I remember my mother going to “tupperware parties” in our neighborhood back in the 1960s.
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I started a Tupperware thread.
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Your mother?? Ouch! I went to tupperware parties, probably in the late 70’s
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I consider BBQ a type of regional food delicacy, often from one-off locations (Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives, anyone?) and that sounds like delicious catering to me. (Something like In-N-Out Burger is conglomerate fast food, thus less “unique” or “special occasion” but I’m not going to care what others do at their own function.)
Our home grew up with Tupperwear. Love how innovative the company offerings have been. As for plastic storage, when I use it, I often put food in parchment paper first. I also use glass for storage, glass/cast iron/stainless for the kitchen - they are very durable and thus frugal for college-paying parents.
As to different cards for tracking money, as @coolguy40 is doing - interesting concept. We have two cards that we use for points right now. Store loyalty points can be another way to get more bang for your buck, but can lead to more spending, so they have to be wielded mindfully.
Old-school handwritten lists really help me keep focus on what needs to be done (chore-wise), what needs to be picked up from the store, and what to drop off for my kid at college. By maintaining focus on current and upcoming essentials, that helps me have a budget for things that we need so I can source them at a “non-panicky-last-minute” price. Being a planner has helped our family to live more frugally in a HCOL area.
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Our church has done something in the past on a periodic basis called a “Four-Course Fellowship”, where 4 couples sign up to bring a single course to a dinner for the whole group of 8. So they get both food and fellowship.
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It’s all about hospitality, not cost. Once several years ago we went to two parties on the same day. The first was a “family brunch” at the home of some extremely wealthy friends (home upwards of 7 million). They relegated everyone to the basement because they didn’t want the kids to make a mess. There were no windows and you couldn’t take in the lovely view from their lakefront home. They served expensive trays of food (lox, smoked fish…which everyone does like…even most kids in our circle) but for drinks they served a grocery store bottled water (the taste of that water is yucky because of the cheap plastic) and had some soft drinks which tasted off (a fellow friend told the hostess that the soda was expired to which she replied “Oh we don’t’ drink soda, so we just keep it forever, its from our party last year.” She also said after a friend told her that the water bottles ended up abandoned because they made the water untasty that because they themselves never used water bottles, they had no idea that some would be different than others so wanted to get what was cheapest) They made people wait to use the one basement bathroom rather than have them go upstairs to one of the 5 other bathrooms. It felt so unwelcoming.
Then that afternoon, we went to a “summer family get together” at a friend who lives in a very small house worth about 5 percent of the other family’s home. They had emptied their basement fridge and filled it was every kind of beverage you could imagine. . They had made a wide assortment of cookies of all sorts and laid them out in rows on their dining room table. Light poured into the home and the kids were encouraged to be anywhere they wanted including the yards and patio where they had loads of bubbles and sidewalk chalk for the taking. It felt so wonderful and welcoming.
Just an FYI about the drinks…our social circle never serves alcohol when kids are invited. It is barely served at adult get togethers.
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We have always lived this way:
• Cut your cell phone bill (ask for offers/deals –go right to the cancellations dept)
• Don’t eat out frequently & find the deals when you do (1/2 price pizza night, etc.)
• Don’t order expensive alcohol when you do go out
• Cut your own lawn
• Clean your own house
• Cut professional mani/pedis
• DIY when possible
• Programmable thermostat
• Cut cable/streaming
• Find free/low-cost entertainment/activities
• Wash clothes in cold water
• Meal prep
• Use the library – don’t buy books
• Try generic brands (some “big guys” actually produce the grocery store chain brands)
• Cut your gym membership (see if there is a free or low-cost county facility, etc.)
• Maintain and keep your car longer (and don’t buy one with all the bells and whistles)
• Maintain your house
• Maintain your health
• In general, resist the marketing! (for ex, do your new appliances really need to connect to WiFi?)
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That sounds like a good idea, if you don’t mind tracking a lot of cards.
We have kept to one main credit card (to pile on the frequent flier points from our United Visa). But I’ve often thought that it could be helpful to have one card for ‘needs’ (groceries, gas, etc) and another card for ‘wants’ (discretionary expenses). I do take an annual look at the Visa spending report, a really good way to see categorization.
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But I need a smart toaster and a wi-fi iron…
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I think a lot of the cost cutting measures we have done or just avoided the expenses in the first place revolve around food and drink.
We never doordash or ubereats our food.
We bring lunch to work.
Starbucks/Dunkin is only once a week for my better half.
We make dinner at least 5 nights a week. Now that we are empty nesters one meal turns into leftovers often.
We shop the sales at Walmart/Grocery Stores.
We are able to save at least $300-400 a month by doing those items.
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