Consolidated Kansas

[michelleml]

Still no eggs for us. Will we have to wait till spring?


Checoukan sorry about spikeyboots

 

[HEChicken]

Years ago I bought a steamer when they were popular. I rarely use canned veggies anymore at all. It really spoiled me. I love home canned veggies but most of the store bought stuff just can't rival the fresh taste of frozen. I don't care for frozen green beans at all though. I don't use the steamer much any more (compared to the fact I use to use it at every meal.) but I still love frozen veggies. If you can't get fresh it's the next best thing. Often our local store will have frozen veggies on sale and I stock up if I know about it. You can buy a ton more frozen veggies for the same money as canned ones.
Last year I also discovered "recipe starter" in the frozen veggie section. It is your basic onions, peppers, etc that you use to make a multitude of dishes. Onions have gotten pricy so when the garden isn't yielding I've found this to be a great beginning for dozens of dishes. I tend to either run out of fresh onion or they go bad before I use them. It's either feast or famine it seems. I stocked up when they had a mix and match on frozen veggies sale.

I woke up this morning about 6:15. It was still dark out. Something told me to get up. Then I walked to the back door and heard the guineas going off. I stepped out the back door just in time to see an owl take off and one of my dogs barking and chasing it. He landed in a tree on the far side of the property. I got the gun and watched and he came back again and went to the uncovered chicken pen. As soon as I stepped out the back door he took off again and I never got a chance to even aim at him.
So the war is back on. I've been shutting the birds up at night other than that one pen. I guess I am going to work my rear off and enclose that today. It is supposed to be warmer out. I have a half dozen birds that sit on the front porch, which I really don't like. I may have to catch them after they roost and figure out a place to pen them for a few days. I hate to do that because I love having my birds free range.
I'm feeling kind of punk yet but I have got to get some pens moved and set up today. It's going to get cold and I am so far from being ready for it.

I have a steamer too but I almost never use it. I've really never cared for the taste of steamed vegies. Actually, to be honest, I guess I rarely sit down to eat cooked vegies of any kind, so I find cans more convenient because I can store them in the pantry, and I use them in casseroles - that is about the only time I use vegies. Other than salads - that is the main way I eat vegies - DH and I will make a salad a meal several times a week using greens, peppers, tomatoes, avocadoes, and whatever else we have on hand to throw in.

So sorry about your owl - hope you are able to get him before he gets any more of your birds.

That is a great recipe! I'm so tempted to make it! I have pinned so many foods recently on Pinterest that I want to try! LOL

I use Pinterest too, after my niece got me started on it. DD and I had some fun last Thanksgiving and Christmas, using some ideas for seasonal snacks we got off Pinterest.

Hope the massage helps. If not, the chiropractor is sure to. Years ago I got a whiplash from a car accident and after six weeks of neck/shoulder pain, I felt better after the first visit to the chiropractor. I kept going on his schedule of 3x a week for 4 weeks and never looked back.

I'm sure everyone read maidenwolf's post yesterday about her terribe predicament right now. I found it heart breaking and I wrote and deleted and wrote and deleted some more. It's such a sensitive subject, I want to help, yet I can't just make it all go away. I took what I wrote the last time and I almost posted it and decided not to at the last minute and I sent her a PM instead and asked for permission to post it. She said yes, but I think I can get the same result by just making a request. Can we all do some brainstorming for some ideas to supplement income, saving money on groceries or bills, way to cut bills or save on the electric bill. I think there were tons of ideas already posted for where to go for emergency assistance, but if anyone has any new ones that's great too. Her area, there isn't much there. I have been there. If you don't have money for transportation then you are really limited to just what is right there even if there is help 30 miles away. We talked about survival mode. I call survival mode like when I buy a little package of toilet paper to get us through until payday even though I know that the big package is so much cheaper. If a person is stuck in survival mode for a long period of time the basics become depleted and you are stuck selling yourself short over and over and the hole gets deeper. So, what I'm asking is just for good ideas. If we all try to come up with ideas then sometimes one idea sparks another we may have missed. Like Hawkeye, with her insurance claim, if someone hadn't mentioned the carseats it may have been totally overlooked and that's important. Think: recipes with very few ingredients, supplementing income even if it's a little, saving energy to keep that electric bill down. Any way you can contribute to the idea pool, that is appreciated. Even though this was sparked to help maidenwolf, there are others reading who may see it and think Oh, I can do that. We never know how we can affect or help another.

Recipes, breads have very few ingredients, I use flour, sugar, oil, water, potato flakes. Crackers I'm going to try that recipe medawinks posted. I'm thankful too for new ideas. For supplementing income over the years I've babysat, baked, sewed, ironed, sold on eBay, scrapped metal. I know another lady near me who bakes and sells at the Farmer's Market twice per week to supplement her family's income.

I like this idea and am willing to make a start.

1. Hang clothes outside to dry versus using a dryer. I figure every time I dry a load of clothes in the dryer, it adds about $2 to my electric bill. Even if you don't have a clothesline set up, you can hang clothes on hangers from the ceiling fan, over the banisters, etc. Sure it looks messy for a few hours but as soon as they're dry, you can fold and put them away and get your living space back.

2. Turn the thermostat lower in winter and higher in summer. We set it to about 85 in summer and 60 or so in winter. Saves a TON on our electric bill not to have those appliances running all the time. In winter we wear more clothes, cover our laps with a blanket, and use hot water bottles to stay warm. And stay active - as long as we're on the move we don't get cold.

3. Pare down services like cable, internet etc. Our family does not have a TV service. I was spending $80/month for Dish and felt frustrated every time a storm took the service out, or disrupted its recording. Once our contract was up, we dropped the service and switched to Netflix. Now for $16/month we have unlimited streaming and 1 DVD out at a time. The kids can sit and watch their favorite TV shows via the instant streaming and without commercials. I found I didn't miss it at all and rarely watch anything.

4. Talk to the cell phone company about reducing services/plans. We don't have a data plan since I figure I can get all the online content I want via my computer. We consolidated our services into a family plan that saved us a bunch. Then last week I had occasion to call our cell phone company and learned that we can switch to a new plan that will be $20 less than we are paying now and give us more minutes to share. So it doesn't hurt to check in with the cell phone co. from time to time to see if they have new rates and plans available that will save money.

5. Insurance - see if you can drop any. If you have a car fully paid off you no longer need to carry the full insurance on it and dropping to third party only on an older car not only makes sense but will save a fortune.

6. Grocery shopping. The first place I stop when I go to the store is the clearance rack. When items are getting close to expiration, the manager will reduce the price to about half of the original to move them. I stock up on canned goods this way and other non-perishables. I've bought bottles of Sunscreen for under $1 for a large bottle. I mentioned yesterday, getting about 60 boxes of wholewheat pasta for .69 apiece. Those last forever and two years later I still have a few boxes left. After the clearance rack, I go to the produce section and look for marked down items there too. Most of the greens we eat in our salads are reduced to half their original price because they were close to expiration. If you pick and choose carefully you can often get things that are still edible as long as you are willing to eat them that day or the next. I buy every red-taped banana there is. DH likes them over-ripe anyway, and what he can't eat, I put in the freezer. A frozen banana is better than an ice-cream on a stick and healthier too.

7. Coupons. Be careful here because coupons are generally for name brand items and even with the coupon the product is more expensive than the store brand. However if the name brand item is on the above mentioned clearance rack, you can still use the coupon. That and a store that doubles coupons can be a real bonus. There are times the store has actually paid me to walk out with something. For example, one time I found a bag of Iams cat food on the clearance rack for $2.99. I had a coupon to get $3 off any size bag of Iams cat food. So I walked out of the store with a penny and a 15-pound bag of cat food. Another time the Yoplait yogurt had been reduced to 10c apiece because they expired the next day. I had a coupon to save $40 off 6 and the store doubles coupons up to $1. So I took home 6 tubs of yogurt and 20c to boot.

8. Reward programs - join every one that is free but don't change your shopping habits. I never buy something just to get the rewards points, but if it was something I was going to buy anyway, why not get the points? By shopping at Dillons, for every $100 I spend, I save 10c in gas. At QuikTrip, every dollar I spend in the store or every gallon of gas I buy, gets me 1/2 cent off. One refill of my tank gives me 7c off at the pump the next time I fill up. It sounds like not everyone has access to those two stores, but whatever stores you do have in your area, ask them if they have a rewards program and if its free, join it.

9. Credit cards. This is iffy because it takes self-discipline. Personally, I have and use credit cards - I rarely have cash. I have several cards that give me rewards points based on the type of purchase. One gives me 3 points for gas, hardware store, restaurant and office supply store purchases. Another gives me 3 points at grocery stores. Both give me 1 point for every purchase that doesn't fall in those categories. Those above categories are the things I spend at the most, so for almost every purchase, I am getting 3% off. I pay the card off in full every month so I never pay interest or late fees (have it set up to auto pay on the due date), plus, every other month or so, I have earned enough points to get a statement credit of either $50 or $100.

10. Surveys. Okay, here is a good one for you Maidenwolf. If you go to e-rewards.com, you can sign up to take surveys and they pay you for it. You fill out a profile about yourself and when they have a survey they think you will qualify to take, they send you an email, inviting you to participate. I take 2-3 surveys a week and get paid anywhere from $2.50-$10 per survey depending on how long it takes. Now, those aren't true dollars because when you go to redeem your reward, it takes up to 3x the reward dollars for actual dollars. But - the rewards are decent. They have gift cards and you can redeem for Gamestop, Itunes, or Target. For example, for 75 reward dollars, I can get a $25 Gamestop gift card. For 145 reward dollars, I can get a $50 Gamestop or Itunes gift card. All it takes is my time, which I have, and for my kids birthdays and Christmas, they almost always get gift cards to Gamestop and Itunes. My kids have no idea how I obtain those cards and to me they are "free" because although my time is valuable, I didn't have to go out and find the money to buy those gift cards. It takes awhile to build up the reward dollars so you may not be able to do anything with them by Christmas this year but by their birthdays and Christmas next year, you will have enough saved up to get them something.

That is all I can think of right now but I'll post more later if I think of anything else.

Still no eggs for us. Will we have to wait till spring?

Sorry Michelle - I don't remember how old your pullets are? Were they hatched this year? If so, I wouldn't give up yet. I had a pullet hatched in July who laid her first egg the day after Christmas a few years ago, so even in the dead of winter, when they are ready to start laying, they will.

Two more mice this morning - one in the Victor trap - so funny that it only catches one at a time even though it can hold up to 30 - and one in my other little trap that kills by strangling with an elastic loop. Both are now history.

Ned gobbled this morning! I know that shouldn't sound like exciting news but I was way excited because its the first time since his illness. He hasn't displayed since before he was sick either but I'm hoping if he's feeling good enough to gobble, the displaying won't be far behind.

Oh - Mommahen, I meant to respond to your post about using cloth for "other things" as well. I switched to cloth for other things a couple of years ago and will never go back. I far prefer cloth to the disposables, although I never had any actual issues with the disposables. But I find the cloth to be more comfortable with less odor so its a win-win. I was concerned that it would feel gross when clean up time came but even with that I found it isn't bad at all - not nearly the way I was picturing. They are a little more expensive as an up-front cost but I was able to get a couple for practically free because I bought mine on eBay and with their reward program of eBay bucks, by the time I'd bought a few, I had enough bucks saved up that when I got my eBay Bucks certificate, I was able to get a couple for "free". Now I have enough to see me through the rest of the time I'll be needing them, I think

So for about a $20 investment (maybe $30, I'd have to add it up), I am set for life and it is one less expense at the grocery store every month or so.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Thank you Mommahen, and everyone who already has contributed ideas for me. It is nice to know people care and willing to help. I love all the recipes everyone is throwing out I have a few pages of notes going from all the posts.

 

[COOP Group]

The cracker recipe looks great medawinks. I don't have millet or flax, I've never used millet so I don't know what it is. I will look for it next time we go to the store. I wonder if we could find a recipe for Wheatables, I love those. I have some oats, maybe I could do a variation. I bought the huge bag of popcorn at Sam's too so I always have popcorn. I like your idea to sweeten it up a little. How can the kids possibly refuse that? I'm going to look for a custard recipe today. Does anyone know if custard is like meringue and needs older eggs? We do soft pretzels every once in a while and they never last long. That sounds good too.

Josie, thanks for the info again, I'm still taking notes and trying to follow.

I'm going to look him up too Kansas Prairie, just to.

Danz, how are you feeling today?

HEChicken, I don't have Dillon's or Kroger here. I wonder what other names they may have. The 2 closest towns we go to; one has only Walmart, the other has Walmart, G&W Foods, and Save A Lot. G&W is just a small grocery store, like when you see an IGA in a small town. Save A Lot is similar to Aldi's but it's not big either. We try to get to a Sam's once per month, but I've about got it narrowed down to buying so little that I'm not even sure that my membership is be cost effective anymore. I found an Amish store in Garnett, it's almost an hour from me but I've been getting my flour there, they had spices too. Meat we are just piecing it together here and there, and we worked our backsides off in the garden this summer so I'm still good on veggies.

I'm sure everyone read maidenwolf's post yesterday about her terribe predicament right now. I found it heart breaking and I wrote and deleted and wrote and deleted some more. It's such a sensitive subject, I want to help, yet I can't just make it all go away. I took what I wrote the last time and I almost posted it and decided not to at the last minute and I sent her a PM instead and asked for permission to post it. She said yes, but I think I can get the same result by just making a request. Can we all do some brainstorming for some ideas to supplement income, saving money on groceries or bills, way to cut bills or save on the electric bill. I think there were tons of ideas already posted for where to go for emergency assistance, but if anyone has any new ones that's great too. Her area, there isn't much there. I have been there. If you don't have money for transportation then you are really limited to just what is right there even if there is help 30 miles away. We talked about survival mode. I call survival mode like when I buy a little package of toilet paper to get us through until payday even though I know that the big package is so much cheaper. If a person is stuck in survival mode for a long period of time the basics become depleted and you are stuck selling yourself short over and over and the hole gets deeper. So, what I'm asking is just for good ideas. If we all try to come up with ideas then sometimes one idea sparks another we may have missed. Like Hawkeye, with her insurance claim, if someone hadn't mentioned the carseats it may have been totally overlooked and that's important. Think: recipes with very few ingredients, supplementing income even if it's a little, saving energy to keep that electric bill down. Any way you can contribute to the idea pool, that is appreciated. Even though this was sparked to help maidenwolf, there are others reading who may see it and think Oh, I can do that. We never know how we can affect or help another.

Recipes, breads have very few ingredients, I use flour, sugar, oil, water, potato flakes. Crackers I'm going to try that recipe medawinks posted. I'm thankful too for new ideas. For supplementing income over the years I've babysat, baked, sewed, ironed, sold on eBay, scrapped metal. I know another lady near me who bakes and sells at the Farmer's Market twice per week to supplement her family's income.

Thanks everyone!!!

I don't know how much it will help, but a favorite low cost dinner here is 15 bean soup. We just soak the beans over night then throw them in the crock pot with some diced tomatoes (about 2 cans), a diced onion and whatever other veggies and herbs we might have. It fills a crock pot for just a few dollars. Spaghetti in another pretty cheap meal. One jar and a pack of spaghetti can be found for about 2 dollars. You can change the kind of pasta, throw the cooked noodles in a skillet with spag. sauce, corn and black beans and call it "skillet suprise". It's what my husband used to make when I was still working and it was his turn to cook. You could probably make your own sauce and do it even cheaper. I don't know if they have it everywhere or not, but there is a moving supply store here that buys cardboard boxes that would work for packing up to move. They don't pay much but we have gone after both times we moved and it ends up being about $10.00 a time.

 

[COOP Group]

Also, a lot of companys will lower your costs with a simple phone call. Credit cards will drop interest rates if you call and ask if there is a lower rate available. Same with cable and phone. They would rather lower your bill then loose you completely. Insurance is also a good place to look for lower rates like hechicken already mentioned.

 

[HEChicken]

I don't know how much it will help, but a favorite low cost dinner here is 15 bean soup. We just soak the beans over night then throw them in the crock pot with some diced tomatoes (about 2 cans), a diced onion and whatever other veggies and herbs we might have. It fills a crock pot for just a few dollars. Spaghetti in another pretty cheap meal. One jar and a pack of spaghetti can be found for about 2 dollars. You can change the kind of pasta, throw the cooked noodles in a skillet with spag. sauce, corn and black beans and call it "skillet suprise". It's what my husband used to make when I was still working and it was his turn to cook. You could probably make your own sauce and do it even cheaper. I don't know if they have it everywhere or not, but there is a moving supply store here that buys cardboard boxes that would work for packing up to move. They don't pay much but we have gone after both times we moved and it ends up being about $10.00 a time.

Oh, I forgot about spaghetti - yeah, that is a really cheap dinner. I will have to try "skillet surprise" LOL.

Oh, here's another one: freecycle. Almost every area has a freecycle and while I don't like to ask for things that have real value - I've seen people on there with ads like "Wanted: big screen TV. Must be HDTV ready and have hook-ups for every game system out there. Can't be more than 12 months old". Makes me want to

But I've placed ads on there for things that someone might throw-away but that have value to me. For example, egg cartons, a non-working lawn mower deck (I needed the wheels), a non-working computer (for the fan) and an Omaha Steaks cooler (to make my incubator). I see people offering moving boxes all the time. Also, one time I saw an ad from someone offering two chick feeders. Turns out they were brand new - never used. And when I got there she asked if I wanted a couple (also brand new) stainless steel canisters as well!

Another place I've had decent luck is the free section on Craigslist. From two separate people I was able to go and load up as much top soil as I needed. When I was creating my raised garden beds I filled them with free soil and then when we were moving I got another load from someone else to fill in the places along the foundation where the chooks had carved out dust-bathing spots.

I even see people offering free food on Freecycle from time to time when they are cleaning out their pantry and found foods either they won't use or that are past expiration. Depending on what it is, a lot of food is still good after expiration. And sometimes even if I wouldn't feed it to my family, it is good for the pets, therefore reducing the bill for pet food. I responded to an ad for a roll of free fencing on Freecycle and the lady threw in several cans of cat food after she heard I have a cat. My cat doesn't typically eat canned food but it was nice to have as a treat for him.

Oh - Maidenwolf, another source of potential income for you is to sell things you no longer need or use. If you are packing to move (and if you aren't, pretend you are) go through rooms and closets one at a time. I was amazed when we were moving at how many times I found things I'd forgotten I had or sometimes that I didn't even recognize. Its like "how did this thing get in my house?" LOL. Anyway, take photos of what you don't need and put it on Craigslist. It costs nothing to list so you don't have anything to lose if it doesn't sell, and if it does, you have a few extra dollars in your pocket.

 

[chicken danz]

The cracker recipe looks great medawinks. I don't have millet or flax, I've never used millet so I don't know what it is. I will look for it next time we go to the store. I wonder if we could find a recipe for Wheatables, I love those. I have some oats, maybe I could do a variation. I bought the huge bag of popcorn at Sam's too so I always have popcorn. I like your idea to sweeten it up a little. How can the kids possibly refuse that? I'm going to look for a custard recipe today. Does anyone know if custard is like meringue and needs older eggs? We do soft pretzels every once in a while and they never last long. That sounds good too.
You can use any eggs for custard. Custard is one of the easiest things to make. A lot a recipes ask you to use a pan of water below the pan you cook it in but it cooks just fine without one so don't let that intimidate you if you don't have something to use. I like making custard in glass baking dishes.
Josie, thanks for the info again, I'm still taking notes and trying to follow.

I'm going to look him up too Kansas Prairie, just to.

Danz, how are you feeling today?
Still feeling a little rough, but thanks for asking. Not like a full blown flu. Just achy, congested, and running a little fever. I just hope it passes soon.
just HEChicken, I don't have Dillon's or Kroger here. I wonder what other names they may have. The 2 closest towns we go to; one has only Walmart, the other has Walmart, G&W Foods, and Save A Lot. G&W is just a small grocery store, like when you see an IGA in a small town. Save A Lot is similar to Aldi's but it's not big either. We try to get to a Sam's once per month, but I've about got it narrowed down to buying so little that I'm not even sure that my membership is be cost effective anymore. I found an Amish store in Garnett, it's almost an hour from me but I've been getting my flour there, they had spices too. Meat we are just piecing it together here and there, and we worked our backsides off in the garden this summer so I'm still good on veggies.
My mother taught me about freezing the flours and grains many years ago and I haven't had an infestation other than when I failed to do it to a big bag of rice I bought to make dog food. If you consistently freeze your grains then you never bring in anything with live eggs so you never have to worry about it happening. Tried and true. It works! One word of caution you might not think of is to store things like wild bird feed that you normally wouldn't eat outside in covered containers. Bird seed is a major major place for weevils to develop. And with luck if it freezes outside it will kill any potential eggs anyway.
I'm sure everyone read maidenwolf's post yesterday about her terribe predicament right now. I found it heart breaking and I wrote and deleted and wrote and deleted some more. It's such a sensitive subject, I want to help, yet I can't just make it all go away. I took what I wrote the last time and I almost posted it and decided not to at the last minute and I sent her a PM instead and asked for permission to post it. She said yes, but I think I can get the same result by just making a request. Can we all do some brainstorming for some ideas to supplement income, saving money on groceries or bills, way to cut bills or save on the electric bill. I think there were tons of ideas already posted for where to go for emergency assistance, but if anyone has any new ones that's great too. Her area, there isn't much there. I have been there. If you don't have money for transportation then you are really limited to just what is right there even if there is help 30 miles away. We talked about survival mode. I call survival mode like when I buy a little package of toilet paper to get us through until payday even though I know that the big package is so much cheaper. If a person is stuck in survival mode for a long period of time the basics become depleted and you are stuck selling yourself short over and over and the hole gets deeper. So, what I'm asking is just for good ideas. If we all try to come up with ideas then sometimes one idea sparks another we may have missed. Like Hawkeye, with her insurance claim, if someone hadn't mentioned the carseats it may have been totally overlooked and that's important. Think: recipes with very few ingredients, supplementing income even if it's a little, saving energy to keep that electric bill down. Any way you can contribute to the idea pool, that is appreciated. Even though this was sparked to help maidenwolf, there are others reading who may see it and think Oh, I can do that. We never know how we can affect or help another.

Recipes, breads have very few ingredients, I use flour, sugar, oil, water, potato flakes. Crackers I'm going to try that recipe medawinks posted. I'm thankful too for new ideas. For supplementing income over the years I've babysat, baked, sewed, ironed, sold on eBay, scrapped metal. I know another lady near me who bakes and sells at the Farmer's Market twice per week to supplement her family's income.

Thanks everyone!!!

My heart pours out to Maidenwolf and her family. We've discussed this and I have been in the exact spot as a single Mom. Let me tell you there is nothing worse than fearing for your kids to have warmth and food and a place to call home. I think our first priority is to make sure they have a place to live and utilities. I'm not sure what we can do to help. I suppose any bit of information to stretch what she does have can help some. Unfortunately her small community is biased.
I find it very disturbing that her DH is working a full time job and trying to support his family, but if they were illegal immigrants the government would make sure they had what they need. And what some of you don't know is that she bakes to make extra income and makes dog treats to sell but there is just a limited market where she is. She also does other work for people to trade for things like chicken feed. I hope you don't mind me sharing this information, Amber.
I know her children are doing well in their school so she doesn't want to move to a different community. Her husband has to be within driving distance to work as well. Please keep in mind that she also has limited resources to buy gas so maybe offering something material may require you at least meeting her closer to home.


Originally Posted by mommahen10

Still no eggs for us. Will we have to wait till spring?

Checoukan sorry about spikeyboots

No you probably won't. Try putting a light out on a timer to come on about 4AM and off at dark.
I've had a busy morning so far. My internet has been on the fritz. I got the hatcher all cleaned and ready and put in some more eggs. Another batch of lousy fertility. Grrr! OH well I guess I'll see what hatches in a couple of days.

 

[maidenwolfx80]

Coop group and HEChicken- thank you lots of great wonderful tips that will surely help lots.
Danz- thank you for sharing that and I dont mind at all. And you are correct about the immagrant thing it is disturbing. I have talked with Social services several times and each time I am turned down because they say we make too much. Oh course they dont look at paycheck after taxes, they dont consider car payments or insurance and when they did figure in utilities they put me as paying $50 to water $75 to electric and then my normal rent and $200 for propane,, if that were true I wouldnt be having any problems. They said that is what they had to put in and would not change the figures.

 

[chicken danz]

There is a huge difference between those that try to provide for their families and those that just want to live off of others. It's a shame the government can't actually investigate cases of need vs a book of standards. I've been a victim of this whole system myself.
I was ordered out of my home during a divorce attempt just 2 weeks after having a baby. I didn't have a job, I had no money, and had three kids under 4 to care for. My estranged husband was ordered to pay me $200 a month child support. But I had nothing at all and he of course didn't pay the child support when it was due. He had cleaned out the checking account before he filed for divorce. I had no money for formula or diapers and no place to live. I was ordered by the court not to leave the state with my children so I couldn't come home to Kansas where my other family was.
I went to the SRS to try to get something to feed my kids and some funds to help me get a place to live. After sitting in a waiting room for hours I was told I didn't qualify for any services because I was supposed to get that $200 a month. Then I had to borrow money for paying a sitter while I went.
That was the all time low of my life. Of course it was my estranged husband and his attorney's plan to show I was incapable of caring for my children.
I actually only had my car and some clothes so I went to public bulletin boards and found a person looking for a roommate. I explained my situation and she allowed me to move in without paying rent up front. It was a miserable place to be cause her dog kept trying to bite my kids and did bite me when I was trying to get them away from him, but it was all I had. I stayed shut in my room with the kids.
I called up a couple of dear friends and was gifted some formula and diapers. (Very very hard for me to do since I am a very proud person.) My grandmother who was living on nothing sent me a check for $20 which I used to buy some food for the kids. I wasn't released to go to work and when I did start applying for jobs, one of my husbands acquaintances who worked for the secret service was calling my perspective employers trying to discredit me. To make a long story short we survived. The struggle was long from over for good but we did get by.
My point in all this is that there are ways to get through these things even when the world seems against you. Maidenwolf you have a group of friends here and we all want to help any way we can. Even if they can't offer anything but ways to help get by, I hope you know that we all want to help as we can.

 

[lizzyGSR]

I'm sure everyone read maidenwolf's post yesterday about her terribe predicament right now. I found it heart breaking and I wrote and deleted and wrote and deleted some more. It's such a sensitive subject, I want to help, yet I can't just make it all go away. I took what I wrote the last time and I almost posted it and decided not to at the last minute and I sent her a PM instead and asked for permission to post it. She said yes, but I think I can get the same result by just making a request. Can we all do some brainstorming for some ideas to supplement income, saving money on groceries or bills, way to cut bills or save on the electric bill. I think there were tons of ideas already posted for where to go for emergency assistance, but if anyone has any new ones that's great too. Her area, there isn't much there. I have been there. If you don't have money for transportation then you are really limited to just what is right there even if there is help 30 miles away. We talked about survival mode. I call survival mode like when I buy a little package of toilet paper to get us through until payday even though I know that the big package is so much cheaper. If a person is stuck in survival mode for a long period of time the basics become depleted and you are stuck selling yourself short over and over and the hole gets deeper. So, what I'm asking is just for good ideas. If we all try to come up with ideas then sometimes one idea sparks another we may have missed. Like Hawkeye, with her insurance claim, if someone hadn't mentioned the carseats it may have been totally overlooked and that's important. Think: recipes with very few ingredients, supplementing income even if it's a little, saving energy to keep that electric bill down. Any way you can contribute to the idea pool, that is appreciated. Even though this was sparked to help maidenwolf, there are others reading who may see it and think Oh, I can do that. We never know how we can affect or help another.

I don't have very many good recipes that are super cheap, but I do have a couple of suggestions to share.

1.) For bread, I use recipes from the Artisan Bread in 5 Minutes a Day books. They share their basic recipe for free on their website. Watch out on the salt. If you use table salt, use 2/3 of what the recipe calls for (i.e. if the recipe calls for 1 T, use 2/3 T of table salt instead). There are other variations of this bread that use wheat bread as well, and I really like them and find them to be super easy to make.

2.) Here's a link to recipes for how to make some common kitchen staples, including brown sugar, self-rising flour, salad dressing, spaghetti sauce, taco seasoning, yogurt, cream of something soup, and more...

3.) Don't buy liquid hand soap. It's really easy and cheap to make it yourself: http://www.creativecaincabin.com/2011/03/diy-liquid-soap.html

4.) Laundry soap is another easy/cheap thing to make yourself. WAY cheaper than buying it from the store and makes a lot more too! My mother-in-law and I have both switched to using this recipe exclusively. As far as I can tell, it works just as well as the store-bought stuff. I took some to my skeptic mother and let her try it out, and it even got my dad's greasy jeans clean!

• If you have some really tough stains that regular detergent won't get out, try this homemade version of Shout Stain Remover.

5.) Here are a couple of links of ways to clean your house for cheap.

• http://redandhoney.com/2012/06/how-to-clean-your-whole-house-without-nasty-chemicals/
• http://thegreeningofwestford.blogspot.com/2011/01/homemade-green-cleaners-made-easy.html

6.) Make your own hair spray and hair detangler (if they're something you use). Recipe here.

7.) Use vinegar as the rinse agent in your dishwasher. It works just as well as the "rinse agent' from the store but is so much cheaper!

8.) If you have a dishwasher, check out this recipe for homemade dishwasher detergent. Depending on where you get your dishwasher detergent and how available the ingredients are for this recipe, this recipe may or may not be cheaper than what you're currently buying (it wasn't for me - I buy my dishwasher detergent in bulk from Sam's and the lemi-shine isn't readily available in my area) so do your research before taking the plunge on this one.

9.) Baking soda can be used for SO MANY things other than just in baking. See here for some ideas: http://lifehackery.com/2008/07/22/home-4/

I honestly hope these help!