[email protected]

I have 2 flexible part-time jobs and am a single unschooling mother of three
children, 4 dogs, 3 cats and 2 ponies. We have to find LOTS of ways to save.
Thrift stores are a biggie, and of course all the things everyone has
already mentioned like bulk shopping, growing a garden, cooking our own food,
etc...but the biggest two things that have helped us TREMENDOUSLY with our budget
are selling odds and ends on eBay (there is almost NO HOME in the United
States, that doesn't have something they can sell on eBay! SERIOUSLY, even your
husbands old 8-track cassettes are worth something to someone, LOL) and also
being members online of _www.freecycle.org_ (http://www.freecycle.org) If you
don't already freecycle, it is one of the most amazing changes you can make
for your life. You will get rid of all that extra stuff around your house
that nobody would ever buy on eBay and give it away to those who need it, and
you can post for stuff you need or wait until someone posts and save BUNDLES.
We know people who have received CARS, computers, dryers, refrigerators,
washers, dishwashers, jeans, shoes, pets, TVs on freecycle, the list goes on and
on....I received a PERFECTLY working dryer this year, picked it up the day
someone was getting rid of it, plugged it in and have never once had a problem!
The savings on that dryer alone was 2 months of groceries for us. Freecycle
is FREE and easy and wonderful. All you have to do is go to your local
group's site and sign on!

One thing that has been really great for our unschooling is getting the
children involved in selling on eBay as well as freecycling. They have really
developed wonderful entrepreneurial skills as a result, and have also learned
the joy of giving.

Adriana






[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

[email protected]

And, don't forget www.craigslist.com




-----Original Message-----
From: singdoula@...
To: [email protected]
Sent: Fri, 29 Dec 2006 7:15 PM
Subject: Re: [unschoolingbasics] Re: Any ideas for SAHM/Unschooling moms to save $$ on...




I have 2 flexible part-time jobs and am a single unschooling mother of three
children, 4 dogs, 3 cats and 2 ponies. We have to find LOTS of ways to save.
Thrift stores are a biggie, and of course all the things everyone has
already mentioned like bulk shopping, growing a garden, cooking our own food,
etc...but the biggest two things that have helped us TREMENDOUSLY with our budget
are selling odds and ends on eBay (there is almost NO HOME in the United
States, that doesn't have something they can sell on eBay! SERIOUSLY, even your
husbands old 8-track cassettes are worth something to someone, LOL) and also
being members online of _www.freecycle.org_ (http://www.freecycle.org) If you
don't already freecycle, it is one of the most amazing changes you can make
for your life. You will get rid of all that extra stuff around your house
that nobody would ever buy on eBay and give it away to those who need it, and
you can post for stuff you need or wait until someone posts and save BUNDLES.
We know people who have received CARS, computers, dryers, refrigerators,
washers, dishwashers, jeans, shoes, pets, TVs on freecycle, the list goes on and
on....I received a PERFECTLY working dryer this year, picked it up the day
someone was getting rid of it, plugged it in and have never once had a problem!
The savings on that dryer alone was 2 months of groceries for us. Freecycle
is FREE and easy and wonderful. All you have to do is go to your local
group's site and sign on!

One thing that has been really great for our unschooling is getting the
children involved in selling on eBay as well as freecycling. They have really
developed wonderful entrepreneurial skills as a result, and have also learned
the joy of giving.

Adriana



[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]



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[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

drusila00

Saving money links--
I use coupons and take advantage of price matching stores.
Some stores offer double coupons (which means they double the
ammount of your coupon)


I get ton s of freebies from the internet- plenty of hygene freebies
to be had, as well as other things too.

I do test drives for extra money, sometimes dealerships will have
promos where if you go in and test drive a car they will give you an
AMX gift card worth 25-100.00 (watch for those!)

Winning internet contests is nice too.
Remember to always look for rebates- use them to save $$.
Buy1 Get1 sales are great- especialy combined with coupons!


Here are my best links- Enjoy.

for freebies:
http://www.freesamplesite.com/
http://walmart.triaddigital.com/Free-Samples.aspx?fromPageCatId=11
http://www.thefunplace.com/forums/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=25

Find grocery deals without using the newspaper:
http://www.sundaysaver.com/

Coupons, buy them or print them:
http://www.couponsandforms.com/
http://www.thecouponclippers.com/
http://www.wow-coupons.com/
http://www.refundcents.com/

Discounts on eating out:
http://www.restaurant.com/
this is their current deal:
Celebrate the new year by dining out and save. Right now $25 Dining
Certificates are as low as $3, after the 70% off additional savings.

To take advantage of the instant 70% off savings, just enter
discount code CHEERS and hit "recalculate total" during the purchase
process.



Also moneysavers---
Cook at home without "insant/easy" stuff. Crock pot meals, soups,
beans and rice, store brands instead of name brands, reuse &
recycle. (freecycle.org IS amazing!)

if you do not have a low flush toilet make one by placing 2 bricks
into the tank of your toilet- it displaces water.

keep the heat and AC off as long as possible then as low as possible-
Use the budget plans' for power companies to keep your bill from
fluctuating.

Shop at thrift shops. I love the thrifts!

Nicole Willoughby

I have a question sorta on this topic.....

I have bar castile soap ( small bar. ) that Id like to make into liquid soap. Is this doable? How do I do it and how much water would I use?

Thanks,

Nicole

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Tired of spam? Yahoo! Mail has the best spam protection around
http://mail.yahoo.com

[Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Carrie Kimball

I have found that the bean-a-day strategy was helpful with this. Get a large crockpot, either at a yard sale or thrift shop (or request one as a gift), and make a daily habit of making beans and greens. If you buy dry beans which is super cheap, soak them with some lemon juice or whey until they just sprout- at least 24 hours, they will be more easily digested and assimilated and also more nutritious. Crockpot soaked beans with broth (homeade broth is easily and cheaply made from edges, peelings and other food parts you don't normally eat- just designate a container for collecting broth additions in the fridge) and food processor greens and herbs of various types(kids don't notice them at all this way) overnight and the next day you have a bean dish people can snack on, pack up and take along or what have you. You can puree leftovers into bean dip to serve with chips or roll into burritos.
I also recommend a rice (or grain) cooker. Get to know Amaranth, quinoa, millett and buckwheat as well as rice, and make a habit of keeping a big cooked pot of these around for reheating beans with and so forth. Quinoa is high in protein, and several of the above listed grains are actually seeds, and not technically grains.
We don't do dry cereal for breakfast- too expensive. We make hot cereal porrdiges in the mornings, or cold ones by mixing up homeade granola or muesli and then soaking it overnight. We keep yogurt around for snacking- add seeds, fruit, nuts, maple syrup etc.. or use as sour cream in burritos and such. We drink water, rarely juice and when we do we dilute it a lot. Herb teas- especially fruit ones- work as well and are cheaper.
I also use the muffin trick. We use half almond flour so they have more bang for the buck, and mini muffin tins to encourage folks to wait and see how big a snack they really need. These prep fast, cook fast and keep well in the freezer even. Grate zucchini and carrot into them for more veggies.
We do some shopping at trader joes, some at whole foods, but most through a bulk buying food co-op. Most communities have one, and you can save a lot by buying in bulk and through co-op's.

I also wanted to mention WIC, Women Infants and Children. This is available to families who earn middle class incomes as well, depending on family size and covers pregnant and nursing mothers and children under five. It provides breakfast cereal, juice, milk, cheese, eggs, beans or peanut butter and the best part- farmers market coupons june through october. The food in the program is donated by coporate america, and is food that otherwise gets thrown away when not purchased- that's why the selections are so specific. But we get cheerios (63 oz), RgBH free milk (6 gallons) and cheese (8 pounds), commercial eggs (I make into quiche and use in muffins)(3 doz) beans (2 pounds), juice (8 cans of frozen concentrate or shelf stable) and about 10 bucks a week for produce at the farmers market in the season. This is for two kids. It can be a hassle to get it set up, but you only have to go back with the kids twice a year. I find it makes a big difference and allows me to put more money toward produce my kids will eat. I have a friend whose family income is in the 40's and they qualify, so check it out. I think a lot of families assume they won't qualify when they do.
HTH,
Carrie
Alistair 11/02
Gaelin 12/04

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riasplace3

--- In [email protected], "Carrie Kimball"
<ckmidwife@...> wrote:
>>If you buy dry beans which is super cheap, soak them with some
>>lemon juice

How? : ) Do you make a lemon juice/water mixture or straight lemon
juice : P. I've never heard of this.


>> I also wanted to mention WIC, Women Infants and Children. This is
>available to families who earn middle class incomes as well,
>depending on family size and covers pregnant and nursing mothers and
>children under five. It provides breakfast cereal, juice, milk,
>cheese, eggs, beans or peanut butter and the best part- farmers
>>market coupons june through october.

We don't get coupons with WIC here... : ( that sounds wonderful.

>> It can be a hassle to get it set up, but you only have to go back
>>with the kids twice a year.

That might be different in different states. It's been so long since
mine were young enough for it, I've forgotten, but it seemed like
more than 2x's a year. Here, though, there was the MOST dreadful
woman working there, (She might have made it seem like more) and both
my sister and I decided it wasn't worth it to have to put up with
her. My sister has two still under 5, and just couldn't take her
anymore...always asking if you've been in the program in the last six
months, with your file right there in front of her...and my sister
was with the program for most of 14 years! I would go into more
detail, but someone might recognize the profile and know who I'm
talking about, and be related....so I'm not going there. : ) Suffice
it to say, she was awful. :)
Didn't I just drift off topic?
lol
Ria

Sylvia Toyama

I've enjoyed the ideas for saving grocery money -- one of my goals in the coming year is to bring our grocery bill down, while also going organic and homemade, so we don't sacrifice health for cost. I'm glad this topic came up when it did.

*****

I also wanted to mention WIC, Women Infants and Children. This is available to families who earn middle class incomes as well, depending on family size and covers pregnant and nursing mothers and children under five....... It can be a hassle to get it set up, but you only have to go back with the kids twice a year. I find it makes a big difference and allows me to put more money toward produce my kids will eat.

*****

In my experience, WIC can be an even bigger hassle to keep up. In theory, you only have to go twice a year -- unless your breastfeeding 18 mo tests 'low' for iron. Then you have to go more often and be subjected to continued "suggestions" (in the form of threatening insistence) that you try iron supplements (totally unnecessary for a healthy breastfed toddler). And those check-up visits involve heel-stabs to take iron levels in your under five-yo kids. For me, the intrusion and complete disregard for Dan's right to his own bodily integrity were too high a price for generic, chemical-laden grocery store foods.

Sylvia


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lelania1

>> How? : ) Do you make a lemon juice/water mixture or straight
lemon juice : P. I've never heard of this.>>>

I just add 2 tbspns of lemon juice to the crock pot of water and
soaking beans, then rinse them a few times and refill (with plain
water)during the day or so of soaking. Sometimes I forget to change
the water during soaking and they still come out fine. Of course, use
fresh water or broth to cook them in after soaking.

> my sister and I decided it wasn't worth it to have to put up with
> her.

WIC can be a hassle for sure. I think that if you aren't truly
struggling financially then it probably will seem like too much work.
But the food amounts to roughly $100/month for two children, and when
I was pregnant and nursing even more. That is substantial for a lot
of us struggling to provide healthy diets. I think that combined with
a lot of the other strategies people outlined it can be a huge assett
to many lower and middle income families especially ones whose
finances cause a painful stretching of money toward the end of the
month, or even unexpected lapses in food money for a week or two.
There were times in my pregnancy with my second that WIC food was the
only food I had to eat for several days or at one time two weeks
because of wait times being paid for jobs and so forth.
One of the ways we have used the benefits to help, is that in reality
dh eats pretty basic conventional food. He likes breakfast cereal,
drinks milk, canned juice, peanut butter, eggs and cheese. So when we
didn't need the food in the house, these foods went to work with him.
The money we saved in his food while away from home went into the
kids higher quality food. Smaller bodies need more careful
considerations to hormones and such. Obviously we would have
preferred everyone have an organic diet, but in the hierarchy of need
he was more than willing to eat conventional eggs so the kids could
have hormone free ones.
The idea behind the program is to allow families to spend more of
their food budget on produce and other nutritious foods by giving
away higher priced staples that are normally thrown away when
overproduced. Any way you accomplish that goal by putting the food to
use makes sense to me ethically.
I make quiche with WIC food and that uses up a lot of the milk eggs
and cheese plus organic veggies, split pea soup with the bean
alottment and when I was getting them, the carrotts, and we buy the
frozen juice concentrate to use as a sweetner for desserts and breads
which is a healthy alternative to sugar. I also get the orange-
pineapple which my kids love and we try and save it for high vit-c
needs. I have found a store that lets me use WIC checks for a brand
of local milk that doesn't use hormones, and we buy Cabot cheese with
WIC. I feel similarly about the hormone issue, but have found a place
for WIC in my own life that is balanced. If it allows me to keep my
kids home more, their diet is most definately going to be better than
if they spent their days in an institutional setting. I'm not
sweating that the cheerios and instant oatmeal aren't organic. Using
WIC allows me to buy 80% of our total diet organically.

With WIC and other kinds of social services, it helps to believe you
and your kids deserve this. The jobs involved in administering social
services whether they are veterans benefits, disability benefits,
chidcare subsidies or WIC basically suck. They are low paying, many
employees also receive these benefits due to their low wages, provide
little chance for education or advancement and involve a high level
of personal interaction with clients who can be irritable, nasty and
sometimes violent. I try and cut them as much slack as possible
because I worked their side of the table many years ago. You have
rights. You can report nasty or abusive behavior. I they threaten you
or are rude ask for their supervisors information. You do not have to
have them do the physical assessment. My family doc faxes them a form
twice a year saying all is well. The form is blue and is a medical
verification form. All WIC offices take it. Most docs who are
supportive of us non-vaxing types are more than happy to fax a form
so your kid can get WIC. I have been "forgetting" to bring my vax
records for four years. It hasn't been a problem. Once, when we
couldn't get the form faxed, I gave alistair a choice and he said he
didn't want the finger stick. I told the woman "we both know it isn't
necessary, but if you need to withold food from him, which is more
likely to cause him anemia, then I understand that's what you have to
do, but I won't restrain him for this test." and she agreed it was
stupid and gave him the checks anyway. I was polite and friendly.
ownership doesn't mean being nasty or egotistical, just clear that
you qualify for the benefit and your kids deserve their share.
Realistically, it takes me about 4 hours a year to get $1200 worth of
food. That's $300/hr and well worth the time to me!
coming soon, my zine all about wic...
carrie