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Local Beef, Bulk Spices, and Simple Living with Kids (It’s Q&A day!)

Every Monday, I answer a few of the questions that my readers send me. If you have a question you’d like me to answer in a future Q&A post, just leave me a comment here or email me (thefrugalgirl [at] gmail [dot] com) and put Q&A in the subject line. I look forward to hearing from you!

I have been playing with the idea of buying a deep freeze and stocking it with a 1/2 or 1/4 of beef. I like that I can get grass fed, hormone/antibiotic free beef for a similar price that I would pay in the grocery store. Have you ever bought meat in large quantities? What have you found were the pros and cons?

Yep, I’ve been buying a quarter of local beef for the last few years, so we’ve pretty much gone completely off of grocery store beef.

That’s crock pot BBQ beef, which is about the only thing I use my crock pot for!)

If you can get the beef for a price similar to what you’d pay in a grocery store, then I’d say go for it!   You’re supporting a local farmer, reducing demand for conventionally-produced meat, and you’ll be getting a healthier, tastier product to feed your household.

The only budgetary downside would be the cost of the freezer, but if you’ve got the money in the budget to swing it, I’d make the plunge.   Chest freezers do also cost a little bit of electricity to run, but it’s generally only a couple of dollars per month*, especially if you get one with a horizontal lid*.

*This site says $2.39 a month if you pay $0.12/kwh.

**The idea is that when you open a horizontal lid, the cold air will not fall out the way it does when you open a vertical door.

I’ve been buying my spices from a store that sells in bulk and they come in a plastic container.   They are taking up way too much room in my cabinet.   Do you have any suggestions for slice containers?

-Angie

I’m assuming you’re talking about bulk spices like the ones at Costco and not bulk spices as in the sort that are in open bins.

I buy some of my spices from Costco, and I just use the large containers to fill small, regularly sized spice containers.   For instance, I just pour my Costco cinnamon into the McCormick cinnamon container and then I store the large plastic containers of spices out of the way on my laundry room pantry shelf.

I’m sure some of my readers will have more stylish or creative suggestions for you, but that’s the unimaginative way I handle it!

I have an area that I haven’t noticed you address directly and was wondering if you could on a Monday -and that is being frugal with younger kids. We have a newborn and 2 year old and was curious about things that you did to save and maintain quality of life. We are breastfeeding and doing cloth diapers as our big financial (and health) decisions but any ideas on other things? Or things to invest in buying higher quality? And other things you did with young kids that you look back on and are glad you did?

-Brittany

We talked about the whole baby gear issue in a recent Q&A, so go check that discussion out right here.

(For the moment, I’ll just say that you don’t need everything the baby industry tries to sell you [Question it all!!], and you can save tons of money by buying used or borrowing stuff.)

As far as the bigger picture goes when you have a household with small children…well, I’d say that it’s important to remember that small children really don’t need all that much to make them happy.

I think we parents often get sucked into thinking we need to buy/do so many things “for our children” when really, we might be buying/doing it for ourselves.

I don’t know if that makes sense.   Hmm.

For example, babies do not care if they have an expertly decorated nursery.   Parents are the ones who care about that. For various reasons, I had a nursery set up in advance for only one of our four children, and she doesn’t seem to be any better off than the other three.   😉

Babies just want to be fed and held and changed, and you can do that without a $3000 Pottery Barn room.

baby hands

And honestly, what makes toddlers and preschoolers happy isn’t a whole lot more complicated.   More than stuff or fancy trips or expensive outings, they want your love and your time and your attention, and you can give that no matter the size of your budget.

Go for walks, read books, play games, sing songs, visit the library, eat meals together, let them help you around the house, and they’ll probably be just as happy as they’d be if you spent a gazillion dollars on them.

OLYMPUS DIGITAL CAMERA

You asked if there’s anything I look back on and am glad I did, and I think it would be just that we kept things simple and within our means.   We didn’t have a lot of money, and instead of buying into the culture’s assumptions about what babies and children need, we did what worked for our budget.

Note: I’m not saying it’s a bad idea to decorate nurseries or to take children on trips.   What I’m saying is that these things aren’t essential to a happy babyhood or childhood and that the things that ARE essential (love, attention, and time) don’t cost much at all.

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Lilia

Friday 30th of May 2014

I'm a new mom to a 10 month old and I couldn't agree more. We tried to keep things as simple as possible and repeatedly were pressured from family to register for more, or buy more, or have more! In the end you get so many gifts of things you don't need (I returned them and used the $ for diapers and kept some that seemed useful). Also, because every baby is different we chose to buy used whenever possible (i.e. swing, bouncy etc... my daughter didn't like either so I'm glad we didn't spend much). In the end, the only space where we said we would not buy used was with car seats. We figured if it was meant to save her life, it was not worth saving a few dollars. Instead we will save it elsewhere.

Kristen

Friday 30th of May 2014

Yes, used car seats can be a bad idea, unless you know they're not expired and haven't been in a car crash. Better safe than sorry in that regard, I think.

Laraba

Saturday 24th of May 2014

Totally agree with your frugal ideas about life with small children. Our 9th child is due in about a month and we have a place for her to sleep in a little room adjacent to my bedroom, and we have diapers and blankets and clothes and that's about it. I'm an engineer by background and have never cared about decorating, so we've kept it simple with all the kids. Like you said...there is nothing WRONG with decorating a nursery but do keep in mind it is more for the parents than the baby :-). We've accepted tons of hand me downs through the years and bought other clothing at thrift stores. We have gone with disposable diapers and unfortunately I've not been able to breastfeed as long as I have wanted to with the last few kids but if you can do cloth and breastfeed, that saves a lot (plus breastfeeding is SO much better than formula.)

Jody

Wednesday 21st of May 2014

We also have a chest freezer, and we get a whole beef at a time (plus half or more of a hog and whatever game comes our way). An unmentioned plus for getting a half or whole beef is that you also get cuts you might not normally buy, so you learn more about making beef in different ways. Then if you buy a freezer, it opens up possibilities for saving more by buying more things in bulk.

A Frugal Family's Journey

Tuesday 20th of May 2014

Our family has considered buying an upright freezer to store meats and frozen vegetables and fruits (for smoothies). It would allow us to buy in bulk at wholesale warehouse or when on sale at local grocery store. We ran simple estimates and it would pay itself off between 1-2yrs. Now we just need to both save up for one and clear out some room in our garage for one. Maybe we can look around Christmas when the sales are happening. :)

Julie F

Monday 19th of May 2014

We split half a local cow with another family (so basically we get 1/4 cow). We get a wide variety of cuts and the burger is put in 1# and 1.5# increments. We have the option of changing how we process our cuts. I would do a "standard" order and see what you use and what is more difficult for you to use. Ours comes out to about $2.30/ lb and I have steaks, roast, burger, stew meat, etc. We have a second refrigerator with the top freezer in our garage and it takes up 3/4 of it. We use the fridge to cool beverages, store extra gallons of milk and when we entertain or take meals to holiday meals, I have a space to store those items. Also, this meat is phenomenal... it is lean and wonderful and tastes soooo much better than anything you buy at the store. You won't be disappointed. Plus, I like knowing my cow came from a happy farm that is close by....

Julie F

Monday 19th of May 2014

Also... I am thinking about splitting a pig too... I just haven't tracked down a farmer yet.

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