Go homemade: It costs less to cook from scratch AND you get the added benefit of less food wasted. Whenever anyone I know buys one of those precooked holiday meals there’s a ton leftovers because those precooked meals just don’t taste that great. Why buy food if you’re going to toss it? It is more time consuming to cook homemade, but if you gather everyone together to help it makes it faster (and more fun).

Buy frozen holiday food: Normally I say go fresh and organic, however with the sheer bulk of holiday food that most families buy, frozen foods are almost just as healthy and costs less. Go fresh with your salad fixings but buy side veggies like broccoli and corn frozen. Fresh fruit is expensive this time of year, so look for frozen strawberries, raspberries, and other fruits in frozen form for tarts, cookies, pies, and sauces. Most frozen fruits and veggies are available in organic too.

Think cans: On the same note as the above canned fruits for pies can save you cash. I never suggest canned veggies because I think they taste terrible PLUS unless you want a side of BPA for the holidays it’s safer to skip the canned veggies.

Know when to go cheap and when to splurge: You should splurge on an organic turkey and fresh veggies for a raw veggie tray, but empty calorie foods like chips, soda, and so on taste pretty much the same if you buy name brand or store brand. Going cheap on the less meaningful food saves you cash to splurge on nicer foods – i.e. fruit and cheese.

Stretch and compost leftovers: If you bought too much food, the best thing is to make yummy leftovers with it. We have some great holiday leftover ideas here at Thrifty Mommy. You can also compost which is a great way to get an early start on healthy soil for spring.

What are some other ways to save money on Christmas dinner?

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When you wait too long, you may be forced to pick up national vs. store brands of items like condensed milk and pie filling, which will cost you.  Save fresh fruits and veggies as day before buys, but get everything else early.

Share the fame: I know folks who want to whip up an entire holiday spread all on their own, because they think they’re the best cook or because they like food just so so. However, if you’re open to other people’s dishes, you can save money when family members show up with pies and other dishes.

Keep it green: Cloth napkins and real dishes save lots of money. I know that there’s time time spent washing real dishes vs. tossing disposables and cloth textiles, but in the long run it will save you money and save the planet. Instead of wax candles go with some reusable LED tea lights on the table – no soot and reusable is greener and healthier. If you want to go extreme green and save way more cash, make it a vegetarian or at least mostly veggie holiday. You don’t need fancy cold cuts before the meal and both a ham and turkey. Choose one meat or say to heck with all of it. Less meat it healthier for you and the earth and your wallet.

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One concern that some have about switching to cloth napkins is the cost involved. Here are some ways to save.

1)  Shop for used napkins.  You can find napkins at thrift stores and yard sales.  Many times you can find interesting fabrics and laces that you can no longer find in the stores.

2)  Make your own.  Use scrap fabric that you already have or make them from an old sheet.

3)  Check the dollar store or close out store.  My mom was able to find three packages of napkins at a pottery store for only $1 per pack.  That’s 12 napkins for only $3. 

4)  Ask your mom or grandma.  Mention to your them that you would like to have some cloth napkins and they might just have some shoved in a cabinet somewhere that they haven’t used in years.  Moms and grandmas are good for stuff like that.

5)  Improvise.  We used dish towels for a few days and my hubby and I actually like these pretty well because they are soft and absorbent.  One of my readers at Keeping the Castle suggested using bandanas.

Have you made the switch to cloth napkins?

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Not sure if you know this, but while I do write on other topics, my main interest is green living. It’s what I write about most of the time, what I think about almost all the time, and in my opinion, green living can be applied to almost anything, including finances and your budget.

Here are two green living ideas that can save you money each day:

1. Using cloth over paper whenever possible: Using cloth napkins, cloths for cleaning, and cloth handkerchiefs is a great way to save cash and the environment.

Example:

Set of basic cloth napkins for a week for a family of four = about $70-100 (note that if you go the thrift store route, you could score cloth napkins for a song; I’m talking $15 for a week’s worth of napkins).

Basic paper napkins for a week for a family of four = about$8.37 BUT that’s also around $435 per year, where as the cloth napkins are a one-time purchase that can last years. So if your cloth napkins last only two years, you still save around $700. Cut out paper towels for cloth and we’re talking HUGE savings.

2. Make your own cleaners vs. buying new household cleaners: This can save you money in two ways. One, ingredients for homemade cleaners are way cheaper and go further than store bought bottles of cleaners. Two, many store bought cleaners are toxic, and who knows if you’ll end up sick and with doctors bills due to the cleaners?

Example:

One bottle of say, store bought toxic tub and tile cleaner is about $6. Or you could buy a bottle of tub and tile cleaner that’s safer, but still around the same price – $6. Either way, if you buy a bottle every two months that’s about $36 a year. NOT counting all the other cleaning products you buy.

If instead, you buy a big box of store brand baking soda for $2, and use that (sprinkle in your tub, scrub with water), you’ll save a lot. One large box of baking soda usually lasts me about four months or more, and I use it for tubs, toilets, sinks, and more. You save about $30 per year IF all you count is the tub cleaner. If you make all your own homemade cleaners you’ll save tons more.

Learn how to make 25 Safe, Non-toxic, Homemade Cleaning Supplies.

If you’re interested in other ways that living green can actually save you green you might want to subscribe to the Thrifty Mommy news feed (it’s totally free!). From time to time, I’ll post other green saving tips.

How are you living green and saving money? Let me know in the comments…

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Before you place an item in your cart or on your credit card ask yourself the following questions…

1. Do I really need this?
2. Will the item improve my world? My family’s world? How?
   
3. Can I live without it?
4. Am I only buying this item because it’s on sale? Plenty of people buy items because they’re a deal, not because it’s something they actually need.
5. Do I have another item at home that would work just as well? EXAMPLE: You own a blender; you don’t need a baby food maker.
6. Can I borrow or share the item? Maybe you and your brother can share a set of specialty tools. Maybe your neighbors and you can share a lawnmower.
7. Why am I buying this? It might seem simple. You might think another set of dishes is totally necessary, but if you’re just bored with blue plates, that’s not the best reason to buy new. Really consider if boredom or trying to impress someone else is behind your purchase. A purchase should be about need if your goal is to save money.
8. Is the item recyclable? I know this isn’t a green blog, but often green living and saving money go hand in hand. Green living is a lot about buying less to conserve resources. When you stop to question the eco-value of an item, you also may stop to consider if it’s really necessary.
9. Is the item well-made? It pays to pay more for an item that won’t break in a year.
10. Do I really need this? - You should always start and end with this question. It’s the most important of the bunch.

Ten questions seems like a lot right? But all that stuff you have and never use is also a lot, both on your space issues and it’s a lot on your wallet. While you don’t need to use all the questions above when shopping, you should work out a list of questions that works well for you. It’s the practice of stopping to think that saves you cash, not the exact questions you follow.

What questions do you ask before you buy?

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I asked Noel a few questions and he was gracious enough to let us in on his thoughts.

TM: How did you come up with the idea for your blog?

Noel: I wanted a blog about solar, wind, and other alternative energy, as well as conservation, recycling and stuff like that. I like solar powered gadgets and am fascinated with the technology behind alternative energy.

TM: Why are you so interested in living a life unplugged?

Noel: I guess it starts when I was still at school. I was so interested in the idea of producing your own power from the sun. It is free and unlimited! And you get to help stop global warming.

TM: Do you have a particular thorn in your side with living off mother earth?

Noel: I watched Al Gore’s “The Inconvenient Truth” and all I can say is that the human race has already done a lot of damage. Weather patterns are getting worse, more rains in some parts and drought in another. Sea levels are continually rising. A lot of people are getting affected. I can’t say that I can change the world but through unplugged living, probably some people might become interested in “green technologies” and help offload mother nature.

TM: Would you say green living is easy for you or hard?

Noel: Green living doesn’t need to be hard. For me, it starts with doing things that are easy. Then, when it becomes a habit, I can get a little bit uncomfortable again. One might start with just changing from ordinary lightbulbs to CFL. Then they could start waste segregation and recycling, then later on they might want to use green technologies such as hybrid cars, electric cars, and then further down the road, one might think about using solar/wind and other renewable energy sources.

Noel, you seem to realize that green living and thrifty living can be one in the same. Thank you for taking the time to talk with us. Hope you have a great week.

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Does anybody remember Ed Begley Jr? I loved him on 7^th Heaven. He played the OB-GYN brother-in-law. Now, he and his wife have their own reality show. Turns out, he is a real environmentalist who tried every way possible to save energy and the environment. I bet tuning in will be an educational experience for us thrifty people. Solar panels and his own garden are a few ways that he tries to save money and the earth. We should be able to get some great ideas from him. But from what I can tell from the official website, Living with Ed, his wife, Rachelle isn’t quite as thrifty. Who could blame her though? It doesn’t look like she has to worry about pinching pennies too often. Nonetheless, the show should be eye-opening.

Thanks, Lynn for the heads up.

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