How To Live On Less

If you are from this planet, you have seen the decline of the economy effect you in small and big ways. As an Oregonian, the unemployment rate is upwards of 12% right now. Those calculations seem small to me. Do they take into account those who do not file jobless claims or who are underemployed? Gas is beginning to climb again. We are living very meagerly right now as I suspect many out there are. In my quest to make ends meet, I have researched and experimented with a few cost cutting measures.

1. Make your own Laundry detergent. 2 cups of borax powder, 2 cups of Washing Soda powder and a grated bar of Fels Naptha soap makes a great alternative to Tide and it is like 7 cents a load. You only use 2 tablespoons a load (I have a front loader and it works just fine.)

2. Potty Train toddlers. My guy is two, almost three. It's summer, the perfect time to let little hinies run around naked and learn where to go potty.

3. Use powdered milk. Everything you bake or cook, you can use powdered milk. It tastes almost the same. You can even make sweetened condensed milk from powdered milk. Saves needless trips to the grocery store...

4. Turn down your water heater. We keep it just barely hot enough that you can't run your hand through it when you wash dishes. We just turn it up when we know that everyone in our family takes showers...(at our house, Patrick and I are daily showerers, but our children are 2 times a week. Don't get grossed out. They are little kids. They don't play sports. That is how the Europeans do it. If they are really dirty, we do more, but that is what running through the sprinklers is for! LOL!) We have a well, so we don't pay for our water, but seriously, have your kids share bathtub water...better yet share the shower as spouses.

5. Don't use the air conditioning if you have it. Let's face it people, we are a bunch of pansies! If you live in Oregon, and you are trying to shave some pennies off, get yourself a fan and a spray bottle. Open your windows at night. Close the blinds in the morning on really hot days. Some of us don't have the option of which I am grateful. I'm sure in August, I'll be taking cold showers, but 85-90 degrees is tolerable without air if you are smart about it.

6. Gym Membership...Yeah right!!! Take walks around the neighborhood with weights. Clean out your garage and check out exercise videos from the library or a friend.

7. Recycle more. Get a smaller Garbage can. Our garbage service has 3 sizes. I wont tell you to stop it all together and just throw it in some business garbage because that would be illegal....but I wont say that in desperation, I haven't done it myself.

8. Make as much as you can from scratch. I make all of my own bread, cereal, granola bars, cookies, cakes, biscuits, gravy, soups, etc. I also make waffles, pancakes, and french toast and then freeze them for quick breakfasts. I am going to try my hand at crackers this week. The more processed a food is, the less nutritional value it has. Try air popped popcorn. It's so much cheaper and has less fat and salt. It's amazing how far we have strayed from real food. Can you pronounce everything on your food labels?

9. Don't eat out. We are only one generation removed from a life that rarely saw a restaurant. You'll get healthier. You'll sit at the table with your kids more. Make double and freeze one meal so that you can have fast food that is healthy.

10. Cut the cable. It really makes no sense to my family, who rarely watches TV to have cable. We had it for a few months last year and honestly, it just made the house messy. The library has movies you can check out for a week...and it's free! We watch movies. And while I am in the kitchen, cooking all this food, I watch various online TV programs for free. Ok well it's not free, but we have to have Internet for my husbands job, so we only have to pay for one thing. There are plenty of free games and educational things on the Internet for kids. You can even use it to call people, as of yet, I haven't figured that one out yet.

11. Get rid of your land line or cell phone. We had no land line for a year. It saved us tons of money. Unfortunately, you must live in an area that gets your cell phone provider coverage. Living out in the boonies, we have shotty reception. I can't leave my kids without a way to get a hold of me or emergency services. But we have scaled back on our phone plans.

12. Make your own cleaning products. Vinegar, baking soda, lemon juice, bon ami, dish soap are really all you need. Almost everything can be cleaned with these substances. I do enjoy a good magic eraser and some bleach, but besides that, you don't need all those chemicals. Your house will be healthier and you will save tons of dough!

13.Grow a garden! Pots on balconies, inbetween flowers around the house. Stick a pumpkin plant in a flower bed and instant fall decor! Really, you can save tons of money and eat so much better. Food is starting to crawl up in price. Fresh produce is outrageously expensive. Grow what you eat. My family hates peppers. We don't grow them. But we love squash...all kinds so I have several varieties growing in my garden. We eat a ton of basil, but not eggplant. You get the picture. Also...give at least 10 percent of that produce away to others...you'll be blessed.

14.Learn how to mend and sew. It's not cost effective to sew your own clothing these days. But if you are frugal about it, it can really stretch your clothing. Learning how to sew on buttons, holes in socks, hemming pants is a great skill to have. I know that as I am losing lots of weight, I have had to learn how to alter my clothing out of necessity. It's not really cost effective to have to buy smaller clothing when I am still losing weight. On the subject of clothing, find a friend that has kids that wants to swap hand me downs. I have three boys and some of the clothes my oldest wore are now on my youngest and still nice. Look for clearance, sales. My oldest girl is growing. She needs clothes for summer. I found a great shirt for church but it was sewn wrong and so it was on clearance. It took fifteen minutes and a needle and thread to fix. Now she doesn't have to wear velvet dresses in the summer to church.

15. Don't buy anything new. Well I stop at underwear, but Craigslist is amazing. We need a lawnmower. We will be getting it on craigslist. Thrift stores and Antique shops are great places for finds.

16. Limit car use. Lump errands together. Do most things online. Ever thought about one car? Have a grocery list and go once a week. I used to use a tank of gas every 4-5 days. Now I can go almost two weeks. Not fun sometimes, but it is doable.

17.Most of all, don't be judgemental or stingy if you are going through a rough time. If you have extra, give it to someone who could use it. It'll come back around when you really need it most. It has for me. Just because you are going through a hard time doesn't somehow let you off the hook. Your neighbors and friends are probably in the same boat. If we all help each other, we can make it through this tight economy and come away better for it. Remember the story of Stone Soup?

Hope these help some of you out there that are trying to shave off the pennies.