Sometimes saving money is just a mindset!!!

Noticed something yesterday.  Went to our local Pumpkinfest on a beautiful fall day.  Met my sister there and we walked around and even took a boat ride on the lake.  It was an absolutely gorgeous day and it was the kind of day that you can be glad to be alive.  I had eaten a sandwich before I left the house, then while walking around looked at all of the booths.  I really love gyros but I didn't get any.  One thing that did appeal to me was haluski - they wanted $4.00 for a bowl.  I decided to pick up a head of cabbage on my way home (paid 99cents) I already had the onions and noodles.  Made a big batch of haluski for $1.00 and enjoyed the leftovers tonight.  It is important that we don't feel that we are sacrificing.  It is important that we want to be frugal and we understand how important it is for the bottom line.

Janet

I agree all that's important especially now, with the price of groceries. But, sometimes you just want to enjoy the simple things in life too, like eating food from a vendor that's only there once a yr. I figure when you're frugal with the budget as a whole, it's o.k. to splurge a little once in a while. And it's fun!   But you did make good points.

I agree with both of you!  You have to figure out what is THAT important to you ... I used to really like ordering pizza or going out for fast food - then I realized that not only was it WAAAY too expensive, it wasn't good for you AND it NEVER tasted as good as I thought it would.  Now, if I crave a burger, we light up the grill and really have a good one!  We make our own pizza and it tastes MUCH better than anything delivered.  Anyway, that's just me, everyone is different.  But, I think it's really important not to feel like you are being deprived, it's just like a diet, I guess, when you tell me I can't have chocolate, that's all I want.  I am trying to raise my kids to understand that we don't need everything we want, that there is a difference.  We try to make fun activities as inexpensive as possible, but still lots of fun.  We go to free events, we have movie nights at home, etc.  and yes, there is the occasional splurge, and the kids really seem to appreciate those, so hopefully we are doing well teaching them.  Anyway, have fun with it, since there isn't much we (well, me anyway) about having to budget and be careful with my pennies!

I agree with all of you.  This living frugally is an awful lot like a diet, highs, lows and plateau.  and a good support group also helps.  I have been thinking about getting a small freezer, lots of pros and cons.  then I remembered DD has a little bit bigger than dorm frig, with a seperate freezer, which will hold most of my meat.  So I picked it up from her friend that wasn't using it anymore and plugged it in.  I decided I really only need more freezer space for about 4 months, to hold the garden produce that I freeze.  I try to dehydrate most, but somethings like zucchini are just better grated and frozen.  Now the new mindset is not "I saved $150" but I didn't spend that money.  Sometimes that I saved, translates into, so now I can spend that on something else.!!!

I'm not sure where everyone lives, but in the midwest we have a grocery store called "Jewel" that is great quality but usually pretty expensive. There are other stores across the US owned by the same company and go under the names Supervalu, Albertson's, etc. Anyways, about 1-2 times a year, they have a sale where you purchase a small freezer, for say, $150 (I can't remember the actual price), but then they give you that same amount of dollars in free frozen item coupons to fill the freezer, so if you actually eat those products, it's like getting the freezer for free. I think I'm going to jump on that next sale. It'd be nice to have the extra freezer space to stock up on sales (and have things on hand for when I don't want to go to the store....like all winter long!).

I bought a small chest freezer a couple years ago and it was the best thing I ever did ... no more worrying about storing stuff in the small freezer on my fridge ... it's wonderful when you want to cook ahead or when you find meat on a great sale, etc.  Totally worth every penny.  We live in Colorado and we have Albertson's here, but I've never seen that sale here, what a deal!

Well it seems like we are all on the same page /anywhere a person can save a few pennies is what it is all about.i dont know what we would do if we did not put out a big garden every year .i freeze and can and hoard like a chipmunk..lolI could not even imagine having to go and buy veg, and fruit all year long .i just walk by in stores and look at prices and just about faint.

this summer i put up 150 qts beans.100 qts tomato juice and about 75 qts diced tomatoes.made about 50 qts piickle relish.froxe homemade spagh.sauce and pizza sauce.froze 2 bushel sweet corn and made freezer pickles and freezer slaw.froze balckberries and blueberries for kids .really I was thinking and it does not take much for us 2 to live but we do it for the kids and grandkids..I shop at salvage grocery stores  and thrift t stores and we have our own beef .I have 1 large chest freezer to store frozen in and a old fridge for dry storage,i guess it comes from growing up poor.mom was a hoarder and my granma was to .so i got it honestly .I dont see how the young kids of today get by,.but I am very thankful for all we have .Im the type of mom and grandma ..as long as my   grandkids  have and as long as Im alive they will never know hunger..ok im being dramatic ..but anyone who is a parent and grandparent understands what I mean..lol

   How about that...I'm planning on making haluski too this week...one cabbage in my garden looks particularly good. They were selling haluski at our county fair last September...the weather was a little too warm for it, I thought, and I don't remember how much they were asking for a bowl of it, but I do rembember being surprised at the price considering how cheap the ingredients for it are.

I absolutely agree with you.  But, sometimes it's worth it to buy that sandwich or ice cream cone!  think of it as a reward to yourself for all the frugality you practice. When my kids were young, we always went to the zoo on free day, we always packed our own PB & J sandwiches for lunch. But I also always paid for them to get in the children's zoo instead of telling them we couldn't afford it. It was a special thing for them and I didn't want them to feel they could never do anything special because we couldn't afford it. That's what you should do for yourself as well.  One of the big money gurus recently said that everyone should budget $10.00 a week for a "special treat". That way you reward yourself for saving!

rottensocks:

I'm planning on making haluski

 Okay, I will admit to ignorance, I don't know what haluski is but I love cabbage, so please share a recipe with me!  Thanks in advance!

I just made another batch tonight - my girlfriend at work said she never had it either - and I was surprised.  So I made a batch to take in for lunch tomorrow.  I like it a lot (my husband doesn't) and it is real cheap.  I think maybe he had too much of it when he was younger.

melt 1/2 stick of butter

one onion sliced

1/2 head of cabbage sliced

in boiling water cook noodles.  I don't have any measurements for this - you can add as little or as much as you like.  I usually use about 1/2 package of wide noodles.

Brown up the cabbage onion mixture.  After noodles are ready - drain and add to the cabbage onion mixture.  If too dry add more butter.  I try not to.  Cook through with lid on.

Janet

well, yummo!  that sounds good, I will likely be the only one who likes it, but that's okay too!  Must be a regional thing, I've lived in Minnesota, Washington DC, Maryland, Virginia and now Colorado and never heard of it!  I will be cooking some up though, sounds like good comfort food!  Thanks so much!

It's a Pittsburgh PA food.  My  MIL was Croatian and I think it came from there.

Janet

Oh yes I understand what you mean!  I don't do the quantities that you mentioned but did a lot of apple butter, jelly, cherry jelly, beans, salsa, tomatoes,etc.  And you are right the 2 of us certainly don't need everything I canned but the kids & grandkids absolutely love it!  The foods taste so much better & I love doing it.

I have two small heads of red cabbage.  Could they be used for this dish?

~~Vicki