Saving Money: Shaving Ham

     This past week, I seen cooked ham on sale for Easter.  I took the opportunity to pick up one and decided to get down our meat slicer (that I picked up at a yard sale for $3) and decided to shave it down for lunch meat.

    The first thing I did was cut off the ends.  I placed them in a baggie and put them into the freezer.  This winter if I'm making a pot of beans, these ends will go into the pot also to flavor them up.  No wasting at this house!

   Next, I set the blade and just began shaving down the ham.

   When all was said and done, we had 2 3/4 lbs. of shaved hams and a few thick slices for my hubby to fry up for his breakfast.  Not bad, huh?

    And once your ham is shaved, you should try making Ham Sliders.  So good!

Other ways I save money is by making my own Air Freshener and be sure to read the post on how our family of 4 live off of $1300 a month!

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How to save money

    Recently, I received an email from a follower who needed some money saving ideas.  Many of them I have posted before but came up with some more and decided to post here for everyone.  If you have an idea that is not here, please leave a comment.  Let's help each other save some money.

• Try to limit your driving. Your hubby driving to work is a necessity but if you need to drop off mail, go to the library, pay a bill, or go to the grocery store, have him do these things on the way to work or on the way home to limit your gas usage.
• Also, NEVER buy from a convenience store. Plan ahead so you don't have to buy overpriced items there.
• If you or your hubby buy fountain drinks, coffee, etc. stop. Pack a thermos. Buy a 2 liter of soda and fill up a cup with ice and pop from home. If you can, cut soda out of your diet. Drink iced tea, coffee, etc. A lot cheaper.
• For snacks, instead of microwave popcorn, buy a bag of unpopped popcorn and cook it on the stove. A bag is a dollar and can make TONS of popcorn with it. 
• Try to go to the grocery store once a month or every 2 weeks. The more you go to the grocery store, the more you end up buying. Make a list and stick to the list. Don't splurge shop. Eat before you go and look only for items on your list. 
• Instead of buying cookies, buy some chocolate chips or peanut butter and make your own.
• If you really are struggling, cut off the cable and cell phones. Get a straighttalk phone and plan from wal-mart. $30 for 1000 minutes or $45 a month for unlimited.
• To lower your water bills, drink from the same glass all day long and wash it only at night (instead of using a different one all day). Some families only flush after a bowel movement and close the lid at all times. 
• Wash clothes only when they are truly dirty. If they are a bit musty, throw them in the dryer with a dryer sheet for 15 minutes to freshen them.  Or in the warmer months, wash your laundry outside and hang on the line to dry like we do here. 
• Check your dryer often. Don't overdry the clothes and waste electricity.
• If you use a dishwasher, turn it off before the end heat cycle and let the dishes dry naturally to save electricity.
• Make your own dishwasher soap, fabric softener and laundry soap. This saves a LOT of money.
• Instead of buying boxed mac and cheese, rice-a-roni, etc. Buy rice or pasta and make it yourself. You get a lot more for your money and it tastes better too.
• Make your own bread and pizza's instead of ordering out or buying frozen.  Tastes so much better!
• Use freecyle. If you need a dresser, clothes, or whatever, post to freecycle what you need and see if you can get it free first. You'd be surprised.
• If you have stuff to sale, take it to a consignment store or even better, post it online on Facebook at your local "garage sale" page. For example, for my area "Talihina yard sale page, or Leflore Country yard sale page". You can sell about anything. Your jeans that don't fit anymore and you get more than you would at a consignment shop or garage sale generally.
• Buy generic. Check labels and if it is the same, buy it cheaper. Check wal-mart's 88 cent aisle for cheap meds. They have alcohol, aspirin, ibuprofen, cold meds, etc. for 88 cents. Ask pharmacy people to direct you to them.
• Instead of your hubby buying lunch, send him a lunch to work. It doesn't have to be just a sandwich. Get creative. Most employers have a refrigerator and microwave so you can send just about anything. Add a little love note in with it to really brighten his day!
• Buy bagged potatoes and use for side dishes instead of box items. Make french fries, baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, etc. It is more work but you get a lot more for your money. Also, if potatoes or onions are on sale, put them in panty hose and put them in your closet. They can save like that for up to 9 months.

• 
• That is how you do the onions and potatoes. Tie a knot between each one and cut off one when you need it. I tie 3-4 potatoes together though instead of individually. Also, if you buy a green pepper or onion and you don't use it all, dice it up and freeze it in a baggie for next time so you have no waste.
• Cutting down on sodas and eating out will save you the most. Before you buy anything, ask yourself if you really need it or if you have to eat out, do you need a $8 meal or can you buy a $1 burger from McD's to hold you over until you get home. Or hey, your kids want a bag of Doritos. They cost $4.00. Is it worth $4 or say "hey, let's buy a bag potatoes (for french fries) and a pound of hamburger meat and we can have hamburgers and french fries for the same cost". When I am out and think about buying a fountain soda, I always ask myself, what else could I use that $2 for? Makes you really reconsider purchases.
• As far as clothes, shoes, etc. buy used when you can or get it free from freecycle. Shop 2nd hand stores, etc.

    Here are a few more posts to help you:

Frugal Living:  How to Waste NOT

Free samples and Rewards programs

Leftovers

How to live off of $1300 a month

Cheap, fun activity

Making your own instant oatmeal packets

How to make your own play-doh

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Frugal Living: Living off of $1300 a month!

   

    I recently read another blog and the writer talked about frugal living and how their family of 6 lived off of $2200 a month.  I did the figuring and seen they live off of an average of $367 a person.  Heck, I can do one better.  Our family of four lives off of $1300 a month, which is an average of $325 a person.  Not trying to have a "I'm better" contest or nothing.  I applaud them.  It just made me realize how little we truly live off of ourselves.  I know many people who make 3 or even 4 times as much as we do and they seem to struggle financially worse than we do.  How do we do it? We scrimp and save and we make a serious effort to live off what we have.   Am I being boastful?  No, I am just sharing what we do in hopes of helping at least one other family get by on what they earn.

      I know many of you make a lot more and I am glad for you.  Our family made a conscientious decision to live on a smaller income for many reasons.  Each family must do what they think is right for them.  We are judging no one and hope no one will judge us either.  I know people who have a mortgage payment that is more than our take home income.  Glad for you but am also glad it is you and not me.

     First of all, we drive a car that is 15 years old.  It is paid for so we have no car payment.  We do not see the need for a newer car when the car we have works just fine for us.  This car has driven us from eastern Oklahoma to New Mexico two times and to Galveston, TX there and back.  We have had the car for 2 years now and my hubby does all the maintenance on it himself.   As far as insurance goes, we carry the state minimum.

      Secondly, we do not have television reception (no dish, cable, or nothing like that).  We have a Blu-Ray player and that is what we use to watch movies.  We have allotted $35 a month into the budget to purchase new movies (DVD/Blu-Ray) etc. so that is our entertainment allotment per month.  Wal-mart has DVD's for $5 and Triple feature Blu-Rays for $13 so we can actually get a good deal of movies each month to add to our collection.  Many people have suggested we use Hulu or Netflix but our internet is capped and we can not do this.  Besides, our family likes to watch movies over and over again so owning the movies on disc works for us.

     Third, I know soda pop or coffee is a huge amount of money for some families each month.  We rarely buy soda or coffee anywhere.  If we want coffee, we make it at home.  Soda pop, yes we occasionally stop at the store and buy a fountain drink but it is a treat and not an everyday occurrence.  We may buy a total of 3 two-liter bottles of soda a month.  The kids and I drink mostly water at home and hubby survives off of coffee.  We purchase kool-aid or make iced tea or drink milk too.
   
      Eating out:  We eat out usually just once-a-month and that is when we do our monthly grocery shopping.  We usually stop at McDonald's and we all get a meal.  It helps that we live in a small city that has no fast food restaurants in it but even if it did, we still would not eat out much.  The $20 it could cost to feed our family of 4 at a fast food restaurant could be better spent by buying $20 worth of groceries.  The key is asking yourself:  Okay, I can spend $5 getting us all a fountain drink or I could spend the $5 buying a 2 liter bottle of soda, a loaf of bread, and a pkg. of hot dogs and have a little left over.  Which is smarter?  Same with a meal out.  $20 can buy a LOT of groceries and feed your family for several meals.  I have received many rude comments about McDonald's should not be considered eating out.  It is eating a way from home so it is eating out.  Please be nicer.

      I have also signed up for Mypoints.com and regularly order free samples online.  I have heard all the excuses as to why others do not do this but it really helps out.  By only clicking on emails (never made a purchase yet), I average $100 in Walmart gift certificates a year from MyPoints.  I get free samples in the mail at least 4 times a week by only requesting them.  Some samples are for full size products.  In fact, I just got a free coupon in the mail for $9.00 worth of bacon or lunch meat.  It IS worth your time to do these things.

     If you smoke, quit smoking or buy loose tobacco and roll your own.  You can save yourself and your family a LOT of money.  My hubby used to smoke over a package of cigarettes a day but once we had to cut back, he took up smoking a pipe and we buy his bag of pipe tobacco for $15 and the bag lasts him a full month.  That switch saved our family a LOT of money. (Yes, I know smoking is bad for him.  Yes, I prefer he would quit but it is his only vice and I love him).

     Clothes and shoes:  Okay, don't freak but I own just 3 pairs of pants.   All three are black pants that can be worn with anything.  I own 4 dresses and probably 15 tops.  That's it.  Why?  Because I do not need more.  I can get by with that.  And shoes, well I own 2 pairs of shoes and 1 pair of boots.  My husband and boys have about the same number of clothes and shoes.  We do not need designer labels or a ton of clothing.  I try to buy from garage sales and thrift stores for our clothing but if I can not find what we need, we buy new from retail stores such as Walmart.  I could allot more money into the clothing budget but I see no need to.  We have learned to get by with less.  It was a personal decision that works for us.  I do not judge someone because they have a closet full of clothes.  It is just not what I need at this stage of my life.  I do not feel the need to come up with the Jones'.  :-)

      Household needs:   One of my weaknesses is my shampoo.  I love Pantene shampoo and that is one area that I splurge but I do buy the $1 conditioners.  Walmart always has White Rain brand or another good brand on sale for $1 or less.  When I buy household items, I buy what we need for one month so I do not have to run to a convenience store or another store and buy items for more than I prefer.  If I see toothpaste on sale for a good price, I buy 10 of them to last quite awhile. We never buy paper towels or napkins.  We use washable hand towels instead.  Same goes with paper plates and disposable cups.  No need for them, we use the ones in our cabinets instead.   We make our own air freshener.

Homemade Air Freshener, similar to Febreze.

      We make our own dishwasher detergent, our own detergent for washing clothes, and our own fabric softener liquid.  I clean with bleach or vinegar.  There are ways you can cut out a huge chunk of your monthly bill here if you try.  We currently spend $50 a month on household items (toilet paper, etc.) and usually have money left over because we do not use that much. 

    Utilities:  We have a well and do not pay a water bill.  Our home is total electric so there is no gas or propane bill.  We try to keep the electricity bill down as much as possible but the bill gets to be close to $250 in the summer and about $150 other times of the year.  We turn off lights when we leave a room, etc.  We cook in a crock pot at least one meal a day so that cuts down on heating the house and on running a stove or oven.  I try to cut out process foods and "easy" foods so we do not use the microwave as often as many families.  Also, we do our laundry by hand outside and let them "line dry".  This saves on water and electricity.  When it comes to using the dishwasher, I ask myself "is this dish really that dirty?" If the answer is no, it is easy to just hand wash it and put it away.  No need to run every little dish through the dishwasher and use all that water and electricity if you don't need to.  We could save more money on the electric bill by turning up the thermostat in the summer time and down in the winter but I suffer from MS (Multiple Sclerosis) and can't stand the heat.  It makes my symptoms worse so this is one area we do not skimp on.

    Groceries:  We spend about $400 a month on groceries every month.  We eat breakfast (usually pancakes, breakfast burritos, cereal, etc.), then for lunch is usually a sandwich or soup and supper is a cooked meal.  We do not buy many "snack" foods or heavily processed foods.  If we snack, it is on popcorn or homemade desserts.   Instead of hamburger Helper, we buy rice, pasta, etc. and make our own. We have chickens for fresh eggs and grow food in the garden.  We can our own salsa, jams, etc.  I make my own chicken broth and chicken stock.  I buy whole chickens and use pretty much EVERYTHING!   I buy generic food items mostly.  Little cuts here and there really add up and we never go hungry.  In fact, we help out friends by sharing our groceries and still have enough for ourselves.  Also, we shop just once a month.  This planning saves us a lot of money because rarely does one run to the grocery store and only buy just what they need.  Every time you go, you spend more than you expect to.  By going only once a month, we avoid these extra expenditures.

    Gas:  Don't run to the store every time you think you need something.  Learn to slow down and think if you really need to run into town or whatever.  We rarely run into town for one thing.  If we run to town, we make it worth the trip.  We pick up the mail, visit family of friends, go to the library, etc. all at once to save gas and time.  Is it necessary to go to the post office everyday or can you get by with going just once or twice a week?  Plan your trips and save that fuel.

   For the people who are bashing my post right now, for so many petty reasons, I am just trying to help others.  Sorry my grammar and "writing tone" is not perfect.  I am a hick.  Hence the name of the blog.  Why you would come to my blog expecting anything other than country wisdom is beyond me.  Regardless, I forgive you.  :-)  Anyway, people have also commented on us using more water by washing outside.  No, that is not true.  We have figured how many gallons of water to wash outside compared to using a washer and we use less and the sun dries our clothes.  We do not even own a washer and dryer now so there's no going back.

     Does that help anyone?  I hope so.  Do you have any questions?  I would be happy to answer them to the best of my ability.  I am no expert.  I just know what works for us.
Hugs,
Melody

Be sure to check out the 35 of my Most Frugal Tips!

 

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