Angie O'Plasty suggested I start this thread...it's for all the tricks and tips and general advice for those of us one-earner families...those of us in nursing school...or those of us in a tough spot who have to cut back as much as possible.
A good friend of mine calls what I do "Creative Poverty". It means doing without, or with less, or stretching what you have to make all the ends meet and have a little left over.
I was very poor when I started nursing school and started living this way...although it was out of necessity, it wasn't until I went to Mexico as part of a medical team that I really came to believe in what I was doing. They had so little yet were less harried and seemed overall more happy. Any one of us are comparatively RICH.
One of the things I did (and still do) was buy all my clothes at thrift stores (the kids just couldn't tolerate that, so they got Walmart; my daughter started working just so she could buy her own clothes...she learned the value of money very quickly!).
When the kids were little and went to birthday parties, either I made a gift (anyone, no matter how untalented, can make a sock monkey even without a sewing machine, which is about $5 in materials) or our "gift" was a coupon for a picnic at a playground or something else that just didn't cost much but the kid would enjoy.
And then there are the groceries...store brands, stuff marked down because it's close to the expiration date (most is good for a week past the sell-by date). Little meat but lots of bean or noodle dishes.
Unlike my Depression-era parents, though, I don't wash foil and reuse it. :)
