Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

I reads about that last month, I stuck an unwrapped bar in a couple drawers, I had this ffear of it turning mushy in the drawer, but it didn't still have yet to see if it lasts longer in the shower though.

I started a thread on this theme in General Discussion.
‘How long does a cake of Soap, last in your house?’

Have a look there about cakes of soap.
We are getting a few ideas there!

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

A good article to read this time is ‘The three year sneaker plan’ Vol 1 (p280 CTG)

TwG Quote- ‘I own three pairs of sneakers, this year sneakers, last year’s sneakers and the year before sneakers.’

This is one I find hard to get around in the shoe area, as I have more than this amount of shoes, some a lot more than 3 years old too!

But applying this strategy to other areas is good way to down grade items.
Here are two example areas where I use this strategy.

Clothes
Keeping my clothes and recycling them as I am buying 2nd - hand anyway.
I pick out my wardrobe each season from my storage and buy only what missing.
I downgrade my clothing into these groups.
Extra Good – Wedding, Trip & Party Clothes.
Good – City & Day & Trip Clothes.
Good/Medium – Local Shopping & Trip Clothes.
Medium – Visiting Friends & Local Shopping
Medium/Poor – House Clothes.
Poor – Working Around House
Very Poor – Gardening or Painting
Out – Rags
I donate any clothing back to charity that’s too large now!
All the clothes are around the right size and are hard to get second hand.

In the kitchen area mainly dinner sets, saucepans, glassware to name a few, into the best ware (used at parties & when you have visitors), daily use, and outdoor & taking to work, (it’s doesn’t matter if I don’t get it back kind of thinking). For Pet food plates, I use a number of old stoneware bread & butter plates, as my cats have a new plate each meal each, so I kept 8 -10 plates for this in pet cupboard, enough for two days.

[stngymama]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

......applying this strategy to other areas is good way to down grade items.

We definitely follow the downgrading principle for clothes: My husband and I both dress down as soon as we're home from work/expeditions and I'm working on the kids to do the same! Obviously not only does it extend the useful life of older clothes, but it definitely extends the life of "good" clothes and shoes. Also, as with many families, we have "indoor" and "outdoor" shoes which also saves wear and tear on our floors and carpet.
Thanks for the posting!

[PrincessPerky]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

I am an anti shoe person, anti dress person, so I have one pair of sneakers, and one pair of dress shoes...

The kids have 'church clothes' and the rest, I keep thinking I shold keep some clothes out of the daily rotation to be 'non stained' for 'regular comany' but..as soon as I do guarantee said company has us over for spaghetti or something!

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

A good article to read this time is ‘The Supermarket versus the stock market’ Vol 2 (p353 CTG)

TG - Quote (No 4) ‘Compared to investing, tightwadding is more tangible. It’s simple; I don’t need to be a rocket scientist to track grocery prices in my price book. It’s predictable…It’s quantifiable … It’s testable…

If you learn the tricks of grocery shopping, you can save money in the short term than in dividends on shares. At least I do save more in the supermarket in three months than I get in dividends in one year. But my stock value in the long term (8 years) has triple in value.

[lrjohnson]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

For me, too, grocery shopping is a simpler task to conquer than figuring out investing. (That's a problem now, in that now that I am very comfortable with the grocery bill I need to take all those savings and earn more than one percent.)

The money from saving on grocery bills is so immediate, so tangible. There's another thread where peopple report the average household grcoery bill. It's shocking how much variance per person there is, even taking into account that some include cleaning/toiletries in that figure, or that some have made a commitment to organic, or need to accomodate a certain diet for health.

Grocery is also where a bad month can be saved. If gosh forbid you don't yet have an emergency fund or a car repair savings, and your trannie goes out, there are some bills you can't duck. Mortgage/rent is fixed and due, same with (base) phone bill, insurance, etc. But drastic steps can be done with a grocery bills in one month. Eat out of the cupboards-sometimes we have some not-as-favorites that are perfectly edible. If you don't llike oatmeal or lentils or powdered milk, don't use them all the time, but know they are there for you when you need them.

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

Grocery is also where a bad month can be saved. ....... But drastic steps can be done with a grocery bills in one month. Eat out of the cupboards-sometimes we have some not-as-favorites that are perfectly edible. If you don't llike oatmeal or lentils or powdered milk, don't use them all the time, but know they are there for you when you need them.

Thank you for your reply ~ irjohnson
This is why I am compiling a frugal cookbook for myself ‘Cucina povera’ on poor cooking, also I have done two cookbooks on Lentils with around 250 recipes, I can post a few of these recipes in FOOD & RECIPES if anyone would like them. One on Canned Sardines as I have found most cookbooks only has one or two recipes for these kind food items. I have downloaded a lot of information on powdered milk and what you can make with it. I will do Amy’s Hot Chocolate Milk article next time.

[katwoman]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

Hey, TK!

It struck me that even though there are lots of good cookbooks out on cheap & frugal ways to cook, no one (except Amy D here and there) has done one that actually lists a grocery receipt for ALL the ingredients in the recipe and broken the cost down per serving!

This may be asking a lot but maybe you can do this for your book?

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

Hey, TK!

It struck me that even though there are lots of good cookbooks out on cheap & frugal ways to cook, no one (except Amy D here and there) has done one that actually lists a grocery receipt for ALL the ingredients in the recipe and broken the cost down per serving!

This may be asking a lot but maybe you can do this for your book?

Hi katwoman
I do at times breakdown to cost per serving or recipe, as I live overseas this can be a challenge. I budget for an average of $3.00 AU per person per day for all meals and treats! I am also very portion control kind of person. If I budget for 4 square of chocolate then that is what you get served too!

It’s lucky that I live alone

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

A good article to read this time is ‘The Hot Cocoa Comparison' Vol 1 p80 (CTG)
I wonder if anyone has done comparison check on today’s prices? After reading this the first time, I made own mix up to my own taste. It came around the same as Amy’s but with a little more work in making it!

Here is Amy’s recipe
Tightwad Hot Cocoa Mix…. I mix 1/3 cup of dry milk with 1 teaspoon of cocoa and sugar each. Add 1 cup of hot water. Or mix with cold water and prepare in the microwave.
At today AU prices costing around 38c mug.

My version of Hot Cocoa Mix

Hot Chocolate Drink

1¼ cups skim milk powder – generic
¼ cup cocoa powder (lump free) – generic
Sift all powders together twice.
Mix well and store in a glass jar.
To serve
1/3 cup mixture into cup of hot water or half water & skim milk.
Add sugar to taste.
Approx. 5 serves Or Use the amount to your taste buds

For large quantity ~ 5 cups milk powder to 1 cup cocoa powder
At today AU prices costing around 30c mug.
(allowing for air in mixture)

Skim milk store brand $4.25kg or brand name $7.99kg
Cocoa powder 100g $1.85 generic or brand name $3.99
(1 kg (1000g)= 2.2lbs)

How much does pound of skim milk powder & 4oz of cocoa powder cost?

[katwoman]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

I haven't bought cocoa in ages so I can't say, but I was able to get a large container of Sanalac non fat powder for $2.99 (at Big Lots). This had to be in the 1.5 lb range.

[lrjohnson]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

I've been making my own mix based on Amy's for years. I mix the sugar, cocoa, and milk all together. I don't sift. I think mine may be more chocolatey and sweet than Amy's but I'm okay with that. I'vce also susbituted Splenda for 1/2 the sugar and all the sugar.

All my Bulk Foods in peanut butter tubs are labeled, with balck marker on yellow Post-its. For some reason, my mix says "Hot Cocoa!" I felt the exclamation mark was necessary at the time, I suppose-I must have been really exicted by the cocoa.

I don't know what cocoa costs now, but I bought a pound or so about 2 years ago and still have it. I'll check prices next store run.

[katwoman]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

I bought organic cocoa (no sugar) for $4.99/8 oz.

Another "organic" cocoa was on the shelves but looking at the ingredient list was sugar and a whole slew of other stuff. It was priced @ $3.99 for 12 oz. Wasn't worth it to me.

Like lrjohnson I will use Splenda for the mix.

[Tightwad Kitty]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

I bought organic cocoa (no sugar) for $4.99/8 oz.

Another "organic" cocoa was on the shelves but looking at the ingredient list was sugar and a whole slew of other stuff. It was priced @ $3.99 for 12 oz. Wasn't worth it to me.

Like lrjohnson I will use Splenda for the mix.

The other cocoa priced @ $3.99 for 12 oz.’ This is what I think is call here as ‘Drinking Chocolate’ which you could use too!

I use pure cocoa that doesn’t have anything added to it. Expensive stuff is pure Dutch cocoa, but I have found a ‘Homebrand’ for pure cocoa that’s just as good but can be a bit lumpy at times so I need to sieve it first and then sieve again when mix together. I drink my Hot Cocoa without sweetener or sugar.

At American prices & weights. Math’s on the prices that you have given.

Amy’s recipe 1/3 cup milk 29.6c +1 tsp. cocoa =10.3c price = 39.9c serve without Splenda

My mix’s recipe = (5 cups milk + 1 cup divide by 21 serves)
5 cups milk (21oz) @ 2.99 for 24oz = $2.62- 7 oz cocoa @ 4.99 = $4.36 =33.23c per serve
or both would be less if you found cheaper supply of cocoa.

With the number of years since this article was written and inflation, price do go up. Another thing to remember is "What may have been cheaper to do 15 years ago, may be expensive today." Rabbits and roast dinners do come to mind here.' On the subject rabbits over 60 years ago, rabbits cost around 3 for 2 shillings (20 cents) a poorman dinner, now they are $12 to $15 each here if you can get them!

Weight and as Measured Tables used: (Best I can come up with using my digital scales and charts.)
48 tsp. = 8oz
1/3 cup milk = 2.375oz & 1 tsp. 1/6oz or .166oz cocoa
1¼ cups 5.25 oz skin milk & ¼ cup cocoa 1.75oz x 4
number of ozs 1.5lbs = 24oz

[stngymama]

Re: Re-reading Tightwad Gazette

In the spirit of calculating cost per serving, today I am trying to figure out whether baking a loaf of bread is cheaper than buying..so far doesn't look good for homemade!
i won't go into specifics, but basically used price/ingredient that I have a record for, and went to Safeway's website to pull off ones I didn't know off hand. Granted these are generally higher, but I'm shooting for a rough idea. I also used this calculator to figure cost of running our gas oven for the 45 minutes to preheat and bake (I suspect California prices are higher than this).

http://www.wisconsinpublicservice.com/home/appcalc_gas.asp

(I didn't factor in the cost of washing up )

My results seem to suggest that a home baked loaf of buttermilk bread (?weight) costs about $1.20.

Has anyone else done this calculation, and what did you come up with?