My grandparents were poor, southern country people. They had to be frugal because they had very little money. They never ate out at restaurants and they had to make do with what they had or starve.

There was no microwave dinners, stops by fast food places, or convenience foods. I don’t know if there was a such thing as food stamps back then when they were growing up, but even if there was, they didn’t get any kind of assistance whatsoever. They grew much of their own food.

They grew gardens in the summer and canned food to eat during the winter. They raised chickens which provided them with eggs and killed the chickens for meat. (Yuck!) They also raised hogs. (Yuck! I don’t eat pork)

Apples grew on trees which they ate for snacks or used to bake. There were walnut trees and hickory trees which provided them with nuts.

Basically the only food supplies they purchased in stores were things like salt, sugar, pepper, flour, and cornmeal. Everything else they provided for themselves or did without. They didn’t have a choice.

A regular and staple dinner for all poor country people was pinto beans and cornbread. It was cheap, easy to make, and filling. It didn’t include any meat which they could not afford to eat meat regularly.

Well now things have changed a lot for this generation. I like Mexican, Indian, Middle Eastern, and Americanized Chinese food. I like eating out. And I don’t raise my own food.

People today are also cooking a lot healthier than they did back then. Back then they used grease to cook with (Yuck!!!) After frying some kind of pork like sausage or bacon they would save the grease and use it to cook with and fry foods with. Personally to me that’s disgusting, but doctors have been telling their patients for a long time now, especially those with heart disease and diabetes to use canola oil, olive oil, or corn oil to cook with. Don’t use grease, lard, or fat. It’s unhealthy, clogs up your arteries, and makes your heart disease worse.

People today still enjoy their southern country dinners even though they’ve changed somewhat from way back when.

Why are they so good? Because they are healthy (lots of veggies, no meat), filling, comforting, and cheap.

Here is my version of a cheap country dinner. I don’t like pinto beans, so it’s not included.

*Cornbread- A necessity. Fried or pan baked.
*Corn on the cob
*Green beans and potatoes
*Boiled cabbage
*Mashed potatoes
*Macaroni and cheese

In the old days, people would have put in grease with the green beans and cabbage. I don’t use anything when I cook green beans. Just take some green beans and potatoes and boil in water until cooked.

With boiled cabbage add a little olive or canola oil.

Here is the recipe for fried cornbread cakes:
*1 cup of self rising corn mean
*1 egg
*1/3 cup milk

Mix batter. In a skillet heat a tablespoon of canola or vegetable oil and fry.

For people who grow their own vegetables, this is a very cheap meal since the green beans, cabbage, corn and potatoes are free. This filling meal would only cost a few dollars to feed a whole family.

Ok, there is a big craze going on about water cars, fueling your car with water, running your car on water, or however you want to say it. If you haven’t heard about it yet, you will.

The first time I saw these headlines, I thought it was a scam. It sounded so ridiculous. So I decided to research it and find out for sure if it’s real or a scam.

And my conclusion is, it’s legit, it’s real, but it’s misunderstood. You don’t run your car on water. Your car still runs on gas…but with using the hydrogen in water, you use a LOT LESS water and you save A TON of money.

With the way my car burns gas, I would save over $50 a week assuming I doubled my MPG. I estimated I would save close to $300 a month.

So you are probably wondering how this works. Well, water is made up of hydrogen and oxygen. Hence, the H2O. And hydrogen is a powerful fuel. There is a way to turn H2O into a gas called HHO-hydrogen-hydrogen-oxygen.

With HHO, you can double your MPG. You will still buy gas, you will just buy a lot less and save a lot of money.

The thing is, you will have to buy a manual showing you how to make a kit and put it under your hood and either you will have to do this yourself or show the instructions to someone else and have them do it for you.

You don’t have to be a mechanic. The manual is written so everyday people can read the instructions and do this.

There are several different guides out there, but the BEST one is of course, the most expensive one at $97. You will also need some supplies like a glass canning jar and some stuff you can easily purchase at any hardware store. In total with the manual and supplies it will probably cost around $150 up to $200.

Now I would make up that in less than a month and I would save probably around $3,000 a year on gas. So a $200 investment is nothing. My car gets terrible gas mileage and it makes me angry! (Mazdas get GREAT gas mileage by the way, but my Mazda died and I ended up with an awful gas guzzler. My Mazda had me spoiled)

So anyone who wants to be frugal and double their gas mileage might want to try this out. If you are like me and scared of tinkering with cars, then just buy the manual and show it to your cousin, uncle, father, friend, hubby, or mechanic. They should be able to get your car converted in an hour.

There is more science behind it that you can read about if you wish. It goes into more detail about HHO, Brown’s gas, hydroxy, the inefficient way your car’s engine is designed.

Your car actually WASTES 80% of the gas you put in it and converting water into HHO actually stops your car’s engine from doing that.

So, if you want to look at the actual sale’s page for Water4Gas and see if you want to invest $97 into saving a ton on gas here is the link: WATER4GAS

You can also look at: www.squidoo.com/savealotongaswithwater

With food prices having gone up faster than anyone can remember, more and more families are looking for low cost meals.

A common meal for poor families in the country was pinto beans and cornbread. Before food stamps, many poor rural people grew up on pinto beans and corn bread because it was cheap and filling.

Cutting back on meats and eating more pastas and beans will save on your grocery bill. Ramen noodles are cheap, but it doesn’t take long to get sick of them.

Noodles, spaghetti, macaroni and cheese are low cost meals or sides. With creativity, you can still eat good and cut back on your grocery bill.

Everyone who drives must have car insurance. It’s the law and you don’t want to drive without insurance and get pulled over the the police. Then, you’d be in some big trouble and face mandatory huge fines.

The problem with car insurance is it can eat up a lot of money. Of course it depends on age, driving record, type of car, and other factors.

It never hurts to check around and see if you can get a better deal. A lot of people have been with the same insurance company for a long time and haven’t even considered changing. However, they may find another company can offer them a lower rate and save a few hundred dollars a year.

So this is just a reminder for people like that. Call around to different car insurance companies, be sure to tell them you already have insurance but are seeing if you can get a better deal. They want your business, so they will give you the best deal they can.

Sometimes change is good. You may find yourself saving a few hundred dollars a year on your car insurance. Especially if you have a good driving record.

Now that Valentines Day is over, head over to the store to get some great deals on Valentines Day stuff before it’s all gone.

Got a sweet tooth? Get Valentines Day candy for 50% off at most stores. Or if you have kids at school, grab boxes of valentines day cards for their school Valentines Day party next year at a fraction of the cost.

In January I bought a Christmas dress for my baby girl. When I went to the store I certainly wasn’t planning on buying a Christmas dress. Christmas is 11 months away. But I saved by taking advantage of a clearance sale for leftover Christmas items the store is trying to get rid of.

You can save big by buying items leftover after any holiday. Stores want to get rid of their holiday items to make room for the next holiday so they slash the prices off of their leftover inventory 50-75%.

Their was a rack of cute Christmas dresses for little girls marked way down at only $6. These are really cute dresses and it’s certainly not everday you can find such a cute dress for only $6.

If I waited until around Christmas time when the Christmas stuff came out to by my baby girl a dress, I imagine it would cost around $20-$25. But now I already have her dress ready for when Christmas comes around and when I see the price tags on the dresses come Christmas time I will be smiling thinking of how much I saved.

I just get a thrill on huge savings!  I find it fun to see how much I can save.

Now Valentines day is coming up and the stores have all of their Valentines stuff out. I will wait until February 15th to see what I can find for 50-75% off.

Now is the best time to buy Christmas stuff like wrapping paper and candy, if you haven’t had your fill of sweets already.

Now Christmas is over the stores want to get rid of their Christmas inventory so they are slashing prices, 50-75% off the before Christmas price.

At Wal-Mart prices for Christmas items will be 50% off and anything left over the weekend will be 75% off.

This is the best time to grab that wrapping paper at deep discounts and store them in a closet for next Christmas. As fast as time flies, next Christmas will be here before you believe it.

If you love sweets, now is the time to grab that Christmas candy. Of course you can’t store it until next Christmas because it won’t be any good then, but if you like to eat sweets, get Christmas candy for rock bottom prices for your desserts.

When you go to stores, look at the Christmas items they are offering for 50-75% off and if there is anything you will use next Christmas, grab it up and save.

I was at the store yesterday looking for Christmas cards for a few people. I noticed on average the cards were close to $4 a piece. I would rather spend the money on the person’s actual gift than a card because most people don’t save their cards and end up tossing them out.

There are a few ways to save on Christmas cards.

1) Make Your Own Cards. I know a lady who is retired and to keep her busy she makes every single one of her cards herself. They are really beautiful cards and she gets the material from old cards. She simply buys a big pack of stock paper and glues pictures on them from other cards. Then she writes her messages on them. She’s crafty and makes them look really nice. You don’t have to be artsy or crafty to make your own cards though. You can get a big pack of stock paper for around $5. Just fold the paper in half and decorate it. It takes time, but it will save a lot of money compared to buying cards individually.

2) Buy cards in bulk. You can also get a bulk package of cards with a wintry scene on them but they don’t necessarily have to be for Christmas. They are blank inside and you can write whatever message you want to.