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CTC Readers' Poll:
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"God
bless your ministry! My top 3 frugal living tips are:
*
Be creative! Never
throw anything away before carefully considering other ways it
might be used. If you cannot use it yourself, join the
Freecycle Network (www.freecycle.org)
and give it away. The Freecycle Network is also a great way to
get household items for free.
* Make your own household cleaners. Most household cleaning can be quickly and efficiently completed using a combination of simple ingredients such as lemon juice, baking soda, vinegar, borax, rubbing alcohol, etc. Homemade cleaners are inexpensive and are a much healthier alternative to chemical cleaners. Many recipes can be found online or in books from the library. * Become committed to never purchasing new clothing. With dedication and persistence, you can cut your clothing budget in half while dressing your entire family in new or almost-new clothing. Locate consignment and thrift stores in your area and take time to learn when they put new items on the floor, when they offer sales, etc. Take advantage of garage sales. My friends also try to have a clothing giveaway every few months. We bring gently used clothing that we no longer need and sort the items by sex and size onto tables. Anyone who comes can take whatever they need, and the leftovers are donated to a local mission. It's a great way to pick up free clothing, and also helps to keep closets clean!" ~ Pamela "Instead of throwing leftovers away one to two weeks after you had the meal, because you forgot they were in the fridge or because everybody was sick of the meal, I recommend you make meals for 1-2 people after the first time you serve the meal and freeze them. Make sure they're labeled. When you're in a rush or not many of the family are home for that meal, you can pull out your little containers and have a good meal. Because time has gone by, it will be more welcome. It's surprising how much good food can be thrown away because it was forgotten in the fridge." ~ Carolyn from Pennsylvania
Submitted
by Cindy
"Like many financially responsible people, we don't buy
things we can't afford and we shop sales ads. We put everything on
our credit card which is paid off at the end of the month. We
redeem the points we earn on our credit card for restaurant gift
certificates so we eat out for free. (I've got 7 gift
certificates in my purse right now.) The best advice I can
give is don't be house poor. We bought a house below our
means, took out a 30 year mortgage but are paying it back at the
15 year rate. This way we can save a ton in interest, but if we
have a large unexpected expense we can switch to the 30 year
payment until we are caught up." ~ Merlajean
"I believe part of
frugality comes from the contentment discussed in the previous
newsletter. If we can be content with what we have, then
there is less call to spend money on stuff! If I am happy
in my home, I do not need to be constantly changing it, or going
out to avoid it. If my kids learn contentment, there is
heaps they can do for free or almost free instead of everything
having a cost attached.
I line dry 99% of our
washing. Rarely do things go in the dryer. This saves power
costs and wear and tear on our clothes.
I freeze leftovers, even if
it not quite enough for a meal, rather than stacking it on the
plates when there is already plenty there. This means there is
chicken for a sandwich, veggies to flavor soup or casseroles,
and pasta or rice for a meal for one." ~ Meg in Australia
"My top 3 frugal tips are:
1] Eat at home instead of eating out. This saves LOADS of money.
2] With gas prices steadily going up daily, I run all my errands
that need to be done in the same part of town on the same day. I
map out where I need to go so as not to back-track, therefore
saving gas [as well as time] in the process.
3] I delay making purchases that aren't an immediate need for a
day or so. Usually I find that I really don't need what I
thought I just had to have." ~ Candy
"1. I use credit cards
as often as possible to purchase everything from groceries to
my new lawn mower. My favorite credit card gives me 1%
back on every purchase. Then, I pay the off the entire
credit card balance in full every month.
This plan only works well if you pay the entire balance
off every month. No exceptions. Last year, my 1% back equaled
almost $400, and I incurred $0 in financing costs.
2. I pay as many
bills as possible via direct withdrawal from my checking
account or via the internet. This saves me the cost of
ordering checks and the $.39 in postage per bill. I pay
about 10 bills per month this way, for a savings of about $4
per month, or $480 per year.
3. Concerning my mortgage,
I pay the equivalent of one extra mortgage payment per year
toward extra principal. For example, if my monthly
mortgage payment were $1,200, I would pay $100 per month
toward extra principal. This will reduce the life of my
loan from 30 years to 23 years." ~ Suzanne
"#1 Make all your food from scratch. It will taste better and be healthier too!
#2 Shop for summer clothes in summer and
winter clothes in winter when they are on clearance.
#3 Swap plants with your neighbors for a
beautiful garden and pleasant memories." ~ Laura-Jean
Miller
"My favorite money saver is hanging out the laundry to dry. I watch the weather for the best days to do laundry. It's nice to be outside enjoying the fresh air and birds chirping and often it takes less time for the laundry to dry than putting it in the dryer. I'm sure we've saved quite a bit on our electric bill over the years." ~ Dianne
"1) Live with the poor and
get involved with them.
2) Start each day with God and his
Word, to get yr priorities straight.
3) Every time you want to spend
extra, wait a bit." ~ Daveen
"Since my husband is paid commission rather than a salary, one of the best things we ever did was figure out what was the least amount of money we can live on each month. This helps us to be encouraged immediately when we reach that amount. Everything after that is bonus. It helps us to see how much money we can put toward giving, debt, savings, or other projects. For groceries, we feed our family of eight on about $400 a month. We try to get two regular boxes of food though Angel Food Ministries each month. Sometimes we order their specials also. (Especially 10 lbs chicken tenders for $16.00) I do the most shopping I can at Aldi's. I also shop for the buy one get one free sales, and get the rest at Wal-Mart. People are often shocked at how low our food budget is. To save on gas, I schedule as many errands as I can on the same days of the week, so that we aren't going out every day. (This week we had 3 doctors appointments, another appointment, and church activities, and we had to go out three weekdays.) I also plan the errands in a circle rather than going back and forth across town several times." ~ Karen in SC "Frugal Tips: 1) We don't eat out as a family. All meals are prepared at home. 2) My husband and I have an occasional date night and do eat out but we split a meal and find we are still very full (especially with the free chips and salsa that come with a Mexican meal). 3) We don't go to movies. We prefer to wait for something to come out on video. It is cheaper to buy the movie when it is released on video then take a family of six to a movie and buy snacks. 4) We buy as much organic food as possible. It costs more up front but my children have never been to the doctor except for well baby checks. 5) We are self-employed and must supply our own insurance. Instead of purchasing a policy that had co-pays and prescription cards, we have a $10,000 family deductible. We only spend $2,000 per year on medical insurance for a family of six. Our quarterly bill of $520 is what many pay per month to have the co-pay and prescription benefit. 6) We purchase much of non-organic groceries and toiletries at Sam's Club. " ~ Lisa "l. Use coupons. Check the Sunday newspaper ads. Pair the mfg. coupons with the store coupons on the same items and you buy it at the lowest price. 2. Know when the sales are - I'm finding hair color and many other things go on sale Spring through Summer at Eckerd Drug Stores. Last June, men's leather belts were $1.27 and hair color was $.68 - $2.68, name brand ones. Even the thrift shops have sales. Here Tues. is $1 day on clothes. 3. Just shop - while in the store, walk up and down every aisle. The unadvertised sales are the best. You will find out where the store has their clearance racks and you can go straight to them when you go into the store." ~ Betty G.
"3 Frugal Living Tips? The
1st would be to do shopping at yard sales and the thrift
shops. You can find new or almost new things there cheaper
and you're recycling! 2nd would be to buy a bottle of liquid
fabric softener (with coupon , of course!) and A 99 cent
spray bottle. Pour 1/4 of fabric softener into bottle and
then fill bottle up to half with water. Spray on old clean
rag or wash cloth and put in dryer with clothes. Fabric Softener
will last for 9 moths or so, depending on how often you dry
your clothes. (Added note: wash the rag or washcloth once in
a while!) Last but not least, use dry milk for cooking and
mixing. Makes your fresh milk last longer.
Kathie , Pennsylvania
This may sound trivial, but I reuse dryer sheets on my dry Swiffer. We have stained concrete floors, and I try to Swiffer every day to keep our allergies at bay. I love the Swiffer, compared to the vacuum cleaner, but the little pads get expensive. So, for quick clean-ups during the week, I use the used dryer sheets I save from the laundry. They just fit and they do a great job!" ~ Melissa Three of the ways I save in my life of frugality are: 1. The old adage rings true: Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without 2. Getting to know people who are in control of my money; such as my banker, my accountant and so forth by putting a little time and attention in these people they reward me with letting me know the best interest rates or maybe a way to save on a tax deduction that I have overlooked. In return, I let them know that I am grateful for their help and pass along frugal tips for their lives. 3. Learning that having less doesn't mean I'm less. It means I have less to dust." ~ Theresa
"I have several frugal tips that have changed our
lives but the best are:
Breastfeed your babies as long as possible. Mother's milk
is the best food for you baby from Day 1. Its free and
there are many benefits for the mother as well. You save
not only on formula and stained clothing but also too many
trips to the doctor since breastfed babies are healthier
as a whole than formula fed babies.
Use cloth for whatever you can. We use dishrags to wipe up
counters, plenty of rags also to clean etc. It
takes a very long time to go through a roll of paper
towels in our house. We also use cloth wipes, diapers and
cloth napkins. We have an extra load of laundry every
week, but we also hang dry them for the fresh smell.
We have cut down our costs for paper items tremendously.
For cleaning use vinegar and baking soda. Vinegar cleans
glass very well and other surfaces. If the smell bothers
you, add a touch of peppermint or lavendar to the vinegar
and have a fresher scent. We use vinegar in our laundry
and baking soda also to rinse soap out of the laundry. The
two together work great to clean shower heads, tough
stains etc." ~ Amy
"1. I cook from scratch most of the time, and we rarely eat out. 2. We don't buy anything unless we have the cash for it. We may put things on our credit card for the cash back reward, but we always pay it completely off every month. The only thing we owe money for is our house. 3. I frequent thrift stores and garage sales for top quality items for a song. As I tell others, used is not a dirty word. I also try hard to be happy with what we have. The neighbor may be driving an expensive new car, but I am happy driving my 10 year old car which still runs just fine. I feel rich when I pick fresh vegetables and fruits from my garden. When I make things, I consider them 'handcrafted' not homemade.' For pennies I make homemade wholegrain breads which would cost several dollars in the store. There are a lot of things we 'do-it-yourself' to save money. For example, to have a load of compost delivered would have been $65. We took our little utility trailer to the local dump and got a load of compost for $20. Small practices and good attitudes do add up!" ~ Vicki in UT
"I
had a crash course in having to become frugal. My
top 3 tips are:
1.
Have kid(s) help cook meals each night. You save money by
being home and keep involved with what the kids are thinking.
2.
Shop with a list.
3.
It is OK to say NO to kids' wants in a store.
Although
obvious, most all my friends are on the brink of
bankruptcy. Yet my husband and I lost 2/3's of our income
and medical insurance ($500+ for prescriptions per month) for
the last 4 months. His mill closed that he worked full
time at and I only work 30 hrs per week for a lot
less per hour than he made. We have our bills paid,
healthy food on the table, gas for work (for now) and
property taxes paid. What more could we ask for?" ~
Anonymous
"I don't know if
you are aware of the Freecycle groups on Yahoo.com. I
belong to several. On these groups I've given away
clothing, books, and other things I no longer needed and
received several things I wanted and didn't have to
purchase. The objective of these groups is
to keep items out of the landfill if possible, but I
find it an excellent source of frugal living. There are
barter and trade sites as well." ~ Judy
"My 3 favorite
money savers:
1.buy healthy low cost
food in bulk first to avoid buying high priced junk
2.use it up; make it
do
3.when you do buy
stuff in tubes cut them open when almost empty (such
as toothpaste, food items, and cosmetics) and you can
usually gettquite a few more portions. Use the last
drop, after all, you paid for it!" ~ Kay
"1.
Never be so "poor" in your own mind that you
can't give a portion of your income to a church or
charity. "The best way for me to save money is to stay away from stores and catalogs with their enticing merchandise! I am very good (too good) at justifying to myself why I 'need' something and allow myself to buy it, especially if it is on sale. It is a lot easier if I don't see them!" ~ Lori, Richmond, VA "Water: I fill
a water bottle and take it everywhere I go, then I'm
not tempted to buy a $2 can of unhealthy pop when I'm
out. I even bought a purse that had a water bottle
holder on the side from LL Bea -- very convenient. I
only order water when we eat out. "My 3 money saving tips for frugal living are: 1. I make it a priority to pay my bills in full and on time every month. This eliminates both late fees and the carrying over of an unpaid balance to the next month. I can then accurately determine the amount I have left to budget for the more flexible expenses such as food and clothing. The additional bonus from this practice is good credit and a sense of accomplishment. 2. I pay for virtually all of my purchases out of cash rather than credit. On the rare occasions when I must use a credit card, I ensure that the funds will be available to pay for the purchase. And I limit the number of credit cards that I own to two: one major card, and one department store card. 3. Plan ahead. Lists help me to focus on buying what I need, and to avoid impulse purchases. Also, by advanced planning I am able to stock up on essentials such as tissues, toothpaste, soap, etc. at sale prices. Without planning I would run out of these items and then be forced to pay top dollar or worse still wind up spending my money at the convenience store where the prices are usually much higher. I just have to add a fourth item which has made a big difference in my life. Seven years ago I gave up cigarettes. Not only has it saved me thousands of dollars, I have gained time, in the amount of years of life expectancy, now that I am a non-smoker. I enjoy reading your newsletter, and especially the contributions by the readers. I hope that these tips are helpful, and I look forward to reading the final results of your poll." ~ Karyn
"I guess some
ways I've tried to save costs or increase funds in
my budget are:
I take my lunch to
work daily. I usually treat myself to eating
out once a month.
I also recently
cancelled my long distance calling service. Since I
rarely make long distance calls, I realized I could
be saving about 27.00 a month. I purchased a calling
card (one that doesn't expire). The average
cost is .03 cents per minute. This is great because
I could go 2-3 months or longer without making a
long distance call. I figure I'm saving over 324.00
per year.
When I paid my car
off, I decided to continue taking that same amount
and placing it in a savings account. Every so often,
I will take out 500.00 or more and move it to a
higher interest paying account, short-term CD, or
money market account. I've done the math and
after having my present car for about 7-8 years, I
will be able to pay cash for my next car. I always
buy foreign cars because they have a better repair
record and they are great on gas mileage. I maintain
my car so it will last longer and this allows me to
save, save, save.
Another way I
make/save money is by taking on a part-time
transcribing job. A local psychologists allows me to
type his reports in the evenings. I don't even
have to spend money on the cost of printer ink or
paper because he allows me to e-mail them to him
when I'm finished. I've made, on average, 1,500.00 -
1,800.00 per year just on this part-time job. This
is a great part-time job for single people who are
good typists.
Another good way
someone (who is single) could make some extra money.
Offer to pet sit. There are people who often times
have to leave town and are totally against boarding
their pet. Offer to sit with the pooch at night,
spoil them, walk them and even stay at the person's
house (this may increase your pay). If you
work, and if you live close enough to the person's
house, you can offer to go over during lunch and
take the dog out (this too can be an edge for asking
for more pay).
I have a friend who
is 'challenged' in accounting. He absolutely hates
to balance his bank statement. He puts it off,
complains, and sometimes just doesn't do it. I
offered to do it for him and he offered me 25.00 a
month for this task. He keeps a good checkbook
register so it is a piece of cake. All I do is put
it on an Excel spreadsheet and the formulas do the
adding and subtracting for me. It is a 15 - 20
minute job for 25.00. What a deal. I use
this money each month for my 'hair enhancement'
(cover the gray)." ~ Jan
"Here are my
Favorite Frugal Living Tips:
1. Use the
Clothes Dryer as little as possible. I have
been told the heating element in a clothes dryer
is a big user of electricity. We have saved on our
electric bill by minimizing dryer use. If you live
in an area where you can hang your clothes on a
clothesline, that's a great option. But many
of us live in areas where we cannot have
clotheslines. A great alternative, and one I've
found to be very cost effective, is to purchase a
collapsible drying rack. You can dry lighter
items on the less expensive wooden versions and a
stronger metal one with plastic-covered racks is a
good investment for heavy items. They are easily
stored when collapsed and will pay for themselves
in 2-3 months with lower electric bills. I hang
shirts and blouses on plastic hangers then hang
the hangers on the racks for even more drying
capacity.
2. Make your
own greeting cards. A quality store-bought
greeting card is quite expensive.
Homemade cards can be made from cardstock leftover
from scrapbooking or other paper projects, construction
paper, leftover gift wrap or other paper. Use your
imagination and glue on buttons, ribbons, and
other trinkets, or purchase stickers and
embellishments on sale. Grab your markers,
leftover glue and glitter, beads, etc. Have your
kids draw pictures or color on the card - be
creative! A homemade card carries a personal
sentiment that a store-bought card does not
capture.
3. Invest in
a freezer appropriate for your family size and
purchase during a sale. Buy meats in bulk
then appropriately wrap in freezer wrap and label. Freezer
wrap is great for wrapping any food that
can be safely frozen. To save on the cost of
plastic freezer containers, I freeze soup or
vegetables in the plastic containers to get a
certain portion size and a nice square shape.
Then when frozen, I pop out the frozen food on to
freezer paper, wrap, and label. This way I recycle a
small quantity of plastic containers and my
frozen goods are a uniform shape for easy
storage and selection." ~ Cathy in Montana
"Three top
tips for me are: "1. Stop
using your electric dryer. It saves lots of
money and makes your clothes last longer. "The library!
I love to read and used to spend way too
much on books that I would stack up to read.
Now I wait to get them at the library, and I
have to read them and get them back by the due
date. I save money and get the books read!
What a deal!" ~ Wanda
"My number
one tip is the public library! I live in
an area where the library has a wonderful
website, and I can reserve books, music, DVDs
and videos on line, tell them which branch to
send them to and notify me by email when
they are ready. I can even renew them on line.
NOT going to the video store and book store has
saved me at least 30 dollars a month. I
was shocked at how much money I had been wasting
buying books and magazines and renting videos at
the local video store. While there my
husband always seemed ready to buy the candy and
microwave popcorn they offered for 'only' a
dollar more, too.
"My number
two tip is microfiber cleaning cloths. I
received a small sample version when I purchased
my last pair of eyeglasses. My husband and
I were amazed at how well they cleaned my
always-schmutzy glasses with nothing but water.
Because the sample worked so well, I purchased
a package at the local club warehouse store.
I use them for everything from 'swiffering'
to damp mopping, cleaning all hard surfaces, and
washing the dishes (I have some reserved just
for the dishes!). Because of the unique
features of the cloths, I don't have to use any
cleaning products most of the time - no
window cleaner, no all-purpose cleaner, nothing
but warm water, and I am amazed at the amount of
dirt they pick up. (I do use dish soap
when I wash the dishes, LOL) They wash
beautifully." ~ Cindy
Editor's Note: Thanks to all these readers who took time to write! |