ok folks, money is tight, and not able to get much with what I have.
so I thought I'd start a frugal type thing here.
what do you to be frugal? I just returned the cable box, so no more cable, BUT can watch shows online, I did keep road runner..turbo, that is only 39.95 a month for a year.
what about food?
our favorite past time ..fabric buying
clothes.
well you got my meaning, share some of your ideas.

Pack your own lunch, get rid of land phone line if you use a cell phone, shop at thrift stores and yard sales, stay home more and cook - as opposed to eating out, rent movies instead of going to theater.

I live 40 miles from shopping and 60 miles from LQS or malls. I just stay home and work with what I have. Order on line. I make every trip count:)

Food: Read up on extreme couponing.

Also, whenever you buy anything, check the receipt to be sure it's correct. Some groceries will give you the item for free if they overrang it. (Some won't, but at least they'll give back the amount the overcharged.)

Shop the sales, check the unit price before deciding which size to buy (sometimes the "large economy size" actually costs more per ounce or whatever than the smaller size), shop in the mornings for meat, as yesterday's meat is often discounted first thing next day but may sell out by afternoon.

Switch over to the fluorescent lightbulbs.

Drive within the speed limit as it uses less gas. Keep your gas tank full and your oil changed for more efficient car engine function.

Swap and barter where you can.

Try starting a garden, even if it's just some tomatoes in a pot.

Call the utility companies to ask what kinds of budget plans they offer.

with the price of gas and my car's poor mileage, i only shop once a week. if i want to shop in another section of town, i wait until i have at least 3 reasons to travel in that direction. i eat what is on sale, even though i may be drooling for a juicy steak. i keep the curtains closed against the sun and open the windows when i wake up [usually pre-dawn] for nature's air conditioning. i only run the washer when i have a full load. i gave up the movie channels which decreased my bill by half. i saved the throw-away printer cover sheets for the DGKs to color on. when i remodeled the kitchen, i used the old cabinets to put extra storage space in my office and sewing room. when i want to eat out, i go to the local buffet and arrive early enough for the senior discount :)

great! I usually go to redbox, or look on hulu for movies. I do cook and not go out to eat. , thrift stores are my favorite, can find some neat material and yarn.

no cable, no internet...my neighbor and i share wifi, food, bare minimum, no extras or junk, use a filter on faucet for drinking water. fabric, use from stash as much as possible. trade with friends if possible. use coupons if i have them. and drive as little as possible to save gas. love reading. borrow from my neighbors and they borrow from me to keep from having to drive to the library. i'm pretty much at bare minimum. oh, and i share a cell phone plan to keep costs down. i really can't cut to much more, but if i did, wifi would go. my kids don't live in FL so my cell is a necessity. i was cut from my job a couple of months ago. predominitely job search via the internet to save on gas.

Do you check this site? https://jobs.myflorida.com/joblist.html]https://jobs.myflorida.com/joblist.html[/url]
and Indeed.com

You probably do, but wanted to mention them just in case.

I clump all my errans together so I can go into town just once every two weeks. Keep my tank fulled since gas prices change here just about everyday. I planted a graden and share with my neighbor, will be canning this fall. Decided to not buy any more fabric until next year only 6 months left until the new year (have plently to keep me and you busy.) Turn off lights, heat with wood. window fans vs air condition. Pay bills on line vs placing a stamps, Keep a tight budget no extras since I only work during winter and summer there is no pay. I keep office box's for each one of my family members and shop for christmas everytime I go out and see something on sale that I know they would like or need and place it in their box.

I totally agree with NancyG, plus always watch for grocery sales, clothing sales etc., and use coupons when you can. I also find some very good buys at the dollar store (one in particular). There are a couple of stores that I usually don't buy fabric from without a coupon. There are many ways to cut back when you apply yourself to it.

ladies you got some great ideas there! I will put them into practice. also will check some frugal links too. the borrowing books sounds great instead of going to the library.
I have checked the indeed list, monster.com, career.com retirement jobs.com and so on.

Make meals most of the time; I keep an eye out for grocery sales & buy if it's something I will use. I do buy certain things in bulk; I will buy out of the meat reduced bin if it's something I will eat.

I have cable but that's my primary form of entertainment. I have a wii for exercise/fun.

I take public transportation 5 days a week. I start shopping for clothes at thrift shops. Keep coupons for clothes at name stores.

Do you have bread store near you? We go and get bread from there instead of the grocery store. You can get day old bread for .89 cents a loaf, compared to $2+++ at the grocery. We have a small freezer and put extra loaves in there and thaw it when we need more. We can't tell the difference.

I too clump my errands to a trip. And my sisters think this is really stupid, but I cut my dryer sheets in half. still do the trick. My husband likes the house cold so he comes home from work, it's cold. When he goes to work, the thermostat is back up to 79.

About your utilities. Don't know if your local utility company has a savings program like this but I was recently invited to participate in a utility savings program where I get lower rates when I use the most electricity, on the weekends and after 7:00 p.m. on weeknights. I work full-time so no one is home during the day Monday through Friday. I do my laundry, housework and work on the computer after 7:00 p.m. on weeknights and on the weekend.

I also try to make all my trips in the car count. I try to do all my weekend errands on Saturday and stay home on Sunday.

I keep my air conditioner on 80 degrees instead of 78.

I unplug my computer/printer/camera dock when I am not using it.

I don't have a dishwasher. I do have a High Efficiency front loading washing machine, and I only do full loads in it to get maximum efficiency.

I shop at Walmart for my health/beauty products, groceries and prescriptions.

I buy dollar greeting cards or make my own at home.

I pay 98% of my bills on line.

I have a free checking account at a locally owned bank.

I have a Sam's membership to take advantage of the low gas prices at their gas stations. I don't usually shop in the store because I only need enough of anything for one person.

I have saved all the early years and now I don't.

We love DVDs, but only buy them once they are around $10 to $15, & we can watch them as much as we want. We also stay home more, with hubby retired. He loves to eat out, but trying hard to get him to just be happy eating at home more. Eating out adds up fast, & it's not near as healthy either. We live out in the wooded countryside, not in a town, so this helps us save too. We think twice before driving to town...

I shop thrift stores for myself and kids, cook at home, keep trips to town etc. to as few as possible.

I would say cut the TV, eating out, including fast food, or mini markets for sodas, turn off lights when not in use, walk instead of drive if you're physically able to, shop at thrift stores, yard sales, auctions, etc. I don't know about cancelling the land line, that would depend on if you get a signal on a cell phone, we have a Trac Phone and no contract but buy minutes when we're getting low, but we don't get a cell phone signal where we are. I'm sure that you'll get lots of ideas on saving.

My favorite grocery store, SaveMart, puts its day old meats on deep discount the next day at about 9 or so in the AM. I like my meats so get them then. Once I won a $100.oo gift card from it and packed away a lot of cheapie meats in the freezer.

Stop buying chips and stuff like that. I overheard a nurse telling a massively obese patient that no one EVER died from lack of potato chips. Those things are very expensive if you count how much they cost by the pound.
And the pre-packaged foods are non-foods, and are not good for your health either.
Eat foods that LOOK like they are supposed to, especially something heavily advertised. You will save a lot by cooking your own. And you can even grow veggies and herbs in pots if necessary.

I dry my laundry on the clothes line as much as I can.

I keep my thermostat at 80 or 82, wal mart is the store I go for my meds and like the multivitamins and all, I am on the savings program with the light company,

does that help to unplug the computer & printer??

I heard the 1/2 dryer sheets before, and to get fabric softener, and put it on a rag and throw it in dryer, I got those wooden dryers(2) thrift store, #2.00, and have decided to start using them more as well. as for candles. a good idea.

And y'know, I don't think theres a(day old) bakery around here, that sells the day old bread, going to have to look that up!!

I just googled it here in Raleigh,NC Merita is waaaay on the other side of Raleigh, theres a place called Jerusalem bread at the state university. I will be looking some more. yeah that day old bread is just as good or better than the bread at the store! thanks for a reminder on that.

i buy suave hair conditoner when it's on sale and dilute it by half and pour it into a bottle i have saved just for that, and use it for laundry softener, but i use vinegar most of the time in the rinse cycle , it takes all the build up stuff off the clothes, there's no smell either,

I'll jump in here since I just received my electric/gas bill.

2 months ago I hung a clothesline out under the patio cover. The first month, bill went from $160 down to $70. This month it's at $60.

I usually heat my house with a wood stove so I purchased a wire clothes rack for winter. Would like the savings to continue.
Thought maybe my dryer needed upgrading with all the savings, googled it and discovered the dryer is number one source of high energy bills.

I seldom use my dryer, but like maybe every two weeks.

good thought there though, didn't realize the dryer would be the one thing that would use so much electricity. again a good one!

I cook from scratch one day a week (usually Sunday). So I have food for a week.

Wow, there is some really good ideas here. Thanks to everybody

yeah isn't it great, have a question or problem, just come to the board and theres the answer! Love this board, and the people on it!

oh, heres a frugalness idea, the plastic bags we use for left overs and all? after you emptied the bags, wash them, thoroughly, hot enough water to kill germs, dry them and re use.

the empty spools we have can be recycled for pincushions
empty cans of cat/dog food, thoroughly cleaned of course and use/create pincushions.

paper towel?toilet paper rolls can be used for protection when you send packages of perisable things, plants , etc.
the old c'd s maybe the floppy discs could be used for coasters, our neat quilting stuff, or crochet around them,
those empty spice bottles with the holes, could be used for sprinkling seeds onto your garden, or used for other spraying items.
I guess learning to be creative in what we do have is the key. hey our grand parents did it, so can we. and thats what I am going to so and learn, help others too get the idea.
stretching that dollar...
making our own soap, starch, gravy, and everything else! gotta stretch!!!

Also, see if you have a local Freecycle and Craigslist on the internet join and watch for things posted that you can use. If you have things you no longer use you can post them for someone else to come pick up or meet them somewhere close if you don't want them at your home. Do you have a local grocery clearance? Use coupons and try to shop with them for featured ad items which are loss leaders to begin with.
Local libraries usually have movies, CD's, and books on tape for you to borrow as well as books. Perhaps you could trade with someone - each of you cook something and then divide and trade. That way you have more variety for your effort. Ann in TN

I like to check thrift stores for fab.

Goodwill is a great place to purchase fabric. Look at the clothing, especially now that it is summer, in a new way. How would that fabric look in a quilt. You can get a lot of fabric for a couple of dollars if you are willing to 'cut it up'. And a bonus, it is already color safe, it won't fade or run!

ya know, my daughters got the idea to start making our own bread...Now before you say "NO WAY..TAKES TOO LONG...TOO HARD....ETC"....hear me out. I used to bake our own a long, long time ago, but as kids came along and all, I stopped. But I took the girls up on their idea, as I think knowing how to bake your own is an important skill. So we started.....and found that it takes us only 15 minutes to mix up and knead the bread. Let it rise for 45 mins...a good time to go do a chore or two (or forget the housework and go piece a block or two!!) Punch it down, cut it in half and put it in the loaf pans....that takes about 5 min (so now we are up to 20 min) let it rise 45 min...the bake for 25 to 30.....and done...Now if you get your flour on sale and store it in the refrigerator, it will keep for a long time. (we are a little picky about what flour we buy, but most all-purpose flours make a very decent bread)....And guess what the side benefit of making our own bread is??

1. We eat less bread...NOT because it's "hard to make" but because it is much more satisfying than store bought...so we don't need/desire as much. And by knowing just what's in my bread, I get a healthy loaf at a fraction of the cost (even being picky about what flour I buy) of other "healthy" brandname breads.....

2. We reserve one loaf for that "just out of the oven" yummi-ness....in other words we eat it hot...and it makes for a fun family time....and that's cheap entertainment!!

3. And with 6 of us in the house...believe it or not, I only bake bread two times a week.....When we were eating store bought bread, we ate close to double that amount!!!

4. From one 5 lb bag of flour, we usually get ten to twelve loaves of bread, depending how humid it is on the day I bake (humidity in the air changes how much flour the loaves need kneaded into them)

5. In all, hands on time to bake my own....20 to 25 mins tops, not including rising/baking time....which of course is NOT hands on time

:wink:

We've cut down on everything. We have just the basic cable, lowest speed internet and phone service, cancelled newspaper subscription, no cell phone at all, no fancy electronic gadgets that I wouldn't know how to operate anyway, keep the thermostat low in winter and high in summer, and don't let the water run down the drain in the shower when we're waiting for it to get hot; we collect in a bucket to use for plants.

We also eat a lot of meals made with hamburger and chicken, buying only when it's on sale.

With parents and grandparents coming out of the depression plus being a single mom, I've always been frugal. My sister and I dressed our Barbies with all handmades. The lids to a can of spray starch covered with scraps of fabric and trim made great pill box hats :) My husband thinks it's silly that I cut lotion bottles in half to get every last bit. Same with toothpaste. I can brush my teeth for a week after he thinks the tube is empty. A dollar bottle of shampoo will get your hair just as clean. When ketchup and mustard bottles get low they stand upside down in the fridge. I've been known to pull them out of the trash after he throws them away. He is a sports fanatic so we are stuck with the cable tv bill. I listen to music a lot. It's way calmer than tv anyway. Only one quilting magazine subscription. The library is a once a week stop. I print postage and leave pkgs at the mailbox to save a trip to the post office. I do almost every "handyman" thing I can around the house. If we need something I can't dream up a substitute for, I look at the thrift store first.

How can you get rid of the land line when the computer is connected tothe phone line?

I didn't see this idea, but have been doing it for years. When you pull your watch off, pull the stem out to stop the watch until putting it back on. Saves on buying watch batteries. I have several watches and it really works. My kids think I'm crazy and stingy for doing this, but I read the hint somewhere a long time ago and it really works.

We kept our land line (any long distance over $10.00 a month is free) and got rid of our cell phones. We use Trackfone instead....no monthly fees.

We eat all leftovers --- don't throw any food away.

We go to the grocery store 2 times a month --- the best stores are 30-35 miles away so that saves on tons of gas.

We've cut back on our jaunts over to see family. :(

Combine trips to town.........get all errands done at one time

Turn on your dryer, go outside and watch the wheel turn on the meter.

I've learned what appliances use the most simply by turning off everything, then turning on the one appliance I want to check and watching the meter.

Stove is second.