Just curious who else is living super frugal

[funnyfarmmom]

Prepping is a good thing....  and exactly what its for...  being prepared for lean times.  I been stockpiling stuff when I see it on sale.  I bought my first pressure canner and need to learn how to use it.

deb

Deb, Ive been thinking about you and that pressure canner. There is someone on here that lives fairly close to me in southern Indiana. Is that you? If so, Id be happy to teach you on mine. I have the same canner as you, and I have a batch of chili beans and probably some chicken I need to do soon. If your not close enough I would be happy to walk you through it either over the phone or email. It can be intimidating with the space ship noises it will make, but just remember IT WILL NOT BLOW UP lol. The old ones sometimes did but these new ones have too many safety valves. As long as you dont walk off and forget it for hours or try to open it before the pressure drains off, you're pretty safe. I still make my kids stay out of the kitchen the first time I use it every year lol.

I dont have enough stocked up to get us through like an entire winter without going to the store, but we can manage the tight weeks here and there. For instance I buy the huge bags of flour and sugar every month and pour it into freezer bags and stick it in the freezer. Same with cornmeal. I still have this week to stock up even more .

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Ah I appreciate the offer.... but I am in San Diego. I have several hurdles to overcome before I do the attempt.

deb

 

[Oliver Douglas]

Since we've retired and moved up into the Sierras, we purchased a second hand fridge and freezer for the garage. Not the most energy efficient, but reliable. We intend to fill the freezer with turkeys left over from Thanksgiving (last year Costco sold fresh turkeys the day after for $6 each) and keep them on hand. We shop at rummage sales and antique stores, some great bargains on real furniture that will outlast us! Shop at Dollar stores and watch for weekly bargains on non-perishable items. We have a wood stove for the winter in the event of power failure, and a complete camping set-up with propane tanks, stove, heater....frugality sometimes has to make way for potential environmental issues. We probably have two months of food in the house at all times. We're not preppers, but take notice of possible road closures due to storms, snow, earthquakes, etc. Just rotate canned goods so the oldest stuff gets used first. And Costco is not ALWAYS the cheapest for certain items. It pays to do research before you buy bulk items....10 pounds of chili??? No thanks.

 

[donrae]

I embrace being a prepper! We are also having a lean month. Honey graduates in September and then will have to pass his state boards before he starts working (already has a job lined up, thank God!). We're living on my disability and our meager savings. My prepper mentality is what is going to get us through this. As long as the power is on, we've got food for a good long time. Full freezers+ full shelves= security.

And hey, there's always eggs to eat, if everything else runs out

 

[lazy gardener]

Deb, I'm also new to a pressure canner. Bought it last fall with the intent of canning my extra roos. I think I'll give myself a breather, and do something super simple, like kidney beans first so I can see how it works. Then, I'll move on to meat. I'd love to have a nice big freezer. We have an old 6 cu. ft. chest. If I actually cleaned out all the old stuff, and stuff that we don't use, I'd probably have almost as much room as I think I need. I made 9 pints of dilly beans today. Other than the jars, the only cost was the vinegar, and the red pepper flakes, which I have on hand anyways.

 

[DennisK]

Since we've retired and moved up into the Sierras, we purchased a second hand fridge and freezer for the garage. Not the most energy efficient, but reliable. We intend to fill the freezer with turkeys left over from Thanksgiving (last year Costco sold fresh turkeys the day after for $6 each) and keep them on hand. We shop at rummage sales and antique stores, some great bargains on real furniture that will outlast us! Shop at Dollar stores and watch for weekly bargains on non-perishable items. We have a wood stove for the winter in the event of power failure, and a complete camping set-up with propane tanks, stove, heater....frugality sometimes has to make way for potential environmental issues. We probably have two months of food in the house at all times. We're not preppers, but take notice of possible road closures due to storms, snow, earthquakes, etc. Just rotate canned goods so the oldest stuff gets used first. And Costco is not ALWAYS the cheapest for certain items. It pays to do research before you buy bulk items....10 pounds of chili??? No thanks.

I live in a similar situation in that I have to plan on periods of isolation due to storm damage to the bridges and roads that serve my location. I remember one winter (I believe it was 1998) when all access to this area was destroyed. We are a small community and we had to wait for about a week before a makeshift road was cut between here and the nearest town. It took about a year before everything was back to normal. I'll never forget how adventurous using that road was. Propane trucks could not serve our area as one sunk into the mud and had to stay there until summer. We have been living with a severe drought lately, but we are getting warnings that El Nino in the Pacific is taking on characteristics similar to 1997/1998. I will welcome the rain, but I must also make sure I have everything I will need should Mother Nature decide to rearrange our topography this winter.
And then there are man-made reasons for preparing for the worst. Hope for the best, but prepare for the worst, is always a good idea.

 

[perchie.girl]

Deb, I'm also new to a pressure canner. Bought it last fall with the intent of canning my extra roos. I think I'll give myself a breather, and do something super simple, like kidney beans first so I can see how it works. Then, I'll move on to meat. I'd love to have a nice big freezer. We have an old 6 cu. ft. chest. If I actually cleaned out all the old stuff, and stuff that we don't use, I'd probably have almost as much room as I think I need. I made 9 pints of dilly beans today. Other than the jars, the only cost was the vinegar, and the red pepper flakes, which I have on hand anyways.

I am watching lots of people put in their harvest and OMG forty jars of this twenty jars of that chicken processing and jars of broth and on and on.... My head is a spinning.

What I want to do is a cold pack of some sort of vegetable... Something easy and what I enjoy... like Asparagus...

My main goal is canning meat.... Because of that whole freezer issue.... My house isnt wired properly for a freezer and I can barely keep a refrigerator alive....

Every once and a while I come across a huge sale on fish... I want to can Salmon, and Tuna.... This used to be where the Tuna fleet moored.... but there are a few private commercial operations. Tuna is very easy to fillet and de-bone... It would be like buying a side of beef price wise.... but without having to hire a butcher to part it out. Even Skip Jack or Yellow fin.... I would have to plan way in advance to do it though. A small tuna can run a hundred pounds... were not talking sushi grade just Tuna.

But I also want to can beef and chicken and Guina fowl....

Hopefully when I get back home in my own Kitchen and I get it rewired the way it needs I can have a big chest freezer... one big enough for a side of beef. Id be doing my own pastrami and prosciutto with Muscovy meat. And some various confy....

We have big apple orchards in the mountains and I am certain I can buy a lug up there. But I wont get into those preserves yet.

First veggies.

deb

 

[funnyfarmmom]

Ah I appreciate the offer....  but I am in San

Since we've retired and moved up into the Sierras, we purchased a second hand fridge and freezer for the garage. Not the most energy efficient, but reliable. We intend to fill the freezer with turkeys left over from Thanksgiving (last year Costco sold fresh turkeys the day after for $6 each) and keep them on hand. We shop at rummage sales and antique stores, some great bargains on real furniture that will outlast us! Shop at Dollar stores and watch for weekly bargains on non-perishable items. We have a wood stove for the winter in the event of power failure, and a complete camping set-up with propane tanks, stove, heater....frugality sometimes has to make way for potential environmental issues. We probably have two months of food in the house at all times. We're not preppers, but take notice of possible road closures due to storms, snow, earthquakes, etc. Just rotate canned goods so the oldest stuff gets used first. And Costco is not ALWAYS the cheapest for certain items. It pays to do research before you buy bulk items....10 pounds of chili??? No thanks.

Diego.   I have several hurdles to overcome before I do the attempt.

deb

Well darn. Id hoped to help, but San Diego is a bit far . Once you overcome those hurdles and do it the first time, you'll be so proud of yourself lol.

 

[funnyfarmmom]

Since we've retired and moved up into the Sierras, we purchased a second hand fridge and freezer for the garage. Not the most energy efficient, but reliable. We intend to fill the freezer with turkeys left over from Thanksgiving (last year Costco sold fresh turkeys the day after for $6 each) and keep them on hand. We shop at rummage sales and antique stores, some great bargains on real furniture that will outlast us! Shop at Dollar stores and watch for weekly bargains on non-perishable items. We have a wood stove for the winter in the event of power failure, and a complete camping set-up with propane tanks, stove, heater....frugality sometimes has to make way for potential environmental issues. We probably have two months of food in the house at all times. We're not preppers, but take notice of possible road closures due to storms, snow, earthquakes, etc. Just rotate canned goods so the oldest stuff gets used first. And Costco is not ALWAYS the cheapest for certain items. It pays to do research before you buy bulk items....10 pounds of chili??? No thanks.

$6 turkeys? Sign me up lol. We dont have a Costco here. Every year Krogers and Walmart sells out of Turkeys a bit before Thanksgiving. They're too tight to have to put them on sale.

Our power went out the day before yesterday twice with just some rain. I cant wait to see what happens with a lot of snow. Im making candles tomorrow lol.

 

[mythreesons]

I find comfort in knowing we have what we need by stocking up on a little or a lot of everything.. I use to be a couponqueen many years ago but coupons aren't worth squat now so I make many foods from scratch to save money.. I learned to stock a variety of spices, nuts, dried fruits etc..I love trying new recipes and having everything needed to make it..

I'm self taught by watching youtubes video' to pressure can, water bath can and dehydrate foods (I have no living relatives to teach me).. My very first thing I pressured canned was Meatloaf..all jars sealed except one jar broke from the bottom have no idea what I did wrong..I was determined to move forward even though I felt like a failure loosing one jar to breakage..I've since canned well over 400 jars since then mostly meat because it's the most expensive item on my grocery list.

We grew a herb garden so I dehydrate those herbs for my off season use..

We grow many edible perennial foods to help save us money also this year my peach tree is loaded (had none last year) so I will can peach pie filling and peaches in a heavy syrup.( first time canning in syrup)...I'm sure there will be no fruit next year since its bearing so heavily this year so I need to can up as much as I possible to get us through until the following year.

The concord grape vine is also loaded with grapes also this year so that will become juice...(first time juicing them)

We have lots of wild black raspberries all over my area so my sons and I picked a gallon and for the first time I made jam with them...its the best jam I've ever eaten! I hope I canned enough to last until next June..

We also have many dandelions growing in my lawn so again for the first time I picked a couple gallons and made Dandelion Wine and Dandelion Salve...The wine taste real good and boy oh boy you will get a buzz real quick so have to be careful to just drink a half of a wine glass..lol..I love the smell of the salve...its used for dry hands, achy muscles but I really don't know if it works on achy muscles or not..I know it feels like body butter when I rub it on my skin...Next year I will be many more gallons of wine since now I know its worth it, no need for any expensive equipment and we will have made it for pennys.

I make my own taco, chili, onion soup mix, Italian seasonings, vanilla extract, salad dressings, kahlua.

I make my own cold and flu medicine from Elderberries I grow...this stuff is amazing and I will never use store bought again.

Everything I do saves us money everyday...I truly love being frugal and I.ve gotten to the point in my life that anyone who has mocked me throughout the years don't want to make life better for themselves..I can hold my head high because I'm the one sitting back enjoying the simple things in life without the added stress of trying to keep up with the jones..