HOMESCHOOL MONEY TIPS

We have a "kitchen organizer", a binder in which we plan out the entire month of meals. Then we make the grocery list accordingly. Only buy what is on the list! This not only helped us to spend less at the grocery store, but helps in the 'Life Skills' lesson plan we incorporate into our home school curriculum. We also, find a way to use everything at least twice. Fabric softener sheets, can be used after they were used in the dryer to get stuck on foods off, simply run water in the pan, place sheet in let it sit for a few minutes and voila! As far as books and stuff we use for school, many of the book stores will allow you the same educators discount that they allow teachers to use. Don't be afraid to ask them if they have an education discount program, and ask to be in it. YOU ARE AN EDUCATOR TOO! We are currently members at the Half Priced books, and Hasting's.

most state have art disount cards and a lot of places do give you a discount if you say you are a homeschooler I live in New Jersey NJart.com to get discount card and it can be used in PA

To save money on field trips, check your local library. Frequently it will have arranged discounts with museums, state parks, and other attractions. We recently visited the Norman Rockwell museum for free! (a $30 value). All you need is a library card.

We wanted to take an inexpensive vacation this year, so I decided to try Chicago which is a 3 hr car drive away. We specifically wanted to visit the Field Museum and the Museum of Science and Industry. I checked their websites and found that they offer free days, some on the same days as the other. So I picked a time to visit where we would be able to get into both museums free during the same week. We also are staying at my husband's sister's house to save on hotel costs. I plan on bring food with us from the grocery story so we don't have to eat out that often and the kids will have food that I know they will eat. It should end up being a rather inexpensive trip.

About 3 years ago I learned how to make my own laundry detergent for my clothes. The other money saving thing I do now is I buy fabric softener and mix 1 gallon of water with 1 cup of softener, then I soak a sponge in the solution, add it in with my clothes right before they are drying and VOILA! You got dryer sheets! This little trick has saved my family so much money!

Buy a haircutting kit at Walmart (Wahl is a good brand); you will spend under $30. For the men in our family, this saves at least $30 per month. The girls need haircuts far less frequently, so we go to the beautician school, which charges only $10 per haircut.

If you will not be using a vehicle for a week or more, call your insurance agent. He can usually reimburse you for the time you are not using it. Be sure to make sure the coverage is reinstated before you drive the car again!

Hi!
Laundry detergent can be very expensive , especially for a large family. Twice a year, I go to Sears hardware store to buy their store brand. It is less expensive than name brands, and comes in boxes to wash 180-265 loads of powder. (sometimes it is even cheaper if you order online and pick up at the store). I generally pay $25 for a 6-month supply, which I dump into a plastic storage bin. If this soap is on sale, it only costs about $15! Saves money and time.
Lauren B.

In order to save on groceries i go to local store and buy fresh produce that is in season cause it has better prices i also look at the meat deparment for meat that is on sale and purchase ahead for two weeks i have been able to save about 50 a month like this I also avoid going frequently i wait till i have used all my fresh fuits and vegetables and I avoid shopping when im hungry otherwise you shop more.

Whenever we want topurchase books, cd's or dvd's for our family(kids and parents both) we start with half.com. They have amazing deals, often you can get nearly new books etc for only a few dolars. Sometimes the cost of shipping is even higher than the cost of the products, but if you are clever, you can often find mltiple items from the same seller and save on shipping that way. It is a part of Ebay but no auctons are involved. We just bought 6 books for under $15.00 including shipping!! It is my go to site for all media items and always beats the prices at Amazon.

I look for used textbooks on paperbackswap.com and amazon.com before buying them new. This saves a LOT of money!

I like to look at some of the blogs that have the weekly ads to my local grocery stores with coupon match ups. This way I know what I need, can make a list and print coupons to the items that have them right from the links they have on them. Two of my favorite sites are Southernsavers.com and dealseekingmom.com. These sites also have great info on sales they find as well as freebies they may find.

I like to look at some of the blogs that have the weekly ads to my local grocery stores with coupon match ups. This way I know what I need, can make a list and print coupons to the items that have them right from the links they have on them. Two of my favorite sites are Southernsavers.com and dealseekingmom.com. These sites also have great info on sales they find as well as freebies they may find.

I like to look at some of the blogs that have the weekly ads to my local grocery stores with coupon match ups. This way I know what I need, can make a list and print coupons to the items that have them right from the links they have on them. Two of my favorite sites are Southernsavers.com and dealseekingmom.com. These sites also have great info on sales they find as well as freebies they may find.

I hunt down FREEBIES!!! --- These are ones I found this week from discounts on books and supplies to FREE amazing things.... also found a national chain that is double and tripling coupons on the 19th! If you want me to post what I find each week, I'll happily do so :)

Carson Dellosa is offering FREE SHIPPING if you have an order of $50 or more Coupon code is CTF151 http://www.carsondellosa.com/cd2/default.aspx
Teachers Supplies - Carson-Dellosa Publishing - Workbooks & Educational Supplies
www.carsondellosa.com


Free subscription to Thriving Family Magazine
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Free pet toy? Go here and sign up for this pet site and they will send you a free toy for your cat or dog :) http://thepa.ws/bne9

HOMESCHOOL friends and MOMS want free books for your kids? Have them go here and complete the two worksheets for their age level and they will earn free books from scholastic! http://www.scholastic.com/kumon/learnandearn/

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Any other COUPON Queens out there??? Some Kmarts are doubling and some are TRIPLING coupons on 4/19 http://dealseekingmom.com/kmart-next-super-double-coupons-53-possible-triples/ This is a GREAT deal if you are looking for candy for the easter baskets, shampoos , make up cleaning supplies etc..... Check your state on the list and call your local kmart

You can get a FREE Tea of Coffee on Earth Day at Starbucks Bring in a travel cup and receive a free coffee or tea at participating stores Mark your calendar now and call ahead to validate your store s participation Earth Day is April 22nd :)

FREE subscription to Working Mother Magazine http://www.mercurymagazines.com/pr1/121/121567

Free Subscription to Runway Magazine http://www.magazineline.com/studentmags/freerunway.htm?utm_medium=02-2011-Drop3&utm_source=Universal&utm_campaign=Studen

FREE SKI magazine :) http://www.mercurymagazines.com/pr1/101/101468

Hey homeschool moms and dads I am buying supplies for next year and stumbled upon this great coupon.... It gives you $5 off your $10 purchase at http://schoolbox.com/ The coupon code is FRIEND232M I'll be doing more searching and shopping over the next few days and will post other deals and coupons I find here in this thread. :)

Honestly one the ways we same money is by cooking and eating at home......Now some people say that cooking from scratch with healthy food is just too expensive....NOT TRUE.....cooking exotic food can be expensive....but the basics...grains, veggies, meats, fruits, eggs, milk....If you learn how to be creative yet simple....you can save money! Sue Greggs cookbooks are an invaluable resource.

During these trying times, and being a one-income family, we all have to be very creative in how we use our resources. One way we save money is by using coupons and looking for sales in the store flyers. We also try to schedule all our trips to the different stores at the same time we have to do our homeschool activities....this saves on gas since they are all in the same area.
Homeschooling can be expensive, so I buy most of our books used online or from friends as well as sell the ones we no longer need. This is a good way to make a little extra money to buy needed resources.
We use a lot of free online programs such as Spelling City, Honor Point, Fun Brain, etc. Spelling words can be downloaded for free, multiplication tables can be learned and books can be read....all FREE!
I hope this bit of advice can help someone else save some money. (o:

We make our own laundry soap - have no idea how much that has saved us over the last 6 years... Since DD8 is on a restricted diet (no gluten, cow milk, or corn) and we live in the exact middle of nowhere, we have a small farm flock of goats and I make all our cheese, butter, ice cream, etc. I try to buy our gluten free staples (flour etc) in bulk and on auto-ship when I can get free shipping. Since we are so far from town, it saves money and time. A trip to town can easily cost $100 (gas) so when we make our monthly trip to town to get groceries, we always contact the neighbors to see if they need anything - and in return, they do the same for us.

we use a lot of these tips already. One thing we also do is use our local library to get passes to the Museums. They are free and we can keep them for a week. We can also get DVD's there and read magazines that we no longer have subscriptions too. We use lots of coupons and get freebies from company sites. Our newest way to save is to use Skype. It is a free download on the computer and no we can hear AND see our family from all over for free when they also use their Skype.As far as homeschooling goes. We use Homeschool Buyers Co-op to get great savings and we also ask the retired teachers in our family to teach our children Art, Spanish etc....

In order to reuse workbooks for subsequent children, I take a sheet protector and cut the edge with 3 holes off, then I can slip it over the workbook page. The kids can write their answers with dry erase (or wet erase for lefties), I check them, erase the protectors and the book can be used many, many times.

We just moved from NE to VA and the cost of living difference is kind of scarry! We have gone from 2 incomes to 1 (I am re-starting my home based business and it takes patience). I take my price book everywhere with me....I track prices at the grocerie stores so that I am informed and REALLY know when a sale is a true deal! There have been many eye opening moments doing this! I also break prices down to cost per item or per use. I also try to coupon, but am not that great at it, am trying a new un-clipping method at the moment, hope it helps. I also do a weekly menue for our family and try to work my menue around what is on sale that week.
THANKS EVERYONE ELSE FOR ALL OF THE GREAT USEFULL TIPS AND SUGGESTIONS!!!! I SOOOOOO APPRECIATE IT!!!!!

We go through a lot of milk (10L weekly), so I buy powdered milk and reconstitute it for baking /cooking purposes and leave the fresh milk for drinking.
Also, if there is a culinary school or trade high school close by, many sell great meals (with fresh and exotic ingredients) at great prices; you can stock up and freeze them for those overwhelming days when time is not your side.
My neighbour and I prepared different parts of a meal and got together to share it; the children played, we conversed; it felt more like an event rather than a cost sharing ritual.
Our local grocery store discounts perishables 50 per cent off in the late afternoon, I will buy bananas and other fruit and veg for baking pies, muffins, soups & stews; I will also freeze fruit for smoothies or "popsicles".

FIELD TRIP SAVINGS
: A. ANNUAL PASSES Even if you will only visit once, sometimes reciprocity arrangements make passes worthwile. Having passes means we do not feel like we need to stay long enough to get our money's worth on an expensive admission, so we visit more often and enjoy our visits more, concentrating on a particular area and leaving before we are weary of the place, and sometimes adding a short stop when we're in the area for other reasons.

1. I bought family passes and planned our field trips around
a) The North American Reciprocal Museums. http://sites.google.com/site/northamericanreciprocalmuseums/north-american-reciprocal-museum-listing

b)Association of Science and Technology Centers Passport Program http://www.tryscience.org/fieldtrips/ASTC_passportProg.html

c) National Parks America the Beautiful http://www.nps.gov/fees_passes.htm

d) our local zoo/aquarium, a member of the Association of Zoos and Aquariums http://www.aza.org/uploadedFiles/Education/Kids_and_Families/Special_Admissions_Program/Reciprocity%20Chart%202011(1).pdf

e) stand alone local attractions that we'd like to visit frequently.

2. I searched online for days when admission is free... museums especially are likely to have one day a month when admission is free in the evening.

3. I searched for free parking days/hrs, and I asked at the attractions about availability of free parking on specific days.

4. I use Microsoft Streets and Trips to plan field trips. Once I get my known stops on the route, I look along the route and search for attractions near the towns between those stops. We have a long drive (estimated at 2 hrs 20 minutes) to a birthday party coming soon; we'll leave early in the morning and stop at multiple attractions along the route, then drive straight home afterwards. With Streets & Trips, I can put in the time to stay at each stop and create a very pleasant itinerary that makes the gas money very worthwhile.

5. I searched for free music concerts (lots of these in our area) and special educational concerts.

6. Some attractions offer discounted admission days for homeschoolers - arranged by regional homeschooling organizations. Check h/s organization websites and get on their mailing lists if they offer these. If the organization requires paid membership, it might be worthwhile just for discounts available, and sometimes additional discounts are available for members willing to do a bit of volunteer service.

LOL I forgot one other thing we do in the summer to save money. We walk or bike every where. With the cost of gas so high it has saved us quite a few dollars, and we have become very fit as well.

Many of the ways my family saves are already listed here. One major one is budgeting. I budget weekly, and like another family, while doing the baby steps in Dave Ramsey's books.
Some things not mentioned are 1. We have a family membership at the local YMCA. My children participate in swimming lessons, karate lessons, and 3 hour gym sessions, all included in our membership. My husband and I get programs like yoga, swim aerobics, kick boxing, and more included in our membership. This has saved us more than $368 dollars a year. That is in costs for swimming lessons alone.
2. Each week we write a menu, using the grocery flyers. Using recipes that use the ingredients on sale means that our family of four spends about $400 a month in groceries.

I try to get the kids involved in helping us save $$. Not only does it help the pocketbook but I feel we're teaching them important lessons too. They get an allowance and help decide our extracurricular activites. When it's their money having friends come over and have peanut butter sandwiches suddenly seems like a fabulous idea!! LOL! We also homemake as many things as we know how ...laundry detergent, dishwashing detergent, face wash, homemade meals, etc. And we set aside part of our backyard for a garden - its saves us on food, the kids learn a lot, and they're much more likely to try a veggie that they "grew" themselves!!

Here is how to give yourself up to a $12,000 raise

1. Coupons for Groceries: Start couponing. Learn all you can. We gave ourselves an average $500 a month raise. If I can do it, you can do it! I never used a coupon in a grocery store before this year.
2. Utilities: Cut out excess utilities.
A. Satelite/Cable: We cancelled our satellite which gave us a $80 a month raise. We watched shows online at cbs.com, abc.com, nbc.com and mtv.com.
B. Home Phone: Cancel your home phone and use your cell phone (metro pcs). Up to $80 a month raise.
C. Yard: Cancel the yard treatment plan/yard maintenance. $20 + a month raise.
D. Negotiate: You will be surprised also with how GENEROUS these companies will start being to keep you as a client. **We just got our satellite back after 3 months (when we got a tenant for our condo) with a great package (HD, DVR etc.) for $40 a month for 12 months.
3. Drugstore Game: Learn about the drugstore game. I get $200 + a month (raise) worth of cosmetics, hair care, over the counter medicine etc. for less than $10 a month.
4. Eating Out:
A. Make yourself a couple of delicious soups or buy ingredients for your favorite sandwich instead of going to a fast food restaurant 3-4 times a week $15-40 raise a month depending on whether you are buying foods for your kids as well.
B. Go out to eat only once a week. $160-300 a month raise.
C. Quit going to get fancy coffee and brew your own. I just started using a cappuccino maker that I got as a wedding present. Instead of going to Starbucks, I started my own home coffee shop, Savebucks Around $40 + a month raise.
D. Take your kids to McDonalds or Chick-fil-a AFTER lunch to buy them an ice cream cone or yourself a coffee so that they can have an opportunity to play in the Play Place without buying a Happy Meal. $20-40 a month raise.
5. Salon Discounts: Go to a salon like Bob Steele Salon for the first time and get 50% off your first visit. Or go to a New Talents division of a local salon. That can be up to a $100 or more raise this month.
6. Preschool/Private School: Struggling financially? Pull Johnny or Janey out of preschool and enroll him in some classes or sports in your community. $180-700 a month raise. Or better yet pull them out of private school and either put them in home school or public school. You will give yourself a $280-$2500 raise per month.
7. Cars: Sell the cars you pay payments on and buy a nice used car that you can pay cash for. $200-1000 + a month raise.
8. Books: Use the library for you and your kids instead of buying new books. $15-40 a month raise.
9. Sell and Buy: Sell the stuff you don t use or need and buy used on craigslist and ebay. $20-100 + raise per month.
10. Accountability/Sticking to your budget: $$PRICELESS$$
A. Married: Put together a Cash Flow Budget EVERY MONTH giving every dollar a name until you have spent your last cent WITH YOUR SPOUSE.
B. Single: If you are single, have an accountability partner who will hold you accountable to your cash flow budget and for meeting your financial goals.

Do you eat naturally or organic? Here are ways to save:
1. Shop your local farmer s market. Most of the time you save an average of 33%
2. Buy most produce in season.
3. Buy in bulk. For beans, grains, lentils and nuts, go straight for the bulk containers. Just make sure you have a cool, dry place in your kitchen to store your dry goods for a couple of months. You can save on storage space by splitting your goods with a friend.
4. Frozen- In the off season buy preserved foods including frozen fruits and vegetables.
Shop Sales and house brands. Look at the circular for your grocery stores to find the loss leaders.
5. Shop on-line. The GreenPeople directory from the Organic Consumer Association is a good place to begin your online search for cost-effective organic foods. A list of additional organic directories is also available on the site. There are also plenty of on-line stores offering organic products from Organic Kitchen and even Amazon.
6. Be flexible. Use store discount fliers when planning your weekly menus. More mindful shopping can save you money. Shop Aldi and other smaller stores. They have a small, inexpensive selection of organic foods. Combine shopping at smaller stores and bigger grocery stores to buy the loss leaders and stock up when they are on discount.
7. Buy a share in a community-supported agriculture program.
8. Coupons- You will find a few in the Sunday paper as well as online coupon websites like coupons.com.
9. Sign up- Sign up for the following newsletters: Kiwi, Whole foods, Mambo sprouts and Eating Well. They e-mail great lots of coupons and meal ideas.
10. Less Meat- Eat less meat. Organic meat can be expensive. Also eating vegetarian is healthier.
11. Grow your own- Start your own organic garden.
12. Solicit- Look on the websites of your favorite organic companies and print out your favorite companies coupons. They do not provide coupons? Contact them, pay them a complement on their foods and they will most likely send you more coupons to keep you as a faithful customer.

BTW, I run my own money saving website :)

13 ways to save money on your grocery budget without using a single coupon
1. Buy fruits and vegetables in season. 30-50% savings.
2. Buy chicken, beef and all other meats on sale. Boneless, skinless chicken breast is on sale for Or better yet, you can debone chicken and use the bones to make your own chicken broth. 65% or more in savings.
3. Buy fattier ground turkey and beef for meals that require ground meat. Brown the meat and then rinse it in a collander. You will make your own healthier (leaner) ground turkey and beef. 30% or more in saving.
4. Buy a whole head of lettuce instead of bagged lettuce. Is it really that hard to cut lettuce? Wash the lettuce and put it in a salad spinner. It takes less than 5 minutes but will save you 40% or more.
5. Shop BUY 1 GET 1 FREE sales. You do not have to buy 2 items on BOGO sales (unless in select locations). I would stock up during these sales (4-6 week supply). (Also, 10 for $10 does not mean you have to buy 10 and 3 for $10 does not mean you have to buy 3. This is just a marketing strategy.) At least 50% savings.
6 Don t buy deli meat. Grill extra chicken, steak and turkey to make your own sandwich meat or chicken salads etc. 66% savings.
7. Quit buying bottled water. Leave tap water in a pitcher in your refrigerator. The chlorine taste will nutralize after 24 hours. Another way to save is use refrigerator filtration or use a Brita or Pur water pitcher. 78-100% savings.
8. Kick the soda habit or at least buy 2-liters on sale. Or, if you buy soda, buy it on sale and preferably 2-liter bottles. **2-liter coke products are on sale at Kroger for $.88 a bottle (stock up for 6-8 weeks). 60-100% in savings.
9. Make your own desserts and birthday cakes. 72% savings.
10. Buy frozen fish unless it is on sale. Did you know frozen fish is fresher than fish found at most supermarkets? 25% or more in savings.
11. Learn how to make your own yogurt. I know our kids love yogurt, and I would love to know that the ingredients are all natural.
12. Make your own cleaning products like our grandmothers did using natural products like baking soda, vinegar, salt, mineral oil etc. The ingredients are cheap and green. 60% or more in savings.
13. Use linen dishcloths to dry your hands and clean your counters in the kitchen rather than paper towels.

Buy at Publix...here is why: 1. Buy One Get One Free sales or sale items-50% off is a GOOD DEAL! 2. Numerous Clubs and Programs- Sign up for each of their clubs and programs. You will receive NUMEROUS Publix coupons and tons of savings plus they are FREE! Here is the list: Publix Upromise Program, Publix Grape Magazine, Publix Baby Club, Publix Preschool Pals, Publix FamilyStyle Magazine and Publix GreenWise Market Magazine. 3. Double coupons- My Publix doubles manufacturer coupons .50 or less EVERYDAY! 4. Rainchecks-They offer rainchecks if they are out of an item on sale where you can get the item at a future date for the same sale price.
5. Liberal coupon policy-Publix takes manufacturer coupons, store coupons and competitor coupons. Some Publix locations consider *drug stores, Target, Walmart, Kroger, Save-a-lot and Food Lion and more as competitors. Ask your local Publix who they consider as their competitors. 6. Stacking coupons-You can stack coupons. You can use ONE Publix coupon /or competitor coupon and One manufacturer coupon per item. 7. Advantage Buy Flyers- There are always a green and yellow advantage buy flyer at the front of the store full of store coupons.
8. Customer Sevice- It is their pleasure to help me ALWAYS! They offer cookies to the kids in the bakery and always offer to help you take your groceries to the car without having to tip the bag guy.
9. FREE groceries- With all of the deals I find in the stores, I get lots of groceries for free every week!
*Some Publix locations take Rite Aid, CVS, Walgreens etc. coupons.

I am on the South Beach diet. One of my favorite treats is the Non-fat sugar free Vanilla Latte at Starbucks, but I hate spending $3.34+ tax every time the mood hits me. This is how I save on my Non-fat Sugar free Vanilla Latte addiction
:

I go to the StarbucksStore.com or by my local store
Buy my Espresso Roast for $10.95 for a pound (1 pound = 64 - 5 ounce cups = .17 a cup of coffee)
Buy my Sugar free Vanilla Syrup $10.95 for 1 Liter with pump (2 pumps per cup = .16 a cup of coffee)
I already own an espresso machine. If you do not already own a capuccino maker, buy a capuccino maker through the StarbucksStore.com, Amazon or your local Target or Walmart.
Starbucks vs. Savebucks at home

* $3.34 + tax vs. 40 for each tall vanilla latte (.17 espresso coffee + .16 for syrup + .07 for milk )
= 88% savings!

No big deal right..think again!
If you buy 1 tall vanilla latte at Starbucks once a week for a year, the cost is $173.68 + tax. If you make your own at Savebucks for a year, the cost is $20.80. It is the little things that add up! That is 88% savings!

I haven't bought fabric softener in a decade and a half. I started substituting white vinegar for it (leaves no smell), and then I got some reusable fabric dryer sheets which work every bit as well, but don't leave any residue like fabric softener does.

We also save money in more traditional ways, like making jam and pickles for the off-season, buying mainly in-season produce, eating soup and pasta each week to cut grocery bills, etc....

I also make my own bath salts and scrubs. For the cost of a little jar of something chemical laden, I can buy a whole bottle of essential oils, plus salt or sugar and other things, to make my own products.

Instead of using commercial dishwasher detergents, I mix equal parts Borax and baking soda and store it in a large cleaned-out peanut butter jar under my kitchen sink. I use one heaping tablespoon per load. I have had the same box of Borax for over a year, and I run my dishwasher at least every other day, if not every day. I also use vinegar for the rinse aid. My dishwasher was making a high-pitched noise and when I started using this combination of cleaners, the noise stopped. I imagine it cleaned out my dishwasher as well as my dishes.

My husband works 8-5 and I was schooling the kids and going to work from 6p.m. until 1a.m. and money was still tight. I quit my job and figured out how we could live on less. The first thing was realizing that the extra expenses incurred by my working outside the home only left us with about $500 more a month. We sold our second car, eliminated the landline that no one uses and have a prepaid cell phone for our home #, it only costs $10/yr to keep it active and serves the same purpose as the answering machine did. I make my own laundry soap (.02/load), we garden which is always great for school projects (studying compost, decomposers, plant cycles,etc..), we have the lowest tier of internet service available and no cable tv. We know several people that give us their magazines when they finish with them which eliminates the cost of subscriptions. My kids look forward to shopping at the thrift store for "new" things. I've found that in our area the stores that seem more patriotic (DAV,AMVETS) seem to have a better selection and often get clothes (especially jeans) that still have store tags for under 3 dollars.

Our family's BEST money-saving idea is Dave Ramsey! We've always lived frugally on a budget, but Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover and Financial Peace University allowed us to do an overhaul on our financial life so that I could securely come home to homeschool our kids. We used his Baby Steps to become completely debt free and are now building our savings so we can buy a home. To save money on the day to day things of life, we also follow advice from Steve & Annette Economides, a homeschooling family of 7 who lived on an average income of $35K/year! Their first book, America's Cheapest Family Gets You Right on the Money helped us to disect pieces of our budget so we could live on even less and put more toward our bigger financial goals. Their second book, Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half, also looks promising. They're coming out with a third book about kids and money soon. Finally, I highly recommend Erin Chase, the $5 Dinner Mom, www.5dollardinners.com, for ways to healthily feed your family on a tight budget. Gleaning from people who are winning with money has helped us to save money all-around, not just on a one-time deal. It buys us choices on a modest income for this family of 5 :)

I can make one bottle of liquid fabric softener last for months! (I wash several loads per week) Pour one half cup of liquid fabric softener into a spray bottle. Fill with water. Instead of using it in the washing machine, spray a few squirts into the dryer with your wet clothes. Dry as you normally would. Your clothes will be wonderfully soft and fresh smelling for a lot less money!

When it comes to book/curriculum, I want the best for my kids (this doesn't mean the most expensive), but even what I call the best is sometimes out of my budget range. So what I do to try to stretch my budget as far as I can is buy used (if at all possible), sell books we don't need anymore to add to our budget, use Swagbucks to earn $$ at Amazon (this is my new favorite resource! I've earned $20 in less than a month of just normal activity). In addition to these ideas, I also try to cut the costs at home to allow more $$ for school. We rarely eat out (and when we do it's cheap!), I cook from scratch, try to buy in bulk when possible, only use my clothes dryer if the weather is bad (otherwise I hang my clothes out on the line to dry). We only use the heater/air conditioner if it is necessary (why heat/cool your home when you don't need to?). We also have chickens, so we sell eggs & occasionally bake bread to sell. Twice a year we have a childrens consignment sale, so during "yard sale" season I am constantly shopping for nice clothes, toys, books (anything kid related) that people just want to get rid of (cheap). The I take my finds to the sales and have made quite the profit on them. We also use cloth diapers with our little one (you wouldnt believe the amout of $$ we save not having to buy diapers!), and only buy new clothes if they are on clearance or we cant find what we need second hand. Doing these things keeps my kids clothed, everyone fed and well educated (we even have some $$ left over occasionally for extras).

Winter heating is a huge part of most families' expenses. We try to save by using the heat as little as possible.

During the day, wear socks and slippers or shoes in the house (along with other warm clothes) to help stay warm. Layer clothing for even more warmth (two pairs of sock, along with long underwear under street clothes). Drinking hot drinks also helps. Set the thermostat as low as possible.

Most people will find this one too extreme, but it's a great money-saver.

Turn the heat off overnight in the winter. If it gets below freezing where you live, then just set the heat to 40F/5C degrees to prevent the pipes from freezing.

To stay warm, wear winter pajamas and pile on blankets. Sleeping close to another warm body also helps; kids can double (or triple) up in the same bed. Put the little one (NOT a baby!!) in the middle to help keep the blankets on. Or use a sleeping bag, which is harder to accidentally squirm out of.

We use the library as much as possible, then check resources like paperbackswap.com for books. We try to keep our extra-curricular activities to to minimum to save on fees & gas money. We don't have cable or satellite and only have a Tracfone for cell service (mainly for emergencies).
My husband is a hunter, which can be expensive, but he often gets enough meat that we are set for the year (and gets to participate in his favorite hobby). Not having to buy meat is a huge money saver.
We also save ahead for vehicles and only pay cash. Think of the savings when you don't have to make a vehicle payment or pay interest on a loan!

I get lots of free magazines at the public libraries where they can be borrowed or swapped. At the swapping table, I donate my magazines and take whatever other magazines I am interested in that others have left. I often leave with at a half dozen magazines.

Our family does not subscribe to cable TV. We rent or buy DVDs and use the internet a lot instead for information and entertainment. We go over to relatives' homes to watch special broadcasts occasionally (certain sporting events, for instance). DVDs are only a dollar for a week's rental at the public library.

4+ yrs ago a friend of mine said she was going to grow her hair long and then donate it to Locks of Love. The hair donation is used to make wigs for cancer/chemotherapy patients. Well, I love a challenge so I joined her and I discovered it saved quite a bit of money! Less hair cuts. This is my second time to donate. I think I save about $250 per year!

My family gives shared holiday gifts so we have only one of an item and learn to share more. We got a Kindle for Christmas and we find free downloads to use on it. We save up holiday gifts to buy Kindle ebooks and also read the sample chapters from Amazon before we purchase the real thing.

As opposed to alot of families we DO NOT shop at stores that sell bulk items. I find that those items sometimes go to waste, spoil or entice us to eat/use more than we normally would. I have even cut back on the sizes of our cereal boxes.

I have now mounted a Sharpie in my pantry and I put the date purchased in big numbers on the box so we know if it is getting old. We will try to eat everything we have in stock and NEVER WASTE and never let food SPOIL.

I also find that the less shopping at Costco, BJs or even Target that I do, the less I am likely to spend money on impulse items. I am not an impulsive shopper but even small treats and greeting cards eat away at savings.

I enjoy doing various types of word and number puzzles. But buying puzzle magazines can get very expensive! There are two things I do to cut costs.

First of all, lots of puzzles are free! A family member gets free newspapers at work, and brings me the puzzle section. (Almost all newspapers now have sudoku and crosswords, and some have lots more.) Our local free newspapers also have puzzles. And the Web is a great source; you can find just about anything. One of the biggest puzzle magazine publisher has daily free puzzles, along with samples of many of their puzzle types. There are tons of places to find sudoku and cross sums (kakuro). And even the less popular puzzles are available if you look hard enough. Some types of puzzles need to be printed up to use, but others you can do directly from your screen and write the answers on scrap paper (envelopes from mail you've finished wtih are great for this).

When I do buy puzzle magazines, I get them cheap. The publishers often sell batches of magazines for a fraction of the newsstand price. You don't get to choose the exact issues you receive, but you can choose groups such as "logic puzzles", "all crosswords", "sudoku", etc. I recently bought magazines at a book fair from a distributor, where I got them at similar prices (about $1.50 each), the advantage being that I could choose exactly which issues I got. The newsstand price is usually between 3 and 6 dollars.

Whenever we go out to eat, we take the individual Kool aid packets for the kids. We order water and magically end up with fruit punch. Also, we rarely go out to eat unless it's kids eat free night.

I would say that there are three things that I do to save money that are part of our general philosophy of limiting resource use by our family
: 1. Subscribe to a listserv in which a medium sized group of homeschooler sell each other gently used books and learning materials at slightlyto greatly reduced prices. Because we moderate the group, there is less risk in the purchases. We are virtual friends and want to be honest in our transactions. I have purchased and saved alot of money and I also keep a pile of books that I know I will not use again and sell them to recoup alot of money. I also purchase books on commercial sites (Amazon marketplace, Ebay, Alibris,etc) but have gotten the best deals from fellow homeschoolers.
2. We started our own small garden last year and that saved us money on our favorite summer veggies. I will expand and tweak it slightly next year...alot like homeschooling!
3. We joined a community supported agriculture farm as a shareholder last year. I saved so much on fruits, veggies, and herbs and rarely went into the produce section. I split a share with a neighbor and this year will do it with a friend. I saved hundreds of dollars and ate much better!

One of the things we do to save money is to take our own trash to the dump. It is not a messy process, as we put anything food related or biodegradable in the compost bin. We also recycle everything our recycling center will take, so our actual trash only needs to be taken every 6 weeks or so, and at that point, there's only about 6 black trash bags. It saves us appx. $140/year.

There are many things I do to save money and some have been already mentioned in other posts. One thing I do use and it is a big timesaver is the newsletters from other "moms" who have their own blogs. A few of my favorites are Moneysavingmom.com, Southernsavers.com, and Dealseekingmom.com
If you are new to couponing, these sites have great tutorials. They have coupon databases where you can type in a specifc product name and if there is a coupon out there, it will tell you where to find it.
These sites are great for telling you the best deals at different grocery stores and drug stores each week. They match up sales with coupons to save you the most $
and you can even create your own shopping list to help you save time. I don't even go through the sales ads much anymore as these ladies have done all the work for me.
There have been MANY rebates, deals, and sales that I would not have known about
if it hadn't been for their sites. I am a firm believer in never paying full price for anything and I do shop around on the internet. For books used for homeschool I check out ebay, half.com, and cheapestbookprice.com. Shopathome.com is also a good site to do your internet shopping on as you can earn cash back.
By using these sites I have been able to purchase items and get them free by using coupons and rebates or store cash back. I am able to get products and donate them to the local shelters for the needy. All I use is my time. Watch for cheap school
supplies in August. Staples offers pens and pencils for one cent! If you take in some form of "proof" that you homeschool, you can get up to 25 of those one cent items. I did it last year and had pens and pencils to fill shoeboxes for Operation Christmas Child. I could go on, but I think I better stop now!

If you need to purchase meat, many grocery stores will reduce the price of their meats in the evening. One local grocery store reduces their meat from that day at 8 p.m. each evening...so the highest quality gound beef, for example, will be reduced to under $1/lb. Ask the meat department when they reduce the price of their meat each day and then be there as close to that time as possible as it can go quickly!

My very best tip for saving money is...think twice.

Other than normal, fixed expenses (supermarket, for example), we almost never buy something the first time we see it. If I see something that I want to buy (books, for instance), I either write down or remember the details (e.g. author/title) and price. When I return home, I may check online stores to see if I can get it cheaper somewhere else. I may check for reviews as well. I usually discuss it with my husband or other family member. Then, the next time I'm in that store, I have a better basis for deciding whether or not to buy it than, "Oh, wow, look!! That looks interesting!"

Plant a garden and grow your own food. Nothing like grocery shopping in your backyard!

From the time our first son was born, my husband and I have been committed to my staying home with our kids. I have always seen my "job" as stretching his income to meet our needs. One of my favorite ways to do this is couponing, especially with the help of coupon sites, I cook from scratch as much as possible. I look at grocery store ads on the internet (no need to buy a paper) and shop the sales. Most of the time I "comp" the sale prices at our local Wal-Mart. I get all of the sale prices without spending gas running all over town. Besides, who wants to run all over town with a bunch of kids in tow.
I do shop yard sales and thrift stores, especially for pants for my husband and myself, but I also watch the sale and clearance racks. I can often get new clothes as cheap or cheaper than thrift stores.
One of the most important things I do is encourage my kids to be good stewards of what God has given us, by taking care of their things. Our two-year-old son, is playing with toys that have been passed along from our oldest son who is now 15!
As far as home schooling, which can be very expensive, I buy used as much as possible. I try to reuse books with my kids when I can, but have learned that what works perfectly for one kid, may not be the best fit for another. Our homeschool co-op hosts an annual book sale. This is a great way to make a little money from the things we are done with and pick up the things we need.

We cut down to the barebones cable plan in our town $8.95/month - only because our internet is tied to cable-otherwise we would not have cable. We bought a ROKU box and get Netflix for $9 a month. We can watch many shows and tons of educational videos on ROKU and Netflix that we used to pay a lot for on cable. We don't eat out a lot but when we do we alway s have a coupon- it's usually from Groupon - -you can get, for example a $25 gift certificate to a restaurant for $10. If you use Firefox it has a great little addon called Book Burro - if you are on a website looking for a book it will pop up and list prices for that book at many different websites and even if it's available at your local library - when searching for homeschool books it has really come in handy.

A friend and I each purchase a different year of an all-inclusive unit study by Learning Adventures. At the end of the year we pass it to the other family, and we've each only spent $110 for 2 years of materials!

This year I have begun using www.paperbackswap.com. I love it! You post 10 books that you are willing to mail to someone else that are in good (no writing) condition. Once 10 books are posted you automatically receive two credits to request other books. Every book you send you receive a credit for, every book you receive you subtract a credit for. I have begun receiving curriculum for next year, have a wait list of items I'd like for the future, and have gotten Bible study materials for free! The only cost is shipping to those who request your books.

Never say "can't." Really, I've discovered that most "can't"s are really "won't"s in disguise. You CAN coupon, or cloth diaper, or ditch cable, or sell the second car, or stay home more to save on gas, or eat less meat (beans and legumes are so much cheaper), or thrift store shop, or turn the heat down or the AC up, or garden, or whatever it is that stands in the way of meeting the budget! It's very liberating to say "I CAN!"

Their is a lot of classic books on "archive.org". They are no longer copy right protected so public and college libraries are copy them and putting them online for free. So you can download them and print them out for your kids to read. You can also save money by just having them read it from a pc or tablet reader. Also some libraries will give away old books. My kids have complete, "Little house on the prairie" set this way.

I just discovered ecoupons from Kroger. I collect those paper coupons and invariably forget to hand them to the cashier. The ecoupons can be loaded onto your Kroger shoppers card online and are automatically applied when you swipe your card at checkout. Great tool for absent-minded mommas like me.

Free Meal!
Whenever there is just a spoonful or two of something from the dinner table I save it to a large container in the freezer. A spoon of green beans, a spoon of corn, a half of a chicken thigh, a 1/2 cup of gravy, etc, whatever is leftover. When the freezer container gets full it is time to make soup or stew! Dump the whole contain in a big pot, add water of broth (see below), you favorite seasonings, bring to a boil then simmer until dinner.

Left over bones from dinner get saved too! Again, into the freezer they go and when I get enough bones/carcasses I boil them up and reduce it down and strain it for homemade broth. This can be used for anything from the liquid to make rice, to soup and stew, and gravy. Freeze the broth in ice cube trays then bag the cubes so you only have to use what you need without thawing the whole batch.

Nothing goes to waste in my house!

Food prep scraps go into our compost bin for later return to the garden. The cycle of life.

We've started buying our textbooks for high school used on Amazon or through Barnes and Noble. Sometimes a book is only $5 with s/h included. We buy a beef share through a local farm, we garden and buy local produce to freeze for the year, and we buy our grain in bulk from a reputable company and store the grain for hte year in a bucket in our garage. We buy almost no processed foods, so couponing is not an option...We also shop for groceries at local Amish community. Even though our initial food costs are higher this way, in the end, we spend 1/3-1/2 of the average family of 4...and we're a family of 8.

I have my kids use page protectors for some of the workbooks they do (math and language arts), so all we have to do is wash off the wet erase markers and they can do exercises over if needed and hand the books down to the next kid.
We buy most things we need in bulk from a health food warehouse, so we always have the essentials at hand.
I used cloth diapers with all my kids, which saved thousands.

We coupon and thrift store shop for almost everything. I also don't use a lot of processed foods. It is much healthier and cheaper to make things.

We are a couponing family! I save so much money at stores by using little pieces of paper. A little planning and sales makes a small budget turn into hundreds of dollars saved.

We save a lot of money on books by using Paperback Swap. I can usually easily find books that we need for our literature studies, or put them on a wishlist so that I can be in line for a particular book when it does get posted. Also, this is a great way to move out books that we will not be reading a second time, so it reduces clutter.
To save money on groceries, I made a monthly meal plan, shop once a month for all the main ingredients, and try to stick to the schedule. This also saves time because I don't have to think about what to cook each meal.

We are saving money by eating less meat. I have found lots of quick and easy vegetarian recipes taste really good. When we do have meat in a meal, I do what I can to make it go farther such as adding beans to taco meat.

For my family of one paycheck earner, I shop at thrift stores, yard sales, and flea markets. I save a lot so I can buy the kids their computers and accompanying components, like a drawing tablet. I look for clothes for my oldest son. I hand down his clothes to his younger brother. I also look for books that my children might be interested in, like World War II material, whenever I shop at those cheap places. When I am able to save that way, I can afford our groceries and cooking helpers, like new pots and pans. I am now teaching my two teenagers how to cook, which should also reduce the need to buy takeout. As for electricity, I make sure to turn off all lights that are not needed and open the curtains to let in the sunshine. I also do a lot of comparison shopping online to find the best deals when considering a sewing machine, internet service, and/or homeschool curriculum. Hope this information helps someone.

I make our own laundry soap and dishwasher detergent, as well as other homemade cleaners. Baking soda and vinegar clean a lot of stuff!

To save money on groceries we started using Angel Food Ministries about 4 years ago. We went from spending $100+ a week on our primary groceries (not counting items like bread/milk/lunchmeat which we get from a local market) to under $250 a month! We were going to the grocery store every week...now I only go about every 3 or 4 months to buy canned foods and pasta/side dish stuff. We get quite a bit of stuff from Sam's Club, but that dollar amount is all factored into the $250 a month!

To kick off the contest, here's an idea for you: If you are like me, you on your second or third or fourth cell phone, and never gave any thought to making money from those old phones. There are now companies who will buy them from you, refurbish them, and resell them, often in other countries. You can get a few bucks up to several hundred for an old smartphone. According to the Wall Street Journal (WSJ), it's a growing business. Copy the following link and paste it into your browser to see the WSJ article:

http://tinyurl.com/67388w4