One of the best frugal tips I've found is freezer cooking.  I searched the internet, read blogs about freezer cooking, as well as a library book (very resourceful).  Over time I gathered recipes and ideas that made it fun and easy. 

It is just as easy to make two of something as it is one.  Put one in the oven or on the stove for supper.  Wrap the other in aluminum foil, label, and freeze for another day.  Our freezer menu currently includes chili, chili-beans, chicken casserole, mexican casserole, lasagna, taco meat, spaghetti meat sauce, marinated chicken tenders, mashed potatoes, rolls, muffins . . .  yummmm - my. 

So, how does filling the freezer save money?  When it's been a busy day and there is little or no time for dinner preparations, what do ya do?  Load four kids in the minivan and head out to eat, of course.  Well, if the freezer is full of delicious meals that require little preparation - dinner is covered.  No time to thaw?  No problem.  Just take the amount of baking time for the regular recipe, half it.  Add half to the original baking time.  So, if it normally bakes for 30 min., frozen it would bake for 45 min. (30 + 15).  Or just bake it until it's hot when you stick your finger in the middle (lol). 

I've read about ladies cooking one day a month for the entire month.  I think it is a great way to save time.  Some team up with other mom's who have families similar in size and cook together.  Others cook several of the same entree and then trade with others for different entrees.  I usually just cook extra here and there, stocking the freezer gradually.

After the births of my last two babies, I didn't cook for four or five weeks.  Friends and family brought us food for a week or two (thank you family and friends) and then we started on our freezer meals.  It gave me extra time to focus on healing, enjoying our newborn, and loving on our older children. 

Some of my favorite recipes can be found here.

I'm always on the look out for new ways to cut our budget and save us money.  I make it my goal to try one new tip, recipe, or method each week.  If I don't mind it, I keep it.  If I hate it, I keep looking.  Over time, I've implemented enough of the "don't hate it's" to save us some significant money. 

I didn't wake up one day and make our laundry detergent, fabric softener, cleaning products, baby wipes...  I gradually, little by little added these into my normal routine.   

The recipes are fairly simple and quick to make.  It doesn't help me to do homemade if I have to go buy that item at full price to last me until I make more.  When for instance my laundry detergent gets low, I pour the remainder in a jar.  I know I have two or three days to make more.  To help me remember, I bring the container to the kitchen.  I'll see it often there and make more when it's convenient for me. 

The most important thing, is to find a method and system that works.  If buying these items on sale vs. making them homemade works better for you, then do it!  Be good at it!  Find the best coupons and the best sales. 

If you hate it DON'T DO IT!  This homemade dishwasher detergent recipe was a disaster!  No matter how cheap it is to make, it's not worth it to me!  So, I'm always looking for coupons and sales.  Recently I purchased two large dishwasher powders and 20 diswasher tablets at Rite Aid for a total of $3.60.  That was a great deal! 

New tips, recipes, and methods + little by little - the "hate it's" = money saved = debt paid = peace of mind!

As my family grows, so does the amount of groceries in my cart.  I'm learning little tricks along the way to make grocery shopping easier. 

For instance, at the checkout unload the large stuff first!  Getting the heavy items in the cart first keeps from crushing fragile foods like bread or grapes. 

Store layouts vary, but the fresh foods are on the perimeter of the store.  The packaged goods are in the center.  I write my list by category (produce, bread, frozen, canned...)  If I'm using a coupon, I'll mark a C next to the item.  If it's a sale item, I'll mark S next to the item.  This bit of list planning saves me from backtracking.

Another cool tip I picked up along the way is to use the stores' Web sites.  Many store sites let you print coupons or even download coupons to your savings card.  It's also a great way to get freebies.  Check to see if they have kid clubs or baby clubs.  They usually send you something special each month for your babe or for the bigger kids birthdays. 

A little extra planning makes for a successful grocery trip!  It saves me time and money.  This mom of four can always use more of both!

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life As Mom.

Lazy Day Lasagna

(Makes a 9X13 pan or 2 – 8X8)

• Cottage cheese – 12 oz.
• Shredded Mozzarella Cheese – 2 cups
• Eggs – 2
• Parsley (chopped) – 1/3 cup
• Onion powder – 1t.
• Basil – ½ t.
• Pepper – 1/8 t.
• Spaghetti Sauce (homemade or not) – 32 oz.
• Cooked ground beef – ¾ cup
• Lasagna noodles, uncooked – 9
• Water – ¾ cup

Multiply the ingredients by however many you want to make. I usually make six at a time. 

In a large bowl, mix cottage cheese, mozzarella cheese, eggs, parsley, onion powder, basil and pepper until well blended.  Set aside.  In a medium bowl, mix together spaghetti sauce and cooked ground beef.

In baking dish, spread ¾ cup meat sauce on the bottom.  Layer 3 uncooked noodles on tip of the meat sauce.  Next spread ½ of cheese mixture and 1 ½ cup meat sauce.  Layer 3 more uncooked noodles on top of the meat sauce.  Spread with remaining cheese mixture.  Top with remaining 3 noodles and remaining sauce.  Pour water around the outside edges.  Cover the top of the lasagna with wax paper and then the foil.  Freeze. 

When you are ready to serve, remove from freezer and thaw at least overnight in the fridge.  Bake covered at 375 degrees (remove wax paper before placing in oven) for 45 minutes.  Uncover and bake an additional 15 minutes.  Let stand for 10 minutes.  Serve with grated Parmesan cheese, if desired. 

To bake from the frozen stage, add 30 minutes to the total baking time.

This post is linked to the Ultimate Recipe Swap at Life As Mom and Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

October has arrived bringing wonderful color, fragrant, cool breezes, apple-cider, pumpkins, and hayrides.  Dry leaves rustle pleasantly beneath feet.  Scarecrows, sweaters, long walks, the harvest moon...sigh.  I ♥ October!  

The days, weeks, months, and seasons hurtle past us at breakneck speed.  Do we even pause to acknowledge autumn's arrival?  These simple pleasures should be savored and celebrated, but we have so little time!  Let's step away from the accelerated pace to enjoy happier moments with our families.  Let's not bring out the family traditions once a year like the turkey platter, but rather year-round celebrations that can be intergrated into even the busiest lives. 

Are traditions really worth all the time they take?  Does a family really need to observe customs and traditions?  Umm, yeah.  Traditions bind generations together as we continue the family customs our grandparents enjoyed.  Simple pleasures that amused children hundreds of years ago are still amusing today!  If some of the old customs of generations past don't fit your lives, alter them.  Give them a contemporary twist.  Be creative.  Make memories. 

October Memory Making Activity:  Bobbing for Apples

Choose as many fine, large apples as there are participants.  The game is played by filling a tub or a large basin with water and putting apples in the water. Because apples are less dense than water, they will float at the surface. Players then try to catch one with their teeth. Use of hands is not allowed!  Variation:  apples are suspended from string.

What's your favorite October Activity?  Tried the leaf rubbing from September?

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life As Mom and Works For Me Wednesday at We Are THAT Family.

The girls in the Trent household love a good pedicure.  They are expensive.  I've learned to do them at home for cheap. 

Gather all your supplies, a glass of water, laptop, bible, or other good book. 

Step 1:  Buy a cheap foot or body soak.  You can easily find them for $1 ( Dollar Tree).  I like the mint scents.  Pour into tub of hot water and soak your feet for 10-20 minutes.  (Use this time to read and sip on water.)

Step 2:  Using a pumice rock or ped egg or foot paddle (buy one for $1 at Dollar Tree) scrub rough areas on feet.  Rinse.

Step 3:  Dry your feet and apply a cheap facial mask (again, $1).  I apply it to my entire feet including my ankles.  Follow facial instructions for length of time and rinsing. (More time to read and sip on water.)

Step 4:  Generously apply vaseline to feet, wrap in plastic wrap.  Leave on 10 minutes.  Remove wrap and rinse. (Keep drinking my water.)

Step 5:  Clip and Shape toenails.  Use an emery board to give your nails a perfect shape.

Step 6:  Paint toenails your favorite color. 

Spend less than $10 for products that will last many pedicures to come.  Enjoy a savings of $20 or more per pedicure!

I've treated my girls to their own spa pedicures.  I plan special activities for the soaking and waiting.  I have fun questions for us to answer like, "If you won a million dollars...", "If you could go anywhere in the world..."  I read them stories.  We talk about virtues and true beauty that comes from within. 

This would also make an excellent, frugal, beautiful gift basket.   

You can treat your feet and be refreshed on a budget!  

For more Frugal Friday, visit Life As Mom.

You can easily make your own toothpaste.  Just blend a teaspoon of ground cinnamon with two teaspoons of baking soda and two teaspoons of water.  Cheap.  Chemical free.  Handy to know in a pinch. 

I'm not giving up my minty fresh toothpaste but I must say that it worked well!

This post is linked to Frugal Friday at Life As Mom.

Today is Frugal Friday at Life As Mom.  She shares her family's secret to saving on hand soap.  Families with many small kids use tons of hand soap. 

We have a hand soap tip too!  

I received a delightful gift with a bottle of foaming hand soap from Bath and Body Works.  The kids and I love it!

As an experiment, I poured some hand soap in the empty foaming bottle from a refill bottle I had purchased inexpensively.  It worked well but seemed a little too thick.  So, I added water.  Works perfectly!  

I fill the bottle with a little more than half soap.  I couldn't say the exact soap to water ratio.  I just eyeball it. 

A great way to stretch the hand soap. 

Bonus:  Kids love the foam! 

Happy Frugal Friday!  Enjoy the savings at Life As Mom! 

Still loving 39dollarglasses.com!  Both my husband and I are wearing them!  Received a new coupon code for $10 off.  Guess that makes them 29 dollar glasses, huh? 

Coupon Code:  SPRING09

We wear our glasses all the time.  Both the chief and I were contact wearers for years and sadly for unrelated reasons we can no longer wear them.    Let's just say, our glasses are tried and true, lol.  (Think:  the chief weed eating and mowing in his! yikes!)

I'm not a paid endorser!  (Although a free pair of glasses would be nice.)  After paying $200 plus for glasses and having them scratch, crack, and break - we are thrilled!  So thrilled, we can't help sharing our money saving tip!

Read more about my 39dollarglasses.com experience here.

Linked to Frugal Friday at Life as Mom.

I've really enjoyed our homemade dryer sheets.

I discovered that I like the same recipe even better in the rinse cycle. 

2 cups water

1 cup vinegar

2/3 cup of any hair conditioner

Stir together.  (Don't shake.)

Add not even 1/4 cup (I don't know exactly cause I eyeball it) per load of laundry.  I calculated my cost at less than 1/2  cent per load!   

For more Frugal Friday, visit Life As Mom.