Frugality...

Goes hand in hand with food storage and emergency storage. ANd with 6, goinf on 7 children, in a one income household it is THE way to get by! I just finished reading Miserly Moms by Jonni McCoy. Other than reading a phrase or two I found inspiring for general life, no neccessarily for frugal living, I found it seriously lacking. This book BARELY touches the tip of the iceberg when it comes to frugal shopping. I like her 11 guidelines (summerized): 1- Don't confuse frugality with deprivation 2-Give up things that lack value 3- Keep a written record of food prices 4- Don't buy everything at the same store 5- Buy in bulk 6- Make and grow whatever you can 7- Eliminate convenience foods 8- Cut back on pricey meats and poultry 9- Waste NOTHING 10- Institute a soup and bread night 11- Cook several meals at once and freeze them.

I would add that frugal buying also takes PATIENCE and DETERMINATION!

While I don't do all of them, they are great starter guidlines. We don't do #8, as we buthcer our own, and when we run out we either butcher more, or cut way back. We don't do #11 either. I do sometimes cook double or triple batches to share with another family or freeze one for a meal later. But I never have the freezer space to say Freeze a monthes worth at one time. We have a chest freeze, and stan up freezer, and the smaller sized freezer on top of the fridge. These are full right now, while we have several boxes of bread items in a locker on the back porch in the snow and ice. So freezer space, amazingly, is limited. It's a great was to store food!! And the more full your freezer is the less electricity it takes to keep it frozen! So stuff 'em, ya'll!

This book talks about grocery store prices versus the places like Costco. Because Costco and others like it do not always give you the best price. Pricing items according to unit ammount is a terrific way to really understand how much you're paying and how you're getting for it! But truthfully, We don't shop at the grocery store.

Before I talk about the grocery store I would like to mention that many people claim that planning a menu a month or more at a time saves a lot of $. Perhaps it does for them. Many other people claim that building a menu around sale items listed in the paper saves them $$. It probably does. BUT I have found that I save the MOST $ by building a menu around what's in my food storage. That way I purchase ONLY what is cheapest and refill my storage with it!

We live near HyVee, the only "real" grocey store in the area. They seriously over price their fruits and veggies in addition to everything else. Occassionally I'll pick up Gluten Free pasta there, but it's a luxury I rarely invest in. But that's all I get there. I get a few things at Walmart - laundry soap for the cloth diapers we use, because I haven't found a recipe that works for those yet. Pacifiers, and a few other things that cann't be found elsewhere. I get pull-ups for the 2 yr old at the Dollar Store, simply because I haven't had the $ to invest in the reuseable ones yet. Occassionally I'll pick up an airfreshener for 79 cents. BUT, most of what we get for groceries comes through 2 channels.

The first being a food co-op called SHARE. We get fruit and veggie packages for $12, I usually get 2 or more. I get over a lb each of apples, oranges, potatoes, etc for a LOT cheaper than I would at the typical grocery store. Food Co-ops are mentioned in this book, to give it credit. However, this book does not mention Discount grocery stores that sell dented cans, damaged containers, or surplus from the grocery. Forexample last month I got 6 large boxes of bread (reg wheat etc for my hubby and one youngest son) for $18. Now these boxes were PACKED with whole wheat bagels, french rolls, frendh loaves, homemade round loaves, dinner rolls, whole wheat english muffins, etc. I got soooo much for my $ with that particular buy. Not only did I save time and energy buy purchasing something I would otherwaise need to make at home, and these boys got some serious treats of the bread world, but also I paid a lot less for each loaf than it would have cost to make them at home! I spent less than 17 cents per loaf/package! That is quite a deal! So much so we gave some to friends :) THese discount stores also sell eggs from local farms, when I need them, and a variety of other things we use for much cheaper prices than I can find anywhere else.

The other way I save a lot is buying in bulk, which is also mentioned in the book. We have many food allergies, so this saves $ in more ways than one.

The last way I will mention that we save on food is that we make our own. Which is mentioned in the book but not nearly to the degree we participate. The book says stop buying mixes and readymade items at the store and make at home from scratch. Well we do that, but we also make quite a few of the raw materials at home. We have a dairy cow, and 2 dairy goats. We have chickens, layers. I cannot tell you how much I cringe when I am forced to buy eggs at Walmart! The price is almost $10 for 5 1/2 doz eggs! NEVER any less than 17 cents per eggs!!! And usually they want 20 cents per egg!! With the cow and goat we make our own yogurt, a lot of the cheese, whipped cream (yum!), and just about everything else that is made with milk. We share some with friends as well.

Lots of people discount the idea of garage sales and resale shops as well these discount grocery stores and their damaged goods. None of our children are too proud to recieve second hand gifts for birthdays or Christmas. And none of the family mind wearing second hand clothes or shoes. We're careful to pick up clean, stain free, and generally in good condition shoes and clothing. But I get them for usually less than a buck each. Rarely will I find an item that is priced higher that I feel is worth the ticketed price. For example, last Xmas the girls got a wooden doll highchair, I paid $5 for it ONLY because it was in great condition and STURDY! Otherwise it would have sat waiting for another buyer. The boys got a new indoor Toy Story tent for $2. Excellent condition, almost brand new. The box was damaged. So instead of wrapping it we set it up for them to find Xmas morning. Definitely worth $2.

On very rare occasions will I spend that kind of $ on clothing. Tshirts, blue jeans, or other play clothes for the children under the age of 10 - NO WAY! Under a buck or it stays in the store. These play clothes go through a lot of wear and tear and end up stained, full of holes or tears after the second child wears them if not the first! So for me that's only worth a buck. The 12 yr old we'll spend a tiny bit more on his clothes simply because they are so difficult to find! So when I find them and they are within my range, meaning I can stomache the price, I'll pick it up. It took months to find him sneakers! But I found them for less than $3. Church clothes and pajamas I'm willing to pay a little more for, as they experience less hard wear.

My husband gets new pants and shirts for work- as I have yet to find him any at the resale shops or garage sales. But MY clothes are only "new to me" as well. Including my pregnancy clothing.

Another great way to save $ on clothing, toys, kitchen items, etc is to get some friends together for an exchange. Any kind of exchange you want. It's a great way to get rid of items you no longer use, or have a need for, and it's a terrific way to pick up what you do need. Our church has one of these once a year, usually. It's a fantastic tradition, if you ask me! Last year I got rid of a ton of toys that were given to us, that we didn't need/want, as well as some other items taking up space in our house. But what I got was CURTAINS!!! We now have curtains in the Master Bedroom! I'm dying some for the gril's room, and all need now for the boys is the metal piece to hang some on! Because the curtains I got were and entire set of window treatments. The colors went perfectly in the master bedroom, and the rest will be just thing when we get them up. I also picked up a coffe/spice mill. It's little, but now I pay even less for a few things like Flax seeds, because I can grind them myself! I tried using it to grind rice into flour- and it will do in a pinch, but not fine enough for pancakes :) I also got fabric, which I made into dolls, and started my first real quilt with! So I seriously suggest these exchanges as a great way to get free stuff and give away your unwanted stuff. When it's over, donate the leftovers to your local resale shop, or Goodwill.

Other exchanges that can be made are trades. The American people used to live by it! You can trade a service or a product (yogurt for example) for a service or product in return. I traded tutoring services for help at home for two weeks with a teenager. I tutored her in the end of the last school year, and during the summer when I had really bad morning sickness she stayed over for 2 weeks to help out with the children while I puked. I had no idea I would be making this trade, but it worked out. This fall we traded 3 goats for several bushels of apples from our local orchard owners. They got rid of unwanted brush, and we got apples! And no one had to dip into their wallets! It was great!

This has been a long post... I think I'll close it up now by saying: 1- Thank goodness I got this book for 50 cents, I'd be irritated otherwise with as little wisdom as I gained from it. and 2- Frugality is about getting more for your money so you do not have to go without. Frugal living is being mindful of prices, ammounts, quality, and use. Then spending wisely. I make mistakes, and sometimes I splurge. But impulse buys? A thing of the past!

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE ifyou are doing something that stretches your pennies that is not on this list SHARE!!! Please let me know!! I love learning about new ways to save!