Just curious who else is living super frugal

[kuntrygirl]

The new bulbs take some getting used to, especially with their slow "getting bright(er)" time.  When we first installed them I felt like I had become one of the Mole People as everything just seemed so dark.  And the quality of light is different, too, than the warm incandescent glow of filament bulbs.

BUT..... I put them in throughout our entire house and outside just as the electric company was going to raise our rates.  So as our neighbors were ranting about their utility bill doubling, ours stayed pretty much the same and so I cannot complain too loudly.

When I first bought mine, I said that I was going to try it out and transition to them but I don't know. And as far as saving energy, I"m not sure how much more I can save. The only thing that is plugged in my house during the is the fridge & stove. Everything is off. My utility bill is about $50.00 a month but if I can get it down to $25.00, I would be happy. I may give it a try for a couple months to see what happens. :/

 

[kuntrygirl]

We've been using them exclusively for years.  Some aren't so good and burn out fast, but most have been working well for years!

As for brightness, something to look at is the 'color' of the bulb.  Most of them are "soft white", which looks kind of brownish to me, and doesn't seem too bright.  Then there is the "daylight" which has a lot of blue-white to it.  Bright, but kind of, uh, harsh.  The third 'color' is one I have only found at Home Depot, and is called "bright white".  To my eyes, this is the one that best simulates incandescent light.  The light is bright and warm, not too 'brown', and has good color rendition.

Get bulbs that are the equivalent of brighter incandescent than you had, (that is if you had 60 watt, get 75 watt equivalent), and I don't think you will find them dark at all. 

I think it has been about 5 years now since we changed all of our light bulbs to compact flourescents, and in that time only 2 have burned out.  1 was within a week of getting it, so I was able to return it to the store.

I live in an area with extremely high electric rates, and since switching light bulbs (and christmas lights to LEDs), we have seen a substantial decrease in our bills.  Enough each December alone to pay for the bulbs!

I will look for the bulbs that you have suggested. Thanks for the tip.

 

[Totalcolour]

. . .Now I want to raise meat birds too.. . . Can I make this work? or do you have some cheap solutions. Think almost free its so cheap.

We raise meaties in the spring. We do about 50 and they are CornishX so they are butchered around 6-7 weeks.

They are in outdoor brooders with lamps for a few weeks, then, as the weather turns good the lamps are off. The bottom of the brooders are mesh, so the poop goes right through. Hubby moves the brooders every few days, and turns the ground so the poop is buried - hence no smell!. We fill the freezer this way each spring. It's some work, but only for the few weeks they are here. They don't free range - we provide them all their food. We find it's worth the work. Good luck to you on yours.

 

[kuntrygirl]

I thought that I would post this "tip" that is a money saver and/or freebie. I went to Walgreens and saw a sign that was posted that advertised transferring a prescription to Walgreens and receiving a free $25.00 Walgreens gift card. Well, I have a prescription for my peafowl at Walmart that I will transfer to Walgreens. The prescription at Walmart costs $12.00 for 30 pills and the cost at Walgreens is $14.00 for 30 pills. Although, it is a $2.00 difference ($2.00 more at Walgreens), once the prescription is transferred and filled, I will receive the $25.00 Walgreens gift card. So, the $25.00 gift card will cover the additional $2.00 that I paid for the new prescription and I will have an extra $23.00. That will be the only time that I will refill the prescription because I have limited refills and that will be the last prescription. So, if anyone can cash in on this deal, you may want to look into it. Especially if the transferred prescription is not costly. I would saw not more than a few dollars. Anymore than that, then it's probably not worth it.

 

[Hippie Chicks Mom]

This is how my chicken loving came to be! Wanting to live more frugal and back to the earth. It spread from there to canning harvests from my garden, relearning to knit/crochet and sew and reading everything I could get my hands on about homesteading!
HippieChickHomesteader.wordpress.com

 

[ScottnLydia]

Well, since we're talking frugal, we're talking "waste nothing"

We breed, raise and butcher our own chickens for meat. We also peel and save the feet. When it comes time to make chicken stock, we take the necks and feet and cook them in the pressure cooker in some water. The flavor of the stock is incredible! At least 3 or 4 times more 'chicken' flavor than canned stock. A little onion and noodles, and you have soup. You can't do that with canned broth.

All you need to do to prep them is to dip them in the hot water that you scald the chicken in for plucking. After soaking for 1 or 2 minutes, the outside skin slips right off, along with all the dirt (and other stuff). The toenails come off too, though sometimes they need a little more coaxing.

They are also available to buy, hopefully cheap, at many Hispanic and Asian markets.

 

[galanie]

Well, since we're talking frugal, we're talking "waste nothing"

We breed, raise and butcher our own chickens for meat.  We also peel and save the feet.  When it comes time to make chicken stock, we take the necks and feet and cook them in the pressure cooker in some water.  The flavor of the stock is incredible!  At least 3 or 4 times more 'chicken' flavor than canned stock.  A little onion and noodles, and you have soup.  You can't do that with canned broth.

All you need to do to prep them is to dip them in the hot water that you scald the chicken in for plucking.  After soaking for 1 or 2 minutes, the outside skin slips right off, along with all the dirt (and other stuff).  The toenails come off too, though sometimes they need a little more coaxing.

They are also available to buy, hopefully cheap, at many Hispanic and Asian markets.

I saw chicken feet at a local store for 1.99 a lb. Two dollars a pound for chicken feet? I don't think so. (meanwhile, the thighs are on sale for .99 a lb. Crazy.) But you're right, the feet and neck makes the best stock in the world! I use my own chicken's feet though. Won't be buying those.

 

[ScottnLydia]

Ha ha, you got me! I don't buy meat! I only mentioned that because I had seen them available years ago, and thought I would mention them if someone didn't want to, or couldn't do their own.

But you know what I mean about that stock, don't you? I've cooked down whole hens and not gotten such a concentrated 'chickeny' flavor.

Lydia makes a slow roasted "French Chicken" dish, and cooks down some of that stock into almost a syrup. The sauce gets a few drops of lemon juice, and then is dribbled over the pieces of slow roasted chicken.....O.K......I'm drooling again! It's the most intense, wonderful chicken flavor ever!!! My #1 pick for my birthday!

 

[Chikyn]

Frugal, not really. We don't always be that picky, but being extravagant has it's disadvantages.

 

[mickey328]

Frugal score! We were at WalMart picking up a few things, so we wandered by the bakery and asked if they had any frosting buckets they'd like to get rid of. Yeehaw! Brought home 18 of 'em complete with lids...free!! . Since they're food grade, I've stashed my grain mixes for the chickens and rabbits in several of them...even full, I can move 'em around easily.