Penny-pinching...

[spotty_dog]

Re: Penny-pinching...

That is a great idea! I wonder if those ingredients are similar to Charlie's soap.

Yep, Charlie's is mostly washing soda (they claim to use a finer grade of washing soda that rinses free), and vegetable-derived detergent -- I have hard water and would have to be really wary of a soap-based formula causing soap scum, unfortunately, especially with washing soda's tendency to precipitate in hard-water conditions.

Alison, FWIW, I had similar issues with synthetic fibers and pregnancy. Maybe it is some hormonal thing.

I'm pretty sure that has something to do with it. This pregnancy though, I'm not really having P-U problems. But then, I'm avoiding synthetics like the plague, LOL!

Oh, to actually contribute something useful, I got an awesome deal on laundry detergent by signing up for Amazon.com's subscribe and save. Nellie, I know you've used it for disposable diapers too -- you get 15% off the Amazon price, and you are totally free to cancel after one delivery.

(Of course, speaking of diapers, there's always cloth. I think I'm approaching the $1000 mark because I've indulged a lot in unnecessarily luxurious dipes, but that total is for two kids from birth to potty training.)

Re: Penny-pinching...

Yes, the subscribe and save! I might have put that in the other thread someone linked to. I use it for TP as well as diapers and wipes. As Alison mentioned, you get 15% and then free shipping if the order is over $25. I know this saves me money because I don't run to Target or Costco and buy other things I don't really need.

I'll check out the laundry detergent. Thanks! I'm using the Costco HE "enviro friendly" stuff now. I can't remember the number of loads per bottle -- maybe 96 for around $14?

[MDPhDWife]

Re: Penny-pinching...

We do most of the typical stuff, but I wanted to add that this Christmas we talked to our familes and friends and agreed to only swap gifts for the kids. Everyone was psyched because I think most people are feeling a pinch in their budgets now. I am also planning on baking a TON of cookies, putting them in the tins you can get at the dollar store and handing them out to teachers, bus drivers, neighbors, etc. It keeps the holiday spirit without breaking the bank.

As for clothes, I trade in all the clothes the girls have outgrown at the consignment shop. I spend next to nothing on their clothes and it helps that our kids are the same gender so Gracie can use Isabella's hand me downs.

I never shop for myself since I don't work out of the home. As for DH I only buy his clothes on sale.

I shop for groceries at Wal-Mart (unfortunately) because they will price match the other stores weekly ad prices. I also make my list based on what's on sale for the week.

Every six months, I call our cable company and request to be put on the latest promotion they're running and this saves us a bundle!

We cancelled our blockbuster subscription and now use redbox. I signed up to get a weekly text message with a promo code for a free movie, so now I only rent movies when we get the promo code. The movie rental bill is now $0!

We never go to the movies and pay full price, we always wait until it's at the dollar movies or out on rental.

I never buy books and instead always check them out at the library.

We take the kids out to eat once a week. The McDonald's here has $1.49 happy meals on Thursday evenings, so that's become our tradition.

That's all that comes to mind at the moment.

[poky]

Re: Penny-pinching...

Yes, the subscribe and save! I might have put that in the other thread someone linked to. I use it for TP as well as diapers and wipes. As Alison mentioned, you get 15% and then free shipping if the order is over $25. I know this saves me money because I don't run to Target or Costco and buy other things I don't really need.

Unless they've changed things, they don't charge shipping even if it's under $25; I use it for my luna breakfast bars and some vitamins.

[Vanquisher]

Re: Penny-pinching...

I am taking my daily phukital precription, and it has really hurt my penny pinching, but on the bright side, I don't care.

:nothing:

Re: Penny-pinching...

Oh crap I just last week spent over $100 on a big vat of Charlies soap. And I could have made my own?? It had better last a long time....

The Kiss My Face crystal rock gives me a rash. I react to the strangest things!

Re: Penny-pinching...

Where do you all get this Charlie's soap from? Never heard of it.

I get mine from http://www.charliesoap.com
It is popular for washing cloth diapers, at least that is how I heard of it.

[spotty_dog]

Re: Penny-pinching...

I'll check out the laundry detergent. Thanks! I'm using the Costco HE "enviro friendly" stuff now. I can't remember the number of loads per bottle -- maybe 96 for around $14?

I managed to hit a "save on green cleaners" sale on top of subscribe'n'save, and ended up getting 4 100 ounce bottles of Planet detergent (about 100 loads of diapers, maybe a couple fewer loads of clothes as I might want to use a little more) for $7 each. The 32 ounce bottle sells for $12 in stores. It's freaking miracle detergent, I love this stuff!

Re: Penny-pinching...

Planet? It works? I have tried 7th generation and Bio-Kleen and not liked either. They also have similar brands of dishwasher soap. Any green ones of those you like? I've had bad results with Citradish but pretty good with Citra-Solv (I think I've got those right) and so-so with Bio-Kleen. Old d/w was a POS so that might be part of the problem.

I also noticed they have Mrs Meyers. I love that stuff.

ETA: The Kirkland stuff is 110 loads and I think it was around $14. You did get a great deal on the Planet!

[spotty_dog]

Re: Penny-pinching...

Planet? It works? I have tried 7th generation and Bio-Kleen and not liked either. They also have similar brands of dishwasher soap. Any green ones of those you like? I've had bad results with Citradish but pretty good with Citra-Solv (I think I've got those right) and so-so with Bio-Kleen. Old d/w was a POS so that might be part of the problem.

I haven't given the Planet a real test run on stained clothes, but it gets my diapers clean, clean, CLEAN like no other detergent ever has. I heard that BiOKleen Premium Plus is pretty good (because it has enzymes for organic stains), but it's hard to find and I haven't heard anything particularly good about their other detergents. I'm using Ecover detergent (with enzymes) on my clothes right now and liking it but it's pretty pricey and I'll probably have to dig into the Planet when I run out since I have this massive stash now.

I've been using Palmolive Eco+ dishwasher detergent because it's convenient to get and works well, but I swear I heard great things about one of the green brands that produces those individual dishwasher pellets. Can't for the life of me remember which. I've been meaning to look into it again.

Green cleaning supplies and food are my budgetary downfalls. My contribution to this thread might ultimately be negative, LOL.

Re: Penny-pinching...

Hmmm...maybe it was the Ecover dishwasher soap that I liked. I'll have to look at the store and report back. I don't think I had the BioKleen premium thought I thought for sure it said enzymes. We gave it to a babysitter who probably doesn't have the messy clothes that we do. I'll check out the Planet. Thanks!

Re: Penny-pinching...

The economy isn't really hurting us since we're used to penny pinching, being that DH is just out of school and all. And it helps that we're a military family; DH is getting his raise in January and another adjustment in July, economy be damned!

We have a pretty strict budget that we almost always manage to stick to. It's all categorized, and if we use up all the money in a particular category, then we simply don't spend any more. There are very few exceptions to that rule.

We rarely go out and instead prefer to invite friends over for dinner or just grab a movie from a RedBox. If one of us is really in the mood to have a dinner out, then that one will often treat so that it doesn't count against the household bottom line.

We only turn up the thermostat if it's really chilly. Otherwise, we just add layers and maybe use a spaceheater.

We do 99% of all shopping at Walmart. What can I say? You can't beat their prices!

We're decorating our new house and buying baby stuff little by little as our budget allows. And we're going to cloth diaper the baby. (I registered for a bunch of cloth diapers, and I'm hoping that my baby shower guests will pick up the tab for the whole stash!)

I guess that's the big stuff. Next year, I'm planning to start a nice, big veggie garden to save even more money on groceries. We don't really splurge on anything, except the cable TV and high speed internet and top quality food for the pets. And I recently had to buy a bunch of maternity clothes, but I got everything on sale. (Those were the first clothes either DH or I bought in a really long time.)

Re: Penny-pinching...

[quote="DCJenn"]Meal planning through http://www.bustameal.com has helped immensely.

DCJenn, thanks for posting this! I've been using bustameal since you first posted this and really love it.

I have cut way back on my stress about what we're having for dinner and also have cut way back on our grocery bill! It's very cool. Even though we're spending less, somehow I feel like we've got more food - probably because there's actually meals to make and not just a bunch of mismatched things in the cupboard.

Over time I've shifted to selecting easier recipes (typically with fewer ingredients) to save time and money - and each week I will assess my menu before finalizing it with my shopping list based on how frugal it looks, variety and also planning the very easiest dinners for nights dh is working. I also tend to substitute items in the recipes and on the shopping list to make them better suit our taste and cooking style.

My family is enjoying the greater variety in dinners. Now, I'm wondering what on earth I used to make all the time!

Another thing that has helped with penny pinching for me is using the "my spending report" in my Wells Fargo on-line banking. It is soooo easy to keep track of how much I've spent on groceries, gas... everything each month. I have a target amount for each and won't go shopping again til the first of the next month when I've hit my limits. It's a really nice feature to on-line banking.

Happy penny-pinching!

[DCJenn]

Re: Penny-pinching...

Glad you like it! I completely agree that it removes all stress from meal planning and shopping!

Jenn

[Chrisada]

Re: Penny-pinching...

Have any of you all tried the Arm and Hammer Natural deodorant? I tried everything else from Tom's to Crystal and this is the only stuff that actually works. Oddly enough though, I can only find it at Kroger.