This is a great way to save money. If you have kids than you know how fast they grow and how expensive their clothes can be. I shop at thrift stores for most of my kids clothing. I can get name-brand clothing at next to nothing prices. They have more clothes to wear because of this!! For the price of 1 pair of jeans I can go to a thrift store and get my kids a few outfits and the accessories. You will have to hunt in the store for the good stuff and make sure you look the items over really good. Check the zippers and buttons. Although I did buy my hubby a Christian Dior dress shirt for a $1.00 that had a button missing because I knew I could go home and sew one on!!!! Now I have a new baby and if it was not for thrift stores he would be naked right now! Also when I was pregnant I got all of my maternity clothes at thrift stores and then resold it on ebay and made 3 times more than what I bought it for! Some people even make a business out of thrift stores - go to them and buy high end items for next to nothing and resell it on ebay! You can even get others items at thrift stores that can save you money. I got some awesome shelves last year. They are very old and I got them for $5.00 each. They are worth a lot more than that. If you really look you can get some great antiques at thrift stores.
Thrift Stores also came in handy when I was homeschooling my kids. You can always find textbooks ,workbooks, and more at thrift stores that you might need for teaching. I bought a chemistry kit one year for only $2.00!! A lot less than if I had bought it new and it did not have anything missing.
Great for back to school shopping!!
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Monday, August 16, 2010
Sunday, August 15, 2010
Meal Planning & Grocery Shopping
This is a great way to save some money. Plan your meals for the week and make a list for the grocery store. Actually stick to the list. When you are at the grocery look for store brand items , they can save you quite a bit. Always check the meat-sales. Our local grocery store puts the meat from that day in a "meat-sale" section and you can get some great bargains there. The meat is always just from that day and never out of date. They just do not like their meat to carry over to the next day so they mark it down. I can get ground chuck family packs for $2.50!! Steaks are usually $.99 and big roast are always $3.00!!!! Our freezer is always full. If you have to buy name brand ,than always try to use coupons or buy the item on sale. When they have something on sale that you are always using ,STOCK UP!! Like ,for example, the grocery store has tomato juice (that I always use for soups) on sale for $.89 when it is usually $1.09, so I bought the limit of 4 cans !! Now I have it on hand and saved money! You can sometimes get some great deals on closeouts. I got 5 things of Suave Deoderant that was once $1.99 for $.88 each because it was a closeout that they were not going to be carrying anymore. If you really take your time , leave the kids at home, and stick to a meal planning list ,you can save a lot of money at the grocery store.Download our free toolbar
Saturday, August 14, 2010
Save Money At Breakfast
You can save a lot of money if you switch to eating oatmeal for breakfast and with these recipes you can make it an enjoyable experience ,too.
Instant Oatmeal Packets
3 cups oats (quick cooking works best)
salt
8 small zip-like baggies
Process ½ cup oats in a blender (or 1 cup oats in a food processor) on high until powdery. Set aside. Repeat with additional ½ cup oats if using blender. Put the following into each baggie: 1/4 cup regular oats, 2 tablespoons powdered oats, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Store in an airtight container.
To serve, empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. Adjust water amount for thicker or thinner oatmeal.
Try some of the following variations:
Sweetened Oatmeal: Add 1 T. sugar
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 1 T. brown sugar and 1/4 t. cinnamon
Raisins and Brown Sugar: Add 1 T. packed brown sugar and 1 T. raisins.
Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 1 T. sugar, 1/4 t. cinnamon, & 2 T. Chopped dried apples
Fruit and Cream Oatmeal: Add 1 T. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 T. dried fruit
Health Nut Oatmeal: Add 2 T. any kind of wheat germ
Chewy Granola Bars
3 cups oats
1 cup flour
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla
2/3 cup butter, softened
½ cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup mini chocolate chips or M&Ms
Optional: raisins, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, and baking soda. In another bowl, combine vanilla, butter, honey, and brown sugar; add to oat mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Lightly press mixture into the pan with the back of your spoon. Bake at 325 for 22 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.
If you cook oatmeal in milk rather than water, the oatmeal will taste creamier. Apple juice, peach syrup, or mixed fruit juice, or even a combination of juices and milk make wonderful new flavors without having to add much extra (if any) sweetener. Cinnamon and nutmeg with chopped apples make a delicious combination. Use your imagination to add whatever you like. (Once, I added hot chocolate mix. That was good!)One last tip for saving money at breakfast: use powdered milk either in part or whole to save money. When powdered milk is cold, you hardly notice a difference, especially on cereal or in recipes. If you think your family will be skeptical about drinking powdered milk, mix it with regular milk. I've served powdered milk with cereal to extended family, and when asked about it later, they never noticed the difference.
Even if your family doesn't want to drink powdered milk, keep some on hand for using in recipes. An added benefit to using powdered milk is convenience. I don't have to run to the store each week for fresh milk since I buy powdered milk in large quantities and make as needed.Download our free toolbar
Instant Oatmeal Packets
3 cups oats (quick cooking works best)
salt
8 small zip-like baggies
Process ½ cup oats in a blender (or 1 cup oats in a food processor) on high until powdery. Set aside. Repeat with additional ½ cup oats if using blender. Put the following into each baggie: 1/4 cup regular oats, 2 tablespoons powdered oats, and 1/8 teaspoon salt. Store in an airtight container.
To serve, empty packet into a bowl. Add 3/4 cup boiling water. Stir and let stand for 2 minutes. Adjust water amount for thicker or thinner oatmeal.
Try some of the following variations:
Sweetened Oatmeal: Add 1 T. sugar
Brown Sugar/Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 1 T. brown sugar and 1/4 t. cinnamon
Raisins and Brown Sugar: Add 1 T. packed brown sugar and 1 T. raisins.
Apple-Cinnamon Oatmeal: Add 1 T. sugar, 1/4 t. cinnamon, & 2 T. Chopped dried apples
Fruit and Cream Oatmeal: Add 1 T. non-dairy coffee creamer and 2 T. dried fruit
Health Nut Oatmeal: Add 2 T. any kind of wheat germ
Chewy Granola Bars
3 cups oats
1 cup flour
1 t. baking soda
2 t. vanilla
2/3 cup butter, softened
½ cup honey
1/3 cup brown sugar
1 cup mini chocolate chips or M&Ms
Optional: raisins, dried fruit, sunflower seeds, chopped nuts
In a large bowl, combine oats, flour, and baking soda. In another bowl, combine vanilla, butter, honey, and brown sugar; add to oat mixture and stir until combined. Stir in the chocolate chips and pour into a lightly greased 9x13 pan. Lightly press mixture into the pan with the back of your spoon. Bake at 325 for 22 minutes or until lightly golden brown. Let cool for 10 minutes then cut into bars. Let bars cool completely in pan before removing or serving.
If you cook oatmeal in milk rather than water, the oatmeal will taste creamier. Apple juice, peach syrup, or mixed fruit juice, or even a combination of juices and milk make wonderful new flavors without having to add much extra (if any) sweetener. Cinnamon and nutmeg with chopped apples make a delicious combination. Use your imagination to add whatever you like. (Once, I added hot chocolate mix. That was good!)One last tip for saving money at breakfast: use powdered milk either in part or whole to save money. When powdered milk is cold, you hardly notice a difference, especially on cereal or in recipes. If you think your family will be skeptical about drinking powdered milk, mix it with regular milk. I've served powdered milk with cereal to extended family, and when asked about it later, they never noticed the difference.
Even if your family doesn't want to drink powdered milk, keep some on hand for using in recipes. An added benefit to using powdered milk is convenience. I don't have to run to the store each week for fresh milk since I buy powdered milk in large quantities and make as needed.Download our free toolbar
Friday, August 13, 2010
Sewing For Baby
I am wanting to start with some great sewing websites that I found for sewing accessories for babies. If I did not do a lot of sewing when my son was a baby , I do not know what we would have done. What, with sewing diapers and stuff, it really saved a lot of money!! You can find a lot of places online for sewing patterns.
Free baby sling and carriers patterns
Free Maya Wrap baby carrier pattern
Great resources for making cloth diapers - FREE
Free Cloth Diaper Patterns
How to sew a fitted diaper
Martha Stewert Tea Towel Bib
Martha Stewert Felt baby shoes
Free info on sewing cloth diapers and training pants
Free patterns for making baby toys and there is even one for making a cloth book
These are just a starting point for some items that you can sew yourself and save some money. Reuse bigger clothing to make baby stuff ,like toys etc. Reuse blankets and more. Use your imagination.
Download our free toolbar
Free baby sling and carriers patterns
Free Maya Wrap baby carrier pattern
Great resources for making cloth diapers - FREE
Free Cloth Diaper Patterns
How to sew a fitted diaper
Martha Stewert Tea Towel Bib
Martha Stewert Felt baby shoes
Free info on sewing cloth diapers and training pants
Free patterns for making baby toys and there is even one for making a cloth book
These are just a starting point for some items that you can sew yourself and save some money. Reuse bigger clothing to make baby stuff ,like toys etc. Reuse blankets and more. Use your imagination.
Download our free toolbar
Wednesday, August 4, 2010
Survival Blog
I am working on a few ideas and hope to have some new stuff on here soon!! Stay with me. Download our free toolbar
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