Is there anything

that you have had to give up already due to rapidly rising prices? Are you doing without or cutting back on an specific items? Do you have any frugal tips or tricks to stretch your budget so you can afford a few luxury items/treats?

We are trying to eat at least 1 meatless meal a week. When I cook with meat I'm using it more as a seasoning ingredient not a main dish item. I making more casseroles, stews, soups and salads.

I'm trying to add cheaper filling foods to round out meals yet be healthy in the process. We like potatoes sauteed with ham or Italian sausage so I've started adding veggies like peppers, onions and green beans to the potato & meat base.

I've been adding more stir fried meals to our  menu as well. A smaller portion of meat, rice, and lots of veggies to fill us up.

We've been eating more quick meals like nachos that are topped with more veggies and less cheese/meat. You still feel like you've had a fast food treat but without the expense of one.

I've been limiting to amount of baked goodies/treats for health reasons. I'm opting for fruit or graham crackers as a dessert. I'm going to have to try making graham crackers at home because they have gotten very expensive in the store, even at Aldis.

I've been shopping mainly at Aldis and only buying sale items at the regular grocery store. I check the marked down sections whenever I can to see if they have anything we'll eat/use at discounted prices before buying things from the regular priced selections.

I think at our house the answer might end up being beef.  I have been looking for a beef animal to put in our freezer this year and the prices are simply crazy.  I am probably going to be stocking our freezer with goat, sheep or pig instead.  To us goat meat and sheep meat are good substitutes for beef anyway.

We eat very little beef because of the price.

If it wasn't for raising cattle we would have given up beef a long time ago. Chicken is still reasonably priced locally but pork and beef prices are just insane.

I can buy local chicken at about 89 cents a pound for drumsticks on sale and can raise it for about $1.10 a pound (last years cost).  I prefer to raise our own it is so much better.

I Don't know weather you were talking about food or things in general. I make my own laundry soap. It cost about $.70 a gallon to make. Lasts a long time and then I am able to buy fabric softner. You can make your own softner but I didn't like it as well.

Lynn, I was asking for ANY items, not just foods.

I'm making my own sweet tea instead of buying it by the cupful, and I've cut back the sugar to half the regular amount. I did it slowly and now I can drink it with a little less than half the amount of "sweet."

I found out our new puppy needs regular grooming. Her hair grows like crazy! Every single groomer charges a whopping $40. I'm ready to flip out! She needs a haircut every 6 to 8 weeks. So, I'm going to try to learn to do this myself. My first attempt looks like a chainsaw was used, but at the rate her hair grows, it looks like I'll get lots of practice!

I did basically the same thing with my hubby and my kids.  I just practiced when it was not too important for them to look their best.  Eventually I got pretty good at hair cutting.   

It's crazy what the groomer charges, thankfully my dog doesn't need haircuts, just nail trims. I bought the pedipaws thing and file her nails now. It's easy to do her nails because they are white and I can see the quick and know when to stop.

MM, what kind of dog do you have? I'm hoping to get a dog come fall, but I'm having a horrible time finding what I'm looking for. I love Cocker Spaniels, but can't stand all the hair on the show dogs. I'm trying to find one from hunting lines. They have a coat more like a Springer Spaniel.

We have a discount grocery store that opened in our town last year. It has really helped us out. We always go there first and get what we can from them. They don't always get the same things week to week so it is sometimes the luck of the draw. The good thing is I have a family member that works there, and she lets us know when a delivery is coming and what they will have.

That's nice that she can look out for you Chad.

We hit Aldi and Rulers both, and now also have a Dollar Store Market (Dollar Generals' grocery store)

As for grooming dogs there is the option of getting one that does not need regular grooming. Barring that, don't waste your money on pet clippers. They cut poorly and leave the coat looking choppy (been there done that) Go ahead and buy "people hair clippers" and learn to use them (with guards/guides). The results can look professional, with time and practice.

That's why I'm trying to find a Cocker from the field lines. I had one years ago, and her coat was very easy to care for. I also had one from the show lines, and keeping her groomed was horrible!

LOL we had a champion show blood line "yorkie" her coat was a tangled mess, and had to be brushed daily to look decent

Dizzy, our puppy is a Cavapoo (King Charles Cavalier Spaniel/Poodle.) My mom got her and decided she couldn't keep her and gave her to us. She is VERY sweet tempered and personable and weighs about 5 pounds right now. She is extremely loving and learns quickly.

Keith, I do have "people clippers" just need to learn how to use them.

What if you all had to deal with THIS hairball!    

 
I give him a "hunter clip" in the summer basically shaving his bum and belly and have to keep that toe fur clipped to help him have better traction (for when I need him to brace me up) and reduce the stress on his bad hips.  I have people clippers too.  Basically Sage is about 90 pounds of big baby hairball that gets totally humiliated for the first three days of no butt hair.  Be glad what you have to clip is at least little!

One thing I've started is to only do dishes once a day, or try to. I'm bad about wanting dishes done before we go to bed and wanting a clean area to cook in. But I just stack them neatly in the sink & then work around them to conserve water. I also use tubs in my sink instead of putting the plug in and filling up. It does save quite a bit of water.
Also, we now have a Ruler 15 miles from us so we are doing the bulk of our grocery shopping there and eating out of the freezer. Also shopping anywhere but Walmart if at all possible.
Limiting the amount of driving or trying to.

Very good point about shopping closer to home. We live in a small town with only one full service grocery store (not counting the salvage store that has a very limited stock) The prices at the Food City in town are a bit higher than if we go to the city 40 miles away. The biggest price difference is meats and frozen foods, so we buy bulk meats and frozen foods in town once a month, and save on gas buying more perishable items at the Food City that is only about 4 miles away.

It is 50 miles to TSC, but there is a new feeds store that just opened about 8-10 miles from home. I am hoping that the prices/ fuel savings will help my feeding bills too.

God bless,
Chad

Conserving water is a good point too especially in areas experiencing drought. We only do the dishes once a day, after dinner, to conserve on energy and water. Like you kerrig we use a wash tub but don't use the grey water.    I need to start thinking about that but with my back so screwed up right now there is no way I would be able to carry a bucket of water out and across the yard to where it would benefit my trees. Maybe if I put a 5 gallon bucket near the sink to dump it into then my DS could carry it out to the trees, that is if DH doesn't spill it first. I'm REALLY going to have to think about that one.

Yes kerrig, it is a good point about shopping local. Not only does it save you gas, it keeps the local store open. I can't tell you how many little mom & pop places are forced out of areas because they can't compete with the big chains prices. I'd rather pay a bit more for something to know it's going toward keeping a place open in my local community.

I have a Sam's club membership that I got for free but use it very seldom. To me their prices aren't that much cheaper on much stuff except over the counter medications and household/cleaning supplies. They are also further away from my home so I'd figure the fuel costs into the item's price as a comparable for buying locally.

My Sam's membership has expired currently, but when I have it I buy olive oil, ziplock freezer bags (for wrapping my poultry I process), trash bags, paper plates and other goods and things like sugar, rice and beans that are shelf stable for a long time.  (They do not sell GF flour there)  Because of that I shopped about every two months or so there. 

Even living in town I am very conscientious of my gas tank.  When I shop I stock up for the most part.  When I run errands I plan my trip and make a mile efficient loop to get it done.  We are less than 5 miles from a grocery store AND a TSC for us it is easy to shop close at hand.  I also make good use of the computer.  I do all of my comparison shopping there and much of my purchasing.  It is more often cost effective to buy what I need on Amazon and have it shipped than it is to run all around town trying to find what I need.

I'm finding having things shipped to me is becoming a more cost effective method of purchasing as well FF.