7.12.10

do it yourself to save some money....

Hey guys,
I am back...it's been awhile..
like I said...I am all for anyone with ideas just throwing them out there. I want this to be an open forum.
But to the subject of this post.
Easy (or easier) ways to save money on Groceries.
You can do quite a few things...coupons...shopping sales and stocking up then.
But for day to day purchases you can do a few simple things.
1.)Don't buy premade or premixed anything.
Not even chicken noodle soup.
egg noodles are basically a buck fifty for one big ole bag (make it two).
Or even better use flour and eggs and milk and make your own for even less.
A whole chicken is about 4 or 5 bucks.
a can of off brand carrots (or better yet fresh carrots...a buck or so)
and celery which is a buck or so and one onion...25 cents.
Chicken bullion which is about 3 bucks for a bin of it.....and that will make a ton of soup...not jus this batch...so you maybe use one dollar of it..
four cans of progresso soup is 5 bucks.
For like 10 or 11 dollars you could have four meals of chicken soup. I mean to feed a family of four...so at least 16 servings...

nuff said.

vegetable soup is another one you can make and then freeze.
get the little plastic containers (or even tupperware if you want to make an investment)
spend a day or two at the beginning of the month and make 20 or so meals of soup for the month.
You'll save a ton.
I think I will do this, this coming sunday and post some pics.
It will give you an idea of how far the food will go.
Most of saving money is simply time spent as opposed to money spent.
Doing it yourself instead of having it done.
I intend to invest in some tools so I can do some basic home repair myself.
Do any of you all have money saving meals?
Do you do your own car maintenance or home repair?
Drop me a comment.
Hugs,
Chris

5 comments:

Mary Ellen said...

It is also possible to can soup for yourself if you've got the materials. My mom cans her own spaghetti sauce, pizza sauce, salsa, and a vegetable soup recipe of Richard Simmon's. ;) I'm not sure if the noodles would hold up in the regular canning process--perhaps someone else knows about it. In any case, this way you know exactly what you're eating when you open a jar of something (how much salt, what preservatives [if any], etc.

Christine said...

Thanks Mary ellen. I want to can but you can't can on a glass top stove, so am thinking about going out and getting one of the gas grills.

Mary Ellen said...

I have a ceramic top stove too, which is why Mom does all the canning. It's not very cost-effective to start, but you make up for it when you reuse the jars.

Christine said...

cool. My mom has a gas stove...but even less cost effective would be traveling back to michigan to use it. lol.

'Yellow Rose' Jasmine said...

I am also into canning. I make salsa, pickles, other pickled goodies, fruit, veggies, pie fillings, jam, etc. We are spoiled and won't eat store bought versions of these as they are yucky to us now. I also cook most things from scratch or pretty close. People used to think I was weird, but now I'm all stylish. Added bonus- everything just tastes so much better.
My tip for the day: from experience, I actually did this- try those composite 'sticky back' tiles if you want to make a cheap linoleum floor look like you redid it in tile. I even got the ones that appear to have 'grout' and it turned out awesome. My bathroom floor would have cost me about $500 to have it done in tile (got several estimates), but the composite tiles were $35 plus 1 day of my time. The kitchen would have been $1400 dollars and cost me $230 to do it myself this way with cool 20 inch European looking stuff. I was careful to do everything as right as I could, sealed and caulked and all. I had never done anything like this before. I've had these floors for over 2 years and they still look brand new. My bathroom even survived a flooding by my beloved nephew and is good as new!