must echo others on a crock pot!!! slap a pot roast in there, add a packet of onion soup mix, water, set it, and you have dinner pretty much ready to go when you get home! oh sure it makes the "foodie" in you cringe a bit, but hey its REALLY good! LOL and using crock pot liners makes clean up a snap.
also a food saver vacuum sealer is essential if you buy in bulk....portion things off, seal em up, and into the freezer they go! and if you arrange things right in the bag before sealing, you get nice flat packets that stack up nicely in the freezer. and they thaw quicker. and you avoid the dreaded food frost bite!
we have our phone plans thru Virgin Mobile, $35/mo, unlimited data. my phone doesn't need to be able to move a satellite in space!!!
we drink Folgers coffee, for God's sake.
a lot of it is MINDSET.....instead of feeling like i'm missing out or being punished, i see it as a challenge, a game almost.....being frugal. that's not to say that i don't splurge a bit now and then.....fave impulse buy is a new candle for the house. or the madison-reed DIY hair color, which is FABULOUS - rather than spending major $$$ at the salon.