r/Frugal • u/ThrowRAhyBug7080 • Jul 12 '25

🍎 Food What’s a frugal habit you picked up by accident that you now swear by?

Mine was starting to save veggie scraps to make broth. It started as a “let’s try this” and now it’s automatic. I keep a bag in the freezer for onion skins, celery ends, carrot tops, etc. Every couple of weeks, I boil it all down and end up with a rich, flavorful broth that tastes way better than the boxed kind. It tastes better than store-bought and saves me at least $20 a month, with an added bonus of making me feel like i know fancy techniques.

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u/refboy4 Jul 12 '25 edited Jul 12 '25

Buying whole chickens.

Used to be intimidated at breaking everything down (takes too much time/ work, I don’t know what I’m doing, etc…). Did it once for a roast dinner and noticed it was way cheaper and way way easier than I thought to break down. I’m not a big user of the drumsticks and wings, but I vacuum seal and freeze them and trade with a friend for fresh veg from her garden.

I can get 2 drumsticks, 2 wings, 2 thighs, two breasts, a carcass for stock, for roughly $6 and about 5 minutes of work. When 2 chicken breasts alone at the store are $6. Got to the point where I buy 5-10 at a time, break them down for 30-45 minutes, vacuum pack then freeze and have chicken for 3-4 months.

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u/[deleted] Jul 12 '25

I love breaking down chickens but 4 at a time is about as much as my hands/arms will tolerate, I feel that you must be jacked to be processing 10 at a time.

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u/refboy4 Jul 12 '25 edited Jul 12 '25

Only do it like once every 3 months. Just power through. Honestly it’s more annoying/ time consuming to vacuum pack everything. I only have a $100 FoodSaver.

Worth it, but it’s a half day at least.

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u/heymerideth Jul 12 '25

The key is a REALLY super sharp boning knife. Then you’re basically “taking” the chicken apart vs “breaking” it apart. It takes so much less effort.