I go back and forth with my love/hate affair with Amazon. In the end the budget always win. I am back to buying kindle books with gift cards because our local library never has the books I want or need. We do not have a local bookstore. Take about 20 minutes to look through the free and low-priced books. I find putting kindle book on my wishlist for a while and they offer me a deal up 80% off after a bit.
Thrifty meals do not have to be boring or one dish. Some of favorite low-cost dinners are quiche, frittatas, fajatias, stirfries. soups and salads. A well-planned menu lends to using every item of food in your cart. Last night, I made quiche, salad, and cream of broccoli soup. This made enough for 1 dinner, 1 breakfast and 2 lunch meals. Set a budget for food only, do not buy household supplies or pet food.
I cannot say this enough, if you can make some or all of your cleaners, it will relieve your budget. If you make a few food items you normally buy. I commented to my husband last night that by making yogurt, growing sprouts, hummus, goat cheese, oat milk, baking bread, drying mint for tea, and making cottage cheese, I saved 150 dollars from our grocery bill. This is after subtracting the price of supplies. This allows for the money to put on produce we aren't growing right now.
My neighbor called me this morning. The woman down the road was having a "free sale. I found 3 years of sealed canning lids. That is very valuable to my budget. Here's what else I was given:
2 canners
5 dozen new canning jars
pilates machine
printer new in the box
8 cartridges for the printer
22 pairs of wool socks
4 pairs of cross country skis
knitting machine
saxophone(this has been a dream for our son)
The woman's husband asked her to clean out their home from over shopping. My neighbor asked if I was going to take all of it. I said no, I was going to take what I needed.
Frugality means being on the look out for things you can use to make your life easier, broaden interests, and ease the budget. Resourcefulness is key to being frugal.
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