Just curious who else is living super frugal

[garage coop]

about two years ago, we went to a dave ramsey course at a friends church. like dave ramsey, or not, it has been GREAT for our family.

we do not shop once a month, rather walk to the little store close to our house & get the things on an as-needed basis. this is usually several times per week. i take my two kids with me (one is a baby) & i let my toddler pick a snack from the bulk bin (i.e. yogurt covered pretzels, banana chips, etc.) & he only gets to get a few pieces. he likes it because he gets something different most times & i like it because it might add $1 to the total bill & we don't have junk food to bring home.

i have found that this frequent shopping saves us more money than the monthly trip (which we tried for several months) in that there is NO WASTE. no cans sitting in the pantry & food is always fresh. the walking there is also good exercise & doesn't make me experience the stress of the huge trip with the massive unloading once home.

good luck with your frugal lifestyle! we are having a great time & are ALMOST debt free hang in there!!!

 

[vmdanielsen]

Alot of these are for convenience. Not every week is like this but I figured I would use my worst weeks as an example. When my weeks are a bit less hectic you are more likely to see me peeling potatoes or kneeding bread. I try to use less box stuff but honestly I think I may have over extended my life lol. I use google calendar and there is so much pink writing I can't look at it on monthly because I go into panic attacks. Just a tiny bit over extended I know. Making as much as we can from scratch is an awesome way to cut our food bills though and probably our medical and gym membership bills too.

I have considered making my own Kefir because honestly we love it. So good for your tummy too. Its sorta on the never ending to do list still.
Many times I also make my own meatballs. Not just for sphagetti but also for meatball soup which is a family favorite. The more expensive things get the more uses I find for cheap meats. My nephew only eats 'normal meats' on special occasions. The rest is deer. Good possibility that we will be doing the same next year. Deer is really great for those with cholesterol issues too. My hubbies is genetic. No matter what we do he stays right on the edge of having good levels and we do a ton to keep it that way. Almost all his family has to take medications for it.

( note the quick bread is a box mix, I use these for convenience on busy weeks. I prefer home baked goods and like adding fruits to these. ) If anyone has some awesome quick bread recipes to share I am sure we would all appreciate those.

Oh and I encourage all of you to hop on Amazon and order some vanilla beans and grab a bottle of cheap vodka. We have made our own. Its not even been 6 months and the stuff smells AWESOME. Seriously cheap way to have tons of quality vanilla extract. Thank you guys so much for the directions on how to do it. We use lots of vanilla since we do cook a ton. Huge money saver.

for a seriously delicious flavoring, try putting those vanilla beans in RUM!!! My favorite is rum banana bread...get those brown spotted bananas out of the bargain bin. add the vanilla rum to the frosting. and cake!!...so good...and not everyday!!!

 

[Raiquee]

Heather I think your doing great!!! And no probs on the directions for vanilla, I too will never go back. It's tooooo delicious!

My frugal thing for today is we found a deer that got hit by a car, still warm. Not splattered so dh is picking it up now. I feel a little queasy about road kill, but it was obviously very fresh and not wounded too bad.

Free meat for us!

 

[blueberrychickens]

Alot of these are for convenience. Not every week is like this but I figured I would use my worst weeks as an example. When my weeks are a bit less hectic you are more likely to see me peeling potatoes or kneeding bread. I try to use less box stuff but honestly I think I may have over extended my life lol. I use google calendar and there is so much pink writing I can't look at it on monthly because I go into panic attacks. Just a tiny bit over extended I know. Making as much as we can from scratch is an awesome way to cut our food bills though and probably our medical and gym membership bills too.

I have considered making my own Kefir because honestly we love it. So good for your tummy too. Its sorta on the never ending to do list still.
Many times I also make my own meatballs. Not just for sphagetti but also for meatball soup which is a family favorite. The more expensive things get the more uses I find for cheap meats. My nephew only eats 'normal meats' on special occasions. The rest is deer. Good possibility that we will be doing the same next year. Deer is really great for those with cholesterol issues too. My hubbies is genetic. No matter what we do he stays right on the edge of having good levels and we do a ton to keep it that way. Almost all his family has to take medications for it.

( note the quick bread is a box mix, I use these for convenience on busy weeks. I prefer home baked goods and like adding fruits to these. ) If anyone has some awesome quick bread recipes to share I am sure we would all appreciate those.

Oh and I encourage all of you to hop on Amazon and order some vanilla beans and grab a bottle of cheap vodka. We have made our own. Its not even been 6 months and the stuff smells AWESOME. Seriously cheap way to have tons of quality vanilla extract. Thank you guys so much for the directions on how to do it. We use lots of vanilla since we do cook a ton. Huge money saver.

Where do you find vanilla beans???Are they only on Amazon?? I have to give this a try, thanks for the idea! I too love to bake, I can PM you a great from scratch pumpkin bread recipie, makes 2 loaves!

 

[Frogdogtimestwo]

I always order mine of Ebay, they have some very reasonably priced sellers.

 

[HeatherLynn]

Sorry you get get vanilla beans even just at the store. Its a bit more expensive. There are sellers all over the internet. I just mentioned amazon because I found some very juicy beans cheap and I tend to do most of my online shopping at just a couple sites. I like to keep my info limited. So I just said amazon but lots of places.

After this vanilla is made I am going to take those beans and try to make the vanilla sugar too.

Guys I know you will understand what I am about to say so I am going to say it here. I feel bad when how I can help is limited. It eats at me I swear. Around me I have a family who is losing their only source of income, another family where the dad left them with no money and a sick mom, another where the dad just became disabled and a wife expecting twins. I want to help. I want to fix it. Knowing its happening puts me into panic attacks but even my frugality cannot stretch my money far enough to give enough to make a difference. Very stressful. I have the urge to crack open that emergency fund. I don't know.

 

[blueberrychickens]

Just curious how many vanilla beans & what size bottle of vodka or rum to use? Thanks!

 

[Totalcolour]

Just curious how many vanilla beans & what size bottle of vodka or rum to use? Thanks!

I use a smallish bottle (about the size of a Lea and Perrins bottle, or hot sauce bottle) for one vanilla bean. I make several - one with bourbon, one with vodka, one with rum. Each is slightly different. I also hand paint (glass paint, it can be baked and becomes permanent) the bottles so I can give them as gifts.


The one on the right is empty, need some more beans!

 

[Totalcolour]

Around me I have a family who is losing their only source of income, another family where the dad left them with no money and a sick mom, another where the dad just became disabled and a wife expecting twins. I want to help. I want to fix it. Knowing its happening puts me into panic attacks but even my frugality cannot stretch my money far enough to give enough to make a difference. Very stressful. I have the urge to crack open that emergency fund. I don't know.

HeatherLynn,

I do understand.

My mom once told me that in order to be any good to anyone else, I first had to be good to me. She said if I wasn't my best, I could not give my best to anyone else.

So, take care of your family, as best you can, and then, when you are able, you will be able to help others.

 

[vmdanielsen]

Sorry you get get vanilla beans even just at the store. Its a bit more expensive. There are sellers all over the internet. I just mentioned amazon because I found some very juicy beans cheap and I tend to do most of my online shopping at just a couple sites. I like to keep my info limited. So I just said amazon but lots of places.

After this vanilla is made I am going to take those beans and try to make the vanilla sugar too.

Guys I know you will understand what I am about to say so I am going to say it here. I feel bad when how I can help is limited. It eats at me I swear. Around me I have a family who is losing their only source of income, another family where the dad left them with no money and a sick mom, another where the dad just became disabled and a wife expecting twins. I want to help. I want to fix it. Knowing its happening puts me into panic attacks but even my frugality cannot stretch my money far enough to give enough to make a difference. Very stressful. I have the urge to crack open that emergency fund. I don't know.

HeatherLynn,

I do understand.

My mom once told me that in order to be any good to anyone else, I first had to be good to me. She said if I wasn't my best, I could not give my best to anyone else.

So, take care of your family, as best you can, and then, when you are able, you will be able to help others.

Good advice. It is hard to see others in pain.