Living on a Dime

Back to school is a time when many moms witness their money sprout wings and take flight, finding their homes at retail stores across America. I know that consumer spending is good for the economy, but I don’t take it upon myself to keep the entire US economy propped up, so when my first-grade son announced that he wanted a backpack with rollers, I saw this as a wonderful financial teaching moment. His school is small, and he doesn’t walk to or from school. He didn’t need rollers.

I told my son that I would give him $8 toward a backpack. I told him that if he wanted a fancier one, he could put up some of his allowance money for the difference. That’s the rule at our house. Mom and Dad buy the basics the kids buy the extras. It was amazing how my son’s perception of the need for rollers changed when his allowance was on the line. Yes, he has concluded, a regular backpack will do the trick this year.

Thousands of parents are buying back-to-school supplies. From crayons and notebooks to calculators and lunch boxes, the list of what to buy can be as long as the list of your kids’ excuses.

I know that you are anxious to get your kids back into school, but there is no need to take out a second mortgage just to get them in school. Instead, use some of these money-saving tips from www.LivingOnADime.com and you can happily send your kids to school and keep some of the cash for mom’s back-to school celebration!

*Wait for the list to come out and stick to it, otherwise you might buy things you don’t need. Remember, the Bank of Mom doesn’t pay for frills. Any extras the kids want will have to be funded from their own cash reserves. I do understand that it is nice for kids to have “hip” back-to-school supplies. I look at yard sales and thrift stores for brand-name finds. For instance, I recently found a gently used Barbie backpack and a Barbie lunch box and no one would know that I paid $1.00 each instead of the $32 that Becky Johnson’s mom paid. Who says stay at home mom’s don’t make any money?

*Don’t buy back to school clothes. Children don’t need an entirely new wardrobe every fall. Some mom’s act as if aliens clothes-napped their kids clothes the night before school and the fashion police will come arrest them if they donít buy the latest designer clothes right away. The kids wore clothes all year long, didn’t they? If they need something like a new pair of shoes or new jeans then buy what they need, but donít just buy a new wardrobe because it’s the thing to do.

*Use back to school sales to your advantage.

If you know your kids go through a package of socks, underwear or jeans every six months then stock up while they are on sale. The same is true of crayons, paper, notebooks, backpacks and lunch boxes. My son went through two backpacks and two lunch boxes last year, so this year we will buy two while they are on sale instead of waiting until the middle of the year when they are full price. We will also be checking garage sales between now and then to find any good deals on those items. Donít be tempted to buy things that you wouldn’t normally use, though, just because they’re on sale.

*Go through last year’s school supplies to see which things are still usable. If my student has a working calculator, the Bank of Mom will not extend credit for a new one.

*Limit activities to one at a time. Activity fees can add up fast. One at a time is the rule at our house. If you can’t afford the activity, it doesn’t hurt for the kids to use their own money to pay for it. The best way to teach them money management is to let them manage their own money when they have nothing to lose, instead of after they have maxed out the credit cards someone persuaded then to sign up for in college.

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt, by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit http://livingonadime.com

I just love this guy! A few years ago, John Wells left his New York live to build an alternative energy and sustainable living field laboratory. Southwest Texas Alternative Energy And Sustainable Living Field Laboratory is an inspiration toward a greater sustainability for all. John shares his poem, “The Best is the West” which gives us a light look at his journey todate.

Saving money is always a good thing. Some save by using coupons, others by cutting back on purchases, but on some necessary items cutting back is not an option. Unless a national brand product is on sale…at a great price…I almost always purchase store brands of products. In our home, purchasing generic laundry soap is a necessity. I cringe everytime I see that $15-20 price tag on the large bottles of Tide, Cheer, etc.

I have shared my laundry soap recipe here before, but today I am sharing someone else’s recipe. Many of you are familiar with the Jim Bob and Michelle Duggar Family with 18 beautiful children and their television series. While looking for a tator tot casserole recipe for My Hero, I came across Michelle Duggar’s recipe for laundry soap. Though it called for the same ingredients as the recipe I have been using, the amounts and directions were different. After giving her recipe a try this time, I believe that I prefer her method rather than mine. Check out her LAUNDRY SOAP RECIPE.

The Duggars also have a new book The Duggars: 20 and Counting!: Raising One of America’s Largest Families–How they Do It that answers questions that many of us have about their amazing family.

Michele’s original recipe calls for a Fels-Naptha Bar, but I used a bit over one bar of pink Zote Soap in my version, which gives it a nice pinkish shimmer. There is a  white Zote Laundry Soap  that I have found online, but not in my local store yet. You will notice in the photo that I have reused older detergent bottles, but some of the mixture is stored in a recycled juice jug. I just could not throw any of it out…so I stole My Hero’s water jug.

Guestimating the current cost of each of the containers, I figure we saved around $54 with making my own soap. Those boxes of borax and washing soda were purchased well over a year ago..so it almost feels as if this was all free. Not knowing how to figure the energy usage cost, we did not take that out of the total..but I do know that the supply cost is around $2. Not bad!

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I found this entertaining and informative video, “Store Wars”, over at Mother Earth Soup via Path to Freedom. With characters Cuke Skywalker, Obi Wan Canolli, Darth Tater, and Chew Broccoli, the Free Range Studios video is a humorous look at organic vs. chemical grown foods.  I hope you will enjoy “May the Farm be With You” as much as I did.

Be sure to check out Mother Earth Soup and Free Range Studios.

I have always wanted to purchase a compost tumbler, but felt that they were a costly, frivolous purchase. Not being very mechanically minded, I could never figure out how to build my own either, but after visiting How-to Homestead I think this would be an easy enough project that I might be able to complete myself. Finding a large food grade barrel may be an issue, but I already have the remaining supplies.