Ways to Save Money in an Economic Downturn

I thought I'd start this forum as a place for folks to post their ideas and thoughts about how to save some cash during the downturn. I lived through this as a kid in Pennsylvania back when Steel and Coal disappeared. It was pretty much like it is now, except at the time it was only Pennsylvania that was suffering the pain. So, here are some thoughts about how to survive the downturn. Please add your own in the space below and I'll keep adding more as they come to me.

  1. Start buying generic groceries, which in this day and age means buying store brands. Yes, you'll be jacked up with chemicals and preservatives and artificial colors - but you'll save some money in the process.
  2. When possible eat simple meals like hamburger, a few vegetables, and maybe some brown rice. You can eat this way really cheap and you get to experience some healthy weight loss at the same time. Also, every Friday should become "Casserole Night" instead of "Pizza Night". Take all your leftovers, buy a big container of generic Sour Cream, mix it all together and cover it with crushed, generic, rippled, potato chips. Mmmmmm....mmmmmm. Brings back memories.
  3. Find your grandparents China in the attic and start serving real portions. We put too much food on our plates and then we eat it. Not good economic policy. If you can't find your granny's China, then put your large plates in the attic and make your salad plates the dinner plates. This is what unemployed coal miners looked like during the Great Depression, notice the gaunt cheeks and thin limbs? That should be your economic goal - being rail thin.
  4. Learn to love the PTA Thrift Shop. Clothes are clothes for most of us. A T-shirt to work in the yard doesn't have to be new or in good shape. I remember my dad working on the car in shirts that had more holes than the muffler, which was saying something. Likewise, as the economy goes through a downturn your waistline should be getting smaller and smaller, so go buy those 32/32 pants that someone grew out of in the good times, because soon you will fit into them. Ladies, find those skinny pants in the back of the closet, soon they will be your everyday pants. And, you might need a belt.
  5. Never throw anything away. All food should be eaten, all clothes should be saved, all paper scraps should be stored in corners of the dining room for future use. I have family members that lived through the tough times who STILL have towels that their kids used. Those kids are now 55 years old. I've used those towels recently and they still dried me off just fine. THAT should be your goal.
  6. Plant a garden, start now. Get those seed packs for $1.50, dig up your own dirt, and seed them inside in whatever you have handy. My kids love eating food off the vine, so will yours, especially when all they had for lunch was a slice of generic bologna and a drink from the neighbors water hose.



Okay, that is all for now. I'd be happy if someone included some non-snarky suggestions below, like thermostats, water heaters, etc.

I beg your pardon!

Submitted by scharrison on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 5:51pm.

your waistline should be getting smaller and smaller, so go buy those 32/32 pants

I am a size 32, thank you very much. But a 34 feels so good I wear a 36. It's a personal choice. *sniff*

Bake bread

Submitted by Leslie H on Wed, 03/18/2009 - 2:01pm.

Fresh bread of simple VERY inexpensive ingredients is like a gourmet meal ... and you can put anything on it you want -- from butter and sugar to honey or molasses to jam/jelly to cheese to fresh veggies to plain old bologna -- or eat it plain.

"They took all the trees and put them in a tree museum Then they charged the people a dollar 'n a half just to see 'em. Don't it always seem to go that you don't know what you've got till it's gone? They paved paradise and put up a parking lot."

about to make my own yogurt.

Submitted by Robert P. on Thu, 03/19/2009 - 9:14pm.

I started making beet-pickled eggs last week. One jug of brew and beets should last through a few dozen eggs. I love them, no one else is thrilled.

But, now I am going to start making my own yogurt for our breakfast. Looks like it will cost several bucks for the milk and then 50 cents for the yogurt culture. So, a couple quarts for maybe 3 bucks.

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me

I am!

Submitted by Linda on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 5:44pm.

I'd love recipes - I'm basically a canning virgin. :) I know how to make spaghetti sauce starting with the tomatoes, but I usually freeze it instead of canning.

What a learning year this is going to be!

Our garden

Submitted by Linda on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 1:01pm.

We're finally putting in our garden - after being in this house for 4 years. We're going to plant the usually suspects (tomatoes, beans, garlic, collards, etc.) We've got a great spot for the garden, but we've never had time for it. My sister-in-law has lots of time, but no place for a garden. So we're sharing the duties. We're going to till this weekend, and then we're going to plant over the next week or so.

I'm more excited about this than I have been about almost anything in a long time.

If you see me this spring, expect to see me with dirt under my nails and on the knees of my jeans.

If you ever see my fingernails painted

Submitted by Betsy Muse on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 1:06pm.

it isn't because I'm trying to be pretty. :D

Hey...you going to get into canning/freezing? I have some recipes I can send your way - especially if you like hot stuff.



***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.

I've found a lot of good information at this site.

Submitted by Linda on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 12:49pm.

Homestead.org.

That is a great site, I like their frugality tab.

Submitted by Robert P. on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 2:11pm.

I've been doing stuff like this over the last year:

17. Cut Up Your Own Food Consumer Reports found that two pounds of carrots cost $1.29, compared with $7.16 for the same amount of precut carrot sticks. Also avoid “vegetable medley” packages.

28. Don’t Buy Anything in Individual Wrapping This seems so obvious I almost hate to mention it. If you buy anything in individually-wrapped, portion-sized packaging, be it potato chips, cookies, nuts or whatever, you only need to compare what these cost with bulk purchases to see the severe error in your ways. If you need individual portions for the kids' lunch-boxes, buy reusable containers and fill them yourself.

34. Buy Cold Cuts in the Deli Plastic-packaged cold cuts are usually more expensive, generally a lot more expensive, plus you have less packaging to send to the landfill with deli or meat-market purchases, especially if you buy whole units and slice them yourself at home.

40. Own a Freezer and/or Extra Fridge This is a large expense that you may not be able to afford right away, but well worth the money if you can. Finding a used freezer may be difficult, though, so you may have to buy new. Equally as handy, and probably less expensive than a freezer, is a second or third refrigerator. We’ve inherited two extra fridges from family members who were moving. Since virtually everyone owns a fridge at least once in there lives, there are plenty of used ones available. They really expand your ability to stock up.
13. Investigate; Ask Questions What's the price difference between the bag of dried beans that sells for $.89 and the can of beans that sells for $.99? Just a dime? No. The bag yields 7 cups of cooked beans, $.13 per cup. The can yields 1-1/2 cups of cooked beans, $.66 per cup. The canned beans - as inexpensive as they are - are five times more expensive than dried beans.

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me

Growing your own garden is a great way to get exercise

Submitted by funluvn on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 12:10pm.

do something together with the family and eat healthy, inexpensive produce all year long. Winter crops such as lettuces, turnips, collards, etc. are all good for you and tasty too. Summer bumper crops of most everything else can be so much fun to grow and so wonderful to eat!

Here is a good seed company to use. You need to get started NOW, like Robert mentioned above:

http://www.parkseed.com/webapp/wcs/stores/servlet/StoreCatalogDisplay?st...

If you live by a Farmers Market, that is also a great way to buy locally and help sustain the local economy while spending less expensive than you would at the supermarket. Raleigh, Greensboro and Charlotte all have fantastic Farmers Markets, and the Farmers Market in Raleigh also has a Nahunta Pork shop where you can pick up pork products for way under supermarket prices. You can even pre-order from them if you want something special, or just in bulk.

North Carolina. Turning the South Blue!

I am working on my garden now

Submitted by Betsy Muse on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 12:37pm.

As mentioned before I hired a local farmer to till my garden. I have my onion sets, broccoli (I'm late), carrots, peas, radishes and strawberries either in or ready to go in. My garden is designed to accommodate my new irrigation system. Don't laugh. It worked for my husband's father. You simply bury gallon milk jugs half way up to their necks in your rows with holes punched in them. You fill the jugs with water as you water your plants for a slow release watering system. I have been saving milk jugs for two months. They take up space, but since my garden isn't reachable by a standard garden hose it will save me some watering time/effort over the hot summer and hopefully I'll have more vegetables and they will ripen more quickly.



***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.

Some more ideas

Submitted by PartieLion on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:51am.

Walk as frequently as you can for distances under 2 miles for which time is not a consideration. And use transit as much as possible; you'll be doing yourself and the environment a favor and creating demand for further investments in transit.

For distances under 15 miles, where there is a safe route, bicycle.

50 states, 210 media market, 435 Congressional Districts, 3080 counties, 192,480 precincts

Yeah, I did this once.

Submitted by Robert P. on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 2:04pm.

Anything inside blue I walk, anything inside yellow I bike.

1 mile and 2 mile radius around my neighborhood

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me

As an alternative for those of us in cow country

Submitted by Betsy Muse on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 2:10pm.

save all your errands for the same day. We also call our neighbors/friends when we're going to run a quick errand to see if they need anything. They do the same for us.

We actually thought I would need a new car once Katie turned 16 (next fall) or 17 but I rarely drive my car. I think we'll be able to put that off for another year or two.



***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.

Growing up in Maryland in an Irish Catholic family...

Submitted by boball on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:11am.

We *knew* how to do something with nothing.

1. Get some cheap corned beef, boil some potatoes, find one of those antique, hand crank meat grinders. Push in the potatoes and meat and out comes corned beef hash. Fry those puppies.

2. Toast (preferably burned), butter, put toast in bowl,
hot milk on top and you have something euphemistically called "graveyard stew"

3. Scrapple. Just don't ask what's in it.

OK, that's quite enough of that.

The best thing my house has is a good sized pantry. Great for those periodic trips to CostCo. Not shopping -- provisioning. Red beans and rice. And who doesn't need that 25lb jar of peanut butter?

And while I'm here might as well say; learn to eat like the Koreans. Develop a taste for kimchi.

Work from home if that is an option.

-b

There cannot fail to be more kinds of things, as nature grows further disclosed. - Sir Francis Bacon

We always had Scrapple

Submitted by Robert P. on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:26am.

on the first day of hunting season. Speaking of which, there is another good thing to do:

  1. Hunt for your own food. Hunt, fish, or if you can't do that then buy a whole cow and put it in your freezer.

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me

I want to buy a whole cow

Submitted by Betsy Muse on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:31am.

and we live in the area to do it.

One big problem - don't have a big enough freezer and can't convince my dear hubby that we need one.



***************************
Vote Democratic, the ass you save may be your own.

Craigs list for the freezer.

Submitted by Robert P. on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 2:02pm.

then, figure out the cost/pound for a half-steer and show it to him. Usually as cheap as hamburger and you get roasts, steaks, etc.

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me

Just randomly came across Seth Godin's Blog Post

Submitted by Robert P. on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:09am.

It was aimed at newly graduating college students, but fits here as well.

My suggestion: Go to defcon 1, and do it immediately. Shift gears to live well below your means. That means:
No restaurants
No clothes shopping
No cable TV bill
No Starbucks

It means:
Take in a tenant in your spare bedroom
Carpool to work
Skip vacation this year

Eat brown rice and beans every night for dinner. Act like you have virtually no income.

The result? You'll save $5,000 to $20,000 a year. Send all of it to the credit card company. Do this until you're debt free, the faster the better.

There. Now you're rich. Now you get interest on your savings instead of paying the bank. Twenty years from now, this emergency action will translate into perhaps a million dollars in the bank, depending on how much you earn and how serious you are.

You can thank me then.

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me

If you use this time to diet and save money, I came across...

Submitted by denno on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 11:08am.

this website, "Fitday.com". It's an online for free program where you can track what you're eating by making entries and it keeps a calorie tally as your day progresses. I do this every so often, as I tend to binge sometimes, and get way too sluggish, plus all the other bad health things like high blood pressure and sugar problems. Of course they have it for free to use, and then you want it to tell you more, so they sell a more advanced program, or have a club. Also, in ways to save money, clip your coupons. It does count!

Turn the thermostat down

Submitted by James on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:51am.

Be one with the winter.

Do good. Be nice. Have fun.

I forgot one.

Submitted by Robert P. on Fri, 02/27/2009 - 10:31am.

I don't know if they exist in North Carolina, but when I was a kid we used to strip the bark from birch trees and chew on it. That was our "treat".

Enjoy.

Jesus Swept ticked me off. Too short. I loved the characters and then POOF it was over.
-me