I'm an el-cheapo. Actually, it's a combination of being cheap and *loathing* to throw away food.

- I keep the milk solids when I make clarified butter, and put them in scrambed eggs.
- If vegetables have seen better days, they just get recycled into soup, broth, quiche or omelette filling.
- I always load up on "last day sale" meat and freeze it if I can't cook it right away.
- If there's no cheap meat, it's chicken leg quarters (yet again).
- I scan every meat package for the smallest/cheapest one
- Any and all cooked meat drippings get recycled into broth, sauce or stir-fry base.
- I don't make low-carb treats very often because it's expensive. (Most of them just cause too much trouble, anyway! )
- I buy half-and-half instead of table cream because it's half the price.

...at least I have money in the bank!

Wow...you are truly a money saving frugal lady! I guess I should say I admire your thriftyness.

I do buy meats on sale for the most part but my husband, who is not low-carbing, is very particular on cuts of meat and brands of certain food items.

And I also watch prices on certain items - - I too buy 1/2 & 1/2 instead of cream partially because of the price and the calories since I am watching them now.

I'm right with ya baby!

I am loathe to throw anything away that has some use. I freeze leftovers religiously. I use butter wrappers to grease pans. I have tiny fragments of cheese in ziploc baggies, and unless they turn green, I use 'em. Leftover veggies from meals get frozen to make soup later. I just pour them in layer by layer into a plastic Glad container until its full and then make a big soup pot. Same with chicken/beef/pork broth when I boil anything up. I almost never make treats for the same reason as you, too expensive! If I do, you can bet that if the leftovers can be frozen, they will be. If there's leftover pasta/rice when I make spaghetti, it gets frozen and then chopped up and added to the above soup (for the kids). If there's leftever chili, it's frozen and thawed out next time and added to the pot, or used in burritos on another day. If we have pork chops for a meal and one of my girls doesn't eat a whole chop, I won't let her throw it away. Into a container it goes, and I practically scrape the bone to get all the meat off. Then I'll put it in a salad the next day. Not a speck goes to waste! Big honker turkey breasts and hams get eaten off of 5 times until they're all gone. Turkey salad, turkey soup, ham casseroles, you name it, but I'm NOT throwing it away!

Heehee, move over Banger Sisters, we could be the "frugal sisters"!

>>"I use butter wrappers to grease pans."

Brilliant!!! I never thought of that one!

Funny... as cheap as I am with some foods, I'll splurge on others. Swiss cheese, Splenda, berries out of season and fresh salmon are examples of stuff I'll often spend extra money on, and it's worth it to me. I guess it's price vs what you'll get out of it. I also end up spending a fair bit on supplements!

No, I am not as bad as you! I like sales though. I don't buy a steak unless the store is running a special. I don't like thighs though so I don't buy leg quarters.

I am the queen of thrift!

I also remember my mom using butter wrappers that way - long before non-stick sprays became the norm.

I have a deep freeze which I love. I take advantage of 'meat bundles' advertised at local stores and store them away for a later day. Do the same for my bread/bagel loving kids. LC tortillas freeze well, too.

Wow and I thought I was cheap..lol

If I happen to run out of chicken, I'll just eat tuna (hey it's cheap) untill the chicken does goes on sale..lol.

I make my own shakes and sometimes add protein powder just to get my protein up some more. It's cheaper then eating another chicken breast or buying Atkins shakes.

I get the majority of my fat from olive oil because that's cheap..

I buy supermarket brands of veggies and stuff because it's always cheaper then name brands..

If I happen to make a shake or something that needs Splenda, I skip that part. Splenda is expensive around here.

If I'm low on bottled water, I'll mix half a bottle with tap..Tap tastes nasty around here, but not as bad if it's mixed.

Good tips ladies! Though I think I am frugal, we are VERY bad with leftovers. *slinking away in shame* I don't buy meat unless it is on sale though, and I do buy store brand *almost* everything....

Yep, Me too as cheap as they come!!

I am a cheapo too... wont throw food away if I can help it. Also I buy 50 percent of my clothes at a thrift store... you would be surprised at what people give away. I walk out with Ralph Lauren jeans...polo shirts... really good stuff ... some are still brand new or worn maybe once. Sometimes I am there for hours looking for the best but well worth it. My friends at work think I am rich.. actually we are financially okay but I think its my wise choices and thrifty decisions I make that has led us here. You guys are a great inspiration to me too... it feels good knowing I'm not the only cheapo out there.

I am cheap too! I only buy the meat that is at the end of the meat section in the "almost expired section" theni go home and cook or BBQ it all at once to use in things. I only buy the really cheap steak,,you know ones i mean they have that sticker on them that say "beef for marinating"

one of the best things i ever bought was a big rubber meat tenderizer...i beat the crap out of my cheap steaks then cook them on the george forman grill. I buy chicken thighs all the time or drumsticks because they are the cheapest. I love to make buffalo thighs and what i call buffalo legs (drumsticks) I live off hamburgers. (Ionly buy the burger when it's on sale for .99 a pound then freeze it. I do splurge on cheese though. I can't imagine eating LC without cheese. I also use the butter wapper to grease pans. Also if you eat nothing but hamburgers and chicken it's much easier to enter into fitday

Jon

lol, I am not remotely cheap, unless you count waiting for GNC to have their monthly sale before buying products.
on a side note, I don't buy a lot of things I don't need, but I like to spend money on food, clothes, exercise things. I don't need a car or have to pay for a lot of things that most people do though because of the type of job that I have. I just have to stay in shape, and to do that I spare no expense.

The used butter wrapper idea I first saw from the Tightwad Gazette.
It is a newsletter that has spawned many books written by Amy Dacyczyn. Its pronounced as decision. If you would like more info about her books, here is a link at Amazon.com for her. (with a look inside feature to see if you like her writing)
http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/s...6581278-5623821

Yup big cheapskate here too...I buy my meats from the almost expired section...usually the whole chickens and cheap steak....whole chickens I cook and break up into baggies for chicken salad on the go...it is so much cheaper and tastes way better than the canned meats....Hot Dogs and Eggs (not together ick!) are indispensible.....I buy the super huge thing of eggs (2 1/2 dozen for about 2 bucks) at wal mart....Veggies can be a little more expensive....I try to buy my spinach leaves from salad bars (usually works out cheaper than a whole bag which I never finish)...I hate blowing the money on Atkins brand products and bars...I try to make my own sf candy too. My favorite lately is sf chocolate pecans...Tuna is super cheap and I try to buy when on sale...Not to mention buying my pork rinds for a buck a bag vs...1.69 a bag at the grocery store....