Brown Baggin' It

One of the ways Donnie and I save money is by bringing our own lunches to school and work each day. We usually pack leftovers from the previous night's dinner. However, some evenings we eat dinners that don't yield many (or any) leftovers. This leaves us without a solid lunch plan for the next day.

In the past, whenever we found ourselves in such a situation, we usually either picked up frozen dinners from the grocery store, or got fast food on our lunch break. Now that we're trying to live more frugally, we make every effort to avoid doing those things. Instead, we keep our freezer well-stocked with frozen "convenience foods," which we can pack any time we need a quick lunch.

Every weekend, I prepare one dish which I immediately freeze in individual lunch-sized portions. Broth-based soups, rice and bean burritos, baked pasta dishes, and meat-and-potato casseroles all work extremely well for this purpose. I also try to freeze individually wrapped biscuits or slices of homemade whole-wheat bread, which we can eat with our convenience lunches, or to complement regular leftovers.

Stocking our freezer with these quick lunches has saved us a good bit of money (and frustration; after all, trying to squeeze in a trip to the grocery store on the way to work is a hassle!) How do you pre-plan for potentially money-wasting situations? Please share your tips and tricks with the rest of us!

Dining IN: Easy Refried Beans Revisited

Last night, I was making my Easy Refried Beans, and they seemed a little dry. As an experiment, I poured the bean broth back into the skillet with the mashed beans, then cooked the mixture for a few more minutes. The result was perfect: smooth, creamy refried beans. In fact, Donnie says it was the best batch I ever made.

So if you, like me, have been plagued by refried beans that seem just a tad too dry, try re-adding the bean broth as you cook and mash. You'll see a noticeable difference...I promise!

Replacing Rice?

We eat a LOT of rice in my house. It's one of Donnie's favorite foods (in addition, of course, to being versatile, filling, and cheap). Fried rice made with a variety of meats and veggies is a staple in our weekly meal plan, but I think I could serve just about anything over rice, and he would love it.

Unfortunately, the cost of rice has tripled over the past year or so, making it prohibitively expensive for the world's poorest people. Frugal cooks in developed countries should still be able to afford rice, but may want to explore less costly alternatives in some meals.

If you're thinking about reducing your rice consumption, check out 8 Rice Alternatives from Oh My Aching Debts. I've tried many of the grains mentioned in this post, and am tempted to taste-test some more. Pork-fried quinoa, anyone?

Splendid Sampling

AZO tablets



Moon Sparkle by Escada Fragrance



Dog Gone Pain Revitalizing Supplement for Dogs



Spiru-tein Protein Shake



Original Pho Instant Noodle Cup

Frugal Faucets

It's easier than you may think to lower your water bill. Donnie and I have implemented just a few of the strategies listed below, and our average monthly payment has decreased by approximately ten dollars. That's an extra $120 a year to pay down debt, contribute to savings, help those in need, or use for home repairs. It may not seem like much, but I'll take it!

• Brush your teeth in the shower.

• Turn the water off while you lather up soap, shave, brush your teeth, or floss.

• Install a low-flow shower head.

• Place a gallon milk container filled with water in your toilet tank.

• Only flush the toilet when necessary (I'll leave it to your discretion to define "necessary").

• Get out of the shower five minutes earlier than usual.

• Only wash full loads of laundry or dishes.

• Turn the water off while you scrub dirty dishes.

• Make sure to turn all faucets entirely off after use.

• After you boil pasta or potatoes, use the water to feed your plants.

How do you save money on your utility bills? Do you have any unique tips or tricks for cutting costs painlessly?

Mexican Crockpot Chicken

I received quite a few requests to post my recipe for Mexican crock pot chicken, after mentioning it in my menu plan for the week. I'm happy to oblige, although I'm almost embarrassed to call this a recipe. It's quite possibly the easiest thing in the world to make!


I use boneless, skinless chicken breasts in this dish. For every two chicken breasts I'll be serving, I mix together one cup of water, one teaspoon of cumin, one teaspoon of chili powder, and one teaspoon of crushed red pepper flakes. I put the chicken and the liquid in the crock pot, add a little more water if the breasts aren't completely covered (they usually are), then sprinkle a little salt, black pepper, and garlic powder over everything.

I cook the chicken breasts and liquid on high for about two hours, then reduce the temperature to low for the next 12-24 hours. Every now and then I add a little more water, and give the whole mixture a stir.

The chicken become so tender that it literally falls to pieces. Plus, it's full of spicy flavor. It's great in burritos, chimichanga, nachos, enchiladas, or tacos. You can also melt some cheese over the chicken and serve the chicken/cheese mixture as a topping for rice or corn cakes.

Now that I've posted my own favorite ridiculously easy dinner, it's time for you to share yours! Send your favorite no-fuss recipe to kgregg613@yahoo.com, and I'll post it here, with a link back to your blog (if you have one). Plus, I'll probably make it for dinner next week!

Friends, Family, and Frugality

It really is possible to entertain family and friends on a frugal budget. You may not be able to serve the best wines, the fanciest appetizers, or the most elaborate gourmet meals. Nevertheless, you can still prepare delicious, home-cooked dinners for your guests to enjoy.

These simple meals are delicious, filling, and easy to prepare in large quantities. Best of all, none of them will break your budget—which means you can sit back, relax, and enjoy your party, without worrying about the cost.

Choose any of these options, add a fresh green salad and a homemade desert, and you’re all set!

Bon apatite!

• Homemade chili, grated cheese, sour cream, cornbread, tortilla chips


• Sausage or meatballs, red and green peppers, homemade tomato sauce, crusty Italian sandwich rolls, Parmesan cheese


• Creamy potato soup, crumbled bacon, grated cheese, diced green onions, homemade whole wheat bread
  
• Baked lasagna, garlic breadsticks, olive oil and fresh black pepper for dipping, roasted red peppers
  
• Belgian waffles, assorted fresh fruit toppings, whipped cream, breakfast sausage
  
• Chicken and green pepper fajitas, homemade tortillas, refried beans, sour cream, grated cheese
  
• Roast chicken, fresh corn on the cob, mashed potatoes, gravy, homemade biscuits
  
• Hot roast beef and gravy, horseradish, sliced cheddar cheese, Kaiser sandwich rolls, potato chips, carrot sticks

How do you entertain your friends on a dime? What are your favorite party recipes? Is entertaining a regular part of your budget?

Grocery Tips from Gather Little by Little

If you're looking for practical tips to lower your grocery bill, check out the post 13 ways to save when grocery shopping! from Gather Little by Little.




In addition to the tips in the article, readers have shared their own helpful hints in the comments.

For even more tricks and techniques to save money at the grocery store, check out my Supermarket Steals series.

Menu Plan Monday: 4/21/08

Breakfast:

I don't usually post our breakfast plans for the week, and here's why: they're often embarrassingly non-nutritious. We tend to eat whatever baked goods we have on hand, with a glass of milk for Donnie and a cup of tea for me. Sometimes this means we're eating wholesome things like zucchini bread, carrot-raisin muffins, or homemade wheat toast. More often than not, though, it means chocolate chip cookies, brownies, or cake. Sometimes we also have fresh fruit, but not always.

This week we'll be starting with Tammy's Double Chocolate Cookies, which I made for the first time today, and we both agree are awesome. Once those are finished, we'll probably have homemade waffles for the rest of the work week. On the weekends, Donnie usually makes eggs, bacon, cheesy fried potatoes, and wheat toast for brunch.

Lunch:

Leftovers!

Dinner:

Monday - steak fried rice (this is what we were supposed to have this past Friday, but we got takeout instead!)

Tuesday - creamy broccoli and potato soup, homemade whole wheat bread

Wednesday - Italian sausage, elbow macaroni, and homemade red sauce topped with melted mozzarella cheese

Thursday - breakfast for dinner: eggs, bacon, cheesy fried potatoes, homemade wheat toast

Friday - crockpot Mexican chicken, sweet corn tamale cakes, seasoned rice

Saturday - homemade flat bread pizza

For more great menu plans (most of which probably include healthier breakfasts than mine!), be sure to check out Menu Plan Monday at I'm an Organizing Junkie!

Frugal Guilt

After a long and incredibly stressful week, I've decided I want takeout. There, I said it. What's more, I already acted on it; Donnie is going to get the food as I type.

Now if only I didn't feel so guilty about it.

I can afford this takeout. There's some extra money in our budget this month. Not to mention, I'm an adult, and I have the right to splurge as I see fit. Nevertheless, every time I spend more than I absolutely must, I feel as though I've put Donnie's and my entire financial future in jeopardy.

Call me crazy, because I probably am. But I read enough frugal blogs to know I'm not the only one who beats herself up for needless spending.

What about you? Do you feel guilty when you make un-frugal choices? Or have you come to terms with your imperfection?

Fantabulous (is that a word?) Freebies

Herbs of Life Tea Blend

Beyond BodiHeat Pain-Relieving Heat Pads

Real Energy Drink

In These Times Magazine - sample copy

Garlic Gold Toasted Garlic Nuggets

Get Me to the Mailbox on Time!

Are you looking for an easy way to save a few bucks, while also improving your credit score? Then pay your bills—ALL of them—on time each month.

I hate to admit it, but doing this is a real challenge for me. It’s not that I intentionally mail my bills late. I always plan to pay on time, then completely forget to write out my checks, put them in the mailbox, and balance my ledger. Unfortunately, this forgetfulness translates to late fees and a lower FICO every single time I allow it to happen.

I keep promising myself I’ll do a better job getting the bills in the mail on time, but I have yet to achieve any real success in this area. Donnie recently suggested we sign up to have a few of our bills debited from our checking account each month. I think doing this may be the right choice for us, since it will help counterbalance my forgetful ways.

Do you struggle with any particular aspect of frugal living, even if it’s something as silly as forgetting to get the bills out the door on time? What strategies have you used—successfully or unsuccessfully—to compensate?

Make Sure Your Stuff Works as Hard as You Do

One of the best ways to practice frugality is to keep your possessions in good working order for as long as possible. After all, the longer you keep the things you already have, the less new stuff you’ll have to buy. I recently read two great posts on this very topic, and wanted to pass them along.

First, check out this post from The Digerati Life on the topic How to Make 10 Ordinary Things Last Longer, for some great tips to increase your stuff’s longevity. Then head over to About.com: Frugal Living, and check out Erin’s in-depth post How to Make Shoes Last Longer. If you, like me, consider well-made, somewhat pricey shoes to be a worthwhile investment, you’ll definitely want to learn how to keep them in good shape for as long as possible.

What about you? How do you keep the things you already have useful for as long as possible? Share your thoughts and ideas in the comments!

Menu Plan Monday: Week of 4/14

Monday – Hadias’ One-Pot Wonder, made with sweet sausage, broccoli, white potatoes, and Italian cheese blend

Tuesday – Tammy’s Rice Lasagna, green beans

Wednesday – creamed chicken over homemade wheat toast, peas

Thursday – spicy chicken and corn chimichangas

Friday – steak fried rice with lots of veggies

Saturday – baked chicken, mashed potatoes, gravy, corn, homemade wheat bread

For more great meal plans, visit I'm an Organizing Junkie. You won't be sorry!

Frugal Living = Healthy Living

Donnie and I exceeded our usual $30 grocery budget by seven dollars this week. Nevertheless, I left the store feeling happy as a clam. Why? Because, unlike most of the other shoppers I saw, Donnie and I walked away with a cart full of real food. Our grocery bags weren’t filled with boxes and jars and cartons of processed, packaged “food items.” Instead we had fresh fruits and vegetables, meat, cheese, milk, eggs, oatmeal, cornmeal, and herbal tea (we did also buy pepperoni, which is a favorite processed indulgence of ours—but, hey, no one’s perfect).

Just a few years ago, we were the ones buying packaged “supper bakes,” jars of gravy, cans of soup, frozen dinners, and other non-food foods. Neither one of us thought much about the potential health consequences of consuming the artificial flavors, colors, and preservatives used to make these items. It wasn’t until we committed to a frugal lifestyle, and realized we could no longer afford to eat processed foods, that we got serious about cooking with fresh, natural ingredients.

During our early days of frugality, I spent a lot of time researching the best ways to save money on groceries. Thankfully, many of the frugal bloggers who write about cooking from scratch as a way of cutting costs also write about the importance of eating naturally for optimal health. The more I read, and the more I thought about what I read, the more I realized that Donnie and I had to change our eating habits for good. Since then, we’ve made significant changes to our diet. We aren’t perfect by any means, but we’re much healthier than we used to be.

This is just one example of the non-monetary rewards we’ve reaped from adopting a frugal lifestyle. There are many more, of course, but the switch to cooking from scratch has had the greatest impact by far. Knowing that we aren’t putting a variety of artificial flavors, colors, and chemicals into our bodies gives me tremendous peace of mind. Plus, the food we prepare from scratch is significantly tastier than anything we ever made from a mix!

How has frugal living prompted you to make healthy lifestyle changes? What non-monetary rewards have you gained by changing your spending habits? Share in the comments!

Dry on a Dime

Spring has finally sprung!

Why not celebrate the return of warm weather in true frugal fashion—by line-drying a load or two of laundry? You'll save on energy costs, plus your clothes will smell delightfully clean and fresh after a morning drying in the sun.

(If line-dried clothes occasionally feel stiff to you, a five-minute spin in the dryer will soften them right up.)

Are We Rational?

This short article from CNN, called "Why you're a big sucker," contains some interesting advice for bargain hunters. Behavioral economist Dan Ariely argues that we make irrational spending choices when we respond to emotional trigger words like "free offer" or "special deal," without objectively considering all the facts. He also suggests that comparison shopping, when done on a limited basis (for example, in only one store) can make us think we're getting the best price, when in reality we're only getting the best price among limited choices.

Ariely suggests combating these irrational tendencies by asking yourself how much you're willing to pay for a particular item before you even begin shopping. He also recommends asking yourself about the seller's motives any time you view advertising or hear about a "terrific deal." By fixing your idea of a fair price in your mind, and always remembering that most "free" things come with strings attached, you'll be less likely to succumb to dubious "special offers," and also force yourself to search more extensively for true bargains.

Money-Saving Modem

Donnie just pointed out an area of our monthly expenses where we're spending money needlessly: the modem rental fee charged by our cable/high-speed internet provider. Over the past two years, we've paid our cable company more in rental fees than we would have spent to buy a brand-new modem from Walmart. Since we don't plan to cancel our high-speed internet service any time soon, continuing to rent rather than buy a modem is like pouring money down the drain.

If you use a modem provided by your internet service company, you're probably paying between $2 and $10 each month for the privilege. Why not return the rental and invest in a modem of your own instead? If you plan to maintain high-speed internet service for the foreseeable future, there's no reason not to do so. After all, if you're shelling out just $4 a month, a $50 modem will pay for itself in a year's time.

Now I can't stop wondering how many other ridiculous monthly fees I can eliminate from our budget. What's worked well for you? Please share your ideas in the comments!

Why Be Frugal?

I thoroughly enjoyed Jennifer Derrick's post 32 Reasons to Be Frugal Besides Saving Money at Saving Advice. Jennifer is correct: there really are numerous non-monetary benefits to living within one's means. I am certainly more content now, living a frugal lifestyle, than I was back when I was caught up in the vicious cycle of consumerism so common in this country.

Having a plan for my money and sticking to it means I don't have to constantly worry how I'm going to pay my bills, or wonder where each paycheck is going. Reducing consumption means I don't live in a cluttered house, and that I'm not wasting the earth's precious resources. Preparing simple, frugal meals from scratch means I don't have to worry about the health effects of highly processed foods. In short, being frugal gives me peace of mind.

What non-monetary benefits of frugal living do you enjoy? Let the rest of us know in the comments!

Some Sensational Samples

BRUT Shave Product

Post-It Flags

Estroven PM Herbal Supplement

Chamonix All-Natural Skin Care Product

Ethiopian Specialty Coffee

What a Difference a Year Makes

I’m a big believer in budgeting. I don’t always stick to my financial plan, but I nevertheless make the effort to anticipate my expenses ahead of time.

I’ve always planned on a monthly, rather than yearly, basis. I feel like I have a better idea where my money is going when I allocate funds from individual paychecks, rather than trying to paint a big picture. However, according to this article from The New York Times, I may not be doing myself any favors budgeting in this manner.

According to the author, the very reason I dislike budgeting on a yearly basis—that it’s difficult to do so accurately—is the reason it’s the more effective way to plan. People tend to overestimate their anticipated expenses when doing an annual budget, because they lack confidence in their guesses. As a result, these budgeters don’t usually exceed the spending amounts they’ve allotted for themselves.

I will admit I’ve been struggling to stick to my budget over the past few months. Maybe I’ll take a stab at budgeting annually, rather than by paycheck. Have you tried this? How did/does it work for you? Please share your experiences in the comments!

Don't Forget...P&G Coupons Benefit Children in Developing Countries Through April

Throughout March and April, every time you use a coupon from one of the P&G Brandsaver inserts, Procter and Gamble will donate a liter of clean drinking water to children in developing countries.

Thanks to this program, we frugal folks can make a real difference in the world without doing anything out of the ordinary. After all, we already use our fair share of coupons. :) Now we have the added benefit of helping those who are in need, even as as we save money for our own families.

The lack of potable water in developing nations is a serious, widespread, and completely preventable crisis. For more information, or to donate additional funds, click here. Then get out the scissors and start clipping those P&G coupons!