Tips and tricks for making it on a BUDGET

  As you know...Harlow is currently laid off.  Which really isn't anything new since he works for CSX ;)  So, here is a list of tips and tricks of how we have survived furloughs and live COMFORTABLY on a budget.  It's mostly common sense.

1.)Groceries: First, we have no "bad" food habits.  What I mean is...we don't drink pop.  And we don't buy snack cakes or junk food.  Well, Harlow still holds on to his chip eating habit...but..besides that..NO JUNK!  As for veggies and fruit, we buy frozen.  Why frozen...well...it's cheaper than fresh and more nutritious and better tasting than canned.  Don't get me wrong, canned beans are where it's at for chili and soups.  But as for vegetable, they're frozen closer to the source they're harvested from...the longer they sit on a shelf the more nutrients they lose. Making frozen sometimes HEALTHIER than fresh.  Which is important to me because I want my kids to establish healthy eating habits now.  I use the sale paper to stock up on meats.  I don't buy bottled water....just watch the movie "Tapped".   If it's coming out of your faucet and you don't have a well ...it's filtered.

2.)Clothes: I now shop for 6 people.  AND being that I LOVE fabric and sewing I have a hard time paying for names.  Basically, a cotton T-shirt is a cotton t-shirt whether it has Justice or Garanimals on the tag.  Don't get me wrong, I will definitely pay more for quality in a piece my kids will get a lot of wear out of.  Like coats and little boy jeans.  Which I now buy wrangler from Walmart for Ace because he rubs the knees out of everything else.  I'm a sale shopper.  I usually shop twice a year for everyone.  Once on black Friday, online at home....and once at the start of spring.  The reason, well, black Friday there are some really great deals on jeans, coats and sweaters.  I can load up the whole family for fall and winter.  Old Navy and Childrens Place are two of my favorites.  And in Spring..right when the season starts to change you can find great deals on fall and winter clothes...I buy a size larger for the following year ;)  AND they usually have a 40% off sale on their new arrivals.  So I get a jump start on summer too.  ALSO....Walmart is my favorite place for summer stuff.  They put out these little $5.00 outfits for boys EVERY year..and I will grab about 10 for each boy and let them wear them till their worn out.  And if you have boys you know that doesn't take long.  So, that's about $150.00 for 3 boys....NOT BAD EH?!?  Also, I LOVE www.thredup.com !!  If you've never visited the site...GO..NOW..seriously.

3.)Entertainment: Here is where I really get savvy.  We don't have cable!  We haven't in years.  Through our phone company we bundled our DSL, phone and a ROKU box for 50.00.  Now, the ROKU box streams Netflix, HULU, Amazon, and Pandora.  We subscribe to Netflix..$8.00 a month...and Amazon Prime $75.00 a YEAR.  Amazon prime comes with all kinds of perks...a ton of movie selections and some movies you can even watch while they're still in theaters AND free 2 day shipping from their site.  We get to monitor what our kids see, avoid commercials and save $$$.  We also use Red Box.  Also, pay attention to your local calendar for things to do.  There's always something going on in Hazard...SWEAR it!  In the summer we LOVE Way Bak Wyn Drive In.  Good prices and our kids love it.  Family time is also a biggie in our house.  With 4 kids i'm never really lacking in entertainment.

4.)Exercise: We usually enjoy running.  When i'm not recovering from having a baby and Harlow isn't nursing a bad foot.  There are many places to work out in Hazard.  We have a park to walk/run....many hiking trails...the pavilion for when it's bad out.  My personal favorite...I LOVE to run/walk up by where Trus Joist used to be.  SOOOO many dirt trails.  My joints and heart always thank me for it.

5.)Cleaning and Home supplies: One store....the Dollar Tree.  In fact the BEST dishwasher detergent I have ever used is their Sun brand.  No white gunk and they come out clean.  The only cleaning supply i'm really a snob about is laundry detergent.  I either make my own (Really...you can do that) or buy gain.  Just depends on how low I let my supply get before running out to the store.  You can even find toilet paper at the Dollar Tree...and honestly...do you really care what brand of toilet paper you ...well..you know what you're doing with it.

6.)Medicine: Always ask if there's a generic...it's that easy.  And for over the counter stuff....look for the store brand.  Look at the active ingredient and compare it to the store brand.  For example...benadryl...the active ingredient in benadryl is diphenhydramine.  Now you can buy the brand name diphenhydramine, benadryl..OR you can buy your diphenhydramine for $1.00 at the Dollar Tree.  Will it work any better the more you pay for it...NO.  Always ALWAYS go for the generic if you can.

That's all I have for now.  If you have any tips or tricks that you feel is savvy please leave them in a comment here or shoot me a message.  I'd love to hear them!