Each year, for the past nine years I have been married, we have been able to claim the medical deduction on our taxes. It gets us a few hundred back. But the thing is, we spend a few thousand on medical. Most years, between my son's OT, my hubby's Epilepsy, and my slow decline, we have spend upwards of fifteen percent of our income on medical. The year our second son was born, we spent almost 30% of our income on medical. My hubby makes an alright living, and our insurance is reasonable. It's our copay, deductibles, and everything else adding up. Especially for Ot and PT. I have gotten temp jobs, night jobs, and done sewing for money trying to make ends meet.
Technically my husband's income is too high for us to qualify for any kind of discount or services, but what they don't account for is when a quarter of our net goes to the doctors.
So, I do a few things to save money:
Baby:
Cloth diaper
Nurse
make my own baby food
Make baby clothing (FREE fabric, or out of old clothing)
Ask for hand me downs. I am not shy!
FOOD
Meal plan around Sales.
Freeze foods
Check coupons
Buy Bulk when on sale
Foods in Season
Crock pot
Oven-tips: With Casseroles and things that take a while, I turn down heat or off, for the last 15 min of an hour long cooking time
-Have a master price list: know the best price,
Go generic when it does not matter.
Stretch meat.
When I mix "juice" or punch, I always add a third more water then the recipe states.
Free Food: When the apple tree down the street is dropping apples into road, I ask if i can have some, and make apple sauce. Pick blackberries down by the river and make jam.
Electrical
No TV service.
During the day I keep Lights off, open window blinds, and use sunlight.
Wash in cold, at night, only full loads, with 1/3 detergent recommended.
Run the spin cycle a second time, gets more water out.
Line dry, everything but socks and underwhere.
Wash dishes at night, and never use the "dry cycle" just air dry
Low flow in Toilet, and "share a flush"
Water-heater set to lover temp
Winterize our home, preventing loss of heat.
Dress in layers, at home.
Get free wood, and have fires instead of turning up the heater.
I reuse plastic bags
Where it out, then patch it up.
Do a lot of the fix it myself, Dad's a general contractor, and You-tube
Cloth napkins, not paper towels
Always check clearance
No Vacations
No subscriptions or magazines
No Dry clean
Don't drink Coffee, or alcohol.
No Smoking
No Gym memberships
No landline
No hairdryer
Don't use dryer sheets
Walk whenever possible
Print for free at the library .
Sell on Etsy, and Craiglist and hold yard sale.
Any other suggestions?
