Friday, February 25, 2011
Home-made laundry detergent
I'm going to bring in samples of this to the next mom's group but I thought I would post this in case anyone would like to try it right away. Jodi, can you post your recipe? Tiffany since you make the liquid version of this can you post how you make it? Thanks! I mix 4 cups borax, 4 cups washing soda (this is different from baking soda), and 1 grated bar of Fels-Naptha. You can find all the ingredients at Gordy's. The bar of Fels-Naptha is with the body soaps and it is only 99 cents! I just use my cheese grater on the soap and then mix them all together in a ice cream bucket. This lasts me about two months because I only use 1-1/2 Tbl per load. I do have a front loader so this can be used with any washing machine. I love it and think my laundry has never smelled so fresh and it cleans just as well as the Tide that I was addicted to.
Thursday, February 24, 2011
Posting to the blog
Hey Momz...just a few ideas I've had about posting to the blog. If someone knows how to put posts into categories that would be great, otherwise when you post about something, make sure it's only about one topic. So if you have a few different things to share, make several posts. This will make it easier to go back and find info. that you might be looking for. Another way to make it easier is to put something about the topic in the title. For instance, "saving at Savers" is obviously about Savers! On the right hand side of the page is an archive of all the posts that have been made. The last thing I thought of, is to be sure you sign your name at the bottom of your post....then we know who to ask any questions that we may have!
mauri
mauri
Free Collage Print
Walgreens has a special TODAY only (Thursday) for a free 8X10 collage print. Go to their website and follow the prompts!
mauri
mauri
The Change Jar
Who is starting a change jar?? What are you going to use the money for? Remember just 50 cents a day could give you over $180 in a year!
The Moss family is starting a change jar - I found a cool canister at Savers for $3. We're saving for a sectional couch!
Share with us...what's your goal? Thrift sale money? A trip? New furniture?
mauri
The Moss family is starting a change jar - I found a cool canister at Savers for $3. We're saving for a sectional couch!
Share with us...what's your goal? Thrift sale money? A trip? New furniture?
mauri
Ugh...I have to go grocery shopping??
Does anyone else feel this way?? I have started despising the idea of grocery shopping. Why? I hate spending a ton of money and not feeling like I have bought anything! Here are some of the ideas we shared about shopping and food.....
1. MAKE A MENU!! Shop off of your menu. You'll leave the store with everything needed to feed your family and you won't be tempted to let your fingers to the walking when it comes time to eat!!
2. Be cautious of coupons. Sometimes using coupons can actually make you spend more. So make your menu, then make your list and THEN look at your coupons. One website I found actually suggested looking at the store fliers / sales and making your menu off of what's on sale. Double bonus if you have coupons for those items! Let's make the stores PAY US to shop there!!
3. Avoid pre-packaged snacks. It's cheaper to buy a big box of goldfish and stick it in your own container or bag than to buy the goldfish that are in individual bags. Amy also suggested buying the disposable tupperware (although, I don't consider it disposable :) ), and packaging your snacks in there. The type of plastic is safer and you can reuse the containers over and over again. She also makes jello in those containers. Great idea!!
4. Think outside the box when it comes to buying food. Aldi is a great place to buy a lot for a little! Kwik Trip is another great place to buy milk, bread, bananas, butter, etc.... The thrift bakery store on London Rd. sometimes has great deals too! (Don't take your kids in though, unless you're ready to buy treats because it's a Hostess bakery....yup...twinkies, ding dongs, etc.)
mauri
1. MAKE A MENU!! Shop off of your menu. You'll leave the store with everything needed to feed your family and you won't be tempted to let your fingers to the walking when it comes time to eat!!
2. Be cautious of coupons. Sometimes using coupons can actually make you spend more. So make your menu, then make your list and THEN look at your coupons. One website I found actually suggested looking at the store fliers / sales and making your menu off of what's on sale. Double bonus if you have coupons for those items! Let's make the stores PAY US to shop there!!
3. Avoid pre-packaged snacks. It's cheaper to buy a big box of goldfish and stick it in your own container or bag than to buy the goldfish that are in individual bags. Amy also suggested buying the disposable tupperware (although, I don't consider it disposable :) ), and packaging your snacks in there. The type of plastic is safer and you can reuse the containers over and over again. She also makes jello in those containers. Great idea!!
4. Think outside the box when it comes to buying food. Aldi is a great place to buy a lot for a little! Kwik Trip is another great place to buy milk, bread, bananas, butter, etc.... The thrift bakery store on London Rd. sometimes has great deals too! (Don't take your kids in though, unless you're ready to buy treats because it's a Hostess bakery....yup...twinkies, ding dongs, etc.)
mauri
Bills, Bills, Bills....how to save
We all would love to shave a little off of our monthly bills, but how can you do it? Some bills are obvious...cable, phone, etc., but how about those other bills that seem set in their costs?
1. Pay life insurance yearly and car insurance semi-annually. This will save in processing fees!
2. Look into auto-payments. Some companies give discounts for setting up an auto-pay.
3. Increase your deductible (if it's financially feasible)
4. If cancelling your cable isn't something you desire, then look at ways to trim your bill. Getting rid of premium channels and using netflix or redbox, is going to save you LOTS of money. Can you slow down your internet or take extra features off of your phone?
5. I recently read that by putting all of your electronics on an energy saving power strip, you can save up to $40 a month!! Amy vouched for this one! We'll be doing this in our family, and I can't wait to start saving!
How else do you trim your monthly bills??
mauri
1. Pay life insurance yearly and car insurance semi-annually. This will save in processing fees!
2. Look into auto-payments. Some companies give discounts for setting up an auto-pay.
3. Increase your deductible (if it's financially feasible)
4. If cancelling your cable isn't something you desire, then look at ways to trim your bill. Getting rid of premium channels and using netflix or redbox, is going to save you LOTS of money. Can you slow down your internet or take extra features off of your phone?
5. I recently read that by putting all of your electronics on an energy saving power strip, you can save up to $40 a month!! Amy vouched for this one! We'll be doing this in our family, and I can't wait to start saving!
How else do you trim your monthly bills??
mauri
Saving at SAVERS
Just wanted to let everyone know that this week, BLUE tags are 50 % off and next week it's SILVER tags!
mauri
mauri
Who doesn't LOVE to eat out??
We all love to eat out once in awhile....have someone else cook....no clean up....the list goes on and on. While we may love to eat at restaurants, doing so isn't always very economical. Here is the list of restaurants and their deals (please add to it as you find more).
Northwoods Brew and Grill (also is Norske Nook) - every day after 4pm , kids eat FREE w/ the purchase of an adult meal.
Applebees - every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, kids eat for 99 cents
Perkins - every Tuesday and Saturday, kids eat FREE
Fazoli's - Tuesday nights, kids eat for 99 cents (plus they have a table for kids to color)
Pizza Ranch - Tuesday nights, kids (10 and under, I think) eat for FREE
Mike's Smokehouse - Mondays after 4pm, kids (10 and under), eat FREE - includes beverage and dessert
Cancun - Sundays, kids eat FREE
Hopefully we can add more restaurants to this list!! Here are some other pieces of cost saving advice when it comes to eating out....
1. Only buy what people will eat. Sounds silly, I know. But truly, can two of your kids split a meal....can you and your spouse split a meal?? Cut out one kids meal at a restaurant and you'll save yourself $4-5. Cut out an adult meal and you'll save $5-10 or more!! Ever been to Red Robin?? We love it, but our youngest never eats an entire meal, so our oldest (who eats adult portions) get the chicken strips off of the kids menu and gets the mac 'n cheese as a side (you end up paying about 1.79 for the mac 'n cheese because it's really not a side) and they share. The beautiful thing is that the mac 'n cheese is BOTTOMLESS!! So we end up saving ourselves almost the cost of an entire kids meal + all the food gets eaten!
2. Stay away from buying beverages at restaurants. If the average family of four each gets a beverage, you'll spend approx. $8 more than you would if you drank water. I can think of better uses for $8, than sugary water!
3. Register on-line with different restaurants. A lot of them give free birthday meals!
4. If you like Burrachos, the day after Thanksgiving they have a 2 for 1 deal on gift cards. You can buy up to $60 worth of gift cards, meaning you get $120 in gift cards for $60!! Great deal!!
mauri
Northwoods Brew and Grill (also is Norske Nook) - every day after 4pm , kids eat FREE w/ the purchase of an adult meal.
Applebees - every Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday, kids eat for 99 cents
Perkins - every Tuesday and Saturday, kids eat FREE
Fazoli's - Tuesday nights, kids eat for 99 cents (plus they have a table for kids to color)
Pizza Ranch - Tuesday nights, kids (10 and under, I think) eat for FREE
Mike's Smokehouse - Mondays after 4pm, kids (10 and under), eat FREE - includes beverage and dessert
Cancun - Sundays, kids eat FREE
Hopefully we can add more restaurants to this list!! Here are some other pieces of cost saving advice when it comes to eating out....
1. Only buy what people will eat. Sounds silly, I know. But truly, can two of your kids split a meal....can you and your spouse split a meal?? Cut out one kids meal at a restaurant and you'll save yourself $4-5. Cut out an adult meal and you'll save $5-10 or more!! Ever been to Red Robin?? We love it, but our youngest never eats an entire meal, so our oldest (who eats adult portions) get the chicken strips off of the kids menu and gets the mac 'n cheese as a side (you end up paying about 1.79 for the mac 'n cheese because it's really not a side) and they share. The beautiful thing is that the mac 'n cheese is BOTTOMLESS!! So we end up saving ourselves almost the cost of an entire kids meal + all the food gets eaten!
2. Stay away from buying beverages at restaurants. If the average family of four each gets a beverage, you'll spend approx. $8 more than you would if you drank water. I can think of better uses for $8, than sugary water!
3. Register on-line with different restaurants. A lot of them give free birthday meals!
4. If you like Burrachos, the day after Thanksgiving they have a 2 for 1 deal on gift cards. You can buy up to $60 worth of gift cards, meaning you get $120 in gift cards for $60!! Great deal!!
mauri
Getting Started
Hey, everyone!! The Making Centz blog is up and running....it took awhile and needs some work, but it's usable! Please post whatever cost saving ideas, sales, recipes, etc. that you may have. Feel free to change things on the blog (for instance, I can not figure out how to make our title bigger) or add different things if you think they may be useful. I will have Janet email the info. to each of you, so that everyone is able to add to the blog. If you ever need the info. again, feel free to call me.
mauri
mauri
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