Comments on: Cheerful Frugality Springs Forward

By: Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home

Stephanie @ Keeper of the Home — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 20:48:01 +0000

I really wish that I would be on the lookout for Christmas and birthday gifts year round, with a list of gift ideas in my wallet or diaper bag. I’m pretty good about stocking up on baby shower gifts as I see them (because my church has an unbelievable amount of new babies each year- which is such a blessing, but challenging if I don’t plan ahead and buy stuff on clearance).

Christmas and birthdays often throw us off because we don’t have a specific gift budget (it comes out of our misc. budget, which also takes care of a lot of other odds and ends). I know that I could save so much and prevent so much extra stress and spending way too much on last minute presents by really getting organized and being a smarter shopper.

By: Marsha

Marsha — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 11:43:35 +0000

Even being a 9-5er as I am, I manage to do o.k. Dinner gets cooked (from scratch) every night, gifts are handmade or stored from a discount purchase, most of the kids’ clothes are thrift or consignment and so on. One thing that I haven’t managed to nail down is a laundry schedule that allows me to hang more than just some of our laundry to dry. I’d like to hang it all but I confess that we’re often in a situation where church pants or a scout shirt or whatever is needed much faster than hanging would allow, because I used the time to wash the load of whites when everyone was on their last pair of undies. I really, really want to get a handle on this.

By: Carol

Carol — Tue, 11 Mar 2008 00:19:49 +0000

I know what your mean..I once cooked a triple batch of pan cakes so I could flash freeze them. I had them cooling on cookie to put in the freezer and when I got the plastic bags to put thm in the freezers found out they were all gone – turns out my son was hungry and ate them all. I made extra pork chops to put another meal for next week and ther wer not enough to make another meal beause kids were especially hungry that night. I guess I could tell them not to eat them but they are not heavy and if my kids are hungry I want them to eat.

Carol from Pueblo

By: bakinchick

bakinchick — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 20:03:28 +0000

Things that I wish I could get done ahead:
* having dinners in the freezer so that on our busiest days I’m not choosing between expensive or unhealthy dinner options
* buying birthday or other gifts and having stashed for when I need them
* making Christmas cards bit by bit (for my own fun!)

What I do “early” that is successful:
* when I make pancakes, I make a double or triple batch and freeze the extras for quick breakfasts.
* stock up on paper goods and cleaning supplies when there are sales + coupon deals.

By: Shannon Miller

Shannon Miller — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 19:11:19 +0000

What a great topic! So much of saving money is just simply planning ahead. As I’ve tried to cut back on our grocery spending I’ve tried to cut out anything pre-made (french bread, sausage rolls, etc) in favor of making it myself – the catch being that I have to plan ahead and actually make the bread to turn it into garlic bread at supper time.
Another thing I just figured out is to put library books directly into the library bag when we’re done with them and then grab the bag on the way out the door and turn those books in.

By: Jennifer

Jennifer — Mon, 10 Mar 2008 14:59:30 +0000

I would love to hear how you make the breakfast burritos and how you freeze them.
Smiles!