Most grocery stores are laid out in a “box” pattern with vegetables on one side, dairy and meats along another (usually the back due to theft concerns) and breads on the other side. Anything in the middle falls into one category or another:

1. Make it instead
2. Don’t buy it at all
3. Buy it elsewhere.

The one area that I stray is with pasta. One store we go to keeps it with bulks in the back—another with ethnic foods in the middle. I’ll run around and get some pasta—even though it’s easy to make at home.

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

http://www.govlink.org/hazwaste/business/imex/

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

The litter is flushable, but we toss it in the garbage as we have a juvenile litter-changer here who gets a little overzealous with the flushing.

Because this litter is so absorbent, it clumps super-fast and stays odor free. We empty the clumps out of our cat’s box every day, and only change the crumbs in the pan every other month (with no odor!). When you see the litter, it’ll give you sticker shock. We buy a big bag for about $25, but it’s six months or more of litter. Since it’s not clay, tracked bits don’t scratch floors or furniture. It’s low on dust, there’s no odor at all and it’s environmentally friendly.

I realize it’s very strange to blog cat litter as a “frugal family find” but crunching the numbers on consumables is a great way to save money around your house. (Not having pets is also a great way to save money, but personally, I think our cat is worth it.

Note: this is not a sponsored post and I have received no compensation for endorsing this product—it’s the real deal).

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

Every day our daughter brings in the paper, salvages the bag it’s delivered in and uses that to clean out the cat litter. We hang on to the rubber band from the newspaper for craft projects. It seems that practically everything we throw out could have been used for another purpose.

I always thought it was a tacky cheapskate thing to do, to keep yogurt cups and cottage cheese containers and re-use them for leftovers, but now that I have kids loosing expensive store-bought containers at school or under the seat of the car, etc., I’m just as happy to loose a yogurt cup. Call me tacky, at least I’m not angry about the missing plastic-ware.

I compost almost everything I can. Junk mail, bank statements (yeah, steal that ID thieves!) coffee grounds, vacuum dust and lint from the dryer. There’s something satisfying about watching the MasterCard statement being eaten by worms and then growing mint for my mojitos.

We throw out one kitchen-sized bag of garbage per week, and mostly that’s cat litter and leftovers past their prime. A substantial decrease from where we were about three years ago.

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

Eliminating the expectation of rooms filled up with “stuff” can be percieved as weird, but it’s sure a lot easier to dust. 

One area you may notice this especially is in the area of gift giving. Scaling back your gift-giving can be especially challenging.  My best advice is to go in little increments rather than all in one.

A few years ago I hosted a bridal shower for a dear friend, and when I sent the invitations I sent an index card with instructions for guests to bring it back with a favorite heirloom family recipe.   I compiled all of the index cards in a discounted wedding photo-album from a craft store as a “brides first cookbook.”  Now when she goes to make her husband some cookies, she can use his mom’s favorite recipe and when she craves comfort food she can make her dad’s mac and cheese.   We filled in the album later with snapshots taken at her bridal shower and additional recipes from loved ones that she requested for her collection.  Sometimes buying more/bigger stuff doesn’t make for “better” stuff.

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

Image Credit: Freedigitalphotos.net

Having just a laundry basket and a bicycle to my name, this appeared to be my only realistic option to for grocery shopping. There was a positively crushing membership fee of $35 annually, which I didn’t pay because I didn’t have that much cash. Instead I opted to accept the prices a few cents higher on each purchase.

Generally, my purchases there were limited to a tiny amount of chicken every other week, corn tortillas, cheddar cheese, jalapenos, potatoes and onions.

The house I was caring for had a good tomato garden and some herbs. From this I could make tasty quesadillas and salsa for next-to-nothing and rice for breakfast and lunch. (My food budget was $50 a month in the summer of 2000).

Co-ops pool resources and buy in bulk sharing the savings with the membership. There are some famous co-ops that you might not even realize exist (REI is a co-op).

Now I rely on more informal co-ops. A friend organizes a co-op with the mail order food company Azure. I haven’t participated yet but I’m working on my list and price comparison sheets to determine my order for winter. I could buy 10 pounds of oats and use them, but I think the bag size is 25. I could use ¼ pound of cinnamon, but not 1 pound, so it’s a little hard to develop a list.

This friend has several people that put in the orders together and then the food is all delivered by tractor-trailer to a central location—where everyone comes to pick up their orders. Some things will definitely be going on this list—like peanut butter, flour, some spices, but other things are going to need more careful consideration (how much butter do I want to freeze in the name of a good deal?). A co-op can be formed in an organized way via a membership club, but even splitting a jumbo box of diapers from Costco with a pal can save you some serious dollars down the road.

This post is part of a series I’ve entitled “Frugal August” and is inspired by (though not copied from) the book The Complete Tightwad Gazetteby Amy Dacyczyn. My tips are meant to build on hers, but generally are not duplications.

An ear infection here, a broken tooth there, and routine prescriptions are a truly massive part of our monthly budget.

Here are my tips for reining in your medical costs.
1. HAVE Insurance. Find a way. Consider groups that you could join that would allow you to access medical insurance, but just because you have medical insurance doesn’t mean you shouldn’t ask your provider if a cash price would be lower than your actual deductible. Investigate this possibility. I was surprised to receive a bill for insurance for my $80 co-pay for an outer-ear infection (a scratch on my ear that needed an antibiotic to heal). The cash price for the visit since it was just 3 minutes would have been $30. I said a bad word.

2. Understand your policy. Completely. Deductibles, co-pay, in-network and out. Use in-network when you can. Here’s a great resource for the National Endowment for Financial Education.

3. Use a health savings account or cafeteria plan if it’s available to you. These can save a bundle and be used to pay for all kinds of things!

4 Rx Tips are their own little post I think but I can sum it up below:

a: get a discount card. AAA has a great one, Rite-Aid and Walmart and Target all have cards/programs, but don’t give up on a quality pharmacist who’s going to check your meds vs your allergies and contradictions.
b. Use generics when you can.
c. Ask your doc for samples if you’re starting a new medication, esp for long term use. I had a doc give me antibiotic samples recently, which was wonderful, as it turned out I was allergic. I’m sure glad I didn’t buy a month’s supply!
d. There are many prescription assistance programs, including the Partnership for Prescription Assistance which you may be able to turn to depending on your condition.

5. Dental care: if you don’t have dental insurance, you should still get your cleanings–this little expense may save you a lot in expensive repairs later. You can do this at a dental school, but pack your patience. I have had this done once (in college) and got my teeth cleaned just before graduation for $15. What a steal! It took two hours though, and the hygienist in training used a purple dye, which she cleaned off. Simple enough, but as sweet as this lady was, she was extraordinarily clumsy, and dropped the dye–on my nose. The purple dye was guest of honor at graduation, but my teeth continue to serve me well and I’ve still never had a cavity.

6. Perfect time for a segue–preventative care will save you a bundle. When you have insurance, its usually covered. Get those annual exams, the tests, mammograms, paps, and shots. You need them and early detection will save you a fortune and provide peace of mind.

7. When was the last time you had an eye exam? I recently found this great source for Rx Glasses. I always have three pairs, which costs a pretty penny–so next time, I’m giving this site a try: http://www.clearlylenz.com/ They advertise a full set of glasses for $36, but you do need to have your Rx information.

8. If possible, use a nurse hot line, emergency appt at your regular doc or a urgent care center before opting for emergency room care. Deductibles are very high in the ER, and waits can be very long.

9. Eat out less, drink less alcohol, quit smoking and walk more. Your bottom line (and your bottom) will thank you.

10. If you can’t pay, and medical bills are threatening to push you into bankruptcy –first try negotiating with your provider for a write-off or a lower rate. I’ve working on a review over at ProsperLending Review of a company called “IOUSOS“, which facilitates negotiation and collection of medical debts between patients and providers. The National Endowment for Financial Literacy also offers a manual about managing medical debt here.

Bonus item: Don’t forget to save reciepts on all medical costs for tax time. Some are deductible! (Ask your tax-preparer for more info).

My committment to you is taht I only run ads for companies that *I* use adn taht I think are a good value.

I’ve recently found Inksmile.com and added their ads. In my small home Business (I have a mobile business services company), toner is my single greatest annual budget item.

A refill for my four-color lazer printer runs about $600 at Office Depot. Since I need a refill every six weeks, as you can imagine, things in the toner department get out of hand quickly!

I’ve started using Inksmile.com myself, and their HP lazer toners run about 30% less than the store. They provide free shipping and often have promo codes (if you’re thinking of placing an order, let me know and I can check cj.com for the latest promo codes to see if there’s a better deal). I used 5OFFSMILE on my $170 order yesterday (two black toners)but then saw them on Twitter promoting a one-day-only 15% off code. I emailed about it and they credited me back the $17.97 (how’s that for customer service?)

The toners always come within a day or two, so yesterday when I was printing 300 pages of legal documents and the printer flashed “order supplies” I was able to place my order and know it will be here in time for the end of the week rush.

I hope you’ll give them a try!

Also, I’m contemplating a redesign for Pennywise Family. If you think it needs a fresh face, would you email or comment with your ideas for improvement? A wish-list will be created and prioritized.

OK, now on to the main event for today. I recieved an email this week about this clothing swap site, for “occasions” clothing. Think Easter dresses, Prom, and holiday duds. This would be great for those families with multiple kids especially. If you’ve got a teenage daughter with a prom dress, but then four little boys not needing the hand-me-down, what about swapping the prom dress for a few pairs of slacks? I’ve seen similar swaps elsewhere, but I thought this was really innovative, especially since if your kids are like mine, they have already grown out of their Easter outfits.

This also works great for moms and dads for that Company party formalwear you don’t need hanging around. I’ve got a few things I was thinking about consigning, but may swap for kids Xmas dresses.

Here’s the site: www.PriorAttire.com

Our favorite affordable breakfast is Steel Cut Oats (also called Irish Oats). These are whole oats, which are sliced instead of rolled or crushed. Buy these bulk only, not in one of those canisters–those can be as much as $7.00 per pound. Steel cut oats should be under $.70 a pound, and right now we’re buying them 5 pounds at a time for $0.46.

To make steel cut oats, boil eight cups of water and sprinkle in two cups of oats (or halve this recipe for a smaller family). You’ll have to boil all of this for about 30 minutes. Or until it’s reached the texture and consistency that your family likes.

Top steel cut oats with a variety of different things for variety:

• Maple syrup
• Brown sugar
• Butter
• Dried fruit
• Fresh fruit
• Nuts (pecans are my favorite)
• Jam/Jelly
• Berries

Steel cut oats without toppings are 140 calories and 6 grams of protien for 1 cup prepared.