Frugal Friday

[ecosophia]

Welcome back to Frugal Friday! This is a weekly forum post to encourage people to share tips on saving money, especially but not only by doing stuff yourself. A new post will be going up every Friday, and will remain active until the next one goes up. Contributions will be moderated, of course, and I have some simple rules to offer, which may change further as we proceed.

Rule #1:  this is a place for polite, friendly conversations about how to save money in difficult times. It's not a place to post news, views, rants, or emotional outbursts about the reasons why the times are difficult and saving money is necessary. Nor is it a place to use a money saving tip to smuggle in news, views, etc.  I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #2:  this is not a place for you to sell goods or services, period. Here again, I have a delete button and I'm not afraid to use it.

Rule #3:  please give your tip a heading that explains briefly what it's about.  Homemade Chicken Soup, Garden Containers, Cheap Attic Insulation, and Vinegar Cleans Windows are good examples of headings. That way people can find the things that are relevant for them. If you don't put a heading on your tip it will be deleted.

Rule #4: don't post anything that would amount to advocating criminal activity. Any such suggestions will not be put through.

With that said, have at it!  

***Please note that since I will be on hiatus for the first half of June, this post will remain open until Friday, June 13. I'll put through comments when I have the chance. -- JMG***

Comments

Strategic Communication Skills

[(Anonymous)]

I check Benebell Wen's blog from time to time. I like her I Ching book quite a bit, and some of her other content. I thought this post she shared on strategic communication was useful. The intent seems to be to help others navigate the corporate workplace, especially if they aren't coming from a place of privilege where they are getting trained in such or subconsciously know a lot of the communication signals. I thought it would be useful for frugal friday though, because it shows you how to:

"This is a free downloadable workbook based on strategic communication skills development and pattern-rewiring for executive leadership presence, with pretty easy-to-follow actionable techniques, skill development, and practice exercises to improve your people skills, your “executive presence,” and just all around be better at communicating to others."

As the economy shifts our people skills will become very valuable. There is a free PDF and docx of the workbook for strategic communication that she created as well her further explanations about it following the link.

https://benebellwen.com/2025/04/25/strategic-communications-and-people-skills-workbook/

JPM

Seed Saving

[(Anonymous)]

Hi Everyone,
If you want to save the seeds of some common garden plants, now is the time to start thinking about it. I was taught that you need to keep at least 6 specimens of each type of plant you want to save seed from to reduce the risk of inbreeding depression.

So, if you have sweetpeas in your garden save six stalks and do not cut flowers from them. Let them flower and go to seed. When the seeds are ripe and dry, harvest them and clean them. Package and label the seeds and store them in an airtight container in the coolest place you can. I store my seeds in the freezer. The seeds will be good for many years.

When you have heaps of your own sweetpea seeds, you can pot up seeds and start them as gifts for friends and neighbours. This method will work well for any kind of lettuce, pea, bean and for heritage tomatoes. Lettuces can take a long time to bolt so start now and select 6 lettuce plants and don't take any leaves from them. Let them put all their energy into seed production.

These are all easy plants to start seed saving. Once you accomplish seed saving with them, you can go on to more complex seed saving techniques.

Maxine who is off to plant some more broccoli and pole beans.

Re: Seed Saving

[(Anonymous)]

I am jealous that you can still plant broccoli! Here in central VA our seasons go from too cold to too hot and I only get bolted broccoli in the spring.

To add to this in a lazy gardener way there are several types of vegetables/herbs that self propagate well. In the spring time for my raised beds I will let the weeds grow up until I can identify the seedlings I want to keep. Easy to identify weeds are pulled first then thinned to my favorite feed spreading plants. To do this I generally don't turn the soil over in these locations and just add top mulch/manure to the bed. I also am ok with not having neat rows in my mess of a garden. Depending on what I want to do I will then bring the transplants out later and fill in the bed around what I want to keep.

The plants that do well for me are dill (which is so much happier when I don't try to transplant or seed myself), cilantro, tulsi, amaranth, hen-pecked collards, and cherry tomatoes. Also johnny jump ups (violas) are fun to let grow. I also keep some actual weeds like chinese basil but have to actively try to keep it from reseeding.

[prayergardens]

An easy way to mark any of your seed saving plants is to tie a ribbon somewhere on the stalks or stakes or vine so when you are harvesting you can easily remember which one is your chosen seed stock.

I just bought sweet pea seeds today for the first time. A late start but c'est la vie. Thanks Maxine!

Re: Seed Saving

[(Anonymous)]

Don't forget to warn those to whom you gift the sweet peas that they are NOT edible.

I once saw directions for making a children's tepee covered with morning glory, also toxic. Runner beans, the original of Jack's beanstalk (or so I believe) would be a much better choice.

Re: Seed Saving

[michele7]

We did this accidentally with Japanese green onions (futonegi). I let a couple of onions just grow thinking I would harvest them later. Later never came, but they flowered and put out seeds. I collected the seed to sow again this spring. The old onion plants got pulled from their container and thrown into a garden bed, but didn't die. We replanted them in pots and yet again, they are flowering and giving us more seeds.

Re: Seed Saving

[baconrolypoly]

I like to grow ornamentals amongst the edibles and last year put in Rudbeckia triloba 'Prairie Glow' and fell in love with the mass of bright little orange and yellow flowers with dark centres. Left them to seed and quite a few have popped up around where they grew, but not in good growing places, so I've potted them on and am hoping for another glorious display.

As someone else said here, I'm also a fairly lazy gardener and if something self sows then it's generally left to get on with it. I leave Verbascum thapsus for the mullein moth caterpillars, who rely on it, but it usually still flowers. Flat leaf parsley has taken to growing here and there which is welcome, as has red leaf orache which makes a pleasant addition to the pot. Thyme and white flowered oregano grow where they feel like it and have moved from one spot to another around the garden many times, though they seem to have now found favoured spots. Same with chives. Potatoes too, they volunteer all over the place. I mainly keep the weeds down but it's always interesting to see what comes up and where.

Re: Seed Saving

[(Anonymous)]

Maxine,

The author, Carol Deppe, has some great advice on processes and procedures for seed saving.

She is known for books such as The Resilient Gardener and Breed Your Own Vegetable Varieties.

Caldathras

Off recipe kimchi

[degringolade]

Just finished making a batch of kimchi using some pretty beat up Napa cabbage and a rutabaga. I know that rutabagas are not exactly original equipment for kimchi, but they are a lot more available sometimes than daikon or Korean radish

I’ll tell you how it goes when our host gets back from Europe

Re: Off recipe kimchi

[ecosophia]

Carrots aren't traditional in kimchi either, but I always use them -- I like the flavor. Rutabaga ought to do very well.

Re: beat up salad

[emily07]

Telling this for the fun of telling is, not intended as advice or anything: in a magazin SO gets because he has connections to the nature-science world there was a short article about people (can´t remember who exactly) researching how bad iceberg lettuce is if it´s beat up. Turned out, a somewhat brownish iceberg lettuce is actually BETTER regarding nourishment etc. than the fresh variant, because of the ingredients forming in the perishing process.

Process Your Own Meat

[(Anonymous)]

I had all but written off eating chicken since I was used to boneless skinless cuts whose prices had skyrocketed to be competitive with beef. I had assumed it was expensive because of all the chicken farming troubles affecting things like eggs, so I switched to pork, which I could still get bulk without breaking the bank.

However, I recently found it wasn't chicken in general that was absurdly expensive, it was just the pre-processed boneless skinless cut. The original bone it yourself version in bulk was around 40% the price of the processed variety and still cheaper than the bulk pork. A little elbow grease gets you a huge savings plus bones for stock!

In the same vein, I'd like to say a kind word for home curing. You have to be VERY careful about using curing salts (and NEVER substitute pink Himalayan salt - its NOT a curing salt!), because an overdose can poison you and an underdose can cause your ham to get botulism. Very much do your own research to understand what you're doing before trying it rather than just grabbing a recipe and jumping right in.

But once you get your head around the process, bulk pork loin plus a small amount of curing salt per package directions tends to hover around 30% the price of the cheapest deli ham I can find. I'm not sure the frugality of a quality meat slicer to get that deli thin slice, but I've had enough post-holiday ham sandwiches to know you can get close enough with a sharp knife. And of course if that's still too coarse for you, you can always whip up your own mayo at home and make your own ham salad to taste.

Re: Process Your Own Meat

[(Anonymous)]

For anyone looking to get into preserving meats I would recommend this book:
https://bookshop.org/p/books/charcuterie-the-craft-of-salting-smoking-and-curing-michael-ruhlman/8769079?ean=9780393240054&next=t

If you are looking to get into small scale home meat production, in my opinion rabbit is a lot easier than chicken.

Re: Process Your Own Meat

[(Anonymous)]

Yes indeed, roasting a chicken at home is an excellent thing to do. One must know how to roast a chicken, however, and then how to cut it up and have the patience to pull all that good meat off the carcass. For some reason I lived through many decades of life with the mistaken notion that roasting a chicken was something that only "foodies" and persons such as my full-time homemaker Grandma could do, for it surely involved a complicated recipe. Nope. Live n' learn, that's my motto. I've been roasting one chicken almost weekly for several years now. It's stupendously easy and delicious.

Here's my recipe:

-wash it with water, pat it dry
-lay it in a roasting pan or glass oven dish (I use a glass casserole dish)
-turn the oven on to preheat it to 180 C

- salt and pepper to taste
- some liquid to taste-- can be lemon / orange juice / wine / a splash of vinegar for example
- some herbs - can de oregano / rosemary / sage / thyme-- that sort of thing -- and bay leaves are always good
- crushed garlic to taste
- something "umami"-- can be Worcestershire sauce / fish sauce / baslamic vnegar / soy sauce
- glorious amounts of fat!!!! Can be butter / olive oil / coconut oil / bacon drippings-- rub it all over and underneath the chicken, and push some under the skin as well

I sometimes l also toss into the baking dish: sliced apples / pears / celery /onion / parsnips / carrot / sweet potatoes-- whatever's handy that will roast up nicely with the chicken.

P.S. Sometimes the roasted chickens in the store are loss leaders— actually not so expensive. However they may be seasoned with things you wouldn't necessarily want. Plus when you roast a chicken at home then you'll have drippings with which to make homemade gravy.

Re: salt to be poisionous

[emily07]

...a quite grizzly story for the thrill of sharing it: in Germany a few years ago (I think 10+) there was a ..whats the name...courtcase where a mother was trialed because she made her daughter eat the joghurt the kid had accidentely peppered with salt instead of with sugar. The daughter died because of too much salt and the questions the judge had to answer was: can a reasonably educated person judge off hand how much salt is poisonous - and the answer was no and the mother found not guilty. It came down to about two little spoons full of salt.

Re: Process Your Own Meat

[methylethyl]

Around here the cheapest chicken is the 10-pound bags of leg quarters. We pick off the cooked meat (boiled grilled or roasted) use all the bones and gristle to make stock, bury whatever's left with some charcoal for the garden. Nothing wasted.

You'd think the cheapest would be whole chickens since they need less processing, but it ain't so. The market for no-prep chicken breasts means the legs are basically a waste product.

Seed starting technique - Cheap-o Greenhouse

[prayergardens]

I tried a new seed starting system this year, with a sort of DIY greenhouse and now that I'm getting ready to plant - I'm calling it a success for me.

I have not wanted to get grow lights as it seems too high maintenance and takes a lot of space but of course, seedlings get leggy indoors. I've tried winter sowing in old milk jugs and that was just too fussy for me.

This year I did soil blocking on baking trays indoors until things sprouted. With the small size soil blocker I was able to start 480 seeds on just two baking trays.

Then, as they sprouted, I transplanted into plastic pots and at this point I put them outdoors on a stainless steel wheelie rack with a tight fitting clear vinyl cover to make a sort of greenhouse. I put it in a sunny spot and put it tight up against the house with a concrete block so it couldn't blow over. I kept it zipped up mostly to keep the critters out. On a few hots days I extra watered but overall, it managed itself. It only got just below freezing one or two nights but it was definitely in the 30s at night when I put things out and they did fine.

My seedlings are looking stronger than ever, it was the most minimum amount of work and space I could do in my situation. Definitely the soil blocking didn't work for some things, they do tend to fall apart when it gets too watery but overall, I'm looking at about 100+ plant starts* in great shape with only 4 shelves and baking trays and no lights.

*My failure rate was a little high as I was using up some very old seeds and didn't anticipate everything germinating.

Happy Gardening

thrift stores thriving

[fringewood]

An interesting article about thrift stores and frugality. Once again JMG is way ahead of the curve. :^)

https://www.zerohedge.com/personal-finance/frugality-rules-americans-start-making-most-hand-me-down-market

Travel Food

[lunchboxbike]

Does anyone have suggestions for travel food?
Most hotel rooms have fridges and microwaves, but no stove. Using a hotplate may trigger a fire alarm.

Nuts, beans, and peanut butter are commonly suggested, so recipes or mixes with those would fit this topic, but I avoid all of those for my health. For a high protein low carb diet, my whole list so far is snack bars, pickled eggs, smoked salmon, canned meat or lunchmeat, dehydrated apples, and pickles.

Re: Travel Food

[mistyfriday]

For ready to eat foods I enjoy the belvita biscuits and Greek yogurt for breakfasts or light lunches. Using the yogurt as a dip is especially nice. I also want to give a shout-out to grocery store deli items because they're more affordable than restaurants and are often healthier too.

As for hot plates it can be done *IF* the room comes with 1) a bathroom with a door, 2) a heat resistant sink surface, 3) a 1500w hair dyer (as proof the electrical system can handle a 1500w hot plate and for plausible deniability if the circuit trips), and 4) a ventilation fan that pulls a reasonable amount of air. The closed door and exhaust fan will be enough to keep the smoke detector from going off.

Just to make it explicitly clear the hair dyer would be hotel provided, not one you brought. The wattage will be printed or stamped somewhere on the device. While using the hot plate refrain from using any other high current draw appliances like said hair dryer, coffee pot, or electric kettle.

Friendly reminder that water and electricity don't mix so keep the area dry while cooking and unplug the hot plate when done.

With all that being said I think every hotel/motel room I've stayed in that was originally built (not just remodeled) in the last 50 years has met those criteria.

Source for New Books

[(Anonymous)]

I recently discovered a nice alternative to “the Shale Fairy" for buying books:

It is small bookstore in upstate New York called Battenkill Books, which has a website with a “distributor” search engine that allows you to search for, learn about, and order books in print.

They order the books from the distributor and ship them to me quickly, and their shipping rates are very reasonable.

https://www.battenkillbooks.com

Whenever I have a wish-list of new books, I check Battenkill first. Usually 80 to 90% of the books I want are in their search engine.
Anything not found in Battenkill’s search engine I typically buy at Amazon and such.

Maybe it would be best to order new books at my local brick-and-mortar bookstore, but Battenkill makes it very convenient to browse and buy online.

If anyone knows of similar small bookstores with a “distributor” search engine and an online store, it would be interesting to learn about them.

I don’t have any affiliation with this bookstore, just thought it might help someone looking for resilience and more choices.

hot water bottles

[kallianeira]

German hot water bottles have received praise hereabouts. I buy Chinese made ones modelled on the English style for $10 and German ones are at least 3x that much plus postage.

The pictures of them indicate nice styling, choice of colours and even pretty covers...

Are they functionally so much better?

30 grams of protein

[pointwithinacircle]

I like to take Fairlife brand protein drinks with me when I am on the road. They are a milk based product that does not require refrigeration and provide 30 grams of protein. (I hope it is ok to mention a brand name here, if not please delete this post)

Hiatus

[ecosophia]

I've just added something to this post letting everyone know that this will remain open until June 13. I won't be starting a new post tomorrow -- just keep adding to this one, and I'll put comments through as circumstances permit. -- JMG

book "Unplug the Christmas Machine"

[(Anonymous)]

Found a reference to the following book, which I think follows in line with the spirit of this forum. I haven't read the book, but I've perused the online "look inside" excerpts river-named website, plus it's in its 13th printing, so I presume it's pretty good. Also, I saw a reference to a 4 hour workshop and a corresponding book for the people running the workshop, but haven't found the workshop book.

Unplug the Christmas Machine: A Complete Guide to Putting Love and Joy Back into the Season

https://www.amazon.com/Unplug-Christmas-Machine-Complete-Putting/dp/0688109616

Probably about 5-6 months before anyone thinks about this, and being at the tail end of an extended-duration frugal friday, it may not even be seen. However, if anyone actually checks out the book, it might be useful to report more fully in the fall when more people could benefit from this.

Re: book "Unplug the Christmas Machine"

[slclaire]

I read it quite a few years ago and liked it well enough to put on a workshop with the book for that purpose.