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Frugal Freezer

July 16th, 2010 at 03:10 pm

Do you have a freezer? A few years ago I saved up and bought a small one. I try to find things on sale to keep it stocked. I also put flour in it when I get it on sale so it doesn’t get buggy. I often freeze extra stuff I make in it as well.

Last night I was reading “Frugal Living for Dummies” – we had made a trip to the library yesterday, one of my favorite places. Most of the entries were items that have been written about on blogs and forums and articles here at Saving Advice.

I noticed the author had the biggest section about cooking and food. Seems she has authored quite a bit on making things ahead and freezing them before including them in this book.

She wrote about making the same dish but three times the amount and eating one and freezing the other two. Or cooking ahead for the week or month and freezing it until you need it. Over and over it was repeated how she saves money by having food available for dinner time so the temptation to go out isn’t really there.

It’s not anything new to most of us. I do the weekly thing on Sundays. I often make casseroles or put stuff together for the Crockpot so when meal time comes about after work, I can either pop it in the oven or put it in the cooker that morning for a warm meal.

I went out to the freezer the other day to get a pound of hamburger. My husband looked at me and when I came in from the garage and I joked, “I went shopping.”

He laughed with me, but I did go shopping. I went to the convenience of my freezer and got what I needed. I had bought the meat on the sale and it patiently waited in the cold box until I secured it. I didn’t have to make an extra trip to the store nor did I have to eat out.

So, I would say it truly is a frugal freezer.

9 Responses to “Frugal Freezer”

  1. dmontngrey Says:
    1279299897

    I would LOVE to have a freezer - some day when we have a house. Our condo has no basement and no garage to store something like that in. We make do with our fridge freezer. It works "ok". We buy meat and divy it up into individual portions before freezing. So easy to grab something and make a meal!

  2. ThriftoRama Says:
    1279300754

    The food part is where I usually get hung up in money books. Some of the recipes and suggestions are cheap but so unhealthy and gross-sounding that I just can't fathom living like that. I'm not saying that's you, I'm just saying sometimes the suggestions are awful!

  3. Homebody Says:
    1279309191

    A freezer is the first appliance we bought when we got married 32 years ago. We are on our third.

  4. rob62521 Says:
    1279311117

    Thriftorama, I totally understand your concern. I have the same one. This gal wasn't like that -- she wrote that it was important to have a healthy diet. Some of the food items in other books are so bad. She suggested buying fruit and vegetables when in season to help out, and then freeze extra so you have them. She was basically against cheap, junky food.

    Homebody, you certainly put your freezers through a workout! Cool beans!

  5. Joan.of.the.Arch Says:
    1279312871

    It sure is easier to put away garden produce in the freezer than to can, dry, pickle, ferment, or jell it. But my husband keeps talking about "getting rid of some of this stuff" when he picks the veggies. What?! No, I don't want to give it away as though it were a nuisance to be gotten rid of, to dispose of. Why do you think I grow it in the first place? If I had a freezer it would be so much quicker to get it put away for the future coming weeks and months.

  6. boomeyers Says:
    1279333442

    I love my freezer! It is a workhorse and I would be lost without it. We have'nt even had the money to be able to fill it up (I have milk jugs with water in there), but I love it for freezing bread at Aldi when I stock up!

  7. Jerry Says:
    1279366461

    We feel lost without a freezer here, living overseas. The produce is plentiful, cheap, and delicious, but we can only enjoy it for a short time. Right now is the tail end of cherry season and they are selling for next to nothing! If we had a freezer we would have some insurance of being able to freeze some delicious cherries for the winter, but we can't do it in this apartment. Alas! And Thriftorama's concern about gross freezer food applies to some situations, but you can also save a lot on meats and fresh fruits and veggies that are healthy and delicious when frozen.
    Jerry

  8. campfrugal Says:
    1279369259

    Yes, I have a freezer also. Love It. Last night our power went out and that was my first thought, the freezer. My husband's first thought was his ice cream was gonna melt so he better eat it.

  9. Julie Says:
    1279797649

    What makes a frugal freezer even better is to have already cooked hamburger frozen and ready to use! We boil our hampburger in water to cook it without the grease and to keep it fresh tasting when we use it in recipes. It may sound funny but it is great!

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