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Hand washing dishes versus using dishwasher
Lately I’ve been questioning things that I previously always accepted. Dishwashers are my next target! Wondering if handwashing is cheaper, quicker and more effective. We are told that using a dishwasher saves energy and water over hand washing. I’m starting to wonder. Generally I give dishes a quick rinse before loading into the dishwasher. Then it runs for 2-3 hours. Then some stubborn stains will have to be scrubbed off by hand. I don’t use the dry setting so then I have to wipe off the drips and put the dishes away. Versus handwashing where I use a big bowl of warm soapy water to wash the dishes and a bit more warm water to rinse off. Everything gets washed thoroughly. If I used 2 bowls of water (one for washing and one for rinsing) I would barely use any water at all, and zero electricity is used. Has anyone compared electric bills with dishwasher use versus hand washing? And modern dishwashers break after a couple of years. I’m starting to think they are unnecessary except to sell a house since most buyers have to have one. Thoughts?
#finance
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Lately I’ve been questioning things that I previously always accepted. Dishwashers are my next target! Wondering if handwashing is cheaper, quicker and more effective. We are told that using a dishwasher saves energy and water over hand washing. I’m starting to wonder. Generally I give dishes a quick rinse before loading into the dishwasher. Then it runs for 2-3 hours. Then some stubborn stains will have to be scrubbed off by hand. I don’t use the dry setting so then I have to wipe off the drips and put the dishes away. Versus handwashing where I use a big bowl of warm soapy water to wash the dishes and a bit more warm water to rinse off. Everything gets washed thoroughly. If I used 2 bowls of water (one for washing and one for rinsing) I would barely use any water at all, and zero electricity is used. Has anyone compared electric bills with dishwasher use versus hand washing? And modern dishwashers break after a couple of years. I’m starting to think they are unnecessary except to sell a house since most buyers have to have one. Thoughts?
#finance
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Bought a whole hog from a local farmer - full breakdown + real cost per pound
After my quarter-cow breakdown post garnered interest in this sub, I figured I'd make a second post for the whole hog we recently purchased.
I picked up our pork order today from the farmer, and I inventoried everything before putting it into our freezers. Sharing because seeing the actual take-home yield and cost per pound was really helpful for me when we started shopping for meat this way.
Location: Minnesota. Prices for livestock and processing will vary quite a bit by location.
We are a family of 4, and we rotate pork with beef, chicken, fish, and non-meat meals. We also host somewhat regularly and share food/meals with friends and family.
P.S. Pic of everything is at the very bottom of this thread.
\---
Pricing:
* Whole Hog: Averages \~210 lbs hanging weight
* Farmer charges: $4/lb hanging weight
* Butchering/processing included in final amount
* Total Paid: $929.61
Take Home Total: \~124lbs
Final Cost Per Pound (take-home): $\~7.50/lb
\---
Quality/Value Comparison:
I did some price checking - at $7.50/lb finished weight, this isn't necessarily cheaper than grocery store sales. We definitely seem to have come out "ahead" on the bacon, but maybe not much else.
It doesn't necessarily seem like it's the cheapest way to eat pork. If your main goal is *cheapest* possible way, watching grocery store sales and stocking up is probably going to beat buying an entire hog.
However, we appreciate that we're buying local, buying in bulk and getting a years' supply in one go. We know where the animal was raised, that the animal husbandry was good, and that we're not buying choice cuts over and over. We'll use everything from one single animal.
There's also a convenience factor - we don't need to watch for sales or buy any pork for the next 14-ish months or so. We can meal-plan around what we have.
**Adding**: A few people have commented about pricing. Compared to Walmart prices, yes, this is very high. Go into Whole Foods, a co-op that only sources from small farms, etc., it’s pretty close. Quality differences exist too. It might be too much for people, but we are happy with our purchase.
\---
Cuts Received:
* Ham (22.5lbs) - We had these smoked and cut into quarters, averaging \~3lbs each. We have eight total.
* Shoulder Roasts (22.65lbs) - We received 8 roasts total, averaging 3-3.5lbs each. We specifically requested as many roasts as possible and no pork steaks.
* Bone-in Pork Chops (21 lbs) - We received 17 packages of pork chops, with two chops per package.
* Breakfast Sausage Links (9.5lbs) - 18 packages total, with six small breakfast links per package
* Smoked Bratwurst (10 lbs) - 10 packages, or 40 bratwurst total
* Bacon (17 lbs) - We asked for thicker cut bacon, smoked, in 1lb packages. We also asked for the jowl bacon, which is included in this total.
* Country Style Ribs (5lbs) - Two packages
* Loin-End Roasts (5.25 lbs) - Two packages
* Smoked Shanks (2.14 lbs) - We didn't ask for this, but it's in here. We'll figure out some way to use it.
* Neck Bones (3.32 lbs) - We definitely didn't ask for these, but again, we'll find a way to use them.
* Rendered Leaf Lard (1.68lbs) - I'll use this for baking ~~and seasoning my cast iron~~
~~(~~Note: I won’t use it for cast iron - my husband had asked, but it seems that’s a terrible idea).
\---
Anyway, I hope this is helpful! Happy to answer questions!
​
#finance
source
After my quarter-cow breakdown post garnered interest in this sub, I figured I'd make a second post for the whole hog we recently purchased.
I picked up our pork order today from the farmer, and I inventoried everything before putting it into our freezers. Sharing because seeing the actual take-home yield and cost per pound was really helpful for me when we started shopping for meat this way.
Location: Minnesota. Prices for livestock and processing will vary quite a bit by location.
We are a family of 4, and we rotate pork with beef, chicken, fish, and non-meat meals. We also host somewhat regularly and share food/meals with friends and family.
P.S. Pic of everything is at the very bottom of this thread.
\---
Pricing:
* Whole Hog: Averages \~210 lbs hanging weight
* Farmer charges: $4/lb hanging weight
* Butchering/processing included in final amount
* Total Paid: $929.61
Take Home Total: \~124lbs
Final Cost Per Pound (take-home): $\~7.50/lb
\---
Quality/Value Comparison:
I did some price checking - at $7.50/lb finished weight, this isn't necessarily cheaper than grocery store sales. We definitely seem to have come out "ahead" on the bacon, but maybe not much else.
It doesn't necessarily seem like it's the cheapest way to eat pork. If your main goal is *cheapest* possible way, watching grocery store sales and stocking up is probably going to beat buying an entire hog.
However, we appreciate that we're buying local, buying in bulk and getting a years' supply in one go. We know where the animal was raised, that the animal husbandry was good, and that we're not buying choice cuts over and over. We'll use everything from one single animal.
There's also a convenience factor - we don't need to watch for sales or buy any pork for the next 14-ish months or so. We can meal-plan around what we have.
**Adding**: A few people have commented about pricing. Compared to Walmart prices, yes, this is very high. Go into Whole Foods, a co-op that only sources from small farms, etc., it’s pretty close. Quality differences exist too. It might be too much for people, but we are happy with our purchase.
\---
Cuts Received:
* Ham (22.5lbs) - We had these smoked and cut into quarters, averaging \~3lbs each. We have eight total.
* Shoulder Roasts (22.65lbs) - We received 8 roasts total, averaging 3-3.5lbs each. We specifically requested as many roasts as possible and no pork steaks.
* Bone-in Pork Chops (21 lbs) - We received 17 packages of pork chops, with two chops per package.
* Breakfast Sausage Links (9.5lbs) - 18 packages total, with six small breakfast links per package
* Smoked Bratwurst (10 lbs) - 10 packages, or 40 bratwurst total
* Bacon (17 lbs) - We asked for thicker cut bacon, smoked, in 1lb packages. We also asked for the jowl bacon, which is included in this total.
* Country Style Ribs (5lbs) - Two packages
* Loin-End Roasts (5.25 lbs) - Two packages
* Smoked Shanks (2.14 lbs) - We didn't ask for this, but it's in here. We'll figure out some way to use it.
* Neck Bones (3.32 lbs) - We definitely didn't ask for these, but again, we'll find a way to use them.
* Rendered Leaf Lard (1.68lbs) - I'll use this for baking ~~and seasoning my cast iron~~
~~(~~Note: I won’t use it for cast iron - my husband had asked, but it seems that’s a terrible idea).
\---
Anyway, I hope this is helpful! Happy to answer questions!
​
#finance
source
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Free low-effort things that immediately make you feel better
​
What are the free, low-effort things that immediately make you feel better? I find that focusing on these rewards help me avoid spending on days when I am worn out and need a little extra comfort/luxury, feel tired of being frugal, craving a little impulse shopping, etc. So much of frugality is managing your mental game and this seems to help me.
Here's my list so far...
Stretching
Walking outside when the weather is nice
A book from the library (or a good poem when time/attention is especially short)
Taking whatever meal you were planning to have and eating it outside
Looking at your husband or child
Taking deep breaths to smell your tea or coffee
Changing into loose, comfortable clothes after coming home
A warm shower or bath
#finance
source
​
What are the free, low-effort things that immediately make you feel better? I find that focusing on these rewards help me avoid spending on days when I am worn out and need a little extra comfort/luxury, feel tired of being frugal, craving a little impulse shopping, etc. So much of frugality is managing your mental game and this seems to help me.
Here's my list so far...
Stretching
Walking outside when the weather is nice
A book from the library (or a good poem when time/attention is especially short)
Taking whatever meal you were planning to have and eating it outside
Looking at your husband or child
Taking deep breaths to smell your tea or coffee
Changing into loose, comfortable clothes after coming home
A warm shower or bath
#finance
source