We were recently having coffee with friends and talking about ways we save a little in these lean times. Here are some of our ideas:
We pick blueberries at a county park that was once a blueberry farm and so now all the blueberries are free for the picking. There are no signs - you just have to know it is there. We go once a week and so far this season have picked 22 pounds of blueberries. They are frozen and should last until next season. Of course, since the season is still going strong, we'll go back for one more round and may just top off the year with 30 pounds - all free!!
We are Starbuck's fans so we bought a Gold Card and get 10% off purchases plus several other perks. Last month Gold Card holders were sent a certificate for a free pint of Starbucks ice cream (value about $5). Earlier this week we were sent a certificate for a free Vivano (Starbucks smoothie). Often there are sample drinks and pastries in the shop of which we partake - of course. Another favorite of ours at Starbuck's is reading the newspaper. Patrons buy newspapers there, or bring their own, and after reading them, just leave them in the basket for others to read. We have canceled our local newspaper, because there is always one there for us to read. To top it off, we order one drink (10% off with the Gold Card) and split it between us as we peruse the newspapers. What better way to start the day! Oh, and don't forget the pastries behind the counter..... the banana bread for example costs about $1.75 per slice, but they give out the recipe cards and you can make an entire loaf of banana bread (10-12 slices) for less that the cost of one slice. Our Gold Card has paid for itself and then some!
Cherries are another favorite of ours this time of year. They generally sell for about $5 a pound, but this time of year they're about $2 a pound in the grocery store. Costco had them for $1.50 a pound, but a truck along side the road was selling them for $1 a pound, but.........buy 10 pounds and they are just $5 - that's only 50 cents a pound - now that is a real savings. We got enough to last us a year.
We never did have a gym membership, but if we did, we'd cancel it. We just get outside and hike several times a week. Who wants to be in a stuffy gym? Yuck. Also having a house with stairs is great exercise. We go up and down stairs several times a day - who need a stair-stepper exercise machine - not us.
Eating in rather than out is another huge way to cut back, as is cooking from scratch rather than buying packaged foods and mixes. We bake cookies rather than buy them, turn old bananas into yummy banana bread, never buy frozen meals, make popsicles from our own juice rather than buy them, make our own pies from the abundance of seasonal fruits and buy single-ply toilet paper (50 cents a roll).
As for the gasoline bill, we let our errands accumulate and run several in one outing, especially if it involves going to a neighboring town.
We try to make our big trips/vacations during the off season - now that we don't have school age children or jobs that tie us to a set schedule. We recently booked a family cruise and saved more than half, by going two weeks earlier than originally planned.
Not only is traveling off season a huge savings, but buying clothing is, too.
Food is bought seasonally, but clothing and travel are off season purchases.
What ways are you cutting back and saving big $$ ?
Posts
Appletons Club
1 year ago
4 comments:
Thanks for sharing your tips. I too am finding ways to cut expenses. I've decided to look in to cutting our cell phone costs, and have also decided to research home and auto insurance costs. I have to make a lot of phone calls, but I am now very familiar with our plans/coverage which makes the chore easier and quicker. We have always had a vegetable garden, and I have always done a lot of canning. Two people can only eat just so much applesauce, so we discovered the joy of home made apple juice last year (we have 4 apple trees) and also found out we can buy Red and Golden Delicious apples from the Wenatchee area for $4 a box. I have 5 dozen quart size canning jars in the garage.....they are perfect. I buy my Albacore Tuna from the boats in Westport every other year, timing a visit with a good friend who lives there, and process it in my pressure cooker out on the deck using the burner on the grill. I have an on line account through Blockbuster, so we watch movies here instead of going to the theater. I think I could go on and on. ;) M
Thanks, Maureen, those are some great tips. Our part of the country does offer an abundance of so many good things to eat.
Anyone else out there have some good tips?
Here's another tip that we use.... Surprisngly, you can make money by puttin ALL purchases on a credit card and get miles or even cash back. We ALWAYS pay off the entire amount on time, so we get the perks for free and we get from 1-7 weeks to actually pay for the item purchased. That money sits in a account drawing interest during that time.
Lots of savings for using credit cards wisely.
Hi Jan, and all,
Something I have done for over 30 years (since my Tupperware dealer told me about it) is to keep a "stock pot" in my freezer. I use a large TW "square round" (48 or 64 oz. size), and any time there is a little bit of something--vegetables, spaghetti sauce, gravy, noodles, etc.--left over, it goes in the TW "stock pot". (You know, all those times when it's too little to save, but too much to throw away!) When the TW container is full, I get some beef stew meat and a can of tomatoes, plus onions and seasonings, and make a pot of soup. During the last half hour of cooking, I add the contents of the "stock pot"--which, hopefully, I have remembered to move to the fridge to defrost the night before! LOL Every time I make soup, it tastes a little different, due to the various ingredients. For instance, leftover pork gravy adds a lovely flavor to beef veg. soup. Be sure to stir it well so any gravy gets incorporated into the broth.
For just the two of us, I probably fill that TW container 3 or 4 times in a year, which means that many pots of soup.
I also make bean soup with the ham bone that is left from a half ham. We don't have that very often, so usually that's only one or two pots of soup a year (we do like our soup on a cold wet day!). I get a package of mixed dry beans (very inexpensive!) in the grocery store, and follow package directions for soaking and cooking them. During the cooking, I add the ham bone, onion, celery, seasonings (including a bay leaf--really adds a lot of flavor!), and maybe a little carrot at the end. Oh, the celery and onion I put in big chunks, and remove them before serving. When the meat falls off the ham bone, remove it and finish pulling off the ham, cut it up and stir back into the soup. Delicious!
Charlotte
Post a Comment