Monday, April 20, 2015

Ways We Have Saved Money Lately

I really enjoy reading how others save money. I find it inspiring and sometimes it gives me new ideas to help us save money as well. I find it very rewarding to be able to save money in some areas so that we can use it in a better way. Here is a random compilation of some of the ways we have saved money lately......
  • I cut all the guys hair.
  • My sister cut my hair for me.
  • I offered to review some books and therefore got new books for free.
  • I mended socks.
  • I cleaned up wood scraps and such from our yard and burnt it in our fireplace to heat our house.
    A recent cleaning up or our yard. All of it burnt nicely in our fireplace.
  • I made my own cream of mushroom soup.
  • I did a lot of looking to find a special birthday present and ended up with a wonderful deal.
  • I let my "fingers do the walking" as I called around to look for the typewriter and so saved money on gas as well.
    Megan enjoying her new typewriter.
  • I used a warranty insurance to get my money back on a camera that broke.
  • We have stayed home quite a bit which helps to save on gas.
  • We packed a meal to eat while traveling.
  • We brought water bottles on our trip and also to town when running errands. This makes purchasing drinks unnecessary.
  • We purchased cheese in 40 lb chunks from Bletsoe Cheese for a price much less than the store price per pound.
  • We have been putting siding on the house and working on other house projects. We could have hired it done instead but doing it ourselves is saving us a whole lot of money. It is a lot of work but it is fun and rewarding too.
  • We gratefully accepted hand-me-downs that were offered to us.
  • I used some coupons that my Mom gave to me and got a free towel at JC Penneys and also $10 off some needed items.
  • We took extra building supplies back to the store and got our money back.
  • Jonathan and I made a instrument rack for our music nook for $1.50. 
  • I boiled turkey bones after cooking (with a splash of vinegar to get extra nutrients out) it so that we didn't waste anything. Now we have lots of broth as well as the meat we already ate.
How have you saved money recently? I would love to hear about some frugal thing you have done lately!

7 comments:

The Heart Of A Woman said...

My gramdmother used to have a thpewriter! I loved playing on it as a child! I actually remember typing papers on a typewriter when I was in elementary! This makes me want to find one and keep it for my girls when they are older!

Anonymous said...

You buy 40lbs of cheese? What do you do freeze it in chunks and take out what you need?

Amelia said...

Oh how sweet, the typewriter! My youngest, Rebecca always wanted a real typewriter like 'Kit' the 30's American Girl. : )

I recently saved a ton of money cutting my hair in layers myself. I also made a nice maxi dress to wear to a nice wedding with fabric I've had on hand.

I like hearing ways you all save Abbi! Blessings to you! : )

Lydia said...

How simple that cream of mushroom soup is! Have you ever tried to can come? I love all the ways you have saved money recently!

Abbi said...

Thanks everybody for stopping by and commenting!
I love hearing what frugal things you have done too. :-)
Fun to hear about other typewriter memories. I was given one as a child too (as were my two older siblings) and we had a lot of fun with them. I really wished that I would have still had it when Megan starting wanting one so badly. (I think it broke and was discarded.)

To answer questions:
Yes we buy cheese in 40 lb chunks. It is a little overwhelming but really works out just fine. We just cut it up into chunks (a good workout) and then we sometimes grate a bunch and sometimes slice part of it and then put it in usable sizes and freeze it. With shipping I was able to get it for $2.50 a lb and that is much better than the nearly $4 a lb that it has been (or over that) at the store. I also just like being stocked up. Also I check and they use hormone free (rbst) milk to make the cheese.

About the soup. It is really easy! I hope it works well for you. I haven't ever tried canning it but I have frozen it. It does separate a little when you freeze it but still works okay to toss in a casserole.

Keri said...

We did the planting in the garden, new seeds, plants and we received a bonus! There was chives that come back each year on their own as well as the dill. But this year was really a nice surprise, there is about a hundred cilantro plants coming up between the garlic we planted back in the fall. We planted dill and some additional cilantro from seeds we collected last fall, but this area was a bonus. Cilantro is great with spinach and dill to make an Afghan dish called Sabzi, it is so good. Garden fresh is the best. Like you, I cut the boys hair each month and my guy trims my long tresses to keep them looking good. The at home haircuts are better than what we received when we paid for them. So this lady is not crazy enough to spends hundreds a year at the barber or in the salon, when I get better results at home. I know the hairdressers squeal when they hear that. I do a number 6 on top for the boys with a number 4 on the sides. use trimmer at neck line and sideburns. As a Christian woman, I honor God and my guy by keeping my hair long. Only need a 1/4 to 1/2 inch trim every other month. The scissor happy stylists would never listen, always wanted to chop off way too much.

Abbi said...

Keri, It was fun to read about all the ways you are saving money too! Thanks for stopping by.

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