Tips for Saving Money In Carrollton!

It is no secret that today people want everything to be convenient, so why not some tips for saving money? In Carrollton we pay a whole lot for convenience just like everyone else, for everything from disposable cups, to oven-ready meals, to toaster waffles.  Sometimes, it almost seems that people are trying so hard to discover more convenient ways of doing things that they are spending way too much money and – oddly enough - wasting a lot of time! The good news is that there are lots of ways to bite the bullet and get back to basics.

Here are some methods you can use to save money (and trips to the grocery store) in your own home:

Make your own laundry soap.
That’s right, I said it! My annual laundry detergent cost is about $15. After discovering a homemade recipe on the internet for laundry soap, I just had to try it. Surprise! It works just as well as store bought detergent. Here is the recipe. Give it a try…you may never go back!

You need:

• 5 gallon bucket - $3
• Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda (available at Carrollton Publix, laundry soap aisle) $3.50
• Borax (available anywhere – Walmart, grocery stores) $3.00
• Simply Ivory bar soap, comes in package of two or three (available anywhere) $1.25

Steps:

• Use vegetable peeler to peel  one bar of Simply Ivory soap into a saucepan.
• Pour 6 cups of water into the saucepan and heat over med – low heat until soap is completely dissolved (this will take about 20 minutes – make sure every piece is dissolved!).
• Pour 4 cups of hot water from tap into the 5 gallon bucket.
• Pour ¾ cup of Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda into soap mixture in saucepan.
• Pour ¾ cup of Borax into soap mixture in saucepan and stir it all together.
• Pour soap mixture on top of the 4 cups of hot water in the bucket – Do not stir!!!
• Pour 1 ½ gallons of cold water on top of soap mixture.
• Stir mixture for a minute and then cover. The mixture will completely gel in about 6 hours. Separation of gel and liquid in about a day or two is normal and does not affect quality of cleaning. I just throw whatever I grab in a ½ cup into the washer, let the washer fill slightly, then I use a whisk to break up gel pieces until they are all dissolved. Then I throw my clothes in!!

This recipe is so easy and can save you literally hundreds of dollars a year! (Tip: even if you don’t make your own laundry soap, try cutting your current laundry detergent amount in half for every load, I bet there will be no difference!)

Re-use sandwich bags and aluminum foil.
As long as my foil wasn’t used to cover meat, I wash it like I would a dish and reuse it. My kids know to bring home their sandwich bags because I turn them inside out and wash them, stand them up to dry, and reuse them as many times as I can. You can do this to any quart/gallon plastic bags that you put in the freezer as well (not meat).

Stop buying plastic cups and plates!
Or if you do buy them, don’t use them unless you have company or really need to. This is $3 - $4 you might spend every other week at the grocery store instead of every week. If you use plastic cups, rinse them out and use them a few more times. Now my family saves their plastic cups from the Racetrac or Subway and we use them for months. They are great cups! Even hot dogs take on a home-cooked meal feel when you put them on a real plate. Just a quick wash when you are done. 

Fill your dishwasher detergent cups half full 
A little bit of soap and some hot water is all your dishes need to get clean, so don’t believe the bottle when it tells you that you need to fill the cups. You’ll get the same results!

Cut dryer sheets in half!
When it is time for me to buy dryer sheets, I bring them home and immediately cut them all in half. This doubles the amount of dryer sheets and I have not noticed any difference in the softness, smell, or amount of static in my clothes.

Shop your dollar store wisely
Your dollar store is a great place to stock up on shampoo, soap, cleaning sponges, carpet cleaner, all purpose cleaners, etc. If you use a cheap shampoo anyway, like Suave or White Rain, get it at the dollar store for $1 and while you are there, pick up any cleaning agents you might need. Why pay $4 for a pack of sponges when you can get them for a dollar? Quality glass cleaner, carpet spot remover, oven cleaner, and bathroom cleaner can be purchased at the dollar store.

Avoid buying individual bags of potato chips, pretzels, snacks, etc.
Buy the big bags and separate them into sandwich bags for lunches. You will pay double for the packages of snack chips and cookies. Why not buy a big bag of potato chips for half of the price and pack them up in sandwich bags? Cookies too. If I bake a batch of cookies and wind up with 36 cookies, I wind up throwing about half of these away because we don’t eat them fast enough and they get stale. So, now I buy the Betty Crocker pouch cookie mix in the baking aisle, which makes about 20 cookies or so (and they are really good) and only costs about $2.25 a pouch (you will usually spend this on just the chocolate chips). These are great for baking and pre-packaging them for lunches.  

Pack microwaveable popcorn for lunch.
This may be one of the best pieces of advice I ever received. Pop a bag of microwaveable popcorn (about .40 a bag) and put it in your kids’ lunches for the next couple of days. It is a healthy snack, and my kids think it is delicious.

Affordable drinks for school lunches
As long as your child doesn’t have allergies or is lactose-intolerant, you should consider paying the $2.50/week for them to buy milk at school. Not only is it the healthy way to go, but putting a $1.25 PowerAde in their lunch just because they prefer that is ridiculous. Milk is healthy - and comes in chocolate too!

Make-ahead pancakes
Sometimes I will make a bowl of pancake batter, refrigerate it, and eat pancakes for breakfast the next two days – this takes 10 minutes! Whether you use a baking mix or make your flapjacks from scratch, you can refrigerate the batter for 2 – 3 days. So whether your family members are going to work or school, they can go with a full belly and you just made two days worth of breakfast for, like, $1.00.

What do do with that leftover cash? How about a well-deserved dinner out, or maybe do a special activity with the kids. Actually, there are plenty of events in Carrollton that are completely free and incredibly fun, so check 'em out!