Work on it Wednesday

Baby it's cold outside, not really but it's cold in my deep freezer. We have a huge deep freezer in our garage. While I love it and could store a nearly endless supply of red label meat in there, occasionally you have to dig down deep to make sure some block of mystery meat from the dark ages isn't hiding in the bottom long forgotten. So, I'll be donning my gloves and doing the fun job of cleaning out the freezer. On a side note, if you don't have a freezer you should get one. Mine has paid for itself many times over. I can take advantage of sales, buy stuff in bulk, cook and freeze meals and still have room to spare. It's really saved us from eating out nearly as much and I think it's made our diet a healthier one. Even a small one would be great. If it doesn't save you some money, you let me know about it.

By Request...

We all know that economic times are tough and we probably all have tightened our proverbial belts a bit. I however have always been a bit frugal. It's one of my frugal habits that my friend Dawn asked me to write about. I thought it was a worthwhile discussion so here it goes, red label meat and why I love it. First off for those of you that don't know, stores discount meats when they are getting close to their expiration date. There's nothing wrong with the meat they just need to sale quickly. Their need to sale and my need to save go together like peanut butter and jelly. To score these savings you need to know several things. You need to know when your store gets deliveries and when they generally do the markdowns.You also need to get there early. My favorite place to hit is Food Lion. I know they had that whole bleach thing in the past, but because of that I think they ruthlessly mark down meat now since they don't want Dateline showing up at their door again. My store generally does a big mark down on Tuesday mornings (I don't know if I should tell that since someone might be trying to get there before me, lol). Luckily for me I have a deep freezer in my garage and hence I have become the queen of the red label meat. Now you may have never considered this as a way to cut your grocery bills, but I'm telling you it's a great thing to consider. For example I found a pork lion on clearance that I will cut in half, hence getting two meals f($4/meal) from it and it was 40% off. This is the very reason I always chuckle at those morning show segments where they bring in some expert who will show the audience how to feed a family of four for $20. I generally come in under $10 for a family of 6. I'm talking meat, starch, vegetables and dessert. I also regularly shop at Aldi's and I'm not afraid of generics. I tend to cook from scratch rather than preboxed items. If you aren't afraid to crack open a cookbook the possibilities are unlimited. So next time you're at the store and they're marking down the meat, don't walk away, take a good look because you might just find tonight's dinner.

No Spend April?

The local ABC affiliate is doing a story on a frugal family and their challenge not to spend extra money for one month. Obviously they'll still buy gas and pay their bills, but you know they won't buy nonessential. Hmmm...could I? Should I give this a try? I'm a thrift and budget shopper already, but the operative word is that I do shop. I'm going to give it a go. I mean, we really already have what we need, most of what I buy is really things I want and don't really need. Yep, sign me up, no spend April here I come. I think I'll issue the challenge to some of my friends so we can all support each other. Isn't that funny, the idea that you might need support "not" to spend?

Thrift Scores

I love a good thrift store and I hadn't been in a few weeks so I thought I'd run by a couple of my favorites this week, plus one new one. I've found some great stuff. I found a Coach bag...it might be a knockoff, I don't know...but it's a pretty good one if it is, I paid $4.95 for it. I found one of those yarn project folding baskets for $2.99. I found three sewing patterns for $.75, 2 yds of cotton fun polk a dot fabric for $2. A wonderfully seasoned cast iron skillet (not as big as the one was hunting...but perfect nonetheless) for $10 and a ton of clothes for O. and the boys. Sometimes I can find clothing so cheaply that it doesn't even pay to sew them...although I do like to sew still.
The thrifting brings me to mind that I'm going to have to tighten my belt significantly. Our tenants just gave notice last night and I don't know how long it will be before I will find some one to rent the place. I'm so sad to see them go. They were tidy, quiet and not once did they pay the rent late. I had one last hurrah before I knew they were moving out. I was at Tuesday Morning yesterday where I scored a ton of yarn and a Boye needlemaster set, but today I'm feeling like I should return everything. I'm not loving the needlemaster set and even if it's cheap, if it's not fun to knit on then it's not a bargain right? I'm used to addy's and knitpicks and the needlemasters don't seem very smooth or fast. I'm knitting a scarf for O. out of 100% wool and it's so grabby. I'll try a bit more and if I'm still struggling I'll return them this afternoon. I belong to a co-op and I was saving up for some Hiya-Hiya's, they are suppose to have an interchangeable set coming out.
I guess this a great motivation to continue with the deal a friend and I struck. We are pledging to shop our own stash for craft project. It's very reasonable for me to do so...in fact I don't know why I keep buying more stuff. I have so much yarn and fabric it's really insane. So...I'm saying it here, I'm on a moratorium. I have 2 co-op buys outstanding, but then no mas...I'm shopping at that exclusive boutique Chez Sabrina, lol.