Posted on 06/24/2005 6:35:23 AM PDT by Gabz
I was participating in a thread the other day started by a FReeper who has started to grow his own tobacco because of the ever escalating increases in tobacco taxes.
The fact his "crop" is tobacco is neither here nor there and I only mention it as way of introduction to the idea for the title of today's thread theme.
We all got talking about the benefits of making and or growing our own things as a means of saving money and were called on the carpet by a bean counter who claims that when one adds in the time it takes to prepare the things we grow or make we are not saving any money and in fact are losing money because the time could better be spent doing soemthing that actually pays money.
I disagree and would like all of your opinions.
My husband buys a lot of Dell stuff online and he says that they sometimes have end-of-the-month deals. He gets the offers by email.....maybe you could ask to be put on their list.
That sounds great!
We buy an annual pass for Assateague Island national Park which gives us unlimited access to the Island. It's $10 for a 7 day pass and $15 for the annual pass and it lets us have access to any other Park in the system through out the country.
all of the volunteer fire companies around here have fairs and festivals with lots of kids activities that are free, but you have to pay for the rides. They all offer a $10 all you can ride pass and since it's for the fire company it's a no brainer to me - expecially when individual rides cost $2 a piece.
We stored a friend's boat and RV for the winter when they went back home to Ohio and they are now back for the summer and so we basically have a boat to use whenever we wish - now that was a really cheap deal! It didn't cost us a thing except a few minutes each week to start the Rv to make sure the battery didn't die and we saved them over $1,000 in storage fees.
absolutely and without a doubt. Good luck on your project. Fortunately the contractor I know best happens to be my husband :) although he now does computer repair, he did contracting for 25 years and so there is little he can't do. And the electrician happens to be my best friend :)
be a good neighbor (It comes back and lots of doors open that way!)
That can not possibly emphasized enough - and being a good neighbor goes beyond the guy across the street or the couple next door. Neighbors are your community, particularly if you live in a rural area such as I do.
I currently have more dried bamboo than I know what to do with for using as garden stakes and trellisses because the Moose Lodge was looking to get rid of it because the property had gotten so over grown and they really didn't want to start a bonfire. when I said I was interested one of the guys got a trailer and they loaded the thing up. Bamboo garden stakes can fetch up to $2.00 a piece at the garden centers. When I've cleaned it all up and finished with what I need, I plan on selling the surplus and giving half of the money back to the Lodge as a donation.
Your hubby sounds like mine when it comes to electronics purchasing he generally uses pricewatch.com but I told him about your hubby's suggestions.
Northern Tools is another website he adores - we bought our woodstove from there for less than $250 - the same type locally was over $700.
The cash-back credit cards are a great idea - but I don't use credit cards anymore. We have one for emergencies and hubby has a company one for travelling.
I use the library all the time especially for cookbooks - I like to look at cook books before I buy them - I collect cookbooks and they can be very expensive. I usually buy them at a discount bookstore - the last time I was in that bookstore (it's 50 miles away so I don't go often) I bought $275 worth of cookbooks and craft books for less than $40.
Keep an eye out for used copies of "The Square Foot Gardener." Great book!
You're my kind of woman!!!!!!!!!
The only difference is we have only one child and no family around, so I do the birthday party thing.......last year it cost a grand total of $25 including mini-golf, pizza, soda, cake and goody bags for each of the 10 kids. It will be a bit more this year because she doesn't want mini-golf - but even if it is at the roller rink it will still be less than $50
All of your ideas are excellent and especially the mortgage prepayment. We have enough extra going in every month so that we are actually making 13 instead of 12 payments a year.
sounds great and definitely my kind of book!!!!!!!
Becareful of the weeds you toss into the compost pile - the seeds of some actually thrive in the compost heap.
I salvaged some lattice boards from behind a friend's garage and I'm going to use them to create a box for composting.
Hubby is starting to get antsy to get out of the house, and since I have now answered all the current posts on this thread I better quit while I'm ahead!! Off to Chincoteague for the rest of the afternoon. I'll check back in when we get back.
I can't believe all the interest we have generated today - let alone all the cool tips and hints!!!!!!!!!
OH, don't get me wrong, I have nothing against birthday bashes for kids at all....when we had one kid and two incomes we threw big ones! And we do throw big parties for baptisms, first communions, confirmation, etc.
It's different when the family consists of, for example, the parents both age 25, one decent income, no college or marketable job skills between them, and four children age 7 and under. (and yes they got married at 18). ya know? I mean it's a free country and they can do whatever they want.
But. Now they are talking bankruptcy and somehow, doesn't that kind of stuff trickle down and increase cost for the rest of us?
Sorry, I'm veering off topic, aren't I? LOL.
That is my all-time favorite gardening book! I also really like "Lasagna gardening" with its ideas for creating cheap compost and good soil from stuff you can get for free. SFG, though, is the ultimate inexpensive book: no wasting seeds, space, or spending unnecessary time weeding.
Junk mail, if you have a paper shredder, is great for adding to compost, as long as you remember to remove the plastic windows from the envelopes. I'll keep an eye out for "Lasagna Gardening"--thanks for the tip!
Around here, most parties either have a jump house or a clown or other entertainment. Those things cost over $200.
This past year we spent the most on my daughters' birthday party. We took 20 kids ice skating. Their birthday is during the rainy season in California, and it had to be an indoor party.
However, my brother had just died, and my dad had been in and out of the hospital. It was well worth the money, so that I didn't have to do much. Also, if I had to go see my dad, my husband could have handled the party all by himself.
The other fun cheap party we did was last summer for my son. It was a survivor party. We have a pool, and we invited about 7 kids. We had races in the pool, a gross food challenge, a treasure hunt, and bingo. We spent more on decorations for the party, but we knew we would reuse the decorations (tiki torches, grass table skirt, and lanterns).
You can have really cheap parties if you want to. I read one idea that I thought was pretty good. A mom gave her kid $50 for a birthday party. The kid got to make all the decisions. The kid decided to have things white paper plates because she could spend more money on other items for the party. She made her own invitations for free. I thought that was a great idea for an older kid.
I would also recommend consignment stores for furniture. I just got two chairs and ottomans for $200. They are in great condition, and they would have easily cost $1000 if I would have bought them new.
I think some people can even bargain down the price, but I'm not good at that.
Consignment stores have better quality than a thrift store. Of course, they also cost more. However you can get good deals.
I get bulk dried yeast at Sam's Club. I use it for bread and pizza (also get 25 lb sacks of flour at Sam's); is canning yeast different?
If you are doing something that takes you away from an earning job you aren't saving anything.
However anything you do on your own time, can definitely save money.
My tip.
Dry your laundry in the sun.
Go to a health food store, they sell it in bulk.
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