I've seen many Amish patronizing salvage groceries. i dont know if they buy the pop tarts for a dime or fancy bottled dressing for a dime.
microwave popcorn 25 cents.... they probably grow their own popcorn.
a box of several hundred "nutrition bars" for $6. the cashier checks every item and i've never had to return anything for refund. look for a well
lighted and good management stores with genuine bargain prices.

did you know DOLLAR GENERAL is building combination supermarket and
current misc.

my mother used to make dresses out of print feed sacks.

an elderly friend said her mother could take a pound of butter and a pound of lard and make it taste like 2 pounds of lard.

one time friends who were coming for dinner called to cancel. mom said
"oh darn..and i put 2 eggs in the cornbread !!!..."

davos

Lurking - thank you for the basil tips! Mine always went to waste - but no more!

And unfortunately nearly all of the bees in Arizona are now "africanized" -- we no longer have honey bees for pollinating.

I applied for them last winter when I applied for heating assistance..As Tena said, you have to be poorer than poor to get food stamps now..Things have changed in social services..I didnt get much from fuel assistance either..They gave me $325, and I was getting a bill for $700 every 5-6 weeks..Thanks to "Call Joe for Oil" I was able to get another 100 gallons

this is an awesome website and I love you guys! I love the line davos posted

" an old friend said her mother could take a a pound of butter and a pound of lard, and make it taste like 2 pounds of lard!" I'm still laughing.....

I also liked the next line about the corn bread.....2 eggs. Yup those were the dirty thirties. We're still better off than most of the world on this "the sunny side of the planet" (old line from song updated to acknowledge globalization)

Gotta go make applesauce out of some deceased (almost) apples I found in the back of my fridge

cheers Joy

Well growing up, we never lived high on the hog so these hard times for us are no different then when I was growing up. We've learned to make do with what we have and only buy things when really necessary. In general we avoid junk food and fast food because it's too expensive. When you can feed a family of 6 on a $6.00 piece of roast pork and a few good healthy vegatables, and it costs that per person at Burger King, you can see why we chose the healthier diet. The good side to this is a much healthier way to live because there is less Sodium and Sugar in the real food, and the junk food is loaded up to the kilters with it.

My car is a 2001 Toyota Celica with 120,000 miles on it. It gets nearly 37 mpg and I fill it up once every 9 days. We're lucky in that the supermarket is only a mile away. So for the most part, we could walk if we have to. We're also 3 miles from New Hampshire where there's no sales tax. After I did the calculations, even with the higher gas prices, we go to NH anyway because the difference between the two is a wash, although it is easier to drive to pick-up the groceries than it is to carry the sacks home.

We have a small porch garden at our house. The sunlight is limited to a few hours in the morning until mid-afternoon because we have too many trees and we live on the side of hill. So we end up with a few cucumbers, beans, lettuce, and a handful of tomatos. I think the tomatos wer better last year because it wasn't as humid.

When winter comes, we keep the thermostats down and bundle up under the blankets at night. I have to admit that cats make nice bedwarmers, and are welcome guests during the winter months. For the most part, I kick them out of my bed because they snuggle too tight across my legs.

Like everyone else here, we scrounge the coupons and shop at the seconds-stores. We have Family Dollar and Building 19. Building 19 is close-outs and slightly damaged goods. Who cares if the label was marked incorrectly. They sell just about everything from glassware, clothing, carpets, and even furniture.


John

We have stores here in Texas called 99c Only. They get great food items that are labeled so that they can't stay in the regular stores long. Like "New and Improved" or have a game ticket or sweepstakes. These are name brand foods. Can't beat Hillshire Farms lunch meat that come in a Gladware plastic tub for 99c or Bertolli frozen meals that seel at Walmart for over $6 for 99c.

Hubby gets his reading glasses there. Exact same ones that CVS sells for $20. He loses them all the time.

Here is a link to their website. See if there is one near you. http://www.99only.com/

It has cut my grocery bill way down.

I also go on to the websites of the products we like. Most you can get samples. This really helps with shampoo and laundry care items.