The Modern American Frugal Housewife Books #1-3

Table of Contents

Book #1: Home Economics

Introduction

Saving on Insurance

Having Good Credit Helps You to Save

Saving With Credit Cards

Using Debit Cards Can Help You To Save Money

Grocery Store Fuel Rewards/Gas Points

Additional Savings with Gift Card Purchases

Avoid Unnecessary Bank Fees

Save Your Stamps and Avoid Paying Late Fees

Free/Low Cost Financial Services

Budgets

Cut the Cellphone Subscription

Cut the Cable

Indulge in Other Activities

Deal-A-Day Websites

Cash-Back Websites

Pack A Lunch

Saving on Food

Forage!

Volunteer at A Local Food Bank

Grow Your Own Vegetables

Pick Your Own

Frugal Tips for Shopping at Your Grocery Store

Safeway

Warehouse Stores - Costco

Invest in an Extra Freezer/Fridge

Cook It!

Make What You Often Consume

Cook in Bulk

Save Money by Cooking More Efficiently

Basic Kitchen Items You’ll Need

Leftovers Make a New Meal

Simple Make-At-Home Meal Ideas

Simple Money Saving From-Scratch Recipes

Granola Bars

Homemade Vanilla Extract

Homemade Applesauce

Steak with Side

Microwaved Baked Potato

Stretching a Chicken

Baked Chicken with Rice

Homemade Five-Spice Powder

Many-Purpose Homemade Season Salt

Baked Chicken Variations

Chicken Pot Pie

Chicken Salad

Homemade Mayonnaise

Homemade Bread

Stock

Saving Around the House

Saving on Heating Costs

Saving on Cooling Costs

Kill Those Energy Vampires

Join the Energy Choice Program

Half Your Consumption

Homemade Dishwasher Powder

Save with Distilled White Vinegar

All-Purpose Cleaning Spray

Scouring Paste

Cleaning the Garbage Disposal With Vinegar

Toilet Cleaner

Natural Air Freshener

Laundry

Homemade Laundry Soap

Conclusion

Book #2: Organic Gardening

Introduction

Planting Containers

Clean the Pots Before Planting

How to Clean Your Pots

Topsoil

Steaming to Sterilize

Sterilizing in the Oven

Potting Soil

Mulch

Plant Hardiness Zones

Microclimate

Soil Testing

Native Plants

Seeds

Seedlings/Plants

Heirloom vs Hybrids

Protecting Your Plants from Frost

Cold Frames

Compost

Compost Tea

Pesticides

Frugal Plants for the Kitchen Frugal

Rosemary

Propagation

Planting

Basil

Planting

Harvesting

Seed Saving

Mint

Planting

Harvesting

Cilantro

Planting

Harvesting

Seed Saving

Green Onions

Planting

Sage

Planting

Harvesting

Oregano

Planting

Tomatoes

Planting

Hardening Tomatoes

Trellising

Planting Techniques

Harvesting

Seed Saving

Zucchini/Squash

Planting

Fruit Production

Harvesting

Storage

Seed Saving

Potatoes

Sprouting Your Potatoes

Ground Planting

Container Planting

Harvesting

Seed Saving

Peppers

Planting

Harvesting

Seed Saving

Recipes

Chilli/Onion/Garlic Powder

Lemon Sage Seasoning

Homemade Italian Seasoning

Rosemary Focaccia Bread

Russian-Style Fermented Tomatoes

Conclusion

Book #3: Moms Edition

Introduction

Prenatal Costs

Medicaid

Military Coverage

Paying on a Sliding Scale

Saving Ideas If You Have Insurance

Make Sure Your Baby Is Insured

Free Eye-Exams

Feeding Your Baby

Women, Infants and Children

Saving On Formula

Get It for Free

Sign Up for Loyalty Programs

Buy in Bulk

See If Your Insurance Will Cover It

Make it Yourself

Baby Bottles

Diapers

Sleeping Arrangements

Car Seats

Clothing

Facebook BST Groups

ThredUp

Free Books

The Public Library

Free Physical Books to Keep

Free eBooks

Community Resources

Baby Food

Storage

Slickdeals.net

Cashback Sites

Saving with Gift Cards

Gas Points

Amazon.com

Amazon Price-Matching

Amazon Prime Membership

Amazon.com Rewards Visa

Kohl’s/Macy’s/Dillard’s

Variable Pricing

Price-Matching At Kohl’s

Coupons

Stacking Coupons

Manufacturer and Competitor Coupons

Stacking Coupons and Price-Matching Deals

Kohl’s Cash (KC)

Kohl’s Charge Card

Kohl’s Emails

Yes2You Rewards

Rebates

Keeping Up to Date on Kohl’s Deals

Target

Mark Down Schedule

Price-Matching at Target

Stacking Deals at Target

Gift Card Deals

Coupon Overage

Target REDcard

Wal-mart

Price-Matching at Walmart

Walmart Savings Catcher

Making Your Own Personal Care Products

Homemade Lip Balm

Homemade Tubed Lip Balm

Homemade Deodorant

Homemade Soap

Lye

Getting Free Fat for Your Soap

Soap Making Process

Homemade Laundry Soap

Homemade Washing Soda

Homemade Toothpaste

Staples/Office Depot/Office Max

Staples Price-Matching

Using Coupons at Staples

Using In-Store Only Coupons On Online-Only Items

Stacking Coupons

Rebates

Ultimate Couponing - Making A Profit After Rebate

Staples Rewards

Free After Rewards

The Ink Recycling Program

Back To School (BTS)

Keeping Up to Date on Staples’ Deals

Saving for the Kids

College Savings

529 College Savings Account

Prepaid Tuition

UGMAs and UTMAs

Tax Credits

Child Tax Credits

Earned Income Credits

Conclusion

Books By Jill b.

One Last Thing

About the Author

Introduction

Great wealth is a gift from heaven; moderate wealth results from frugality. - Chinese Proverb

This book was inspired by The American Frugal Housewife which was published in 1833 by American abolitionist, women's rights activist and journalist, Lydia Maria Child. Her book was of course, written with an 1800s American mindset. However, many of the ideas of frugality and of stretching one’s resources, if updated, can still apply well in the 21st century.

This book is that 21st century update to the original book. Some ideas may not be new to some readers. However, it might not be new to others. I will try my best to include as much information within this topic as possible, even if some points may seem like common sense to some readers.

Perhaps you are on a budget and would like more ideas on how to save money. Perhaps you are a stay-at-home parent who wants to find more ways to lower household costs. Whatever your reason, the main intent of my writing this book is so that you can learn how you too can save money for your household.

This book is not about going without - life’s too short for that but far too long to be constantly worrying about money. Remember that frugality should not be confused with being cheap. It is not about always paying the lowest price but rather, buying items that offer the best value. That is, buying stuff that works and lasts. Buying something cheap that you don’t really need, or that breaks after one or two uses is not being frugal.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

Ask! Ask! Ask! For Discounts/Extras/Freebies

I’m going to make this my first and most important tip: Ask nicely for discounts/extras/freebies!

●  When you’re shopping, ask if you can get a discount on something that is dinged, is a display item or is close to its expiration date.

●  If you are shopping for insurance, ask your agent if you qualify for additional discounts. Extra discounts may be granted based on age, gender, marital status, professional or college affiliations.

●  If applicable, ask if any military/senior discounts are available. Here is a list of merchants that will grant military discounts. You can refer to http://bit.ly/1y1yzax to start you off.

●  If you are making a big purchase, ask the store if they can throw in extras. It helps to talk to the manager or if it’s a small company, talk to the owner. In some cases, the salesperson may have enough say to approve the request. You may make it easier for the seller to say yes by specifying the freebie(s) you’d like at the time of your request. For example, you can ask If you buy 5 of this item, can you get this other item for free?

Remember: the best case scenario if you ask is that you save extra money or get something for free. The worst that will happen to you is that you’ll get a no for a reply and you don’t get what you asked for. If you don’t ask, you will definitely not get anything!

Saving on Insurance

Mrs Child never mentioned insurance in her book. Perhaps insurance was not as prevalent in the 1830s, or perhaps it was simply something that the American housewife did not worry about in the 1800s. Today, insurance is very much a part of American life, whether you are a housewife or not.

Shop Around

As with everything else, always shop around. Good places to start are your state insurance department (http://1.usa.gov/1uJ0FkR), BankRate.com (http://bankrate.com) or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (http://www.naic.org). That way, you will have an idea of what the average insurance rates in your area are.

Price is not the only factor to consider.  Insurer service, reputation and financial stability are all additional factors to consider. After all, you’d want the risk of your insurer folding before your possible claim is paid to be as low as possible!

There are a few ways to check up on your insurer. Firstly, you can check the company’s financial stability at A.M. Best (http://www.ambest.com) and Standard & Poor’s (http://www.standardandpoors.com). Secondly, look out for news terms like financial problems, trouble or claims associated with the company name. These terms indicate potential problems with the insurer. Poor customer service, records of claim disputes and being slow to pay on claims could also be indicators of a non-performing insurer.

Raise Your Deductible

A deductible is the amount of money you have to foot towards a loss before your insurance company pays out. That is, if your house was burgled and about $300 worth of household items was stolen, if your deductible is $500, the insurer will not pay out. If instead, you lost $600 in the burglary, the insurer will pay you $100 (after factoring in the $500 deductible).

The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums. Most insurers recommend having at least a $500 deductible. However, if you think you can afford to raise your deductible, you can save up to 25% on your premiums. Again, not everything is black and white. If you live in a disaster-prone area, you might want to spring for lower deductibles against those risks (eg flood, earthquakes, wildfire, hail etc).

Bundle Your Policies

Some insurers will discount your premiums if you buy more than one kind of insurance from them. For example, you may get a discount if you have life, auto and/or home insurance with one company. However, do not assume that that is the best deal. Again, shopping around. Reassess your costs and needs annually.

Improvements May Reduce Homeowner’s Insurance Premiums

In the case of homeowner’s insurance premiums, making your home more disaster resistant may lower premiums. Check with your agent what changes or upgrades will yield the best discounts. Installing smoke alarms, a security system, or having a stronger roof may lower premiums.

Reduce Premiums with Good Habits

Just as making your home is more disaster resistant may lower premiums, making yourself less risky in the eyes of insurers can lower premiums. Safe driving habits (for auto insurance), keeping in good shape, having healthy cholesterol levels and not smoking are all factors in lower premiums.

Stay With the Same Insurer

If you are happy with your insurer, staying with that company may yield additional discounts on premiums for customer loyalty. Discounts can be as much as 10% if you stay with the insurer for 6 years or more. However, be sure to keep comparing your rates and coverage against other insurers annually to make sure that you are still getting good relative terms.

Buy Only What You Need

I will repeat this point in many parts of this book (with some exceptions because being frugal doesn’t mean you should have to give up all fun in life). Insurance, however, is one of those things that buying more than you need is a total waste of money. Review your policy every year to make sure you are not paying for more coverage than your originally needed.

Home Insurance Coverage

Insure only the cost of repairing/replacing the house and its contents. There may be two kinds of coverages: replacement value or cash value. Replacement value is the amount of money it takes to replace everything at current market prices. Cash value pays the equivalent of what your property was worth when you first acquired it less depreciation. Also check to see if you are covered for temporary housing and for clean up after a fire. This coverage is usually in addition to your basic coverage. In areas where wildfires are common, like where we live, having this coverage is important.

Standard homeowners policies usually do not include flood or earthquake insurance. If you live in a flood-prone area you will need to buy additional coverage. Check the Federal Emergency Management Agency (http://floodsmart.gov) for additional information on flood insurance.

Similarly, earthquake insurance usually requires additional coverage. The cost will depend on how prone your area is to earthquakes. If you are in California, you can refer to the California Earthquake Authority (http://www.earthquakeauthority.com) for additional information.

The land that your house sits on is not at risk from any of the perils that cover your house. Insuring your home for the full value of the property is unnecessary and will only increase your premiums.

Avoid Having Frowned Upon Possessions

While you may not be able to move out of a flood or earthquake-prone area, you can avoid having certain possessions that many insurers consider to be a liability. These may include swimming pools which are a drowning and injury risk; having certain dog breeds like pit bulls or rottweilers, which can be a potential risk, and having hazardous items like trampolines which are a risk for injury or death. Having these things may increase your premiums unnecessarily.

Renter’s Insurance Coverage

If you rent rather than own, make sure that you are covered under either the landlord's coverage. Often, you may need to insure your own belongings. Renter’s insurance may or may not be necessary, depending how many valuables you have. Sometimes it may be more cost effective for you to simply buy insurance for specific valuables.

Auto Insurance Coverage

Auto insurance may cover comprehensive, collision and/or liability insurance. Collision insurance covers damage to the policyholder's vehicle resulting from running into anything (which can be another vehicle or a stationary object like a tree). Comprehensive coverage insures the vehicle in case of theft, fire or any other potential acts of God. If you have a vehicle that you seldom drive, you can consider having only comprehensive coverage on it, then activating collision and/or liability coverage when you drive it.

Additionally, check to see if your auto insurer has programs that offer lower premiums for infrequent or good driving habits. Progressive, for example, has a Snapshot program where they provide you with a sensor which you plug into your car. The sensor records your driving habits and transmits it back to Progressive. Defensive drivers may get their premiums reduced.

Many states have minimum auto insurance coverage laws. Buying what you need does not mean simply buying the minimum coverage are required by the state. Before you purchase any type of auto insurance coverage, be sure to study your other insurance policies so you don't end up paying for something you don't need.

If you have good health coverage, you might be able to just purchase the minimum personal injury insurance. Check Healthcare.gov at http://1.usa.gov/1FDuOZh so see if you qualify for lower health coverage costs.

Life Insurance

Again, if you do not have dependents, you may not need to have life insurance at all. However, if you do, you will need to figure out how much money you will need to support your dependants in the event of your untimely death. If you do not have an income, support may include funds needed to hire child care in place of your care.

Having Good Credit Helps You to Save

Disclaimer: I am not a financial professional. Anything I discuss is based on my own experience and how that has helped me to save money. If you need financial advice or any other kind of advice like tax or credit advice etc, please seek the appropriate professional for help. The ideas in this book are for informational purposes only.

In the US, having good credit is an important part of frugal living. I say this not to encourage you to go out and borrow as much as you can on cheap, easily available or relatively accessible credit.

On the country,

Just as the rich rule the poor, so the borrower is servant to the lender - Bible proverb

I can find proverbs from all over the world tracing back to ancient times warning against being a debtor. Moral of the story: do not be a debtor. But, this is not a book about morals, I simply say, try to stay out of debt because paying high interest rates is counter-intuitive to being frugal.

Having good credit in the US means that you usually qualify for lower insurance rates. It also means you can qualify for credit cards that give you the best (free) perks. A strong credit score or history can lower your insurance premiums.

Keep your credit scores up as a good credit history can cut your insurance costs. You can keep your credit score up by paying bills on time, keeping your debt balances to available credit ratios low, not applying for too much credit in a short period of time, and by having a credit history.

If you are just starting out and need to build credit, http://williampaid.com will report rent payments to Credit Reporting Agencies. At the time of writing, this service is free if you pay with a bank account direct debit.

Some credit unions extend credit builder loans to help their members