Desperate times call for. . . . . ?

[Scarlett]

I've never heard of a worm farm?

[Floyd]

How wonderful. I compost, bokashi compost, and have a worm farm as well. Love them. Good luck with yours.

HappyMama, was it expensive to set up the worm farm? I have seen worm 'buckets' sold for $80-$100 which is too expensive at this point in time. Is there a cheaper way to do it?

F

[Floyd]

I've never heard of a worm farm?

Scarlett, a worm farm is a type of composting which is much faster than the more common 'hot' composting where you put your veggie scraps into a compost bin. Worm composting relies on worms going through the food and leaving worm castings which can then be used to supplement soil in your veggie patch.

[HappyMama]

HappyMama, was it expensive to set up the worm farm? I have seen worm 'buckets' sold for $80-$100 which is too expensive at this point in time. Is there a cheaper way to do it?

F

Sorry for going off topic for a moment

No it is not expensive at all. Some of my friends have a really cool set up with a bath tub built into a wooden platform. Hard to picture, but looks very cool and not like a bathtub at all....lol

Here is one of my indoor ones in the back hall: I was gifted it by a Professor moving and he knew I had a worm farm. I also built one out of rubber maid containers. We have a really cool compost bin out of cedar some live in during the summer months.

How to set up a worm farm? | Chubby*Hobby

Here are some more links that might help you set one up or for any interested.

Gardening Australia - Fact Sheet: Building a Worm Farm

Setting up a small-scale worm farm

[sunshine]

So - in an effort to keep costs down (yet again or still). . . I scrounged the fridge for lunch - it was just me today. I found a splash of milk that was just turning blink. . . one small baked potato that was starting to shrivel, a thin slice of ham and some cheese that was beginning to dry out. I made a huge bowl of potato/ham chowder and dined very well, while using stuff that I'd probably would have had to toss in the next day or so.

[PlainCash4]

In november of 2008 right after thanksgiving, i was garnsihed for back state taxes ( $2200 ) i get paid every 2 weeks. I called and talked to them and i was able to keep about $330 every two weeks. My rent was $625 at the time ! Anyhow, i took what i had in the bank and borrowed $1000 from my 401k ( which i have paid in full since) and paid my rent through January. The rest of it i just lived on very carefully. NO eating out etc....

Luckily i'm single so i was able to cancel christmas with forgiveness.

If something like that happened to me now, i am happy to say i am more prepared. I make more than i did then too.

[sweetproserpina]

Just wanted to pipe up and say this is a wonderful thread to read through. it really does make one thankful for the little things one has

DH and I lived with very little heat (couldn't afford the oil) for a couple winters a few years ago- we wore layers and layers of clothes, and basically lived in one room with a little electric heater. Now I am so thankful to have a warm house, and money put away for the next tank of oil. So many people take things like heat and water for granted- never again for us!

I think one of the best tips I've learned (wish I learned this in uni!) was to know how to cook from scratch. So many good, filling meals can be made for next to nothing. Pea soup, potato soup, chicken soup with leftovers- make your own biscuits or buns. In university my roomate and I lived on rice-r-roni, sidekicks, and ramen- I wish someone had taught me budget cooking before moving away.

I'm definitely going to make sure that my DD learns how to cook the frugal basics before she leaves home.

This spring I'm going to take a foraging hike with our local botanical gardens to learn what I can find to eat in the woods out back. So excited!

[known2him5]

We barter a lot, more when times are desperate. . . swap garden produce with neighbors. . . swap knitted items in exchange for raw wool/fibers to spin (ie, one hat/scarf set snagged me 30 lbs of wool seconds from my neighbor) . . . swap fish for mutton or beef, etc.

We shut down all but essential electricity - line dry clothes, even in winter. . . wash clothes in the bathtub by hand. . . lights off and do any reading/close work in daylight house. . . utilize solar heat grabbers for added warmth. . . shut off the fridge and use the outdoors as a fridge/freezer (we have a cold room in the house for the fridge part)

[JanieTTT]

This is such an amazing thread!

I've had some really tough times before, but I have never in my entire life lived on as little as I am right now, so its been an ugly crash course. Despite literally hundreds of applications, no job to replace the one I was laid off from. Unemployment ran out two months ago, and I am now about to lose the housing that my teen daughter and I live in.

We eat nothing that is not free or pretty close to it. And Thank God for the .99 cent store! The ideas on here will be very, very helpful.

[trying to be frugal]

I am so sorry to hear about your situation. Yes, this is a great thread and some new posts would be wonderful as some experience and hope to draw from.

Beans, Beans and more Beans. You can do so much with them including bean burgers.

[JanieTTT]

Unfortunately, my daughter will not eat beans of any kind. She is not coping well with our new desperate circumstances. :-( She just can't believe that we can not just call and order Domino's anytime we feel like it.

[oheoh's momma]

so glad this tread got bumped.. no matter the income bracket u are in everyone is feeling the pinch in the budget now days..

Bean and rice, oat meal and eggs, pancakes and egg, tuna is my friend....
I am learning to use leftovers, tonite is leftover night.. there is sweet and sour chicken, chilli, ham, mashed pot and
baked beans.

I use hot dog and hamburger buns for garilc bread.. I do not know how to make home made biscuits but am going to learn..
I bake cakes, cookies, pies, muffins..
we eat chips only buy 1 get 1


I never by anything unless it on sale... try to have coupon with it.

i really don't see things getting any better...
oh there is some old threads about rice, beans, chicken, and hamburger we may need to re visit..

well God Bless u all

[Scarlett]

This is a recipe for meatless burgers and I hope those who are really hurting will at least give them a try. I was hesitatant at first but it was so worth it when I did!

[I'll do a copy and paste here for you too ... ]

I hope this will help someone ... years ago on these boards, I had posted it but it was under another user name that I had totally forgotten the user name/password for and couldn't find it now but ...

I tried doing a search to find it online and did find where I had posted it somewhere else online and will give the link to it.

My post on Budget101.com for Meatless Burgers


OATMEAL-STUFFING BURGERS

1 cup oatmeal

1 cup stuffing mix (I get the kind that the seasoning packet is mixed right in with the stuffing)

1/2 package of dry onion soup mix (or beefy-onion soup mix)

1/4 cup of more of diced onion (sometimes I use more 'cuz I love onions)

Seasoning packet from ramen noodles (any flavor and I've even used the shrimp flavored packets and could not tell - they were good too!!)

1 egg

1/2 cup water

Mix all ingredients together and when thoroughly mixed, shape into patties. Put into a frying pan which has been sprayed with non-fat spray.

Brown burgers on low heat then turn and brown on the other side as well.

When browned on both sides, I then take about 1/2 cup of water (sometimes a titch more but not much) and pour over top of all the burgers making sure I get water on all of the burgers.

Then I put the lid on the pan and simmer until the water is all gone. Sometimes I will flip the burgers one more time when they've been simmering for awhile.

Once the burgers are done, I take them out of the pan and place them on a plate and let cool. I then, once they are cool - put them into a bowl with a lid and put them in the fridge.

For some reason, these burgers get MUCH better texture if you make sure and do this (let cool and then put in the fridge). I have tried them right after cooking and to me, the texture was no where near as good as letting them cool and then refrigerating for awhile.

I haven't tried to freeze these but imagine that they would freeze well. Also, haven't tried using this recipe in making other things but would think it would work as well.

Note: When I first made the recipe, I used 1/2 packet of instant mushroom gravy in place of the packet from ramen soup but it cost more to do this and once I found that I could use the packet from ramen noodles and it tasted just as good, I quit using the gravy mix.

----


A couple of years ago, I used to make oatmeal burgers (with oatmeal, sage and various spices, bouillon and an egg); however I like this new recipe much better as I don't have to mess with all the spices 'n such, it's just so quick and easy!

The recipe (from a few years ago) worked fine when adding it to recipes in place of meat and they froze well also, so I don't see why it wouldn't work for the oatmeal-stuffing burgers too. Would just have to try it and see, I suppose.

This recipe is a wonderful way to stretch your food dollar!!

Note: This week, I had about 1/4 of a loaf of homemade bread left over that was still good (not stale or anything) but it was really dry. So what I decided to try to do, was to put it over the cheese grater and grated it up (not too small but in stuffing like chunks) and then the next time I made the burgers, I only used 1/2 cup of stuffing mix and 1/2 cup of the dried bread crumbs and it worked just fine.

So, I figure by doing this - it'll stretch the stuffing twice as far. (The
stuffing mix I buy is only 69 cents a box at Save-a-lot so you don't have to use expensive stuffing, I bet if you made your own that it'd work just as good!!)

My grandson is very picky and even he eat and loved them and had no idea that it wasn't a real burger!