Frugal living anyone?

Add me in too!! Thanks!

Count me in! Not only are my fiance and I trying to eat healty, we're also trying to save up for our wedding. What a great group!

great site to teach how to use what you have and plan a weekly menu on a $70 dollar budget
http://www.grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com/

lets you know how to make a steal on all sorts of coupons in conjunction with store ads
http://thekrazycouponlady.com/

I buy coupons for the things I eat often from here.
(note they are shut down for the easter holiday)
http://www.collectablecoupons.com/Manufacturer-Coupons-By-Category-s/28.htm

EBAY! you can buy coupons on ebay!

also I grow my own veggies in the summer and can them, I make my own jellies and jams.

also I dont play favorites with brands. I buy the store brands or which ever is cheapest.

for fun things to do check out the local papers for all sorts of fun FREE weekend activites.

eat out with coupons in hand!

Okay just always never pay full price anywhere, everything is negotiable.

Oh and for more coupons check your local library, often they get leftover sunday papers and have lots of coupons sections left in them, all free!

really being frugal just needs a little forthought and its really not hard.

Oh one more thing. You can make almost any cleaning product with baking soda and vinegar. You can also make homemade disposable baby wipes (for the other mommies out there just google it.

Here is my basic recipe for an all purpose cleaner

This makes about 2 cups of cleaner.

1/2 teaspoon baking soda or washing soda
2 teaspoons borax
1/2 teaspoon liquid soap or detergent
2 cups hot water
Combine all the ingredients and the water into a spray bottle. Shake well. The washing soda or baking soda makes this formula a great grease cutter.

I also use vinegar and water to clean glass. I've read that if you use vinegar in the rince cycle of your laundry it work like a fabric softener. I'm going to try this. I also hang my clothes out to dry when the weather is warmer.

We buy a lot of bulk veggies (tomatoes, peppers, potatoes, onions, carrots, broccoli etc) when they're on sale. The tomatoes, broccoli and peppers I use what we need now then freeze the rest. They are great for pasta sauces (I have 2 girls and they love their spaghetti) and the peppers and broccoli are good stir-frys. The potatoes, onions and carrots) we keep in the garage where it's cool and they last a very long time.

I too buy waaaay too many drug store/hair products so I have made a vow this year to USE everything under my sink by december and only replace what is used daily (ie shampoo, conditioner, soap, mousse) to find styles that use less hair product without looking frizzy (naturally curly hair)

I *know* this sounds crazy, so all I will say is that I get more compliments on my hair since I started this than ever before in my life.

We have replaced all of our hairstyling products with conditioner. We only use shampoo a couple of times a month, but we use conditioner almost every day. Turns out, that as long you don't use products like gel and hairspray that stick to your hair, conditioner cleans your hair without stripping away the natural oils. It takes us months to go through a bottle of shampoo now, and I only have a travel sized tube of gel on hand for when I want a really fancy updo. We both have curly/wavy hair, but very different thickness.

I found a way to save on my internet connection today as well. It's amazing how if you are willing to do a bit of extra legwork (in anything I guess) you can save so much.

If you use Comcast for your internet you can call about every six months and say you want to cancel something or change your plan and they start throwing deals at you for the internet and cable. I've been doing this for years and as long as you keep track of when your special offers end you can save a bunch!

Oh...and since I was just going to do this and I don't think I saw it mentioned yet- You can print or download coupons from the website for your grocery stores too (I'm a bit of an online shopping junkie if that's not seeming obvious yet). Safeway and King Soopers have ones you can download straight to your card. Safeway does a lot of" this week only special" ones that are great to save a bunch when combined with the newspaper coupons ( I got toothpaste for 50 cents last week). Target has ones you can print off the site and take into the store for all kinds of different stuff too, not just food.

I'd love to follow this. I have a wedding to save for and student loans to pay off! Groceries are getting expensive!

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