-
Money Saving Tip-Spice It Up
Sometimes cheaper cuts of meat, even budget stretchers like beans can be bland. One thing that can make everything taste like gourmet fare is herbs and spices. Things like garlic and ginger can make a bland soup or stew taste like a professional chef made it. Grow your own or buy one herb or spice each time you go grocery shopping.
-
Money Saving Tip-Learn to Sew
Did you know it’s National Sewing Month? I have to admit I have limited sewing skills. I’ve always handed over shortening hemlines and mending zippers to other people. Maybe you have better skills or maybe you make your own clothes. Either way learning basic sewing skills is a money saver. You save money doing your own alterations and then you save money when you learn to repair torn clothing or yes, fixing the broken zipper rather than throwing away things and buying new.
-
Money Saving Tip-Meal Plans
Don’t have a plan? Sometimes that can cost you money. Begin each week or grocery tip with planning what you’ll eat for the next 7 days. You’ll prevent overbuying and throwing random things into your cart and you can even plan future meals by using leftovers and similar ingredients. For example, use half a chicken for one meal, and the other half for another. Use leftover lemons to make homemade lemonade.
-
Money Saving Tip-Use the Internet to Compare Prices on Groceries…on everything
One of the things I love most about the Internet is it gives me a chance to dos some comparison shopping. Make a list of items you want to buy…even if you’re going to a store to buy them, and choose two or three stores that you know carry those products and make a note of the prices. I’ve been doing that for grocery shopping and you’d be surprised at what you find. A store that I thought would have the lowest prices actually didn’t.
-
Money Saving Tip-Don’t Have it, Don’t Panic
How many times have you been making a dish, cooking dinner and thought, I don’t have such and such ingredient, I need to go buy it? Sometimes, it’s an ingredient you don’t use often or will never use again. Oftentimes, it’s something with a cheaper alternative. Things that come to mind are spices. and dairy products. Here’s a link to a site that offers a list of replacements for many of the things we rush out to buy. https://www.thespruceeats.com/ingredient-substitution-chart-3054056
-
July Budget Smart Highlights
Hope your summer (or winter), is going well. It’s hard to believe that it’s almost August. While I have achieved lots on my to do list, there’s still a lot I haven’t started to tackle. Two things I wanted to learn this year were making sourdough bread, did that, and finally, learn to use a pressure canner, got that achieved this month. Have any of you been growing vegetables this year? The weather’s been hot with little rain which has been a drawback, and what has been growing has been enjoyed by rabbits. Well, at least something got some tasty treats. Yesterday, I canned salsa. I like to think of…
-
Money Saving Tip-Eat in Abundance
Each month, check out what’s in abundance and plan meals around it. For example, this month, I’m seeing lots of berries, tomatoes, and cucumbers on sale. Another tip is to buy extra and preserve them for times when these items aren’t plentiful and therefore will cost more.
-
Money Saving Tip-Bells and Whistles
Do you really need all the up to date, high tech features on appliances, cars…all those bells and whistles? If you’re looking for something new or thinking about replacing say, an old refrigerator, don’t be talked into buying something with all the time saving features or features that do the work for you. Not only do they cost more but they seem to increase the odds of something going wrong. And then the final downfall is when they need fixing, the cost is usually a lot more than the basic no frills model. If you can, go back to the basics because you save money not only now but in…
-
Money Saving Tip-Great Value Protein
I probably don’t have to tell you that proteins like meat and chicken are going up in price…sometimes weekly. A great way to get protein that is also one of the best values at the store, is to use beans. Either using them as the main component of the meal, for example a bean burrito or black bean burger or adding beans to make meat go further in a dish. Canned beans are a favorite pantry staple of mine but dried beans can save you even more money. Another great thing about beans is the variety is endless and each one has a slightly different taste so you’re bound to…
-
Money Challenge-Day 31-Looking Back
It’s the final day of the challenge. Take a look back over the last 30 days. What did you learn? What do you need to do?