Priorities, too, is a big thing. TV is not a high priority to me; to some of you, it is. But that doesn't mean that either of us is "wrong". Some of you may feel that fast food once a week is a priority. And that's OK, too. So it really is a matter of sitting down, determining what is a real NEED, and then prioritizing your WANTS. Rachael has already asked me to take her and her friend "thrifting" sometime soon for them to buy clothes for their mission trip. I'm so glad she's content with not having to have brand new all the time! The dress she wore to the Celtic Ball was $10 from Good Will, and looked beautiful on her. (And her friends are the sort who were more impressed with the deal than with the name on the tag, lol!)
Oh as far as TV-there are some other online things to watch as well as someone mentioning hulu, which is a good one. And don't forget the network websites. I really do want to encourage you to try to switch the cable/dish off. If it kills you, you can always switch it back. We are HUGE TV watchers. It's on 24/7 almost. I was VERY nervous about cutting the dish off. I just knew the kids would kill me and we'd all be bored to death and miss our dish network. But I HAD to cut our budget somehow... Now I'm strict about what the kids watch, lots of educational TV (my niece is quite upset right now cause it's my 6 year olds turn to pick what to watch and he picked 'March of the Penguins' LOL She's been here 3 days and not happy at all about our 'educational lifestyle' as I call it) but I don't limit them too much. I watch a lot of TV and Hubby watches a good bit too. With Netflix, we get most of the shows we watched instantly. A few we have to request the DVD. Kids shows are mostly instant too. Then, there are other FREE sources of "TV" too. My personal fav is http://www.mediafly.com/Welcome (we also get this channel through the Roku box so I can watch it on the big screen and not just the computer-I don't think I'd be near as happy with netflix without my Roku box) Media fly doesn't show anything you'll see on dish/cable, but internet TV, but I think this is the channel that has a cooking show I like so much. I think it's the next link that has some speed TV shows and such....but it might be MEdiafly...can't rememebr. http://blip.tv/ has a few things we like too http://www.surfthechannel.com/ http://www.casttv.com/ http://www.movies-links.tv/ http://www.free-tv-video-online.info/ http://www.freetvonline.com/ And there are lots more I've yet to have time to check out. It really is worth looking into. I really did think we'd miss "real TV" but we don't, not at all We've talked, hubby and I, and we said even if got a kick butt paying job, we'll never go back to dish or cable, ever. The only thing I kinda miss a little is severe weather on local channels. But I just signed up for a local channel to email with severe weather reports. You can't follow as closly, live on the websites, but it's not a HUGE deal.
Cut the cable. We don't even use rabbit ears anymore. We watch whatever we are interested in online. Plus we can get lots of movies for free at the library. I like watch-series.com for watching tv online. Network sites are better if the shows are there, but I use watch-series for everything else.
I don't have time right now to post recipies...and I don't think my recipies are all that different from what most of you all eat. I am just able to get away so cheap because the grocery store we shop at is SUPER cheap. Most meat is .99 lb or less. I can walk out with 2 grocery carts full for under $200. That amount will last us 2-3 weeks too. I can post my menu plans later today when I have time. Also $450 doesn't include toilet paper, paper towels, soap and other stuff like that. But I would guess we spend around $50 a month on that kind of stuff.
If you PM me your email address, I'll send you a .pdf document I wrote on this very subject. It has lots of things that not a lot of people think of.
Also, I haven't read the responses, so this may have been mentioned, but www.hillbillyhousewife.com has a recipe collection for those eating on the cheap (but it is quite nutritious). She even has a menu that comes out to about $45 a week for a family of four.
We use Verizon prepaid phones. My teen daughter has unlimited texting for $10/month. That is all she uses most months. She occasionally has to call someone which costs her a couple of dollars but most months we just pay the $10. We are trying to cut back to buy a car (have always bought cash cars as we are debt free). Thanks for all the good food cost cutting ideas. Our grocery bill has skyrocketed in recent months. Need to cut back.
Try Downgrading, Swapping or Scrapping: Cable Insurance Cell Phone Internet Use the library as much as possible and more. Use Netflix Ditch any extra groceries you buy, the kids may have to go without snacks a couple days a week, that could help save...Buy cheap cake mixes and prepare snacks at home for a week. buy less cigs and beer, if anyone in the family needs those things... Try downgrading. Have a garage sale Get rid of as much clutter as possible Turn off the lights when you aren't in a room Use a clothesline to dry all clothes, use dryer only for blankets or something you cant easily hang. See if anyone near hunts/slaughters or gardens and see if you cant get meat, eggs or some vegetables cheaper from them than at the grocery... Turn off the AC, buy window fans and desk fans for around the house... Hope some of those suggestions can be useful.
garden instead of watching TV. my library has all kinds of dvds for check out, free. cut the cable. I avoid coupons, they have never saved me money. Stay away from deli, bakery, frozen prepared foods, snacks and sodas, and eating out. sell anything you don't use. quit buying stuff. That is a big one, for me, I get rid of some piece of junk, only to replace it with something else... babysit on the weekends, or evenings, clean houses for extra money... turn down the heat/ac. shop around for insurance, and a I use a calling card for long distance.
"Snacks" is a big thing we have cut out recently. It's not that we eat less, just different (aka cheaper). And usually healthier..... A snack in our house now is a a full or 1/2 serving of: a bowl of cereal a sandwich (PB&J, cheese, tomato, banana, meat) leftover dinner Something on a tortilla (PB&banana or apple, lunch meat, beans, cheese) popcorn in place of chips (cheaper and healthier. $5 for 24 bags) Make your own pudding or jello Canned or fresh fruit Homemade from scratch bakery items (or a mix is still cheaper than actual bakery items) A can of veggies soup pasta (I make a full batch of pasta with cheap meatless sauce, it can be used for lunch or snacks) Here's a fun (although not healthy) cheap replacement for chips-cook some pasta, drain and dry it, then deep fry it! As soon as you take it up, sprinkle with your choice of flavorings. Try butter/salt. Parmesan cheese. Popcorn flavoring (usually on the top shelf near the popcorn) I haven't made this in forever, I might try and see if baking would work as well as deep frying.... On occasion, I'll buy a treat of actual "snacks" from Sam's Club. We go once a month, but I don't buy "snacks" every month. And I hide them and space them out LOL we have a box of individual bags of trail mix I bought like 3 months ago that are almost gone, so I'll probably splurge for a special treat "snack" purchase at Sam's this month.... I do buy ice cream once a month though, it's everybody's favorite in our house, so I hunt for a sale and buy whatever is on sale. I do keep popsicles on hand durring the summer though, you know those ones in the long rectangle plastic that are like kool-aid...
