Frugal Living Today

I am frugal to a fault at times, and those around me never seem to let me live that fact down.  Case in point – when my partner took me out to dinner recently, I order steak (which was delicious, if not even remotely frugal).  Knowing what I know about bloated portion sizes in restaurants these days, I immediately cut that steak in half.

Given that I had already been provided with baskets full of yeast rolls and a decently appointed salad, six ounces of steak were really more than I needed to feel full and eating any more than that would have been wasteful.

As J looked on, I wrapped the steak in a napkin and declined the standard “to go box”, as it was made of Styrofoam (BIG FRUGAL & ENVIRONMENTAL NO-NO!).  J laughed as I walked out with my napkin-encased steak, completely unaware that it was that very steak that would the next night become part of an amazing stir-fry dish that we devoured.

There’s a lesson in there, somewhere.  Okay, to be honest there are two:

Lesson #1:  Always be on the lookout for ways to stretch what you buy.  Leftover grilled chicken can be turned into gourmet chicken salad with nothing more than a bit of mayo (or ranch dressing), some chopped onion, bacon bits, nuts and/or grapes.  Even if it is not enough for a family-sized meal, it may just be enough for a quick sandwich while you’re up at 3:00 a.m. working on a deadline.

Lesson #2:  Your frugality can often be used to teach a valuable lesson to those around you.  My partner laughed at me, likening my behavior to a blue-haired granny at the all-you-can-eat Sunday buffet, but the meal prepared with that take-home food was his favorite of the week.  Be prepared to be laughed at for your frugal ways, but never miss the opportunity to prove the value of it when you can.  You may just create a convert without being preachy.

Stop throwing it all away!

Demandra over at Consciously Frugal got me stewing over a recent post about a company touting their “environmentally friendly” bottled water. Yeah, that’s what I said.

For today’s frugal tip, we’re going to stop being so disposable. We’re all guilty of it at one time or another and it not only costs us ridiculous amounts of money, it is adding to the waste that goes into our landfills, and don’t even get me started on that one.

Here are a few disposable items you can do without:

• Bottled Water
  Buy a reusable container with a lid and refill it. ‘nuff said.
• Napkins
  Cloth napkins can be used over and over, and you’re already washing clothes anyway, right?
• Paper Towels
  Old towels, socks and t-shirts can do the same job and they’re both washable and reusable. For cleaning glass surfaces (like windows), newspaper does a better job and it is free.
• Sponges
  They trap germs and start to stink after a day or two. Ditch ‘em and use washable dish towels.
  

In reality there are dozens of ways that you can stop buying disposable items in favor of reusable. See what you can come up with around your house. Your wallet will thank you and so with Mother Nature.

The beginnings of being frugal are often based on a lack of money, at least that’s where it started for me.  In today’s Frugal Living Tip of the Day, we’re gong to take a look at your money and how you can get a better idea of just how good you have it!

For starters, you’ve got to have a budget.  Don’t have one?  I’m not surprised.  Statistically speaking, you share that boat with at least 65 percent of Americans.  In order to make life a little easier for you, I have compiled a list of some of my favorite budget guides from various sources: 

• The folks at Budget 101 have some fantastic and simple printable budget worksheets available from their website.  If you are anything like me, you’ll be overwhelmed at the huge amount of information on their site so you can click here to take a shortcut to the budget worksheets page.
• J.D. Roth at Get Rich Slowly offers a simple budget spreadsheet for download from his website.
• Simple Debt Free Living offers a good budget worksheet and an easy to follow guide to creating a budget you can live with.

A lot of people are scared to make a budget because it will show them just how deeply in debt they are.  I don’t care whether you make $100 a week or $1,000 you need a budget so that you can better understand what you’ve got, where your debt is and where your money is going. 

Coupons!

Coupons are at the heart of every frugal minded person’s routine, but most people don’t know how to use them or to even find coupons for items that they would normally use.  With that in mind, here are a few tips to help you start saving some serious dough with coupons:

1.  If you aren’t already using coupons, you need to get to it!  Clipping and saving coupons may be a pain, but you have to face the facts – coupons are free money.

2.  Read the fine print.  Take note of the date and any rules that apply to the use of a particular coupon.  I have a friend who is an absolute master of getting items for pennies just by using coupons.  She will find a coupon for – let’s say deodorant – and when it doesn’t specify a size, she will use a $1.00 off coupon to buy a .99 cent trial size.  Don’t laugh, it works.

3.  Combine coupons with sales whenever possible.  I can’t tell you how many times I have ended up getting something for almost nothing by doing this.  I pay special attention to supermarkets that have “Buy One, Get One” sales, and one of them locally even offers to double coupons. 

Example time:  One week I was able to get four boxes of high end pasta for free.  How?  Simple, really.  The pasta was on “buy one get one” sale.  The regular price was $1.99.  I had four coupons for .50 cents off and the store doubled coupons.  Since I was technically purchasing four boxes of pasta, they honored all four coupons, and technically they owed me .04 cents when all was said and done, but I wasn’t going to say anything.

4.  Join your local supermarket’s reward card program.  It doesn’t cost anything and can end up saving you a nice chunk of change, especially when you are using those coupons.

5.  Start a coupon train.  Huh?  In a nutshell, this is a way to share the coupons you don’t use and get more of the ones you do.  For a great primer on coupon trains, click here.

Let’s Talk Beans.  I know you’re probably laughing to yourself as you’re reading this, reminded of that time honored grade school rhyme, so let’s go ahead and get it out of the way.  All together now… Beans, Beans, Good for your heart…

Now that we’ve all had our giggle for the day, the truth is that dried beans are good for you, too.

A pound of dried beans can generally be bought for less than $1.00, and that yields about 10-12 servings. Most people won’t try dried beans because they think it is too labor-intensive, but that’s just not true. I prefer to use dried beans whenever possible (unless of course, I’m using fresh), because there are no added sodium or other chemical preservatives. I can control exactly what goes into my food and that is a good thing. There are tons of varieties and they’re packed full of cheap nutritional goodness.

Did you know that when you combine dried beans with just about any grain product you create a complete protein that is comparable to any meat protein? It’s also less expensive and less taxing on both our environment and our bodies.

Enough of the sermon. Now for some facts:

• a serving of cooked beans is about 1/2 cup.
• Dry beans can be stored in unopened packages or a sealed container, in a cool, dry place indefinitely.
• Cooked beans can be stored up to 3-5 days covered in the refrigerator.
• Cooked beans can be frozen for several weeks.

While there are several ways to prepare dried beans, I’m going to focus on the only one that I use, and that is pre-soaking. Pre-soaking beans softens them and helps remove tannins and gas-causing sugars. It is the most reliable and consistent method I’ve found and it is simple:

• Pour dried beans into a strainer.
• Rinse and remove non-bean material (small rocks are common).
• Place beans into a large bowl and cover with cool, clean water.
• Soak 8-10 hours. Longer soaks may leave them soggy.
• HINT: Changing the soak water after about 4 hours will remove even more of the stuff that causes gas.

Now on to cooking dried beans. It really is easy and once you’ve done it a few times you’ll appreciate the improved taste even more than the money you save or the health benefits. Here are the basic instructions for cooking soaked beans:

• Rinse soaked beans thoroughly and pour them into a large pot. Cover with water.
• NOTE: DO NOT add salt or tomato products to uncooked beans!
• Bring to a boil, stir and reduce to a slow simmer.
• Simmer for 45-60 minutes, or until beans are tender.
• HINT: Adding a small amount of oil to the pot will reduce foaming.

Michael’s Frugal Living Homemade Stock Recipe

One of the key ingredients in many recipes is stock. I know many of my frugal brothers and sisters tend to substitute reconstituted bouillon in their recipes and on occasion I’ll do the same, but in keeping with my desire for taste, lower sodium and most of all for using everything I buy whenever possible I make my own when I can - and so can you regardless of how much experience you have in the kitchen.

The first (and arguably most important) step for me is to save what others throw away. The next time you are cutting up fresh veggies for a soup or stew, save the peels and the ends! This applies best to carrots, celery, onions & garlic, but you’re mileage may vary. You can store them in a large freezer bag or empty coffee can. You can save the drained liquid from canned veggies in the same manner (just add everything to the freezer container).

The next time you cook meat, save the carcass and/or bones. Don’t you dare toss them, the still have important nutrient and flavor-filled goodness to impart! Put them in a large stockpot over low-to-medium heat along with your freezer savings and add water as needed. Add a bay leaf (my granny taught me that), some seasonings (garlic, parsley, basil, oregano, salt, pepper…your choice) and simmer for a few hours. Don’t let them boil, just simmer slowly. This gets the most out of the bones - more minerals and gelatin means more health and more flavor!

I allow the pot to cool and strain into freezer containers, usually in 2 or 4 cup increments. The next time I need 2 cups of ______ stock for a recipe I pull it out of the freezer and pop it right into the pot!

When all is said and done, a little extra time will yield a fresher and more flavorful stock for mere pennies. You’ll remember it the next time you go shopping and pay $.50 - $1.00 for a few ounces! More important, you control every ingredient that goes into your homemade concoction and the vast majority of it was FREE!

I love to use homemade stock instead of water when I am making rice. You don’t have to season it at all!

Michael’s Frugal Living Homemade Freezer Soup Mix

After yesterday’s tips on produce I want to give you one of my favorite frugal produce tips. This is one of my most popular homemade soups, and no one knows (until now) just how simple and inexpensive it is to make.

To start with, you will need a sealable freezer container. Most often I use a large freezer bag and that seems to work just fine for me. Every time I use fresh produce, I chop up the extra bits and add them to my bag. This works well for produce that is about to go bad, too.

Depending on what I have available at any given time, my mix may include any or all of the following:

• Onion (chopped)
• Carrots (diced)
• Corn (whole kernel)
• Tomatoes (sliced, diced, chopped, pureed)
• Celery (chop the leafy parts and add them too!)
• Herbs (I use rosemary, basil & oregano)
• Green Beans
• Peppers (chopped)
• Potatoes (diced)

Once my container is nearly full, I dump the lot into my crock pot with a few cups of my homemade stock (look for that frugal tip tomorrow) and water. I set the crock on low heat and leave it to work its magic for a few hours.

This is a delicious soup as-is, or if you have leftover meat you can add that as well. Break up hamburgers or chop chicken, beef or ham. You can also add a cup or two of small pasta (I use shells, macaroni or egg noodles) to the mix.

At the very most, this soup costs me about two dollars to make and it fills my large crock pot full. I freeze leftovers in individual containers for a quick meal anytime.