New Here.... Need Advice

[valmom]

First of all,

I posted on the home made detergent thread, and the "what did you do today to save money" is a great thread. I don't post on there, but I read it regularly! Second hand clothes shops are great- never pay full price for clothes! My daughter thought it was really cool to go to Goodwill and get a jacket or jeans for a dollar- I started gave my kids a clothing allowance to go back to school shopping and when it was gone it was gone. Whether you spent 90% of it on pumped up sneakers like my son, or if you buy all your clothes and then lend some of your money to your brother so you have something to hold over him

Shop the edges of the food market- it looks more expensive, but it is actual food instead of cardboard and chemicals! There are lots of make-it-yourself ideas for home made convenience foods here, from "instant oatmeal" to home made hot chocolate. I haven't bought hot chocolate mix for well over 20 years.

OH, and no sodas and junk drinks! Expensive and terrible for you!

 

[patandchickens]

You don't even need to make cleaning products... there are not many cleaning problems in life that cannot be solved with old-fashioned water (temperature depending on circumstance), scrubbing, and maybe a bit of soap or a *dot* of dish detergent, and strong vinegar for getting hard-water crusties off things.

For "no time to cook", use a crock pot if possible; cook large batches ahead and freeze in meal-size containers (e.g. on weekends, or whenever you DO cook something that will freeze, cook double); and develop your repertoire of "things that can be whumped together in fifteen minutes or less", of which there are often a surprising number if you really get serious about it (depends somewhat on your tastes in food of course)

Cooked: Green Beans, Potatos, Broccoli, Corn, Yellow Squash, Turnip Greens, Okra (fried only), Black Eyed Peas
Raw: Lettuce, Tomato, Carrots (won't touch them cooked)
Oh and I forgot to mention that I am not a fan of beans of any kind other than green beans.

Well that's not SUCH a restricted range of veggies And it includes some pretty economical things.

If you want to branch out and try other things, I'd suggest maybe picking ones pretty similar to items you DO like, and then making a dish that is maybe 2/3 the one you like and 1/3 the new one. For instance zucchini is not that different from yellow summer squash, so whatever you usually do with yellow squash, in zucchini season try throwing *a bit of* zucchini in. Try other cooking greens besides turnip greens (collards, etc) -- with enough bacon you'll never know the difference LOL. And mixed-vegetable dishes can also be good for slipping new veggies into -- I dunno what you usually eat, but any kind of mixed-veggie casserole or soup or curry or stir-fry can easily accept a bit of something else for you to get used to Buy what's on sale and in season, and check out the "scratch and dent" produce rack if your store has one -- some things can end up there but still be in perfectly good eating condition and you can save a bunch.

Good luck, have fun, welcome to the forum,

Pat

 

[Wifezilla]

Ditto what pat said.

As for no time to cook, sorry, not buying that. I work full time and I have a disabled son, so my dance card is pretty darn full. If I can find time to cook, most other people can.

You just need to embrace new cooking methods and new recipes. The slow cooker is your friend. Pork chops can be browned in a frying pan in 5-10 minutes, then toss them in to the crock pot with some mushroom soup (canned if you can't swing homemade) and it cooks while you are at work. A roast is just as easy. Brown and toss in the crock pot with some onions and root veggies. ham is another easy one to cook in the slow cooker. Not only are they quick, I fill the crockpot and we eat several meals from one batch, so it is not like you have to cook every day in order to eat home cooking every day.

As for your aversion to beans, black eyed peas can be subbed for other dry bean varieties in a lot of recipes. Don't be afraid to experiment.

What do you all typically eat for breakfast? Pre packed breakfast food is one of the biggest wastes of money. On weekends I cook up big batches of pancakes (I'm gluten free so mine are made out of coconut flour) and freeze them. They heat up in seconds. I do the same with muffins. It takes just as long to cook 3 dozen as it does to do a single batch.

As for small space, my house is only about 1000sqft, and my lot is small. I still garden in every available space I can. I grow as much as I can vertically. Tomatoes, melons,and dukes on trellises. I also have a duck pen with 6 adult ducks and 3 babies. I converted a dog kennel in to a quail pen and I have 7 quail. These animals provide fantastic eggs and are easier and cheaper to feed than our cats.


It may feel overwhelming right now, but don't panic. You don't have to change everything overnight. Pick one area, work on that, and when you get a handle on it, takle something else.

 

[valmom]

Oh, WZ reminded me- one of my favorites growing up! My mother would buy a whole (cheap!) chicken and put it in the crockpot. No water, just spices- garlick and onions. Cook it all day- it comes out juicy and wonderful and the stock that leaches out of it is wonderful for using up the leftover chicken meat picked from the bones for making soup. I used to get 3 meals at least from a whole cheap chicken. (we can't eat chicken any more in my household because a cooking chicken reminds my SO of our hens and she *can't* eat chickens now that she knows how personable they are )

 

[patandchickens]

BTW, while it does taste (and often look) better if you do brown your meat before you put it in the crockpot, it is ALMOST as good if you just put it in there plain-nekkid-raw. If you're trying to get it going before leaving for work in the morning, this can be a real time-saver.

Honestly, I am a stay-at-home mom these days but I still quite often rely on meals that can be produced start-to-finish in 15 minutes or less. Egg and sausage burritos; frittata with whatever veggies are abundant or whatever leftovers are in the fridge; pasta with butter and parmesan grated over it; quesadillas; pizza made by topping crusts that I've prebaked and stored in the freezer; hamburgers (usually no buns, occasionally in tortillas instead of buns); fried slice(s) o' ham; pan-fried sausages; and any number of things made with leftover meat from other meals.

Pat

 

[Wifezilla]

Someone's partner is a giant marshmallow


One more cooking/saving tip. Turkey is not just for thanksgiving! When they go on sale in the fall, I fill the freezer. My goal each year it to get 12. Then once a month a bake a whole turkey. Prep only takes minutes. I let it cook while I do laundry or work in the garden. There are about a bazillions different things you can make with baked turkey. Plus you use the carcass to make soup. One turkey can last a week. Don't feel like eating turkey all week? Cube and freeze the meat for easy to make recipes when you are busy.

 

[valmom]

Yes, she is very tender hearted. One of her endearing traits, unfortunately it means a bit of drama now and again. And it's not a bad trait in a police chief. She will gladly shoot a human predator and not feel bad about it. Just don't ask her to put down a deer!

 

[Wifezilla]

Is she related to my marshmallow husband?

 

[valmom]

LOL- isn't it amazing how people find partners who balance each other's traits?

 

[Wifezilla]

No kidding...but it would be nice to have help butchering ducks. Instead he hides inside and waits for me to turn it in to meat so he can look at it