Saving Money around the House

A side benefit to being frugal with money (ie. broke) occured
recently when the children wanted to decorate cupcakes. We'd run out
of sprinkles but my!, they were amazed that I could make colored
sugar. They kept hollering, "Look! Mama MADE this sugar! Look, it's
colored!" I've learned a few other things about being frugal in the
house in this hard time:

* Buying generic brands in everything is frustrating to me, but it
has also introduced me to a few alternate products. The store-brand
Saltines in one store, for example, taste like the Premium brand.

* Laundry gets just as clean on a longer cycle with half the
detergent called for on the box.

* Breakfast is cheaper by far without cold cereal. Cereal uses too
much expensive milk! I've been making muffins, pancakes, cinnamon
rolls, etc.

* The children don't NEED prepared snack foods like Cheez-Its and
Rold Gold pretzels. They will keep content as long as they have
SOMEthing when they are hungry.

* Free, fresh eggs from our chickens are awfully useful

* Margarine, even though I'm NOT happy to have it instead of butter,
at least spreads more easily.

* The chickens can live - and thrive - on only table scraps (thanks
to the baby, we have plenty!) and free ranging (that's a term for
letting them loose).