Surviving lean times

[tcmgpt13]

When there have been periods of time that I have had less money in my life (a divorce with two young children and only a part time job and erratic payments from their father for one). I learned to pay the necessary bills (rent, utilities, phone), never buy on credit cards and to splurge at the end of the month, never the beginning of the month when I did not yet know how far my money would stretch. By splurge I mean I would treat the children to an ice cream cone out for which I had a coupon or I took them to a base movie theater for a special matinee for children with lower priced tickets. Once I won a contest at the base library for Taco Bell. I even stretched out those winning coupons by buying some food and using some coupons, taking the children out for about three visits over as many months.

My children were delighted when I was able to locate some brand new levis jeans at $2 a pair. I had learned to haunt every base exchange on Oahu (where I lived at the time) for bargains. These were slightly out of date with bell bottoms, but since my soon to be ex never let me shop very much for the children, well, they were thrilled with new clothes in some quantity. To this day I never buy clothes unless they are on sale.

I had always been a careful shopper as I was married to a mean old tightwad, but I honed my skills at that time. Coupons became even more important and the food I had always stocked in my pantry which would not spoil saved us during the divorce. I had a lot I did not have to buy since it was already on my shelves. Toilet paper, paper goods and canned goods. Meat was in my freezer and I was able to eek out things like chili by adding soy beans or other canned or cooked from dry beans. We ate well, but not expensively.

I learned to budget my money even more stringently for groceries. I made a real effort to buy food on sale and in season. I also learned to shop in the local farmers market and flea market and plan menus around what I could find there at good prices and foods I already had on hand.

I found a Mennonite cookbook, the More-with-Less Cookbook in paperback in our BX and it helped me stretch my dollars--it is available used at Amazon. There are many other such cookbooks out there now, but this one saved us during a difficult time when money was tight (ironically it was another time of high prices and stagflation in the early '80s). It is still highly rated by others on the Amazon site. This cookbook was where I learned to add some vinegar to the pot when making chicken soup to add more calcium from the bones to the broth. I quickly figured out that freezing all the bones left from a whole chicken I roasted until I had two to three of them to make soup saved me a lot of money. I would cook the carcasses until they yielded a rich broth (I used some bullion cubes or canned broth to add salt and flavor at this stage along with chopped onions and celery) and then cool it. It is amazing how much chicken is still on the bones of whole chickens which were prior meals. If there are chicken necks in the package you never used when roasting chickens freeze them too and then throw them in the pot with the bones as they have a very flavorful and tender meat when simmered this way, although there is some work to pick off the meat and get out all the little bones from the broth. I even used the hearts and the livers chopped finely into the soup, but not all may like this texture or flavor. Sometimes, if I had enough money, I would add some extra chicken thighs to the soup when I started the bones. After I did all this I would add the vegetables and spices I wanted and at the end I would add in some cooked rice or macaroni or potatoes or a can or two of beans. All this yielded a large batch of soup which mostly came from chicken carcasses that would have been thrown away.

In the winter buying beef marrow bones and making beef vegetable soup can also be a way to stretch dollars. It can be made many ways, just like the chicken soup.

We also learned to save our change and then later sort it into rolls. This became the way we were able to eat out occasionally in a fast food place or go out to a recreation place like Bellows and stay for the weekend (military run and it was affordable to us because of that). I tried to make life as normal as possible. I realize now I should not have been so proud and applied for food stamps.

Still we made it and I think that many times it was due to the kindness of strangers. Like the sargeant who noticed that I could not afford the price of a Christmas tree and told the children this lush beautiful tree was only five dollars, about all I could afford, especially as the Grinch (their father) had taken all the ornaments for himself. Yes, unbelievable, but that story is really true. There is a real Grinch, just like there is a real Santa Claus LOL. I can laugh about it now, but despite the lean times that Christmas was one of our most memorable because it was one where the children made the decorations and a friend lent us extra lights for the tree. I found some wonderful things for the children, because they were there and waiting for me to find them. Like my son's first pair of Nike's for $5. How much richer could we have been? I think though this is the most important thing I learned. That no matter how little I had or might have in the future life is rich because of the kindness and the love we share with others. These cost us nothing, but can leave the world a better place.

[Kritters]

TCM....
You never cease to amaze me with your depth.
xoxo
Kritts

[Franky]

tcmgpt13 I just wanted to express my thanks, for such a touching and thought provoking post! Great post to start off this section!

[carla]

I just wanted to bring this post up again because its wonderful.
Thank You TC .

[sojii]

What a great post. Sure makes a person think twice before complaining about not having some superficial this or that. When her boys were small and their worthless father was nowhere to be found, a friend of mine scrimped to buy healthy food for her kids but ate only hot dogs herself for several months. That was all she ate unless someone treated her to meals out or brought in dinner. She never complained; few people noticed what she was doing and she was very proud and stubborn. That's what it took to feed her kids healthy and so that's what she did until she got a better job.

[janedoe]

oh, i thrive while broke, its an art. i like nice stuff but wont pay much for them, ill wait for sales, i always know exactly what im going to buy before i walk into a store.
food.. costco buy hamburger, bread, milk. grocery outlet for everything else.
cleaning products..dollar stores.
big lots for everything else.
whats costing me the most money right now is having to cover up these stupid sores.i hate having to buy make up, i never been one to use much, but buying stuff to cover being sick really costs money.also doctors arent cheap since im on medical i have to pay cash to see a decent one.

[Gator]

Hey tcm,

You never cease to amaze me. Thanks for sharing your story.

I know what it is like to live without. As a child, we didn't have a trre either. My brother would cut a branch of some sort and we made paper chains to decorate it. There were no toys or play things. The Salvation Army gave us an apple, an orange, a few pecans and a small peppermint stick.

I am a grandmother now and I had hard time providing for the children, but we madei.

Now, I have grandchildren who are grown , one is getting married in May, 2011.

My life is still extremely hard, but I survive. I have not been able to work for 17 years so no income for almost three years. Now I get a small disability check. I prepare some food like you did in Oahu. Make bone broths is a good thing because it strenghtens our bones and skeletal system. I would like to have one of the cookbooks you mentioned. My mother always taught me that "Willful waste makes for woeful want" My Dad believed we should: "Use it up, wear it out , make it do or do without"

I sit here writing this so cold my hands feel frozen, I have one small electric heater, one small ac for the summer, I have not bought new clothes except for undies in years. I sspend holidays alone. No family, no friends. I will probably have beef bone , along with some Red beans and ginger tea. I meditate on why we have Christmas to celebrate. I believe Jesus is the reason for the season. I think Christmas is far to commercialized. I enjoy my neighbors Christmas decor. I may stick a red bow on the door, but most likely not.

One thing I learned from all of the hardships of my life, is be strong, Trust God and have empathy for others. I learned that if it is help you need, look on the end of your arm. I learned that most people really don't care what happens to others. I do care and help the needy all that I can.

I have a leaky roof over my head, some warm clothes, some kind of food to eat, a little heat and a little air.

Someday soon, I will have a mansion a harp and a crown and sing with the angels in that white city called Heaven.


I wrote this for those who are struggling to know someone cares and understands.

May you all be blessed with God's richest blessings,
Gator
May each of you be blessed this Christmas.

[tcmgpt13]

Hi Gator,

So sorry to hear you are struggling. Hopefully one of those children or grandchildren will come to see you, especially at Christmas. And I hope you are looking into some of those good programs like meals on wheels which helps not only the elderly but those on disability who cannot get out as frequently.

Before I was struggling to live in Hawaii with insufficient money I had lived for a time in New England. It was there I learned about being frugal from my neighbors, although I also learned how to do that at home when growing up. My mother used to have us unwrap all presents carefully along with carefully undoing the ribbons. These were, believe it or not, ironed on low heat to save in a large box for reuse the next year. Paper though was made better in those days and a lot thicker too than it is now so sometimes it lasted more than that extra year before we had to throw it out. We also saved tinsel, but again it was heavier and thicker than what is called tinsel these days.

We also had frugal meals, like potato pancakes and applesauce along sausages if my parents had enough to add that to the menu.

My mother sewed and also put up food in cans and in the freezer although we did not own a freezer. There used to be frozen food lockers you could rent to freeze your food for the coming fall and winter. I remember they would also buy a side of beef from a local farmer to save money. So although we were far from wealthy we lived well and had plenty of food.

Keep an eye on Amazon as that cook book I mentioned is still in print though to get a new copy is not that inexpensive now. Mine is a little old trade paperback and probably cost me no more than $2 when I purchased it. Still I have sometimes seen used copies for a dollar or two on Amazon in the past, plus shipping. It does not seem to be true right now where used copies plus shipping about equal a new copy of the book.

Another cookbook on Amazon that is very cheap used right now (one penny plus shipping) is a slow cooker book from the seventies (even the title would not be chosen today it's so unappealing). The woman who wrote it is French in background and some of her recipes reflect the thriftiness the French homemaker has been known for. I used to borrow this one from the library, but have since purchased a used copy.

Best of Electric Crockery Cooking by Jacqueline Heriteau

Anyway Gator I am glad to hear of your strong faith for in the times ahead I think faith will be needed to keep going, not just with Morgellons but with what is happening in the world as a whole.


best to you, tcm

[tcmgpt13]

Jane, it sounds like you have a good system to shop and you get right to it when you shop. I bet it saves you from those impulse buys we sometimes like to make by strolling through stores.

You're right though about the cost of makeup. I don't like to wear it but had to go out recently so I broke down and purchased some. I couldn't believe the prices, so I guess it's another area to watch for sales and use coupons as well (I have seen some coupons in Walgreens for makeup).

Originally Posted by janedoe

oh, i thrive while broke, its an art. i like nice stuff but wont pay much for them, ill wait for sales, i always know exactly what im going to buy before i walk into a store.
food.. costco buy hamburger, bread, milk. grocery outlet for everything else.
cleaning products..dollar stores.
big lots for everything else.
whats costing me the most money right now is having to cover up these stupid sores.i hate having to buy make up, i never been one to use much, but buying stuff to cover being sick really costs money.also doctors arent cheap since im on medical i have to pay cash to see a decent one.

[janedoe]

the oly reason i dont usually use coupons is they are never for what i buy, i only buy what i need, and i do make sure its something i need, not just want. i keep my things in excelent condition to make them last. my parents taught me well. its better to save your money and buy a brand name brand new( big items, like an appliance) that will last for a long time, renta a center is not even in my mind. most time i will do the off brands, but somethings you must buy name brand, like pine sol.. if its not pine sol name, it doesnt work then you spend more for it in the long run.
i rarely have leftovers, i make what i eat at the time. not much more. if you got hamburger, you got a meal.you can go anywhere with hamburger.ive lived on frozen burritos,pancakes,top ramens, when times are really hard, but as long as there are homeless shelters you can volunteer at, you can eat.