How have your grocery prices been lately? There is no doubt in my mind that we are in for a tough time with fitting food into a frugal budget. You can find out all about how things stand through some of the articles I posted last week. Also, there are plenty of tips to save you money on food and on all other expenses.
Here is the Frugal Living week in review for March 24th through March 30th
March 24h
I hope that you and your family had a wonderful Easter. Now that Easter is behind us, it is time to take advantage of certain after Easter bargains and ideas for your frugal living lifestyle. Here is what you could be doing this week to contribute frugally to your household with Easter-related stuff.
Frugal Living Week in Review: March 17th Through March 23rd
We have been talking a lot about the recession and the rising cost of food here in the Frugal Blog. This is a good time to start practicing frugal living or refining your frugality. I’ll continue to bring you comprehensive articles to help you save your money and resources, especially on food. Check out the articles from this past week. And as always, I welcome your comments and suggestions.
With bread prices going through the roof (I spotted a small loaf of oatmeal bread in the store here for a whopping price of $3.69!) you might not have the luxury of tossing those bread ends–you know the ones with all of the crust? Personally, they don’t bother me, especially when they are homemade (I’m making a loaf of oatmeal bread as I type. It will cost mere pennies). But, I do know many people who toss these ends because no one in their family will eat them.
March 25th
My Inner Child Almost Cost Me Money
Curb your inner child when you are out shopping, or you could spend more than you should.
Analysts Predict Ten Years of High Food Prices
According to an Associated Press (AP) report, food prices are soaring worldwide and we probably won’t see any relief for the next ten years.
March 26th
Your refrigerator is one of the biggest energy hogs in your home. That is because of the compressor. It takes a lot of energy to run the motor and keep your food cool. It is estimated that as much as 20 percent of your home energy costs come from running your refrigerator. Knowing how to optimize its usage can really help you cut costs. here are some guidelines.
Did you know that the average family will spend approximately $10,000 for their baby before it even reaches two years old? This is what the studies say (the most recent one was conducted by MSN). Does it make you want to rethink parenthood? Probably not, since these precious children are worth much more. But, we can still drastically reduce that dollar amount in several ways. Here are some tips.
March 27th
How Much Are Food Prices Really Rising?
If you are wondering exactly how much food prices have been rising, let me share with you some U.S. federal date. Compared to last year, wholesale egg prices have risen 60 percent, pasta has risen 30 percent and fresh produce has risen by 20 percent. Unfortunately, this data is a little old. It doesn’t take into consideration recent months when food prices have really been soaring. Overall, prices for food have risen by 5.8 percent above last year. And, they are expected to increase by 7.5 percent every year for the next five years.
One thing that this recession and the rising prices of gas has done to me lately is to have turned me into a sort of hermit. I’ve really been extra conscious of going anywhere that involves driving or spending money.
March 28th
One of the great principals of a frugal lifestyle is to use less or extend what you already have to make it last longer than it normally does. Think about it. If you can go from buying a big box of laundry detergent every month to buying one every other month, you have just cut your cost for laundry detergent in half.
March 29th
Yesterday, I had a nice visit with a new friend and fellow mom. She is a great person, and I am glad to have met her. In the course of our conversation, we talked about how many toys our children have and the need to purge toys when the youngest of our broods outgrow them.
People can spend thousands of dollars a year on their pets. While I am sure that the pets are all worth it, wouldn’t it be nice to save a little of that money? Here are some frugal tips that you can use to care for your cats.
What to Do with a Dead Umbrella
A dead umbrella has no use, right? Of course you know that I am going to say that of course a dead umbrella has a reuse. You know this blog by now, and reusing items that might otherwise wind up in the landfill is a great frugal thing.
March 30th
We went shopping at the Goodwill yesterday, and it got me thinking once again about the different standards that people have when it comes to living frugally. Some people won’t shop at a thrift store, for example, because the stuff is used and that is “gross.” But, these same people will gladly shop at a garage sale, where the stuff is also used. Some of these standards, such as the one above, don’t make sense to me. While some practices that others find routine tend to “gross” me to no end. So, I was wondering, where do you fall when it comes to frugality and squeamishness? Here is what I mean.
We are talking about the different standards of squeamishness that people have when practicing a frugal lifestyle. I’m curious to know where you stand in these areas. In the last article, we covered everything about food. Click here to read: The Frugal Gross Factor. Now, we’ll go on to clothing and food.
A little bit ago, I shared some ideas for reusing odd things around the house that were featured in the Tightwad Gazette. One of those items was the humble little bread tag. You know what I mean? A bread tab is the rectangular piece of plastic that is used to secure commercial loaves of bread in their plastic bags. Bread tabs are plentiful and, of course, they are free with your bread purchase.