Anyone else tired of being frugal?

Is anyone else out there tired of being frugal?

It's like the unspoken elephant in the room sometimes when I'm talking to other frugal-types. Not just the pissing contest type conversations about who's more frugal, but the genuine frustrations of needing to do x and only having y options because of frugality, poverty, or ambition.

This thought started when I got sick of our toilet paper. It's not the cheapest, but I thought it was a good compromise between tissue-paper thin and the uber expensive, while also being a little bit green. But one time too many of having to ration the paper so that I got enough coverage without taking 2m of the stuff made me realise that I wish I didn't have to make these decisions. That I sometimes wish money wasn't an issue.

I am happy to buy a greener product.
I'm happy to buy a larger pack at a lower unit cost, or a different brand to see if there's a cheaper alternative.
Or even, a more expensive brand that is something else I value - locally made, or without x or y.

But what I'm tired of is the penny-pinching just to get by. We're not destitute or poor but going on 5 years of student-ship means we're close to the bone while still achieving some savings goals. And that means making the tough decisions about toilet paper.

Ok woe is me - first world privilege, I has it. I am able to make these decisions. I am able to choose what toilet paper I buy, and opt for one over the other so that money flows elsewhere in our budget.

But in the meantime, I will enjoy the trappings of my life and ponder whether this is why some people go off the rails. Whether we all need a little "thing" in our frugality that means we don't go crazy. For me it's dried spices. I buy them, and I use them generously. Others might scrimp on what they use, how much they use, when they use it or don't use it or what they cook. I also buy and use nice tea and collect tea things (pots and cups).

I do know though that this kind of stress can turn into something more than toilet paper. And living on our budget at the moment means that when I start working professionally we'll be well set to save and prosper. And that these habits are those that self-made rich people use to get the most out of each dollar.

But sometimes, I wish for nice loo paper.

Destitute gourmet - not quite

I've been looking at destitute gourmet, as I've got a lot more time on my hands at the moment to cook and think about food and shopping. Plus I'm on annual leave at the moment, and will then be on maternity leave and then on Centrestink payments (ah - must call them to work out how much that might in fact be). So $$ is a little more steady but also a little tighter, and TheHusband and I need to get over our 20s mindset of "yummo food!" and more into "can't be bothered going out - what's to eat here?".

I've spoken earlier about default shopping and destitute gourmet sort of steps that out further. She recommends that you look at basic pantry essentials and then indulgences.

So building on her list, our basics would be something like:

• Fresh fruit and veg – onions, potatoes, sweet potatoes, carrots, garlic, apples, bananas, whatever is cheap and in season*
• Staples – plain flour, vegetable oil, olive oil, brown sugar, white sugar, eggs, milk, butter, butter-like spread, baking powder, salt, cheese, white rice, brown rice, pasta, pulses, dried beans
• Baking stuff – coconut, vanilla, sultanas, cocoa, yeast (MUST BUY YEAST!)
• Spreads – peanut butter, honey, jam, vegemite, promite
• Cereals – Weetbix, muesli, rolled oats, steel cut oats
• Canned food – tinned tomatoes, pasata, kidney beans, white beans, tuna, peaches, mango, apricot
• Sauces – tomato sauce, sweet chilli sauce, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, kecap manis
• Seasonings – all of them!
• Frozen food – peas, corn, beans, spinach, pastry sheets, berries
• Meat – mince, chunks of kangaroo and beef, boneless chicken breast, bacon bits
• Cleaning products
• Toiletries
• Pet supplies

Which is not the most exciting list of course but it's not supposed to be. I could cook for approximately 2 months out of our pantry alone, as we have lots of carbohydrate staples (polenta, cous cous, flour, pasta, rice) and lots of proteins. In fact, the staples above are similar to that post though cream isn't.

Her 2nd piece of advice is to eat healthily, and eat in season. I had a craving for chocolate the other day (probably the first time in my life I've ever NEEDED chocolate!) and there was none in the house. Nada. No sweets either. It was horrible when I'm 36 weeks pregnant and so not wanting to walk in 41C heat to the servo to get some chocolate. So I settled for a hot cocoa instead. The only thing we deep fry is papadums when we have a curry. We don't over eat because the yummy things we make are leftovers destined for lunch the next day. We eat a lot of what is in season because it's cheaper, and if it's not in season or is quickly perishable we buy it frozen - such as spinach now that our silverbeet is done, and berries.

*Food that's in season in Australia

Our plan once Puggles arrives is to go to the Farmer's Market here in Adelaide each Sunday, and shop locally and in season. We'd like to eat to the 100 mile diet but it's a little harder to apply without effort, and the time to do it. The Farmer's Market is kind of this by default as it's local produce and in season produce. We do shop at the Central Markets here in Adelaide as well but being pregnant has put me in a bit of a mind set of "too much effort", and a small amount of trauma as I hate people touching me or bumping me and a busy market - not the best place for that.

Thirdly - and this is the one I like - is to know what to do with leftovers. My favourite ideas:

• soup
• wrap in puff pastry and bake
• refry with noodles
• bubble and squeak
• calzone-type dish

She has a great page on freezing things and I'm borrowing this list for future reference:

• Fruits can be stored for 12 months,
• Vegetables 6-12 months.
• Roasts and whole poultry 6 - 12 months
• Steaks and chops 4-6 months
• Minced or ground meats or stewing meats 3-4 months
• Cured and processed meats lose quality more rapidly than fresh meats because of the presence of salts so don’t store luncheon meats, franks, ham or sausage longer than 1 or 2 months. Thaw frozen meats in the fridge, thawing at room temperature gives surface bacteria a better chance to multiply.
• Baked yeast bread, scones and rolls are best used within 3 months. Unbaked yeast bread dough within one month or less – Unbaked doughs may require more yeast than usual as freezing will damage some yeast cells.
• Un-iced cakes also freeze well, but storage times vary. Store angel food, chiffon or sponge cake 2 months. Store cheesecake 2 to 3 months, chocolate 4 months, and fruit cake up to 12 months.
• Nuts also freeze well; salted nuts from 6 to 8 months and unsalted from 9 to 12 months.

Her advice about having a whiteboard with an inventory - has been applied here and it is working well! We have for example a large amount of mince, but only one lot of chicken. I've also taken to sticking ads for butchers on there for reference for when we do the meat shopping. We have 3 bulk butchers around here - the gourmet butcher on Magill Road, Austral Meats on Main North Road and also the Gawler River Cattle Company. Lucky us!