CandyFoote

Vacation Time

With the price of gas today, I thought that I would share are "vacation" idea.

Every year we go camping at my sister-in-laws house.  Now, she only lives about ten minutes away from our house.  We see each other quite often, but we always have a great time. 

The kids jump on the trampoline, swim in the pool, and just run around.

We stay up late making s'mores and talking.

We sleep out in our tents.

We cook on the bbq grills.

Want to have a great vacation without spending a lot of money (especially on gas)?

Why not camp out at grandma's house or a favorite aunt's?

We have been doing this for years!

We use to stay at my mother-in-law's house too, but sadly she went home to be with Jesus a few years ago. (Sadly for us - not her!!)

Hey, let me know how your vacation turns out!

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I'm Going Bananas!!!!

I'm not kidding!  I am seriously going bananas!

I picked up a huge, huge, huge, (boy, do I wish I had a picture to show you), huge box of bananas at Save-a-Lots for $8.00.

I gave a bunch to my father, the kids have eaten bunches and bunches, and my oldest daughter made batches and batches of banana bread.

I am trying an experiment I heard about that said you could freeze bananas.  I wrapped 12 bunches of bananas in aluminum foil, then put them into freezer bags.  I read that the skins will turn black, but the bananas will stay good.

I still have many bunches left!!!!

Any banana recipes you would like to share?!?

Please!!!!

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Junk'n

I took some of the kids junk'n with me today.  They have been waiting for their turn to go for awhile now.  I hired them to do some work around the house in order for them to earn some money to go.  We had a great time!  The thrift shop was having a clothing sale - buy one bag for $4.00/get one bag for free.  They sales ladies stuffed those bags.  We got shirts, shorts, pants, dresses, socks, hats, boots, shoes, and more than I can remember.  When we got home we figured out that we paid about ten cents an item!

I love teaching my kids to enjoy being frugal!

Beef

Have you ever read about the things they do to the meat you are consuming before it reaches you?!?

Boy, I have!  I'm almost sorry that I have!

I love it when we butcher our own beef.  The problem is we need more meat long before the next bull is ready to butcher. 

Not only that, but the prices that the grocery stores charge now can be down right scary.

We have decided to start buying our beef from a local butcher when we run out of our home grown meat.

It is cheaper, healthier, and tastier!

I guess you can't beat that.

Eggs

Well, the chickens are laying four eggs a day now.

Funny, but we are excited about that!

With a family our size, we use a lot more than four eggs a day!

At $2.39 a dozen, it is getting to be too expensive to buy eggs. 

Well since eggs seem to be one of those things you tend to need, I decided to check out the price the local Amish are selling their eggs for.

I sent my eldest daughter over the other day, and yeah, they were $1.50 a dozen.  Not only that, they are beautiful huge brown eggs.

I guess that's where we will be getting our eggs until our own chickens start cooperating a little more.

On a side note, we add mayonaise instead of eggs in a lot of our recipes.  Cakes turn out so nice and moist!  Cookies, on the other hand, need to have a least some eggs added.  Many times we add a couple of eggs and a couple of spoons of mayo.

I have even added mayonaise to my pancake mix when in a pinch.

Frugal Living

You can't get more frugal than free!

All next week, our local thrift shop is giving away all of their winter clothes.

Many thrift shops clean out when the next season arrives.

Check out your local thrift shop!

Funk & Wagnalls

Groceries

The price of groceries is not cheap!  According to the news, it's not going to get any better.  Now is a great time to start that price book.

Just keep track of how much you pay for certain items at the stores you shop at.  Keep your little book with you.  When shopping check your book to make sure that you are getting the lowest price. 

My book contains prices of the four separate grocery stores that I shop at, Family Dollar, Dollar Tree, and Walmart.

Don't you hate it when you buy something and find it cheaper at the next store!?!

Start up a price book today!

Weekly Menus

Don't you just love reading everyone's weekly menus?

I know that I do!

I love it when I actually make out my weekly menus!

Life is sooo much easier.  Not too mention, it's easier on the grocery budget!

Well, I guess I will start working harder on this habit!

Frugal friday

I love junk stores. 

They remind me of our local library.

No, really!

I went into the library looking for a book, but couldn't find it.

When I asked the librarian about it, she replied, "Candy, you always want the classics, but we don't carry the classics any more."

What!  So did all of those good books go?  You can find them at the library book sales.

Ok, back to the junk store.  Sometimes when we go to the junk stores, the kids will yell, "Mom, there are too many people here.  They probably got all of the good stuff."

"Nay," I reply, "nobody thinks like me!"

You see, nobody wants the good stuff!

I got four really nice heavy duty wooden spoons at 5 cents each!  I picked up a set of 5 stainless steel bowls for $3.99.

Best of all, I got two cast iron frying pans in excellent shape.  One was 75 cents and the other one was a dollar!

Happy Frugal Friday!!!!

Save on Eggs

I like to add a couple of spoonfuls of mayonaise (or salad dressing) to my cake, cookie, or pancake recipes.  I either substitute it for the eggs entirely or use half of the eggs that the recipe calls for.

I think everything tastes better too.

The recipes turn out very moist.

Free Material

We are blessed enough to be given clothes all of the time!

Some of the clothes aren't very good while others still have the tags on them!

I sort them into different piles as soon as they come into the house. (If you put it off it only adds to clutter!)

The keeping pile, the giving pile, the garbage pile, the Christmas closet pile, and the sewing pile.

You can manage to get a lot of good and free material!

I took 2 long dresses yesterday and cut them down the back.

They didn't have any buttons - you just pulled them over your head.  They both had strings to tie around the back.

After cutting them straight up the back, one of my daughters and I each ended up with a really nice full length apron that ties in the back!

Skirts can be cut up the side to become a large piece of material ready for use.  They also make very pretty pillow cases.

Blue jeans are our favorite right now.  We make blue jean quilts.  My eleven year old son wants his quilt to be entirely pockets!

The pockets also make great country looking potholders.

Just sew a back onto it.  One of my sons likes to put filling into his potholders.  They make great little gifts!

Needless to say, sheets make excellent material!

Old blankets can be used as filler for new quilts!

Can't figure out what to do with that old shirt?  Make dish rags.  The best part is you can either wash and reuse or toss them out - depending on how messy the job was.

We like to keep rags around the house.  They work great for wiping up the floor or washing off greasy hands.

I keep a basket of "rags" on the counter for quick napkins or washcloths.

If you don't have people dropping clothes off at your house, then check out the thrift shops.  While rummaging through the clothing section, think "free material"!!!

Are You Being Frugal?

I had a very frugal day yesterday.  We needed a new VCR and I found one while out junkin'!!!

I paid $3.00, and the lady told me that if it didn't work to bring it back.

Well, it works great!

Everyone is happy, except for my son who gets to break out those algebra tapes now!

Frugal Friday

You don't have to cook for a month to enjoy cooking ahead.

Cook enough for two meals once in awhile.

When I make a roast I cook an extra big one.  The next day I make up stew.  This saves me from buying two packages of meat. Plus, I have a head start on the next day's meal!

Almost Meatless

How about an almost meatless meal?

Try tuna noodle casserole once in awhile.

Another Meatless Supper Idea

One of my husband's favorite meatless meal is

breakfast for supper.

We cook up pancakes, eggs, fried potatoes, and toast.

Throw in some juice, milk, coffee, and tea, and you have a great supper!

It's Friday Again

It's Friday again!  Have you been being frugal?

Try having one meatless meal a week.  One of our big hits is plain and simple macaroni and cheese.  Throw in some peanut butter sandwiches and some green beans, and you have a nice meal!

The idea of a meatless meal doesn't really appeal to my husband though.

But, I find it a lot more frugal to throw a couple burgers on for him instead of going through six pounds of meat to feed our large family!

Now remember, this isn't everyday, just once a week. But one meatless meal a week really helps the budget.

frugal friday

Since I have been on a Christmas kick lately, I thought my edition of Frugal Friday would stay along those lines.

Search for 'free samples' online.  Free samples make great stocking stuffers!

It's Frugal Friday Again

It's Frugal Friday again!  Boy, have we had a "frugal friday"!!!

I had to make a trip to town in order to get blood work done.  Four of my boys wanted to go along in order to spend some money that they had worked for.

We stopped in at the local thrift shop and found that almost everything in the place was free!

We got clothes, shoes, belts, hats, toys and a pillow!  The boys had a great time shopping and still taking their money home with them!

Don't buy new clothes!  Shop at the thrift shops.  You may be shocked to walk in and find clothing with the store tags still on them!  I bought my son a pair of jeans for $6.00 last year!  Normally I would never pay that much, but another son told me that they were $60.00 jeans.  They looked brand new, so into the Christmas closet they went!

Frugal Friday

Looking for a way to cut down on expenses?

Pick a day that everyone stays at home!

Don't burn any gas, and don't spend any money.

Don't spend any money on the computer either!

After Thought

Hey, I forgot to mention, the best part of these cloths is that you can wash them or toss them!

If they get too goopy (is that a word?!?) then throw them away without the guilt of throwing out something that you spent good money on!

Another use for old blue jeans:

They make great pot holders!  Just cut them into appropiate sizes and stitch up the sides!

Cloths

People are always giving us clothes.

We are so blessed!

I take what is given and sort it into different piles:

#1 - Keep for our family

#2 - Give away

#3 - Garbage

#4 - The sewing basket

I take a lot of shirts to use as aprons. 

I use a lot of the blue jeans to make blue jean quilts.

One of my favorite things to make are cloths.

I cut up shirts into different sizes to be used for wash

cloths and dish rags.  Believe me, with this many

kids we never have enough wash cloths!  They can

be used as regular wash cloths, napkins, or as a

tissue!

Cotton shirts are my favorite, but other material

works as well.

Does that make me frugal or a cheapskate?

Oh well, either way, I enjoy being creative in order to

stretch my husband's hard earned money!

How about you?

Shopping

Looking for a way to save money on shopping this week?

Don't go!

I know, I know, you have things that you can't do without.

Ever hear of people switching babysitting.  You know,

I keep your kids today; you keep mine tomorrow.

Well why not use that same principle with your shopping list??

You know that you are going to save money if you don't step foot into the store.  Just hand over your list!

I have it easy because I have built in shoppers.

There are great benefits to having grown children!

Left-overs

Did everyone have a great Easter holiday?

For those of you who made a big holiday dinner,

now is the time to use up those left-overs.

Sit down and come up with some yummy meal

ideas that will use up those left-overs.

For example:

Did you bake a big ham?

Why not cook fried ham and mashed potatoes,

scallopped potatoes with ham, or a yummy boiled dinner?

Need some help coming up with ideas?

Check out this book:

HItting the Junk Stores

On Friday, my eldest daughter, my father, and I spent the day shopping in a town about an hour drive from here. (Although, it takes me a good hour and a half!)

We had a great time!

Our first stop; the Salvation Army.

We found some good deals. I was really excited to find two movies of real live volcano footage!  I love how I am blessed to always find something that goes right along with what we are studying at school!  Last fall I found two huge books filled with art prints of Vincent Van Gogh's.  We, of course, bought a game. I can't go in there without bringing home a game. This time it was electronical battleship.  I picked up a pair of black levis for my husband, brand new recipe cards, and a new joke book. (The kids love making their own recipe books, and I'm tired of hearing the same jokes from the books we have!)

While driving around town looking for a Joanne Fabrics for my daughter, we found another

"junk store".  I was so excited!  I love junkin'!!!

Dad and I went into the thrift shop, while Jaimie hit the fabric store.

I found a beautiful silver Revere Ware tea kettle for .99, a GeoSafari talking globe for $1.99, and a riding rocking horse for $2.99, and I really splurged by buying myself a new purse at $1.99/ buy one/get one free!

I bought my three youngest sons cowboy hats for Christmas for 3 for $1.00! And my favorite thing, I found a Bible storybook that looked like one my brother had when he was little.  They gave it to me for free!

Everything looked new!

I love hitting the junk stores!

It's a Frugal Idea

We have an excellent family set-up.

My husband works nights and we

homeschool our children. This enables

us to have our big meal at noon instead

of at night.

Here are some of the advantages:

1. It's healthier.

2. The whole family is home.

3. I'm not too tired to cook a big meal.

4. We save a lot of grocery money because

people are more apt to eat the left-overs a few

hours later, rather than the next day.

"Hey, Mom, is there any of that ... left." (A few hours later.)

"What is that!" (The next day. )    ; )

Are You Thrifty Enough to Try it????????

I use a lot of Christmas wrapping paper!

I hate the idea of spending a lot of money on wrapping paper.

For the last two years, I have been using plain newspaper.

It hasn't been printed on yet, and it's FREE!!

Just go to your local newspaper office and ask them if they

have any end rolls that they would like to get rid of.

I spray painted it red and green last year. It worked out great!

Just a quick spray, and it goes on practically dry!

So, are you a cheap-skate, umm, I mean thrifty like me???

Let me know if you try it!