Paying off my credit cards and debt certainly has been a high priority.

There’s nothing wrong with eliminating meat from your diet for whatver reason but it might be more realistic to either reduce portions or use it as something other than the “main” dish.

For example, serve steak but instead of a ten-ounce, try a 6 or 7 ounce and serve more vegetables, salad and rice or potatoes or whatever.

Or make meatballs, a stew, stuffed cvabbage, dumplings etc. Stir fries are easy and fast, too!

I also look for ways to reduce “fixed costs.” I go to the library and borrow books, DVDs and CDs. I can read magazines there, too and save money on subscriptions. I also let my cellphone contract end and switched my number to a prepaid phone. Co-incidentally, I came across this article on the subject.

The point is that you can save money if you rethink everything you do. Savings can be had without dramatically changing your life… for now.

The prices quoted are not very useful because they are per pound instead of per calorie. Also the meat prices aren’t the cheapest cuts (perhaps not even accurate); ground beef, whole chickens, etc are not listed. I would like to see someone compare a pound of ground beef bought on sale vs. a pound of beans from the bulk bin on a cents-per-calorie basis. I don’t know which way it would come out, but at least it would finally be a fair comparison.

I keep hearing that a vegetarian diet is cheaper, and I am quite interested in the topic, so I am looking for information proving it one way or another. I haven’t found it yet!

Thanks for mentioning the big list of frugal tips from my readers!

Keep up the good work!