Archives at Zinester: The Dot Com Woman. The Dot Com Woman. Women, Fashion & Beauty

1) The best place to start saving money is on your grocery bill. A
few ways that you can save with that are by just withdrawing the
money that you have budgeted for groceries. By doing this, you will
be more aware of your spending and also know when you have hit your
limit. Shop with a detailed list and let me explain by what I mean
when I say detailed. If butter is on sale, don't just write butter
on your list- write Country Crock Butter and put a star next to it
indicating that this is an item on sale. If you have a coupon, write
C next to it and put it in an envelope. Cut coupons, but don't use
coupons if the generic is cheaper. Pay attention to price per unit
so that you know which price really is the best price on items.
Don't be afraid to shop at discount stores. I never thought I would
be shopping at Aldi's, just because I was just so embarassed that we
shopped there when we were kids. I needed to just get over that and
realize that I need to pinch pennies where I can and this is a great
place to shop if you have one. I can get a weeks worth of groceries
for about forty dollars so that is a huge savings. When you get
home, take care of your produce and food items appropriately. By
putting them in the right containers or wrapping herbs up in paper
towel, you can get an extra weeks worth out of those foods.

2) Use your leftovers. I do this in a few different ways. For
example, I have sectioned containers for my dh to take his lunch to
work. By preparing these the night before, it really saves us a lot
of money. He told me that everyone else goes to Applebee's every
single day and they are all green with envy over his homemade
goodies. They are spending at least twenty-five bucks a week on
lunches (probably more) and we are just using our leftovers. I also
reuse food. For example, one night I made orzo pasta as a side with
grilled chicken. The next day I made the orzo pasta as the base to
put under my chicken casserole. Save all those leftover ends of
bread and stale bakery breads and zap them in the food processor to
make yummy bread crumbs. Be creative with your leftovers.

3) Research, research, research!! That is the best way to be frugal-
learn from different Yahoo boards and go on different websites to
find information on how to save money. Ask your friends how they
save money, search web pages, and gather information from others.
Check out books from the library and read, read, read all that you
can to save your family money.

4) Freezer cooking can save you a lot of money. You don't
necessarily have to spend oodles of time doing this (unless you so
desire), but just make two of whatever you are cooking. By doing
this you will save a lot of those mad dashes for take-out when you
are too tired to cook. Right now I have meatballs, chicken and
noodles, meatloaf, premade hamburger patties, and various other
foods in our freezer so that I don't have to give in to the
McDonald's urge.

5) Take advantage of free. We don't buy books anymore, we check them
out at the library. I only get magazines that are free through
various free magazine sites (www.freebizmag.com), and I trade them
with girlfriends so that I always get my magazine fix of literature.
Go to the parks, take advantage of free things in your community,
and join organizations where you can get more free things. Check out
http://www.freecycle.org to see what people in your area are
offering for free. Don't turn down free anything- when family or
friends offer me something, I am not too proud to accept there
offers. In turn share with others the things that are cluttering up
your home.

6) Take advantage of practically free. Here are a few things that
are practically free. Go to your local beauty school to get your
haircut or any special treats for yourself. I went to my beauty
school and got my hair cut for five dollars, got a pedicure for
fifteen, and my eyebrows waxed for five- all the services were less
than one haircut at a regular salon. Go to dental schools to get
your teeth cleaned if you don't have dental insurance. In our area,
you can get your teeth cleaned for twenty dollars compared to eighty
bucks, that is a steal of a deal.

7) Clean your house with things that you are already have. I use a
vinegar and water solution to clean all of my countertops, stove,
and appliances and the cost is minimal compared to a three or four
dollar all-purpose cleaner. I use baking soda to scrub my toliet and
bathtub and I use it for particularly tough to clean pots. The
possibilities are endless with just these two ingredients. I also
buy microfiber cloths (available at our dollar store) rather than
paying for furniture polish. These pick up the dust with a quick
swipe of the cloth and they can be thrown in the wash to be used
over and over and over again. I use water on a microfiber cloth
attached to my Swiffer instead of buying those expensive Swiffer
cloths, they can be used wet or dry and acheive the same cleanliness
to the floors.

8) Save all of your gift bags and cards that you get to be used
later for gift-giving. I have a stack of bags that I can use for
those gifts and I cut the pictures off of cards and attach them to
pretty card stock to make brand new cards. Investing in a couple of
rubber stamps are also great for making quick and cute gift tags for
those special gifts. Be inventive with gift-giving as well. I save
all my oatmeal containers, add a little brown paper (from a sack) to
the top of the lid with a little raffia and fill it with oatmeal
cookies. These make great gifts and I don't have to sacrafice any of
my own containers or buy anything to put them in. These types of
gifts have more charm then something picked up at the drugstore and
are often times much more meaningful.

9) Allow yourself a splurge. Our splurge is cable television. Yes, I
know that it is completely unnecessary, but it means a lot to me. I
enjoy being able to watch my programs that I enjoy and we like to
watch the movies that come on television as a fun night for our
family. Maybe you care less about television and more about
something else, but you can still be the frugal queen/king in other
departments, but allow yourself the beauty of enjoying something
special to you without feeling guilt about it.

10) Finally, I save money by paying my bills online because I don't
pay for stamps. http://www.mycheckfree.com offers this service for
free (they are paid by the merchants to withdraw your money) and it
reduces paper bills, tracking paper, and stamp buying. It is useful
for me, but if you are not into doing this, see if your bills offer
paying bills by phone or by paying online through their own site.
There is no reason these days, that you should have to really send
out a ton of bills like the olden days

I really hope this helps someone and feel free to chime in or add to
my extensive list

Amy
http://www.momadvice.com
FREE frugal tips

Fruit Salad Body Mask

2 slices pineapple - rind removed
1/2 med. honeydew melon - rind removed
1 doz. green grapes
1 med. banana - peeled
1 med. pear - cored
1 med. kiwi fruit - peeled

Puree all ingredients in food processor. Mixture will be slightly lumpy. Refrigerate for 1 hour. Smooth onto body and/or face, leaving on for half an hour. Rinse off with cool water.

Aging Skin Fighter

2 tsp. plain yogurt
1/2 tsp. honey
1/2 tsp. lemon juice
3 capsules vitamin E (equivalent of 300 units)

Combine yogurt, honey and lemon juice. open the vitamin E capsules and fold contents into the mix. Leave on skin for 15 minutes.

Peanut Butter and Jelly Cake

1 package yellow cake mix (2-layer size)
1 cup water divided
2 eggs, unbeaten
2/3 cup creamy peanut butter
Grape jelly for filling
Cream cheese frosting , recipe below

In a large bowl combine the cake mix and 1/2-cup water, blend then beat 2 minutes at medium speed with electric mixer. Add the eggs, blend then beat 1 minute. Add the peanut butter and the remaining 1/2- cup water gradually; beat for 1 minute at low speed. Pour the batter into 2 (9-inch) round layer pans that have been greased and floured. Bake at 350-degrees for 25 minutes, or until the cake tests done. Cool for 10 minutes; remove from pans to wire rack to cool completely. Spread grape jelly between the layers and frost with your favorite white frosting or cream cheese frosting

Cream Cheese Frosting

1 (3-ounce) package cream cheese, softened
1/4 cup butter, softened
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
2 cups sifted confectioners sugar

In a mixing bowl combine together the cream cheese, butter and vanilla. Mix well. Add the sugar and beat until smooth. Spread on cake.

Posted by: Cindy (lynbro). Cindy is a great, great lover of Cooking and Recipes and she has a lot more to share with you on the forums!
Member - DCW Forums - http://www.dotcomwomen.com/forums