Frugal Moms

An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure.  This is true for all things.  When it comes to frugality, it is ever more so true.  For example; if you wash your hands 5 times a day you will decrease the amount of time you are sick, which means more income from less sick days.  It also means less doctors visits, which mean less doctors bills.

Another example is the mother who religiously polishes her wooden table.  She maintains a strict code of ethics at the table to avoid damage and “feeds” the wood with healthy polishers.  Believe it or not as the table ages it will be more due in part to inflationary forces.

Or a man that keeps meticulous care of his 1950’s car.  If you keep maintence up, no surprising mechanical failures occur, which means it’s reliable for work.  It also means it will have a good resale value.  As you can imagine restoring such a car wouldn’t be cost effective, but buying one in good condition is certainly worth it.

Think of ways to protect what you own that is valuable to you.

Tried tested and true cheap eats.  May take some “getting used to” for proper dining pleasure.  These are for when you really need to stretch your cents like they are dollars.

Cabbage soup.

1 head of cabbage cut into 1 inch chunks (3lbs)

3 c. min of homemade chicken stock

salt and pepper to taste

Place all in the crock over night and have for a nice light lunch or light dinner. Cabbage will be see through “ish”.   Nice additions include cubed potatoes, pieces of chicken meat (tiny), carrots, and rice.  Works well and costs about 16 cents a serving.

Lentil Soup

2 1/2 lb dried lentils

3 cups of chicken stock

water to the rim of the crock

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Place all of the above in the crock over night being sure to check and add water as needed.  Serve as a hearty lunch with crusty bread or rolls.  Cost is about 32 cents a serving.  By the way all of these serve a family of 8.  So for a family of four you can cut the amounts in half or freeze half for use at a later date.

Split Peas and Ham Soup

2 1/2 lb split yellow or green peas (cheapest)

2 to 4 ounces of ham diced into tiny pieces.

water

salt and pepper to taste

1 tsp olive oil

Fry diced ham in a aluminum frying pan with out aTeflon coating on it.  Fry it until it caramelized and leaves a  nice brown residue behind.  Dump the fried ham into the crock.  Dump the dried peas as well at this point and the tsp of olive oil.  Take the frying pan and fill it with water.  You will notice this nice brown color going into the water.  Continue until frying pan is clean and water is saturated with ham frying juices.  Dump this into the crock.  If there is still some nice brown ham juices left refill frying pan halfway and try to dissolve them into the water.  Dump this second pan into the crock as well.  Fill the crock the rest of the way with water and let it cook over night, refilling it with water as needed.  Serving cost is about 20 cents per serving.

If you rotate one or two of these recipes in a week, you will save tons.  Don’t do it more often than that though, as you may end up with a mutiny.  My kids like all of these foods in small doses.  One week we had all three in a row.  The eldest daughter came up to me and said, “Mom, I love you, but can we have food we need to chew tonight.”  I guess I over did it.  Yes, she had drumsticks that night.

What is the yard sale economy?  Well according to a youtube news report it’s when you sell off your belongings to bring in cash because you can’t tighten your belt anymore.  The idea is intriguing.  However, do you really think this is a yard sale economy yet when Ebay is having trouble finding sellers?  I don’t think we are there yet.  I think the strain is beginning to show is all.

Another question, is a yard sale economy bad?  The name sounds pretty negative, but think about it.  People are liquidating their useless assets, and gaining money to hopefully pay off debts or invest in ways to make more money.  It sounds like good sense to me.  Furthermore, selling old useless stuff, to you, is a good way to save the landfill and dump fees right?  Sounds down right noble.   With all the “green” thinking going on this shouldn’t be too unusual right?

So why name it a yard sale economy?  Is it media hype?  I guess my point is that media can influence our perceptions, and by calling this a yard sale economy, they can make people feel poorer and more embarrassed at the lengths they must go to survive.  I know, not exactly about frugality, but it does make you think about how consumption of new products bias is built into everything we watch.

Okay, give me a break.  This is supposed to be about saving money.  Well what if I could save you up to 19% a year on a given amount?  I can, or rather you can, by paying off your highest interest rate debt first.  This is usually credit cards for those who don’t know.  The second highest would be mortgages generally, and last would be student loans.  If you look at all the banks going under because of foreclosures and defaults, you could even call it a civic duty to pay off your debt.

I know economists are worried about the lack of spending, but listen for a moment.  You can’t help the economy by going shopping on money you default on.  No, helping the economy in the L-o-n-g run will mean paying off every penny of debt as soon as possible.  That way less banks will fold, the stocks will stabilize, taxes won’t shoot through the roof to pay for your defaults, and inflation might be put under control.  So I say it is your patriotic duty to pay your mortgage at all costs so that you don’t hurt your neighbors with your large debts.

Don’t believe me?  Why did the credit crisis start?  Foreclosures right.  Which in turn made securties worth squat, which killed the banks reserves, which made some fold….and on and on.  A small little thing snow balled into an avalanch.  Or as this man calls it, it grows like a forest fire.   By the way, he was 17 during the Great Depression, so he knows what he is talking about.  So feel patriotic when you ride your bike to work, eating lentils for lunch that you brought from home, and reading a free library book.  Be proud of your home made duds with their unique mistakes.  Stand tall when people call you cheap, frugal, or a tightwad.  Your saving America after all.  Also teach othershow to save America too!  Recruit fellow Americans to save our country.  Teach them how to save money to pay off their debts and keep their houses.  Good luck and God bless.

I am going to cover what I have seen.  I will also tell you what I have done to mitigate the effects of the things I have seen that directly influence my family.

1. Gas prices rose above $3 and are just now coming down.  When gas prices soared out of control my husband rode a bicycle to work.  Just recently we purchased a 50 cc scooter, that uses about 6 dollars of $4 a gallon gas a week.  These changes will be semi-permanent.  If we ever have a car, we will use it only for monthly grocery runs, as it will be cheaper than our current route.

2. Stocks declined and so did the retirement fund.  I am in an enviable position according to many.  My inheritance, which was stock based, was cashed in 1998.  My husband’s 401k was cashed in 2006.  If we had waited until 2007, we would have done better, but ah well.  Our neighbors are pulling everything out to pay off their mortgages.  If they had nothing in, most are going into foreclosure.  I guess the idea is, get it out now and do some good while you can.  It’s a good idea.

3. Second hand stores are more expensive.  Oh yes, I am not lying.  What once cost may be a dollar or couldn’t be given for free, is now 100% marked up.  As an example; for the past 4 years the second  hand store sold women’s jeans for 1 dollar.  This was the regular non-sale price.  As of today they sell them for 2 dollars each and have only had 50% off sales occasionally.  Another example; items such as chalk boards, which no one ever wanted before, now have “not for sale” on them…at any price.  (these are used by the institution for operational purposes)  What have I done?  Besides patching more knees and sewing on more buttons, to make clothes last at least a little longer.  I have instituted a new, rather cruel according to the kids, policy.  Brand new prepre-sewn clothes will be purchased only with money that the children earn themselves.  Plus those who can, must contribute, to any second hand purchases, based on their ability to pay.  I am mean, I know.  However, when I was my eldest daughter’s age, I was responsible for buying all of my clothes myself.  In addition, any home made clothes will be made WITH mom, not mom doing it alone.  That policy wasn’t booed at like the other two.  The only exception to these rules are shoes, because shoes are expensive no matter what to a child.  The good news, my children have come up with some rather creative ways to make money and have chosen to buy new clothes on their own over used clothes that have parent subsidies.

4. Food is getting much more expensive.  This hurts a large family like mine.  We buy in bulk, wild collect, garden, and process a lot of our own food.  But it doesn’t seem to pass muster all the time.  That’s when I found our “bare bones” recipes, that can feed my family on basics for quite a while and stretch very far.  They aren’t gourmet, but they are nutritious and 90% are in a crock pot, so they are easy to prepare.

5.  Wall street’s tail spin leading to a credit crisis.  Believe it or not, quite a few student loans were LATE because the banks refused to do them or folded at the last minute.  Also, some municipal employees are sitting on pins and needles wondering if they will get paid.  Not a fun place to be.  As far as the student loans, financial aid has scrambled to find new lenders.  As far as the municipal workers, it’s a wait and see game.  Luckily this doesn’t affect me directly.

6. The credit crisis affects car loans and credit cards.  Again does not affect me, but many of my friends are angry they can’t replace their car.  Now instead of a loan, they are being pushed into leases.  They trade them in like baseball cards anyway, so I don’t see the difference.  However, the credit limits being halted and in some cases lowered is cutting into their carefree attitude.  Some have gotten down right panicky, asking for help on everything.  Others have cut back on every purchase dramatically.   For example; one couple I know had to get a loan from their parents to get a new car and in order to pay for that loan currently fore go having phone, cable, and electricity.  They are adults without children, but it must be hard on them.  In one way I am proud of their determination to pay off the loan early, but in another I wish it didn’t have to be so difficult for them to do.

7. Fake frugality is becoming the “way” to sell stuff.  Oh yes, the marketers have figured out people want to save money.  And in the spirit of the “sacrificing” times they have found a way to make every item a bargain or a money saver.   Look out for tooth paste wringers and “steals” on clothes that are only $299.00.  Look at the bottom line, are you spending less?  Will this purchase pay for itself and then some by over 100%?  If both are yes, it may be more frugal, if one is no…it’s not.

8. Jobs are harder to find.  The unemployment rate rose.  This only counts the people that sign up at the unemployment office looking for work.  This doesn’t count the chronically unemployed, which I would qualify for since I haven’t work for someone else in 2 years.  If you included everyone that was out of work, but wanted a regular 9 to 5 job, the rate would hover around 15%.  Probably more now, since my data is a little old, 7/08.   The effect is that people can’t get back into the job market as easy, and employers are quicker to fire if you screw up.  So income is unstable.  Our has been unstable too in the past, so I always had my self employment and business going.  My husband had the regular job and I had the weird businesses or sidejobs.  When my husband lost his job, my weird side jobs became a larger focus of my life to bring more money in.  That is how we over come instability.  The thing is we were never a two person income, because I never worked extra hard to make a lot of cash when he was working.  I did my side jobs for spending money, like to go to the museum or an event.  That’s it.  Plus, I kept it regular, so I at least had regular customers “just in case”.  Well that was a good idea and now we aren’t like so many of our neighbors.

I have been posting this blog a while now as the economy slowly crumbles.  I now know more people who have lost their jobs than have found new ones.  I have seen families torn apart and displaced in my own community, and still I sit silent behind my keyboard.  The click clack of my keyboard only types out ideas filled with hope, promises that if you tighten enough, or diversify your means, you will get through.  Maybe this is the message everyone needs.  May be this is why I try to ignore the tremendous fear that our local banks will fail, since now they are not FDIC insured.  May be this is why I haven’t written of the children in our community who have no clothes to go to school or running water.  I assure it is truly this bad.  Poor mothers are pushed out of the consignment shop, by higher prices and middle class families trying to keep their homes.  The water bill doesn’t get paid because dad lost his job and no one had savings to begin with.  The kids no longer have clothes because they are finally just too small to actually fit.  That’s what is happening in my community.

These things remind me how blessed I am.  For the next 3 months we will have all of our utilities.  We have an income, even though it has dropped again recently.   We will continue to have an income too.  For these things I am grateful.  However, as much as I am grateful, sometimes I get tired of cutting back.  Sometimes, I want to get my daughter a brand new dress with out having to sew it.  Sometimes, I am tiredof sewing lost buttons on or patching the knees of 4 times handed down overalls.  Sometimes, I worry will our situation ever turn around.  Indeed will the entire economy ever take off again?  At times like these, I jump onto frugal moms and think of a new way to make money or save money.  It helps me stay focused and to believe that it doesn’t really matter.  I am blessed and I should be thankful.  So today, try to be thankful for your fortune, no matter how small.

I home school and I have 5 children.  I find that sometimes I NEED a new lab set up, or I NEED this teaching book.  It really is a disease this NEED thing.  In reality, I am quite qualified to teach with out a book on the methods of instruction for such and such child.  The thing is I wish my kids had those microscopes, and chemistry set ups, and such.  I have most of the time had to improvise.

When we studied light, I didn’t have prisms and neat colored plastics.  However we did have several eye glass pieces from old pairs of eye glasses.  That was a hot topic for a while… the kids could get over the wood burning beneath their sisters eye glasses.  I also had water colors to blend colors.  I had water in a clear glass to show refractory properties.  Ya know, how the straw “bends”.

For chemistry we had baking soda and vinegar.  We had creme to butter.  We had water and oil.  We didn’t have crucibles, Cu, or even an alcohol burner.   I tried, at least with in our limitations, to do well.

For biology we have land filled with natural untainted forest.  We had each other and our animals.  None were disected, although we did butcher a few chickens for dinner, which served as a disection of sorts.  Home schooling is reallly learning as much as you can about what you can with in your grasp.  That’s it.

Family letters replace the letters to famous people we all did in school or the artificial pen pals we were all handed.  Recipes replace fractions.  Money replaces decimals.  The metric system is learned in the kitchen when medicine is given.  Reading is for pleasure and discussions occur naturally.  Everything is made relevent.  So if anyone ever says, oh you can’t afford to home school.  Tell them yes, you can.

There are several areas in life a person can cut expenses.  From bills which are reoccurring expenses, to entertainment which should be an occasional expense.

STEP 1

Cut the monthly expenses down.  I did several things.  I took several things off my phone and asked for slower internet.  I paid 60 dollars a year for Skype for all my long distance, instead of using phone cards I sometimes lose.

I traded in my old gas guzzler that doesn’t work for a sweet sipper a Bashran 50 classic.  That alone saved me 136 a week in gas and 50 dollars a month in insurance fees.

I lowered my water bill by having sweet hubby fix all the leaks while he has been laid off.

I lowered the electric bill by shutting down nonessential components of our computer, unplugging unused appliances, and using fans to cool.

STEP 2

Cut entertainment expenses down.  I no longer rent from the rental store, I watch Youtube or borrow from the library.

I no longer buy books except for school, I borrow from the library.

STEP 3

Lower consumable expenses.  Cloth diapers and buying bulk has helped my family lower these expenses tremendousley.

The point is I didn’t do it all at once.  Don’t expect yourself to.  It is a step by tiny little step process.  Aim to save 50 dollars more each month.  If that is too hard, aim for 20 more.  The first monthdo something that will save 20 dollars a month every single month (lowering your internet speed).  The next month do another thing that will save 20 dollars a month every month ( switching to a scooter).  If you do this the savings will add up.

Besides gardening, how can a family of four dent their grocery bill for fresh fruits and veggies?  Apples are up almost 18% this year and potatoes are up 83 cents for the year.  With winter around the corner, I bet you never thought getting fresh food might be a problem.

1.  Buy the traditionally cheap foods that are fresh.  This isn’t just potatoes either folks.  Cabbage is about 40 cents a pound most places and much cheaper in my area.  With a few pounds of cabbage you can make so much, saukraut, cabbage soup, pigs in the blanket, coleslaw, and more.  Cabbage is your friend too as it has anti cancer properties.  So instead of the traditonal fair, try to place some cabbage in two to three meals a week.

2. Look at the manager specials.  At Kroger they have Manager Specials on fresh foods that have a few bad spots or need to be used quickly.  If you are very ingenious you will know not only can you buy these for the nights meal, but with a little cutting, freezing, or “precooking” your whole basket can be managers specials.  For example: 6 heads of cauliflower are on special for half price.  3 of them are in very good condition, with only a little blackend ends here or there.  Snatch up all three, take them home, cut off the bad stuff, chop up, blanch, and then freeze for future meals.  You now have the same food for cheaper and prepared half way.

3. Foraging for fresh food is still a good option.  Even though the blackberries are all off the vines, the persimmons are coming in.  We picked several baskets today.  Find wild foods for each season in your area.  If nothing else you could bag a deer, even though it isn’t fresh fruits or veggies, it still lowers your food bill.

4.  Start looking at exactly what a serving is.  Instead of eating hog wild, actually look at what a sercing is when your eating and only eat a serving.  This works for all food, but it’s good for you and your bill.

Do you have an old sweat shirt? Instead of rushing out to Walmart to buy the baby gloves come the first snow, make a pair in a snap.  Take that old sweat shirt and trace with about an inch of wiggle room, around Jr.’s cute little hand.  Make sure you get both hands and have two pieces of fabric beneath each little treasure.  Then cut around the tracing, after moving the cute little hand so as not to cut it.  Match the right sides together and stitch around the outside.  A zig zag on a sewing machine or a whip stitch by hand works well.  On the cuff, stitch 1/4″ elastic around it the exact size of Jr.’s wrist.  This will give you 2 perfect fit gloves for the wee ones.  I gave this as a gift for my son for his second birthday.  He loved it and I bet yours will too.