Bad Times and The Art of Frugality, Part 2

Part 1

Part 1 deals with significant changes people can make when they are is desperate financial trouble. There are many less drastic ways to cut down on expenses during lean economic times. The remainder of this post will focus on those.

One area where you can immediately lower costs is food. People are often shocked to discover just how much they can save by making small changes. Here’s a big one:

1. Stop buying fast food.

I know a guy who would “run through” McDonalds every morning on his way to work. He’d grab a large coffee, McMuffin and hash-browns. Then at noon he’d buy a sandwich and chips, with a large drink from the deli next to his office. He was spending more than 75 dollars a week just on these two meals.

The solution is to make your own lunch and eat breakfast at home. This, admittedly, takes some planning. If you have a particular meal item you like from a restaurant, make it at home yourself. For example: homemade McMuffins

There here are egg rounds, silicone circles you crack your egg into, which will give you a circular egg. This is optional, obviously. Fry 5 eggs to your preference. Set aside to cool. In the same pan, brown 5 slices of Canadian bacon. Set aside to cool. Once cooled completely, place one of each into a ziplock freezer bag, along with a slice of cheese. Toss in freezer. Every morning, pop either an English muffin or bagel into the toaster. Once toasted, add the three items from your bag and microwave until hot.

If you like biscuits or croissants, do the same with these. Bake until done, cool completely and freeze. Add your pre-made items and nuke until warm. You can also fry bacon or ham to use in your morning “McMuffin”. Hash browns can also be made ahead and reheated. Set your coffee pot to brew before bed, and you’ll have hot coffee every morning.

Lunch is even easier. Leftovers from dinner the night before are great for lunch. Lasagna, soup and casseroles often taste better the second day anyway. You can make a “T.V.” dinner with meat, potatoes and gravy and a vegetable on a microwave safe plate. Sub or deli sandwiches can be quickly put together at noon. I like to keep the sandwich items separated and put them on bakery or homemade buns just prior to eating. Keeps the bread from getting soggy. Don’t forget to include any condiments you enjoy.

Sloppy Joe’s, pulled pork, beef or chicken, hamburgers, brats etc. can all work for lunches. Again, I’d keep the buns separate from the meat until ready to eat. Wraps work the same way and are also tasty.

Other great lunch options are salads. Taco, chicken, tuna, and egg salad are all easy to make and take with you. Chips, crackers, fruit, veggies, and drinks will round out your meal. Pack in a cooler in separate bags or containers and put together at work.

Many of you may be saying you don’t have time to make a breakfast or lunch in the mornings. Then don’t. Do it the night before. On Saturday or Sunday, do all the prep work-frying bacon, eggs, ham, Canadian bacon, etc. and put in the freezer. Bake your chicken, beef, ham, pork, etc. and shred or chop for salads. Freeze. Brown ground beef, sausage, etc. and measure out the amounts you’ll need for any evening meals you’re planning.

While the prep may take some time, you’ll find having all your stuff ready to go makes your life less stressful and saves a lot of money.

Bad Times and the Art of Frugality, Part I

When we experience severe economic downturns, which happens periodically, the dying art of living frugally suddenly becomes of great interest to people. As many of you know, if you’ve been with me for any length of time, frugality is my passion and speciality.

This blog is filled with frugal tips for arting on a budget and living life on a shoestring. I thought now might be a good time for a quick review on living a fulfilling life with an extremely tight budget. Let’s get started:

First, you must prioritize. There are things, when finances are tight, that are not essential to living your life. While these things are nice to have and things we’ve become used to, they are not essential to living our lives. Here are everyone’s priorities: shelter, water, medication, food.

Shelter, because you need protection from the extremes of heat and cold. Water, because you can only survive for three days without water. You can survive three weeks without food. Depending on the medication you take-you can last several hours or much longer. So focus on these essentials before anything else.

Now electricity, propane or natural gas are needed to run your home. Your appliances, lights, heat and air. Then there’s the fuel for your vehicle to get back and forth to work. Things like medical insurance are, in my mind, also a necessity. As noted, I have moderate to severe health problems. I went six months without my medications or treatments after Scott lost his job during Covid. Not fun, let me tell you.

If you’re really strapped for cash to pay for these bare-bones basics, please contact your local and federal agencies for assistance. There are also food banks and, often, church charities which can provide emergency assistance to families.

Cancel all unnecessary “extras”. Cable, Netflix, HBO, even internet service. Unless your employment requires it, the internet is a luxury during drastic economic downturns. Even cell phones could be considered a luxury item when times are really tight. Magazine subscriptions, other subscriptions for food delivery, art boxes and kits, monthly clothing deliveries, etc. should be cancelled immediately. Children’s activities; piano lessons, sports, dance, gymnastics, etc. need to be stopped too.

Any service you may employ-say a cleaning service, dog groomer, manicures and pedicures, hair appointments, lawn and landscape services, etc. also need to be stopped. Any organization to which you pay dues should also be eliminated. Again, these are things we may have grown accustomed to but are not essential to our survival.

Sacrificing “treats” like dinner out, expensive (but delicious) specialty coffees and drinks, entertainment, non-essential travel, expensive hobbies and activities will save an extraordinary amount of money each month. Cut way down on, or eliminate entirely, gift giving. Simply explain, should anyone ask, you are no longer able to do so due to this economic downturn. Then stick to your guns and do not get guilted into something which will be disastrous for you and your family’s ability to ride out this irritating financial blip.

At this next level things start to get more difficult, but can make all the difference for getting through very challenging times. Sell any and all things which are not essential. Extra vehicles, R.V’s, boats, lawn tractors, snowmobiles, four-wheelers, non-essential tools, appliances, T.V’s, furniture, jewelry. Anything that is of high quality can be sold at on-line auction sites, Facebook Marketplace or garage sales. If things are really tight, save the minimum amount of stuff and sell the rest at an estate auction. Keep only those things which are of practical use.

If you must, sell your home. Use any equity you have to pay off other outstanding bills and loans. Now either rent or purchase a mobile home, small home, RV, tiny house, something you can use as your home during severe financial hardship. If none of those are options for you, consider moving into the home of your parents or in-laws. Remember-YOU must pay the higher costs for food, electricity, gas, home maintenance and anything else which costs more because you’re there. You should also pay rent.

You are also responsible to take care of and maintain their home. Cooking, cleaning, yard and garden, laundry, etc. should fall on your shoulders alone. Your family is doing you a huge favor by allowing you to move in with them, the very least you can do is make it as painless as possible for them.

Oh, and if you have any pets-make absolutely sure your loved ones are alright with that. If they are not-you must re-home your pets. It is extremely selfish to expect others to live with your animals when they don’t want to.

It’s important to remember, when economic downturns happen unexpectedly, most people are not prepared. Try to have at least a thousand dollars in cash on hand. I recommend more than that, but it’s a start. We’ll talk more about essentials to have on hand in another post, but the key is to get into a mind-set of “depression-era” frugality. The big difference between today and my grandparents youth is the amount of personal debt we Americans carry. We seldom own our homes outright, we make mortgage payments. Many also have vehicle loans, credit cards and student loans…This makes for a very nerve-wracking situation, which is why I’ve given these suggestions for those who are truly drowning in this current economic cesspool.

Now that you’ve liquidated everything possible, you’ve cancelled all the extras, and applied the money to paying down-or eliminating-credit card/other debt in addition to saving at least a thousand dollars for emergencies-it’s time to start with some fun and creative ways to enjoy this adventure we call frugality!