My Ramblings

ok ladies, i need your help

DH and I are trying to seriously cut spending and get down to only spending what is necessary.  We have minimal bills, but it seems sometimes that the minimum bills are a lot, too.  What are ways I can cut spending that I'm not thinking of?  We are planning on:
1. Not going out to eat.
2. Cooking more from the garden (our mil and fil have graciously given us some nice produce when they get an abundance).
3. Living more with less a/c blowing.

And that's where I am.  I know these will help a lot, but I still feel there are more things we could do.   Maybe I shouldn't feel that way until after I emplement these budget-savings more, but I do feel that way.  Could you PLEASE offer me suggestions on what I could do to penny-pinch???  Even cheap meals!  DH is particular about what we eat, such as, he doesn't eat most casseroles, and prefers meat or seafood in most dishes.  PLEASE HELP!

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04:13, Thursday, June 21, 2007 .. Posted by gokings13

Take 30 days and spend like normal ONLY keep a receipt for EVERY SINGLE THING you buy. That means if you buy a can of Pepsi, or you buy a happy meal......keep receipts for everything for 30 days.

At the end of the 30 days sort your receipts into categories. One pile for groceries, one pile for gas, one pile for 'impulse buys', and so on.
From there, you will know where you need to cut expenses.
Gradually eliminate.
Don't go from spending freely to strictly limiting spending. It will throw everyone into a tail spin.
Food is one this I will not take short cuts on. We will sit in the house at 85 degrees with no A/C before I will skimp on a meal!! That's just us though.
HTH
Laura

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04:26, Thursday, June 21, 2007 .. Posted by Barefootcountrygirl

here's a good site that helped me a lot... www.hillbillyhousewife.com

Lots of good ideas there!

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05:56, Thursday, June 21, 2007 .. Posted by southernbelle

Hi Claire! Go to the homepage search box and type in "Ways I Save $$$" and "More Ways I Save $$$" and it'll take you to my blog buried somewhere in my archives. I think I'll go there and read back over it myself!

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10:43, Thursday, June 21, 2007 .. Posted by Anonymous

Here's a website that is really helpfull in cutting costs..
www.thefamilyhomestead.com

There are a lot of recipe's on the site that are inexpensive.

Good luck!

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01:01, Friday, June 22, 2007 .. Posted by Jonash2004

*Eat leftovers
*Shop thrift stores & garage sales
*Buy in bulk if it's cheaper (and you know you'll use it!)
*Get a deep freeze (ours was $75 at a yard sale!)

I really wanted to feel like I was helping budget, so I asked dh to come up with an amount of cash I could have weekly. I get $--- a week, and since I love to have extra $$ rattleing around in my wallet, I usually tuck a fraction of it in a side pocket and use the rest. Some weeks, I use it all up, others I use what I have in my very stocked pantry and freezer. If I needed to, I could feed us for weeks on what I have - I love to hoard food and I love having lots of everything I need on hand! :)

Hope some of that helps! If you want numerical details of my budget for a family of three, pm me!

Ashley

Saving money on dinner

09:01, Saturday, June 23, 2007 .. Posted by makalea

My DH has the same meal requirements that you listed - no casseroles and meat. I have cut costs, and improved the health benefits, by adding beans to the meat. DH doesn't mind food that is mixed up together as long is it is not a casserole, so for example I put hambuger, beans, rice, and stewed tomatoes together for Mexican Rice and Beans. I can make the meat that was for one meal now last for two.