Oct 17, 2012

25 ways (or more) to save money

Patrice over at  Rural Revolution has listed 25 ways to cut your budget.  I'm getting on board and listing some ways we save money.  Some of these may be duplicates of what she's already posted, but I'll try and be original.

  • Try to stay away from using credit cards.  The interest really adds up.
  • We grow all of our own herbs and 90% of our vegetables each year.  This is my contribution since I don't have an outside job.
  • We raise chickens and beef cattle and have our own supply of fresh meat and eggs, better and cheaper than the grocery store.
  • Cook from scratch.  Time consuming, but much more frugal and healthier.
  • Buy baking supplies in bulk from the local food co-op.
  • No cell phones and no dish TV.  We do spend on movies we buy or rent.
  • Homeschooling-we buy curriculum second hand and don't need to spend a fortune on school clothes.
  • Lawn mowing-we hardly ever mow our yard.  Terrible, I know, but life is just too busy and so I guess we save on gas and wear and tear on our mower.
  • Our lawnmowers, 3-wheeler, tractors were all either bartered for or bought very cheaply because they needed repairs.  This works for us as my honey fixed them all up.
  • We don't use the clothes dryer (most of the time), or the dishwasher.  This saves on our electric bill.
  • We have wood heat to supplement our high efficiency propane furnace.  When it hits -40 neither one will keep the house warm by itself.
  • Plastic up all of the windows for winter, and bank the house with snow. 
  • We cut our wood off of our back forty.  Cheap heat.
  • Reusing plastic bags.  It's a small thing, but I don't like buying plastic products.
  • Starting all of my garden plants from seed in the house each spring.
  • Saving most of our own garden seeds year to year.
  • Milk our own cow and make butter, cheese, sour cream, etc.
  • Sew tablecloths, curtains, clothes from material found at the thrift store.
  • Grow our own animal feed-hay, oats, pumpkins. (This does mean an investment in those tractors I mentioned previously.)
  • Buy pig fat from the local butcher to render into lard.  He charges twenty five cents a pound. This is great for baking and frying.
  • Make our own soap from this lard and goat's milk.
  • Shear our rabbits and goats to spin into yarn.  This makes nice mittens and such for presents and cuts down on Christmas costs.
  • Give home canned goods, herbal mixtures, and homemade teas for gifts. There are many homemade gifts that people actually like.
  • Buy groceries at two week intervals or more.  This cuts down on impulse buying.
  • Make a menu for this two week period so that you know exactly what you need to get at the store and use only the coupons for the products you would normally buy.
  • Buy extra of the items that you know you use when they go on sale.  It's nice to have this stash in the cellar. 
  • Every once in awhile call your insurance agent and see if you qualify for a cheaper rate, or call other agents and compare prices.
  • We don't buy paper napkins or paper towels.  I make cloth napkins and use rags for spills and washing windows.
I know these ideas can't be used by everyone, but I hope you found one or two that you hadn't thought of before.

3 comments:

Misty Pines Homestead said...

Hunt deer and fish!

odiie said...

Yep! We sometimes get the deer hunting done, but don't ever seem to have the time to fish. I love fish.
Thanks for stopping by.

Jess said...

Hi~Just wanted to pop in to say I enjoy reading your blog, so I have nominated you for a fun blog award called the Liebster Blog Award. You can see more about it at my blog....
http://homestead4him.blogspot.com/2012/10/liebster-blog-award.html
Congrats and have a great day!
Blessings,
Jess

Oct 17, 2012

25 ways (or more) to save money

Patrice over at  Rural Revolution has listed 25 ways to cut your budget.  I'm getting on board and listing some ways we save money.  Some of these may be duplicates of what she's already posted, but I'll try and be original.

  • Try to stay away from using credit cards.  The interest really adds up.
  • We grow all of our own herbs and 90% of our vegetables each year.  This is my contribution since I don't have an outside job.
  • We raise chickens and beef cattle and have our own supply of fresh meat and eggs, better and cheaper than the grocery store.
  • Cook from scratch.  Time consuming, but much more frugal and healthier.
  • Buy baking supplies in bulk from the local food co-op.
  • No cell phones and no dish TV.  We do spend on movies we buy or rent.
  • Homeschooling-we buy curriculum second hand and don't need to spend a fortune on school clothes.
  • Lawn mowing-we hardly ever mow our yard.  Terrible, I know, but life is just too busy and so I guess we save on gas and wear and tear on our mower.
  • Our lawnmowers, 3-wheeler, tractors were all either bartered for or bought very cheaply because they needed repairs.  This works for us as my honey fixed them all up.
  • We don't use the clothes dryer (most of the time), or the dishwasher.  This saves on our electric bill.
  • We have wood heat to supplement our high efficiency propane furnace.  When it hits -40 neither one will keep the house warm by itself.
  • Plastic up all of the windows for winter, and bank the house with snow. 
  • We cut our wood off of our back forty.  Cheap heat.
  • Reusing plastic bags.  It's a small thing, but I don't like buying plastic products.
  • Starting all of my garden plants from seed in the house each spring.
  • Saving most of our own garden seeds year to year.
  • Milk our own cow and make butter, cheese, sour cream, etc.
  • Sew tablecloths, curtains, clothes from material found at the thrift store.
  • Grow our own animal feed-hay, oats, pumpkins. (This does mean an investment in those tractors I mentioned previously.)
  • Buy pig fat from the local butcher to render into lard.  He charges twenty five cents a pound. This is great for baking and frying.
  • Make our own soap from this lard and goat's milk.
  • Shear our rabbits and goats to spin into yarn.  This makes nice mittens and such for presents and cuts down on Christmas costs.
  • Give home canned goods, herbal mixtures, and homemade teas for gifts. There are many homemade gifts that people actually like.
  • Buy groceries at two week intervals or more.  This cuts down on impulse buying.
  • Make a menu for this two week period so that you know exactly what you need to get at the store and use only the coupons for the products you would normally buy.
  • Buy extra of the items that you know you use when they go on sale.  It's nice to have this stash in the cellar. 
  • Every once in awhile call your insurance agent and see if you qualify for a cheaper rate, or call other agents and compare prices.
  • We don't buy paper napkins or paper towels.  I make cloth napkins and use rags for spills and washing windows.
I know these ideas can't be used by everyone, but I hope you found one or two that you hadn't thought of before.

3 comments:

Misty Pines Homestead said...

Hunt deer and fish!

odiie said...

Yep! We sometimes get the deer hunting done, but don't ever seem to have the time to fish. I love fish.
Thanks for stopping by.

Jess said...

Hi~Just wanted to pop in to say I enjoy reading your blog, so I have nominated you for a fun blog award called the Liebster Blog Award. You can see more about it at my blog....
http://homestead4him.blogspot.com/2012/10/liebster-blog-award.html
Congrats and have a great day!
Blessings,
Jess