Post Punk Kitchen Forum

As for me. That and I wasn't sure if I could bust out enough pies and eat them all without anything going to waste.

Other things I do to save money,
I'm starting to try and make my own granola.
I keep the lights off if they don't need to be on.
Use as many coupons I can at Whole Foods when possible.
Buy clothes when they are on sale or clearance for a really good price.
Only rent movies on short occasion.
Buy things online when there's free shipping. Unless I absolutely need something.
Plus probably some more, but I can't think of any at the moment.

The spice store next to Darby's (I'm assuming this is the one you're talking about, it's the only one I know of) will order a spice for you if they don't have it there. I have always found what I needed but they've told me this a few times.

I buy dog food ingredients (rice, lentils, beans, nooch) in bulk to mix into the furbabies' Natural Balance. That NB dog food is ridiculously expensive!

I forgot about this one. Although we limit the plastic bags we use, every plastic bag that comes in the house is used. Whether it is a bread bag or something else. We use plastic bags for trash bags as we have very little trash anyway.

I just started the no-poo (no shampoo) routine a few months ago. My hair looks really good (it is past shoulder length btw). So I use apple cider vinegar, put in a spray bottle. And baking soda. The baking soda gets rid of grease, the vinegar makes my hair shiny. So this will be as cheap as I can get vinegar and baking soda. If you consider doing this, though, you should know that your hair WILL look like crepe for about two weeks or so when you begin. I'm an art student so no big deal there.

I cut my own hair, but I'm not really fashionable so it's not too hard.... Many beauty schools offer free haircuts, you are basically a guinea pig for the students. You can find these offers on craigslist or just call the beauty schools directly.

Its nice that a lot of the things that are good for the environment also save you money. Like drying your clothes out in the sun, instead of paying for the dryer. Or if you use a resuable shopping bag, a lot of grocery stores will give you a 5 cent discount (here in the Bay Area, that is, buncha crusty hippies we are).

Oh yeah! That reminds me. If you like goji berries. They are like 12 bucks at whole foods and ridiculously cheap at Chinese groceries.

How much like crepe? I am almost out of my J/A/S/O/N's shampoo and I wanted to try the baking soda bit. (I heard the vinegar can make your hair greasier, so only apply to strands.) But see, I work. in an office. where I have to dress nice (no sweatpants, to my dismay.)

Thanks.

I actually like brewed tea as a rinse over acv but you can use just a couple of ACV I think.

Yeah, your hair will look like total crepe. Greasy, stringy (at least my straight, thin hair did). It happens when you stop shampooing everyday--your head starts replacing the oils that you've been stripping off of it regularly. Eventually it evens out and stops being greasy. It took about two weeks for me. I was working on my thesis project and getting no sleep, so I looked like crepe anyway, so I didn't have to care.

Probably depends in part on your hair/scalp chemistry... if you tend towards dryness anyway, you're probably not going to look that hellish in the week or two it takes your head to adjust to no 'poo. I'm a super dry scalp person... to the point where I only shampoo once a week (well, once every six days) because it helps my dry asparagus scalp a lot. My hair is still not noticeably stringy or greasy by the sixth day. I did no poo for half a year or so and didn't notice any transition period at all.

I did no poo for a while and my hair never looked like crepe. I only did the acv rinse every 3 to 4 days but rinsed everyday with hot water, followed by the coldest water I could handle. The cold water will help close the cuticle so your hair isn't all frizzy and gross looking. ACV will more likely dry your hair out, than make it greasy...just make sure you rinse it out completely...

I'm incredibly indecisive in all things, including shopping, so I never really buy anything. Sometimes this is an issue when I actually need something, but it saves money!

I don't have a closet or a dresser and all my clothes are in suitcases on my floor. Class.

i've been cutting my hair for about 8 years, but i get tons of compliments on my hair from strangers so i guess thats good. I never use the heater or AC in my apartment. make all our bread, rarely buy prepackaged food or eat out ( the bf hates me for this sometimes), eat oranges and lemons for free in the winter from the millions of overloaded trees around town and dumpster dive. and make all my dog's treats. my boyfriend works at the thrift store too so that helps. most of the things we own are from there or from a dumpster. and we have A LOT of awesome stuff. for pretty much free!

Where is this magical place that you live, that you don't have to use ac or heat?!

believe me, its not a magical place, i can't wait to get out of here and move to beautiful tahoe, but im in davis right now for school. and i get very cold and very hot. i just suck it up. wear lots of layers and bake a lot when its cold and when im hot i drink a lot of smoothies. and sweat. a lot.

Thanks for the bread recipes everyone! If there is anybody who really enjoys veggie lunch meat for sandwiches but would like to save money I recently discovered Vegan Dad's recipe and really liked it.

Unless I feel icky, am in a hurry, or have to go somewhere more than four or five miles away, I walk everywhere. Otherwise, I take the bus or subway (and on the rare occasions I venture outside of the city, the commuter rail.)
My bike's been busted for four months. I'm waiting for either spring break or summer so I can work at the earn-a-bike in my hometown to pay off a shiny new (used) bike.
I don't pay rent. I earn my keep by being the cleaning person and cook for my roommates, and giving what I can for bills.
When I had a working bike, I would dumpster dive for my produce and bread. I also curb shop for any non-upholstered furniture I find myself needing.
I try my best not to buy anything I don't need, and when I do go shopping for things other than food, I always go to thrift stores.
For food, I shop around for the best prices. For non-perishable items, I stock up when I find very good prices.
When I'm not dumpster diving for bread, I bake my own.
When I get gifts for people, I usually shop at thrift stores. I always seem to find the best vintage items for gifting at Boomerangs (a local thrift place.)
I buy all of my non-perscription meds online. They're wayyyy cheaper that way.
I use a vinegar-water mix for most of my cleaning.
I have a vegetable garden in the summer. I don't have a yard, I help my friend with her garden, and because of this teamwork we can have a bigger, healthier, and more productive garden than either of us could manage on our own.
I can! I have salsa, jam, and tomato sauce up the wazoo, and don't think I will ever need to buy any of these items ever again...

I thought of this thread a few days ago when I took 20 items of clothing from my closet to a resale shop. (20 items is their maximum per visit.) They only bought 8 items for a total of $24, and I gave the rest to Goodwill on my way home. I look at the 24 bucks like getting paid to declutter. Yes!

I disagree with this. I spent about $5 on tomato seeds last year, and picked easily over 100lbs of tomatoes. I still have a freezer full of tomatoes that we're eating through.

can we add onto this thread?
What do you guys do for fun on the cheap? i get so bored and I am always trying to find cheap/free ways to spend my days

This is a weird one, but I got to thinking about it yesterday. I typically try to avoid shopping at big grocery chains because usually produce and other groceries are cheaper and the local ethnic supermarket. BUT, I've noticed Von's (Safeway) and Ralphs (Kroger) will super-discount their food almost all the time.

At first, I only noticed banged-up cans of hominy or those gross bakery items in the back by the bathrooms. However, if you look at the end of the freezer section, you might score some good stuff.

They had rows and rows of Amy's items the other day that were 50%. I grabbed about 4 Amy's noodle stirfrys for $2.00 each. They also had a bunch of frozen vegan soups from the brand Tabatchnick for half off. I was so so impressed. It was like they were liquidating all the expensive vegan frozen foods. I have lunches for the next two weeks!

well if you enjoy nature there's always hiking which is free or super cheap and the money goes towards maintaining the park. going to farmers markets, flea markets, and the like is cheap or at least can be. there's always free concerts, readings, museum days, etc in a lot of places. going to the beach is a super cheap or free thing to do!

Hiking is my favorite cheap activity. Also, you are in Boulder... How about going to Celestial seasonings factory? Taking factory tour and collecting free tea. Win-Win.

I subscribe to a bunch of different email lists that send out free things to do locally. They will post about different community groups having outreach activities, free festivals going on in the parks, etc.

Cut my own hair (it shows)

Check out DVDs from the library

No TV

Make coffee/tea at home - Thank goodness my tastes aren't discerning enough for this to be an issue. I never understand how supposedly broke students are able to afford coffees and lattes every day - they cost almost as much as lunch!

Never eating out - this is because of my anti-candida diet, but before I went on that I ate out maybe once a week (nothing fancy) and stuck to an entree and water or went for the lunch special

Reusing margarine/yogurt containers and nut butter jars instead of buying more tupperware

No landline, wouldn't even like to have a cell phone but since landlords/banks/doctors need a contact number, I have a $15/month cell phone plan

Cleaning with rags and rarely using paper towels (my mom even reuses her paper towels!)

No canned beans, only dry; similarly, buying grains and pulses in bulk instead of in packaging

I don't drink now because of my diet, but when I did I did most of my drinking with some friends before going out, and then would only order 1 drink at the bar. Or carry a bottle into the bathroom, saving money is classy.



I save a lot of money this way, but then blow it all on snazzy vegetables, nut butters, supplements, books, and the occasional dress splurge. I really do not understand how many of my fellow students survive, getting takeout and buying lunch out all the time, buying coffee, haircuts, drinks galore at the bar, etc. I guess the answer is that they're all in debt