Avoiding Frugal Burnout

If you're anything like me, the easiest part of saving money is when you first decide to save for a big, important goal. You're all excited about your plans, and so it is easy to cut the expenses to the bone. But as time goes on, you start to lose that clear picture of the goal. You start to focus more on what you are giving up now, and that makes it all too easy to justify outrageous splurges. For example, in saving for a down payment on a house, you feel like it will be forever until you finally get that home, but tonight you could really use a nice meal out. You've been working so hard. Then, feelings of guilt kick in, and you start to concentrate on how you slipped up on your savings goal, and that bums you out, so you get a little sometime to cheer yourself up. Vicious little cycle.

Plan ahead to avoid this. Frugal burnout happens to the best of us, but doesn't have to set you back in saving for your goals.

First, break that big goal down into manageable little goals. Rather than setting a savings goal of $18,000 towards buying a house, break that down. You have $3k in closing cost, then break the down payment amount into smaller chunks. When I was saving for my house, I broke it down into goals closing costs, then closing costs plus 5% of the down payment, then 10%, 25%, 50%, 75%, 100%. I drew a simple chart that I would mark each time I made a deposit into my savings account. Every time a goal was met, there was great celebration. I hung the chart up on the refrigerator so we could see it every day and stay excited as we inched closer to the main goal.

No one wants to feel deprived. It's hard to keep focused on some future benefit if you don't enjoy anything now. Rather than trying to do away with all splurges, and then pay for it with unplanned excessive splurges, plan to treat yourself. Enjoy small things on a regular basis. For example, I love good cheese, so every payday (every other week), I allow myself to go to the cheese counter at the grocery store and pick out a small chunk of good (we're talking that $25/lb stuff) cheese. I only spend around $4 each time, so this doesn't derail my savings goals. However, I really enjoy that cheese. I add a tiny bit to my salad or sandwich, or eat a small piece with a cracker. It lasts around a week, and enriches many meals. If by spending that $4 (annual total of $104/yr), I don't need to go out to a nice restaurant once a month at $50 a pop, I save around $500 a year. Plus, I get several special meals each month.

It doesn't even have to be money out of your pocket. Maybe it's just time. Rather than buying yourself something, give yourself permission to spend the entire day in bed reading a great novel. Eat a good dessert. Blow off the housework for one afternoon and go for a hike. Enjoy these moments, and look forward to them. Since they are a regular part of your life, you can enjoy the now while saving for the future.

Look for different ways to save money. If you feel like it's just the same-ol-same-ol, look for ways to switch it up a bit. Read some good books on frugality and find a few new ways to save money just so there's some change in your routine. Maybe try line drying clothes as an excuse to be outside on a warm, breezy day or bake bread from scratch. You'll save a little money, and it's fun.

When most people decide to save money/be more frugal, they make a grave error. They slash the entertainment budget. Sure, entertainment isn't absolutely necessary, and it's usually costly for dinners out, movies, concert tickets, lift tickets, takeout, etc. However, I feel that this is the surest way to frugal burnout. If all you do is sit at home thinking about how much fun you used to have when you were spending money, you'll be miserable. Instead, increase your entertainment carefully. Spend an afternoon googling free or cheap things to do in your area. Maybe there's a concert/play/movie in the park series that you can go to every weekend. Many a coffee house has a free jazz band on Tuesday nights. Maybe a museum is free on Sundays. Start doing these things more often than you used to go out when you were paying. You'll find that your life is more rich and full and you're saving money.

What are your favorite ways to prevent frugal burnout?

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Thrift Store Drinking Glasses

At our housewarming party, our friend gave us a beautiful set of tall and short drinking glasses. We absolutely love them. However, it is inevitable that glasses will occasionally be broken. When I broke a short one, I was upset and dismayed that eventually enough of the glasses would be broken that we'd either have to get rid of the set or have mismatched glasses. Then one day at a thrift store, I found a glass that matched the set. It cost $.59. I scooped it up, happy to have a full set again.

Now, every time I'm at a thrift store, I scan the glasses for both tall and short glasses in our set. It is a fairly common design, so I've been able to scoop up several. We now have extras and when the occasional glass breaks, it's no big deal. I pay between $.25 and $.90 per glass. This is cheaper than the cost to buy a new set.

While for certain sets, it may be a long shot to find replacements, it is definitely worth a quick scan when you are at thrift stores or yard sales. You just may find a cheap fill-in to stretch your set.

Egg Drop Soup, or: The Easiest Dinner Ever

I love going out for Chinese. The entrees are good, sure, but it's the side stuff that rocks my world. The first time I made crab rangoon at home I was in heaven and called that dinner.

Today I made stir-fry for dinner. I was craving some good Chinese restaurant soup. I had some chicken stock in the refrigerator, so decided to try my hand at egg drop soup. Oh my. How had I not been making this for years?

This is simply the easiest, cheapest, tastiest soup I've ever made, and it's pretty healthy too. It takes five minutes, tops. The recipe is not exact; you can tweak it based on how hungry you are, what you have on hand, and how many you are serving. The amounts given are what I made tonight. It gave us enough for four side servings.

1 quart of chicken stock
2 eggs
1 green onion
salt and pepper

Heat the chicken stock on the stove until it's boiling. Beat the egg well. Drizzle the egg into the boiling chicken stock while stirring vigorously. Ladle into bowls, and garnish with chopped green onion. Sprinkle with salt and pepper to taste. That's it.

I make my stock at home, so the cost is negligible (made using bones and veggie scraps leftover from cooking). Two eggs cost me about $.30. The green onions have been regrowing in my windowsill, so we can call those free. This recipe cost me $.08 a serving.

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This Week...Beyond Money 11/10 - 11/16

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.


Gardening:
* Not much to do now. I'm already missing it desperately. We got a heavy snow fall late Sunday night, so everything is blanketed now.
* Harvested some more lettuce seed from the front-garden containers. I have about a packet's worth now. It's not saving me a lot of money, but I'm learning and hopefully over time will end up with the best lettuce seeds for my microclimate.

Cooking/Groceries:
* Didn't grocery shop at all this week. Ate from the pantry and freezer.
* Made pork stock from leftover bones and loads of veggie scraps. It's delicious and practically free.

Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated lemon peels to use in making syrup later in the winter.

Fun:
* A musician friend of ours hooked us up with discounted tickets to see the symphony. Tickets were $12 instead of $50. We were beyond thrilled. It was one of the nicest nights out I've had in a long time. I was wide-eyed and smiling the entire time.

Nature:
* We went for a hike at a local state park. It was a 5 mile hike around a lake. We off trailed a bit, so we went around 6 miles. With the autumn colors, and just enough leaf fall for great views, it was breathtaking.

Frugality:
* Avoided shopping as much as possible.
* Switched health  insurance for a savings of $50/month, plus lower costs when we use it.

Waste Reduction:
* Planned to use leftovers in other meals to avoid waste.
* Rinsed cans of salsa, tomato sauce and enchilada sauce and put in the Trash Chili container in the freezer. I almost have enough to make a batch.
* Cooked with animal fats saved from cooking other dishes and making stock.

Work:
* Trucker picked up an extra shift so we could have a little more money to put towards visiting a sick family member out of state.
* We packed our lunches instead of buying something. I drank free coffee in the break room.
* Trucker brought home english muffins and scones from his job that were expired. Absolutely delicious, even though they were day old.
* I signed up for our insurance at my new job. We were on a private plan through the marketplace. Even with our subsidy, we were spending a lot for a really bad plan (and just got a notice saying that in the new year it would go up by $30+/month). The insurance at my job is fabulous with a much lower deductible. It includes health, dental, prescription, vision, life and disability insurance for $50/month less than our old plan would cost us (for just really bad health, dental and vision insurance).

Preparation:
* Winterized the vehicles. Put blankets in the cars just in case. Also put in a couple granola bars for emergencies or just in case we forget our lunches for work. I get granola/protein bars for less than a dime at the salvage grocer so this is cheaper than anything we could buy for lunch.

Future:
* Every day on my lunch break I've been writing on my book. I am getting in the habit of writing daily. Even just writing on my lunch break every day would add up to around 60,000 words a year.

What did you do this week?

This Week...Beyond Money 11/3 - 11/9

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* Aphids got into the house! Not sure how, exactly, but one day I found one container of peppers covered in them. This was the container of plants that I was going to continue harvesting all winter. I quickly took it outside and picked all of the little peppers on it and let the frost have it and kill the aphids (hopefully). I've watched the plants indoors and they seem fine.
* The indoor planting of lettuce looks fantastic. Very small still, but beautiful. Can't wait!
* I peaked outside at the shade garden. It has been frosting most nights and has been really cold a few days. Surprisingly, the volunteer pepper and tomato plants are still alive. Two of the pepper plants even have flowers that survived last night's frost! They are both filled with tiny peppers. Another tiny volunteer plant had a 1.5 inch pepper. One of the tomato plants had produced 2 small tomatoes. I picked them all and will leave them to see if anything else grows.

Cooking/Groceries:
* Made an incredible leftovers pizza. We had a little leftover BBQ pork, but not enough for a meal of sandwiches. I spread the pizza with blue cheese dressing, then spread the BBQ pulled pork over the top, smothered the whole thing in caramelized onions, sprinkled with chopped mock pickled peppers from jalapenos from the garden, then topped with cheddar and a drizzle of BBQ sauce. Wow. Incredible.
* There is a local grocery store that is kind of expensive for most things. However, they always have really good produce sales as a way to lure you in, and occasionally have good prices on non-produce items. I do not shop here often, as it is on the other side of town, but whenever I see that there are fabulous deals, I'll make a trip and stock up. This time I got: parsley ($.50/bunch), cilantro ($.50/bunch), cabbage ($.50/lb), onions ($.50/lb), 7 lbs of bulk popcorn ($.99/lb, half the price at work), 8 lbs butter ($2.99/lb; $1 cheaper than the cheapest sale price for store brand I ever see elsewhere. My stash had gotten down to 1/2 lb so I was worried. I do not use margarine and like to make pop tarts from scratch, so butter is a necessity), 3 6oz packages of raspberries ($1.50/each, I rarely buy berries because they are so expensive, so I do indulge when I find them at a good price. They are usually $4 for the same sized container here), 1 6 oz package of blackberries ($1.50/each) and a large bunch of spinach ($1). This store sells really good ends and pieces bacon for $3/lb and is therefore cheaper than the cheapest store brand on sale. Unfortunately, there was none there this time. I still have a few packages in the freezer at home, but always try to stock up when I'm there since I don't know how soon I will return.
* I made an enchilada casserole. I had some tortillas that were crumbly and not good for using for tacos. I layered the pieces with ground beef (a small container from the freezer leftover from another meal), refried beans, a can of tomatoes (sale+coupon=$.25), and covered the whole thing with enchilada sauce and cheese.

Food Preservation:
* My homemade vinegar turned out wonderfully. I'm very excited. It smells and tastes great. Now I'm thinking about making apple wine...

Fun:
* Trucker had bought a Living Social deal for a local miniature golf course. 4 rounds of mini golf and 70 pitches in the batting cages for $12 ($30 value). We weren't able to get there right away and it closed for the season three days before we got there. The owner was there cleaning up and said that we could go ahead and play so he got out the leaf blower and cleaned the courses for us. We had a fantastic time. It was the most beautifully landscaped course I've ever seen. Afterwards, we went to a local ice cream shop for sundaes. I had a coupon in my Entertainment book for buy one get one free, so it only cost $4.50. Our entire date cost $16.50 and it was incredible!
* We went to a benefit spaghetti dinner for the local food pantry. We each donated several items for the silent auction and raffle. Trucker donated some books he had duplicates of (purchased at thrift stores for less than $1 so we could give them away when someone said they wanted to read it, for gifts, etc) and I donated a hand crocheted scarf and two sets of washcloths. We also donated some canned goods that I had gotten really cheaply from combining sales and coupons. We paid $10 each for dinner but considered it worthwhile since it benefited the food bank. We had a wonderful time with our friends and enjoyed the music. At the end of the event, they auctioned off a couple items that hadn't gotten bids. One of the items was a $50 gift certificate for a nice Italian restaurant. No one else bid so I got it for $15. This will provide two dates for us.
* Went grocery shopping with a couple friends. Short, fun and didn't cost me anything (except for the groceries I was going to buy anyway).
* Coffee and writing/studying session with a good friend at a local coffee house.

Nature:
* Every nice day we went out for a short walk through the neighborhood. Just a half hour, but we get a bit of exercise, a bit of sunlight.

Frugality:
* When I went out for coffee with my friend, I reused my coffee sleeve. It was my 10th time reusing it, so next time I get a free drink. I don't go to this coffee house often, but make sure I always have my sleeve when I do.
* When I went to a grocery store that was on the other side of town, to maximize the value of the gas used, I combined the trip with getting together for coffee with my friend that lives just down the road. We met another friend at the store. Whenever I have to go out of my way for something, I try to combine as many errands/experiences in that area as possible.

Waste Reduction:
* Planned to use leftovers and random items instead of wasting them.
* Made vinegar out of apple cores.

Work:
* Some changes at work mean my work schedule will improve in the coming week. Very grateful as some changes (to cover vacations, plus a change in management, plus complete elimination of third shift work) had meant for weird scheduling for me. It's going to be better from here.
* Trucker got some free bagels and english muffins from his job that would otherwise have been thrown away since they had expired.
* I brought apples from the orchard for my lunch each day. It's cheap and just enough to get me through the day.

Preparation:
* Bought a couple cans of canned shrimp for the stockpile. I don't eat canned meats on a regular basis, but do like tuna or canned shrimp on occasion. I found it in a clearance bin for $1/can and bought a few.

Future:
* Rough start to National Novel Writing Month. I've had trouble hitting my word count as I'm still getting used to my work schedule completely changing the way I live. (This week I've had two hours when first waking up before heading off to work and an hour after work before getting ready for bed...hard to cram everything into those time frames). That being said, on one day off I wrote 2500 words.

This Week...Beyond Money 10/27 - 11/2

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* I was able to harvest some lettuce seed from the front garden containers. I'm beyond thrilled. This lettuce was in a black container in direct sun. I planted it in spring and it didn't bolt until early autumn. That's definitely something I want in a lettuce, so I definitely wanted to save seed. I've never saved any seed before this.
* Lots of little tiny greens have germinated, but none have their true leaves yet. The first of the Ruby Red swiss chard has germinated too so there's a bit of color. I just threw in random seeds I had leftover from this growing season. I love the idea of having some mixed salads all winter long and it doesn't cost me anything since I've already bought the seed (and between Trucker and I, we always buy more seeds than we can possibly grow on our 1/5 an acre...I think he gets more excited about it than I do!)
*Speaking of, the first of our seeds for next year arrived. Trucker ordered them from individuals in this state and one state over. So far...basil, parsley, gingeng, venus fly trap and bat flowers.
* I was able to harvest a few more green tomatoes (to harvest on the shelf) and peppers from the garden. Not much, but something.

Cooking/Gardening:
* I had some crab apples leftover from making crab apple candy, so I mixed them with some Rome and Fuji apples for a grilled apple crisp.
* I made BBQ Chicken pizza on the grill. I par baked the crusts in the oven, then slid them onto the grill, topped with BBQ sauce, chicken, pickled jalapenos and cheddar cheese. Delicious!
* After 7 PM at the grocery store I work at, all breads made in the in-store bakery are half off. I bought two loaves of bread: a cinnamon swirl bread that was usually $4, marked down to $2 and an everything bread that was usually $2.50, marked down to $1.25. My employee discount took off $.20 from the cinnamon bread (now $1.80) and $.13 off the everything bread (now $1.12). I had two coupons for $1 off a loaf of bread, bringing the final cost to $.80 for the cinnamon swirl bread and $.12 for the everything bread. I bought 5 bags of organic carrots for $1/lb bag.

Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated 3 loads of apples.

Fun:
* My favorite novel as a teen was The Giver. Trucker took me to the cheap theatre for a $2 showing of the movie. I cried the whole time. I love that story. $4 and it made me so happy!
* Strolled around Half Price Books while waiting for our movie to start. I found a few Ray Bradbury (my favorite author) books I didn't have. They were half off the cover price of $.75. So excited! I got The Illustrated Man, Golden Apples of the Sun, S is for Space and The Martian Chronicles.
* We hosted a beer tasting at our house. Every time we bought beer, we saved one beer until we had a nice assortment. We had a few friends over and split each bottle among everyone. I bought chips on clearance and served with salsa. I also made a pear crisp and an apple sauce. It was cheaper than going out for drinks with friends and we had a blast.

Nature:
* We went for a long walk at a metro park near us. It was meadowland and forest. I particularly loved the diversity of the edge areas and enjoyed looking at different seed pods and dried grasses.
* I took a 6.5 mile walk through the city and parks.

Frugality:
* One day I was off and Trucker had to work. After doing some stuff around the house I walked to his job-6.5 miles away-for free coffee, free wifi and getting out of the house. Sure, I could have driven somewhere, but this just got me some exercise, saved me gas, I got free coffee, and didn't have to have the furnace/lights on at home.

Waste Reduction:
* I had some apple cores leftover from making apple crisp, so I decided to try my hand at making vinegar. I put them in a sugar water mix in a gallon jar, covered with a cloth and am going to let it ferment. After several days I tasted it. It tastes like a mild hard cider right now. It's kinda lovely. I may try making hard cider with the next batch of cores, but I'm really excited about having a gallon of apple cider vinegar.

Preparedness:
* Put up a few jars of dehydrated apples.

Future:
* I started National Novel Writing Month to write a frugal living/personal finance book. I am a little behind on my word count, but I have not had a day off yet. I'm off a couple days next week that Trucker will be working and plan to write at a coffee house the entire time he's gone. I'm very excited and enjoying the challenge.

What did you do this week?

This Week...Beyond Money 10/20 - 10/26

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* I potted up 4 pepper plants to overwinter and plant again next year: one of the Jimmy Nardello plants, 1 serrano pepper, 2 jalapeno. These were my top performers. I did not pot up one of the unnamed hot peppers. While they were all wildly prolific, they didn't taste that great.
* I forgot to open the blinds a couple of very busy days and all of the lettuces indoors died. I replanted the container to: arugula, kale, lettuce, spinach, mustard, swiss chard and basil. As of Sunday night, they have sprouted nicely. Hopefully I don't murder this batch. I need some winter greens.
* Harvested a few dozen carrots (most of them little finger), several radishes, 4 cups of mixed salad greens and edible flowers, dozens of small peppers, some green tomatoes to allow to ripen on the counter, 1 c green beans of various types.

Cooking and Groceries:
* I redeemed my birthday coupon for a free half gallon of store-brand ice cream from my job. I got Chocolate Moose Tracks. Awesome birthday gift from my boss. LOL
* I bought a couple of pepperoni rolls from my job for $.44 each. These have pepperoni, cheese and spices are a filling lunch by themselves. I used these for a day that we would be gone from the house from 5:30 AM til 6:30 PM. $.88, plus a couple apples from the orchard makes for a $1 lunch for two. Cheap, relatively healthy and keeps us from scary fast food.
* I bought more apples (at the 300lb mark now!). My mum and sister went to an orchard I love. They had seconds for $14/bushel (so about $.31/lb). Looking at them, I have no idea why they were seconds. They are beautiful and unblemished. They are Rome's which is my favorite apple so I'm thrilled. Rome's are great for crisps, which I make like crazy during the autumn.
* I had a coupon for $1 off $5 worth of produce from the grocery. I found celery on manager's special for $.75 each (marked down from $1.80) and got three. Potatoes were $1.88 for a 10-lb bag. Two heads of lettuce were bagged together for $.99. Total for produce: $4.12. I also had a coupon for a free loaf of bread with $10 purchase.
* We went salvage grocery shopping. Got lots of great deals and stocked up to help keep winter grocery bills manageable without the garden.
* One night we had stir fry with 100% veg from the garden. I served it with rice cooked in homemade chicken stock. By cooking the rice in stock instead of water, it's more nutritious, more filling and we are perfectly content with no meat in the stir fry. Saves a lot of money.

Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated a load of apples. Dehydrated crab apples for crab apple candy (which are absolutely awesome!). All you do is quarter and core them (very labor intensive, just warning you), toss in sugar and dehydrate til chewy. Wow!

Fun:
* For my mum's birthday, we bought her canning supplies and two Butternut trees. Practical, and she'll love it.
* We had dinner with my parents, sisters and Grandpa. It was a wonderful evening.

Nature:
* I went for a run late one night (10 PM). It had rained hard all day, so the air was clean and perfect. It wasn't hot, but it wasn't cold. I  loved watching the tree branches float across the low-hanging clouds drifting by the stars. I fell absolutely in love with everything.
* One day was just absolutely perfect so we worked out in the garden just as an excuse to be out there.
* There were several evenings that were just so perfect we had to go out for walks. So lovely.

Frugality:
* I passed up "deals" that weren't really deals. I found a pack of the pretty green canning jars. It was a six pack that was missing 3 of the jars....marked down 20%...seriously? Also, there was a sale on bacon that made it $1 cheaper than I usually find it if you bought 5. However, if I bought it, I would have to drive back home across the city, before driving back past the store to go visit my parents that day. It would have saved $5 on the bacon, but cost me $5-6 in gas, plus the wasted time. Not worth it.
* Trucker needed new socks. We darn socks and mend holes while they are small as long as possible, but his current set was getting pretty old. I bought a few 10-packs of the same socks (store brand that was $3 less per pack) so that when we do laundry it's easy to match.  As they wear out beyond darning, we can throw away one sock (or get creative with it!) instead of a pair. In this way, we can stretch socks out for years.
* Trucker makes cash tips at his job, so we use that for general living expenses instead of using the card or stopping at the ATM. As he's been giving me cash, I've been squirreling it away for savings. I  had $160 saved up that I deposited this morning into our savings account.
* While we walked, twice we found piles of change. I don't know why people do that, but I'm fine with snagging it. Once we found 22 pennies; the other time we found 16 cents. Yes, picking up change isn't going to drastically change our lives, but it's still worth doing. It takes about an extra second to reach down and pick up a penny. You could do that 60 times a minute. So, hypothetically, if you picked up pennies every second of every minute for an hour, you'd make $36/hr, tax free. That's more than I make at my job, so I consider it worthwhile. The time I found the 22 pennies, it took about 5 seconds to pick up the extras. I could have done that 12 times in a minute, so my hourly rate that time was $158/hr. We save our change all year for a special weekend trip, so we are always happy when we find change.
* Used the library extensively. Checked out several books and two movies. We got a brand new branch this month right down the road from our home. It's a bare-bones branch as an experiment. If it gets used a lot, there's a chance they'll expand it in a few years, so we are trying to do our part to see that they do!
* I keep a blanket downstairs for covering up while at the computer. Since I work in a bakery, I get chilled rather easily when not directly in front of an oven. I've also gotten out the nice thick socks. In this way, we can avoid turning on the furnace.

Waste Reduction:
* Planned so as to avoid wasting any leftovers.

* We had used up as much of the hand soap (purchased during a holiday sale for $.25/bottle) as would come out of the pump. I used the rest for a bubble bath. Frugal indulgence, and I used up the last of it.
* When I dehydrated the apples, I used my apple peeler-corer-slicer gizmo (purchased for $2.50 during a half off sale at a thrift store). I was left with a lot of peels, so I dehydrated those to use in teas in winter.

Work:
* I worked overtime 1 hr this week to help out a coworker. Not a ton of money, but a little something. The extra pay is earmarked to get out of state to visit an ailing relative.
* The uniform at work changed. While we used to be able to wear nice jeans, it is now khakis or black pants. Before hitting the thrift stores to scoop up new pants, I checked some boxes in the closet and found 2 pr of black pants and 2 pr of khakis that I can now fit in (I've lost 25 pounds since I started running). No need to buy any, and I saved myself $10 (at least) on the uniform.
* Trucker got two free cinnamon rolls from his job that were a bit dry and therefore weren't able to be sold. We made a bit more icing to drizzle on them and they were delicious.
* When he closed one night, he was able to take home some things that didn't sell: 2 english muffins (that I used for two mornings' breakfast sandwiches), 2 muffins, a couple cookies and a scone. We took the desserts with us to my parents house for dinner.

Preparation:
* Heavy stockpile for the pantry from the salvage grocery store. Between the best-price store buys and the food from the garden we preserve, we never have less than a 6 month supply of food, even right before the harvest starts coming in. Granted, if we were eating exclusively from the stockpile, by month 4 it would be getting boring, and by 5 months it would be positively bland, but we wouldn't starve.

Future: (New section....anything that is getting me closer to where I want to be on my 5-, 10-, and 20-year plans)
* I went with a friend, my mother and sister to a talk on urban homesteading at a local library. It was a free event. It was given by a local urban farmer/homesteader that I'm familiar with. I've visited her beautiful property and loved it, so it was great to get to hear her talk. I got to ask a few questions to help me as I answer some questions for myself about where I want to go from here while I am still living in the city.
* I'm taking a free permaculture design course through the Regenerative Leadership Institute. It's unaccredited, but I'm taking it for the education, not for credits. I listened to one of the lessons and took notes.


What did you do this week?

This Week...Beyond Money 10/13 - 10/19

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* Only getting a few little things now: a few beans, an edible flower here and there.
* The indoor peppers are giving me a nice number of peppers each week. Very exciting.

Cooking and Groceries:
* Bought some manager's special meat. Pork chops for $1.65/lb. I bought a 1.10 lb ready-to-cook meatloaf for $2.70. Yes, it's a convenience food. Yes, I also paid $2.70/lb for some bread crumbs. However, I know that we have some busy/stressful days coming up. Having this meatloaf ready to throw in the oven just may be enough to keep us from yielding to ordering a pizza or stopping at a restaurant after a long day at work. Also, 1.1 lbs is enough for dinner one night and part of lunch the next day for us, so it is a relatively affordable convenience food. I don't have issues with convenience per se, only when it interferes with taste, health and finance.
* Bought a big loaf of everything bread at work that was $2.99. My discount brought it down to $2.70. There was a coupon available for a dollar off of a store-baked loaf, so the final cost was $1.70. This made it about the price of one of those weird fluffy pre-sliced factory loaves, but tastier and there was more.
* I spent $10 at the grocery: 4 packages of tortillas at $.50 each (marked down from $2.99/pack), 2 bags of tortilla chips for $1 each (planning ahead for making taco dip soon..), a large bottle of extra virgin olive oil for $4 (clearance rack), and two small cupcakes for $.50 each (marked down from $1.19) as a surprise dessert for Trucker after he'd had a long day at work. I got 10% off everything except the olive oil with my employee discount (that was the one item that wasn't store brand).

Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated more apples.


Fun:
* Got coffee with my friend at Trucker's job. My coffee was free since I got regular coffee (per his boss) and Trucker bought her drink.
* Went to Trucker's job for a cup of (free) coffee and writing. Got me out of the house and I didn't have to turn on the heat for those hours while I was gone (as well as not needing to have lights on or my laptop sipping electricity).

Nature:
* We walked to go out with our friends one night. It was only about a mile and a half round trip, but it the weather was lovely.
* I picked wildflowers to decorate the house. Ray cat loved smelling them. She's a big fan of flowers which makes me love her even more.

Frugality:
* Paid off one of my debts. This frees up $75 a month in the budget. I will put this money towards the debt snowball. The last year was rough on us, but some good job changes (more money!) and careful spending (lower expenses) are translating into some real progress for us.

Waste Reduction:
* Composted everything that could go in there.
* More apple-core sauce.

Work:
* I found out that my new job gives a $25 grocery gift certificate for Christmas. Not a huge thing, but with careful planning I'll get a lot of groceries with it.
* My boss gave me a birthday card with a coupon for a free half gallon of store-brand ice cream. Sweet!


Preparation:
* Put a few jars of dehydrated food into storage.


What did you do this week? Any new projects to brag on or tips to share?

This Week...Beyond Money 10/6 - 10/12

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* Harvested a few beans, a few tomatoes, 2 cups of mixed greens (mixed with edible flowers-milkmaid nasturtium and male zucchini flowers since it's so late in the season), a tiny radish.
* The potted pepper plants I brought inside have gone nuts. I had thoroughly harvested it before bringing it in, but already harvested several full-sized jalapenos and there are more almost ready.

Cooking/Groceries:
* Trucker brought home 3 bagels and 2 scones from his job that would otherwise have been thrown away.
* I had some leftover pie dough from making quiche last week. I used it to make two caramel apple galettes (using some goat's milk caramel I got on clearance for $1/bottle, marked down from $3.50/bottle) and two mini apple pies. I used apples from the orchard and in the pies I used some apple core sauce.
* I stopped at a grocery store that has fantastic produce prices. I got 16 lbs of pears for $.29/lb. Purple skinned garlic was $.50/head so I bought 8 for planting. While I was there, I bought several half pound packages of "ends and pieces" bacon. It is a decent quality bacon, but cheaper per pound than the store brand on sale. The half pound packages are perfect for our two-person household. It's the perfect amount for BLTs or to cook up to use throughout the week on salads, sandwiches, soups and omelets.

Food Preservation:
* I dehydrated 1.5 loads of apples one day. Another day I dehydrated tomatoes, peppers, eggplant, okra, and apples (3 dehydrator loads total).
* I froze some apple core sauce.








Fun:
* Went out with some friends for pizza. We all split a large pizza so it only cost a few dollars apiece instead of ordering a meal each.
* Trucker and I had a rare day off together so we took a day trip. We hopped on the highway and stopped whenever we saw something interesting. Lunch at a chinese buffet with a BOGO coupon=$8 lunch. We stopped at a pottery store (buying nothing but I was drooling over the mixing bowls) and several antique stores. Trucker and I both have certain things we look for at antique stores. Many antique items are still useful and will last a lifetime. We like to get tools and kitchen utensils from antique stores. I got a mixing bowl. It's a smaller mixing bowl and has a chip on the rim and some hairline cracks that don't affect it's ability to hold water (yet). I bought it because it was beautiful and cost $.99 because of the blemishes. It will work just fine for me for now and was much cheaper than the other bowls I was oogling.

Nature:
* I got out into the garden a few days to just be. It's chilly now, so there isn't as much to do in the garden, but I still like looking at it.

Frugality:
* I avoided shopping as much as possible.
* We carpooled to work one day when our hours lined up to make it practical. Each time we do so, we save around $3 in gas since Trucker would otherwise be driving the gas guzzler truck.
* I drive the car to work and Trucker drives the truck (obviously...). His job is 5 miles from home and mine is 15 miles. Since mine is farther away, I take the car since it gets 30+ mpg versus the truck's 10-12.

Waste Reduction:
* When we made bacon, I refilled my bacon fat jar. Bacon fat is the most flavorful, delicious cooking fat I have ever used, and it's free (since it would otherwise be thrown away).
* Composted as much as possible.
* Used apple cores to make apple core sauce.

Work:
* I packed meals for work and drank free coffee in the break room.
* I just received my paperwork to sign up for benefits at the new job. There is a generous employer match for the 401k and I plan to put away as much as they will match. Free money.
* Trucker got free food from his job. When items are about to expire, he is allowed to take them home. We get sandwiches, scones, cookies, bagels and desserts this way. Rarely we'll get yogurt, juice or other items. His boss is fine with this and he shares with his coworkers.
* My new job involves a fair amount of heavy lifting-not so much that I'm in constant pain, but enough that I have noticed a lot more toning in my arms and stomach. Can't beat an active job to get you fit without the gym!
* Steve's boss allows me to drink free coffee when I stop in (it would be tossed out anyway). A couple of evenings I went in for writing or reading and drank a free cup of coffee. I bring my travel mug so I don't cost him the cup/sleeve/lid.

Preparation:
* Put a few jars of dehydrated food away for winter.

What did you do this week?

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This Week...Beyond Money 09/29 - 10/5

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* Harvested: 1 c green beans, several small peppers, 2 okra pods, several edible flowers, a dozen baby/fingerling carrots and greens, several tomatoes (it's coming to an end...).
* Saturday night the weather forecast called for near-frost temps, so I pulled in a lot: several very small summer squash, the lone butternut squash, 10 Crystal apple cukes, edible flowers, a couple dozen peppers, a cup of beans. I also clipped all of the green tomatoes off of the plants, leaving some of the vine attached. I'll allow these to ripen on the counter. I covered the entire garden with blankets and tarps just in case it did frost. Most of tomato, pepper, bean and eggplant plants have tiny fruits on them, so I wanted to give them the best chance to ripen, especially since this next week will be warmer.
* I took in two containers from the front yard: a large container with 4 wildly productive pepper plants that was positively loaded with little peppers, and another large container filled with baby greens (After the tomatoes were harvested from that container, I seeded it to greens for winter). These will stay indoors until they are no longer productive.

Cooking/Groceries:
* For lunch one day we made BBQ chicken sandwiches from leftover BBQ chicken, leftover onion, some home-pickled jalapenos, and cheddar cheese on bread from my job (purchased with my discount). The rest of the leftover BBQ chicken was cut from the bone and added to stir fry another night and the bones saved for stock making.
* I found an unadvertised sale: Rotisserie chickens marked down from $6.99 to $2.99 for a 2 lb chicken. I bought two. That night I served one when a friend came over; we ate about 1/4 of the meat. The leftover meat from that chicken and the other will be used in other recipes this week, and some will be frozen for later.
* The chicken carcasses were used along with veggie scraps to make two batches of stock. The first batch is better than the second, but with a good, long cooking time, the second batch isn't bad, and is better than no stock at all (because that's a tragedy).
* Trucker was able to bring home some goodies from his job that would have been thrown away: expired bagels, a blueberry muffin,a bacon and cheddar scone (perfect breakfast with a fried egg), and a few cookies that got a little too dark to sell. There is something to be said for working in the food industry.
* In general, I planned leftovers and used them up rather than letting them go to waste. I made quiche one day to use up random little bits of harvested veg that were getting a bit on the old side-along with the last of a dozen eggs that were a couple days past the sell-by date, the last of a container of sour cream and the last little bit of a bag of mozzarella.
* I shopped at a farmers market to get some veg that I didn't grow this year like winter squash, cherry tomatoes (Why? I don't know. I'm stupid), bell peppers (I never get a big harvest from bells, so I stick to small peppers and get a ton), and eggplant (I'm growing Casper eggplant, but only got a few small ones).

Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated 7 loads of apples. Still more to go.

Fun:
* Mum and I went to a local orchard and picked a bushel of apples each. It was $11/half bushel bag. After we'd picked our bags, we found out they also sell seconds for $14/bushel. After we preserve this first batch, we may go back to buy 100 lbs of seconds. She wanted to get dinner out since we were out really late. We went to my favorite Mexican restaurant for their Monday night BOGO sale on al pastor tacos. Total cost for dinner for two: $3.
* I had a friend over for dinner instead of going out somewhere. I always like to make special meals when I have people over, but always try to be frugal and use what I have. We ate some of one of the rotisserie chickens I got on sale. I steamed green beans from the garden and sliced a Crystal Apple cucumber. I had some challah from work and served that with some dipping oil leftover from another meal. I made an apple crisp using some of the apples from the orchard. Once you figure out the price per serving (since there was leftover chicken and apple crisp for other meals), the entire meal for two cost around $1.25.
* I met a friend for coffee one day, and then some of our other friends met up with us a little later at the same location. I brought my travel mug and got a discount. All told, including tip, I spent $2.50 to hang out with several friends for a few hours.

Nature:
* Mum and I spent 2+ hours wandering around the orchard, talking and picking apples.
* Went for a couple short runs. So cold out. Need to break out the winter running clothes. I will also have to transition back to running with shoes on again. :(

Frugality:
* Paid a few bills online to avoid using a stamp. Other bills charge a $3 fee for the convenience of paying over the phone or online, so I sent those in.
*

Waste Reduction:
* When I dehydrated apples, I left the peels on for added nutrients and to reduce waste. I did have cores leftover, so I put them in the blender with just enough water to puree. I worked the puree through a sieve and had a small glass of fresh apple juice. It was delicious and reduced my waste. The pomace was composted.
* The next time I made apple chips, I also left the peels on. This time with the cores, I cooked them down, blended and worked through a sieve for 3 cups of applesauce. This was free except for the pennies for electricity and less than a penny's worth of cinnamon. I didn't add any sweetener as it didn't need it.
* I made two batches (6 quarts) of stock out of chicken bones and vegetable scraps. Free except for a bit of electricity to run the slow cooker.
* Carrot greens were dehydrated to use as a parsley substitute. There is some controversy about eating carrot greens, but FOR ME, I feel comfortable eating them in small quantities as a seasoning or a few sprigs added to salad; I'm not sure about the safety of eating a large quantity, so I don't.

Work:
* I packed our lunches for work each day. I drank free coffee in the break room.

Preparedness:
* Put up a gallon sized jar (packed tight) of apple chips.

What did you do this week?

This Week...Beyond Money 09/22 - 9/28

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* Harvested: 2 tomatoes, 6 cups of mixed salad fixins (lettuce, baby mustard, Milkmaid Nasturtium flowers), 5 peppers, a dozen small carrots, 2 c mixed green beans.

Cooking/Groceries:
* I have been trying to reduce our grocery bill. It had gotten a bit out of hand and I'll admit, I'd gotten lazy with my cooking creativity. It's easy to make good meals if you don't consider cost, but when trying to do it on a budget, it takes more thought. I've been putting a bit more thought into it, and our bill has dropped significantly. Main considerations: Meat as flavoring, not as bulk. Snacks should be healthy homemade things like popcorn, apple chips and homemade baked goods when we want a real treat rather than ice cream, chips and candy. I can buy a 2 lb bag of bulk popcorn for $3 or I can buy a bag of chips for $2.50, but the popcorn is healthier (a few squirts of oil from my spray bottle and only a light sprinkling of salt) and has 25 servings or so per bag, versus scarfing down a bag of chips during a movie. Drinks are not purchased prepared: no soda, no bottled teas or juices, etc. We drink lots of water kefir, lots of coffee (purchased at bargain prices), or home-brewed tea. Plan meals around what we harvest from the garden or forage.
* Cooked 5 lbs of ground beef from the freezer. I'd found it marked down 50% to $2/lb and bought two 5 lb chubs (The other was used for a family reunion). We made tacos one night and the leftover tacos went into burritos later in the week (along with leftover refried beans and random taco fixins). Half of the ground beef was divided into 3 containers and put back in the freezer for pulling out for tacos, chili or other dishes later.
* I made pop tarts from scratch. Very easy to do and fun! (Article coming soon, I'll link it here when it's published) I made Blackberry (using jam my mom and sister made from foraged blackberries) and peach, using the last of a jar of peach preserves.
* Made a pasta dish using a bit of bowtie pasta leftover from another meal with leftover grilled grape tomatoes, zucchini from my parents' garden, and some leftover onion with the last of a jar of pasta sauce. I served it with rolls from the garden. The veg made up over half of the bulk, so it was a relatively healthy meal, at least for pasta.
* Made enchiladas for dinner one night. Used up lots of leftovers: taco meat, refried beans, the last of a jar of salsa, the last of the sour cream, the last of a bag of cheese, a can of enchilada sauce from the pantry (purchased for $.50 at the salvage grocer) and a bunch of random bits of stuff that needed used up.
* A local grocery store had a sale for $.49/lb gala apples. I bought 12 pounds to dehydrate into apple chips (yummy!) and will go back for more another day (There was a limit on how many pounds you could buy per transaction).
* Grilled out one night. I made pizza. I made the crust from scratch and topped with tomato sauce, the last of a jar of black olives, bell pepper (clearance for $.33), the last of an onion leftover from another meal, pepperoni, mozzarella and fresh basil from the garden. I also grilled bananas split in half for banana splits (if you haven't tried this, you must! Best. Dessert. Ever.).
* Made BBQ chicken one day. We saved half of the chicken to use in meals later in the week. We saved the bones and bits of meat we couldn't pick off to use in stock making (I''ll pick through the bones after making the stock to salvage those little shreds of meat to use in soups or chicken salad sandwiches). Always challenge yourself by asking how much meat you really need to eat. Since this is an expensive ingredient, reserving some of the meat from a meal to use in a later meal can significantly cut back on your grocery costs.


Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated: 3 large tomatoes, 2 okra pods, 1 eggplant, a grocery sack full of green beans, a cantaloupe and 4 peaches (purchased on clearance for $1 total).
* Made refrigerator pickled peppers to use a couple dozen small hot peppers from the garden. These aren't the best tasting peppers on their own, but will be fine when pickled. I reused pickle juice leftover from a jar of pickled pepperoncinis. Just heat, fill the jar with sliced peppers and pour the brine over the peppers. Once cool, put in the refrigerator for a week for the flavors to mingle before eating. They will be good for a couple months (they may last longer, but I've never had them last that long before I ate them all).

Fun:
* One night that Trucker was at work all evening, I called everyone in my phone book to catch up as I walked home 6 miles from his job. It was wonderful getting to talk with relatives and hear their stories. I have unlimited minutes on my phone so it cost me nothing.  Halfway through my walk, I stopped at a friends house and talked with her for an hour or so. We watched terrible (funny) videos on youtube and had a lovely time.

Nature:
* I went for a 6 mile walk through the city and a couple parks. The weather was a perfect 78 and sunny, slight breeze, low humidity. Lovely.
* We went to a local park for a short, but strenuous hike. We took lots of fun pictures and wandered around the swamplands.
* We took a couple short walks through the neighborhood for exercise and talking. One was just after dusk and the clouds were wicked. I always feel happier after one of our walks, even if it's just 15-20 minutes.

Frugality:
* We avoided. We avoided going out to eat on busy nights by packing a meal to take with us. We avoided going to the grocery store. Instead of going out a couple of nights, we decided to stay in and relax at home. While there is nothing wrong with going out sometimes, we are trying to save up money for a new furnace, so we want to limit our expenses for the time being.
* Instead of turning on the heat or air conditioning (this week's weather has been fluctuating wildly), we regulated with extra or fewer blankets, tank tops or flannels as necessary.
* We planned errands around the park we visited to maximize our gas usage.
* We used the library for books to read and a few movies to watch.

Waste Reduction:
* Instead of throwing away the leftover brine from a jar of pickled peppers, I reused it to make a second-run batch of pickled peppers. I used fresh peppers from the garden, but it is also great to use to rehydrate dried peppers in pickle juice for very quick pickles (not really pickled, but you get the flavor).
* I used the last of a jar of peach preserves for pop tarts. With the last bit that I couldn't scrape out, I added some milk and swished around, then added the flavored milk to my tea. I didn't have to add sweetener to the tea and got every last bit of the preserves.
* Made a plan to use leftovers and didn't waste any. Enchiladas for dinner one night was the perfect excuse to throw in a lot of random things.
* I composted as much as possible-dryer lint, junk mail (plastic windows cut out of envelopes), receipts, and all kitchen wastes.

Work:
* I packed lunches for each of us each day so we didn't have to buy anything for meals. I used items from the pantry or freezer. My job provides free soda, hot chocolate, hot tea and coffee in the break rooms, so I enjoy the free coffee every day instead of buying it at the coffee shop on site. I don't drink the free soda ever. I know how easily I get addicted to soda, and so even though it is free, I don't drink it so I don't start liking/craving it again. There's way too much sugar in that stuff, so I don't bother.

Preparedness:
* Put 1 jar of dehydrated fruit and 1 jar of dehydrated vegetables into the pantry.

How was your week?

This Week...Beyond Money 09/15-9/21

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* I had a large planter that was empty after I removed the spent tomato plant that had been growing in there. I planted it heavily with red sails lettuce, spinach and tendergreen mustard. I'll allow it to grow outside for awhile, until the frosts come, then it'll come indoors to supply our winter salads. They germinated well and it should fill out nicely.
* Harvested a baby radish and one turnip.
* Foraged 1 lb crab apples.
* Harvested 2 1/2 c Dean's Purple Podded Pole beans, 34 hot peppers, 2 Jimmy Nardello's peppers, 2 Crystal Apple cucumbers, 1 Casper eggplant, 2 Jubilee tomatoes.

Cooking/Groceries:
* At the grocery store, I found grape and cherry tomatoes on sale for $.50/8 oz container. These usually sell for $3 each. I bought 7. I will use some in cooking and salads this week and the rest will be halved and dehydrated for winter.
* Yuban coffee was on sale at Meijer for $2/11 oz container. That makes it the same price per ounce as buying the Aldi brand. We bought 8 containers. This should last us until the next sale or whenever we get to the salvage grocer (There, we get specialty coffee for $2.50/12 oz container).
* New job gives me 10% discount on groceries. Not huge, but it's something, and it all counts towards fuel discounts.
* One day that we both worked, I knew we'd be too tired to want to mess with cooking. I pulled a container of chili out of the freezer and we had chili and rolls for dinner. It was ready within 5 minutes and was still frugal and healthy.

Food Preservation:
* Dehydrated 4 lbs of cherry tomatoes (Clearance rack for $.50/8 oz container), 2 lbs of tomatoes from the garden, 1 small eggplant, 1 okra pod (just to fill in space...am I the only one weird enough that I have to make the best use of every square inch of the tray space?).

Fun:
We are having a mini vacation. This week I have 4 days off in between jobs, and Trucker had 5 days off in between his old store location closing and the new store location opening. We decided to make it fun and enjoy our extra time together, since this is such a rare treat. Usually we wouldn't spend as much on entertainment, but since this is a mini vacation, spending $6 on mini golf isn't expensive. I love to travel, so was kind of wanting to take the four days to get out of the state, but with us both having job transitions, we thought it more prudent to have a staycation. Staycations really are the bomb though. You don't have as much transportation costs, no lodging costs, and you can bring food from home and save a bundle. Our entertainment book expires at the end of the year, so we decided this would be a good excuse to use some of them up. All told, we're looking at a staycation that costs less than $50 all in.
* Mini golf with Trucker. BOGO coupon from the entertainment book, so it was $6 for our outing. I told him that I wasn't bad at it, I was just trying to get my money's worth. He didn't believe me.

* Went to a living historical farm and took so many photos that the camera died. Walked through the garden, orchard, barns, house, smokehouse, root cellar and pastures. Beautiful. I don't want everything about my life to be exactly like the 1880s, however, there were more than a few things that I definitely want to implement. There were several sets of piglets that were really just too cute for words. A calf had been born 2 weeks prior, and when I scratched him on the head, he leaned into my hand, just like my cat. Too cute. They had bacon curing and leather breeches drying from the rafters.
* We went out for coffee at a little cafe we like that was on the way home from the park where we walked. I had a BOGO latte coupon from the entertainment book. Total cost for two: $4. He read a book from the library. I read a book I bought at the world's longest yard sale.

Nature:

* Went for a walk around a nature preserve wetland 20 minutes from home. Beautiful. Loads of frogs to watch.
* Went for a 2 mile walk to a crab apple tree on public land. I harvested 1 lb of crab apples. They were a smidge underripe, but I have an experiment I want to try with crab apples. If it goes well, I'll go back and harvest the rest of them (as well as begging everyone in the neighborhood for permission to harvest their crab apples!).
* Trucker and I went for a walk around the neighborhood to talk and scout for apple trees to forage.


Frugality:
* Trucker and I had a lot of errands to run and fun to be had on Monday. We planned our route to reduce our mileage/gas consumption. I knew that we would be tempted to have lunch out since we'd be gone so long. I packed a lunch for us to eat instead: sandwiches on bread from work with leftover bacon and tomatoes from the garden, apple chips, a couple of baked goods, and a bottle of juice that his boss had given him for free.
* Trucker cleaned out the furnace and replaced the filter.

Waste Reduction:
* I found a great deal on cherry tomatoes and bought a ton. I dehydrated them before they had a chance to go bad.


Work:
 * As I mentioned earlier, my new job gives me a 10% discount on all groceries/wares that are store brand or not labelled. So...All store brand hygiene/cleaning products/food, bakery items, meat (except for certain sea food items), prepared foods, cheese/dairy, produce, etc. I discovered a store brand that is the "bargain" brand, but still gets the 10% discount. This makes the price lower (very slightly) than the grocery store I used to shop at. Also, every dollar spent earns a point and those points add up to cents off per gallon of gas.
* I've started writing during my second 15 minute break. There are computers for us to use in the break room, so I've taken the opportunity to work towards my goals. I have averaged 350 words per day, which if I continue this habit, will be 1750 words a week or 91000 a year.
* Trucker's boss sent him home with a giant can of pineapple juice that they didn't need at the new store. I love pineapple juice but never buy it. This will be fantastic.
* My boss at my new job insisted that I had to try one of the pumpkin donuts that was too small to sell. Darn it.

Preparedness:
* 2 jars of dehydrated tomatoes went into the pantry.


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This Week...Beyond Money 9/8-9/14

I posted on A Life Beyond Money's Facebook page asking if readers would like a weekly recap of what we did here each week towards frugality, freedom, nature-based and simple living, cooking/gardening/food preservation and related topics. Since I just decided to do this yesterday, I know I'm going to forget to include certain things, so future weeks may be more inclusive. I'm still figuring out what format I want this to be in, what topics I want to discuss and tasks to include. If you have any questions or suggestions, comment below.

For me, a life beyond money is making choices so that you can live the best possible life, regardless of your income level. Obviously, you have to make a living, but there are many ways to improve your quality of life without increasing your income levels and correspondingly your expenses. This regular post will be some of the ways that we improve our quality of life beyond just trying to make more money.

Gardening:
* I planted radishes in between the few kale, swiss chard, and carrot plants that had managed to germinate in summer. They are all still small, but I'm hopeful.

* I harvested loads of Dean's Purple podded pole beans, some tomatoes, a dozen jalapenos, several okra pods, a single squash, a few small cukes, several cups of lettuce/baby mustard greens, and lots of basil. I harvested some young dandelion leaves from plants that had popped up in the shade garden. I thinned the carrot bed and used the baby carrots in salad. Seriously, gardening is one of the best ways to improve your life. You can spend $2 on a head of terrible romaine lettuce at the grocer, or spend $1.20 to get a packet of seeds that will supply all of the greens you eat for the entire warm season. You can garden wherever you are, even if you don't have ideal conditions.

* I grow Milkmaid Nasturtiums in the front garden. They are very pretty and go well with the house. They are also edible and delicious. They have a delicate spiciness to them that is incredible in salads and sandwiches. Day lilies are also edible (although not in season now) and grow all over our property. In season, they make up 1/2 of our daily salads.

Cooking/Groceries:
* For my birthday, my parents gave me a basket (the basket is beautiful and will be used for holding mail on my desk) and a box full of food (do they know me or what?): 3 lbs green beans, a dozen large tomatoes, a half dozen ears of corn, a large zucchini, 3 cucumbers, 2 large jars of jam, 2 quarts of tomato sauce, and 2 quarts of canned green beans. So exciting! I love practical gifts. The jam is from my favorite farm. I never justify spending a lot on jams and jellies even though I love them, and my mom knows this.
* I made tomato soup from scratch using several tomatoes from the garden and a few from my parents that had gotten damaged in transit. I added 5 jalapenos from the garden, some leftover onion and some tomato-infused olive oil I made earlier this year.
* I made stir fry using an assortment of veggies from the garden and a leftover pork chop. I cooked the rice in a container of homemade chicken stock. It was out of this world.
* We made good use of leftovers. Leftover mashed potatoes were mixed with flour and seasoning before being fried as a side dish. Leftover pork chop in the stir fry. Random veggies were tossed into stir fry or salads.
* Trucker and I use a few coupons here and there, but only rarely. We found that we aren't using them as much as we used to (it used to be our primary method of savings on groceries) because we are mainly eating from the garden now.
* I have been brewing water kefir for several months now. A coworker gave me some cherry syrup he made (I got him into home fermenting kefir and gave him his first kefir grains. He just gave me some extra milk kefir grains, so I'm getting started on that). It is absolutely fantastic. We've been drinking a glass or two each day. If you haven't heard of water kefir, check out this article on the basics. Water kefir is an incredibly refreshing fizzy drink and is fantastic for the digestive system. It is also really frugal. You buy the grains once, and as long as you don't kill them, they will produce kefir beverage indefinitely. They also reproduce, so you can ferment more, give them away, sell them, or dehydrate/freeze them in case you kill your grains later. Other than the initial purchase of grains and supplies, the only costs are a tablespoon + sugar per quart and something to flavor it with (dried/fresh/frozen fruit, syrups, extracts). Much cheaper and healthier than soda.

Food Preservation:
* My parents had given me 6 pounds of beans from their garden (separate occasion from birthday gift). Some were really big and tough, others were perfect. I cut up all of the decent sized ones into bite sized pieces, blanched and dehydrated them. For the larger tough ones, I popped them open and harvested the beans. The beans were of various sizes, but I'm drying them all together. All told, I got a cup and a half of dried beans. For the large pods, I cooked them a little longer and dehydrated them. I may make a green bean veggie powder out of them, or may try using them as a side dish or in stews.
* My parents also gave me some overripe cucumbers. They are a bit too bitter to eat as a snack or in salad, but they are fine when added to soups or casseroles. I seeded and sliced them and dehydrated 5 of them. I seriously love my dehydrator.
* I harvested basil leaves from all of the plants and dehydrated it at room temperature. Once fully dry, I packed it into a repurposed glass jar for storage.


Fun:
* For my birthday, we met up with my parents and sisters halfway between their house and ours. We bought pizza from a local joint with a BOGO coupon from our entertainment book.  Afterwards, we went for a hike through the woods. Total cost for dinner and an evening out for 7: $15.
* Trucker signed up awhile back for a text club for a local comedy club. They had a contest and he won 4 free tickets ($100 value). We invited two of our good friends to go with us. We each got a drink and with tip spent $12. Not too bad for a night out, and we don't do it often. It was a really fun night. We love finding frugal ways to hang out with friends.
* We had one of my childhood friends over for dinner on Saturday. He's a farmer and came by after the market and brought some veg with him for dinner. I made BLTs with bacon from the freezer (purchased when it was on sale for $2/lb), lettuce from the garden, bread from my job and tomatoes he brought with. We also grilled corn on the cob (he brought with), and kebabs with onions ($.33/lb at Aldi), orange bell pepper (clearance rack at the grocery), and zucchini from my parents. We had watermelon for dessert. We sat around and talked for 4-5 hours and had a great time. Total cost for dinner for three, $2.5
* We've been using the library a lot. We each have several books checked out and a few movies. We never rent movies anymore. Our library system is fantastic and has access to pretty much anything we could possibly want.
* Trucker has a basic kindle, and likes to read free ebooks on it.
* One of our favorite outings is to go out for coffee. We bring our laptops for writing or books to read. We sit for hours and talk, read and write. We bring our travel mugs and get $.50 off each drink, so it costs $3. 18 for our outing. We use the free wifi and there are free refills. On scorching days in summer, we go there to enjoy the air conditioning.

Nature:
* I went for a couple short runs. Health and mood improving. No gym membership required. Gets me out for fresh air and sunlight. I run barefoot, so I don't even have the cost of shoes, so this is truly free.
* Trucker and I took a couple walks around the neighborhood for exercise and talking. That is always fun.
* We both spent a lot of time out in the garden this week. Weeding, watering as needed, and just enjoying it.
* For my birthday, Trucker gave me a bat house. I adore bats and hate mosquitoes, so I'm hoping this works itself out. :) We hung it up in a tree near the property line.

Frugality:
* I avoided shopping this week. I didn't walk around the market or go to any stores whatsoever. A lot of saving money comes from just avoiding walking into a place that would tempt me to spend. Menards had a sale on a few items I could have used, but they weren't dire needs, and I knew that I would be tempted to spend on other things, so I didn't go. I will continue to check out their sales papers however. There are a few projects we want to do around the house, and I have $60 in rebate checks to use there, so whenever I find a good price for materials for a project, I'll use those. This winter we plan to dedicate a lot of time to home improvements.
* A couple days that we had lots of errands to run as well as jobs, we planned the route to minimize our mileage.
* I paid extra onto two bills. We are close to paying off two debts and will use that freed up money to pay down other bills.
* I paid extra onto the mortgage. We specifically purchased a house that was less than we could afford and have paid extra onto the principle every single month. Each time we do this, we save a crazy amount of interest and cut the number of months we'll have to make a payment.
* We got out the comforter already. It's been getting into the lower 40s at night now. By piling on a comforter, we can avoid having to run the furnace quite yet. I have a blanket at my desk so if I'm chilly in the morning, I can wrap up in that instead of turning on the heat.
* While driving through a neighborhood near us, we found a beautiful desk sitting at the curb. We asked the woman sitting on the porch if it was free. She said it was. I fell absolutely in love with it. For now, it is in the kitchen and holding several bowls of herbs that are drying. Later, it will be moved up to the craft room to house my sewing machine. Currently, my sewing machine is on a card table (gift from Trucker's grandfather when we first got together), but the table is so large it takes up most of the room. We will store the card table behind a shelf for when company comes over.

Waste Reduction:
* I composted some veggie scraps, corn cobs/husks, and a lot of junk mail. I tore out the plastic screens from envelopes before shredding. I want to compost everything that I possibly can so that I can reduce the amount of compost I'll need to buy in spring. Eventually, I'd like to not need to buy any compost, but my soil needs a lot of amendment.
* Trucker saves all coffee grounds and tea bags in a separate container. These can be worked straight into the garden without composting. I worked 3 gallons worth into the garden beds. I separated out the bags and coffee filters and put those into the compost bins.

* I used up the last of a loaf of bread. I cut the heel up into bite-sized pieces and added it to my stuffing/bread pudding/bread crumbs container on the counter. I allow pieces of bread to dry and then use them in a variety of recipes.
* I thinned out the carrot beds again (I pick every other one as they grow, giving them more space as they need it). The leaves would usually be thrown away, but were dried at room temperature. They will be used as a parsley substitute in winter.
* When we made bacon, we saved the grease to use in cooking.

Work:
* I packed Trucker's lunch so he didn't have to buy it at work. I made him a deli meat sandwich on bread from my job with dehydrated tomatoes from the garden (TIP: Place slices of dehydrated tomato next to the mayo on a sandwich. They rehydrate and keep the sandwich from being soggy). I also sent him with home-dehydrated apple chips (working on the last gallon jar of them from last year) and a granola bar that we bought at the scratch-n-dent grocer for $.05. I have a variety of main dishes and side dishes for lunches that are frugal and healthier than eating out.
* I had orientation at a new job. They sent me home with a goody basket of pasta, pasta sauce and a few snacks. They also supplied a snack and beverages, which replaced my dinner than night.

Preparedness:
* Two jars of dried food put up into the store room for winter/emergencies.
* Trucker put a set of tools in my truck and his car so if we have car issues while driving, we can fix it ourselves. This summer we had car troubles while out of town and were fortunate to have a friendly car parts store worker that let us borrow some tools, but it could have been bad. He shopped at thrift stores for the extra sets of tools to put into our cars.

What did you do this week to be frugal?