The Frugal Lifestyle

[Stacy]

Originally Posted by SelfMadeMan

<---- doesn't like being overly frugal - jus sayin

This...I know

[Bit]

Thank you both! I've done several more caddies of various sizes but I confess that they don't always get finished before they're loaded down with stuff and I'm on to the next one, lol.... hey, I have two cracker boxes empty right now, woohoo! lol!

Gryph brings home chipboard and cardboard from work, usually packaging from boxes of clothing. Lately he's been bringing home picture frame shaped corrugated cardboard, and now he's having fun experimenting with it. He's got one in progress that is covered not with paper, but aluminum foil, and he's using old leather dye to antique it. Can't wait to see how it comes out!

I buy and cook ahead, also, and I have also discovered that store brands are sometimes incredibly good---better than the name brands, even---and sometimes they're lousy. The only way to find out is to try them.

The same goes for buying from other stores. We have Aldi's here and yes, they are cheaper than any other store... but the quality is inconsistent.

Gryph absolutely HATES wallyworld, so I try not to shop there... but yanno, that Great Value Brand really is good, and very consistent from product to product. The Kroger brands are not consistent, but still more consistent than Aldi's.

Oh, and yes, I also think frozen veggies are way better quality than canned!
~~~~~~~~

Pajara, seven years is a long time! My sympathies on your roommate's moving out.

[atomiczombie]

I am not frugal enough, I admit it. And living on the pittance I get from SSI disability, I should be.

[violaine]

i will be frugal whenever purchasing a lot of items- because name brand on dry beans usually does not matter. the store does, however. marsh sells fava beans for 8$ a package! international market 2$. big difference. produce is very important to me, being a vegan. local tomatoes/farm stands during the summer. aldi is good, but i always check closely the packages underneath for the perishable berries, especially. frozen is not bad, but i never eat store canned. one item i absolutely cannot do the GV brand is coffee! kroger is ohk- but second choice.

[Bit]

I stock up... sometimes it causes temporary budget problems, but oh my, the worry-free months after that! I bought four big canisters of Folgers coffee when it went on sale for $6 several months ago. Tis the kind Gryph prefers and it's cheaper than generic. We still had three canisters left from the last time, giving me seven plus the open one. I have five more months of coffee to go before I will have to pay full price... and I'm always watching to see if they put it on sale like that again. They seem to do so twice a year.

When they changed the size of the veggies at Kroger, I was really upset; they downsized their frozen veggies from 16 oz to 12 oz, but they left the price the same. I bought thirty pounds of the leftover pound bags. We're almost out now, so I'll have to pay the higher price, but in the meantime I discovered that Aldi's sells decent fresh produce at an affordable price--and I discovered I can get there, lol--so I'm not as dependent on the Kroger frozen veggies anymore. here's hoping that next summer I can grow my own and be even more independent!

[SuperFemme]

[Medusa]

I wear my "cheap ass" badge proudly

Since moving to Arkansas, our monthly financial output is significantly lower. Not just because we don't have a mortgage payment but we also chose to pay off our truck as well.

The biggest difference since coming here is that we RARELY eat out anymore. In Los Angeles, it was nothing for us to eat out 2 - 3 times a week. Being in the sticks like we are here, we can't just run down to the nearest Outback Steakhouse and drop $60 on a meal. Nope. It's more like I buy groceries once a week and we eat at home every night....AND we eat much better.

I have my favorite "cheap ass" discussion every night with Jack over dinner (I dont know how she tolerates me). It goes like this:

Me: "Honey, you will never guess how cheap this dinner is!"
Jack: "I'm sure you're gonna tell me!"
Me: "Well, this piece of roast is HALF of the roast we ate last week that I froze, so that part is $2! The potatoes and carrots are another $2! The onion and gravy MIGHT come out to $1! And the rolls come out to .25 each! So that means that for $6, we are going to get TWO meals EACH. WEEEEEEEEEEE - BABE! THAT COMES OUT TO $1.50 PER MEAL!"

And really, when you think about easily spending $6 for a sack of crap from McDonalds or Wendys -its fabulous!

[blugrass]

The Dollar Store - great place for deals.

My local Safeway grocery store has a "clearance" section in the meat department. It's usually last sale date stuff but the deals can be amazing. Once I got $6/lb bacon for 99 cents. I bought all they had and froze it!

[MizzSabra]

Originally Posted by SuperFemme

I prefer the term ~ Bargainista.