Tips on saving money.

cooooool.

As soon as I get my replacement license, im SOO there.
I need some new clothes, and so does Ian.

Hey, hey, this is my kinda thread.

Tip for smokers: I roll my own. I buy a super big bag of tobacco and get 3 extra ounces and I buy the toobies with the filters and stuff my own with a little machine.

Cost per carton?

About $8.50.

I'm in the land of luxury here!

Also, I work from home. I'm putting about 100 miles per month on my car. About $20 in gas per month. My car will last for years!

I save on my nice clothes because I don't have to use them much.

I save about 1 1/2 hour every day, since I have no commute and rarely have to put on makeup. My makeup will last for years!

I cook all my own food. I make a hardy chicken soup and a hardy lentil soup, stuffed with vegetables. Each oversized bowl costs about 20 cents. Oatmeal is super cheap and good for you. Eggs ... super cheap.

My apartment complex won an award for energy efficiency and pays for water, gas, cable, and trash pickup. I have a roommate. My bills are next to nothing!

I use hydrogen peroxide, witch hazel, epson salt, apple cider vinegar, and baking soda for all they are worth.

What do I do with all my extra money and extra time?????

I shopped for a year for the perfect grand piano. Found a brand-new 6'3" Wyman. It's a new company, started by two ex-Baldwin execs and the manufacturer has been making pianos for over 50 years. 10-year warranty, backed by an excellent dealer. She's a beauty! And sounds like heaven. My payments are so low, it's embarrassing!!

Wow! A grand piano. Congratulations, dupre.

Thank you, thank you for being happy for me.

A dream come true!!!

If you can over look the sexist comments, and see it for what it is..
this http://www.hillbillyhousewife.com/40dollarmenu.htm website is GREAT for cheap, easy to make recipies .

What a great website you found shewolf. I bet alot could really use that.I grew up poor and I know alot of poor people.

Hey wait a minute..........I'M FRIGGIN POOR

Yes we are the salty people.

Im right along there with you


poor people unite!

Those menus look interesting.

Plus, it seems that you'd loose some weight on them too.

we have used these for several weeks now.

easy , easy, EASY

I never saw myself in the kitchen making bread before

Not garlic bread, not donuts, not lentil soup.. Nothing.

Well, in about 30 minutes every day, I have the entire days worth of food either simmering, or set aside for easy throw together meals.

I love it.

Bread has got to be the most fun thing to make, too.

These days we cook soup on Tuesday, enough for two nights. The second night we usually jazz it with something different so things don't get boring. This is two nights' worth of easy meals for two people who work long hours and cannot putter around the kitchen that much -- but it still beats the hell outta restaurant food (which is also a big source of fat, salt, sugar and cholesterol). But I don't need to tell you that.

Chai, ever since you mentioned Amazon groceries, we have done that with a lot of our nonperishables. It's a joy. The stuff is delivered quickly and shipping is free. I've calculated what saves us money and what doesn't so we don't end up on the losing end of things. Plus it means less time messing around in a supermarket looking for stuff, checking out or putting it away.

Bread doesn't get easier or cheaper than this:

EASY BISCUITS

1 c. self-rising flour
2 tbsp. (heaping) mayonnaise
1/2 c. milk

Mix well, drop by teaspoons on greased pan. Bake at 450 degrees for 15 to 20 minutes. Makes 9 when dropped by tablespoons.

If you want to make them a little more interesting, throw in some herbs or grate some cheese into the dough when mixing. You can also put toasted onions or garlic on the top and brush some melted butter over them.

You sound just like me

Oh, I absolutely love home made bread. Got a nice bread machine and you guys got me thinking I should break it out one of these days. I love cooking in the winter and all those wonder home made smells.
I never eat out anymore.

Interesting thread, Montana!

A few words on food & cooking, though I may well be talking to like-minded folk, anyway! And I'm assuming that food shopping in Oz is similar to Canada & the US, though it might be quite different, for all I know ...

- When deciding what to cook, start with the ingredients, not the recipe. Whatever's seasonal will be at it's best & it will be far cheaper than produce that has to be imported to your area at extra cost. If there's lots of capsicum around, because it's in season in your area, then find fabulous capsicum recipes online, or from your cook books.
- Grow what you can at home. I don't have a huge yard, but I grow heaps of different herbs (rosemary, parsley, chives, bay, sage etc, etc (amongst the flowers in my garden beds) & ... tarragon, basil & coriander in pots during their natural growing season. I also grow (cherry) tomatoes in a big pot during the summer. Silverbeet (Swiss Chard) grows most of the year round here & I often use it when a soup or other recipe calls for some green input. It makes it so much easier (say nothing of much more economical!) if you can just go outside & pick or snip whatever your recipe requires!
- Never buy at the supermarket what you can buy at the green grocer's. The fruit & vegetable are so much cheaper & often fresher, too. Ditto meat & the butcher & the supermarket.
- a good supply of spices & flavourings (of your choice) on your shelves will make whipping up a quick meal after work more do-able, as will a well stocked pantry of staples like tomato paste, various types of pasta & rice, tins of tuna (bought bulk or wholesale, if you can), canned tomatoes, etc, etc ... And this will help you avoid the "eating out option" when you're really tired from a hard day's work. There are heaps of really quick, healthy recipes that can be thrown together in a hurry! All that's necessary is to find the ones that really appeal to you. If you don't have a supply of suitable cookbooks to do this, buy some & do some research!The internet is good for this, too.
- When cooking meals that can be successfully frozen, cook more than you require & freeze the rest for later. Or take the extra to work for lunch the next day. Bought lunches can end up costing a small fortune over a few weeks!

... a few other ideas, but I'll stop here!

Thank you kindly MsOlga and it sounds like you also share something in common with the rest of us folks who need to cut corners or just prefer to not spend more than need be.

With me it started when my son was little and I ended up as a single parent who needed to cut back everywhere I could.
I started cutting every coupon I could find and following the sales and to my surprise, I actually enjoyed it. It became like a competition in seeing how much money I could save every week and then it just came naturally.
Even when I got back on my feet financially and didn't have to cut back anymore, I continued because I figure, why pay more if you don't have too.
When I was home schooling my son, again I ended up having to cut back, but since we moved to the country by then, I was able to make a garden and grow everything I enjoy organically.
Froze some and canned some.

I have a crock pot I use regularly to make home made spaghetti sauce, chili, sours, etc...

I just made 2 pans of lazagna where I kept one to share with mom and froze the other. If I know I'm going to be busy for a few months in advance, I'll make batches of stuff to freeze, so it's there when I need something quick and healthy.

I really have to like something a lot to buy it frozen in a box. Like there's these crab rangoon things I love and I like those Stouffers Bistro things once in a while, but other than that, I make it myself.

One place I won't cut back on is my coffee. If I could grow it, I probebly would

The internet is awesome because all the stores I shop at are right out here, which makes it so very easy to compare prices. Plus I do my Christmas shopping on line, so it saves me on gas $.

Then there's all those points that add right up. I have almost 60,000 points racked up on my Shoppers optimun card, which is worth over $100 in stuff from Shoppers. I've also got points adding up on my credit card, which I use to pay everything, then I pay it off at the end of the month.
Got my Air Miles points, esso points, and many more.
If there's any points to be had anywhere in my area, I'm signed up for it.

Unless there's a ton of snow, I'll shovel instead of using the snow blower to save on gas. In the summer I only mow my lawn when it truly needs it instead of every other day like psycho neighbour man, again to save on gas.

I never go for joy rides in my car because that would be costly.

Just thinking about Shewolf's recent situation, I remembered that insurance is another thing I won't cut back on. That's one of them "need full coverage things". Car and house are #1.

I'm going to try those biscuts Green Witch.

Even though it's made with mayo, it's less saturated fat than using lard.

Do you think you could substitute lite mayo?

Yep, I'm definitely not rich, Montana! :wink:

I think being rich is way over rated anyway ;-)


<Tears up tonights losing lottery ticket>

Oh I couldn't agree more, Montana!

Not character building at all! :wink:




You can afford a lottery ticket?

I'm not one to spend money needlessly, but I do have to have my $11 worth of lottery tickets every week. I can get them with my Esso points if I run out of $ too