Frugalty "hacks" that worked for you?

[Kay_Cee]

If you own a Kindle, you can get a lot of free Catholic books. Just type in free and Catholic in the Kindle store to see a list.

You can also often get free books, both fiction and non-fiction, by subscribing to BookBub, eBookLister, and Awesome Gang Newsletter.

 

[DarkLight]

While we’re at it, does anyone know of good jobs that would let someone work 1 day a week? Either a full day at around $9-$10 an hour (which is retail going rate around here), or shorter hours for more money.

 

[Xantippe]

While we’re at it, does anyone know of good jobs that would let someone work 1 day a week? Either a full day at around $9-$10 an hour (which is retail going rate around here), or shorter hours for more money.

Evening babysitting should pay at least that. It varies a lot depending on part of the country, timing (New Years you can charge whatever you want and probably Valentine’s, too), and number of kids.

$10 an hour is pretty much the minimum for over-18 evening sitters in my experience. My buddy has often paid $15 an hour for two kids because one is special needs, and as she says, she wants to make sure the sitters come back. But you need a lot of savvy. I once took a babysitting gig for a semi-verbal 4-year-old where I later realized that I needed to be a lot more strategic (I made a big screw up that I still cringe over). If it’s a special needs kid, I would suggest starting really small with hours. It’s apparently really hard to get a sitter who is willing to do special needs babysitting for certain kids.

 

[pensmama87]

Evening babysitting should pay at least that. It varies a lot depending on part of the country, timing (New Years you can charge whatever you want and probably Valentine’s, too), and number of kids.

$10 an hour is pretty much the minimum for over-18 evening sitters in my experience. My buddy has often paid $15 an hour for two kids because one is special needs, and as she says, she wants to make sure the sitters come back. But you need a lot of savvy. I once took a babysitting gig for a semi-verbal 4-year-old where I later realized that I needed to be a lot more strategic (I made a big screw up that I still cringe over). If it’s a special needs kid, I would suggest starting really small with hours. It’s apparently really hard to get a sitter who is willing to do special needs babysitting for certain kids.

Yes, evening babysitting is a great gig. Even when I did daytime childcare, I made some very nice extra money on weekends by babysitting. One family paid me $15/hour and fed me dinner, and their two kids were in bed within one hour of my arriving. That was probably the best situation, but yes, $10/hour and up is standard if you’re an adult with a background check and clearances.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

While we’re at it, does anyone know of good jobs that would let someone work 1 day a week? Either a full day at around $9-$10 an hour (which is retail going rate around here), or shorter hours for more money.

Drive for Uber or Lyft.

 

[DarkLight]

Drive for Uber or Lyft.

That can be a bit iffy on what you actually make, from what I’ve heard. Not that the hourly rate isn’t bad, but you have to be really careful to account for all the extra costs.

(For anyone thinking of doing it - talk to your insurance company first! Many won’t cover you unless you put a special rider on your plan.)

 

[EasterJoy]

While we’re at it, does anyone know of good jobs that would let someone work 1 day a week? Either a full day at around $9-$10 an hour (which is retail going rate around here), or shorter hours for more money.

What are you good at? I know some recent high school graduates who write and review questions for some online study site. From what I gather, it is piece work, but they’re fast at algebra and good writers, so they can make over $20 an hour. They work as many hours as they want to work. They said they’ll probably still do some work after they start college, just not every day.

 

[BlueEyedLady]

That can be a bit iffy on what you actually make, from what I’ve heard. Not that the hourly rate isn’t bad, but you have to be really careful to account for all the extra costs.

(For anyone thinking of doing it - talk to your insurance company first! Many won’t cover you unless you put a special rider on your plan.)

It’s very vehicle-dependent and you have to watch what times you drive. After we found out I was pregnant, we traded in the only car we keep in the city for an SUV with third row seating. We wanted something we could easily road trip in with a baby and with all of baby’s gear. As an afterthought, both hubby and I signed up as Uber XL drivers because the car will seat 7 passengers. If he has some time on the weekend after I crash, he goes out and picks up drunks for a decent rate. Since I wake up in the middle of the night/wee morning hours these days thanks to my hormonal buzz, I will sometimes go out then on weekends. We’re both hitting pretty prime times, and there’s never any obligation to go if we just plain don’t feel like it.

We’ve put aside a nice chunk of unexpected money from it in just 7 or so months. It makes traveling with the dog a little tricky, because we try to keep the interior pristine. Small price to pay though. Hubby makes good tips, but as a woman, I average more, probably because there are so few female drivers. And, the bigger my bump gets, the more people seem to like me.

Really though, it’s not a bad gig if you don’t plan to rely on it. There are just not 40 hours a week worth driving. But, if you exploit peak times, keep phone chargers and candy on hand, and have Spotify ready to play whatever the passenger wants, you can do pretty well.

 

[oldgraymare2]

If you own a Kindle, you can get a lot of free Catholic books. Just type in free and Catholic in the Kindle store to see a list.

You can also often get free books, both fiction and non-fiction, by subscribing to BookBub, eBookLister, and Awesome Gang Newsletter.

Thanks for sharing this information with us, Kay Cee.

I knew about BookBub, but I didn’t know about the other sites.

I love to read and I’m always reading books through my library’s OverDrive system. They also have Hoopla Digital available now, too.

I found that Hoopla works better more with mobile devices.

I read on my Chromebook as opposed to using a phone, Kindle (E-reader device) or a tablet, and Hoopla tends to get kind of cranky with my Chromebook when it comes to trying to watch videos.

 

[oldgraymare2]

Slow, moist heat makes cheaper cuts of meat work better. Tougher cuts are usually cheaper than more tender ones.

You can find a lot of substitution tips online, if you don’t have a particular ingredient on hand - especially for less common spices. You can also find advice on how to rescue a dish that didn’t work.

If you have a car warranty, be careful with home maintenance. If something major goes wrong you’ll likely have to prove that you’ve been performing maintenance on the recommended schedule, and you may be denied if you can’t prove it.

Thank you for sharing these tips, DarkLight.

You’re right about the cheaper cuts of meat.

That’s why I like using my slow cooker for those types of cuts of meat, because you can cook them low and slow and tenderize them that way, and make a nice soup or stew or casserole out of them.

Plus it’s also just nice to prep your whole meal beforehand, and then just let it cook all day if you have to go out somewhere. Then you can come home to your meal without having to cook it.

 

[Kay_Cee]

Thanks for sharing this information with us, Kay Cee.

I knew about BookBub, but I didn’t know about the other sites.

I love to read and I’m always reading books through my library’s OverDrive system. They also have Hoopla Digital available now, too.

I found that Hoopla works better more with mobile devices.

I read on my Chromebook as opposed to using a phone, Kindle (E-reader device) or a tablet, and Hoopla tends to get kind of cranky with my Chromebook when it comes to trying to watch videos.

You are most welcome!

 

[ToeInTheWater]

Thanks to everyone for your contributions!

I also wanted to apologize for my earlier behavior. I was being a hypocrite (or something like it), claiming in my OP I didn’t want this to be a debate topic, but doing so myself.

My parents actually taught me to “use sauce packets from restaurants” and I really didn’t want to admit they may have been wrong about this. As I mentioned before we rarely even went to McDonalds or the pizza place anyway.

After some consideration, I concede that overall, it’s probably not a really practical “hack” for most people, and there are many other ways to save money consistently.

I seem to keep offending people recently and I’m not sure why. Maybe the new CAF is a providential time for me to take a break.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

Our children only eat about 20% of what we put in front of them, so now we only feed them on Wednesdays and Sundays.

No. Not really.

Our kids are similar. As such, with the younger ones in particular, we adjust how much we make per meal to account for them not eating as much or not eating at all. It irks some family who don’t like the idea of them not cleaning their plates, but regardless of how hard you worked on a meal, I’m not going to load up my child’s plate with food she won’t eat and then throw it away after.

 

[Gordon_Sims]

My parents actually taught me to “use sauce packets from restaurants” and I really didn’t want to admit they may have been wrong about this. As I mentioned before we rarely even went to McDonalds or the pizza place anyway.

I meant to mention earlier that we save packets as well, especially dipping sauces for nuggets. Our girls never finish off two packets of sauce regardless of what kind we get. However, we always make sure we get both packets when we order a 10-piece. They never go to waste because somebody will always use it at home, either for chicken, chips or something else they want to dip. It saves us from buying extra barbecue sauce or ranch dressing. We don’t necessarily take extra Taco Bell sauce but we never use as much as they give us. The extras always end up in our fridge. We don’t order a lot of pizza but when we do it seems as though they always give us tons of extra grated cheese and pepper flakes. Those never go to waste, although we’ve cut so far back on ordering pizza that I finally broke down and bought my own pepper flakes.

We’ll take or ask for extra salt, pepper, ketchup and mustard occasionally if we’re going on a picnic or something similar and don’t want to or have room to pack a full bottle. It’s typically never more than 3-4 packets (sometimes the cashier will give us a lot more–not that we ask for more, they just occasionally give us a big handful instead of a few packets) and it’s always when we’ve made a purchase so it’s not like we run in, use the bathroom and then stuff our pockets with condiments. I really can’t comprehend why anyone would take issue with this.

 

[bmaj]

Thanks so much for starting this thread, ToeInTheWater!!! There are so many excellent ideas here that I couldn’t stop reading them all. You’re a peach.

I have to second what someone else recommended about the dollar store. It can’t be beat for so many different items, especially craft supplies, coloring books, office supplies, gift bags, wrapping paper, toothbrushes, glassware, and greeting cards. Some of the cards are even 2/$1! I’ve found Dollar Tree is by far the best of all the dollar stores with the most inventory and choices.

Walmart’s Saving Catcher program of entering your receipt online (or by cellphone) to have them check to determine if there were better prices on sale at other nearby stores is tremendous. If they find a lower price nearby, you automatically get the difference in cash back onto an e-gift card. Those small amounts really add up, even after only a short time.

The Discover card’s cash back program is great as well - provided you pay off the credit card balance every month to avoid interest charges. Many other credit card companies offer similar programs, too. Those bonus amounts really add up, and if you cash them in for gift cards that allow you, for example, to spend only $20 in points to receive a $25 gift card, you save twice!

I avoid spending money for Amazon Prime since I can get the free shipping by just putting items into my saved list and waiting to order items until I have enough to meet the minimum requirement for free shipping. And the free shipping usually always is much faster than they even estimate when you place the order!

Our local library has great free use of Ancestry.com and other such websites that normally require a substantial individual paid subscription, not to mention free borrowing of fantastic books and DVDs! Plus they have great book sales where I can find new or like-new hardcover books to give as gifts for only a dollar or two!

Thanks again for the thread, and God’s blessings to everyone!

 

[bitterhope]

It’s also always good to check your habits and see how they add up. My husband and I don’t smoke or drink alcohol at all. That saves a lot of money. We only have soft drinks on birthdays or at restaurants. We very rarely buy food out or junk food at home. Desserts are fruit based and very rarely anything but plain fruit. All of that save money.

 

[Bonnie]

It’s also always good to check your habits and see how they add up. My husband and I don’t smoke or drink alcohol at all. That saves a lot of money. We only have soft drinks on birthdays or at restaurants. We very rarely buy food out or junk food at home. Desserts are fruit based and very rarely anything but plain fruit. All of that save money.

We do similar for health reasons. Amazing how eating healthful foods can also save money.

 

[DarkLight]

There’s also sites that’ll show you what you can buy for under X dollars on amazon. Useful in certain cases.

I’m 4c away from free shipping at the moment, so it’s cheaper to buy a pack of safety pins or something than it is to pay for shipping.

 

[ToeInTheWater]

The Discover card’s cash back program is great as well - provided you pay off the credit card balance every month to avoid interest charges. Many other credit card companies offer similar programs, too. Those bonus amounts really add up, and if you cash them in for gift cards that allow you, for example, to spend only $20 in points to receive a $25 gift card, you save twice!

**Bmaj, ** first of all, thanks for the very kind words!

You really made my CAF day, I was feeling a little down earlier and I feel better now.

I have a Discover Card that I pay off each month, and have certainly used the gift cards both for myself and as actual gifts. Also note the Discover website has a “shopping portal” that lets you earn 5% back at many major retailers.

I also use Ebates. Helps that they have a Chrome extension. Now, with this kind of “cash back” portal website you have to pick one. However, you can still “stack” the rewards with “reward points” offered by retailers themselves.

I use Ebay frequently and they have the “Ebay Bucks” program. The base reward is only 1% back. However, EBay periodically (about every 2- 4 weeks) offers “Promotional Bucks” of as much as 8% back. So if I don’t need an item immediately (especially as many EBay volume sellers have more than 1 of an item in stock) I’ll “watch” it and buy it during a promotional period.

Also, if you are in an airline frequent flyer program, many airlines also have “web shopping portals” that you can earn extra miles by using to click through to retailer websites.

 

[EasterJoy]

Our kids are similar. As such, with the younger ones in particular, we adjust how much we make per meal to account for them not eating as much or not eating at all. It irks some family who don’t like the idea of them not cleaning their plates, but regardless of how hard you worked on a meal, I’m not going to load up my child’s plate with food she won’t eat and then throw it away after.

The truth is that the sight of far more food than a person is hungry for can ruin what appetite they have. It is far better to serve less and re-fill. As for meal preparation, make what you know will be eaten and if you’re afraid of running short then have something around to supplement that has a lot longer shelf life, should that be necessary,