10 Things We Don't Buy (or Pay For)
Money Saving Mom posted a list of these a little while back, and I thought it would be fun to sit down and see if I could think of 10 things we don't buy or pay for.
1. Cable TV
I wrote a post all about how we live without cable TV service recently.
2. Cell Phone Contracts
I've written about that too, actually.
3. Credit Card Interest
We do use credit cards, but we never use them to purchase items we couldn't pay for in cash.
4. Sweetened Beverages
We drink mostly water (we love our Klean Kanteen water bottles!), plus some homemade iced tea or hot tea. This means my grocery budget for beverages is next to nothing, and I like it that way.
5. Paper Towels
I'm cheating with this one a bit, because we do keep a roll or two on hand for things like catching bacon grease. But since we use cloth towels and t-shirt rags for most purposes, we hardly ever have to buy paper towels.
6. Frozen/Prepared Meals
I do sometimes splurge on things at the grocery store, but never on these. Frozen meals for a family of six are crazy expensive, plus I don't think they taste very good and they come with a lot of packaging.
7. Commercial Yogurt
Except for the occasional starter cup, I haven't bought any yogurt for a long time.
(Unless we're on vacation. I don't make yogurt on vacation, thankyouverymuch.)
I've made it at home so many times, I can do it without thinking. The hands-on time is pretty minimal, and the yogurt is delicious and cheap.
Yes, please.
(here's how to make homemade yogurt)
(you should know, though, that you don't have to make yogurt!)
8. Dryer Sheets
I air-dry a lot of the sorts of things that would get staticky (synthetic fabrics, mostly), and so I just never really have a problem with static cling.
9. Bottled Water
I'm not dogmatic about most frugal issues, but bottled water is something I typically refuse to buy.
(I wrote an unusually firm post about that a while back.)
10. Cleaning Wipes
These are a lot more expensive than a bottle of spray cleaner and a sponge or washcloth, and I don't think they really save a lot of time. It's not that hard to spray Windex and then wipe it with a t-shirt rag. And a t-shirt rag takes up almost no space in a load of laundry.
disclaimer: In case you didn't read my You Don't Have To Make Yogurt post, I want to say that I'm not necessarily saying that YOU shouldn't buy these 10 things
(ok, maybe the credit card interest is an exception. I don't think you should pay credit card interest!).
I'm just saying that for me and my household, right now it makes sense to skip these 10 expenses. You shouldn't just blindly skip these along with me...you need to evaluate your life and priorities and make the decision that's right for you.)
How about you? If you want, you can list some things you don't buy in the comments!
Kristen,
I noticed your RSS feed for this site hasn't been working yesterday and today. I tried deleting the one I have and resubscribing but ti still says XML parse error.
The photo blogs feeds seem to be working just fine. Thought you might like to know.
I don't buy frozen dinners. But I have been trying to be better about freezing leftover portions of soups that are easy to thaw and re-heat for those nights when I can't drag myself to cook.
I won't pay a penny to dry my clothes! We are lucky to live in a pretty sunny, dry place now but even when we lived in drizzly Scotland I line dried on fair days and have a ceiling airer for wet days.
I don't buy spray cleaner, I use a homemade version (water, a tsp of dishwashing liquid, 2tbsp white vinegar, a few drops of lavendar and tea tree essential oils - all mixed into an old spray bottle) it works for surfaces, glass, tiles etc
I'm sure there must be more but I am so used to what we do and what we use that I can't think of any!!
I have a spray bottle of vinegar water in every bathroom, one in the laundry room, and one in the kitchen. I use them to mop (with washcloths tucked onto one of those swiffer things), to wipe my counters, stove, fridge (can clean up while I'm still cooking and it doesn't matter if a mist goes onto the food!!), to wash fruits and vegetables (spray and let it sit for about 30 seconds then rinse it off or scrub and rinse), clean mirrors, etc. I do use a separate cleaner for my toilet bowl, and sometimes need an additional cleaner for my tub (but wouldn't if I cleaned it more often! I use Barkeeper's Friend when I need it--also on my stainless steel sink).
I love not buying spray cleaner. My husband used to insist that we use a separate product to mop the floors, but now he uses vinegar water 🙂 (We have linoleum, hardwood, and some kind of fake slate tile thing).
I also use vinegar as fabric softener (currently) b/c it erases odors so well. I have noticed that clothes still get static-y if I don't use a dryer sheet, though... (I cut my dryer sheets in half and only use a half of one per load and that works fine.)
Totally agree with you on these except the yogurt. And I understand you say that I don't have to. For the way it would take me to make the yogurt and the little that we use, it is easier and cheaper for me to buy it. It took me quite awhile, after reading frugal blogs, to come to terms with it. And it helped me think about things that are written in terms of what works for me and what doesn't. And I can enjoy your blog even more that way! No shoulds! Just what makes sense for my family.
Thanks for your blog. I love it and read it faithfully. I love it that you share about your family. I get to pretend we are friends that way.
One item I almost never buy is a magazine although I love them and have a stack of them in the house. Our library has a convenient table where people can drop off unwanted magazines and pick up new ones. This has been the source of many a free magazine for me. I just bring it back when I am finished and recycle it to someone else. Also, the library allows borrowing of their non-current month magazine collection if I want something more exact or current. Buying even one magazine off the shelf a month is expensive. Thanks for the great topic today.
1. paper towels.. I use rags or newspaper, I use coffee filters for the occasional fried food grease drainage.
2. store bought cleaners...make my own
3. Don't pay credit card interest.....only use it for things we have the cash for also.
4. I won't buy store bought tomatoes...only homegrown for me, cannot stand the taste of the ones out of store
5. No sugared drinks....water, milk, iced tea
6. No frozen dinners....hubby has high blood pressure, the sodium content in those things is outrageous.
Disposable diapers! I'm so thankful for all the money we've saved in 3+ years of cloth diapering. Aside from a few disposables for traveling, we've spent next to nothing to diaper our kids. And since our second came along we've switched exclusively to cloth wipes too. They work much better, are gentler, and (of course!) way cheaper.
Haircuts, with me as the exception. I'm the only woman in a family of 4, so the guys cut me some slack on this one! I get a professional layered haircut twice a year and stretch the results with simple home trims in between. My husband cuts his own and my sons' hair, with surprisingly good results (using a haircutting book helps). This saves a minimum of $50/month. I also like polished toenails and do my own weekly manicures and pedicures. Occasionally, I'll use an inexpensive facial steamer for a facial, or treat my hair with olive oil before shampooing. So cheap, so easy, and fun! Salon services are very expensive!
I never thought of using a book! Good idea! I'm going to look into that so I can start cutting my husband's hair...and maybe mine!
Ann, I highly recommend Cutting You Family's Hair by Gloria Handel!
Thank you!
Culinary stock.
I save all the trimmings, peels and scraps from chopping veggies and meat and throw them in a bag in the freezer. When it's full, I boil it and have yummy veggie broth!
That's a great idea!
I've been doing this for quite a while now. It's taken my cooking to a whole new level...much more flavorful. Although if anyone poked around in my freezer they might wonder about the bags of chicken bones and skins. Not to mention the carrot and onion ends. My husband doesn't think twice about it anymore. He's noticed the difference, too!
Judi and Lisa:
Could you give some specifics as to quantities and also, the uses for this broth (other than base for soups and as cooking water for pasta?)
Thanks! Sounds great!
You'll have varying quantities of veggie scraps every week so each batch will taste different and that's what's fun! I use it in rice to add more flavor. I use it in any recipe that calls for stock or broth. When I season taco meat, I use the stock instead of water. It's also pleasant to drink from a cup just to get some extra nutrition!
Great tips from all of you. I really like this idea. I have been wondering about all the produce scraps I throw away...if there's an alternative to composting. I would like to compost someday, but it seems like a big chore to get started. This, however, sounds totally doable, and might make my cooking tastier 🙂
I take home bones and shells from restaurants and even seriously consider going back to restaurants that give me extras.
Chicken stock is the easiest because chix bones taste immensely like chicken. My rule of thumb is 1 lb of bones makes 1 pint of stock (which I then condense even more to save freezer space). I like a strong stock, the professionals say 1 lb = 1 qt. Since I use chix stock for both Asian and European cooking I make a neutral stock using bones, scraps, peppercorns, onion, celery, and sliced ginger; no carrot, no herbs.
Seafood stock I start with the same proportion, then salt-and-taste a spoonful.
Beef and pork stock is harder because the bones only taste somewhat like the meat, and the fat doesn't taste like beef or pork at all. (Exception: ham fat tastes like ham, it's from the curing and smoking.) So you need a relatively large amount of beef or pork to make beef or pork stock. Which is why I don't make them. I'd rather eat the meat.
I use my stock to make soup, cook beans, make sauces both Asian and European, make rice if I want something luxurious. I don't use it to cook pasta because I don't notice the difference in the pasta, and any leftover stock tastes starchy.
Whatever you do, DON'T salt your stock. Salt the final product instead. If you season your stock you have much less control over how salty the final product is.
I'm glad you chimed in on this, because I'm afraid my recipe is just to throw a bunch of bones, skin, onion and carrot ends in a pot and simmer until it turns a pretty color and there's no longer any chance of getting any flavor out of the various bits. The main things I use my stock for are soups (esp. lentil) and chicken and noodles. We have those suppers almost every week. But I would use the stock for almost anything. Funny, I never thougt to use it when I cook rice. Will definitely do that.
We don't pay for my husband's haircuts. That saves us at least $10 a month. I only get my hair cut 2-3 times a year (I recently donated 10", so I needed a few more cuts than normal to get it back in to a shape that can be grown out).
We have recently cut back on buying canned/bottled drink. I gave up diet soda, which cut a big chunk of our grocery budget. My husband is still drinking lemonade, but we buy the mix in bulk. It's his one little luxury, so I don't mind.
I haven't yet completely eliminated paper towels from our budget, but we only go through a roll every 2-3 months, used primarily for patting meats dry and draining fried foods. For everything else, I burn through my stack of flour sack towels.
I don't buy paper napkins. I made cloth napkins out of leftover fabric from our wedding decor. I love them because they seem so fancy!
1. Homemade laundry detergent. I love the savings and it is SO easy to do!
2. We still purchase paper towels, but like you, only use them to clean really icky things.
3. Bottled water. When I was in college I use to spend $4/week on the stuff. What a waste of money!
4. Hair cuts for my husband. I purchased a kit and do this myself now. We save $30/month.
5. We have cell phone contracts but we cancelled text messaging. I don't miss it, though a lot of my family complains that they have to actually call me. But they aren't paying my bill 😉
6. Cable. A lot of my favorite shows are available on their website for free.
7. Chicken broth. I cook a whole chicken in the crock pot and then make my own broth.
8. Baby carrots. I'll either chop it up myself or eat it whole.
9. Shredded cheese. We are trying to cut this out of our diet, but when we did eat it before, I would buy a big block of cheddar and shred all of it, and freeze most of it for later.
10. Movies! This one is kind of not fair, but my husband is a police officer and the movie theatre here gives 2 free tickets to police officers. Also, if I didn't send my husband lunch, he would get free fast food at most places when he is on duty. But I figure that we are saving more money in the long run sending his lunch because he won't have health problems from eating fast food 🙂
11. Spaghetti sauce, cornbread, brownies, etc. If I can make it on my own, I'll give it a try, and I'm usually happier with the results.
12. Canned beans.
That's it for now. Some things I can't wait to try in the future are cloth diapers, homemade baby food, homemade bread, and homemade cleaners. I don't know if I'm just weird, but most of the things that I do to save money, I really enjoy. I told my husband before, that even if he was to get a huge raise, I would still follow my frugal lifestyle.
This was a fun topic!
I love your blog, Kristen! It's so inspiring. You have a great personality that comes through in your writing. I discovered your blog not too long ago and am a faithful follower ever since.
Things we don't buy: bottled water, juice or soda, prepared/packaged meals, cable, magazine subscriptions (I love my Cook's Illustrated online membership and have since canceled all my previous magazine subscriptions; I see that you like them as well.) We also have A LOT of books, but I always get them at the library first and buy only the ones that I want to have in my own. I am trying your yogurt recipe today:)
LOVE the list, and it will give me something to think about...I'm going to try and come up with a list too!
I'm a moderate type - using less rather than using none - so I bet my list is going to be shorter.
1. Culinary stock. Although I bought veg stock recently, because my vegetarian friend didn't know till late if she'd be coming to the party.
2. Glass cleaner. Vinegar, dish soap, and water for me.
3. Laundry detergent. Hand soap, borax, and washing soda for me. At one tenth of the price!
4. Commute to work. I take public transit, which my employer pays for. Switched jobs within the company to keep away from having to drive.
5. Credit card interest.
6. Cleaning wipes. (I wouldn't've though to include this, I wonder what other individually packed things I've missed.)
Love this list. We do have cable (but maybe not for long) and smart phones, buy our yogurt (but plan to try making it soon), but we use minimal amounts of paper towels, cleaning wipes, and dryer sheets (I hang most of my laundry to dry and use half a dryer sheet when we have a string of rainy days and piles of laundry!). And we don't buy the other stuff either (bottled water, beverages, frozen meals). We are also adamant about not paying credit card interest, but we use our credit card for everything possible.
Which brings me to something else we don't pay for: airline tickets!! We have gotten SOOOO many free plane tickets thanks to our credit card rewards. My best friend lives in LA, and I visit her at least once a year. And next month all six of us are going to London--my husband will be doing research, so his ticket is covered by research funds, but we managed to acquire enough points to pay for *almost* all of the other five tickets! And we will have free lodging with my husband's brother, so it's going to be a very frugal trip.
I hate cleaning wipes and have refused to use them! so much waste of money and also a trash-maker. Since my daughter was born in January, I did buy a canister of natural disinfecting wipes, because sometimes babies make or are around messes that need to be cleaned up and disinfected as quickly and easily as possible. I have used about a dozen of them so I expect to make the most of them. When it's not urgent, I still use my regular disinfectant and a cloth.
I also have hardly bought paper napkins for several years. My husband and I have been using cloth napkins for quite a while, turning to the paper towels if needed (hello, Buffalo wings!). When people come to visit is the only time I get them out because the people who visit us seem to think that cloth napkins are somehow filthy (um, that was YOUR mouth you wiped!) and pretty much refuse to use them. My in-laws live with us now, though, and I'm hoping that our example will catch on. In the meantime, I still don't buy them--if they want paper napkins, they can buy them. ;-O
For windows, I have a Norwex window cloth, pricey but I've had mine for at least 5 or 6 years, just use water
Try to use minimal paper towels
I hang most of my clothes, I use a bit of vinegar in the softener cup, no static unless it's -40 and it's so dry but it's not that often :-))
If I think of more I will post later
1. Dry cleaning
2. Soda (except on very rare occasions)
3. Cleaning wipes
4. Frozen dinners
5. Bottled water (except on trips)
6. Cable
7. Taco seasoning (I use my own combination of seasonings)
8. Smoothie in a bag (loved your post on that by the way!)
9. Land line phone
10. Formula - my daughter is almost 4, but when she was little I never bought formula, breastfed her until she was 1 and could have regular milk.
PS - I asked my daughter what we don't buy and she said "Cheeseballs!" haha! She's right, we don't buy them very much! 🙂
I have a quick question on dryer sheets: I read that you can soak a towel in fabric softener and then repeatedly reuse that one towel as your dryer sheet. Does anyone know if that works with homemade fabric softener, made with diluted conditioner?
It should work.
I don't buy:
1. Paper towels - I use old cut up bath towels and sponges
2. Coffee filters - I use a reusable filter
3. Readymade cleaners - I make my own, including detergent, and room spray from lavender in my garden
4. Basil - I grew and dried enough to last all year!
5. Wrinkle releases - a spray bottle of water works just fine
6. Dry sheets - tennis balls in the dryer
There are a ton more but I shouldn't hijack your blog to do so.
I love my Norwex...I haven't bought any type of household cleaner (except dishwashing soap) in 18 months. It's amazing what you can do with a little water and cloth. I do use their laundry soap, cleaning paste and oven/grill cleaner but like I said it's been 18 months since I've first bought them and I still have a GREAT amount left of most...I'm gonna be purchasing more laundry detergent in about a month.
Cable just wasn't worth it for my family of 5 either. Especially with alot of shows on the internet now. We are thinking of doing the Netflix thing but most probably not til fall...with summer coming who takes the time to watch a lot of TV.
I need to try to make yogurt soon. I spend about 20 dollars a week on it (and that's buying bulk containers) it would definitely be interesting to see how that worked on my grocery budget....my question and I'll have to go back and reread your how to make yogurt post is how to make more than just plain or vanilla my kids LOVE peach and strawberry yogurt but not a lot of fruit CHUNKS in their yogurt. They love fruit but not IN their yogurt as much.
On the yogurt...perhaps dropping the fruit in a blender before stirring it in?
The easiest way I know to flavor yogurt is with jam or pie filling. But I also make orange, banana, pina-colada, more details at my blog.
I think buying a smaller home would do ourselves some good. Plus all the good ideas on here... 🙂
Four years ago I bought a house which is 768 square feet. Two of us live here. Not only is the cost, taxes, and insurance on a smaller house much less, but the utilities are much smaller too!
My list is mostly made up of things we don't pay for *anymore*. We've been slowly becoming more frugal over the years, and I hope to make even bigger strides while on maternity leave starting in August. We don't buy disposable diapers or wipes (although I still have a large package of disposable wipes leftover from a Costco box that I use in a pinch when the cloth wipes are in the wash). We don't buy baking mixes for anything. We don't buy paper napkins (although I have a stash of various ones that people have brought to my house over the years). We hardly buy clothes for our children, because we have a huge collection of clothes that are being circulated amongst the extended family. We don't buy things like calendars, notepads or pens, because we get so many of them free from various businesses. We don't buy pizza unless it is an exceptional circumstance... we have homemade pizza night every Saturday, often using your thin crust dough recipe. And like you, I don't buy dryer sheets or bottled water. I do pay for cable TV, cell phone plans and pop (oh, I mean soda for you US folks!). I'd like to cut down on the pop, but it's going to take some work. Like you said, I'm doing what works for my family. 🙂
We call it pop here in Michigan, not exactly sure where " soda" is said.
There is just the two of us and we have particular tastes as far as groceries but to add to the list:
1. laundry detergent - I make my own and love it.
2. liquid hand soap - dissolving a bar in hot water makes the same stuff, and if you make your bars (we don't) it's even cheaper
If you are a homemaker, and have the time for scratch cooking
3. Chicken stock
4. Spaghetti sauce
5. Most convenience foods
Hey Kristen-- I'm with you on your whole list (except yogurt-- we don't eat it)! The one that's the hardest for me is sweet beverages-- I recently broke down and bought a few packets of koolade mix. Thanks for posting this-- it made me stop and think about the choices I make, and made feel content with my frugal progress thus far.
Funny you mention the Koolaid mix. I have stopped buying soda because it is just insanely expensive, and my fiance and I can go through a case of it in a day or two when it's in the house. So, as a compromise, I've been buying packets of store-brand sugar free drink mix (like Crystal Light). I can make 12 quarts of drinks for around $2. It's definitely not the absolute most frugal option (like tap water!), but it's a pretty good compromise 🙂
1. bottled water
2. fabric softener (i do still buy detergent though, i don't feel that i have the space in my apartment to make my own comfortably right now)
3. degreaser-i boil organge peels
4. some grocery staples like brown sugar or plain yogurt, i just make my own
5. a lot of canned items like jelly, apple sauce, or beans
6. paper napkins
7. a lot of cosmetics products like facial cleanser or make up remover- olive oil, tea tree oil, and sea salt do wonders
this is the big one for me- i'm weaning myself off of diet soda. i'm -not- the type of person that can go cold turkey on it, i've tried 3 or 4 times. but i'm done to a quarter of the amount i used to drink and the price difference is phenomenal.
Now I really want to know what laundry detergent method people know of, that theirs takes a lot of time or space. What's your method?
The one I use requires one pot for heating water, one container (I use a 5 qt ice cream bucket with lid and handle), and the counter space to rest it on.
very very large quantities, mainly. and i actually don't have that much counter space. i have to put up tables to can.
Love these! You always inspire me to save more money! 🙂
All of the above, plus eggs. We have a handful of chickens who provide those and mostly eat our food scraps that would otherwise go in the compost or garbage. (Plus- they provide free entertainment.)
Though I'm not good at making yogurt. It works maybe 50 percent of the time. Wonder what I'm doing wrong?
I make my yoghurt in my slow cooker, and it doesn't work when my house is too cold. (I often heat the milk in the late afternoon/evening and let it incubate overnight. In the winter I let the temperature drop to 16 degrees Celcius overnight, which is too cold for yoghurt making!) If the house is going to be cold, I leave the crockpot on top of the stove with the halogen range hood lights turned on for warmth.
I'm with you each of those except #7 - I do buy yogurt...someday I'll add it to my repertoire. I'd add to the list:
1. canned beans
2. salad dressing
3. granola
4. electronic devices for kids
5. handbags
Yes, handbags! I love a pretty purse but I always buy then used. The quality is generally better in the old ones even if they need a little fixing up!
The only thing that comes to mind that others haven't already mentioned is air freshener. If your house is clean why would you need to change the smell of the air?
I agree with your list, other than the yogurt 😉 We do keep paper towel, cleaning wipes and bottle water on hand for emerg. (in our earthquake kit) I do buy laundry soap, and special soap for our cloth diapers.
One of my best savings is not buying greeting cards anymore. The children make them. I find friends and family like them better than store bought. Saving us $1-$6.00 each.
Thanks for your blog :)You keep me motivated. We are working toward paying off $10,000.00 on our LOC-mosty the last of our "new" car. We have paid off 73% in 9 months (started at $37,000.00) We will soon be a family of 5 and we are working very hard to keep our budget under $850.00 a month (seems impossible) So thanks for the tips.
I guess that my big don't buys right now are; bread (I find it relaxing to make my own) and diapers (small one has always been in cloth).
I scoffed at cleaning wipes until I had a newborn in the house. For some reason, having a big canister of Clorox wipes sitting on the bathroom sink (and under the kitchen sink) makes it so much easier to clean a little during that crazy transition time when nothing seems to get done. By the time the canister was empty, my newborn was about 4 months old, and I was ready to get back in the game. I made sure to pick some up when my second was born, about 3 months ago.
There are a few convenience items I would never use ordinarily that I find super helpful when life gets crazy, like with a newborn or when I am sick.
1.Easter eggs
2.Christmas cards
3.Birthday cards
4.marzipan. Can't stand the stuff
5.valentines cards/presents. Love hubby anyway, no need to tell him once a year.
6.mothers day stuff
7.fuel- no car. ha ha ha.
8.tv license- no tv. I'm enjoying this
9.fizzy drinks
10.scones, cheaper and nicer to make your own.
11.cling film, use a lid
12. foil.
Oh dear, I can carry on. Paper towels, fabric conditioner,credit card, toilet cleaner( vinegar instead)... very hard to limit it to 10 and I deleted a couple.
Do you have tv licenses in America?
I have debated the rag versus paper towel thing in my head for awhile. The cost/resource use of washing rags...I'm not sure if the number of rags I would go through in a day is worth of the water to clean them. And sometimes a paper towel is the only thing that will clean up the mess the best way! But I wonder if anyone knows which one is better, production and waste of paper towel or washing rags.
I usually only use 1 rag a day, but also have a kitchen cloth for kitchen counters and such as well.
I have a bucket ice cream container that for the first time of the day I fill with hot sudsy water. I just leave and use the same rag in that bucket all day for spills and such. Then, before bed, dump it out and hang over the sink or a tub to dry, then the next day throw it in the hamper.
I do part time daycare, so usually our messes are milk or food on the floor, or mud tracked in.
Ann, while you're at it, check out some YouTube tutorials, too! I learned how to cut our boys' and my husband's hair watching YouTube tutorials. I use the back of a comb to make sure the nape of the neck is straight-works like a charm! :). My husband cuts my hair now, too. Since it's really curly, we can get away with it, and it still looks stylish (it's about shoulder-length with some layers.) So, we don't pay for haircuts for anyone in our family of 5! We also use cloth diapers. We've used them for all three children.
Kristen, I just bought a gallon of whole milk, so I can try your yogurt recipe. I've always made it with 2 percent, and skipped the thermometer, so the texture has been a bit thin. My results have been less than consistent over the years, too. I'm going to pick up a thermometer and get to business. We go through a lot of yogurt here in smoothies, and I like to make yogurt bread. My husband drinks a savry yogurt drink during Ramadan, which is coming up in August, and I like to keep him supplied! Hopefully I'll get the hang of it by then! Thank you for the beautiful recipe!
I think you could have added to your list is something that's number one on my list. You don't pay anyone to clean your house. I sometimes feel like I'm the only person who cleans my own toilet!!
1. Paper Products. We use cloth napkins and towels exclusively.
2. Cleaning Products. I use vinegar for almost everything along with some Dr. Bronner's.
3. Gas for a second vehicle. My husband and I carpool together daily saving mucho gas money and mileage on our second vehicle.
4. Dryer sheets.
5. DVDs and Books. We get them either through the library or netflix.
6. All animal products. We are vegans and don't spend any money on meat, dairy, or eggs.
7. Bread.
8. Pizza. I always make my own pizza, stromboli, and bread sticks.
9. Canned beans. This one is still half using dried beans and half canned beans. We eat a lot of beans and its hard, but I'm working toward it!
10. Any beverage that costs money.
I rarely buy yogurt--I make my own and strain it, and use the whey in my gluten free breads (or make very happy berry bushes with the whey).
Very few paper towels, just for greasy or really nasty messes that I don't want to wash (usually either paint, workshop messes, or greasy stuff).
Of random things: feminine pads/tampons because I use a Diva Cup (usually--it is a little more difficult when working strenuously or traveling)
Cable, newspapers, and Home Phone: we have Netflix for movies, cheap cell phones for phone, and internet (we splurge for as fast as we can get in the middle of nowhere) for news and other entertainment.
And my proudest one:No gym membership and no buying tomatoes and other veggies during the summer because I garden! (okay, so I spend more on the gardening than to buy it, but it acts as my exercise and healthy eating at the same time.
Okay, I know there are more, but I know two things I am never giving up:
Toilet Paper and Washing Machines!
1. Paper towels and paper napkins
2. Paper plates
3. Household cleaners (I use vinegar, salt, lemon juice)
4. Laundry soap (make my own)
5. Baby formula (when kids were younger of course)
6. disposable diapers (again when they were much younger it was cloth)
7.vacumer cleaner bags (have a bagless canister vac)
8.fabric softner sheets
9.landline
10.diaper wipes (when kids were little I made a solution and used white washrags)
11. noodles (make my own)
12. bread (make my own)
13.rugs (make my own from rags)
14. batteries-rarely do I buy any as we use the rechargeable ones
15.beef or chicken stock (make my own)
16.vanilla (make my own)
17.jam/jelly (make my own)
18. butter (make my own)
19. fruits/veggies (grow and preserve my own)
20. daycare expenses (when kids were little we worked opposite shifts to avoid needing it)
21. car washes (do it ourself)
22. shampoo, toothpaste, cereal and often deoderant (no I am not gross, I wait till on sale and use coupons veryn early always getting items for free)
23. cupcake/muffin cups (got some silicone reusable ones 10+ years ago and still use them 2-4 times a week)
24. wax paper (I use it rarely, so save the wax bags from inside ceral boxes)
25. soda (usually water or fruit teas in this house-some milk)
26. firewood (we cut our own)
27. nuts, we gather our own
28. fish (we go fishing!)
29. books (library)
30. movies (library)
31. We purchase very little meat as we grow beef and pork
32. eggs (I have chickens)
33. clothes dryer is used rarely--(I have a nice 60 foot line with 4 or 5 spans on it)
34. gym membership-(exercise here at home)
35 yard work or house cleaning-(we do our own)
36, veggie plants(-I start my own from seed)
37. Pizza (each person makes their own personal sized one)
38. alcohol (except when I start a new batch of vanilla)
39. tobacco products
40. dish rags (I use old towels cut to size and sewn 2 or 3 layers thick)
I LOVE this list!!! It was so encouraging! You sound like a "Homesteader"! 🙂 Cheeryshirley
Kristin, do you buy any baked goods? I know you and Lisey bake a lot!
I do buy some, which is why it didn't go on the list! 🙂 I buy tortillas and sometimes I buy bagels, for instance.
Woo what lists you people have here. 🙂 I quess again our not-so-frugal lifestyle got some challenges. We gave up a long time ago pay-tv services,
and it was a great choice. Making bread ourselves would be something,
but doesn't really happen. Using freezer effectively is already a plan. 😉
Good ideas for spiced water are welcome btw. One thing where doesn't go basically any money with us is alcohol but sodas we do buy to some extend.
Yes, money goes sometimes to concerts and rare to movies but we favor
studentconcerts, etc. Homemade yoghurt sounds great, I must try one day.
I use some items very sparingly and to make sure I am aware of how spare, I DATE the boxes when they are opened. I get two years out of a roll of tinfoil, a year out of a box of baggies, etc. I don't look at the date every time I pick up the item, but I do notice when it runs out and it's a little attention-getter.
You inspired me to do my own post on this:
http://cindyonrhinebeck.wordpress.com/2012/04/13/ten-things-i-no-longer-spend-my-money-on/
Thanks. Lots of good ideas here.
1. TV
2. New cell phones/smartphones/expensive plan
3. Landline phone
4. Convenience foods - Its a lot more work, but I make most things from scratch & am always willing to attempt a recipe at least once.
5. Bread- We just made the switch to homemade and on the few occasions I've bought bread when I don't have time to make it, we haven't enjoyed it.
6. Professional services, most of the time. We do most home repairs ourselves, except things like replacing furnace parts or winding the garage door springs (yikes!) .
We have been buying bottled water, but I'm trying to convince my husband to use the reusable bottle I bought for him. We purchased a home reverse osmosis system for our drinking water to replace the bottle water cost. Our tap water provided by the city gives me a stomach ache and I end up not drinking enough water, so bottle/RO is required. Britta filters didn't help.
bottled water
pads/tampons (I use cloth)
cable (but we do have Netflix)
laundry detergent (I make my own, does that count?)
fabric softener (I use white vinegar)
dryer sheets (we use those blue balls that bounce around loudly in the dryer!)
paper napkins or plates (cloth napkins!)
A variety of cleaning products (exception is actually stuff we use on the toilets because, well, toilets are gross. But I do use the simply green stuff!)
I'm sure there are more, I just can't think of them right now!
Oh dear - I was doing so well with the top-ten countdown... but once again up popped home-made yoghurt... that's it... I'm going to have to give it a go. Don't diss it till you've tried it!
You made me realise how much I miss my yoghurt maker!!! I wonder where it is... Thanks for all the great ideas 🙂
1. All paper products (except hubby's tissues, on sale, of course)
2. Laundry detergent
3. Shampoo/conditioner
4. Soda
5. Convenience foods or packaged foods (cook from scratch)
6. Cleaning products (make my own)
7. Eating out very minimally (plan to go 2 x/year)
8. Malls (window shopping is a budget-breaker for us!)
9. Meat
10. Cable TV or Netflix
11. Cell phones
12. Motor home or extra vehicles (just one car)
13. Trips
14. Magazines or subscriptions
15. Juice (we make our own)
16. Dryer (we hang our clothes in the front bedroom on a clothesline my hubby installed on two walls)
so can one really make yogurt at home that is sweetened with splenda and uses skim milk? IE the yogurt I buy is fat free and splenda sweetened and I love it. Ideas? Doable?
Well, the yogurt I make is almost always skim milk (it strains better for greek yogurt-style goodness), and while I don't sweeten with splenda, I occasionally use stevia with no ill effects, so I don't see a reason it should cause issues. Just make sure to sweeten it AFTER you incubate it so that any effects on the good bacteria are not altered by the sweetener (just like with honey or sugar or fruit flavors).
So the verdict is: highly doable.
I have cut back on buying gum or breath mints. I keep a little tin in my bag full of whole cloves, allspice berries, fennel seeds or cardamom pods. All of these sweeten your breath naturally. (you don't eat them, just suck on them for a little while, then discard) Sprigs of fresh herbs like basil or parsley work well too when you have access to these.
Your post & the comments have inspired me to work toward cutting out a few additional things, such as dryer-usage (need a clothes-line!) & paper towels - with a house full of pets, we seem to go through a lot of paper towels 🙁
Our current list of "no buys" include:
1) soft drinks (soda, pop) & any juices that aren't 100% juice (we cut HFCS)
2) coffee filters (have reusable ones)
3) laundry or dishwasher detergent (make our own for less money & toxicity)
4) dog food (make our own - maybe not cheaper but reduces vet bills!)
5) eggs (raise chickens - again probably not cheaper but healthier)
6) pesticides (we have guinea fowl &/or use natural methods)
7) vacuum bags (have bagless)
8) potting soil & fertilizers (we compost)
9) fancy cleaners (use vinegar or vinegar solutions for most cleaning)
10) water (have a well to refill reusable bottles - the only time we buy bottled water is when we may be out & the only other choice is soft drink)
Great post! We don't use credit cards - only debit. We also stopped buying envelopes. My kids and I like writing letters but we use scrap paper to make our own envelopes now.
Now I live mostly alone it makes no sense for me to make or freeze large batches of things, they get wasted if I do...my local supermarket always has something reduced, like the good Greek yoghurts, so I just buy one then.
Bottled water do like and my supermarket own brand 2 litre is 89 cents or less, so that's my treat!
None of the other things listed I buy except I have resisted changing my cellphone, think I will read your article and research that next.
That's an old post but I'll answer anyway, just for fun!
We don't pay for....
* cable tv (we pay Netflix)
* cell phone contract (we have a pay-per-usage one, and we limit greatly)
* Car payments (we have a 2004)
* services like cleaning lady, people to shovel or cut grass, gardener, etc. We do it all ourselves
* Haircuts. Myself and the girls keep it long. I shave my husband's hair every couple weeks.
* Cosmetics. I wear no makeup except for lipstick, and I don't put creams, toner and god knows what else women use. Shampoo and soap is whatever is on sale. I'm very low maintenance on that front!
* High price clothes. I look for sales or Goodwill.
* Entertainment at home. We still have a VCR, a DVD player, a "big box" style tv and a Super Nintendo, so you see what I'm talking about here...! We also have 2 tablets, to be fair.
* Drugs, cigarette, magazines, books (yay library!), minimal alcohol (hubby likes a good beer from time to time. I don't drink at all)
* etc, etc!
I implement almost all of these idea's. I guess the biggest thing we don't buy is anything at full price . I attempt to purchase everything we need at a marked down or reduced price . My budget is extremely limited . Thankfully , we have several salvage/scratch and dent stores in the area . Using coupons and rebates etc ..... it is rare for me to purchase anything at full price. I absolutely refuse to purchase any alcohol refreshments or tobacco . These are luxury items in my mindset. I find that the internet and You Tube to be an incredible money saver.