Speaking Engagements

I have 2 speaking engagements coming up.  I am so excited and nervous at the same time.



The First one is at our church's Whole Ministry Center at 7pm on January 13th, and the topic will be related to food, grocery shopping, meal planning, making things homemade, gardens, etc - pretty much anything food related.


The second one will be at our local library in their multipurpose room in the back on Monday January 31 from 630pm until 8pm.  I will begin with the same topic (different crowd) but will expand into laundry and electricity as needed.


I am soooo excited!

The Old Schoolhouse Magazine

If you like the Old Schoolhouse Magazine and it's store - now is the time to shop.  They are having a huge sale.  Their planner (normally $39) is $10, and lots of their ebooks are $1-$2.  I racked up !

Grinding

I was at Sams' Club today and was looking at the prices of meat. Chuck roast was 1.98 per pound and ground beef 80/20 was 2.48 per pound. So, I am going to try something new tomorrow - I am going to dice up the chuck then grind it myself. I already have the food grinder I have just never used it for meat. I'll let you know how it goes. If it goes well, I will have saved .50 per pound and instead of a 'mystery mix' of meats for ground beef, it will be all chuck, or round or sirloin or whatever I want. You could also do it for turkey, chicken or pork. You can grind veggies with the food grinder for sauce making if you have folks in your family who want the benefits of homemade sauces, but don't like chunky vegetables. I can live with making sauces smoother so my hubby is happier. He doesn't mind veggies, he's just not into chunky sauces. What else could I use a food grinder for?



5/18 - I did the ground beef today - very easy and it looks much better than the store stuff. Took all of 10 minutes.

Book Recommendation

One of my all-time favorite frugal living books with tons of tips, tricks and thoughts on frugality is Yankee Magazine's Living Well on a Shoestring. Check you local library or yard sale for it - It's great!

The Depression Generation

I am 31 years old, my mother is 59. This means that neither of us has ever lived through a time of true need and depravity. My maternal grandmother is 81, which means that she was a small child during the depression era, my paternal grandmother, who recently passed away, would be 91 now, which means she was a child and into her teens during the depression. Now, people who lived through this era really know how to be frugal and thrifty. They know how to make it work without all of the parts or ingredients, but they got it done. They lived off of very little money and/or resources. I can remember listening to my late grandmother talk about the things she and her family used to do just to make the ends meet (7 children in the home). My living grandmother has a treasure trove of stories too as she was one of 13 and they were poor even before the depression.

So I encourage you, please take the opportunity when you can to talk to those who have lived through the worst so you can gain a few tips to prevent it in your own homes.