trip to town for supplies such as toilet paper, shampoo and soap. There is a terrific website called www.alice.com and they will ship 6 items or more right to to you house for free. They have a lot of great items and some of them are even cheaper than buy them at my local dollar general and I don't even have to leave the house. If I think of anymore things to save I'll add them. I hope this helps some. Good Luck..

Our wood heat is an insert in the fire place. I was going to cook some broth on it the other day but it does not get hot enough. So I don't know what I could cook in there.

I take my lunch to work daily and might spend 6.00 a month for an occasional salad (1.25 +tax) to go with what I brought from home.

I had a small garden last year and plan to have a BIG one this year. I buy toilet paper in bulk 2 or 3 times a year. I have been making my own dishwaher soap and trying to find Felps Nathpa for laundry soap. I only wash when I have a full load. Like I said I have bought one air of jeans this season.

I guess I could see if it will make a difference to lower the deductible on my home owners ins. Our cars are both older so the ins is not high on those and I pay 4.00 each yearly for roadside.

 

[kimnkell]

I know having money troubles is a terrible thing. I would suggest cutting back on everything you possibly can. The things that we do to save is we cut back on our electricity by heating our dish water, water for our washer on our wood stove and we also do most of our cooking on our wood stove. In the evening I will put a roast on the wood stove to cook all night and then by the next day lunch is ready and we also eat it for supper. To cut back on groceries, I buy meat or whatever I can find on sale and I can it up to use for later. It not only saves money but it also saves time when you are in a hurry to fix supper. In the summer I will can all the produce either from my own garden or when I find it at a farmers market. Making your own bread is a big saver on groceries too. Change your light bulbs to the energy saving kind. They make a big difference in killowatt usage. Order online whenever possible instead of making a trip to town for supplies such as toilet paper, shampoo and soap. There is a terrific website called www.alice.com and they will ship 6 items or more right to to you house for free. They have a lot of great items and some of them are even cheaper than buy them at my local dollar general and I don't even have to leave the house. If I think of anymore things to save I'll add them. I hope this helps some. Good Luck..

Our wood heat is an insert in the fire place. I was going to cook some broth on it the other day but it does not get hot enough. So I don't know what I could cook in there.

I take my lunch to work daily and might spend 6.00 a month for an occasional salad (1.25 +tax) to go with what I brought from home.

I had a small garden last year and plan to have a BIG one this year. I buy toilet paper in bulk 2 or 3 times a year. I have been making my own dishwaher soap and trying to find Felps Nathpa for laundry soap. I only wash when I have a full load. Like I said I have bought one air of jeans this season.

I guess I could see if it will make a difference to lower the deductible on my home owners ins. Our cars are both older so the ins is not high on those and I pay 4.00 each yearly for roadside.

Yes, I forgot to mention that making your own dishwasher detergent and washing detergent saves a lot too. I make my own and have been making it for years now. I also dry some of my laundry by the wood stove. I have a small clothes drying rack and I have made me a clothes line in my kitchen close to the stove. The dryer uses a lot of electricity.

 

[tortoise]

You "cut back" on cable - does that mean you got rid of it? How about you unplug your TV, cable box, DVD, stereo for a month. See how much of a difference it makes in your electric bill.

It sounds like you are doing a good job on your grocery budget.

 

[cackle]

You "cut back" on cable - does that mean you got rid of it? How about you unplug your TV, cable box, DVD, stereo for a month. See how much of a difference it makes in your electric bill.

It sounds like you are doing a good job on your grocery budget.

You caught me on that one. I may have to get rid of my husband if I totally get rid of the cable plus we are still in contract. I do unplug blow dryer, cell phones, etc when they are not is use. Even only plug in night light at night.

I use a drying rack for some clothes but could put it by the fireplace to dry them more quickly which means I could dry more. One thing I am thankful for is this house is really well insulated we have a fire going and it is 76 degrees inside and 30 outside.

I was wishing earlier that I could have cooked my biscuit on the wood stove. Is there a way? And BTW when I was making soup the stove insert does get hot enough to cook on. In fact it was so hot my soup was boiling.