Frugal Living Tips and Tricks

The Question: I will have to go to the food pantry once a month. I want to try homesteading but I live in an apartment. I do have a patio but it faces north and I’m on the ground floor.  So I have light but not direct sunlight and I live in Portland, OR. What ways can I homestead from home? I do bake and try to make as much as I can from scratch. I was also thinking of purchasing a large white board.  Something to keep my on track with meal planning, etc. I just need to find ways to keep me busy so I can not spend and save money.  Thanks in advance! What did people say? ⇒ Nancy: Look into micro greens. I understand they are easy to grow inside with s grow light, they grow quickly and don’t take up much space. They also sell for a pretty high price . You could eat them and sell them for extra income. ⇒ Tanya: Try making omelets, all boys need to learn how to cook an omelette. ⇒ Karen: I do a lot of crock pot meals and I eat them for 3 dinners a week. I know boys eat a lot ...

 The Question: My situation is a bit unique because I'm 36 and don't have a credit history. I've always lived with family and paid cash for my vehicles.  Last spring I was supposed to buy a trailer and land from a friend's family but it fell through during the title search. I was going to use my life's savings and own it outright.  Now I'm trying to figure out where to go from here. My parents always rented but decent, affordable, pet-friendly rentals are few and far between around here. I'd rather own my home if at all possible. I need to figure out what to aim for.  Do I need to accept that a credit score is a necessary evil? I have money saved up for a down payment, my income is $2000 a month, and I don't have debt other than medical.   Any advice would be appreciated!! What did people say? ⇒ Elizabeth: Yep. Get you a card. Use it to earn the rewards (money) for things you are already buying!! Just pay it IN FULL every month ! It's not an evil un...

 The Question: I have a friend who is paying off her house this week! She has been unwell (cancer) but continues to work FT. She has now used up her PTO and was previously denied disability. What gifts would you give as a celebration for one less financial burden? What did people say? ⇒ Shelby: I saw this thing about grief groceries on Facebook. Maybe something kind of like that. Easy meals with no thought she has to put in, some snacks and staples. Things she doesn't have to think about or prep. ⇒ Jennifer: Gift cards. Fill fridge/freezer with groceries. Make some meals for her freezer. Spend time with her. ⇒ Serena: I have a friend in a similar situation. I've been walking her dog, bringing her food and giving her rides to chemo on occasion. I don’t have a lot to offer, but the small tokens seem to mean a lot .  ⇒ Judy: I'd give get cash so she can use it for what she wants/needs. I am sure it would be nice for her to have some "spending" money just for her w...

 SomeOne say: Today I shopped at a thrift store that had a cash only self check out area. I noticed that I could just dump change into it before cash. My bag had a lot of change in the bottom, I was able to dump over 4$ of change before cash. So awesome. I also noticed that 5 below had something similar. Any other places you guys know about. Nice way to get rid of change. What did people say? ⇒ Grace: Some Walmarts have it too. ⇒ Stephanie: Take change and dump it at the bank. It adds up at the end of the year. ⇒ Jennifer: Thanks for posting this. My husband has a jar full of coins and was going to take it to CoinStar. I told him he can only do that over my dead body. ⇒ Nicole: That's great! I was out of town, in a public library getting copies made and I was super excited to use my change! ⇒ Lisa: I go to a discounter that has an upcharge for credit cards, so I have a little change purse I take with me - obviously I wouldn't be obnoxious about it, but I do use change whe...

 The Question: I wondered why my amount was so much! Luckily I caught it but take care when shopping and check your cart before and after purchase to make sure there is not a glitch. What did people say? ⇒ Emma: So those lemons are from Mt. Olympus right 😂. ⇒ Ashley: I knew inflation was crazy, but I didn’t realize lemons were so high demand 😂 ⇒ Haylee: We were at self check out last night. every single item was double scanning. We were getting so frustrated my husband just had to use the wand scanner. ⇒ Ambyr: Psh your lemons are only $23?! I’m totally kidding, glad you caught this! ⇒ Heidi: This happens even in store check out lines. ALWAYS watch as your items are being rung up and double check your receipts. Walmart is getting really bad about doing things like this lately. ⇒ AnnaMaria: You also have to watch where, a single item is priced for say $10 each but a 2 package is $47. But if you just get two single items, it's still $10 each. ⇒ Nicole: That’s a great catch! ...

 The Question: I live in Florida and have crazy high power bills, especially in the summer. I have done everything to cut them down already but we are considering getting an attic fan installed. Has anyone had success in lowering your power bill in the summer by installing one? What did people say? ⇒ Marilyn: Getting a new larger more energy efficient HVAC system lowered our bill. We live in Florida. Have 3500 sq ft under heat and air and an all electric home. Electric bill is $177 per month. We keep the thermostat at 75 for air conditioning and 70 for heating. Better windows also help. ⇒ Lauren: The best thing we ever did to lower power bills when I lived in Florida was to get better insulation installed in the attic. we got some kind of foam-type stuff that was blown in and stuck to the underside of the roof. It looked repulsive, but worked Wonders for the power bills! ⇒ Annie: Attic fans, soffit vents and ridge vents all allow hot air to escape, and that will help your a/c to...

The Question: We are a family of in significant debt (38K). For the past two months, I have been going through my house trying to sell items on eBay and FB. In addition, I collect/sell random free items I find.  The problem is, even though they are decent quality items, nothing is selling. I have sold about four things and made $12.  Granted, that’s $12 more than I had, but my house is starting to look like a hoarder’s house. We have a two bedroom condo for four people, and it is becoming very cluttered. Both my son and I struggle with ADHD, depression and anxiety and it’s causing a lot of stress. I’m tempted to just pack everything up and give it away because I’m so stressed out, but I feel very guilty. I’m trying very hard to get us out of debt without claiming bankruptcy. The clutter has gotten to the point where I can’t even think clearly daily to get simple tasks done. If I added the total price of everything, it would be under $300.  Because it’s a condo, I’m not al...