Here’s a question from Lynn:
I’m trying to feed 2.5 people on $25 per week in groceries, per person – that’s $62.50/week. The group contains a 16-yo girl, a 35 yo man (he’s the .5- he’s gone 50% of the time) and me, a 33-yo woman. I live in Sudbury, ON. We also have 2 other children (11 & 8) to feed about 6 days per month. Any thoughts/comments?
Can you help her out?
Here’s a great frugal tip that I found on Balancing Beauty and Bedlam:
If the idea of meal planning overwhelms you, set the timer for an hour on a a weekend day, and then try to get as much prep work done as you can, slicing and dicing vegetables and cooking meats, poultry and rice in bulk. It’s multitasking madness, but when the bell dings, you’ll be able to sock away the building blocks for several dinners. I sometimes can get eight meals out of that one hour!
This frugal tip is coming at you from a place I’m at currently at in my life. 🙂 I’ve been feeling lately, like we could use some new things for our home. A new couch, a new rug, furniture that can double for storage…the list goes on and the imaginary costs keep going up. So, my frugal tip today is:
Rearrange or re-purpose your current furniture.
By simply moving around some furniture in your home, you’ll be amazed at how fresh everything can feel. It’s as though you purchased new furniture, but in actuality, you didn’t spend a cent!
Have you done this when you’ve felt your home is feeling a bit lackluster?
image: House & Home
Do you have quite a few diaper wipe containers sitting around waiting to be put to use for something other than a wipes holder? Here are some unique ideas to help you put them to good use!
Decorate the boxes with scrapbook paper, buttons, paint or whatever you fancy, then fill them with a bunch of goodies that you know the recipient will enjoy.
Create a treasure map leaving clues for little pirates, which will lead them to their "treasure chest" loot bags.
Fill the containers with various craft supplies such as crayons or glitter containers. Then label the outside to make it easy to find what you need.
Babies might like to put objects into the top of the box, then you could empty it, then baby could start all over.
Get you kids to decorate the boxes in their own way to make saving money fun
If you have an abundance of plastic grocery bags, the containers might make a great way to keep them all in one tidy spot.
Wrangle up all the bobby pins, elastics and clips by using a wipes container.
Create some category dividers using recipe cards then organize all your coupons in a handy little box.
Keep all the basic first aid supplies on hand at all times. Great for in the car!
Here's an easy recipe for DIY cleaning wipes and here's a recipe for DIY baby wipes.
Keep all those tiny socks in one place in the drawer...if they don't get lost in the laundry first!
Have you got any other brilliant ideas on how to reuse diaper wipe containers?
Christine has a question for you all:
We have been trying very hard to adapt to the frugal living. Do the no shop challenge or pantry challenge. But having a hard time finding ways to feed the bottomless pit of a teenager on a shoestring budget. Thanks so much for any help!
Any advice or suggestions for Christine?
image source.
The following post is a guest post from Louise of CanadianCouponSaver.com. Enjoy!
If you’re looking for a fun and unique way to find some new Canadian coupons, then why not consider starting a free coupon exchange at your local grocery store? My local Co-op started such an exchange recently, and it’s turning out to be quite the talking point.
Unlike most coupon trading programs, this particular exchange works on an honesty basis but is extremely effective. Very simply, a basket labeled “Coupon Exchange” is located in the entrance to the store, and customers can take and replace grocery coupons as they wish.
You could say it works like a “take a penny, leave a penny” tray.
When I first noticed this coupon exchange basket a few weeks ago, I couldn’t help but get excited by the idea. Since the basket is located at the entrance to the store, it’s in the perfect place to browse for coupons that might be useful on that particular shopping trip. If you don’t use them then you can just pop them back in the tray on your way out.
Now that this coupon exchange is in effect, I always bring a few good food coupons along with me whenever I shop at Co-op and add them to the tray for the benefit of others. I’ve noticed that the supply of good coupons has increased gradually since the program was started a few weeks ago, which indicates that the general response to the idea has been really good.
Maybe this is the start of a new trend in supermarkets across Canada? If you’re interested in starting up a similar coupon exchange at your own local store, then why not have a chat with the staff at the Customer Service Desk? If they agree to your idea then you could volunteer to donate the basket and a few of your own coupons to really get the ball rolling.
Louise Fiolek is the author of CanadianCouponSaver.com, a website dedicated to helping Canadians save money with coupons, daily deals, free stuff and frugal living tips. She enjoys encouraging others to live well and enjoy life to the fullest, while being savvy to money-saving opportunities.
