Frugal Moms

A man that supports the idea of frugality whole heartedly.  He has a very basic message, stop buying crap you don’t need with money you don’t have.  He is known as a stock pick “guru”, and does pretty well for himself in this category.  In the following video, he discusses not buying extra junk.  Some commenters seemed to think the extra junk he was referring to would halt jobs.  The things he specifically mentions however, have little bearing on American jobs.  Cell phones?  Nokia is from overseas.  Game subscriptions?  Unless it’s Microsoft it’s not American usually.  Just watch.  (Copy Paste) http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uKma6u5sbrs

     The one thing that saved the most money in the last 12 months was having my husband ride a bike to work.  If there were only one thing that I had tome to do to save money it would be to either ride to work or car pool.  Although it seems like a no brainer with gas prices around 4 dollars a gallon, alot of people in my area still aren’t car pooling.  It’s depressing actually.  When you hear a middle aged man complain about spending a third to half of his pay each week to get to work, but then he hops into an SUV or Hummer and drives off, it makes you wonder if people just like to complain.

I actually took the time to ask this man several key questions.  Did he need his truck for the work he does?  He said no, his job is mostly in an office.  Does he have a friend or business partner that drives to the same office at the same time everyday?  In fact he did, the lady in the next office was his neighbor.  Has he thought about asking to carpool or share a ride with her?  He couldn’t do that.  When i asked why, he only responded it wouldn’t sit well with him.

Perhaps this man was uncomfortable with asking for help.  Perhaps I should have asked, did he ever think she might have trouble paying for gas to get to work?    Then ask if he would offer her a cheaper solution of car poolng with him for half of what she normally pays?  The reason I bring this up is simple.  This is an ideal situation to car pool.  It’s his neighbor and they work in offices across from each other.  However, pride or shyness is preventing him fromkeeping more of his money.  If I had one bit of advice to give to save money, don’t be too proud to car pool.

In my experience it was a blessing when our “gas bill” off 144 a week ended.  I paid off all our bills that were past due, and started building an emergency fund.  We hopefully will never have as high a “gas bill” again.  Just think about what you could do with what you spend in gas each week.

Recently it has come to my attention that some people in my family think the “little” things don’t matter.  Things like, unplugging the microwave because the clock runs when we don’t need it to, washing zip lock bags for a few extra uses, turning the 13 watt light off when we aren’t using them, buying dresses a size to big and hemming the skirt line up until it’s grown into, or buying in bulk.

Well just to show you how much it adds up, I will actually break down a few things for you. A pound of oatmeal at the store costs 85¢, but apound of bulk oatmeal is 69¢ a pound.  That is a difference of 17¢ a pound!  Okay, so maybe you only use a pound a month.  On oatmeal every year you would only save $2.04 a year.  However, for my family which runs through about 20 pounds a month, we save $40.80 a year.  That is on oatmeal alone!

Now onto rewashing zip locks.  I can get 15 zip locks for a dollar.  I usually go through 15 a week.  However by rewashing ever ziplock, I can make them last the whole month.  By doing this I save 40 dollars a year.  So far I have saved about 80 dollars a year.

Unplugging the microwave is a huge debate topic in our house.  My husband says it barely uses elctricity.  I won’t debate this, but it DOES still use it when we don’t need it to.  I found it takes about 5¢ a day just to keep it plugged up.   Just by keeping this ONE appliance unplugged, we can save $18.25 a year.  So I’m almost up to 100 dollars a year now right?

Now buying clothes one size too big and making reversable alterations to make them fit.   This really depends on a couple things actually.  If I buy them brand new I save the most, but I also spend the most.  Let me stick to skirts, for this example brand new.  I try to give my children one “new” out fit every season, so four a year.  If one brand new skirt is $5 on sale and I buy 4 I spend 20 dollars a year.  However, If I buy them all one size to big and “alter” them, I now don’t have to buy new skirts next year, so the price lowers to 10 dollars a year.

Now, let’s say I buy one second hand skirt per season at 3 dollars a skirt.  That’s $12 a year, but by buying one size too large it becomes 6 dollars.   Now, for fun, lets say I make 1 skirt per season, for$1 a skirt.  (It can be done)  This totals to about $4 a year.  If I make them 1 size to big, and then alter them so they fit now, but can be “let out” later, I now spend just $2 a year on skirts.

As you can see the last option is the cheapest, and on one child I save $18 a year, for this one piece of clothing.   Multipy it by 2 so that the child now has a top and bottom, which is the normal way, and I save $36 dollars per year, per child.  This is why so many people stare in wonder.

Most people go out and buy everything they need.  I don’t know how many people say to me, oh you poor dear it must be so hard.  You know what, sometimes it is.  Especially when I have 5 children all needing an outfit in a week or less!  That’s when sewing becomes a chore instead of a joy.  However, in reality it can be down right satisfying.  Because I know that every little bit counts,  Ican do a lot more than most people with as many children and as little cash.

Remember, the devil is in the details and every bit counts.

I took a week off my dear ones and didn’t prepare you.  I’m truly sorry, but I had some important personal business to attend to.  Let me bring you up to speed.

I harvested four plants of potatoes and had over a weeks worth to eat for our large family.  The potatoes are purple and drought resistant.  I never watered them much this year.  I only added mulch/compost as they grew.  Did they ever grow.  Gardening has been a way for my family to ensure we have fresh vegetables even with out regular transportation to the store.

Speaking of transpertation, the scooter I ordered June 28th still has not arrived.  I am having great difficulty reaching the company.  I received an email last Friday saying it would be shipped on that day, but upon searching the tracking number found no such action has been taken.  I have been trying hard to contact the store to see about the delay, how long the delay is, etc.. but they have been elusive.  My husband is very afraid we have been taken in by a scam artist.  I will let you know how it unfolds.  I did pay with pay pal so I sincerely hope this is some protection.

In Couponing, I have found several rebates with the cash back equivalebt to about 20 dollars.  This will add to the amount of mony I can use for future groceries.   I still have over a months worth of groceries on a gift card.  The great thing about the gift card is that I can also pay for my medicine with it at Kroger pharmacy, which has deeply discounted rates to boot!

As far as increasing my frugality, I have been looking at planting a fall garden.  I’ll let you know what I decided on.  However, in the mean time, we have been using a seed sprouter for fresh bean sprouts in our salads.  I did pay a handsome sum for it, however it grows the sprouts with out much intervention.  Now we have an endless supply of sprouts we can use as I have over 100lbs in beans saved away.  Since I have been shopping in this way, using coupons and bulk buying my family has had more food, healthier food, and it costs so much less!  Dinner for 7 people ranges around 6 dollars!  Breakfast is 69 cents for everyone.  (That is the miracle of bulk bought oatmeal)  Plus we get to have snacks, like pop ice and candy.  I had 6 buy one get one free life saver candies coupons.  I bought 12 for the price of 6.  I spent a little under 6 dollars for the total including tax, which is about 40 cents a piece.  My kids rarely ever get candy, so this was a huge treat.  We still have plenty left over.

Even though people say if you buy a lot you will eat a lot, I doubt it.  My kids eat the same amount as they always did.  We now have stacks of 5 gallon buckets with basic staples.  Just to give you an idea, we have; 3 buckets of oatmeal, 3 buckets of rice, 4 buckets of regular eating beans, 3 buckets of soy beans, 1 bag of sunflowers, 1 bag of rye, and 1 bag of millet.   This I consider to be about a 2-3 month supply of food.  We have been eating out of it for almost a month. I made soy milk, sprouted beans, bean soup, oatmeal, biscuts, cookies, and more. But this is still how much we have left for our huge family.  So bulk by and combine with couponing if you can.

There is another thing I do that many other frugal writers may not.  I shop a lot online, because in the end it can be cheaper for me than to drive, or pay to get a ride, 30 or so miles.  As such I often shop online for many things most people just wouldn’t do.  However, if your like me in living at least 25 miles form the closest shopping center that has 90% of your living needs, perhaps you too have embraced shopping online as a means of saving.  The best saving I have found is clearance items with free shipping coupons, that is a buy now situation, because often times you can even resell on ebay.  I don’t often do this, but on things I need I might buy one or two extra for reselling.

However, let me get to the heart of this post.  I found a place you can not only find web coupons for items, but they also pay you rebates on how much you shop.  Before I tell you where, let me tell you how wonderful this has been for my family.  As you all may or may not know my husband lost his job in June due to a terrible accident at work.  His employer at the time fired him for having a hernia.  Now, my husband is released to light duty and is looking forward to getting back to work as soon as possible.  He has two plans.  To go up into town and apply everywhere and to start his own business Clark’s Computers.  It will mostly be home personal computer repair where, once our scooter arrives, he goes to the customers home and fixes the problem on the site.  Well, as a new business you need things to get your work out such as business cards, and letterhead.  We went to a shopping site through a rebate site for business items.  This business items site has sent us over 150 dollars in business startup items for about 20 dollars in shipping and 15 dollars in merchandise.  Plus I got 10% of my 15 dollars back!  Do you want to know where this awesome place is?  It’s Ebates and it’s free to sign up.  I got 5.00 immediately just for signing up.  In the end I have probably saved hundreds just by using their stores and my husband will be able to start his business once our scooter arrives.

Just last week I ordered printer ink for cheaper than the only store that carries it (over 20 miles away) with free shipping, and I got 15% back on my purchase.  Like I said, for someone like me that must shop on the net for certain items due to the cost practicality it truly pays off.

Let me start off by saying I did indeed save money.  However, it was on stuff I usually don’t buy, but for the most part needed.  What do I mean?  Well, batteries which I use for my camera, deodorant which my husband needs about every three months, etc…  I also bought my regular food items minus the oatmeal since we have that in bulk and minus eggs since the chickens are laying half a dozen a day.  Plus I was able to get all the condiments I haven’t been able to buy for the past 6 months, like mayonnaise, and ketchup.  Add to this I also bought some junk.  (Okay we didn’t need the junk, but I always buy some junk food…this was just cheaper than I usually buy)

I bought absolutely EVERYTHING from toothpaste, to diapers, to cheese, to salad dressing, along with the carrots, potatoes, etc.. I usually buy for 150 dollars.   According to the receipt I got about 60 dollars off the total.  To compare, for food alone it costs about 220 dollars a month.  Add everything else and it’s about 260 dollars.  This doesn’t include any of the rebates I have to send away for yet.

However, and yes I am going to complain,  #1 it’s a pain.  #2You don’t save as much as you think #3Most of the coupons are for junk food #4You can not do this with kids #5 Many items even with the coupon are cheaper with the store brand #6 I just barely made the amount I spent on coupons back so in reality I only saved 40 dollars. #7 It is hard to organize these things

Did I save a lot on things we have completely run out on?  You bet!  Would I do it again? Sure.  But I wouldn’t do it every month.  I will continue to keep a stash of coupons, just in case.  However, next time I am definitely going to try and get only fresh foods since I now have enough ketchup and mustard to last a lifetime.  (It was free after the coupon)

I am involved in a number of charity projects, and often find myself learning things that would be helpful for other consumers, if there was a way to make it applicable.  I have learned numerous places to find very basic necessities for pennies, literally.  The problem is the place requires buying cases or 1,000 or more sometimes.  This ends up being a large chunk of change depending on the price and lot size required to order.

I have a very large family so I assumed, wrongly, they might have something in my range.  Unfortunately no.  However, they do sell in lots small enough they might be of use to a church or small charity. Now I am certain most of you don’t have a lot to do with charities, but for the few that do..listen up.  Many of the charities I work with buy from a store like a typical consumer.  Most are content to not have to pay tax.  Charities need to rethink how they are going to help if they want to continue to help and to help the most people at once.  This is aimed at small charities especially.   They need to pull their money and buy larger lots for less money.

I know a lot of small charities I work with feel this is too cumbersome.  May be they had problems trying this in the past.  In particualr one charity, I worked with doesn’t feel it is appropriate and none of them members can agree since their scope is so limited.   I want to introduce all of you who work or volunteer in these institutions to a website.  If any of you ever go to the dollar store to pick up goods for your charity, you can buy it for less and have a stock left over so you don’t run out.  This is Dollar Days , I believe they sell to the dollar stores, but they are not against selling to you either.  Look under the 49 cent or less tabs.  There they have toothbrushes for 2 cents.  Soap is like 5 cents.  Combs also 5 cents.  The thing is you have to buy a thousand or more a lot of the time.  Tooth paste can be had for very cheap like 25 cents.  If I can find a way to buy for my large family, trust me I am.  Because only coupons, coupled with sales, and rebates are any cheaper on some of these items.

Today I have recipes for you.  I recently received a new blender and this thing is amazing.  At any rate I have been cooking new recipes every day as a result.  I also received 90% of all the bulk food I ordered back in June.  Let me tell you the delight I have been having in the kitchen.

Sunflower Milk

I bought Sunflower seeds in bulk from Bob’s Red Mill at 25 lbs for about 30 dollars. So it’s cheaper than store bought stuff.

You will need: blender, 1cup raw unsalted Sunflower seeds, 3 cups of filtered water, 1 tsp. ginger, 1 Tblsp Cinamon, 1/4 cup brown sugar.  You take all of these ingrediants and milk into you blender.  Bledn this until it is a consistant texture and color.  Chill over night in the fridge.  It tastes like a smoothie.

Cucumber Salad

This is a great summer time snack that costs about 2 dollars for my whole family.  It often ties us over for lunch on very busy days.  Cucumbers are the most wonderful garden plant to grow, you could do it cheaper than 2 dollars if you grow your own.

You will need: knife, bowl, 2 large slicing cucumbers, apple cider vinegar, pepper, salt.   Slice cucumbers so that they are great finger foods.  Not too thin.  Place the slices in the bowl.  Splash a little apple cider vinegar over them with a dash of peper.  It tastes so good.

Mitchell Saute’d Squash

Fresh from the garden baby squash are perfect for this recipe.  It only takes 30 minutes to make and is a great side, to put on top of rice, or as a main course for a light lunch.

You will need: knife, frying pan with cover, 5 or 6 yellow baby squash (4-6″), balsmatic vinegar, soy sauce, 2 cups of water.   The way I measure this recipe is weird, so bare with me.

Slice the squash thin. Place 1 and 1/2 cups of water in the pan.  Place three to six dashes, the bottles with the special top that slows the flow, well three to six splashes of balsmatic vinegar.  (Depends how vinegary you want it) Then with the soy sauces 6 to 8 dashes of soy sauce.  Place the squash in the frying pan, cover, and place on low to medium heat for 20 minutes.  Stir and leave uncovered and raise to med high.  Stir, stir, stir, and stir some more.Cook ALL of the water off.  The exra half cup of water is incase you have a deeper pan and need more to cover.  I like to add a little parsley, but to each their own.

Well I have good news to report folks.  The coupons from the coupon clippers are in, and they really are as described and even better.  I have 4 coupons for three to four dollars off monistat, but two of them came with a surprise I over looked “Or any ept product“.  Do you know what this means?  It also works for a hugs range of pregnancy tests, with if in a tight spot the next year would be nice to have available.  I also got 5 Cheeerios coupons to send for a box of free Honey Bunches of Oats.  Why is this exciting, because after acounting for fees and everything, I have already made the money back on the coupons I’m using and then some.  Plus my family never has cold cereal in our budget.  It’s a nice treat that will last about a day.  So far I spent 11 dollars, rounded up as always, and kept from spending 2.00.  However did I really not spent, since my family wouldn’t have eaten this stuff unless it was free or on clearance for 50 cents?  No.  But I’m sure my kids will be greatful for the cereal.  However, if there are items on clearance in the near future, and I use coupons on them, I will have “not spent” on something we would have bought.

Second the 529 Information on matching grants came in.  It has left me with a sour mouth.  The program makes it virtually impossible with out handing over your tax returns.  Not bad except, this means you can’t apply for more than one minor per year.  They also don’t give them back!  Which also means you can not adhere to an IRS directive requires everyone to have information on file for 5 years.  (Not a requirement per se, but if you don’t would you want to be caught in that situation).  So in reality, the program stinks, leaves you at risk for tax issues, and leaves out huge populations of families that have more than one child.  I would have opened an account if trying to get matching grants wasn’t going to be so hard.  The last thing is the limit is 500 dollars in matching grants per year, not bad except the extraordinary work it requires, limited to 5  years for any one beneficiary.   Plus, the kicker after they have your tax papers, (aka by the balls) they may decide NOT to grant the matching funds, and will NOT return your tax papers.  I say it’s a gimic.  Any way here’s hoping you find better ways to invest for college.  I still think bonds are safer, even in this awful climate.

I don’t usually cover specific savings strategies for specific saving goals, but given the specific tax benefits of saving for college, I think it would be fool hardy not to address it.  There are a couple very wonderful plans to save for college similar in design as a 401k that allow you to save and invest.  These are called 529 plans.  There are two types state 529 Plans and Independent 529 Plans.  For state 529 Plans the money saved and invested can only go to state colleges, however some states have added bonuses of matching contributions dollar for dollar or even two dollars for every one depending on your income.  Most cane be started with as little as 25 dollar provided you promise to put away 500 dollars with in two years or you set up and automatic payment from direct deposit.  State 529 Plans are an avenue to college that most working class parents can’t afford to ignore due to the dollar for dollar matching some grant based on income.  If you are interested in finding State 529 Plans go to Saving For College .

Independent 529 Plans areprimarily for private school tution.  Again a major investment tool that avoids tax issues  that would otherwise be cumbersome.  Private 529 Plans allow greater flexibility with where a student can go to college.  If you are interested in finding Independent 529 Plans for your state Go to Independent 529 Plan .

Another avenue that works similiar to an Independent 529 plan is US Savings Bonds .  When a US savings bond is bought by a parent with their child as the beneficiary and are cashed the same year the child goes to college, their income can be written off.  US Savings Bonds are a safer way to invest for a child’s future as opposed to investment accounts.  There is a 5000 USD limit to purchasing bonds each year, but you can have bonds automatically set up from your pay check similiar to direct deposit in their Treasury Direct Pay roll savings .  The catch here is that you don’t earn any interest on the money sent in via the program until you move the funds to a Savings Bond Online.