Frugality is a Learned Behavior

We try to live frugally here in the Volunteer household. My mother raised my brother and I on very little money (she really had a way with hamburger and hot dogs, let me tell you), and I picked up many frugal habits without realizing it. I'm endlessly thankful for those now, being in my later 30s and having had so many friends over the years who were not raised that way and for whom a frugal lifestyle feels restrictive and miserable.

Here are some of my family habits that are ingrained (and for which I am massively thankful):

-- turning off the lights when you leave a room;
-- keeping leftovers for another meal or for lunches (freezing if necessary);
-- buying good deals in bulk and keeping a stocked pantry (which has been a real blessing time after time for us);
-- shopping places that require a little more work, like overstock/closeout stores, salvage stores, Aldi, etc. to save money;
-- shopping end-of-season clearance (the Hawkeye has often threatened to buy me a clearance rack for my birthday);
-- frugal meals like dried beans and cornbread, vegetable soup, tuna fish salad and meat stretchers (like meatloaf);
-- doing it yourself whenever possible (like painting, wallpapering, fixtures, etc.);
-- buying used over new when we can (cars, lawnmowers, even clothing through consignment/thrift where possible).

I have had lots of friends who don't understand the value of shopping with a list or planning meals ahead of time (groceries are one of those areas the Volunteer budget can get quickly out of control) to save money. Right now my chest freezer (which is a must-have frugality tool for us) contains a lasagna, a chicken casserole, a pumpkin pie, extra sugar and flour bought on sale, extra loaves of bread to last us until my next planned trip to the store, frozen vegetables, meats and a few convenience items like chicken nuggets and frozen pizza to keep us out of the fast-food lane when there truly isn't time.

I have been married almost fifteen years and it took me until the past year or two to really figure out that it's just as easy to make two lasagnas, casseroles, pies, quick breads, etc. as one, and then I have extra on hand! This also makes it easy to take someone a meal when they need one (can you tell I'm from the South? We're Southern Baptists -- it's all about the food, people!)

We are not anyone's poster people for frugality, but these things are painless penny-pinching for me, because it was part of my raising. Thanks, Mom.

If anyone tells you propane heat is efficient, or inexpensive

....laugh maniacally, then run as fast as you can the other way. Because they are infected with the crazy.

When we bought this house a couple of years ago (not a McMansion, it's under 2000 square feet), it was a couple of years old, and has a propane furnace and hot water heater. We're out in the country- five miles from a town with one red light. That scene from The Notebook where they are lying underneath the red light could have happened here. Therefore, natural gas isn't available. So, we filled the tank in September and then the truck showed up just after the first of the year. The total was over $800. To fill the tank only 80 percent full. And we keep our house so cool that my mom asked if we didn't heat it during the day -- the thermostat is set at 64 during the day and 60 at night.

We just finished Little Town on the Prairie as our book we read to the boys at night (we take turns picking a book, then read 1-2 chapters at night after our devotion). I have been picking the Little House books, as I have boys, and they won't read them otherwise, although they are really enjoying them. The scene where they woke up with a foot of snow on their beds really convinced me what a wimp I am. I don't know how they did it all without collapsing from exhaustion!

So, there may be a heat pump in our future. Which always reminds me of this Georgia Power commercial when I was a teenager -- old ladies sitting around a bridge table talking about a dinosawwr of an air conditioner. Those old ladies all sounded like my Meme or my Aunt Edna. And yes, we need one of those. Heat pumps, that is -- not old ladies playing bridge.