New Here.... Need Advice

[moneysavingmomma]

Ok this is my first time to post here but have looked through several post before joining. I am in desperate need to cut back on my families spending so we can start saving some money and build a emergency fund. I am starting a envelope system to budget out our cash on a weekly bases (thanks to reading a previous post here). We don't use banks ( I just don't trust them) and deal in cash only. Here is my main problems, we are a family of 3 living on one income. I use coupons and save a lot on grocerys that way. I need ideas to help me spend our money wisely and start making more things at home and buy things cheaper than we are now. Homemade soaps, cleaners, ect. would be nice.I also need a way to eat a little cheaper. Right now I spend about $75 a week on groceries and come out with little to nothing. I want to change our eating habits as well since now we eat a lot of prepackaged goods full of MSG among other things. The main problem here is I don't have a whole lot of time to cook, our other problem is we live in a city and don't have a lot of room for a garden and we can't have farm animals at all. We rent our house from my aunt so we don't pay much in rent (sorta family discount type thing). I have tried replacing bulbs ect. to cut utility cost but it doesn't seem to be helping much. I just don't know where to start. SOMEONE PLEASE HELP ME!!!!

 

[Wannabefree]

You have to start cooking from scratch at least some to help out on the grocery bill. Most things I cook from scratch...take LESS time than the prepackaged junk anyway The key is to put things up and portion out big packages of meats. Pre cook some items before freezing them, etc. etc. I cook for 3 also Scan this site in the kitchen section for recipes that are simple. Oh, and every once in a while "cook" up a good ole salad THAT is easily grown in a few flower pots anyway.

Get on Mojosavings.com for free samples and couponing tips. You can also click the link in my sig line to sign up for swagbucks and earn points for several different gift cards to purchase household items, plus they have free printable coupons you can use to earn points as well when you print and use them.

Give us time, we'll have ya cutting costs you never thought could be cut

 

[Wannabefree]

Oh, and

We are 3 living off of one income as well...I know how you feel. Hang in there!

 

[savingdogs]

Read the thread on here about how people saved money today. There are tons and tons of ideas on there.

My best thing I've learned to save money is to make my own laundry detergent. There are several threads on here regarding that. It might sound small, but my expenses for doing laundry dropped considerably and that is one of those things you cannot do without.

But I highly recommend that thread on here, it is an encyclopedia of ways to save money.

 

[sunsaver]

You've come to the right place. People like us have learned how to do more with alot less. I lived on less than $6,000 last year, and i'll help any way i can. There's lots of good stuff here and i've only scratched the surface. Enjoy! And

 

[moneysavingmomma]

Thanks for the advice. I will look into the post suggested. Keep it coming ladies & gents (I am assuming they are here).

 

[moneysavingmomma]

Also my personal problem is I am very very very picky when it comes to veggies so that is something I am working on to overcome. Any suggetions on ways to fix them so they aren't awful would be nice. At this moment the only veggies I eat are

Cooked: Green Beans, Potatos, Broccoli, Corn, Yellow Squash, Turnip Greens, Okra (fried only), Black Eyed Peas

Raw: Lettuce, Tomato, Carrots (won't touch them cooked)

Oh and I forgot to mention that I am not a fan of beans of any kind other than green beans. LOL

Thank goodness DH and DD will pretty much eat anything. So thankful DD got his genes in this area.

 

[BarredBuff]

I'd comment but Im in a rush.........

 

[Marianne]

I agree with wannabefree on cooking from scratch. You can make your own convenience food mixes, too.

Here's the site that got me started and the first thing I made was the cream of chicken soup mix (I used regular black pepper in this recipe):

http://busycooks.about.com/od/homemademixes/r/creamsoupmix.htm

There are tons of make it yourself recipe mixes on the busycooks site.

The next thing is not to buy any cleaning supplies. You can do a search for 'make your own_____' for simple, eco friendly recipes that work well.

So much here...don't forget to read the topics on the Roll Your Own category, too.

 

[JRmom]

One quick tip... stop buying paper towels. I bought a huge bag of shop towels, maybe 5 or 6 years ago, and I'm still using them for cleanup. If one gets exceptionally gross from cleaning up something, I just toss it and don't feel bad. Same thing with napkins. Switch to cloth.

Welcome!