<p>atomom, you’re not my aunt, are you </p>
<p>;)</p>
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<p>Boy this is soooo true. </p>
<p>To me, this is one area where families can either really save some $$$ or really burn up $$$$.</p>
<p>It amazes me that some heat their homes to a level so they can run around in short sleeves and/or sleep naked (or nearly so). And then they cool their homes so low so they can still sleep under blankets at night.</p>
<p>I don’t know if this is a “regional thing” or what, but I grew up in SoCal and we rarely used the AC or the heat (becuz of the costs) but my H comes from cold & humid midwest so he was used to cranking up the A/c and heat as soon as there was a weather shift. It took awhile, but I was able to convince him that spending $300+ a month to heat or cool just wasn’t worth it.</p>
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<p>Yes… if more than just water is needed… dish soap, vinegar, bleach, or ammonia (do not mix together!!) purchased in bulk sizes from Costco also do a fine job cleaning up.</p>
<p>another clean up savings.</p>
<p>It is easy to “go thru” paper towels – especially if more sheets are torn off than are needed for the job. Instead, when it’s feasible, use an old rag that can be thrown in with the rest of the laundry.</p>
<p>HANG up damp bath towels to be used again. Your body is clean so the towel shouldn’t be “dirty”. (You wouldn’t believe what I had to do to my older S to teach him to remember to do this!) Not only does it save on doing “towel laundry” but your towels will last so much longer! (and towels are $$$$)</p>
<p>I hang a LARGE zippered mesh bag on the kids’ laundry basket (must be quite large!). Dirty socks are placed in there. Bag is then zipped and goes into the washer – no missing socks!</p>
<p>Atomom is right about using less detergent. I use Costco detergent (works well for me - even better than Tide, I think) and only use about 1/2 that it says to use.)</p>
<p>How about Shampoo / Conditioner?? What are your $$$ saving ways? I use a “cheap” shampoo and a “better” conditioner because I have CURLY hair that will FRIZZ like you wouldn’t believe if left to its own imagination!</p>
<p>tsdad:</p>
<p>Are you temporarily working out of state?</p>
<p>Atomom:</p>
<p>I love that you can homeschool… I envy that. I am just toooooo high strung to be able to do that (as if others here couldn’t detect that ;)</p>
<p>I sure would like to be able to save the tuition $$$ that we spend (and uniform $$$)</p>
<p>Costco has some amazing discounts on clothes. I have bought many articles of cloting for under $10–sometimes down to $4 or so for a designer slacks, t-shirt, or skirt.</p>
<p>I have been to the same hairdresser for over twelve years. She cuts my hair, my son’s & daughters all for under the price most folks pay for just one haircut. She cut son’s hair for his HS senior class picture & refused to let him pay at all.</p>
<p>Our kids are used ordering only water to drink at fast food outlets or restaurants. We have often shared 2 or 3 meals for the 4 of us.</p>
<p>I only use fee free credit cards that give cash back and always pay off in full before incurring any finance charges. If I’m ever assessed a late fee I speak with customer service (& sometimes supervisor) to contest & have it removed. It has always been due to a mix up in the mail or similar.</p>
<p>I love having free postage when buying on-line. It can be a huge savings, especially since there is generally no tax. Just bought son two sets of flannel extra-long sheets for his dorm at $15 apiece with free shipping.</p>
<p>I use the preferred mail order pharmacy my insurer prefers. This saves BIG $$$ for those maintenance meds that are needed for chronic conditions. My folks save even more by staying healthy & not needing meds & only needing to see the doc once/year or so.</p>
<p>I shop around a LOT when booking travel. Whenever possible, I stay with family or friends for travel instead of hotels. We have more time to visit & can treat them to fun outings instead of spending it on hotels & driving to visit them.</p>
<p>I have splurged & paid $75 annual fee for an Citi PremierPass Elite credit card that will give us 1 mile for every mile traveled on tickets purchased with the credit card, no matter which airlines. We will be buying quite a few tickets this year & flying 1000s of miles, plus you get a free 15,000 point bonus for signing up.</p>
<p>I have charged our car on a 0% credit card that gave us cash back & paid it off in full when the 0% rate expired. I also charged our orthodontist bill & pretty much everything I can. For gas, drugstores & grocery stores, we get 5% back & we always pay our balance off in full every month. Each year I get hundreds back in rebates.</p>
<p>Hubby buys his computer & electronic things on sale & mails in the rebates immediately. We have gotten so much free computer gear it ia truly amazing.</p>
<p>Son & daughter negotiate with friends on trading/sharing books so that it is generally very inexpensive to get the books for the school year (only when the school is requiring a brand new edition).</p>
<p>We LOVE the public library & even ask them to order books that they don’t have if we want the book. They have done so & notified us so we can be the 1st to borrow it.</p>
<p>I buy things with others when I go to Costco & can’t use it all so we share. I also love to shop the discounted meat section at the grocery store to plan my dinner. I also love buying produce in Chinatown or farmer’s markets–fresh & less expensive. We grow our own herbs.</p>
<p>"kat: </p>
<p>I’m sure with your brood you’ve been able to come up with a heap of ways to save $$$$. thanks for sharing. Add more when you think of them!</p>
<p>What do you do for school lunches? What do you include?"</p>
<p>JLauer95:</p>
<p>My kiddos all attended public school and we were/are eligible for free lunch. However, there were days when they did not like what was on the scheduled menu and my youngest has a fatal peanut allergy. So, the oldest ones had an arrangement with the school lunch lady that on the days they did not like what was being served she always had a tuna deli sandwich/veggie tray made up ahead of time for them. Oldest DD always helped with cleaning up after lunch so she created much good-will with the head lunch lady that lasted through all the kiddos.</p>
<p>When youngest son started school, his particular school went peanut-free so he too was able to have a school lunch. Some days though they knew what they were having for dinner the night before would taste even better the second time around so we always doubled that particular dinner. We still do this today for those that are still around.</p>
<p>We have all worked together to keep our grocery bills low, so when everyone is home we plan our menus well in advance in conjunction with local sales, coupons, veggies and fruits in-season. They all pitch in so it makes much less work for me and ends up being alot of fun.</p>
<p>Kat</p>
<p>DrDrewsmom–I’m sure I’m too young to be your aunt–she must be a kindred spirit, though.</p>
<p>HImom,
You’re bringing back memories–I was a Costco shopper when we lived in HI–and big fan of those 50 or 75-cent-super-ripe-Chinatown pineapples, & Savers thrift shop (H even got a winter coat for $4 there when he had to go to Minneapolis in January), library, etc.
The greatest thing about HI–life without socks!</p>
<p>jlauer–yes, the towel thing. I forgot to mention. Not a big towel washer here. Hint–dry off with a washcloth before you get out of the shower–then you don’t soak your towels.</p>
<p>I notice that “non-savers” always say, “What the heck, I’ll buy it-- it’s ONLY a dollar,” but people who want to save say, “That costs a WHOLE DOLLAR–and I’m not gonna buy it!”</p>
<p>Jlauer–Shampoo–H used to “lather, rinse, REPEAT,” because that’s what his mom taught him, and that’s what the label says–I cured him of that one!
BTW, some of the cheaper brands of shampoo–like Suave–are coming out with specialty shampoos–like for curls, etc.–not the $1 bottom of the line, but about $2 compared with $4-5 for the designer brands. (We have a couple curly heads in our family, too, so I’m trying one of those).</p>
<p>When we are going out of town for a week or more, I turn down the water heater and leave a note on the kitchen counter to remind me to turn it back up when we get home (so no one is shocked by a cold shower the next morning!). </p>
<p>Speaking of water… I have several friends who wash every item of clothes once it’s been worn – jeans, pants, skirts, whatever. Am I the only one who doesn’t wash these things unless they get dirty? Seems like clothes would wear out pretty fast if they got washed when they aren’t even dirty.</p>
<p>atomom: >> -yes, the towel thing. I forgot to mention. Not a big towel washer here. Hint–dry off with a washcloth before you get out of the shower–then you don’t soak your towels. <<<<</p>
<p>My mom is a big proponent of that!!! I don’t use a washcloth but I do just use one towel – pat hair and then wrap bod! ( my dad didn’t want to “re use” towels so my m would pull them out of the hamper after he got out and hang them up and then refold them – Dad never knew!)</p>
<p>ATomom–a person after my own heart! We are confirmed tightwads.</p>
<p>Kat–ever think of writing a book about your family? I would buy it!!!</p>
<p>Oh yeah, we have a solar water heater. We toured a farm that is totally photovoltaic & solar + one waterwheel. It was neat. haven’t gone that far, but wish it was easier to use photovoltaic sources for “regular folks.”</p>
<p>Swap meets are a great money saver, but you have to be careful about not buying stolen property. Craft supply stores can be great bargains if know the right ones & know your prices. I made candy leis (necklaces) for all our graduation needs for under $1 apiece instead of > $2 you can purchase them for at the stores, plus we like the candies I’m using.</p>
<p>Making friends with the cafeteria staff is always a great idea & can go a long ways. I was friends with all of them because I was active in the parent-teacher organization. They always offered my kids extra portions of their favorite entres. :)</p>
<p>“How much do beauty colleges charge for highlighting?” </p>
<p>I’ve done this before and it has saved me more than half of the normal price of ~40-50 bucks.</p>
<p>Thanks for the replies on Costco Exec membership.</p>
<p>Wine discounts</p>
<p>If you have the cash flow, you can easily get 10-15% discounts on wine by buying in quantity. Independant wine shops are especially good about this. It’s generally a 12 bottle minimum, but it can be a mixed case, not all Red Marmot, or whatever your tipple is. One local grocery with a quite good wine dept. does 10% off for 6 bottles, 15% for 12.</p>
<p>Tailgating when we go to Terps games in the fall. Not only do you have a nice little buzz by kickoff but you aren’t hungry and therefore you’re able to avoid paying high concession stand prices for food.</p>
<p>I buy blank CD’s in bulk on-line. Wind up getting 100 high-quality blanks for like $23.00</p>
<p>I avoid drinking commercial swill. It doesn’t save me any money but it makes me realize that price isn’t always the most important factor when making purchases.</p>
<p>My son has saved us lots of money by only getting a haircut every 12-18 months, and that one is at Supercuts ($10 with coupon). He wears his athletic shoes until they literally fall apart - he hates new shoes.</p>
<p>I know not everyone can or would want to do this, but we’ve made a whole-life change that fits this thread beautifully: We’ve sold our sticks-and-bricks house and are living full-time in a new-to-us 1997 Bounder motorhome. We work in gifted ed via the Datastorm dish on our roof, and we can travel at will. </p>
<p>Before anyone gasps about gas prices, think about it: We pay almost no property taxes, we have no utilities bills, we can choose how much we pay for each night at what site (down to zero or $6 at Army Corps of Engineers waterfront sites and many others), and we don’t have to move at all when we don’t want to. </p>
<p>Many people see this life and look aghast at us. “How can we live like that?” It’s easy if you decide you don’t “need” lots of things. Many of you have already decided that. Lots of other people look at this life and see ony difficulties. But we look at it and see only freedom. I don’t mean to be evangelical, but I never thought about living this way until my husband brought it up a few years ago, and now I can’t believe how great it is. I just wanted to share that with some of you free thinkers. If you don’t think you have to have a brand new diesel pusher (and the people on this thread clearly wouldn’t think so!), you could do it, too, if it appeals to you, and boy, is this a cheap way to have a good time after the kids go to school!</p>
<p>ctymomteach:</p>
<p>Do you still have kids living with you? If not, sounds like an adventure!</p>
<p>Do you ever plan on owning a home again?</p>
<p>No, none at home. We may someday again own a home that doesn’t roll, but given the fact that we now belong to a the SKP organization (say it out loud), and they have an operation that will even provide care as long as one can be helped in and out of the RV, we really don’t need to think very far ahead just now. When one’s taken care of so many things for so long, it’s a real pleasure to be able to SEE everything one owns from one spot again! (Well, very nearly) Remember grad school? That’s what this is like! We’ll come back to our area of origin for the hols every year for mom’s sake and that of our son–he can stay with mom if he doesn’t like the small space we offer–but other than that and the brief summer camp we now help with, we wander. And, to the point of this thread, much of this adventure can be in finding out what one DOESN’T need.</p>