Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Beekissed]

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We always used soup cans. Just remove both ends, bend down any rough edges, wash thoroughly. You can heat them up by the stove, place them in your wet hair and wear them overnight or not, your choice. They do a great job! They are big enough to straighten and wave long and frizzy hair like we always had. Toilet paper rolls may also be a good option.

For layered hair or layered bangs, we always wet them at night and taped them down in the way we wanted them to go with regular scotch tape. We could get several uses of those strips of tape before having to apply new ones.

Yes, I have an outhouse.

I actually search for old farm houses that still have them when I want to rent in a certain area. They are priceless when the heavy snows storms knock the electric out and you cannot flush a toilet for days. I've lived without them before and it is horrible!

 

[Sore Thumb Suburbanite]

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Ok, So I have a good idea for your inevitable eating out expenditures...My husband and I used to eat out when we dated, it was great, no dishes!
We started becoming really 'frugle' so when we eat out now,
1.) we go somewhere you don't have to leave tip
2.) we don't order soda, just plain tap water (which has to be filtered by the restaraunt by law in California so it actually tastes great)
3.) and we eaither split our meals as they arrive at our table to stretch the food for another meal (which I let my husband take to work for his lunch)
4.) or we order the house chili or soup...I mean lets face it, we may think we're dying of hunger, but after a cup of hearty chili and a salad, most of us are satiated and could stop eating.
5.) Also, eat slower, and give each person a budget that reflects tax too.

As far as how busy you are, I get it, when we were both working it was too much to lift a pot at the end of the day, both having very laborious jobs. This is my suggestion, 1 huge cooking segment once a week. I do this because it saves my sanity making so many new dishes throughout the week with all these elaborate meals (I'm a showoff and my husband loves my cooking).

night 1.) Cook 2 full chickens in the oven (2 1/2 hours with very little work involved) have a chicken breast w/gravy and steamed veggies meal night one,
night 2 & 3.) divide up your chicken for other meals: do some noodles, get out a few cans of different veggies (tomatoes, corn, slice up some carrots-which are always cheap-and maybe some olives)that you use to make a chicken casserole with melted cheese on top for night two and three.
night 4.) You can always freeze a casserole too, just take it out of the freezer before you leave for work.
Other nights.) Now for the rest of the chicken you can do a nice stew, chili or soup all great for fall and winter...
Other nights.) or you can stir in some teryaki in a frying pan with some chopped up chicken and add some fresh stir fry veggies and serve over rice. 20 min, 2 pans to clean.

so there you have lots of options, one day of easy prep, freeze a few dishes or tupperwares of casserole or chili if you suspect you'll eat out, it won't spoil and you'll have a good lunch for your husband on hand any day.

As far as cooking lessons, I'll bet your cooking is just fine, I'd suggest adding a few new ingredients or dishes to your repituoir and present them attractively... drizzle extra sauces around plates like fancy restaraunts do, add a sprig of something green (even carrot leaves work) or stack your meat on the mashed potatoes with the accompanying veggies leaning against the structure. Take some time to try a few new recipes to spark the familie's interest, ask your husband what he'd love to eat and make it-- he'll be excited about eating in...

My husband chooses my cooking over eating out (probably because he is ridiculously pampered and doesn't have to do dishes anyway) because I generally serve better food and its soooooooooooooooooooooooooooo much cheaper! I bought a super expensive top sirloin roast and made it last for 2 weeks between the two of us and it was amazing!

I want a cow too, there are mini cows out there...mini jerseys that produce 2 gallons of milk a day instead of 8-10... but bully for you if you do get a milking cow! thats impressive.
Sounds like you're all on your way to getting debt free... keep paying down your debt every couple bucks you get and you'll make it! Then trash your cards except for an emergency backup that stays at home and use debit in the future.

 

[Beekissed]

You could maybe make a game out of counting up the savings from not eating out. Say, figure out how many times you eat out a week now and the average cost of it.

Tell the family you are going to try to go two weeks without eating out...not once! Total up the money saved at the end of the two weeks, take that money and save it in a jar~take out some of the money and have a pizza and movie night at the house, maybe play cards and a board game or two.

Systematically encourage this practice to continue and all the while save the extra money in that jar...get the family involved in guessing just how much you can save in a month/year/etc. Take the saved up money, split that in half and donate one half to the local food bank and the other goes to your savings account.

Both things will make you feel good and show your family how much good comes of eating in instead of eating out.

Meanwhile...I've found that, when you are a working mom, there is no shame in eating on foam plates. Yes, bad for the environment....but it helps you face the whole dinner thing a little more easily if you don't have a massive cleanup. I call it my $3 investment!

 

[krcote]

Frugal alert!!! Michael's craft store is having a huge sale on all fall like items. I went in for some ribbon to decorate a lamp shade and came out with these:

That's 30 (some short ones are hiding behind tall ones), 3" and 8" pillar candles for $30.50!!!!! Just over a dollar a piece! These are the accent colors in my living room and will last us a very long time. Who says frugal can't be romantic and pretty?

 

[r4eboxer]

Suburban, those are incredibly great ideas. I think I will put some birds in the oven tomorrow and use those ideas this week.

Beekissed also outstanding tips and ideas. I am almost afraid to total it up though. I am going to do it. I think I am going to put the savings on the credit cards until I get them paid down first. I did pay off three small balance cards today so I am working on it.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

Hey guys! Just posting a great link for homemade gifts: http://homemade.tipjunkie.com/. Found some really cute things to make for Christmas gifts!

Thinking of making this one for the MIL, grandma, and special friend: http://go.tipjunkie.com/hm/1384/teachcraftlove.blogspot.com/2010/06/front-door-wreaths_22.html. I like the top and bottoms wreaths.

 

[HeatherLynn]

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I love love love this site. http://homemade.tipjunkie.com/fox-or-raccoon-softie-free-pattern/ I am going to make these for the babies. These are too adorable and so easy to whip up. These will make a pretty special homemade gift to put under the tree.

 

[ChikeeMomma]

HeatherLynn -- I've spent about 1.5 hours going through everything. Also loved the platter where you take chalkboard paint to the center then you can hang and write cute messages in the center. Sooo cute! Think I'll be making the lap desk for my oldest as a gift, too. I see them at Target and such and they are soooo chincy. The homemade version looks so much cuter/sturdier and for waaayyy lesss! I think I'm going to be really busy! : )

 

[redhen]

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I'm going there this weekend..

 

[marty8587]

One of the best tools I've found for being frugal in the kitchen is to learn good knife skills. You can buy meat in larger quanities and cut it into what you want to freeze or use. Knifes also make it much easier to prep meals and take alot of the time and labor out of cooking. Knife sharpening skills and/or a good knife sharpener are also a must!