Make your own Laundry Soap!

Another great way to save a lot of pennies is to make your own laundry soap! I have been doing this for 3 years now and have not spent more than $40 on supplies in that whole time. I actually started making it because my daughter was breaking out from any commercial soap that we used. It is easy to do, too! This is a great one for large families and also if you have anyone in your family with sensitive skin.

What you need
A 5 gallon bucket (I got at Home depot for $3.99)
Borax household cleaner ($2.99 at local grocer/store- with the cleaning supplies)
Arm and Hammer WASHING soda ($2.49 at local grocer/store - with cleaning supplies)
This one is a little harder to find. The only place in the cities that carries it is Rainbow Foods. Call around before you go out looking for this. Your local store can order it as well if they don't carry it.
Ivory Bar soap ($1.19 for a 3 pack at any store) Comes in unscented, lavender or aloe.
Water
optional: 1 oz essential oil in scent of your choice (I get it at the craft store or the dollar store for $1.00 a bottle)

What you need per batch of laundry soap
1 bar of shredded Ivory soap - the finer the better
1/2 cup Borax
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1 oz. essential oil (optional)
Water

In large pot, add 12 cups of water and the shredded bar soap. Boil until soap is dissolved.
Add in optional essential oil at this point if you are going to add it
Add 1/2 cup borax - stir until dissolved
Add 1/2 cup washing soda - stir until dissolved

Pour solution into 5 gallon bucket and add 1 and 1/2 gallons of water.
Stir well

Allow to set for 24 hours. Soap will be a jelly type solution. I always find it is gelled half way through and then liquid on the bottom. STIR WELL to make all of it the same consistency, and pour into old laundry soap containers.

One batch makes about 4 bottles of laundry soap.
Use 1/2 to 3/4 cup of soap per load of laundry.
1 batch lasts my family of 4 about a month. I do about 2-3 loads of laundry per day.

Things to keep in mind
The soap will be bumpy and lumpy. This is normal and how it should look
The soap will NOT suds up in the washer. This is also normal, and did you know that suds wear out your clothes and discolor them faster?
Without using the essential oils, a load of laundry with this soap costs about 1.5 cents.

Can't get better than that! It is actually pretty fun to make, too!

Don't be afraid to say "Goodbye"

So I called to take a car off of our insurance and replace it with another, again! Lol... I asked as usual if the rates would stay the same only to find out the American Family had taken ANOTHER rate increase and our monthly payments were going to go up significantly. This is the third time in a year this has happened, and it was the last straw! That night, my husband searched around to get different quotes online and by the end of the night, we were switched over to Geico for the same exact coverage at a $95.00 a month SAVINGS!!
We had been with American Family for 5 years and our agent was the nicest person ever. It was hard to make that call to tell him we were leaving, and he did seem genuinely upset, but money is money, and that was a huge savings!! That $95.00 extra a month pays for 3 other utilities!
Don't be afraid to say Goodbye. You may be comfortable with a business, but shop around every now and again. Being comfortable in person may not be what is most comfortable for your wallet. It may be hard to leave, but people are understanding...you have to be in today's time.

So sad our cheap fun is closed for the winter!

We live about 45 minutes away from this really cool drive-in movie place - it was so fun this summer to bring the kids there! We went about 4 times, and it was great fun each and every time! They play 3 movies per night, and it is $7.50 per adult to get in - and the kids are FREE! (under 12) Where else can a family of 4 go to watch 3 movies for $15.00??? Plus, you can bring your own food and drinks in, so you don't have to spend a dime on snacks if you don't want to! You can even grill if you wanted to! The last two times we went we picked up Little Caesars pizza for $5 and had that along with whatever snacks we had at the house. It really was great to go there this Summer and we all loved it. We were going to go one last time before the weather got too cold, but when I just looked to see what was playing, I found out they have closed for the season. BUMMER!!!!

Make your own cleaners and save $$$

Why pay outlandish prices for cleaners at the store when you can make cleaners at home for about 1/4 the cost that work just as well?
Here are 3 very simple recipes that will clean anything you can put in front of them!

What you will need:
3 plastic spray bottles (from your local dollar store) ($3.00)
1 gallon bleach ($1.50)
1 quart white or yellow vinegar (1.00)
GREEN Suave shampoo ($1.00)
1 bottle rubbing alcohol ($.59)
Table Salt ($.35)

*each of these supplies will turn out several batches of the cleaners

Glass Cleaner

2 qt. water
1 cup rubbing alcohol
2 tbls. GREEN Suave (has to be the green)

Mix ingredients together and put in a spray bottle. Shake a little before using. Can be used anywhere you would use regular glass cleaner. It also is great for eyeglasses!

Any Surface Cleaner/Disinfectant

In plastic spray bottle, mix equal parts bleach and water

Can be used on counters, floors, table tops, cupboards, stoves, bathrooms...anything that is not fabric! Makes a great disinfectant and also makes the whole house smell clean and fresh!


Any Surface Cleaner/Scrubber

In plastic spray bottle -
1/3 bottle water
2/3 bottle vinegar
1 tbls table salt

Mix ingredients together until salt dissolves. Shake before every use. Can be used on counters and sinks...is especially good at taking rust rings off drains and scrubbing porcelain.

The combination of these three things will clean anything in your house, saving you tons of money on costly household cleaners!

Utilize Craigslist

I know...it's scary! Talking to people...negotiating with people...meeting people in parking lots... I read the news...I can understand how you might feel that way. (I will talk about safety at the end of this post) However, Craigslist is a great tool if you use it smart and do your research. Buying and selling things on Craigslist is safe, can save you a lot of money, and can be fun! In that regard it can also be addicting, but maybe that's just us! :-) (Remember the post about making frugal living a game?)

I know people don't really know how vast Craigslist is and just what types of things you can find. Here is just a small list of things that we have purchased off Craigslist, or even gotten for free!
-My job
-Our house
-Our cars
-Our dog
-Our cat
-Our fishtank and fish
-Our kitchen table
-Our bed
-Cellphones
-GPS units
-Our basement furniture
-Our pool
-Our patio furniture
-Video game systems
-Brand new condition couldn't find in stores play kitchen from Santa!
-Free end tables that I got to sell at my garage sale!

I think you get the idea! I can't tell you how many good deals we have gotten because people need to get rid of stuff they don't use - they need bar money, vacation money, bill money - or they just don't know the value of what they have. There are a lot of things that we have wanted that we simply could not have gotten had it not been on Craigslist. Where else can you get a $200 in stores GPS unit for $80??? Or a free minpin???

It is also a great place to get rid of stuff we don't want and make a few bucks off of it or just get rid of it to save space and know it is being used! We have sold just as much as we have purchased!

Now, here are some rules of using Craigslist safely:
1) Do your research!
Know what you are purchasing and what the general value would be. Are you really getting a good deal?
Get information ahead of time that is relevant to your purchase. How long have they had the item? Why are they getting rid of it? What condition is it in? Is it still in good working order? Do they have pics? Will they meet you half way between where you are and they are?
2) If possible, talk to the person rather than texting or emailing so you can get a good vibe on their character from their voice. Are you dealing with a man? a teenager? a woman? someone who slurs their words or seems like they have no idea what they are talking about? someone who sounds like a professional? Someone that hesitates when you ask questions?
3) Don't let people come to your house or go to their house (unless furniture is involved) JUST DON'T!! ALWAYS meet in a public place - preferably one where you can stay in your car with it running, or that is right in a main doorway of a shop or restaurant.
4) If furniture is involved and you have to go to someones house to pick it up, bring someone with you! Chances are you will need the help anyway. If you have info. that the person is married, try to schedule the pickup for when the wife or kids would most likely be home. Ask that the item be outside waiting for you if at all possible. If they are coming to you for a purchase, make sure someone is home with you.
5) Be confident in yourself and your abilities! If something doesn't feel right to you, then don't do it! Know that you can handle yourself and portray yourself as such. Bad people know if you are afraid and will use that to their advantage!
6) Obey the law, but if it would make you feel better or if you want added security, bring a weapon. (mace, small pocket knife, ... ) This goes back to rule#5 and feeling confident. If that's what it takes, then do it. But again, obey the law!

Craigslist is NOT a bad place. Everywhere has some bad people, you just have to weed through them. I have to say that in all of our experiences - and there have been hundreds - we have not run into any problems at all. In the process have saved thousands of dollars, and made about as much as well! Whenever we need something we check there first..I honestly don't know what we would do without Craigslist!

MAKE IT FUN!!

Check in often with your utilities and other bills

Okay, this is a long one, but an important one that I think is worth reading!

For years I never thought to do this, but have found the past few years that I have been able to save money on monthly bills by just asking to, and paying attention to what things we really use. The following are some ideas on how that can be done; and a few personal effects of doing them!

1) Most gas and electric companies can set you up on a budget plan so your monthly payments are the same every month. They take your average usage and spread it out throughout a 12 month period and make a fixed monthly payment based on that. When the year is up, if you used more then the previous year you might have 1 higher bill or your budget amount might increase the next year to compensate; but on the other hand if you used less than in the previous year then you will get a credit or your budget amount will go down.
This is also good because you will always know what the monthly payment will be when you sit down to figure out bills. I have us set up on a budget plan for both the gas and electric. Our electric term just got over and now our monthly payment will be $10 more per month because we used a lot more electricity this past year compared to the year before, but when I look online at the gas, we have been using less so we will have a credit coming to us when that term is up. That is nice to see!

2) If I had it my way, we would not even have a TV, or maybe just one to watch the news and Jay Leno! However, not all members of my family agree with my opinion on that! I did pay attention to what we watched, however, and found that there were really only 7 main channels. I called Dish network and found that those channels were included on their 100 channel package as well as the 200 channel package that we currently had. I downgraded to the 100 channel package, saved $26.00 a month, and my family still has no idea that they have 100 less channels to choose from!

3) Cell phones are a tricky thing, and being cost effective when it comes to them can be hard; especially if you are like us and it is the only form of communication you have. We don't have a house phone and rely solely on our cell phones. Depending on the day, we may use it more, or less - so it was always hard to gage how many minutes we need to have on our plan. Now what I do is every 3 months I call T-Mobile and ask them to tell me how many minutes we used for the three prior months and change our plan based on that. Recently we had a 2500 minute a month plan and I found that we generally used 1300-1500 a month. I changed us to an 1800 minute plan, and saved $25.00 a month.
For cell phone companies, it is always a good idea to ask about any unpublished plans that they have as well. Most of the time they do and these are plans that offer a bit of a savings, but people won't know about them unless they ask. Another thing that I did was ask to speak to the customer loyalty department. I didn't threaten to leave, but asked what they could do to help lower my bill since we had been loyal customers for 4 years. By doing that, I got unlimited texting for half price, the t-mobile my faves families plan added to a regular family plan for free, and a few other discounts as well.

4) Recycle. Most cities offer a discount on your monthly trash bill if you participate in their recycling program. Additionally, if you pay for more than one trash can, you may find that recycling cuts down on your trash output enough to go to one can, saving you money as well. Besides that, it is good for the earth, and is a good example to set for the kids!

5) Check in with credit card companies and ask if your interest rate or minimum payments can be lowered. I don't have any credit cards myself so have not tried this, but I have heard that this can work. They would rather give you lower payments than risk having you default.

6) If you rent, try to negotiate your monthly payment. Do you like where you live and plan on staying there for awhile? Offer to sign a multiple year lease for a reduction in the monthly rent. Most people/companies will go for this because it ensures that their property will be rented out for that much longer and they won't have to worry about it sitting vacant or the work involved in getting it ready to be rented again. Reducing your monthly payment by say, $50 or $100 is nothing for them compared to it sitting empty for even 1 month and losing out on that money.

7) This next one I don't think is really practical for every day families, but I mention it because it has saved us a big chunk of money every month and it might work for a few people...
A few years back when we assessed our monthly bills and where our money was going, we found that we spent well over $1000 a month just on car payments and the insurance for the cars. So we sat back and thought if we really needed to have a new mini-van and a cute little car, or did we just need reliable transportation to get us where we needed to go? The answer was the latter. So we sold our cars, paid off the loans at the bank and bought cheap reliable cars with what we had left over. (Craigslist - do your research, and you will be amazed at what you can find that is reliable, safe and inexpensive!) This got us out from under 2 car payments and also lowered our insurance premium by quite a lot every month. It also gives us more freedom with our vehicles. Hubby decided he wanted 4 wheel drive for the winter so sold his car and got an SUV. I had a car and decided that I wanted a minivan, so hubby sold the car and bought me a minivan. I decided we didn't really need a minivan after all so hubby sold the van and got another car. I decided I liked being higher off the ground and wanted an SUV, so hubby sold the car and got me an SUV. Then I decided the SUV used too much gas and really didn't haul like I wanted it to but I didn't want another car for family outings, but I wanted to save money on gas..., so hubby sold the SUV and got another mini-van for hauling and family trips AND a car for everyday around town errands. You get the idea! You have more freedom to be able to have things come and go to fit your lifestyle at the moment - and as an aside, we have not lost any money on any of these transactions and in fact have a made a few bucks off a couple of them! You just need to do your research ahead of time. This also works well with a very patient and good humored hubby!

Bottom line: YOU NEVER KNOW UNLESS YOU ASK! Times are tough...don't be embarrassed or afraid to tell people that you need help in lowering your bills - if they are a decent company, they will at least look into it with you and see if there is anything they can do. They might not be able to, but it is better for them to try that than to potentially lose a customer! Every month I call our internet provider to see if they have any more reasonably priced plans and they never do...but you never know, someday they might! And if you don't NEED to lower your bills, per se, still try - because really, would you complain if you didn't have to pay as much and ended up with more left over at the end of the month????

Interesting article on re-using everyday household items...

This has some pretty good ideas. Some not so practical, but some are pretty okay. Check it out and see if you have any of these things that can be reused!

http://lifestyle.msn.com/your-home/cleaning-organizing/staticslideshowrs.aspx?cp-documentid=21889122&gt1=32001

Family Favorite! Chicken Stir-Fry and eggrolls - $7.59 meal for 6

Prep Time: 5 minutes
Cooking Time: 15 minutes
Serves: 6
Cost: approx. $1.26 per serving

Ingredients:
2 packages Oriental flavored Ramen noodles ($ .30)
2 frozen chicken breasts, diced (about $1.60)
1 package frozen vegetables - any type you choose ($1.75)
1/2 bottle stir-fry sauce (6oz) ($1.75 per bottle)
1 package frozen eggrolls ($ varies per preference approx. $2.19)

Directions:
Cook eggrolls per package instructions.
1) In frying pan or electric skillet, cook chicken through.
2) While chicken is cooking, prepare Ramen noodles per directions on package. Drain water from noodles BEFORE adding the packets of seasoning.
3) Add frozen vegetables and stir-fry sauce to the chicken and let cook until vegetables are tender.
4) Add Ramen noodles and stir until all is combined.

Variations:
-Use soy sauce instead of stir-fry sauce to bring cost down
-Can use pork flavored Ramen noodles instead of the Oriental flavor
-Can use pork or beef instead of chicken (what's leftover in the fridge?)
-If you have any leftover vegetables from other meals, use those instead, or just add in to stretch the meal to serve more.

Winter is coming! Make your summer clothes work for you all year round!

So winter is coming...the weather is getting colder. You go to storage and take out the winter clothes only to realize that everyone has grown and you need new winter clothes! Before you head to the store, try this...
Since the layered look is still trendy, a good way to make t-shirts work for boys (and men!) all year round is to have a few solid colored long sleeve t-shirts that you can wear underneath them. Having just a few basic colors will be guaranteed to match any t-shirt they might have. That will cut down on the amount of winter shirts you need to buy, leaving more for the pants you need, or better yet, your pocket book!
For girls, those long summer dresses can still be worn in the winter, just add a button up sweater. And sleeveless/short dresses can still be worn with a solid colored turtle neck and some tights or leggings underneath.
And finally, short sleeved shirts and tank tops can be worn under other long sleeve shirts, sweaters or sweatshirts that you might already have to give them a new look each time you wear them!
Remember...be creative and try different things. You might just be amazed at how many different looks you can get out of one piece of clothing!

#1 thing to remember when trying to live frugally

HAVE FUN!! Some of the funnest times around our house are when we have just a certain amount of money budgeted out for the week/weekend and see just how long we can make it last, and what all we can do with it. Living frugally does not mean that you need to stop living, it just means that you need to live more simply, and be more creative. Make it fun! Laugh! Turn it into a game, and play to win!

Welcome to my blog!

Welcome to my blog! My main focus here is to list tips that can help the every day family save some money. In these tough economic times, we all could use any advice we can get, right? Some tips may work for you, and some might not. These are just things that my husband and I have tried that have worked for us. I consider us to be pretty practical people and people who like things to be as simple as possible, so I am hoping that more things will work for you than won't! If you have any ideas that you would like posted as well, please email me and I will add them! Let's all help each other!