Springtime Money Savers

Now that winter is losing it's power and it seems that it may one day be warm again, I'm starting to get excited. I'm itching to get outside and enjoy the long-lost warmth and the longer days. As time goes on, I'll get to enjoy a lot of great springtime activities that are not only fun, but can save money!

• Bike to work/errands instead of driving. I get to save money on gas, get in shape, and really live. I feel that time spent behind the wheel is life on mute, but time spent on a bike is really lived.
• Preparing the garden. This week I'll be digging my new garden beds in my new back yard. I've been sourcing materials to make a couple raised beds (curb shopping) and have compost ready to distribute.
• Plant seedlings. While it's too early to plant my garden (in my zone), it's the perfect time to get some seedlings started. I'm starting tomatoes this week, then peppers, eggplant and okra soon after. Then it's time to...
• Plant a garden. Soon it will be time to plant some cool weather plants such as spinach, beets, peas, radishes and lettuce. I can barely wait to dig my hands into the dirt and start growing some food!
• Clean up the yard. Now that the snow has melted, it's time to make the yard presentable. I'm gathering sticks for a bonfire, which will be a great way to spend an evening with friends.
• Maintain the house. Cleaning gutters, mending cracks in the driveway, fixing siding and other tasks are cheap fixes that prevent big problems later.
• Eat from the freezer. Most of the meals I'm making now are planned around items from the freezer. I'm clearing out space for preserving my harvest or taking advantage of bargain prices on in-season foods later in the season.
• Take a foraging walk. I love to take walks and look for edible food all year around, but in spring, after a winter of preserved foods, I'm aching for something fresh. Dandelions, chickweed, nettles, and wild onions are all great early spring wild foods.
• Get ready for a yard sale. While your spring cleaning, put aside things that you no longer want or need to get ready for an early yard sale. You can simplify your life, clean your house and make a little extra money.

What spring activities are you excited about?

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Book Review: Grow It Build It Save It

Britni Ross of Our Eventual Homestead has written a new ebook called Grow It, Build It, Save It! How one family saves over $11,000 each year and you can too!

Grow It, Build It, Save It! is an excellent book for the newbie to frugal living. Her ideas are not insane, black-belt tips that take hours upon hours to save a nickle. Instead, she shares practical ideas that can work for many real-life families.

She tackles the topics of cable television, groceries, telephone service, auto insurance, buying unnecessary stuff, eating out and miscellaneous ways to save money. Each section offers a variety of ways to trim your expenses and most people will surely find at least a tip or two that will work for them. Each chapter ends with a set of assignments to help you apply what you've learned to your financial life.

If you are just beginning your journey towards frugality and financial  responsibility, Grow It, Build It, Save It! is a great book to help you build a strong foundation. The book was just released today (March 4, 2013) as a Kindle book, and better yet, until March 6, 2013, it's free! Check it out here!

If you don't have a Kindle, you can still enjoy this and other Kindle books by downloading the free Kindle App for PC here.

Free Books!

I love books. In the past, I found great pleasure in browsing used book stores; however, I also spent a lot of money on books that I just didn't get around to reading. Now, I can get the pleasure from shopping for books without spending a penny.

 Amazon has a free PC version of Kindle. I downloaded it. Now as I browse through the collection, I sort by price. There are many free ebooks. I download a few of these ebooks daily. I have learned a great deal from reading these books, but even if I don't get a chance to, I am not wasting any money.




Originally published in The Dollar Stretcher Tips.

How Frugal Living Makes Your Life Better

Many people associate frugality with deprivation. They assume that they'll suffer without the things they want and be miserable. I've found that the exact opposite is the case in my life. I'm what you'd call a "Black belt" frugalista, but I've found that my life is richer because of it. Here's some of the top ways that being frugal makes your life better.

1. Ability to work fewer hours. If you have lots of expenses and debts to repay, you have to make as much money as possible so you can pay everyone. If your debts are minimal or non-existent and your expenses low, you can chose to work fewer days or hours each week. This time can be used for hobbies, fixing up your house, reading, spending time with the kids, time with significant other or friends, or exercising.
2. Ability to retire early. If you keep your expenses low, but continue to earn a higher amount, you can bank that excess in a combination of retirement and other investment accounts. Once the balance is high enough, you can retire, and live off of your savings. You could actually retire while you're young enough to make the most of it.
3. Better health. The cheapest health care is preventative health care. Treating a heart attack is expensive. Preventing one through proper diet and exercise is cheap. Many frugal practices are great for your health. Perhaps you bike to work to save on gas and the cost of owning a car, but a side benefit is that you get a rocking workout twice a day five days a week. Or you want to save money on meat by eating more vegetarian meals, smaller portions of meat or stretching meat with TVP. This will lower your overall fat consumption and help to maintain weight and cholesterol levels. You can garden to save money on groceries, and the side benefit is that your kids get excited about eating vegetables because they grew them.
4. Higher quality time with loved ones. When you save money by going on a picnic instead of a movie date, you save money, but you also get to spend time talking and laughing. If you cut the cable, you can spend more time playing with your kids. I love it when my friends and I get together for cooking (see my post on my family's Apple Processing Day), foraging or crafting. It's much more fun than going to the mall.
5. You own you. Consumers are owned by their stuff. If you learn to want less, you own you. You can still get stuff (I'm still obsessed with books), but you are in control of them, not vice versa.
6. Freedom to switch jobs/careers. If you live a lifestyle that requires a high income, you are stuck in your job, or have a narrower pool of available job/career choices. If you have low expenses and a bank of frugal tips to fall back on, you can quit your job to take something that's a better fit, even if it pays less. If you regularly complain about how much you hate your job, or daydream often of owning your own business, frugality can free you to live your dream. 
7. Freedom from some tough choices. If your wants are in control of your life, you can have some tough decisions. What happens if your favorite band is releasing a CD right when rent is due and your bank balance is low. Do you buy the deluxe edition CD and hope the landlord is understanding? If you are frugal, you know that within a month the CD will be cheaper and eventually you can find it at thrift stores. Or you could check it out from the library. 
8. Option of having more or better. If you spend money as soon as you make it and don't practice frugal tactics, you're limited in options. If you have $25 for a book, that's all  you can buy new. If you have $25 for books, but shop at a thrift store, you can buy 5-10 for that price; a yard sale could yield 25-100 books for that price. If you are willing to buy clothes from the thrift store, you can nicer name brands or even designer apparel for the price of Wal-Mart clothes regular price.
9. Better food. When I was less frugal, I wasted money on fast food and junk food. It tasted like crap and cost me a lot. Now that I'm frugal, I get much better food. The money I used to spend on a fast food meal can make a pretty elaborate meal at home. I shop at farmer's markets and scoop up whatever is in season and cheap, and have thus discovered Jimmy Nardello peppers, dragon's tongue beans, and Sicilian eggplant. I've tried new recipes to use up garden surplus, bargain purchased goods, or trash (roasted squash seeds!). 
10. You get your life, not the Jones'es. When trapped in the consumer mindset, you have to have the latest gadgets, even if you don't use half of the features, the flashiest car even though you hate to drive, and a house in a fashionable neighborhood with impeccably fashionable landscaping and decorating. When you are frugal, you chose what is important to you and put your money towards that. If you want to have elaborate landscaping, you can do that, but if you'd rather live cheap and travel extensively, that's an option too. Your money is spent on what makes you happy.

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Five Free Shirts!

Thrift stores are a great way to save money on housewares and clothing, but every now and then you get great stuff at such a ridiculously low price that you wonder how anyone lives without shopping at thrift stores. Case in point: 5 long-sleeved shirts for free.

I recently signed up for the store's email and text alerts. Every so often I get a notification of a half off sale or a 50-cent sale in which every item of a certain color tag is $.50. One day I got a text letting me know that there was a half off sale that day. It also said that if I showed the text to the cashier, I would receive a coupon for $5 off my next purchase. When I went, I bought a few things for the house and a few books that were on my wishlist (I love it when that happens!). The coupon was good $5 off a minimum purchase of $5.

I inventoried the house and our wardrobes to see what we needed. I found that I only had 2 long-sleeved shirts that were fit to wear out of the house.

I went back a couple days later and found out that there was a 50-cent sale going on for blue colored tags. As I searched the shirt racks, I kept an eye out for all blue tags. I insisted that every shirt I would buy had to fit me well, feel wonderful and that the color complement me.
Four shirts were blue tags so they were $.50. The other shirt was $3. The cashier used the coupon before applying tax, so there was none. They were completely free!

What have been your best thrift store scores?

Stove Top Pizza

Stove top pizza is a quick, easy and delicious meal. I consider it a convenience food, really, because if I make up a double batch of the pizza crust dough, I can keep it in the refrigerator for up to a week. When I'm ready to make pizza, I let it sit at room temperature for about an hour, then fry it on the stove top. Dinner will be ready with only 15 minutes of hands on work. My pizza crust dough is a variation of Valentino's Pizza Crust on allrecipes.com. This recipe makes two pizzas in a large skillet.

1 c hot tap water
2 1/4 tsp yeast
1 TB sugar

Add yeast and sugar to hot water and allow to sit on the counter for a few minutes until it becomes frothy.

Meanwhile, mix together 2 1/2 c flour, 2 TBSP oil of any kind, and a dash of salt. I like to replace half of the flour with whole grain flour, or up to 1/4 c with wheat or oat bran. I also add seasonings to the crust such as Italian seasoning, garlic powder or toasted sesame or poppy seeds. Sometimes for the oil, I use chili oil or a flavored olive oil. Mix in the yeast/water mixture. Allow to sit on the counter, covered, for at least 15 minutes, but I've allowed it to sit for up to 3 hours with no problems. While you are waiting, cut up any toppings you want to use: pepperoni, bacon, tomatoes, olives, pepperoncini, mushrooms. Have ready tomato sauce and cheese.

Divide in half. Shape into a circle just smaller than the size skillet you are going to use. Heat shortening (I haven't had luck using vegetable oil, but by all means try any oil you'd like to use; I've had good luck using bacon fat also) on your skillet over medium heat. Once the oil is melted and hot, place your dough into the skillet and cover. Allow to cook until there is steam built up on the lid. Carefully remove the lid. At this time, press corn meal into what is currently the top of the crust. Using a large spatula, flip the crust. Immediately top with enough tomato sauce to cover, all toppings and a generous topping of cheese. Cover. Turn the heat down to low-medium. Fry until the bottom is golden brown and the cheese is melted.

So how does it turn out? My only real problem with it is that I like to have crisp, browned cheese on the top of my pizza. The cheese on this pizza never browns, just melts and the steam build up changes the texture a bit. Trucker loves this pizza more than a home-oven-baked pizza because the crust is crispy and sturdy. You can really load on the toppings and it will hold up.

This is perfect, not only if you have a broken oven, but will be perfect in the summer when the last thing I want to do is heat up the kitchen. It's also quicker and more energy efficient than heating an entire oven to make pizza for two.

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Cheap Date Night

If you've ever felt that dates were too expensive, or if you are saving for a big goal and need to cut costs but don't want to cut out the romance, or if there is just too much month and not enough paycheck, this list is for you. Here are some of my favorite free or affordable dates.

* Check out a movie from the library. Pop popcorn on the stove top or in an air popper.
* Have a campfire in the backyard. Roast marshmallows and snuggle under a blanket.
* Take a long walk through the neighborhood (provided you aren't saving money by living in a dangerous area). It's a great way to spend time talking and be active together.
* Call area museums and ask about free days. Some museums have free days weekly, monthly or annually. Have fun, get a bit of exercise while walking around and learn a little something.
* Go to a concert or poetry reading at a coffee house. Unlike a concert at a bar, you can get away with buying one drink and nursing it through the evening, or get a bottomless cup of regular coffee. For $5 you can have a night out.
* Look for special promotions for area restaurants. Some that we've enjoyed: free coffee at a chain coffee house on Earth Day when we brought in reusable mugs, free coffee and samples at a cafe when they were rolling out a new menu, $.50 iced coffees on the first day of summer at a fast food restaurant, free small lattes when McDonalds was starting McCafe, $.25 kiddie cones on Wednesdays at a chain ice cream shop, $1 coffees at another chain one day each week.
* Go to a second run theater for special promotions. My area theater sells tickets for $1.25 one day a week and $1.75 all other days. Skip the popcorn and soda.
* Go to the beach for swimming, tanning and playing.
* Have a do-nothing day. Don't get dressed. Don't run errands. Simply hang out at home, cuddle, talk, eat junk food, take a bath, whatever. Relax and enjoy each other.
* Go for a bike ride.
* Make a good meal together, especially a labor intensive one. Trucker and I like to make Chinese food together. He'll chop the veggies and meat for stir fry while I'm assembling egg rolls and crab rangoon. We get to talk and giggle together while preparing the food, and the cost and taste are far superior to what we find at our area Americanized Chinese buffet.
* Go to an antique mall and explore. There are many things to amuse or awe you. We look out for antique kitchen wares that are affordable and in good, usable condition. You don't have to buy anything though, so this can be a free date.
* Take a drive. While high gas prices make this less of a good deal than in previous times, this is still a fun date. Drive out of the city to explore the countryside or drive through the woods during autumn for a color display. A favorite of ours when we were saving for our house was to drive through different neighborhoods and discuss whether we would buy a house there and why.
* Take the bus to a new neighborhood with a set amount of money in cash, say $10, and see how long you can make it last. Explore the neighborhood on foot. Stop in every store and look around. Spend your money on small things, like the $.50 rack of books outside the used bookstore, penny candies, or a bagel to split from the small corner bakery.
* Go to a used book store and look around. Look for bargain racks or clearance sections.
* Look for coupons in the Sunday paper for restaurants. Once, I found Buy One Get One Free coupons for Caribou Coffee. I dived a recycling bin for extra coupons and for months we had $1 dates (Two regular coffees using coupon, plus additional money off for bringing reusable mugs and correctly answering trivia questions).
* Sign up for thrift store newsletters and text alerts. A few times a year, our favorite thrift store sends out coupons for $5 off a $10 purchase. We go to the thrift store and try not to spend over $10 so we can get half off. We score some great finds, but don't fall into the trap of buying a ton of stuff because it's so cheap.
* Go for a hike/nature walk. Most cities have a decent metro park system and you can find lovely walking trails. Take your camera for nature shots and silly pictures. Look for interesting plants or weird bugs.
* Have a picnic in the park or the backyard.
* Go to a free concert or play in the park. In my city a theater troupe puts on Shakespeare in the Park. Some people go all out, bringing little tables in and setting up elaborate picnics complete with wine.

What are some of your favorite affordable dates?

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The Welcoming House Welcoming Wednesday

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