10 Ways I am saving money.
* Do you see the little grey box above this photo with a number on it? If you “click” on this, you can leave a comment for me or about this blog.~thank you!
In these interesting and challenging days, I guess we are all looking for ways to save. Here are 10 of my “moves” to reduce spending.
1.) I have 1 or 2 baking days a week. I make the bread for that week; muffins or nut breads for breakfasts; I even make up and cook a couple batches of pancakes. While the oven’s on, I roast potatoes, stick in a casserole like macaroni and cheese or pop in some oven fried chicken. This saves electricity/money by baking everything at once, and I have meals for most of the week. Since we eat our “big” meal at 2pm, for supper we might have pancakes and eggs or leftovers. It also saves me a lot of time and heats the house (I leave the oven door open after the baking is done to take advantage of the heat, if there are no little ones visiting)
2.) We turn off our hot water heater every night and only turn it on to shower and on baking days. Because we have to call the diesel truck to come and fill our gas tank, we watch the levels very carefully. We also only turn on our heat in the house when we have family or friends over. John and I don’t mind wearing sweaters or sitting on the sofa with a blanket. Our dishwasher and washing machine have water heaters built in to the appliances.
3.) We monitor our expenses in a notebook. I keep a notebook with a page for each of the following: Diesel fuel, electricity bill, phone bill and water bill. I know exactly what I spend each month and why the costs have gone either up or down and we make adjustments accordingly.
4.) We always travel with food. Every time we go to the village, I pack a meal. It can be as little as a sandwich, or a Tupperware of pasta salad, or even a meal with chicken, potatoes and a salad. If we’re out running errands, there is usually some small snack in the car so we won’t need to buy something while out. Longer trips which take several days (like going to conference in Germany this March) include our picnic hamper that our kids Jesseka and Greg gave us many years ago and a single hot plate that we take with us to cook food in a hotel room. I keep a sauce pan and a small skillet in the hamper with a jar of olive oil, salt and utensils. We can have an egg or fry up a hamburger or even open a can of beans or stew. We eat better, and cheaper. Those of you who have traveled with us on trips, know that we eat well.
5.) I buy on sale and stock up. When any vegetable, meat, or fruit is on sale, I stock up, can, freeze or make jams & chutneys. We always seem to have variety on hand.
6.) We do all of our errands in one day, organizing the route. This saves us gas and time. We always try to be home for lunch at 2pm. We only use the car 2 or 3 times a week.
7.) I make our own prayer cards, labels and stationary using vistaprint.com and pay only for postage.
8.) I keep a notebook with all the categories needed to run the household (different than tip#3). For example, there is a page for car insurance, one for Christmas fund, birthday fund, computer fund, etc. Not all the categories can be funded each month, because there simply may not be enough to go around, but it helps us by adding a dollar or two from each paycheck to cover our expenses. I also have a detailed accounting of all “deposits and expenditures”. I use an ING checking account for this. All the funds are together, but I know the value in each category because of the pages for each in my notebook.
9.) I’m selling unwanted or seldom used items around the house. A grandson has helped me sell some things I have taken back to the USA (over a year ago) by using Craigslist. I’ve tried here but Europeans are not accustomed to buying like this. I want to continue to work on this area.
10.) I pray for inspiration, wisdom and help from the Lord. This is actually my greatest and most effective way to save money. I actually feel encouraged by partnering with the Lord in this challenge. When I’m most in need of help, a treat comes in the mail, or a good idea crosses my mind. Last week, neighbors came over with a box of candy (the expensive kind that we would never buy) and a bottle of wine (not the cheap stuff) wrapped in stacked Christmas motif boxes. These gifts were given to me because I teach their 2 children English once or twice a week and I certainly haven’t expected any gifts! The wrapping will be saved for re-wrapping gifts, the wine will be served to friends and family on a special occasion and the candies saved to share with our children at Christmas time.
More of our photos: the photo at the top was last weeks muffins and bread.
Canned jams and pickles, a 5 kilo sack of garbanzo bean flour I got on sale for only 4,99 € and industry sized canned tomatoes. Once opened, I’ll divided and freeze for future use.
*for a better look at the photos, just “click” on them
Madrid
72°
Anita says:
Very good list. These are things we all can do, cut back, sell and reduce use. You know in the US you could easily do workshops on this stuff, people are really beginning to feel the financial crisis I think and are ready to make some changes. Wouldn’t it be refreshing if everyone took a few steps in this direction?
Chris Moran says:
Nice writing style. Looking forward to reading more from you.
Chris Moran
pearsonsprogress says:
Anita,
Yes, I think the N. Americans in general may finally be ready to reduce a bit. With a large family and living and serving overseas, it’s always been a necessity for us. Thanks for your comment.
John C. Pearson says:
I worked with this old doctor who was a life-long runner. He lived by the adage “Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without”. Now this guy was about 70 years old and since I rode my bike to work, I would often see him in the locker room before work. I’m sure his shorts were from his high school track days, his sweats were from the same era and when it was cold he’d wear a pair of poly-pros that were probably state of the art during the Nixon administration. I believe he also saved water by NEVER washing his clothing. He was very careful to air-dry everything though. There were oil spots on the oil spots and old pieces of food that degraded into a rich compost that, over time, fell to the side of the road as he ran, feeding the roadside flowers.
He also never washed his coffee cup. Now this is not uncommon. I don’t wash mine either-maybe an occasional rinse to remove the mold that grew in the old coffee over a long weekend-but his was different. He took a daily dose of a homemade proprietary blend of fiber, a high powered colon blow that might contain anything, lawn clippings, leaves,bark, maybe some dried fruit and granola or hot cocoa mix. He poured his coffee into this and mixed a slurry that was sure to spit shine his colon to a high military gloss. The result of this was a permanent, thick biolayer that probably teemed with life enhancing probiotics. Also, nobody ever stole his coffee cup.
My point is, that this guy took thrift to a whole new level that many of us only consider dreaming of dreaming of. I am currently working on a similar pair of sweats. I don’t presume to think I’ve even nearly attained the rich patina that Dr. O’Connell has, but he sets a good example and is my mentor in this regard.
Ways we are saving money right now without suffering and in many cases actually improving our quality of life:
-Shooting deer for food. Cheri has shot 1, I’ve shot three this year, plus 1 wild cow.
-Walking or riding bike to work-even in the rain and snow.
-No more fancy foo-foo coffee.
-Buying high quality green coffee beans for a fraction of the price and roasting them in a $1 thrift store popcorn popper.
-Feeding food scraps to chickens, goats, or compost pile.
-Eating dessert only once a week.
-Getting free movies at library or college instead of renting
-garden
-replaced old oil boiler with on-demand electric water heater and insulated the pipes.
-Shower at the gym
-keep house cool
-burn wood for heat (warms you twice)
-employ cheap child labor.
-John
John M. Pearson says:
I have long held the opinion that we in the USA are a nation of 300,000,000 people who are eating for 500,000,000 people, and if we were ever to go on a nationwide diet, we would propel the world into an economic slowdown the likes of which could not be calculated.
Well, as it turns out this is almost precisely what’s happening. We in the USA have cut back a few percentage points and the world economies are in a tumble. One good thing will come of this for all of us however… we’ll soon all weigh less.
Jesseka says:
I went home for lunch today from work and Greg said he read all your money saving points. We commented that we need to get Abigail a sweater and new slippers for her visit with you. We’ve been keeping the heat lower too and putting double pajamas on Will.
I also shop at an “ethnic” grocery store that has great prices on produce and an employee of ours brings ads from his local hispanic market and shops for me (service with a smile) from a list I give him. He is so gracious to do this and I love saving the money.
We also are using the grocerygame.com which, thanks to Rebekah, has been a great idea. Bob, one of our employees, garbage picks me the coupon inserts from the week (in addition to our paper) so I get even better deals without having to buy add’l papers.
Also baking almost all bread and pizza crust. We keep looking for more changes to make. We plan to buy some beef from a guy in Va. He gave us a great per lb cost if we can find someone to process it. (want to come down John?)
pearsonsprogress says:
John C: Son, your Dr. friend sounds like quite the guy… is he married?? your list sounds good too. The “employ cheap labor”…so that’s why you have so many kids!! Thanks for posting!
pearsonsprogress says:
John, so what do we do as a nation? Live in excess so that the economy does not collapse?
I know I am “preaching to the choir”, but as I always say, SAVE in times of plenty, so that in LEAN times we “make it”…wish I had more saved…
pearsonsprogress says:
Jesseka,
Yep… pack the sweaters and the slippers. Abigail will be in Aunt Jerusha’s room, so I’ll turn on the “special heater” in that room until she is tucked into bed. I can’t wait to have her!
Good work on all of your frugality. You guys are always an example!
Rebekah says:
Jess – Abbie G. will be nice and toasty in Jerusha’s old room; we stayed there back in April and it was solid. However, I now feel bad that I used up so much heat. But she can also warm up w/ the super cute kid-sized bottles of vino that mom stocks in the mini-fridge.
As far as frugality goes … I’ve been making Dave’s lunch for him to take to work at least 3-4 days/week since the beginning of summer (when he’s not traveling). This is a huge improvement since before he was eating out every day. He told me the other day that people are always commenting that they “should do that too”. They should! I wish we had started sooner!
Jesseka says:
great story John. I also enjoyed the list of money-saving tips, especially showering at the gym because it made me think of the time (in fact I’m laughing now!) that Anita and Neil tried to conserve water when they lived on Shirley Rd. They only flushed once a day, only washed dishes um, less than that, and used one tub of water for 2 baths. Good times….
John C. Pearson says:
Dr. O.C. is married to a very nice lady who also runs. She is always clean and groomed. Although thrifty, I would guess that his thrift only reaches these zen levels in these two areas. Mainly because he does not share his coffee cup with his wife or run with her, thus allowing him to reach heights attained only by the masters. He probably wallows in mediocrity with the rest of us in the other areas of his life…
As far as child labor goes, yes, that’s why we have “so many” kids. The other reasons are tax deductions and the Alaska dividend. And, yes, I am using “new math” because it doesn’t figure using old math. I’m following the same principles that drive the “let’s print more money and give it to people who have proven they can’t manage it in order to save our free market and capitalism.” It makes sense if you think about it.-John
Sue says:
Loved your blog comments. We have a different situation here. Since it is still 72 degrees at 10:30pm.. –In November…??? I have “saved” by NOT turning the air conditioner on during the days, making sure we have lots of ventilation during the evenings, and getting a special “lower” electricity rate by getting on a program to use the major part of our electricity during the hours from 7Pm to 12 NOON. At noon, laundry stops… I set my washer to run again after 7pm.. What a splendid idea that was! I still have to work on turning the lights out in our home.. I seem to leave them on every time I go into a room, and forget to turn it off. Still working on this one!
We use an envelope budget. Each week we have a certain amount out of the paychecks that go for cash weekly spending. A portion of that money goes into each envelope.. Gifts, gas, rx, entertainment,etc. I find that even a little bit of money into each envelope will add up after a while. Rick got an elk and a deer this year, and we are blessed to save on the grocery bill. Hope to save more, and really want to work on becoming debt free.
Thanks for your encouragement! Sue
John C. Pearson says:
What a smart family we have!-John
greg says:
We have cut back to save but not this deep yet. I think about what O’bama said to McCain in the debates ‘we need to use a scalpel and not a hatchet’ I am willing to loan them my chain saw for the job (I don’t have a bulldozer to loan).
We have done several things at home to save money groceries, temperature adjustment, buying fuel outside of town (by church), just buying less overall, etc., we also have someone that garbage picks coupons for us (he has not asked for a cut yet).
For our business we have evaluated everything: advertising (a 60k reduction), overtime (52k reduction), phone, trash, everything.
Gammi says:
What brilliant children and Grands we have. We have cut costs in many ways….consolidating auto trips. Rv only went 250 miles from home this summer (we survived the heat until Aug. then went to the Ventura on the beach). Poor Gramps has to suffer with my cooking (rarely eat out). I am trying my hand at gardening..2 pots with lettuce coming up.
Please pray for success in this endeavor. As you all have witnessed gifts have been very frugal with LOTS of LOVE. (Thank God love is free). Thanks for all your great ideas
& input. Our joy was to leave you all wealthier but it is in God’s hands now…Remember you still have the greatest gift OUR LOVE.
pearsonsprogress says:
Thanks for all the great comments!
Greg, I think you win the prize on the most money saved!
Gammi, I’ll try to find you a few recipes that “work” for us… hey don’t stress about the money… you know what they say, “you haven’t lost any money until you’ve sold!” I wish your retirement was more abundant but think of all the good things we are alllearning through this!
Sue, I’d like to see a HOUSE paid off some day… wonder what that feels like????!!!
Rebekah, Sounds like Dave’s work mates are envious. Keep up the good work.
John C, yeah I think you are all super smart!
Jesseka, good work on the Sweet Abigail business. Your caramel corn is the best I have ever had! Last year we literally DIVIDED it up so no one would “hog” it.
Anita says:
Now, now…
On Shirley Rd we were eating beans about 14 times a week and having a hard time making our whopping $348 mortgage while working and going to (and paying for) school full time. (Hey remember what a hit my tofu chili was?!. Neil worked changing oil, so my water after I took a bath was still crystal clear and clean for him to bathe in (however oil or not, I would never have bathed after someone else, I got the good end of that deal!). We did flush more than once, maybe even 2-3 times on some days and washing the dishes, well I don’t remember ever doing that… so I really can’t state the validity of the above statement.
These days the dishes get done about 15 times a day and while I do let the kids bathe in my bathwater, Neil doesn’t have to anymore. I actually do shower at the gym sometimes, hey I pay for the membership… and we hang our clothes by the heaters (if we actually turn them on) on clothes drying racks. We also run the dishwasher and washing machine after 11pm because it gives us a cheaper electricity rate.
Yes, Jess, take sweaters for Abigail. We all are, but we are used to it here now…
Some book stores buy used books, this is another way to get some of the things we want- like new books… Without breaking the budget. We get 1.50 euro here for each new book and then with the store credit I buy a book for me or for a gift. Its awesome.
I am all about employing child labor, even with our current meager allotment of workers. Train then right and you can even hire them out in a few years.
John, I loved hearing about Dr. O.C. Brings back the D-ham memories. Nothing quite like it.
Micah says:
What a great blog post! My wife and I have been challenged by what you have written to look at our spending. Great comments, too! Thank you!
Robin Packer says:
WOW this is a family culture!!!
Bobbie, I have been so encouraged by your e mail blog. Bobbi told me about it and I have been perusing the site. Yesterday, I had an all day outing I had to do in Roanoke, and as I had just read the blog on taking lunch with you when ever you leave the house, we had buttered homemade sourdough whole wheat bread with cheese and apples and water bottles. No one was ever hungry, and God saw fit to grant me with a immeasurable amount of patience. Also, He saw fit to help the kids be angels!!
Another frugal tip… I have been looking for some unglazed paving tiles here (at Lowe’s) to use for baking stones. I have been using these for the past decade or so (one recently broke when I set it hot, on an unseen piece of ice!). They are generally $0.77 each and I can literally line my oven with them to get a true crusty bread as well as pizza all for a fraction of the price of stones from big name companies, and they store much more easily in my cabinets than a huge sheet of stoneware!!
Anyway, I just wanted to thank you for your words of wisdom and wish you guys a very happy Thanksgiving – even if it is devoid of turkey – at least we couldn’t find one when we lived in Luxembourg.
pearsonsprogress says:
Robin,
Hey thanks for the comment and the encouragement. Hey, congrats on the saving money on the taking food with you and also for that awesome tip about the baking stone! Very FAB!!
Yes, Bobbie and Ron are GREAT examples!
Blessings, Bobbie
Jesseka says:
Anita, thanks for the clarifications on your past water saving times. However, I’m keeping my memories as they were because it’s an oppportunity for a good chuckle. I know you think it’s funny too, in your heart.
I’m going to check out the grocerygame…
Bobbie says:
Well, all of this has been great to read. John, I loved the story about Dr. Thrifty. I am trying to decide which was better, the story or the writing.
Since we are all sharing our stories of thriftiness…
The kids and I spent an hour picking about 100# (maybe more) of quince on Jess and Greg’s property. Up until now, we thought it was deer food. I did a little research,and it turns out they aren’t only edible~they are delicious. So, we busied ourselves with cooking, chopping, etc. Hopefully the Bettenhausens will like them and we can give them back some of their deer food.
This summer I picked wild cherries from our driveway-now I have a delicious Kiajfa brewing on my kitchen counter. This home-brew method takes the sting($$) out of enjoying an nice beverage now and then.
I bought about 25# of butter because it is ‘in season’ during the holidays. I bought cans and cans of evap milk for the same reason, 5 or 6 turkeys, 40 # of sweet potatoes (going back for more on that one)20 gallons of milk-on promotion, etc. One of my friends says I ‘live large’-and she doesn’t even know about these things I just mentioned!! I love saving $$ I save more now than ever before, and I am investing the savings in our farming venture which so far amounts to 31 chickens (soon to be 31 eggs a day!) a couple goats, and a chunk of land that is being plowed for our biggest garden ever.
Anita says:
Rebekl says that she gets free or next to free stuff with the grocery game FYI. I am jealous that it isn’t really good here…