We are in an economic crisis, how are you being frugal to survive?

I have also started recycling cans to earn money. i don't recycle plastic because in my area i can't find any place to take them. we use energy saver light bulbs. it's been cold here already but i refuse to turn on the heat. we are wearing heavier clothes. i also open the blinds on the sunny side of the house to let the sun in to help heat up the house. we are also going to put plastic in our windows to keep out the draft. i sold some jewelry to cash4gold, wasn't much but it helps. we are both trying to earn what we can online. we use coupons as much as possible. for christmas we are making gifts instead of spending money. we go shopping once a month for groceries to save on gas and that way we don't impulse shop. he works at Walmart so if we do need something he picks it up after work. We use hand me down clothes for the little ones from my aunt. luckily i kept all my oldest daughters clothes and things so i have them for the little one. we also car pool with our neighbor for the kids school, she takes his son to school and we pick up her daughter after school. if i think of anything else i'll respond again.

HOly Cow, you certainly are cutting back. I do the same with the driving. I do all my shopping on Saturdays so I don't have to make a bunch of trips back and forth to the store during the week. That's about it. I think my family would drop over from shock if I started making my own laundry soap and hanging the clothes to dry. We always grill alot anyways, it is easy and tastes so yum! We did stop getting so much take out food and I cook more often than before.

There are so, so many things you can do to save money and I've been frugal for so long that I tend to skip over them. Some of the things you missed in your post: Use small appliances instead of the big kitchen range. Double check insurance of all kinds to make sure you're not paying for more coverage than you need. (Check to be sure your auto insurance isn't covering the same things as your medical insurance. You don't need both.) Walk or use public transportation whenever you can, instead of using the car. Take advantage of wild food. Buy second hand clothing, books, housewares, etc. Use the library instead of buying books. Drink water more than soft drinks, tea, juice or coffee. It's cheaper and good for you. There's more, a lot more, but it would take a book to list it all!

I cook from scratch as often as I can, using a frozen turkey for a meat source as well as stock for my soups. I cook them in a crock pot which uses much less energy than the stove top. I buy dry rather than canned beans for the soups. * I grocery shop just once a month because I need (medical issues) to take a taxi to do it. * I do my own computer repair to the best of my ability, saving $30 a half hour from the tech. Computer parts themselves are cheap.

i have been making a lot of christmas presents which also saves money. i also make a lot of soup for meals and serve with a loaf of bread (homemade also - friends of ours gave us a breadmaker for free!) soup bones are pretty cheap and you can put in a lot of veggies with them. we shop at thrift stores for a good part of our clothing unless we see a sale. i seldom go to the mall. we also grill outside. sadly, we dont get money for returns of bottles and cans.

I was watching Oprah yesterday. She had a guest on that dropped her electric bill from $264.98 to $64.57 in 2 months. She unplugs EVERYTHING that is not being used at the moment. She cut back on the amount of time the TV could be watched & then unplugged it. If it's being turned off, it gets unplugged. She plugs in all the appliances to cook & then unplugs them when completed. Sounds like a lot of work to me but it is an extra $2,400 year in her checking/savings account!!!

I have also been hanging to dry my clothes, trying to use coupons, etc. I turn lights off whenever possible, drive minimally - Dh has been biking to some places - and have been rolling my coins.

we don't have kids so grocery and hydro is always the same year after year I wear thermal and socks at home so we don't have to use too much gas for heater my husband only uses the car for work and grocery we wear the same house clothes for a week aside from underwear I am trying to sell old and unused stuffs on garage sale or free auction site we have laminated floor so we don't use vacuum, just dust pan and wet mop the only thing we can't do anything about is mortgage it's a small house there is no space available to rent out they said the economy won't go down as much here but I still want to live frugal just in case, after all it's always good to have savings

i got a group of friends together to do book swaps and now they are doing children's clothing swaps, i dont have kids so i dont participate, but their kids are roughly around the same age and dont have all the clothes they need, so they swap them around, a shirt for a shirt, then the kids feel like they got new clothes and the parents get the clothes they need. my cats run around the house nekkid so its all good there. i am doing okay at my job as is my partner, so we haven't had to cut back all that much, but i have stopped shopping as much, and i'm hitting the dollar stores more often for basics. i've gone through my closet and given clothes to ladies she works with, since i work with all guys, but i know they dont have money for shopping.. so it makes me feel better, plus if i haven't worn it in 6 months, i never will. we're organizing a homeless food drive for november, hoping to get the younger generation involved with me (i'm 28) last year we took our leftovers to the park with some socks and water bottles, im sure this year will be harder, since everyone is broke.

You are being very industrious and proactive in this situation. I am going out less to save gas and money. I am very watchful of the grocery budget. I have worked a few odds and end jobs for extra cash. I've had at least one garage sale. My mother is moving in so we can pool resources. My adult children are contributing more to the household than they used to.

Hi friend,I live in south India where economic crisis has not affected that much.But we too suffer in differnt ways.I dont even understand how and what to do for being frugal.In what way to cut down the expenditure?If I want to save something that would be very meagre amount.Only when I want to save I'l get unexpected expenditure like doctor fees and some loss etc.The amount more than what I saved will be given to the doctor and to meet the loss.Whatever comes let that come and let us lead our own lives.That is life.thanks for sharing.happy mylotting.

Well right now we conserved energy and we are using broom once in a while instead of using the vacuum cleaner. Turn off the light when it is not use and then we dont anymore go out every weekend to watch movie or have dinner in a restaurant. We also list down only things that are needed and we no longer buy stuff that are not necessary. So far everything is doing good since we did that.

Ya know i haven't thought of it too much but i'm going to start taking the paper towels and the trash bags at my work and maybe that will help me save a buck or two. I've been already packing my lunch for the last like year or so to save money but that was just to save for a motorcycle. Shoot right there i'll be saving money in commuting gas to school and work. Man i must be doin all right. LOL.

I think I will do the same as what you have done. First, reduce our spending budget, cook meals by myself, and donot go to malls for new cloths.Shut the windows instead of turning on the heat all the time.... Second, fine some ways to earn extra money, I do not work now, and I stayed at home. I help with other's project, do some translation, teach in a Saturday school, hehe, and try some online websites for extra bucks....so many..

It sounds like you have some pretty good ideas about how to make your money stretch further. I am really interested in how you are making laundry soap. Someone gave me a recipe once, but I think I lost it. Does it work as well as regular laundry soap? Does it get out stains and odors? One frugal trick that works great for me is saving my meat scraps in the freezer. If my hubby and I only eat half of the chicken, pork, beef, etc then I dice up the rest and put it in a ziplock freezer bag. I save it even if it is only a bite or two. I just keep adding bits of diced meat and veggies to the bag until there is enough to make a meal. Then I stir fry it with some onion and seasonings and serve it over rice. It works out great for us!

Wow, you are really going to town on this. You are set for an economic crisis or a natural disaster. Which is good either way. All I am doing is driving less and using coupons more. If I ever get back to work, I will be paying down my debt. The less debt you have, the less you need to worry about interest rates and things.

We live out of town so plan our trips into town and pool rides with family. We also plan all the things we need to do so we make one trip and don't have to go in again for a few days. I hang my clothes the line and will continue to do so until it gets too cold and rainy. Hubby is going to put up clotheslines on the enclosed back porch and I can dry out there too. We turn off lights unless in a room and using them. We use Propane for cooking with and hope to next year get a propane water tanks. We burn firewood as we own 24 acres and live very rural. We have chickens and feed them in addition to grain the slops and things and also feed them weeds and things which are good for them. With feeding dogs and cats, Oatmeal bulk is cheap and we save pan grease and mix with dog food and it is good to have for them especially in colder weather. It stretches the cost of buying food for them. We also break an egg in the mix. The animals eat it right up and like it. We have eggs of our own. Next spring we hope to buy some goats for meat and milking. We share a shower the kids and we parents which has added benefits at times LOL. Yes we can things and make jams and jellies. You can also dry fruits and things and store to reconsitute for soups and things or pies. I know how to make jerky as well. We had a garden this year again and that has helped. We put up a green house and still getting things from the garden to eat. We save our aluminum cans and pie tins etc and take it to sell for cash. I tore out all the carpets and put down linolium in one room and hardwood floor in the other and we sweep and mop and it is much cleaner and nicer. I have to get more candles again but candles are good. As to T.V we don't watch it all the time. We have some nights it is off and we don't have any cable or dish as cannot afford it. We play games and read stories or tell stories instead. Turn off the computer too when not in use. Go to the dollar store and stock up on shampoos, rinse etc. My favorite is Suave Coconut and we buy ahead. For gifts and holidays. I go to lots of yard sales and get great bargins. I have a list of things each family member, grandchild likes. I look for gently used and new never used items and get them for a couple of bucks. I have a closet I put everything in and marked for each family member and so when a birthday, anniversary, holiday comes I am ready. I reuse gift wrap as much as I can and gift bags that helps a lot as well. There is also re-gifting. Sometimes you cannot use something, wrong size, color or just not you. Give it to someone else but try avoid hurt feelings too. Find things you don't need, use anymore and list them for sale on Craigslist. Offer services in trade for something you can do for something you need.

Well, we've always been...old fashioned, and by nature doing alot of stuff on your own and not wasting alot IS frugal. And we've always done that. Only now, I'll be able to micro-farm and hopefully we'll be able to can, freeze, and dry enough to make sure we won't starve over next year. We didn't have that ability in the city. And when you grow most of your food, you don't have to buy as much. I'm hoping to grow enough in 2009 to turn it into a business as well. I now have a solar flashlight, we're getting a small grill, I'm hoping to get some flints (so if we run out of lighters, no worries). Next year, I'm hoping to find a scooter with 75 MPG to save on gas. And a bike with a basket maybe, if I can. You can raise chickens in the city too. If one can't afford meat, it's possible to grow food for your chickens AND raise them...even in alot of places in the city. Eggs are good for protein. Making your own clothes, making sure you don't spend money on anything you can't do yourself. Making sure your house is good for winter if you no longer can pay the electric or gas bill... Buying from local farmers helps with food, if you can't grow any yourself. It helps to stock non-perishables, make sure you can wash your clothes no matter what...water. Make your own pet food. It all depends on your life, but it helps to think about your basic needs and maintaining your way of living to plan for any possible downturn in the future.

People have food growing in their yards and on their trees that they do nothing with. So I now have plum jam because a guy grows plums, but hates them. So if you see anything in someone's yard they aren't using, ask if you can pick it and can it. Also, I can identify wild food like white clover and blackberries. The white clover heads can be used in rice while it's cooking (just add a little water) to extend the rice and to extend a meal that may have less beans or meat then you want. Selling stuff at a yard sale that I don't need. We can have 3 yard sales a year here before we have to declare ourselves a business, so we are doing that. Trading food. Like I have 10 lbs of potatoes and you have 5 lbs of apples. I'll never use 10 lbs of mine before it rots and someone says he doesn't make apple butter or sauce, but could use more potatoes. Grew lettuce in the spring, now growing it again in the fall. Also other spring crops can be grown in the fall, too like radishes and green onions. Egyption onions reseed themselves and can survive harsh winters, lots of rain, and even drought. Get them once from a friend or buy them and you'll have onions for life unless you eat them all one year. Asking people who don't drive, but shop at Price Chopper if you can bring them some place. If they say they can't afford to pay you for gas, ask if you can use their card to get a reduction on the cost of gas. Bring them with you. My brother can't drive, but shops at Price Chopper. He had 90 cents per gallon on his card. He has no money to pay for rides into the City, but 90 cents per gallon, that pays for the ride in and back. Learn about your wild plants, we have wild soapwart or soapwort. It has white to pink petals that reflex back (you can search pictures, but make sure the person knows what they're talking about, I've seen their look-a-like cousins that don't reflex back listed as them and that's wrong), you can use the plant to make soap. You know you're right when you boil it in water, cool, and squeeze and rub and you have bubbles. Lots of wild things make good bandages, too. Mullein and fat or used oil from your cooking can make good tiki torches, just be really really careful of fire. Search Primitive (primative?) living on the internet and you'll get tons of ideas, some you'll want to try and some you won't, but it's neat. Wood ashes and fat can make bar soap. Lots of work and you have to dedicate one pan to that. The kids are helping, that's great! Wonderful topic. Take care.

no more extra food for dinner and no more tickets for movie .