Suburban Homesteading – Frugal Living

25% of your houses heat can escape through windows and doorways, not to mention a few other sneaky places. Take steps now to close off the escape routes and save a bundle on your winter heating bill.

• Check door thresh holds and replace if they do not fit tight. If you can see daylight you’re losing heat…and money.

• Switch plates on outside walls are notorious for leaking heat because insulation is not installed close enough to stop the airflow. Remove the plate and fill small gaps around the box with an acrylic caulking. For larger gaps, use a foam sealant. Then, place a foam gasket over the outlet and reinstall the switch plate. This small investment will save you loads of heat from escaping and tons of money.

• Water lines, gas lines and cables that come into your house from an outside wall can also leak air and heat, plus they are entry points for bugs and mice. Seal with an expanding foam sealant to keep heat in and critters out. For water lines, slide back the metal ring around the pipe before you caulk. It’s purely decorative and won’t stop air escaping. Check yearly as the caulking can crack or peel off.

• If you work in or gather in one room most of the day use a space heater and turn down the thermostat. The rest of the house will be cool, but you’ll be toasty warm in the room you occupy.

• Use the sun to warm you and your house. If your work at home or are relaxing move furniture to a sunny window where the rays can keep you warm. Keep curtains open, especially on south facing windows to bring in more direct light and heat, and then close curtains at night to act as a barrier, keeping the warmth in.

Even in the middle of winter, you can slash your energy bills without sacrificing your comfort.

Store small bits of leftover veggies, rice and meat in a sealed refrigerator or freezer container for later use. You know what I mean. Those small bits of leftovers that are not enough for a serving, even for one person.

At the end of the week or end of the month make a big pot soup or a vegetable stew. You’ll be surprised at how much you’ve gathered and what a hearty wholesome meal it will make. Add a salad and some crusty bread to round things out.

Do the same with leftover fruit and make yourself a yummy blended treat.

Did you know that 40% of all food in the U.S. goes to waste?

And, 90% of consumers throw food away while it is still edible?

I know. I know. You’ve barely recovered from this Christmas and I want you to think about next year! What’s up with that?

You may even have kids out of school or spouses off work and are still enjoying the time together. But, if you want to have an enjoyable Christmas next year now is the time to think about it, even if you don’t want to. And, we have a few tips to help lay the groundwork for a jolly holiday season.

1. While the family is still together find out what holiday activities they enjoyed the most and what they didn’t. This will help you keep meaningful holiday activities; building traditions and memories, and get rid of those that drained time and energy.

Remember,  not everything at holiday time has to involve spending money. Walking the neighborhood with a thermos of hot cocoa admiring the decorated houses can be just as fun as money draining plays and concerts.

2. Recap your gift giving list. As much as we don’t want to think about what we spent, now is the time to do just that. Make a list of every person you gave a gift to, listing the gift and the corresponding cost. Decide now if there is anyone you could remove from the list in order to manage the holiday spending better.

Teachers and school staff are a perfect example of people who could be removed from your shopping list. It’s not that you don’t appreciate what they do, but do they really need a Christmas gift? Or, will a heartfelt card be sufficient?

3. Inventory your gift wrapping supplies and replace with sale items. Prices are slashed drastically so stores can get rid of the excess. Replace what you need, but don’t go overboard. Be realistic.

Commit to using up what you already have, too. No sense in buying rolls and rolls of paper or dozens of gift bags if you already have enough.

4. Watch for sales on holiday meal items, like turkey’s or hams, and canned goods as well. Stock up now and beat the rush (shortages or price increases) next season.

5. Start saving NOW! Calculate the money you spent and divide that by 40. This will be the amount to save each week to buy gifts in October, well before the spending frenzy. Pay for gifts in cash and there will be no surprise credit card bills to start the New Year. As an example: if you spent a total of $300 this year you would save $7.50 per week to have that same amount next year.

If you need to, cut something simple from your expenses, like eating out less, to help you save.

6. When packing up your decorations toss out old shabby decorations; donate or sell one’s you don’t use anymore. Check the lights to make sure they are still working. If not, take advantage of the sales to replace. And, organize your boxes of decorations. There’s nothing more stressful than plowing through boxes of decorations only to find out they don’t work or they are broken.

7. Start paying attention. Carry a small notebook to jot down gift ideas throughout the year. Listen to family and friends when they mention something they would like to have or something they have been enjoying. They will appreciate your remembering and thoughtfulness maybe even more than the gift itself.

My sister is building out a very large perennial bulb garden, so guess what she gets for Christmas?

By all means enjoy the holiday. Enjoy time with family before you rush out and plan for next year. That’s what they joy of the season is all about. But, to take the stress out of next year take a few moments and do some planning. It may seem like a lot of work now, but by next October you’ll be enjoying the beginning of the holiday season a whole lot more when you’re not stressing about money or burned out lights.

Personal finance gurus have been arguing about debt since the dawn of time. Should you have debt? Should you be debt free? Is there good debt? Or, is all debt bad? The debate rages on.

And, on and on and on.

But, there is one sure thing…anyone who has been in debt and is NOW out of debt will swear the being out of debt is a whole lot better. There is peace of mind, the feeling of being in control, the feeling of accomplishment and flexibility to do things you weren’t able to do when debt loomed overhead.

If this is a frequent conversation or thought at your house, as it was at mine, then start the New Year off with a goal, and a plan to work towards being debt free in 2016.

To start off, review your household expenses and see where you can make cuts. Sweat the small stuff because they can become big expenses over the course of a year. Remember, reduction isn’t depriving yourself it’s working towards freeing yourself from the yolk of debt, worry and constant payments.

Here’s a few simple, and painless, ways to get started. Once you get the hang of things you won’t want to stop until you owe nothing to nobody. As an incentive, I’ve included how much I save by making these changes.

• Cut cable service – Save $960/year
• Switched car & home insurance providers – Save $300/year
• Packed my lunch – Save $2,600/year
• Eat breakfast at home or take to work – Save $1,560/year
• Made tea at home – Save $500/year
• Bought clothes at consignment or thrift stores – Save $1,500/year

THAT’S $7,420 A YEAR!!!

Imagine if I put that towards the principal on my home mortgage??!!

That sure makes the New Year look a whole lot brighter.

Bills are part of owning a home, there’s no getting around much of it. Sure, there are things you can do to minimize the expense. using electricity in non-peak hours, taking shorter showers and doing full loads of dishes and laundry to save on utility bills. But, one of the most overlooked bills you can reduce may be sitting at your curb.

I’m talking about the trash bill. That monthly payment we turn over to have some guy haul away our debris. However, if you are a homesteader who buys in bulk, cans their own food and composts vegetable scrapes or feeds them to the chickens then your trash can may be fairly empty each week, like mine.

When I got tired of paying $40 a month to dump a can with a few plastic grocery bags of trash I called my trash company and explained my situation. I didn’t need weekly trash service, really. Once every few weeks was enough, but that’s not how it works. It’s weekly or nothing.

The man on the phone sympathized with my situation and explained that I could request a “Super Recycler” program. Essentially, my yard waste and recycling trash cans remain about the same size, but my “trash” trash can is half the size. It is also half the cost! Perfect.

In one phone call I cut my trash bill in half, saving myself almost $300 a year!

We all have them…those mostly empty jars of condiments, jellies or peanut butter. But, before you toss them out take a spatula and scrape down the sides and bottom. Most of the time you will gather up enough for an extra serving or two.

To get the last bit out of jars or bottles with small openings, like salad dressing or mustard, tip the jar upside down on a plate and let stand for awhile, then scrap off the plate to use.

Sometimes saving isn’t all about saving money. Sometimes it’s about using every last bit of something we already have already spent money on.

BTW – did you know that 45% of Americans throw food away while it’s still edible? Those “Best-By”, “Use-By” and “Sell-By” dates on packaged foods ARE NOT expiration dates. To learn more about the dates on our food check out this article.

Keep a dish pan of soapy water in the sink to rinse and soak dishes from throughout the day. This will make kitchen cleanup easier, while saving water.

Each day it seems like food prices go up. We are all trying to find ways to save a bit here and there on the foods we purchase. Food co-ops are a great way to lower food costs by taking advantage of bulk buying. But, what if there aren’t any food co-ops in your area, or what if you don’t need or can’t store a 50 pound bag of rice? Well, you could start your very own “micro co-op” with family and friends, and reap big savings.

Here’s how it works:

• Gather a group of frugal minded people together who want to share in the purchasing of bulk items.
• Buy large quantities (like 25- or 50-pound bags) of staple items like flour, sugar, rice, and beans.
• Divide evenly among the group and share the cost equally…and, the cost savings.

Be creative in thinking of other bulk items you could share and save on.

Warm weather is still with us and you don’t want to be short of lemonade. Save yourself time and money by making a batch of lemonade concentrate. Freeze in 1-cup containers and you’ll never run out of the tangy sweet stuff that’s so refreshing on a hot late summer day.

Check out our Lemonade for 100 recipe in the Mason Jar Lemonade and Iced Tea post.

It’s difficult for tender young plants to withstand cold night temperatures. To keep them toasty warm and able to grow strong, cover them with an empty 1-gallon milk or water jugs. These inexpensive homemade cloches or mini greenhouses are great for shielding young plants from chilly nighttime temps or giving germinating seeds the warmth they need. Plus it will save you money for MORE SEEDS! because cloches are expensive.

Simply rinse the jug thoroughly, cut the bottom off and place over the seedling or germinating seed.