What Did You Do Frugal Today Section 11

[leasmom]

In between working, paying the bills, my class, and my daughter's summer activities, and moving, I won't be on until we move. I look forward to being back on and learning more. Thanks.

[redcardinalbird]

Happy Anniversary Leighann and DH! I hope that he hears about a job soon.

Anna, good luck at the flea market.

leasmom, have a safe trip when you move and good luck.

mom-2-4, yes you read it right both have ear infections and had to pay two visits. Then I picked up a cold there (I guess) and have spent the last two days resting. Roberta, you are right my savings paid for the visits but I'd rather they had paid for something else!

We had a scout cookout tonight, I provided the slaw and cookies. Had some leftovers so will be for dinner tomorrow. Also was given some hot dog buns, so I guess I will have to go buy some hot dogs for the kids. I don't like them so don't have them too often.

[crochet2]

Redcardinalbird - you can put just about anything on a hot dog bun, even make garlic bread out of it. Hot dogs are not a requirement. I like to put peanut butter and butter on mine, garlic and mozzarella is another nice combination.

I am already thinking about dinner. I have some zucchini. It was just $.49 per pound. I think I might make some fake crab cakes with them though. And instead of bread crumbs, I am thinking of using some cheese crackers, crushed instead. That should perk them up a little.

Well ladies, got to go.

Take care all!! Norma

[barbszy]

Robin, leftover hot dog buns are great for lots of things. We too use them for garlic bread as Norma mentioned. You can also use them for tuna sandwiches, pbjs, "tiny hoagies" and all kinds of stuff. My dad used to use them up by making our lunch sandwiches and sending us to school with them.

Here's a question: did you learn your thrifty ways from any family member?

Now that I think about it, I did learn quite a bit from my dad. My mom is not thrifty at all. But Dad taught me a lot about using what you have, and how to use the last bits of something in another way so it doesn't get wasted (not just with food either). For example, as kids we were always allowed to go into his bin of wood scraps and help ourselves to the different pieces. We would pretend they were furniture for our Barbies. Sometimes he would actually make us a little piece of furniture like a table, out of scraps. And, of course, there are the bicycles and other things that "God lets him find" in the trash, that he refurbishes for the grandkids.

[RobertaD]

I learned a lot about reusing items from my three Great Aunts and two Grandmothers who grew up in large imigrant families and went through the depression.

They saved & reused buttons, zippers from clothing and reused the fabric (kids/doll clothing, quilt squares, stuffing, etc.) as well.

Grew veggies and canned them (zink lids & rubber rings, what a treat!) storing fruit & veggies in the food cellar kept them longer.

Hanging the chicken on the clothes line by their feet before cutting off their neck keeps them from running around headless spraying blood around the yard.

Freezing that dab of leftover veggie in a container to add to a soup or cassorale instead of eating it.

They had apple, cherry, plum, and pear trees so I learned how to process large quantities of fruit fast.

Hanging clothes to dry and only washing a large load.

Using newspaper for mulch in the flower bed & veggie garden. Cut paper strips and make a paper mache creation.

Make paper dolls from the old store catalogs glueing the people to thin cardboard i.e. cereal box.

Store magazines in decorated cereal boxes cut diagonally.

Planting flowers that come back year after year and splitting them every couple of years to expand the flower bed or to share.

Freshen crackers in the oven for a few minutes, if your cookies got hard add a slice of fresh bread to the cookie jar to soften them up, save the ends of bread in the freezer for when you need bread crumbs or to make stuffing.

Roberta

[boggsZ]

I learned how to can viggies from my mom when dh married me he was shocked that i know how to can and so was his mom

[jjoj]

Good morning!
Leasmom, wishing you a safe trip and a smooth move.
Lee, what a good baby, going to bed at 8:30 every night! I don't blame you for not wanting a huge bill to come back and bite later. That's awful. Maybe you could go visit someone if it gets too warm? Or head to the library or indoor playground for the hottest part of the day. I will be praying for your dh to get that call and for this stressful time to just be a memory for you.
Norma, your dinner sounds like it was delicious! I love anything with blue cheese. I love to have salad meals for when it's too hot for a heavy meal.
Growing up, my parents were not frugal, but my grandparents were very thrifty. I'm sure that was due to the fact that they were from the Depression Era. I learned a lot from them, but most of what I learned about frugality was from my husband.
Well, take care ladies, and I hope you all have a wonderful day!

[bluebird]

did you learn your thrifty ways from any family member?

I learned by trial and error and by watching my mom who was never frugal. I said I would never be like her.

Unfrugal today will be ordering (hopefully) pool parts. I normaly order thru Scouthren CA but now Doughboy has mandated that thier dealers can not sell outside their area. ie, they can not ship parts. If I have to drive hours to get parts, Doughboy will be getting a phone call from me.

I did save a trip to the city today. I had the car parts store ship the motor we need. Still can't find a radiator, getting concerned/worried over that. Dh doesn't want to spend much at all, I realize we may have to spend more than he wants but I don't want to spend hundrends, plus shipping if we can't find on around here.

[Candy]

I came from a long line of poor folk. My mom didn't seem to have much imagination for being frugal although there was a few things . She always saved the old bread,buns etc for bread pudding . We got milk from her inlaws free and we had our own chickens for eggs and sunday dinners. I hate chickens and will never have them although I eat chicken and eggs. We also saved all cloth and clothing for other projects, and my mom was very good at making her own patterns from old cloths to make new stuff. She made her own couch covers etc,blankets and quilts. Made me a doll or two. Hummmmm maybe she had more of an imagination than i realized!LOL
I like loose meat sandwiches in hotdog buns ..either shredded chicken and onions cooked together with a dash of liquid smoke or plain hamburger and onions...also virgina style baked ham lunchmeat diced up with BBq Sauce on it. BBQ pork also ....oh man does that make me hungry for some kind of loose meat sandwich! LOL

[futureteacher]

Barbszy--
You had asked about what we had learned about being frugal from family members. I'd have to say that I learned the most from my mom. That woman knows how to stretch a dollar. I can't say Dad ever quite figured it out though!
A couple of weeks ago, when I had found some really great deals, I just had to call my Mom to tell her. Her comment? "You DID learn something from me!" She was right! She taught me how to look for the deals, to use up what you have before you buy something new, to try to use what you have for other uses so that you don't have to buy something new, and that eating at home is almost always cheaper than eating out. She also taught me to have fun without breaking the bank. She taught me to LOVE the library! And how to can. And garden. And to mend clothes. Plus a whole lot of other things I can't even think of right now. She also taught me that sometimes you do need to treat yourself. I think that was an important one too!
Actually, now I feel like I need to call Mom and tell her thanks--I'm in my 30s and STILL learning stuff from her!