Frugal Is,
As Frugal Does

First, what is ‘frugal’? Simply put, being frugal is the economical use of money or material resources.

Frugal Meals
In other words, using the leftovers in an inventive way instead of feeding the garberator or composter. The best way to use leftovers is in casseroles or soups, or reheated as next day’s lunch.

Mix and Match casseroles and soups are easy to assemble and yummy to boot! Plus, no one has to know you used leftovers.

For soup, choose 7 cups of broth (tomato, chicken, beef, vegetable), choose 1 to 2 cups of cooked protein (chicken, beef, etc.), choose ½ cup of raw grain (rice, pasta, etc.), choose 1 to 2 cups of veggie (mix it up or use only one kind), choose 2 teaspoons of seasoning (oregano, basil, etc.), again mix it up if you so wish. Put it all together in a big stock pot, bring to a boil and simmer for an hour. Add salt and pepper to taste. Serve with the homemade bread you just popped out of the breadmaker, and voila - Super Supper!

Casseroles are just as easy. Choose 1 cup of raw grain, choose the sauce (1 can of a cream soup plus 2 cups of liquid), choose 1 to 2 cups of cooked protein, choose 1 to 2 cups of vegetable, and choose 2 teaspoons of seasoning. Top it with shredded cheese (optional). Put it all together in a casserole dish, cover and bake for approximately 45 minutes. Again, serve with the homemade bread you just popped out of the breadmaker, and voila - Super Supper, again! Easy, huh?

Storing leftovers is a big concern: ‘Is this still good?’ As the Canadian Food Inspection Agency suggests, ‘If in doubt, throw it out’! As a rule of thumb though three days is max.

Cooking once, eating twice is frugal, both with time and money. Freezer cooking is frugal, again with time and money.

By cooking once, eating twice I mean you roast a chicken and plan to use the leftovers for the above casserole. Or you make spaghetti and meatballs and plan to use the leftover sauce for meatball sandwiches.

Freezer cooking is fun and some folks have it down to an art and science, cooking all day for one day preparing enough meals for a whole month. My hats, all of them, are off to these amazing people. Personally I’m not that organized, or lets face it, inclined. I like to make a Freezer Meal once or twice a week, especially when it’s an easy meal to make, like my famous Egg Foo Young Rice (a vegetarian meal) or my equally famous Beef Stew (recipe below).

I like to garden, so we have a vegetable patch in our backyard. It doesn’t save us a whole lot of money, but it saves us a little during the growing season and I get sunlight and exercise as I weed the rows. Plus, I know I didn’t use pesticides or chemical fertilizers – bonus. I absolutely suggest you look into Lasagna Gardening. It’s a simple easy way to garden without the digging. Fabulous! Patricia Lanza is the author of Lasagna Gardening and it’s truly a great way to garner your own fresh produce right in your own backyard. Herbs are easy to harvest and we all know how coveted (and expensive) they are. Grow your own and harvest them the way you like so you can use them through the cold season.

And then there are the folks that give you the advice: eat less meat. Ok. I agree. You probably don’t need the amount that’s on your plate. A serving size of meat is approximately 3 ounces. So eat that and then fill up of veggies and healthy grains like brown rice…or at least that’s what Mireille Guiliano says in French Women Don’t Get Fat. You don’t need all kinds of meat to keep up with your protein intake. You can get protein elsewhere for less money. Eating less is not being frugal if you’re going hungry. If you’re hungry, eat. Just eat properly. Healthy food will fill you up and stop cravings.

And that’s another thing: keep up with maintaining YOURSELF. Being healthy is frugal too. Eat right, exercise – you know the drill. You’ll save money on prescriptions, AND feel good. What a deal!

Frugal Planning
Don’t eat out so often, instead PLAN. Its 7:00pm and you just got home from where ever and you’re TIRED. Who wants to think about making supper, so you pick up the phone and order in, or head back out to eat out. STOP! No. Plan. You knew last Tuesday Beckykins had a soccer game, so instead you could have planned to pop ingredients into the slowcooker first thing in the morning for a fabulous Beef Stew (*recipe below) that would have been ready when you and your family arrived home. A lot cheaper than eating out. Pop enough ingredients into the slowcooker and you also could’ve had enough beef stew to freeze for another meal a couple weeks from now. Now that’s planning!

******************************************************** Beef Stew Recipe (doubles well and freezes well)

1 lb beef stew meat, browned
1/4 cup all-purpose flour
1 TBSP Paprika
salt and pepper to taste
1 1/2 TBSP teriyaki sauce
1 onion, chopped
3 carrots, sliced thickly
1 stalk celery, sliced thickly
2 potatoes, cubed
1/2 lb mushrooms, quartered
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 bay leaf
1 1/2 cups beef broth
1 cup peas

Place browned beef in slow cooker.

In a small bowl mix flour, paprika, salt, and pepper together. Sprinkle over the meat and stir to coat.

Place all other ingredients except broth and peas in slow cooker with meat, mix thoroughly.

Use broth to pick up brown bits from browning meat off bottom of pan; pour mixture into slow cooker.

Cover slow cooker and cook on low for 6 hours.

Add pease in the last hour.

Enjoy!
PS: Click here for more Frugal Slow Cooker Recipes ********************************************************

Frugal living isn't about sacrifice and deprivation; it's about living better for less. ~Erin Huffstetler (Erin is the Frugal Living Guide at about.com. There are some great ideas on the site, and some interesting ones too. Ever heard of Freeganism?)

Even Rockefellar bought his straw work hats at the end of the season to save money. And he HAD money. So, yes, buy next year’s snowsuits at the end of this snow season…just remember you bought them, and where you put them. (Been there, done that.)

Buying used when you can is another example of being frugal. Children’s clothes for example, especially baby clothes, don’t get worn out. Go to consignment shops and buy A LOT, most times name brand, for A LOT less. You can also bring in your kids’ gently used clothing for money.

Using the library instead of buying books, movies and music is another great way to be frugal. You will probably be on a waiting list for new releases and bestsellers, so while you’re waiting check out some oldies but goodies.

Frugal DIY
I’m not a great fan of living miserly. I don’t believe you should go without unless you REALLY need to. Then again I don’t think you should go buy something ‘just because’ either. (I’m a contradiction. I admit it. Be thankful you don’t live with me.) If you’re always coming up short at the end of the month, then yes maybe you should think about canceling you subscription to Playboy(/girl), perhaps. ;-)

I’m not a fan of junk. No, I’m sorry, the kitchen tap is broken, it needs to be fixed and I don’t mean ‘if-you-jiggle-it-to-the-left-and-then-turn-it-¾-and-a-half-to-the-right’ fixed, I mean fixed ‘it-works-like-new’ fixed. If you can’t fix it, replace it. If you can’t afford to fix it at this time because Becky needs braces, fine, fix it the first way until you can afford to replace it.

I’m not a fan of stress or little annoyances, I have a short fuse – things should work. If they don’t, its not frugal, it’s an EXPLOSION waiting to happen – at least where I’m concerned. You’re getting a wee peak at my subconscious. Scary, isn’t it? You may send sympathy cards to my husband. He’d appreciate it. ;-)

Take care of your things. Get your vehicle in for an oil change and a check-up when you’re suppose to; maintain you house and yard; don’t dry everything in the dryer; clean your appliances regularly. By taking care of your things, they’ll last longer, thereby, taking care of you. Win-win.

Going Frugal
If you’re a Frugal Zealot like Amy Dacyczyn I suggest borrowing her book The Complete Tightwad Gazette from your local library, or purchase it. (I just checked amazon.ca and it’s listed for $18.97 new or from $16.63 used.) This book is all the information you’ll need to go frugal and it’s written well, filled with humor – I recommend it. You’ll learn things like: how to put together a Price Book and how to use it properly; how to make your very own origami hopping frog; how to make your own convenience food like taco-seasoning mix; and how to get a cheaper education. I’ll be the first to admit that some of the ideas printed seem like too much work or seem a little junky or a wee bit extreme. For example, ‘Cut off and discard bottom third of milk jug. Use as a microwave splatter shield.’ Come on now, couldn’t the bottom third of the milk jug be used for something? I’m being sarcastic, can you tell? I apologize for that. Seriously, there are a lot of great ideas between the pages of Amy’s book. Borrow it or buy it, but learn something.

Eco-Frugal
Frugality doesn’t only have to do with food, or taking care of your things instead of chucking it and buying a new one.

Recycling resources to use elsewhere in another way is another big deal. Easy ones: grocery bags to garbage bags; newspaper to wrapping paper; using pantyhose to store freshly harvested onions.

I think frugality is a frame of mind, and it challenges you to think ahead. If you can think of what you might need beforehand then you won’t reach for the convenience items, spending more because you’ve planned to be frugal.

Being frugal is good for the environment. If you don’t use your leftovers, you’re wasting precious food. As my mother used to say “Think of all those poor people out there starving.” If you’re using and not reusing when you can, you’re wasting resources. Think of the trees you saved by using and decorating the old newspaper to wrap that gift instead of buying special wrapping paper.

Live frugal and prosper!