Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Abirdbrain]

I used to raise a 'truck farm' and sell to the farmers markets , and street peddle, in an old traditional neighborhood. Well someone in politics eliminated that with a permit system, contrary to State law. There was no longer a market at the fairgrounds, so non-usda anything is basically banned from the corner grocer. It is the 5 Acre guy against DelMonte, and Purple Giant , that will kill ya, before you start. No major chain can survive, if the maga producers threaten to pull out, or raise prices. It is a dirty business in that way.

The n'ew' framers market, held in the local bank parking lot has a dismal 20 vendors of arts and crafts junk, a U-haul full of trees and bushes, half dead, and a coupla spots from the Chain store Grocery selling off berries and apples too old to hold..And a beekeeper, goat soap maker, and lovely cheese seller, from Chicago markets. ( I love good cheeze , and theirs are very good, @ $7 per lb.

Last year , a local vendor gave us all his damaged, and culled fruit. 3-4 boxes at a time. We fed the Greens to the Guinee pigs, the fruits I purees and forze or canned, and the wilting Tomatos went into sauces frozen or canned. It is a grind to process things when you would like to do other things, but overall, the spaggetti, and base sauces, work out to be superior, and free, for home use.

It boils down to , how much is your time worth? (Pun intended)

 

[Rathbone]

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I think it does boil down to time. If you cook things from scratch it does take more time but is usually tastier and more nutritious. I know someone earlier talked at length about cooking things from scratch.I don't use coupons -not that I wouldn't - but mostly I don't buy things that they have coupons for. We eat a lot of beans and other legumes and fruits and veggies.
A family favorite for us is burritos. Homemade tortillas (whole wheat), a pot of freshly cooked beans with a little bit of cheese -they are delish and cost nearly nothing. Lentil soup. Potato soup....heavens so many good inexpensive soups. My humble advice is to start cooking more (or maybe you already do). I focus on something inexpensive and nutrient packed - that often doesn't include meat. But as Peep_show mentioned - lower cholesterol was a benefit they reaped. You can do this!

 

[Abirdbrain]

Tee-hee. I go to several private ponds, that I trap several times a year. It is part of the Aquaculture I have learned in my youth. I take sample fish form the pond on two or three nights and mark the back fin with a small punch. In a week, I go back, and sample how many I have caught marked, against the general size and weight, of the rest of the population. Usually small panfish of Bluegill and Sunfish types overpopulate their areas, and become quite old and remain small. Many of these small breeders are removed, so individuals can grow to greater size, with less competition.

It is private, so the state game laws do not apply. I eat the rejects, and in some cases, donate the fresh fish to available shelters and pantries, when there is a heavy harvest. Small Bluegill can be scaled and fileted in just seconds, leaving the heads and inards behind with just a clean slab of meat for the fryer, or freezer, take your pick.

 

[HeatherLynn]

We spent a mini chunk of money today on more canning jars. We have been reusing of course but we had not considered that with making our garden HUGE we would need more jars. I had only bought a dozen extra jars from goodwill for this season. So off to Walmart we went. They ended up being the cheapest. It looks like we might get at least 48 quarts of veggies canned this week alone. We also cleaned and froze somewhere around 60 green peppers for stuffing. Jams, wines, and syrup are next on the list. If things go to crap we are food ready. If they don't, well we are still food ready lol.

On a sad note, DH's grandmother died last week. His dad, knowing we can and garden, has pulled out cases of canning jars for us to bring back from massachusetts next visit. Next year gram will be with us on canning days. Its odd he and I canning today brought back so many memories of her. Odd little things you remember. Its nice that doing something as simple as being frugal brings us both closer to the grandmothers we lost. A nice heritage I think.

 

[breezy]

Im sorry for the loss of your husbands Grandmother. Your post made me smile though when you talked about remembering both of your grandmas during canning. I do that too.Canning reminds me of my Grandma De and makes me happy. Lots of fun memories to cherish. I still miss her

 

[LazyQ]

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I am soirry for your loss.
I am new to this forum in North Florida and the cheapest canning jars here are at Big Lots. I usually just use pints, because I am by myself in these woods and quarts would be too big..
As to being frugal, I only shop once a month when the SS check shows up. I drive less than 100 miles a month. I spend more on insurance than I do on gas. I have done away with my house phone. Had this one for 25 years. First time in 50 years I haven't had a house phone. Now if I could just get rid of satellite TV and internet. I keep a large garden and try to can as much as I can. I also have a couple of cows to butcher, some pigs, rabbits, quail and a bunch of chickens. I am picking up a small dairy goat tomorrow. I fish in the cool weather and have fish in the freezer. I shoot a few squirrels for the pot and folks bring me venison during hunting season. I shop Freecycle and Craigslist and just scored a 15 pen brooder and several cages up to large size, dumpester diving.
Big Jim

 

[EweSheep]

I love remembering our grandparents and my mom canning! I remember Mom canned grape jelly for hours, boiled, and it was HOT. However the jelly was delicious!

 

[Aimless Farmer]

Lazy Q, maybe you can help me in my latest "wondering"...squirrel.

I have discovered this year that I LOVE rabbit meat. I have had rabbits as pets in my life, and my last bunny friend, Sylvia, lived indoors, and was just the smartest and most personable companion. I know I could never raise rabbits as meat. However, if I knew someone who did so humanely, I would barter for rabbit meat in a heartbeat! I just know I could never hunt wild rabbit.

Squirrels, however, we have in abundance, and they are very aggressive here. We can't have any birdfeeders, as the "chain mail", squirrel-proof ones that they can't destroy, they just hang out on all day en mass and stuff themselves full of seed and suet. Tthe birds can't even get at the fallen seed on the ground! They also feast at my chicken's feeder. The crows and jays, I have a deal with...as long as they continue to sound the hawk alarm, and mob the hawks, they can partake of the chicken chow. So far, they've kept the deal. If I knew the hawks were forgoing the chicken hunt and instead binging on squirrel, I would be happy to strike a deal with the squirrels, but I've not seen evidence of that happening. If I were told that squirrel tasted like rabbit when cooked "just so", and someone passed me some cooking tips...well, I would begin happily supplementing our rations with squirrel meat, and looking for someone who wants squirrel pelts.

Any advice?

 

[LazyQ]

@ Aimless Farmer, squirrel is similar to wild rabbit, BUTT can be tougher. Wild rabbit tastes different from domestic rabbit. I like them both.
I grew up eating wild rabbits, squirrels, fish, frog legs and wild hogs.
We always had squirrel pan fried. Usually just dredged in seasoned flour. It helpsm with game or some farmed meat to be soaked in cold salt water in icebox over night.
Squirrel is good with dumplings or rice, Just cut up the squirrel, rabbit, whatever and simmer in seasoned water/stock until tender then add the rice or dumplings. Egg noodles would be good too.
Cook either the same way you would chicken. It makes a tasty inexpensive meal.
Big Jim

 

[mulewagon]

Have you tried lacing the feed with cayenne pepper? Birds can't taste it, but it's supposed to deter rats, so maybe the furry rats wouldn't like it!