Staying home now...what ways can I save money over working?

[savingdogs]

We were fairly frugal already, so I need to find ways of trimming things even more.
I've become disabled and we need to live on a lot less than we are used to for awhile until my SSI kicks in.

What ways can I save money by staying home?

Recipes? Ideas?

 

[FarmerChick]

I stay home now also...been here 5 years without working (well, I worked a full income farm) lol but I went full gear into saving money also.


light bulbs--did ya switch to CFLs yet. When I did I saved about $25 a month. I could not believe the drop on that bill.

be frugal grocery shopping as I am sure you are

chat up with girl friends....you would be surprised what you can swap. My friend Barb owns a dairy. She processes a cow and I get the beef and she gets my pork from my hogs. Other people are a great source for barter----find a friend who grows different produce than you do, then trade when that harvest overruns ya lol

check out all your payments....car insurance, house insurance etc. If you have been meaning to call and change something, do it now. You could save alot of money that way.

Being home you might get that bored feeling and hit the stores for entertainment. I didn't do it often, but be sure to watch how the money can slip thru the fingers lol

consignment shops---if you have one near you....and have anything to sell might give that a look

search out U-pick farms. You can get super quanitity, freeze and save lot of money and enjoy the day outside

turn off the dryer as much as you can...get a clothesline. The savings is alot. I use dryer and clothesline. I was all clothesline but the stiff towels drove me insane so I put those in the dryer

phantom electric users. unplug a micro if it has a clock on it etc and you don't use that clock. why pay for that power......alot of things suck power. get some power strips to turn things off

walk around your house. what can be improved easily like weatherstripping under a door.

all the little tricks add up to monster savings. a dollar here and a dollar there can be saved for maybe a vacation you are hoping for, or christmas money next year, or whatever you wish. All my time spent into saving money goes to my camping trips...I can afford them in cash then lol


good luck

 

[savingdogs]

Thanks for the tips FC, we are doing a few of those things, but I'd like to add to the list.

I'd love to barter with people and I will have these eggs and ducklings and rabbit meat and pelts, goat kids. My son is developing me a website to market things from.

Luckily I'm not a shopper but do enjoy quality food and have a special diet (allergies) but I do think I can save money there by devoting more time to it.

I love the U-pick farm idea, wish it were the right time of year for that. Around here, the only thing people are picking right now is Christmas trees! But I'll remember that one for later.

 

[freemotion]

Have you read the "what did you do to save $ today?" thread? A while back I read 10 pages a day until I got through it. Lots of ideas there.

There are also several general money saving threads here on ss, one by tortoise right now.

If you can be more specific.....as to what you do now, what are your capabilities, what areas you think you need help trimming expenses....

 

[savingdogs]

Well we spend too much on food, I'd like to cut there. We will probably have more EGGS handy since I won't be taking the to work to sell.
That is why I'm thinking about recipes.

Ideas that save electricity.....we have a high bill here. We heat with a wood stove though so that helps.
Ways of cooking on the woodstove?

I have been reading those threads, believe me. I was looking at it from the approach of going from working outside the home to having more time suddenly.

FC's idea to not use the dryer is a good one. I hate scratchy towels so perhaps I should just partially line dry things.

Ways of running the house cheaper. I do make my own detergent and don't buy a lot of cleaning products.

I started a thread about collecting food for my animals, so I've got that covered, but I'd like to market the excess from my animals.

Perhaps I should just re-read all the old threads on this topic here, but I'm in a bit of a panic mode.....not having been unemployed for many years. This feels strange.

 

[Wifezilla]

I hate scratchy towels so perhaps I should just partially line dry things.

You can dry those on the line and then "fluff" them a bit in the dryer to soften them.

 

[freemotion]

Don't panic. Unless you had a very high-paying job, you can save a LOT by staying home. A LOT!!!! I work four days a week (sort of....I do a lot from home that is not billable but works towards earnings) and that extra day at home is enormous. Most of the days I work are about 6 hours, so those extra two hours are also enormous. I think about what I could do if I stayed home full-time....but, alas, the mortgage company won't take eggs in payment. We are done in 7 years. Then we begin neglected repairs for a couple of years, then I will retire.

Full time at home....don't panic. Celebrate! Yes, you will have to ramp up a bit and develop new habits, but you will save SOOOOO much!

You can still sell eggs, too. Don't sneeze at that money. My egg money bought me two pigs plus their housing and a little of the fencing. I've fed them mostly free food.

What is your current veg garden space like? Can you plan on expanding that in the spring?

Do you can? Dehydrate? Freeze? Ferment? Grind flour?

Do you shop through a co-op? Barter? What relationships can you start developing that will help you be more self sufficient?

What skills do you already have that can be built upon? Which ones are most urgent to develop? Be sure to plan the upcoming year now so you don't find yourself thinking....oh, crap, I should've researched that a month ago so I'd be ready now, because now is the time!

 

[Wannabefree]

Reuse/repurpose anything and everything you possibly can. I'm the weirdo that washes sandwich bags for reuse So long as they haven't had meat products in them I reuse them several times until the zipper seal begins to wear down, then I toss them. I buy the good ones that last longer.

Break down all family packs of meat before freezing. There are less leftover that way and makes meals using leftovers more manageable.

Turn the hot water heater off during the day and turn it on long enough for showers/dishes in the afternoon. Unplug all things not in use, as they leach electricity too. Cook on the woodstove as much as possible.

I'm sprouting feed for my animals to save on feed costs too.

there are really a ton of things you can do if you are home and have the time to do them. Working a job, I'd never have time to do all the things I do around here that saves money. It does add up to big savings, which is equivalent of earnings I would make from a job. My in-laws think I'm lazy and don't want to work!!

 

[savingdogs]

Well lazy, I'm not.

Free I did NOT have a high paying job that is why it was becoming less and less worthwhile.

I have tons and tons of space and virtually no real garden.

I actually love to garden and just did not have time for it when I was working and had to rest on my off days.
We grew potatos and that is about it.

I should be drawing up plans for a big garden, huh?

I just don't have much cash for seeds. Where could I get inexpensive seeds? I cannot invest much because we have had poor yields here in the past (although that was before I had rabbit poo).

 

[tortoise]

What seeds do you want? I have excess seeds for next year and am happy to share.