Deal With It, Simply!

I belong to a forum group called Frugal Village , I love this site and have made many friends from all over the world. I am seeing more and more of the members dealing with unemployment, our family included. I thought today I would give some of the best tips I have to cut your bills.  Maybe you may have some you would like to add.

1. This is one of my biggest- Cook at home- There is a world of recipes on the net. I love sitting as a family and we like to figure out how much our dinner cost that night. Yesterday, we had stir fry and to feed our family of six cost less then $10 and that was  an expensive meal for us.
2. Shop for non-food items at the dollar store. We needed deodorant this week, I got it at the dollar store and used my dollar off coupon and spent  less then $1.
3. This is something I couldn’t believe when we did it. Take an inventory of your cabinets and freezer. I took my clipboard and Randy and I inventoried everything and there were things I didn’t even know I had. This way I could better plan with what I had and not spend the money.
4. Declare No Spend days- I have heard different theory’s on this but for me it is a way to hang on to a little more and we spend No money. We have even had No spend weekends. This Monday The Henry Ford Museum is free family day, These are the kind of outing I like to find and did thanks to Paula at  Monroe on a Budget.
5. Be your own cleaning lady- Do jobs that you would pay for outside help like lawn, cleaning, snow removal and how about hair and nails. I bought hair shears and I cut my family’s hair. You can find sites online to help show you the ins and outs!
6. Barter services- When my children were younger a friend and I would barter childcare.  I didn’t have to stress about the money I was spending out and the money I would be spending to pay the sitter.
7. Make it yourself food- Last year when my oldest was away at college she mentioned to me her money was going faster then usual. What I discovered was the $4 lattes. Making your own coffee is a big one, Friday night Pizza has also helped our budget. Homemade yogurt recipe
8. Make it yourself cleaning- Randy and I have been really enjoying making our own and testing them to see what works here are a few Homemade Fabric softener, window cleaner, shower spray. I will post these recipes this weekend.
9. There are many natural cleaning products that are cheap and work great like baking soda and vinegar together they form an explosion of bubbles the clean and disinfect and apart the work great also. The baking soda is abrasive but doesn’t scratch, I love that!
10. Frugal Parties Here are some frugal party tips.
11. Help with the dishes- dishwasher tips and even my homemade detergent recipe.
12. In our home we are on the budget for gas and electric. This helps me plan my budget, because I know exactly how much the bill will be and I am not shocked when it does arrive.
13. Car insurance- I pay our insurance monthly. It is deducted out of our checking. For me paying for 4 drivers is cheaper and  will never lapse. With student drivers there are good student incentives and many insurance companies will give a discount to go through a save driver course, which for our daughter was a few hours. Did you know that your credit score my effect your rates? I think with the current economy this practice my have to be rethought!
14. When I was a kid my mom would say “Shut your light off!”  Well now I need to rethink this because with the new CFL light bulbs they need to be on for at least 4 hours and every time you shut them off cuts their life. When we switched to these more expensive light bulbs our electric rate went down but they were lasting less then the conventional bulbs, so Randy called and you don’t shut the light off when you leave the room.
15. Clean your appliances- this will lengthen their life. One thing I notice about senior citizens is they seem to keep their things nice. We are such a throw away society and it cost us money. Keep you things nice and save money on replacing them.

Well, I need to get to work to have money to pay those bills, but I think we have a good start in our series : Tips to cut your bills. Have a blessed day, Candy