Design

I never know what is for dinner most days .. until mid-day .. or a family member calls at 4PM to ask, 'what's for dinner tonight .. I'm starved' .. There are so many things to weigh (LOL).  What green to serve (salad, slaw, broccoli, green beans .. and what have we already eaten this week .. have to mix it up) .. what veggie .. what starch .. what meat.  I try not to serve heavy meat dishes but once a week .. that means the other dinners will be in the form of soups, stews, pasta, rice or potato casseroles .. salads .. or even breakfast in the form of omelets, waffles .. etc.  Last night I made .. let me think what to call it .. humm ..??  Sauteed mushroom/ground steak gravy .. served over mashed potatoes .. with a side of fresh garden corn on the cob (plucked from the freezer), and a delicious tangy coleslaw with vinaigrette dressing.  Hummm .. HOBO gravy .. nah .. Steak gravy .. nah .. How about:  Mrs. Mac's Meaty Mushroom Gravy? I swear .. the family tho...

Big gains.  It's hard to remember shopping with store coupons for ready made food products.  Our food bill was about double what it is now.  The change to eating whole foods started off slowly and has snowballed.  A little step here and there has added up to a total makeover with more changes to follow .  Having a set amount of cash to shop with each month, slowly stocking up on single item pantry/freezer goods (flour, eggs, veggies, meat .. etc) .. makes for quick meal preparation and planning.  Purchasing went from several times a week to once or twice a month.  Honestly .. yesterday was big shopping day for the month of November.  Our budget is $400 cash (family of four); this does not include much meat as that is separately budgeted and purchased from a local ranch each summer and kept in a chest freezer.  Having a well stocked pantry, I came home with only four bags of grocery staples.  Milk, cheese, spices, potatoes, ...

Last night we had dinner with neighbors and friends.  I was asked to bring the dessert.  OK .. I've given up sugar .. but caved in and made a lemon meringue pie ;)  The point here is that by keeping a well stocked pantry/fridge/freezer with whole food items, I was able to throw together a 'peach' of a pie in no time.  With the ingredients on hand, I could have made a chocolate, rhubarb, apple, cherry, or peach pie as well.  Who needs Betty Crocker or Sara Lee .. or Mrs. Smith?  It is far more economical to learn to make your own pie .. or cake .. or whatever, than relying on a boxed/frozen store bought product.  Take the time to learn to bake.  Teach your children how to as well; you will save money in the long run, expose yourself to far fewer artificial ingredients, and pass on a much desired skill to the next generation.  Bye-bye Betty!

C an you believe April has come and gone.  So much education in regards to sound economics has taken place this month at The Thrifty Garden/Home.  I have already figured out the household budget for May and have committed it to a spreadsheet.  Having such  .. an on target .. to the penny success with the April budget, I'm going to change grocery shopping gears to be even more thought out.  I can not lower the $ amount of $350 for the month ... but I have made plans to shop only once for May.  This will take a considerable will power on the entire family's part.  Since we got our paycheck a day early and I had the budget done ... I took the opportunity to do the actual shopping yesterday when I had no kids to watch. The pantry shelves, refrigerator .. and freezers are stocked.  I have taken a Sharpie marker and written on many of the items, that have to be rationed (when they can get used) and stored the excess in my basement's storage room (out of...

Yes, $350 +$20 from fire fighter son has been a tight squeeze for food funds.  We have four days to go until PAYDAY ...  You can bet I already have my shopping list ready and waiting!  Hubby was looking for   crackers today ... sorry ... you have to WAIT until shopping day (I haven't bought crackers for months because most are filled with JUNK).  I offered him some carrot sticks and a chunk of cheese ... saying dinner is in 45 minutes ;)  (He survived)  Our freezer food is being used up ... and fast.  If my planning is good, we have just enough frozen berries, freezer jam, and hopefully beef to last until summer when I restock for the year.  Tonight I made venison meatloaf (no one asked about the 'mystery' meat), steamed carrots, and potato salad.  The ten pounds of organic carrots earlier this month was a good buy.  They come in handy for snacks ... and as a side dish. The hardest part of making all of our food is not running ou...

T his week I entered our budget on my computer program's spreadsheet ( Microsoft Works Monthly Home Budget ) .  This has proven a much better option to pen and paper as I can do a little fudging with the numbers much easier than erasing and correcting the paper version.  Also, at the beginning of the month I can enter a minimum (fixed) salary amount ... and in the next column enter the actual salary after payday.  This is very helpful for people that have fluctuation in their monthly pay.  I set the budget on the minimum fixed amount so I know the least amount of money to budget.  It's a blessing when I can go back later and enter the actual salary and fatten up some of the categories if we get more income. We're in the final stretch of April.  I have exactly $50 grocery money to last to the end of the month.  I think this is doable!  This means our family of four (often 5 & 6 from son and grandson) survived on $370 worth of whole food grocer...

Yahoo news has an article today featuring author Jeff Yeager.  He has written a book titled, The Ultimate Cheapskate's Roadmap to True Riches.  He says, "We shouldn't be asking ourselves "How can we afford it?" We should instead be asking, "Do we really need it?"  Here is the article in full for your Saturday read.  Mr. MacFrugal and I have been sticking with Dave Ramsey's program , The Total Money Makeover, paying off debt at the speed of a gazelle!  Once you get on board with the debt elimination process, it becomes somewhat of a game trying to be frugal.  You know, living off beans and rice, rationing, doing without, etc.   Today my daughter Ann asked if we had any organic sugar for her morning coffee ... I said all I have is plain old brown sugar sweetie ... it's out of the budget this month .  Do you really need sugar in your coffee ... try it with or without the brown stuff .  She's catching on and becoming a convert to all thin...

....home again, home again ... jiggity jig! Our recent family vacation is fading into the photo album and memory bank.  It was so nice to visit a warm weather destination, but the comfort of home was calling to me all the while.  Traveling with a special needs child is EXHAUSTING!  Today will bring the challenge of getting Nathan back into the school routine.  My day will begin in about ten minutes when I have to wake him up to catch the school bus.  The morning will be spent unpacking, sorting laundry, putting away various travel items, and making out the grocery list .... then heading out to the market.  A good basic turkey soup will be on the menu for dinner ... pulled from the freezer will be deliciously prepared turkey frozen in stock.  It will be a easy-frugal dinner.  Soup, green salad, home baked rolls.  Afternoon chores should include inspecting the garden grounds, taking stock of the compost pile, turning over some bare soil that I ...

The money's in the bag!   Our budgeted/micro managed grocery shopping trip took place this morning.  It was with great restrain that hubby and I walked the isles of sprawlmart , the health food store, and  Costco.  I think hubby is in this scheme just to save money .. not to necessarily eat more healthy.  He thought I was getting too anal when I told him the $1.50 hot dog & coke at Costco (his choice for lunch) would be deducted from the grocery $ .. so I let him buy with his $.  My purpose for eating healthy is different than his purpose of saving money.  This became evident as we shopped today.  He skipped entering the health food store as usual and listened to talk radio in the truck.  Here are some photos of our 'goods' ... my pile ... and his pile.  Can you guess which one is his? The almighty dollar ruled the day when choosing which organic produce to buy.  There is a list of produce that is highly recommended to buy organ...