This from an article by the thread name:

43% of us claim to stick to a monthly budget. An equal number ahven't even established one.

62% would rather buy the very best item, while 33% feel that a good bargain matters most.

40% of people who move into a new house, say that the previous owners removed all of the lightbulbs!

31% shut all lights off when they leave a room, but more to save energy thatn money (but to me saving energy does save money!)

85% of people say they can tell the difference between brand-name ketchup and the others. Only 15% will stock up on store brands to save a few cents. ( I can tell little difference between Aldi's ketchup and any name brand...)

About 43% of people throw out any food past it's expiration date. But 39% would eat it anyway, if it wasn't bad, 2% would scrape off mold and eat it.

In this article, there is a book mentioned called "Are you Normal About Money" by Bernice Kanner. Might be fun to look this one up at the library.

I don't think I qualify as normal in this sense!!!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 09, 2001

Answers

My new daughter in law was poised to pour out the last 1/4 of a bottle of wine as we were cleaning up Thanksgiving dinner. I almost had a cardiac arrest!!!!! Her family is VERY affluent, and leftovers are tossed. Including wine. I forsee some interesting conversations between her and my son.

-- Rose (open_rose@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

We definitely can tell the difference in ketchup-Heinz! I'm really big on turning out lights the the thermostat down. If we don't eat it then it goes to the chickens, cats, dog or compost-chicken bones are the only waste. We didn't take the lightbulbs out of the house we just moved out of. Expiration dates don't mean much. Buying te best is nice but not necessary.

-- Cindy (SE. IN) (atilrthehony@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

Hello Melissa, I am all for buying a brand name ketchup, but we add a little water to the bottle, (when the ketsup is low). This rinses ALL the ketchup off the sides of the bottle and adds to a couple of more servings.

Food scraps go to the animals. Leftover wine is used in cooking. Even dishwater is recycled, (the dogs lick the residue that runs out of the drain pipe, Yuck!. But, they like it! One of our "pet peeves" is the over abundance of packaging materials from food. We try real hard to buy foods with the least amount of packaging. If the package is paper we burn it. If it is aluminum or tin, we sell it. If it is glass or plastic we recycle it. If the glass is pretty, it becomes a container for other things, (herb vinegar, dry beans, etc). Plastic containers are used as water and food dishes for the animals, slop buckets, garden waterers and storage for leftovers.

One of the very positive things about home canning is that it helps eliminates "garbage for disposal" as we reuse the lids and the jars. It reduces the need to purchase can foods, thus less to go to the land fills.

Christmas is a good example of overabundent packaging as we all know how much garbage is piled "by the curb" after the holidays. We recycle the Christmas wrapping paper, the ribbons and bows. The packages that the gifts come in are burned in our burn barrel.

The reason I tell you this is because Meli and I do not have garbage pick up. We have to recycle, reuse or remove it from our land ourselves. There are no garbage piles on my property. We make sure that the land is kept as natural as it was when we moved on to it.

Incidently, we do not have a septic system either. We grey water as much as possible. Our "toilet is an outhouse". In the winter we have a "compost toilet". That is basically a box built around a five gallon bucket. The bucket is emptied into the outhouse during the day. Septic systems damage the land. It is better to run your waste into a "swamp". The plants in a swamp, naturally filter out the chemicals and is aborbed in the roots.

It think if more people focused on caring for the land this way that we could reduce waste on a national scale at least 50%. But, that is here nor there for most, as they only see "their waste" on the curb twice a week or in the bottom of their toilet before they flush. One of the reasons "we" moved to the country is to practise our reverance for the land and its resources. A responsiblity that more and more people are taking. This also includes the foodstuffs that we take as well. Land is precious and the food that we take from it is holy. Everything we send back to the land should be sent there as organically as possible.

Sincerely, Ernest

-- http://communities.msn.com/livingoffthelandintheozarks (espresso42@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

Ok, this shows I'm the 2% minority that is really cheap! I regularly scrap the mold off of bread and hard cheeses, I don't tell anyone and have been told that it is safe to do.

I also never, ever throw out to the chickens yogurt that is past the expiration date, and have eaten yogurt a year old that was "hiding" in the recesses of the frig. It's aready sour, what else can go wrong with it.

So now you all have fair warning if you come to our house to eat ;- )!!!

-- Annie Miller in SE OH (annie@1st.net), December 09, 2001.

I can't imagine living without a budget. Not so much as being able to afford things but to know where your money is going, getting the most out of it, and savings.

I always turn out lights, etc as soon as they are not being used. After challenging myself to see how much I could cut my electricity bills it became second nature. I use the lowest wattage bulbs I can get by with. I get anxious and want to start flipping switches when I go into a house with every light on or a tv on that nobody is watching ; ) Both my kids have picked this habit up good.

I rarely can tell a difference between brand-name products and hardly ever buy any. I save alot on groceries by going with the generic store brands and it's usually more savings than just a few cents. Many times they're made at the same place and with brand-names you're just paying for the name.

I hardly ever keep expirable food long enough for it to go bad. My refridgerator is barren compared to most people. About the only food I keep in it is fresh vegtables and cheese. I plan most meals so there are no leftovers.

-- Dave (something@somewhere.com), December 09, 2001.

Ernest

Reading your description of life at you homestead is a foreshadowing of things to come for us. We won't even have electricity (other than solar and car batteries). I suspect your electric power is minimal.

I was wondering why you put your humanure in the pit.

We purchased and read Joseph Jenkins' book "The Humanure Handbook" - 2nd edition - ( available from the Countryside Bookstore).

We started a humanure/compost pile at our farm (West Virginia) this fall. We will use a thermometer to make sure we feed the pile enough green matter (nitrogens such as grass, weeds and vegetable waste), and browns (carbon rich items: leaves & sawdust ). We will age it for two years. I will let you know the results of the project then.

We are confident after reading it, coupled with our experiences composting dog manure for our trees and shrubs, that our outcome will be favorable, and a very positive thing for our land.

-- Rick (Rick_122@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

I am too cheap to buy Ladies Home Journal.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

Hi Lauara I don't buy it either, a relative saves some magazines for me, and I read others from the library. They don't usually seem to be worth the $2-3 price tag to buy them, but I do enjoy some of the articles and recipes. I always pass them on to someone else!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 09, 2001.

Not only am I too cheap to buy Ladies Home Journal, but my time is worth too much to spend the time getting it out of the library and reading it!

-- Sheryl in ME (radams@sacoriver.net), December 09, 2001.

I don't buy the magazines either but since I work at the library I have access to many of them during my breaks. Most I ignore but some I scan and I liked the list you brought up Melissa. It's interesting seeing how people spend their money.

My husband comes home for lunch everyday so he is the garbage disposal with leftovers. He likes them and never complains. The lights in a room are never on unless someone is in that room. The TV is never on for noise like I know some people do. I always buy Aldi's ketchup and salad dressing (like Miracle Whip) I don't eat much of either but the rest of the family can't tell the difference. I do scrape the mold off cheese and watch the experation date on food. Not that I necessarily throw it away but I do give it a good "sniff" to see how it smells. It's each to his own but I love being thrifty, or so tight I squeak as some say.

We've moved many times and I don't remember anything about the light bulbs so they must have been there. We've never taken them when we move but it might be something to think about the next time :)

A fun thread Melissa!

-- Anna in Iowa (countryanna54@hotmail.com), December 09, 2001.

We own a rental house and in the 15 or so years we've had it I don't remember a single renter leaving the lightbulbs! They all take them!!! We have to replace them every time we rent the place back out.

-- Deena in GA (dsmj55@aol.com), December 10, 2001.

I am so cheap, I invented copper wire while stretching pennies!

When I get gas, I will turn off the pump then open the nozzle again and drain the hose into my tank.

I only go to town once a month. If the urge to shop hits any other time, we cruise backroad dumps for great finds. I find lots of change in dumped dryers. I bring home lumber, fencing, planting containers, furniture, windows and landscaping plants. I also drive slow along the highway looking for good stuff. I've eaten a lot of roadkill in my life.

I cook everything from scratch so I don't have to worry much about expiration dates. I will have goat milk next spring so I will not be buying dairy product anymore.

Green mold can be peeled off and the food eaten. If it is red mold, it has bloomed and released toxins, throw it out.

If there is something I just gotta have, I discuss it with God first. I first look at yard sales, then thrift stores. If I cannot find it within a reasonable time (6 months) I will find it discounted somewhere.

This year, I did all my Christmas and birthday shopping online. My Dear Spouse found me some websites for online coupons so I can shop for the best deals possible and get discounts on discounts. Even when I have to pay shipping, it is still cheaper than driving 70 miles to WalMart or 200 miles to the nearest mall to pay retail.

I have moved into rentals that had either no lightbulbs or only burnt out bulbs. I have never taken bulbs with me when I move.

Am I normal when it comes to money? Compared to whom? When we have big family gatherings, we country cousins compare and brag on our best finds of the year. Our city cousins sit there with there jaws hanging open pretending the don't have the Dumpster Diving gene in their DNA.

-- Laura (LadybugWrangler@hotmail.com), December 10, 2001.

What does "normal" really mean? In this case I think it really means what the average person is doing, I'm sure most of us aren't average!

I am super thrifty when it makes sense to be, but I also have my moments of extravaganze. But by being super thrifty say in the area of clothing (which I could care less about!) I can be a little more extravagant when it comes to plants for my perrenial beds, or buying books. But even in these areas most people would not consider me extravagant, because I am still pretty cost conscious.

Some people are thrifty, like buying lots of things at yard sales, auctions, etc... but are so over-whlemed by all of their stuff that they still can't find what they need, so it really does them no good.

I am constantly evaluating my need for items, and routinely donate to a good casue items I am not activley using. I do not regret any of the donations I have made, as the peace of having an uncluttered home is better to me than having too many things laying around.

I find as I get older that there are less and less things I really want, and I have learned to think through my desires and try to understand why I want these things. By doing this I can take a very low income and have a great life!

-- Melissa (me@home.net), December 10, 2001.

I put myself through college by working in the summer at the Vlasic pickle factory. When we switched the line over from making Vlasic brand pickles to store brand pickles, the only thing we did was change the labels on the jars. The contents were identical.

-- Sherri C (CeltiaSkye@aol.com), December 10, 2001.

Whew, did I ever sound like a snot with that answer I gave the other day (up above)! I was laughing when I typed it, but the laughter didn't come through. Sorry if I sounded like a jerk! I love to read but have so little time to do so that I have to be pretty picky about what I read! As for the article, I do budget, I NEVER took the lightbulbs when I left a house (or even an apartment, for that matter) and I'm amazed and appalled that my father-in-law is actually in the majority when it comes to buying ketchup!

-- Sheryl in Me (radams@sacoriver.net), December 14, 2001.