I have no real problems with buying groceries for foods I'll eat, but I spend / waste money on soap products,beauty supplies and pet food. Does anyone have a budget that includes things like that?

The Grocery Price Book can also include the prices of anything you purchase on a regular basis, not just groceries.

You may need to figure out what is essential and what is optional. That's where "need" and "want" fight it out.

It's sometimes difficult to draw the line between essential and optional (need and want) because we all have a different value system and different needs. Perhaps you can begin by deciding what is essential and what is optional in order to bring your spending in these areas under control.

In the pet division, I'm probably in a somewhat extreme position - we don't have a pet because we have a financial retirement goal that we're trying to reach that doesn't have room for pets and their expensive up-keep in the budget. It's not that we don't love pets, they are just unnecessary at this point in time in order for us to achieve our financial goals. I can love-to-death the neighbors pooches...for free. That's extreme, I admit. You need to decide, for you, what is essential in this area. As an example: are 5 cats and 3 dogs essential? Probably not if they bust your budget.

My SIL made her own dog food and used inexpensive rice, and I don't know what else, in the recipe. It was a vet. approved recipe. It not only was good for their dog, but it was very cheap. Other friends learned how to groom their cats/dogs to save money.

Soap products. Once again, it's price for me. My husband likes to use bar bath soap and one that suits our budget is available at a low price from Aldi's (similar to Dove). It also doesn't leave a soap scum in the tub (a secondary benefit). I like liquid soap, so I take the small ends of the bars and make my own homemade liquid soap and reuse a decorative pump dispenser.

Soft Soap:
1/4 c. soap flakes OR 2 oz. soap ends, shredded
1 cup water
Simmer in pan, stirring, until the soap has melted. You can add some scented oil or your favorite perfume, if you like.

I've gotten triple value from one small container of very expensive body powder by mixing it with 3 boxes of inexpensive cornstarch (now I have a life-time supply). It smells the same, and cornstarch is a good/natural body powder.

My only "beauty supplies" are 2 containers of translucent face powder a year (Dollar General Store) and I make my own lip balm for pennies instead of purchasing the expensive stuff I used to use. I use coconut oil (LouAna brand from Wal-Mart - next to the Crisco) for a body/hand lotion or face moisturizer. Most expensive commercial products do more damage and are more drying, from what I've researched. I've eliminated everything else because I really didn't look all that much different with or without it, as long as I dust my face with loose face powder (blessed with nice skin and long eyelashes). I don't even bother with mascara anymore (that was the last thing to go).

I purchased a package of 12 inexpensive white face cloths at the Dollar General store for face care. A dermotologist suggested using them along with a bar of unscented Dove soap as a good cleanser and exfoliant (the cheap face cloths are kinda' rough), and this is also suggested for anyone with mild acne. Works like a charm, although I use my homemade soft soap with some tea tree oil in it. The liquid form of the sweetener stevia is one of the best things on an occasional zit - they heal very quickly using stevia on them. A small travel-size of stevia (found at the health food store) will last a long time.

Once again in the extreme side of things... I cut my own hair. I wouldn't dream of wasting money on things like highlights or color. Everyone loves my "natural" silver highlights. I budget money for a hair cut each month, but I deposit it into the savings account. I get as many compliments on my hair as when I used to get it cut by the top per$on in town. I just observed how he cut it and did it myself after he moved from the area - and my hair is a short precision cut. Not everyone can do this, I realize, but perhaps they could reduce the high-maintance, high-cost, options. It's all about need, not want.

I've switched laundry detergent to ALL small & mighty which is 3X concentrated and was cheaper per load when I did the math, than nearly everything that was on the market. When I found it on sale as a promotional product at Wal-Mart this summer, I purchased a year's worth of it. I also use homemade detergent which is easy to make and inexpensive. A safe option for most of our laundry. Whatever kind of laundry product you use, make sure you measure it and try reducing the amount you normally use.

I use white vinegar instead of softener in the rinse (least expensive vinegar is Sam's Club). I hang clothes on the clothes line as much as possible. When I use the dryer, I've added a pair of dryer balls to reduce the static. They also reduce drying time by 25-50 percent. After some testing, I found they work better than tennis balls.

For general household cleaning:

I use bleach/water as a kitchen disinfectant when mixed 1 quart water and 1 t. bleach - I keep it in a spritz bottle. Or I could use expensive pop-up Clorox wipes.

Alcohol/water -50/50 and use it daily on my bathroom counters/faucets, and general floor cleaning in the bathroom - mixture in a spritz bottle.

Vinegar - good cleaner for no-wax floors, and Borax and/or soda (an endless list cleaning uses). I wash windows with water/cornstarch solution. I've used a container of Simple Green for several years because I measure it carefully, since it's concentrated.

I'm a clean freak, but I pass up the expensive, highly advertised, stuff.

This is a very low-budget area for me, so if you have some specific needs I haven't thought of, fire away and perhaps someone will contribute a frugal answer or substitute.

-Grainlady

Grainlady,thanks for all the good tips. I have more time than money, I will try some of them. Thank you.

I'm also trying to spend less on personal products. But it's important to remember why we want and need them so much. They clean us, some of them are important to our heath or improve it, and they just generally make us look and feel good. However, what we want is the results, what causes them and how much it costs are perhaps not the main concern. Using lots of things or using expensive stuff isn't a certain route to good results.

Petroleum jelly is cheap and effective for curing dry skin. A very thin film applied to hands and lips every day has resulted in perfect skin. No more expensive lip balm or hand stuff (it smelt strange anyway).

I only use solid bar soap now. It goes so much further as it's almost entirely pure soap/detergent, unlike liquids that are mostly water and come with lots of expensive packaging. Used every day in the shower a single bar lasts about 3-4 months. Be sure to let it dry thoroughly between uses so it doesn't turn in to useless mushy stuff that quickly washes away.

Instead of buying expensive exfoliating products you can get micro fibre cloths that can be used almost unlimited times, just like a normal flannel. I've had the same one for about 3 years now, I believe it works just as well if not better in some ways.