Okay, so I have been trying to be as frugal as possible. I want to be a stay at home mom, and Chris is working on the websites full time. There are things that I want to spend my money on MORE than the laundry soap and food. Chris and I have big dreams for the future, and this is my way of contributing to it so that we can get there. So I've been looking into all the ways we can save money, so here is what I have learned from the book, Family Feasts for $75 a Week by Mary Ostyn.
Ways to Cut Spending:
Keep your pantry stocked with ingredients for 5 quick meals. That way, instead of spending money to eat out when you're in a hurry, you'll save money by making something much cheaper (and usually healthier) at home.
Plan all of your meals and make your shopping list based off of that. This has saved me more money than any other strategy! I don't know how I cooked meals and such before! I can't go to the grocery store without planning my meals. It's SO WONDERFUL and comes highly recommended by me. :)
Buy regular beef-it’s cheaper and then do this:
1. Cook broken-up ground beef in a skillet until brown.
2. Let drain in a bowl lined with three layers of paper towels.
3. Heat 4 cups of water until very hot.
4. Place beef in a mesh strainer or colander and set it over a large sturdy bowl.
5. Pour hot water over the beef and let drain 5 minutes.
*This method will make regular ground beef lower in fat than extra-lean ground beef. Since extra lean ground beef can cost twice as much as regular, this can save you a lot of money.
When chicken is on sale buy a month’s worth and do one of the following:
Fryers: Cook it right away, pick the meat off the bones and freeze it in meal-size portions. Save the cooking liquid for your own homemade chicken broth.
Boneless, skinless: Put it in the freezer and take it out when I have time. Using pints I pressure cook it so that I have tender chicken for soups and other easy meals.
Buy grated cheese in bulk: You can buy large quantities at Costco or Sams and freeze it. Grated cheese freezes wonderfully.
Did you know you can freeze milk? If you’ve got extra, there’s no need to waste! Just make sure to pour out half a cup first so there is room for expansion. J
Use powdered milk in cream soups-This speeds cooking time and saves you money. Here is how she does it: When a soup calls for milke she adds the equivalent amount of water instead of the milk at the beginning of the cooking time. Right before serving she then mixes in the milk powder into a little of the hot liquid and then pours it into the soup. Adding milk late also means you decrease the likelihood of burning the milk in the soup.
Ways to save time:
Doubling just two recipes a week (and freezing the extra meal) decreases time in the kitchen.
Pre-cook and freeze your meats as soon as you buy them. Pull them out when ready.
Things I’ve recently researched since reading the book to save money:
Laundry Soap
Make your own laundry soap and dish soap, its tons cheaper. Try this website or just google it, there are a lot of recipes out there:
http://www.diynatural.com/simple-easy-fast-effective-jabs-homemade-laundry-detergent/
Diaper Wipes
Cut paper towels in half. Pull out the brown middle thing. In a separate bowl add 2 ½ cups water, 1 TBL of baby oil and 1 TBL of baby wash. Pour mixture over the paper towels. I keep mine in round Tupperware.
DIY Cookie Mixes
http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/02/fake-betty-crocker-cookie-mixes.html
Dryer Sheets
Cut dryer sheets in half (if it works, then why not save yourself the money?) or try these dryer sheets:
http://fakeitfrugal.blogspot.com/2012/01/dozen-loads-dryer-sheet.html
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