Add something cheap. I don’t mean cheap in quality, but something that’s just usually inexpensive. When we make homemade burritos, I used to have to use two pounds of ground beef to get a decent sized burrito for each of us, but I hated using so much meat for one meal. Now I use one of my “pounds” of ground beef with a packet of seasoning mix as usual, and then add in a can of refried beans, mix it together in the pan and heat through. The beans stretch out the meat perfectly for my family of five, and the seasoned meat seasons the beans as well. It’s perfect.

Get an apron. I’m a “neat cook,” which means that I clean up as I go — I can’t stand having a big giant mess to clean up after I’m done making a meal, so I put things away and wipe up as I’m cooking. However, accidents happen, and on more than one occasion I’ve been stirring or mixing something and had either droplets or globs of it end up on my shirt. More often than not, especially if what I’m working on is tomato based, the shirt becomes stained and is relegated to the rag drawer. The cost of the apron (and you can find them for less than $10) has saved me much more in the cost of new shirts.

What are some ideas you’ve discovered to save some money in the kitchen?

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Save A Few Bucks in the Kitchen, Part 2

Invest in a kitchen scale. We buy our ground beef and ground turkey in bulk, in packages of five or so pounds each. A kitchen scale lets me get exactly the amount I need when I separate the ground meats into bags to freeze, instead of just guessing or eyeballing. Which brings me to:

Get six pounds out of five. No, I’m not bending the laws of physics or performing magic. When I do buy the five pounds of ground beef, I only weigh out 13 ounces per bag instead of 16 to make a full pound. Those three less ounces have never made a difference in my meals, especially when the meat is used in something like a spaghetti or meat sauce. The bonus is that you get an extra 14 or so ounces (mine are never exact, otherwise it’d be 15, I know), which means six packages of meat, and an extra meal.

Take advantage of your freezer. Along the same lines as buying meats in bulk, you need to store it in the freezer unless you’re going to use it all immediately. Freezers work better when they have more in them, so storing perishables that you won’t use immediately saves in two areas. I buy bread, ground beef and ground turkey in bulk and they all go immediately into the freezer. If I have something on my menu plan (which I do in two-week increments) that can go bad before I’ve scheduled its use, it goes in the freezer. Things like rolls, hot dog or hamburger buns, bagels, English muffins, lunch meats, bacon, etc, do very well in the freezer.

See Part Two

[image: flickr]

Post from: Blisstree

Save A Few Bucks in the Kitchen, Part 1

The “money factory” is located in Washington DC and Fort Worth, Texas, and it’s here that all the Federal Reserve notes are printed.  They also engrave all the White House invitations, and print other security documents.  These are the folks that really can show you the money.

FREE tours are offered at both the DC and Fort Worth location.  You’ll see a short movie about the process of making money, and then tour the facility as you watch paper and ink combine to make millions of dollars.  Along the way you’ll pick up some interesting money facts and trivia.  The tour itself (excluding wait time) takes a bit over an hour.  It ends at the money gift shop, where you can buy novelty items as well as find serious collectibles.

The DC location is at 14th & C Streets NW, and in Fort Worth at 9000 Blue Mound Road.  The respective websites will list all the information you need to take the FREE tour.  There are some quirks and exceptions about the tour, and it can be impacted by the Homeland Security threat level, so check for details as part of your planning.

The tour is FREE, and is very popular.  It’s crowded during the summer, the most popular time to visit, but it also makes a great rainy afternoon activity.  The tour is appropriate for school age children, but younger ones might be bored.

Photo credit:  wikimedia

Post from: Blisstree

Show Me the Money!

Image: stock.xchng

When we finally got to the bank and combined our assets, debt, and made one central home for our paychecks, the change didn’t seem so big. But finances have always been a weaker area for us. We’re not irresponsible or anything, but we hadn’t really sat down to talk about how our money is being spent and where we could save and do a better job preparing for our future.

So we finally made time for that as well. We took an afternoon to go through our bank statements from the previous few months and talk about our individual spending habits.

A few things popped out immediately:

• Paul spends a lot of money on video games.
• I spend a lot of money on clothes.
• We both spend a lot of money on entertainment and eating at restaurants.
• We are not putting enough away each month to achieve our goal of buying a home in the next four years.
• Our debt is manageable but not really being effectively paid down.

It was at this point that I felt a little bit of regret that we hadn’t done this before. I mean, all of these indicators seemed so obvious and were probably in both our minds – but we never talked about it.

We have had a joint checking account now for just over six months. We still go out every once in a while, I am wearing a new shirt and Paul is playing one of those shooting video games that I don’t recall the name of. But these are now occasional indulgences. We help keep each other accountable – not by policing one another, but by supporting what we each love and being more aware of the overal mutual wants and needs. We now have a quarter of our down payment saved up too.

If I had to do it all over again, I would have gotten a joint checking account sooner. But then, I guess that’s all part of the newlywed learning experience.

Post from: Blisstree

When To Get A Joint Checking Account

So, even though it feels unromantic, I must take note that today Perfectmatch.com announced the release of its Love & Money Assessment – it’s basically a tool to measure financial compatibility.

The tool was developed with its chief relationship expert, Dr. Pepper Schwartz and helps to measure financial habits and find the perfect economic profile of a future mate.

I just took the test, and this is the results it found for me:

Love and Money Assessment Results

Play with me! Take the test at www.perfectmatch.com/lm/

Image: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

All You Need Is Love? Not Really.

It seems what is worse is facing said downturn alone.

Marty Babits, LCSW, BCD, says: “Too often people have difficulty communicating, usually because they don’t yet have the skills, which can definitely be learned and sustained through good times or bad.” Babits is the author of  The Power of the Middle Ground: A Couple’s Guide to Renewing Your Relationships (Prometheus Books, 2009). “We’ve learned over the years that love alone isn’t enough to repair the wear and tear that occurs in relationships, solid communication rebuilds love and trust.”

So, I must ask…in this age of great economic uncertainty…how is the recession hurting (or helping?) your love life?

Image: Sxc.hu

Post from: Blisstree

Recession Doesn’t Ruin The Rise of Love

So, I shall have to very quickly advise that you go to this Carnival of Debt Management where one of my So Sioux Me columns is featured.

“Tracee Sioux presents I saw Satan on TV (and he’s a little dork) posted at So Sioux Me. Don’t hate your spouse, hate this guy and get on a sound program with Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University. Take back your life.”

Post from: Blisstree

Carnival of Cashola, featuring Me