Fresh Herbs and Veggies

I love healthy foods like fresh veggies, especially when they are in a salad.  However, a lot of the 'fresh' produce can be taxing on the ol' wallet.   

So for a cheaper option, (an the satisfaction of knowing I can feed my family something I grew and didn't bomb with pesticides) I have started gardening. Nothing big and fancy. I have a raised garden (6 x 4) and a few containers.  

Today I picked some fresh dill, parsley, green onions, an celery for a salad.  

I also have tomatoes, peppers, chives, carrots, and mint growing.  As a bonus this year I found a wild blackberry bush in the yard that I plan to care for for a touch of sweet. 

Happy savings!

-S.

 

Coupons

Sometimes I watch the Extreme Coupons show and it amazes me at how much people save.  Even if I think they are going well beyond excessive.  Since being unemployed I have been trying to save some money when I go to the store for stuff and have been trying to use more coupons.  I have to be honest though, I am not very good at it and usually forget the bring the coupons.

However, today I did better.  I received a coupon in the mail for Khol's, which I usually never shop at.  Wanting to get out of the house today I decided to make the trip since it is just a couple of miles down the road from the house. 

My 6 year old will be turing 7 in Feb. so I thought I would try and get something for him and get part of his present out of the way since I am done with all my Christmas shopping and I don't really need anything for the house. 

The results of the coupon, digging through the clearance rack, and taking advantage of a sale on toys: I spend a total of $3.22 for items that should have cost over $30!

I may need to spend a little more time on coupons!

Happy Savings!
-Sarah D.

Freebies

I have recently began to look for free samples online. My husband has been making fun of me. But, what better way to save money then by not spending it.

Over the last two weeks I have spend maybe two or three hours on various sites filing out forms online for free samples.

So far I have gotten a book, calendar, coloring book for the kids, dog food, lotion, shampoo, dish washer tabs, perfume, and several other items. Some of the samples say they take from 2-8 weeks so I have more on the way.

So, I get save some money and I have to admit that I like getting mail.

Happy savings.
-Sarah D.

Since my original post two days ago I have gotten in more free samples. Some is of stuff I already use, some I add to a basket I have in the guest bathroom, and some I am trying a new product. My husband has also stopped making fun of me now that he has seen all the stuff I have gotten already.

12-3

I felt the need to post a little more evidence that signing up for freebies wasn't a waste of my time. As you can see I have gotten in some additional goodies.

Thrifty Trick Or Treat

I love seeing all the kids in costume so I always make sure to have treats on hand for Halloween.
Well, with the need to spend less this year I had to rethink the 30-40 dollars I usually spend on candy. So, this year I didn't spend any money on candy.
But, no kids have to worry I still came up with a bowl full of treats.

What was my trick? I raided the pantry and gathered all the candy in the house (a mix of stuff, things the kids got from a Halloween at the park and don't want to eat, stuff from grandparents, etc.). Then I kept going. The half of box of gummy treats, Drink mix packets the kids had to have but didn't use all of them, single serve pudding pouches, gum.

Then I went through the craft boxes and found a bunch of cool stickers and temporary tattoos I had forgotten about. Pencils that the kids have drug home and never used, little notepads (my kids love these to draw in) cute bookmarks. Small prizes they have won from the Bounce House and just threw in drawers, other small toys they never play with.

So, now I feel like I have cleaned out some clutter but I have a variety of treats to hand out without spending any extra money. Plus, for the parents that might not want a ton if candy, there will be a few less pieces given out due to the toys, etc. that we will be handing out instead of so much candy.

Happy Halloween!

-Sarah D.

Homemade entertainment.

My 6 year old came home one day and asked for a jet pack (who knows where they get these ideas). So, after some thought and a debate on how to get them I made him some. The spray paint was the most expensive piece. Total I spent about $8 on this project but, that was because I didn't have any spray paint or Velcro at the house.

I took two empty 2 liters and painted them. I glued them to a piece of cardboard that I also painted. Then I cut up an old towel and used Velcro to make the straps. That way Robert could adjust them as needed. For the flames I just used some felt (about 25 cents a piece at Michaels) and glued them in the end of the bottles.

Super easy and quick. He loved them!

Maybe not to the quality of a store toy, but a lot cheaper.

Another recent money saving project concerns Halloween. Robert asked to be a gangster and wanted a briefcase of money to put his candy in instead of a bag. So, I just happen to have a cardboard box (from a trip to White Castle with two boys and a hubby that was starving and order 30 burgers!!) sitting around. I spend 4 bucks on brown spray paint and this is the results. I cut a big hole in the top for treats to fall in.

Homemade toys and costumes are a great way to save money!!

Garbage

With kids in the house I am always using Lysol wipes.  Normally I just toss the containers in the recycle bin when they are empty.  However, to save a few extra dollars I have stopped buying the small garbage bags for the bathrooms and have started using the plastic grocery bags instead (not the prettiest, but they fit and work great while reducing waste by just tossing them).  A trick I use sometimes is just putting a few extra empty bags in the garbage can under the open bag so when the kids or I empty them, you don't have to go hunting them down.  However, now that I am trying to save the grocery bags I seem to have a lot of them just sitting around and it makes the house feel cluttered.  So, after some thinking I have decided that I am going to reuse the Lysol wipe containers for the bags and just store them under the sink in the bathrooms.  This reduces the clutter and helps me feel a little crafty at the same time.  I did cut out the little flaps in the lid to allow for a bigger opening, which helps the bags come out easier. 

I have seen online ways to "fold" the bags so they pull out like wipes, but with the bigger container I got more bags in by not folding them then I did by folding them. 

To help reduce the confusion for the kids, I pulled the label off but didn't like the solid white container so I decided to decorate it a little.  I had some extra scrapbook paper sitting around and found a color that matched the lid and used mod podge to attach it. 

So, while reducing money spent and waste from the house I was able to store and reuse grocery bags and another container. 

Happy savings!

-Sarah D. 

Veggie Broth

In the last couple of years I have been growing a vegetable garden to help cut costs in the summer.  Which means that I often have a lot of food scraps from them.  I usually just toss them in the garbage and go on.  However, during my current efforts to reduce my family waste and save money I have come up with a way to save some money and get the most out of my garden every summer.  One of the things that I get from the grocery store (mostly in the winter when I make soups and stews) is various broths depending on what I am making.  Well, why not start making my own veggie broth and freeze it so I can use it in the winter when fresh veggies aren't readily available.  What I have been doing this summer is as I use my fresh veggies I save the scraps in a container in the freezer until I have a decent amount.  Once I have enough to make a batch of broth I take them and put them in a pot, covering them with water.  For the batch on the left I added some bay leaves, oregano, chives, and garlic powder to lend it some flavor.

The great thing with this is that you can use any spices that you want to match the broth to your specific taste.  (This allows you to have different flavor profiles if you want and you know exactly what is going into your broth!)

After adding the herbs I just covered the pot and let it simmer for a couple hours, talk about the house smelling good, like vegetable soup.  Once it boils I just strained the scraps out and poured the broth into ice cube trays.  I then froze the broth and put them in a freezer container. 

The reason I did it in ice cubes is to allow me to use as little or as much of the broth as I want.  When cooking I sometimes add just a dash of broth for flavor and this will allow me to do that (just add a cube or two) without feeling obligated to use the canned stuff in such large quantities or in a time frame. 

Some of the scraps that I used for this batch is: okra, zucchini, banana peppers, bell peppers, onions, tomato (this was fresh as they don't really freeze good), carrots.  I plan to use other veggies in addition batches like: potatoes, bell peppers, celery, cucumbers.  I am also planning on trying to make some chicken brother the next time I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot.

I am very excited about using this and how much it will save over the course of a year by not having to buy broths from the grocery store. 

Happy savings!

-Sarah D.