To make any purchase a good one, you must make sure it is worth the money, is of good quality, and is safe. For children’s products and toys this is of utmost importance. Just because a product is on the store shelves does not mean it has been tested for safety. There have been many... Continue Reading →
Decoding kashrut
Keeping kosher is more than just learning the basics, buying kosher food, and not mixing meat and dairy. Just like learning Torah, it is something you must continue to keep up with. Here are some resources we have found helpful in our practice of kashrut: ∞ Weekly alerts – Unfortunately, no one is perfect and... Continue Reading →
Shelf life of your food
One of the biggest money wasters is food that goes bad. It pains me when I have to throw away things we didn't get to eat or didn't finish! So it really pays to know how long things last and what things can be frozen for later use. Some foods do better than others after... Continue Reading →
Make your checkbook digital!
One of the basics to saving money is knowing how you already spend it. This means having a system to record your income and expenses. When I was in college I used the accounting pads with the green columns to record my receipts and tabulate how much I spent in each area. It was very... Continue Reading →
Brighter savings
(updated 4/23/17) One fairly simple way to save money (and energy) in your home is to switch to more energy-efficient light bulbs. In the last few years, LED bulbs have been introduced, which are even more efficient than compact fluorescent bulbs (CFLs, which had replaced incandescent bulbs). Both CFLs and LEDs have a higher cost in... Continue Reading →
Online shopping tips
Shopping online can be very overwhelming and time-consuming. However, last year (2010), I saved over $1600 from coupons, online shopping, buying online in bulk, and mail order prescriptions. I gave gathered a few tips to help you be successful at online shopping: ∞ Sign up for email lists from stores you like (either online or brick... Continue Reading →
(More) Make your own…
There are many store-bought products that are quite expensive if you consider how much cheaper it would be to make your own. They also often have chemicals and preservatives in them that we would rather not eat. When our boys (all four of them) were babies, we made our own homemade baby food by cooking,... Continue Reading →
Buying printer paper by the case
Over the past 2+ years, I have been searching for ways to save on things we use a lot of. As a teacher and a graduate student (and coupon clipper), I often have to print documents from home. I do try to use the backs of paper by rerunning paper through again for less important... Continue Reading →
Cheap rainy day ideas with kids
The weather does not always cooperate with our family plans! Some days off we might have a particular outing planned, and the rain interferes. Here are a few ideas for in and out of the house (no matter where you live). Note that some of these ideas may not be open on a holiday. The... Continue Reading →
Switch over your disposables!
(updated 4/14/17) If you think about it, everything you use once and throw away adds to your daily costs. It also adds to our landfills and impact on the environment. To get away from this whole throwaway society, we try to use many reusable products in our home. The savings may seem small, but over... Continue Reading →
Surviving on a tight budget 