Just curious who else is living super frugal

[lindalouly]

I have a question for you. I just had the breaks and bearing done on my 97 suburban. The brake fluid was completely out and I didn't know. We filled it up and it's out again... Is that normal? Do I need to keep refilling it for a bit?

@LittleLakePhil

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
NOT normal you have a leak either in a seal or the lines need to be checked. Which should have been done by your mechanic. Technically you shouldnt "add" breakfluid like adding water to the wipers. because the Chemical that makes up the fluid loves to absorb water from the air. Water in your break lines is not a good thing.

The following is a good discussion about break fluids.
http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/dot-brake-fluid-vs-mineral-oil/

deb

 

[lindalouly]

NOT normal you have a leak either in a seal or the lines need to be checked.  Which should have been done by your mechanic.   Technically you shouldnt "add" breakfluid like adding water to the wipers.  because the Chemical that makes up the fluid loves to absorb water from the air.  Water in your break lines is not a good thing.  

The following is a good discussion about break fluids.
http://www.epicbleedsolutions.com/blog/dot-brake-fluid-vs-mineral-oil/

deb

Thank you. I will try to check the lines and see if I can figure this out.

 

[perchie.girl]

Groceries always seem to be our biggest bill. Well we are feeding four strong and healthy boys. I cook everyday.... Mainly because even a trip to McDonald's is gonna be 30 bucks or more. I have yet to figure out how to cut the food budget. We just moved back in with my folks to try to save money sand be able to buy a house at some point. I am retraining myself the art of turning off lights. Watching the thermostat. And all that fun stuff... But even with the help of my folks my food bill remains outrageous. I've got to start looking up frugal dinners.

Back when I took home economics in highschool... (requirement for girls in the sixties) We had to learn how to feed a family of four on ten dollars a week.

That was when a bag of groceries was apox 2.00 I recently went grocery shopping five bags 100 dollars..... twenty dollars a bag.

But the strategies work no matter what era you are planning for. It involves pre planning meals and shopping just to fill those plans.... Start doing a week.... go in to the store with your shopping list and dont go hungry. Buy ONLY the things on your list or equivalents.
Staples get replenished on an as needed bases. Flour sugar coffee pasta.... what ever you consider a staple.

There are a huge amount of meals that you can make with just beans and rice or pasta.... Meat should be a seasoning in those meals. Meat like Steak or roasts reserve for once a week or once a month.

deb

 

[lazy gardener]

IMO, meat is highly over used in the American diet. Do we eat meat, yes. But... I serve much smaller portions of meat. An actual serving is considered to be the size of a pack of cards. And if that meat is used in a casserole, like chop suey, veggies and seasoning can make up the difference. I made chop suey last week to feed 4 people. Used a single hamburger left over from an other meal, added a small hand full of diced pepperoni, and lots of onion, mushrooms, and red pepper. Go to a restaurant, and you'll see 8 oz. salmon, 12 and even 16 oz. steaks offered as single serving portions. Then... there's the fries: a huge platter of them to go along with that whopping hunk of meat. And the veggie portions on those platters will be contrastingly meager. No wonder obesity is such an issue.

 

[lindalouly]

IMO, meat is highly over used in the American diet.  Do we eat meat, yes.  But... I serve much smaller portions of meat.  An actual serving is considered to be the size of a pack of cards.  And if that meat is used in a casserole, like chop suey, veggies and seasoning can make up the difference.  I made chop suey last week to feed 4 people.  Used a single hamburger left over from an other meal, added a small hand full of diced pepperoni, and lots of onion, mushrooms, and red pepper.  Go to a restaurant, and you'll see 8 oz. salmon, 12 and even 16 oz. steaks offered as single serving portions.  Then... there's the fries:  a huge platter of them to go along with that whopping hunk of meat.  And the veggie portions on those platters will be contrastingly meager.   No wonder obesity is such an issue.  

Agreed, although I do have a love affair with red meat.

 

[malndobe]

But the strategies work no matter what era you are planning for. It involves pre planning meals and shopping just to fill those plans.... Start doing a week.... go in to the store with your shopping list and dont go hungry. Buy ONLY the things on your list or equivalents.
Staples get replenished on an as needed bases. Flour sugar coffee pasta.... what ever you consider a staple.

In addition to pre-planning, when possible have flexible recipes or meal plans. For example a meal plan might be pasta with a meat based red sauce, side vegetables and fruit. When I go to the grocery store I will buy whatever meat, vegetables and fruit are on sale.

My shopping list usually reads something like bread, milk, meat, veggies, fruit, etc then a few specific items. But I mainly just purchase sales items, and that's what the meals are made from. I also have one grocery store I usually purchase meat, fresh veggies and fruit from, and another store I purchase our bread, canned items, staples, etc. They stores are only about 6 blocks apart, and the price difference on those items is worth making the two stops. If I only have time for one stop, I look at my list and go to the store which has the best prices on the items my list is heavy on.

 

[perchie.girl]

Quote:
Oh yeah.... that selective store strategy I use alot. Food 4 Less has the meat and canned goods for a considerable cost savings.... Bread too. We dont eat a lot so it has to last Van de Camp bread must have a three month shelf live....

But their sourdough sandwich bread is AWESOME. Veggies there too. My store has a considerable selection of Hispanic foods which cross over to southern cooking very well. plus I like em.

For instance I like using capers in fish and salads and homemade tarter sauce a regular jar from the pickle isle can be as much as four dollars.... (they last a very long time) But the Goyoa brand from Mexico is 1.99. Same goes for Spanish style olives Plus canned veggies like Homony and Refried beans.

One can of refried beans with some fresh diced onion and flour torillas can feed three people For dinner I dont make traditional burritos I roll a couple of table spoons of beans and sprinkle on onions and Maybe shreded cheese if I have it then Fry them in oil till the tortilla is crisp. They are very filling. If you have kids buy the number two can.....

but a package of ten tortillas will feed em.

deb

 

[Beekissed]

IMO, meat is highly over used in the American diet. Do we eat meat, yes. But... I serve much smaller portions of meat. An actual serving is considered to be the size of a pack of cards. And if that meat is used in a casserole, like chop suey, veggies and seasoning can make up the difference. I made chop suey last week to feed 4 people. Used a single hamburger left over from an other meal, added a small hand full of diced pepperoni, and lots of onion, mushrooms, and red pepper. Go to a restaurant, and you'll see 8 oz. salmon, 12 and even 16 oz. steaks offered as single serving portions. Then... there's the fries: a huge platter of them to go along with that whopping hunk of meat. And the veggie portions on those platters will be contrastingly meager. No wonder obesity is such an issue.

I agree. For some reason people have come to believe that they should have meat on a daily basis and with at least two meals of the day, if not with every meal. My poor DIL goes round in circles trying to "plan meals" because she was raised in a household that held to the standard of having meats every day and every meal had to have at least three dishes or more in order to be considered a meal...every morning she must prepare eggs, bacon, etc for breakfast. What a huge waste of time, money and resources to adhere to such cultural norms! Slowly but surely she is seeing the sense of scaling down and simplifying meals to save her time, money and worry about trying to keep things fresh and new, while still adhering to this weird standard of what's considered a meal.

Around here we'll eat meat maybe a couple of times a week in the winter, couple of times a month in warmer months. Even then, it's mostly chicken or tuna, rarely ever red meat or processed meats of any kind. Most of our meals don't even include bread and only at holiday meals do we make meals that include more than one dish.

Here we are queens of the one dish wonder and the ingredients are never complicated and rarely include meat, unless it's soup. I raised my kids on one dish meals as well and our fare was pretty standard, not a bit imaginative or inventive. I don't feel a person needs to have a huge variety in their diet to be satisfied or have healthy food. This kind of living keeps food costs down to a minimum and the need to shop according to meal plans nonexistent. Keeping staple ingredients on hand that one can use to whip up a meal at any time is much more expedient.

 

[lazy gardener]

In addition to pre-planning, when possible have flexible recipes or meal plans. For example a meal plan might be pasta with a meat based red sauce, side vegetables and fruit. When I go to the grocery store I will buy whatever meat, vegetables and fruit are on sale.

My shopping list usually reads something like bread, milk, meat, veggies, fruit, etc then a few specific items. But I mainly just purchase sales items, and that's what the meals are made from. I also have one grocery store I usually purchase meat, fresh veggies and fruit from, and another store I purchase our bread, canned items, staples, etc. They stores are only about 6 blocks apart, and the price difference on those items is worth making the two stops. If I only have time for one stop, I look at my list and go to the store which has the best prices on the items my list is heavy on.

When my kids were little, I'd pick up my Mom. We'd go shopping together. Good savings on gas, and she was a Godsend when dealing with 2 kids under 5. We'd hit the 3 major stores in our area, and I'd only buy the featured sale items from each store. Took a while to do, but the savings were huge. I'd fill the back of my little car all the way up.

Oh yeah.... that selective store strategy I use alot. Food 4 Less has the meat and canned goods for a considerable cost savings.... Bread too. We dont eat a lot so it has to last Van de Camp bread must have a three month shelf live....

But their sourdough sandwich bread is AWESOME. Veggies there too. My store has a considerable selection of Hispanic foods which cross over to southern cooking very well. plus I like em.

For instance I like using capers in fish and salads and homemade tarter sauce a regular jar from the pickle isle can be as much as four dollars.... (they last a very long time) But the Goyoa brand from Mexico is 1.99. Same goes for Spanish style olives Plus canned veggies like Homony and Refried beans.

One can of refried beans with some fresh diced onion and flour torillas can feed three people For dinner I dont make traditional burritos I roll a couple of table spoons of beans and sprinkle on onions and Maybe shreded cheese if I have it then Fry them in oil till the tortilla is crisp. They are very filling. If you have kids buy the number two can.....

but a package of ten tortillas will feed em.

deb

I love to put a bit of rice in my tacos. It definitely stretches the meat a bit, and I LOVE the texture it adds.