I have a good friend whose son (her eldest) just got engaged. The bride’s family is wealthy. She was discussing with me and 5 other women what was the correct thing to do for his wedding: should she offer to pay for something specific, should she just give them a gift of a certain dollar amount, etc. I mentioned that she would be expected to pay for the rehearsal dinner and all the other women said that etiquette rule is outdated and nobody does that anymore.
I understand that wedding talk is very popular here.
But this particular post is about living frugally and paying for college.
I’m all for meandering but we have plenty of wedding focus places to discuss this. I’m sure plenty of people will be glad to join in on the conversation.
I am aware that I contributed to the wedding conversation. But hope that this discussion could get a little more on topic
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Well the good news is that all the overbuying has given us a pretty full freezer. We have enough food for at least 3 weeks. Then we stock it back up at Costco…rinse and repeat.
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Ok here are a few real things I do. These are in addition to bigger things like driving older cars.
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use powdered dishwasher detergent instead of the tabs (much cheaper and takes almost no time if you use a measuring spoon to scoop)
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I cut hair for both of us, years before Covid. My husband has a simple style that I can do with an electric trimmer, and I just take the length off of mine now and again
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Freeze leftovers into plastic containers to eat later. We use the “Tupperware” that came free from buying lunch meat
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I wash all clothes in cold water. I’ve tried line drying but it was a true pain and not worth taking up space
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We keep the house at 74 in the summer and winter. Could probably go a few degrees cooler in the winter but it seems comfortable
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I do spoil my cat (we didn’t have pets when the kids were growing up). My $25 shelter bargain cost me almost $1,000 in vet bills after we adopted him, but he has paid that back in snuggles
I could probably think of more, but those are just off the top of my head. I am a member of several tightwad/saving money groups on FB and the members always give me something to think about.
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I’ve read the dishwasher detergent tabs can gunk things up, so I often use the powdered version. We too like cold cut containers for freezing leftovers. When working, it was a great option for bag lunches.
We thought we’d have a dog in retirement, but we discovered we like the schedule freedom of being petless. When we grit our teeth over airport parking bills we console ourselves by saying “at least no pet sitter expenses”. But I can definitely see why empty nesters enjoy having a pet to snuggle.
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Happiness is having your husband tell you that the delicious spaghetti sauce that he made for dinner was the frozen bolognese (which I knew about) combined with the frozen tomato basil sauce for pizza making. Otherwise we wouldn’t have had enough for our two plates! I feel like the queen of frugality tonight! 
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Not the point of this thread, but just thought I would pass along that I read in Wirecutter yesterday that liquid detergent works best in cold water. They were also opposed to the pods b/c you cannot control the quantity of detergent.
Editing to say that I conflated two topics. You were talking about powdered D/W detergent, not laundry detergent.
I line dry most clothing and agree that it is a hassle. Linens go in the dryer, but not much else.
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Miele D/W pods can be easily cut into 2 pieces by kitchen scissors. 
it is the liquid ones that can’t be cut.
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My last comment is very unclear b/c I combined two different topics.
Wirecutter article was about best ways to launder clothing: cold water, liquid detergent, and other suggestions I have already forgotten. I am sure they have written about ideal D/W methods also, but I haven’t read that article.
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Gotcha! 
My comment still stands. I cut my D/W pods in half. They come in a paper package so easy peasy to recycle. They probably have the minimum amount of PVA because the coating is thin.
Back to our regular programming! 
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I think you have gotten a good start from what you have shared on cost cutting in your household. And there are some good ideas on this thread.
Sometimes you can just worry about the here and now (or the next two years in your case) and not what didn’t happen in the past or what MIGHT happen in the future!
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Uh oh. If you want to use Tupperware, dig into your cabinets or shop quickly. They just declared bankruptcy 
WaPo gift link
Tupperware files for bankruptcy as sales slump
The brand, once so popular it became the name of an entire product category, has seen sales fall as consumer behaviors change and competition increases.
By Jaclyn Peiser and Bart Schaneman
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We decided to re-think how we track our money. Instead of 1-2 cards with a hodgepodge of transactions, we broke it up into several credit cards we payoff monthly. We have the Sam’s Club and HEB cards for food and nonfoods, and add them together. We have another card set aside strictly for gas. We have another card set aside for car maintenance. And we have a card for general shopping (splurge card). That one we have the most control over.
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Although this comment was made with respect to weddings, it can also apply to any kind of gathering. There is no need to go expensive when entertaining. When my spouse and I got married we had a limited budget (wedding in the church and reception in fellowship hall), and we ended up having catering from a local barbecue joint. MANY years later (decade+), my cousin mentioned that the food at our wedding was his favorite wedding food ever.
So, just because you’re trying to be frugal doesn’t mean you can’t entertain or have a wedding. Maybe it’s a themed potluck, or a group of friends who rotate having dinner parties at their places, or it’s an In-n-Out catered meal, or whatever it happens to be. People will be there for the fellowship and the memories, not the food.
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It depends on your state and your insurance company, but in our case we learned that because our child was not taking a car to college and was attending a school over 80 miles from home, we could put one of our vehicles in “storage” in the garage and get a steep discount on our auto insurance. I turn the insurance back on whenever she is home for breaks.
Also, if you happen to be age 55 or older, you now qualify for certain senior discounts. The first Tuesday of the month, many items at Walgreens are 20% off and items at the local Kroger store are 10% off.
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One of our core values was telling our kids that “we are who we are, and we are not going to pretend or be ashamed”. So we turned down offers to concerts that “only” required us to pay for the dinner out beforehand, we had birthday parties at home, we didn’t hesitate to host our kids friends or other people but we did it for game night, or firepit night, or dessert, not full-blown dinner parties. If people didn’t like us because we weren’t wealthy, we’d know that up front. (And yes, one of my son’s early gf’s mom’s insisted they break up because he — as she told me to my face – is a “wonderful man but we have to think about her future”)
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I know you probably realize that the other poster was using “Tupperware” as a generic . . . :). I have not seen actual Tupperware in, like, forever!
I am unfamiliar with lunch meats that come in containers - when I do get some, it is usually in a plastic bag.
I have been debating replacing my plastic containers with glass because I am reading more and more about the health issues with plastic. I don’t microwave it but I do run it in the D/W.
I also thought you weren’t supposed to reuse certain containers (takeout etc) because of health risks. I will have to find the article that got me all paranoid.
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I was using that post as an opportunity to post about the tupperware bankrupcy! That said, I have several tupperware containers I still use!!
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You can find some good info about food storage containers by reading this older thread. This is my response…and I stand by it.
But this linked thread might help those looking for food storage containers that aren’t Tupperware…and then this thread can get back on topic.
I jettisoned nearly all of our plastic containers (kept a few in the laundry room) and replaced them with Rubbermaid glass ones.
https://www.rubbermaid.com/food-storage/everyday-use-containers/brilliance/brilliance-glass-food-storage-container-set/SAP_2118303.html
The glass containers are often discounted at Target, Amazon, Kohl’s, Kroger and many other stores. I’ve found that our leftovers keep better in these containers with the locking lids. When I microwave food in them I usually replace the lid with a plain paper towel. Other times, I transfer food to an Anchor Hocking lidded glass container to either microwave or bake.
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