Just curious who else is living super frugal

[Frogdogtimestwo]

Depending on where you live those run me right around 7.00 with tax. Interesting to see what it costs others

 

[Gypsi]

I've been getting more frugal every year. Don't drive unless I need to, then I combine trips. I live close to stores, but will hold off on going to one until I can just stop by after paid work, on the way. Trucks are old and paid for.

Painted my roof white this summer, 70 days over 100, I never had an electric bill over $160. My home is all electric. Or it was. I refinished my wood stove this summer and had it installed. My heater stays off unless my youngest granddaughter is here. She sleeps in the fish room, too far from the wood stove. My utilities were far worse than the grocery bill. Gave away my electric range and dishwasher this summer. Bought an induction cooktop. MUCH cheaper to operate and cooks faster than electric, but it does take iron or steel pans. Got 5 cast iron skillets at a garage sale for: $5

When my clean water plumbing all rusted out a month ago, I turned the water off and called a plumber. when he bid replacing the pipes at $2200 with pex, I wrote him a check for the estimate ($120), and texted my helper. For $50 in parts, and about $200 to my helper, my water pipes no longer leak. I bought the insulation, still need to crawl under the house and put it on the new pipes, but I also have bookkeeping, and paid work to do. Probably this evening I'll cover the pipes. We aren't due for a hard freeze for a couple of months.

I fix what I can myself, been buying my clothes except for under-things from Goodwill and garage sales for at least 5 or 6 years, my debt load is a hospital bill from 2006 that is 18 months from payoff at current payment rate, I'll keep making payments til next spring then do a lump sun payoff.

I haven't had a credit card since 2003, and I don't miss them right now, at all. I grow most of my fruits and veggies, buy big bags of frozen organics for when the garden isn't producing at Costco. Canned dark red kidney beans are about my only canned stuff. No prepared. I don't eat that much meat, buy a large ham when it is on sale, or store brand italian sausage, once in awhile hamburger for chili. My hens supply most of my protein - I eat 3 eggs a day. Every day.

Gypsi

 

[Gypsi]

Quote:
I learned to sew a little at age 10. I learned to sew a LOT when I had twins at age 24. Start with the worst dress in your closet, preferably the biggest, with the most fabric. Or a big non-stretchy dress that costs 25 cents at a garage sale. Take your kid's favorite non-stretchy shirt, turn it wrong side out, and lay it on a big piece of newspaper. Glue a couple of pages together if necessary. Cut a pattern piece for each piece of that shirt. Use the baggy dress to cut the pieces from, put it together, see how it comes out. Practice. And that is how I learned to sew.

I made baby clothes for the twins that wouldn't go over their heads at the hospital, so I learned by studying what I bought at garage sales, the occasional pattern when I could afford one, the toddler pattern set my in-laws got me, and a sewing book from a garage sale.
By the time they were in Junior High I made the coolest blue jeans in the school, cost me a busted needle a pair, and about $4 in fabric.
I took the pattern off a $50 pair of size 1 Levis, not by taking them apart, but just laying them out, and figuring out how much fabric was in the seams for the seam allowance.

Always work on trash fabric first, to get the fit right. And figure in your time. If you don't have much time, blue jeans are not for you, but curtains are a snap. And backpacks aren't that hard, I made them several years. One year I had to make the girls panties.... and my own. You know those lasted years longer than the ones I buy at the store.

Gypsi

 

[faerielady]

Quote:
Borax = $2.98
Fels Naptha - $0.98
Washing Soda - $4.79

Total with tax = $9.45.

Now, I will be able to get it cheaper next time the ingredients have coupons. I had a coupon for washing soda but I'd forgotten about it and it expired. It would have been a dollar off. Also, the fels naptha isn't necessary, you can use other soaps that go on sale, like Ivory. Next time I'm going to use a soap made by a friend of mine, she thinks it'll work well as a laundry soap.

 

[faerielady]

Quote:
Wow. I need to save for one of these. 13% more energy utilization AND I wouldn't have to worry about burning myself nearly as much. I already cook out of stainless and cast iron.

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
Borax = $2.98
Fels Naptha - $0.98
Washing Soda - $4.79

Total with tax = $9.45.

Now, I will be able to get it cheaper next time the ingredients have coupons. I had a coupon for washing soda but I'd forgotten about it and it expired. It would have been a dollar off. Also, the fels naptha isn't necessary, you can use other soaps that go on sale, like Ivory. Next time I'm going to use a soap made by a friend of mine, she thinks it'll work well as a laundry soap.

Ok Thanks.

So how many loads can I make with those ingredients? Do you use the entire package of all 3 of those to make one big ole' batch? And if so, how many loads will that be?

 

[Beekissed]

I make two to three gallons at a time, so I use 1/2 servings of the ingredients. I utilize the big, 40 loads detergent jugs from the store bought~been using the same jugs for the past 6 years now.

I keep three jugs so I can use the third one while I am making detergent to fill the other two. They already have the wonderful caps that serve as measurement and two of the jugs had removable spouts which allowed me to fit my canning funnel directly and perfectly into the mouths of the jugs. I left the spouts out of them.

These jugs have nice, thick and hardy plastic that withstands the heat of the new soap mixture and the caps are handy for getting just the right amount of detergent in the load. I'll likely use them until they fall apart at the seams!

And, of course, I can get 40 loads from each jug of detergent, just like it says on the label.

 

[faerielady]

Quote:
The recipe I used was a cup each of borax and washing soda, a bar of fels naptha, and 2 gallons of water. I use 1/4c per load. If my math is right, that's around 120-125 loads. I think each box of borax/washing soda makes 3-4 loads, I don't know yet... haven't made many batches yet (on the 2nd batch).

 

[kuntrygirl]

Quote:
The recipe I used was a cup each of borax and washing soda, a bar of fels naptha, and 2 gallons of water. I use 1/4c per load. If my math is right, that's around 120-125 loads. I think each box of borax/washing soda makes 3-4 loads, I don't know yet... haven't made many batches yet (on the 2nd batch).

OH yea. That's a lot. Thanks.

 

[EweSheep]

Quote:
Leviticus 11 (the chapter is devoted to all kinds of dietary restrictions, but this one is specifically for land animals).

1 And the LORD spake unto Moses and to Aaron, saying unto them,

2 Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, These are the beasts which ye shall eat among all the beasts that are on the earth.

3 Whatsoever parteth the hoof, and is clovenfooted, and cheweth the cud, among the beasts, that shall ye eat.

4 Nevertheless these shall ye not eat of them that chew the cud, or of them that divide the hoof: as the camel, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

5 And the coney, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

6 And the hare, because he cheweth the cud, but divideth not the hoof; he is unclean unto you.

7 And the swine, though he divide the hoof, and be clovenfooted, yet he cheweth not the cud; he is unclean to you.

8 Of their flesh shall ye not eat, and their carcase shall ye not touch; they are unclean to you.

I am not Jewish by nationality or religion, but I find it interesting that for years the "educated scholars" said that this passage was proof that the Bible was wrong. They insisted that the passage that stated the rabbit (or hare) chews cud was an error. It wasn't until well into the 1900's they discovered the rabbit does infact chew cud.

I never heard of rabbits chewing their cud, as I interpret cud as a regerigated piece of food ejected from stomach to mouth....I thought they always chew on grass/hay but never chew cud.

I dont believe in it anyway and I am sure many people ate rabbits back in those days. I love home fed rabbits instead of wild rabbits, they have more of a chicken taste than a game taste. Put some BBQ and presto, you got a beautiful meal!