A hazy image of my future

I'd say that overall I'm not the most out of control spendthrift in the world, but neither am I as frugal as I think I ought to be. I justify my purchases in my own mind by telling myself that Product X is on sale. The problem is that I'll spend the same amount anyway by buying other stuff. Which ultimately saves me nothing. Especially if I don't actually need the other stuff.

I'm giving myself a goal this month to limit my spending by trying not to buy anything for full retail price. Preferably, I won't even settle for brand new if I can find a used version that fits the bill. My hope is that by reusing, I can do my small part to cut down on some of the clutter in the landfills while also saving a chunk of money.

I saw somewhere that readers were asked to list 25 ways that they save money. That seems like a great way to kick off this new blog and my new resolution to live a more budget and environmentally concious life.

1) I use cloth diapers.
2) I converted old baby wash cloths to use as diaper wipes.
3) I breast feed.
4) I hand clothes down from one brother to the next.
5) I gratefully accept all offers of hand me downs from friends. Even if something doesn't fit anyone right now, it's bound to fit someone in a few months.
6) I let my kids share my bed for the first two or three years. I've never bought a crib or toddler bed. My babies all go from sleeping with my husband and I to sleeping in a twin sized bed that they'll use for years.
7) I take advantage of all local opportunities for homeschoolers. An amazing number of places offer discounted rates and special days set aside for homeschooling families.
8) I look at a thrift store for clothes and toys in good shape for the kids before I'll go to a retail store. The boys are just as happy as if I paid a fortune for an item brand new. Most of the time they just want something new and different and don't care where it came from.
9) I buy almost all of my books from a used book store and if I can't find it there, I'll pick it up at Amazon for less than you pay in a brick and mortar store.
10) I try to cook at home as much as possible. Not only is it cheaper, but taking 4 boys out to eat is a pain.
11) I like to scrapbook, but I'm not a huge fan of the costs. My compromise is digital scrapbooking. You can duplicate most effects you see in a paper album, but you can reuse (and recolor) your "papers" over and over.
12) We use the Blockbuster movie club rather than see movies in the theater or buying new DVDs. If we were really hardcore, we'd use Netflix and save the gas too, but we when we are on a movie jag, we like to have the option to get more right away as needed.
13) I use a digital camera exclusively. I don't do much printing at this point so it saves me on both film and printing costs, not to mention storage space.
14) Our idea of a great day spent as a family is going to a state or national park. The admission fees are negligible and generally by the car load. That's a great deal for a family of 6.
15) When we do get the urge to see a new release movie, we head to the local drive in. Again, admission by the carload and they always show a double feature and sometimes three movies. Plus, it's just cool to spread out a sleeping bag and watch the kids drift off to sleep one by one.
16) When I worked for the cable company we had all the channels for free (great perk, let me tell you), but when I left to stay home with the boys we cut back our cable. I just wanted to put out there for anyone who has On Demand services, if you have the premium movie channels most of the time you have the option to watch the premium On Demand movies for free. You just go to your OD channel guide and look for your premium station. If you are paying for the service anyway then take advantage of it.
17) I serve a lot of rice and steamed veggies to fill out the menu.
18) To cook those rice and veggies I have this handy little rice cooker. You measure a set amount of rice and water into the pot and while your rice is cooking, you can put a tray of veggies in to steam. It cuts down on having two different cooking pots dirtied and saves me from ruining the rice. Before we bought this thing, I physically could not cook anything but Minute Rice without ruining it. Now I buy rice in bulk and save some extra money there.
19) As far as the veggies go, I buy frozen except for great deals on whatever is in season.
20) We reuse and repurpose a lot in this house. The back of bills often become impromptu scratch pads and I've been known to turn holiday cards from businesses or particularly pretty junk mail into art projects.
21) We bought the kids a white board and it's cut back almost entirely on the cost of drawing paper for them. They just like to draw, they don't care how long the picture lasts.
22) I stay around the house most days and when I do leave we usually stick to short trips and make any stops we need to along our route. I can make half a tank of gas last 3+ weeks. This probably wouldn't work for a more socially active family, but we're pretty low key.
23) Our primary source of entertainment is the computers. Both my husband and I can find hours worth of amusement online. It ends up being a great value for us.
24) Our DVR service is worth every penny we pay for it. We use it for programs that we (my husband and I) watch together in our free time, but having a stockpile of Yo Gabba Gabba episodes for my littles saves me from having to invest in buying child appropriate DVDs for those times when you need to buy some time, but it's beyond typical children's programming times.
25) We use our blender to make snow cones. For the cost of some ice cubes and a fraction of a $2 bottle of flavored syrup, we have a fun treat that the boys love. I'm pretty keen them myself, to tell the truth.