The Preachers Wife

Vinegar.

Really.

That’s my frugal tip. Buy vinegar.

Why? Because it’s the absolute most versatile thing in the whole wide world. Have dirty counters? Mix 1 part vinegar with 1 part water, spray, wipe, ta-da clean! Spots on your dishes when running them through the rinse cycle? Put a little vinegar into the rinse agent. Pet smells? They hate the smell of vinegar put a little vinegar water solution on the stain (it’s a deodorizer too!) and there you go no more frequent unwanted visitors.

I’m a vinegar advocate. Buy vinegar, it’s more than just for coloring eggs.

Okay, so I’m wanting pillows to go onto our seating in the living room. Now, pillows are an arm and a leg (can I get an amen?) at every store I go to. I can’t see paying $20 for a pillow, and I won’t. So, what I’ve done instead is gather up some placemats, match colors of course, sewed them together and stuffed them. And, tada! Pillows!! What would have cost me $20 now cost me $5 (including the stuffing!).

Pictures to follow.

Got a frugal tip for decorating? Leave your link below:

Does your printer suddenly become obsessed with eating paper like mine does? I’ve concluded that not only does my computer dislike me but my printer is none too fond of me either. So, I’ve decided to reuse and recycle.

Any paper that is scratch paper, cut it up and use that for little notes, grocery lists, phone messages, or just to test out ink pens. You can also shred it up for curtain stuffing (though I would not recommend using paper for pillows, stuffing puff curtains with paper tends to be a good choice). Or, is you know the paper is fine, cut strips for icing a cake to keep your decorative plates icing-free.

And, for the more imaginative (and the ones with kids, in particular little girls) cut the paper into strips, and glue it onto a stick. It makes a sweet pom pom for the cheer-leading enthusiast.

Got another use for scratch paper? Post it in the comments!

Today, I’m going to try making my own dishwashing detergent. I’ve found being frugal is the product of the mother of necessity. For whatever reason, I can procrastinate with the best of them and at the end of the day, my procrastination has caused me to have to find a cheap way to make it work.

So, I will give it a try.

I’ll also include the recipe in case ya’ll want to try it.

1 cup Borax

1 cup Baking Soda

1/4 cup Salt

Let me know what you think.

Also, I would love to hear your frugal tips. Let me know what works best for you and what does not.

My mom was a stay at home mom. Therefore, we didn’t have the cash flow that some families did. I never really understood the struggle til I got out, got married, and experienced the harsh reality of this world. I remember a regular staple of our home when I was growing up. Ketchup packets. Yes, ketchup packets. When we would go out to eat, we would always get extra ketchup packets to take home. There was a large tin tub in my mom’s kitchen where the packets would reside.

What did she do with them? Only my favorite thing in the world. Make sloppy (ketchup) jo’s. No joke. So, here you go, the most easiest dinner imaginable and yes, it is delicious.

Sloppy (Ketchup) Jo’s

1 lb. ground beef

Onion powder

Ketchup packets (you will need a considerable amount think 20 - 30)

Directions:

Brown and drain ground beef, add a dash of onion powder, cut up the ketchup packets and dump in. Let cook for a few minutes. Slap on a bun and chow time!

Yes, it sounds odd. Yes, we call it the “poor man’s dinner”. I’m pretty sure this is a southern thing but “it’ll make you slap your brother.”

It’s that time of year again, a time of thanks, giving, family, friends, cooking, baking, and the doubled grocery bill. My husband does have to work Thanksgiving day (he’ll get 2 hours or so to spend with family and I can visit him at the firehouse at any time during the day) so we’ll only get to see each other a few hours. In response, I’ve decided this year we would have our own Thanksgiving. We’ll spend time with family on the holiday but Friday after (no, I do not fist fight for the “Black Friday” deals, I can’t deal with it) will be our celebration. My hopes are that when children come along, we’ll have a day without chaos and running around to truly appreciate the blessings and give thanks for what we have been given.

So in preparation for our Thanksgiving, I started early. Here’s the deal, we all know Thanksgiving and Christmas is coming, if the Lord tarries, it’ll be here again next year so plan early. We’ve had an abundance of apples this year thanks to our neighbor. So, with anticipation of apple pies, fried apples, and apple butter I’ve cut them up and froze them with specific instructions on the bag. This one is saved for Thanksgiving fried apples.

And the apple butter saved for our neighbor to say thank you:

 Next, I’ve taken advantage of the stock-up sales our local grocer has offered. I’m aware not everyone has an IGA or Houchens but they’ve had a fabulous deal, canned green beans, corn, or peas 39 cents a can. So, I stocked up. We’ll use some of these for our Thanksgiving.

We also had a garden this year. I can’t tell you how many pints of green beans or corn I’ve put away. Not to mention all of the other goodies I’ve froze and stored for the holidays.

Making stuffing? Grab the ends out of the bag (or if you make your own the scraps) of bread and freeze for stuffing later on. Need onions? Buy in bulk when they are on sale and dehydrate them. Store in a pint jar and use as needed. What about seasonings? Grow your own. When it turns chilly, dehydrate those as well.

Planning ahead has lightened the load in terms of finances this year. With last minute Christmas shopping and end of the year bills, it’s nice not to have to worry about buying enormous amounts of food for the holidays.

I sat and tried to figure out what has made the most significant impact on our finances in the past year and the most resounding thing I can come up with is: coupons. Yes, coupons. When I first began the couponing adventure, I wasn’t seeing a whole lot of benefits however, between bargain shopping, stock piling (when the price is right, haha), budgeting, and couponing we’ve made a significant dent in our grocery/household bills.

New to the game? Start out with your local Sunday newspapers, they are usually stocked with at least 2 - 3 booklets of coupons. Next, hit up the internet. Search product sites (such as Duncan Hines) for possible coupons. Pick up sales papers from all stores. It really makes a difference. Keep up with the prices at different stores, buy a notebook and break it down by stores, the products you buy on a regular basis, and their weekly average price. If it’s not a true deal, you’ll find out quickly. Just because it’s on the front of an advertisement headlining a GREAT DEAL, doesn’t necessarily mean you can’t get it cheaper.

Being wise and sticking with a budget is the best advice I can give. Start off slow, and gradually build into coupon mania. It doesn’t make a difference, so keep watching for deals!

(I’ve tried and tried to put an image on this thing and for the life of me it won’t work. So, bear with me eventually I will get the stupid pictures to re-upload and work. Thanks.)

Frugal Friday

I did my grocery shopping this morning. It’s rainy and disgusting outside but that seems to be the trend for shopping day. Apparently it’s not bargain shopping without trudging through some sort of precipitation. I’ve hung my jeans up in hopes that they dry out before my next round of stores.

Alright, on to the frugal tip for the week….

Stock pile. Yes, stock pile. I’m in the process of re-stocking my pantries after a slim few weeks. Trust me, the less you have to buy week by week really adds up at the end of the month. Watch sales papers for 10 for $10 deals. They are usually worth it for the non-perishable items. With meats, I suggest checking for local meat sales. Our local grocer has a new meat on sale each week and I scurry there to stock up on as much as I can. In two weeks I can usually have the pantry and freezer stocked up enough for a month’s worth of food.

Happy Shopping!

Happy Frugal Friday Everyone!

I hope everyone is finding great deals while out shopping. If you find anything online or out in stores that is too good to pass up leave a message so that others can benefit. Recently there have been a lot of stock up sales. With our economy the way that it is, grocery stores have really hiked up prices (it’s not just me, right?) so, I suggest finding your local RiteAid, Walgreens, CVS, etc… and finding their sales papers. They usually have pretty good sales around this time and if you’re lucky they will be giving a rebate with purchase. Happy Hunting!

Frugal Cheese Drop Biscuits

I always make these when I have a bit of Bisquick or cheese left over.

2 c. Bisquick

1/3 c Milk

1/3 c. Shredded Cheddar Cheese

Sprinkle plus of Garlic Powder

1/4 c. Melted Butter

Sprinkle plus Garlic Salt

Directions: Mix Bisquick, Milk, Cheese, and Garlic Powder until it forms biscuit like consistency. Drop onto baking pan, bake for 8 minutes at 450 degrees (note: my oven bakes very hot so I usually put it on 425). While biscuits are baking melt your butter with the Garlic Salt. Once biscuits are fresh out of the oven, drizzle your Garlic Salty Butter over the top. Enjoy! My husband raves about these biscuits. I can’t make enough or too often.