Preserving the Harvest

I spent the summer and early fall preserving our garden's harvest and the additional produce I purchased in season. I actually started out canning a few years ago, starting simple with jams and pickles and since then have worked my way up to more difficult items which require a pressure canner.

There are numerous benefits to canning:

• Save money by purchasing large quantities of items when they are in season


• Purchase locally from growers to support my community


• I spend a large quantity of my 'spare' time canning, so I am not out shopping or looking to do other things which cost money


• My family loves the better quality of the items I have canned

I was lucky enough this year to win two ribbons at our local county fair - both for my canned jams! I won second place for my black raspberry jam and third place for my red raspberry jam. I proudly display the ribbons in my kitchen. Also, everyone in my family now wants a jar of my jam for Christmas instead of other gifts.

I can't say enough good about this new way of life for us - planting our garden, harvesting our food and preserving it. I would encourage you to try it as well if you have an interest - but please be careful to always, always, always follow the directions when canning!

Until another frugal moment hits,

The Frugal Queen

Cheap 4th of July Fun for All!!!!

It is the 4th of July and we enjoyed some family fun this evening for little to no money through an idea I heard on NPRs Talk of the Nation Science Friday. The idea was to make fountains of diet pop 2 litters (clear soda in our case, not the diet coke like shown in the photo to the left) by dropping Mentos mints into the bottles. We added one extra patriotic touch by adding food coloring to two of our three bottles - making the colors red, white and blue. We used diet generic lemon/lime soda , added a few drops of food coloring to two of the three bottles, and then dropped four mints in each bottle.

The entire cost was under four dollars - the bottles of generic pop were 78 cents and the roll of Mentos were 99 cents. The food color came from my kitchen - presto - patriotic fountains which were safe for the kids to play with. ( I have to admit that I also turned it into a science lesson, but don't tell the kids because they still believe they are on summer break! ;) )

For more ideas on inexpensive fun for the 4th of July, check out the episode of Talk of the Nation's Science Friday which gave me the idea - available at: http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=106246274 .

Hope you had a great 4th of July! Until another frugal moment hits -

The Frugal Queen

Cutting Eveyday Expenses - Make Your Own Laundry Soap

On occasion in the past I had heard about individuals who made their own laundry soap, but I had no information on how to do it until I watched a show on "The Duggars" on the Discovery channel. After watching the show and learning how they are raising a family of 18 through the pay-as-you-go method (no credit, no loans, etc.), I checked into their website and tried their recipe.

I have been using their recipe now for over three months and it has saved me a tremendous amount of money. Full credit for the following recipe goes completely to The Duggars (here is a link to their website: http://www.duggarfamily.com/recipes.html) :

* 1 bar of Fels Naptha Soap (shredded)
* 1 cup of Washing Soda
* 1/2 cup of Borax

Mix and use 1 to 2 tablespoons of this laundry soap per load. I have a front loading washer which is newer, so I normally use only 1 tablespoon (2 when the clothes are extra soiled).

I made a triple batch of laundry soap and the total cost was only around $5. I got approximately 120 loads out of this batch. This was an incredible savings for me as I have been a die hard Tide user for years.

A few tips if you want to purchase the ingredients and try it yourself:

#1 - call around to make certain the store carries the ingredients
#2 - there is such a thing as washing soda (it is in the laundry aisle if the store has it) don't let anyone tell you it doesn't exist - it just is not as common as it was in years past - the box I purchased was Arm & Hammer Washing Soda (not Baking Soda)
#3 - make sure your container is clean and dry before you put the ingredients in it and that it has a lid
#4- don't reuse old containers from other items as you don't want to mix chemicals (this can be fatal in some cases - I don't want to scare you, just to caution you not to mix chemicals accidentally)

Thanks again to The Duggars! You are my frugal heroes!

Until another frugal moment hits....

The Frugal Queen

Angel Food Ministries

Today I picked up our first box of "Angel Food". I found out about this through a flier at my local post office. The program has definitely made a believer out of me. I was able to purchase a box of food for $30. Here is what I received:

• 1.5 lb. Ribeye Steak (4 x 6 oz.)
• 4 lb. Leg Quarters
• 1.5 lb. Beef Patties (4 x 6 oz.)
• 18 oz. Cheese Filled Manicotti
• 2 lb. Pork Rib Strips
• 1 lb. Chicken Breast Fajita Strips
• 1 lb. Ground Turkey
• 1 lb. Broccoli
• 1 lb. Peas
• 6 ct. Oatmeal Variety Box
• 2 each-Regular, Maple Brown Sugar and Apple Cinnamon
• 32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
• 8 oz. Blueberry Muffin Mix
• 12 ct. White Corn Tortillas
• 1 lb. Pinto Beans
• 7 oz. Chicken Flavored Rice & Vermicelli
• One Dozen Eggs
• Dessert Item

I definitely feel that I received a value for my $30. We had Chicken Fajitas for dinner tonight, using some of the ingredients above, and it was great!



So how did they do it? They provided this through a "cooperative" food purchasing program. This means that the more of a item is purchased, the greater the discount; therefore, by the Angel Food Ministries purchasing in bulk and then distributing the food through a local church - they are helping me to save money.



What a great idea and what a great service! If you are interested in purchasing "Angel Food", check out their website to search for a local "Angel Food" distributor in your area. Here is the link:



http://www.angelfoodministries.com/



I was so excited about the program when I picked up my food today, that I have ordered already for next month. Here is what I am getting next month:



Regular Box:

• 1.5 lb. Sirloin Strip Steaks(4 x 6 oz.)
• 2 lb. Tray Pack Chicken Breast
• 1 lb. Boneless Pork Chops
• 2 lb. Breaded Chicken Nuggets
• 28 oz. Salisbury Steak Entrée
• 12 oz. Sliced Bacon
• 1 lb. All-Meat Hot Dog
• 1 lb. Stir Fry (Broccoli, Red Peppers & Onions)
• 1 lb. Carrots
• 10 oz. Peanut Butter
• 32 oz. 2% Shelf Stable Milk
• 35 oz. Crinkle-Cut Fries
• 7.25 oz. Mac ‘n Cheese
• 1 lb. Rice
• 1 lb. Bean Soup Mix
• Dozen Eggs
• Dessert

Price: $30.00

Special #5 - Fresh Fruit & Veggie Box:

• 3 lb. No. 1 Premium Idaho Baking Potatoes
• 3 lb. No. 1 Premium North Carolina Sweet Potatoes
• 2 lb. No. 1 Premium New Crop Western Grown Yellow Onions
• 9 oz. California Premium Raisins
• 1 lb. Premium California Grown Carrots
• 1 head Premium Fresh Green Cabbage
• 3 lb. New Crop Tree-Ripened Red Delicious Apples
• 2 each Premium Washington State Anjou Pears
• 1 each Premium Golden Sweet Pineapple
• 3 lb. New Crop Premium Florida Tree-Ripened Valencia Oranges

Price: $21.00

Special #6 - Tangerine Box:

• 2/5 Bushel New Crop Florida Tree-Ripened Honey Tangerines (approximately 20-21 pounds or 70-75 tangerines)

Price: $15.00

So for the month of February, I will have invested $66.00 for all of the items listed above. What a great deal & service!

Check this service out and let me know what you think.

Until another frugal moment hits...

The Frugal Queen

Mooch a Book Today!

I have discovered a great new website which will hopefully help me to recycle my books and get others that I want to read. It is called Book Mooch. You can link to it at http://www.bookmooch.com/ . Essentially, other people "mooch" books off of you and you "mooch" books off of others. The way the system is set up to work is explained on the site, so if you are a book lover, check it out!

This is definitely a frugal person/avid reader's dream find!

Until another frugal moment hits -

The Frugal Queen

Why is the electricity bill so high?

The title of this post is a question I seem to ask in our house at least once a month. I have even gone so far as to check out an online calculator for electricity use, available for free at: http://www.consumerspower.org/home_energy/billestimator.php .

The thing I found was our pump for the well (we are on a well and septic system, not city water) was the most expensive thing as far as our electricity consumption. This was a big surprise! I am now looking at what we can do to reduce water usage (I never really looked at this before, because I always thought - I do not have a water bill per say, so I don't have to worry about how much water I use, right?) Now I am worrying about it quite a bit.

I am going to look into a new clothes washer, a front loader instead of a top loader. The front loaders use less water to clean the clothes and at 15 loads of laundry a week, this could be a big savings over time. I have also asked the kids to consider recycling clothes they have worn if possible (not visibly dirty or no odors). This will hopefully cut back on the number of loads of laundry I have to wash (isn't this every mother's dream? kids who are responsible enough to minimize the amount of laundry which needs washed?)

I will let you know later if I move on the new washer idea and if I am able to cut the electricity bill through less water usage.

Until another frugal moment hits!

The Frugal Queen

A Great Financial Resource

I have found a great new resource for frugal individuals such as myself - the transforming Debt Into Wealth system. I have listened to the CDs (which I checked out from the library for free, thank you!) and his system makes sense.

I am going to give it a try and I will give you periodic updates on how I am doing. If you are interested in learning more about his system, check out his website at:

http://www.johncummuta.com/

Remember though, I was able to check this resource out of the library, so make certain you look there first. ( I am NOT getting paid to promote this program, I just liked it when I listened to it and felt it made sense.)

If you have any good resources for debt elimination which you have come across, please feel fee to post them as an addition to this post.

And so not be be negligent in my posting, here is your frugal tip for the day - use your local library first before purchasing resources. My family frequently visits the library (my little ones are on a first name basis with the librarians in the children's section) and we are able to check out books, games for the computer, books on tape/cd, music and movies. So long as we remember (that is Mom remembers) to take them back on time, it is a completely free service! Just think of the savings in movie rentals along!

Check out your local library - its a frugal person's paradise!

Until another frugal moment hits -

The Frugal Queen

Online Shopping - Great Money Saving Ideas

When online shopping, I have learned a great idea for saving money which I would like to share: always search for coupon codes before finalizing your purchase.

Coupon codes are promotional codes provided by the online retailers to entice shoppers to their websites through offering free shipping or a percentage off.

I receive coupon codes in the mail frequently, but don't always have them handy when I need them to enter into the website. So, instead of purchasing the item without the coupon code, I "google" the name of the retailer and the word coupon.

A good example of this would be "googling" the terms "lane bryant coupon" all together (less the quote marks).

When I did this just a moment ago, I received a link to a page from coupon cabin which I have pasted below. It contains various coupon codes which I can use on the Lane Bryant website to save money when making a purchase. (certain limitations do apply, just like in the regular store)

http://www.couponcabin.com/coupons/lane-bryant/index.htm

or this one from Coupon Mountain:

http://www.couponcabin.com/coupons/lane-bryant/index.htm

It works for many online retailers. Try it out and if you find another great coupon posting website, please let me know!

Until another frugal moment hits,

The Frugal Queen