The Modern American Frugal Housewife Book #1: Home Economics: The Modern American Frugal Housewife Series, #1

By Jill b.

Are you looking for ideas on how to lower your living expenses?
Home Economics doesn't have to be difficult.
Inspired by Lydia Maria Francis Child's 1833 book, The American Frugal Housewife,
this book its written for the MODERN American Frugal Housewife in mind.
Includes:

• Tips on how to lower insurance costs
• How to avoid bank fees
• How to reduce household costs
• How to cut your food expenses
• Includes money-stretching recipes like: homemade bread, homemade mayo, how to make at least 3 different meals out of 1 whole chicken, how to use rolled oats to make instant oats as well as recipes for homemade cleaning products!
  
  Wait no longer! Order this book today!

• Language: English
• Publisher: Abundant Publishing
• Release date: Feb 9, 2015
• ISBN: 9781513083865

Jill b.

Self-Reliance -- One Step at a Time Get free e-books at http://byjillb.com Reliance on one job. Reliance on the agri-industrial food system. Are you ready to break free, take control and to rely on yourself? With a no-nonsense style,  Jill Bong draws from her own homesteading experiences and mistakes, and writes books focusing on maximizing output with minimal input to save you time and money. Jill was born and raised in a country with one of highest population densities in the world. Dreaming of chickens and fruit trees, she left the trappings of the big city and is setting up her homestead in an American town with a population of less than 300. Jill writes under the pen name Jill b. She is an author, entrepreneur, homesteader and is the co-inventor and co-founder of Chicken Armor (http://chickenarmor.com), an affordable, low maintenance chicken saddle. She has also written over a dozen books on homesteading and self-reliance. Jill has been mentioned/quoted in various publications including The Associated Press, The New York Times, The Denver Post and ABC News. She has written for various magazines including Countryside and Small Stock Journal, Molly Green, Farm Show Magazine and Backyard Poultry Magazine. She holds an Engineering degree from an Ivy League from a previous life. At its height, her previous homestead included over 100 chickens, geese and ducks, as well as cats, a dog, bees and a donkey named Elvis. She currently learning permaculture techniques to apply to her homestead in rural Oregon. Learn more by visiting her site http://byjillb.com.

Book preview

Introduction

Great wealth is a gift from heaven; moderate wealth results from frugality. - Chinese Proverb

This book was inspired by The American Frugal Housewife which was published in 1833 by American abolitionist, women's rights activist and journalist, Lydia Maria Child. Her book was of course, written with an 1800s American mindset. However, many of the ideas of frugality and of stretching one’s resources, if updated, can still apply well in the 21st century.

This book is that 21st century update to the original book. Some ideas may not be new to some readers. However, it might not be new to others. I will try my best to include as much information within this topic as possible, even if some points may seem like common sense to some readers.

Perhaps you are on a budget and would like more ideas on how to save money. Perhaps you are a stay-at-home parent who wants to find more ways to lower household costs. Whatever your reason, the main intent of my writing this book is so that you can learn how you too can save money for your household.

This book is not about going without - life’s too short for that but far too long to be constantly worrying about money. Remember that frugality should not be confused with being cheap. It is not about always paying the lowest price but rather, buying items that offer the best value. That is, buying stuff that works and lasts. Buying something cheap that you don’t really need, or that breaks after one or two uses is not being frugal.

Without further ado, let’s begin!

Ask! Ask! Ask! For Discounts/Extras/Freebies

I’m going to make this my first and most important tip: Ask nicely for discounts/extras/freebies!

●  When you’re shopping, ask if you can get a discount on something that is dinged, is a display item or is close to its expiration date.

●  If you are shopping for insurance, ask your agent if you qualify for additional discounts. Extra discounts may be granted based on age, gender, marital status, professional or college affiliations.

●  If applicable, ask if any military/senior discounts are available. Here is a list of merchants that will grant military discounts. You can refer to http://bit.ly/1y1yzax to start you off.

●  If you are making a big purchase, ask the store if they can throw in extras. It helps to talk to the manager or if it’s a small company, talk to the owner. In some cases, the salesperson may have enough say to approve the request. You may make it easier for the seller to say yes by specifying the freebie(s) you’d like at the time of your request. For example, you can ask If you buy 5 of this item, can you get this other item for free?

Remember: the best case scenario if you ask is that you save extra money or get something for free. The worst that will happen to you is that you’ll get a no for a reply and you don’t get what you asked for. If you don’t ask, you will definitely not get anything!

Saving on Insurance

Mrs Child never mentioned insurance in her book. Perhaps insurance was not as prevalent in the 1830s, or perhaps it was simply something that the American housewife did not worry about in the 1800s. Today, insurance is very much a part of American life, whether you are a housewife or not.

Shop Around

As with everything else, always shop around. Good places to start are your state insurance department (http://1.usa.gov/1uJ0FkR), BankRate.com (http://bankrate.com) or the National Association of Insurance Commissioners (http://www.naic.org). That way, you will have an idea of what the average insurance rates in your area are.

Price is not the only factor to consider.  Insurer service, reputation and financial stability are all additional factors to consider. After all, you’d want the risk of your insurer folding before your possible claim is paid to be as low as possible!

There are a few ways to check up on your insurer. Firstly, you can check the company’s financial stability at A.M. Best (http://www.ambest.com) and Standard & Poor’s (http://www.standardandpoors.com). Secondly, look out for news terms like financial problems, trouble or claims associated with the company name. These terms indicate potential problems with the insurer. Poor customer service, records of claim disputes and being slow to pay on claims could also be indicators of a non-performing insurer.

Raise Your Deductible

A deductible is the amount of money you have to foot towards a loss before your insurance company pays out. That is, if your house was burgled and about $300 worth of household items was stolen, if your deductible is $500, the insurer will not pay out. If instead, you lost $600 in the burglary, the insurer will pay you $100 (after factoring in the $500 deductible).

The higher your deductible, the lower your premiums. Most insurers recommend having at least a $500 deductible. However, if you think you can afford to raise your deductible, you can save up to 25% on your premiums. Again, not everything is black and white. If you live in a disaster-prone area, you might want to spring for lower deductibles against those risks (eg flood, earthquakes, wildfire, hail etc).

Bundle Your Policies

Some insurers will discount your premiums if you buy more than one kind of insurance from them. For example, you may get a discount if you have life, auto and/or home insurance with one company. However, do not assume that that is the best deal. Again, shopping around. Reassess your costs and needs annually.

Improvements May Reduce Homeowner’s Insurance Premiums

In the case of homeowner’s insurance premiums, making your home more disaster resistant may lower premiums. Check with your agent what changes or upgrades will yield the best discounts. Installing smoke alarms, a security system, or having a stronger roof may lower premiums.

Reduce Premiums with Good Habits

Just as making your home is more disaster resistant may lower premiums, making yourself less risky in the eyes of insurers can lower premiums. Safe driving habits (for auto insurance), keeping in good shape, having healthy cholesterol levels and not smoking are all factors in lower premiums.

Stay With the Same Insurer

If you are happy with your insurer, staying with that company may yield additional discounts on