Thrifty Tip for May

We all try to save a little money here and there. We all want to make every dollar count. Here are a few tips I got in an email and thought I would post them here along with a few of my thoughts added in. 

The best way to save money is not to waste anything!

• Don't use more water than you need (saving you the cost of the water and the heating of it). Turn the water off, fix leaky faucets, take quick showers, do only full loads of dishes and laundry.
• Don't waste food. For everything you throw out you are throwing dollars out the door. Use up left overs, or simply to not make too much food to be put in the fridge and left to be forgotten. Buy what you eat and eat what you store. Rotate your food, and nothing goes to waste.
• Don't run your car longer than it needs to be run (wasting gas). While waiting to pick someone up, do not just sit in the car with it running. Turn it off and wait. Most cars do not "need" to warm up before you drive other than a minute or two. No need to let it run for 5 or ten minutes to "warm" up. wear a coat if it is cold out!
• Do only full loads of clothes and if you use dryer sheets cut them into thirds. They still work the same but you save money. You can even make your own fabric softener for pennies. ( recipe to follow in another post)
• Same with laundry soap. Don't use more than you need and if you have to wash a smaller load of clothes adjust your water level and your soap amount. again make your own for pennies (recipe to follow in another post)
• Don't overfeed your pets. Don't overfeed yourself either. Follow your Vets advise on how much to feed Fido and Fluffy. Cut back on the treats too. Cut the treats in to pieces if you give treats. Dogs do not care how much they get, only that they are getting something.
• Turn out lights not being used and turn off tv's and stereos not being used. Turn off ceiling fans, and unplug appliances that you do not use that often.

Frugal Idea Oct

It’s pumpkin season, and many people have the tradition of visiting the pumpkin patch. Whether selecting the perfect pumpkin for carving jack-o’-lanterns or decorating them un-carved, selecting one is simple. Look for a pumpkin that has good weight, a stem that isn’t cut too short to ensure that it’s not decaying, stands well for display, and doesn’t show any visible softness or bruises.

Although all varieties can be fun to display, not all pumpkins are ideal for cooking. If you’re interested in cooking pumpkin, look for smaller pie pumpkins that weigh about four pounds because they are sweeter and less stringy. A four-pound pumpkin should yield about 1-1/2 cups of cooked, mashed pumpkin.

The following are ways to enjoy your pumpkin.

DECORATION: Painting pumpkins can be less messy and less risky than carving for young children, and there are no concerns that your pumpkin might not last long before rotting. You can embellish them by using markers, stencils, acrylic paints, glue, stickers, sequins, buttons, glitter and yarn. Kids can even decoupage pumpkins by using decoupage sealer and magazine cutouts. Mini-pumpkin gourds are cute when a piece of floral foam is hot glued to the top and lollipops are inserted into the foam. Hollowed-out larger pumpkins make pretty vases for flowers and can be used as a cooler for bottles of soft drinks, or you can place a jar or plastic container inside and fill with treats.

COOKED: You can cook and puree pumpkin and use it in various recipes that call for canned pumpkin and even some squash recipes.

STEAMED: Cut the pumpkin in half, and remove seeds and stringy pulp. Cut into small chunks, peel, and steam for 45 minutes.

MICROWAVED: Cut it in half, scoop out the inside, and microwave for six to eight minutes or until tender.

BAKED: Cut in half, scoop out, place on a baking sheet, and bake at 350 F for around 45 minutes or until tender. Once removed from the oven, scrape the cooked pumpkin out to separate it from the peel, and mash or puree.

BOILED: Prepare same as you would for steamed pumpkin, but immerse directly into salted water and boil 25 to 30 minutes or until tender.

Cooked pumpkin can be frozen and stored in freezer-safe containers for six months or refrigerated for up to four days.

DON’T TOSS THE SEEDS: The seeds can be toasted and enjoyed as a sweet or salty snack. Simply remove as much pulp as you can, and decide whether you’d like to bake, pan-roast, or microwave your seeds. Once they’re roasted, you can add flavors such as seasoned salt, cinnamon and sugar, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, celery salt, Worcestershire sauce or garlic salt.

BAKED: Using 2 cups of pumpkin seeds, toss seeds in a bowl with 3 teaspoons of melted butter or olive oil, spread a single layer on a baking sheet, sprinkle lightly with seasoning of choice, and bake in a 300 F oven for 40 minutes or until toasted golden brown. You can add more seasoning after they’re roasted.

STOVETOP: Pan-roast pumpkin seeds by adding 1 cup at a time in a skillet with heat on medium. Stir them frequently, and continue heating until they puff up and are brown. Remove from heat and season.

MICROWAVED: Using a glass dish, microwave seeds in 1-cup increments. Start with 1 cup of seeds tossed in the glass dish with 2 teaspoons of oil, and microwave a minute at a time until crispy. Season after cooked.

Pumpkin Cake

2 cups all-purpose flour

3 teaspoons baking powder

1 teaspoon baking soda

1/2 teaspoon salt

1/2 teaspoon cinnamon

1/2 teaspoon ground ginger

1/2 teaspoon nutmeg

1/2 cup shortening

1-1/2 cups granulated sugar

1 cup cooked pumpkin

3/4 cup milk

2 eggs

Preheat oven to 350 F. Sift first seven ingredients together, and set aside. In a large bowl, cream shortening and sugar together, add the pumpkin and milk, and mix well. Add the eggs one at a time, mixing after each addition. Gradually add the sifted ingredients.

Bake in a greased and floured pan: two loaf pans, 50 to 55 minutes; 13-by-9-inch pan, 30 to 35 minutes; Bundt pan, 55 to 65 minutes; muffin tin, 20 to 25 minutes.

Frugal Living Idea of the Month

Frugal Living idea for the month of September

We all are on a budget of some kind. We all need to learn WANTS vs NEEDS.

So what is a need: a roof over your head, food on your table, water to drink, clothes on your back, basic hygiene.

Needs are different for everyone, but the basics are listed above. You do not need the house that costs millions of dollars, you do not need to buy designer clothes. Do not get me wrong, those things are nice, but not needs.

Now some places where people live transportation is a need. Having and maintain a vehicle is a need. Some people need to buy public transportation passes, tokens, tickets, etc. So those needs to added to the budget. Now just because you NEED a car, that does not mean you have to buy the newest model offered at the car lot.

Wants then come in to play and you will buy things that you do not need, but want. Buying a new big flat screen tv is want. 

I have been taught and I have taught my kids the difference between wants and needs. We all need to learn to ask is this a want or a need? Then you have to have to make the decision to buy or not buy. Now if you are on a very tight budget, then buying a new purse, or another black skirt or pants. We all need to ask ourselves do I really need that? Most likely it a want not a need. Now if you need it then yes, but most people have more than one pair of pants, skirts in your closet.

I have seen first hand people that only thought about wants and not needs. We lived in a house with 5 other roommates. I really get to see first hand what people buy each month.  Now we lived with these room mates out of a need, we were transplanted to a new area and finding a job and getting back on your feet is hard. Husband was paid weekly. So each week we pulled out money for rent, any bills  we had and put that into our savings acct. Then we would go to the store and buy food, water if needed. We did not have to buy clothes as we had all we needed. Of course we bought any personal hygiene items we needed. Everyone in the house bought their own food, cooked their own food, and washed their own clothes, which included buying your own laundry soap, etc.

I made dinner every night. We had meat, a starch like potatoes, rice or pasta, a vegetable, and I made muffins, or brownies for dessert. We ate very good. My husband said he likes to eat and that is a need.   Now we did not have  steak every night. I bought what ever meat was on sale, and made a plan and menu for the week.  

 Now the other people in the house hardly ever cooked, they made ramen noodles, rice mixes, or went out to eat, or ordered pizza. Now the other people in the house made more money per month than we did. They told us, but they never went shopping to buy food. After they paid there rent, and basic bills they would have over 800.00 dollars of spending money per month, as they said. They were paid monthly and by the 5-10th of each month they were out of money. They would go shopping, but not for food, go to the movies, not one movie but 3-4 movies, they would go out to eat at an expensive restaurant on pay day. There were days that I never saw them eat late into the month. There were some nights I would cook a little extra so they could eat. But I got to point of being upset and grumpy with them because they did not handle their money or plan out what they NEEDED each month. So I stopped offering food to them. 

There were many a night they would be watering at the mouth and ask how do you eat so well everyday. I would tell them I would spend money each week and go to the store and buy food I can cook. We only spent 50-100 dollars each week, depending on what we ran out of or what was needed. I would by a large pack of bacon each week. We would have 2 weekend breakfasts, and I would have enough bacon to have 3 pieces each day if I wanted it.  They would be so jealous, and they could not understand that eating good food everyday was a choice and a need. We did not go out, we did not go to the movies, or go out to eat. We spend our money on things that were needed not on things that were wanted! We did not have extra money to go out and waste. We where able to put money into our saving acct each week.  We made a choice and knew the difference between wants and needs.

When it came time to think about moving we had money put away for the rent and damage deposit for a new place. We had planned and knew that we had to save money for this. There were 3 people who did not plan, and did not save their money. I even had said to all 3 of them you might want to save some money for next month, since everyone needs to be moved out next month, even if it is 6 weeks out. Not only do you need to have rent money for next month here, but money for the new place too.   I encourage them all to not spend a lot of money, even talked about wants and needs. One person understood and he took the advice and he had money for the next month. Another person tried but he did not get paid as much as he normally did. Then there was the other person, he told me, do not worry about it, I got paid this month, I will get paid next month and my partner will figure everything out. I am going to the movies there is a movie I want to see. Well he had no partner the next month, and no money for rent for the house and no money for a new place. He was scrambling and he did figure something out, he had family that felt sorry for him and baled him out again.

WANTS are things you want to do, things you want to buy, things that are not needed, just wanted. Do you have a beer budget and live a champagne life? Do you have a beans and rice budget and live a steak and lobster life? Then you do need to make some changes and ask yourself if this is a want or a need. You do not need to keep up with the Jones', the Smith's, or the Anderson's. You NEED to keep up with your families budget and your families NEEDS! 

Does that mean that you should only buy the things that you need? Not at all. Life is meant to be lived, not survived. Treat yourself to some wants along the way, but do so when you can afford to, and enjoy those wants as the extras that they are. Plan and save for those wants and you will feel so much better you  save up to buy those wants. 

Frugal Living Tip July 2011

 

Frugal Living tip July 2011

 Befriend the Library: Buying books and movies gets expensive, and even renting can add up. Take a trip to your local library; and you'll find all of the latest books and movies available free of charge.  A lot of libraries' have family time and reading activities during the summer months for kids and for families. Go to your local library and see what they have to offer. It is free entertainment and it helps break up the summer days and gives kids and adults something to do.

If you have a Kindle, you can down load free books to your Kindle.

You can now have the Kindle app on your smart phones and even on your computer! There are many free books to choose from. Browse, click and download! There are many classics to choose from.

I have the kindle app on my phone and I have it on my Laptop, so I always have something fun to read. I have a lot of the classics downloaded and ready at my fingers tips at any time.

More and More people are using Hulu and Netflix. Hulu is free and you can watch TV shows and some movies for  free on your computer . Then of course you can add the Hulu plus and be  charged a monthly fee and watch them on your TV and have more things you can watch.  I just use the fee version of this and it works out great for me.

Now about Netflix, they have many TV shows for the whole family and movies to suit any taste all instantly on your computer. If you have a gaming system or a newer TV that allows you to access the Netflix server you can watch it on your TV.  Of course Netflix there is a monthly charge, but for the basic with no DVDs mailed it is under 10.00 a month, cheap entertainment! We watch Netflix almost every night. This is our entertainment and they add new things to watch all the time.

*** I do not work for nor am I promoting any of these services or companies. I do use these personally for me and my family*** it works for me, does not mean it will work for you!But of course in order to access these you have to the internet. 

Share books and movies with friends and family members. Borrow from them, and have them borrow from you. Just keep track of who has borrowed what and when and be sure to return things to the right owner and be sure to get what you have loaned out returned to you.

There are many stories and things to do online. Find coloring pages, stories and such and print them off for the kids. You can make a themed activity book. For example the "Ant and the Grasshopper" Print off the story. Find them pictures of ants, grasshoppers, corn, seeds, etc and make an activity book for the kids. At the end of the book add your pictures of food storage, or pictures of food storage to color in and a little story why we store food also. This only costs some time, and paper and ink, and an old notebook and such. Kids can have fun and learn something also at the same time.