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Fun!-Help me prepare for simple living

821 views 15 replies 14 participants last post by  Starr 
#1 ·
Hey! I need some input. I already live a pretty simple life and am a penny pincher. However, this year I am employed full-time and next year I definitely want part-time or less. While I am working I want to use that money to start purchasing items that will help me live more frugally, like a meat grinder, bread maker, certain books, etc. (I have savings too).

I so want to take care of my kids without being away from them so much!!I thought it might be fun for us to put our frugal minds together to think of the "must-haves" for frugal living!!

Thanks!!
 
#2 ·
Is that not an oxymoron? Things you must have to be frugal?


I will come back with some more ideas for you but I love my Tightwad Gazette and Cheapest Family books. I know people do not like Tightwad but it has some great ideas and recipes that I come back to time and time again like muffin making from what ingredents you have on hand. I also like the budget from Cheapest Family.

The things I cannot live without, A. Freezer. and B. Slow Cooker.
 
#3 ·
You can do it over time and grow into it. That is the best way to keep it a habit.

I agree, a freezer is a must. Buy or get the largest freezer you can afford. Fill it with feed the freezer recipes

here is a great link I myself started a few years ago (sorry to toot my own horn)

http://www.mothering.com/discussions...d.php?t=522096

Also, learn how to cook whole food meals that are from scratch. Use what you have to make meals and be creative.
 
#4 ·
Along time ago I came across a heloise book from the 1950s-60s it was on house hold tips. Anyway one of the things that really got to me was a suggestion to get a deep freezer. To set a side a set amount each month and pay for it without going into debt. I thought that made sense. DH and I started to do this but we were lucky enough to get a free one from his mom when she moved. The money we had saved we used to FILL the deep freeze.

Few things I also do is set a side $5-10 each week to go towards extra stock up from our food bill. So when a store has a really great deal I can stock up on the item and not have to pull it out of our normal budget.

I pay just about everything with cash. Or with money we have. If we don't have the $ we don't get it.
 
#5 ·
For us what I have and adore:
~ A freezer (I need a bigger one - 4 cubic feet just ain't gonna hack it when I want to buy part of a cow and freeze strawberries to last the year and so on - I'm already planning ahead because I'll probably be the only girl in the family - feeding 3 teenage boys kind of scares me)
~ Canning supplies; water bath canner, pressure canner, jars, lids and so on.
~ Stamina and drive to use said canning supplies - it's long hard work, but so worth it to me. Especially with the homemade applesauce
and homegrown and canned green beans (costs $.12/quart if I count the cost of the jar, the lid, the seeds!) that store stuff just can't even come close to. Yes, I've become a food snob that way.
~ Yard/space to garden my heart out.
~ Drive to plant and weed and harvest vegetables and fruit.
~ An awesome food processor. Makes things like salsa and relish and jams and such *so* much easier to prep. Plus I've been known to saute up ground beast, then throw in the food processor to puree - so it's little smooth-like balls/chunks like what you get at Taco Time. I haven't done pie crust in it yet, but that's because dh has been on a pie kick lately instead of me.

~ A pantry to store said things. A root cellar would be a total bonus IMO, but we get along okay without one - despite how much I whine and complain I want one (potatoes will sprout within 2-3 weeks in our house - there's no place cold enough to store anything here)

Things that I appreciate but aren't total deal breakers for me right now are the mixer (it's a Kitchen Aid, I'm not in love with it - let me try a Universal Bosch for a few months and I may change my tune), the crockpot (but if you took it away I might have issues), that kind of thing. I don't have a bread machine. I have issues and detest the little hole that ends up in the bottom of loaves when you bake in it - I have to cut that part off. It's just easier to mix everything up in the mixer, let rise in bowls, and then bake in regular loaf pans. Or rolls, which the kids really dig (single serving size!) and breadmakers just can't do.

I don't have a meat grinder, it hasn't been something we've needed. Of course we don't raise our own meat, so we always buy stuff already butchered and packaged. It could be handy though if you do get a lot of meat to butcher yourself or whatever.

We're also thinking of eventually getting another basic fridge to stick in the garage to plug in for when we need a little extra freezer and fridge space - oh, like harvest time. There's only so many batches of green beans you can rotate through the canner in a day, only so much jam you can make before you collapse in exhaustion, or the kids want attention, etc. Or if you buy 120 pounds of apples at a time or get 30 pounds of carrots, etc. I kept running out of room in the fridge so much this year, it was annoying. And I'm not even up to the scale of production that I want to be in a few years. Which in itself is a little scary I'm sure, but still.
 
#6 ·
Stamina and good health. Being frugal for me means that I do a lot more for myself and rely less on purchased food and services.

What I have that I love:

Good garden space and a strong back to work the soil.
Internet access and a nice library.
A sense of humor.
Good friends and neighbors.
A frugal husband.

Things that I would like to buy:

A freezer.
A bread maker.
 
#7 ·
A compost area for your garden.

Also, check out your area or yahoo groups for traders. WE have a system in our town where if you trade work or goods you get points to use for other things, even at local businesses. We also have a yahoo group for trading things with folks in our area.
I have worked out deals with folks to trade for massage, pottery, handmade toys, clothes, and honey.

I also like the idea of little applianes that dont use electric or batteries.
 
#8 ·
I have to ditto the breadmaker. Like a previous poster, I hate the hole in the bread when It's baked so I use it exclusively to mix the dough. Then I let it rise and bake it in the oven. I can make a superior loaf of bread for 75c. I won't ever be without one!
:
 
#9 ·
Great ideas!! I actually have or am doing or have done several of these things. I am very frugal. I do have this job tho where I have extra income and so I have the money to buy some things that really can help me out for the future instead of wondering where the money went. I also have a good savings built up. I want to put this money to good use and hopefully ensure less need for money-if that makes sense.

I am thinking about getting the Kitchen Aid because it has the meat grinding attachment, bread hook, etc. Around where i live, deer meat is easy to come by and I would love to grind it.

I have a freezer (free from family), bread maker (but the paddle at the bottom got thrown out by my husband when I left it in the bread
. I usually garden, have an apple tree, pear trees and a neighbor with blackberries we can pick.

I am also thinking about the tiller idea. Don't have one and my husband won't always borrow one in time for when our garden needs it. I am also interested in the solar oven. Sounds neat and I would love to know more!!! Pressure canner is something I am pondering as well. I have several jars, but I think i will start looking for these and stocking up on rings and flats.

We had chickens in the past and had trouble with a predator, so a coop may be something to consider.
 
#10 ·
Momma Mia-We also threw out the paddle for our bread maker by accident. Just call the manufactor and you can order a new one. When we called the lady laughed and said people have to order new ones all the time. I think they are constantly thrown away on accident!
 
#13 ·
Yeah, don't waste your time with a bread machine. A Kitchen Aid is so much more versatile, and oven-baked bread is so much better than bread-machined bread. I make one batch of dough, start it rising, make my second batch, and when they are ready, bake them together, freeze one. I do this every three days, so we always have fresh and frozen bread.

dm
 
#14 ·
Rather than spending the money on a tiller, I'd go ahead and invest in the supplies needed to build raised beds.


We use the square foot gardening method and it results in greater yields per square foot as well as easier gardening! I weed once a year and we garden organically using our household/garden compost to enrich the soil.

For more info you can visit:

http://www.squarefootgardening.com/

We got our vermiculite for free from a local college (call their Chemistry department and ask) and the other soil ingredients are compost and peat. Most landscaping companies can provide both in bulk for you.

We just used simple 2" x 4"s (untreated) for the bed sides and replace as needed due to rot.

Other frugal things we do to have me stay home with the kids are:

- we're a one car family
- we don't have cable tv or satellite
- I sew and shop at thrift stores/garage sales for clothing
- we buy in bulk when it's a better value
- we learned how to can and preserve foods to use more of our garden produce
- we replaced all ornamental plants with edible plants
- we cook from scratch and eat at home
- we cloth diaper
- we use family cloth
- we live simple lifestyles that don't require extra grooming supplies (no makeup, limited health & beauty products, etc)
- clean with homemade cleaners using vinegar, baking soda, Dr. Bronner's soap
- have hobbies that are free or very inexpensive
- create our own entertainment
- use our local library and free events in the community
- we budget and stay within the budget
- before we make a purchase we decide if it's a need or a want. If it's a need we try to find a less expensive source (used, borrow, etc.) If it's a want we spend a great deal of time determing what the opportunity cost will be - what else will we NOT have in order to have that want

ETA - the one thing I'd do if I had extra money available to prepare for a reduced income would be to make our home as energy efficient as possible. Replace outdated/inefficient appliances - upgrade windows - insulate - etc. A big chunk of most budgets toward heating/cooling and using energy.
 
#15 ·
How funny about the paddles! I am debating whether to buy the paddle because I bought it at a thrift store for less than the paddle would cost!! If i have to have a bread machine, I guess I might buy another from Goodwill. I am really eyeing that Kitchen Aid tho.

What all are you able to do with the kitchen aid. I am really wanting to have the meat grinding attachment and do deer meat to use instead of ground beef and I also want to make deer sausage.

The bread hook would be great for pizza dough too. That's a pretty reasonable meal.
 
#16 ·
My best gift was a kitchenaide mixer- Just last night I mixed up two loaves of meatloaf in it, which would be hard to do by hand, and put them both in the freezer. I also use it for bread, shredding (attachment), cookies, mashed potatoes... I use it alot

We are looking at getting a new washer. Our water rate is going up- again and ours only works about half the time. So even though its a spendier model it uses half the water and less energy.
 
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