By the way, this hippy would like to throw patchouli icecycles at all climate change deniers before returning to my usual Buddhist self. OMMMMMM........
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| Hippy Patchouli Icecycles |
But I digress.....
People have responded wonderfully to our cost saving tips, so we are dedicating this blog to some generalized tips we use all the time:
1) Window shopping is dangerous! Resistance is futile! (or fu-TILE for our fellow Trekkies). Its extremely difficult to window shop without actually shopping. I suppose you could leave your cash, checks, and credit cards at home if you're really determined.
2) Shop only one to two times a month. The more you shop, the more you buy. You need a plan.
3) Surprise! Get a plan. Keep a running list of things you need throughout the week(s). The night before you shop, organize the list in a way that makes sense to you. I organize by department.
4) Don't stray from the list you have made unless it is a food staple you know you can use at a great price. This can be exceptionally hard if you shop at salvage grocery stores, because there are so many awesome values, but get a grip on yourself.
5) Be willing to shop at more than one store. Start with the salvage grocery stores for grocery items and thrift or consignment stores for other items.
6) Avoid the sales papers. Retailers advertise overstocks to get you into the store. Most of those items are junk and processed foods that you don't need, and in the end, you aren't really saving at all.
7) Learn the difference between a "need" and a "want". Sometimes that's harder than it sounds. You may feel like you need a new car, but can only afford a used car. You may be want a big screen television with surround sound and hundreds of channels, but can only afford Netflix on your laptop computer. You may want a closet full of designer wear, but you can only afford thrift store clothing. Don't feel bad about that. Be thankful for what you have.
8) Live within your means. If you can't pay for it in full, don't buy it. Toss the credit cards away. While this may seem difficult to do, there is great freedom in not worrying about debt. You sleep much easier. While there may be exceptions such as transportation and house payments, give great thought before entering into a credit related transaction.
9) Reuse. Reduce. Recycle. Upcycle. Use cloth diapers instead of throwaway diapers. Not only is this good for the environment, its cheaper. While it is a bit more work, (I know, I did it with my daughter) the savings add up quickly. Instead of buying expensive storage containers, use cardboard boxes. The simple box below became an awesome protein bar dispenser. Turn paper towel holders into toys for your pets or make it the base for a suet bird feeder. Stop using toilet paper and buy a bidet. For tons of ideas for upcycling, Pinterest offers this list: Upcycling Ideas See our blog on inexpensive bidets Here.
10) Use items as long as they are usable and/or cannot be repaired anymore. This should not be a disposable society. My rice cooker may be held together with duct tape, but it has lasted me 25 years and counting.
11) Take care of what you have. Recently we bought new workout shoes. Those shoes are for use for the gym only and kept in their boxes when they are not on our feet. I still have my Birkenstock I bought more than 10 years ago. They have been resoled twice and are wonderfully comfortable.
12) Don't waste money on processed foods, but go back to the basics. Not only do processed foods negatively affect our health, and potentially increase our healthcare costs, but they cost more and give us less nutrition. Learn to rely on staples. Learn to cook real food. Shop the perimeter of the store where the healthier food is than the center aisles where the processed food can be found. $10 worth of food staples can make several meals, while $5 will barely buy a nutritionally incomplete and unhealthy frozen pizza. What if your microwave breaks during a snow storm? What will you eat? In our 2 week snow imprisonment, we ate well. Fresh fruits and vegetables and the necessary staples to make anything we needed. No microwave required. We still would have had plenty to eat without electricity. Does your shopping cart look more like Grand Central Junk Food or a fruit and vegetable stand?
13) If you can make it, don't buy it. Laundry detergent, hand soap, bleach alternative, household cleaners, shaving cream...all can be made with very simple and inexpensive ingredients. A few recipes can be found here with many more available online.
14) Never let anything go to waste. For instance, turn unused food items, leftovers, and more into highly nutritious and safe canned dog food. Ideas can be found here.
15) Prioritize, plan, and comparison shop. If you know you will need some important items in the future, figure out what you will need first, plan far ahead and save money in small amounts long before the item is needed. Also buy out of season if possible. Consider buying smaller amounts of the item stretched over a longer period of time. For example, having our rescue, we need plenty of flea preventative in the summer months. We comparison shop for it online, particularly on Amazon and Ebay, and buy a little at a time beginning in the winter months. That way, the pains of purchase aren't so bad if spread out over several months time. We also use tips (shameless promotion ahead) from Jamie's book Secrets of a Vet Tech, available on Amazon.
Namaste and Blessed be.
