Primal penny pinching! page 2

[NorthernMonkeyGirl]

Keep remembering odd bits...

Hit the supermarket at the right time and get all the reduced stuff. Tonight I got 2 celeriacs (25p each), a joint of pork for £2 - so that's food tomorrow sorted - a bag of bananas for 55p (why did that amuse me? I've not counted but there could well be 30 there...)...

Instead of trying to get work van's speaker fixed, I've just altered the balance so it all comes out of the working speaker

2nd addition: Instead of those fizzy bath bombs, I chucked in half a dozen of those fizzy vitamin C tablets - raspberry flavoured. Lovely smell!

Mizski, off to nosey at that website now... ETA: I have a new fave quote "Best way to keep deer from eating up our garden and yard is with a shotgun."

[Hilary]

Well, maybe not pinching...

I'm interested in those little things we all do to cut a corner, save some money, make our resources stretch further; in the interests of those who struggle to afford the food they want, or the gear. Post up your tips and tricks here! Could be pretty much anything

For example:
I've pinned a cheap fleece over my living room window as an extra layer of insulation when the temperature drops

I cook lots of one-pot meals - saves fuel, saves washing up (so saves hot water)

I have a veg patch - ish. It's yielded two jars of pickled beetroot for winter.

I'm not too proud to rummage through my friends' Oxfam bags (clothes destined for charity shops) - a bonus being I can now fit into most of the pieces! Ditto with hen houses! Take it, then find a use for it

I do spend where its warranted - I bought a large woolly wrap jumpery thing - it was expensive for me - but worth it because it's so gorgeous I'm wondering when to stop wearing it long enough to wash it! One nice thing is worth a thousand slighty shitty ones.

On that note, I want one or two GOOD knives - so there is less wastage when cutting meat from bone

I'm aiming (haha) to eat game for a couple of months - while they're fat - and save my freezer full of meat for harder times

I'm trying to teach myself to knit, so I can have a ready supply of welly socks (and will be able to do something with my sheeps' wool next year)

I'm reading up on tanning hides, so I can collect sheepskins and put them to use with minimal costs

If I ever catch a rabbit, I will tan the hide, collect, and make some approximation of slippers or welly liners

I scattered lavendar in the work van instead of air freshener

Look at things twice - my "chopping through bone" kitchen tool is a cheap pair of garden secateurs; my washing line is held up with a bird feeder holder (posh hook on a stick). My hen house is raised off the floor on breeze blocks from a broken wall. The sides of the run are security panels, with the mesh repaired by cable ties.


Share your secrets! I wanna be the best Primal Penny Pincher I can be!

Yes, I think you win this one too!

Charity shops for clothes, definitely - and just not being very interested in clothes helps. I have a nasty feeling that now I'm reaching a size where I actually fit into clothes in shops, this might change. Scary thought.

Offal. Mackerel. It helps that I like them both so much I'd buy them if they cost more than steak anyway. Making stock, saving fat. Just bought my first beef stock bones from the butcher the other day, roasted them and simmered them for about 10 hours - and I can keep telling myself this is economical just as long as I don't look at the gas bill...

[Primal Toad]

-I eat lots of eggs (21 cents each for even pastured ones!)
-I enjoy whey protein powder smoothies 2-3 times per week
-I regularly enjoy canned chicken from Sams Club in my big ass salads that gives me 30 grams of protein for only $1
-I do NOT drink alcohol unless wine (preferably red) is presented to me for FREE - the hot wine I enjoyed at my Aunts last night was beyond AWESOME
-I buy 1/4 cows from grass fed beef in order to get quality meat for a great price (under $5 per lb. for ALL cuts!)

Thats 5 for now... If I come up with more later I will post them! This is a great idea and will have to make a blog post out of it

[Diana Renata]

Crop Mobbing. Sometimes it REALLY pays off. It always pays off, but some mobs are better than others.

I peeled and planted garlic for 4 hours, and in return I got a great meal (even if it was meatless *sigh* Damn Vegans.) However, I also got THIS!

crop mob spoils..jpg

The farmers were very grateful for our help, and the fact that we got the entire plot of both white and red garlic all planted in just 4 hours. They said they've never gotten that much done in a day before.

Crop Mobbing started in North Carolina (I think) and it's spreading. If you can't find a mob in your area, maybe start one? Farmers don't always give away produce, but it's worth helping some folks out and making friends with your farmers anyways. Sometimes, you get lucky.

[BarbeyGirl]

I deal with summer temps as they come -- strip down instead of turning on the AC. I spend most of summer's daylight hours at the office or outdoors anyway. Winter isn't as simple, but I keep the heat on the low side and wear a sweatshirt.

I have a home gym instead of gym membership.

I raise my own lamb, eggs, and a large garden...but truth be told, this is NOT the cheapest way to get food. Not even close.

I buy other grassfed meats in bulk (with a friend) and freeze them. I also order my coconut products in bulk when Tropical Traditions has them on sale.

I hardly ever buy new clothes. Thift stores (and higher end resale stores for suits and such) work fine for me! Sierra Trading Post's bargin bin is good for some stuff -- I've even found good Christmas presents in there!

I almost never eat out. If I know I'll need a meal on the road, I'll bring along kippered herring or a few Tbs of coconut cream concentrate.

I pay for internet, but not cable. I listen to the radio or read instead of watching TV.

I rarely use credit and pay off loans (like car loans) posthaste to minimize interest.

I use baking soda, vinegar, and eggs instead of shampoo and conditioner.

Hmmm...nothing earthshattering, but that's all that comes to mind for now!

[naiadknight]

I buy from thrift/ consignment/ refurb shops almost exclusively. I'm not paying $40 for a shirt or $125 for a pair of jeans (going rate around here for my size, it's all designer crap)
When steak/ lamb/ expensive meats on deep sale, I fill the chest freezer. I've discovered that if I buy enough, they'll take a bulk discount on top of that.
I don't use fabric softener, I use white vinegar.
Gone poo-less, using nonsulfate bar soap ($3 as opposed to $6).
I wash everything in cold. (Well, not towels, they get musty too fast)
I alter clothes as I shrink until it's really not feasible.
Crock pot meals, pressure cooker meats.
I do splurge on trash bags because we stuff it to the gills before taking it out.
Reuse plastic grocery bags as trashbags for the smaller trashcans.
There are 4 cleaning items in my house: dish soap, 409, vinegar, and clorox. Along with rubbing alcohol, lighter fluid, and nail polish remover for the more evil stains.
we have a programmable thermostat. It's paid itself off multiple times in the 9 mos we've had it.
incense and candles, not air freshener.
For the car, I took an old washcloth and spray it with my perfume. Threw it under the passenger seat. It gets redoused every few months.
I make my own blankets and winter scarfs. Still trying to get up the patience for a sweater (requires a pattern and a much thinner yarn.)
Make my own clothes with patterns on sale (as in $1 patterns and fabrics I love.)
Redesigned my back porch for water flow (I love being a civil engineer some days.)
Rehung my gutters towards a rain barrel for the garden that died.
grow all the herbs that I'll use that grow in this area.
Use cheapie veggies.
ETA: It never crosses my mind to use credit. I have a card for emergencies (as in only used it once back in college for tuition.) My only debt is student loans, the house, and my car. I intend to pay everyone of those off early, too.

[peril]

Buy beetroot with the greens attached - the greens can be sauteed or prepared like spinach or silverbeet

Buy lamb shoulder for casseroles. Trim the fat and render it then use it to cook the rest of the ingredients. Works well for curries too and the amount of flavour you get is wonderful

[chronyx]

you are 25?! thought you were older - you seem so wise!

yeah coconut milke is friggin expensive here . went into sainsbury looking for some - £2.15!! - gits

i buy things like Venison chunks (£2.50), duck legs x2 (£2.50) and chicken thighs...

You must have me confused with someone else!

Try and get hold of Dunn's River coconut milk. In the Jamaican foods section of my local Tesco. It's 47p a can, and the ingredients are listed as coconut meat extract and water. The other cheap ones have lots of additives. I thicken it up with some Waitrose coconut cream sometimes.

The more 'adventurous' meats are usually cheaper. In fact yesterday I was the only one looking at the meat, everyone else was looking at reduced ready meals, breadcrumbed chicken fillets...I had my choice of organic lamb chops, pork loin, whole chickens; shame the freezer is already full!

[Lindsey]

I buy larger joints of meat and chop them into what I require. This usually works out to be much cheaper than buying the meat as steak, chops,etc. I also bulk buy and hunt around for reduced meat

I go to charity shops and can usually buy jeans that look as though they have never been worn for around £3. I also buy old jumpers that have interesting buttons to go on the stuff I've knitted, as the old jumpers are cheaper than buying new buttons!

[bobkat]

This is a great thread!

My question though.............

How many of you are single? I can be really frugal at times, but my husband might think I had gone over the edge with some of my ideas. When I was single and really poor, it was like a game to save a few bucks.

No one has mentioned the water-saver "If it's yellow, let it mellow.......if it's brown, flush it down". They teach that to kids here, where we are prone to drought and water conservation is a hot topic.