Two Frog Home

In the same vain as yesterday’s Ignorant is Bliss post, I’ve been thinking about frugality.  There are numerous articles talking about a possible recession and/or depression in the U.S.  I’ve been reading many of them with great interest.  The pollyanna that I am sees this as a great opportunity to really see how resourceful I am.  I understand the economic news is devastating for many people, I understand the poorest of the poor will need help, and I’m willing to step up where I can.  I also know that many people are living well beyond their means and for them this is where the blissful ignorance will have to end.  I’m hoping that all this talk will be a wake up call for us as society.

I know people are feeling the pinch, financially.   I talk to many of these folks in a variety of ways, whether its the gal on the cross-trainer next to me in the gym, someone in one of my continuing education classes, or random folks in the grocery store.  I use Jeff’s favorite phrase of “tightening up the belt” often with these folks.  It never ceases to amaze me how that bristles some people’s feathers.  When I taught my frugal living class, I had one student who very much wanted to learn how to live within her means but still be able to go out to eat at expensive restaurants 4 nights a week.  The idea of giving up on luxuries to save or be frugal seems so hard for a society that feels entitled to the “American Dream” of more, bigger, better.

Grandma’s favorite saying of “use it up, wear it out, make do,” is very much a frugal philosophy we apply to our lifestyle here at Two Frog Home.  Imagine what an impact that would have on our environment, our communities, and our homes if that was picked up as modern movement as hip as the current “go green” movement has become.  It won’t become as popular, however; because it doesn’t benefit all the companies going green in order to get your dollars.  You won’t see Walmart using that as a slogan because it encourages you not spend money in their stores, but you will see them hawking cheap T-shirts made from recycled plastic bottles because its hip and it makes them money.

In talking with people, I understand that a lot of people don’t know how to practically apply the “use it up, wear it out, make do” philosophy.  So far in their lives, they haven’t had to be frugal or they’ve used credit cards to spare themselves from any perceived deprivation.  Let me share how we apply grandma’s philosophy and frugal living daily around here.

First, let me share one of my most favorite quotes by Amy Dacyczyn (of Tightwad Gazette fame) “Frugality without creativity is deprivation.”  For me, that’s key.  No one wants to feel deprived, myself included.  The trick is learning to make do creatively with what you have until you can afford, without credit, to buy whatever you want.  I’ve learned that making do for a period of time, generally leads to not wanting/needing the gadget anyway.  I find great satisfaction in doing myself (or asking Jeff to do it) without relying on outside sources and/or conveniences.  Doing for myself and waiting for items, makes that item more valuable somehow. 

Instead of buying the newest fashion trends, why not wear out the old standards in your closet and repair them when possible.  There’s something to be said for wearing something so often that it requires multiple repairs.  It means I’ve worked hard and that I’m stretching my dollar, saving by repairing instead of buying new.  I assign financial worth to that, if I repair of jeans, I put $15 dollars into savings, figuring I’ve paid myself for some future need/want/desire.  I do find immense satisfaction when I have to cut something up for rags, because that means we’ve worn that article of clothing completely out and the pieces that remain will serve us in another way. 

Getting creative with making do can extend into every aspect of our lives.  Instead of running to the grocery store to get one item that’s missing from the recipe, get creative with substitution’s.  Would it really hurt to leave that particular ingredient out?  Instead of running to the store for paper towels, make do with those old T-shirts.

Practical things we do that save money and in turn add to our savings:

• We rarely eat out
• We buy in bulk
• We eat whole foods in their natural form, not pre-boxed/convenience foods
• We buy used
• We bargain hunt and wait for the best deal before buying whenever possible
• We freecycle
• We garden and preserve our own foods
• We repair and otherwise adjust our own clothing (take in, shorten, etc.)
• We wear everything out and try to repair everything before buying new (Jeff has alot of mechanical aptitude which comes in handy)
• We pack our own lunches
• We don’t use paper towels, paper plates, etc. (I just see that as throwing money away)
• We use natural and cheap cleaners like vinegar
• When we do have to make a major purchase, we save to buy the best we can afford, because we want quality equipment that will last and not need to be replaced
• We don’t upgrade every time the newest model comes along
• We don’t buy into every toy/gadget that comes along (we still don’t have an I-pod)
• We use the library instead of buying new books

I could go on and on, but I think I’m making my point. 

In the end, I do believe that Jeff and I have been blessed in that we both have jobs that pay above minimum wage and seem to be steady.  However, the rest has been the result of hard work on our part.  We are debt free and have a healthy savings to cover us in case of job loss as well as money saved for property downpayment and repair (looking for cheaper houses means fixer uppers).  We don’t indulge in a lot of luxuries but we don’t feel deprived.  I do feel like a good amount of frugal living is done inside ourselves in that we have to choose what is important and make sure our spending habits reflect those priorities.  We have to choose and learn to be content with what we have and ignore what the “Joneses” are doing.

Finally, a huge thing is getting support from partners, family and friends.  Find people who are choosing to live within their means and learn from them.  The internet is full of frugality resources, and I’d be remiss if I didn’t say the book Your Money or Your Life will change the lives of everyone who reads it, at least it did mine.  Research and learn from folks who lived through the depression, find what works and get creative and maybe whatever comes this way won’t feel as bad as the media makes it seem.

100 Things :: 11) I bring my lunch.

I almost called this one - I brown bag it.  However, I bring my lunches in beautiful, reusable handmade tote bags, not the disposable plain brown paper sacks.

I do bring my lunch to work everyday and I pack Jeff’s too.  We also pack our lunches when we go for hikes, scenic drives, various festivals, etc.  It just seems a better way to ensure our health and our frugal nature.   It also seems the most ethical way to keep disposable items from getting into landfills.

Our lunches are pretty standard - soups in winter, salads in summer.  We usually have some kind of fruit, fresh in season, home canned when not in season.  We pack wraps and sandwiches on occasion.  We don’t generally have leftovers for lunch, however; because we save those for dinner.  I like to include homemade bread, biscuits, muffins, etc when I can as well.

I like packing Jeff’s lunch too in that I find it a great way to connect with him in the middle of a hectic work day even when we aren’t eating a meal together.  Occasionally I tuck a little love note or treat in his bag too, just because.

I’m grateful for my little tote bag sitting in the office kitchen/break room because its an insurance policy of a little bit of home in my office.  It’s also a promise of a healthy nourishing break mid-day to just rejuvenate and in some small way reconnect with my love.

Jeff and I don’t eat out much.  Generally we feel its too expensive for so-so quality.  I like to cook and we both like to eat what I cook, so eating out isn’t something we do.  Yesterday, however, we did decide to eat lunch out.  This may have been our third meal out for 2008 and the first two were work related functions for one of us.

We hit the book sale as promised (it was a great disappointment - the first time I’ve said that in the 8 years I’ve been going).  On the way home, Jeff said we should stop at this new place called “The Pita Pit”, several of the guys he works with had been raving about it.  We figured it’d be a fun treat.  Jeff had the “Dagwood” pita which I think was a bit like a club sandwich and I had the Falafel.  I haven’t had falafel in a long time and was looking forward to it.  Since it was a treat we decided to have the combo which included a bag of chips and a drink, being a treat we ordered Cokes.  The total bill came to just under $16.00. 

Maybe that’s about standard for drive-thru, I don’t know, but it seemed a little steep to us.  The food was so-so, not a place we’d eat again, so the price seemed even higher.  However, worse than the price was how we felt the rest of the day.  Lethargic, at best.  We both felt drained and honestly hungry at the same time.  We were tired and both of us kept grazing the dried fruits and nuts in the pantry to fill up.

In the end, I think I learned that while eating out can be a treat and should be a treat.  We just have to be extremely choosy in where we decide to have those treats.  We need to pick places that have a good reputation for whole food ingredients and from scratch cooking.  We also need to avoid the Cokes no matter how much of a treat we’re having.  We don’t drink soda as a general rule, its not something we stock in our pantry and no doubt it was the sugar rush and inevitable crash that hurt us more than the rest of the so-so meal.

Jeff needed to run to town to look for a new light fixture for one that blew out this morning.  I tagged along and we decided to check the thrift stores before going to the hardware store for the needed fixture.  We scored in more ways than one, Jeff found a great light fixture for $1.50 and I found 69 canning jars for $5.00 (a mixture of wide mouth & regular pints and quarts)! 

I must say that’s a God thing.  I let my desires for more self-sufficiency and the needed jars be known and low and behold the jars appeared.  I’m grateful, honestly, I rarely find jars at the thrift store, they always seem to be scooped up before I get there. 

Further along the thrifty score line, Jeff snagged an older KitchenAid mixer at a yard sale yesterday for $10.  The mixer had its bowl but no paddles or attachments.  It works wonderfully, and will most likely be used for my grain grinding adventures.  The grain mill seems hard on the mixer, this way we’ll have something as a back up.

Tomorrow is the annual AAUW book sale bargain day - $3 a sack for used books, we’ll be hitting that too.  Sometimes thrifty scores can be just the thing to lift the spirits.  That and lots of gorgeous sunshine and temperatures in the 60s, finally. 

I was visiting over at Moonmeadow Farm earlier today, she always has interesting news tidbits on her sidebar.  Today, I read a good bit of the ones she had posted, including several on recession/depression and rising food prices.  All of which go hand in hand with my thoughts on self-sufficiency and the need to be more so.

Do I believe, Jeff and I will see a time where we don’t shop at stores? No.  I don’t know that we’ll ever have the kind of property necessary to raise everything we need, especially grain.  However, I do believe we can work on growing and preserving as much of our own as possible.  I also believe we can work on bartering and buying from within our own community.

The folks over at Path to Freedom, have been doing a lot of writing about the need for a resurgence of the victory gardens concept.  I understand gardening is a lot of work and its not work everyone enjoys (unlike the gardening addict that I am).  However, with the price of food and fuel these days, I don’t know how long many people can hold out before gardening becomes more than a hobby and it becomes necessary for survival. 

For me, everything starts at home.  Home is more than just the building I live in, home is my heart, it is the center of my love with Jeff, simply home is everything.  So what can I do beyond gardening and canning?  Jeff is fond of saying “its time to tighten up the belt,” and while I think we already have the belt pretty tight, we can and should do more.  Frugality isn’t about deprivation in my mind, however; a person does need to learn the difference between deprivation and making do.  In learning to be more frugal and making do with what we have, we can be more prepared to not only help ourselves in times of struggle, but also help others, and donate to more worthy causes.  We can buy more food for the food pantry, spend money on necessities for shelters, etc.  We can grow an extra bit of food and donate the saved seeds.  We can do all this from home and maybe, soften the blow of whatever this way comes for us and those around us.  And if it doesn’t soften the blow, at least we’ll have given it a shot from home and have done our best to take care of ourselves. 

Last week one of our local grocery chains had their biannual case lot sale.  The sale is exactly what it sounds like, good deals on entire cases of goods, traditionally its things like canned veggies, bottled water, sugar, all purpose flour, canned chili, ramen noodles, etc.  Looking at our depleted pantry we decided to take advantage of a few of the deals - mostly we bought canned green beans, corn, peas, and mushrooms.  We also got some 4 gallons of distilled water for $2.50 (I only use distilled water for ironing and my new iron really puts out the steam hence the water needs refilled often).  We don’t buy things like canned chili or cases of condensed cream of mushroom soup.

The deal on canned veggies was good and a case of each gets us a long way until we can start harvesting some of our own again.  I do always feel a little guilty about stocking up on these non-local, non-organic goods, however my pocket book thanks me and it is always good to know that we have a well stocked pantry, just in case.  The purchase did remind me of how much further we have to go in producing and canning more of our own and/or locally grown goods.  

Our growing season is so short here, and I’m learning to do with it what I can, but oh I’m so jealous of all of you who are already planting outside.  We’re still getting snow.  Jeff and I canned a good bit of stuff last summer (check out my pantry building page), but we have a long way to go to get us through an entire Montana winter.  I need more jars, too (honestly I can’t believe I’m saying that - I can’t imagine how many jars a large family must need).  I’ll be on the lookout for those as soon as yard sale season begins in another month.  I like to can more than freeze simply because freezing requires a stable power source, and I’m not sure we’ll always have that, freezing also requires a lot of freezer space, obviously and that isn’t something I want to invest in (see my thoughts on not always having power).  I don’t dry enough foods and that is something I may start dabbling in again this summer.

This winter just seems especially long to me, and I’m experiencing my own version of cabin fever.  Cabin fever seems to be expressing itself in the fear of not being self-sufficient enough alongside the urge to just start digging in the dirt and getting my hands dirty.  The upside is the daylight hours are getting longer and longer (that is something that is so sublime about Montana summers).  Even more on the upside is that seeds are started indoors and soon, I’ll be canning again.  

PS: I’m starting to think folks who practice home canning have their own seasons - preparing to can, canning, and eating the canned goods.

100 Things - #9 I never leave home without my coffee mug.

I do always take my coffee mug with me whenever I leave home.  We have coffee every morning, but sometimes there’s just need for more and I like to have my travel mug with me instead of using the disposable cardboard and/or styrofoam kind.  There are several gas stations in the area that sell coffee refills for 50 cents a cup, too, making my travel mug a slightly more frugal choice, because the same places charge 99 cents or more if you use their disposable containers.  There are several gas stations that sell my favorite locally roasted coffee too for 50 cents a refill, the roaster’s cafes sell the exact same thing for $1.50 a mug.  I know how to bargain hunt. 

On weekend yard sale trips or scenic drives, Jeff and I both take our mugs along and these are the times when we splurge on fancier drinks like a latte, occasionally.  Though we’ll drink plain drip gas station variety as well.  Like my cloth shopping bags, I’m just glad to know there is a coffee mug in the car, just in case.

Ok so, it was after noon not after midnight, but the song’s been on my mind today.  Given that I’m on no particular schedule and that spring like weather is upon us, I’ve been taking afternoon walks everyday lately.  Today, I walked down to Harvest Health Shoppe to visit and pick up some needed items.  I hit the bulk spice shelves, first.  I had specific needs, but always take a moment to look at the spices and herbs in all their rich colors to make sure there isn’t something else I want to try, or something that just catches my eye.  The great thing about buying my herbs and spices this way, besides just supporting a locally owned business is that its way cheaper than buying them at the grocery store.  I save jars like crazy and have plenty to store these treasures without having to buy pre-filled jars for twice the price.

It was a cool but bright afternoon and I passed many other folks out walking around enjoying the sunshine and signs of impending spring.  I spotted these lovely beauties during my walk:

It is nice to know that winter is more or less over, and there’s a new season to enjoy.

100 Things :: #5 - I’m addicted to Altoids.

Luckily it’s not an addiction that is ruining my life.  In all seriousness, however, at any given time I have at least four tins of Altoids within reach.  I keep one tin in my purse at all times, there’s usually a tin on the shelf near my sewing machine, there’s always a tin at my desk at work, and there’s generally a tin in my car too.  Despite the multitude of tins, on average I only have about 3 mints a day.  My love of Altoids, has ruined me for any other mints - nothing else will do when I want a mint.

I’ve managed for the most part to steer clear of the ones covered in dark chocolate.  Those are super yummy but too tempting for me to have around.  I’d probably eat a whole tin of those in two days tops.  They’re also more expensive and I suppose the frugal voice in my head just won’t let me spend that much on mints, despite the fact that the plain Altoids are already more expensive than most mints on my grocery store shelves.  However, I’m a firm believer in that frugality shouldn’t be about deprivation and if my little splurge is a $1.99 tin of mints, so be it.   

I don’t let the Altoid tins go to waste either.  I have several friends that use them in altered art type projects and they get a steady supply from me and we re-use them around the house for a multitude of purposes.  If I could ever find a bulk bin of Altoids, I’d be in heaven… maybe that’s a thought for my local grocers.

Last fall, I started teaching a few classes at the local community college’s continuing education program.  I’m having a blast.  It started with a few canning classes, I just finished teaching a frugality class, and I have a worm composting class in a few weeks.  I found out yesterday that students have been waitlisted for the worm composting class and I’m working with the college to add another class this semester.  I truly believe the classes have been as beneficial for me as they have been for the students.  I feel like the classes go well and all of my evaluations have been in the good to excellent range so I’m confident the students agree.

Every continuing education class I teach, I begin by asking the students to give a brief introduction with their reasons for taking the class and any experience they may have with the particular subject.  It’s proven helpful in both the canning and frugality classes because it allowed me to customized the classes a bit more for the students in attendance.  It was especially helpful in the frugality class because they were for the most part a very frugal bunch seeking new ideas and maybe a little validation.  That was not at all whom I had envisioned taking the class and because of that my lesson plans for the class were not at all on target.  I’m grateful for all those high school speech and debate classes and events I participated in, because I am able to think fast on my feet and boy did I have to do that with this group.

Willow asked me if I’d share the syllabus to the frugality class.  In general this is what we did, because of the group it was very different than if the students had been those with lots of debt, etc. which was what I was expecting.  The first week, we discussed frugality as means towards enjoying life and gaining more freedom.  We discussed at length many ways to be frugal without feeling terribly deprived.  The students were very active and it was very much discussion not lecture.  The students were given expense worksheets and asked to track their spending for the next week and bring those sheets back the next week.  The second week we talked about the expense worksheets and the students were asked to classify each expense into three categories: Need, Impulse, Want and to figure the hours of work needed to pay for those items.  We discussed wants not being bad, but the methods to avoid impulses and how in lean times the expense worksheets will really help us cut back on unnecessary things.  We discussed planning at length that night - I’m a firm believer in that good planning is key to frugal success.  The last night I gave the class my favorite frugal tips and we talked about paying for convenience versus enjoyment.  They were given handouts each week and a list of my favorite frugality resources that included books and websites.

I’ve proposed a few more classes along this line to the college for the summer semester and hope to do the canning class again in the fall.  The whole idea behind these classes started when a number of students taking the organic gardening class last year, found out about me and my worm composting.  I helped many of them out and the light bulb went off that I should offer the formal class and look at me now.  What a great opportunity and blessing this has been!