Showcase: Retro Food
Tarrant blogs at Retro-Food.com. Retro-Food has a darling nostalgic design and all the recipes you remember seeing in your mother and grandmother's cookbooks and recipe boxes. Browsing this blog was a blast from the past!
Does frugal living come easily for you or is it a struggle?
It either comes really easy for me or I struggle. When push comes to shove I am a natural. I can create a meal for a huge family or family and guests with what others would call "no food in the house." Throw a little "extra" cash my way, I am horrible at not spending. I don't spend it on myself, it is always other people, mostly my children. I am getting better with being more even-handed with frugality across the board though.
Did it take you a while to "find your voice," or do you feel you've always been the same as a blogger?
It took me a while to find my voice which surprised me. I have been involved in online community for the better part of 12 years. Really involved, mostly on message boards. When I finally decided to blog, I thought it would be easy. It took a while and blogs still feel different than boards/forums to me but I think I have got it. It helps when I get comments. They really encourage me.
What do you know about your readers? What do you think draws them to your blog?
I know that they are Brim coffee fans. No, not really, but I do get a lot of visitors from a post I did on that. Actually most readers seem to come looking for either menus or a certain recipe that their mother or grandmother made. Then they stay.
What was your worst or craziest frugal idea?
The one that sticks out in my mind is the one that my father teased me about for years. I had just gotten married and my father took us to Costco to buy groceries. I was trying to be super frugal and so we went down the meat aisle and I would look at one thing, put it in the cart, then see something cheaper a pound and then get something else and put the first one back. I ended up getting one of those giant processed turkey breasts like you see in the supermarket deli. Not the best buy for cooking for two. My father was somewhat amused. Then we sauntered down the soda aisle. First I put one case of soda in. Then took it out and put a cheaper one in. Then took it out and put another one in. Then again. My father got frustrated and said I had to stick with that one. We ended up with a case of practically undrinkable grape soda--which neither my new husband or I liked.
How does the rest of your family feel about your frugal ideas?
My children can be a little grouchy about it sometimes, though all and all I think they admire it. As homeschool home ec, not this past spring but the spring before, our 17 year old, then 15, was given a grocery budget, (not a generous one) and she planned weekly menus, shopping lists, and cooked (most days) for several months. We have also covered other important lessons with her as far as saving money from her job, checking accounts, use of credit-those financial education lessons that every teen should get, but so few do.
My partner is even thriftier than I am, so I don't really get bonus points for frugal living there.
Why be frugal?
Frugality just makes sense. It teaches your children good habits. It is better for your waistline, your health, and your lifestyle in general. If you aren't worrying about how to buy this new thing and that new thing, how to pay your bills, you have more time to enjoy your family. Yes, our thrifty lifestyle is reinforced by a lack of abundant resources, so we do have those months where bill paying is rough. We know we can get through it though. It also just feels right; when we do have money, because we haven't wasted it on "stuff", we are able help others. That is very important to us as a family.
Thank you for your time, Tarrant. I really enjoy your blog!
Would you like to see your blog featured here? Join the Frugal Blogroll and email me for a questionnaire.
Want more like this post? Read on!
- Ways to get free food a guest post from the Frugal Fraulein Being the Frugal...
4 Responses to “Showcase: Retro Food”
October 11th, 2007 at 1:34 pm
Thanks for interviewing me!
October 11th, 2007 at 6:21 pm
I love the Retro Food blog! I try to visit every day and really love the old 40 and 50′s videos! I will be making the Witch’s Nut Cake soon.
October 11th, 2007 at 8:35 pm
I have been a fan of Retro Food for a long, long time. Tarrant has a great flair for blogging!
Even though I wouldn’t consider making some (okay, most) of the recipes at home, they do give you insight into the pre-convenience-food kitchen. Sometimes that’s enough of a kick in the pants to get me out of a cooking “frugal rut.”
October 12th, 2007 at 2:25 pm
I’ve been trying some of Tarrant’s recipe with great success. It’s a wonderful blog.
Leave a Comment