Prairie Eco-Thrifter

DECEMBER 25, 2013

In fact, eating out while on vacation got so expensive for us, especially after we had our first child, that we often had to cut our vacations short because we ran out of money. Now we have 3 kids, and eating out for every meal while on vacation is not possible. We’ve used a number of strategies to do this.

Crock Pots and Slow Cookers 176

Crock Pots and Slow Cookers Travel Food Vacation 176

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 4, 2012

Limit eating out and the activities that are outside your budget such as expensive movies and far away vacations. During weekends and family days, you can set-up some fun activities at home to lessen the expenses. Tone Down Your Entertainment Expenses Spending quality time with your family doesn’t have to be expensive.

Frugal 189

Frugal Family Budgeting Budget 189

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 21, 2014

Eating out, while convenient, can be both expensive and time consuming. While most people think of eating out as a way to relax and save time, they typically don’t account for the time it takes to drive back and forth to the restaurant as well as the time to order, sit and wait for the food, and eat.

Cooking 222

Cooking Saving Money Freezers Money 222

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 1, 2023

If you’re new to writing a budget, read: How to Start a Budget (and be successful at it!) Do you know how much money is flowing in and out of your bank accounts? For a list of budget categories, read: How to Start a Budget. 3 – Cook/Eat from the pantry and freezer. 2 – Track your cashflow.

February 130

February Frugal Financial Goals Goals 130

Motherhood Moments

JANUARY 17, 2023

nstagram, Tik-Tok influencer and best-selling author Beth Linder-Moss has ten easy ways to jump start healthier eating, complete with the best timing, places to adopt new habits, plus where and how to cook. There is an element of control when cooking at home Beth says. Plus, it is less expensive.

Nutrition 100

Nutrition Food and Drink Cooking Eating Out 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JULY 26, 2012

We all like to eat out, but if we do it too often, it can get expensive. If you like to eat out a lot, and you would like to save some money, here are few tips to save when dining out. Limit Yourself If you dine out regularly, you can limit the number of times that you go out to save some money.

Dining 203

Dining Saving Money Money Eating Out 203

Couponing 101

FEBRUARY 23, 2019

One thing new couponers are eager to learn is how to save more money. While it is important to learn how to save more, I think the more important thing to learn is how to spend less. The Jones family wants to learn how to save more. My suggestion to the Jones family would be to learn how to spend less.

Budgeting 81

Budgeting Budget Saving Eating Out 81

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JULY 30, 2014

Even buying pre-made salads and entrees at the grocery store is substantially cheaper than eating out. Daily deal sites can be a pointless waste of money when you are at home, but when you are on the road they can be a budget saver. How have you saved money on food while travelling? Daily Deal Sites. Go Frugal'

Saving Money 187

Saving Money Money Food New York City 187

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

MARCH 14, 2013

Finish your purchasing from the list, go home, and think over it. Eating out harms you in two ways. It is always costlier than eating at home, and it makes you fat, no matter whether you are buying a quick snack at a fast food restaurant, vending machine or a convenience store. Carry Snacks. Take advantage of them.

Saving Money 222

Saving Money Money Bills Insurance 222

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 14, 2011

blogs at Modern Tightwad and is most content being at home with her husband and dog, writing about ways to make the life you love, the life you can afford. When my family is at home, and we’re all tired, a warm meal on a cold day can revive us all. A family of two spending $40 on eating out once a week will spend $2000 a year.

Cooking 133

Cooking Cooking At Home Friends And Family Sale Budgeting 133

Family Balance Sheet

APRIL 1, 2021

Related Reading: How to Save Money on Groceries. Are you paying too much for home/auto insurance, cable, internet, cell? 4 – Skip the AM drive-thru and eat breakfast at home. If you find yourself hitting the drive-thru on your way to work, start making your breakfast and brewing your coffee at home.

Emergency Fund 130

Emergency Fund Money Finds Friends And Family Sale 130

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JUNE 27, 2013

Things at home are piling up a bit and my hubby is having to pick up the slack. Michael from Money Crashers has some great advice for how to achieve that balance. If you’re a parent, you know how hard it is to carve out time for yourself. Stop Eating Out! I go two nights a week. What do you think?

Fridays 153

Fridays Parenting Budgeting Budget 153

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

SEPTEMBER 25, 2012

For so long, we plodded along with next to nothing while our neighbors were running up their charge cards and using home equity loans to take vacations. But, I can’t believe people are making big bucks telling other people how to control their spendthrift ways, or sharing how to shave a few cents off a grocery bill.

Thrifty 213

Thrifty Garage Spendthrift Fair-Trade 213

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

SEPTEMBER 10, 2014

Just leave your methods of payment at home, safe and sound, and bring your ID. Saving Money by Taking Your Own Lunches to Work 3 Easy Ways to Save Money on Food While at Work How To Pack A Waste-Free Lunch How to Beat the Office Bulge 10 Ways to Save on Eating Out. Go Frugal'

Lunch 182

Lunch Lunches Work Office 182

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 5, 2014

per lunch if you just brought something at home (and I’d say that is a pretty elaborate lunch). If both you and your spouse are eating out every day for lunch, you’re looking at $128/month – on top of your regular grocery bill. The average cost of a meal is around $3 across North America, meaning that you’d be saving $4.00

Budgeting 245

Budgeting Budget May Lunch 245

Couponing 101

JULY 28, 2011

One thing new couponers are eager to learn is how to save more money. While it is important to learn how to save, I think the more important thing to learn is how to spend less. The Jones family wants to learn how to save more. My suggestion to the Jones family would be to learn how to spend less.

Budgeting 96

Budgeting Budget Saving Eating Out 96

Family Balance Sheet

MARCH 18, 2015

My husband was formerly an aerospace engineer but is now a stay-at-home-dad, and I run a blog called LivingWellSpendingLess.com. For fun we mostly like to hang out at home—we’ve really worked to create a comfortable space that people love to visit, and so we are constantly entertaining and having people come and stay.

Debt Free 100

Debt Free Debt Finds Home and Garden 100

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 1, 2019

If you’re new to writing a budget, read: How to Start a Budget (and be successful at it!). For a list of budget categories, read: How to Start a Budget. 3 – Cook/Eat from the pantry and freezer. Groceries is the easiest budget category TO GET OUT of control and the easiest budget category TO control.

February 100

February Frugal Financial Goals Budgeting 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

NOVEMBER 22, 2012

“How to Live Large and Have Fun”, “How to Spend Millions on Credit and Never Pay a Dime”, “Live Large and On Charge…Cards”, “Living High on the Hog: The Art of Budget Busting”…these are all titles of fictitious books, but they might as well be bestsellers. Don’t know how to cook? Embrace the Food Network.

Saving Money 221

Saving Money Money Budgeting Budget 221

The Frugal Girl

NOVEMBER 13, 2023

I learned how to cook and bake at a very young age, and I’ve always enjoyed kitchen work as both creative pursuit and scientific inquiry. Early on, my daughter would be in a stroller, but as soon as she learned how to walk, she wanted nothing to do with that stroller. What’s your best frugal win? I have two! Yes to both!

Kids and Family 192

Kids and Family Parenting Cars Car 192

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

NOVEMBER 27, 2011

If you prefer eating out, see if you can get your hands on any discount vouchers before you make arrangements and then base your plans around it. Stay at home. If going out is just too expensive for your budget, why not entertain some friends at home instead? How to Handle Friends Who Don’t Understand.

Bills 208

Bills Budgeting Budget Entertainment 208

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

APRIL 8, 2014

Even though most families cooked and ate at home back then, kitchens were pretty basic. Americans eat out 3 – 4 times a week on average, do we really need a fancy kitchen, when we don’t even do that much cooking? OK, I said a smart phone is a want, but what about a computer of some sort at home? Personal computers.

Phones 204

Phones Parenting Kids and Family Credit Cards 204

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

NOVEMBER 20, 2014

We thought eating in restaurants was a main attraction of travel because you get to try local foods. Even when eating out on the cheap, we were still spending hundreds of dollars on food. We began cooking all of our meals at home. When we traveled, we packed a cooler full of food to eat on vacation and while on the road.

Travel 196

Travel Family Hotel Making 196

Family Balance Sheet

NOVEMBER 19, 2014

We ate at home a lot and watched our food budget carefully. Daniel cut some of his business expenses by cutting out a monthly fee for a co-working space and cutting out monthly charges for services he didn’t need anymore. We learned how to keep our living expenses low so we can spend more on travel.

Debt 245

Debt Debt Free Finance Friends And Family Sale 245

Family Balance Sheet

JUNE 16, 2015

I am a stay at home mom and freelance marketer and my husband works in the construction industry. How much debt did you pay off? The fear of losing my baby led to the desire for me to be a stay at home mom, but I knew that would never work if we were in such debt. We gave up eating out, cable, driving as many places.

Debt 100

Debt Debt Free Finds Goals 100

For the Mommas

JULY 24, 2016

Eat out less. One of the biggest expenses you probably incur is eating out. The average person spends over $2,000 a year on eating out. Instead of eating out, pack your lunch. Instead of running an errand or two every day, plan them out and get them all done at once. Stop impulse buying.

Frugal Lives 49

Frugal Lives Frugal Living Frugal Magazine and Newspaper Subscriptions 49

For the Mommas

JULY 29, 2014

This book contains proven steps and strategies on how to improve your crochet skills. You’ll soon be a pro at choosing the right ingredients and portion sizes to make healthy decisions at home or when eating out. And they’re willing to do anything to make it happen… How will they do it?

Crochet 51

Crochet Recipes Re-use Free Stuff 51

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

SEPTEMBER 2, 2013

By cooking at home you save money, eat a more balanced and nutritional diet and get the enjoyment of being in control of creating what you and your family eat. We have eat-out nights about twice a month and alternate the different varieties. Get Healthy'

Making 186

Making Food and Drink Meals Activism 186

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

AUGUST 19, 2013

This year for instance, I dropped upwards of $250 on entertainment (boat ride, eat outs, amusement park, supplies, books, games and etc) plus the opportunity cost of using our condo instead of renting it out (over $1600 for the week) plus groceries, gasoline and more. Money Tips'

Grandchildren 220

Grandchildren Grandkids Kids and Family Parenting 220

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JANUARY 14, 2012

With so many different options out there, a consumer really can get overwhelmed and into trouble if they don’t know their credit card basics. Broke Professionals : How to Prepare to Give an Effective Presentation – Presenting ideas, products and information is an integral part of being in business. Turn off the lights.

Credit Cards 220

Credit Cards Credit Finance Personal Finance 220

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

JULY 23, 2014

There were no day care centers – women stayed home and raised the kids. Working from home usually meant selling stuff door to door. Toni home perms were prevalent. Hair cuts were done at home by a family member. People cooked and ate at home. The cold war colored our life. Food/shopping. Fast food was rare.

Growing 180

Growing Home and Garden Radios Kids and Family 180

The Frugal Girl

JANUARY 22, 2024

I was not raised by frugal people, but my fiance (now husband) was very frugal, and I wanted to learn how to adopt some of the same mindset so we could be on the same page. We also want to get our kids through college without them having loans to pay back, and we are 1 out of 4 on that so far!

Rent 183

Rent Son Frugal Home and Garden 183

Family Balance Sheet

JULY 16, 2015

Restaurants can be a huge drain on any budget, but there are ways to enjoy a meal out without spending a lot of money. We are now more committed to save money and we eat mostly at home, BUT we do enjoy at a few meals out each month. I shared our strategies in this post, 15 Smart Ways to Save Money when Eating Out.

Budgeting 100

Budgeting Budget Thrifting Thrift Stores 100

Family Balance Sheet

FEBRUARY 16, 2016

Read 11 Simple Menu Planning Tips to learn how to reduce your grocery bill without making everyone in your family miserable. Are you paying too much for home/auto insurance, cable, internet? 4 – Skip the AM drive thru and eat breakfast at home. 6 – Eat dinner at home. Dinner time is stressful.

Emergency Fund 100

Emergency Fund Money Finds Friends And Family Sale 100

Saving Everyday

AUGUST 1, 2022

In this post, we’ll discuss realistic ways you can save on groceries at home and at the store! How to save on groceries at home. Before we get into how to save at the grocery store, let’s talk about what you can do before you go. Dining out is something you can stop immediately. It’s SO expensive.

Groceries 52

Groceries Grocery Food and Drink Saving 52

Saving Everyday

AUGUST 1, 2022

In this post, we’ll discuss realistic ways you can save on groceries at home and at the store! How to save on groceries at home. Before we get into how to save at the grocery store, let’s talk about what you can do before you go. Dining out is something you can stop immediately. It’s SO expensive.

Groceries 52

Groceries Grocery Food and Drink Saving 52

Family Balance Sheet

JULY 9, 2015

ACTION STEP: If you think you’re leaving money on the table, this article offers tips on how to ask for a raise. A good question to ask yourself before larger purchases, “is this worth more to me than getting out of debt? But if you currently do not have a system, read my tips on how to track your current spending.

Debt Free 100

Debt Free Debt Budgeting Budget 100