Archive for April, 2008:
Snowflakes for April!
Thanks to many of you using some of my referral links for things like ING Direct and Revolution Money Exchange, you’ve put me well above my goal! Thank you so much! You’ve helped me a great deal.
I do need to mention that of the Revolution Money Exchange bonuses I received, not all of it went into our emergency fund as originally planned. Instead, we used about $100 of it for gas and about $40 for a flower arrangement so we could drive to Shane’s grandmother’s funeral in Indiana. If I didn’t have the RME money, I would have tapped our emergency fund for that purpose, so I guess it’s the same difference.
Snowflakes:
$50 in ING Direct referrals (If you’d like to open an ING Direct checking or savings account with at least $250, e-mail me and I’ll send you a referral link so you get $25 and I get $10!)
$10 Rite Aid rebate (I had to spend $10 to get this money, but the rebate is going into savings)
$290 Revolution Money Exchange bonuses (Thanks so much! The $25 bonus period is still going on, I believe. You’ll get $25 and I’ll get $10. See my green referral box in my left sidebar if you’d still like to sign up.)
$40.25 sold an iPod to Mrs Micah
$3.50 for selling stack of magazines to Half Price Books
Book review: The 99 Cent Only Store Cookbook
If you’re following the Dave Ramsey plan to get out of debt, then you might be dining on “beans ‘n rice, rice n’ beans” to keep grocery costs down.
Instead of eating the same humdrum things in the name of frugality, you can prepare some fairly gourmet dishes without it costing a fortune.
I recently received a promotional copy of The 99 Cent Only Store Cookbook written by Christiane Jory. While on the way to visit me, my friend Michelle saw a story about it and shared it with me.
There’s about 100 recipes made entirely with ingredients that can be purchased at The 99 Cent Only stores.
There isn’t a specific 99 Cent Only Store in Pittsburgh, as it’s a chain found out West, but we do have a Dollar Tree and a Dollar General.
Eat gourmet without taking out a loan
In the introduction, author Christiane Jory lets us know that in the beginning, she was skeptical of goods at dollar and dime stores. Even when she became a frequented a 99 Cent Only store near her home in Los Angeles, she was still a “snob” toward the food in the store–for no reason other than it was cheap (so of course it must be inferior, right?).
Food prices are climbing so much, that really, who in the world can afford to be a food snob anymore? Rather than turn your nose up at the thought of buying food from a dollar store or from a discount grocer, consider giving it a try! You might be pleasantly surprised.
She encourages you to use her cookbook to help you craft delicious, inexpensive foods. Even more, Jory wants to inspire you to create frugal but gourmet recipes of your own, and has included a few pages at the end of the book for you to write some in, if you choose.
If you’re stuck in a cooking rut and trying to save money, this could be a great cookbook for you to pick up!
The recipes
You’ll find appetizers, soups & sides, main courses, and baked goods & desserts within these pages.
She includes the estimated cost of each recipe (assuming you got those ingredients at the 99 Cent Only store, of course). You know I love recipe cost break-downs! Near the beginning of the book, Jory has created a dozen sample menus for you to consider.
Each recipe also comes with a bit of commentary from the author, including “Don’t freak out when you open the cans of calamari!…” and serving suggestions and helpful hints.
Some recipes I’d love to try soon:
- One-bite ham and cheese pies ($1.99 for 12. Page 19)
- Herbed pita chips ($1.99 for 8 dozen chips…whoa! Page 37)
- Corn pudding ($2.99 for six servings. Page 43)
- Spinach souffle with Bechamel sauce ($2.99 for 6 servings. Page 60)
- Banana bread pudding with dulce de leche ($3.99 for 6-8 servings. Page 126)
A beef
My one beef with this book is you won’t find pictures of the prepared recipes. I really like to see how a dish might look, and appreciate when cookbooks have colorful photos. I guess I’ll have to use my imagination!
Final words
There’s more than a few delicious-sounding recipes that I want to try. Unfortunately, I haven’t yet had the chance to test a recipe in the book. Take Jory’s book as more than just a cookbook, though. Use it to stretch your budget and expand your cooking possibilities.
For more information, visit The 99 Cent Only Store Cookbook web site. It retails for $12.99 and is going several dollars cheaper on Amazon.com right now.
How to stay cool without air conditioning
Yesterday, Be Thrifty Like Us shared tips on how to save money on your air conditioning.
I’d like to expand that, and share some things I’ve done in the past to stay cool without air conditioning.
For a few years, my family lived in a two-bedroom, 524-square-foot apartment. It was supertiny, but the layout was quite efficient and honestly, it didn’t feel that bad. It helped that my sister and I were constantly playing outside. Also, it helped that many of our belongings were in a storage unit while we were building a house.
Anyway, the tiny apartment didn’t have air conditioning. If you’ve lived through a summer in Indiana, you know it can get quite hot and ridiculously humid. I remember one particularly muggy night when it was 99 degrees at midnight. Yeah. Try to sleep when it’s that hot. Whatever.
If you don’t have an air conditioner, or yours breaks this summer, I’d like to share a few things we did to stay cool.
–Get a few portable fans! Box fans and fans that rotate can really help the cause. Of course, keep them away from tiny fingers.
–At night, when it’s cooler outside but still pretty warm inside, take a box fan and put it facing outward in a window in your living room. Turn it on, blowing air to the outside. Essentially, it’s a crude exhaust fan. Shut all windows in your living room, just allowing one window to be open around your box fan. Open your windows in your bedroom, and you should feel a nice breeze blowing into your house from the outside.
–Drink lots of ice-cold water. Hydration is important, and the cold water will cool you down.
–Run cold water along your wrists to instantly cool you down. Take off your shoes and go into your bathroom. Plug the drain, and turn the shower on cold. Sit on the edge of the tub with your feet (at least up to your ankles) in the water. You’ll feel much cooler, plus the cold shower will help cool off the air around you. I realize this can use a bit of water. Maybe collect some of the water in buckets to use in your washing machine or to water your plants to minimize waste.
–Don’t use the oven or stove on particularly hot days. Use your microwave or a crockpot if you want heated foods, but your best bet is probably to grill outside or eat cold foods.
–Sara shared this tip to help with your AC, but it’s also good when you don’t have one at all. Cover your windows with thick blankets/towels to keep the sunlight out during the hot afternoons. Put the blankets up before the heat of the day really sets in.
–When it’s insanely, miserably hot, get out of your house! Go to the pool, the library, the mall–somewhere that has air conditioning or that’s cooler than your own house.
