Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Arielle]

My frugalness of the day...

Corn was on sale for 15 cents an ear at the grocery store so bought a bunch for the birds to eat.
All my rabbits go crazy over corn husks and they have a huge trash can next to the corn for people to shuck it right there instead of having to deal with it at home.
A worker came out to empty the can since it was overflowing and he let me have the massive bag of all the husks for my rabbits.

He said it was a one-time thing for me to take it, they're not allowed to do it, which is the stupidest thing ever if all they're going to do is put it in the dumpster???

Isn't crazy how stupid the laws have become!!!!!!!

 

[Arielle]

Quote: Oh you never know who is listening though!!

I try to get a doz eggs to a homeless man who lives locally-- I love talking to him, as he knows more about gardening than I will ever know. He eats fairly well. Buying only high quality food like fruit and vegies, no breads unless 100% whole grains. He's as fit as a fiddle, and as I said a joy to talk to. FIgure I can spare a doz eggs a week . . . .

I don't have extra money to gie to the offering plate but I try to make up for it with my time and the eggs. I volunteer at the kitchen for the vacation bible school run by 12 churches in July. A week of feeding garbage food to the kids. THis is a mojor frustration for me as the food is all donated but the organizer, bless her, will not press for fruit and vegies and cheese as thes people cannot afford it. My argument is this is the one week these kids might have a chance to eat some thing healthy . . . when parents ask what to brink they are happy to bring what I ask for. Amazing how many vegies kids will eat when I put them in a tiny dixie cup, just a couple carrot sticks or fruit and they love it. THey can take ti free choice to try.

I sure hope the Lord accepts my time in lue of money.

 

[Arielle]

Quote: If you are able to keep working part time , you will be better off in the futre by keeping up with the RN work. I have ben home for almost 14 years now, and am woefully unemployable. So I focus on raising the kids , and using my animal science degree to raise my own live stock ( food) and to learn to garden better. THe kids really do benefit from your personal time-- have you seen our homeschooling thread here on BYC-- there is one just for the parents. ( My kids are in public school, as the schools here are far better than most but I keep my fingers in the pie. When talking to a learned friend yesterday, we both beleive children excell when parent take an active role in helping their kids learn. SHe makes her kids read the Wall St Journal. ANd I asked her to have the copy when they were done!! OUr kids are 10 and 12.)

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Its not the laws... The grocery stores are afraid of being sued. they cant even give the bruised and dented fruit to the homeless any more....

deb

 

[Arielle]

Quote:
Its not the laws... The grocery stores are afraid of being sued. they cant even give the bruised and dented fruit to the homeless any more....

deb
panera bread gives away all their day old bread- man the have great bread.

ocassionally i see a person panhandling in a local city--
i always offer an apple or two and the person is very thankful--

we actually do have enough food for everyone, the distribution is the problem most of the times.

 

[lazy gardener]

Haha---I was afraid of exactly the same thing when I realized a week after plucking what I THOUGHT was dandelion greens for my morning smoothie only to find out that my "dandelion" plant had grown a red ribbed central stem and was about 1 foot tall... I mean who doesn't know what dandelions look like?? Apparently a lot of thistles masquerade like dandelion and I had eaten smore sort of young thistle. BAD FEELING not knowing what I'd eaten, even though I'd suffered no ill effect. Lambs quarters has serrated edges and tastes very much like spinach, starts tiny but grows tall into 3 foot stalks with leaves the whole way up.
young plant

close up of leaves.

Be advised-----it has NO ODOR. There is a plant called goosefoot that looks nearly identical to lambsquarters, but it has a foul odor to it. A lot of people say that it smells almost piney, but noxious.

I have a friend who has Dave Ramsey's book that has offered to lend it to me. I think maybe it's time for me to actually read something other than herbal/homestead books, and ask to borrow it.

I think I got it. do the seed heads look like a bunch of tiny little grey green beads fused together? Better to borrow the book, then you don't have to pay for it. My church runs his course 2 x / year, but I haven't gone b/c I don't want to shell out the $100. On average during the weeks of the course, folks trim thousands of dollars from their debt.

Oh, honey, have you checked the price of the ingredients out. They have doubled or tripled in a month or so. I was going to buy Fel Naptha soap and it's up to $5 and the boxes of borax that was so cheap are $8-9. Heaven forbid that the big corporations cut us a break and let us make it cheap.

Not much of a problem here. I have 2 boxes of washing soda, and 2 boxes of borax, 1 bar of Fels, and I've heard that you can use other brands of soap. Perhaps I'll try the next batch with ivory.

Eek! That's highway robbery. The last box of borax I bought was 3.99$ Now I use a recipe that uses soap and washing soda and it seems to do the job with a vinegar rinse. I've started making my own soap too (facial/body and then a recipe for all purpose cleaning). Have any of you tried that yet? I infuse my olive or grape seed oil with herbs over a few weeks with low heat and the soaps are so awesome and customizable. I get about 5lbs of soap for as many dollars. It's pretty cool, especially knowing exactly what is in the products I'm using. Saves a lot of cash in the end for my family, as I use it for dish washer detergent and laundry detergent. 5lbs lasts me about 7 months (after giving away a large portion to family and friends for Christmas presents, etc)

Making soap is on my bucket list.

I'd love to hear what recipe you use, too. This is turning out to be a wonderful thread to have joined.

Oh you never know who is listening though!!

I try to get a doz eggs to a homeless man who lives locally-- I love talking to him, as he knows more about gardening than I will ever know. He eats fairly well. Buying only high quality food like fruit and vegies, no breads unless 100% whole grains. He's as fit as a fiddle, and as I said a joy to talk to. FIgure I can spare a doz eggs a week . . . .

I don't have extra money to gie to the offering plate but I try to make up for it with my time and the eggs. I volunteer at the kitchen for the vacation bible school run by 12 churches in July. A week of feeding garbage food to the kids. THis is a mojor frustration for me as the food is all donated but the organizer, bless her, will not press for fruit and vegies and cheese as thes people cannot afford it. My argument is this is the one week these kids might have a chance to eat some thing healthy . . . when parents ask what to brink they are happy to bring what I ask for. Amazing how many vegies kids will eat when I put them in a tiny dixie cup, just a couple carrot sticks or fruit and they love it. THey can take ti free choice to try.

I sure hope the Lord accepts my time in lue of money.

God loves a cheerful giver. Remember the widow and her mite? Her gift was looked on in favor, while the snooty coin janglers did not receive His favor, because they were giving in a boisterous way to let everybody see how wonderful they were. I tithe my Sundays. Teach Jr. Church one week every other month. People are scared to death to work with these kids. It's not my gift, but over time, I've come to enjoy my time with these kiddos. Would the organizer let you organize one day of the snack time? I'm sure you could come up with some creative ideas that would please kids, and definitely please the parents. The positive feed back might get her out of her box. Given a choice, kids will choose the junk food. That's a major beef I have regarding how snacks are doled out to my kids every Sunday. I might as well not even bother feeding my 7 y.o. any lunch on Sunday. But, when kids are given a healthy snack, and the cookies are not available, they chow down on the good stuff.

If you are able to keep working part time , you will be better off in the futre by keeping up with the RN work. I have ben home for almost 14 years now, and am woefully unemployable. So I focus on raising the kids , and using my animal science degree to raise my own live stock ( food) and to learn to garden better. THe kids really do benefit from your personal time-- have you seen our homeschooling thread here on BYC-- there is one just for the parents. ( My kids are in public school, as the schools here are far better than most but I keep my fingers in the pie. When talking to a learned friend yesterday, we both beleive children excell when parent take an active role in helping their kids learn. SHe makes her kids read the Wall St Journal. ANd I asked her to have the copy when they were done!! OUr kids are 10 and 12.)

Agreed re: keeping up skills and licensure in the medical profession. I can bring home a good pay check for working a few hours per-diem. Physically exhausting, but a good return for the time and body power invested.

 

[Tikkijane]

With regard to growing food for  your chickens...  Free range is the closest answer.....  Which may not be practical....   Another way to boost the food value of your existing feed is to give Fermented Feed a try.  I am going to do that when I move back up to the house.

I have read that by fermenting your feed it makes the feed more nutritionally available.  And I am not talkng about using ACV...  I am talking about taking a five gallon bucket putting in feed then filling the bucket with water.  Fermenting takes about 24 - 48 hours....  I have also read that it cuts your feed costs by at least half.  More complete digestion makes a bird that is healthier too.

I cant prove it though by experience I have to give it a try before I can fully endorse it.  But I have read enough success stories to have me convinced to give it a try.

deb

Initial ferment takes 3-4 days.*SECONDARY* (after solid initial ferment) can be ready over night.

Not only is a super food, but it's cut my feed bill *easily* by 2/3. We have a FF thread.

My FF FAQ is in my siggy.

 

[Tikkijane]

Initial ferment takes 3-4 days.*SECONDARY* (after solid initial ferment) can be ready over night.

Not only is a super food, but it's cut my feed bill *easily* by 2/3. We have a FF thread.

My FF FAQ is in my siggy.

FF thread- https://www.backyardchickens.com/t/645057/fermented-feeds-anyone-using-them/4730

There's a separate thread for meaties on FF.

 

[Arielle]

Lazy Gardener-- I volunteer to ask the local grocery for a watermelon donation. THey are generaous and give 10 round watermelons. Apparently past kitchen workers were not up to the task of cutting melons and refused to cut them up . . . . . OMG, how easy is it to cut up a watermelon?

I would willingly wash bags of grapes, dehull strawberries, cut bananas . . . .

. . . so many of our illnesses are lack of good nutrition!

I have always joked that my dogs eat better than most people and now my cat oo-- he is getting my canned turkey!! He loves it.

Not sure it is cheaper than canned cat food but it is likely more nuitritious as they were grass fed. Guess that makes it frugal.

 

[lazy gardener]

I use FF. I can't imagine feeding my flock any other way. There is ABSOLUTELY no waste. I don't bother with the 5 gal bucket. I have 3 large containers in my laundry sink that i rotate through. When i go out to feed in the morning, I grab the oldest container. they each hold about 3 quarts. I take it out and dump some into each dog bowl, then scoop a couple quarts of dry feed into the container, add the right amount of water, give it a stir, and it's ready to go for the next day. By rotating 3 containers, i always have a fermented batch ready to go, and i don't have to scoop it... just dump it. Some days, i feed out 2 containers, occasionally, i feed out 3.