Okay Hubby is willing to jump on the trying to save bandwagon so any ideas...

[melissar]

I am so excited... hubby has stated that after the first of the year he is willing to contribute to helping us save... which is good because he is where most of the grocery bill goes to....He drinks anywhere from 1-2 cases of mountain dew a week.. phew.... 48 cans...so of course at 6.99 a case it gets pretty expensive.. he has stated that he will cut down to one case and will actually try working on the second case....So if anyone has some really great ideas it would be appreciated...

Anything from cheap meals to cutting down on laundry soap by mixing half and half with water would be wonderful...
These two last weeks have been well not so great... last week had a death in the family... yesterday my car wouldn't start so I was late for work... yesterday afternoon dh's transmission went in his truck.. ugh.. but for some reason which is unusual I am not depressed or sad about it...I think the last two weeks though have really made dh realize that we waste to much money and since we don't have any money in the bank account to fix the transmission I think it has got him thinking...

Thank you and any ideas would be wonderful....

[YNKYH8R]

Well, one thing that worked for me was buying the Wal-Mart carbonated waters. They are .50 a piece and are good for you too, better than soda. So they maybe end up being cheaper. Other than that, coupons coupons coupons. But to really save on those you have to work at it. Jkatherine and others save big time on the grocery bills.

Don't eat out (including fsat food), don't drink alcohol, and don't buy cigarettes.

[DAVESBABYDOLL]

Yep, coupons,coupons,coupons. I never leave home without them. I trade for ones I need.Using them cuts my bill A LOT.

IF your hubby must drink soda go generic or if it must be Mt.Dew,buy while on sale and stock up.

I buy household needs (TP,paper towels etc) at Dollar General,the are cheaper then grocery store and take coupons.

i hit the 10 for $10 sales at the grocery store like Kroger's,at this time get sugar,canned goods and such.

[mesue]

Hubby takes his own lunch to work,it saves us money and also he eats a healthier lunch,so its a win win situation. If you freeze the leftovers in one serving packages they are good for lunch, make sure you date it. Also we buy, fruits, lunch meats and brown grain bread to pack lunch, this saves a ton of money and is much healthier.

Try and limit hubby's intake and your family's intake of softdrinks, not just because of the money but due to health reasons.
Years ago, sugar got expensive, but there was a high fructose corn syrup that was not and it was barely distinguishable by taste, so the soft drinks was sweetened with that. Anyway here is where the problem is, Sugar old regular sugar is processed and used as energy, what is not burned is stored as fat,but it is instantly available to be used then stored as fat only if it is not used.
High fructose corn syrup is processed by the body differently it is automatically stored as fat and only used for fuel when the body is not getting all the neccesary calories, and of course once it is stored as fat it is much harder to use. Since the introduction of high fructose corn syrup in the 70's the nation has developed a weight problem, more and more people becoming overweight or obese,also an increase in heart disease and diabetes.
I'm not saying your hubby or your family should never have soft drinks but cutting down on them will help not only your grocery bill but your health. Hubby drinks a lot of ice water, iced tea made at home, fruit juices, kool-aid and occassionally a soft drink. Make sure when you buy fruit juices you pay attention to the labeling many are also sweetened with high fructose corn syrup.
Since doing this, hubby was diagnosed as a diabetic since doing this his waistline has decreased 4 inches and he is feeling so much better.
Of course your family is probably much younger than mine and not as affected by these things as mine, but thought that your hubby might be more inclned to make a big change if he knew that it was probably affecting his health as well and though he is probably young and healthy it might eventually catch up with him.

[aloha2u]

Good for you and your family for trying to reorganize how you spend your money! Good luck!!

I too use coupons. I have always been a bargain shopper for clothing, like by buying off season- I bought my son's down filled jacket and snow pants for $3 each last Feb so that is super and will last till he gets older and BRAND picky LOL. But just started seriously couponing for food and household items late summer/ early fall. I found that it worked best to check out some good coup sites to even see what was available refund sweep er s dot com is good. Hope that doesn't get scrambled =( Then clean out your closets, cabinets, etc etc and start buying in quantity. At first you will wonder why but once you get a big variety you can start menu planning using what you have stockpiled. Also, get big quantities of coups of things your family likes. Then watch for a sale, and when you can buy tons or whatever you can use before it expires. I have probably 50 salad dressings but we eat lots of salad so that is good; cereal is another thing. Get the $1/1 coups in large quantity and then watch the sales. And if you at all can, go back the last day of the sale and get rainchecks for anything they are out of. Then you can replentish later on w/ some add'l coups you find or trade the slip if you decide you don't want any more of that type. My super walmart is great about coupons and also match ad. I only shop there but take all my ads in w/ me. If it is the store brand, use the store brand of walmart's. etc etc. anyhow, that is just some tips for you. you'll find a great way of doing it yourself if you stick w/ it. and ask away...there were two ladies online that really helped me out w/ how they did things and I adapted them so they worked for me too!

Merry Christmas!
Stacey =)

[luvangel72]

I plan my meals. And make grocery lists accordingly. I also stockpile when things are on sale. Dh bought me some utility shelving that he put up in the basement and I have lots of cereal(goes very fast at our house!), can goods, noodle things, toilet paper, dish and laundry soap, shampoos and hair products. I also have a bookshelf i use for gifts. I buy end of season clearance things that I know can be used as gifts at another time. that way when a family members birthday is coming up, I am not running around looking for something and end up spending 3 times as much because I am in a hurry and don't want to shop around. The after christmas sale is great for buying gift baskets for very cheap! Also when planning meals, I plan a meal with leftovers. It saves me from throwing a lot of leftovers away. For instance, last night I made a beef roast. The leftover beef I cut up and put in the gravy to make hot beefs which I froze in a ziploc bag and labeled. Now that is something i will be able to make some night for a supper when just dh and I are home. And for me that is a major money saver since I hate cooking a meal for just 2 so thats when we are tempted to eat out. And chances are if I had left that beef in the fridge, it would have been thrown away next week with green stuff on!
Just a couple ideas! Hope they help!

[tracey74]

my DH buys like a $30 roast and he cuts out of that steaks and smaller roasts.a lot cheaper than buying steaks at 2 or 3$ a lb.out of a 15-18 lb roast we can get at least 3-3lb roasts and 15 steaks.we also use generics most of the time.suoer walmart cereals even name brands are a lot cheaper than most stores also if you can shop at a store like more for less or save a lot or aldi's then shop there its a store where you can get like canned veggies for like .29-33 cents a can,canned fruits are cheaper there and canned pastas are like $.49-$.65 cents per can.also get like family packs of meat if cheap and sort them into several meals if possible and put the others in ziplocs and freeze.Ive found lots of the store brands actually taste better than the name brands.also with milk 2% is usually a bit cheaper and lower in fat.also like someone said dollar store stuff is cheape,especially cold meds and aspirin and shampoos and stuff like that.theyre usually a dollar cheaper or so.also adding baking soda to you laundry detergent boost cleaning power so you dont need to use as much. I found a good deal at walmart they have whats called LANDERS 3-in-1 its shampoo,body wash and bubble bath.they have several scents its less than $3 for a big bottle and lathers up really well and is a great shampoo.I love it and the scent lasts for hrs.cant think of anything else at the moment.

[KrystallizedFlame]

Years ago, sugar got expensive, but there was a high fructose corn syrup that was not and it was barely distinguishable by taste, so the soft drinks was sweetened with that. Anyway here is where the problem is, Sugar old regular sugar is processed and used as energy, what is not burned is stored as fat,but it is instantly available to be used then stored as fat only if it is not used.
High fructose corn syrup is processed by the body differently it is automatically stored as fat and only used for fuel when the body is not getting all the neccesary calories, and of course once it is stored as fat it is much harder to use. Since the introduction of high fructose corn syrup in the 70's the nation has developed a weight problem, more and more people becoming overweight or obese,also an increase in heart disease and diabetes.

I totally agree with this. Since I have stopped drinking soda, I have lost more than 40 lbs. I drink diets every once in awhile. In fact I was a huge Mountain Dew person. I have had a 2 liter of diet Mountain Dew for over a month and have yet to open it. I just don't crave it anymore. I was also addicted to the caffeine. After 2 days of horrible headaches, I am no longer addicted to caffeine.

I drink lots and lots of water now.

Good luck on saving money. :) I also agree on the coupons along with sales and rebates. And cut expenses where ever you can. Like cable channels, get rid of the channels you don't watch etc, or added features on your phone you don't use. Every little bit helps.

[melissar]

Thanks all... those are all great ideas....I am so excited because I actually am going to have a suplus of money at the end of this month even after buying oil...not that it is actually a surplus but I usually go into the next month waiting for the first paycheck if you know what I mean... this month i chose to be very careful with what I bought the kids for christmas.. i simply refused to go and spend 100's of dollars..and this morning they were just as happy with what I bought them then if I had spent the 100's of dollars..

We just found out that our electric bill is going up 10% in january... ugh....so i have told the family that if you want something washed or cleaned then you better give it to me two days before you want to wear it because I refuse to use the drier... I also went and purchased some clearance flourescent light bulbs.. he he... They were $1 a pack and originally 5.99 and two come in a pack so I was psyched....

Keep the ideas coming and would love to get some great cheap receipes...

Thanks!

[mesue]

BTW great idea on the light bulbs, they last longer and you are helping the enviroment too.I have several of those in the rooms we use the most.
Here are some great ideas from people who are old hands at living frugally and IMO the smart way. I do a lot of these things just from being raised to do so but I really need to learn to do more.


http://www.allthingsfrugal.com/
also http://www.frugalcorner.com/

[mnvdriver]

Also try the Wal-Mart version of Mountain Dew. It is 1.98 a 12 pack. We actually prefer the Wal-Mart brand for soda. Also a 2 liter of soda is almost the same amount as a 6 pack of soda at Wal-Mart and it is only $0.58

[melissar]

I have tried the soda switching routine and my dh only drinks mountain dew.. I tell him it is in his head... he he but he has promised to only drink one case a week which means I will save at least almost $30 a month...so.. Actually I am very proud of him as he lost the transmission in his truck and called around to see how much to replace it... phewey...They were all close to $1,000...the truck alone isn't worth $1,000 in my eyes.. hee hee... he only gave $250 dollars for it...Well anyhow my dad was able to get a used transmission for free and dh and a friend spent last night pulling it and are going to put it in today... so he is doing his share of saving dollars at the time being...

[hblueeyes]

I have been using those flourescent bulbs for years. I used to buy them when they were on sale for $10 each. Now I buy 4 packs for $5.99 regular price. Besides helping the environment they give a brighter, whiter lifgt and last years longer than the average bulbs. The best part though is that I saved about 1/2 on my electric bill when the kids were smaller. I save even more now since the lights are not on as often or left on as often and those that are, it is still cheaper.

Me :p

[YankeeMary]

I have tried the soda switching routine and my dh only drinks mountain dew.. I tell him it is in his head... he he but he has promised to only drink one case a week which means I will save at least almost $30 a month...so.. Actually I am very proud of him as he lost the transmission in his truck and called around to see how much to replace it... phewey...They were all close to $1,000...the truck alone isn't worth $1,000 in my eyes.. hee hee... he only gave $250 dollars for it...Well anyhow my dad was able to get a used transmission for free and dh and a friend spent last night pulling it and are going to put it in today... so he is doing his share of saving dollars at the time being...
I also only drink Mountain Dew. IMO I can taste the difference. My dh and boys didn't think I could tell the difference. They did the "secret taste test". I picked mountain dew out 5 times out of 5. LOL...I wish you much luck in saving money. I know it isn't easy.

[melissar]

My dh would totally agree with you... he he... he says he can taste the difference..he would always use the excuse well I am not smoking cigarettes or drinking alcohol and figures that this one thing in life that he loves so much is something he should be allowed to do...He also states he can not stand the caffeine withdrawel headaches as they are bad. He still is being very good and has only drank half a case since almost a week ago... so he is trying and what else can we ask them to do....

[Lori63]

My boys are 17, 13 and 10, and constantly leaving the door between the garage and the mudroom open (BRR!) and also leaving lights on. We started today charging them every time either of these things is done, the cost depending on what mood I'm in at the time.

[YankeeMary]

My boys are 17, 13 and 10, and constantly leaving the door between the garage and the mudroom open (BRR!) and also leaving lights on. We started today charging them every time either of these things is done, the cost depending on what mood I'm in at the time.
Brilliant idea!!!

[Red64]

Well, if you have the time, shopping at 2-3 different supermarkets each week, and only buying what is on sale at each is a great way to save. It does take time, though.

[melissar]

I totally agree with you there...I have started working and well ah having time is another thing.. I did however go today and picked up the sale items at shaws....I had filled my freezer full of meat at the beginning of the month so just needed some veggies....milk, bread and potatoes...and we are all set until the middle of next month... yeah... oh yeah didn't forget the mountain dew for hubby... shaws has it on sale 2/$5 so I bought him a few.....

Thanks all...it feels good to have the bills all paid and a few dollars in the purse...