Drowning in Debt? You Need Extreme Frugality.
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- Опубликовано: 12 сен 2024
- Today, I'm diving deep into EXTREME frugality, where every penny counts and financial freedom is the ultimate goal. Whether you're facing a tight budget or just want to supercharge your savings, these frugal living tips and tricks are about to change your financial game.
🌟 Discover how to:
💰 Slash your monthly expenses.
🍽️ Master the art of meal planning and magically transform your leftovers.
🚗 Minimize transportation costs.
👜 Embrace the minimalist lifestyle and declutter your way out of debt.
🕊️ Find the peace that comes from a simpler life.
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The information contained on this channel and my associated website are for educational and informational purposes only. I am not a tax professional nor a financial advisor. The information I provide is not a substitute for financial advice from a professional who is aware of the facts and circumstances of your individual situation. In fact, I expressly recommend that you seek advice from a professional. Homegrown Hillary shall not be held liable or responsible for any errors or omissions on this channel or its associated website, or for any damage you may suffer as a result of failing to seek competent financial advice from a professional who is familiar with your situation.
#frugalliving #extremefrugality #savemoney
Watched a video several years ago of a lady who noticed her neighbours all threw away their leftovers so she asked if she could have them. She and her family ate for free every single night of the week and she grew flowers which she gave to these kind people and fruit from her garden. Needless to say she saved tens of thousands of dollars, paid for her home, and her childrens college education. It is incredible how much people throw away without a second thought. It must have taken a great deal of confidence to ask, but what an amazing outcome.
Wow!! I agree, asking would have felt very awkward. But high risk sometimes means high reward!
That is awesome and a little weird for the neighbours. Read a story about a guy whose neighbours would throw their rubbish into his grandad's yard but he grew up knowing how to use everything. Ended up with a bunch of things to fertilise his garden and fruit cores for cider; even sorted the papers and gave them back important documents to keep though they didn't appreciate it.
@@hmms5256 the leftover food is not really weird, at least here. Our Neightbours often bring by what they have too much off and know would only go bad and in return we do the same, it's pretty normal here. Maybe a cultural thing? That trash throwing into someones yard would be unacceptable though, it's not only rude its straight up littering/vandalismn and can be heavily fined.
Started baking my own bread, and I'm a weekly bread maker. I found a bread maker for 8.99 and I've been getting my money's worth.
I buy self rising flour or I just add some baking powder to regular flour and I mix that with some water to make my own tortilla shells instead of bread.
I was extremely fortunate as I was born with a pair of bread makers and I love the workout it gives me…kneading!
I’ve always wonder how much the bread makers use? Any idea?
Seriously this! You can find bread machines for really cheap at thrift stores, I don’t like the way mine baked bread but it saves me so much work of kneading
@@RevRainsUtopia though there are recipes for yeast bread that are no-knead. But the bread maker it totally hands off once it starts.
Here are my top ways to save more of your money instead of spending it:
1) Cook all your meals at home from basic ingredients and pack a lunch to take to work. No more fast-food meals, no take-out meals, no delivered pizzas, no frozen pizzas from the supermarket, no factory-produced microwave meals. Take the time to make your meals from scratch using frugal ingredients. Freeze extra portions for those days when you do not have time or energy to cook.
2) Brew your own coffee or tea at home. Use a Thermos if you want a hot beverage at work.
3) If your clothes closet is stuffed, downsize your wardrobe. Keep only the clothes you actually use on a regular basis. Get rid of anything that does not fit or you rarely wear. Take very good care of your edited wardrobe. Only buy another clothing item to replace a garment that is worn out, damaged beyond repair or no longer fits. Never pay full price for a garment. Shop at thrift stores and clearance racks and only when you absolutely must replace an item that is no longer fit to wear. Do not own any garment that requires dry cleaning.
4) Be frugal about entertainment. Books, music CDs, movie DVDs are free from your local library. Music on the radio is also free. Gently used books, music CDs and movie DVDs are low priced at thrift shops if you absolutely must own your own version. If you want to watch the big game, visit a friend who has pay-per-view and is hosting a game-time gathering. Never ever buy expensive tickets to athletic events, music concerts or theatrical productions. Find frugal alternatives to cable TV.
5) Avoid socializing in bars -- this is way too expensive. Find free or low-cost ways to socialize: volunteer for a good cause, attend a religious service and mingle afterwards, bring your dog to the dog park and talk to the other pet owners...
6) If you have children, do not spend too much on toys, entertainment and afterschool activities for them. Spend your time with them, not your money. Money spent on presents and expensive organized activities is never a good substitute for parental love shown by the time you spend teaching and socializing with your children.
7) Invest your time in taking good care of your health. Eat the right things and not too much of anything. Exercise sensibly and regularly. Be very careful of alcohol, tobacco and other substances that are expensive and can become addictive. Never risk your money gambling.
8) Curb your credit card use. Pay off your credit card debt before you allow yourself to charge anything else on that card. Get in the habit of paying each monthly credit card statement in full and on time. Develop the self-discipline to never use a credit card to indulge in an impulse buy, a luxury you do not really need or an unwarranted treat.
9) Adjust your expectations of what kind of lifestyle you "should" have. Learn to live within your means. Learn to appreciate what you already have and to make do with what you have.
10) He who dies with a mountain of unpaid debt, loses. He who dies with accumulated wealth from a lifetime of frugal living that funded valuable investments can leave a lasting legacy to heirs and other beneficiaries. Don't be a loser -- learn to manage your spending and build personal wealth.
❤ your 10 ways of saving time and money. I do exactly the same as you mentioned above and I ❤doing all of those things..
Another add on to this is to grow your own food if you have the space to do so. A warm farm can be ideal as the worms produce great plant food.
@@samanthahardy9903 Yes, anyone who has a sunny location that gets at least five hours of direct sunlight daily and temperatures under 100" F during the growing season can grow containers of tomatoes, zucchini and potatoes on a backyard, an unused driveway, a patio, etc. And these vegetables can be used with dried, long-term food storage ingredients (rice, pasta, beans...) to make frugal meals. Container gardens do require daily attention from the gardener including protection from insect pests and foraging wildlife.
I also add “live below your means”, that is how to end up with extra money.
🧑🏻🌾👨🏻🌾I live in a farm and listen, be friends with people on farms! we have fresh eggs, milk, meats of all kind, we have gardens full of vegetables, herbs and many other, some of us even brew our ouwn beer ( my dad does it) we make cookies, breads, cheese and i’ve found that most people that live in farms or ranchs, like we INVENTED frugal ( not really, but for our most we are pretty “close hand so the money won’t escape” type of people) and we can even give you more tips on how to spend less 🥰
Your best tip, floss and brush. I worked 30 years as a dental assistant, and let me tell you people will blame everything in their life to bad teeth except themselves. Dental work is so expensive, either take the time at home and brush and floss or spend lots of money. No brainer....
So true. And I hate getting work done at the dentist so I brush 2 + times a day. I don’t eat sticky sugary stuff either.
Consistency is key !
I would add, having high quality dentistry. When I had dental insurance through various jobs, I used it to the max each year. I replaced all my restorations with gold or porcelain baked to precious metal. More than forty years later, I still have all my teeth, except three which broke due to having a heavy bite. I am in the process of going to the Dental School to have a gold bridge made, and a worn gold crown replaced. After that, I should be good to go for the rest of my days, except for prophys, though my pristine 2005 Toyota Camry LE may outlive me unless I maintain a healthy weight by sticking to eating healthfully and riding my electric bike for fun, exercise and alternative transportation.
I live alone, and I hate cooking, but I also hate eating leftovers. So what I do is every time I cook some thing, I freeze half of it, and I put them in individual portions. So I don’t really have to eat leftovers very often. I just eat those “leftovers” a month or two or three from now. It also helps on days where I don’t feel like cooking. I can just pop something out of the freezer and heat it up.
I’m big on dining, my own socks and repairing whatever I can. A lot of people don’t wanna do this because they think they don’t have the time to do it but in reality most people spent several hours watching TV or videos on RUclips. They could be mending things while they watch TV and kill two birds with one stone.
I don’t have cable or any streaming services or WiFi and the only internet o have is what comes with my phone plan. And I get a discount on my phone bc my mom works for the provider.
I shop the weekly ads as much as possible
I don’t turn my lights on until it’s dark out. I get most of my clothes from goodwill!!
I think I can save so much money bc I don’t need a lot of entertainment.I’m happy with a good book and a cup of coffee. :)
I read a lot history mostly
I read that on submarines in WW2 when taking a shower they would get wet, turn the shower off , soap up then turn shower on rinse off then turn water off.
They only had just so much water for a deployment
I tried this way of showering and after a month I noticed a $5 reduction in my water bill 😊
I only buy groceries with cash. If I go over budget, something has to be put back.
If you can do it, it's a great strategy- the cash is finite! However, I am the type of person who would do an entire shopping trip before realizing I never went to the bank and have no money on hand 😂
My response to grocery prices has been to eliminate anything frivolous (most prepared foods, snacks, desserts, drinks, etc.), keep within a spending limit, change out some practices (San Francisco sourdough loaf now every other week, ditto for milk and cheeses), hyper focus on waste, and simplify menus. I do use a credit card. Also I scrutinise my receipts to see how I could have done better.
I do grocery curbside pick up, saves on impulse buys
We moved from a three bedroom 2 bathroom apartment to a 2 bedroom 1 bathroom apartment after my son moved out (saving me $300 per month). I found a closer job (less gasoline, less time) with more hours and better pay after putting in a hard slog getting experience in a new field. I bring a bag lunch and water bottle every day to work and make coffee at work (thanks to my generous company). Pay laundry machines are pricey, so we each use our own bath towel for a week. I hand wash my uniform top nightly and roll it in a towel, press out the water, then hang it to dry the next day. I unplug my microwave and toaster between use. I turn off lights if not in use. We use kitchen towels for most every drying purpose, and the occasional paper towel as needed. I started to keep successful, recipes in a pocket size notebook so that I don't have to waste time looking up the same recipes over and over. If they aren't good, they don't get written in the book. I grow my hair out then just style it in an updo, rather than doing frequent trims. My hair is graying and I'm not spending money getting it colored at a salon or doing it myself. I'm just letting it go gray. I don't get my nails done. I trim/file them myself, rather short and put a clear polish that looks shiny and healthy and keeps them from breaking. I make my own bread sometimes (a no knead recipe) and batch cook on the weekend. I listen to audio books that I download from a free library app. I knit hats for the homeless shelter (though this costs money, it is a peaceful relaxing pasttime and makes me happy and I get to create something useful). I use Fetch app. I mend my clothes. I don't buy new clothes because I'm bored wearing the same ones over and over. It's too pricey! I pay attention to the joys of simple things, like listening to music, going for walks and spending time with family. I have a no buy policy unless absolutely needed. That does not include birthdays or Christmas or the occasional small surprise for a loved one. I keep learning, trying to continue to improve at my job so I can gain responsibilities and eventually increase my income (I'm fortunate to have an interesting job).
This is beautifully written. Sounds to me like you have great control of your frugality without unduly suffering. Diane
Love that you down-sized after your child moved out. I was a single Mom of 2, and my boys still tease me about making sure that they could never move back home. That wasn't the motivation, but when my oldest moved out, I moved from my house to a 2 bedroom apartment. When the youngest moved out, I moved to a 1 bedroom apartment. Saving $$ each time.
Not sure if you own/drive a car. Or, if you have a renters policy. If you drive and don’t have a renters policy, consider one. I live in a 2b/1.5bath rental. I drive, one discount one auto insurance is if you have house insurance, I found out if I even get a minimum rental policy $40 a yr, my car insurance is $200 cheaper. Just a thought.
@@kenyonbissett3512I will look into this for myself thank you
You were never in a position to buy a home ? We always bought low, sold high and now we have a home that my hubby built and we have no loans against it. 👍🏻 renting is throwing away your money. Unless you move every 2-3 years 🤷🏼♀️
Actually, the true benefits that anyone doing these tedious tasks can gain are mindfulness, relaxation and calmness. These small tasks keeps us in the zone and helps our brains to slow down a little.
My mom dealt with leftovers 2 ways. One, she gave gave what we would each eat, she knew us well, then if we wanted more we could have it if available. Two, she froze it, and served it in another meal, we didn’t know. Bonus, we were poor and you were happy to eat anything that didn’t move except Lima beans and liver.
Don’t be overwhelmed by frugality. One a month, tackle something big. And every week or two add something small. Example: one month before insurance renewal, shop around, call big insurance companies and one or two companies that cover many insurance companies. Next, every week try one new small habit, example turn the thermostat one degree higher/lower depending on the season. Tell kids to add a sweater, hoodie, etc if cold. Keep reusable ice packs they can put on neck or chest to stay cool. Wear socks to bed, or even a night cap to stay warm at night.
At the end of a year you will have tackled 12 big money saving areas, and as much as 52 small areas each year. Repeat long term items can be on your calendar each year. Keep an ongoing list of ideas you want to include and put them on your calendar as an opening happens.
As you save money one one change that saves money, invest the saving into another change. Example: savings from lowering heat can be invested in sleep socks or sweater or at winters end reusable ice packs for summer. Eventually, you will have all the items you need (a year or so) and have all those savings to snowball into a lot of money.
My daughter need a new zipper in her jeans. She called me and said the cleaner wanted 42.00 dollars to put a zipper in the jeans. I told her to bring them done set up.the machine and taught her how to put a new zipper in. I have all of f my mother's and grandmother's sewing baskets and there are all.iindd in f wonderful.things in them. Fir me it's like a game how much at I save by doing something else
Its really encouraging to see a young woman with good grip on realistic living. Keep gathering up these life clues and spreading them around. ))) Another favorite is quilting with cuts of old clothes, fill with blanket, back with flanel sheet. It keeps you warm while you sew them together too. Simple BIG squares work great. Free.
Yes! I've made a few quilts in my time, though my skills are very rusty and has a steep learning curve for me. I'm sure there will come a time when there aren't so many babies running around my house and I'll have more time to practice. :D
Interesting and enjoyable episode ma'am.
We pretty much scrimped and I guess you could say frugal during our younger working years raising the kids.
Went out of our way not to be in debt and in emergencies when we had to borrow for a new fridge or furnace ect we paid the debt off within the month. Kids needed clothes it was the good will or yard sales.
We never ate out at all in those days. Never really thought much about eating out.
Kids always had plenty to eat and clean clothes to wear.
Today we can live comfortably because we sacrificed in early years.
We have no mortgage, all our vehicles paid for . We just have regular monthly expenses of utilities, groceries, animal feeds and insurance.
I was scripting a new episode this weekend about WHY we're frugal, and you basically said half the things I wrote down, Chuck 😂 Peace, security, comfort!
Exactly what we do too.😊
We paid off our house in less than eight years. We were extreme. I told my husband that we were buying our freedom. (We’re both pretty cheap, anyway) I think the police will need to pull me off the next person that calls us lucky.
You are the first person I’ve heard mention oral hygiene! And yes I needed that reminder lol
Hahaha I only give the reminders I myself need :P
1 ham is 4 meals. Ham potatoes gravy, then ham bean soup, scalloped potatoes and ham, and ham cheese omelette
100% But don't forget my favorite- Mac & cheese with diced ham! :P
Gardening, freezing, canning.. AND!!! Buy second hand (my favorite)😊
Oh man, how could I forget secondhand! Looks like I'll just have to make another video. Oh darn... :P
I would hardly call any kind of repairing, or mending being frugal, it is basic common sense that everyong should be doing. Same with not wasting food, its something we all should be doing all the time. Being a life long prepper of both food and supplies for all aspects of life is a way of protecting one's family, and giving/providing for one's future life. I have always shopped Grocery Outlet stores and purchased their WOW deals, almost everything else comes from thrift stores, garage sales, or is free. Free wooden crates provide material to repair fences, and make numerous items, left-overs can be used for firewood. If you live where there downed trees that are not on private property, take a small electric saw and bring it home. Even small bits can be put in a bag while walking the dog and used to start fires. Save the lint from the dryer, put a bit in paper egg carton sections, add a dab of vaseline, and you have free fire starters that work great. Both my parents lived and thrived through two world wars in the UK, so frugality is in my genes. They grew enough food in their small garden to feed our family, preserve extra, after that, anything extra was given to family, friends and neighbours, nothing, not even glass jars was ever wasted. They never paid anyone to do jobs they could do themselves. I am very grateful for a set of skills that have lasted me more than seven decades and still stand me in good stead!
My biggest tip is buy the cheapest (safe) housing that will meet your actual needs and then pay it off ASAP. Second tip, buy used. Third, eat at home and have the biggest garden you can manage.
I stock up on chicken breast when they go on sale or are marked down .I cook 3 or 4 in the crockpot and divide meat into portions for small chicken casseroles then I cook the skin and bones in a water filled crockpot overnight to make chicken broth. I then freeze in silicone muffin cups and use for rice ,soups,casseroles or dressing .
The muffin cup size is a great idea! I’ve been struggling with always having too-large portions of frozen broth, and that would totally solve the prob. Thanks!
Love the lemon tip. My lemons will no longer go bad! ❤❤
I grew up on a small farm in western NY in the 70s. We would go into fields after they had been picked and get the leftover vegetables and can it. We would get corn to feed our pigs too. Cost us nothing but a few hours of work.
I love this!
Here, we watch when the tractors are out harvesting. The first year, we went out gathering the carrots. The field manager approached and told me not to waste my time and called a combine over and loaded the bed of my truck directly. Now I get a full truckload of carrots and a truckload of potatoes every time they harvest. So much goes to waste, theyd rather see it put to good use.
My first time here but I will come back! Like your humor and common sense approaching this subject. I do most all the little things but just can't see myself dumpster diving. I can't get past the yuck factor. And I never want to house share. I had some bad experiences letting some extended family live here. They were awful! I'd rather live alone in a peaceful environment than put up with other people for just a few hundred dollars a month off my bills. 😊
Welcome aboard! 😊 And I totally feel you on both points.
Ethan's mom here. Just found your channel. Love your energy, guidance, and original personality! Thanks for sharing Hilary. :)
Hello!! This is my very first Super ever! Your kindness just made my day. Thank you, and I’m glad you found the vid valuable!
We are all very spoiled here in the U S
Not necessarily. I see many new homeless ppl popping up in my area everyday. One couple just parked an old RV on the side of the road near the grocery store and have been there for a month now. Another new face of homelessness a middle aged woman started talking to me while I was walking into church Sunday. She said she got evicted from her apartment because her rent was too high and she couldn't afford it as she had gotten laid off from her job.
Many new faces of homelessness are the middle aged and elderly.
Idk who is spoiled in this country but 60% of Americans according to news reports are living paycheck to paycheck. Credit Card debt is at an all time high, ppl are taking out 2nd mortgages in order to live off the money.
Many ppl are cutting back on grocery shopping and according to new stats out childhood poverty has tripled under this Administration.
I don't see anyone being spoiled. I see ppl struggling.
USA is the "richest" third world country on earth ...don't be fooled by thinking you are spoiled at all
Yes! We’ve been a one car family for 17 years! Has literally saved us tens of thousands of dollars over time. Working from home makes it easier, and so many people work from home these days!
And I’m sure you know this, but it’s worth mentioning for anyone else who sees this comment that many insurances will give you a discount if you work from home since you’re not driving so much!
I like how you give people the choice of either doing a few big things or lots of little things.
I did the freezing foods. Bought meat in bulk, repackaged and froze. Just got hit HARD with hurricane Idalia. Lost 4 freezers FULL of meat. Including one of our cows and 2 pigs we had processed. Lost THOUSANDS in food. So be aware of environmental factors. Getting the woodstove pipes in the outdoor kitchen this week to replace freezers with home canned things. Too hot to can inside.
NO! Kitty! Oh man, with all your preping, I can only imagine how devastating that was for you. I'm so sorry. Up here, I've never lost power any time other than during snow/ice storms, so I've never had to worry about losing food even if the power is out (we've just put everything outside on the porch!)
But that's 100% worth considering for someone regularly in the path of a hurricane, tornado, or other natural disaster that could knock out power when it's warm.
@@Homegrown_HillaryI was thinking the same thing, we just put it outside for half the year. I do have a generator too, if I’d need to plug the freezer in. I can’t imagine losing that much meat, Kitty! I feel that 😢
that should be covered by your rental or home owners insurance FYI.
@@qq1651 homeowners doesnt cover food losses. Cant replace 1000lbs of homegrown angus beef and 2 pigs. I refuse to buy meat at the grocery stores.
I'm a prepper. I'm good for long term. Short term, is different. My neighbors sat in lines for HOURS every single day waiting for gas for their generators. They spent hundreds, if not thousands on gas. We don't run a generator because with as painful as it is, we can still afford the losses. Its reminders of why I shouldn't be keeping my freezers full. Half the country has experienced blackouts, weather anomalies, grid failures, etc this year. We're aware so we don't ever run our air conditioning (conditioned ourselves to the heat), heat with wood, hang our clothes to dry (don't even own a dryer), water the livestock from rain totes, have a hand pump on the well that pumps directly into the house, etc. It all saves tons. Unfortunately prepping like the Amish is good long term but not great short term. Sooo thankful I splurged last year and took the trees down from over my house. The hurricane put trees through every other house for miles. Theyre still fixing the lines and contemplating changing our town name (we're rural so, local town) from Live Oak, FL to Dead Oak because that's all thats left.
I had no idea that some people had a thing about leftovers, batch cooking and freezing meals. My family were $100 over the poverty line with both parents working which was most of the kids at school, some were refugees and migrants, so when they were able to afford a better school for us it was weird to see what everyone else lived with. Didn't affect how everyone saw each other and made friends though
Little girls dresses can be lengthened by adding lace at the bottom ( also did this with jeans), adding a contrasting piece of material at the bottom. All easy sews. My son, when he was 4, came home from daycare with a small hole in the front of his brand new zip up sweatshirt. I got an iron on patch ( of a dinosaur) and ironed it on, did have to put a couple stitches to hold it in place. Sweatshirt lasted another year and a half. Kids clothes, especially boys, can be made from pants to summer ‘ cut offs’ by cutting off the lower portion of the pant leg. Long sleeve shirts can be made into summer ‘play clothes shirts’ by cutting off all, or a portion of the sleeve. Then once the clothes get really bad just cut them up for rags. It’s not a bad idea to have an inexpensive sewing machine that sews only a few variety of stitches. Really not hard to learn to use. Don’t forget about Chicken a la king: cut up chicken bits, a can of peas (drained) and a can of cream of mushroom soup ( or any cream soup), warm up all together, serve over toast. No chicken? Used canned tuna instead. Leftovers from thanksgiving make a great pot pie, or soup. I even put the leftover stuffing in those for flavoring.
Thanks for the video. I have a friend that doesn’t eat leftovers, either. She’s an excellent cook ,so my husband and I would just take home the leftovers from her parties
It just baffles me! Has she ever explained her reasoning to you? I like to assume people have good intentions for what they do... but I just don't understand that one.
@@Homegrown_Hillary No, she hasn’t . We love her cooking, so we will gladly take home the leftovers 😂
@@thebusybees2006
We eat leftovers too and most of the time I bring our leftovers for my lunch pack to work.
Patience, and call around and research before purchases. I have saved a fortune with sewing. With sewing, I can change the size of an item, but do reserve this for items I really like.
I did not know about lemons in the freezer. 3.5 decades going around this sun and I just never. Lemons someone brought to work are right now in my freezer.
These are great tips!
Make friends with people who garden! We love sharing food😂
Be the person that others know will take anything, then if it is something I don't need.. I find a home for it!
Love the trash picking😂 we call it Bulk shopping aka..bulk trash week where we live is my favorite holiday 😂
LOL bulk shopping 😂
I don't mind making my own cleaning supplies....but I draw the line at off brand dish soap. Die hard Dawn dish soap fan. But. I will not just pour it out. Even just washing dishes I measure it with tablespoon measurements. Evety penny counts
Garden - John Jeavon's book "How to Grow More Vegetables: And Fruits, Nuts, Berries, Grains and Other Crops Than You Ever Thought Possible on Less Land Than You Can Imagine" - great book on intensice raised bed gardening - continuously in print since 1974 - (note the version with "fruits, nuts, berries" is the newer version which includes crop compatibility charts). He is british and was a professor at Univ of Calif at Santa Cruz.
Ooo thanks! I’m always looking for new gardening books. 😊
I am surprised you didn't mention this, and of course I know this is a big thing, not for everybody and might not work in some places, depending on where you live but .... cut down meat. Stop eating meat. Seriously. Or, just limit to once a week "sunday dinner" or something like that. If you are able to commit to that for 3 or 6 months this might save you a lot. Where I am from, beans, lentils and chickpeas are very very cheap while meat is quite expensive and the prices are still going up. Not only is this going to help you save some money, save the environment a bit too, but it might also help you lose weight or improve your health overall.
Finally I would add - cooking from seasonal veg and shopping at farmer's markets because again, depending on where you live, this might really come out much cheaper.
Liquid Dish soap and Liquid hand soap can be diluted with water. I was surprised how much i could stretch them. and dishes and hands are stilled cleaned thoroughly.
I take my showers at the gym. I’m already paying for the membership, so is saves me having to heat the water. Combined with using my wood stove as much as possible in cold weather (I live in a temperate climate so rare risk of pipes freezing) and my energy bills are consistently lower than average. I’m working on getting better about food waste. Spoiled food goes to the chickens so it’s never in the trash. Thanks for the video
Making your own stock from leftover grease when cooking meat and fish is also great. And it adds a flavour to your food that ive found it hard to replicate and find elsewhere. Squash or cordial is also a great option for sweet drinks especially when you have kids since its like a concentrated fruit mixture that you add what to. Its cheap and lasts quite a while since you can dilute it as much as you want. 1L of cordial makes 40 drinks and you can get 2L or 2.5L bottles too. Unopened ones have best before dates for 1 yr but in my experience you can safely keep them much longer than that. You can also get a wide variety of flavours such as orange, apple, tropical, mixed fruit, vimto, elderflower and pear etc. It also means that there is far less sugar per serving than a regular juice drink which is healthier for you and your children.
Wrap dresses/skirts are a must have (im talking about the sheets of fabric with no sown sleeves, back or overall shape) and you can also use sarees and sarongs for this. They are very easy to make since its just a big rectangle and you can add some strips too if it make it easier to tie. You can make a huge variety of outfits out of them as well, I find darker and plainer versions better as it is harder to tell its the same dress. You can also make them shorter or longer as you prefer, wrap them into trousers (without sowing, so they can be used again a different style), their easier to iron, they take up less space, they can be dressed up or down as appropriate, they are not a fixed size so are easily adjustable to weight gain and loses, they look great during pregnancy and they are so cheap.
Learning a couple of home remedies for simple ailments is also a big money saver. For example studies show that honey is just as effective as cough syrup, but pls do not use this for babies under 1 yrs old. Eating local honey with lemon and ginger tea or your own mix is great for allergies. The local honey can get your body used to the pollen in the area so that your allergies reduce over time (this is a longer process). Salt water solution also known as saline is great for clearing out blocked noses due to sinus infections, or colds and also helps with nose bleeds. You can also gargle salt water to help with sore throat, throat infections and mouth ulcers. Regular salt is also good for wounds as it soaks up all the water and moisture, preventing any bacteria from growing there and therfore preventing infection and helping the wound heal faster. Home remedies are often inexpensive and can save you buying costly drugs. But make sure not to go crazy with it, you should always understand why the ingredients that you are called to use are effective and if other people have used it or seen it work.
I’m currently sick, so thank you for reminding me about salt water gargles! I’ve been doing a few home remedies today, but totally forgot about that one. Already feeling a bit better in the throat!
Also, thanks for reminding me about wrap skirts. I’ve been so caught up looking for drawstring skirts for the same reason (can handle body shifts during pregnancy/postpartum, always will fit right, etc). Wraps work too! Great tips here 👍
Are you sure you didn’t have parents that grew up in the depression? I know I did, and I learned almost all of these things from them.
Unless my parent have been lying about their age my whole life… 😂 But that’s great that they passed such wisdom to you!
I don't buy scratch paper. I use junk mail for grocery lists, to do lists, practicing paper crafts, making collages, and entertaining kids. I've made beads, craft
patterns, doll house decorations, and more with catalogs, return mail envelopes, and various pictures and stickers. Neighbors give me their old magazines
and catalogs. For reading, I take books and magazines out of the library.
I've also made Halloween costumes out of adult clothing and stained tablecloths. My kids, now in their 40's, seldom got new clothes, anyway. Tina, Al's wife
I've been using a virtual list for 20 years. No paper waste.
Socks are not a quarter per pair. Knee highs can be 15 bucks a pair. WHEN you can find them NOT made in China. I wear knee highs alllllll the time because I garden in tall plants. White kh's show fleas and ticks real fast. I mend them over and over and over. The bottoms don't have to be pretty. Sweaters I've worn for 60 years get embroidery. Mending is Zen. ))
I can highly relate to the car family. We live in Canada so yep it gets cold and snowy and we already were a one car family and our car recently broke down and will cost too much to fix so until we save enough for a new one, we are a no car family. And our city doesn’t have public transport except taxis and my husband works and hour outside of town (thank goodness for family members who also work with him and can carpool)
I do all of this and im still poor
Your ideas are also great for the environment
You better believe it!
Holy crap -- you're so funny lol "Take a little looksie" so helpful! Thank you!
My cost saving tips:
Internet is free at a library, I didnt personally have wifi until 21(3 years ago) after college. We didnt have Subscriptions and mostly used youtube. The library had all the movies we could want to watch or could order them for us. (We did pay for unlimited gig through phone) im still on my parents plan and my sister has a walmart pre-paid cell phone for 50$ last I checked
A bike and childrens trailer is much cheaper than a car and there are ways to be able to use it in the winter. (Im from alaska, plenty of people walk or only have bikes) If you bike everywhere, you get a workout and dont have to pay for it.
There are SO many cheaper alternatives in the grocery store. Frozen items are great for out of season produce and stock up when you find meat on sale. Since going to protein and veg for most meals, its helped keep my grocery budget in line. Not every meal has to be extravagant. Portion control is something almost everyone needs to learn ( I know I did.) Its OK to have convenience meals in the house for days you dont want to cook. A 5$ frozen pizza, or mac and cheese costs less than eating out and is always a crowd favorite.
My sister unplugs everything but the fridge after use and her electric bills are less than my haircut every month.
I live in an apartment complex in a mild climate state so from november to april I almost always had my heat turned off. Our electric bill was almost 80$ last winter because of it.
My company gives me a stipend for internet.
1. I mend my lingere when the material pulls away from the elastic rather than throw them away immediately.
2. I cut stained, pilled , old clothes into rags.
3. I called the #'s on the back of my cats' canned and dried food containers and they send me coupons. I can call every month. In the past, I often had coupons for FREE cat litter and dried food. An incredible savings. Due to the economy, they no longer give coupons for free products.
4. When pet food was hard to find a couple of years ago, I stocked up on cans of Chicken. The little ones love it and in a pinch I can use it for myself.
5. I am not very fussy ! I know I won't eat Lima Beans so I do not buy them. However, if someone gave me a can I probably would hide them in a soup and eat them.
6. I rent at 64 years of age. Would like a home and property, dream about it but not feasible right now.
7.I am retired and only go when I need to, combining errands .
8. I am creative w/ leftover foods and make a variety of soups.
9. I rarely purchase alot of clothing now and if I do it is from Walmart, Dollar General [ my favorite winter tunic and the one I often receive compliments about is from there], thriftstores.
10. I live where it snows. I have winter boots , jackets etc which I keep for years. One pair is 30 years old still keeps my feet dry.
if you live in the country don;t like eat leftover feet it to your chicken or pigs or composted it
We've been a one car family our entire relationship (17 years). Sometimes it's annoying but mostly it's just life. At times one or the other dropped the one working off so we could have the car, at times we just deal (it helps that our current living situation has a grocery store, dollar store, and pharmacy literally right behind us). We MAY have to get a second vehicle in a year or two, because my husband may be moving into a role with inconsistent hours during the time I need to be taking the kids to homeschool classes, but if he does that new role also comes with a massive pay raise so it won't be a huge deal to get a secondhand vehicle.
BTW, I don't find any of these tips extreme lol, but maybe it's because I've lived worse!
Wow first time here and I must say that your tips are just so awesome, especially for getting out of debt!
Here's a tip to easily replace a coat zipper. Cut the teeth off the zipper leaving as much of the zipper tape as you can. This is what you will hand sew the new zipper to. Yes it takes a little time but cost of new zipper vs new coat is big savings and NO ONE ever commented on my replaced zipper..just match color of new zipper to color of original zipper.
Not for everyone! BUT I FAST while at work! I take a water bottle, drink free coffee and LOTS of water. I lost weight and SAVED a bunch of money!
I never freeze left over food . I just don't waste any food ...I cook homemade food and freeze that . Works for me.
Everything you're talking about is the way I was raised.
Same here ❤.
I meal prep and freeze. order takeout 1x/week with a coupon. also workout at home/outside instead of paying for the gym. consumer cellular is At&t service for $20/month. diy mani/pedi & cut/color. diy skin care products. new thrift clothes with 50% off tag. borrow from the library, never buy books. free online classes. free museum wednesdays. free concerts in the park. free furniture & household items from CL. cheap items from DG + 5 off 25 saturdays. excellent self care = no medical costs. clearance + coupons = free stuff. essential oils + water in a spray bottle = body sprays & room/linen/bathroom/car sprays for years. 1 T cheapest cleanser + water + scrub brush = home cleaning for years. Foca powder laundry detergent $4.50 bag lasts for a year. these are some things I do.
I make big (1 1/2 gallon) pots of Scotch broth once a fortnight, using scrap bones from the butcher and fresh vegetables. I live off grid and so have wood fired stoves for heating and cooking. I have no fridge or freezer but put a handful of salt into it, which preserves it. I also re-boil it each day which helps to preserve it. I ladle out a serving size portion and boil it for a few minutes with some ramen noodles and then that's my dinner! I also grow herbs such as rosemary, mint, mugwort, fennel, oregano and sage around the outside of my house, I pick these herbs and use them in cooking, including the broths, all the time! A portion of my unemployment cheque each fortnight goes to buying seeds of edible or useful plants as well as fruit/nut trees and medicinal plants and other herbs.
I garden using wildcrafting methods and learnt what wild plants and fungi are edible. These are usually very nutrient dense foods and because they grow on my own land, I know for sure that they haven't been sprayed!
Sooo jealous. Where on earth do you get scrap bones?? My father *is* the butcher and can’t get me “scrap” bones because the store wants to charge ~$5/lb for them instead.
@@Homegrown_HillaryThe supermarket sells them for about $ 10 AUD a kilogram, but that's broth for me for about 2 weeks. In total, this pot of soup might cost about $15 or $20 to make, if I have to buy vegetables, but that's still ridiculously cheap for nourishing meals for one person for a fortnight! I live in semi-arid North Central Victoria , Australia, BTW, so growing vegetables such as onions and potatoes is a bit of a challenge, sometimes!
@@PsychicIsaacs Quick math converting kg to lbs and AUD to USD tells me that's FANTASTIC!
That’s such a great way to feed yourself!! Great thinking!!
My frugal ways....
1) buy produce and bakery items from the clearance racks in grocery store. Chop up the produce and freeze to be used in soups, stees and chilis. Freeze the bakery items if you are not going to use now.
2) hang most of your clothes to dry, saves on electricity bills and extends the life of your clothes.
3) skip the expensive fragrance beads in laundry, just add a teaspoon of bleach to laundry (to the water) to add freshness and kill any remaining bad scents.
4) buy almost everything at thrift stores clothes, shoes, boots, coats, home decor, furniture (just paint the furniture!).
5) buy a used vehicle, maintain it and keep it going until it truly dies. Ive had a car that I bought one year old and had been a rental for half off the new sticker price! Have owned it for 17 years and it's only at 180k and will go to 300k to 400k. Just get regular oil changes and maintain it well! Mountains less expensive than a new car.
6) switch your job for a higher paying job. Well first ask your boss for a raise, if that's a no go, start shopping. The EASIEST way to increase your income is by asking for a raise or job switching.
7) learn to love not spending money on entertainment. Go for walks, meet friends for coffee instead of a meal, find interesting things to do in your city or town that are free. Don't go to the mall. Get rid of cable, lots of interesting things on RUclips which is totally free!
8) batch cook large inexpensive meals. Coming home from work and only having a little prep to do for dinner is fantastic and relaxing.
9) I forage paid parking lots for change, make and sell things on Facebook, challenge myself to only spend $10 a week on groceries.
10) dye and cut your own hair and give yourself Mani pedis.
I buy at the lowest price possible based on my price book. I buy enough to make it to the next time it should hit that price. This goes for food, toiletries, cleaning and laundry products, and paper products.
buy fewer nice things and take care of them, rather than buying new poor quality over and over. I have shoes that were over $140 or 200, but I have worn them everyday to work for over 2 years, I also clean and condition them every 1-2 weeks. They have lasted over 2 years now, worth it.
Hi from Portugal 😊 loved this video. Here is one tip: i bring leftovers from all parties. Just imagine a wedding for instance, Always too much food. If no one brings the leftovers of cheese, cakes, deserts....were will they go? Só you better take them....right?
Hello to Iberia! If no one else is going to eat them, sure, why not!
Hen of the Woods and Puffballs are treat mushrooms. Greens in the grass: violet leaves and flowers, Dandelion ditto, Creeping Charlie, Plantain, Lilly flowers, clover (red, white and yellow lemon tiny flowers and leaves). Stinging Nettle (cooked). Many others have bad look-alikes, so study first. Half a free salad with some store-bought lettuce is great.
We have a great neighborhood that always puts out things for free. My 5 yr old grandson calls them the giveaway house. We have found Weber bbqs in perfect condition, a small lighted fake Xmas tree with glass ornaments on it that we used for our cabin in the mountains. We got a jogger stroller for the grands, we also put out things we don’t need. It’s awesome.
I love this!!
Hey girl friend, nice to see you this morning. Hope all is well with you and your family.Thank you for all your all tips, very interesting and soooo true.
Right as rain, over here! :) Hope you are, too!
Piggy-backing off mending your own clothes, it also pays to stay on top of basic maintenance of everything else (routine car care, housecleaning, etc.). If you can keep up with regular cleaning and maintenance, you can usually get by with cheaper cleaners and replacement parts (like oil and air filters) and techniques you can do yourself. If you fall too far behind, you’re more likely to have to replace the item entirely, pay a professional to fix it, or buy more expensive cleaners to undo the damage. 😔
Best tip: floss (also brush)! Floss with the traditional string floss.
Learning to mend / handsew is a skill you will have, and use, forever - I can hem, mend or remodel anything made of fabric. Learn to make neat, small, and often invisible stitches - backstitch/stemstitch, invisible hemming stitch - these two will be the most used.
Just found this channel 🙂Its funny the first thing you said was mending clothes. What was I doing when I started watching? I was mending clothes🤣
I remodel clothes,
I do also! Saves lots of $$$
I started eating eggs for breakfast and lunch. Egg drop soup, deviled eggs, fried egg sandwiches, scrambled eggs, egg rice and cheese stir fry, French toast, poached eggs, etc. has saved my food budget.
store leafy greens and prepped other greens and carrots in salad spinner in fridge - wash, spin, put in fridge.
I always love your videos
We do our kids haircuts... and yeah hate throwing left overs and my kids feels bad throwing food too, because they're aware that sooo many homeless who have nothing to eat. 😊😊😊new sub here❤
"Essence of Icebox" is a great soup. Whatever bits of leftover food goes into a big pot with matching bouillon, cornstarch for thickening, plain gelatin for protein. Over noodles, bread, or rice or potato. Eat the pot till it is gone. Flavors mellow day by day in the fridge. Keep a compost for true remains of non-meat.
A few things I do:
Buy "better than boullion" instead of chicken/beef stock. And dissolve half the recommended amount in the water. Never notice the difference.
Also save any water from cooked chicken and use that as broth later. It's freezable :)
Use half the meat called for in multiple ingredient recipes. Again, not missing out.
Always look for coupon codes for ANY online purchase. Half of the time or more, I find one.
Pack up leftovers directly into containers for my husbands work lunches. Thankfully he never complains 😌
Use gas buddy to find the cheapest gas (and pay for it in cash saving an extra .10-.20 cents per gallon).
Thank you. Will be waiting for more🙏👏
Dumpster diving is big in our local culture.
^_^ You know so many of my tricks! People always ask why my butter shelf has all the wrappers in it. A very small tip but how many paper towels must I have saves over the years? Great video, thanks for sharing!
Never heard of homesharing - brilliant!
Cooking from scratch (tired after working all day? Prep the day before).😊
So, this is something that I've asked lots of people about. What do people that don't know how to sew, do to prevent sheets from slipping off when the elastic wears out? And the towels that the hem comes unsewn on? When I got to be an adult, these were some of the first things I fixed. I started re-inforcing the hem on towels when they came home from the store. And adding really thick strong elastic on the sheets, so they stay on the bed. But what do most people do about this situation?
Interesting! I can say I’ve never in my life experienced either of those problems, actually. My sheets and towels tend to become threadbare before the hems or elastics give out. But if I did have those problems, and couldn’t see to fix them, I’d probably repurpose the fabric into quilting material or kitchen rags instead of attempting to repair!
@@Homegrown_Hillary My husband tells me I flop around a lot more than most people. So maybe most don't deal with the sheets. And I always buy cheap towels, knowing that the hem is the weakest part, which I can fix.
First thought for one big huge thing that saves thousands is downsizing.
We use hand towels instead of bath towels
Pasta + diced whathever leftovers+ salsa and or cheese= new meal
Interesting! I never would have thought of the salsa idea. Nice!
Invest in a vacuum sealer. I have a Foodsaver. It paid for itself well within a month.
Out of curiosity, were you using any other "hacks" to remove air from bags before you tried getting the food saver?
I could believe it's worth it compared to doing nothing and getting all food freezer burned, but I'm currently testing a few other tricks (using a straw, bucket of water) that are getting me decent results.
@@Homegrown_Hillary I used a straw. It was good for short term freezing. I now will freeze from the garden and leftovers and they are as good as when I froze them even months later.
The longest I’ve gone so far is 7 months. Last year I froze tomatoes, green beans and kale from my garden for future soups. I blanch the beans and kale but not tomatoes. I put them in the amount the recipe calls for in a plastic tupperware container to freeze. Once frozen I take them out for a couple of minutes until the frozen block can be removed. Then I vacuum seal. I also freeze soups in the same way.
I freeze diced carrots, celery, onions and garlic in the quantity I need for recipes. I freeze them in a cookie sheet before I vacuum seal. It’s a great time saver and they don’t end up in the compost. I’m in MA.
@@mgp1953 thank you so much for taking the time to respond with all of this! It’s good to know it was still useful to you, even though you had been freezing without one before. Also, thanks for the tip on blanching green greens! I just straight froze all my surplus garden beans this year (my first with such a bumper crop!) so I’ll have to try your way if mine don’t thaw so well haha.
I like Foodsaver type equipment for storing food in the freezer without freezer burn, but the cost of the bags are not affordable for a lot of people. I do like that you can get the attachment to vacuum seal things in jars though. It’s just the cost of those darn bags….
in CA hot ready to eat food is different from grocery food. raw foods don't have sales tax which is like 8%. So just cook stuff, or crock pot and that's an instant savings. Pay with cash, many places offer cash discounts of 3%, and pay attention to Price per oz, not the sticker price. That's the real price of the thing. Often smaller sizes will have a lower price, but be much higher in price per oz.
Great video….as always!! Thank you!! 🌷
My pleasure!
Young lady. You are fun to listen to because you seem so happy. ❤ in Jesus name.
Amen. We all need a little more sunshine in the world. ☀️
As Asian, we use water not paper towels 😊 we're proud of it
What about wiping up poop, puke, or something dead? We have dogs and cats that go outdoors and I'm easily nauseated 😅
Your basically eating leftovers when you go to a restaurant and if you eat frozen meal prep like fish filets, frozen pizza. Etc. Jarred spag sauce, frozen beef, lasagna, cheese, sour cream. Peace!
I've never thought about this before, but you're SO RIGHT.
Leftovers is personal if you can eat them. In our family whe can’t eat leftovers because i have a very bad stomach and pds and myself and our 2 daughters have a very weak immuunsystem so that’s why whe can’t heat things 2 times in a row. It is okay.
I darn my socks. Even the cheap ones. They still work! There's no point in buying endless socks when I can just fix these ones that I have.
Socks without holes in the heel are overrated..lol
All great tips!
I never have leftovers
I cook the amount for each meal
Recommend grow
Washing up sponges, get scissor cut in 3
Old jumper extra layers in bed if cold
Drink water in between hot drinks
Hotel tske toletries home
Wash your clothes inside out. Buy mesh bags to laundry your nice clothes. Also inside out.
Thanks for the tips
Any time :)
I use to not buy paper towels, we would use old towels for everything and we still do unless it is from where we have a puppy and she still has accidents so I get paper towels to clean up that.
Oh totally. In my initial filming, I had a bit about how we do technically buy paper towels twice a year or so, specifically for nasty things like chicken juice or grease. I'm sure if we had a puppy that would be handy!
Use little towels instead paper towels
Great video!
Use the dryer lint to start the fire
Butter wrappers just got scrutinized recently for forever chemicals...seems they need to revise the wrappers to not contain the chemicals. Sixteen of the 32 wrappers our EPA-certified laboratory tested (50%) had indications of toxic PFAS “forever chemicals.” Only 8 brands out of 22 had indications of PFAS in their butter wrappers; 22 (63%) did not. Ranges of total fluorine reported by the lab varied from 11 to 112 parts per million (ppm).Jul 11, 2023
Interesting! I hadn't heard of this. Darn PFAs...
Not a lot of people know the horrible consequences of having PFAS - it can cause cancer, child defects among several others severe health issues
@@diann9159 there is a movie called Dark Waters which exposes how Dupont was using forever chemicals and knew they did all those horrible things. A number one product with these chemicals are... Teflon pans!
Good to know!