Ways I Save Money For Our Family

With prices going up constantly I am always looking for ways to save money for the household expenses in any way I can.    

In the cooking department I am cooking from scratch as much whenever possible.  Yesterday I made a big pot of homemade stew and  and it will be leftovers for a couple of days also.  It cost me about $12.00 for the stew meat, a can of tomato soup for around 69 cents, a package of frozen peas for $1.00,  a small package of fresh carrots for around $2.00, and  about 6 or 7 medium potatoes and an onion for probably a couple of dollars.  My family of five are big eaters which includes three adult children and my husband and me and this is a filling meal for them.  It's healthy too with all the fresh vegetables in it.   To go along with the beef stew I've been making homemade baking powder biscuits.  They are super cheap to make and only take 2 cups of flour, some shortening, baking powder and salt.  The recipe for the biscuits is here if you'd like it.  I will have to get the recipe for the stew written down.  It's really kind of something I make by guess.

We've also been saving some money by keeping the thermostat down a lot more than we used to.  It gets pretty cold here in Michigan in the winter.  Wearing a sweater and slippers helps keep you warmer.  Also covering up with blankets while you're sitting helps out.   Keeping something by the door to keep the draft out also does help.  I also keep the curtains shut when the sun goes down.  

Clipping coupons for things I use is something I always have done and still do to save money.  Sometimes the generic brand is just as good and many times I just buy generic brands, especially for something like flour, sugar, and some canned items.   My husband just found out he likes a store brand of crackers better than a name brand so that's a savings.

I haven't been buying as much clothes as I used to.  Clothes are expensive and the only way I will buy some are if they are on sale.  Clearance sections are a great place to look also.  I also wash laundry in cold water a lot of times when clothes aren't really that dirty.  That saves on energy to heat up the water for washing clothes.

We also plant a garden every year and plant lots of veggies.  I'm still using onions that we harvested last summer.  Canning also can save money and tastes a lot better than store bought food.  I can tomatoes and use them for chili and goulash.  This coming summer I want to try canning some other veggies and possibly some fruits.

These are some ways that I help out to save money for our family.  Do you have some tips on saving money?  I'd love to hear them!