Category: Frugal Living Tips

Today’s thrifty living tip is use cash when shopping. I take out so much cash and put them in envelopes marked grocery, spending, utilities, and other areas. I buy a gas card for myself and hubby to use each month since we get discounts on gas when using the store gift card. Since I have been using cash to buy the groceries, I have noticed I spend less. I still find that I can overspend even when I use my debit card. If having cash makes you nervous, then get a gift card to use. Once the money in the envelope is gone, then I quit spending for the month. This has been the best method I’ve tried for making myself accountable for my spending.

I have really missed posting these daily tips. Today’s thrifty tip is have a well stocked pantry. This helped me tremendously after Hurricane Gustav barreled through my area. I had close to 10 gallons of drinking water, canned goods, and many other basic staples like flour, sugar, rice, baking supplies, and such. I was able to feed my family well for several days. We did leave after four days since my mom had electricity at her house. Because I was prepared, we didn’t have to panic about how we were going to eat since it took several days for grocery stores to reopen. There will always be a natural disaster anywhere you live from snow, earthquakes, hurricanes, or something else. It is always a good idea to have at least 1-2 week supply of food in your pantry.

Today’s thrifty tip is shop clearance sales to save big! Labor Day weekend is a great weekend to shop for end of summer clothing and toys. You can also save big on patio furniture, lawn and garden, and even items for the pool. The stores are putting out Halloween and other fall items so check out your stores for the clearance items. I have even found winter clothes from last year on clearance racks with the summer. I was able to finish my son’s winter wardrobe for this year and summer for next year. I spent $80 for all of it. He will be able to wear some of the winter clothes again next year (mostly tops and jacket). I also have shoes stock piled in both sandals and tennis shoes.

Today’s thrifty tip is visit your local library. I live in a pretty small town, but my library can get me most books I want, even if it’s at another branch. I can rent VHS and DVD movies for free. I’m impressed with how many newer titles are available. Over the summer, they had a reading program for the kids. My son won a few prizes, and he met his 25 book reading goal. You can also use the computers and internet as long with your card. Check it out today.

Today’s thrifty tip is make your own baby wipes. Some people even use soft terry material, and sew them into small wash cloths. I think French Terry is a great material to use. This is softer when wiping baby’s bottom, and just throw them in the same bucket you use for your cloth diapers.

I actually made my own using a homemade liquid mixture and paper towels.
Start with your paper towels and cut the roll in half, and then remove the inside cardboard. I used a baby wipe container that was washed out. Any plastic container with a good seal is fine. You will want to wash it out once it’s empty.

Liquid Mixture: (Many variations)
2 Cups Boiled Water (cooled)
2 TBS Baby Shampoo
1 TBS Oil

Then mix in the container and put the paper towels in container (cut side down). Make sure you seal it well, and turn container upside down for about 10 minutes. This ensures it saturates the paper towels.

There are so many variations. Some people use almond oil, olive oil, or baby oil. This is what is great is that you can use what makes you comfortable. I recommend Viva since they are the softest and very strong. I could get a roll on sale with coupon for 25-50 cents. This is much cheaper than store bought wipes, and I also liked there were no harsh chemicals.