The Times, They Are A-Changin' Challenge

[mamamia]

OK, this is an "Oldie but Goodie"

This was posted back in 2007, but times are tougher than ever, but our frugalness is also sharper than ever

So the challenge is to think hard about it, and come up with one more frugal thing you can squeeze in somewhere, or share what you have recently added to your "best" frugal list. I know these times have made me dig deeper than ever to squeeze those dimes even tighter So I'll start with my most recent idea, and I know you gals/guys got lots of goodies to add. I'm really looking forward to seeing the "good stuff"

Here's mine>

I'm on quite a few prescription drugs, and I recently been playing the "Transfer Prescription Game" earning GCs. Last month, I earned four for $85 worth. I got Walgreens, CVS, Albertson's and Winn Dixie.
Everyone of these (except wags) takes competitors coupons. (K-Mart might too). So I make it a point to ask my friends for their's from the papers, becaust the Walgreens and CVS ones are almost always good for 6-8 weeks before they expire. In December & January, I earned $45 for Targets, and another $25 at CVS. They help me out sooo much because most times they're for $25. I hope somebody who isn't already doing this can do it for themselves. Every little bit helps for sure!!

Here's one for $25 at Walgreens. You might need to copy/paste though.

http://walgreens.shoplocal.com/walgr...toreid=2508664

And another for Rite-Aid

http://www.riteaid.com/www.riteaid.c...ionCpn0209.pdf

Theresa

[Thevail]

I cook "on the fly" a lot. I never know whose coming to dinner on any given day. (and wouldn't change it for the world either)

So lately I cook big batches of ingredients. I save money by buying something like sausages or hamburger in the huge 10 pound pack (on sale of course).

Then I cook them all, say make a huge batch of meatballs. Then we have some for dinner, but most of them I let cool and cut up and/or package for the freezer in one pound packs.

I can do the same with beans, or spaghetti sauce, or chili.

Now come dinner time I count heads remove the appropriate # of baggies or containers from the freezer and I'm on my way. All the convenience of convenience food with the taste of home made and the sale price.

I love to entertain, and this saves me a lot of time and money.

[phoeny_moonstar]

I have started saving all the change I possibly can and have it in a bucket that way I can monitor my progress. I have never done it before and this is new and exciting for me!

[danimarie0820]

I also transferred my prescription for the $25 gift card. I then would watch the adds, match my coupons, and get many things just from $25..It's great.
I do the change jar. Every time it fills up we roll the change and then put it into our "house account" it really adds up. We have a great down payment for a home.

[Spirit Deer]

I'm starting to make things I've never made before, like crackers. Still haven't figured out the best recipes but I'm working on it.

Actually I think I'm operating at a deficit on that one right now, since I just bought a roller docker for making the holes in the dough. But it shouldn't take that long for it to pay for itself.

For prescriptions not covered under insurance, we buy in Canada. One of our dogs has to have prescription eye drops which are $140 per bottle in the US. She uses a bottle per month. I get the exact same drug from Canada for $33/bottle. BIG savings.

I guess the best thing we've been doing lately is working harder to use the things we already have, rather than buy new things. So far, so good.

[jonesies]

I keep an old rag on top of the dryer and spray it with diluted fabric softener instead of buying dryer sheets. I make the majority of my cleaning supplies and save all of those spaghetti sauce and pickle jars to use for leftovers instead of tuperware. I coupon as much as I possibly can and shop at a grocery surplus store too. Those are just some I can think of off the top of my head.

[JanieD]

Ok this may not be new for many here at FV, but it may help someone. I'm shopping differently to save... buying larger sizes, extra items (stockpiling), switch brands & substitute products to avoid paying more. Sales aren't as often or as good, so you have to really pay attention to get deals. Watch for sale items & add coupons to pay even less. It takes a little time, but the savings add up. Just getting a little creative with how you do regular stuff can make a difference.

[Buc-O-Mama]

The DH is finally hanging my clothesline back up in the backyard after it was down for quite a while due to a project. I'm ready to start hanging stuff out again in my heavily deed restricted community on my state protected clothesline. I'm done paying for what could be free - drying clothes.

[The Muse]

I only use milk in cooking so I switched to dry milk, then I took it one step further and looked up how to use it as a substitute for sweetened condensed milk, evaporated milk, cream, and in making yogurt. It's been a huge savings.

I tried the homemade detergent before and it bothered my allergies. (I think it was the borax.)

If it was the Borax that irritated you, there are recipes that just use soap and washing soda. You might give that a try.

[mombottoo]

I recently bundled our services all to our cable/internet provider. Now, we have our phone service through them too. We will save around $800 a year by making the change.

I also keep a close eye on our car/truck and house insurance premiums. We currently pay $125 (rounded) a month for these insurances. Before, we were paying more than that for just auto insurance until we switched to a different company.

I stopped our subscription to our local paper...it's turning into a joke of a paper anyway...savings: $77.60 per year, because I will still buy the Sunday paper (coupons don't cha know).

[Grayce]

My DH got laid off last week. Since then, I have gone back to making my own bread. I am pulling out all my most frugal recipes and planning our menus.

[MommyBliss]

I have started turning off the heat during the day and we bundle up in sweatshirts and socks.

[rainbowgc]

No double coupons in our area so since I stockpile anyway I coupon with BOGO! As soon as my jug is empty I plan to start making my own laundry soap.

[lotsadebt]

I started carrying my calculator to figure out cost per unit of a product to see which is actually cheaper by ounce. Hard to do in you head now that manufacturer's are changing the sizes, smaller of course!

Also I think I saw this here, add to the change jar ones. You break a bill larger than a $5 the leftover singles go into the change jar. I have been emptying of the bills every week. I then squirrel the $ away. I have about 30$ now. I just started this about 2 weeks ago.

[imagine]

I started putting all the freebie coupons for restaurants and bowling etc from the children's school and the public library along with gift cards we received for movie rentals and restaurants all in one container ( like a coupon caddy) so they are all hand in one place. We have saved them for treats and special nights out or special nights in.

I also have put a few coupons in the glove box for free fries or shakes at the local drive in or drive thru. These are handy for spurge of the moment surprises for the children.

I also learned that you can just get the free thing in most cases. Like the "Book it" coupon for a free personal pan pizza for the child. I ordered it and picked it up ( all free of charge) and Daughter had a fun treat on a day she didn't really like what was on the menu at home. And here I thought you couldn't do that. Son sure missed out on a lot of pizzas he earned when he was in elementary school