Discussion, please $$ vs. time

[EmsMom]

As a former sahm, I realize the value of time in saving money. I could (and did) take care of my kids and educate them and play with them while running a frugal household - making own bread, doing own household repairs, shopping for and buying things used, etc. Very frugal, very time consuming. NOW, I am a single mom, working part-time and in graduate school part-time. My expenses are gradually creeping up: more convenient food choices (I buy bread and canned beans, now ). I don't shop yard sales as much. I sometimes pay for babysitters just so I can write a paper or study for a test. Perhaps not frugal, but instead an investment in my future career. I fully prefer the first way, but I gotta make a living, kwim? Besides I also really love school.

So far I have been able to avoid any debt (besides some student loan, but it is not really that much and I should be able to pay it off right away when I graduate and a car loan that will be paid off when the divorce is final).

But, how to hold the line at expenses when time is absolutely critical? Working two jobs comes to mind, or working and going to school, etc... Obviously, with school there is a ebb and flow of the work. During breaks, the old frugal skills jump back out. just curious how others work it out.

[sanguine_speed]

I know what you mean. It seems that when hired services and conveniences are most needed, the resources for them are least available.
It's a difficult balance.

[ChetMC]

Two of Three

I have heard that you can have any two of : good, fast and cheap. You can't have all three though - hardly ever at least.

Fast food is cheap and fast, but not good. Home cooked food is good and cheap (compared to restaurants that serve the same quality), but it's not fast. You can get great deals shopping second hand and clearance, but it takes time. And if you want something top quality and you want it NOW you're going to pay a premium.

It's all about priorities, and what matters most depends on the situation. I've always felt that being frugal and saving money over time sometimes gives us the money to spend when we don't have the time.

[JudiAU]

good, fast, and cheap pretty much explains it

fast food is fast and cheap but it isn't good
good prepared food is fast and expensive
good homemade food is cheap and slow

this is the reason I never thirft and can't easily cut my food budget and our childcare expense is high

[worthy]

I think the key is finding the balance among those three things that feels acceptable to you.

cheap, fast, good

I have had times when good/cheap was the priority, and though I was busy enough with my four little ones, I was not working so I had time to work with. I have had times in my mothering when good/fast was the priority and we could more easily afford not-cheap. I guess I draw the line at fast/cheap, because I value good much more highly than the other two.

Right now I am finding that with my work schedule and all of the things I am doing with my kids, time is at a premium so I'm again sacrificing cheap for fast/good. I would rather not, but again, for me, good is a given, and the battle is between cheap and fast - money and time.

Oh, also, there was a time when I had medical issues that necessitated dietary restrictions and the money and quality ("good") involved with that was significant. I felt that I didn't really have an option to sacrifice in either area. I cut back in all areas, money/quality/time, as far as I was comfortable, and still spent more money and time than I wanted to, and wished I could eat crappier food and be okay!

Likewise when DH was unemployed, we sacrificed both quality and time to stay in our budget.

I don't know if that is helpful, but that is how I think of it. Everyone has their own variation on priorities and where to find the balance among those things, and it certainly does shift based on lots of factors. It sounds like it is right for you to have to sacrifice other things in the name of convenience right now. Also, your kids' ages and othercare situations can make a difference in where your priorities are, too.

There are no easy answers. (Or cheap ones. Or fast ones. LOL.)

[EmsMom]

Yeah, I guess it is a compromise. But I do worry about the kids diet, mostly. Even the best prepared food (I don't do "fast food") tends to be higher in salt and sugar. I mean, we used to eat oatmeal for breakfast most of the time and I never added any salt when I made it. Now they usually eat breakfast cereals and even though I buy the better ones - Os or Heart to Heart usually, they still have added salt. And it seems to take more to fill them up. Same thing with canned beans instead of ones I soaked and cooked. And we definitely eat far fewer vegetables than we used to. I think we used to eat something like 8 or 10 servings of vegetables, now it is more like 2 to 3. Still eat plenty of fruit, though. I miss my old life, sometimes. Got a lot more exercise then....

[woodchick]

Do you have a slow cooker? You could put oatmeal in the night before and have it for breakfast. Ditto for dinners.

I'd also look at planning a couple hours on the weekend (or whenever you might have a chance) to prep meals and snacks for the week. I like to cut up veggies, separate meat servings and othing things on Sunday and it is much quicker to prepare the meals later in the week. And we're much more likely to snack on the veggies when they're already sliced.

As for repairs and such, can you explore options for bartering or trading with friends and family who have skills instead of hiring someone? Might not be an option in the short run, but something to keep in mind.

[ameliabedelia]

I think it is very possible to have good, cheap and fast (in the sense of fast food preparation..not in the sense of food that is immediately ready).

For example, lentils can cook in around 20-25 minutes, which is really the same amount of time to cook a frozen pizza.....yet the lentils are cheaper and healthier.

Veggies can be pre-washed and chopped.

Bread can be baked in very large batches and then frozen. Same thing with muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc.

Many foods can be cooked in the crockpot, with only minimal food prep.

It takes more skill and advance planning to cook like this, but it is very possible.

Once a month cooking is another way to have good, cheap and fast (well, except for that once a month).

[Dar]

It's been hard for me to let go of doing things the cheapest way, but I found that I really needed to, for my sanity. Also, I found that sometimes spending a little more up front actually saved me from spending more later... like, for a long time I resisted buying prepackaged food (we call it insta-food - like frozen pizzas, frozen potstickers, other prepared meals) but then we wound up being exhausted and hungry and spending even more money on going out to eat. I still try to cook ahead of time and make stuff on the weekends to eat during the week, but I'm also okay with instafood sometimes, or (more often) combining instafood with homemade sides.

I read a comparison of how much you actually save by using dried beans, when you take the cost of the energy used to cook them into account, and it convinced me that dried beans were actually not a very good deal - saving a few cents wasn't worth it. I still buy dried lentils and other quick-cooking legumes, though.

I also like to make rice or other grains in larger amounts and then keep some in the fridge and freeze some, too... and I make a big pot of soup on the weekends and we eat it through the week. I try to bake bread, because it's such a big savings and I like fresh-baked bread so much better, but I have to admit that last week we bought bread because I just didn't have time.

I also spent $10 for a jacket at an upscale resale store rather than trying to find something good at a yard sale or thrift, because I needed it to wear to a scholarship banquet and would rather spend a few bucks more than spend more time looking. I've actually been shopping there more often for my "professional" wardrobe - I know eventually I can find $3 thrift store pants or $1 yard sale ones, but sometimes it's worth $8 or $10 to have them right now... and that's okay.

[EviesMom]

I know it doesn't work with the little triangle of choose 2 of the 3, but I think with food (and maybe with clothes too on a broader scale), there's also a fourth issue--novelty. You can save money and time with more basic, rotating foods, and they can be good ones, things your family loves. But as someone who has ended up with many meals worth of a once-loved soup in the freezer because DH was tired of it... how much novelty you want in your food can also play a role. I often feed the kids and I a smaller number of breakfasts and lunches. They and I like the familiarity, actually, and it's easier to buy and cook in bulk then and save money and time.

[ChetMC]

Originally Posted by ameliabedelia

I think it is very possible to have good, cheap and fast (in the sense of fast food preparation..not in the sense of food that is immediately ready).

For example, lentils can cook in around 20-25 minutes, which is really the same amount of time to cook a frozen pizza.....yet the lentils are cheaper and healthier.

Veggies can be pre-washed and chopped.

Bread can be baked in very large batches and then frozen. Same thing with muffins, pancakes, waffles, etc.

Many foods can be cooked in the crockpot, with only minimal food prep.

It takes more skill and advance planning to cook like this, but it is very possible.

Once a month cooking is another way to have good, cheap and fast (well, except for that once a month).

All of this is true, but you're really stretching the definition of fast.

In my mind, fast is a meal in under five minutes. I don't think that I could make a month's worth of baked goods and frozen dinners in just one day. Most people I know who cook, wash and chop in advance do it for the week and give up most of their Sunday to do it.

And the planning and organization that goes into that kind of advance prep takes time too.

All are great ideas, but I get why somebody with three kids, a full time job, and part time studies, might not be doing it.

[Ruthiegirl]

I hear you. I am in school...three kids..dh works long hours...homeschooling during whatever free moments we have available...some things are simply getting pushed aside in favor of getting time to study.

What is helping me:

I do pay for some child care.

Our meals are very simple. We eat a lot of beans that I make in the crockpot. Soak them the night before, crockpot them during the day, eat with corn tortillas (I buy them), shredded cheese, salsa, maybe some lettuce. I actually can get this meal on the table in 5 minutes.

I let go of some of my hardcore frugal stuff -- I used to line dry everything, not the case anymore. I was sobbing in the basement before I finally let go of the notion that everything had to be line dried. I use the dryer.

Instead of thrifting, I have bought more new clothes this year. I buy simple stuff, good quality and lot less of everything. The kids each have 3 pairs of pants, 3 long sleeves, various t-shirts, one sweater, 1 coat. It keeps laundry easier and was much easier shopping for me.

I am honest with family -- my kids know that this is a tough time and that we need to pull together. I am open with my inlaws -- I gave my MIL a detailed list of what the kids need. She is an avid shopper and loves to buy for the kids. She bought their winter coats (bday presents) and will buy pjs/socks/jeans/sneakers for Christmas. She loves being able to help out and I love having new coats for the kids.

And a lot of stuff just doesn't get done like it used to. My house is messier, my lawn needs to be mowed, my fridge is empty and yet we all seem to be surviving fine.

And for those really hard nights -- my local grocery store sells pizza in the fridge section for $6. It is a big pizza, tasty, and feeds us all on those nights when I am too beat to cook. I stop on the way home from school, pop it in the oven when I get home and let the kids watch a movie while I sag into the couch.

[Usually Curious]

I spend a few minutes on Sunday putting on two kinds of beans to soak and cooking a big pot of brown rice. Monday I cook the beans. I use these as the basis for our healthy convenience foods. I can get a healthy dinner on the table in 20 minutes using these ingredients. You could set yours to soak on Saturday and cook on Sunday.