My best friend and my stepmom and I were sitting around talking the other day, and knowing that I am a frugal person and have this website the conversation naturally drifted towards “thrifty” topics, and some mom topics. I decided to write a post about these ideas. They are very good tips and I hope you all like them. The first one was brought up by my step mom. She is a “hair dresser”, i apologize that i do not know what the current professional term for this is, and has been since before I was born. She gets an hourly wage, but mostly survives on tips, like a waitress does.  For years, she has “put away” $5.00 a day out of her tips into envelopes. She has an envelope for each month. She uses this money to pay for her camping expenses (she owns a very nice camper in a camp ground, where it stays permanently year round). She saves the money in her envelopes all year. She also uses this money as an emergency fund, and pays the envelopes back by increasing the dollar amount per day, say $10.00 a day instead of $5.00. This system has worked for her for years. Just in case you are all wondering, she does not trust banks and likes to keep her money close by. This is a very useful tip that all of us can use. I have an old tootsie roll container that i put all my spare change in. When the Tootsie Roll is full, I cash in or deposit the money into my bank account, depending on what I need at that time.

The second tip was provided by my best friend, Tonya Ramsey. She has a four year old son, and when her son was small, her and her husband wanted to combat the “scary monster under the bed/in the closet” problem all of us parents face. They took a unique, and frugal, approach. They filled a spray bottle with water and told him it was monster repellent. Every night at bedtime, they sprayed the “monster repellent” around his room. They also gave him an empty 24 ounce soda bottle, and told him to keep that by his bed, and if he got scared or needed to ” beat up the monster”, to use the bottle. These two things worked like a charm, they have NEVER had to deal with him waking up in the middle of the night crying because of “monsters in his room” I think this idea is brilliant! Hats off to you, Tonya!

I hope these two tips prove useful to many of you. Please comment or email me with your tips and hints, just follow the links on the website! I look forward to hearing from you!

“It is not quantity that should define our lives, but the quality with which we live it.”

The Domestic Goddess

Everything we do impacts the environment. All the foods we eat, the products we use, the items we buy and put into our home affects our planet. It is up to us to make the wisest choices for our families to help clean up and preserve our environment and our planet. We only have one Earth. Let us all do what we can to keep it livable.

I watched the Ellen DeGeneres show last Wednesday. On her show she had a woman on that works with ocean creatures. She helps educate people about extinction of sea creatures (by the way- hundreds of species of fish are extinct now..never to return!)  Specifically, she spoke about how baby Albatross (birds) are dying because of the TONS of plastic in our oceans. PLASTIC! What happens is this: Either consumers (us) or manufacturers throw the plastic away instead of recycling it. At some point is gets broken down into little tiny pieces and then DUMPED in oceans. The Mommy Albatross goes out to get food to feed her babies, thinks the little pieces of plastic are food, eats it then takes it home to baby to eat. The babies stomachs get full of plastic and can’t eat, then they die. How sad! It proves my point, everything is related, from me going to the store and buying a soda then throwing the empty plastic bottle away….and a bird species becoming extinct.

My son is 15 years old. He just completed his freshman year of high school. He joined a group called “The Parker Green Squad”. This group is helping to educate the students about the dangers to our planet and the environment, recycling, etc. They are trying to raise money to put recycling bins through out the school. I couldn’t be more proud! He joined all on his own, and when he told me he said he felt that he was doing something important. Of course, I cried because I was so proud of my baby…almost grown up! It amazes me how a young man can do whatever he can to help save our planet and US, yet a grown person is to lazy and selfish to simply recycle a plastic bottle!

For several years now, I have kept a  ”junk cupboard”. In it I put odds and ends for future use. I should probably rename this cupboard,but it works. I have toilet paper/paper towel tubes, a baggie of soap slivers, bread bags, empty coffee cans, empty cereal boxes, empty/clean milk jugs. Whatever I might possibly find a use for later. Maybe for a craft project, maybe I have a need around the house. Whatever comes up, I go to the “junk cupboard” first to see if I something that will work instead of buying a new something. My bathroom garbage can is an old, re-used, large coffee can. It works perfect. I currently do not have a filing cabinet, soon but not yet. In the meantime I have a couple of clean, re-used cereal boxes; the tops cut off on a diagonal line; to store and keep my important papers seperate. It works well, actually. The wall above my computer is decorated with my son’s art work and his kindergarten graduation certificate ( it has his picture on it…very adorable). As I looked around my home the other day, I realized 99% of my possessions are used. Very little was bought new. I feel good about that because I know I am doing my part to keep items out of the landfill, taking up space and ruining our environment, killing species of animals that, once gone, will never come back.

By the way, I am now boycotting fish. I love to eat fish and will miss it, but I feel a higher calling and it is a sacrifice I am willing to make. I will never be able to eat a piece of cod, or orange roughy, again and not think of the dying baby albatross!

So, we all need to pay attention to the big picture! We need to realize that EVERYTHING we do affects the entire world around us, even the fish in the oceans, the birds and wildlife in the rain forests. We can ALL do something, however small a something, to make a difference!

“The quality of our life should not depend on the quantity of our possessions”

Thanks to All!

The Domestic Goddess

The Domestic Goddess is now published on a website and in an online magazine! Follow the links below to read about saving money while going green and about delicious summer beverages!

http://www.associatedcontent.com/article/1826087/iced_tea_the_original_summertime_beverage.html?cat=22  - this is Associated Content site

http://healyourselftalk.com/magazine/going-green-reducing-household-expenses   -  This is on the Heal Yourself Magazine site. This magazine will be going into print soon!

I hope you enjoy these articles. Look for more articles monthly in www.healyourselfmagazine.com in the Domestic Goddess section!

The Domestic Goddess

Tonya Ramsey, Jody Maley, and I are co-hosts of  the new and exciting internet radio talk show “Mom’s Coffee Break”!  Our show is premiering June 24, 2009 at 8:00 pm (cst) on blogtalkradio.com. The link will be posted on my website and of course, I encourage you to visit the Mom’s Coffee Break website and get all the info on the new show, as well as read the information. Mom’s Coffee Break is filled to capacity with information, contacts and resources to help you build a business and build yourself!

Come check it out!

The Domestic Goddess

Imagine your sitting in your backyard or on the porch, it’s warm outside, the flowers and trees are blooming. The kids are playing and laughing in the yard. Maybe your working on a craft or reading a book. Suddenly, your throat feels dry. Nothing sounds better than an ice cold beverage. Here is the  dilemma: do you reach for an expensive soda, energy drink, or juice? Do you drink water, or could you make your own satisfying beverages for much less money than soda, energy drinks, etc? The answer is Yes.. you can! For years now I have been making homemade lemonade, sun tea, or drinking other inexpensive drinks.

Homemade Lemonade: 1 cup real lemon juice, 1 cup sugar or splenda, 2 quarts cold water. Stir to mix and enjoy! I can buy a 1 quart bottle of 100% lemon juice for between $1.00 and $1.50. A large bag of sugar sells for around $1.49.  This is by far cheaper than store bought juice, contains real lemon juice(which is good for you) and delicious.

Sun Tea: I use a re-used, clean milk jug. I fill this with water and put 5 to 7  Lipton orange-pekoe tea bags in through the top, leaving  the paper tags to hang outside the jug. Let sit in the sun for approximately 4 hours and remove tea bags. Refridgerate and enjoy. You can sweeten with sugar or artificial sweetener, add lemon if you wish or any other add ins. I drink this all summer long and it is very nutritious and delicious. You can use your favorite tea and adjust the amount of tea bags used for weaker or stronger tea.

Kool Aid:   I have been buying generic kool aid for years, usually on sale at 10 for $1.00. You can use real sugar or artificial sweetener, I have used both and recommend using slightly less artificial sweetener as it is stronger. You can’t beat this as it is extremely inexpensive. Obviously if you use sugar it is not “healthy”, however you can use this drink to make homemade popcicles, add gelatin and make homemade jello. It is far better than soda or other sugary drinks. A wide variety of flavors are available to please any tastebuds.

Juice from concentrate or ready made :  In my area a large bottle (around 25 - 32 oz.) sells for between $3.00 and $4.00. You can buy a container of frozen juice concentrate for less than $2.00 and it makes about 2 quarts. Do I need to say more?

I hope these ideas help make your summer most enjoyable and refreshing!

Thanks to all!

The Domestic Goddess

Tis the season! The warm weather is finally here. Gardening is not only a way to save money on vegetables, fruits and herbs; it is also a way to relax and enjoy nature. You can turn your gardening must-do’s into quality family time by getting the kids involved. Most children LOVE to play in the dirt, and get a kick out of mom or dad actually encouraging them to get dirty. I rent an upstairs apartment so I do not have any space here for a garden, however, I container garden here and plant a large garden at my grandmother’s home. I look forward to spring every year!

Here are a few tips and hints to help you save a little green this spring!

- When planting a large plant or transplanting into a large pot or planter, put empty, clean soda bottles on the bottom of the pot and then fill with soil. The small 12 oz or 20 oz bottles work well. This will reduce the amount of soil you will use and also reduce the weight of the pot for easier moving.

- Use a spray bottle of vinegar to kill weeds. Do not dilute. Spray vinegar directly on weeds being careful not to spray on any surrounding grass or plants. It will kill those,too. Not only will this save you alot of money on weed killer, it is also better for the environment as you are not using any harsh or toxic chemicals.

- reused and clean deli trays make great mini greenhouses. So do reused and clean aluminum  cake pans (the disposable kind) with the clear plastic lids.  This tip makes starting your plants from seed  much easier.

- When your child’s plastic pool needs to be emptied, have your kids (and their friends) grab a bucket and dump the pool water into your garden or on your plants. It makes sense to use this water because you would just be dumping it out into your yard anyway, might as well save some money! You won’t be using “new” water, adding money to your water bill.

- Ask your local county extension if they have a free mulch program. Several counties nationwide do. This will save you alot of money on your gardening budget. If your county does not have this program, call your local tree trimmers or the city and see if they will give you their mulch or sell it to you cheaply.

Please comment with your gardening tips! Leave your comment on the front page.

- check out the mark downs section of your grocery store. These are often filled with great deals that will save you serious dough on your food budget. Some items are over stocks or are close to expiring. Make sure if food items are about to expire they can be frozen or used immediately.

- Look at the store’s flyer for their current deals and sales. Try to incorporate the good deals into your shopping list and menu. Make sure to buy only items that you will use. It isn’t a good deal if it does not get used

- If you clip coupons make sure they are for goods you will purchase anyway. Do not be afraid to try a different product if you find a really good coupon or sale price. Most of the time change is a good thing.

- Try store brands. Most store brands taste just as good as the name brand and in some cases, better. If you are unsure if you will like a product, just buy one and try it. If you don’t like you do not have to buy it again.

- Avoid processed, packaged and otherwise low nutrition foods. While items like Hamburger Helper can be bought relatively cheaply, they have very little nutritional value, are over packaged, over processed and basically a drain on your budget. Do an internet search for do it yourself meals and make them from scratch at home. You will save big on your food budget this way. You can control the ingredients used, if you use natural, organic or “regular” ingredients. This also allows you to taylor the meal to your families likes and dislikes.  Throwing some pasta, a binder like cream of mushroom soup, meat and veggies in a pot and cooking it takes about 15 minutes with 5 to 10  minutes of preparation time depending on how organized your kitchen is. This also allows you to get creative and try new ingedients, use up leftovers and make extra for another day. Homemade food almost always, I have found in my household,  has leftovers.

- Stick to the perimeter of the grocery store. This is usually where they have the least processed and packaged foods located. The more “whole” a food is, the better that food is for you and your family. A potato in its natural form has much more nutrition than a box of mashed potato flakes. Just check out the label on the box for proof.

- Prepare as much of the food you and your family eats from scratch as possible.  Not everyone has time to bake batches of homemade bread or whip up a 5 course meal. Do what you can. Make a big pot of homemade soup and freeze the leftovers for another busy day. Casseroles are an easy way to use up leftovers and use ingedients you have on hand. I have weekends off and spend a chunk of time baking and cooking meals from scratch and freezing them to eat during the week  when I am to busy with school, work, and running my son around to have alot of time to spend in the kitchen. When that chunk of time is depends on what else I have going on that weekend. I enjoy cooking so it doesn’t take me long and I have fun getting creative. Even if you only make and store a few things, that is better than hitting the drive through or buying convenience foods at the store.

Meat is the most expensive buy in the grocery store. It comprises a large portion of your food budget. We all are interested in ways to reduce our expenditure for groceries, so naturally we should look at the meat department.

I have read articles that suggest buying meat with no bones, you get more meat for your money. I have also read articles suggesting to buy them with the bone because it is not only much cheaper, but you can use the bones to make soup stock. Some bones you can also give to your dog to chew. This would mainly be beef bones as chicken and pork bones splinter and could get caught in their throats and they could choke. I lean more towards buying meat with bones. It it cheaper per pound and I make my own stock for use in soups and stews. If I want a piece of meat boneless, I remove the bone myself with little effort. This is a very easy way to save some money in the meat department.

Obviously there are cheaper cuts of meat. Ground beef and chicken is cheaper than steak and prime rib. However, I do buy steak, if the price and the size of the steak is right. Steaks and roasts have many opportunities for other uses. When I buy a roast, I buy a cheaper cut and cook it in my crock pot. Let it cook all day along with your favorite spices and vegetables and you have a very tasty meal. You will probably have leftovers that can be used in a wide variety of recipes. I cut my own meat into smaller pieces for use in soups, stews, casseroles, fajitas, etc. Pay attention to the prices on all cuts of meat. I have sometimes found it is cheaper to buy already cut up stew meat rather than a larger steak. Always compare prices.

Some grocery stores have a section for marked down meats. A couple in my town have these, however this is a tip that most people are savvy to now and I rarely find good buys in these locations. Ask the meat department manager to find out when they put their marked down meats in that section for purchase and check out the marked down offerings then.

Always consider the amount of meals you can get from a package of meat. You can get more meals from a package of chicken leg quarters compared to a 4 or 5 piece package of boneless, skinless chicken breasts, for less money.

Avoid meats that have to much fat attached to them. This fat is very bad for you if left on your meat, and will significantly reduce the amount of usable meat purchased if removed.

Keep an eye out for coupns or in store deals that offer money off a meat purchase if you purchase another product in addition to the meat purchased. If it is a product you were going to buy anyway, it is a good deal. Especially if you have an additional coupon for that item.

Our food budget is one of the most flexible of all our expenses. We all need to eat and be healthy, but what we choose to buy for ourselves and our families have a huge impact on our food budget. We all need to explore all of our food options. Do not assume that the way you have always done your shopping is the best way. You will probably be pleasantly surprised.

The first thing I did when I wanted to lower my food bill was to think about the meals we ate the most, what I had on hand already and made a grocery list. Lists are invaluable tools. What you need is at your fingertips, you won’t forget anything and you can look at all your options for the items you need.

Next I looked at the sales flyers that I had for my local grocery stores. That way I could see what was on sale and if anything on my list was on sale.

To recap, I live in southern wisconsin. We have discount grocery stores here like Aldi and Save-a-lot. These grocery stores are much cheaper than your typical grocery store. They do not carry  much of a selection. It is typically their store brand and a few featured name brand items. I have found that in most cases their brands are just as tasty as the name brand, for at least half the price! An example would be their brand of canned vegetables sells for 29 cents to 59 cents depending on the vegetable. Have you checked out grocery store prices for a can of peas lately?

Our bodies need fruits and vegetables to be healthy. We need the vitamins and minerals that they provide. However, fresh produce can have a daunting price tag. I usually buy fresh bananas, apples, potatoes, onions, lettuce and cabbage because in my area those are always inexpensive. I love fresh produce. I have an affinity for organic and all natural as well and buy those products as I can afford them. However they are expensive and being on a limited income and being a single mom I cannot afford a 100 % organic diet.  So check out what is on sale at your local grocery stores in their produce sections.

The next best thing is frozen fruits and vegetables. They have a higher vitamin content than canned because there is less processing. They are also much less expensive than fresh produce. There is a wide variety available in the frozen foods section. Check it out. 

Buy fresh produce according to what is in season. If  you are trying to buy strawberries in january your going to pay more for them. Stick to what is in season.

Buy local produce. If you buy locally grown food you know it is fresh when it reaches your table.  Your food will have more vitamins and minerals, which will give you the most for your money and fuel your body efficiently.