10. Pellet Litter
The word is out to all cat owners! Yesterday's news is now today's cat little! It hasn't stopped there though! Consumers worried about stinky litter and their furry friends' health have gone to pellets! Pellets have shown to have superior absorption power on top of that it releases a wonderful pine or cedar smell when your furry friends eliminate urine!
We recently went on a 4-month camping trip exploring the SouthWest with our cats and quickly learned that in order to save money and space in our camper our best bet was horse bedding! It's the same concept except it costs way less! You are looking at a bill of about $6.50 for a bag of pellets that will last you anywhere from 4 to 6 months! Sure you can buy the more commercialized brands of pellet litter but it will start you at about $11 a pop and will give you about half less in the litter.
9. Clearance/Salvage stores for food
On our journey exploring the Southwest this winter, we discovered some Amish stores in which the bulk of the food was what is called salvage. So basically this food was food that was overstocked, cans were dented or the food would expire sell-by date before they would have time to sell it in the bigger area stores. We found food selling at .20 cents a piece! 2 cups of cheese for .99! Big brand name vitamins start at $!! Bulk apples were our favorite. An entire banana box for $20! This was ideal for us because we were constantly snacking and anything we had to refrigerate was limited. We thought we'd have to limit ourselves a lot more than we did but then we discovered the small country stores had frozen meats with coupons off the already reduced prices.
A new type of store we never knew existed! The stores had tons of Amazon returns, pet supplies, pet food, home goods, and many other things you can think of; even dry food! Before we bought our camper we would vamp visiting nearby towns we had not been to and camped in our Napier SUV tent. Oftentimes we would get to our destination late so we would just sleep it out till morning in the van. We had wanted some van curtains but they were out of our budget at that time. These curtains were about $20 on Amazon but as returns, we ended up buying them at the Bin store for $2 for the set! You can find the nearest store to you at https://www.liquidationmap.com/usa-liquidation-and-wholesaler-search/. Happy Shopping!
7. Lower your rent
We just downsized the home we are stationed at, when I say stationed it refers to us, not out camping or traveling We went from a 3 bedroom in the city to a 2 bedroom in the country. We utilized tall bookshelves to separate our teen boys from the younger boys. The rental cost us $700 a month and it did not include any utilities! Never before had I paid attention to tax brackets than when we moved to Liberal Kansas where taxes were almost 10%! In total living in the city, it cost us around $1300 a month. That didn't include the extremely high taxes on everything including food! That was completely new to us as we are on our adventure from Oxford, Maine and there were no food taxes there! We are now in a small country town outside the city, with utilities included we have dropped our housing expenses from $1300 to $480. It's about a 45-minute drive to the city but when you're like me and you like fast food you may be grateful You won't be tempted and your wallet will thank you too! The taxes are lower in this county too. We have a smaller area to heat now too in the winter which lowers the gas bill. I will forever be changed hahaha, for now, I look at the tax rates in the county I'm going to be stationed.
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6. Gas up!
I have to admit I did not know what the blue pump at the gas station was until I met another traveler on our last trip! We have a flex fuel vehicle and we save a lot of money on gas!. When I was a young adult I unknowingly put efuel in my car and the engine blew! So I have not been interested in testing anything out on a regular car hahaha. Our winter car is a Volvo so I knew all I could put in it was premium gas and no efuels! So apparently E10 and E15 fuels are OK to use in 2001 and newer cars. So if you were like me and apprehensive to try a different fuel don't be anymore! Save yourself some gas money!! Even though it's only a small amount of ethanol, I believe every little bit helps cut down dependence on 100% fossil fuel. Baby steps, baby steps. Use the blue pump!
https://www.iowafarmbureau.com/Article/Go-ahead-fuel-up-at-the-blue-pump-Why-you-should-use-E15
5. Homeschool
This may not fit everybody's schedule but it is always possible and something to work toward if you really want it! We don't have to worry about buying Lunchable meals for school. New flashy clothes that everyone will think are cool or cute! If you're familiar with our hometown area in Oxford County, Maine; parents are having to drive their children to school after the pandemic. Of course, that means also paying for gas. You don't have to private school your kids at home. Private school usually has more costs. We do have a private school-type program because it just helps us educate our kids the way we want to educate them. We have more freedom that way. Public school is also available at home and they provide everything your student needs. That can be books, laptops, software, etc.. You can find your local online public school at https://www.connectionsacademy.com/, In the long run, we have saved money even with a private school-accredited curriculum. We eat leftovers when there are any. I don't have to worry about Jimmy's peanut allergy either. The biggest plus is cutting out the daycare bill!
4.Drink Healthy
Ive think everyone has noticed that the cost of food has gone up! Water has not been excluded. Today at the dollar store you can buy a gallon of water for $1.50! It's no longer a $1 store due to the recent economy. It gets hot in the summer here in the south so naturally, we were buying a lot of bottled water. Mostly for convenience. We have 4 kids and they act like they hate sharing hahaha. They actually share a lot. Just sibling silliness. When the prices started going up this summer we decided to buy a 5-gallon sports cooler which has saved us a lot on ice and water. We don't have to cook our water bottles in the fridge anymore which takes energy of course. There was no incentive to recycle in the city we were in so they just went in the trash and that made us feel bad too. The kids were opening a bottle not finishing one then opening another, ugh. So this cooler was the ticket to saving some money on water. % gallons costs about $1.25 a savings of about $^ every other day for us. We are not creating more plastic to blow around in this Kansas wind and we are saving money doing it.
3. Leave it to the Students
Somehow we have ended up with no insurance and have had to utilize discount programs. We try to steer away from public health programs because of stigma, we feel have enough by being travelers so often hahaha. So anyway when I was in beauty school we gave discounted haircuts to the public. It was great because, at the point that we were on the salon floor, we had mastered a bunch of skills on our mannequins. Plus we got tips! With 6 people in our family, it's worth a 2-hour drive to get to our nearest technology college. There the student will do discount dental care, hair care, beauty treatments, etc. If you're lucky enough you will have a university E.R. for emergencies! There is not a place that's drivable enough for eyecare so this time around we utilized VSP vision care which has a couple programs you can use, some of which are actually of no cost! They are especially concerned with helping school-age children get the eye care and glasses, free!
2. Local Chamber of Commerce/Community days
Not every Chamber of Commerce functions the same, but as we have experienced here the Chamber wants its members to succeed so every so often have community events where they will give out gift certificates to its citizens to try the Chamber Members' business. It could be food, home goods, and clothes. Any type of business that is a member. In this area there are also community dinners every week, they have activities for children and open up a game room. They have video games, air hockey, and foosball to name a few.! It's really fun for the kids to meet up with the neighborhood kids. It's not a big saving, it does cover 1 meal and snack and it includes socializing with the neighbors. As homeschoolers and avid travelers, my kids really appreciate that!
1. Work remotely
Working remotely can save money by commuting from our beds to the couch or kitchen table! No gas is needed there! We don't have to pack a lunch, we can have meals with the children too and eating with the family has been shown to have mental health benefits. Eating together tends to be healthy too. You eat less because you end up chatting about homework, chores, family expectations in the house, etc.. Eating slower helps digest food better which helps with weight loss too! We might eat leftovers but most metals are more nutritious because they are planned out as a family meal and not something fast to go or fairly portable such as a meal that goes in a pack. The feeling of being close to family helps kids emotionally. To start a remote job, start searching at any job site with the keyword “remote”. Some job sites will post work-at-home opportunities so if you're not looking for a small business don't use “work at home” for your first search.
I have been scoping out opportunities for over 15 years so if you need help deciphering if something is a scam send me an email at MullenEmma0122@gmail.com! I would be more than happy to help! It is very unlikely that a job from home would require any upfront costs unless you are a contractor. There may be some costs associated but not anything major that is relevant to the job itself.
There it is! You have 10 more ways that save money when you are trying to go green and minimalize your life or even become nomadic!
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