My favorite frugal dish is salad, there are just so many things you can do with a salad, you can add fruit, or nuts or beans or chicken, you can have salad every day of the week and never eat the same salad twice!
I last commented on this article in August 2012. Now I have been couponing for over 2 years and I still say it definitely is NOT a waste of time. Trying all of the tricks on that TV show to get those results IS a waste of time and unrealistic. But simply by shopping smart and using coupons + sales, you can cut your monthly shopping bills in HALF.
For the past 3 months, my income dropped significantly and we had no way to reduce our monthly bills other than with the grocery/household supply costs. Because of couponing, I had stocked up over the past 12 months, so I was able to cut my shopping costs in half again (from $100 a week down to $50 a week for a family of 4 + a cat and dog.) One week I was able to skip shopping altogether! (And I only buy 2 newspapers ($5) a week and the rest of them I print from online sites.)
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I've also stopped paying for school lunches. Today my girls brought juice boxes, carrot sticks, green grapes, celery sticks with peanut butter for one and a PB & J sandwich for the other to school. They always have healthy lunches I know they will enjoy now, instead of the tasteless food served by schools (with the new government mandates) that they just pick at and throw away. It also saves us about $800 a year in hot lunch fees!
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I can afford a lot more healthy food (fresh produce & better meats) now that I'm paying 50% - 90% less than most people pay for toilet paper, paper napkins, cat litter & food, shampoo, bath soap, dish soap, laundry soap & dryer sheets, garbage & storage bags, household cleaners, feminine products, hair products, make up, cold & other OTC medicines, baby wipes, bandages, toothpaste, shaving supplies, peanut butter, jelly, mayo, ketchup, dry pasta, tuna, cereal, milk, eggs, cheese, meat, canned tomatoes and vegetables, salad dressing, frozen vegetables, butter, flour, sugar, coffee & creamer...the list goes on and on. And I very, very RARELY buy the processed, frozen, boxed or canned meals people associate with "couponing." :)
I've read a lot about the subject of interviews and conducting yourself in interviews recently because I just graduated college and am trying to find where I belong in the business world. I've never seen examples of weight questions like these, but it seems like it all really comes down to the interviewer getting a feel for who you really are as a person rather than you as a business professional trying to portray yourself in a certain light. I must admit I'd probably get tripped up if faced with any of these questions during an interview, but I'm confident in my personality and ability to answer curveball questions under pressure with grace.
Spring cleaning is an annual occurrence in my house that never gets looked over. We all take a weekend to go through our closets and donate unworn clothes, do an entire top-to-bottom cleaning of the whole house, switch out glass for screens and (my favorite) do the flower boxes! Once spring is in the air, especially in the Northeast, its like everyone comes back to life and is so much happier than during the long and dreary winter.
I've used Craigslist extensively for 8 years and have definitely seen my fair share of scams.
I avoid #1 by meeting in public, well-lit places.
Most of the other online scams are fairly easy to spot. The emails seem fake and out of place.
Tilapia - very inexpensive fish yet delicious and healthy
Bell peppers, corn, olives, tomatoes, garlic, onions - (chop, chop, chop) labor intensive but not wallet intensive
Olive oil - to taste (the more olive oil, the more mediterranean)
TVP is my favorite frugal food. For the price, or less, of about a pound of animal protein, I can buy a pound or TVP that rehydrates into a little over three pound of low fat protein. It absorbs flavor, like tofu, so rehydrating it with flavorful liquids like spicy tomato sauce or stock gives it any flavor I need. It comes in little granules that are a good stand in for Taco Bell style ground beef, kibbles for soups, and nuggets which I used to rehydrate with chicken stock and bread for my kids' "chicken" nuggets. They will keep in a jar on a shelf for ages, always ready to toss into a last minute meal.
I have been looking at used cars lately and am finding a lot of bogus ads. For example a Lexus for $1200. or other deals that are far too good to be true. I've always wondered they are attempting to gain by posting such ads. They are frequently flagged and removed within hours, but they are overtaking the legitimate ads. What's the deal?
Here is another great use for your banana peel: If you have those pesky fruit flies, put a banana peel (in strips so you can drop it in) into a drinking bottle and then put a funnel (with a long neck) into the bottle and tape it so the flies can't crawl out between the funnel and the bottle opening. The fruit flies will be drawn to the banana peels and once inside the bottle they are not smart enough to crawl out the funnel opening. They will try to get out at the top of the bottle, but can't because you have taped it. Some may actually crawl out, but they will be back because they are drawn to the banana peel.
Green onions are a favorite frugal food because they will keep growing in a little water and can be re-harvested. There's a post about it on our blog: http://paintingontheceiling.blogspot.com/
The big debate is really whether they are properly green onions or chives....
Thanks for the comment! I think that paying down the mortgage is key to making that work and it sounds like that's exactly what you're doing. Unfortunately, many people who haven't yet succeeded at saving their money might really struggle to pay that loan off quickly - and keep their hands out of the equity they build. I see the saving part as a bit of a test of will. At least it was for me:-)
I wouldn't dare to give specific financial advice, but it might help to look at from the perspective of risk. In other words, take a look at the possible worst-case scenarios and decide whether these are something you could manage. Like:
-Could you afford to pay this mortgage and rent/buy another house if you couldn't find a renter or it took a long time to sell it?
-Are you prepared for the additional expenses of home ownership, such as property tax and repairs?
-If you have to sell the home in a couple of years, can you afford to lose some money on it or at least eat the closing costs you'll pay when you buy (I believe they're about 2 percent of the cost of the home on average)
I make jam. I have discovered that people will pay more per ounce for a smaller jar and that friends seem to see getting two 4 ounce jars of jam as a fancier gift than getting two 8 ounce jars of jam.
I think portion size has gotten so crazy in the US, that if you sell small sizes of something, that signifies status and quality.
It's not common sense, it's a lack of understanding on how couponing works. A lot of people don't pay for the sunday papers, they don't spend hours clipping coupons, they don't overbuy, and they don't waste their time. I coupon and save hundreds. My paper is free, I clip for about 30 mins in front of a tv show once a week, and I score free stuff all the time. The savings are phenomenal.
I can understand how it didn't work for your family, but not all couponers run to 4 stores in a day. I go to 1 or 2 stores a week depending on deals and needs- Rite Aid for my freebie personal care products and household cleaning supplies, and Winco for my cheap groceries.
Wal Mart is extremely overpriced on groceries. They're food is not only low quality but they're pricing on food is generally really bad. You should check out other stores like Costco if you're not willing to coupon.
And at first glance the name brand might be 50 cents more expensive than the store brand so if you're not going to coupon then yes store brand is your best option, but couponing can get you the name brand stuff for free. Again I understand that it may not work for your family but I hate seeing the misconceptions poeple have built in their minds about couponing. I love getting free laundry detergant, free toothpaste, free gum, 25 cent deodreants, free makeup etc. and couponing has been great for my family. I don't go out of my way I just plan my trips well using useful blogs like the krazy coupon lady.
I'm not trying to make assumptions because I don't know you're particular situation, but generally when your receipt tells you you saved money, it's only according to retail pricing or regular pricing, and that's just a gimmick. It's like when you shop at Kohls and at the bottom of the receipt it tells you "you saved $100 today!" It's just a gimmick to make you feel good. Kohls would never ever actually charge $40 for a shirt, but because the sign says "retail $40 - today 50% off"... people think they're saving and get all excited when in all reality, they're paying the most Kohls would ever charge! (I am an ex kohls employee in case you hadn't realised :P and they are a perfect example of this making people feel warm and fuzzy about savings when they're not saving anything).
If usually you buy something full price and when you saw a sale you stocked up, that's great, but you could maximize savings by using coupons with sales and walk out of the store paying nothing or just a few bucks. E.g. I have never paid more than 50 cents for a bottle of shampoo, I have never paid for toothpaste or toothbrushes, and thanks to sales AND coupons, i never spend more than $15 a week at the grocery store. It's just a thought, and coupon blogs like the Krazy Coupon Lady do all the work for you matching sales with coupons and telling you what you can get for free each week.
I got a years subscription to my sunday paper for free also. And my company has several copies in the breakroom with inserts that I am allowed to take. I hate the "but you have to spend money on the sunday paper" excuse.
My favorite frugal dish is salad, there are just so many things you can do with a salad, you can add fruit, or nuts or beans or chicken, you can have salad every day of the week and never eat the same salad twice!
I last commented on this article in August 2012. Now I have been couponing for over 2 years and I still say it definitely is NOT a waste of time. Trying all of the tricks on that TV show to get those results IS a waste of time and unrealistic. But simply by shopping smart and using coupons + sales, you can cut your monthly shopping bills in HALF.
For the past 3 months, my income dropped significantly and we had no way to reduce our monthly bills other than with the grocery/household supply costs. Because of couponing, I had stocked up over the past 12 months, so I was able to cut my shopping costs in half again (from $100 a week down to $50 a week for a family of 4 + a cat and dog.) One week I was able to skip shopping altogether! (And I only buy 2 newspapers ($5) a week and the rest of them I print from online sites.)
.
I've also stopped paying for school lunches. Today my girls brought juice boxes, carrot sticks, green grapes, celery sticks with peanut butter for one and a PB & J sandwich for the other to school. They always have healthy lunches I know they will enjoy now, instead of the tasteless food served by schools (with the new government mandates) that they just pick at and throw away. It also saves us about $800 a year in hot lunch fees!
.
I can afford a lot more healthy food (fresh produce & better meats) now that I'm paying 50% - 90% less than most people pay for toilet paper, paper napkins, cat litter & food, shampoo, bath soap, dish soap, laundry soap & dryer sheets, garbage & storage bags, household cleaners, feminine products, hair products, make up, cold & other OTC medicines, baby wipes, bandages, toothpaste, shaving supplies, peanut butter, jelly, mayo, ketchup, dry pasta, tuna, cereal, milk, eggs, cheese, meat, canned tomatoes and vegetables, salad dressing, frozen vegetables, butter, flour, sugar, coffee & creamer...the list goes on and on. And I very, very RARELY buy the processed, frozen, boxed or canned meals people associate with "couponing." :)
It may be lame, but I really like mac n cheese :) I add a little sugar...thats my secret!
I've read a lot about the subject of interviews and conducting yourself in interviews recently because I just graduated college and am trying to find where I belong in the business world. I've never seen examples of weight questions like these, but it seems like it all really comes down to the interviewer getting a feel for who you really are as a person rather than you as a business professional trying to portray yourself in a certain light. I must admit I'd probably get tripped up if faced with any of these questions during an interview, but I'm confident in my personality and ability to answer curveball questions under pressure with grace.
Spring cleaning is an annual occurrence in my house that never gets looked over. We all take a weekend to go through our closets and donate unworn clothes, do an entire top-to-bottom cleaning of the whole house, switch out glass for screens and (my favorite) do the flower boxes! Once spring is in the air, especially in the Northeast, its like everyone comes back to life and is so much happier than during the long and dreary winter.
Hi Guest! The link should work now. =)
I've used Craigslist extensively for 8 years and have definitely seen my fair share of scams.
I avoid #1 by meeting in public, well-lit places.
Most of the other online scams are fairly easy to spot. The emails seem fake and out of place.
A Mediterranean dish -
Tilapia - very inexpensive fish yet delicious and healthy
Bell peppers, corn, olives, tomatoes, garlic, onions - (chop, chop, chop) labor intensive but not wallet intensive
Olive oil - to taste (the more olive oil, the more mediterranean)
TVP is my favorite frugal food. For the price, or less, of about a pound of animal protein, I can buy a pound or TVP that rehydrates into a little over three pound of low fat protein. It absorbs flavor, like tofu, so rehydrating it with flavorful liquids like spicy tomato sauce or stock gives it any flavor I need. It comes in little granules that are a good stand in for Taco Bell style ground beef, kibbles for soups, and nuggets which I used to rehydrate with chicken stock and bread for my kids' "chicken" nuggets. They will keep in a jar on a shelf for ages, always ready to toss into a last minute meal.
I have been looking at used cars lately and am finding a lot of bogus ads. For example a Lexus for $1200. or other deals that are far too good to be true. I've always wondered they are attempting to gain by posting such ads. They are frequently flagged and removed within hours, but they are overtaking the legitimate ads. What's the deal?
Here is another great use for your banana peel: If you have those pesky fruit flies, put a banana peel (in strips so you can drop it in) into a drinking bottle and then put a funnel (with a long neck) into the bottle and tape it so the flies can't crawl out between the funnel and the bottle opening. The fruit flies will be drawn to the banana peels and once inside the bottle they are not smart enough to crawl out the funnel opening. They will try to get out at the top of the bottle, but can't because you have taped it. Some may actually crawl out, but they will be back because they are drawn to the banana peel.
Green onions are a favorite frugal food because they will keep growing in a little water and can be re-harvested. There's a post about it on our blog:
http://paintingontheceiling.blogspot.com/
The big debate is really whether they are properly green onions or chives....
Potato soup is my favorite frugal food. Warms you up and it's relatively cheap!
Keep it simple. Keep it short. Keep it elegant.
Throwing on the extra crap does cheapen the original. Learn when to say enough!
Thanks for the comment! I think that paying down the mortgage is key to making that work and it sounds like that's exactly what you're doing. Unfortunately, many people who haven't yet succeeded at saving their money might really struggle to pay that loan off quickly - and keep their hands out of the equity they build. I see the saving part as a bit of a test of will. At least it was for me:-)
I wouldn't dare to give specific financial advice, but it might help to look at from the perspective of risk. In other words, take a look at the possible worst-case scenarios and decide whether these are something you could manage. Like:
-Could you afford to pay this mortgage and rent/buy another house if you couldn't find a renter or it took a long time to sell it?
-Are you prepared for the additional expenses of home ownership, such as property tax and repairs?
-If you have to sell the home in a couple of years, can you afford to lose some money on it or at least eat the closing costs you'll pay when you buy (I believe they're about 2 percent of the cost of the home on average)
I made mine with 9 cups sugar of flour and 11/4 cup of baby oil. Keeps your hands soft, smells great and the kids love it. I got 4 in my house.
Eggs! They're affordable, versatile, yet somehow seem rich and indulgent. Breakfast, lunch, dinner...I could eat them all the time!
I make jam. I have discovered that people will pay more per ounce for a smaller jar and that friends seem to see getting two 4 ounce jars of jam as a fancier gift than getting two 8 ounce jars of jam.
I think portion size has gotten so crazy in the US, that if you sell small sizes of something, that signifies status and quality.
At my job I make $15 an hour.
Couponing, I "make"/save (and it varies week to week) $50+ an hour.
It takes 30 minutes to clip and organize per week to save an absolute minimum of $25 a week for a household of 2.
$1200 a year savings = our vacation.
WORTH IT.
It's not common sense, it's a lack of understanding on how couponing works. A lot of people don't pay for the sunday papers, they don't spend hours clipping coupons, they don't overbuy, and they don't waste their time. I coupon and save hundreds. My paper is free, I clip for about 30 mins in front of a tv show once a week, and I score free stuff all the time. The savings are phenomenal.
I can understand how it didn't work for your family, but not all couponers run to 4 stores in a day. I go to 1 or 2 stores a week depending on deals and needs- Rite Aid for my freebie personal care products and household cleaning supplies, and Winco for my cheap groceries.
Wal Mart is extremely overpriced on groceries. They're food is not only low quality but they're pricing on food is generally really bad. You should check out other stores like Costco if you're not willing to coupon.
And at first glance the name brand might be 50 cents more expensive than the store brand so if you're not going to coupon then yes store brand is your best option, but couponing can get you the name brand stuff for free. Again I understand that it may not work for your family but I hate seeing the misconceptions poeple have built in their minds about couponing. I love getting free laundry detergant, free toothpaste, free gum, 25 cent deodreants, free makeup etc. and couponing has been great for my family. I don't go out of my way I just plan my trips well using useful blogs like the krazy coupon lady.
I'm not trying to make assumptions because I don't know you're particular situation, but generally when your receipt tells you you saved money, it's only according to retail pricing or regular pricing, and that's just a gimmick. It's like when you shop at Kohls and at the bottom of the receipt it tells you "you saved $100 today!" It's just a gimmick to make you feel good. Kohls would never ever actually charge $40 for a shirt, but because the sign says "retail $40 - today 50% off"... people think they're saving and get all excited when in all reality, they're paying the most Kohls would ever charge! (I am an ex kohls employee in case you hadn't realised :P and they are a perfect example of this making people feel warm and fuzzy about savings when they're not saving anything).
If usually you buy something full price and when you saw a sale you stocked up, that's great, but you could maximize savings by using coupons with sales and walk out of the store paying nothing or just a few bucks. E.g. I have never paid more than 50 cents for a bottle of shampoo, I have never paid for toothpaste or toothbrushes, and thanks to sales AND coupons, i never spend more than $15 a week at the grocery store. It's just a thought, and coupon blogs like the Krazy Coupon Lady do all the work for you matching sales with coupons and telling you what you can get for free each week.
Eggs! They're even more frugal for us since we have a couple of our own chickens. You can make breakfast - even for dinner when times are tight.
I got a years subscription to my sunday paper for free also. And my company has several copies in the breakroom with inserts that I am allowed to take. I hate the "but you have to spend money on the sunday paper" excuse.