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image: Marine Le Gac on Unsplash |
Our comment section absolutely exploded this weekend. We had a massive chat about the non-frugal items we stubbornly keep in our budgets, even when things are tight.
While the answers spanned everything from high-quality bathroom tissue to organic apples and Tillamook ice cream, the overwhelming majority of you marched straight down the dairy aisle.
There was one clear, undisputed king of the budget splurge: grass-fed butter.
Specifically, the comment section turned into an unexpected ad campaign for Kerrygold, closely followed by fans of the Kirkland grass-fed brand, and even a mention of a new-to-us brand of Irish butter, Truly. And to think I had no idea Kerrygold butter was even a thing. It turns out a lot of us are more than willing to cut back elsewhere just to secure that rich, yellow goodness for our morning toast.
But here is my favorite part of our community: we don’t all cook or eat the exact same way.
While the butter fans were making their case, several readers jumped in to share that they (or members of their household) don't use butter at all, or prefer a half-and-half butter blend, or use butter in some cooking but not in all. It reminded me that true frugality isn't a one-size-fits-all rule list. It is about intentionality -- deliberately spending on what brings you value, whether that means premium Irish butter, a dairy alternative, or no butter at all!
Since so many of us choose to spend our hard-earned dollars on at least a couple of premium items, let's see if we can't brainstorm some strategies to maximize our favorite splurges and make them last longer.
1. Create Intentional Space (Around the Consumption or Use of That Item)
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Image: Nicolas Lobos on Unsplash |
This is what I mean: I try to really savor my butter. If I'm having a piece of toast with butter with my breakfast, I don't try to wash my bites down with coffee in a hurry. I savor those first couple of bites, paying attention to what I'm putting into my mouth.
If my thing was Dawn dish soap, I would try to remember to take a moment to appreciate how clean and quickly the detergent got my dishes.
If the product I'm splurging on is a more healthful version, but tastes the same as a conventional version, I still make myself slow down and enjoy the consumption. If it's a food item, put it on a nice plate or in a nice cup or glass. Like Tina's favorite organic apples -- rinse off the dust, slice into thin wedges, plate on a lovely piece of porcelain, and enjoy every taste.
Slow down. Let the savoring paint a glow over that moment in your day. Savor, savor, savor.
2. The "Less Is More" Paradox
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Image: Sarah Elizabeth on Unsplash |
If you really savor your experience with your splurge, you might find you consume less. Put a single moderate-size scoop of your favorite ice cream into a beautiful dish instead of a large scoop. Now take a few minutes to really enjoy that cold treat. If a particular coffee flips your switch, make slightly less and pour your serving into a smaller cup. Smaller servings make the stash of treats last longer.
Or maybe you use less by having it less often. On ice cream, Ruthie mentioned that her guilty pleasure is Tillamook brand ice cream, but that she typically only buys it for their family gatherings. Another example, I love good chocolate. I'd rather have a small piece of good chocolate once a month than a large hunk of poor quality chocolate every week.
With some products, the superior nature of the item inherently results in lower usage. A better dish soap cleans with less product. Perhaps that's why Ruthie's husband's childhood family always bought the big blue bottle. Kris and Cat mentioned they like a plushier bathroom tissue. As you might guess, better quality TP doesn't need to be folded and folded and folded in order to have what you need. Fewer squares, just as clean. The end result is using less makes the "splurge budget" go further.
3. Smart Strategic Substitution
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Image: Luke Pennystan on Unsplash |
There's a concept that can be applied to many areas of our lives called Strategic Layering. Strategic layering is an approach that works towards an ultimate and complex goal while implementing different and tailored strategies for the many parts of the operation. Our ultimate and complex goal might be to live within a budget while eating healthfully and with enjoyment. But with each step toward the goal, we may choose different methods to carry them out. We are layering on steps as we work toward a goal.
To put this into action, use your splurge in ways that are meaningful to you or that its star qualities shine best. This is also where my "I like butter I can see" philosophy comes into play. Unmelted butter on toast is creamy. Part of what I enjoy about butter is its mouth feel. Melted butter on toast may have the flavor, but is now oily. You may have this same feeling about margarine spreads. Once it melts, it changes.
Shelby mentioned she likes to use margarine in some quick breads, as they turn out less dry with the margarine compared to using butter. Since no one enjoys dry-textured quick breads, some of butter's star qualities are lost in some types of those baked goods.
If premium grass-fed butter is your thing, baking in general may not be the best use for the elevated butter, as the flavors and creaminess of these butters may be lost in the baking. Regular butter may work just fine. Of course, there are some baked good recipes that rely heavily of butter as a main component, as Lynn reminded us concerning baking shortbread. The good quality butter really did improve those cookies.
If a cup of premium French press coffee on a Saturday morning speaks luxury to you, you may want to simply enjoy it in a cup but make your next tiramisu with a non-premium coffee.
Another example, your indulgence may be super high quality bathroom tissue. That's great, but your young grandkids are coming over for the afternoon for a little nana and me time. Knowing how kids can go through the TP (and not at all appreciate it), you may want to switch out that super high-end roll with a stepped down roll.
It doesn't mean you need to swap the worst in place of the best in these examples. It's a matter of finding a next best choice for when the star qualities of an item are lost, either because of preparation or because of audience. For most of our premium item splurges, there are acceptable less expensive substitutions for when it doesn't have to be the best of the best.
In a pecan nutshell, don't waste the Kerrygold in a baked cake where the specific qualities of this Irish butter are masked by sugar, flour, vanilla and cocoa powder. Use the cheap store brand butter in this case. Save the high-end butter for the finishing steps in cooking, like topping a serving of steaming vegetables, or smearing onto a slice of toast, or dolloping into the well of a helping of mashed potatoes.
4. The Wizarding World of Freezing Butter (and Other Beloved Bits)
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my current freezer stash of butter |
Don't you just hate it when you find a great price on your splurge while actually shopping in the store, and you buy ONE, then later in the day or week, you kick yourself for not stocking up?
Mark this in the notepad of your mind -- butter freezes beautifully with this one simple trick. Wrap your butter in aluminum foil, freezer wrap, or a freezer storage bag, then top with another freezer bag before placing in a 0 degree freezer. The double-bagging locks freezer odors out.
Experts will tell you butter stays good for up to a year this way, but I can tell you I've successfully frozen butter, double-bagged for more than 2 years and it tasted as good as newly purchased butter.
For whatever your splurge is, look up the best extended-term storage practices for that item, whether its freezing, storing in a mylar bag/airtight container with oxygen absorbers, or if it's a paper product, store stock-up amounts long-term inside large plastic storage tubs in dry locations, not bathrooms, not damp basements, not garages, and certainly not outdoor sheds.
Know this one thought throughout your shopping being: When you find a deal on your most favorite splurge item, remember you will kick yourself if you don't stock up. This can be a single-item-only thought process, "when I find Kerrygold on sale, I will buy X quantity and store securely." You may want to even create a splurge item fund that covers the stock-up amount when you happen upon it on sale. If that is a set dollar amount, like $30 in this fund, then you could tell yourself you will buy stock-up amounts up to the $30.
5. The Art of the Stretch
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Image: Deva Williamson on Unsplash |
There are times when you want to enjoy your splurge entirely on its own. You want the flavor of your preferred toast spread, as is. Then there are times that stretching it also works well, increasing the volume and potentially elevating the flavor profile further.
Let's say you've baked a beautiful loaf of artisan bread. You could take some of the grass-fed butter and whip it with a bit of olive oil plus chopped, fresh herbs and savories. The result is known as a compound butter. For a zesty and fresh take, whip together a half-cup of unsalted butter with a splash of olive oil (tablespoon or two), plus some loosely-packed lemon zest, parsley, chives, and dill weed and a tiny bit of sea salt to equal 1/4 cup of total additions.
For the classic compound butter, take that same half-cup of unsalted butter, splash of olive oil plus loose-packed fresh parsley, rosemary, thyme, minced garlic and a tiny bit of sea salt (totaling 1/4 cup of additions).
Both resulting spreads can be kept in a crock, covered tightly in the fridge for up to 2 weeks or in a freezer container, sealed well, for up to 6 months. In any case, you've expanded the original butter from 1/2 cup to 5/8 cup of final product. Granted the olive oil and herbs add cost. In many cases, your final cost will still be less per ounce than the original premium butter. And since you are adding flavors to the butter, making compound butter would be a good excuse to use half grass-fed butter and half store-brand butter, reducing the final cost even more.
If your splurge is organic produce, you can "stretch" the most expensive organic ones with the less expensive ones. For example, a fruit compote. Organic bananas are priced just a few cents more per pound at Walmart than traditionally-grown bananas. A fruit salad using some banana, some apple, and a few berries (all organic) makes the most of the most expensive of the organic fruit (the berries).
If you are trying to make a special coffee stretch for more servings, you can brew the first cup as usual, save the grounds, and then add 1/2 scoop of new coffee for the second cup. The second cup may not taste quite like the first, but it will still be a high-quality cup of Joe.
A similar tactic works for tea. After that cuppa, save the tea bag in a plastic bag in the fridge for up to 24 hours or in the freezer for a couple of weeks. (Squeeze out excess water from bags to be frozen.) Continue adding once-steeped bags to the baggie until you have 2 to 3. When ready to brew that "new" cup, put all of the steeped bags into a cup, cover with boiling water, and allow to steep just a little longer than normal to extract all of the flavor.
Obviously, the more of these strategies one uses the more will be saved. However, i'll point out that this can be a cafeteria plan, where you pick and choose which strategies work best for your situation. Hate the idea of having premium coffee fewer days of the week? Fine, stock up on your fav when you find a great price, then store your stash under the best conditions available to you. You can't stand the thought of your pricey butter being stretched with anything at all? Then really savor the moments when you use it in a finishing situation but sub in store brand butter for applications where the premium flavors and textures will be masked.
Some of these tips go beyond simple frugal living, and instead delve into a mindful philosophy for the enjoyment of little luxuries. Stretching your favorite splurges isn't just about pinching pennies. It's about changing how we interact with the items we choose to bring into our homes. Whether you are employing a use less of your high-end treats strategy, using a few kitchen hacks to blend and stretch your volume, exercising some portion control while really enjoying the experience, or reserving your stash to use strategically where its quality will matter, you have put yourself into the driver's seat of your budget. You're in control. Most importantly, when we create space around a moment and really savor our splurge, we turn a basic grocery purchase into a genuine daily luxury. As we say so often here, frugal living doesn't mean living a life of deprivation. It means having our little indulgences but making them last.
Whether you are team Kerrygold, team margarine, or swear by a completely different household luxury altogether, we all want our splurges to last! What can you add to these strategies? Do you have a secret stretching hack of your own? Do you have a different take on any of my suggestions? Let's talk about it in the comments below!
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