Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Avalon1984]

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Nothing wrong with not liking the cold. I grew up in a 5 story home in Germany with 2 huge wood burning ovens and 1 wood burning stove for cooking. I miss the dry warm heat at times. Our ovens would heat the water and we had those steel…how would you call it…kind of “tubes” in each room. The hot water went through them and it warmed up the whole room. Now I live on a farm in a manufactured home, a tiny fireplace and the bills just kill me in the winter. I used to be a HUGE wuss about heat before I moved over here, would get sick all the time too. Something changed and now cold does not really bother me. Might have to do with my healthy layer of insulating fat or the fact that I move around a lot, doing chores, etc. I am a big wuss about getting my feet wet. That I don’t like at all, but as far as cold goes, I am usually find until we are around -10 outside and snow is blowing in your face and frosting up. On that note, I might have me a nice fire again tonight.

 

[Kassaundra]

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Nothing wrong with not liking the cold. I grew up in a 5 story home in Germany with 2 huge wood burning ovens and 1 wood burning stove for cooking. I miss the dry warm heat at times. Our ovens would heat the water and we had those steel…how would you call it…kind of “tubes” in each room. The hot water went through them and it warmed up the whole room. Now I live on a farm in a manufactured home, a tiny fireplace and the bills just kill me in the winter. I used to be a HUGE wuss about heat before I moved over here, would get sick all the time too. Something changed and now cold does not really bother me. Might have to do with my healthy layer of insulating fat or the fact that I move around a lot, doing chores, etc. I am a big wuss about getting my feet wet. That I don’t like at all, but as far as cold goes, I am usually find until we are around -10 outside and snow is blowing in your face and frosting up. On that note, I might have me a nice fire again tonight.

I think anything below 50' F is to cold for human habitation! (hate winter to the bottom of my toenails) I bring a coat w/ me to work even in the hottest summer (110') b/c other people have the airconditioners on to the point of loosing feeling in my hands and fingers turning blue.

 

[Rathbone]

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I have long hair and I don't curl it with a curling iron. For one, I don't like the idea of damaging my hair with heat. I use socks on the rare occasion I want to curl my hair. My daughter also has hair long enough to sit on and she doesn't use a curling iron. She uses socks. (if you use the little foam rollers you get tight, kinky kind of curls. The socks are bigger so it makes a large waving curl) She just dampens the tips of her hair, and begins rolling it around two socks. The ends of the socks are cut into a long strip. She fastens it with these strips.

Not the best pic to show her hair, but the only one I could find on my computer.
(she is dressed for Hallowe'en)

 

[BarefootMom]

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lol it is 45 outside right now and I don't have any heat. The fire was out when I got up this morning and the high today is 60's so we don't need heat. We don't normally build a fire until the outside temp is below 40. We only heat with wood.

 

[Avalon1984]

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Nothing wrong with not liking the cold. I grew up in a 5 story home in Germany with 2 huge wood burning ovens and 1 wood burning stove for cooking. I miss the dry warm heat at times. Our ovens would heat the water and we had those steel…how would you call it…kind of “tubes” in each room. The hot water went through them and it warmed up the whole room. Now I live on a farm in a manufactured home, a tiny fireplace and the bills just kill me in the winter. I used to be a HUGE wuss about heat before I moved over here, would get sick all the time too. Something changed and now cold does not really bother me. Might have to do with my healthy layer of insulating fat or the fact that I move around a lot, doing chores, etc. I am a big wuss about getting my feet wet. That I don’t like at all, but as far as cold goes, I am usually find until we are around -10 outside and snow is blowing in your face and frosting up. On that note, I might have me a nice fire again tonight.

I think anything below 50' F is to cold for human habitation! (hate winter to the bottom of my toenails) I bring a coat w/ me to work even in the hottest summer (110') b/c other people have the airconditioners on to the point of loosing feeling in my hands and fingers turning blue.

Like I said, some people can handle it and not others. I am determined for I want to save up for a barn addition. Everytime I go out and chores are a pain because of our setup I think about how much money I saved and how I can put that towards my new barn. It is quite the motivator. If I get too cold, I warm me up a glass of Witches Brew and draw on the plans for my barn.

 

[r4eboxer]

I am doing my best to live frugally after racking up way too much debt on things that don't matter.

I have been shopping second hand at goodwill for 2 years, growing large gardens and canning and freezing for 3 years. We don't have garbage pick up and burn our trash, compost, harvest seeds from our veggies to plant again the following year.

My goals are to live off my land almost completely. I want to get a dairy cow and pigs. I hope to have a calf to fatten each year and butcher, same with the pigs. I plan on getting two soon. Putting one in the freezer and breeding one to get piglets. Sell the piglets and keep one to fatten for my freezer each year.

I've got chickens and will make mayonnaise with the eggs. Hopefully I can sell some eggs too. Ducks and geese will be here within a few days to a week and I will sell the eggs for eating and hatching. I'll add turkeys this spring. When I get the dairy cow I will make my own butter and cheese and of course cream and have milk. I need a barn for all this to come together. I am hoping to find one for giveaway in our local bulletin board paper. Lots of times they are advertised for free if you come and tear them down. I just hope DH and I have the time to get that project done next spring. I am thinking about sheep too. I'd like to have lamb in my freezer and possibly sell a few.

My family's downfall is eating out. I swear if we could just get a handle on this we could get those credit cards paid off in a year. I know it is a matter of time management. I work full time and am not consistent with using the crock pot. I have been baking my own bread for about two months now. Sometimes my family (DH) will let the food I cook go to waste and opt to eat out again. Maybe I need to invest in cooking classes?

We are lucky to have non clinical drug studies in our area so DH does pick up nice paychecks in addition to his two jobs doing that on weekends. I signed up to start donating plasma. I can make up to 250.00 a month doing that. We are on a mission to get totally out of debt. We could even be free of a mortgage if we would just sell our house in town.

So that is my story, It is not everything we are doing but the bulk of it. I'd like to keep up on this thread to get some other great ideas. I'll post some other frugal ideas too.

Love this thread!!!

edited to fix some typos and spelling

 

[Avalon1984]

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Sounds like you are doing great. You are not the only one with the eating out habit

Kudos for working on it.

 

[r4eboxer]

Thanks Avalon! I think I am going to start planning my meals out again and cook up food on the weekend. Still though Dh wants to eat out even if food is in the fridge.

I thought of a tip. Save the waxy bag your cereal comes in and use it to wrap moist breads and cakes like zucchini bread. I wrap the bread and then put it in a bread bag that I've recycled too. I wash them out and hang them on a line inside out to dry.

 

[kuntrygirl]

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Thanks for sharing the recycling tip.

 

[Avalon1984]

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I agree, that is a great tip!!!! Thanks!

PS. My husband eats out during the week constantly because of work so his habit is hard to break during the weekend. If that is his only fault, oh well...Maybe your hubby is after the relazing atmosphere more than after the food? Mine likes to just sit and have somebody make the food, serve it and do the dishes. He also works hard, I guess I cannot blame him