Is It Time to Tighten Your Belt?

Money wise I mean! The Christmas bills are coming in this month and we all could use some reminders on how to save money.

Here are some of the latest ideas I have found on how to save money this winter and spring:

• 63 Practical Ways to Live a Frugal Life
• 50 Tips for Frugal Living
• People Might Call Me Cheap, But I Live a Rich Life. Here's How I Do It

These lists have a few ideas in common. In my opinion, that is the best place to start!

Easy Ways To Add Moisture To Your Home This Winter

Is your house too dry in the winter? It is easy to tell, try going through the day without a static electric shock! You can always purchase a humidifier to solve the problem, but that costs money and electricity. 

What is my solution? I offer three inexpensive ways to add moisture to your home! 

#1. Set out bowls of water throughout the house. This is the easiest one to do! Once you set them up, all you need to do is fill them once a week or so. I fill mine when I am watering my plants. Note of caution, don't put the bowls of water on the floor, someone will kick them over. When I lived in a different state, the heat vents in our home were in the floor. I would put the bowls of water next to the heat vents. My family was always knocking them over. On top of a cabinet or bookcase where they will not be disturbed works better.

#2. Skip the dishwasher drying cycle and open the door to let the dishes air dry. I typically don't use the dishwasher, instead I opt to wash them by hand. However, if the dishes pile up and overwhelm (this usually happens at holiday time), I will grudgingly use the dishwasher. All you need to do is turn off the drying cycle. When the dishwasher stops, open the door. Quite a bit of steam and moisture will be released into the house! It will warm the air and the dishes dry quite quickly!

#3. Don't use the clothes dryer! Drying your clothes on a clothes rack in the winter is an easy way to add moisture to your home! In addition, there are quite a few other benefits of giving your dryer some time off:

• You will save money. In my opinion, this is the biggest benefit in forgoing the dryer. There is a significant difference in my electric bill between the months I use the dryer and the months I don't. (Your mileage may vary if you have a gas dryer.)
• Your clothes will last longer. All that lint your dryer produces, isn't good for your clothes. What is lint? It is the breakdown of the clothing fibers. While you can do some creative things with the lint your dryer produces, your clothes will be better off if they don't produce it in the first place.
• It will help reduce allergens. If you have allergy problems, you can greatly reduce your exposure to pollen by drying your clothes indoors. While I am not opposed to drying clothes outdoors on a clothes line, many neighborhood associations forbid it (including mine). In addition, any sensitivities to the chemicals in dryer sheets can be eliminated when you air dry your laundry.

If you have a basement, you have a ready made area to hang a clothes line. However, not everybody does. I know someone who hangs her clothes on the back of her kitchen chairs. She lives in the southwest and the clothes dry very quickly there. Here in the southeast, our clothes don't dry that quickly, so I use another solution. I use drying racks. I set them up at night so they are not in the way. By morning, the clothes are dry. 

I usually put them in the family room. With a hot fire going in the fireplace, they can even dry in just a few hours! If you are interested, there are many places you can get drying racks. Google it and you should find lots of sources.

Here is a picture of my racks in use a few days before Christmas.

OK, I will admit skipping the dryer does take some planning. If you need a certain piece of clothing right away, this idea may not work. However, I can state it is easy to do, and it will make your house warmer and add a significant amount of moisture to the air. In my opinion, when compared to using the dryer, the additional time it takes to hang the clothes on the racks is no more than a few minutes.

Almost everyone finds static electricity and very dry air in their home annoying during the winter season. (And we all know dry air makes your skin feel dry too!) These tips will help you to add moisture to the air without a lot of time and effort. This will raise the humidity and make the environment in your house feel warmer and more comfortable without turning up the thermostat. You won't get as many static shocks when you walk across the rugs or pet the dog either!

And best of all, these tips are a frugal answer to a common problem!

A Tour of This Year's Garden, Part II

I started a tour of this year's garden a week and a half ago, so I thought I would show you the rest today.

The cotton is doing beautifully.  The only problem is I didn't plant enough.  I think next year I will not put in peanuts and plant that area in cotton as well.

Here is a closer look at some of the bolls.

The peanuts are right next to the cotton.  I expect a bumper crop this year.

Here is a look at my apple trees.  The baby tree in front is a Gala (my favorite!) My husband is training it to be in an open 'V' shape. The tree way in the back is a red delicious.  Those apples are not ripe yet, all the rest have been picked. Most will be made into apple juice because that is what I am short of in the pantry.  The rest will be made into applesauce. (I tried a few times to get Molly to move out of the way - and she did because she is a good girl! - but kept going back to this spot to lie down. So, she is is the picture too.)

Even with the heat, I am still getting strawberries (although they are small). 

When the fall comes these ever-bearing plants will pick up the production and make some BIG berries!

I picked most of the purple grapes, although there are still a few more on the vine that need to ripen. I expect to make two gallons of juice from them when everything is done. Tomatoes are also starting to turn red so I expect to be making and canning tomato sauce before the month is over as well!

The only other veggie growing in my garden this year is chili peppers. These are grown for insecticide - we don't eat them. I used so much chili pepper powder on the peanuts and corn while they were germinating that I am quite low on my stash. So, this year I planted twice as many plants (6 total). There isn't anything to see on those yet, none of them are ripe. I will take a picture when I pick some.

Boy, I wish my yard was bigger!  I would definitely grow more.  It is a good feeling to grow and can your own food!  And in my opinion, it is frugal living at its best!

Do You Look at Your Money?

We all use money every day. It is such a common thing that we don't even think about it. But, do you really look at your money?

I remember once (about 18 years ago) I was in Minnesota on a business trip and I had a co-worker ask me that question. My answer was "Not really." He suggested that for just a few seconds to really look at the coins and bills you are handed (before you put them in your pocket or purse). You can find some that were minted incorrectly, or are otherwise unusual, and are worth more then the face value.

So I thought, "OK, maybe I will." And, actually I did start. Now it is second nature and I don't think twice about it - I look at both sides of each coin and bill I am handed. It takes no more then a few seconds. I am sure all the clerks in the stores I frequent think I am counting it to ensure it is correct. (Well, that is important too!)

With this in mind, I must tell you what I found just a few days ago. Actually, my husband received it as change from a convenience store. When he got home, he emptied his pockets on the counter. (He has been doing that for 35 years!) When I went to clean, I saw this 'thing' and thought to myself "How nasty!" It honestly looked like a piece of dirt. However, it was very hard when I went to pick it up. I asked him what it was and he said he thought it was a quarter. So, I put a dab of soap on it and ran it under water and looked at it. The date '1918' was clearly visible.

OK, so now I know that I don't have a quarter but I don't yet know what I do have. (I was quite excited.) I cleaned it up some more and this is what I found.

This side of the coin is somewhat damaged so you may not be able to see that it says '1 Franc' on it. Here is the front of the coin.

This is a Liberty (Liberte) coin. I imagine someone must have brought this home from The Great War as a souvenir! (OK, it could have been in a coin collection somewhere too. But the history buff in me wants to believe someone brought it home from WWI!) The detail on the woman is amazing. You can even see the details in her face and feet! (My apologies for the picture - I don't have a macro lens for the digital camera.) I think the detail survived all these years because of all the dirt covering it.

I looked it up on the web and this coin was made from 1898 to about 1960. It is a silver coin. I saw value ranges from $20.00 to $50.00 in very good condition (depending on the year). This isn't in very good condition, since the back side has some damage. However, I think it is in good condition. I would guess that it is worth between $35.00 to $40.00.

It really doesn't matter to me how much it is worth. To me, it is priceless because it is 98 years old and part of world history!  I am thrilled with my find!

This is not the only coin I have found in 18 years. I want to show you another one I have managed to collect. This one I found in 2003. It is a New Jersey State quarter.

Again, I apologize for the picture. If you look real close you can see that the word 'Crossroads' isn't spelled correctly. The 'r' in crossroads is missing! In fact, the strike on this coin was completely off because the picture of George Washington crossing the Delaware river is missing detail as well.

This is what it should look like. Look at all the detail directly under George Washington.  My coin doesn't have it.

Again, while researching this on the web, it appears state quarters that were not struck correctly are worth anywhere from a couple of hundred dollars to a couple of thousand dollars.

In addition to these two coins, in 2000, I also received as change a 1957 Silver Certificate dollar bill. This one is cool because bills now say 'Federal Note' and not 'Gold Certificate' or 'Silver Certificate' across the top. In theory, I should be able to demand 1 dollar's worth of silver for my bill.

Next time you are at the store, try looking at your money.  Really looking at it.  I bet you can find a treasure too!

New Ways to Live Frugally

With the price of food going higher and higher these days, it is always a good idea to periodically check for new ideas on how you can make your budget work!

I found a few web sites that offer some new ideas on how to be frugal. This is definitely 'thinking outside the box'! Some of the new ideas that caught my eye:

• Do routine shopping at the big box stores online instead! Save yourself the gas money and shop at Walmart.com or Target.com. Walmart offers free shipping if you purchase $50 or more.  All non-refrigerated household items you get on routine shopping trips would work well for this technique. Delivered directly to your door. Can't beat that!
• Stop buying clothes! Instead, repair the ones you currently own. This may be a hard habit to break in our 'throw away' society. (I do this already but I don't typically see it mentioned when discussing frugal living on other web sites.)
• Buy over-the-counter medicine on-line! The idea states that Amazon.com can offer cheaper versions of medicine you can purchase over the counter at your favorite store. I am going to have to look into this!
• Here's one that we did this year at our house. Purchase an Amazon Prime membership. We have saved so much money by purchasing things on-line (with free shipping) instead of making 'special' trips to stores we don't normally go to. Many times the price on Amazon.com is cheaper as well. If it isn't, add it to your Wishlist and wait for the price to drop before you purchase it

Take a look at these websites to see even more ideas!

How I Learned to Live Frugally

6 Extreme Ways to Go Frugal

66 Tried and Tested Tips for a Frugal Life
The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips for Frugal Living

25 Ways I Save Money  (Scroll down to the bottom of the post for other blogs that post about frugal living.)

I picked up some new ideas I am going to try! I hope you do too!

Easy Ways to Save Money: Repair What You Have!

A few weeks ago, I spray washed the patio and the patio furniture. (Spray washing is a must in the south, both the patio and the patio furniture get mold on them. Spray washing with a power washer is the only way to remove it.) I don't find it necessary to spray wash the patio every year, every other year seems to do fine. Same with the patio furniture. However, this year was the year to do both.

My patio furniture is wood. It has also been a bit rickety for the past few years. I wasn't sure it was going to survive the spray washing!  When I finished, this is what I had for one of the chairs.

Two of the slats that formed the seat fell off! In addition, the front piece disintegrated in front of me! Well, it is to be expected, wood doesn't last a long time in the humidity here. And, these chairs are 21 years old. (They have been repaired and repainted a few times over those 21 years.) Is it finally time to purchase new ones? Well, I was thinking it was (and getting excited about having new furniture!) That is, until I went back out an inspected both chairs after they dried. If repaired and repainted again, they could last another two to three years. I could hear my great- grandmothers saying to me "Use it up, wear it out, make do, or do without!" As much as I wanted new furniture, I resisted and decided to repair what I had instead. 

The first step was to replace what was missing. My husband cut some replacement pieces from extra wood we had left over from another project. These were simple straight cuts, nothing fancy or hard. While he was doing that, I decided the two slats that fell off when washing, could still be used. I used new finishing nails to reattached them back onto the chair. I am not sure they are sturdy enough to last three years, but if needed we will cut additional pieces at a later date and replace them. For now, the chairs are no longer rickety, the new pieces eliminated that. So, here is what we ended up with before painting.

It was now time to paint. (I had to paint the chairs in the garage because thunderstorms were forecasted for that evening. As you can see in the background, Molly was helping me.) I had some redwood stain that I purchased a few years ago at the home improvement store and never used. It was on sale and I knew I would use it some time in the future! Everything on our patio is wood and it all needs to be repainted every few years. I try very hard to have everything we need on hand for everyday living. When you determine the time to purchase items, you can wait until they go on sale. With just a bit of planning, you should never have to pay full price for anything! Anyway, here is what I purchased.

Two coats later, here are the wood chairs.

I also repainted the table between the chairs. That didn't need any repair, just repainting. That table is 20 years old. Next up is the steps to the hot tub. One of the sets of legs fell apart when I spray washed it!

Would I really like new patio furniture? Yes, I would!  While I do want new furniture, spending money to purchase it pains me! I simply can't do it while the furniture I have can be repaired to last just a few more years. Being frugal over the long term is more important then the few weeks of gratification you will get from the new furniture. As Dave Ramsey often says, "If you live like no one else, then later, you can live like no one else!"

Save Money by Propagating Your Own House Plants

This post has a slight twist on how you can propagate your own plants. I am not talking about saving seeds from your garden. I am not talking about dividing up your outdoor plants. (I wrote a post on that last month.) This post is about how to save a plant and from it, make a new one. It is so much cheaper then purchasing new plants!

This particular opportunity occurred when I dropped one of my African violet plants. The pot broke and so did the plant. I really like growing African violets. The flowers are quite pretty and the plant is easy to grow. So, as I picked up the pieces, my thoughts turned to how to replace it. Normal people would have discarded the plant and broken pot and purchased new ones. I think that you, my readers, know by now that I am not normal! Of course, I didn't purchase a new one. I believe that would waste money. There is another way!

Instead, I carefully looked at each piece of the plant to see if any could be salvaged. I was in luck because I found one.

Place the piece in a disposable cup with a bit of water in the bottom. Have the water barely cover the bottom end of the plant. (If you add too much water, the plant will rot.)

Check it every few days to see if it needs new water. In a few weeks it will grow new roots. I got busy with life and this one stayed in the cup for slightly over one month. Don't add anything but water. The plant doesn't need any food.

Now it is time to re-pot the plant. I didn't have to purchase another African violet pot because someone gave me one as a gift a few years ago and I wasn't using it.

And we're done! Simple, effective, not much time or effort, and it didn't cost anything. While I did lose some of the older leaves during the past month, I didn't lose the plant. The leaves I lost will be replaced with new ones in just a few short weeks! I expect it to flower again before the summer is over.

This idea works for many, many different kinds of house plants. I have even used this technique on outdoor plants. One of the peanut plants my unwanted chipmunk tore up earlier this year was also salvageable. I used the same process on it. I brought it inside and place it in a cup. In a few weeks it grew new roots and I had a plant that could go back out into the garden. In addition to peanuts, this year I have also had success doing this with strawberries and roses.

Being frugal is really about watching your pennies. Saving a few cents here and there can really add up! You may find there isn't any need to spend money on new plants! You can propagate your own for free!

Make Your Own Chili Pepper Powder Insecticide/Critter Repellent

This week I have run out of a few things: chili pepper powder, garlic powder, onion powder, personal soap, chicken broth and parsley flakes. Normal people would just go to the grocery store and purchase these items. Will I? Of course not! 

I will make my own! I still have issues with critters in my garden so the first thing I made this week is the chili pepper powder. I am going to state the obvious here and say is not possible to make your own chili pepper powder if you don't grow your own chili peppers. You may recall that last year I grew three plants and harvested about 250 chili peppers. They produced all summer and fall! Here is a picture of my plants from last year. You can barely see some of the red peppers peeking out from behind the leaves.  I also saved some seeds for this year. The plants this year are not quite this big yet.

One you have picked some peppers, cut them up and dry for storage.

I vacuum sealed mine in a food saver bag and stored them in my pantry. I took them out yesterday and opened the package. Here they are.

The next step is to set up the grinder. I have a Wonder Junior Deluxe Hand Grain/Flour Mill. I use the stone grinders when I make flour and the metal ones when I grind pepper, garlic and onions. The spices can embed themselves into the stones (and be difficult to remove). I don't want the spice flavors to mix with the whole wheat flour so I solve that problem by using the metal grinders. 

When you have made enough powder, fill your jars. I have some old chili pepper powder jars that I purchased from the store a few years ago.

I am not using this powder in recipes. (I have a lot of digestive problems and can't eat chili pepper powder.) The label from the store states that the purchased version contains salt as well as garlic powder. Since mine is just for bug and critter repellent, I don't bother adding these ingredients.

I made enough powder to fill four jars. It took a few hours to hand grind that much because I was multi-tasking and doing a few other things at the same time.  

The last thing to do is to sprinkle it on the plants. 

This is woad. I haven't had a problem with critters eating it in years past, but this year it must taste extra yummy! You don't need this much powder. Just a few sprinkles will do. I poured too much because I was focused on taking the picture and not focused on sprinkling. 

Processing food in a non-electric kitchen would not be possible without my Wonder Junior! It is a must have kitchen appliance for me! This afternoon, I think I will grind some garlic powder!

Seventy-Five Ways to Save Money

When I see a blog post on how to save money, I like to feature it here. Many bloggers have good ideas on how to live frugally and save money. We can all learn from each other! Saving money and living frugally is one of my main interests. Personally, in today's economy I think it is critical to stretch your money as far as it can go. I don't know anyone who likes to waste it.

While I often post about how to save money, I don't often link to niche sites like this one. This site's main theme is emergency preparedness. In fact the title of the article is Seventy-Five Ways to Save Money For Prepping. However, this list is so comprehensive, I think it is fitting for anyone to use to help save money. In it, you will see ideas that I have mentioned here, as well as new ones I haven't.

If you are not into emergency preparedness, overlook the somewhat extreme nature of the blog, and concentrate on the list of the 75 things you can do to save money.

These ideas will help to make your money last longer!

Do It Yourself and Save Money: Changing A Computer Screen

One of the ways we save money at our house is to not pay for any services we can do ourselves. Let me also state that we are just ordinary people - we don't have any special repair skills. The good news is, most home repair jobs don't need special skills. All you really need is a bit of information! 

I have a lot of home repair jobs I plan to work on this summer. Most of them are jobs people think are too technical or too difficult to accomplish by themselves. Hence, a new topic is born! I will show you just how simple it is to do things for yourself that you may never have thought possible. I hope the posts under this new topic will give you the encouragement to try some basic repairs around your house too! I am confident that you too can do it yourself and save money!

The first post under this topic was a repair that became necessary when my computer broke. While I do not have my computer back yet, (it is still at the manufacturer's facility getting repaired), my husband and I decided to try our hand at fixing another computer we had that was out of warranty. This computer screen broke about a year ago, rendering the computer unusable. We tried attaching it to a separate monitor but didn't have any success at that.

The first thing we did was to call a few computer repair centers to ask how much a new screen replacement would cost. Most quotes were around $215 to $225. Unbelievable! There is no way we were going to spend that much money to repair a machine that was three years old!

While researching our options, we came across the website, LapTopScreen.com. This site sells computer screens and provides instructions on how to replace them yourself. (There are also many YouTube videos on how to replace computer screens.) My husband ordered a new screen for less than $100. I really thought successfully changing out a computer screen would be way too technical for non-computer geeks like us to accomplish. Not so! Let me show you how easy it was! 

My husband was going to do the repair entirely by himself and my job was going to be taking pictures for the blog. However, the screws holding the screen in place are quite small and required smaller hands to handle so I ended up doing some of it as well. The website recommended a magnetic screwdriver to make it easier to handle the screws. We didn't have one. I held the screws with tweezers instead.

The computer we are working on is an HP. Your brand of computer may be different from ours so be sure to watch the instructional video for your brand/model on the website before starting your repair job. Since static electricity can ruin the sensitive electronics in a computer, be careful not to accidentally discharge static electricity onto the computer when making repairs.  

To start, you will need to remove the screen frame. The screen frame on our HP is secured by two tiny screws below the hinges. They are black screws on a black frame so they are not easy to see in this picture. They were also placed at such an angle that removing them was the most difficult part of the whole operation.

After the screws are out, the frame snaps out. We did have to gently pry it out with a flat knife in a few spots. Be careful prying it out. The frame is made of light plastic. If you apply too much pressure the frame might break. Our computer also had a few strips of adhesive holding the frame to the computer. The knife was really helpful in releasing the adhesive.

The screen is secured in a bracket that runs down the sides and top/bottom of it to make a support. The screen bracket is secured to the laptop with two two screws located in the upper corners. Those two screws come out next. 

Next remove the screws that attach the screen to the screen bracket. The HP has four screws here, two on each side. Be careful not to drop the screws. They are hard to see and very easy to lose.

Since the screws are so tiny, I decided to place them in bowls so we wouldn't lose them. The screws for each step went into separate bowls so they didn't get mixed up.

The last step to remove the screen is to disconnect it from the computer. It is a simple plug connection located on the back of the screen. It's held down by a piece of adhesive-like tape. To remove it, gently pull the tape up, off the point of connection. (Leave it on the plug itself because you will secure it to the new screen.) Then unplug the connection. Be careful not to pull too hard or you might damage the pins on the connector. In this picture, my husband is pointing to the plug.

Here are all the pieces removed. The new screen is in the package at the top of the picture behind the computer.

To install the new screen, repeat the steps in reverse order.

And we're done!

The final test is to turn it on and make sure it works!

Success!

Since it was our first time, it took about one hour to complete. That included time to search for one of the screws I dropped! I imagine the staff at any computer repair shop can probably complete a screen change in about 15 minutes!

It truly was super easy and we saved a lot of money by doing it ourselves!

Easy Ways To Save Money: Cut Your Electric Bill

Here is an easy way to cut your electricity bill! It takes a few dollars, but will reward you with consistently lower bills! What is it? 

A surge protector! I have quite a few at my house. Every television set has one, the cable boxes (my husband likes living in the 21st Century so these are a fact of life at my house), and anything else that has a phantom load that can't be eliminated. What is a 'phantom load'? Appliances that have a clock, remote control or work continuously even when they are not needed, all carry 'phantom loads'.  You will save money if you turn them off when you are not using them. You can do that with a surge protector.

They fit neatly and discretely behind the appliance and can be operated with your foot or a stick. Here is a picture of one of mine. This one is on the family room TV, record player, and DVD player. (Yes, we have a record player. We do not have a CD player.) Even our computers, printers, and Internet box are plugged into one! 

My husband uses the stick to turn it on/off. I use my foot. While it is exposed (and not tucked behind the cabinet), you can't see it from the rest of the room.

You can also reduce your electricity bill by replacing your electric clocks with ones that use a battery. No need to run out and purchase all new clocks - when it is time to replace a broken one, purchase a non-electric one instead. We haven't had electric clocks at our house in years.

Surge protectors don't have to cost a lot of money. You don't need one with all the bells and whistles on it. Simple, plain and inexpensive work really well here.

You WILL notice the difference in your electric bill!

Round 2 with the Emergency Fund This Year

As most of you know, we exhausted our emergency fund when we had to purchase a new hot water heater a few months ago. The good news last month was our tax refund brought some much needed money to our emergency fund. We are now up to 1/2 of the amount we usually keep in the fund. I was feeling much better about handling another emergency (and certainly not expecting another one anytime soon) when my husband noticed that our microwave wasn't working.

Our microwave oven isn't a 'normal' microwave oven. ('Normal' never seems to happen at our house!) It is a GE Advantium oven. It is a speedcook/microwave oven that cooks food much faster than a conventional oven. (The commercials say four to eight times faster.) My husband has been cooking dinner quite a bit lately, and since he likes living in the 21st Century, he uses it a lot. When we built our house, we had all GE appliances installed. My husband was working for GE (at the time), and we got deep discounts on our appliances. Move forward 14 years, and the retail replacement cost for an Advantium oven is off the charts! Not only that, but the type of Advantium oven we have, puts it at the high end of all Advantium ovens! Our model is a 240 volt. (They didn't make a 120 volt version at the time our house was built.) It has its own special outlet. To switch to a 120 volt version of the Advantium (or to switch to a 'regular' microwave oven) requires an electrician.

It also isn't as easy as just purchasing another 240 volt Advantium oven. The ovens they make now are slightly bigger than the one we have. Installation of a new oven is going to require that we take down the top row of the tile backsplash to get it to fit correctly.

Our GE Advantium oven might look pretty, but it doesn't work.

So, our first thought was to call a repairman. We read some reviews that stated the repair costs for these ovens can cost about 1/2 the price of a new one. We bit the bullet and called the repairman anyway. When he got here, he looked at the oven and laughed. He said the repair bill would be over $700 and he could not guarantee that it wouldn't break down again in a few months. He said "After all, it is 14 years old. Your money would be better spent on a new one." To make the news more palatable, he gave us paperwork we can mail in to get reimbursed for the trip fee charges if we purchase a new one within 30 days. Time is running out, we only have nine days left to purchase one and still be eligible for the $90 refund.

Will we purchase a new one? I am sure we will someday, but not now. I have stepped in to take over the cooking that my husband was doing in the Advantium. I am baking potatoes in the Sun Oven. Vegetables are steamed on the stovetop or in the Sun Oven. Molly's dinners are defrosted in the refrigerator a few days in advance. (She prefers her dinner slightly cold anyway.) 

The adjustments we made to cooking without a microwave are not big ones. While it takes more time and slightly more effort to cook without a microwave, the food tastes better! A lot better!  I am sure that my husband will get tired of cooking soon and I will be the one preparing the meals again. Since I don't use the Advantium much anyway, it may be a long while before we purchase another one. I am OK with that. My great-great grandmother didn't have any kitchen appliances except for a wood cook stove. If she fed her family without electricity, why do we need a microwave oven? The obvious answer is, we don't.

In the meantime, that $1400 is sitting quite happily in our emergency fund!

Pay Down Your Debt (Almost) Painlessly

Many of my family members are accomplished authors. A few have books published. Another one used to work for a regionally known magazine. Two are currently working on new books! (A note to both Gloria and Nancy, I can't wait for your new books!) Nancy has also been writing online articles. So it is with great pride that I offer a link to her recent article, Pay Down Your Debt (Almost) Painlessly.

I would like to add my comment that once you change your lifestyle, these behaviors will become 'normal' to you. When that happens, you will no longer consider them 'painful'! Take it from me! Being frugal was not a 'normal' condition for me or my husband when we first were married. Not that we were ever irresponsible with money, but I bought convenience. Both of us were in the Army and I didn't have the time to do the things I do now to live a frugal lifestyle. I have since learned that back then,  I could have been doing small behavior changes to save money. Even a few changes would have made a difference. A busy lifestyle isn't an excuse to waste money!

Anyone can be more frugal with small behavior changes. When they become routine, add new ones! Soon, you will find that your behavior changes are permanent and you have extra money to pay down your debt, save for an emergency fund, or even take a vacation!

Congratulations Nancy on your published article!

Time to Start the Summer Seeds!

Wow! Do I love spring! The sense of renewal, the anticipation of summer vegetables and fruits, the glorious hot days! More than ever this year, I am ready for it!

So what do you do with all that pent up anticipation? Start the summer seeds! It isn't too early for us here in the south. During a more 'normal' year, I would have tiny seeds up already. This year, not so much. I am just now starting them. 

Starting seeds is easy! And very inexpensive when compared to purchasing small plants at a store. The largest costs are the seeds. However, I also purchase good quality potting soil to start my seeds in. It isn't necessary to purchase potting soil if you make compost each year. Compost is an excellent starting medium. My homemade compost is at a premium, I can't make enough for all the things I want to do with it! So, I save it to improve my garden soil. 

Next step to consider is the pots you will use to start the seeds. I don't purchase any pots. It is a complete waste of money! I make my own from newspaper. You can see how to do that here.

Once you decide what you want to grow, the rest is easy. Plant the seeds according to the package directions. This year, I am starting seeds for: tobacco, beefsteak tomatoes, cherry tomatoes, chili peppers, many different kinds of herbs, vanilla marigolds, and regular marigolds. Starting seeds early gives the plants a head start when they are ready to go into the garden. If you live in an area that has a very short summer, starting seeds indoors becomes critical to your ability to produce anything. Some plants require a very long growing season!

I haven't finished planting mine. I do a few each evening before I go to zumba. I expect to finish in a few days.

Once they are all planted, it is important to keep them warm and moist. Not too wet, just moist. Some seeds (such as woad and soapwart) won't germinate if they are too wet. I usually place them in a separate tray and don't water it as often. A warm environment is important. Some people use a heating pad underneath their seed trays. That can be very helpful if you can't keep the environment warm. I have never had to use one. My guess is, if I lived further north, I would need one! Here, it doesn't seem to be necessary.

Water the seeds gently. Then to keep the humidity up, I cover with plastic wrap. Check the seeds daily. In my area, I must check constantly for mold growth. It is important to do that every day, but more so if the sun isn't shinning. Mold growth on the soil can rot the seeds. The seeds seem to pop up quicker for me if I put them in a west facing window. Here is a picture of one of my trays from last year.

They should start to appear in about  seven to ten days!

What Have You Payed for Meat Lately?

This post is only applicable for those who live in the 48 continental United States.

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Have you noticed how much the price of meat is skyrocketing? I honestly don't know how people can afford to buy it at the grocery store! We have been told in the news lately that the supply of beef cattle is quite low here in US. This started last summer because of the cost of feed. I am sure the record drought out west isn't helping either. This situation isn't going to get better anytime soon.

Times like this really test our ability to be frugal. We need to stretch our food dollars further than we ever have before. This is where having food storage is a big help! When you have food storage, you don't need to purchase replacement items until they go on sale. Personally, I think of food storage as an investment. It really helps you plan ahead to save both time and money!

While most people think of dry, shelf stable goods when they think of food storage, I consider the food in my freezer part of my food storage program as well. The difference is, food in the freezer requires a plan in place to deal with it should you ever lose power for a significant amount of time. I accept that and have a plan to can most of my meat if I loose power. (Of course if you lose power in the winter, this is not a problem.)

This type of thinking allows me to take advantage of huge savings by purchasing my meat in bulk. When I started doing this a few years ago, I thought purchasing in bulk was a lot of meat to buy at one time. I don't any more! Buying in bulk allows me to skip the meat section at the grocery store entirely! No longer do I pay retail prices!  

So what exactly do I do? I purchase my meat from Zaycon Foods.

The idea behind Zaycon Foods is that you order meat over the Internet and the company delivers FRESH (never frozen) meat to a local pickup point in your area. You meet the truck in the parking lot and pick up your order. It is fast and easy - you don't even have to get out of the car. The nice people at Zaycon Foods will load it for you!

The order process is very easy. You start by signing up to receive emails from the company. When they have a delivery scheduled for your area, you will get an email. Usually you have some time to decide if you want to place an order. The company tends to give about a months noticed before the truck will arrive in your area.  If you're not interested, you are under no obligation to purchase anything! By signing up, you simply gain access to emails notifying you when they will be in your area and what will be available.

At first, you may find the minimum amount you much purchase way too much for your family. That is ok! You can always split an order with some friends or family members. That is what I did when I first started ordering. Now, I usually take 1 or 2 cases of meat just for us! 

It is helpful to have a stand alone freezer. You can find small stand alone freezers in the club warehouses for reasonable prices. Believe me, you can pay for that freezer in a very short time when you purchase meat in bulk!

At the beginning of February, I purchased 40 lbs. of boneless, skinless chicken breasts for $1.89 a pound. Today, I signed up to purchase 40 lbs. of extra lean (93/7) fresh ground beef for $3.99 a pound. While I don't think of that price as a 'sale' price, ground beef in my area is running at about $4.50 a lb. AND that is for 80/20 beef! I purchased 93/7 beef!

I usually divide the meat into dinner size portions. Then, I wrap it in freezer paper and seal it in a foodsaver bag. It keeps the meat from getting that 'freezer burned' flavor and will last in the freezer for well over one year. Just the other day, we ate some ground beef that I purchased from Zaycon Foods in December of 2012. It was great! I don't have too much left so the order of 40 more pounds will come just in time to restock my freezer! I pick it up at the beginning of April.

Depending on where you live, you can purchase more than just chicken and ground beef. Zaycon Foods also offers the following:

• Fresh Premium Hickory Smoked Bacon
• Pork Sausage Links
• Fresh Strawberries
• Natural Non-Homogenized Whole Milk
• Rotisserie Seasoned Turkey Breast Roast
• Orchard Peaches
• Raw Wildflower Honey
• Smoked Pulled Pork
• Premium Choice Angus Sirloin Steaks

If I lived closer to the North West, I would purchase peaches and milk too. Unfortunately, they are not offered where I live (at least not right now). Next time it is offered near me, I am getting some honey and sirloin steaks! 

Everything I have purchased from Zaycon Foods is high quality! It tastes great and is hormone free. The ground beef is grass-fed beef too! Try buying grass-fed beef at a specialty supermarket and I guarantee you won't get it for $3.99 a lb!

I have been so pleased with my experiences with this company that I just had to share! It is a great way to buy superior cuts of meat at a low cost!

Now that's frugal!

Making Garlic and Herb Butter

My husband brought home some garlic and herb butter from the store a few weeks ago. We tend to eat plain things so neither of us had ever tasted it before. Wow! Was it good! Wow! Was it expensive! Best to save things like that for special occasions. Then I thought, " I bet I could make it cheaper!" I had to try!

I happen to have a quart of heavy cream in the refrigerator. I bought it to make whipped cream for a New Year's Day cake. The whipped cream never happened! Anyway, the 'best by' date on the carton was the middle of February and I knew I had to use it soon. I thought it would be a great idea to use it to make my own garlic and herb butter!

The first step is to make the butter. It is super easy. Start by setting the cream on the counter for a few hours. Fresh cream should be room temperature to make butter. (It really doesn't have to be room temperature, but the cream will turn to butter a lot faster if it is room temperature!) Pour the cream into a jar. I used a quart canning jar. Fill the jar halfway. A half gallon jar will work too, I just don't have one. Here is a picture of mine.

To make butter, shake the jar. It is just that simple. However, if you would like a detailed explanation of what will happen to the cream as it goes through the 'stages' to get to butter, you can read all about it here. I wrote this post a while back but the information is relevant today as well. Go ahead and click on the link, I will wait for you!

OK, now that you understand what you are going to get when you shake the jar, we can move to the final result, butter and buttermilk! Please don't throw out the buttermilk, it adds a wonderful flavor to homemade bread! I poured mine into another jar to save it. The butter must now be washed. This step is critical! If you omit it, you won't be able to eat the butter! Trust me on this! Wash the butter in cool water. I washed mine about five times. The number of times isn't as important as the results. You must wash it until the water runs clear. 

There are lots of different ways to wash the butter. I usually 'knead' it against the side of a bowl with a slotted spoon. As the water turns milky, I pour it out and add fresh. 

Once the butter is washed, it is ready to mix with the herbs and garlic. The first thing I did was add some olive oil so the butter would be 'spreadable' when chilled. (I decided that I wasn't going to store this in my butter jar on the counter since the cream was so close to its 'best by' date.)

Mix it well. I mixed mine by hand with a spoon/spatula. However, I must tell you, I almost gave up and went to get the beaters! If you run out of patience when mixing by hand, by all means, grab the beaters! It will be much faster. When the oil is incorporated, it is time to add the garlic and herbs.

Reading the label on the container of butter my husband bought, the herbs used were rosemary, basil and thyme. I had all three in my pantry! After I added the herbs, I added the garlic.

Mix well and put into a container. 

Here is the recipe I used to make this. My quart of heavy cream made about 2 cups butter. (I am guessing here, I didn't measure it.) To that I added:

1/4 cup olive oil
2 TBS of garlic powder (I grew my own garlic and made my own powder. Ditto for all the herbs.)
1/2 TBS Thyme
1/2 TBS Rosemary
1/2 TBS Basil
1/2 tsp salt

While I liked it a lot, I think I used a touch too much rosemary. Next time I will only add a teaspoon of rosemary to start. Then after tasting it, I will add another teaspoon, if needed.

The best thing about making your own herbed butter is you can make it anyway you want! In this instance, the butter is like a blank canvas. Nothing wrong with using your favorite spices & herbs with store bought unsalted butter either! 

If the herbs in my recipe above don't motivate you, try one of these:

Herb Butter from bonappetit.com
Italian Herb Butter from food.com
Herb Butter from thekitchn.com

I have been using mine on vegetables, and homemade dinner rolls. Before it is all gone, I am going to try it on seafood! 

What a great idea to add a touch of elegance to your dinner menu!