The Frugal Lifestyle

[Medusa]

OMG!
I love this time of year too bit! The cheap turkies and sweet potatoes! The celery for .39 ! The eggs for .69!

I need to figure out how to get a cube-type freezer myself because I have heard they are much lower on energy than other freezers and are on sale at sams right now for $99. Imagine how many turkies could fit in that!

My granny used to cook sweetpotatoes down to a mush and freeze them in plastic containers for breads and such

[apretty]

Originally Posted by Medusa

OMG!
I love this time of year too bit! The cheap turkies and sweet potatoes! The celery for .39 ! The eggs for .69!

I need to figure out how to get a cube-type freezer myself because I have heard they are much lower on energy than other freezers and are on sale at sams right now for $99. Imagine how many turkies could fit in that!

My granny used to cook sweetpotatoes down to a mush and freeze them in plastic containers for breads and such

i've been secretly wanting a little freezer for the garage--i bought a new fridge for the kitchen that's counter-depth (shallow!) and there's really a LOT less room in it and the freezer is tiny, it's been a constant struggle for the 8 months that i've owned it, trying to make everything fit--all year we need ice and when we buy a bag there's little room left for anything else. do you know how much electricity those small freezers take?

[Bit]

Wow, your sale prices are even better than ours, Dusa!

Chest freezers for $99 at Sam's Club? Woohooo! But it would be $145 for me, because I'd have to buy the membership... not that I mind a membership, but I'm having a hard time justifying the outlay right now.

apretty, I'm willing to bet those freezers run between $25 and $35 a year on electricity, if that... the newer ones are truly much more efficient. I've heard that chest freezers are more efficient than upright freezers, also, because when you open an upright freezer, all the cold air sinks down to the ground.

[Gemme]

I picked a chest freezer up at a yard sale this summer for $50. It works great! I share it with my roomies but it still makes it easier to take advantage of sales that I wouldn't have been able to before, which is good because my grocery budget for this week is oh, nil.

Costco memberships start at $60 here, which just goes to prove that EVERYTHING is more expensive in the PNW.

[Medusa]

Originally Posted by apretty

i've been secretly wanting a little freezer for the garage--i bought a new fridge for the kitchen that's counter-depth (shallow!) and there's really a LOT less room in it and the freezer is tiny, it's been a constant struggle for the 8 months that i've owned it, trying to make everything fit--all year we need ice and when we buy a bag there's little room left for anything else. do you know how much electricity those small freezers take?

I read somewhere that those little ones can be anywhere from $3-$10 to run a month depending on if they are energy-saver or not.

Im in the same boat as you are with the freezer space here - I have a biggo 22 cubic foot side-by-side but for some reason, they decided to put a HUGEEEEE ice-making thing in it and it takes up about 1/3 of the freezer space. The fact that I have a 25-lb turkey in there means that I have even LESS space than usual.

But yeah, CHEAP to run!

(let's get matchies!)

[tmbyfem]

http://www.groupon.com

Groupon.com has great deals on restaurants and services for 35 cities throughout the US, often 50% off or more.

You get emails announcing the special of the day. Sometimes its a restaurant, other times it's things like spa services or kayak tours (to mention some of the recent San Diego bargins). If the minimum amount of people sign up within a specific time period (usually 20 or so) the deal is on. You have a limited amount of time to sign up for the deal then a coupon is sent via email the next day. Restrictions on when the coupon can be used is up to the individual vendor but usually there are little or no limits, just be mindful of the expiration date. Print it out and presto... bargin city.

Use this link to sign up and I'll get a $10 Groupon credit for each new member.
http://www.groupon.com/r/uu128214

Earlier this week I had a hunger for some soul food from local place I love but haven't indulged in a long time because of my tight budget. But today Bonnie Jean's was the Groupon special so I got a coupon for $30 worth of food for only $15.

It's like they read my mind... I see smothered chops, collard greens, mac-n-cheese and red velvet cake in my future soon!!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by tmbyfem

http://www.groupon.com

Groupon.com has great deals on restaurants and services for over 35 cities throughout the US, often 50% off or more.

You get emails announcing the special of the day. Sometimes its a restaurant, other times it's things like spa services or kayak tours (to mention some of the recent San Diego bargins). If the minimum amount of people sign up within a specific time period (usually 20 or so) the deal is on. You have a limited amount of time to sign up for the deal then a coupon is sent via email the next day. Restrictions on when the coupon can be used is up to the individual vendor but usually there are little or no limits, just be mindful of the expiration date. Print it out and presto... bargin city.

Use this link to sign up and I'll get a $10 Groupon credit for each new member

http://www.groupon.com/r/uu128214

Earlier this week I had a hunger for some soul food from local place I love but haven't indulged in a long time because of my tight budget. But today Bonnie Jean's was the Groupon special so I got a coupon for $30 worth of food for only $15.

It's like they read my mind... I see smothered chops, collard greens, mac-n-cheese and red velvet cake in my future soon!!

I LOVE 3 out of the 4 things you mentioned.

[tmbyfem]

Originally Posted by Gemme

I LOVE 3 out of the 4 things you mentioned.

OH!! Did I mention the fried chicken?!? Or catfish?!? BBQ short ribs?? Or how about the black-eyed peas and sweet potatoes!?!? How about red beans and rice!?!?

OMG the dinner combinations are endless *drool*

[Waldo]

Originally Posted by tmbyfem

Instead I learned to love my slow-cooker again, freezing the extras for later on. I also threw out shocking amounts of fresh food doing a weekly shop so learned to shop Euro style, buying only the fresh things I needed for the next day or so. It really made a difference in reducing food waste.

Being frugal on many things still allows me the occasional splurge and has made me appreciate it that much more when I do.

I should really get a slow cooker. I hate coming home and cooking a meal for myself so I wind up going out more often than not. During the summer or when the weather is decent I will throw something on the grill, but once winter sets in... not so much.

Originally Posted by Medusa

I need to figure out how to get a cube-type freezer myself because I have heard they are much lower on energy than other freezers and are on sale at sams right now for $99. Imagine how many turkies could fit in that!

When I was a kid my parents bought a used cube freezer from a hunter. Damn thing smelled like pheasant for months. Lots and lots of Arm & Hammer later it was great. We used to make reubens and freeze them so we could just pop a couple in the oven for dinner during winter months.

[tmbyfem]

Originally Posted by Waldo

I should really get a slow cooker. I hate coming home and cooking a meal for myself so I wind up going out more often than not. During the summer or when the weather is decent I will throw something on the grill, but once winter sets in... not so much.

I'm not a big fan of cooking solo for the same reasons but had to adjust when things got tight. I much perfer to cook when I have someone to share it with.

So when I make a crock-pot of chili or spaghetti sauce I'll divide it into thirds. One third I eat fresh, usually its enough for a couple days worth of dinners and/or lunch. I split what's left into two freezer bags.

This helps in two ways... one I don't get sick and tired of eating the same thing for days and days but most importantly, after a long day at work I can make a quick tasty meal. I take it out of the freezer and put into the fridge the night before to defrost. When I get home all I need to do is warm it up and boil some pasta or make a salad. There's dinner sorted and I have enough left over for lunch or dinner the next day. Easy peasy!!

[Gemme]

Originally Posted by tmbyfem

OH!! Did I mention the fried chicken?!? Or catfish?!? BBQ short ribs?? Or how about the black-eyed peas and sweet potatoes!?!? How about red beans and rice!?!?

OMG the dinner combinations are endless *drool*

*laughs*

You are NOT right, girl!

Throw in some REAL cornbread (they don't know what it is up here) and you'll have a friend for life in me.

[tmbyfem]

LOL!!! Maybe too much self denial can make one a bit over enthusiatic sometimes, eh? I'll take that as a compliment nonetheless

I cannot tell you how much I love Bonnie Jean's, I haven't been there since spring. Oh they do cornbread too!! And peach cobbler and sweet tea...

As far it being "real" or not all I can say is once I took a butch I was dating from North Carolina there. Doubtful as to finding "real" soul food in SoCal she took one bite of fried chicken, closed her eyes in bliss and sighed "Just like mama makes." Best endorsment possible. If you ever find yourself in this neck of the woods drop me a line and we'll chow down.

Dee-lish!!

[Blade]

Frugal is my grandmothers middle name. If there is a way to squeeze a nickle and hear the buffalo fart she knows it. I'll be back.

[Bit]

I felt ever-so-frugal this past week; made mac-n-veggies; used the same water to boil the veggies that I boiled the macaroni in. At that point it was broth, sort of--so I saved it and used it to make rice.

Frugal, frugal frugal!!!

I cooked the veggies in it cuz it was already hot, and I made the rice with it cuz it tasted really good.... oh. Wait.

Did I just lose my Frugality Points?