Help with a money saving plan?

[WashingtonCowgirl]

Alright. My mom is going to need to refinance our house soon, and we are looking to save any money we can to put it towards some "sweat equity". We have a single car garage that I am planning on turning into a stockpile, and we will start some major coupon clipping. We are planning on raising some meat birds, as well as a few egg layers (we only go through about a dozen every two weeks, about how many hens will we need?). Possibly having a garden as well.. Any other suggestions?

 

[GarlicEater]

www.survivalblog.com is a good starting place to read up on what to put in your larder.

 

[pdsavage]

Its cheaper to buy generics then to clip coupons.

Getting started with the envelope budget method
http://www.gatherlittlebylittle.com/2008/08/envelope-budget/

Also no eating out,go shopping every payday have a list and menu ready to use.You can substitute.....
people waste alot of money going shopping for food every few days.

HOW TO FEED A FAMILY OF FOUR on less than $30 a week(prices have changed some since this came out
http://www.freelancebyu.com/thirtydollars_a_week.htm
http://www.freelancebyu.com/30aweek.htm


$45 Emergency Menu
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm
$70 Low Cost Menu
http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/70dollarmenu.htm


shopping list and menu/Feed A Family
http://feedafamilyunder100aweek.blogspot.com/

 

[sheaviance1]

How much laundry do you do? I have a large family. I was purchasing the big box of laundry detergent once a week. I now make my own laundry detergent. The ingredients to make six months worth of laundry detergent cost me a whopping $10. I am saving about sixty dollars a month. I found the recipe on sufficientself.com. I'll try to find it for you and post the link. It is a very good laundry detergent.

 

[sheaviance1]

http://www.sufficientself.com/forum/viewtopic.php?id=6565

 

[sheaviance1]

You could also start using Angel Food Ministries instead of buying groceries.
http://www.angelfoodministries.com/
Good luck!

 

[justuschickens59]

Along the lines of laundry - with the high cost of electricity these days, if you have a clothes line - hang your clothes out to dry and only use the dryer if really necessary. Dryers use a LOT of electricity. I wash clothes according to the weather forecast. I also hang my clothes out all winter long.

 

[Chic-n-farmer]

www.refundcents.com is a great resource for coupon shoppers and bargain hunters! I am still using laundry detergent I got for free almost 8 years ago... and if it ever runs out I will make my own. I have a huge stockpile of shampoo, conditioners, etc,... all free.

 

[HEChicken]

Quote:
Look at all your subscriptions and services and see which ones you can cut. Within the past year, my family has made some major cuts that have saved us a lot of monthly expenses. We cut out our landline phone, since we were paying for both that and cell phones. Haven't missed it - the cells mean we can still make as many calls as we need to and its usually easier for us to get hold of one another. We cut out our paid TV service ($70/mo) and subscribed to Netflix instead ($15/mo). Its not often you can cut services and expenses and have the whole family say "I LOVE this" but that is what happened in this instance. We can watch our favorite TV shows either via instant streaming on the computer or via DVD. Either way - no commercials. We're actually about to cut that service back to the $10/mo plan, since we don't really need to have two DVD's out at a time any more. I cut memberships to a couple of organizations I paid an annual fee for. Look at your insurance costs. If your cars are over a certain age, you own them outright and you have full coverage, consider dropping back to collision only. Can you increase your deductibles for a lower monthly rate? Look at your utility bills. Can you find ways to cut them? (Like turn the heat way down in winter. We have our house temp set to 57 in winter and just wear more clothes. When the electric bill comes its nice to know we won't starve in order to pay it. Set up a clothesline and dry your clothes using solar energy instead of a dryer. Water bill too high? Take fewer and shorter showers. When running water to get it hot for doing dishes, save the water instead of having it go down the drain (I keep a couple of empty gallon milk containers by my back door for this purpose). When I need to refill pet watering bowls or water plants, I use the saved water. Gas prices are so high now I think we are all trying to buy less of it. I know I think now about running errands and try to combine my errands into one trip instead of making several separate trips. I'm also going to brush the cobwebs off my bike and start using it more, or even walk some of the places I go. I'll get fitter and spend less on gas! Basically what I'm saying is look at all the ways you are currently spending money and see if there is a way you can lower the amounts you spend. You may be surprised.

 

[BarefootMom]

Quote:
I disagree- if you really learn how to clip you can save lots of money. But it takes time-much more time than just clipping. I dedicate 2-3 hours a week on coupons. My last grocery trip I saved $131 with coupons. Only spent $40 on groceries. Also you can make a little bit of money selling coupons on ebay. There are coupon classes and websites that will do weekly matchups for business such as CVS, Walgreens, Kroger, and others. Just search Matchups_______ (whatever store you are looking for) If you are really dedicated to saving money you really can. You have to watch the sale ads and find grocery stores that will double or even triple coupons. The grocery store I go to will double up to $0.50 and anything that is $0.51 and up to a dollar they will just raise to a $1. WHich is awesome. Some days they will have triple day where they will triple your coupons.

Somethings it does pay to buy generic, but youc an save a lot on coupons for things like toilet paper, laundry detergent, shampoo, razors, frozen foods, and many other things. I never pay full price for catfood/dog food. Purex Laundry detergent has been having great sales and I had $3 off coupons...I now have enough Purex to do almost 600 loads and I only spent around $40 on it all.

If you need any help feel free to PM me.