# Penny Pincher Tip



## cm4ever (Oct 26, 2012)

Ok, I've been doing this for a few years now, but I didn't see anything about this on the forum, so I thought I would share...

During thanksgiving and christmas time (mostly thanksgiving) we buy turkeys for about .85 to 1.00 a lb. Once thawed, my fiancee butchers them up, we then grind it up in the meat grinder. Wala,,,healthy, cheap hamburger meat. Usually we get enough to stock it up in the freezer (or now cooked and canned) so we can eat it all year long.

Around easter, we buy hams and then slice them up and store them in the freezer for sandwiches all year. 

Cheap and easy!!

Ok, anyone else have some penny pincher tips?

CM4ever


----------



## Sentry18 (Aug 5, 2012)

That is a good tip. I was trying to make room in the freezer for a couple post Thanksgiving turkeys, but doing what you do would make it a whole lot easier. And my wife makes some DELICIOUS turkey burgers. I suppose you could also just cube up the turkey and can it too. 

Here's a couple penny saving tips. We put everything possible in our house on power strips and switched to all battery operated alarm clocks. For the 18-20+ hours a day that we are not using the primary computer, the office computer, our entertainment center, home theater, etc. the power to those electronics is cut off. Powering off the device does not stop it from drawing electricity. The alarm clocks run forever on a set of batteries and power outages do not keep me from waking up on time. We also switched to a combination of LED light bulbs and CFM light bulbs. Our electric bill is noticeably lower every month since we made these changes.

2 years ago we added another R19 level of insulation on top of the R19 that was already in our attic, had our furnace and central units serviced and replaced the 3 oldest windows in our house. $4500 worth of work but between tax incentives and reduced utilities/heating/cooling costs it has already paid for itself. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.


----------



## cm4ever (Oct 26, 2012)

Sentry18 said:


> That is a good tip. I was trying to make room in the freezer for a couple post Thanksgiving turkeys, but doing what you do would make it a whole lot easier. And my wife makes some DELICIOUS turkey burgers. I suppose you could also just cube up the turkey and can it too.
> 
> Here's a couple penny saving tips. We put everything possible in our house on power strips and switched to all battery operated alarm clocks. For the 18-20+ hours a day that we are not using the primary computer, the office computer, our entertainment center, home theater, etc. the power to those electronics is cut off. Powering off the device does not stop it from drawing electricity. The alarm clocks run forever on a set of batteries and power outages do not keep me from waking up on time. We also switched to a combination of LED light bulbs and CFM light bulbs. Our electric bill is noticeably lower every month since we made these changes.
> 
> 2 years ago we added another R19 level of insulation on top of the R19 that was already in our attic, had our furnace and central units serviced and replaced the 3 oldest windows in our house. $4500 worth of work but between tax incentives and reduced utilities/heating/cooling costs it has already paid for itself. Sometimes you have to spend money to save money.


We started doing the turkey thing because I learned of pink slime and the color additives in meat. I am allergic. (In a ADHD sort of way to red 40). So. I avoid it now....


----------



## Freyadog (Jan 27, 2010)

We buy our salt and herbs in large bulk. I cut the top of an old round cardboard salt container with the spout on it and placed it over a wide mouth canning jar that I had and screwed the band/ring onto it. So anything that has to be poured like salt into a salt shaker etc. is a lot simplier and less cumbersome.


----------



## Lake Windsong (Nov 27, 2009)

Now (Nov. 1) is a good time to stock up on Halloween related foods, not just candy but also cake mixes and other treats. They go pretty quickly, but you can usually get enough extra to tide you over until the next holiday clearance.

Ask department managers when they put out their weekly markdowns. That's a good time to get meat or deli products at a deep discount to freeze or can.

We keep a rubbermaid box filled throughout the year with clearance buys and 'shop the bin' for quick gifts for birthdays and holidays.

Learn the sales rotation where you shop and for the brands you buy. Use online flyers and/or a spreadsheet to help you track how often you can expect these items to go on sale. Stock up during those good sales. Learn to coupon, and your savings increase.

Try store brands, many times they are manufactured in the same facilities with the same ingredients as name brands. Same stuff, different label.


----------



## hiwall (Jun 15, 2012)

Many preppers buy the chicken beasts when they are on sale for $.99 per pound. Some freeze them and some can them.


----------

