How I saved money this week

I've been wanting to keep track of how I've been saving money each week. I'm discovering that small little practices add up to big savings. So, here is how I saved money this week in my household:

1. I have an olive tree that is full of olives in my front yard. I've wanted to learn how to cure olives for years so I finally gathered the courage to tackle it with the help of a dear friend's advice. I spent 2 days picking olives. It's very time consuming because you have to pick one olive at a time (and they're small). I finally got the tree pruner and cut the top branches that were bursting with large olives. That way I could sit and just pick the olives off the branch instead of standing on a ladder while I pick. Once they were picked it was a long process of lye, soaking and a lot of rinsing. I now have 5 gallons of olives soaking in a salt brine. We hope to share with a few neighbors and some of our family.

2. I hung out my laundry on the line. Winter is just around the corner so I'll be hanging some lines in my garage... hopefully next week. I plan to hang my laundry as much as possible through the winter to keep my electric bill low.

 3. I cut back the watering time for the lawns. The grass was pretty much dead when we moved into our home. So, we focused on saturating it with water to bring it back to life. As a result my water bill went up to $127. Ouch! This month I'm setting my timer and only allowing the water to run 10-15 minutes in each spot. So far the lawn looks just fine.

4. I planted lettuce seeds and green onions in a container by the back door.

 5. I made 2 batches of laundry detergent. I've been making my own laundry detergent for years (off and on). It's one of my biggest money savers.

 6. I saved 2 celery stalk ends to regrow. I laced them in small little dish by my kitchen window in some water and they are already sprouting. I'm not sure how tall they will grow. I saw this idea on Pinterest.

7. I realized I was wasting a lot of water in the mornings when I first turned on the hot water faucet. The water would run and run until it finally turned hot. I now keep a bucket outside my back door and bring it in next to the sink. I let the water run into a container and then fill my bucket. I end up with a half a bucket of water from the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink which I then toss onto the new seeds I planted outside my backdoor.

8. I bought whole milk and added water to stretch it. :-)

9. I used cabbage leaves for my breakfast burritos instead of low carb tortillas (which are so expensive).

10. I used a Kohl's $10 coupon and purchased a gift for Christmas.

 I had several new money saving ideas I wanted to tackle this week but I ran out of time. The kids are coming for lunch on Sunday and so I've spent my extra time this week preparing.

Well, that's all I'll write about for now. I'd love to hear how you saved money in your home this week.

“Whoever loves money 

never has money enough;

 whoever loves wealth

 is never satisfied

 with his income”

Ecclesiastes 5:10

A discontented heart is troubled 

he has no more comfort

but a self-denying man rather wonders

that he has as much as he has.

Jeremiah Burroughs

Buying the BEST is not always my goal!

Choices. Life is full of them and it's no different when you're faced with decisions that will affect your budget.One simple choice may not seem that important but when you stack one choice onto another they all add up.  With the way prices have almost doubled in some items it's often necessary to 'settle' for a product that might not meet our previous expectations in order to stay within our means.  Each homemaker has to make the decisions for her own household.

For instance, I've had a favorite eye liner that I've used the past 5 years. I love the eye liner because it doesn't 'run' into my wrinkles. :-)  I can put it on in the morning and leave it all day and it still looks good towards evening. But, at a price tag of $7 + I've recently made the choice to switch to a Dollar Store brand. Yes, it runs. Yes, it smudges. I just tell myself...."Oh, well! Life goes on."  Imagine that! :-) That $6 could be used to purchase more veggies which is a higher priority right now than how my eyes look. (Blink, blink! *Smile*). I made a switch with my face make up,too. The new brand costs half as much as the Revlon brand but doesn't cover nearly as well. Oh, well! Life goes on! :-)

Sometimes, I make the decision that it's not worth changing brands. For instance, when it comes to mayo we stick with Best Foods. I've tried other brands and it always seems to change the flavor of the dish I'm putting it in. I watch for sales and buy it at the lowest price I can. If prices continue to rise and my budget doesn't then I may need to switch to a different brand. But, for now, I'm holding on to this name brand. I've trained my palate to prefer Best Foods.. unfortunately to my budgets detriment.

Households in poverty stricken parts of the world are not faced with these kinds of choices. Since they have not lived in a prosperous society they have not trained their palates or their tastes to want the very best. They are content to fill their bellies with any kind of food to get rid of the hunger pangs. 

Choices...  I pray that the Lord will give me wisdom to make wise ones and that I will have a grateful heart.. no matter what the brand!

Is it possible to eat healthy on low income?

I've been faced with these kinds of decisions over the past few years. I strive for a low carb menu for our health but it's not always possible to stay within a strict low carb plan because of budget restrictions. So, I do my best within the financial boundaries that the Lord has placed on me.

I had an interesting choice to make at the grocery store yesterday.  With $10 left in my grocery budget I was left with the decision whether to purchase butter at $2.50 or margarine for $.89. I know..I know..  it seems like a silly thing to write about but I'm learning that these kind of decision sometimes make the difference as to whether I can stay within my monthly allotment for groceries. 

There was a time when my children were growing up that I never purchased butter.  I just didn't feel that I could afford it. There was also not as much information about the health benefits of butter vs. margarine. But, for the past 8 plus years, I have purchased butter. Thankfully, we had the income to support the decision.

I could have bought the butter (and went without something else) but I was hesitant to use a 1/4 of what I had left not knowing what needs may come up in the coming days before our next paycheck. So.. I purchased the margarine.

I also had this decision to make when purchasing meat towards the end of this month. I normally don't purchase a lot of pork and try to focus more on chicken and smaller amounts of  beef. But, the pork meat was nearly $1 less a pound than the other types so that is what I bought to stretch my money. 

I do believe that what we eat can have a lot to do with our health but I also know so many older people who have broken many of the 'rules' for healthy eating (which change each generation) and have lived a long healthy life. They lady I care for has eaten margarine all her life. I've often teased her and said, 'you better stop eating that margarine or you won't live to be 92 years old'. We both laugh.

 Everyone will have to make these choices for themselves. My conscience does not condemn me on eating margarine so I'm free to indulge when our money is tight. 

 I do the best I can to purchase healthy foods on our low income but I don't stress if I can't hold to it perfectly. I'm thankful to have food to put on my table. There are so many in foreign countries and our own United States that are hungry and would be thankful for even one stick of margarine. 

So, we ask the Lord to bless our food and thank Him for His provision!


The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. Psalm 145:15

So, whether you eat or drink, or whatever you do, do all to the glory of God. 1 Cor. 10:31

Bloggers: Can you help me with this problem?

I have not been able to sign in or respond to comments for quite a few weeks. Every once in a while it will work. Of course, BLOGGER does not offer support.

 Has anyone had this problem? Or have any suggestions? I've tried everything I can think of.

Georgene

Experimenting with homemade cleaning products

I've tried a few homemade cleaning products over the past 5 plus years with great success. I've been making my own homemade detergent for nearly 5 years. I took a break from it at one point but I started making it again to keep my grocery budget down. I'm still using a vinegar and water cleaner for my toilet and it works great.

Grocery prices continue to rise but our income is not. So, I'm continuing to look for ways to cut back. This month I decided to concentrate on finding an inexpensive stain remover to replace the Shout Advanced Gel I normally buy which can cost anywhere from $3-4. I love Shout but it's a high price item so hopefully I can find a good alternative.

So, today I did some research online to see if I could find a recipe that would use ingredients  I  have on hand. It was encouraging to see how many different recipes are used with great success. I always like to have an alternative recipe on hand  in case I'm out of a specific ingredient.

I took note that some homemakers use plain old shampoo directly on a stain and Dawn dishwashing detergent or 2 parts hydrogen peroxide and one part dawn.  All were given good reviews. I'll keep these in my file as a back up.

The recipe I chose is this one:

1 cup white vinegar
1/2 cup liquid homemade detergent
1/2 cup water

The mixture was a bit lumpy so I kept stirring. I knew it needed to be pretty smooth so the mixture would go through the spray nozzle. I used my old Shout bottle. I used the spray on items in my white load and the stain came out. We will see how it works on my dark load tomorrow.

I can see that these homemade items are making an impact on my food budget for the better.

This recipe was found at :

Dollar Store Mom

I liked the idea that she experimented with 3 different options of stain remover which included the recipe above. Her conclusion was that the DIY stain remover worked just as well as the other brands.


Do you use any homemade cleaning products (or beauty products) that save you money?