Frugal tips for June

I figure if we sticky each month we won't have as much of a chance of losing the posts. So, let's all post our frugal tips for the month of June. I'll start:

Take any left over bread and dry it out (I pop mine in a low temp oven) then run the rolling pin over them for some bread crumbs.

We just had a couple of members celebrate their birthdays, which made me think of how many resturants give you free meals for your birthday. Check them out next time someone in your family is celebrating.

Wipe down your countertops, cupboards and any other places where you've spotted ants with a 50-50 mixture of white vinegar and water. Repeat throughout the day to maintain the efficacy.

Why This Works: Two reasons, really: ants hate the smell of vinegar, and it removes the scent trails that they use to get around

Fleas also hate vinegar, so make up a solution to put in a spray bottle and spray down your dog or cat.

Got aphids? Here's a couple of ways to take care of that problem: Tomato plants, as members of the nightshade family, contain toxic compounds called alkaloids in their leaves. When the leaves of tomato plants are chopped, they release their alkaloids. When the alkaloids are suspended and diluted with water, they make an easy to use spray that is toxic to aphids, but still safe around plants and humans.

What You'll Need:

One to two cups of tomato leaves
Two cups of water
A strainer or cheesecloth
Spray bottle
To make tomato leaf spray, simply soak one to two cups of chopped tomato leaves in two cups of water. Let it steep overnight. To make the spray, strain the leaves out of the liquid using cheesecloth or a fine strainer. Add another one to two cups of water to the liquid and add it to a spray bottle.

To use the tomato leaf spray in your battle against aphids, spray the stems and foliage of the infested plant with the spray, paying special attention to the undersides of leaves, since that is where aphids most commonly congregate.

Caution: While this spray is very safe for humans, some people are allergic to members of the nightshade family. If you are one of them, use care in making and applying this spray.

Garlic Oil Spray
Organic gardeners have long relied on garlic as part of their pest-fighting arsenal. Garlic contains sulfur, which, besides being toxic to pests, is also an antibacterial and antifungal agent. The dish soap in this mixture also breaks down the bodies of soft-bodied pests, such as aphids.

What You'll Need:

Three to four cloves of garlic
Mineral oil
Strainer or cheesecloth
Liquid dish soap
Water
Spray bottle
To make garlic oil spray, mince or finely chop three to four cloves of garlic, and add them to two teaspoons of mineral oil. Let this mixture sit for 24 hours. Strain out the garlic pieces, and add the remaining liquid to one pint of water. Add one teaspoon of liquid dish soap. This mixture can be stored and diluted as needed. When you need to spray, use two tablespoons of the mixture added to one pint of water in a spray bottle.

To use your garlic oil spray, first test by spraying an inconspicuous part of the plant to see if your mixture harms it at all. If there are no signs of yellowing or other leaf damage after a day or two, it is safe to use. If there is leaf damage, dilute the mixture with more water and try the test again. Once you have determined that it won't harm your plant, spray the entire plant, paying special attention to the undersides of leaves.

Warning: Garlic oil is a non-selective insecticide, which means that it will kill beneficial insects (such as lady bugs, who are natural predators of aphids) just as easily as it kills the bad guys. It's best to keep as many beneficials around as possible. This spray should only be used if you haven't seen any beneficial bugs in your garden. The tomato leaf recipe, above, won't harm beneficials, so you should use that if you're lucky enough to have some beneficials in your garden.

Ok, your turn!

Here's more tips I found online. Hope there's some here that can help out.

Spray your Tupperware with nonstick cooking spray before pouring in tomato-based sauces. No more stains!

Wrap celery in aluminum foil when putting in the refrigerator-it will keep for weeks!

Use lifesavers candy to hold candles in place on your next birthday cake! Kids love them.

Poke an egg with a small sewing needle before hard-boiling, and the egg will peel with ease! And hold that needle in place with a magnet refrigerator clip!

Stuff a miniature marshmallow in the bottom of a sugar cone to prevent ice cream drips!

Zap garlic cloves in the microwave for 15 seconds and the skins slip right off!

Use a meat baster to "squeeze" your pancake batter onto the whole griddle perfectly shaped pancakes every time.

Always spray your grill with nonstick cooking spray before grilling to avoid sticking!

To keep potatoes from budding, place an apple in the bag with the potatoes!

To prevent egg shells from cracking, add a pinch of salt to the water before hard-boiling!

Use a pastry blender to cut ground beef into small pieces after browning!

Sweeten whipped cream with confectioners' sugar instead of granulated sugar. It will stay fluffy & hold its shape better!

For easy "meatloaf mixing", combine the ingredients with a potato masher!

If you don't have enough batter to fill all cupcake tins, pour 1 tablespoon of water into the unfilled spots. This helps preserve the life of your pans!

To easily remove honey from a measuring spoon, first coat the spoon with nonstick cooking spray!

Run your hands under cold water before pressing Rice Krispies treats in the pan. The marshmallow won't stick to your fingers!

Mash and freeze ripe bananas, in one-cup portions, for use in later baking. No wasted bananas (or you can freeze them whole, peeled, in plastic baggies.)

To quickly use that frozen juice concentrate, simply mash it with a potato masher. No need to wait for it to thaw! A wire whip works also.

To get the most juice out of fresh lemons, bring them to room temperature & roll them under your palm against the kitchen counter before squeezing!

To easily remove burnt on food from your skillet, simply add a drop or two of dish soap & enough water to cover bottom of pan, and bring to a boil on stovetop skillet will be much easier to clean now!

Transfer your jelly to a small plastic squeeze bottle-no more messy, sticky jars or knives! This also works well for homemade salad dressing!

To aid in washing dishes, add a tablespoon of baking soda to your soapy water-it softens hands while cutting through grease!

Save your store-bought-bread bags and ties-they make perfect storage bags for homemade bread!

When a cake recipe calls for flouring the baking pan, use a bit of the dry cake mix instead. No white mess on the outside of the cake!

If you accidentally over-salt a dish while it's still cooking, drop in a peeled potato. It absorbs the excess salt for an instant "fix me up"!

Next time you need a quick ice pack, grab a bag of frozen vegetables out of your freezer-no watery leaks from a plastic baggie!

When making bread, substitute nondairy creamer for the dry milk-it works just as well!!!

Rinse cooked, ground meat with water when draining off the fat-this helps "wash away" even more fat! Use HOT or Warm water so fat won't congeal.

Slicing meat when partially frozen makes it easier to get thin slices.

Instead of throwing away bread heels or leftover cornbread, use them to make bread crumbs. For use later, store them in the freezer.

Substitute half applesauce for the vegetable oil in your baking recipes. You'll greatly reduce the fat content! (Example: 1/2 cup vegetable oil = 1/4 cup applesauce + 1/4 cup oil)

To ripen avocados and bananas, enclose them in a brown paper bag with an apple for 2-3 days.

Brush beaten egg white over pie crust before baking to yield a beautiful, glossy finish!

In recipes calling for margarine, substitute reduced-calorie margarine to help cut back on fat! Same goes with sour cream, milk, cheese, cream cheese, and cream soups

Place a slice of bread in hardened brown sugar to soften it back up!

When boiling corn on the cob, add a pinch of sugar to help bring out the corns natural sweetness!

When starting your garden seedlings indoors, plant the seeds in egg shell halves. Simply crack the shells around the roots of your plants & transplant them outdoors-the shell is a natural fertilizer!

To determine whether an egg is fresh, immerse it in a pan of cool, water. If it sinks, it is fresh; if it rises to the surface, throw it away.

Keep the linings from cereal boxes-they make great substitutes for waxed paper!

SUPER HINTS

1) Cure for headaches: Take a lime, cut it in half and rub it on your forehead. The throbbing will go.

2) Use of soap wrapper: Don't throw away the wrapper after removing a bar of soap. Place it inside your shoe cabinet or shoe box. It's a cheap way of filling the air with a nice smell.

3) If your polished furniture has small scratches: Try rubbing them with a shelled walnut. You'll see the scratches just disappear!

4) Are your shoes smelly: Here's a solution. Put some tea leaves into a pair of stockings & stuff each into a shoe. Leave for a day or two & the smell just vanishes!

5) If you have problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy!

6) Tips for stamp collectors: Place the envelope in the freezer for a few hours. You'll then be able to easily lift the stamps off with a pair of tweezers.

7) To keep buttons from dropping off: Dab a drop of clear nail polish onto the thread that secures the buttons. This will harden & make it more difficult for thread to break off.

What???? No one is frugal on here? **double checking the name of group** I thought all homesteaders were frugal. Come on, let's share our frugal ideas. I don't know about everyone else, but I know I am always looking for more frugal ideas, especially in today's world.

I have made the garlic spray with murphy oil soap instead of mineral oil and added crushed red pepper to it. It is toxic and the japanese bettles drop off the plants from them.

I save my brown paper bags (when you get them) for arts and crafts for the kids.

If you buy cheaper cuts of meat and fix them in the crock pot they are just as good as the expensive ones.

I will get the recipes together for the things I an make instead of buy. I have bisquick, sweetened condensed milk (sugarfree also) onion soup, There is a long list of them. I make them in bulk when I can and that way I do not have to buy them.


If you are looking for something check the classifieds, free cycle, or craigs list for them. I have saved a ton of money that way. Just got my step son a bread maker for free.

Musems and parks run family nights and free days. Just check to see what they have listed. Bank of America sponsors some of the free musem days. Point Mallard water park in Decatur Al has half off on Tuesdays and Thursday evenings.

Go camping instead of staying in a hotel. My kids love this better any way.

Grow your own food. It is better for you and cheaper too. Or buy from your local farmers.

Seeing the free things to do I wanted to add the Bass Pro Shop usually has free activities going on, especially during the summer. They have family camp. We took Ty last week end and he got to practice shooting and casting a fishing line. There was a class for kids on gun safety along with a scavenger hunt and a craft. Go to their site to see what all is going on. Best of all, it's all free fun for the kids and it teaches them to be more self-sufficient.

That also reminds me that one of movie theaters has $1 movies with $1 popcorn and drinks on Tuesdays during the day. Another one has free movies three times a week during the day but not cheap food.

When going on a road trip or a picnic, put hot dogs in a thermos and cover with boiling water. By the time you are ready for them, they will be perfectly cooked.


You can also use your thermos for Sloppy Joes.

Going out to eat can be part of the fun of going on vacation but it can also get very expensive so to save a little money, let the family sleep in and then get a large breakfast later in the morning. Most everyone will still be full by lunchtime, so a snack will usually hold them over until dinner. This saves the expense of one full meal out.

Frugal tips seems to be fizzling. Lets try again.

It is February 2012

What is Frugal living? Living without extravagances or unneeded clutter and fluff. In todays world we are all encouraged to spend spend spend, buy buy buy, with nary a word about saving for a rainy day. I hear about and see kids with credit cards, more electronic gadgets in their rooms than I have in my house! Big screen TV with separate phone and satellite hook ups, two and three game systems... I hear parents complain about how hard it is to make ends meet, then they go stupid buying things on a credit card that they will replace in a few months because it is no longer the coolest, or newest gadget to come along. Then the bills come in and they devise some plan to borrow more money for a longer term so they can afford the monthly payments. It just never seems to end, and for them any little hiccup in income is financially damaging.

So my friends, you have read this far and not clicked off in disgust, that means you are looking for a solution, or like me have seen it. Plain and simple financial advice from my great grandmother... spend less than you make, and save for a rainy day. How do you do that? again from great grandma, "mind your pennies, and the dollars will take care of themselves"
Loosely translated for todays world, do not spend more than you make, per month, and per year. If you rely on a tax refund to pay certain bills then you might consider getting rid of some bills. If you use credit cards to tide you over at the end of the month, again not spending wisely.

Try this, work up a budget. Find out exactly where all of your money goes. No guessing, actually write down every penny you spend, and on what you spend it for three consecutive months. Now look at those three months worth of pay stubs (you are saving those aren't you). Average out your hours, and figure your average pay per pay period. Now deduct 10%. This remaining 90% is your budget. So if you average say 40 hours per week, your budget would be for 36 hours per week. Take that level of income, and all the money you spent the last three months and start a budget trimming the overages that are not necessary expenses. It may surprise you when you start minding your pennies just how many dollars show up at the end of the month, ready for that rainy day.

Keith

Good advice Keith. Might I add something to this? One of the things that I believe hinders many Christians is they don't tithe. Joe and I noticed a huge difference in our finances once we began tithing.

The 4 hours out of a 40 hour week are already set aside in the above example, so while I did not actually say it, that is where we get our Tithe, and extra offerings are pulled from overtime, and side jobs.

Yes tithing also helps, if done with the intent of doing Gods work, not for some kind of show or display.

Something I noticed that bothers me is that my son, works at Hardees, and his paycheck is put on a debit card. He never gets a check, even if he had a checking account it wouldn't be direct deposited either. I think this is making it too easy to not spend cash.
I just read, might have been on HT, that if you use a $10 bill save all the ones. Don't spend $1 bills. Have a container with a lid taped on and a slit in the lid. Stick the $1 bills down in it and at the end of the year you would be surprised how much money you will have saved.

It is surprising how much you save when you save just your change. It adds up real quick. It makes a good "rainy day" jar.

Budgeting is something everyone should do. Setting aside money for bills that are coming due only makes sense.

And before you buy something ask yourself what would happen if you didn't buy that item. Usually you will find that you are just as well off without it and it helps to keep you from spending money that you don't have.

Credit cards, unless money is set aside and the card is paid off at the end of every month with no interest or fees paid, is a bad deal. CC has ruined many people financially.
I believe in living debt free if it is at all possible.
Just my 2 cents worth.

kerrig wrote:Something I noticed that bothers me is that my son, works at Hardees, and his paycheck is put on a debit card. He never gets a check, even if he had a checking account it wouldn't be direct deposited either. I think this is making it too easy to not spend cash.
I just read, might have been on HT, that if you use a $10 bill save all the ones. Don't spend $1 bills. Have a container with a lid taped on and a slit in the lid. Stick the $1 bills down in it and at the end of the year you would be surprised how much money you will have saved.

I would not work for someone who would limit access to earned income in that manner. Sure you can buy things with that card, but you cannot tithe, you cannot buy mutual funds (by saving up a few bucks over the course of a year), you cannot have a separate savings account to tap for emergencies.

Rohn wrote:It is surprising how much you save when you save just your change. It adds up real quick. It makes a good "rainy day" jar.

Budgeting is something everyone should do. Setting aside money for bills that are coming due only makes sense.

And before you buy something ask yourself what would happen if you didn't buy that item. Usually you will find that you are just as well off without it and it helps to keep you from spending money that you don't have.

Credit cards, unless money is set aside and the card is paid off at the end of every month with no interest or fees paid, is a bad deal. CC has ruined many people financially.
I believe in living debt free if it is at all possible.
Just my 2 cents worth.

change...75 bucks in coins last year from pennies and nickles. I spend the dimes and quarters in vending machines at work.

Budgeting- YES SIR!! I am working on next years annual budget, when that's done I'll break it down into monthly budgets that include early pay offs and savings. Only problem I foresee is the unknown tax rates next year (and deductions and the alternative minimum tax rates, etc) Budgets must include living expenses as well as regular bills (ie gas for vehicles, light bills, clothes, food (can you really afford a fast food lunches?))

Credit cards?? I don't and won't use them. They promote impulse purchases and over spending. If you really want it, be an adult and delay the gratification of having that item until you have the cash to buy it.

Just my 2 cents

I agree. I wouldn't have a job where I had a card like that either. He can take it to a bank and withdraw money from it but I think they charge a fee, I'm not sure.

How do you do an annual budget? That's something I'm interested in. I do the monthly budget and have that somewhat done for next year based on what we make but have never done an annual budget.

LOL look at your yearly income from this past year, add up the total expenditures from your monthly budgets plus all the oops I gotta pay for that too items. Also I do not just pile filling the propane tank or vehicle insurances on a single month. By breaking it up across a couple or three or four months it tuns smoothly. Anyway once you have all you plan to spend totaled and all you plan to earn simply divide each by 12 so you will have an average to reference when doing your months budget. Since my income, and expenses can vary by as much as 2000 dollars each each month this is the only way I can track things and halfway predict monthly spending.

Thank you!