Aidpage

 in response to theagirls25...   Certainly one of the most memorable. The following year "Santa" brought me a bundle of switches because I was supposedly being a "brat." YIKES!!

I know people want to give their kids the very best of everything but sometimes the best things are items made by loving hands with just you in mind.

http://www.crochetpatterncentral.com/directory.php
http://frugalliving.about.com/od/christmas/tp/Homemade_Gifts_for_Kids.htm
http://familycrafts.about.com/od/giftstomake/tp/HomeMadeGiftIdeas.htm

 in response to Janine torre...   Hubby and I have not celebrated Christmas for 3 years. :( But let me relate to you one of my very most memorable childhood Christmases. I must have been about 5 years old. My father was in his 50s had lost his job when the plant shut down and we were struggling. Christmas was not gonna happen. Then my mom got an idea. She went to the local warehouse store and got "free" pallets. you know those wood things that they stack stuff on? Well I remember them being in the shop long hours and that I was "forbidden" to go in there. :oS Apparently what they had done was take apart the pallets and crafted from the wood a small vanity set and a doll crib for me. I know that I sat in front of that vanity for hours and put every pet we had in that crib at one time or another. :o)

Now go listen to this. http://vimeo.com/7928214

 in response to lonewolfcatfish...   hi Lonewolfcatfish:
Oh Burrr!!... I've been re-visiting the how to save energy pages myself. Today I'll be putting plastic sheeting, bubble wrap, and 2 inch thick Styrofoam up in my windows to reduce my heating costs. I heat with gas so it can be quite spendy in the winter. I wish I had a wood stove sometimes.

 in response to Al4...   Sounds yummy! My problem is that rice in my case (Type II, un-medicated) is a huge no no. But I bet barley would be just as good.

 in response to Schmidty...   Yep, like that one a lot.

 in response to Schmidty...   Funny, I'm from the Dr. Hook era and have had "Sylvia's Mother" sung to me many many times because of my name. But I have never heard Wonderful Soup Stone before. Thanks for pointing that one out... It has inspired me to dust off the old guitar. ;)

 in response to 12155...   I feel for you. I have health issues that can kill me if I'm not careful. I have no money to buy meds and most of what the food pantry gives is deadly to me. I see Pink Bunny has a suggestion she mistakenly sent to me. Perhaps that is just the ticket for your needs.

I've been struggling like many of you. Scrambling to get the money to meet my bills and racking my brain to figure out how to lower my bills. It's not easy, it's work! Yet I see many who concentrate only on how they can get money, not how they can use their creativity to improve the situation of themselves and others. Here is a suggestion.

When I was fairly young my friends, and neighbors often had "Stone Soup" nights. You may not know the fable. You can read a version of the story here: http://stonesoupchef.com/how-it-works/stone-soup-fable/

Basically Stone Soup nights is an exercise in improving your situation by sharing what you have in a collaborative effort. So our stone soup nights took what meager offerings we had to make a great big pot of soup to feed every one in the group. Often there was enough left over to take home. Granted these "nights" were often toward the end of the pay period when most of us had no cash left to spare but did have something in the fridge or cupboard we could contribute. The soups were delightful and we had a lot of fun playing music and cards while the soup simmered away.

 in response to ekikaseven...   Thanks Ekikaseven! There are many ways to save money. This past summer I realized all my tops from the previous years were too stained to wear. So I learned to tie dye and vat dye which made most of them wearable again. Most of my stuff is 100% cotton so it dyed really well. (I looked like a reject from a grateful dead concert...but I've always loved tie dye. lol) Today I sorted through a plethora of stained sweatshirts I have. I've got plans to use the backs and sleeves to make a simple quilted throw to snuggle up with. I'll line the back with a sheet that doesn't quite fit my bed. The fronts will be hemmed or serged around the edges to make dust cloths. One could potentially create a tube and stuff it with the excess fabric from the fronts and make draft snakes. People that are really crafty could find a free pattern online and make a sweatshirt teddy bear.

One other thing I neglected to include previously. Is cleaning supplies. GO old school and use baking soda, vinegar, ammonia, bleach, instead of expensive cleaning products.

 in response to alane...   hmmm Alane. Concentrate on the roof. Carpet and flooring are just "looks" unless there is structural damage from leaks. In the meantime, keep checking craigs list for new carpet someone bought but decided against or excess tiles they don't want. I got 2 big boxes of subway tiles free this way once. Can you say back splash?

LOL you are cute. "all are(our) bills,.. are(our) house...are(our) living room... etc." Are you southern? I hear a big accent in those AREs :O)

 in response to Hopeisalive...   Hopeisalive
HUBBY LOST HIS JOB IN SEPT 2008, NO LUCK SINCE!! The following is some of the things I've done to save money while we slowly have depleted our 401k accounts. :o( I gives these tips in the hopes they help you…. BUT RIGHT NOW GO GET A BAG AND PACK YOUR CAR WITH A COUPLE CHANGES OF CLOTHES, BABY THINGS, FORMULA AND SOME EXTRA WARM BLANKETS. (Just in case you can’t stop an eviction and you get locked out of your apartment. )
REASSESS, RETHINK, and REALIZE you can survive.
First thing you need to do is reassess your bills. Concentrate only on what you need to be safe, warm and fed. This means, cancel the cable, expensive cell phone service (go prepaid), anything that you can really live without. You’ll need to keep your electricity, water, sewage, rent, internet access for school, car insurance, and car payments up. Notice I didn’t say phone, or cable bill? They are not necessary to survive. If you are under contract with your cell phone, call them, tell them your situation and ask that your service be reduce to the bare minimum available. For example if you pay $59.99 a month for unlimited talk and text. Reduce that if possible to their cheapest plan and remember you have LIMITS NOW so stop calling and texting everyone and their dog, tell your friends to email you instead! Check your contract to see what your options are. The secondly there is a Telephone Assistance Program, which pays for a good portion of a landline, or cell bill if your service is the bare minimum. Call your local company for info.
SCHOOL
You are in school, so go talk to the financial aid officer and tell them your situation. Make sure they know you have a newborn because that should reduce your "contribution" on your financial aid papers and increase the amount of student aid. Perhaps there is a work-study position you can get. If you are especially good at a particular subject, offer to tutor others for a fee. $10 an hour is a good tutor rate, be sure to collect payment at the time of service. Also, check out the job placement office if your school has one, for internship opportunities.
Books: Make sure you know the ISBN number of the book you need for your classes. Buy them online. Also if the instructor has bought the new version of the same book previously used in the class…. Ask permission to buy the older version. Chances are the old version is just fine but has small changes. Then ask to copy those sections from a friend’s book.
In late summer and sometimes throughout the year, you can find online coupons for pens, pencils, paper and other school supplies. ALWAYS search out those before buying… and check out deals at Walgreens and Walmart to save even more!
Have issues of your own with a math class? Use Youtube, Yaymath.org, Mathtv.com to find videos that explain a concept or math problem. I’m always amazed what you can learn online free. I took an online math class and these sites saved my grade!

LANDLORD, RENT
Talk to your Landlord or property manager. Can you paint or clean apartments or do some yard work in exchange for rent? Do they know of any low income programs for with you may qualify?
ULITITIES
Contact your electric company let them know you have an infant in your home. I believe there are laws against them shutting you off when children or infirm are in the home during the winter... but you will have to make payment arrangements. The same goes for natural gas if that is your source of heat.
See above regarding phones.
Water/Sewer/Garbage Services: Many municipalities require these services. But if you live in a rural area, talk to your neighbors. Perhaps you can “share” garbage service and the bill. I once lived where it was $15 a month to have the garbage hauled away. Luckily it was unlimited 55gallon cans for that price. We shared the bill and we both saved.
Be vigilant about water use. Stop running water for no reason. Find out how much water is wasted just getting hot water to the tap. Collect and Measure it. If you pay for water… you will be horrified how much money is just going down the drain. At least do what you can to save this wasted water and use it to water plants, flush the toilet, heat and use for hand washing clothes, or simply water your pets with it.
Set a timer for your showers too, 5 minutes max. Better yet, wet down turn off water, soap up from head to toe, then rinse.
SAVING ENERGY…..
Learn to turn off and unplug any non-essential electric item. Turn off the lights at night... wander around in the dark and make note of all the little power vampires (glowing lights) you see. Then determine which ones are just sitting there sucking money out of your wallet while they are not in use and unplug them.
Insulate your windows with found or recycled bubble wrap (spray clean window with water, then stick the wrap on the glass bubble side toward the glass) You’ll help prevent heat lost and will still get natural light.
When the baby is a little older, consider keeping the heat at about 65*F at night and 68*F during the day.
If you don’t already have them, replace light bulbs as they burnout with compact florescent bulbs no more than 13watts each. (try to get the “instant on” ones)
Build yourself a passive solar heater if you have a south or southwest facing window. An 18" x 30" x 6" box with the interior painted black and filled with black-painted pop-cans with the ends cut out can produce 115*F heat during mid-day with good sun exposure and 99*F heat on a hazy day. It's free, requires no electricity to run... and helps supplement your home heating system. Youtube, solar furnace. A friend made one from, aquarium glass, a drawer from a beat up dresser the glass happened to fit, and pop cans. It's funny looking but it works well and it was free because she used what she had.

FOOD: STOP BEING SO PICKY… you just want to stay alive and make a turd. :o)
Use food pantries! It is not shameful to need help in times like these, go get some free food. Learn to cook your own inexpensive meals and STRATEGICALLY use coupons to buy sale items for pennies.
Stock up on "staples" and dry goods in your pantry. Things like rice, beans, noodles last a long while in sealed containers like jars. (did you know you can plant dry beans you get at the grocery store?)
If your infant doesn't have specific issues that require special formula, sign up at each of the main formula sites. Good start for instance will send you a full size can of formula and some $5 off coupons. Go the cloth diaper route... or sign up at all the diaper sites for coupons and samples. (be sure to have a separate "coupon sites only" email account.) Match your coupons with deals from CVS, Walgreens, Walmart and even Toys R US.
Find out from your grocer when the meat department has "manager specials" these are typically once a week and that is when you see "$2" off or more off the package price. The meat is fine and in fact, in most cases it is better than the full price stuff because it has aged more. Mine does it on Mondays. Last time I got smoked pork chops 2 to a package which are normally $8.99 a package and I got them for $1.75 a piece!
Resolve to make what you can instead of buying pre-packaged convenience foods. Pancake mix is easy to make, as is biscuit mix. Why spend $5 for a box that will only last 3 breakfasts when you can spend the same $5 and get the flour, baking powder and make 4 times as much? Why buy biscuits in a can when you can make the mix, and have “grands” style biscuits in a jiffy! While you are at it… make the biscuits, bake until just turning golden, remove from oven, allow to cool, and freeze on a cookie sheet until rock hard, place in the ziplock and place in freezer. Voila… Grands, for pennies. Breakfast then becomes easy, fry an egg, add some cheese, nuke a biscuit, slap it together and go! You can do pancakes this way too.. just cook as normal, then cool and freeze, etc then microwave.

Almost free food:  It is work and a huge learning process but oh so worth it.  Even the tiniest appartment can have a garden.  It's true!  I planted 2 tomato plants, 4 pepper plants, spinache, carrots, turnips, squash, onions, cucumbers and peas in a 8x8 plot this past summer.  I'm still getting squash, tomatoes peppers and peas, IN IDAHO.  I've even donated some squash and tomatoes to the food pantry when I was just overwhelmed by all the stuff comming out of my garden.  Ok, so maybe you don't have a spot like mine... but check this out.  a 20 inch pot can hold a corn stalk, green beans, and a squash plant.  This is called the three sisters method and comes from the Native Americans.  The beans or peas, fix nitrogen in the soil, which the corn needs and the corn profides a nice pole up which the beans can climb, the squash helps retain the moisture in the soil by shading it, and they will all provide you more than enough food for about 3-4 months. Then share or preserve the rest.  Three of those on an appartment balcony can give you lots of veg!
Beverages: There is an old diet saying “Don’t drink your calories.” While this was mostly regarding Colas, beer, etc., it makes good sense for a lot of reasons. For our purposes, it makes sense for your wallet. Make your own beverages like koolade, tea, lemonade, barley water, coffee and even vanilla in water with sugar to taste makes a great substitute for cream soda, (sans all that salt!) Tea can be purchased inexpensively from the $1 store, 8 bags makes about a gallon and it’s better for you! Gather some water bottles and fill them with tea, freeze and you'll have a weeks worth to take to class in no time.  The only beverage that I say go ahead and buy is Milk, you need the calcium and vitamin d.
LAUNDRY
Go through your closets. Can you remake, revamp or recycle some of your clothes? Change buttons, hand embroider over holes or stains, crop jeans with a frayed hem, add a new colorful hem and mend anything that has a dropped hem, broken zipper, or missing button. Sell anything you’ve outgrown, no longer wear, or just don’t need. IF you feel you need something new. See if you can find a “Dress for Success” chapter in your area. They have interview appropriate clothing free for those who qualify. Google them to learn more. Otherwise check out the thrift shops and second hand stores. Fashion trends are only cool if you can afford it… so look for classic lines and good fit instead.
While I'm on Laundry. Make your own laundry detergent, by saving and grating the slivers left over bath soap, google "home- made laundry detergent" for recipes. Hand wash your clothes, hang to dry over the heater or outside if you have good weather. Drying inside humidifies your home and makes it feel warmer. If you feel that is too much work, consider this... a typical top load washer uses 40 gallons of water for each full wash load. You can hand wash in a 5-gallon bucket, rinse in a 5-gallon bucket then use the rinse water to wash the next batch. This helps if you pay for your water and it certainly keeps you from paying $$ at the Laundromat. Save heavy items like adult jeans, towels, bedding for the machines. And with a little one, you’ll save a lot just washing baby clothes by hand.
ENTERTAINMENT
Use your expensive DSL internet connection for your TV watching and movies. Hulu is completely free if you stay away from plus version, and most TV sites have full episodes on their sites as well. If you can save enough on your other bills, you might consider Netflix streaming service at $7.99 a month.
For local channels, make your own TV antenna, search youtube for “coat hanger HDTV antenna.” You can make one that works quite well from scrap lumber, wire coat hangers, a Balun (found at Radio shack or the $1 store) some washers and screws…. You would be surprised how many free TV channels are available over the air. I get 30 channels on my coat hanger antenna!
Redbox: Go to their website and sign up, they send out a code for a free rental occasionally.
Google “full episodes” and be amazed about how many tv programs are online!
Continue to Reassess… and think about how you can save even more.
The hardest part is "thinking outside the box" all too often we think we "can't live without" something when reality it's just more fluff that fills our world with junk and bills. The fact is you can live without most of what our western lifestyle has burdened us with. As a point of fact, not so long ago our ancestors had three sets of clothing. Two sets of everyday clothes, which were washed after the second wearing and dried by the heater over night (usually Friday or Saturday night) And a "Special" set which was worn on Sunday to go to church or for special occasions. People took a bath once a month and the rest of the time they washed out of a basin, doing a sort of "spit bath" washing their face, hands, underarms and bottoms... in that order! And they washed their hair once a week in a basin too. Now I'm not suggesting you go that far it is just something to think about while reassessing your needs.

Finally, learn and live the words "I can't afford it!"  and "I can make that myself!"  Part of what got us all in this mess was allowing others (other countries) to make it for us.

 in response to 123456...   Most cities have a charitable food pantry which can get you 3 to 7 days worth of food. Check with your local non profit or Salvation Army.