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Infants, Toddlers, & Preschoolers
What is the number one (or two) thing you do to save money?
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Anonymous
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We don't save money by cutting back. But if we did, I know what we'd do:
* Cut waaaay back on eating out. * Mom makes dinner, not Dad (who buys expensivo ingredients). I guess by default we save money by not spending much on clothes (I'm not a fashion maven, neither is my hubs -- we cart over-the-shoulder waterproof backpacks, not leather purses with bling-bling). |
Anonymous
There is someone ou there who finds unprocessed food revolting...I posted a recipe for mujadarrah awhile ago (rice and lentils with caramelized onions) and someone immediately posted that she could never eat "that muck." That menu looks good! |
Anonymous
I'm not sure I could stomach that many consecutive days of beans but I think you are super impressive and creative!! And you eat much better (healthier) than we do (and I'd venture to say than most readers of this site do). You rock! |
Anonymous
| To the bean menu poster - can you also post your crockpot recipie for the beans - do you use dried beans and how much? I'd like to try this myself - it is very creative but I would probably add a little meat too. |
Anonymous
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7:38, we usually do a pound and a half of beans. Usually we cover them in water and stock (sometimes dehydrated, sometimes homemade, and if there's a sale, sometimes boxed). It totally depends on what you like in beans, but usually we add at least some of the following:
bay leaf, garlic (fresh or powdered), onion (usually fresh, but powdered would work), dried oregano, liquid smoke, chili powder, paprika. For the chickpeas, we usually only do stock, bay leaf, and garlic because we make it into hummus and too much flavor would make for a funky hummus. I know it sounds like a ton of beans, but really, they are often just helping fill out the meals to cut down on other ingredients. Like the spinach, cheese, and black bean enchiladas need less cheese and only 1/2 package of frozen spinach - making it healthier and cheaper, but it's not totally beans in there. And yes, I agree more meat is more delicious. You can easily bump the meat in these and still have a healthy and cheaper list. |
Anonymous
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B000F49XXG Bought this - and haven't bought a latte or iced mocha in 3 weeks - its pump driven, so it approximates the quality of a $500 machine, but only for $80. We did have to watch a bunch of youtube videos on properly foaming the milk to make good lattes - the first few kind of sucked until we did that. DH and I figured we only needed to make $23 lattes or so to justify the cost. It is lifechanging! |
Anonymous
Espresso maker poster here- the bean menu looks AMAZING. I am going to try it! |
Anonymous
We do the same two things (no cable and automatic transfer of $$ to savings and college funds) - and it made a dramatic impact just in our overall sense of seeing our savings increase - without really feeling a pinch. That cable bill adds up fast, doesn't it? Also: drop your land line. Get rid of extras on a cell phone plan, including no iPhones or data/messaging plans. |
Anonymous
| Sign up for Six O'Clock Scramble meal planning service. Owner is a local mom and it's been awesome. Grocery list creates based on meals chosen and all meals I make are healthy and delicious! |
Anonymous
I could never buy that. If I figured out how to make Starbucks drinks at home, I would never have an excuse to leave the house and there would be no incentive to get errands done 
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Anonymous
| I am surprised there is a debate about whether cutting back on WF is. We have no needs or plans to save more $$ as i have a very high salary but I still don't shop at WF. It offends me every time I go in there it is so expensive. HT, Safeway or Trader joes all the way |
Anonymous
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At the end of my cox contract, I am tell cox to eff off with the cable on 2 TVs. I am keeping it for one. We will do Roku or Apple TV on those. I am having trouble deciding which one though. I hear that Roku is better, but I think the Apple TV interface is better. If I could stream live sports on either, I would get rid of cable on all 3 TVs.
I am also dumping my land line very soon. Between the 2, I will save at least $100 per month. We are currently not grocery shopping for anymore protein until we finish eating every last piece of frozen meat in the freezer. And I am working on using all the items in my pantry that just sit there. I am DIYing some furniture redos on some thrift store finds. Like a $35 solid wood night stand for my daughter's room. I will also be DIYing her curtains with some stitch witchery. I figure I will save hundreds. |
Anonymous
| 16:03 I think it depends on what you're buying. If you are buying organic produce etc. then you don't really save any money by going to HT or TJs. |
Anonymous
I'm the poster working on limiting Starbucks. I have a hard time with the hot lattes, but I found this recipe on YouTube for Iced Lattes, and it comes out really good! I actually like it better because I can make it less sweet than what comes from SB. I bought one of their reusable iced, plastic cups, and use the SB Via packets. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uITN58kXRSs&playnext=1&list=PL081E6B0ADCF8DBA5 |
Anonymous
It is all about convenience for me. The Trader Joe's closet to me is small and has limited selection, not even sure where a Harris Teeter is around me. WF is very near where I run other errands on the weekend so I usually go there for any chicken or meat we need, sometimes sea food, and a few other things I like. But I am surprised that Giant where we do the bulk of our shopping is starting to get really competitive with WF on a lot of products I used to depend on WF for. And now that's farmer's market season I'll probably be going there less. |