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I have sets of menus that I rotate so I always know what I am going to need and can buy when on sale. I also write the cost of each item in my list so I know how much I am going to spend because I pay cash and don’t want to be embarrassed not having enough money. Well I do take a little extra.Sooo happy you’re back.!!

First, your Mom is gorgeous and is dressed so nicely to be keeping house! Another lesson from the past! Second, I love her shelf liners! Did she make them? They make the kitchen so warm and welcoming! And I need to make me some! And, third, I’m so glad you are blogging again!! Hoorah!! 

GRANDMA DONNA WROTE, Thank you Diana for sharing how you keep an eye on your grocery expenses.  I am happy to be back too. 

Matty H, my Mom always dressed pretty, she came from that era that most everyone dressed up for the day no matter what they were doing. My grandparents had little money and I feel it was important to her to dress her best.  To answer your question, she would dress our shelves with pretty fabric and continued doing that most all her life.  I am not sure about these in the picture but the shape of the shelves, she most likely made them with a flat cloth on top cut to size and this was most likely a pretty dressy lace that came on a roll.  I can remember long ago the shops carried some of the most beautiful ribbons of lace, things we cannot buy today.  Just knowing how she sewed things, I think this would have been how she did this.  She also loved to applique by cutting out a design and sewing it to a cloth.  I have a small table covering that she appliqued pears and leaves at the corner and also sewed rick rack around the sides, also a different quality rick rack. 

I love reading your posts! And all the photos . We do already a lot of the things you suggest. I live in Australia ( lived here for over 47 years now) , but I am originally from the Netherlands ( I left in my twenties) and remember my grandparents’s ways, who were born 1 year around 1900. I read a book which was called “My Father’s Century” (it is a Dutch book) https://www.letterenfonds.nl/en/book/1/my-fathers-century

It made me understand why my grandparents did things their way????

I am writing a diary in English from all the letters ( in Dutch) I send to  my mother, which she  kept in a box( basically the history of my life in Australia???? until I stopped writing letters.) so my children and grandchildren can read these.  I am also writing in english about my family who they were and what I remember of my youth living in the Netherlands; memories of family gatherings, staying with grandparents, how school was etc. It is actually a beautiful reflection on my life????????????

Looking forward to read more of your posts. Thank yo

I have been trying for over a year to reign in our grocery budget. I am determined to get it down this coming year. Thank you G. Donna for sharing your tips for budgeting and shopping. I have been looking for a homemade cracker recipe would you be able to share yours?  I am so glad to be seeing your posts again and I am happy to hear your doing better.

I'd love to know your recipe for homemade crackers! My husband and I are getting back to simple foods too.

Donna,

            I am so glad to see you back to posting again!

            I would appreciate your recipe for cottage pie. I Googled it, but the recipe that came up had 20 ingredients, and I thought your recipe might be more simple.

           I appreciate what you said about having a plan in the grocery store and knowing how much we will spend before we get to the cash register. I do almost all my shopping at a salvage/discount grocery store where I live. These stores have prices that are usually at least half off the usual store price. When you shop at such stores, your plan must be very loose because you never know what they will have. For example, I couldn't get regular Cheerios there for about two months. They had all of the more highly sweetened Cheerios but none of the regular ones. So for about two months, I didn't eat regular Cheerios. Now that they have them again for awhile I will likely stock up and vacuum seal the cereal in half gallon jars so it stays fresh. My plan needs to be more like meat, vegetables, cereal, fruit, etc. The other day, I was able to get about 15 pounds of pre-cooked boneless buffalo-style chicken for .50 a pound! Some of these boneless meats are regularly over $4 a pound, but the ends and pieces and imperfect pieces sell for .50 a pound. When I get this cheap meat I usually can it in a soup or stew. The other day I canned 23 quarts and 19 pints of soups from that meat. If I get enough of the meat I can it by itself. I also freeze some of it. Sometimes they also have big chunks of marked down cheese that are .99. Some of the chunks are over two pounds. For me sticking to a grocery budget means I eat what is available at a decent price and I preserve any foods that I get a real good deal on. I need to be flexible so I can take advantage of the good deals.

       That is so true about the size of dishes and how they have gotten larger over time. I have some old ice cream dishes and they hold about one big scoop. Nowadays I have seen people get a bowl and fill it with ice cream. I only buy ice cream in a one pint container so I don't overeat it. The container says that there are 3 servings in a pint. Each serving is 2/3 cup, which is way less than what most people are inclined to eat.

       I look forward to hearing other ways you are practicing frugality.

Becky Sue

Hi Grandma Donna - so great to get another full post from you before Christmas. I agree with you on so many fronts, but specifically this time the plate size/serving size. 

A couple of years ago I bought a second hand full crockery set from a deceased estate via Facebook Marketplace. It is a beautiful set from Austria - so pretty - exactly what I wanted. It came with 2 sizes of dinner plate and it is the smaller one I use now most of the time for main meals. When I am serving a main with salads I use the larger plates so we can have lots of salad from our garden.

The set also came with large bowls, small breakfast bowls, and these lovely small soup bowls with handles on the sides. Becky Sue talked about ice cream servings - the little soup bowls are what I use for a sensible serving of ice cream.

The thing is that I can use the plates to guide us towards smaller meals while really making each meal feel that little bit special.

Oh it is so good to have you posting more regularly again and I do hope that you can continue when you are able and are so inclined.

Sharon from South Australia

I like her way of life.
We also live frugally. We have been keeping records of our income and expenses for more than 30 years. That helped us a lot in difficult times. Things are better for us today, but we continue to live frugally as before.
I go shopping about every 4 weeks. Beforehand I make a plan of what we want to eat during that time. Then I shop.I can preserve some supplies for the winter from our garden and the nature around us. This also helps with saving.
I also stock remedies that I collect or make myself. It's good when you can do a lot of things yourself.

Warm greetings from Germany.
Sibylle

Maybe you'll visit me on my blog?
miteigenenhaenden.de

Hello again Grandma Donna.  So glad to have you back posting again and prayers for continued health and strength.  We live a frugal life at our home and as I work full time outside of our home I save money by bringing coffee and lunch to work, planning weekly meals during the weekend so  I have a plan for evening meals, looking at the weekly sale items at the store and planning meals accordingly, and keeping a well stocked pantry.  I am still on the learning curve but am enjoying the journey and all of the wonderful advice you provide.  God bless.  

My grandparents owned a store and my grandpa was a meat cutter within the store.  They lived in the area above it, which was large. It's where my mother grew up.  I can live slowly and simply, but even the world around me has an effect of my life, so I don't go out too much.  Christmastime is crazy to me. People on a buying frenzy, all my decor sites whose homes have Christmas explosion decorating where you notice nothing but the sheer quantity without importance.  When did every surface need to be decorated. I can't fathom the storage.  I actually call it Christmas throw-up.  My food is simple and thankfully because my husband is as well and with the cost, it's a good thing.

Oh how I agree with you! We have just made everything so incredibly complicated in life. Yes, I do understand that paychecks do not stretch the way they used to due to inflation variables mixed with cost of living outpacing income increases, but we are now living with just far too many choices. My favorite is budgeting. I watch some of the budget videos and posts from some of the influencers (or people who claim to have it all figured out..) and the methods are SO complicated, there's detailed percentages and formulas. I really love how they keep talking about stop wasting money, but only after you purchase their $60 (yes, most of them sell this product at this price!) budget book guaranteed to make you save money! I have a pen and a dollar pad of paper, works fine. I am guilty sometimes of over spending on groceries, usually when one of my kids comes home from college. I am working on that! I eat very simply and make 100% of my meals and about 90% of my partners because he tends to sneak snacks while out working. We really do just need to get back to basics overall I just don't know how it would work with the way things are now. So much influencing from outside sources that is available 24/7 for most people and they really do not realize that all that advice about what is healthy/frugal/better has an underlying message that leads you to buy whatever they are selling. The amount of misinformation astonishes me to no end. I don't know if we can go back to a simple living world overall  at this tipping point, but I will still live my life as simple as possible. Thanks for a great post!

Fijn om je weer te lezen. Ook wij proberen eenvoudig te leven. 

I have been reading your wonderful posts for sometime but just joined. 

The canisters shown in the photo of your mom are identical to one I have that belonged to my grandmother. I cherish it. 

Love the dishes seen in all the photos. They took the time to make things pretty. 

I cook from scratch. Simple meals we like. I buy very few packaged foods like others here. Single  ingredient foods are our mainstay. I buy sweet potatoes on sale and wrap in newspaper and store in cardboard box in garage. I am thankful for freezer to store meats and leftovers of soups and casseroles for another meal. 

My parents ate sandwiches every day of their life. But never lunch meat. It was left over roast, ham, pork roast that was cooked that week. Sometimes canned tuna. They both lived to 86.

Merry Christmas everyone!

What was the dish your mother was making in the photo?  I didn't recognize the name.

If I don't plan my menu for the week, I end up with food I never use and meals I can't make because I didn't think to get an important ingredient since I didn't think what I would be making later.  Menu planning is a priority for me, but I will admit, I dread doing it.  I hate trying to think of what to cook each day, but it saves so much time and money, that I do it anyway.  

Simplifying our lives is an important step to freedom:  financial freedom, time freedom, and freedom from stress.  I am all in favor of it.

We used to have a tiny grocery store a short distance from us where the owner cut up meat for us and the family lived upstairs over the store.  Those days are gone, sadly.

Simple ways are best. Keeping meals simple but nutritious is my goal always. I grow a garden, I stock my freezer and pantry with canned fruits, vegetables, and meats. I keep a fall garden growing which is currently producing turnips, carrots, garlic, onions, and spinach. Salad greens can be grown usually all winter. Dec, Jan, February are usually eat from the freezer, pantry and garden months. The goal is that the freezer will be almost empty so I can be on lookout later for good buys. We don't eat much prepackaged foods, just basic staples. Tonights dinner will be roasted turnips, sweet potatoes, carrots, potato, garlic and onions served with small pork roast and home canned applesauce. I purposely made enough that tomorrows dinner will the leftovers sautéed with half a cabbage I need to use. I will be canning the last of the deals on turkeys on Friday so I know that nights dinner will be a turkey casserole with stuffing along some spinach I need to pick. Sunday will be leftovers.  I cook enough oat groats at once that they can be easily be warmed for breakfast, adding whatever preference either myself or husband want. Sometimes it's frozen fruit or apples that need to be used. As far as saving on groceries, I only shop what is on sale, and currently in season. . I make an exception with oranges and grapefruits because my husband really likes that as his dessert.  We really limit snacks and never buy soda, or other drinks of that sort. We drink water, coffee, tea, and wine. I no longer shop deli because of the price but now will make egg salad, or tuna or ham salad if anyone wants a sandwhich. Sometimes I will make a pot of soup that we will eat instead of that served with sourdough bread or something like that. I stay away from the bakery because I can bake at home if we want something. Because of that, dessert is not that often anymore which is better for us anyway. A thick slice of bread spread with butter and jam is dessert because we don't eat many sweets. If I had a young family, I would do what the French culture does, start them with real food at the beginning. Cut out snacks between meals, serve less food and encourage them to develop a taste for good, nutritious food. Cheeses, quality breads, vegetables, fish, meats, and fruit. I would not make a big deal of it if they balked at that but I would not give them a substitute. A little bit of hunger goes a long way in changing a picky eaters mind. I would leave off sweets every day and offer a cut apple, or some berries in cream. I would adopt a no waste policy on food, if you're making too much and you're throwing a lot away, cut way back on the amount you're cooking. If you don't know how to cook basic pantry staples, or how to roast a chicken, make a pizza, them make it a goal to learn. If you find yourself throwing away produce because it has gone bad before you get to it, switch to frozen foods. Frozen fruits and vegetables are usually a better buy and they are prepped and ready to go. I am very fortunate my husband nor kids are picky eaters and have no problem eating leftovers. It is just my husband and I at this point but our grown children stop in regularly and dine with us. I estimate I spend roughly 50.00 a week on food, and in truth, I could cut that back if I had to. We eat quality food, plenty of it, but it does take getting back to simple basics. 

I am going to check out your blog, thanks for sharing!

Grandma Donna wrote, Hi everyone, I am enjoying reading your comments.  To answer a couple of questions, the Pate Chinois is a French Canadian dish with ground beef, onions, corn an potatoes.  The cottage pie that I make is easy to make I will look to see if I already have a post on these and if not I will post the recipes.   Hugs ?

Hello, Donna and friends!  I don't comment often, but I always enjoy reading.  I started following during Windows around the World or something like that.  Loved seeing all the different things and then got hooked on the history studies.  I am so glad to see your posts back and please accept my sympathy over your loss of Madge.  Bless your heart for keeping her cats.  When my mom passed, we kept her senior kitty.  Dear Stimpy lived to be 23!  She knew us and our dog so she settled right in.

My grandma had a sweet tooth so we always had "dessert" after a meal.  Half a peach or other canned fruit was the norm, but she occasionally got crazy and we got a jelly bean or a piece of salt water taffy!  This was after a meal that would fit on one of today's dessert plates.  Nobody was an ounce overweight.  Opening the fridge between meals never happened.  There was no point anyway, because there was nothing but ingredients.  No ready snacks unless you wanted to spread some mustard on a cabbage leaf lol.  I'm sure that the average American would only use half their budget if they shopped ingredients only and left the Eggos and Lunchables at the market.

GRANDMA DONNA WROTE. 

For those that requested recipes from this post here is a 2013 post that has the recipe to the pate chinois. 

https://gdonna.com/cooking-from-scratch/food-budge... It is at the bottom of the page

I will have to type out the cottage pie when I have the time because I cannot find it on the blog to send a link. 

Your mother was so pretty! I love how put together she and women of that era were. I am trying to work on that myself. I have 3 young kids and I want to set a good example for them. Could you share sometime how she and other women of her generation cared for their hair and skin? Her hair is so healthy and shiny looking and her skin looks lovely. Things are So complicated these days when it comes personal care. And the marketing is outrageous! I would love to learn more about how ladies cared for their skin and hair the old way.

I am about 1 month in with very careful budgeting and I am so happy with how much money I am saving! It is such a stress reliever! Thank you for this wonderful post!

GRANDMA DONNA WROTE,   Elsie B,  I can only speak from memories but also I have studied the era that she lived before and after I was born and I can say that we have to study what they did have and not have when it comes to cleansers, cosmetics and hair care.  My mother washed her face each morning and evening and used astringent but this depends on your skin type dry or oily. At night she put a night cream on her face. My mother would use powder on her face and a rouge and she "Never" went out without lipstick. She did this from as early as I can remember until she was very elderly.  This era she lived clothing was very nice and I wish that it would come back.  Most everyone was particular with their hair and there was not a lot of choices back then of which type of shampoo.  My mother believed in squeaky clean hair when washing and brushing her hair.  When she washed my hair she would always say, "now there, it is squeaky clean".  

I'd like to beg you to finish the diaries. I love them so much! It is so good to have you back to posting. 

Such sensible advice. 

We have spent a year shopping and cooking the meals based on British Wartime rations, using the recipes my mother and grandmother used, the meals of my childhood in the years of post war austerity.

My shopping list has been for ingredients to make meals, real food with nothing ultra processed, nothing low fat, or full of strange chemicals. The freezer has been help, even though it is small. I cut the cheese and butter into the small weekly portions, and divide up and freeze portions of packs of meat and fish. Meat was rationed by price so we allow ourselves £2.50 each a week, which means checking for special offers, yellow stickered items, cheaper cuts, and small portions.  

We have used the breadmaker for inexpensive, real bread all year, and I have filled the oven just once a week for the Sunday pot roast, a baked pudding, a cake for the week, and some flapjacks. We have porridge oats for breakfast most of the year, and basic muesli in summer. (We have a glass of homemade kefir every day which costs pennies as the kefir grains go on for ever.)

We keep a few chickens for fresh eggs, and grow some fruit in the garden, freezing some and making jam. We buy seasonal British vegetables, and I make soups using beans and lentils for extra protein. 

We have eaten well all year, I have got my weight back down to normal, and lost several inches off my waist. We have saved money, with a grocery budget of £5 a day for two pensioners, in spite of the food price rises, and we have a well stocked pantry and freezer to see us through Winter. 

Hi Grandma Donna!  What a wonderful post.  You mother looks so classy and put together.  I danced in Broadway musicals, and the costumes we wore were all of those period styles.  I love the detail.  I have started shopping at Aldi, what a difference in price.  Growing my own persimmons, lemons, limes, grapefruit, pomegranates, and apricots helps immensely.  I have planted berries, apples, and cherries up at the cabin.  I would love to make those crackers you photographed, too.  I eat two salads a day, chicken, meat, and/or a casserole.  It works out well, and there are always plenty of leftovers. 

We have also kept a lengthy record of just shy of 20 years. It sure helps to see what things are doing financially.

I couldn't agree more with this post. It's so well said. I have noticed that the past few times I have been in the store that many people have commented on the food I'm purchasing because it's real food as we call it. One person said that no one should be allowed to purchase 5#'s of carrots. Another one asked what on earth we eat? I had to tell the person that we eat all sorts of yummy healthy foods and we grow a garden, barter with the Amish, etc. I hope I sparked something in his interest because most people can't imagine not going to the store every other day. I have only gone twice this month and would like to see how long I can stretch it out. Shopping at the store seems to stress me out due to prices, very large crowds especially around the holidays, walking around thinking there's no real food here, and people's comments. I told my husband I'm always bothered when I see everyone paying for groceries using their credit cards. I attached (hope it was okay) 2 photos that we have used for many years if someone needs help. It helped us and I can't help but want to share it. I do find it interesting that most don't know what to fix for dinner or pack for lunches especially in a time with so many kitchen gadgets and recipes at our fingertips. Some of my friends fix their children cereal for dinner because they don't know what to fix. It makes me really sad to think how hungry they must be.

Hi Grandma Donna,

Thank you for your post. I always love your food & grocery posts because food is central to our lives. I find simplifying my groceries and trying more DIY projects helps “redirect” my mind back to living simpler whenever I get off track. You are such a dear person to so many of us, thank you and happy new year!

Diamond

Wish I could send you a picture of the local store. It is not big or fancy and has a limited supply of vegetables. If I drive to the nearest big town, I can go to a fancier store and spend a lot more money. Mostly I just shop here. I have bought some long term food storage items. They aren't cheap, but I can use them if I'm sick and not up to cooking. It's hard to motivate yourself to cook for one person. We do have a nice meat market in town, so I buy bacon there and sometimes a steak for a treat. 

This area is not big on fancy foods. They seem to use more packaged goods than I would normally use, but I can just avoid buying those. I just try to make myself eat a decent breakfast and don't worry about what I eat the rest of the day.

Lovely to see you back and sounding so well Grandma Donna! Those pets are lucky to have you both to live out their final years in comfort. They sound very sweet. 

With the cost of living so high I like you think people are struggling more than they are letting on. But yet those in charge are encouraging spending as much as ever, I believe this is putting people in an incredibly vulnerable situation. I know our soup kitchen at church has been very busy and there is an increasing number of homeless people in our area. 

 A new year is a good time to re-assess budgets and plans. I am feeling motivated to tighten our belt too and work on our systems around the house. I fell into a bit of a rut last year and did not monitor our spending as closely as I should, though it wasn't excessively extravagant I think we can work on saving better and sticking to a budget again.

May you and Charles have a blessed 2024! - Emma xx 

Soon the clock ticks over to a new year and I get a fresh slate to try again. :)  I want to tighten the food budget this next year, so I got out my money can from last year, and it made me miss the thirties so much that I got all my thirties' things out again! I won't live like the thirties particularly, but I'll let the things remind me to be prepared for hard times. 

You are very kind, Grandma Donna, and take care of those around you so well. Even the little kitties. 

Happy New Year GDonna.  I hope the past weeks have been gentle ones for you.  Our 2023 was pretty difficult so we have high hopes for a better 2024.  Your blog grounds me and I'm looking forward to new posts.  Lissa

Happy New Year to you and Charles!

I read all the time, but don't comment enough.  Like many of the other readers, I am glad to see you posting again.  I have also been re-reading all of your old posts as well, many of which I remember reading earlier.  It has really been a blessing that you have kept most of your old posts online.

I would consider myself careful in spending, but there is always room for improvement. I have specifically been focusing on food waste, and think I have made improvements in that area.  In the process, I have been getting my husband to eat less "junk food", which is always his go to food!

Right now we have extraordinary challenges in needing to help with funeral/burial expenses for one family member and health care expenses for another family member.  We were doing just fine managing our own lives, but then stuff happened.  So, I really need to do some hard cutbacks in order for us to stay on track with our own goals, or at least not derail!  ;)

~Debbie

Your mother looks so pretty!! I never dress that nicely let alone just for being at home.
I am going to really try and get a handle on the budget this year. It’s not as easy for me as my 2 youngest children( the older ones have all left home) have special needs and my daughter in particular likes to eat the same foods day in day out. She does like a lot of vegetables though so that’s good. My son likes junk food and snacks so I’ll be trying to work on that. The cost of living here in the UK is terrible right now. I am in debt with my energy supplier and trying to pay that off.
I have started paying for as much as I can in cash rather than by using my card. I seem to spend less that way and it makes me feel more connected with what I’m actually doing. When I was younger I remember going to town to pay bills at the bank and taking out money to do the shopping. These days I barely even leave the house as I can do everything online and that’s not helping my health at all. 
I struggle with eating seasonally simply because I never know these days what is seasonal or not as the supermarkets stock things year round. I also never know how to store vegetables so they don’t go bad.