Money Saving series

 

Today's tip is to be sure and compare prices. It is very important. Here is a great example. So I wanted to pick up a couple of packs of this ranch dressing seasoning packets. I pulled out a package or two. Then I thought it might be a good idea to stock up a bit. And I almost grabbed the box of ranch dressing and then I stopped and I thought no way. They want 48 cents more to buy 4 pack in a box then if I just bought 4 single packages. Wow! 

Be sure and compare- you might be surprised. I know I was surprised when I was at TSC and my husband asked about a 40 pound bag of chicken feed - come to find out when I compared - I would save $4.00 by buying the smaller. And not just because it was less feed. I took the price of the largest bag and divided it by 50 - for the amount of pounds and then took that amount and multiplied it by the 40 and found that I would save at least $4.00 buying the brand that sold the 40 pound bags- plus the bag is easy to carry and dump- double win. 

Even if you think that what you are doing is a good deal- be willing to compare ever so often to make sure that you are still getting a good deal. 

Money Saving Tips...series

8 Essential Tips to Extend the Lifespan of Microwaves, Washers And Dryers!

Today's Money saving tip is about taking better care of the things we have so they last longer. 

I had decided to go to doing my laundry 1 time a week - with one dark load and one light load, however after watching this video I realized I could be doing harm to my washer by washing too big of loads. I have a top loader wash machine- and according to this guy - it is not a good idea to over load them. So instead of just doing laundry 1 time a week - I will be watching my laundry hamper to decide when I need to wash the load of clothes. So it may be more than one time. But I am using my dryer less and less. Not using the dishwasher at all. I stopped using it, mostly several years ago. Ever so often we run a load but I think during this hot summer - I will just wait till summer time is over to do my next load. I know when I stopped using it I noticed our bill lowered a good amount. And I am perfectly fine with not using it very much. Enjoy the video! :O)  

Money Saving Tips...series

 This weeks money saving idea is Spend Your Money At The Grocery Store NOT Restaurant! You can have the same meals at a fraction of the cost by fixing it yourself. 

I have to be honest - we are not always good about following this one, but I think we are getting better with this one. The truth is ever so often we like to go out. One thing has happened recently that will make it easier for us to say no about going to our favorite mexican restaurant. They used to make their own ranch dressing and it was SO delicious! Yummy!! But then they were short handed and not able to make it so had to go to a less delicious ranch dressing. Then prices began to climb and then climb again. So quality slowly went down hill and prices up hill. I totally understand with the economy the way it is. But I am glad that we recognized these issues because it makes it where it is not so hard not to go. 

Thankfully we have some reward points that we get when we use our credit card- and we can use them for gift cards - so we can use those to go out sometimes. And this is nice because we can go out without money out of our pockets. 

But like I said in at the beginning when you spend your money at a grocery store on food - you can make great meals at a fraction of the cost of eating out. My husband loves bbq - so we bought a brisket and he will cook it up in the smoker today. We will then divide it into several meals. One of which is a baked potato with bbq brisket on top. And my husband makes us tanglers- just like Dickie's BBQ used to do before they shut down. So we can have that same meal at much less cost to us. We will use some of it and then we will put some in freezer for individual meals for later. 

I used to hate to spend very much on meat - probably because i am not a big meat eater, but when I realized that my husband really wants his meat and if it is not served at home - then he is more tempted to eat out. So I am willing to spend more money on meat now. It really is a good investment. It helps the money stretch further. Buying groceries to make some good meals at home it well worth the investment in the over all picture. 

I will be honest when money wasn't so tight we went out to eat maybe once a week. Sometimes we might stop for something quick every now and then as well. But now we know that we need to be more watchful of how we spend out money. And I hope that I can keep in mind that we will do much better if we will spend our money on keeping the pantry stocked with ingredients to make good meals. :O) 

For those of you in the USA - Happy 4th of July!! 

Money saving ideas....series

 Today's money saving tip will be a short one because I really don't have a lot of time. Also I have to give my husband the credit for this one as well. So yesterday my husband and I went to HEB to do a bit of shopping. When we got to the sugar, I stopped to look at prices. I picked up a 4 pound bag of the Hill Country brand - because it was cheapest and cheaper than what I had been seeing at other stores. Then my husband looked to the shelve below at the 10 pound bags. He told me he was looking to see if it would be cheaper to buy it in the 10# bag as opposed to the #4 pound bag. I pulled out my phone and pulled up the calculator. It is very easy to figure and compare prices. I took the price of the 10# bag of sugar and divided it by 10 - then I multiplied that number by 4 to see how much a 4# bag would cost if the same price per pound as the 10# bag and sure enough the actual price of the 4# bag was more expensive per pound than the 10# bag. So we bought the 10# bag. I store what we don't use right now half gallon canning jars. So it was no problem to buy the bigger bag. When we got to the foil - the same thing happened and we went with the 200 yard container of there brand foil because it was the better deal. 

Thankfully my husband was able to get some over time for last pay period and also this one. That is one reason why we were able to go with the larger product- that cost more. So it might be more money out front but overall it is saving money. We will not have to buy foil for a super long time. And since HEB does great sales on things from time to time- I am hoping that I can catch a great deal between now and then for more foil. It really helps you save money when you buy things that are on sale. 

Speaking of sales - Albertsons had Speed Stick deodorant on sale for 99 cents. This deal was on their 1.? oz product. So yes it was small but for 99 cents it was a great deal. And it was a limit of 6 and we bought 6. We won't have to buy deodorant for my husband any time soon. It's not the normal brand that he uses but he realized that it was a great deal and was willing to use it for a while. 

So when shopping be sure to divide the price by the number of units - oz, pounds, or what ever it may be. You may be surprised at what it really a good deal and what is not. 

Money Saving Ideas....series

 So today I want to talk about something I learned recently. It has been obvious to me that God know what was coming. He knew long before my husbands check was cut. And He has been slowly working with me in order to help this transition go smoother. 

Living on a Dime- one of my favorite youtube channels - they have a blog as well- was sharing how many people use way too much laundry detergent and dish washing soap. I have already implemented this new way and it is going well. 

I have always wondered how in the world do the containers of laundry detergent say such high numbers and yet- I knew I wasn't getting near that many loads out of them. Well it is because I have been using - probably double the amount of laundry detergent needed. They have a large cap on the bottles - and it makes it SO tempting to use too much soap. But using too much soap will probably wear out our clothes faster and also fade the fabrics faster as well. 

So what was suggested is using: 

1 Tablespoon for small loads 

2 Tablespoons for large loads 

I took a measuring spoon out to my garage and I measured 2 T. into the lid and I marked the lid with a magic marker. That way when I am pouring my soap I can keep it below that line. I think this will really help stretch out the soap I have for a good long time, which is great news. That will save me money. 

For a dishwasher - I believe that she suggested 1 T. of soap. Again the place you put the soap is about 2 times, maybe even 3 times bigger than needed - encouraging the usage of more soap than needed. 

When doing dishes by hand only about 2 teaspoons is needed - she said she uses an old hand soap dispenser and uses 2-3 squirts. 

I also decided I needed to cut back on the amount of fabric softeners that I use. I use fabric softeners because I hang all my tops on hangers to dry. I do this to help prevent shrinking. 

So there you have it - by using smaller amounts of these products they will last 2-3 times longer than before. I hope that this money saving idea helps you as you try to look after the needs of your family. 

Even though I had no idea that this pay cut was on it's way - God did and He started bringing helpful information into my life. I am so glad He cares so much for us!! 

:O) 

Money Saving Ideas....series

Today I wanted to share a bit of a post I shared in 2013 - just a little reminder of things to watch for when trying to save money.   

The following is a list of some things that I have learned over the past year:

#1. The store brand is not always the cheapest option. Case in point:
I have been buying my cats Whiskas cat food- but last week I thought that maybe I could save money by choosing the store brand instead. Boy was I wrong. 6# bag of store brand cat food- $7.22. Same size bag of Whiskas cat food- $6.98. A savings of 24 cents by going with the name brand.

#2. Buying bigger packages are not always the better deal. Sometimes it is a good idea to buy the bigger package because it ends up saving you some money in the long run by spending less per serving - but this is not always true. It is a good idea to have your calculator with you and figure up the price per unit- many times this info is given on the tag for the item on the shelf.

#3 Buying in Bulk is not always the best deal. Some people love to shop at stores like Sam's and Costco but when I have gone - I have many times realized that buying a regular sized item would be a better deal. Or even buying the store brand. Just don't get fooled into believing that your saving money just because you are buying in bulk. A lady I know would buy the bulk sized cans of beans and such for her family of 3. Many times half of that can would be wasted. That is not saving money.

#4. Using coupons is not always the way to get things the cheapest. Ever since I have checked out Aldi's I have been going there once a week, why? Because I save money every time I go. Many times I can get things for a better deal than if I bought a brand named item with a coupon.

And don't forget - most coupons are not free. I really loved to use coupons, especially back with our local Krogers would not only double but triple coupons up to $.39 cents. This would help me get really good deals- sometimes even free items, but they stopped that a couple of years ago.

For me to use coupons now- I would have to pay $3.00 or more for a double back Sunday paper to get double the coupons. Then the extra trip to a store that sells that double pack - more money spent on gas. Some would then say will you can get coupons free on the computer- yes you get them for free- but in order to use them you have to print the coupon, which would mean you would have to have ink for your printer. The ink costs money- and right now we don't have ink in our printer - and haven't for the past month or more because we just don't have the money to spend on ink. So my point - the coupons that save you money- cost you money- make sure that you are saving enough to make it worth using them .

#5. Sometimes it really does save you money to shop around. So what I do now is compare prices at different stores. I learn where the best deals for things are and buy them where I can get them cheapest. It really makes a different.

A New Series Coming Soon

 I will be starting a new series. This series has come by way of necessity. A very unexpected thing has happened and caused me to stop and reevaluate a few things. I am sharing this journey with you all because I am hoping that by sharing I can help others of you that may be in the same boat as we are. 

On Friday my husband and I figured out that his paychecks will be about $1400. dollars less per month. A new way they are figuring some things. I don't totally understand what it is all about but I do know that it will be $1400 less per month. And that is A LOT of money. 

Every since Friday I have been thinking of things I can do to help save us money. And slowly I am coming up with some great ideas of things that can save. Maybe not in huge ways but a bit here and a bit there and hopefully by these things to save and cutting extra spending- we will be able to continue to keep our bills paid and food on the table. 

I have been so thankful that since 2020- and the toilet paper catastrophe I have realized the importance of keeping at least 1 extra of the things we use and eat. Since 2020 - every now and then it seems like something disappears from the shelves at the grocery store. And you never know when it will be back in stock. So I have done my best to buy an extra of what ever I was buying. And now I am SO thankful I did. You never know when something will happen and you will need to have those extra things. They will help a lot with a smaller pay check. 

So todays tip is simply - stock up when you can. Especially when things are on sale - that is the best time to buy a few extra things.

Be sure and make sure that you are getting a good deal. I see people at the Dollar Tree - with baskets full and they think they are getting such a good deal. Yes - there are some good deals there - but there are also a lot of things you can get cheaper at Walmart or Aldi's. So know you prices so you just get the things that are a good deal at the Dollar Tree. 

I do hope you all are doing well. I hope that you are finding ways to save money and seeing difference. With the prices of so many things going up it has been a real challenge for many people. So be watching out for my Money Saving Series. I will do my best to keep up with them. 

Money Saving, plus an Answer to Prayer

For a couple of weeks Aldi's was running great sales on raspberries or blackberries! I, of course had to make up some fruit jam with them. I had already made one batch of blackberry jam and then ended up in the town with an Aldi's and couldn't pass up the opportunity to pick up enough blackberries to make up another batch of jam. The next morning I got busy trying to get the jam made before I needed to take my MIL to a therapy appt that afternoon. I was halfway through and realized that I had used my last pack of Sure Jell the last time I made Jam. Well I went and looked in my canning supplies container and I found a package of Certo. A very sweet lady had given me some canning jars and had 1 pack of Certo left over and so she gave it to me. Little did she know that she was going to be an answer to a prayer way before I was able to even pray it. I already had the fruit in the pan smushing them.  And I live about 20 minutes away from any store that sells Sure Jell - plus half the time the store has it and half the time they don't. Anyway I did not have time to run to the store. So it truly was an answer to prayer to have that one pack of Certo. I was able to finish out my jam using the Certo. It is used a little bit differently than the Sure Jell packs of powder but I read through the directions and adapted it to my recipe and got the batch done. It truly was an answer to prayer! 

A few days later when I went to Walmart I went to the canning section. I almost always check out the canning section of the store when I get to to the store. It is so hard to find supplies so I look every time I get a chance. Anyway I found the double pack of Sure Jell and they were running $4.44, making it  $2.22 per package. 

I noticed that there was some other Sure Jell things so I kept looking to see what else there was. And I discovered a value pack of Sure Jell! The Value Pack has 6 packages and it is only $11.84, making it a tiny bit over $1.97 each package. 

 A savings of $1.48. Every little bit helps. Plus canning supplies have been hard to come by so when you find a value pack that saves you money - it is probably a pretty good deal! 

I am SO grateful to God for answering my prayer before I even knew the need. He is such a good, good Father and He cares about even little details of our lives, like having the supplies you need to finish making jam. What a blessing!! 

My Own Little Cottage Double...

 I have been so very lucky to find blackberries and raspberries on sale for about a dollar a pound. And I knew that was just the time that I needed to get busy making some jam. I was so very happy with how it turned out. It was a great consistency. 

Have you seen these little cottage doubles at the store? 

I have loved these for quite some time - long ago they were about 80 cents a container and I still thought that was kind of high. And then the price went up, like most everything has and has been running about $1.06 or so. It ended up being a treat that I would buy just ever so often, but once I made my own preserves/jam and the consistency was so nice - I knew it would work to make my own little cottage doubles. 

Yummy! What a great way to save money. I am able to buy the lowfat cottage cheese and add my own jam to it! Just one more great way to save money and still enjoy the delicious little treats of life.  

Money Saving Idea - Homemade Taco Seasoning

There are many benefits to watching youtube channels. They inspire me to learn new things and to think outside the box. And today's post is just one thing that I have done as a result of watching youtube. 

As someone was showing all the things that they dehydrate and such and had them in canning jars - I thought about my homemade taco seasoning that I make. I have a set of these Tupperware Spice containers, which I love! So here is my taco seasoning: 

I believe it holds about 1/2 cup or so of seasoning so I had made my recipe fit this container. Well after watching some youtube videos and being inspired - I decided to increase my recipe so that I could fill up a pint jar. This way any time I run low in this container I can go get my pint jar of it and refill it. This will save me time. 

So I added all my seasonings to this jar and this is what it looked like, minus 2 tablespoons of cumin. I ran out and had to buy some to finishing this batch up. 

Here is my recipe: 

1/2 C. Chili Powder 

6 T. Cumin 

7 T. Paprika 

1/4 C. Onion Powder 

3 T. Garlic Powder 

So I measured everything out and put it in my jar. Then I put the lid on and shook it up really good. 

There you have it a pint of Taco Seasoning! I am so happy to have this all made up waiting for me. It will save me time in the long run instead of sometimes having to make up a batch when I am needing to make something. I may eventually make enough to fill up a quart sized jar, but for now I am happy with this amount made up. 

You can adjust it to what ever matches your taste better. 

Money Saving Idea

So today I want to share a little tip that has helped save me money. I used to buy these small jars of garlic until one day when I was shopping on the canned veggie aisle and just happen to notice this large - 2 pound bottle of garlic. So I bought it and now I always buy the large bottle and just refill my small jar when it gets low. It is a great way to keep garlic on hand and saves money. I just ran out of this big bottle so this will go on my next walmart grocery list. 

Hope you all are doing good and taking good care of yourselves. :O) 

 

Ways to Save....series ...homemade Fabric Softener

Sometimes we find way to save around our house quite by accident. That is what happened in the discovery of what I am going to share today.

On Mondays I like to do some laundry. I had gotten my lights load washed and still needed to wash my dark load but I had ran out of liquid fabric softener. I really like to use the liquid fabric softener because I like to hang up all my tops and also my towels and such. So I thought I was going to have to wait till I either made a Walmart trip - 20 minutes away or ran to Dollar General - 5 minutes away. As my husband was on his way home from work I was telling him about my dilemma and he suggested that I make my own fabric softener. Oh yeah!!! I can check that out. So I went to google and typed in Homemade fabric softener. And I went to the very first youtube video that they listed.
And this is what I watched:




I don't know about your household but we tend to go through shampoo quicker and end up with conditioner left over. So I knew I had some under the bathroom sink. I went and looked and sure enough I had some coconut scented conditioner - I only had enough to make 1/2 of a recipe but still that will last for quite some time at 1/4 of a cup each wash.

I used my old Fabric Softener jug to mix my fresh batch in.

Here are the ingredients:
8 cups Hot water
3 cups white vinegar
2 cups hair conditioner

So pour your hot water into your jug. Then add the vinegar. Next add the hair conditioner. Put cap on and shake well. Remember to shake well before you use it each time. And use 1/4 of a cup for each load. I measured 1/4 of a cup and marked my lid at where the 1/4 cup would come to for easy reference.. I am VERY happy with how easy this was to wash.

So in 10 minutes I had a fresh batch of fabric softener made up and a load washing in my washing machine. It feels great to be able to make what you need instead of running to the store. And when you already have all of the ingredient on hand it is a win/win!! Money saving for sure because NO money was spent to make this load. I still have enough vinegar and I am sure I will find more hair conditioner if I look in my cabinet. I really think I will continue to make my own.

This making my own cleaners and not only been money saving but it has been fun. I feel accomplished- I was able to make what we needed and continue on in getting my jobs done!!

 I don't make all my cleaners - in fact in a "Ways to Save" post soon I will share a way I save money on something that I feel is a splurge. You can even save money on splurges. Imagine that! 

Ways to Save ....series Homemade Dishwashing Tabs

Todays "Ways to Save" will be an example of how to save money because if you use items you have on hand you are saving money. I am not sure if this actually would save money if you went and bought all the items - but I do know that when you are not having to buy something - putting money out - you are saving money. Because we do not use the dishwasher very often this will save us money over the long haul.

Last week I shared how we made up our own laundry detergent. And as you know one thing many times leads to another and in this case it did. I was running low on dishwashing powder and I had wanted to make up some. Well I could not find the recipe that I had from the same blogger who I got the laundry detergent recipe for. I began looking on the internet and found a couple of recipes.

I tried this recipe first. It made 33 dish detergent tabs(These were not totally full tabs. But I was not 100% happy with this recipe so I continued to look for recipes and found one that I am much more happy with.   

 

I like the texture and look of these tabs much more.

This recipe make 45 totally full tabs!

Here is a link to where I got this recipe!

I have washed a load using the first method that I made (the yellow ones) and a load using the white ones and I was very happy with the results of both loads! In fact, it seemed like they might have been cleaner than usual.

This may not be something you would want to do and that is fine but I enjoyed the process and am very happy with the results. I will continue making my own. :O)

Ways To Save...series

My very good friend Susan over at Susan's Spot has been sharing how she has been saving money in her series Frugal Fridays. Click on link to check out her blog.

Out of necessity, I have begun to work a little harder at finding ways to save money as well. So a bit of a back story to begin with. The addition of several large hospital bills and some other unexpected bills, our electric bill and water bill  being much higher in the summer, and the fact that our vehicle tags and inspections come due in June, July, and Aug, it has really caused our budget to get very tight. So because of this and my friends blog posts and her suggestion to start writing down what you are doing to save money - I began to get more serious about saving money. I will not be doing a every week post on all the ways I saved money but what I will be doing is begin to share with you weekly - if I can, some of the things I am doing to save money.

So today I want to share something that I discovered that in the long run will help me save a good amount of money.

I love to use coconut oil - especially when I make popcorn! I have tried a few different brands and found that I love the flavor of Nutiva brand Coconut Oil the best. I was buying a 29 ounce jar of it at a local Nutrition store for $17.99. Because I was trying to find ways to save money I decided to check out Amazon to see if they had this coconut oil and come to find out I found a 54 ounce jar of it for just $2.00 more! So almost double the product for only 2.00 more! I kept my smaller jar and when the new, large jar arrived - I poured coconut oil into my small jar(it was very warm outside when it was delivered so it had melted). And I still have 1 more time that I can fill up my smaller jar. That is a very good savings for sure!!

29 ounce jar - for $17.99 - I was paying 62 cents an ounce
54 ounce jar - for $19.99- I only paid 37 cent an ounce

What a savings!!

I have compared other things with the prices on Amazon and it is not always cheaper. You have to do your home work. Know your prices. If you have Amazon Prime and you find the price cheaper on Amazon - it is certainly worth ordering the product. I am happy I looked up my  Coconut oil - and I am happy that I found such a great deal! This will be my new source for Coconut oil - unless the price goes up.

So be sure and compare prices. And be vigilant - keep up with pricing and compare - the next time you need something it might be cheaper to go a different direction. You never know till you check it out.

Don't just watch pricing...

Ok - Well I learned another lesson in saving money and I wanted to share it with you all to remind you of this lesson I learned. This is a lesson that I have realized and should have checked out. Anyway learning now is better then never, even if I should have already known.

 

When comparing prices- be sure to compare sizes of the product as well.

 

I had been paying $4.98 for my good popcorn from Walmart.
When I found what I thought was the exact same product at HEB for $4.78 a 20 cent savings, I jumped on the deal! I am so happy with myself.........

 

Until this past Friday when my husband went to Walmart to pick up some things that we needed. Popcorn had been on the list and so I reluctantly thought it would be ok to get a bottle of it - even if we had to pay more for it.

 

When he got home - we realized that the bottle from Walmart - the bottle that was $.20 more- was in fact - 15 ounces more popcorn!!!

 

Yes- the LARGE bottle on the right was Walmart's bottle of popcorn- costing 20 cents more.

Once you realize you are getting 15 ounces more of popcorn - that 20 cents doesn't look so bad.

 

I had thought that I was saving us money by getting our popcorn at HEB, in fact I was paying about $2.18 more for my popcorn by buying it as HEB.

 

So when you are comparing prices - be sure to take in consideration the amount of ounces or pounds. I think a lot of products are doing this kind of thing lately so it is best to be on guard all the time. Watch for shrinking sizes and soaring prices.

 

Sometimes getting the bigger size is the better deal- like with this popcorn but not all the time.

 

Sometimes we need to relearn lessons we thought we already knew. And that is ok - at least we are open to learning.

I am so thankful that my husband went ahead and bought that bottle of popcorn - I don't know how long it would have taken for me to have figured it out.

I have been pre-occupied lately. I am really going to try to get back to being a better steward of the money my husband works so hard for.

 

And by the way - we have noticed a big difference in the amount of popcorn that is popped and the better quality of popcorn - when we use this more expensive popcorn. Sometimes cheaper is not always better. Another important lesson. :)

 

 

Five Money Saving Tips

As I 've shared before- this year has been a tough year for our family in more than one way. Today I'll only be touching on the financial aspect of the hardships.

At the beginning of the year my sons and I lost our jobs, quite unexpectedly. It took a long time for my oldest son to find a full time job- and when he got a job he started at only about 30 hours a week- he has only recently started getting more hours. Because of this - we have had to help him. And then my husband having to have surgery - and all the medical bills that went along with that. All of these things have made this year tight for us. Anyway with all of that being said -now to get to what the purpose of this post.

Since money has been tight, I have been doing more to save money. The following is a list of some things that I have learned over the past year:
#1. The store brand is not always the cheapest option. Case in point:
I have been buying my cats Whiskas cat food- but last week I thought that maybe I could save money by choosing the store brand instead. Boy was I wrong. 6# bag of store brand cat food- $7.22. Same size bag of Whiskas cat food- $6.98. A savings of 24 cents by going with the name brand.

#2. Buying bigger packages are not always the better deal. Sometimes it is a good idea to buy the bigger package because it ends up saving you some money in the long run by spending less per serving - but this is not always true. It is a good idea to have your calculator with you and figure up the price per unit- many times this info is given on the tag for the item on the shelf.

#3 Buying in Bulk is not always the best deal. Some people love to shop at stores like Sam's and Costco but when I have gone - I have many times realized that buying a regular sized item would be a better deal. Or even buying the store brand. Just don't get fooled into believing that your saving money just because you are buying in bulk. A lady I know would buy the bulk sized cans of beans and such for her family of 3. Many times half of that can would be wasted. That is not saving money.

#4. Using coupons is not always the way to get things the cheapest. Ever since I have checked out Aldi's I have been going there once a week, why? Because I save money every time I go. Many times I can get things for a better deal than if I bought a brand named item with a coupon.

And don't forget - most coupons are not free. I really loved to use coupons, especially back with our local Krogers would not only double but triple coupons up to $.39 cents. This would help me get really good deals- sometimes even free items, but they stopped that a couple of years ago.

For me to use coupons now- I would have to pay $3.00 or more for a double back Sunday paper to get double the coupons. Then the extra trip to a store that sells that double pack - more money spent on gas. Some would then say will you can get coupons free on the computer- yes you get them for free- but in order to use them you have to print the coupon, which would mean you would have to have ink for your printer. The ink costs money- and right now we don't have ink in our printer - and haven't for the past month or more because we just don't have the money to spend on ink. So my point - the coupons that save you money- cost you money- make sure that you are saving enough to make it worth using them .

#5. Sometimes it really does save you money to shop around. So what I do now is compare prices at different stores. I learn where the best deals for things are and buy them where I can get them cheapest. It really makes a different.

Whose Got Great Taste?

Well apparently me and my husband do. And how do we know this?

Well every time we go to the Antique Mall- the things that we both love are usually very pricey.

So we usually leave the Mall empty handed.

 

But I usually try to at least take photos so I can enjoy them later.

 

This last visit to the Antique Mall was no different. We found an awesome piece of furniture that I wanted to share with you all.

 

 

 

 

 

 

It is a writing desk that has a bookcase on the other side of it. If I had more money and more space in my house - I would have loved to have brought this piece of furniture home with me.

 

 

Another thing I found was a cute salt and pepper set.

 

 

 

I did not buy this set either - if it is still there another time that we go - I may buy them. They were a little pricey at $10.00 but they were fine china or something like that written on the bottom of them.

 

This set would fit in my collections great because,  I really like the smaller salt and pepper sets.

 I have some bigger ones in my collection but eventually I will find new owners for them. That way they can bless someone else as much as they blessed me, but until then they will stay in my collection.

 

Anyway like I said if Jason and I ever wonder about out tastes- all we have to do is go to the Antique Mall and we are reminded of how good that taste is - well when expensive =good.

So we left empty handed.

But I had much better luck on a trip to Goodwill a few days later.

I found a stack of 4 tupperware bowls that I love. I already had some but some of them were wearing down, still useable but you can tell they have seen better days. I had hoped to some day find some at Goodwill. I can not afford to buy tupperware full price.
 

 
I borrowed the above photo from an ended ebay auction. I wanted you guys to get to see what I was talking about. Now I am hoping to come across some of the plates that I love- also made by Tupperware.



I borrowed the photo as well- but my plate like this are looking a lot like these. I LOVE these plates. They are not very big but I love them.

Oh the bowls I found were only 50 cents a piece! That's a great deal! Hoping to find some plates at a great deal!! If I do - I will sure let you know about it. You can count on that! :o)

Saving Money

Good Afternoon~I hope you all are doing well. I woke up with a bit of a head ache and feeling like I might be trying to come down with something. I went and bought myself some of the generic airborne stuff - and have taken a few doses so far. Hoping that I can bypass getting sick. Just have felt tired and run down all day long. I will have to get to bed early tonight.

 

While I was out picking up the airborne stuff I stopped by two small thrift stores. Did not find anything at the one I usually go to, but found all of this at a thrift store that I don't usually go to. Glad I stopped by today.

 

I found all of this for 3.90. And I was thrilled! Since my son will have his daughter for the month of July, I am trying to make sure that we have enough clothes so that there will be clothes at my house and clothes at his house.

It is really a good idea to check out thrift stores if you are trying to save money - especially on kids clothes since sometimes they zip through clothes.

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Another thing about saving money- My husband and I switched our auto insurance and it looks like we will be saving $80 per month- and that is with the new car added. So if you are trying to save money you might want to call around - you, too, might find out that you can save money with just switching insurance companies. I am thrilled - especially since my son is only getting about 32 hours a week. He REALLY need 40 hours a week to come closer to paying all of his bills. So please keep that in your prayers.

More Money Saving Ideas

Ever since my sons and I lost our jobs, I have been looking into how I can be more efficient with our money. And it has amazed me the things that I have figured out now that I am looking into saving money. And to be very honest - I wish I had have thought of these things before.

I thought I would share a few of them with you just in case you have not thought of them. I, by NO means have all the answers but slowly I am making better choices which is helping save my family money.

I wear contacts. For a long while now I have been using a multi solution- meaning you can use it to store you contacts, wash them and rinse them. A bottle - I think 12 oz bottle was lasting me about a month. I was already buying the package of 2-12 oz bottles because it is cheaper that way. But then I noticed that they also sold packages of 2-12 oz bottles of saline solution- and it is actually cheaper than the multi solution. So I have started buying a package of each and I use the multi solution for the cleaning and storing and I use the saline solution for the rinsing. And it has helped the solution last longer. So it is farther between times to buy more- which is always a good thing.

In my household - I am basically the only one that likes to eat apple sauce. I love to have it on pancakes or toast along with peanut butter and cool whip. This is something that I did as a girl and still love to do. Anyway I would buy the jars of apple sauce but because I did not eat this very often I would more times than not - end up having to throw a half used jar of apples sauce away because it had gone bad. Then just a few weeks ago - while I was at the store- I noticed that they had some packages of 6 small individual packages of 4 oz of apple sauce. And when I did the math -it would not cost me any more to buy the 6 pack than the jar of apple sauce. And the really good part is that you open one when you need it and the rest stays good until you are ready to use it. No more waste when it comes to apple sauce. Many times those multi - Individual packages are more expensive and not worth the extra expense but this sure is a good idea. Be sure to take the time and do the math - you might be surprised!

Another way that I have been saving money is that I shop at several different stores: Aldi's, HEB, Walmart, and sometimes Albertsons(when they run chicken breast on sale for @1.49 a pound -or equally as good of deal). A week or so ago  - I did a check in at Aldi's on Facebook and how I loved the place. Well a cousin of mine asked me why I went there since I could get the milk and eggs as cheap at HEB. I told him- because they have a lot of other deals that make it worth the stop. Just to list a couple of the basics that I find there cheaper is - chips, spaghetti sauce, white sugar, bread, oats- both old fashioned and quick, and a lot of other things. It is worth the extra stop to get those deals - right now I can get my white sugar for 20 cents cheaper than anywhere else in town - HEB is the only one that come even close and that is the 20 cents higher price - everywhere else is more like a dollar more. It is worth the extra stop different grocery stores if you have time. That 20 cents here and 30 cents there - add up over time.

One more way that I am saving money is with my hand soap and liquid dish soap- I have the regular sized bottles that we use. And then when I need more of that soap - I buy the large refill container of the stuff and then just refill my smaller bottles when needed. A lot of what you buy when you continue to buy the small things of soap is the packaging. This way save waste and money.

Well those are just a few of the ways that I have found to save us money. I continue to look for ways to make the money go further and it is so exciting when I figure out something that will help.

Oh one more thing- I think on a different money saving post - I shared how I love Paul Mitchell extra body mousse stuff - and I had shared how I had written the date on the bottom of the bottle and that even though the bottle cost me about $10.00 that it had lasted me 4 months so it was well worth the money. Well when I ran out of that bottle and started using the new bottle - I wrote the date on the bottle of the bottle - 12-20-12 - and guess what? I am still using that bottle = I am at 4 months and about 18 days now and I have several days left in the bottle at least. I am going to continue to use it till it's gone. I did pick up another bottle today because I got my hair cut today. I love to see that I was able to use it more sparingly and was able to make it last a lot longer.

There are always ways to save money - we just have to be willing to learn new things and to figure out different ways.

Repurposing and Preventing Waste...Good Money Savers

I know I already posted today but I wanted to share a few things with you today. So here we go:

Since my sons and I all lost our jobs the end of last year. And since then only my youngest son has found a job- things have been tight around here. God has provided for the money to pay our bills and also my sons bills, but that money is running down. But I continue to trust that God is in control.
One of the things that I have learned and have been doing more and more of - is to look at ways to save money. And it is surprising the things that you come up when you start paying attention. You learn to make do with what you have more often. And example of that is - we have a container that we store our large utensils in, but I have more than what my one container will hold. Well I had seen on someone's beautiful blog that they had found a beautiful vintage pitcher and used it to hold the utensils. Well I loved the idea and I really wanted to copy their idea. My husband and I actually went to a local Antique mall looking for one. But did not find one that would work. I did find a cute Avon bottle that was a small little pitcher. So I told my husband that we were successful in our trip because we had found a pitcher...lol. Anyway so I just decided to let it go. Yesterday I finally came up with a wonderful idea! I have a medium sized cookie jar - kind of a beige color with some pink designs along with a heart(which I love) on it. I don't use it for a cookie jar because when I make cookies I make a small batch what ever I think we will want and then what ever is left over - I put in a Ziploc bag to keep them fresh. I am very picky about my cookies - I love fresh cookies. After a day or so - they loose their appeal. Anyway so I took the lid off of it washed it up and then I filled it up with the utensils and it works great. And best part is - no money was spent!

Then I noticed that I had a bowl with about 9 apples in it. Well I had bought a good sized bag and we had eaten some and then just hadn't eaten the rest. They were starting to lose their appeal. Well I decided first of all to make a batch of apple muffins-my mother in laws secret recipe - hence the name of our baker was "The Apple Cake Shop." Anyway so I peeled and chopped enough apples for that batch and then peeled and chopped the rest of the apples and I measured them out into the correct amount of apples needed for a recipe of Apple Muffins/Cake and put them into separate Ziploc freezer bags. And then I put them into the freezer. I have done this before and it has worked well. When you are going to use apples in a recipe that you are going to be baking anyway - you can freeze them. If you are still hesitant to try it. Just try it one time and see. Maybe with your recipe it won't work as well but with this recipe it works good. So I made 2 dozen apple muffins and then I have enough apples in the freezer for 2 more batches of Apple Muffins/Cake.

Anyway so you can see there are many ways to save money around the house - sometimes by reusing something you already have and sometimes by not wasting what you have. And what's neat is that it is fun to figure these things out.

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Before I end this post about saving money - I do want to share something with you all. I made up 2 batches of home made laundry detergent, this time I did something a little different and had a little different results. I had shared how I had put the mixture of the ivory soap, washing powder and borax in the blender. This time I used 1 bar of ivory soap and 1 bar of Fels Naptha and this soap is softer than the ivory soap. Anyway I would recommend you blending it in a blender one half of recipe at a time and make sure the blender is dry. I tried to blend one batch and I am not sure if it was moisture in the blender or if the Fels Naptha so being so much softer made it kind of harden at the bottom of the blender. When I did the next batch - I halved the recipe and it did much, much better. So I just wanted to write a little note to let ya'll know you might want to be careful if you use the softer soap and a blender.

What are ways you save your family money?