The Simple Dollar

Over the past few days, I've been devouring The Simple Dollar, a personal finance website. It is not new, but new to me, found through the MSN Smart Spending blog. In my quest to find little things I can do to cut back expenses, The Simple Dollar has been a treasure trove of ideas.

Food:
--make ahead (and make a lot) breakfast burritos
--freezable skillet dinners
--homemade pizza--something I've always wanted to try
--crock pot meals--I have a few in my repertoire, but I would like more.
--individual oatmeal packets
--chicken nuggets--I heard years ago that eating the breaded chicken from the store was especially bad for you, but now that it is so expensive, I am looking forward to trying this at home. And this is totally simple and I don't know why I didn't think about it before.
--homemade bread--I already make bread, although I do not make all the bread we eat, but I may try his recipe for fun.

Home products:
--make your own laundry detergent
--using white vinegar as fabric softener
--making shampoo and conditioner

I haven't quite sold my husband on these four home products, but I want to try them for myself. As The Simple Dollar points out, if I make it myself, these things will not only be cheaper but they will be free of "industrial ingredients"--those chemicals you can't even pronounce. While I am not willing to go as far as he does and buy hormone-free milk and free-range chickens, I am willing to do things that will save me money.

These are just some of the posts I remember. There are so many others on just about every topic of personal finance. This is a great resource for anyone looking for ways both large and small to cut back their spending.