This winter I found a way to at least slightly mitigate inflation and increased costs of living.

I make myself two or three vegetarian meals a week. It saves money. Food is a big item in my budget, and meat products are a major part of my grocery bill.

I don’t have any moral issues about eating meat. I enjoy steaks, turkey, chicken, pork, ham, sausage, bacon roast beef and ground beef. I think it’s the destiny in life for domesticated livestock to be carefully raised and then taken to market.

My decision to be a little more of a vegetarian is purely economic. I want to have control over my household budget.

There are many expenses for which there’s realistically no way to cut back. Examples include utilities, cable, phone, prescriptions, and others.

The food bill is one of the few examples of something I can influence. I’ve seen a difference, not incredibly large but enough to help the bottom line. I don’t think I’m sacrificing too much by sometimes going with vegetarian options.

There are plenty of choices. They include pasta, rice, potatoes, cooked vegetables, salads, fruits, nuts, bread products and soups.

They’re very easy to prepare. If you’re going to have meat every day, it means you have spend substantial time in the kitchen or go out to eat. Realistically someone who’s not wealthy can’t eat out more than two or three times a week.

Last but definitely not least they’re a healthy option. At a time when obesity is widespread in the United States, you see very few obese vegetarians.

I’ll never cut meat out of my diet totally. I enjoy it. It’s good to have enough protein in my diet. Also when we buy meat products or order meat in a restaurant we support our livestock producers.

That support is important to me. The livestock industry is a vital component to our agricultural economic base. I want to support it.

It’s just a question of balance. It’s a matter of getting the right kind of nutrition for an affordable cost

I’m reminded of my grandmothers (Alma Muchlinski of Ivanhoe and Blanche Spanton of Minneota). They were both young homemakers during the Great Depression. They became very capable when it came to the cost of food.

They sometimes made just potatoes with scalloped corn. They made cream peas on toast. My grandfathers were meat and potatoes kind of guys, but every so often a meatless meal was considered suitable.

It’s interesting how I’m doing the same kind of thing almost a century later. Even though we’re not in a Great Depression, it’s still important to be a smart shopper.

One of the best things about living in a free society with free markets is that people have plenty of choices for consumer goods. We can choose the food, clothing and entertainment that we like the most and that fits into our budget.

Everyone should be able to make their own choices. What works for one person might not work for others. It depends on personal tastes.

We hope that everyone makes practical decisions, that they don’t overspend and end up with a mountain of credit card debt. If they do, I don’t have much sympathy for them. Sooner or later reckless spending catches up with a person.

Costs of living will almost certainly continue to go up. I don’t think most Americans would favor federally mandated price controls.

Consumers have to respond as individuals. We need to look carefully at our personal budgets. It’s good to find ways to save.

— Jim Muchlinski is a longtime reporter and contributor to the Marshall Independent