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Post by mountainma on May 11, 2020 8:45:58 GMT -6
How has the pandemic helped you with frugality? Here's my list.
First, we've saved a lot on gasoline since staying home simply because we no longer have the daily commute to work. Plus, gas prices have dropped significantly so when we do need to fill up, it costs less.
Second, I'm using less "product" for appearance. No hair spray, make-up, beauty shop visits, etc. This isn't a big expense for me anyway, but it is a savings.
Third, we're a little more mindful of toilet paper usage! LOL!
Fourth, we're cooking and eating at home more, so there's less being spent on convenience foods and snacks.
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Post by belldandy on May 12, 2020 10:31:29 GMT -6
Since we stopped shopping (getting deliveries instead), our grocery bill is through the roof. However, we are spending practically nothing on other items. Nothing on travel, entertainment, socializing, clothes.
Even though gasoline is wayyyy down in price, there's really nowhere to go. We took a really short drive today and probably used a tablespoon of gas.
We did buy a power tool to help with yard work, which we now do ourselves.
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Post by eyeofthestorm on May 12, 2020 13:50:26 GMT -6
Interesting!
Because I always worked from home, I am NOT using less makeup or hair products. Sometimes that's a little frustrating, but it's good to be able to work!
I find I am having more time to do things like make bone broth. It seems silly, but it's a lot easier now to get those bones into the slow cooker for a long time. I'm also making more long cooking things like beans.
DH & I (we share the shopping) are really keeping our eyes peeled for bargains and for alternative protein sources that we don't normally get. I'm also trying to make more meatless meals.
The biggest thing - I have begun DIRECTLY giving food advice to my (teen) boys on what to eat that isn't quite so pricey or scarce. Today at lunch: Eat this soup. Make a sandwich to fill up. Don't make a ham sandwich today; use peanut butter. Last night at dinner: Eat ONE piece of chicken, one portion/helping of potatoes and one portion/helping of vegetables. Still hungry? Eat some bread and butter or a slice of quick bread.
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Post by belldandy on May 12, 2020 15:53:58 GMT -6
I wonder why, when I tried to type TB, it came out how it did.
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Post by leah on May 12, 2020 21:04:23 GMT -6
I think the biggest things are that we're not eating out anymore, and we don't take the children in the store with us... so we aren't likely to cave in to some unexpected request.
No savings on the gas though. Our autistic son went from 35 hours of school and therapy a week to... well nothing for a couple weeks and now it's slowly starting to get back to normal. (No school for the rest of the year though.) But to cope with his meltdowns we go on a lot of "country drives." He gets overstimulated or something, so I drive out to the country where there's no signs, signals, or visuals to bombard his senses. This can be anywhere from 15-40 miles a DAY. We work hard to limit him to one country drive a day... but sometimes for our sanity we need to go more than once.
I will tell you it was creepy doing the country drives right after the lockdown... I'd be lucky to see a handful of cars when I'd normally see 25 or more. There was a slight sense of fear that I would get pulled over just for being on the road, but the country drives were just from my house and back to my house after making a giant loop around the country.
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Post by eyeofthestorm on May 14, 2020 7:14:54 GMT -6
I wonder why, when I tried to type TB, it came out how it did. Belldandy, this took me a while to figure out. It's the profanity filter. Yes, I did NOT even know that a string of letters inside that word is (in some circles) used as an off-color word. It's very noticeable in recipes!
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Post by MammaMel on May 14, 2020 7:52:29 GMT -6
Ladies that is a proboards thing I did not set up. I find it humorous though.
As far as being more frugal, I don't feel it.
Since December we have had to replace the refrigerator, do extensive work on the truck and various other things that wiped out our, what I thought, was substantial savings. The part that worries me is after this month there will be no money to spare back into savings.
True everything we have done should make out general costs go down but between higher food, insurance and medicines costs (for MJ mine are free) The savings we should be getting are off set.
We will make it it's just really tight.
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Post by mountainma on May 15, 2020 8:16:37 GMT -6
Yes, everything we have "saved" as a result of all this (gasoline, etc.) has been offset by the lack of work and increased food prices. It's stretching my frugality mindset, that's for sure. Yesterday Dd1 and I sat down and figured out cheap meals we could make using small bits of leftover items. I've been doing that so long that it's second nature, but I want my girls to know how to be creative that way as well.
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Post by PinkCarnation on May 15, 2020 12:07:47 GMT -6
Not doing any shopping of any kind. We try to have all of our groceries delivered. If there is a need to go to the store, My Beloved goes, because of my underlying health problems, and because of Leah's underlying health problems, including congestive heart failure. Leah is one of my besties that has been living with us for over a year due to her congestive heart failure.
We have not seen the grandbabies since early March. Savannah is already walking and we missed that. We missed Sophia's birthday and Easter. We have really, really missed them.
We did go to Lake Granbury for a week last week and stayed at an Air BnB. The trip was planned and paid for late last year. We go every spring with my other bestie, Patricia. That was the third time we have been to this particular BnB and we knew how clean it was. Needless to say, when we arrived I sprayed Lysol everywhere. We did rent a boat for a couple of hours on the 5th day, but only came into contact with our guide. The first four days at the BnB, all we did was rest, eat, nap and rest some more. We did not realize how stressed we have been because of the "new normal." We had groceries delivered and did order food from restaurants a few times.
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Post by mountainma on May 16, 2020 7:57:38 GMT -6
This is something that might be "old hat" to some of you, but I have never tried it until now. Whenever I used an onion this week, I'd save the bottom part and put it in a dish with a little water. I also tried this with the bottom of a cabbage and a few carrot tops. The onions are really sprouting roots already! So I can plant them and grow a bit of free food!
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