Conference moira::parenting_v3

    I remember reading some tips in a magazine a few years ago. The ones
    that I remember are:
    
    1) Carefully measure laundry detergent and such - you'll use less
    than by eye-balling it.
    
    2) Save your old shampoo bottle; dump half of the new bottle in it and
    fill both with water. You'll get two bottles for the price of one and
    it will work just fine.
    
    Little ideas - hope they help.
    

    I too could benefit from the tips that you'll proably collect here
    but here's my tips.
     - try buying only essential items
     - make planned shopping trips for food, baby, household & hygiene
       rather than one stop. I believe this saves us money and of course
       time which is precious
     - make meals at home with an occasonial treat to Kentucky or Chinese
     - Use coupons where possible. I am not as good in this area yet
    
    Hope this helps
    
    -clotelle 
    

	A bit time consuming, but not all that difficult (much easier than most 
people think) is make your or your child's clothes.

	I recently lost 40 pounds and had to completely replace my wardrobe.  
Everything from underwear to my winter coat.  (I went from a size 16 to a 
size 4.)  Thats EXPENSIVE!  I decided to dust off the sewing machine.  I started  
by making simple summer dresses for myself.  At the end of the summer, I 
started sewing for Katie.  Katie is 16 months old.  I've made a ton of dresses,
jumpers and jumpsuits.  I buy a few patterns and use them over and over varying
details such as pockets, trims, appliques, long or short sleeves to get some 
variety.  At Katie's age, NOTHING takes more than a yard and half and most things
only take about a yard.  You can often find pieces of material of this size on 
the remnant table for next to nothing.  I find I can make outfits that stores 
are charging $20-35 dollars for for well under $10 -- sometimes under $5. (I 
made a jumper out of a piece of madras plaid cotton that cost 99 cents, a zipper
that cost 90 cents, and some left over thread I had from another project!  You 
can't beat that with a stick!)

	How time consuming is it?  Well not really that bad.  A jumper or dress
usually takes about 1 1/2 hours from than time I cut out the material until I
finish the last hem.  A jumpsuit takes a little longer, another 20 minutes to 
1/2 hour becuase of the work that goes into making a snap crotch.  (Boy, I'll 
be happy when I can just sew a seam there!)  

	Another plus for me is that I have more variety in what I chose.  I'm
not stuck with the pinks and lavenders of the "traditional" girls wear or the 
ghastly neons of the "trendy" girls wear.  (No offense to anyone who likes
those things, they just aren't my cup of tea.)  I can make a jumpsuit out of 
primary colored dinosaur material, or a jumper out of madras or a dress out of 
a brown flowered cotton material.   And even though the things I make are easy
(I am getting more adventuresome with MY stuff, but since Katie's stuff will be 
worn for a few months at most, simplicity is the watchword here) I constantly 
get complements on her clothes.      

Tracey

    1) (for next spring) Grow your own garden.
    
    2) Get clothes at yard sales-I bought 8 winter courdoroy shirts for 50
    cents a piece at a yard sale and most of them are like brand new.
    
    
    
    Peace,
    
    Mike

Don't know if these will help, but here's what we do:

	o shop with a list and only buy what's on the list
	o shop the sales
	o use coupons or buy store-brands or generics
	o eat at home
	o cook in large quantities & freeze the extras (this was a big savings
	  for us - instead of eating out when we didn't feel like cooking,
	  we can just grab something out of the freezer)
	o be more conscientous about using leftovers (add to soups, stews, save
	  for lunches the following day, freeze for quickie meals)
	o buy large-economy size (check the unit price to make sure it's a
	  good deal)

We also had to evaluate the areas where we were being wasteful.  Here are some
of the improvements we tried to make:

	o use plastic, resealable containers for sandwiches & leftovers
	  (instead of plastic bags).
	o use a dishrag instead of paper towels
	o use cloth napkins instead of paper
	o when peeling vegetables, use bowl instead of paper towels
	o use insulated, zippered lunch bags instead of paper bags
	o use grocery bags for garbage instead of plastic bags

Other savings around the house:

	o turn of lights, appliances when not in use (my husband used to leave
	  the TV on when would go to do something else)
	o run the dishwasher & washing maching in the evening (someone told me
	  that the rates are cheaper at that time, although I've never verified
	  it).
	o make long-distance phone calls when the rates are cheapest.
	o when taking items out of the refrigerator - take all the items you
	  need at one time instead of opening & closing the door many times

- Terry

While I'm sure everyone agrees that this topic is of general interest, please 
remember that the subject of this notesfile is Parenting.  Please keep your 
comments relevant to aspects of saving money that are relevant to parenting, 
not just saving money in general.

You might also try the CONSUMER notesfile.

Thanks

Clay Satow
co-moderator

    Great...this is MY topic....
    
    Use coupons whenever possible.  BUT: don't even cut them out for things
    that you don't use else chance's are you haven't saved a cent.
    
    Make special trips to stores that you know have the best prices on 
    things that you use consistently and in volume.  For example, I
    *know* that Stop-n-Shop in Marlboro has the best 4.5oz baby food
    and 13oz concentrated formula prices.  So, even though it's out of
    my way, I went there once a month and stocked up on those items.
    Or, I buy lots of boxes of Prince pasta/macaroni when it goes on
    sale for 4/$1.
    
    Setback your thermostat at night during heating months...also during
    the day, if you're not home.   Also, the highest we set it anyways
    is about 68 degrees...it really isn't cold and that's what slippers
    and sweaters are made for!   This is a big area for potential savings
    this winter if you heat by oil.
    
    Monitor your hot water usage...saves $$ and water.   Install "shower
    saver" shower heads, don't run the extra-heavy duty dishwasher cycle,
    etc.
    
    Dry laundry on the line (okay, next summer!).
    
    Bake/cook whatever you can in a toaster oven (much cheaper to heat
    the smaller space).   
    
    
    That's a few from the ultimate cheapie....carol  

    I agree whole heartedly with .3.  I also will be making my son's
    clothes (as soon as he grows out of the clothes that he got as gifts
    when he was born) and I know I will be saving an awful lot of money by 
    doing so.  I made all my maternity clothes and saved hundreds.  I've
    already made my son one jump suit and it cost me about $10 (that's
    because of the initial cost of the pattern which can be used a dozen or
    so times).  .3 mentioned the time it takes to put in a snap crotch, I
    agree, I put a snap crotch in my son's jumpsuit and it took me over an
    hour to do so because I had to line the snaps up.  When I mentioned
    this to my mother, she told me to buy the snap tape.  It costs about
    $3.98/yd. but when you figure out how much it costs for the seam
    binding and the snaps and all the time it takes to put the snaps on, it
    really comes out to be more economical.  It takes just as long to sew
    on the snap tape as it would to sew on the seam binding because you use
    it in place of the seam binding.
    
    Another way to save some money is to make your own baby food.  Cook the
    meals you normally would for your family only don't season a small
    portion of what you are cooking.  Put the unseasoned portion in your
    food processor or blendor and voila, baby food that has no
    preservatives or additives and it's much better for the baby too.  You
    can do this with fruits too by cooking them a little bit first. 
    Also, don't buy the Gerber or Beechnut juices, they're way too
    expensive.  You can buy 100% fruit juice and dilute it with water.  I buy
    the generic brand apple juice for my 2 month old son and dilute it 1
    part apple juice to 3 parts water.  The pediatrician recommened this,
    so I guess it's o.k.  Also, there's nothing in 100% fruit juice except
    the juice of the fruit.
    
    Powdered formula averages out to be a whole lot cheaper than the
    liquid, it just takes a little bit more time to prepare.  I usually
    boil a whole pot of water and fill all my bottles and have them all
    ready in advance so all I have to do when I'm ready to feed my son is
    add the formula to the water.  This is also good for travelling because
    you don't have to worry about the unrefrigerated formula spoiling before 
    you use it up.  I usually take along a couple of bottles of water and
    the can of formula.  It also doesn't stain the baby's clothes like the
    liquid stuff does and this saves on stain remover for the laundry.
    
    I could go on for days on how to save money (when your boyfriend is out
    of work and you're a contract worker and don't know if you're going to
    have a job yourself the following day, you're constantly looking for
    ways to save a buck!) but I'll stop now and if you want, I'll send more
    ideas via vaxmail.
    
    Lori B.

    Although I sew, I have limited time, so I haven't made any clothese for
    Ryan. I do, however, regularly shop at a "gently used" clothing shop
    for kids, and have gotten really good bargains. Lots OshKosh overalls
    for $4.50-$5.00, that are good as new. The best though, was a snowsuit
    last winter that my sister bought for $18.50 - I saw the same one for
    $74!
    
    Also consider recycling your kids' clothes when outgrown. Used clothing
    shops vary - some give credit, or cash, or send you a check when the
    items sell.

    Here are some of the things that work for me:
    
    I agree with the tag sales for clothing and such.  Our kids'
    clothes budget has been close to zero since my mother-in-law
    started hounding tag sales for sweaters, pants, shirts, t-shirts,
    and so on for Kat, Steven, and now David.  We get almost
    everything except shoes, underwear, and coats there. 
    
    Make sure you check each piece over carefully for stains, tears,
    missing buttons, and so on.  Work all the zippers; frequently a
    nice jacket or pair of pants will be on sale because the zipper's
    broken.  If you're buying bsby clothes with snaps up the legs,
    test the snaps.  With sweaters, check for snags and runs.  Check
    the underarm seams since that's where wear often shows first. 
    
    If the garment does have a minor defect, you might still want to
    buy it with repair in mind.  Offer them less for it.  Offer them a
    pittance -- five cents, ten cents.  Odds are they'll take you up
    on it just to get the stuff out of the house.
    
    Learn to make repairs -- you can stitch up a torn seam, replace
    buttons and snaps, and so on.  Tag sales are a good source for new
    buttons and so on.  Be creative. I once got a lovely vinyl jacket
    for Kat that cost me a nickel because it had a three-cornered tear
    in the middle of the back.  I put one of those "hot dot" adhesive
    flourescent patches over it (right where I would have put it
    anyway) and it was good as new.
    
    Other things you can get easily at tag sales are extra dishes,
    especially cooking utinsels, and toys.  Make sure all the parts
    are there and that they are either clean or washable.  Open up the
    battery compartments of electronic toys to make sure the batteries
    haven't leaked. 
    
    Cancel your book and record clubs -- if you're like me, you
    frequently buy things that look interesting but you don't really
    want. Tag sales are also a good place to stock up on books and
    records, especially popular music, kids' books and genre fiction.   
    Rediscover your library -- all you could read and usually free, or
    a minimal yearly fee.  Most public libraries have record and even
    CD sections where you can check out music to listen to at home. 
    
    Coupons -- I've never found them worth the effort since they're
    generally for brand names that are already astronomically marked
    up and the house or generic brands even after double coupons are
    frequently cheaper. 
    
    Cook more.  Generally the more processing that goes into a
    product, the higher its price.  For instance, at Monday night's
    shopping I was looking at some packages of flavored pasta that
    were $1.29 for a 10-oz. serving.  For $1 I could get two packages
    of Pasta Mia pasta (I've found that linguine goes a little farther
    than spaghetti and a lot farther than macaroni) to make three
    10-oz. servings.  
    
    Using newspaper ads, plan your week's menu ahead of time.  Focus
    on things that are on sale and on things you already have on hand.
    Write down a shopping list of everything you need and don't buy
    anything that's not on the list.  Go only once a week.  
    
    Don't buy snack foods like candy, cookies, chips, and so on.  A
    pound of carrots costs .49 and, converted to carrot sticks, will
    last a family of four for a week, and your health will be better.
    
    --bonnie

    With the price of gasoline and home heating oil going up, and with no
    end in sight, here's a couple of tips that should show substantial
    savings:
    
    	- Consolidate or eliminate car trips. Plan your errands ahead of
    time, so that you can do things in one or two trips instead of 3 or 4.
    
    	- If you have oil heat, consider installing an automatic
    thermostat. Prices range from $30-$100+, depending on complexity and
    features, although some oil companies offer and install them free as
    incentives for signing up with them. It doesn't make sense to heat a
    house while nobody's home. On weekdays, we have ours set to warm the
    house to 68 at approx 6:30 a.m., drop to 60 at approx 8:30 a.m., come
    back up to 68 at approx 5:00 p.m., and drop to 62 or 64 at approx 10:00
    p.m. On weekends, we set a different schedule, one that corresponds to
    our typical activity. Since we've had ours, our oil consumption has
    dropped by approx 15-20%.
    

         Thank you all for responding to my request.  So many of them are
    common sense, so it shouldn't be hard to do.  I'll extract these
    replies out and start memorizing them!
    
      Diane
    

    I second, third and fourth the idea of garage sales! My wife is a
    voracious "saler" and our children have heaps of name brand clothes for
    a song. Most are beautiful. Some have a bit more wear, or tiny stains,
    but if they're wearing them out to play in the mud.....who cares???
    We also have a generous Great Grandma who sends oodles of clothes that
    she buys for a song, too. Closeouts, the dirty clothes that fell on the
    floor in the stockroom and got walked on, things that are a bit
    irregular (ok, so some of them are definietly more "irregular" than
    others!) We can use most all of it. Some is unusable, but not much. If
    she finds an excellent buy, she'll buy a dozen and send 'em all (we
    probably have about...no kidding....25 winter hats for kids. She got
    'em for a nickel each, and they're all grogeous!) We do share with
    folks from our church, and get given bags (as in *huge*) of clothing
    very frequently. We buy shoes, and that's about all. Have never yet
    bought a jacket, snowsuit, etc. at full price (although have been given
    some of these as gifts). I second Bonnie....check 'em out carefully.
    Check especially an item that appears virtually brand new, that is the
    same size and season as the other clothing offered. There may be
    something wrong with it that makes it unwearable (My wife bought some
    beautiful turtelnecks for our son, and only after trying to squeeze his
    poor little head unsuccesfully through the hole, which was *incredibly*
    small for the size shirt, did she realize why they were dirt cheap!). 
    Also second the turning the heat down. If you have an infant in the
    house, do not think you must set your thermostat to "roast". Dress the
    baby as you are dressed (assuming you are comfortable!) and let it be
    at that. Be aware that a basically statinary infant and a moving-around
    adult may need different layers of clothing. If the baby doesn't fuss,
    then he/she probably isn't cold. Also, particulary in older or less
    well insulated houses, watch for drafts, particularly on the floor. Lay
    down on the floor yourself and see what it feels like. It's usually
    considerably cooler there, than up where your head is! (hot air rising,
    as it does). We keep our thermostat at 55 all night on the first floor
    (where our bedroom is, but we have a nice warm waterbed :-)  ), and 60
    up in the kid's rooms. They also wear pajamas with blanket sleepers
    over top of them. They stay nice and toasty. During the day, we turn it
    up to about 64-65. And wear lots of layers of clothing! The kids all have
    nice warm fuzzy slippers ot keep feet warm. This is essential! If your
    feet are cold, your whole body feels cold!
    Others:
      bake from scratch, as often as possible. My wife makes her own bread
    and all other baked goods.
      shop for the stuff on sale that week.
      stretch meat by using more casseroles and meatless stuff. Pasta is
    cheap (relatively), filling and good for you. And kids usually will eat
    it.
      Do you have a pet? When running the water in your sink to get it hot,
    collect it in a jug while its still running cold, and fill the pet's
    water dish. Or use it to fill a humidifier. Or to fill a pot for
    boiling that pasta! By doing this, and being super conscious of how
    much water we were wasting, we've cut about 10-15% off average water
    bill.
    
    Be creative! Get the kids involved! They can come up with some pretty
    amazing suggestions!
    
    --dave--

    Along with scouting clothing buys at garage sales...don't overlook
    the toys!    Children seem just as happy with a 50cent "previously-
    loved" toy and can get a kick out of the bargain-hunting as well!
    
    cj/

    One caution -- if you're not used to a frugal lifestyle, don't try
    to implement a money-saving approach to housekeeping overnight. 
    You'll be overwhelmed.  Work on one area for a week or two, until
    you feel more comfortable with the idea of always thinking of
    money first, and then add another for the next week, and so on.  
    
    While the shopping seems like the most obvious place to start,
    it's also the hardest to manage. I was raised in this lifestyle,
    with never enough money to go around, so I still do it on
    automatic even now that we're more than comfortable -- and I still
    make whopping mistakes.  If you do find out you've wasted some
    money that you could have saved, don't sweat it.  Just note it as
    a learning experience.
    
    You might also try something else, perhaps the household-economy
    stuff, before you really dig into the shopping.
    
    And make sure that everybody in the household understands what
    you're doing and agrees to pitch in.  Sacrificing onesself to
    protect the kids from knowing money is short isn't a good idea to
    begin with.  Not only does it deprive them of an opportunity to
    contribute to the family and to learn how to handle a situation
    like this, but it also doesn't work.  One careless spendthrift kid
    can wipe out months of savings in a weekend. 
    
    Something else that sometimes helps ease the transition is to
    budget a small amount for "splurging" -- perhaps a family fund, or
    perhaps a small amount for each individual to spend as they'd
    like.  If you do do this, make sure everybody understands that
    that really is for spending on important frivolous items (in my
    case, things like pens and notebooks and cute desk gadgets, even
    though I must have a three-year supply stocked up), not for the
    family budget.  If one person thinks another should be generously
    sacrificing this personal money to the family fund while the other
    is cheerfully spending it on cotton candy, you've got the makings
    of a big grudge. 
    
    --bonnie

    Chart what you spend.  Take a month and right down eveything you spend. 
    Yes it is time consuming when you start, howeve, you will be amazed at
    where you money goes that you could cut.
    
    We have been doing this for 5 years.  When we first started we
    documented every cup of coffee and pack of gum.  This allowed us to get
    our spending in line with our income.  When we bought our house it
    again helped us free up the money.  
    
    You can pick up an accounting journal almost anywhere.  We use columns
    like:  Income, Mortgate/utilities/wood, food, clothing, medical, day
    care, transportation, entertainment, contributions, gifts, misc.  The
    entertainment and gift columns were added later when we realized our
    misc column was always out of sight.  This was because the movies and
    birthday gifts and everything was included.  Now we take that out and
    can see that we got a bit carried away at the video store this month. 
    Also dinners out go into the entertainment column instead of food
    because we could easily eliminate going out to eat.  We also see that
    regardless of how much we spend going out we spend on an average the
    same at the grocery store every month.
    
    We also agreed not to spend money without the others approval.  We
    basically shop together for everything (our problem is we are both
    shopaholics - My addiction rubbed off!!!) and we agree on most
    purchases.  We set a dollar limit every month on clothes.  I don't go
    out and spend $50 without consulting with him first and he doesn't
    without consulting with me.  This avoids the "You spent WHAT on WHAT?!"
    type fights.
    
    Kim
    

    You can try these with babies:
    
    o  buy and wash your own diapers
    o  make your own baby food.
         i.e.  Today (curious coincidence!) I decided to try making my
         own squash.  I cooked the squash, whipped it up with 
         a mixer, and put it in ice cube trays (3 cubes=1 jar).  
         Once frozen, you pop the cubes into a zip-lock freezer 
         bag, and take them out when needed.  1 squash cost me
         .80; it made enough for 6 jars of food --- how does .13 sound
         for a jar of baby food, as compared to .39 at the store?  
         Pretty good to me!  Total time about 10 minutes (not including 
         cooking time when I was doing other things)
    
    Other ideas:
    
    o double coupons
    o only wash clothes with a full load (though I'm real bad at this!)
    
                                              

    
    I don't want to go down a rathole here, but I do take exception to the
    recommendations that you try and SEW (from scratch), your kids 
    clothes.
    
    I am a crackerjack sewer and I LOVE to sew.  I find it relaxing. 
    However, I have NEVER found making clothes for Hannah to be economical.
    First of all, patterns these days cost anywhere from $5-8 a piece. 
    Sure, you can reuse them a few times, but at some point, you will grow
    tired of making the same outfit and your kid will get tired of wearing
    the same style.
    
    Also, it's true that you can find fabric remnants, but more often than
    not, the yardage is not quite there (at least in my experience).  I end
    up buying fabric off the bolt, and fabric runs anywhere from $3-10 per
    yard.
    
    I think one CAN sew economical clothing for their child--but I also
    think that one can find similiar clothing at a store like Raschel's for
    similiar prices--without the labor involved.
    
    I am currently making Hannah a pinwhale cordouroy jumper.  The pattern
    was $6.00.  The fabric was $8.80 per yard.  The thread and buttons were
    $3.00.  It has taken me--not including preshrinking and then ironing
    the fabric--approx. 6 hours to make the jumper.  This also does not
    include hemming.  Granted, if I make it again it will go faster--but
    the bottom line is---I am doing it out of enjoyment--not out of
    economy.
    
    I could get a similiar jumper at Raschel's for half the price.
    
    Regards,
    Bonnie
    
    
    
    

    My electric bill has always been a doozy, so I do know now that if you
    aviod the hours of 5am to 8 am, and 5pm to 8pm when using major
    electrical appliances, you will lower your electric bill.  Those are
    the hours of highest usage, and thus highest rates! (they get you
    coming and going don't they?)
    
    So now I do laundry (electric dryer) only after 8pm, I set my
    dishwasher on timer to go around midnight, TVs off if not actively
    being watched, things like that.  Of course lights off in unoccupied
    rooms (that's been one of the hardest for the kids).
    
    Coupons for things I will definately use, don't bother for the
    processed foods etc., their only a temptation to try something new
    that's uneconomical.  Sales.  Get items at their most cost effective
    place, like shampoo at the drug store rather than the supermarket where
    it costs more.
    
    Of course, hand-me-downs.  These get tougher as the kids get older
    cause they start to actually wear things out.  I've found if you get a
    good brand name, however, certain items like shirts and jeans will last
    through three boys!  Thank you HealthTex!
    
    Eat home cooked foods as much as possible, they are much more
    economical.
    

         Keep those great ideas coming!  Here are few things that I am
    doing to stretch the dollars:
    
    - Buy meat ends.  I made some ham salad with ends and it is cheaper
    than buying can ham.
    
    - Buy gas on cash rather than credit
    
    - This Ive' been doing for a while- recycle those copy papers from the
    LN03.  Instead of throwing them away or putting them into your local
    recycle bin, bring them home.  I use them as scrap paper, scratch pad
    for my kids, etc.  My oldest son loves them because my last name is
    printed on the sheets and he likes to practice writing his last name or
    just writing letters in general.  Great, cheap educational toy!
    
    Diane
    

Make sure you check with the utility company in your town as far as rates
go.  In Colorado Springs there is no lower rate for off-peak useage.  

    Almost no homeowners (or renters) have time-of-day sensitive rates. 
    Not because of local rate policies, but because of equipment.  Normal
    electric meters have no capacity to record when electricity was used,
    just the total KWH between readings.  Thus it makes no difference when
    you run things.
    
    In the last energy crunch there was a little experimentation with
    installing residential time-of-day meters in a few localities, but it
    is still quite rare.  On the other hand, it is fairly common for large
    commercial and industrial users to have time-of-day rates.
    
    		- Bruce

    I used to have a timer on my hot water heater - it came on from 5am to
    7am (morning showers for 3), and from 6pm to 9pm (dish washing/clothes
    washing).  Plus I had an insulating "blanket" around it, and it cut my
    power bill in HALF ! I was very surprised to say the least. 
    Unfortunately, my current landlord won't let me modify the wiring.  8^(
    
    
    Jerry ...

    .23
    
    Jerry, not to go down a rat hole - I really need to cut my electric
    bill, was this for and electric water heater?  I have the insulating
    blanket and my electric bills are still over $80-90 (we only use
    electric heat for the bathroom at bathtime and showertime, otherwise it
    is wood heat).  

re .23:

Why can't you just turn down the thermostat on the water heater?

    RE: .24
    
    We now have what is called "off peak" water heating, and it works. Our
    electric bill was cut.  I don't have specifics on it because my husband
    monitored it.  I don't know where you are, but here in NH, PSNH comes
    out and checks out your water heater as it must be a certain size for
    them to do it.  Ours is 80 gals so we qualified, they attached a meter
    and that's it.  Call your electric company and check it out.
    
    Donna

    My electric bill specifically states peak and off peak kilowatt rates,
    and how much of each our household consumes.  Our bill is based on
    these two separate figures.  Thus I am led to conclude that they somhow
    monitor how much electricity is used during these two periods in my
    house.  How might I conclude otherwise?  (this in regard to .22)
    

    Re: the temperature setting on the water heater.
    
    I remember reading that setting it at less than 120 or 130F (forget 
    which) could allow organisms to grow, similar to the ones that cause
    Legionnaire's disease. Does anyone have any solid info on this, and 
    what the minimum temp. should be? 
    
    (We keep the water temp pretty low not only to save $ but to prevent
    burns to our son, who loves to wash dishes by himself.) 
    
    Lucy
    

	Perhaps I should start another note on sewing for kids....

	I *have* found that sewing really is economical for me.  Part of it is 
Katie's age and part of it is where and how I shop, I think.

	Since Katie is only 17months old, she couldn't care less if I made 
47 outfits out of the same pattern. :-)  So my patterns probably go farther than
they would with an older child who actually cares what is on her.  

	Bonnie said that she can pay anywhere from $3-$10 a yard for material.
Well, I've made about 15-16 outfits so far and have not yet paid more than 
$3/yard.  I just made Katie 2 corduroy jumpsuits.  I paid $1.88/yard for the 
pinwhale cord.  And it only took 1 1/4 (1 1/2?) yards for each suit. (My fabric 
store frequently has remnants as large as 2 yards.)   On these particular 
outfits, I bought fancy buttons (Daisy kingdom animals) so I spent $1.99 for 
the two buttons, but my more usual price for a sheet of buttons, is less than 
$1.50 for a set of 5 buttons.  And if I pick them up of the discontinued button 
table, I can spend as little as 40 cents for 2-3 buttons.  (Not only that, but 
there is a ladies blouse factory outlet down the road that I can get a *full 
cup* of buttons for 49 cents.  (Yes, I can pick and choose so that I get 
matching ones.) )  The fabric store that I shop at, routinely has patterns for 
50%-60% off, so I usually spend ~$2.50 - $3.00 per pattern not $5-$8.  I buy 
lace when it is on sale.  I got some pregathered eyelet lace for 33 cents a yard
a few weeks ago.  

	I agree with Bonnie that on some things, you can't make it as cheap.
Last night, I just bought (at an outlet store) three blouses for Katie. They 
were $5-6.  I *might* have able to make them that cheap, but it certainly 
wouldn't have been worth the time.  So things like Blouses, turtlenecks, shorts,
I buy at outlet stores or on sale.  I reserve my sewing for the jumpers, dresses 
and jumpsuits where I DO see a big difference.

	I concede that there will probably be a time when Katie is too big to 
use remnants for the cloth, yet small enough that she is not made the jump to 
paying adult prices for clothes.  Then it may not be economical to sew.  But 
right now it is. 

Tracey  

     

    re: .29
    
    Tracey,
    
    The difference is that you're not within driving distance of
    Raschel's!!   It truly is an incredible place in terms of both
    price, quality (well, most things), and selection.  So, you're
    comparing apples to oranges!
    
    8-)!
    
    Carol

I've been sewing for Cory since he was born (12 1/2 months ago !).

As long as I stick to the bargain fabrics, it's been more economical to make
rather than buy (and I live 5 minutes from Raschel's in Westboro).  I've also
been able to use up many of my fabric scraps on Cory's clothes.

Part of the savings comes from buying "Puddle Jumper" patterns.  They usually
encompass 4 sizes.  I've found them at Rich's & Weintraubs for $3-$4 each.

Also, for the smaller sizes (under 2T), my sister-in-law gave me a book called
"Sewing for Baby".  The pattern pieces mix/match so you can create something
a little different without too much effort.  Cory can still wear the XL so
I'm still using them.  If anyone wants more info on the book, just send me
mail.

- Terry

    In re: .27

    I certainly wasn't suggesting that _you_ don't have time-of-day based
    rates.  But some people might have misunderstood the original entry
    (.19), and thought this would work for anyone.  Most people have a
    single flat rate, and don't have the type of meter to support a split
    rate.  Anyone in doubt can check their bill.

    		- Bruce

    

I'm not sure if this has been mentioned already, but we installed a programmable
thermostat when we moved into our new home.  You enter the time you wake up,
leave for work, return from work, and go to sleep (weekends are on a different
program), and what you want the temperature to be when you are home and awake,
and it calculates the time to come on so that you are comfortable when you are
home.

I can't really say if it has helped or not, but I suspect it is a BIG savings.
The new house is twice the square feet of the old house, and my bill is about
10% less than in my OLD house.  I also called the electric company prior to
moving in, to find out what the bills were over the last year, and my August
bill (VERY hot month) was less than 1/3 of the prior year - of course our
habits may be very different than the previous owners too....

Kristen

P.S.  I paid about $140 for mine, but you can get cheaper ones for about $65 to
$90.

    re .24
    
    Yes, it was for an electric 40gal water heater.  The apartment was
    total electric too.  I also had a spare bedroom that I kept closed off,
    since no one ever used it.
    
    Jerry

    I left the temp setting where it was, so the water would heat a little
    faster ... but I probably could have lowered that too.  btw - the timer
    only cost about $14 at a hardware store.
    
    Jerry

    I stopped taking my kids to the grocery store with me and that makes
    a big difference in my food bill.
    

    re: a few back.....
    
    Where is that ladies blouse factory located?  I'd love to be able to
    buy some buttons.
    
    Lori B.

	May not help much...

	It's in Greenville, S.C.  :-)

	BTW, I went there the other day, and got two measuring cups full of 
buttons for 50 cents!  (That's about 400 buttons.)

Tracey

    Nope, I live in Massachusetts.  How'd you like to send me some! :-)
    
    Lori B.