Saving Money

I found this website on how to recycle candle wax to make new candles:

http://www.groovy-mom.com/crafty/old/000089recycling_your_candles.html

and here's one on how to make wicks:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5936_make-own-wicks.html

I can't wait to try it!

 

For any Aussies - Go to a sunday morning flea market....

Good apples for 50c a kilo.....yeaaaaaaaaaah, you could buy enough apples to live off for a week for about $2

 

Here are some. Sorry if they are already posted.

1. Drink water. Its is free. Coke is like $1 a can. If you drink 2 cans of Coke a day, that would be about $60. Arrrghhh

2. Buy some seeds for fruit trees, grow them in your backyard, pick the fruit, then eat it. Easy peasy.

3. Petrol is expensive. There is no point driving 1 km, espacially at day time. Walk!

 

• Grow your own fruit and veggies.
• Make your own clothes, or buy them on clearance (I've gotten so many really nice sweaters and things for like $5!).
• Get rid of your tv. There's nothing good on anyway.
• Recycle everything. You get 5 cents per bottle and can here in California.
• For girls.
• If you have kids, save all their clothes and pass 'em onto the next kid(s).
• Don't buy bottled water. Get one of those Brita or Pur jugs with the water filters in them. This saves you money and it cuts down on plastic and paper wrappers.

 

For parents:


- Breastfeed. Formula is EXPENSIVE, especially the hypoalergenic crap.
- Birth at home. A typical hospital birth is around $7,000 and a C-section is around $14,000. A homebirth with a midwife is approximately $2,000.
- Use cloth diapers. I payed $215 for good prefolds and snap covers. They'll last three kids. That's an enormous savings, even more so if you use cloth wipes.
- Make your own baby food. Gerber jars are marked up SO much and the cereals and crackers have lots of additives. If you hold off on solids until the baby is at least 6 months old (which is what the AAP recommends anyway), you don't even have to puree the food. Just steam some veggies till they're very soft and mash them with a fork or a potato masher.
- Don't bother with a stroller, a bassinet, a bouncer, a swing, or a crib. Get a sling and cosleep. Baby will cry less and you will bond more.

For women:

- Use non-disposable menstrual products. The Keeper, the Diva Cup (what I use), cloth pads (I also use), sea sponge tampons and other products are readily available in health food stores or online.
- Get off the pill. Not only is it terrible for your body, it costs a lot. Use condoms (available free at doctor's offices and Planned Parenthood) or natural family planning methods (lactational amenorrhea, charting, basal body temperature, etc.).

 

I enjoyed this thread a lot. Good to see people who are trying to save money. God knows we need to find some way these days.

For those people who sell from ebay: Ever thought of going to your local walmarts or dollar store or supermarket and asking them for there boxes so that you can pack your things your selling in them? I know ours gives away them for free.

Saving:
Join your local Freecycle-yahoo group. Ive gotten a few things from there. All right in my own area. This way it lets me meet new people who care about the enviornment., lets me get rid of things I dont personally need anymore which I would either have to find a home for; which isnt a problem, I would have to junk; I wouldnt do that. Not only does it cost me to throw away stuff. I dont throw away what I still find good or that someone else could use. I go to my yahoo group and post it there for FREE. Yes all FREE. I have saved a lot of money not throwing things out that others could use and have now found a home for and saved our landfills
*One step at a time*

Shop at the Goodwill, Salvation Army, thrift shop in your area.

Ask friends about there old clothes, candle containers ANYTHING you think you could use or recycle or give away for free. I know a mother who got ALL brand new clothes for her baby, the family was rich and all she did was throw out the perfect clothes. I told her I would take it and give it to friends who needed it and I have donated a lot to the maternity services and social services around here. Even had a few things I had for really really cheep at my yearly garage sale.

Have a garage sale. Get rid of unwanted things to others who need and want them. Declutters your house and puts a few bucks in your pocket. Plus I like to have it when its nice out so that I can sit outside and talk with all the people who stop by. Once I had someone trade me somethin I needed for somethin I had that they wanted. Great bargain there. LOL

If your throwing a lot of food out. Why not just have company over? Lets you spend time with loved ones or friends that you dont normally get to see. Trade every other week or so and let them do the cooking. You wont be throwing out as much food, estimate wisely or you could spend a lot more then what u need. BUy what u need.

Dont buy at fast food places ALL the time. Bring your own food in your own little container.
Dont buy ice. Make it yourself. Its so much cheaper. I always go to this festival so the day before the festival; every hour or so I change the ice trays, put the new ice into walmart bags or ziplock bags. Once used an old piece of meat that was FROOZE in the back of the fridge to keep my stuff cold. Threw it out of course before it unthawed. Worked for a couple hours and kept my things cold in the mean time.

more to come.......when i think of it

 

on the trail of penny pinching, I have a cool story about how shopping in a thrift store can have GREAT results.
Although i wasnt there apparently my father and a good friend of his were lookiing at thrift stores to see if they fidn anything cool. They goto this one goodwill in vermillion, ab and see 4 early-mid 90s Technics A-30 house speakers and 2 very big paradigm subwoofers. My Dad was thought theres no way in hell he'd ever be able to afford this so he asked the clerk if she'd sell a pair. she says no. so naturally he askes well how much do u want for all this stuff? she says $100. 0.o after doing a bit more bartering he managed to get all the stuff above PLUS a mediocre TEAC equalizer for $100. this is UNREAL considering this stuff probally cost much over a grand brand new. even better was he was planing on spending a grand on a new speaker set. see it goes to show you gotta check out thrift stores!

As for my own experience I like to goto my Value Village and check out the tapes and vinyls they have. Just because the technology is old and unwanted doesnt mean that the music is no good! And at 50 cents a recornd and a buck a tape thats a freaking sweet deal! I've found Frampton comes alive, some INXS, Bad Company, and more! Not too mention the clothes! You can find some hip threads for pennys! Swallow your pride! shop thrift!

 

I don't usually buy the name brand of a thing...say, if I am buying something for allergies, I will buy the store brand, which is usually cheaper. The thing is, you have to make sure that the ingredients are the very same. The very same. Other than that, I like to track what I spend my money on. If I find that I am spending $5 a week on bottled water when I forget my cup and run out of the house and find myself standing with dollar in hand at the vending machine, I check myself, and make the adequate accomodations to make sure that I have time to get my mug and save my money. Sure, $5 might not be that much to you, but it sure adds up. Good luck on your saving my brothers and sisters!

 

Mammon, n.: The god of the world's leading religion." - Ambrose Bierce
"He who knows he has enough is rich" - Tao Te Ching Chapter 33
"Excess and deficiency are equally are at fault." - Confucius, XI 15
"Eat and drink, but waste not by excess; verily He loves not the excessive." - Islam Qu'ran 7.31
"Why do you spend your money for that which is not bread, and your labour for that which does not satisfy." Isaiah 55:2
Retrieved from "http://en.wikiquote.org/wiki/Consumerism"

 

switch off all electrical appliances that are usually on "standby"

 

I love how I re-read this topic over and over again.

Some tips...

-Want to read a book for free, go to the library!
-Want to rent a movie for free, go to the library!
-When writing notes in class, use both sides of the paper (it'll make 500 pages... 1000!)
-Buy pasta, dried beans, cereal and rice in Bulk. (Bulk Dried beans are so much cheaper than canned)
-Don't have a bike? Ask friends if they know anyone with a bicycle rotting in their garage, likely someone will. This is how I got mine for $50!
-Old Clothing fabric can be used to make other things such as.... Dishcloths, Tablecloths, Pillow cases, New Clothes, Kids toys (ie. stuffed animals)
-Make your own food instead of eating out
-Become Vegetarian
-Limit alcohol consumption
-For the women.. use a resuable menstrual product (divacup or cloth pads)
-Hit up Garage Sales
-Double bag your bread and store it in the fridge (it lasts longer).
-Walk around your neighbourhood the night before garbage pick up, see what you can find on the curb.
-Got too many cheap chocolates this easter? Use the chocolate in baking cookies or brownies.
-Make people gifts instead of buying them

 

In Australia you can buy cheap meat on sunday morning at the market. Of course, money wise, its probably better not to buy meat at all.

 

There's a book called "How to Get What You want With the Money you Already Have" by Carol Keefe, that I found to be really helpful.

 

Unfortunately, to save money you have to already be making money, which is something I am currently having trouble with.

 

Alot of these tips are great, and I'm all for reducing environmental impact, but there is a difference between being frugal and being cheap.

Aside from trimming the budget, bargain hunting and recycling, the 4th major penny pincher is to save time.

Spend time making money, not saving money. And you will find that that you have more time for your own things in the end, plus have all your personal conveniences, as well as feel good about having a higher standard of living.

I wouldn't encourage people to dumpster dive for food. That's insane. How do you know that someone hasn't sprayed the bin with rat poison or something? If you are that desparate, there is food banks, you can get a weeks supply of food for free, every week.

Aside from the dumpster diving. It's not a good idea to skimp on your food budget. Buy what you need, not what youy want. Having a proper diet makes the difference between lethargic and energetic. In the long run, you will save more money by being in top fitness and being able to live competitively.

Don't buy milk products, they are expensive and non-essential, especially cheese. In fact milk is an unnatural part of an adults diet. For cooking, use powdered milk, you won't notice any difference when used in a dish and is MUCH cheaper.

Take up a marketable hobby. Make money in your spare time by doing what you enjoy.

Cooperate with friends, neighbours, co-workers..
Carpool, bulk shop, potluck dinners, shared vacations, take turns babysitting, assist with major chores, such as household renovations, etc. 1 in 10 or 20 neighbours is bound to be a handyman

Of course, we all know that the key to frugality is necessity. The trick is to remember when you have money in your wallet and ants in your pants

Depending on your motivations for being frugal, it might be wise to remember the age old cliche "it takes money to make money", and it's very very true. Just like "you gotta dress for success"
If the corners you cut affect your ability to gain or maintain a job or to progress, it would be a good idea to reconsider your money saving tactics.

$100 for a new outfit mught be costly, but if your attire can land you a job making $100/mo more than you were, then you have invested $100 into making $1200 more every year.

 

Minimise your desires and maximise your contentment...
thats my advice.

 

making money by selling books that teach people how to not spend so much money..
what a great idea lol

 

put it in a sock under your bed and then go out to a bank and open an account next friday

 

money-saving tip?
Don't spend it!
But seriously - stay away from easy credit.
Ponder well the economics of "Poverty Incorporated."
Poor people pay a ton of money to live like they're rich...
(payday loans, anyone?)
A woman in Brooklyn spent $3500 to buy a $650 rent-to-own tv.
Simple rules - buy what lasts, not what has to be replaced all the time.
Consider the cost of a thing, then think about how many hours, days, months or years you'll have to work to pay for the thing.
All that being said - I'm no miser.
But jumping off the consumer bandwagon won't do you any harm.

Well I wanna spank my piggy bank
for treating me unkind
saves up all my money
just to ease my worried mind
but every seventh Sunday
when I think I've saved enough
my cash flow goes the other way
and piggy does his stuff -

I'm gonna squeeze that pig!
(there isn't any)
squeeze that pig!
(not one more penny)
squeeze that pig!
(that's all the money that piggy's got today)
squeeze that pig!
(not one more nickel)
squeeze that pig!
(please don't tickle)
squeeze that pig!
(go eat a pickle - just go away)

-sorry...just couldn't resist