Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Amberjem]

I did something some might call super frugal.......I made up a few flyers and left them at Halloween on people's houses that had many pumpkins, Halloween décor, etc. It said something like this:

"Hi, My name is Outpost JWB. I raise chickens and noticed your pumpkins. If you do not compost or reuse your pumpkins, can you please call me? I will pick up any unwanted pumpkins and my chickens can eat them. Phone number________"

So, yesterday morning I get a call from a lady. She is cleaning her yard. I got 10+ pumpkins, some starting to get squishy, several ears of corn, & 4 bales of straw

good idea.. I saw someone do something similar on Craig's list.....

something I started doing is going to my local community garden kind of trade plants and starts seeds ect....when doing my own planting I will thin out and save the thinning seedlings and send them to the community garden...this has helped to spread more heritage seeds around and also many many plants which can not be found locally even allows for growing things you might be unsure of and might not have the garden space to dedicate to a unknown plant for your area..

Also our local food bank takes in local produce perishable vegetables and such as things start to get wilty n such they toss them out made arrangements to go and grab a few boxs of whatever to go thru feed the deer and chickens here.. will be taking in some eggs to return to the food bank for the community to share.


My son's college decorated for thanksgiving Halloween with pumpkins and winter squashes for displays around campus he spoke with someone in the office nd they donated it to us instead of toss ing it to the trash what we didnt use went to the food bank...

 

[erinszoo]

 
I had never shopped used. That went first. It started with used furniture or appliances, and then to cars, and now clothes and anything else under the sun. I am desperately trying to get us debt free and I am making all the hard choices right now.


I have taken to shopping at goodwill and consignments stores almost exclusively. No one is getting even sale priced retail this year.  I am looking at doing the whole only grocery shopping once a month thing. Not sure I can survive that. I need to cut back how much I drive drastically. These gas prices are killing me. I find my entire way of thinking about money and possessions has changed. I think for the better.


Curious what others are doing. Also curious if anyone else has pulled off the whole grocery shopping once a month.

been doing grocery shopping once a month for years... once a month with one stop for extreme perishables..milk, eggs bread...

I rarely grocery shop even once a month now. We've been raising our own rabbits, chickens, turkeys, ducks, and goats for awhile now so I have freezers full of meat and a canning pantry that is stuffed full from our garden and free foraging. I make almond milk when our goats are dry and only shop for the almonds once every three months. I make all of our breads too.

I have to admit it took me a few months to get the hang of shopping in my own pantry but now its habit. I actually kind of freak out when I go to the grocery store because there's so much stuff.

One word of caution about thrift store buys, always wash clothing in hot water and dry on high heat to kill any bed bugs that might be hitching a ride and be careful with used furniture. We bought our son a whole apartment full of used furniture that looked really nice and clean that ended up being infested by bedbugs. Not a pretty thing. With the money we've spent to kill them off he could have had brand new furniture.

 

[lazy gardener]

How's this for frugal: I do not throw out liquid left from cooking veggies. I set it aside, along with any scrapings from dishes before they get loaded into the dish washer. Any little bits of food, no matter how insignificant get scraped into a dish to be used to top off the FF which goes out to the flock in the morning. A lot of vitamins in that veggie water!

Or: how about "garbage soup" Toss the left over veggies, veggie water, any left over pasta, or potato, or rice, into a casserole dish. Keep that dish handy, and in a few days, you can add some left over beef or chicken, some seasoning, a bit of tomato sauce, or what ever else suits your fancy, and you have an instant soup. Never tastes the same twice, but always flavorful, and makes for a quick meal.

 

[byfarmer]

How's this for frugal: I do not throw out liquid left from cooking veggies. I set it aside, along with any scrapings from dishes before they get loaded into the dish washer. Any little bits of food, no matter how insignificant get scraped into a dish to be used to top off the FF which goes out to the flock in the morning. A lot of vitamins in that veggie water!

Or: how about "garbage soup" Toss the left over veggies, veggie water, any left over pasta, or potato, or rice, into a casserole dish. Keep that dish handy, and in a few days, you can add some left over beef or chicken, some seasoning, a bit of tomato sauce, or what ever else suits your fancy, and you have an instant soup. Never tastes the same twice, but always flavorful, and makes for a quick meal.

I to give veggie scraps to my flock, didn't even think about veggie water(nice one). I also collected a few pumpkins, tossed them to my goats and sheep. Chickens also enjoyed since they free range during the day.

 

[Outpost JWB]

How's this for frugal: I do not throw out liquid left from cooking veggies. I set it aside, along with any scrapings from dishes before they get loaded into the dish washer. Any little bits of food, no matter how insignificant get scraped into a dish to be used to top off the FF which goes out to the flock in the morning. A lot of vitamins in that veggie water!

Or: how about "garbage soup" Toss the left over veggies, veggie water, any left over pasta, or potato, or rice, into a casserole dish. Keep that dish handy, and in a few days, you can add some left over beef or chicken, some seasoning, a bit of tomato sauce, or what ever else suits your fancy, and you have an instant soup. Never tastes the same twice, but always flavorful, and makes for a quick meal.

That is great! I also give the chicken the liquid I cook my pasta in and any greases left over from cooking meat. Just pour it over their food.

We make something similar to your garbage soup. We call it a "mess". My mamaw invented it years ago

. You basically clean out your frig. You put leftover veggies, pastas, whatever together in a large pot. Add a can or two of beef stew then add a layer of biscuit mix (mixed up according to directions on box) on top. Bake, YUM!

 

[donrae]

I've always saved my veggies and they've gone into soup or a casserole or a scramble, but never gave a thought about the water the veggies are simmered in. I'll have to keep that in mind! Everything else goes to the critters---the chickens are going to be thrilled when the pigs are finally butchered as the pigs are getting first dibs on the scraps right now

 

[perchie.girl]

I've always saved my veggies and they've gone into soup or a casserole or a scramble, but never gave a thought about the water the veggies are simmered in. I'll have to keep that in mind! Everything else goes to the critters---the chickens are going to be thrilled when the pigs are finally butchered as the pigs are getting first dibs on the scraps right now

We have always consumed the "Pot Liquor" off greens... Good stuff because ALL the nutrients that are in the greens are also in the liquor.

Especially mustard greens and Turnip greens.

I just made a big ole pot of beans and ham hocks.... Finaly got the cooking time down right. Never had the ham hocks break down so thoroughly.

I rarely ever pre cook veggies... I may steam saute or even nuke them to get them started very little added water. Fresh peas are wonderful cooked this way... Line a bowl with lettuce fill the bowl with fresh shelled peas and top with lettuce then a lid of somesort.... I use a small dinner plate for a mixing bowl... Nuke em till you can smell em. the lettuce provides the moisture.... Oh Yummm.

deb

 

[lazy gardener]

newest frugal thought: I save my squash and cuke seeds for next year's crops. That's frugal enough, right? The extra seeds will go into my sprout mix for the girls. They should go nuts over cuke and squash sprouts. I also like to save pepper seeds from red, yellow, and orange peppers at the grocery store. I think I'll sprout a bunch of those as well. The girls also get the soft inner parts of a pepper when I cut it.

 

[tammyfarms]

Hi Fellow Frugal Folks!

My husband is the one who is really good at not spending more than necessary. I am a work in progress. I love the idea of shopping once a month. I might start with every two weeks first and then try to stretch it out.

I would say my biggest spending reduction was restaurants and buying unnecessary stuff for the house. It's funny since I stopped buying extras that we don't need I have become much more aware of our carbon footprint and that helps me stay on track. When I think about what resources are required to buy something new rather than fix what we have or buy used, the choice is simple. thankfully I am pretty handy and my husband can fix anything that can be fixed.

For those who are working to become debt free, it can be done, but there is sacrifice. Just make a plan and stick to it.

 

[erinszoo]

Well I've become super frugal at the gas bill. Our floor furnace died and no one can find the parts we need to fix it, and we don't have $7000 we were quoted for replacement costs for a new one. Electric space heaters just don't cut it.