Ok... after reading more I realize we have a few more splurges that had not occurred to me at the time. Tomatoes on the vine or any good garden type tomato. I cannot abide a thick skinned mealy supermarket kind. Any San Marzano tomatoes for sauce work fine. It must be the soil or that water.... Sangria jelly, whenever I can find it. It is ridiculously good. The smoked whitefish spread at Costco. We have that in our house at all times. If cheese were less fattening, I'd have a whole fridge dedicated to it. As it is, I splurge on "eating cheese" (as opposed to cheese for cooking or grated cheeses) when we have guests. I love the horseradish cheddar kind or the champagne cheddar and any good asiago variety is my fave. I nibble it to try to make it last. I think I lived on a half cheese diet when pregnant as it was one of the few things that did not turn my stomach. Virginia ham is also a little splurge as it is usually more expensive than other kinds. It tastes like deli ham is supposed to taste to me. The other kinds are ok,and I'll buy them when they are much lower, but Virginia style is superior. German sausages from the German butcher are also a splurge. They carry the good European bread to go with their amazing cold cuts. I count what I buy there as eating out prices, and consider it lucky that we are not tipping for it, lol. I guess it is a way to justify those prices for eating at home and having it cost so much, lol....I don't even know what the price per lb is and prefer not to know. It is the one time I don't know prices out of everything else I do in life and hope to never know as it would ruin it for me. I get a large bag of stuff and it is spread out over several meals, but is probably our largest splurge, only done once in a while..... We do only drink imported beer and since most domestic is so awful, don't even consider that a splurge. It is a necessity to drink the better quality. After becoming used to German/Austrian beer over there, it is impossible to accept less. It sounds snobby, but if anyone did a side by side comparison, they'd forgive us ;) Luckily, we don't drink quantity. Often, dh and I will split a beer with dinner just to accompany certain foods. Our fave wine is a German reisling by Schmitte Sonne, which has a screw top, so is not crazy expensive, but it does cost more than many other whites we could buy instead. Since we buy by the case, we cut the costs some. It is always a hit when we bring some as a hostess gift.

Oh, gosh, if I put things in capital letters I do it for emphasis. I would never be so boorish as to yell at someone on a forum. So if I have offended anyone I apologize. My mother was a squabbler and it was really embarrassing for me as a teenager because she would take anybody on and run her mouth till she figured she'd "won". But my best friend had a mother who always said, "If you can't say anything nice don't say anything at all". I really respected that woman for her restraint and her good manners. So you won't find me being obnoxious on a forum, on purpose, anyway. I appreciate everyone's input. Even if you don't all have the same opinions, it still gives me lots to think about. And, knowing that some things sound more harsh when they are written than the writer may have meant, I try to take everything other people say at face value. I love these forums and feel like I have learned so much from them. Cearbhaill, I'm going to offer Pearl a raw chicken wing tip today and see what she does. Stbonner, I will watch out for gluten on the ingredients list from now on. And also "meat by-products" or "meat and bone meal". Thanks for that information. Those who use blood-soaked sawdust from the floor, what would they call that? Does that fall in the "meat by-products" category? Minnie, I think that's a good idea you have there. I think it would be good to e-mail all these pet food producers who have the above items on their lists of ingredients and tell them we know what that is and we will not be buying their products as long as those ingredients are on the list. If they are just asked "if" they include euthanized pets and roadkill in their food, they'll just find someone who works there that doesn't know about "anything" that they put in the food, who can then truthfully tell you "I know of no such ingredients in our brand". Here's the ingredients list on the Chicken Soup brand of cat food: chicken, chicken meal, cracked pearled barley, chicken fat preserved with mixed tocopherols, ocean fish meal, white rice, potatoes, oatmeal, millet, natural chicken flavor, salmon, turkey, duck, flaxseed, sodium bisulfate, egg product, methionine, potassium chloride, choline chloride, dried chicory root, taurine, kelp, carrots, peas, apples, tomatoes, blueberries, spinach, dried skim milk, cranberry powder, rosemary extract, parsley flakes, yucca schidigera extract, L-carnitine, Enterococcus facium, Lactobacillus casei, Lactobacillus acidophilus, Saccharomyces cerevisiae fermentation solubles, dried Aspergillus oryzae fermentation extract, zinc proteinate, vitamin E supplement, niacin, manganese proteinate, copper proteinate, zinc sulfate, manganese sulfate, copper sulfate, thiamine mononitrate, vitamin A supplement, biotin, potassium iodide, calcium pantothenate, riboflavin, pyridoxine hydrochloride (vitamin B6), vitamin B12 supplement, manganese oxide, sodium selenite, vitamin D supplement, folic acid. I had never heard of Eagle Pack. I checked the price and it runs about $2 for a 13-oz can of cat food, if ordered from Amazon.com. I have sent an e-mail to a distributor 35 miles away to see what their price is. For that price, though, I'd think it would be cheaper to feed raw chicken if she will eat it. Would there be calcium in the cartilage that's in the wing? When I had cats as a child we always fed them milk and table scraps, and they supplemented it by hunting. Then people started saying cats couldn't digest milk and not to feed it. My dog, Sonny, has gotten so that he doesn't want to eat the dry Chicken Soup dog food. So to about a cup of dry food I've been adding about a half cup of leftovers from our most recent meal and some water that had sausage cooked in it (fat removed), or water with dry milk powder added, and he has been cleaning the bowl.

Good ideas so far. A few other ideas to keep in mind: Price per pound is good, but also keep in mind price per serving. For instance, a boneless roast is worth much more than bone-in. Compute waste into your end cost calculations. Also, sometimes you can find "individual" serving sizes can actually save you money. For instance, one of my "treats" is occasional snack/junk food. Rather than buy a big bag of potato chips which will go stale quickly when opened, I buy the single serve bags of the assorted chips/popcorn/cheese curls at Aldi. That lasts me 4-6 months and satisfies my treat desire. Certainly more expensive than buying a big bag of generic chips, but factor in the waste (as mentioned before) it still is cheaper. A friend has young kids and buys sliced cheese rather than block since a kid's slice is a slice whether 1/32" thick or 1.5" thick! Granted, they could slice it for them, but they splurge a bit on that with a compensation. A calculator, pen and paper are your best friends for shopping. Just because an endcap says it's on sale doesn't mean it's a good value. Frugal living is not something learned or embraced overnight. It's a lifestyle that you get into more and more. Accept that now and then you'll get fooled on a cost, we all have. For instance, seeing what you think is a good buy and it turns out the size is smaller than usual, or whatever. I always recommend the Tightwad Gazette series to people to use as a learning tool. It gives you ideas to think out of the box as they say. For instance, maybe you can't save money this week on groceries. Don't fret. But how about saving on paper towels? Start using washable rags and ween yourself off paper towels? Perhaps a different toilet paper will work for you? I, and many others, like Scott brand and there's some generics with the same ideal. 1000 sheets per roll and if you start to watch your use (don't go crazy, but pay attention) this can be a very frugal product. Again, factor in the number of sheets since that's how you use it. One roll of Scott is equivalent to 5-7 rolls of other brands. I usually buy it for about 50-60¢ per roll. Perhaps you can use some cloth napkins instead of paper napkins? Dedicate some washcloths. They don't have to be fancy. And don't make a special purchase, use what you have. Other things, the usual turn off lights/TV/radio/stove etc not in use, unplug "wall warts" when not in use, use CFLs for significant savings. When baking, you can turn off the oven ahead of time and use residual heat to finish up. These are all starting steps. "Baby steps" if you please. Keep calm by all means don't panic. Record your successes and pat yourself on the back for them. Pay attention to your money and compare your bills. Do you have some old receipts? Track them and see what you're paying for that can of beans, or tuna, or celery. Log prices of commonly purchased items and learn what really is a good price. If you buy something only once a year, it's not as important as something you buy weekly. Of course don't forget gasoline. If you don't have to make that trip this time, you'll save money just in gas. Check your insurance for better prices and to see if you're overinsured. Maybe you can share things and split costs. Do you have a neighbor that can use part of a bulk pack that saves you both money? Or can just one of you shop for both if you only need a few things? Or carpool to the store? Reduce, reuse, repair, recycle. Have a pantry and sometimes go without? Don't torture yourself but maybe instead of a special trip to get meat for dinner, you settle for omelets for supper, or canned soup and enjoy something different. Very important: Mindset. If you look at it as an adventure and new experience it'll go fine. If you look at it as depriving yourself, it won't. You're doing what you have to do. And be cautious of false pride. Make it known that you'd rather receive a ham or turkey as a gift instead of a souvenier plate from Disneyland. Are you in a situation where you can share a garden? Someone can come use your land for a garden, or hunting or something and you get part of the "take"? Again, think outside of the box. Trick yourself into saving money. For instance we often use too much shampoo for example. Take the bottle and dilute it 50/50 with water. It'll work as well and you'll cut your cost in half. A disabled husband can present unique challenges for you. Not knowing the nature you may not be able to turn down the heat too much and use sweaters, sweatshirts, etc. But you could close off rooms that aren't in use and turn off the heat registers in there too. There's a lot of good info in the forum. And a lot of good, caring people. It's helpful to kick ideas around, success stories, failures, suggestions and the like. I know you have ideas to contribute too. Don't be bashful! Keep on posting! Let us know how it's going!

OK, here's the tentative plan I'm working on and I would love some critiques from any west Michiganders out there. We are staying in a small town in northern Michigan and plan on spending our time between beaches in and around Pentwater and Whitehall. We'll pass through Grand Rapids on the way up and back. I've decided tonight to stop for pizza on the way up, and try and figure out if our conclusion that Michigan pizza is mediocre at best is just because that's the way it is in my small hometown. I'm torn between going old-school and stopping at Fricanos in Grand Haven, or trying some online recommended pizzas from the west side of Grand Rapid around Lake and Leonard. I used to work near there and plan on stopping and hiking around my old work place anyway. I'm also going to make some oatmeal raisin cookies. Not particularly healthy but no worse than the trail mix we might munch on and they are SO's favorite so going to surprise him. Will put nuts in there and make them with whole wheat. Going to pack some zucchini bread I already made, some cheese, hard boiled eggs, and yogurt for breakfasts. Heading to Michigan's fruit belt so will hopefully pick up some good fruit there. I have peaches and apples otherwise. We like to go out for breakfast but if we can't find something that looks like it is worth doing, I'll throw in some pancake mix and fake sausage and maybe we can find some blueberries for Sunday. For lunches I am going to let my garden and fridge dictate. I have some "low carb" wraps that need to get eaten up, and I'll pack some hummus, feta, avocados and turkey for fillings. I'm going to also make "Bulgarian salad" from Enchanted Broccoli forest cookbook. It's basically a riff on chopped salad with lots of cukes and fresh herbs, which I have on hand. Can be thrown in the wraps too. Will also make some crudites with the carrots, broccoli and celery I have in the fridge. Hope to find some cherry toms at a farm stand. I'd love to make some pasta with the fresh ingredients I might find up north, but I'm too lazy for that so I'm going to pack some burgers and some baked beans since I have some organic hamburger that never made its way into chili and will please SO. I'll do a veggie burger. I seem to have more baked beans than I need in the pantry to that will help pare that down. I have some green beans that need to get used up so I'll probably make three bean salad and maybe buy a bag of coleslaw. We might find some good corn on the road. If I can also find good Lake fish, I'll skip the burgers for Sunday night at home and do the fish instead on Sat.