Throwback Thursday ~ Amy Dacyczyn on Food

Throwback Thursday will be a new addition to my blog and showcase blog articles from years gone by. This one first appeared here in 2017 and was a letter written by Amy Dacyczyn of The Tightwad Gazette fame. 
This letter did not run in her original newsletter, but was sent to people who wrote in asking for the article, and is a letter she wrote to help her readers save money on their food bill. 
I hope you enjoy it.
Dear Reader,
Our family spends less than $180 per month on food. At 6’ and 5’8 ½” Jim and I are not pygmies. Likewise our six children, ages 9 and down to a set of toddler twins, are also of above average height. And most of them eat more than I do. We are all healthy, have great cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, of normal weights and no one feels deprived. 
For the purposes of accurate comparison, my food bill only includes edibles. Many non-edibles that some people buy at food stores can be purchased at other types of stores where they are usually cheaper. I don’t know if a drug store purchase of shampoo is included in most people’s grocery bills. My food bill does include school lunches as well as gardening and canning supplies. We never eat out. Our food bill doesn’t include any additional energy cost for baking food from scratch. In both cases our savings on food FAR outweighs the energy usage. 
Although Jim is a military retiree we don’t shop at the Navy Commissary because of the distance, and so our food bill does not reflect any savings from there. 
We live 25 miles from a large supermarket. We can’t hit all the sales and do little couponing, since we have no double coupon stores in our area. People from different parts of the country have told us they think groceries cost more in the northeast. The prices here seem to be about the same as when we lived in Virginia, except we have fewer stores to compete with sales and double coupons. 
Most of my newsletters have articles on ways to cut the food bill. On the next page I have included experts of three issues. The first is 17 ways to save on the food bill. Most of them are obvious, but you need to do all of them. The second is an article on the price book. Do not skip this step, no matter how time consuming you think it is to make one up. Many readers have written in amazement of their findings, how all of their perceptions were wrong. It will reduce your food bill significantly. The simplicity of some of the meals shows that I didn’t specifically cook meals for the purpose of publication. The menu does not represent our complete repertoire. Since we plan meals around sales, during any given period we may eat more of one type of food than another.  
By using a price book, bulk buying and simplifying your diet you will not only reduce your food bill, you will reduce the amount of time spent shopping. You will spend less time comparing products for price. When you go into a store you know exactly which products you will buy there, so shopping can be completed faster. We usually shop once a month hitting several types of stores for a total of four hours including 1-1/2 hours of driving. And the few other trips we make to hit sales are combined with other errands or business. 
It is my belief that couponing and refunding should be a part of the shopping process, but only a small part It has not been proved to me that major refunding and couponing will reduce your food bill as much as if you use all the strategies. This has been reflected in letters from my readers who say that since they’ve become sharper shoppers, they have reduced their food bill AND are now using fewer coupons. In general manufacturer’s coupons are not good for convenience foods. For example, cold cereal, even when you subtract double-coupon savings, usually costs more per portion than a large range of other breakfasts you could prepare. Remember, it’s not how much you “save” with coupons, but how much you SPEND that counts. Coupons can be very good for pet foods, coffee, cleaners, and personal care products. 
Some people might think our diet is unexciting. Because we choose less expensive foods we have less variation. Also we are extremely busy. When we have more time to prepare food is becomes more interesting. However we do not mind if food is plain. 
Many people PREFER to spend more on their food bill. This is a value difference which I feel is acceptable, as long as they are financially responsible. However, it is my preference to spend money on things of permanence, something that will give me long term enjoyment or convenience, such as a place to live, a tool, or piece of furniture.
Amy Dacyczyn


Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Frugal Friday ~ June 19, 2020 ~ Recession Ahead?

Image Credit

According to multiple news sources, the coronavirus pandemic forced the United States economy to contract sharply, which has caused the US to enter a recession. 
Many experts think this will be a deep recession and short, but time will tell as to how long it will really last. 
We know of several small businesses that have decided to call it quits and close permanently. Both of the owners were close enough to retirement age to go ahead and retire. I find it sad though that the pandemic forced them into this decision. 
My daughter continues to resell online as her primary source of income. I help her by steaming and processing items. 
Processing clothes for her has made it so that I know exactly what I want in my own clothing. I know what length I prefer in tops and pants, along with what fabrics I prefer. 
All of this makes it easier to know what to shop for, which will save me money. For example I have purchased tops before with a certain fabric blend that I didn't like when it arrived. Now I can avoid that extra expense. 
This week I've been watching the soap opera, Port Charles on YouTube. There is one channel on there that has all the episodes in chronological order, so it's easy to watch them in order. 
Our electric bill for June 2019 was 320.48 while our electric bill for June 2020 is $208.49, which is a difference of $111.99. The savings is due to our new energy efficient air conditioner. The savings will pay for the air conditioner in the first summer that we own it. 
If you're a regular reader of my blog, you'll know I've babied our old air conditioner for a couple of years now. I knew it was probably costing us money and now we have proof of that. We saved up our money over the last year in order to pay cash for the new a/c.
If you're looking for money saving ways to stay cool this summer, feel free to read my blog post on the topic. 
Speaking of staying cool, last Friday I cut up a watermelon for us to enjoy. Is there anything better than an ice cold sweet watermelon on a hot summer day? 
Part of a wheel on my desk chair broke off this week making it hard to roll around. No need to fear as I had a replacement, bought at a yard sale last summer, so I only needed to replace it. 
Amy Dacyczyn picked up items at yard sales that she knew would need to be replaced over the course of the year like lunch boxes and such. This timely tip still holds true today. 
My bills this week were paid online, which saved me the cost of postage and envelopes.
My project of working on the recipes on my blog continued this week. Several of the recipes I had posted on the blog over the years didn't make it onto my recipe page. I've been working on correcting that again this week. I hope all the recipes are not bothering you. 
My daughter made peanut butter chocolate chip cookies again this week. And on Thursday I made a recipe for Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles. 
I made these for my daughter when she was younger and she loved them, so here is the recipe in case you're interested.  

Sesame Peanut Butter Noodles

Ingredients

6 ounce packet ramen noodles without the flavor packet

2 tablespoons pure sesame oil

1 & 1/2 tablespoons peanut butter

2 tablespoons honey

2 tablespoons soy sauce

1 & ½ tablespoons rice vinegar

1 garlic clove, minced

½ teaspoon grated fresh ginger root

Optional Garnish: 

3 sliced green onions 

1 1/2 tsp. sesame seeds

Directions:

Cook and drain the noodles according to the package directions.

In a medium bowl, add the sesame oil, peanut butter, honey, soy sauce, rice vinegar, garlic, and ginger.

Whisk until well combined. 

The peanut butter should completely break down to create a smooth sauce.

Pour the sauce over the hot noodles. 

Toss to coat.

On Thursday I received my second unemployment check. I'm very grateful for this as it's really helped here and given me a peace of mind I've not had in the last few months. 
How was your week?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~ My Linktree

Thank you for using my Amazon affiliate link when placing your Amazon orders. I earn a small percentage that doesn't increase what you pay and it helps me to earn a living here at Frugal Workshop.

My ABC List of Frugality

 Apps - Use Apps on your cell phone to help you save money. I use a yard sale app on my phone that tells me where the yard sales are located and then lets me use Google maps to take the most efficient route possible, which saves me gas and time. I can even add a yard sale I find, which is not on the map,  to help other people using the app to find that sale. 
Brown Bag It- Bring your lunch and drinks with you when you are leaving the house and save yourself the cost of eating out. 
Cloth Items - I've really taken this step up a notch since April. We've used cloth napkins on and off for a few years, but now we are using them exclusively. My daughter has worn cloth pads for a few years, but I'm using them exclusively now too. I've not bought any paper towels since April. One of the best results of this is that we have so much less garbage than we did before we reverted to cloth only, and I love that. 
Debt - Avoid debt as much as possible, especially credit card debt, unless you are able to pay your credit cards in full each month. The interest you pay on credit card debt will end up using more and more of your take home pay. 
Emergency Fund - A savings account for the financial surprises that life will throw your way. 
Free - is one of the best ways to save money. Freebies from online sources, free classes at Home Depot for kids, free renting of books & movies at the library, free computer use at the library. The list of free items available today is pretty nifty. 
Grocery Store Ads - Peruse these online and it will help you reduce your grocery expenses. Also, reading these online saves me 50¢ each week or $26.00 each year. 
Herbs - Grow some of your own herbs to save money in the kitchen. 
Imperfect - You don't need to do things perfectly to live a frugal life. All you need to do is to begin your journey. 
Jars - Jars are a great frugal tool to have on hand. We save the best ones that come into our home and reuse them for many different things.  Storing coins, buttons, beans, seeds, spices, etc.
Kitchen - If I had to suggest one room in my home where I saved the most money it would be my kitchen. Meals cooked from scratch, food bought on sale or marked down and bought in bulk are just a few of the ways we save money in our kitchen. 
LED Light Bulbs - Thankfully these have come down in price in recent years. LED bulbs use less energy and last longer than other light bulbs. According to USA Today, they can save you up to $1,000 over a ten year period. 
Menu Planning can save you money by allowing you to stay within your grocery budget. 
No Spend Days - We have no spend days in our home on a regular basis. Making do with what we have on hand rather than buying something new helps us to save money. Stretch what you have on hand and that will help you to not spend money. 
Oil Changes - Change the oil in your car on a regular basis to keep it running as long as possible. Do these yourself and save a lot of money. Some of the oil changing places here are charging upwards of $50 for an oil change now. If you don't know how to change oil, find someone who does and barter with them. My BIL changes our oil and only charges us $20 for supplies. 
Patience is a virtue when it comes to being frugal. Before making any purchase seriously consider whether or not you actually need it. Then, if you're patient that item might just turn up at a yard sale at a fraction of the retail cost.  
Question what you do and what you spend your money on and see what adjustments you can make to spend less and save more money. Always reevaluate your financial life to see if any adjustments are needed. 
Repurpose - Take something you already own, rather than buy something new, and reuse it to make something else that will save you money. We regularly take clothes and turn them into something else useful. 
Sinking Fund - A sinking fund is an account where you put money into a savings account in order to pay for future expenses.  I currently have a savings account specifically for my car insurance, so that I will have the money available when my auto insurance comes up for renewal. 
Thermos - Definitely a tightwad tool to have and use regularly. I carry ice water in mine whenever we head out the door. You can use them for cold beverages or hot food, whichever one you choose will help you to save money. 
Unplug appliances when you are done using them, which will save on electricity, which will save you money. 
Vegetarianism - Eating more vegetarian or even vegan meals each month will help you save money on your grocery bill. 
Water - Drinking water exclusively will help you save money and we are not talking about bottled water here either. Find yourself a reusable water container and take it with you on the go and you'll definitely see the savings over buying any other drinks. 
Xmas - Shop all year long in order to have a frugal Christmas. Shop clearance bins, yard sales, flea markets, and thrift stores and save these items in your gift closet. Save money all year long in order to have the Christmas you want. 
Yard Sales - Shopping at yard sales will save you so much money over the years. Holding your own yard sale will also help you earn extra money. When we lived in a less rural area I held yard sales every year and always made extra money for our household. 
Zealot - Amy Dacyczyn, also known as, The Frugal Zealot is the Queen of Frugal Living. If you've not read her book, The Tightwad Gazette, I would highly recommend it. Of course, you'll want to borrow it for free from your local library. 
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

The Tightwad Gazette Frugal Workshop Giveaway

I've been doing some Spring Cleaning recently and realized that I have two copies of The Tightwad Gazette's first newsletter. 
This is the free copy that Amy would send to anyone who wanted one, so this is not that big of a deal. 
There are probably thousands of these out there, but if you would like to have this copy, I would be glad to send it to you.
So, if you're interested in this please leave me a comment and in about a week or so, I will put all the names in a hat and pick one out.  Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Doll Quilts

Remember this video of Amy Dacyczyn? I've posted it here on the blog before and it's been seen on YouTube thousands of times. 
I recall seeing something towards the end of the video (around 4:50) that I'd always wondered about. It came to me one day that what I was seeing was doll quilts. 
Turns out Amy was making these out of patchwork pieces. 
I googled the topic and came up with this: In 2009 Paula Gardner wrote an article on the Michigan Blog Live about Amy Dacyczyn. In the article she mentions the fact that Amy was using fabric scraps to make baby doll quilts for future grandchildren. 
Here is a closeup screenshot of the quilts:

All of this got me to thinking and that along with my recent return to sewing and some scrap quilting patches found at yard sales got me to thinking even more.  
One day last week we found a gallon size bag filled with quilting scraps for $2.00. We brought them home and washed them and filled a laundry basket once they were dried. 

One night I sat down to the sewing machine and pieced them together and made a doll quilt following the directions loosely from this webpage. 

Nothing fancy, but it was easy and I used part of one of the receiving blankets we've picked up at several yard sales recently for the back. 

I didn't have any embroidery thread to tie it with, so I just machine quilted it after piecing it together. I didn't buy anything new for this, but rather used what I had on hand. 
I had some material, which was not quilt batting, but rather fleece that fit the job for the inside and then I used part of a flannel receiving blanket for the back. 
The quilt was made from twenty 4 x 4 quilt squares, but I didn't feel this was the right size.  I'm going to tinker with this until I come up with a quilt that feels like the right size. 
Wouldn't one of these make a great Christmas gift for a little girl? 
Or you could make these and sell them. 
I looked on Etsy and there are a lot of people selling doll quilts. These could make for a another passive income source. 
I think they would sell for around $10, what do you think?
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Amy Dacyczyn on Food

Below is a letter written by Amy Dacyczyn of The Tightwad Gazette fame. 

This letter did not run in her original newsletter, but was sent to people who wrote in asking for the article, and is a letter she wrote to help her readers save money on their food bill. 

I hope you enjoy it.

Dear Reader,

Our family spends less than $180 per month on food. At 6’ and 5’8 ½” Jim and I are not pygmies. Likewise our six children, ages 9 and down to a set of toddler twins, are also of above average height. And most of them eat more than I do. We are all healthy, have great cholesterol and blood pressure numbers, of normal weights and no one feels deprived. 

For the purposes of accurate comparison, my food bill only includes edibles. Many non-edibles that some people buy at food stores can be purchased at other types of stores where they are usually cheaper. I don’t know if a drug store purchase of shampoo is included in most people’s grocery bills. My food bill does include school lunches as well as gardening and canning supplies. We never eat out. Our food bill doesn’t include any additional energy cost for baking food from scratch. In both cases our savings on food FAR outweighs the energy usage. 

Although Jim is a military retiree we don’t shop at the Navy Commissary because of the distance, and so our food bill does not reflect any savings from there. 

We live 25 miles from a large supermarket. We can’t hit all the sales and do little couponing, since we have no double coupon stores in our area. People from different parts of the country have told us they think groceries cost more in the northeast. The prices here seem to be about the same as when we lived in Virginia, except we have fewer stores to compete with sales and double coupons. 

Most of my newsletters have articles on ways to cut the food bill. On the next page I have included experts of three issues. The first is 17 ways to save on the food bill. Most of them are obvious, but you need to do all of them. The second is an article on the price book. Do not skip this step, no matter how time consuming you think it is to make one up. Many readers have written in amazement of their findings, how all of their perceptions were wrong. It will reduce your food bill significantly. The simplicity of some of the meals shows that I didn’t specifically cook meals for the purpose of publication. The menu does not represent our complete repertoire. Since we plan meals around sales, during any given period we may eat more of one type of food than another.  

By using a price book, bulk buying and simplifying your diet you will not only reduce your food bill, you will reduce the amount of time spent shopping. You will spend less time comparing products for price. When you go into a store you know exactly which products you will buy there, so shopping can be completed faster. We usually shop once a month hitting several types of stores for a total of four hours including 1-1/2 hours of driving. And the few other trips we make to hit sales are combined with other errands or business. 

It is my belief that couponing and refunding should be a part of the shopping process, but only a small part It has not been proved to me that major refunding and couponing will reduce your food bill as much as if you use all the strategies. This has been reflected in letters from my readers who say that since they’ve become sharper shoppers, they have reduced their food bill AND are now using fewer coupons. In general manufacturer’s coupons are not good for convenience foods. For example, cold cereal, even when you subtract double-coupon savings, usually costs more per portion than a large range of other breakfasts you could prepare. Remember, it’s not how much you “save” with coupons, but how much you SPEND that counts. Coupons can be very good for pet foods, coffee, cleaners, and personal care products. 

Some people might think our diet is unexciting. Because we choose less expensive foods we have less variation. Also we are extremely busy. When we have more time to prepare food is becomes more interesting. However we do not mind if food is plain. 

Many people PREFER to spend more on their food bill. This is a value difference which I feel is acceptable, as long as they are financially responsible. However, it is my preference to spend money on things of permanence, something that will give me long term enjoyment or convenience, such as a place to live, a tool, or piece of furniture.

Amy Dacyczyn
Belinda ~ Living within our Means ~

Weekend Update

Freezer

As you may recall back in June we donated our upright freezer to a local charity for their summer feeding program. At the time they were asking for a freezer, our freezer had been mostly empty for a few months because of the price of food and I was struggling to keep it full and knew in my heart that it would serve a better purpose with them. 

Fast forward eight months and things have eased up here a bit financially, we have found several free sources of food and there have been several times that I've had to take the ice cube trays out of the small freezer on top of our refrigerator just to hold the bargains I had found that day. After doing without ice cubes at least twice in the last month, I decided to take the plunge and buy a small freezer just for the overflow. So yesterday we went to Lowe's and found one for $159 and it will be delivered today. I already have plans to put it to good use. 

Snow in the Forecast

The weatherman is calling for snow here this week. I have a little bit of rock salt on hand, but did pick up some ice melt while I was at Lowe's yesterday. If it does storm, I hope we do not lose electricity. That is one of the reasons I wanted to donate our large freezer. I had lost a lot of food at least three times for power loss in the last few years, and I was tired of it. The new freezer is much smaller and the if it happens again, the lose won't be as hard to take. 

Anyway, the snow is forecast for Monday through Wednesday. I am really hoping we don't get any snow. We have Monday & Tuesday off for Winter Break and then I am scheduled to work Wednesday through Friday. Any snow will put a kink in my plans as everything stops when it snows in the south. 

Valentine's Day

According to Len Penzo, $17,000,000,000 was the amount of money spent on Valentine's day in 2014. Now that is a lot of money! On Thursday, I saw all sorts of Valentine's Day gifts being delivered to students at school. I even saw two students receive one dozen long stemmed roses in the white boxes. As I recall, those are very expensive. 

Total spent on Valentine's day at the Frugal Workshop: $0

Life Lesson

One of the lessons my daughter has learned growing up is that money does not grow on trees. As a result, she is pretty frugal in her own right and has learned not to expect gifts on days like Valentine's Day and since she doesn't expect anything, she is not disappointed. 

She was with her friend shopping at Staples the other day and she was using a coupon for $1.12 off a purchase and her friend laughed at her for it. This is the same friend who overspends on things on a regular basis. I'm so glad that my daughter sees this at an early age because those lessons can be, for some people, painfully hard to learn and can sometimes take a lifetime to learn. 

Amy Dacyczyn always said that Americans need to spend less than they earn and by maintaining a consistent lifestyle, they will build the financial stability to withstand downturns while, it's likely, re-setting lifestyle expectations to what an income can support. 

Belinda

Live simply by not spending money you don't have.

© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011 - 2015.

A New Month

Wednesday started a new month as we turned our calendars to October 1st. A brand new month and a chance to start over again and see if we can do better this month than we did last month. 

This is an older clip from YouTube, but one of my favorites. It is an interview with Amy Dacyczyn, author of the Tightwad Gazette. I like this video because Amy talks about how small things add up. 

She says it is never too late to start learning tightwad ways. To start, simply write down the items you spend money on, no matter how small. The little things, she says, is where you are losing your money. Writing it down and adding it up at the end of the month can be a very eye opening experience. 





I kept track of my spending in September, which is something I don't always do diligently, but I did last month and found I had spent $334.22 on food for three adults. I'd like to see if I can do better in October, so I'm keeping a diligent track of my spending again this month to see if I can find areas to improve. 

On Thursday I stopped at three grocery stores for sale items. 

The first stop was IGA where I bought five dozen eggs, which were on sale for 89¢ a dozen. I also bought one, two pound bag of onions for $1.00, four large cans of Chili Mix on markdown for $1.00, and a dozen cans of mixed vegetables, which were on mark down for 59¢ each. Total Spent was $16.53. 

My second stop was at Aldi where I went for carrots and onions. Carrots were 49¢ for two pound bags, and sweet onions were 99¢ for a two pound bag. I bought four bags of the carrots, and two bags of the onions and spent a total of $3.94. 

This is such a great price for carrots! I can cook these in my electric pressure cooker in minutes and have a very affordable side dish for dinner. And other people obviously thought the same thing as they were almost gone when I got there and it was only the second day of the sale. 

My third stop was the Bargain Barn/United Grocery Outlet. They were advertising cheese loaf for $1.99. We went to see exactly what this was. Turns out it was the sixteen ounce box of 2% Velveeta. I have had this on my grocery list to make my sister's potato soup, but it has been too expensive to buy, so I just did without, making other dinner choices, until now. 

Today though, I bought two boxes and paid $3.98 for both, which is much cheaper than they $6.99 they want for it in the regular grocery store. I also wanted to check out the cream cheese they were advertising for $1.00. Turns out it was the Philadelphia cream cheese in the assorted flavors. I picked up two honey flavored ones for the cinnamon raisin bread I picked up last week. 

This week, I also made a monthly menu for October. It is very basic and does not have very much meat listed in there. As I find any meat bargains this month, I can add them to the menu. 

What I've Been Reading this Week

I stumbled across a new blog this week called Living Stingy. The author, Robert Bell, is a patent attorney living in Jekyll Island, Georgia. Some people may find his views on smart phones, cable tv, and fancy cars harsh, but he makes an excellent point about how these are choices that can keep us chained to a lifestyle of having to work just to pay for such things.  I really enjoyed reading his viewpoint on the topic and hope you do as well. 

This week I have scrutinized prices and shopped carefully. I'm keeping careful track of my spending and we are living better lives with less money as a result. I wish the same for you.  :) 

Belinda
CFO ~ Chief Frugal Officer
© Belinda & Frugal Workshop, 2011-2014.
“Use it up, wear it out, make it do, do without”
"Reduce, Reuse, and Recycle ~ It will help you save money"