City and school district officials are working right now on cutting millions of dollars from their budgets. But we're all figuring out how to do more with less.
How do you balance your family's budget? What areas have you cut back, and how has that affected your family? What's your best cost-saving tip?
Meatless dinners (like pasta with pesto, or omelets made to order) also keep costs down, since protein is often the most expensive component of a meal. I've started coloring my hair at home every other treatment to save on what I spend at the salon. We bake our own bread and rolls several times a month and growing fresh vegetables and herbs in containers at home is significantly less expensive than buying at the store. Fresher and tastier too!
we grow a lot of our own veggies and hope to can lots this summer. I shop second hand for many of the kids clothing. I started seriously couponing over the last few months mostly for personal care items , toothpaste , body wash and such. We never pay full price for anything. Most things we need go on sale eventually I go to the Aveda Institute for haircuts and color at home We try and recycle and repurpose things. use reusable containers(water, lunch bags etc) We cook as much as we can at home Saving money has become a passion as much as it has become a necessity.
We're also putting off getting a new car. We paid off my husband's car and had intended to just replace mine at that time, so we never have more than one car payment at a time. But instead, we're socking away what we would have paid to a bank, and when I need to replace my car, we'll have a fat down payment.