Just curious who else is living super frugal

[lazy gardener]

Milk is never here long enough to spoil. I remember when I was a kid growing up, we'd go to my uncle's dairy farm and have fresh raw milk. I enjoyed it. There's a retired farmer down the road from me, I think he's keeping a couple of milkers for his family's needs. Perhaps I need to see if he'd be interested in bartering.

 

[Julie Birb]

I buy raw milk from a local dairy when it's on sale for $5.50 a gallon.  It normally sells for $7 but the owner emails me when they have it on sale.  He's also willing to trade eggs for milk.  So far we haven't been able to trade due to my eggs are spoken for when he has his milk on sale.  I buy four gallons and then pour a little off the top of each gallon and then freeze them.  My family has been good about remembering to shake the gallon before using due to the cream rising to the top.  Even my grandson remembers.

One thing we noticed about raw milk is that it doesn't spoil.  Store bought milk will spoil if not used in a week.  Some weeks we use more and some less (depends if my grandson comes over for his chocolate milk fix) but I've thrown away a lot of store bought milk that's spoiled.

I didn't know that it didn't spoil like store bought does. That is good to know. I like the sale price you pay. I have two farms' websites so I need to go on and look. Thanks for the info about shelf life. I thought maybe I had to consume it within a few days.

 

[Julie Birb]

Milk is never here long enough to spoil.  I remember when I was a kid growing up, we'd go to my uncle's dairy farm and have fresh raw milk.  I enjoyed it.  There's a retired farmer down the road from me, I think he's keeping a couple of milkers for his family's needs.  Perhaps I need to see if he'd be interested in bartering.

I go thru mine quickly too and like you I live alone. Cannot live without it. Let us know if you get a barter going with that farmer.

 

[pfields]

I didn't know that it didn't spoil like store bought does. That is good to know. I like the sale price you pay. I have two farms' websites so I need to go on and look. Thanks for the info about shelf life. I thought maybe I had to consume it within a few days.

It doesn't and we had no idea of that when we started using it several months ago. We just noticed that after two weeks the milk was still good unlike the store bought.

Last year I was visiting a friend of mine in Georgetown, Texas and we went to a dairy there and I bought milk and butter. We got hooked on the milk and butter and for months I looked for a place closer to buy milk. I found Stryk Jersey Farm and the Jersey Barnyard online. We drove to the Jersey Barnyard and they were out of caps and couldn't sell milk. Later we drove to the Stryk Jersey Farm and bought milk but both dairies were a really long drive away (about 2 hours) which is not very close to us. Then several months ago I heard about Valenta Jersey Farm south of El Campo, Texas. We were so excited to find raw milk 35 minutes away.

 

[Julie Birb]

It doesn't and we had no idea of that when we started using it several months ago.  We just noticed that after two weeks the milk was still good unlike the store bought.

Last year I was visiting a friend of mine in Georgetown, Texas and we went to a dairy there and I bought milk and butter.  We got hooked on the milk and butter and for months I looked for a place closer to buy milk.  I found Stryk Jersey Farm and the Jersey Barnyard online.  We drove to the Jersey Barnyard and they were out of caps and couldn't sell milk.  Later we drove to the Stryk Jersey Farm and bought milk but both dairies were a really long drive away (about 2 hours) which is not very close to us.  Then several months ago I heard about Valenta Jersey Farm south of El Campo, Texas.  We were so excited to find raw milk 35 minutes away.

That is awesome. So worth it. I didn't know many other people did raw milk. I am stoked you all do it. At first I was afraid of it yesterday when I took my 1st sip. And blown away by the yellow color. Beautiful and thick. I am still on the fence about buying into the cow cuz it's so expensive. I may just instead buy it from the little store that houses it for them on a limited basis every once in a while. $64 a mo is alot of money for me.

Just checked the links you provided. Very nice.

 

[lindalouly]

I have seven people in my house that drink a lot of milk... So I just buy what is cheapest

 

[Julie Birb]

I have seven people in my house that drink a lot of milk... So I just buy what is cheapest

I totally get it. I don't blame you. The raw isn't always financially feasible for many people. I am leaning towards a couple times a month treat and buying the majority of milk at TJ's. They claim it's hormone and antibiotic free.

I have to say this has been a wonderful discussion and each and every one of you have contributed to my decision to do the above. Thank you.

 

[pfields]

I can completely understand any choice that a person makes regarding raw milk. Whole milk at our local store is almost $5 a gallon so $5.50 isn't that much more for us. Ever so often they will have it on sale 2 gallons for $5 and I'll buy two and freeze one. It doesn't thaw as nice as raw milk but it's still milk. We're a family of three and my biggest milk drinker is my grandson and he doesn't come over everyday, next is me. In fact I've got brownie's cooking in the oven right now and I plan to have a glass of milk with my brownie. I wouldn't pay the $7 a gallon from our dairy, I wait till it's on sale and hopefully next time I'll have eggs I can trade for milk.

I have a friend that lives in New Hampshire and she pays $4 for her gallon of raw milk.

 

[gevshiba]

Every time we get hair cuts we save about $50.00. I cut hubby's hair. Usually, it comes out better than when he pays to have it cut. Then, I cut my hair, cut everything I can reach/see. Then, hubby finishes up the back. I get compliments on my hair cut often, so... guess I don't do too bad. Not to mention, it saves us a lot of time and gas. Takes an hour for the drive time just to get to town and back, plus the time for the cut, and the wait! Takes less than 20 minutes to do a home cut.

I'm a dog groomer. I trade getting my hair cut for grooming the dog.

 

[gevshiba]

Had to make another batch of laundry soap today. Bought a new kind of dawn that works so well. This is good cost saving knowledge. It doesn't take much to scrub pot and pans. It is dawn platinum and it's the same cost as the other dawn. I even used it to bath my dogs today and it worked great. Hope all is well.

Just an FYI, Dawn is a degreaser. It'll strip the oil from your dog's skin and coat and eventually, it'll cause problems.