Monologue of a thrifty housewife: how to learn to save every day? Grocery set. Tips from a thrifty housewife Thrifty housewife part 1 from the Countess blog

Endless crises in Russia and rising costs of services and food prices force us to look for opportunities to save money every time. You don’t want to be stressed from constant saving, so it’s better to consciously approach this issue and start applying useful tips in your life every day.

What has always been surprising when traveling to Europe and America is that they are very frugal with their resources and money. Western people always consider the feasibility of purchases: all electrical appliances and equipment are purchased in an energy-saving mode, all garbage is sorted. They always buy goods in stock at discounts, and take the children home from kindergarten for lunch, because this is more economical for the family budget.

Let's see how we in Russia can save money. Our whole life consists of daily habits that we can review in order to save money in everyday life.

• Adjust the temperature of hot water when washing dishes by not adding cold water, but by slightly reducing the pressure of hot water. Better yet, accumulate dishes and...
• Change all light bulbs in the apartment to energy-saving ones. Save up to 40% on electricity.
• The refrigerator should be placed away from the stove, away from the radiator, and away from the window so that the sun does not heat the surface of the appliance.
• When cooking food on the stove, the area of ​​the bottom of the pan must exactly correspond to the diameter of the burner. It is better to cook food covered. Save up to 20% per month on electricity.
• It is better to load the washing machine after weighing the laundry, that is, with a full load. But set the mode to economical. As a result, you save powder, water, and electricity.
• A glass of water when brushing your teeth will save up to 15 liters of water per day, and 450 liters per month.
• Showering saves several times more water than taking a bath. Don't neglect this.
• Unplug all electrical appliances and chargers from sockets. Turn on the heated floor in the apartment as needed. And in your absence it is better to turn it off.
• For example, you have 10 light bulbs in your chandelier. This amount is only necessary when guests gather. Therefore, leave 3-4 lamps for comfortable lighting, this will also bring significant savings
• Do not put hot food in the refrigerator, do laundry at night in automatic mode, get spring water for free, iron clothes when there is a lot of it accumulated, and not one item at a time.
• It is better to pay for housing and communal services, Internet, and electricity a little in advance. Many of them give bonuses for prepayment: city tours, favorable rates, payment of your tariff with bonuses, access to an electronic library, etc.

So, thanks to these tips, you can use housing and communal services save up to 40% per month .

• Stains can be removed with dishwashing liquid, laundry soap, or ammonia.
• You can wipe off dust with a microfiber cloth without any chemicals.
• Air fresheners can be replaced with a scented candle.
• It is better to store bread in the refrigerator. It does not ferment for such a long time and can be used for a long time.
• Instead of sausage, make your own baked meat in the oven. It is healthier and more economical.
• Make your own pates from white meat chicken, herring and liver.
• 3-ply toilet paper is more economical than 2-ply.

With home tricks you can save up to 20-30% .

Everyone knows that it is better not to go to the store when you are hungry. Everyone also knows about price tags with 99 at the end. But about the menu for the week, I think not.

• Make a menu for the week and a grocery list for the week.
• Prepare semi-finished products yourself and freeze everything. These can be pancakes, cutlets, cabbage rolls, broths, dumplings and chebureki.
• The bread can be refreshed by first soaking it in water and putting it in the oven to heat.
• From leftover food you can make pizza, omelet, and solyanka.
• Plant fresh herbs and onions instead of flowers in the window.
• Place dinner on everyone's plate. This is more economical than throwing away half-eaten leftovers.
• Tea is healthier and better to brew in a teapot - there will be enough for everyone. And you can add thyme yourself, bought at the pharmacy, dry apples from the dacha, rose hips from the forest.
• Buy water for drinking in large containers, it’s more economical.
• In the morning, drink coffee at work, not from a machine on the street.
• Clearly divide portions for consumption: for example, a pack of kefir is divided into 5 portions, and pour oil for frying in a frying pan using a spoon.

Don’t save money, but diversify your diet by simply eating competent calculation of all costs .

• Use the 72-hour rule: don’t buy right away, don’t be influenced by emotions.
• Buy food when you're fresh, when you're not too tired, so you'll buy less unhealthy stuff.
• It is more economical to buy groceries in a basket than in a shopping cart.
• Small children increase the cost of a trip to the store by 30%.
• Wholesale purchases at vegetable stores, in collaboration with someone, bonuses in the store, large packages, promotional sales of the desired product - use it.
• Always consider the cost per piece, not per package.
• Focus on prices.
• Freeze food in the fall. Eggplants, peppers, carrots, beets, and tomatoes are more delicious in the fall. Then they are easy to cook with and taste just as good as at the height of the season.

save up to 40% .

• Lead a healthy lifestyle and you will save on medications.
• Walk 5 km a day and you will not be overweight, and your complexion will improve significantly.
• Make healthy face masks from everyday ingredients.
• It is better to visit a dentist, gynecologist, therapist once every six months so that you do not miss diseases, and you will not need expensive medications, as well as dental treatment.
• Make gifts with your own hands, you can give flowers that you grew yourself, and you can pack everything yourself.
• Manicures and pedicures will last longer with proper care.
• Don't buy bags from the store. The package costs 10 rubles, you go to the store 10 times a month, so that’s 100 rubles, which is 1 kilogram of apples.
• When shopping, the price must be compared with the cost of your hour of work.
• Review communication tariffs for the whole family.
• Plan your weekend not only for going to paid events, but also prepare excursions to interesting places yourself, and promise your children a picnic in nature - everyone will be interested.
• Don't buy books. Enrolling in an electronic library will give you very big savings, for example, a subscription for a year costs about 2-3 thousand, and one book costs 300-400 rubles.

Daily habits will bring you more an organized approach to your money and time .

Initially, when you introduce new habits, the body resists a lot, and you may even feel tense and tired from it. You need to consciously approach the issue of saving, and accept what will ultimately bring you not only savings in money, but also benefits.

Try it, you will succeed! And then, it’s so interesting to manage your little home empire!

Probably, many housewives are familiar with the situation when, returning from work, without any particular desire to cook anything, we buy ready-made food. And at home, in , there is a bunch of food that will easily spoil while you eat ready-made food from the supermarket. As a result of this whole situation, half my salary per month is spent on food.

But, in fact, you can save on groceries, you just need to discipline yourself a little and learn how to manage money correctly.

Today we’ll talk about how to save on groceries. So, first you need to create a menu for the whole week. Even though it seems almost impossible, having a roughly composed menu will make your life much easier. Think about what you usually eat for breakfast, for example. Buy eggs, muesli, cereals and ready-made cereals, as well as sausage or ham, depending on what you prefer. This will be quite enough. It wouldn’t hurt to think through several options for lunch and dinner.

The next step is to buy products, as they say, wisely. Make a list at home necessary products, and in the store strictly follow the list. If “extra” purchases are your weakness, then it is best to take a small amount of money with you, only for what is necessary.

Make it a rule to save store receipts. At the end of the month, you will be able to add up the amount that you spent on food.

It's no secret that in stores located near your home, everything is always exorbitantly expensive. Therefore, you need to find the best option for a store that is not very far from home, and whose food prices will not ruin you before the month ends.

Try to cook universal dishes more often. Fried eggs, casseroles, porridge, omelettes and sandwiches can be prepared from quite unexpected products. For example, uneaten pasta or potatoes for dinner will be an excellent basis for casseroles.

You can make pancakes from the remaining porridge (if it is cooked in milk). The remaining greens should not be thrown away; they can be cut and frozen in.

Ready-made, frozen dough helps the housewife out well. Yeast dough Great for making pizza or just baked goods.

"Click" on seasonal fruits and vegetables. Of course, often in winter we want grapes or strawberries, but this is quite an expensive pleasure. Moreover, at this time of year they are not very useful. It is better to give preference to seasonal vegetables (fruits). They are much cheaper and safer. Judge for yourself what is healthier is the compote you cooked or the water of unknown color with bubbles in it. plastic bottle, unknown where and how stored.

The last and very important rule of saving is to avoid semi-finished products whenever possible. All of them are beautifully packaged, but have a relatively small weight (from 250 to 500g). If you translate the cost of a semi-finished product into the cost of one kilogram, it turns out that they are expensive, and their quality is a secret to the buyer.

It is much better and healthier to buy a whole chicken than ready-made cutlets or minced meat. Ready-made salads are also not quite healthy dishes. If you need to reduce the time it takes to boil vegetables (carrots, beets, potatoes), buy these ready-made vegetables in the supermarket. Vegetables are usually placed next to salads and marinated kebabs in the display cases.

By following our advice, you will soon notice that your food costs have noticeably decreased, your diet has become much more varied and healthier. The husband and children often leave the table with a satisfied smile. You hear more often: “Thank you, dear!” You have “extra money” to go to the cinema with the whole family.

This does not mean that you will eat worse, no, you just learned to save!

I admit right away that I am a spender. And as a child, my mother scolded me very much for this: if I got my hands on money, I immediately rushed to spend it. Perhaps I just always knew what I needed. But one way or another, the money did not stay in my hands. Naturally, when I began to live an independent life, I had to remake myself, change myself radically.

First attempts

It all started, of course, back in my student years. Now, honestly, I can’t imagine how I lived in my first year on one scholarship (more precisely, on two: regular and social) - 1,200 rubles (in 2003). Moreover, I then managed to buy my first mobile phone myself (with my entire monthly income).

Later, when in my fourth year I began to live with my future husband, some kind of rational distribution of funds began. My husband’s salary was meager at the time, and I had virtually no income. As a result, we rented an apartment and lived on one and a half subsistence levels. It was then that I had to learn to save.

We probably started, like everyone else, with a notebook of expenses and income. We carefully saved all receipts from purchases, then wrote down the amounts in the columns, down to the kopecks. And so on for six months. At the end of the month, we summed up the results, analyzed what was unnecessary and what could be saved.

However, this did not help us at all - we lived from paycheck to paycheck. Soon, recognizing that maintaining such a notebook was useless, we abandoned it.

The situation improved when, in my fifth year, I found a job. We lived on two salaries for a month without much strain and even managed to buy something big and save up for something. It was quite easy: my husband’s salary was once a month, and it was spent on paying for the apartment and large purchases, while I received interest every day on what was done during the working day - with this money we bought food.

In general, we lived well. Even all the “pockets” from both wallets were put into a cow piggy bank every evening, given to us for our wedding. And then sometimes they spent it on something unplanned.

When my daughter appeared, I had to quit my job, and life became a little harder, but not much - by that time my husband was already working in a good position with a good salary. We took up saving with new efforts only when we bought our own apartment and paid half of my husband’s salary for a loan.

This has already become a real savings. And after my husband and I separated, and I got the loan (thank God, along with the apartment), saving simply became a way of life. So how do I save?

My strategy

And the saving strategy is quite simple: do not skimp on products. Of course, we don’t eat red caviar or eat tons of cookies and sweets. My parents supply my daughter and I with potatoes and other root vegetables from their dacha - fortunately, my little booger and I eat just a little bit.

Expensive products such as cheese and sausage live in our refrigerator all the time, but small quantities. True, I still haven’t learned how to guess this number. When I lived with my husband, I got used to food disappearing from the refrigerator at lightning speed. And since our separation, because of this habit, a lot of things in the refrigerator have already spoiled precisely because of my carelessness.

Although, if I bought fewer products at the store, I could save money. From here rule one: don't take more than you can eat.

And at the same time immediately second rule: non-perishable products(sugar, flour, cereals, pasta) It’s better to buy in the largest volumes and in bulk. Since my daughter and I hardly use sugar, except for adding homemade pies and cookies, this product has not decreased by more than a kilogram from our reserves in 6 months. That is, sugar will not appear on my shopping list for a long time.

By the way, here it is third rule: before going to the store you need to make detailed list shopping. I allow myself no more than one deviation from the list - to “pamper” myself, because it is impossible to keep yourself in constant tension of austerity.

As for other expenses, this applies fourth rule: For the sake of quality, it's worth sacrificing a LITTLE cost. For example, I have a certain taboo on buying shoes in markets. Only in the store and only with a guarantee. Yes, sometimes it costs a third, or even half, more, but it’s worth it.

For example, I wear sneakers from the market for 500 rubles for two months - not even enough for a season. And sneakers from the store for 800-900 rubles - two summers. I tried and experimented three times - the result was the same.

Since we touched on clothes and shoes, there is one more thing for me, fifth, rule of economy: discard unnecessary complexes. While my daughter is small, and around her friends and acquaintances there are children older than us, without a twinge of conscience I take advantage of the fact that they give us a lot of things.

Yes, some things can only be worn under other clothes, but very often they give away completely new, practically unworn dresses, trousers, and T-shirts. I admit, almost half, if not more, of my daughter’s clothes are previously someone else’s things, not from the store. Moreover, I often alter my clothes into my daughter’s, for example, jeans. And I’m not ashamed to “wear” my aunt’s clothes myself, who gets tired of them. Fortunately, we are the same size.

Following these simple rules, now my daughter and I survive on 8 thousand rubles. Agree, this is very little even for a provincial town. But I admit, even in such a situation, for example, my mother would have managed to save money - but, alas, I was not able to understand HOW she does it...

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Thrifty housewife. Miracles in the refrigerator.

Today is a story about what saves a housewife’s time. Something that can be used many times and that makes our stay in the kitchen “witchcraft” for the rest of the family. Post content:
1. Square meatballs
2. Concentrated meat broth- soup base
3. Universal soup dressing
4. Pesto cheese sauce
5. Bolognese sauce.

1. Square meatballs

We will need:
Minced meat for meatballs (half a kilogram of minced meat, 50 ml of milk and the crumb of half a loaf. Salt and pepper to taste)
Ice mold (for this amount of minced meat you will need 3 standard forms)
Wide knife or spatula

Preparation:
Pack the minced meat tightly into ice cube trays. The denser, the neater our meatballs will turn out. Remove the remaining minced meat with a wide knife or spatula.

Freeze it.

After 6 hours, remove the pan from the freezer and remove ready-made meatballs. To make this easier, you need to lower it into hot water for 10 seconds so that the bottom and walls of the molds are under water, and the top (where the minced meat is) is not covered with water. Then carefully insert a thin knife into the gap between the meatball and the wall of the mold, press down and remove the meatball.

Place the finished meatballs in a freezer bag or container and put them back in the freezer.

All! Now you can put them in soup, in the oven, or in a frying pan.

2. Concentrated meat broth - basis for soup

One liter of such concentrated broth produces 5 liters of soup with meat. Considering that a standard serving of soup is 350-400 g, then four liters of concentrate is enough for 50-57 servings of soup. The cost of one serving (excluding vegetables such as potatoes, cabbage, onions and carrots - this is always inexpensive) is about 5 Russian rubles. rubles So soups are not only healthy, but also very cheap.

The most rich meat soups obtained from pork knuckle. It is not expensive, and the broth it makes is excellent. Pork knuckle can also be replaced with beef leg. How to prepare concentrated meat broth?

We will need:
Pork knuckle - 1.5 kg. One kilogram of shank costs about 150-200 rubles. I strongly advise you to buy chilled, rather than frozen, shanks, so as not to accidentally buy stale meat.
Bay leaf, black peppercorns, 3-5 buds of cloves.
Salt to taste

Preparation:
Wash the shank, put it in a five-liter saucepan and cover with cold water for 1-2 hours. After this, scrape the skin with a knife to accurately remove all possible dirt. Wash the knuckle again and fill it with clean cold water.

Place the pan over medium heat. When the water boils, reduce the heat and remove the foam. The fire under the pan should be such that the water does not even boil, but sways slightly.

The knuckle should simmer in this manner for about four hours. During this time, it will release all its juices and most of its fat content into the broth. As it boils, water can be added. 20 minutes before readiness, add spices and salt.

Checking the readiness of the shank is very simple: the meat should easily separate from the bones. It will be impossible to pick up such a piece with a fork - it will immediately fall apart. The finished meat broth will be dark yellow.

Remove the shank and strain the broth through a fine sieve. After removing the shanks, there should be about four liters of concentrated broth left in the pan.

Separate the meat into small pieces fiber by fiber. We no longer need the bones, skin and remaining fat (we can give these remains to the yard dog). Divide the meat itself into four liter jars and add broth into them (but not to the brim).

Actually, the concentrated broth is already ready. Some of it can be used immediately, and some can be frozen. This concentrate should be diluted with water in a ratio of 1/3 (vegetables will take about another liter by volume). And then proceed as with regular broth.

That's all, actually. The result is a big saving not only of money, but also of time, since preparing the next portion of soup will no longer require preparing the broth. And twenty liters of soup will last a long time even in such a carnivorous family as yours.

3. Universal soup dressing - a lot at once.

We have already discussed the preparation of broth, its freezing and storage above (using broth prepared for future use gives +1 hour of free time). Now it's time for frying. Everything is simple here - you need to do a lot of it at once so that it is enough for several times. I calculated that the preparation universal refill for soup in bulk (for six large pots of soup at once, takes 30 minutes), but saves two and a half hours of invaluable time in the near future. I'd rather spend those two hours walking with my baby than chopping onions and peeling carrots. And you?

Soup dressing.
The total and active cooking time is 30 minutes.
Quantity: 6 large pots of soup.

Ingredients:
Onion - 2 pcs. Carrots - 2 pcs. Celery root - 1 pc (small or ½ medium) Bell pepper - 1 pc. (in winter you can use pre-frozen and chopped) Garlic - 4 cloves Tomato paste - 4 tbsp. (or tomato sauce 6 tbsp.) Parsley - a bunch Dill - a bunch Vegetable oil - 1 cup (you will need a lot) Salt - 3 tbsp.

Preparation:
1. Peel the carrots (4 minutes).
2. Pour 1/3 cup of vegetable oil into a frying pan and heat over low heat (1 minute).
3. Peel the onion, chop finely and fry in vegetable oil (4 minutes).
All frying is done without a lid over low heat.

4. Peel and finely chop the garlic. Add to the onion and mix. Fry. (4 minutes).
5. Carrots for three coarse grater and add to the pan.
Add another 1/3 cup of oil and fry, stirring occasionally (5 minutes).

6. Peel the celery and grate it on a coarse grater.
Add celery and the remaining oil to the frying pan, stir and fry (5 minutes).

7. Peel the pepper, remove the seeds and stem. Cut into cubes.
Add together with tomato paste to the frying pan, stir and fry (3 minutes).

8. Add finely chopped greens, mix, salt and fry (2 minutes).
Add salt to taste, and then the same amount twice more. It takes me 3 tablespoons of salt. It’s okay that the dressing will be over-salted - it will only be stored better, and the future soup does not need to be re-salted.
All is ready. It took us almost 30 minutes to prepare the soup dressing.

After the dressing has cooled, it can be placed in clean glass jars(I fit in one liter jar). Fill the remaining centimeter to the edge of the jar vegetable oil and put the jar in the refrigerator. In this form it will be stored for up to two weeks. If part of the dressing is used, then the top layer in the jar must be coated with oil again.

4. Pesto sauce - prepare, store.

The almost daily presence of Pesto sauce on our table does not mean that we need to prepare it every day. You just need to know how to store it so that it stays fresh for up to two weeks. A half-liter jar of this sauce is usually enough for this period. I cooked it once and the refrigerator smells like an Italian restaurant. Worth it homemade sauce much cheaper than in stores, and the taste differs favorably. It's quick and easy to prepare - no need to cook, fry or bake anything. I'm telling you.

Pesto
Total and active cooking time - 20 minutes
Cost - 3 $

Ingredients:
Hard cheese - 200 g. If you have the opportunity to get pecorino cheese (sheep cheese), then use it. If you live in reality, then Parmesan. And if in a cunning way, then any other hard cheese taste. The taste of the cheese is not so important here - garlic and basil will still be in the foreground.

Basil - about 1 cup chopped. If in our northern countries it is very difficult to find basil in the autumn-winter period, then it can be replaced with 2 tablespoons of dry + a large bunch of fresh parsley.

Nuts - 100 g. If financial resources allow, then pine nuts. But sauce options with walnuts or hazelnuts they also have the right to be. The only warning about walnuts is that they must be fresh, collected no more than 3 months ago (our fresh nuts arrive on the shelves at the end of September and are quite suitable for consumption until February).

I advise you to never buy already packaged walnuts, since they only have a statute of limitations on the fact of packaging. Old walnuts are bitter and can ruin the entire sauce. It is better to buy in bulk and strictly inquire when the harvest was harvested. Fresh walnut kernels have a light skin. If, despite asking for fresh ones, they try to slip you dark brown or wrinkled nuts, then you have every moral right to be rude to the seller.

Garlic - 4 cloves. In my family, we really love garlic in this sauce, so we exceed this norm by 2 times. But for the first time, try to get by with at least 4 large cloves.
Olive oil - the amount depends on the density of the sauce.

Preparation:
Peel the garlic and crush the cloves using a garlic press. Finely chop the basil, mix with garlic and, armed with a marble mortar and wooden pestle (or an aluminum saucepan and a wooden masher), crush everything together until smooth. The mixture should be vibrant green and very fragrant. Those who are especially lazy and in a hurry can use a blender, however, the mixture cut in a blender is less fragrant than crushed by hand.

Grate the cheese on a fine grater.
Finely crush the nuts and add to the future sauce.
Mix the cheese with a mixture of garlic, basil and nuts.

You should get a fairly viscous mixture, reminiscent of plasticine. To dilute this mass and add plasticity to it, add olive oil in a thin stream. In this case, the future Pesto sauce must be stirred all the time.

That's it, the Pesto sauce is ready.

To store, transfer it to a clean, dry half-liter jar (tamping tightly), and pour 0.5 cm of olive oil on top. Such an oil cushion, firstly, will prevent the sauce from drying out and spoiling, and secondly, it will reduce the intensity of its smell (I warned you that the refrigerator in which there is a jar of sauce will smell like an Italian restaurant). If the sauce is used, then the oil from the jar must first be drained and then topped up again so that it completely covers the sauce. It can be stored in this form for up to two weeks, but, as a rule, it is eaten even earlier.

5. Bolognese sauce. Cook, freeze and store.

The results of my subsequent experiments with Bolognese sauce showed that, indeed, it not only freezes well, but also tastes no different from freshly prepared. Since then I have been preparing this sauce in large quantities at once. I freeze portions in 200 gram cups. Thanks to such reserves, dinner is prepared almost instantly: while the pasta is cooking, 2 cups of sauce are defrosted in the microwave (for me and my husband). And after 15-20 minutes, not just banal pasta is served for dinner, but Pasta with Bolognese sauce (it sounds!). This sauce can also be the basis for making lasagna, served with potatoes or stewed vegetables.

Bolognese sauce
Total cooking time - 40 minutes
Active cooking time - 25 minutes
Number of servings - from the given quantity of products seven 200-gram cups are obtained.

Ingredients:
Minced meat - 400 g (beef + pork) Onion - 2 pcs. Garlic - 6 cloves. Mild green pepper - 3 pcs. Tomatoes - 5 pcs. (in winter, can be replaced with 3 tbsp. tomato paste with 1 tsp. sugar) Olive oil - 50 ml Dry wine - 120 ml Dried basil - 1 tbsp. (in the summer you can use fresh - 1/3 cup chopped) Dried mint - sprig (usually dried mint is sold in the spice department, but if it’s not there, you can gut a bag with mint tea, which is sold in any pharmacy) Salt to taste.

1. Put the kettle on the fire (boiling water will be needed a little later for blanching the tomatoes).
2. Fry on olive oil ground meat.

Since you will get quite a lot of sauce, I advise you to cook it either in a large and deep frying pan or in a saucepan with a thick bottom.

3. While the minced meat is fried, finely chop the onion and garlic. Add to the minced meat and fry, stirring constantly.
During this time, we have time to finely chop the green pepper.

4. Peel the tomatoes (this is where we need boiling water) and also chop finely.
When the minced meat begins to brown, add the chopped pepper.

5. After 3 minutes, add tomatoes. Close the lid and simmer everything together for 10 minutes.

6. Add wine, spices and herbs. Stir, cover and simmer for another five minutes, after which the finished sauce can be removed from the heat.
That's it, the Bolognese sauce is ready.

Tip: To freeze, you need to let the sauce cool and only then pour it into plastic glasses. You can store at a temperature of -18C for up to two months (I’m sure it will run out much earlier).

P.S. I specifically searched Google for a recipe for this sauce. I discovered about two dozen recipes with different ingredients that claim to be “real Bolognese sauce.” I can’t guarantee that my version of the sauce is “the one,” but I guarantee that it’s delicious.

The advent of the financial crisis, which resulted in a decrease in income and an increase in prices in stores, reminded us of the need to save money; just how to do it right? It is simply impossible to refuse to purchase essential goods, among which food, detergents and hygiene products come to the fore, and without buying new clothes and shoes, any woman will lose her attractiveness within a few years.

So what can you save on without unpleasant consequences for yourself and your family? After all, free money will never become superfluous - it can be directed in another direction, for example, organizing a joint trip to an ice skating rink or an entertainment center. What are they, the secrets of a thrifty housewife? Maybe in the matter of rational family budget planning, like in cooking, there are special recipes? Let's try to find out this right now, and try to understand what exactly will allow us to become more thrifty and economical.

Basic principles of saving at home

To begin, get a special notebook, similar to the one where family records are kept. culinary recipes. It is in it that you, as a zealous housewife, will begin to record all family income and even the smallest expenses. Within a few months you will have a complete picture of all costs. This will undoubtedly make it easier to identify the main points for further savings. After all, entries in a notebook will immediately indicate those expenses that were made without a specific need.

Many tips that will not only allow a woman to become a thrifty housewife, but also involve all family members in the process of saving, relate to everyday issues. After all, a considerable part of the money is spent on maintaining the apartment and the mandatory payments associated with this. Therefore, you can save money here too, while receiving certain benefits.

So, if among the main expenses of the family a significant amount is allocated to pay for utilities, every thrifty housewife will decide to install gas and water meters so as not to overpay the utility companies. To save on payments, do not waste resources, do not leave taps open, repair leaking plumbing fixtures in a timely manner, turn off the lights in rooms where no one is, install energy-saving light bulbs in the apartment. If you are going to buy new household appliances, you should pay attention to the class of this equipment, because the higher it is, the more economical the costs of using electricity and water.

If cell phone and internet costs are becoming a strain on your family budget, it may be time to change providers or upgrade to more cost-effective packages that will allow you to reduce costs in the future.

How to save on food?

Many useful tips for thrifty housewives mainly include only recipes for dishes that are not expensive to prepare for the family budget, but the main savings lie not so much in the composition of the ingredients, but in home cooking food. Our compatriots have long been accustomed to buying chopped salads and pizza in supermarkets, which you just need to heat up in microwave oven, packs of dumplings and dumplings, other semi-finished products.

But thrifty housewives know very well that such products are expensive and are unlikely to benefit the body. Therefore, it is better to go to the market or, at worst, to a hypermarket on a weekend. Purchase fresh vegetables, dairy products, meat and chicken, all kinds of greens, and then for a week prepare healthy dishes from these products, using old and inventing new recipes. Therefore, any economical and thrifty housewife needs to learn the first rule of rational shopping: high-quality natural food is not more expensive than health!

In order not to spend a lot of time preparing dinner after work, tinker with the meat in advance, cutting it into pieces, make semi-finished meatballs, which then you just have to fry. It’s also a good idea to learn how to create an approximate menu for the week, taking into account recipes for those dishes that will not be difficult to prepare even after a busy day at work. Turn to the experience of more mature housewives and listen carefully to advice, for example, from your mother. She probably knows many tricks related to the issue of saving.

Remember that a truly economical housewife does not waste anything, so there is no need to prepare huge pots of food, the remains of which will then be thrown away, and also fill the refrigerator to the top, since most food spoils during long-term storage. This is the second rule of becoming more frugal: foods with a limited shelf life should only be purchased in quantities that your family can consume in a timely manner.

The properties of flour and sugar depend on storage conditions bulk products, therefore, if you buy such products in bags in order to save money, ensure their safety. To do this, you need to create ideal conditions in the room, for example, in a pantry, where there is no dampness. But you shouldn’t buy sunflower oil in packages - you can always choose it in any store. Here is the third rule that any thrifty young housewife needs to remember: food long-term storage It is indeed more profitable to purchase in bulk, but subject to a reasonable approach and the availability of suitable storage conditions.

To become more rational in spending, teach yourself and the rest of your family not to go shopping without first having breakfast or lunch. Of course, there are force majeure circumstances when you need to go to the store after work. But at this time you are usually in a hurry, so you will quickly take only what you need and go home. Advice against shopping on an empty stomach applies to weekly trips to the supermarket, which are often done with the whole family.

If someone is hungry, especially children, then the variety of food temptations will quickly move into your cart, leaving no room really important goods. And how surprised you will be when you sort out your purchases and discover that the amount of money spent does not correspond to the fullness of your refrigerator! Rule five: having a full meal before going to the store can be a good deterrent in trying to buy too much.

How to save money at home?

Any thrifty woman treats things with care, giving many of them the right to a second life. Even if you don’t know how to sew, transforming an old coat into a fashionable jacket in one of the sewing studios will cost much less than purchasing new outerwear, and from worn jeans you can make a miniskirt, a creative beach bag and many other interesting things.

If your family spends a lot of money on clothes, then the situation when the closets are bursting under the weight of things, and, strictly speaking, there is nothing to wear, will probably seem familiar to you. Therefore, first of all, try to get rid of those toilet items that you no longer need for a long time (they have become small, large, worn out), and analyze the remaining ones. Determine which new items and which family members need them first. Distribute them according to urgency, rather than trying to squeeze everything into the next paycheck.

A thrifty young housewife will also be helped by the very common advice that it is best to buy clothes and shoes at seasonal sales. This is especially true for children's clothes, because you need a lot of them, and kids sometimes grow faster than we can update their wardrobe. Please note that the rapid loss of items' original appearance, shapes, colors and textures can be the result of improper care. Remember that it is best to store clothes on clothes dryers and wash and dry them in the manner indicated on the tags. Advice that shoes should be washed, cleaned and lubricated with protective agents on time will help you wear them longer.

There are many ways to help update your interior economically: to do this, just purchase new curtains and use hand-made items in your design. And even an old soft corner can be given a new life by changing the upholstery and using beautiful sofa cushions. If you are a creative person, love and know how to make things with your own hands, then use these talents to save your family budget by decorating your house with items of your own creativity. Moreover, now this is considered a particularly fashionable and original solution.

Take saving seriously! And over time, you will definitely learn to save so that your apartment remains cozy, the aroma of delicious food comes from the kitchen, and your clothes are fashionable. Do not think that a wide range of food and industrial goods drove out of our lives the habit of baking pies on weekends, and made knitting, embroidery and sewing the prerogative of women of retirement age. All this will never lose relevance, because it is based on the principles of love and care.

Here, perhaps, are all the basic tips that will allow every housewife to rationally approach the organization of the family budget and become more economical. Although not all of them will be useful to you personally, using even a small part of the techniques described above will allow you to see positive results in the form of a certain amount of money saved within a couple of months. And if you don’t back down and turn such an experiment into the habit of taking care of your income and carefully planning your expenses, then in a year and a half you will be able to strengthen your family’s financial situation in a completely unexpected way.