I am citizen and on fixed income senior. Really watching not spending mo ey on not needed groceries. Only spent 29dollars this month. Doing my best. Love you guys.
People who don't have a place to sleep putting 5 gallon buckets under a piece of plywood that is about 2 inches shorter and 2. Inches less wide than the mattress creates a bed and you can store things in the 5 gallon buckets under the bed.
In Minnesota groups of women use plastic grocery bags and weave them together to create a sleeping mat for kindergarteners or homeless people or prisoners
I wish you two would make a cookbook. You come up with really tasty dinner ideas for a shoestring budget; and I’m sure you have great recipes for every category. I, for one, would be delighted to buy a copy for my home; and I’m sure most everyone else would buy one or more as well. It’s just an idea
About 5 years ago, I received a product in a cloth bag. I use it as a liner for a small trash can. I empty that trash can into the big trash can before trash day. Every once in a while I toss the bag in the washer with a load of clothes. In 5 years, that is more than 250 times I did not use or throw away a plastic bag. It’s a win for the environment and for my wallet.
My group of friends and I decided two years ago to put a five dollar limit on Christmas gifts. The gifts have to be homemade, from the dollar store, or for thrift store. It has been the best and so much fun.
This is a great idea, and I’ve been doing it for years. My friends don’t know most of the time. My bestie spent $300 each for her den ceiling lights. I found (in May!) a matching table lamp for $5 at the thrift store. She loves it and just assumed I got it at the lighting store. When I told her where I got it she couldn’t believe it. The same table lamp was a special order for $250!
We always buy a Christmas ornament as a souvenir when traveling. We never have to find a place to display them and we relive all of our travels every year when we put up the Christmas tree.
Two tips. Save all bread, wrap, bagel bags. I put chicken bones, gross garbage, etc in them. Then my garbage bag does not get stinky, dirty, etc. We always dump our garbage containers, keeping the same bag in the container until it is dirty. It can be months. Two. When bbqing, or using the Traegar, cook as many foods, or meats in our case, at the same time. Propane, and pellets are not cheap, and you are spending the same money whether the grill is full or not. Plus it is like batch cooking.
My MIL always makes a meal out of leftovers. She will take any meat (or protein dish) and spruce it up with broth and spices. She then goes to the fridge and any leftover vegetables get tossed into the meat dish. My children, who are the oldest grandchildren, called this meal Concoction and the title still holds today with all the grandchildren. She will also heat up any leftover potatoes or rice (or make a fresh batch of rice using broth instead of water, using what broth matches the meat). She then serves them any way you want. Meat dish over, next to or mixed in the rice or potatoes. It is the best meal and you would never know it is leftovers!! Can also be used with tortillas. One meal we counted 7 different vegetables in the dish…and my FIL asked “Where’s the beef?!?!”). The kids got the out-of-control giggles and it became a long, yet very funny, meal but an even better memory that they still speak of today - 30 years later!
Throw your old citrus fruit peels into a big bucket with lid and add vinegar. Let sit for a month and voila your own home made cleaner. You can add the peels as you go and just top it of with vinegar.
My grandmother had a huge souvenir spoon collection!! Anytime I went anywhere new I’d get her a spoon. When I went to countries that didn’t have the souvenirs ones, I’d look for unique local spoon designs. Miss my grandmother😢.
Hi Hope and Larry, watching from Scotland, I'm obsessed with your videos. Love them. The things I do to be frugal is use items that don't need charged like manual watch, manual toothbrush etc. I also stopped going to the hairdresser every 8 weeks, saved me loads of money. I just cut my own fringe and leave my hair to grow. I also stopped drying my hair with hairdryer and let it dry naturally. Keep the tips coming you both do a great job xxxx
My mother had a HUGE spoon collection. She had them from all over the world. She had many missionary friends who gave her spoons from everywhere! When she passed away, her children didn't want her collection (we saw how much work it was to keep them shiny and dust-free), but some of her grandkids took them. I'm sort of a minimalist, so I told my kids they could each have one (and they were fine with that)! But she certainly enjoyed having that collection!
This goes with the souvenir tip. I, too, got tired of collecting dust magnets on vacations, but still wanted a memento. Several years ago, I started buying pretty postcards of the locations we visited. I write on the back dates we were there, and who was there with us. Then I inserted the postcards into a photo album. I also wrote the same information to the side or a special memory, so it was easily accessible. Compact and portable!
Just this week I got a discount at the dentist for taking an open appointment slot on short notice. My total was 383 and they knocked off 74 dollars. Yay. definitely worth it
I started making my own tooth powder after getting tired of paying for 4 cleanings per year. Its a bentonite clay recipe from Doug And Stacey on You Tube. This has saved me almost $400 per year PLUS the deep scaling procedure they wanted me to have was taken off the schedule. I also bought a Waterpik water flosser $79 at Menards that has also made a huge difference in my gums. This may help you too. The tooth powder is so easy to make and I always have the ingredients in stock. Its baking soda, calcium carbonate, bentonite clay powder, a couple essential oils, organic cinnamon, cloves and sage. Takes only minutes to make. The biggest difference was the bacteria in my mouth was far less than with a normal tooth paste which is terrible for my teeth. What a huge difference. So far after 4 years Ive saved about $1600. Its well worth a try.
I regularly use my air fryer instead of my oven. You save money by turning down the temperature and reducing the time recommended for an oven. I also switch of the air fryer 5 mins before my finish time. I just leave the food inside to continue to cook without the power on for 5 mins and it completes the cooking.
I get a roll of 80 small trash bags for about $5. I change the bags every week (bathroom trash 😷). The cost of 6 cents a bag is not worrying me right now, but the free bags from the store win every time.
When I make chili I always make a big batch, and freeze part of it . Plus I serve the chili over cooked rice and that stretches the chili even more. I always bake a double batch of Meatloaf as well. It's very little effort to double a lot of recipes, and then freeze half of it. You also end up using less electricity or less gas when you bake multiple things at the same time
Financial planning is like navigation. If you know where you are and where you want to go, navigation isn't such a great problem. It's when you don't know the two points that it's difficult
Very possible! especially at this moment. Profits can be made in many different ways, but such intricate transactions should only be handled by seasoned market professionals.
I have done this with the plastic packaging for our bulk toilet paper since I got my first place. I don't buy paper towels though & never have wanted to. Family & friends know this so they bring Paper Towel Rolls when they visit. Ugh. Lol! Some of them just don't get my cloth cleaning rags cut from clean old clothes & linen & my cloth napkins. Lol.
Have a small, step on garbage can. Have repurposed a 64 ounce yogurt container, store produce bags, place inside the garbage can, and is working out better than I anticipated.
I like the part about giving second hand gifts. I buy a majority of my treasures at places like flea markets, the Salvation Army, Goodwill, and thrift stores. You typically pick items up at these places for a nominal amount of money. I started doing this when my kids were little. Naturally, my kids broke some of these items by just being kids. Well, guess what?? I wanted to replace these items; and to do that, the cost to replace was typically $10 to $15, to $20.00 or better. My cost had originally been cents to a few dollars. The point of the story is that when you buy gifts for very little at a thrift store, the replacement value would ultimately be what you would pay for a mass produced item at the store. Also the items you buy at thrift stores will typically bring more excitement to someone because you can be a lot more personable with unique gifts tailored to the recipients hobbies, collections, interests, etc.
Or better yet. Eat other things for breakfast that are much more nutritious and healthy than cold cereal. And much less expensive! I make homemade breakfast sandwiches or hot pockets, omelets, granola, oatmeal with fruit and nuts, whole wheat pancakes or waffles etc. Some things I prepare ahead if I have a busy morning. I don't miss cold cereal at all!
I LOVE these coffee chat/viewer sub videos! So fun to hear all the submissions and hiw they sometimes correlate with eachother! What a great little community we have here. I always look forward to your videos 😊
You can do the same thing with hand soap. I bought a pump bottle of Dial "foaming handsoap" years ago. I refill it with a little regular handsoap and top off with water. Give it a little shake to mix, and you have foaming handsoap. A big refill bottle of soap lasts close to a year now.
Toronto has also done away with plastic grocery bags, which I used to use as garbage liners. Makes no sense because now everyone needs to go out and buy plastic liners ... so what have they accomplished by banning plastic grocery bags?
In California, we noticed a dramatic decrease in the number of plastic bags blowing on the sides of the roads after the ban. Evidently, people value them more now.
@@jackyhorn6709you can line the sides of the bins by wetting the sides and then patting newspaper against it and it sticks. Apparently that’s what people did before plastic was invented
I just dont tie the plastic fruit and vegetable plastic clear bags and use them for liners for my garbage pails. You dont need a heavy duty bag for every pail in the house
Don't know how frugal this is as it is dealing with k cups but I empty the coffee out and use the coffee in my gardens and the k cups I use as seed starters.
I use my k-cup twice then put the grounds in my gardening, and plant seeds in the used cups for our plant swaps. I get free plants with swapping them & free garden supplies twice a year.
I have a book that I read over and over. "Living on a Little" by Caroline French Benton. It's set (or was written) in the early 1900s so some of the tips and pricing are more amusing than informative, but - wow - does this book exemplify how to shop for and meal plan every little scrap of food. Positively no waste. It's a very enjoyable read.
I have a tip on avocados, dice them and freeze them. You can pull them out of the freezer the night before, douse in a bit of lemon juice and let them soften, Nothing like avocado toast with month old avocados. As an aside they sell diced frozen avocados at Walmart. When avocados are higher in price, you can generally get a huge bag of frozen diced avocados for around a couple of bucks which is a better deal because fresh avocados have pits that take up weight...
a friend of mine told me when she rented her apartment she asked if she could get a discount foe paying for a year up front and the landlord gave her a significant discount
You have to know your prices. I see a lot second hands prices are insane. Most are more than sale price for new item. I love to stack up when something is on sale plus coupons on top of the sale price. I always buy advance so I don't run out. I don't need to rush to the store to buy full price toothpaste because I have enough until next sales.
Trash can liners-I’ve lined trash cans with junk mail / paper and if I need to I just wash out the can with soap and water. Many hotels just line their waste cans with paper at the bottom and wash them out between guests, why can’t we?
I have only one kitchen trash can in which I use plastic bag liners. All the rest of my trash is dry items like paper and empty containers, so there is no need to line those other cans. I try to eliminate as much plastic waste as possible or at least reuse what I can. I use kitchen food scraps and coffee grounds as compost. I just grind it up finely and scatter it on my lawn and flower beds.
Dear Hope and Larry, I stood in the orthodontist's office to write THE LAST check I was ever going to write. The receptionist (everyone was always great) said we need to set up an appointment for Spencer to get a retainer. I said this is a 17 year old male and just like his brother he will "lose it" right away. No thank you. Our daughter was better but not by much. That was the last check that I wrote to the orthodontist!! The lesson learned was know your limits, even if they are your kids. Love from New Hampshire and take very good care. Always, Selena Cate
At 17 I still pay for my son's needs. I pay for reasonable things through college since he earned 2 years of community college by taking AP classes in highschool. He is very responsible..might lose a retainer because he is human I will pay for the 1st one for certain...
@@Joce123 That's awesome that he took advantage of those free classes! They help so much! 2 of our kids did that and the other 2 went to career center the last 2 years of high school. Both options are so wonderful and help so much towards them having a bright future debt free (last 2 years of college full scholarship!). So proud of our kiddos. 🌞
I use them this way too & any other bag or box that fits in my bathroom trash cans. I refuse to buy liners for them. I have never bought any and my children are 33 to 40 years old.
I use the bag my 4l of milk comes in to line my kitty litter trash can. Fold the top over in between cleaning and it doesn’t smell. Also easy to lift out and put in regular garbage bag
Ive been using the small plastic bags to line bathroom trash can since teen yrs. I also use them for my husband's sandwiches which are in baggies then in the plastic bag which he puts in a cooler with pitcher of tea. I also use them for cleaning up nasty pet throw ups etc put all the dirty stuff in the bag throw bag away. I have also crocheted with them but that takes a long time to save up and process to make plarn to do that. I get MANY uses from them
I was received a gift basket that contained a foaming soap dispenser. We use Dr Bonner's liquid castile soap because of my husband's psoriasis, so I just fill that foaming soap dispenser with water a tablespoon or so of the Dr. Bonner's that I have to purchase anyways.
Thank you for your frugality tips, which I enjoyed very much. I wanted, however, to comment on the advice to use naturally soured milk when a recipe calls for sour milk. Naturally soured milk (this is from Joy of Cooking) "is good only if it results from unpasteurized or unscalded milk, because pasteurized or scalded milk will not sour, but simply spoil. Therefore, recipes which formerly called for sour milk now call for buttermilk," or milk soured with the addition of vinegar, as you mentioned.
You can actually control the ripening of avocado. If it's ripe, the fridge will keep it that way for a bit. It it's green, it will take a longggg time, to ripen in the fridge. I've had green ones for as long as 30 days in the fridge!😊😋
The crockpot smothered burritos: burritos (cooked already and chilled in fridge from night before) Homemade enchilada sauce 1/4 cup Shredded cheese Cook time 4 hours on low Put some sauce in bottom, then put in burritos (I did 3) then cover burritos with the rest of your sauce Last 20 minutes of cooking time add cheese so it can melt (you'll put the lid back on)
I'm using the 10%..trick..10% less frozen vegetables ..10% more chopped onions..10% more rice all combined..10% less food on my plate.. At the end of a month it makes a difference
I recently learned that our Dollar General gives you a $5 off coupon with each purchase (Sunday-Friday) that can only be used on the next upcoming Saturday, on purchases over $25. A 20# bag of cat food currently costs just a little over $25, everywhere I’ve checked. So, we make a point of buying something we NEED to get the coupon, and save $5 on Saturday. We have told a few friends we are doing this and now they will let us know if they got a coupon they want to give us!
Dollar General sells spaghetti for $1 regularly, but with the coupon it’s $0.80lb. I rarely see spaghetti for that low a price nowadays. You can also scroll the $1 products on their app. Some times items are on sale/have a coupon or can be added to $25 spend amount for as low as $0.10 including instant coffee.
@@kenyonbissett3512 This is great to know. Thank you! I guess I need to put another app on my phone! Haha I often find it difficult to buy something cheap during the week (that I need) to get that $5 off coupon. This will help.
I find the prices and values not what I’m looking for. One week I was there but by the weekend they had marked up the kid’s pools by several dollars. Game playing. I asked the manager who told me I was mistaken. Well I had purchased one and my receipt made my point clear. The answer? A shrug and walked away.
@@beth3535 I agree that there isn’t a lot there that I want to buy, in order to get that coupon. So…once I walked in, went to the self check out, and the last customer had left their receipt hanging there with the coupon. So, I pulled it off and didn’t have to actually buy anything to get it. Felt like cheating, but, they left it behind and at that point it just becomes trash anyway. 🤷🏼♀️
I buy on Amazon or Walmart curbside. I can review my cart, check prices and SAVE time. I can earn over $30/ hour overtime instead of shopping. Nearest mall is one hour drive. I save gas too. My job offers almost unlimited overtime.
Probably unpopular opinion but a lot of time we don't even need a bag in the bathroom trashcans, just empty into kitchen or larger bags when taking it out and once a week wash the can out.
I needed a stand for my iPad. I had in the cart on line but didn’t really like it. I looked around the house, and found a stand for a photo frame that was covered in white plastic. Perfect for not scratching my glass table. Win, win! Zero cost!
Like other posters, I find lots of packaging coming my way. I just need to open the bulk packages with care. I also scrunch newspaper at the bottom of the basket which helps keep it much cleaner. Don’t miss the plastic at all.
I bought a meat grinder tool on sale for my Kitchenaid . Ground beef, the nasty stuff, was $3.97lb. A regular roast was $2.97lb. Guess what i chose for my ground beef meal?
Used to have the butcher do that for me for roasts. Haven’t seen a roast cheaper than $4.99, usual sale is $6.99. I always felt the hamburger was fresher and tasted better that way.
We have a few chickens. I save loaf size bread bags, as they are the perfect size for securing a carton of eggs for taking to a friend, so they don’t accidentally open and land on the floor of your car!
@@Sasa-pm7jc you’re very welcome! I use the empty chicken feed sacks for trash bags! They are great for used cat litter, gathering up sticks in the yard before mowing, etc.
I take medication shipping ziplocks home from work. My coffee table is a very mod looking styrofoam shipping ice chest. It's currently full of beans and rice and it's draped with a second hand cotton throw rug with a road-side find black metal tray on top. I have two identical ice chest under my bed for storrage for sheets and an air mattress and more food storage. I only throw dry trash in small trash cans so one bag lasts forever. Simply dump into kitchen trash and reuse So many ways to save money. Dollar Tree dish towels replace paper towels. I could go on and on but I need to head for work. Lol
One of my tips is that I don't use dishwasher soap in the dishwasher. The dishes get just as clean, from just the water used in the dishwasher, and they actually get cleaner, because the dishes aren't covered in soap film afterward.
I have a tip! Work brings ice packs in some of the meds to keep cold. They get thrown away. I take them to use for lunches or ice packs for injuries etc.
I also work in pharmacy, I save the plastic zippy bags from the meds to reuse. My husband used to have problems at work with lunches and after packing in the DANGER yellow drug bags, voila- no more issues! They also work well in the kitchen to put yucky trash in and just zip them up and throw away, no stinky or sticky mess.
For meat eaters,but the big, family packs of meat,break it down into single portions,wrap well, label and freeze. Thick chicken breast?split each chicken breast to make two separate breasts. Twice the product,half the cost. If you have older oil based salad dressing laying around,use it as a marinade. Asian sesame, Mediterranean,zesty Italian, balsamic vinaigrette all work well. Salty ham? Soak overnight in sprite or ginger ale. Even cola works. Leftover coffee can tenderize meats.
@@LaManteca76 I did that when i was making my dogs food. He passed but i still have several of these i kept for that i use them to freeze left overs if needed.
Trying to eat healthier. Had avocado on toast, deviled egg with bacon bits. So good. Healthy tweak for lower carb diet. The avocado had been frozen. Put it in microwave a few minutes, cut an opening and squeezed it out. This is probably what vegans do all the time. Filling and cheap breakfast.
I'm also frustrated to buy trash can liners 😂 so i take the Milk bags when I Buy 4L and also the diapers pakaging bags and toilet paper packaging bags. Why pay more and why pollute?
We have indoor cats and buy a 40# bag of equine bedding pellets (from Tractor Supply) for $4.99, and use it for cat litter. When I scoop the litter box, I shake each scoop over a trash can and return to the litter box the pieces that haven’t yet broken down. It’s a little time consuming, but one bag goes a long way!
Hmmm interesting. I have bought those 40# bags of pine pellets from Tractor Supply for 12 years and they always cost 7.99 -8.99 a bag depending on if they are on sale.
@@NoMoreTears64 I’ve been buying them for 5 years, and they’ve never been more than $5. I’m in SW Va. What I get is in a green bag, says Pelletized bedding, for horses and small animals. A few weeks ago (with one bag) the product seemed a bit different. It disintegrated much faster than any other bag I purchased. When I asked about it, one of the employees said that the product uses whatever trees are available. He almost made it seem like they were done regionally.? If that’s true, maybe the trees they source are harder to come by in your area. I’m just guessing, of course.
I do the same thing but I have a sifter litter box. I line the bottom of the litter box with a puppy wee-wee pad or news paper and discard daily. When the cats do #1 the bedding absorbs it and turns into a powder and it falls through. I do buy a box of sandwich bags from dollar tree to help it along or to pick up #2.
My mom used to say, “remember, you can always take/get more, but you can’t put it back.” It saved us from a lot of wasted food/items over the decades. Use small 1-2 ounce size containers and fill with dressing, salsa, syrup, etc. Dip your fork full of food into it. This way you don’t put more on your plate than you need and washing the rest down the drain. I also find I enjoy the food more using a small container for dipping.
My daughter is a butcher. She brings the bones home and processes them so they turn pure white, and then she sells them online. Yes, there's a market for this especially in the Southwest
I can give away anything at my bus stop and at the food pantry where I volunteer. I'm rescuing kitchenware from a closing restaurant that'll be fun to give.
I’m wicked frugal, but love to eat great food. The least expensive ground beef is when a chuck or rump roast goes on sale. I have the butcher coarse-grind it, less $$ than ground beef. But I do buy the 5# block of ground beef at Costco, and portion it out. I make 2 meatloaves, then taco meat and some plain for either stroganoff or hamburger gravy. I freeze one meatloaf and half of each meat. And yes, I wash and reuse the Ziploc bags until they disintegrate or start to leak, then recycle.
I have a spoon collection! My parents started one when I was young and as I've gotten older I've kept it alive. I collect spoons anytime I go to a new location!
I have listened to your suggestions, plus being a Dave Ramsey student.....so Rice and Beans it is!!!! Chili, Sloppy Joes, Cabbage Stir Fry. Rice and beans are great fillers. P S ...shopping online and having it delivered is a good thing because you can calculate your order as you shop. Forces you to stay in budget as it keep a total until you checkout :)
I will never shop online. I do not have credit card. We use cash for everything. Also I knew when they started doing that it was a stupid idea because strangers are not going to pick out the best produce for you much less even try to get your order correct according to the countless reviews you see online. I squeeze and smell and look over all produce i buy and check the eggs before i purchase. I also look for the b est size. Stranger is not going to do that. I also like to see surprise discontinued items or marked down items that are a great deal you will not find from typing on your gadget and trusting the stranger doing your shopping. I get what i came for and do not have to return and haggle over messed up order. One and done.
Hello Hope&Larry,when we go and want a souvenir from a vacation place we opt for magnets. I do roll over meals all the time. I still cook enough for our whole family even though it is only my husband and i. With what is left i recreate it into a new dish. Example would be lentil tacos,with the lentil mixture i place into a baked potatoe, place vegan cheese on top equal to a loaded baked potato. If taco lentil mixture still remains i make taco soup. We make it work rather than throw it out. I have a 3 day rule. By the 3rd day it either gets eaten up or placed in the freezer for a later date.
Instead of expensive grow bags for gardening, I use dog food bags! Potatoes grow just as well in the bags, and you can easily cut open the bag to retrieve the potatoes and save the soil.
I agree with that one lady statement about saving money because she buys her groceries online. First of all you can compare prices with other grocery stores online for the items you need to purchase. Secondly, she isn't tempted to buy something that's not on her list , and you know some of these grocery stores are huge with a line of clothing, hardware, electronics Etc.. Plus if you hate self-checkout, ordering online and just picking it up is perfect
For years I bought small trash can liners from Dollar Tree. Now it's hard to find white liners. I think I will just sew some liners and it will be easy to throw them in the wash on occasion.
I think the lady that preorders her groceries & drives to pick them up (saving money by seeing which item is on sale from store website, & time) is also pointing out another way to save is you are just getting what you need & are not having to be in-store to be tempted by all those displays of items you don’t really need. Yesterday I made a mad dash to Costco (where I rarely shop) to get several of the March sale item that I know only go on sale once or twice a year. I am very proud to get in & out with ONLY the items on my list. Now I’ll sort & repack items into meal sized portions to freeze. I watch videos from a creator on shopping for healthy foods on what is on sale that month. This is how I’ve been able to purchase fresh frozen wild caught salmon fillets that because they are individually wrapped I can defrost overnight in the fridge just what I need for the meal.
I reuse those as well! Some will have little holes to let air out, but I slap some scotch tape over them while flat if it's for something where the holes may let unpleasant stuff escape.
Your hair does look fabulous and healthy! Yes, I would be interested in seeing you batch cook for your weekly meals. I totally remember spoons. I collect magnets as souvenirs which are also useful for keeping things on the fridge, like coupons, shopping list, bills and paid propane tank receipts to help keep track of fluctuations in price. I burn my trash and I use empty feed bags as trash bags inside the house. They are paper and burn nicely, as do the contents.
