Cheerful Frugality At Table
When we first begin to budget, we eliminate so many extras. Goodbye, gas station chips and coke! So long, Subway! Farewell, restaurants with waiters and real napkins. But that's where many beginners make a critical mistake:
Cheerful frugality requires us to replace what we took away with something equally good or better.
Going from fast-food freedom to beans-and-rice, rice-and-beans is a sure-fire way to crack a new budget. Beans and rice is a filling tightwad tradition...but, let's admit it: calling the same meal Cuban black beans with fresh green tomato salsa sounds so much more appealing.
Cheerful frugality means using your God-given creativity to fill the gap between what we think we need and what we have. There's no better place to start than the family meal table.
Begin with a blessing. Thank you, oh Lord, for these thy gifts which we are about to receive. Do we approach each meal as if it were a gift to be unwrapped by our family?
Write a menu. Coordinate side dishes. Invent new names for old favorites. Declare themes. Not every meal needs a pinata to feel festive, but attention to detail goes a long way.
Go out to eat...in your own home. Even if you dine next to the dirty pots and pans (especially if you dine next to the dirty pots and pans), you can create a special atmosphere for everyday meals. Invest in a $7 dimmer switch for the hanging light above your table. Flip off the fluorescents, play some soft music, and watch the rest of the kitchen fade away. If you don't have an overhead light, try a shaded candlestick lamp with a low wattage bulb.
Set the table, set the tone. Have you ever watched a child drink milk from a crystal goblet? Ooh, la la! Fancy manners! Pull out the good stuff for your favorite people in the whole wide world. Zoom the fun factor with '60s Melmac and floor cushions around the coffee table. Scour the house for unusual containers. Cut old fabric into napkins. Designate an odd piece of transferware as the family's "Blue Plate Special."
Get the best table in the house, whether you have a dining room or a dining don't. Martha Stewart just called casters "a good thing," but families have been adding them to kitchen table legs for years. Small spaces truly benefit from a table which moves with the family's needs. Other less-traditional options include folding bistro tables and sturdy picnic tables for large families.
Extend your hospitality. You don't have to keep meeting in expensive restaurants. Welcome guests, no matter what size table you own. Plan a one-fork menu served around the house. Make a buffet table from an old door or shipping crate. Buy two tables for the look of one.
These thoughts only scratch the surface of cheerful frugality at table. For me, it's more about attitude than aptitude. I'll never be a fine cook, but I relish the challenge of creating a satisfying meal with what I have around me. For more frugal table photos, join me at Like Merchant Ships, where I'll be serving up secondhand inspiration every day this week.
Until then, I'd love to hear your techniques for making memorable meals at home. Thank you so much for sharing your experience with us!
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12 Responses to “Cheerful Frugality At Table”
October 1st, 2007 at 11:15 am
These tips are fantastic! They really capture the essence of being frugal.
I think passing on the cheerful frugal attitude also means getting your family involved. For me, I like to tell my husband about my low-cost grocery bill and free or extremely low-cost food items I have purchased.
He gets excited and more supportive with every passing day.
October 1st, 2007 at 2:19 pm
Wonderful tips, Meredith! We also have learned to give dinners new names and have dinner dates at home. I find that I can feed my family of 5 for around $10 a day and I don’t believe we skimp- it’s definitely more of a variety than beans and rice.
) It does make us less apt to want to eat out when we can make “lavish” meals much cheaper here at home. Plus it saves on gasoline too! It’s a twofer! My oldest daughter (age 10.5) has even gone so far as to set up at-home dates for my hubby and I. She’ll set things up for us to eat separately from the kiddos and then will keep them busy with a DVD or games while we have a quiet dinner just the 2 of us. Who wants to go out when you can have that?!!
We also have dinner and a movie nites for our whole family- pjs, piles of pillows (move the living room furniture), homemade pizza and popcorn.
Another one- making a meal to go along with a book you are reading and don’t forget to read from the book during/after your meal! A fun one around here- Give a Pig a Pancake and pancakes. Monkey bread and Curious George. A family dish- Salmagundi, affectionally known as Slop, and Charlotte’s web. And so on and so on.
October 1st, 2007 at 5:08 pm
Meredith – This is such inspiration for me. DH and I love going out to eat, but it’s just gotten to the point that it is such a rare treat – babysitters are just not in the cards right now. But we need those date nights more than the once or twice a year we can get away!
I have definitely noticed that the more we eat at home, the better the kids behave and the more satisfied we all are. I’m working on being more creative in what I cook – trying to be healthier and just more diverse. Being more creative in the way I present things will really help, too. Just taking a few minutes to switch from school/project table to dining table will be a big difference!
October 1st, 2007 at 5:14 pm
nice ideas! I have a pretty glass pitcher that I put iced water in on the table, and we have some gorgeous old-fashioned coloured glasses.
I’m not Christian so I don’t say grace, but our dinnertime conversation often includes a reference to how fortunate we are to have good food and family to share it with.
I also think it sets a good example when adults present thank whoever prepared the meal and compliment them on it, however humble it is!
October 1st, 2007 at 10:13 pm
Great post! Helen is so right! My husband makes a point to complement most meals and I tell ‘ya it doesn’t cost a cent and it is pretty motivating!
October 1st, 2007 at 11:10 pm
I too love making our family meals fun, and now we have such high expectations when we go out to eat because the experience has to measure up to home!
We like to have theme nights from time to time (Caribean/ Tropical, Italian Romance, 50s diner, etc.) and I’ll purchase a few songs from Itunes to help set the mood. Most songs cost 99 cents each, so I buy 4-5 (just enough for meal time). I can make a custom music mix, which is really fun, for less than a themed CD, and I get to hand pick which songs to include.
Sometimes we also watch a movie that goes with the theme. Here are a few ideas:
-Italian night- lasagna, chicken caccitore, watch the Godfather or Lady & The Tramp
-50′s diner- burgers, fries & shakes, watch Grease
-Russian- Chicken Kiev, watch Dr. Zhivago or Anastasia
-French- Coq Au Vin, watch American in Paris or Beauty & the Beast
Who needs to go out when the party is at home?
October 2nd, 2007 at 8:58 am
My husband is the easiest man in the world to please…which is good, because he likes everything, but bad, because I have no idea what he likes best! But after 13 years, I have just learned to be thankful for that quality, which used to annoy me to no end.
So I set the table how I like it…and use the “good dishes” on a regular basis, and make the food beautiful.
Because that blesses my heart, and doesn’t cost a thing!
October 5th, 2007 at 12:07 pm
So true! We like to “dress up” a meal by having a buffet or having a “server” My kids both seem to LOVE to do this and will ask for it. FYI here in the Commonwealth “soup beans” are pretty much for broke folks. Now, BLACK BEANS–those are exotic!!! heheheheh Cheap food to me is that stuff they try to call “Mac and Cheese” out of the box. The best way to fix “cheap” food? Stock up on FREE cookbooks at the library!!
October 6th, 2007 at 8:26 am
For my tween/teen DD’s and their friends, I let them loose with candlesticks, vases, etc., and THEY set the table.
Like the toddler and the goblet, their manners improve. Even if dinner is just baked potatoes and salad.
August 19th, 2010 at 8:31 pm
[...] Frugal Hacks: Cheerful Frugality at Table If you’re used to eating out, switching to at-home dining can be difficult. FH pitches in with good ideas about creating a restaurant-like ambiance in the kitchen. [...]
September 3rd, 2010 at 3:34 pm
[...] Frugal Hacks: Cheerful Frugality at Table If you’re used to eating out, switching to at-home dining can be difficult. FH pitches in with good ideas about creating a restaurant-like ambiance in the kitchen. [...]
September 12th, 2010 at 12:50 pm
[...] Frugal Hacks: Cheerful Frugality at Table If you’re used to eating out, switching to at-home dining can be difficult. FH pitches in with good ideas about creating a restaurant-like ambiance in the kitchen. [...]
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