27 Old Fashioned Frugal Living Tips to Try Today | Save THOUSANDS
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- Опубліковано 12 тра 2024
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My name is Christine, and welcome to Frugal Fit Mom! Today is a throw back to my grandparents and the frugal living tips they learned by growing up in the great depression. Here is the article that had the original list of 27 items - www.clevergirlfinance.com/fru...
In this video, we're going to be looking at 27 affordable living tips that Grandma used during the Great Depression. From saving on groceries to creating your own entertainment, these tips will help you live a frugal life on a tight budget!
If you're interested in learning more about how to live a frugal life, then watch this video! We've gathered 27 tips from Grandma that will help you save money and live a comfortable life without breaking the bank. From adapting old-school frugal tips to fit a modern lifestyle, this video has it all!
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00:00 Frugal Tips from the Great Depression
00:53 Wear clothes more than once
3:00 Earth Breeze
4:30 Track your spending
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#frugalliving #greatdepression #frugalfitmom
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Absolutely LOVE Earthbreeze!!! It's a great prep item too!!
😂 FYI an electric blanket is literally just the modern version of a hot water bottle therefore that is a ✔️
This is a great video, and I'm especially glad to see you spreading the word about Earth Breeze. I've been using it for more than a year and I will never go back.
I have to say that I love this channel. I have been very wealthy most of my life, and now at 50 because of a number of issues, am not. I appreciate you not shaming people for needing help when they have come on hard times, and I appreciate the info you give to people that gets them back on track. Sometimes the biggest gift you can give someone is hope and this channel does that.
❤❤❤
It’s never too late to learn about personal finance and how to be better with your money. You’re in the right place ❤
Well said!!
You are not the only one. Trucker for 25 yrs & injury bad enough for disability. Making a lot & going to less than half in matter of days
🙏🏻🙏🏻🙏🏻
My mom & dad grew up during the depression. They lived the "repair it, recycle it for another purpose, use it up, or do without".
In my youth, I commented to my mom about her habit of saving every scrap of food. Even if there were 4 peas left from a meal, she would combine them with other veggies in the next meal. Left overs became casseroles or soups the second time around. My mom said, "If you've ever been truly hungry, you would be grateful for whatever food you could get". She said she could remember her mom giving the kids and her dad food at meals, and only eating what was left after everyone got food. And many times it was hardly anything at all.
Two of Mom's classics were: "If you don't want it, someone else will eat it."
And, "If you don't eat it at this meal, we will have it again at the next meal."
Mom would be shocked at people buying "micrfiber" and other specialty cleaning cloths. I grew up with mom using old clothes and towels as 'cleaning rags'. Like mom, I also do the same.
My grandmother and grandfather lived through the depression too. And they raised 7 children. Of course, some of them weren’t born during the depression. They lived in WV, my grandfather worked in the coal mines from the time he was just a young boy. He died of black lung when he was in his 60s. My grandmother said she and the kids would walk along the railroad tracks and picked up coal that had fallen off the trains to have coal to burn for heat and cooking. She knew how to cook what she had available and how to stretch it out and still make sure everyone had a full belly. Even when I was a child she cooked from scratch and she was an excellent cook. The wisdom her generation had was immeasurable.
Cloth diapers are excellent cleaning cloths. Use what you have.
I still use the Used dresser my great grandma got in the 1880's. Sturdy and well built!!!
I love, love, love old furniture! Eclectic is my style
I'm jealous 😅😅😅😅❤
Maintenant sa val de l ARGENT votre meuble c est autre chose que ....
Whaoo
I love that - I love family heirlooms !
That sounds amazing but I can’t imagine it fits well into modern life. Do you enjoy the Victorian decor? You probably don’t have to move very much!
My mother used to line dry her clothes. As I helped with the chores, I lined dried them. Since college, I have always used a dry rack. I only use the dryer for blankets.
My mother and grandmother were seamstresses and they made my school shirts when I was young. I thought it was pretty cool.
1. Wear clothes more than once before washing
2. Keep heat lower at night
3. Learn a few sewing skills
4. Do all your errands on one day per week
5. Make your own soap
6. Track your spending
7. Make an herb garden
8. Cook with leftovers
9. Look through pantry before going to store
10. Purchase an entire chicken
11. Eat less meat
12. Buy reusable products
13. Start a vegetable garden
14. Invest in quality
15. Upcycle furniture
16. Buying things second hand
17. Make your own cleaning products
18. Share with your neighbors
19. Learn how to store and preserve food
20. DYI around the house
21. Use less electricity
22. Relax by candlelight
23. Use less toothpaste
24. Use things up before replacing them
25. Go to restaurants less often
26. Entertain yourself for free
27. Make your payments in cash
Thank you for the list!
I do 1-2-4-6-8-9-12-19-21-22-23-24-25-26-27
About DYI : depends what it is. If it's complicated I need a contractor . Just hate it basically.
Do most of these things, have for years, nothing new....
The real hero is always in the comments. Thanks for the list.
I could share ALOT of frugal tips because I was raised by my depression era grandparents who were VERY frugal! One thing: we did not have the number of shoes that most people think they need today. They bought quality leather shoes, but for adult feet, they kept those shoes for decades. When my grandpa’s heels started to get too worn down, he would take them to the cobbler who would replace that end part of the heel. When I went to college, I literally had one pair of shoes, which were Dexters. My husband remembers them well! Lol! I literally walked to school every day, across campus, to my classes. We both laugh because at the end of the school year they tops of the shoes had come apart from the soles and they were pretty much destroyed. Rather than buy a new pair (which I couldn’t really afford), I wrapped that heavy duty gray tape around each shoe and wore them the final few weeks of school to get me by until I worked in the summer and could afford a new pair to last me through the next school year. Crazy, huh?!! 😊
Just bought a pair of Doc Martens (nice leather good soles), they were very expensive but the hope is they should last me YEARS! Some people wear their docs for 10-15 years! I'm making sure to take good care of them and we'll see if they were worth it.
Excellent advice! I buy sas sandals and they last forever and super comfortable.
❤
@springchicken2513 I still have mine from high school, which was over 20 years ago and have only ever had to replace the laces! Other than that the boot is still barely looking worn. Great investment!
Two pairs of shoes rotated every day lasts the life of three pair. Three pairs rotated last the life of five pair. Clean and polish your shoes after each wearing. Also have slippers that are worn in the house - I wear a pair that I bought in 1990 to this day.
We bought a fixer house 22 years ago and installed unfinished hardwood floors ourselves then added 5 coats of poly. Still going strong and cost less than carpet. We've built, thrifted, refinished, repaired, replaced, refurbished, tiled, painted, trimmed and redesigned everything we could on a shoestring & worked jobs full time.
My parents bought us all electric blankets for Christmas one year in the 1970’s. I later realized it was so my dad could turn down the thermostat at night. I loved my EB.
My husband is old man frugal without even thinking about it. 😂
My boys don’t want bunk beds anymore and the ones we have are metal and don’t come apart. I immediately looked on Marketplace for twin bed frames and my husband walks in and says, “No I can just cut them apart and put caps on the end.” 😂
Also, I would agree about restaurants. They just really don’t seem worth it anymore in my opinion.
Thanksgiving reservations were $95 a person for a buffet!!! Some places are now charging $30 for their fancy hamburgers... They're hamburgers people!! ... AND it's going to get flushed down the toilet!! Count me out!! I like my money too much!!
@@lyndi9082 Same, I refuse to eat fast food it's expensive and what I spend for a fast-food lunch will buy me enough groceries to eat at least three meals.
Christine, the "pay in cash" hint was to avoid buying on credit. Basically, if you can't afford it, then don't buy it 😊
Or debit...seeing the cash dwindling from your hand is much more effective to keep track of spending/balance and...cash leaving your hand feels more valuable than a swipe of equal value😉
Or to see the amount you are spending
I eliminated credit cards 25 years ago. Best thing I ever did. If we don’t have the money in our account for something we don’t get it. I find we save more money for some purchases. I will never use credit cards again.
I disagree with the tip to wait until you run out of something before replacing it. I stock up on things I use regularly when they go on sale. When they go on sale again, I purchase more. I am determined to avoid paying full price for anything. So, yeah, I have jam packed cupboards, and I sometimes need to tape the freezer door closed with duct tape to keep the pile inside from pushing it open. But I live 15 miles from the grocery store and try to keep my trips to a bare minimum, especially in winter. It’s common for us to be snowed in for two or three days at a time, because I live on a dirt road in the middle of nowhere. When we went on lockdown in 2020, I was not among the throngs of people at the grocery store panic buying everything. I went a whole month without making a single purchase. When I did go back out, I went back to my system of waiting for a sale to restock. I still had food in my cupboards and freezer, and we didn’t run out of TP. I even had face masks and hand sanitizer, because those are items I used regularly. So yeah, keep an inventory!
Ha! I could’ve written this post word for word! I only went to work and came home during the entire pandemic. My daughter would venture out from working at home to grab us dairy and fresh produce once a week. I had plenty of TP 🧻 which I always get ahead of on a sale (a house of four girls, three bathrooms…you can never have too much stashed away!) I had enough in my pantry, including dry milk, and stocked freezers in both my kitchen and basement fridges…yes they get taped too to keep it shut tight!! You’re my stock up and stay ahead twin!
This is so me and I usually have more than one of each thing on hand LOL def try never to pay full price for anything!!! I also live 30 minutes from a decent store. All we have here is DGs.
Oh, I’m with you. My mom actually has learned to ask if I have something before she shops. I’m like, “have you met me?” Yes, lol. I just gave her 3 quarts of chicken bone broth and fresh sage (from the garden) for the dressing she is taking to my sisters for thanksgiving 😀. I asked her to bring home the turkey bones from dinner so I can preserve turkey bone broth, lol. Yup, I’m one of those. 😂
I know one Depression era item that should have been on that list, and it should have included drying as many loads of clothes as possible either on a clothesline outside, or on clothing racks inside the house. I know as a kid, we had clotheslines in our Cellar to dry clothes during the winter. Now, not everybody has a celler, but you certainly can invest in some clothing racks or nails on the corner of your doorways where you can hang up a hanger. Nails come in matching colors to your woodwork.
I don't have a dryer and only line dry. You can do it outside in the winter! It just takes a few days :)
A tip I saw was if you use a clothes airer to dry clothes put it by the radiator and then put a single fitted sheet over the radiator and the top of the airer so the warm air doesn’t escape and is channelled onto the clothes on the airer
For the life of me, I can't understand why HOA' s don't allow clothes lines. I love mine.
A substitute for a hot water bottle is a sock full of rice. No joke. Pop it in the microwave for a couple of minutes (I think I did mine for 2-3 minutes, but adjust to your preference), and it helps to relax tense muscles while warming you up.
or salt! we use it for heating the nose if you caught a cold. just make sure it's not seeping through
Then you can eat it the next morning as Rice Krispies too.
When I was at the University of Arizona in Tucson AZ more than 40 years ago, I would buy a whole chicken for $.99 each or less. Then I'd dismantle it into its component parts and I'd make soup or stock from the carcass.
I remember those days with some trepidation, but I'm still very proud of my frugality back then.
My solid wood dresser was an old antique 40 years ago when my friend bought it. She gave it to me about 25 years ago and I'll probably have it till I die. They don't make them like they used to.
They really don't!
Happy Birthday! I got a 25 out of 27... I grew up with most of those just being the norm. Now we are completely debt free and living our dreams still within our means :-)
I lived in Germany years ago (military wife) and most houses have a balcony and every morning you see their bedding hung out on the balcony. Other days maybe their clothes would be "hanging". I now understand their thinking. The beginning of solar freshness. 😉
I bottle the tap water in half gallon milk bottles while waiting for the hot water to come through. I use the bottled water for putting in my Britta water pitcher, making coffee and tea, cooking, watering plants, and sometimes boiling to wash dishes. Don't normally use the dishwasher, rather hand wash.
I think we must be sisters because that's exactly what I do. I put my water in gallon jugs and I have a homemade water filter like a Birkey to filter drinking water, I'm on city water and hate the taste. Necessity is the mother of invention, we do what we have to do. Blessings 👏💞
I have a bucket in my shower to catch the cold water which doubles as the dog’s water bowl. Kitchen water I used in the summer for the garden but didn’t really save it in the winter. Thanks for some good ideas that I can start implementing.
Dishwasher takes less soap and water than washing them by hand
@robinwoodard7898 , not necessarily. If you only have a couple dishes, it's best to hand wash rather than run a whole hour and a half dishwasher cycle which uses electricity, and gas to heat the water. Or if you put a couple dirty dishes in the dishwasher for five days straight then your dishwasher won't get the dishes very clean. Then it's a waste of money, and you'll have to wash a second time.
Dishwashers save water. Hand washing uses considerably more water.
The modern thing is if eating out, use the apps for the stores. You rack up points for free food or even coupons to get cheaper. I hord the points until have days when low on cash and then get free food from that. Today got a free fountain drink at Mapco, grabbed large fries from McDonald's and then right next door, redeemed points on Wendy's app for a free dave double. So if would have gotten a large combo meal of the same burger, would have been $12.
The electric blanket was the BEST present we ever received. we love the dual controls!
Here in Florida where I live it’s the Salvation Army that is an arm and a leg when I was in Ohio I could buy two chairs a vacuum cleaner for blankets all under 10 bucks yeah come to Florida and went to go buy a dining room table and it was $495 just for the table and another 125 for each chair I gave up with the Salvation Army went to a thrift store and brought a table and four chairs for 30 bucks and that included delivery and it was wood and I kept the chairs for seven years before they finally fell apart
Well I have one that you didn't mention. I take candles that are burnt as low as they can go, melt the was and put it into silicone molds for wax melts. I get every drop of wax out of my candles. Great video!
Great Idea! Never thought about doing that before
I did 25 out of the 27. I don't use a hot water bottle for my feet. But I have heavy woolen socks I sleep in and they're great. And I don't carry a lot of cash but usually use my debit card instead. I find that, if I have more than $30 or $40 in my purse, I'll spend it on frivolous things by week's end.
I got the wicks with the little metal bit on the bottom so I can use them in glass jars. I have some 3” tall coloured glasses that were gifted to me with coloured candles in so I refill them using the wicks and left over wax, add a drop of essential oil and you get a room freshener too. I even use washed clean food jars, discard the lid, add a pretty ribbon and you have a nice gift. Win win.
Yes I do 99% of these. My parents grew up during the depression and so did their children. You better turn off that light when you leave a room. Do leave the water running while brushing your teeth. Make every trip count. I did not know to ask hotels for a medical discount? I had eye surgery and needed to stay overnight. La Quinta offers medical discount. Who knew? I always ask for senior discount. Never hurts to ask. Thanks for the refresher course Christine.
Barkeepers Friend is so good to use to clean. Comet doesn't even come close to how good this is. We love it.
As a cleaning lady I totally agree. Comet is useless.
Hmmm.... Must be a different Barkeepers Friend scouring powder than what is available in our area. BF is totally ineffective while Comet or Ajax works great! I'm wondering if it's a different compound in some states due to environmental rules, or possibly the water in our area affects the outcome? We have high levels of agriculture runoff and we have to use bottled water for cooking and drinking.
I make my own soap,candles, herbs,use leftovers, make most food from scratch , pressure can lots of meat or other things i get really cheap or free, have most electric items on power strips and shut off at night or when not in use, keep propane heater at 58 in winter, use water bottles or my canning jars ( yard sales) for water....😊
Hot water bottles are all the rage here in the UK. Electric blankets cost far too much to run. I love my hot water bottle. I've been using it for about 3 weeks now and it's so cosy.
I had forgotten about this one, but I do own one. I just have never used it to stay warm while sleeping. Do you put it down by your feet?
@@tacos_are_life You can do and my feet do get really cold but I have a good supply of fluffy socks and slippers. I find the optimum place to put a hot water bottle is when I am sitting on the sofa with a blanket over me and I put it against my back. It seems to heat my whole body from there.
@@workinprogresssince1974 Oh ok thank you. I will have to try that. I like having the option of having something warm that doesn’t require too much electricity. 😊
@@workinprogresssince1974 I like to put the hot water bottle down by where my feet go, in between the sheets, about a half hour before I get into bed. It warms up the whole bed too for climbing into it. I just love it! Admittedly though, I’m not a sock sleeper. My feet are fussy. To hot with them and to cold without them. 😁 Lynn. ☀️
My granny used to put hot water in an old bleach bottle. She’d then tighten it really well and wrap it in a towel. She’d then put it at my feet. They didn’t have central heat. I loved when she would pile quilts on me and put that warm bottle at my feet. I slept so snugly.
I was very restless last night. In all my tossing and turning, I ended up cocooned in the covers, much like a swaddled baby. Slept 3 wonderful hours, best sleep I had in a long time.
My grandma would hear a brick on her radiator and wrap it up and tuck it in at my feet. It felt so good!
I personally find the whole chicken to be worth it- mainly for the bone broth! It’s liquid gold to us, so whenever we smoke or roast a chicken we will always get the instant pot out and put it in there for 3-4 hours to get all that nutrition sucked out 😅
Yes! And I even take the bones after making bone broth and dehydrate them for bone meal which I use in the garden. 😉
Then you found out the way Louis and Clark survived the Louisiana Purchase expedition is because Sacagawea opened up the cooked animal bones and scraped out the marrow and made a soup with it. Without her efforts they would have died. So you think you get all the nutrition out making broth and then you find out like the explorers of European descent did, that there is more to get, lol.
When did we start calling broth and stock “bone broth”? It sounds snobbish.
@@goodtroublemaker143 I’m sorry that you feel triggered in some way over my comment. To clarify- broth can be from boiling meat, vegetables, or herbs- there isn’t necessarily bones involved. The resulting product that is obtained from making bone broth (bones and an agent such as apple cider vinegar added) is much different in its composition, especially being higher in protein and minerals, and many use it for its health benefits.
So it’s not merely a fancy name, but in most cases a different product; in the least, the name specifies content.
Have a good day. ❤️
I live in Ireland and found out recently what Ive been doing for decades is called bone broth. We haven't really got a fancy name for it here, apart from its what I learnt from my mum and probably from my mums mum, going back to when everyone had a chicken in the back yard! I make broth from the chicken carcass, as well as the organs and boil the whole thing up, sieve the bones out and peel off the remaining chicken bits left on carcass and add the juices left from the chicken that was roasted, the juices becomes jelly like, that's the good stock for the soup.Then I add red lentils and barley, add diced carrot, diced leek or onion, celery or parsnip and parsley. Some of my friends add their left over broccoli, stalks as well. I'm 63 now being doing this all my life. The chicken roasted gives me quite a few meals depending on how big it is and lots of lunches with the broth, when I get tired of broth I freeze the rest. A chicken is still worth the price here, even though it has gone up in price its still a good buy. I don't live near a supermarket, so I still use my local butcher that I trust the meat is local and fresh.
If you humidify your house in the winter, you will feel warmer. You may be able to turn down your thermostat a degree or two. The moisture will make you feel warmer.
Happy Birthday! I am so glad you were born.
I completely agree with not eating out. The quality, service and patrons have turned this into a much less enjoyable event. And then lets talk about the cost. WOW says it all
Totally agree on wearing clothes at least 3 days at even on vacation. Even for kids, unless they're very dirty.
I hang my clothes after wearing before deciding if they need to be washed. I also don't buy shirts that are tight in the armpit, they get many more wears out of them. Airing out takes care of slight odours. Washing less saves on laundry costs and helps clothes last longer. Woo less laundry!
One of my friends in college was from Switzerland. She told me after seeing me wash the same clothes each week that they, Europeans, aired out their clothes to save electricity, water, and money. They wash their clothes just less often than the average American does
@@jillgott6567You can’t generalize. I’m European but the country I come from is much hotter than Switzerland and during the hot summer season there is NO WAY I would just air my clothes without washing them. Not all Europeans do the same thing.
@@chasz2173every European I know does this. 🤷🏻♀️
Found out just how little we need when I visited London and the airline lost our luggage for FIVE days!!! We washed what needed washing at night, hung it up to dry, and thankfully the hotel had robes that we slept in! By the time we got our laundry we were actually in such a routine we didn’t even care anymore. We just laughed and went about our day!
The funny things was people would comment about how nice we looked 😂 thankfully since we were tourists we didn’t see the same people day after day so they had no idea.
We need so much less than we have been brainwashed and told we need to live!
Hi Christine
I agree that vinegar and bleach are both great cleaning products. I fear that saying vinegar and bleach in the same sentence could give the impression that you mix them to make a cleaner. I know that was not your intent, but I hope people google it before mixing 😮
Exactly!! DO NOT MIX bleach and vinegar!! Very dangerous!! Would love a to see a statement scroll across the screen to emphasize that for those that don't know.
I live in a studio apartment, and I recently found a space heater, at a Goodwill, for $5. So far, I have not turned on my heat at all this year. I am going to try to get through the entire winter, with just the space heater.
Making your own soap made sense because every other corner had a butcher shop. These shops had an abundance of beef fat to render. The lye came from the ashes in your fire place. Most people don’t have a fireplace. And butchers are a rare exception today.
Washington DC still had chickens and outdoor outhouses in the city in the 1960s. Chickens for eating and eggs. Many German immigrants had rabbits for dinner and warmth. Lots of muff(s), hats and coats made of rabbit. Not available in cities anymore.
Some depression era savings action just isn’t available today.
#2 in the Netherlands most houses don't have heating in the bedrooms, it has never been freezing in the bedroom but can be pretty cold, our babies (we have 4 children) slept with hot bottles in their cribs - it's normal here. 😅
Wow! It’s not common here in the US at all! I need to try it. 😊
Here in the South of France ( seaside ) I only use the electric heating in my room in winter to help dry my clothes after laundry once a week for 2-3 hours. In my well insulated old village house my bedroom temperature hovers between 14°-15° which I find comfortable ( but some people need more warmth).
@@lioneldemun6033 That is a little cool, but not too bad. 😊 Right now it is -16 degrees C where I am and our house requires some sort of heat source to keep it comfortably in here. Our electricity is still on for now so I am grateful for that. Our house is only set up to heat with electricity. It is unusual for it to be this cold here, but we had a bitterly cold storm system move through. It won’t get above freezing for at least another week.
@@lioneldemun6033you are talking Celsius I think...?
Hi Christine. I'm single mom and raised two great kids. Who are now older than me. Anyway, we ate leftovers cause we were poor. But we called them "encore presentations" Sounds more fancy!
I love that - “encore presentations!” Some nights, my mom would heat up all the leftovers and she called it “must-goes.” I still love must-goes!
The only piece of "furniture" in our house that wasn't bought from family, friends or Facebook marketplace is our mattress. We moved into our new house when we got married and realized how expensive new furniture is and almost had heart attacks 🤣 as a bonus, all of the used furniture is way better quality than we ever could have afforded if we'd bought new!
My grandmother did not like eating the same food two days running. She like to change it up, so she didn't like leftovers. Lucky for her, I love leftovers, and for five years straight I ate breakfast with my grandparents each morning before heading off to work. I would eat Grandma's leftovers which were the best breakfast ever, and she'd get to whip up something new for her lunch. Plus, she didn't feel wasteful when I ate the leftovers. If I hadn't been there, she would have eaten the leftovers herself, but she didn't have to. Win, win, win!
My thrift stores have totally jacked up their prices...especially Goodwill! 😢
I agree so expensive now
I love casseroles and left overs from them but no one else in this house does, i guess we cooked too well, because they have never gone hungry. Anyway. I take a serving each of the casserole left over, wrap it up and freeze it, then when I want a light meal, i got it! more for me
Covid changed my spending and made me think about how I wanted to live. I stopped going to Starbucks because it was expensive and started making coffee at home. I rarely eat out anymore. Making these simple changes I was able to start traveling more. I am also frugal while traveling. I pack food, I stay at mid range hotels and bed and breakfasts, it has been amazing!
My main frugal kitchen habit is to never, ever throw food away ... unless it's burnt of course. We never have spoiled food in the frig because it gets used in some way long before then.
Right now, I'm toasting a mix of some rolls and bread that weren't going to get eaten as is, for Thanksgiving dressing ... eng muffin, roll, couple garlic rolls, few slices of homemade whole grain bread, etc., etc. I ended up with a half sheet full of bread pieces ... it smells so good!
I sometimes use leftovers to make a cream soup. Leftover roasted vegetables, even cooked white beans, as a base (or whole soup) whizzed up for soup are delicious. Add seasonings as you prefer.
Leftover rice, shredded meat, sometimes beans (if I have then) go in burritos or enchiladas.
Leftover breaded chicken gets chopped with other ingredients, makes a very tasty creamy chicken veg and/or rice soup. The breading "melts" and thickens the soup.
If I can not come up with any ideas for a repurposed foods meal, using any meat or veg, they go in the freezer in a bag to make stock.
I recently made a West African Peanut Soup. It was okay but not something we would eat again. (Our usual assessment is "would you/we eat this again? ... not, "do you/we like ir?) I wasn't about to toss it. So ... I added another can of coconut milk, two cans of diced tomatoes, a can of tomato paste, water, more red pepper flakes, basil, worchestershire, I think I added some Gochujang Kick, probably more garlic and onion powder. and cooked it, low, for a couple hours ... ran it through the food processor, then a sieve, used my immersion blender to get it really smooth. I kept adjusti g s3asonings to bnb get the taste I wanted. I ended up with a really good creamy tomato soup... it was sooo good, and it's now gone. Unfortunately, I won't be able to make it again but I'll come up with something else!
I always make my own laundry soap. It works great! I do have a speed queen washer that is basically an 'old fashioned' washer.
Love my Speed Queens. The computerised washers are junk. My Sister-in-law & I bought the computer type & they broke in 18 months, so we went the SQ agitators & they work great & last much longer.
I love my speed qween washer, best washer there is❣️ That’s what laundry mats use, will last a lifetime, almost
Yup. Laundry soap, wool dryer balls, and I just found a recipe for natural scent booster. 😉
I've made so many different recipes for homemade laundry soap and they never get my clothes clean. What recipe do you use?
Yes to make your own. This helps to prevent prostate issues for your husband. We really do need to know what is in our laundry soap.
Totally agree. Our local Goodwill has jacked their prices up so high and now half off Saturdays are so less busy, hardly anyone in there. I still get good deals but only go once a month. Paying in cash has saved us so much these last few months!!!
Don’t even go anymore.
YES 💯 Yes
I'm so angry at these store's!! There's just no "good" reason to charge in store sale prices for used thing's ever!
Especially when the economy is causing more and more people to need to use these shops more than ever!
It should be illegal in my opinion!
Just like Amazon
I just saw someone charging $35 for ONE regular size box of cake mix!!!!!
ONE BOX 🤬🤬🤬😢
I work at a second hand shop here in Belgium. Before items go to the shop, we can pick out items and buy them for very cheap. Here in western Europe, almost nothing can be bought in a shop by creditcard. Online yes. It is always in cash, by deptcard/bankcard or by a mobile phone app.
@@nevermind7253 You can easily make cake from scratch or make your own cake mix. Recipes are online. I noticed that with Goodwill. Not worth it, we might as well buy new.
The Goodwill stores are actually a "for profit" business with a wealthy CEO. The Salvation Army is a much BETTER OPTION.
I love to hang my clothes outside to dry. If they are a little stiff when dry, I throw them in the dryer for just a few minutes to soften. My mother often said that you save $1 on your electric bill for every load you hang out. It's probably $3 nowadays.
My husband was totally against solar until we got a $800 electric bill and we couldn't find a solar company fast enough. I knew somebody that sold solar and the experience was awesome-at least for me. We have had it now for a year-no problems-no issue. I live in California so it is very beneficial for us!!!
Hi there! I have solar when I bought my home it was already here. The owners had just paid it off. I am blessed, all I pay for power during the summer is about $25 🎉😅
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do or do without !” Love this saying so much - it’s from WW 11 era - greetings & Happy New Year to all from sunny Central Florida 😎
I am so confused about the use less electricity. If we need to use less, why are we moving towards electric vehicles?
EVs are a scam. It’s all about control and money for the elites.
Cause the government wants to force us to is the only thing I can figure
Making my own laundry soap works for me, I don't have an HE washer. Eating leftovers. Using what grandma used to clean basic but they have gone way up in price! Eating less meat. Growing things. I will cook huge like beans and stews and preserve what we don't eat, like canning them up or freezing for later. I save leftover cornbread in the freezer to make dressing once there is enough. leftover veggies go in the repurposed ice cream bucket for a veggie soup later on. Big on sewing, mending, and using cloth for paper towels and napkins. I repurpose containers and bottles for other uses. Just Thrifed a glass desk for my new office for $17.00 (Habitat for Humanity ReStore) Love them!. I have found MANY thrift stores with better prices than Goodwill.
I go to the library, for my "free entertainment".
I priced out the Earth breeze detergent and I felt it was very expensive compared to what I can buy with a big jug of detergent from Costco. I use all free and clear detergent, and I have my husband pour some of it into a smaller container so that it is not so heavy for me. Electricity is scarce they’re asking us to conserve so no I do not have a electric blanket. One tip that has saved us thousands of dollars over our 58 years of marriage is that we pay all credit cards off every month we have paid very little interest over our Many years of marriage. In fact, I just bought a new car and paid $58,000 cash. Now that we are retired and our kids are grown and doing well. We can splurge a little with eating out and doing what we want to when we want to.
The reverse meal planning definitely works, I started doing that in my house and literally cut our grocery budget in less than half. And we live in North Carolina so the days are mild and the nights are cold, so we just have the heat on at night right now to help save on our electric bill.
I'm in Australia so it probably doesn't get as cold as parts of the US, but we never use the heater overnight. We have a light summer quilt for the hot season and a thick woollen one for winter. Occasionally I'll heat a wheat bag if my toes are cold at night, but we don't use the heater while we sleep
Same here in Tucson Az USA lol it’s all about the blanket rotation
I was given a hot water bottle last year. Thought it was funny until I used it. It really keeps you warm!
I love leftover it’s one more meal I don’t have to cook!!! And I just like them!!
Same! Can't imagine anyone being against leftovers 😂
You brought back so many memories for me. I come from a family of 11 kids and my parents went through the depression with some of us, I came a little later. Mom was the most frugal person ever. She had to be and so many of the things you listed were the norm for us. I find now in my later years I’m going back to some of those things.
I save around $30 a month just unplugging the small appliances and things we aren't using. They draw energy even when not in use. Also pulled all the back seating out of my minivan to lose the weight. That saves me $20-30 a month in gas.
In stead of water bottles, for 20 years now I make/sew bed buddy pillows, whatever you like to call them. 8"x8" square pillows that we fill with buck wheat or rice. 3-4 minutes in the microwave before bed, keeps the feet warm all night. Also great for sore neck and shoulders. They last a couple years before the fabric starts to break down and then I make new ones. Great for gifts too!
Wow! I wouldn’t think that they would stay warm all night. That’s good to know! 😊 I thought they would cool off in an hour or two. Do you use plain white rice? Any particular type of fabric?
@@tacos_are_life I have done both white rice, and buck wheat or wheat berries. The warmed rice doesn’t seem to last as long, couple hours under the covers, but the wheat berries sometimes are still warm in the morning. I use any cotton seeing fabric, but I have found thicker upholstery type fabrics to be more durable long term, and if you warm them up to long in the microwave the thicker fabric helps so it’s not so hot to the direct touch. Hope that helps!
@@plantlady5356 That does help! Thanks so much! 😊
I make a similar microwavable heating bag, but I use corn feed they feed the livestock. It retains the heat FAR longer than the rice, beans or wheat. I know because I tested them all. I make a squarish rectangle, it seems to be the perfect size for most people. I can't make these fast enough in the winter for people.
Love you Christine. I watch and rewatch your videos. You lift my spirits. Never change!
I agree!
Up state NY here. I keep my thermostat at 60* at night. Instead of using a top sheet, I simply use a fleece blanket. When the temperature gets into the teens and single digits, I put a fleece blanket under me also. Sometimes it can get too warm. The fleece holds in your own body heat. It doesn't cost anything!
I'm great with the cash one. I pay whatever bills necessary electronically and then grocery/spending money comes out of the bank and is used in cash form. For those with no insurance or crappy insurance, most health care facilities give a large discount if you pay with cash.
We're going to need a fashion show video from the swanky thrift store! 🙂
I find reading by candlelight quite harsh on the eyes and with the price of candles nowadays I think the electricity to turn on a light would be way cheaper. It is not like we are also making our own candles anymore.
I love the hot water bottle. I started using it when I had restless legs in pregnancy. It's wonderful.
My son bought two heat register style heaters that brought down the electric and propane costs quite a bit. I made a tv room out of a smaller guest room, and am very cozy using my little heater and a throw in the evening.
Watching your channel is my entertainment
I have used Earth Breeze for almost 2 years now. You forgot to mention that they donate 10 loads of their laundry detergent to the charity of your choice with every purchase. Kind of gives me a warm feeling knowing that I am helping someone else. Plus, plus--it works great! No more toting the huge bottles of plastic into my house and then to the recycling center where they may (or may not) actually get recycled.
I have a clothes line in my apartment balcony. Other times I used an extra shower curtain pole over the bathtub and hung my clothes on plastic hangers to dry. Nobody could see that there were clothes hanging in there until someone needed to take a shower. ;-).Then I had to pull them out, ha ha!. I never buy paper napkins or towels, just use reusables. I sewed my own napkins. They last forever! Being frugal before all of this inflation has caused me to not be affected by it. DIY, left overs, 2nd hand, curbside furniture, wear clothes again, mend, fix, or do without, store up food, use a britta pitcher to filter water, make soap, make foaming hand soap by diluting liquid soap and refill your foamer bottle. Shop the discounted food. Saves a lot of money! Saving money is easier than making it.
Hanging laundry outside year round, even winter time. This is what my husband does. I call freeze dry😂
I want to love reusable ziplock bags. I have bought them from Amazon and got some from the dollar store, but the zipper part starts to not close after awhile. So I admit defeat and just wash the disposable ones.
I had the same problem and it was after one or two washes! I can't get any of them to seal, irritating!!!
Agree with you on the restaurant experience after 2020. The service is terrible now and we now only go to a couple restaurants for special occasions
I'm in agreement with you on GW. They are for profit and I can often buy what I need for the season new for about the same price, i.e. tank tops for summer,l a few long sleeved tops for winter, I am fortunate all of my grandparents lived during the Depression and passed on their good skills.
You remind me of my mom and it really makes me wish that I lived closer to her.
I have an all-electric home for nearly 40 years. I have a very large swimming pool that I run five to six months out of the year. I have an underground sprinkler system for a third of an acre that I run for 7 - 9 months out of the year. I have an upright freezer in my garage. I have a 30 cubic refrigerator freezer and a 13 cubic refrigerator freezer. I have Central AC and a heat pump system for heat. Every two weeks I run 10 to 13 loads of laundry. I cook and bake all the time. At least one TV is running about 16 hours a day and sometimes multiple tvs. Plus Computers, and charging lots of other electronics telling you all of this because we use a lot of electricity. Even my hot water heater is electric. As I said in the beginning, I have an all-electric house. We are on the budget plan, and it cost me $220 a month.
Every state charges differently for their electricity and their natural gas, and even within my state the charges run differently because there's more than one electric company. I always remind everybody that has natural gas to add the cost of the natural gas yearly average to the cost of your electricity yearly average and that is what your monthly budget would be if you are on a budget plan with your utilities. Prior to the pandemic, my budget was $180 a month. My usage has not changed at all, just the fact that the cost of utilities have gone up that much in my state.
We do the budget plan here too and everyone always says electric is more than gas. We have natural gas and I don't think it's cheaper than electric in fact we put in window units with heaters, we are gonna see if it's much worse this year than last as far as electric bills go! ❤ we had been using only wall gas heaters to heat. Our home is very old, 1890's.
As i hung up my clothes from the washing machine, i listened to you. The moisture from these clothing helps give us extra moisture. And i did about as well as you did. I ak also - DO NO buy dog treats. I give them fresh veggies and fruits as well as left overs.
We have a woodstove and drying our clothes on racks indoors makes SUCH a difference in the humidity level, feels much better.
My dog loves apples and carrots so much more than dog treats. As soon as I slice an apple he comes running from the sound!
I just bought sweet potatoes! And i am cooking them in the crockpot. Than freezing them! No buying " dog treats" NO WAY!!!
@@margiesoapyhairbillian4754both of my dogs love sweet potatoes. Every time I eat them, I save some for the dogs.
@margiesoapyhairbillian4754 I make my dogs treats. I wait for pork in the cryovac to go on sale and buy a big one. I slice it thin and dehydrate it. Throw it in Tupperware in the fridge. Put the rest sliced in the freezer ready to go for the next batches. You can do veggies too.
I live in Canada in a 90 year old home with zero insulation and horrible windows. We usually get down to -20c for most of winter and we always have one to two weeks of -35c to -40c. Our radiator is running constantly during those times and our has bill is upwards of $350 dollars. There's nothing we can do about it, as is even with the radiator running constantly during the -35 to -40 spells our home sits at around 5c to maybe 10c above. We are very cold. The hot water bottle might help keep up warm never thought of that, I've been using a heating pad and five blankets. It won't save us money but we might sleep more comfortably.
I have seen a couple of YT videos where bubble wrap is placed on windows by first spritzing the window with water. Pretty cheap, renter friendly and maybe it will work for you.
No fireplace ?
@lioneldemun6033 It's not suitable to use and it's extremely expensive to make it safe
I did pretty good, I refuse to make my own soap, or grow an herb garden. I live in a very rural area, where the neighbors are not close enough to share with, but I did score 21 out of 27. I think the Pandemic taught us all how to get along a bit better without the restaurants and social interaction. I also have the advantage of being older, not 1929 old, but before internet, microwave and remotes old😊
Same.. I'm not impressed by all the shiny ... it's all marketing, and I just don't need it. However, if my daughter calls and wants to meet for lunch, I'm there in an instant! We go to two affordable restaurants w delicious food and plan for future leftovers!
Totally agree with you on the home made laundry detergent. Hubby is a diesel mechanic on a large dairy farm. I never know what he'll be covered in when he gets home. Homemade detergent did not remove any smells or dirt/muck/stains.
Tip - if you do make your own detergent and have a newer washing machine, say good bye to the factory warranty. The factory warranty will probably be voided.
I keep a spray bottle with a little dawn and water in it at all times. Soapy water can be used to clean nearly anything and I don’t have to worry when the kids want to help. I also sanitize with rubbing alcohol diluted with a little water, which is very cheap.
Just use less laundry detergent, you only need about 2 tablespoons. Boom. Money saved!
Yes!!! I clean houses and Dawn will clean nearly anything! ❤
Yes with the laundry soap, people use way to much!
I also love the Dawn and water.
I LOVE, LOVE, LOVE spreadsheets!! I also track all our spending. ALL - OF - IT! And passwords, and anything that needs to be organized by categories. I'm with ya, girl!!!
We have been off grid for 30 years. We love it. Different mind set. You look at any thing that uses power and check the watts. I hang clothes outside on the nicest day of the week. I have a freezer, fridge special gas stove without a glow bar. Electricity though out the house.
Here in Ontario Canada a whole uncooked chicken is now around $15 to 17 dollars , it’s crazy. I only buy when they go on sale. Which isn’t very frequent anymore. Costco which is an hour away from me I believe the cooked chickens are $9.99 I believe.
Costco cooked chicken $7.99 in Alberta, Canada, any remaining at end of day are flash cooled and sold the next day for $5.99.
Homemade laundry soap 100% DOES WORK, even with stains and odors, even in h.e. machines. But I understand you have a product to sell, and it seems like a good alternative for people who can't or won't make their own.
Electric bill last month for 5 bed 2200 as ft house was $40!! Mild weather so no heat of a/c and hubby changed ALL lightbulb inside and outside to LED or whatever low use - no solar!
I just have to say I love your doors!
In Australia we have earth hour, I’m not sure how often it occurs, I don’t partake in it but for one hour you turn off all lights and just use candles.
Ha! I have hot water bottles for all 4 kids and they get filled up at night 😂
I agree with the goodwill story!! Went there the other day and they were asking 15-20 bucks for each sweater….ummm no. And that’s a bummer cuz I love thrifting 😢
I do everything and am naturally good at saving money. I don't use heating at all much.
Yes, what is the deal with the chicken?! it used to be waaaay less expensive to buy a whole chicken. Good vid, We do a lot of these save money ideas. We don't make much money, but we spend conservatively. Many of our friends don't understand, but we think it makes sense.
Water bottle really works for you without power. My grandmother had them. She only heated the kitchen/living area with a wood stove. Feather beds heated up nice with those
I just reorganized my pantry, double-checking what I have for the season of baking and cooking.
Happy birthday, Christine!! I still have my bedroom furniture from 1975. It's been through my childhood, my 4 kids and my adult self and it's still going! I do a lot myself around the house. I will look on YT to see if I can do, said project, before even thinking about calling someone. Thanks for this video and the awesome ideas you always put out there!
I want to add this to the reusable conversation: Sometimes the only difference between reusable and disposable is whether or not you go through the hassle of washing it. I don't feel the need to buy reusable bags because I just wash my ziplocks. They last a really long time and don't require the large investment.
Surprisingly its pretty environmentally friendly. A reusable product usually uses a lot more resources to improve its durability. So you have to reuse it a bunch to make up the difference!
I agree with you on putting my clothes on my chair and if they are not worn or dirty I would hang it up. I’m learning slowly how to save money, but it’s very hard for me. Thanks Christine! Much appreciated: NewJersey ❤
Can't wear the same clothes for 3 days. I'm a early childhood educator working in a baby room . When I get home I have a lot of tiny human body fluid on me. My husband is a mail carrier and comes home all wet and sweaty. No not an option😂
I hang my clothes outside. It is a wonder what fresh air, especially when it is cold , can do to eliminate wrinkles and odors.
I had solar installed just about a year ago and love it! I'm in FL but my boss who's a professional engineer in the solar industry told me it is very popular in NY, NJ because the cold weather doesn't affect it. He said it's more efficient. The minimum service charge for my electric company is $25+ tax and my bill never went over $29.66 yet, even in the awful summer months when my bill used to go up to $200+. I am also banking KW hours which the electric company will be paying me for it at the end of the year. I'll be curious to see how much that is.
But how much does it cost to set up? That’s where they get you…at least from what I’ve heard.
you do know they give you wholesale prices back but when you draw its retail prices? Based on my energy usage prices,including rebates, it is not worth it. I live in FL and its more practical as closer to the equator than up north but still not net positive for me money wise. I have worked over 10 years in the wholesale power industry.
Electric costs can youbeven if the lights are off. Unplug appliances that arent being used. Toaster or toaster oven, Coffee pot lamps that aren't being used as often.
My favorite tip to stretch out one pound of ground beef is to shred a medium potato into the meat, season it up, and now it will stretch to make 5 patties instead of just 4.
My school used oatmeal to stretch the hamburger.