Cheap Tricks My Mother Taught Me

[momsfirststop]

Cheap Tricks My Mother Taught Me

With the price of gas, food, electricity (OK, pretty much everything) going up it seems that our budgets are bending till they break. At the very least everyone is becoming more creative with their finances and learning to save money wherever possible. I find myself thinking about all the cheap tricks my mother used to stretch our budget on a family of 6. If you read my article “Going Green before It Was Cool” then you already have 20 cheap tricks courtesy of my mother under your belt. These ideas are, if nothing else, entertaining and if used can be quite practical. Here are 6 more cheap tricks my mother taught me.
Make your own tortilla night: To save money and time my mom would have us make our own tortillas on taco night. She would pre-make the dough: 3 cups flour,2 tsp. baking powder,1 tsp. salt,4-6 Tbsp. vegetable shortening or lard, about 1 1/4 cups warm water. Then everyone would take turns rolling out and frying their tortillas. This would not only save money but it would slow my 3 brother’s eating habit down.
Homemade popcorn to ball games: My dad was a high school teach and coach so for family entertainment we would go to ball games. We would get into the games for free and my mom would bring a paper grocery bag filled with air-popped popcorn from home.
Hand-me-downs: I LOVE the idea of hand-me-downs however it is very unfortunate to be apart of the hand-me-down cycle when you are the only girl with a family of 3 boys.
Free Soup at Mc Donald’s: Did you know that if you take ketchup and mix it with hot water it makes tomato soup? If you are hungry and are low on cash you can make a run to a fast food joint and load up on ketchup and hot water. Its mmm, mmm, good!
Following a truck filled with produce (onions, potatoes) does pay off: I grew up in an agricultural community and it was not uncommon to see large trucks filled with potatoes or onions on our rural roads. My mother would follow these trucks and wait for falling produce and stop and pick-up the produce road-kill.
Eating dinner at Costco: My mother loves shopping at Costco. Not just for the bulk food items but for the limitless samples provided by the different vendors. These samples are not just a snack but can be a meal if you play your cards right.
For more cheap tricks: “Going Green before It Was Cool”, “Kids Eat Free”, “Free DVD Rentals”, “8 Free to Cheap Childcare options” and “How to Make Your Own Non-toxic Cleaners”

[DistilledRose]

My mother doesn't own a dryer. She air dries all of her clothes. I'm going to try and start doing the same because I think she's got the right idea!

[Jason830]

Thats a good article...I am starting to stay away from my dryer as well. Especially when the weather is nice, it is better to air dry clothes.

[khorrell]

Our AC isn't working, so I've been hanging the laundry to help keep the house cooler. Now I've got my kids convinced that we're hanging our laundry to help save the polar bears (their newest environmental kick) and they're really enthusiastic.

I still need to buy a proper line as hanging things over the lawn furniture isn't very efficient.

[Megan]

I have to admit, I am horrified by the idea of ketchup soup. Ok, if you are absolutely broke and have no other way to eat, I suppose it makes sense. But really? Taking extra packets of ketchup from a fast food store (which could be considered stealing, but we won't go there) and mixing it with water? First off, it can't taste that good. Second, if someone is that hard up for food, hit a soup kitchen! A food pantry! You could get a real bowl of tomato soup!

[DistilledRose]

Wow khorrell I had never thought before that hanging laundry would help cool your house. Makes perfect sense though!

[Macie_C]

In my house we hang our laundry out to dry everyday, and when its cold or rainy we hang it inside its a great alternative to using and energy consuming and house heating dryer. We dont have an air conditioner either so we keep the house shut up through the first part of the day to keep the cool left from the night, then about midday when things start to heat up we open all the doors and windows to cool them down. I love a lot of the ideas in this, but the tomato soup thing is taking it a bit far but thanks for the info