A Frugal Balance
If you look in my refrigerator, you may see some things that seem redundant. You will see butter, the real stuff, next to margarine. There are several gallons of milk, but also a pitcher that contains something white and milky. It is in fact, mixed up dry milk. There are also two packs of bacon. One is in a red box, while the other in just plastic.
Why the duplication? Aren't those products interchangeable? Why do I buy both? The dry milk, the margarine and red box bacon are far less expensive than their counterparts that are also found in my refrigerator. To maximize the grocery budget I should only buy the less expensive options, but I don't.
At my local Aldi, butter is $1.99 a pound, and margarine $0.45. Big difference, but there is nothing like real butter on my toast in the morning, especially if that toast is homemade bread. Margarine just doesn't do it. The butter goes on the butter dish to be used for toast and the like. The margarine stays in the refrigerator, and is used for baking and cooking.
Dry milk is drastically cheaper than the fresh version. Some frugal types use only dry milk, but I just can't (won't) get used to the taste. In baking and cooking though, I don't notice the difference. Keeping some dry milk mixed up and in the refrigerator, makes it easy to use this cheaper version while I'm cooking.
The red box bacon is $1.99 a pound. The quality is inconsistent. Sometimes it is good and meaty, sometimes it is almost all fat. When using bacon to flavor beans or other type dishes, fatty is fine. When I sit down for breakfast, I want meat, not fat. That is why I also buy the Aldi premium bacon for $2.49 a pound.
In this house, real butter, milk and good bacon are important at meal time. I'm willing to spend a little extra there. They aren't as important for cooking purposes. I balance our desire for the good stuff with our desire to be frugal, by purchasing both.
Being frugal is about saving money, but it is also about prioritizing how you spend your money. You don't have to give up everything you enjoy. You don't always have to buy the cheapest option. Of course, butter, milk and bacon are examples on a small scale, but finding a frugal balance, with in your budget, applies to all levels of our time and finances.
Frugal Fridays
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frugal fridays,
groceries
8 comments:
I buy butter, margerine and Country Crock. I use the real butter for baking ceratin things, Country Crock for toast and rolls and margerine for cooking and other types of baking. I usually try to stock up on butter when it goes on sale. I never thought of using the powdered milk for baking, though. I'll try it for sure because I still buy whole milk for drinking and that can get expensive when I bake or cook something that uses a lot of milk.
Thanks for the tips!
I totally agree. A deal is important to me but quality is just as important. I dont have the powdered milk in the fridge but I do have both butter and margarine and have to have good bacon or none at all.
Great post. It's the difference between being frugal and being mean. I don't waste money on things that aren't worth the price (I recently saw an eye-opening calculation of how-many-hours-you-worked-to-earn-the-cost-of-that-luxury compared to how-many-minutes-of-pleasure-the-luxury-gives-you in the book "Living the Good life" by Linda Cockburn). But then I am quite happy to spend money on things that give me so much pleasure they're worth the cost. So I think I'm not too mean to spend money, I'm just too smart to waste it.
When you are frugal in various ways, it leaves room to be a little indulgent in others. In the long run, you still save! My blog is called "Sorta Frugal" because I live by this philosophy. I save so much on my groceries that if I want to splurge on the occasional 6.99/lb. salmon or $4.99 chicken tenders, it doesn't hurt. I agree that the quality and taste of food is what matters. If you buy on the cheap and no one wants to eat it--so you end up ditching it when it turns green--what kind of frugality is that? I never think, though, to make up powdered milk for recipes. I'll have to remember that, since we go through a gallon of milk a day in my house! (Oh, and I stock up on lots of butter and freeze it when it is on sale. I hate, detest and despise margarine, LOL!)
We do the butter thing too.
The yummy Amish butter, in a dish on our counter, is for toast.
The store brand butter, in the fridge, is for the rest; baking, grains, veggies, and so on.
We all need our creature comforts to stay happy and motivated to keep us on the savings track.
I too use real butter for baking. The flavor is so much better (imo). I usually use country crock for buttering rolls and veggies. But, I have to have real butter for mashed potatoes. All this to say... I understand!!!
Wonderful Post. So many people equate frugality with an "all or nothing approach". They don't realize that there are countless small and inconsequential changes a person can make while keeping those things that are "most important" to them personally.
Blessings
Mama Kelly
What a great idea! We use the real stuff for everything...but the margarine may be a good choice for baking. Thanks for the tip. As well, have you ever used powdered buttermilk? It works great. We go through much buttermilk (for baking) at our house and I wish I could find the powdered!
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