I Wish I would have bought .... and Tightwad Gazette III

Have you ever found something that you would like to buy at a garage sale or auction but your spouse says absolutely not? Well, sometimes I get these crazy decorating ideas and my husband looks at me and shakes his head. Normally he goes along with many things such as the colors we painted the exterior of our house and the colors I painted in our living room, but last year he put his foot down about something I wanted to buy.

I really wish he would have said yes as I had a place for this item in our yard and I imagined what it would look like. I tried to explain to my husband that this item would look very “Kitschy” and then I had to try to explain what that was.

We were riding our bikes one evening and I saw what seemed like a wonderful purchase. We drove by this house for the next few days and I kept gawking at it until I finally told my husband that we should buy it. For $100 we could have been the owners of a 1950’s little trailer.

It looked very much like this but it was yellow instead of red and a little smaller.  I wanted to put it in our backyard and then put a little awning in the front of it. My plan was to store our garden supplies inside it or I was going to make it look old again with newer cushions and pretty little curtains in it and we could sit in front of it and read or sit in it and read and relax on rainy days. It was just something cutesy that I thought would be really cool to have in our backyard.

But my husband was a definite “No way” to this idea. I regret not working on him a little longer as I really wish I had this. Oh well – perhaps there will be another one on sale in a couple of years when I have worn him down.

This is the only purchase I have ever regretted not making. Usually it is the other way around in that I will buy something and regret purchasing it later on.

Now some tips from Amy Dacyczyn of the Tightwad Gazette III.

When Amy was a child her mom shopped at a grocery store that had a bin full of imperfect fruit, brown bananas and grapes that had been separated from their bunches. These items were sold at a reduced price.

With all of the upscale type of grocery stores that became the new trend, (and still are), it is very hard to find sub-prime fruit or vegetables at a reduced price. One day a reader made a comment to her grocery store manager about wishing there were some reduced priced produce to purchase. He told her to come back on Tuesdays, Thursdays or Saturdays and she could have all of the over ripe produce she wanted. Well, she did just that and found herself bringing home bushels and carts of produce for about $1.00 a bushel or cart.

Amy sent a staffer out to several different grocery stores ranging from high end stores to small Mom and Pop stores to investigate any opportunities to purchase reduced produce. Each store had their policies regarding selling over ripe produce. Examples of these policies were selling this type of produce every now and then, donating all of it to a food pantry or a farmer bought it, being careful not to order too too much produce in the first place or throwing it all out. One store did sell over ripe produce at a reduced price when it was available.

So what does it come down to? Being bold enough to ask a store manager if they sell any over ripe produce at a reduced price.

Last year I was canning apple butter and I needed some more apples. When I went to my grocery store, I asked the produce manager if they had any bruised apples to sell. He told me to wait and he would be right back. He came back with a paper sack filled with apples that were in pretty good shape. I purchased these apples for $1.00. Many of the apples were perfect so I picked those out for eating and the rest I used to make applesauce. Now if I want to bake banana bread and there aren’t any over ripe bananas for sale, I simply ask if they have any. Usually the produce manager is able to find some to sell me at a reduced price. It always pays to ask.

Living a Downsized Life or Lowering your expectations, Plus some tips from Amy Dacyczyn

My father was born in 1917. My mother was born in 1930. I was born in 1959. My father was a disabled American veteran from injuries he received serving in World War II. He worked in a factory for 31 years and he earned 2/3’s the wage of an able bodied worker. Still on that low salary he was able to buy a home and fix it up and pay off the mortgage. Our family had one car until we were able to get a second car for only $100. It was a “beater” that my dad took to work so my mom could use the family car when she needed it.

My mom went to work when I was in 9th grade and all of her salary went to put my sister and me through college. Then she quit working once this was accomplished.

My parents were able to fulfill their American dream on a lot less money than most families were earning at that time. The difference is in the kind of house they owned, the type of cars we drove, the clothes we wore and the food we ate.  So, can you still have the same dream now?

The answer is yes but we have to go back to living with the values of the time that my parents’ lived. Both lived through the Depression, World War II and many economic troubling times such as we lived through in the 1970’s with layoffs and strikes.  What does it take? It takes the courage to buck the system and dare to live below our means even when we have all of our debts paid off and we could spend more on stuff.

I believe the American Dream is still alive if we downsize our expectations.

Now some advice from Amy Dacyczyn.

Retail Revelation – Second Hand Clothes for teenagers

When Amy was writing her newsletter she received some letters from readers that said “just wait until you’re kids become teenagers” meaning they would rebel if they had to wear second hand clothes. One day Amy took her daughter to some major department stores so that her daughter could show Amy her “style.” Amy and her daughter were surprised at the selection of clothes and even her daughter was shocked at the prices of the clothing. About the only thing that her daughter saw that she liked were jeans, flared jean skirts and dark colored turtle necks. These three items could be found at garage sales or thrift stores without a problem.

Then Amy took her daughter to the Salvation Army and she found a denim skirt with a little lace at the bottom which her daughter loved. Amy bought it for her. Their thrift shop shopping trip paid off as her daughter saw that the thrift store did have about the same thing that the department stores had. Amy surmised that her daughter felt like she was missing something by not going to stores to look at brand new clothing. Her daughter quickly realized that she wasn’t missing a thing and could find what she liked at a thrift store.

I think that this is a great idea for a teenage girl especially if you give them an allowance for clothing and they can see how much more can be purchased at thrift stores. I have looked through catalogs and gone to department stores to look at the styles and then I have gone to several thrift stores to see if there is a way to replicate the same look. It definitely can be done and I think it is so much more fun to find “retro” clothing or used clothing and make it into a different look.

The key is to downsize your wardrobe and try to make use of several items to mix and match. Thrift shops are also great for finding some neat accessory items.

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Eleven

No, I haven’t forgotten our journey through the Tightwad Gazette III. We are almost to the end of this book. Today’s posting gives a recipe, a few tips and an article on dehydrating. I’m hoping that anyone out there that dehydrates food, will respond to this article. But first, here’s a recipe from Amy that uses that ever handy browned ground beef crumbles.

Amy’s Rice a Roni Casserole

1 lb. ground beef
1 medium onion, chopped
1 cup rice
8 ounces spaghetti, broken into 1 inch pieces
4 tablespoons margarine (or use cooking spray or some olive oil)
4 cups broth or water and bouillon
Salt and pepper

Brown the ground beef with the onion and drain (or rinse if desired). Brown rice and spaghetti in margarine. Add in beef, onion and rice and broth. Cook and simmer for 20 minutes or til rice and spaghetti are fully cooked. Season with salt and pepper.

Tip One: A reader wrote in to say that instead of buying “Snapple” she mixes iced tea with juice. This is cheaper and tastes better.

Tip Two: After you wash your yard sale tennis shoes or your kids’ dirty tennis shoes, stuff them with newspaper and they will dry faster. My husband is a runner and when he runs in the rain or runs throw puddles, his shoes get drenched. He stuffs them with newspaper and the newspapers help absorb the water and they do dry faster. He’s been doing this for years.

Should you try drying Food?

A reader wrote Amy to say that while she enjoys her food dehydrator, she wondered about the economy of using one. After you factor in the cost of purchasing fruit to dry, and the cost of buying and running the dehydrator, is it a worthwhile product?

Amy talked with 4 people that use dehydrators to dry food. Generally speaking, unless you have a free or cheap fruit source, this type of food preservation (dehydrating with a dehydrator) is purely recreational.

Then Amy questioned if drying vegetables is a valid form of food preservation vs. canning or freezing. Dried food is more compact and can be stored simply. The disadvantages include that dried vegetables have limited uses such as only in soups. To rehydrate some dried vegetables such as green beans, you have to pressure cook them. Only a few vegetables such as dried tomatoes can be used in their dried form.

Good quality dehydrators can be expensive and the cost to use them can also be high. Perhaps a cheaper method would be to make solar dehydrators and lay the food out on wood framed racks of cheese cloth to allow the air to circulate the food. The disadvantage to solar drying is that the sunlight destroys some vitamins.

You can make fruit leather by pureeing the fruit and spreading the mixture to dry in the sun or in your electric oven or in a dehydrator. Amy felt that an electric food dehydrator may be fun to use, but it probably has too few cost effective applications to justify a large initial investment. Solar drying might be a better option if you want to dry a few foods.

I do not dehydrate food but I know some people that do. Perhaps dehydrating food shouldn’t only be looked at from a financial viewpoint, but as a way of diversifying your pantry. I think it is a good idea to have a mix of freezer foods, canned foods, mixes and dehydrated food in your food supply. Also when you dehydrate your own food, you know what is in the final product. There are no additives or other preservatives, just good wholesome dried food. Of course if you are keeping dried food on hand for emergencies, remember to keep on hand bottled water to use to rehydrate the food.

I would love to hear from individuals who dehydrate food and what they feel about Amy’s article. I personally feel that I should try my hand at dehydrating food for the sake of diversifying my food supply.

We will continue on this week with our discussion of the Tightwad Gazette III. We should be winding up the discussion in a few days.

Tightwad Gazette III tips and more

I am lining up food for a weekly meal for our youth group and being as we have limited funds, I will be putting together some frugal meal plans. Today someone mentioned that when the high school football players got together for a meal, someone served homemade baked macaroni and cheese and they scarfed it down. Some had never had the "real" stuff, so I am thinking that could be one of our meals. I have a recipe that will make a 9 x 13 inch pan of macaroni and cheese and it uses about 12 oz. of cheese slices melted into a "roux" (butter and flour mixture cooked on the stove until bubbly). Fortunately I attend a church where there are a lot of people willing to help out, which makes it so much more fun especially when it comes to cooking.

In the financial realm of my life we had a great milestone this month, we paid off our car. This is the vehicle that our youngest son drives and will be his to drive throughout college and then we will sign over the title to him. When you pay off a debt of any amount it really gives you a sense of pride and spurs you on to tackle more debt.

I'm spending some time perusing my recipes for some really tightwad, frugal casseroles and such to post. I have been spending some time re-reading some of my mother's and grandmother's recipes that I received years ago. I'll have to post some later in the week.

Now for some advice from Amy Dacyczyn.

In her third book Amy lists some quotes from famous people. Here are two of my favorites. "Budgeting is doing well with one dollar which any bungler can do with two." Arthur Wellington - British Soldier and Statesman. "Economy is the art of making the most of life." George Bernard Shaw I love this quote especially. So when you are out grocery shopping and are stretching a dollar remember that you are making the most of your life.

Tip One: A reader wrote in to say that she uses inexpensive hair conditioner in place of shaving creme. A little bit goes a long way and doesn't dry your skin. I've never tried this but I do use a cheap lotion in place of shaving creme to shave my legs. It works great too and softens the skin.

I Wouldn't Steer You Wrong

A few readers wrote in to ask some questions about purchasing meat. One asked "Could you write down your rules of thumb such as the prices that you generally pay for meat?" Another reader asked "I have been toying with the idea of purchasing a steer and having it slaughtered for my family's consumption. Have you researched the cost to purchase meat in this manner versus store bought?" And still another, "Shopping for chicken is frustrating. It can be bought in at least 6 different packages, all with different combinations. Are boneless breasts really that much more expensive when you consider all the bones and innards you throw away from the other packages?"

Before Amy tackles the question of meat, she talks about her protein philosophy. “Meat consumption is a subject surprisingly loaded with political, environmental and health beliefs. Our less-meat meals might not meet with the approval of vegetarians or hard-core carnivores. So you can make different choices based on your beliefs, health restrictions, or personal preferences."

Amy researched three basic ways to compare meat prices:

1. Keep track of the prices of all the various cuts of meat. Unfortunately there are too many types to track easily, and there are variables within each type, such as how much bone or fat are included. I keep track of the cuts of meat that I normally buy. These include ground beef, chicken pieces, bone-in chicken breasts, boneless breasts, roast and so on.

2. Calculate the cost per gram of protein. This is quite tedious and although you could use a chart, it is very time consuming. There is more protein in chicken breasts than in a hot dog because of the fillers. Amy actually doesn’t feel that we need to track our protein consumption as the majority of Americans get enough protein and even eat too much protein. Unfortunately due to our economy, many people are not getting proper nutrition and they should make sure that they are getting protein in their diet.

3. Calculate the cost per portion or the cost of one meal for your family. For example a one serving portion might be 4 ounces of turkey, but just 1 ½ ounces of cheese. So although the turkey costs less per pound, the actual cost of the meals might be the same.

When Amy was trying to reduce her food budget, she rejected the first two methods. Instead she used the third method. Amy paid attention to how much each type of protein meal cost. For example if she bought a roast and it yielded four family dinners (with all of the leftovers put into casseroles or sandwiches), Amy would divide the price of the roast by 4 and she would use that number for comparison with other protein sources.

From this she developed guidelines. At the time of the writing of the book, Amy would pay 69 cents per lb. for bone-in meat and $1.19 a lb. for boneless. Her guidelines eliminated the following meat from her diet: seafood, chicken breasts, and most cuts of beef, deli meats and pork chops. As of today I use $1.99 as a sale price for ground beef, $1.50 for boneless chicken breasts, $2.39 for beef roast and $1.79 for pork roast. Last Thursday I was able to buy 5 boneless chuck roasts for only $1.99 a lb. These were marked down to be sold that day.

Amy’s family doesn’t eat 100% organically raised meat or some of her meal choices are not always the ones with the least fat and preservatives. Meat is used as an ingredient most of the time rather than as a main course.

As to buying a steer, many times Amy noted that you pay wholesale price and you end up with cuts of beef that you may not normally buy such as steaks. Also is the price of the whole steer the same amount that you would pay as if you had purchased the beef as you needed it on sale.

And as to the last question regarding purchasing chicken, the amount of waste with skin and bones varies but you can use as a rule about 1/3 of the meat is waste. So if boneless costs 1/3 more, then it is about the same price as bone-in. The only way to really test this is to buy both and see how many meals you get out of both options.

I have been missing in action for a couple of days but for wonderful reasons.  My oldest son turned 26 years old yesterday and we celebrated with him and his wife and his wife's parents. Our youngest son starts college tomorrow.  Life is good, no matter what the economy looks like. 

Here is a picture of the assortment of cupcakes I baked for my son's political Meet and Greet last night.  I baked lemon, strawberry, carrot, German chocolate and red velvet cupcakes.  I piped on the frosting as this always makes cupcakes look more "finished" and special.  They were delicious.  There were a few cupcakes leftover so I took them to our staff at our church and also to a few neighbors.  Here is the link to the recipe.  For the chocolate frosting add 6 ounces of cooled melted unsweetened chocolate to the mixture.

Now on to Amy Dacyczyn. 

Here's a recipe that Amy gives in this book and it is perfect for this time of year when you need to use up those veggies from the garden. 

Corn-Broccoli Casserole

1 can corn, drained
1 can creamed corn
1 1/2 cups shredded cheddar cheese
4 eggs, beaten
3 cups frozen broccoli, thawed and chopped into 1/2 inch chunks
1 small onion, minced
2/3 cup milk
1 sleeve saltines crackers, crushed
2 tablespoons margarine, melted

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.  Combine first seven ingredients and 3/4 cup of saltine crumbs.  Pour into a 10 1/2 inch metal handled frying pan or large casserole dish.  Combine remaining crumbs with the margarine and use to top the casserole.  Bake uncovered for 40 minutes, or until firm.  Serves eight.

Per Amy, "Yellow squash, zucchini, cauliflower; and a wide variety of other vegetables can be substituted for the broccoli with impressive results." 

Tip One: - Freezing food in Ziploc bags

A reader wrote in with advice about freezing food.  Air is the main cause of freezer burn.  Here's a way to almost completely remove the air from food to be frozen in these bags. Place food in bag and almost seal the bag up completely.  Place a straw in the corner and suck all of the air out of the baggie.  Then, while still sucking, remove the straw and quickly seal the last section.  Then place the baggie in the freezer. 

I have read this tip before and it is worth a try.  Just be careful not to suck food into the straw.

Tip Two:  Buying Boots

A reader wrote in to say that she had saved up money for winter boots but was finding it hard to part with the money.  Out of desperation she tried the boys section, and found the same style and it fit her wider foot nicely.  The boots were half the price of women's boots.

I have done this when I bought boots two years ago.  I needed some real heavy duty boots for when I shoveled snow.  I was able to get boots that fit me in the boys section and they were cheaper. 

Well tonight you got some tips from Amy's book the Tightwad Gazette III along with pictures of cupcakes that I baked.  Tomorrow I want to post a few more frugal recipes that I have to pass on to my readers.  Sometimes I will try a casserole recipe because it isn't expensive to make and it ends up being a family favorite.  Perhaps a recipe that I post will become one of your favorite recipes. 

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Ten - Understanding your Wow Know How

This is an interesting concept of Amy’s that I have pondered several times when making or contemplating purchasing an item.

As an example Amy had purchased some second hand snow boots for one of her daughters. The daughter wore them for a while and then complained that she wanted green L.L. Bean snow boots. The daughter also said that her boots were a little too big. So, Amy went out garage sale shopping and she came across some like new plum colored L.L. Bean snow boots. She bought them for 25 cents and took them home. Her daughter took one look at them and didn’t like them because she had wanted green ones.

Amy sat her daughter down and talked with her about the boots. New boots would cost $25. Amy asked her daughter if new green boots would be 100 times better than the plum boots. Her daughter thought about it and said no. So the daughter wore the plum boots and that was that.  After a while she started to notice that many friends had plum colored boots also.  If this were my daughter I would have done the same thing but I would have knitted or made a scarf out of fleece fabric that had green and plum in it to pull it altogether.

I love the way Amy thinks about things like this. I have used this type of rational many times. One example was when we purchased my vehicle. It was a great deal yet the interior of the vehicle was a light tan and I was worried about it getting too dirty and hard to keep clean. I was shown another vehicle that was similar but it had a dark grey interior with a few more options that made it more expensive. Hmmm – we went with the tan interior and because it is made of durable fabric it has been easy to keep clean. So, it was another one of those it wasn’t worth the extra money for a darker color interior with a few more options that we didn't need.

Amy uses another example of comparing a $600 camping trip to a $6,000 cruise vacation. On a scale from one to ten the camping trip would rate a 5 and the cruise would rate a 10. You will enjoy the cruise twice as much but you will be spending more money and would only get a fifth of the value. Also by spending so much money on the cruise, you won’t have as many funds in reserve to purchase other things that are rather low in cost and contain a great “wow” factor.  However camping isn't for everybody so perhaps you can find other resourceful ways to go on vacation without having to camp.

Another view that I take is that I would rather have money in the bank for an emergency than spend a lot of it on a vacation. Now we just took a big vacation to Washington, D.C. and we did spend more money than we usually do on a vacation, but that was an exception and not our general rule. It was also a graduation present to our youngest son.

When I find something that I want to buy, I like to do some research. More than once I will have the money saved up and then I won’t want to part with the money for the item. Or I decide to look a little longer to see if I can find the item cheaper. Right now I have been looking for two red diner style chairs for my kitchen. If I come across some yellow diner chairs at a great price I would purchase them and make them work. Red or yellow would look great in my kitchen, but my preference is red.  I would settle.

This type of thought process can be used in so many situations. Here are some examples:

Your kids are involved in a lot of activities and you sit down and have them decide on the ones they enjoy the most or the ones that they get the most from. Then you look at the list and start to cross off the activities that give the least “wow” factor.

Other smaller items on a list could be the wow factor between:

1. Restaurant versus homemade meals. I would much rather go out and buy two steaks and grill them myself for a nice meal, than to go out to a restaurant for a steak dinner. The wow factor for me is in the steak and not in eating it in a restaurant.

2. Going to a theater to see a movie or renting a movie and watching it at home.

3. New car versus keeping a used car to drive a little longer.

4. Real maple syrup versus homemade “maple” syrup.

There are some cases where more expensive options do pass the one to ten wow factor scale. Amy gave the examples in her life such as her large farmhouse that is so much better for her family than a much smaller, less expensive home. Also, she said that a new computer is almost twice as good for her business than a used one at half the price. Amy feels that an antique dresser that cost her $200 is definitely 4 times better than a $50 yard sale dresser as the antique dresser will be in her family for generations.

When my oldest son was married in 2007, I determined to find a gown that I would wear at the wedding that I liked and that would look great on me no matter what the price. I refused to buy a dress that was cheaper just because it was on sale. I purchased a beautiful gown that was not on sale that cost me about $325 including alterations. I purchased a beaded purse and beaded shoes (I did get the shoes on clearance). I spent around $425 for the dress and accessories and I was very, very happy.  (I'll have to scan in a picture and post it.)

I went to a wedding about a year later where the mother of the bride told me that she got her dress for $25 on sale and didn’t care particularly for it, but it fit her budget. She was at the other end of the spectrum in that price was more important to her than getting what she really wanted and she was fine with it. I in turn was more interested in the gown and getting exactly what I wanted. Perhaps it goes back to my own wedding when I could not afford the gown I really wanted and I had to settle.

No one can dictate the “wow” factor of another person. Each of us must decide on this. 

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Nine

Ever since I painted the livingroom this spring, my right shoulder and arm have hurt.  I'm not sure what I did, other than I probably shouldn't have painted so much every day without taking time off. 

Last Saturday I helped paint a Sunday School room at our church and today I helped with putting on the second coat.  By the time I got home my shoulder hurt and my hand was a little numb.  I put ice on my shoulder and I am now laying on the couch resting.  Icing my shoulder has helped and my husband (a trained coach) told me that he recommended icing it for the next 48 hours.  If I have to ice a shoulder, I am glad it is summer.

Enough about my sore shoulder - let's look at making Sourdough bread from the Tightwad Gazettee III.   

Sourdough Simplified

Tightwads love Sourdough bread as it is the cheapest bread to make only needing flour, water and salt.

One of Amy’s staffer’s loved Sourdough bread and he became quite adept at replicating it. Unlike other Sourdough recipes, Brad’s is very simple.

The first step to making Brad’s Sourdough bread is to make a starter. Mix 1 tablespoon of yeast with 2 cups of chlorine free water and 2 cups of white flour. (Allow your tap water to “air out” in a jug for a couple of days to make it chlorine free.) Combine these in a glass or plastic container – do not use metal. Allow the mixture to sit at room temperature for at least 48 hours until it foams and develops a pleasantly sour smell. Cover with plastic wrap and refrigerate. If the sourdough starter ever turns orange, pink or any other strange color, then throw it out. In all of the years that Brad has been making this bread, he has never had this problem.

The ingredients and directions to make two loaves of bread follows:

5 ½ cups flour (you can substitute whole wheat flour for 1 or 2 cups)
2 cups starter
1 tablespoon salt
1 cup water

Dissolve the salt in the water in a mixing bowl. (Some sourdough cookbooks say not to use a metal bowl, but Brad had been mixing his dough in a metal bowl with his Kitchenaid mixer and never had a problem.) Add the starter and then the flour. Stir and knead into a ball. (Brad uses the dough hook on his Kitchenaid mixer.) Cover with a damp towel and let rise overnight.

The next morning, punch the risen dough down and divide in half. Shape each half into a round loaf, make an X slashed on each top, and place the two loaves on a greased baking sheet.

Cover with a damp towel and allow to rise at room temperature for about 4 hours. Place a pan of water on the bottom rack of the oven and preheat to 400 degrees. Bake the bread for 35 minutes.

Each time you remove some starter, you must “feed” it. Just add back 1 ½ cups water and 1 ½ cups flour, stir, cover loosely, and return starter to refrigerator.

Brad uses his starter fresh from the fridge for several weeks. When the bread rises slower, then he takes the starter and sets it out on the fridge overnight to ferment.

Brad felt that his success with Sourdough bread was due to the fact that he bakes this type of bread twice a week and thereby he feeds his starter often. Also Brad doesn’t just let his bread double in size, but he lets it quadruple in size during the rising phase.

I have never made Sourdough bread and from reading this article, I am inspired to give it a try.

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Eight - Canning

Picture from naturesmom.com

We're back to Amy Dacyczyn and the great advice that she offers in our Tightwad Gazette Series.  In today's reading Amy talks about canning.  She gives some great information on canning cheaply and in encouraging people to give canning a try. 

Amy doesn’t get into the basics of canning, as there are a lot of sources out there. She recommends the “Ball Blue Book: The Guide to Home Canning and Freezing” which you can buy or borrow from the library. Instead Amy covers the Tightwad angle on canning. Specifically she’ll dispel some myths and pass along some time and money saving pointers.

First the myths:

1. Canning is difficult, tedious and time-consuming. People assume canning is difficult because they are unfamiliar with it. Amy says “If you can drive a car, you can learn to can.”

Canning can seem tedious and time consuming as you will be processing a great amount of food in one day, but as you use the food, you will notice a time savings. An example is canning your own homemade spaghetti sauce vs. making a new from scratch batch every time you want spaghetti.

2. Canning is not economical. This is usually based on buying your equipment new and not factoring in that you will be able to re-use the equipment year after year. The savings depends on what you’re canning and where you get the produce and fruit to can. Do you grow your own or are you given produce? Do you buy everything at a farmer’s market or at another store? Growing your own produce is economical and healthier as you know what you put on your plants.

3. Canning is unnecessary for people who have freezers. Many people who can also own freezers as they prefer some vegetables frozen and some canned. My mom canned green beans but she always froze corn. Canning is a flexible method for surplus. If your freezer gets full you can still process food for later use by canning. Also canned food is “immediate” in that it is ready to use versus having to be thawed out. Canned foods can make wonder gifts.

Now, here are some Tightwad tricks that Amy uses:

1. Get equipment cheaply. Put the word out for what you need and you may be quite surprised at what people are ready to give to you. Look for canning jars at yard sales and perhaps you can borrow a pressure canner from someone. Go to a thrift store and see if they have any canning supplies.

During the spring and early summer you will see the canning jar lids on sale and many times there will be coupons for these. When lids are on sale, stock up for as many as you think you will need. Also when canning spices, salts and sugar are on sale, stock up in anticipation of canning.

2. Use the right sized canning jar. Amy uses small mouth quart jars for all canning aside for pickles and jams. This fits the needs of her family.

3. Save on energy. For foods that can be either pressure canned or water bathed, Amy uses a pressure canner to save energy.

4. Cut small and pack tight. The more food you pack into a jar, the more efficient and economical the operation becomes.

5. Use the hot pack method when possible. Food shrinks during cooking, so filling jars with precooked foods instead of raw food saves space.

Canning also has a psychological value of providing for your family. For many people there is nothing like looking at a pantry full of home canned items. I have only canned things like jams, applesauce and apple pie filling.

Next year I have a goal of planting a garden and learning to can. A big part of it has to do with economics and another part has to do with knowing what I put on my plants and that it is organic.

I would love to hear any other ideas for canning or why you can.  My biggest fear with canning is using a pressure cooker.  I have never used one and the thought has always scared me.  But since I can drive a car, I need to get over my fear and learn to use one. 

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Seven - The Pantry Principle Update

Before I get into the content of this post, I wanted to say something that has really gotten my attention this week. There are a few visitors to my blog that have recently faced unemployment in their families. As far as recent, I am talking about within the past month.

If you or anyone in your family have been unemployed, it would be great to hear from you about that experience and how you got through it. Or in the alternative, perhaps you are still unemployed and struggling to find work. I would definitely like to hear your comments on what it has been like and how you have or are coping.

Now onto the Tightwad Gazette III. Tonight’s reading is an update from Amy on the pantry principle.

The Pantry Principle Update

In an update from a prior article on the Pantry Principle, a reader had written to Amy and asked what does a “tightwad” pantry include?

This is indeed a wonderful question. However, because people have different needs, preferences and resources, there is no real must list for a pantry according to Amy. Instead Amy offered a list of what was in her pantry and you can revise it to meet your family’s needs.

1. Baking supplies: Baking powder, baking soda, yeast, salt, cocoa, coconut, sunflower seeds, soy flour, eggs, bulk purchased gelatin, cornstarch, vinegar, paste food coloring and colored sprinkles.

2. Breads: Whole wheat loaves, bagels, English muffins, saltine crackers. (They make other breads.)

3. Cheese: Parmesan, cream and hard cheeses when the price drops below $2.00 per lb. (Remember, these are 1996 prices.)

4. Cold cereal: Any cereal when price drops to 7 cents per ounce, frequently corn flakes, rarely presweetened cereal.

5. Condiments: Ketchup, mayonnaise, mustard. (They make jams, pickles and relish.)

6. Fats: Corn oil, olive oil, margarine, shortening, no stick spray.

7. Fruits: Apples, bananas, raisins, and occasionally, other fresh fruits when on sale. Canned pineapple and other canned fruit as it turns up in “mystery cans” from the salvage store. (They grew strawberries and acquire blackberries, blueberries, and pears from a relative.)

8. Grains: White flour, whole wheat flour, rye flour, oatmeal, cornmeal, rice, popcorn, wheat germ.

9. Juices: Orange, apple, grape and lemon.
10. Legumes: Peanut butter, dried beans, dried peas, lentils.

11. Meats: Chicken parts, ground beef, ground turkey, whole turkey, tuna, ham, pork shoulder, bologna, hot dogs, bacon, salami, kielbasa, and other meats when sale price is low enough.

12. Milk: Dry milk, whole milk.

13. Non-nutritious beverages: Tea, ground coffee.

14. Packaged dinners: Macaroni and cheese.

15. Pasta: Spaghetti, macaroni and other pasta when the price drops to 33 cents a lb.

16. Seasonings and flavorings: A large selection of herbs and spices, wine and sherry for cooking, bouillon, soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, artificial vanilla extract, maple extract.

17. Sweeteners: White sugar, brown sugar, powdered sugar, molasses, honey, corn syrup.

18. Vegetables: Onions, celery, potatoes, frozen French fries, instant mashed potatoes, tomato paste. (They grow a wide variety of items.)

So that is what is in Amy’s pantry and freezer. Mine is different and so is yours. For example, mine includes a lot of canned creamed soups, canned vegetables and fruits along with spaghetti sauce and canned tomato products.

When you keep a stocked pantry you can skip shopping for groceries when it is necessary, you rarely run out of an item and you save time by going to your pantry to make up your menus. It is a definite win win situation.

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Six July 19th

Here is today's reading from the Tightwad Gazette III.  After typing this post, I was hungry for homemade pie.  But with the temps in the upper 90's and the heat index at 120 degrees, I am not heating up my oven today.

PAGE 55 – THE PIE CHART

Amy advises that anyone can learn to make a great pie with a little practice. I totally agree with this. Pie crust takes practice but even if the top crust turns out less than “perfect looking”, it will still taste great. Even if you get the bottom shell in the dish and fill it, you can roll out the top crust, cut pieces out of it and lay them on the top of the filling. It works great and looks rustic. Polish it off with a little egg wash and a sprinkle of sugar and in the oven it goes. Give it a try. This rustic way is especially good with a meat casserole filling.

There are two rules to pie crust making: don’t overwork the dough and add ice cold water to the flour mixture. It should be just moist enough to hold it together.

I make several pie crust dough balls at a time.  I roll them into a ball and flatten them, wrap in plastic wrap, place in a Ziploc bag and put in the freezer. Then I just have to thaw the crust when I am ready to bake a pie.

Amy keeps a bag in her freezer to deposit the scraps of crust after making a pie. When she accumulates enough dough, she uses it for a quiche.

For my family, I take the scraps and roll them out, spread with butter and cinnamon and sugar and then roll up like a cinnamon roll. Slice the dough and bake for 10 minutes along with the pie.

Amy grows her own pumpkins and butternut squashes and then makes her own pumpkin and squash puree. She freezes this for pies. When she has room in her freezer, she will then set aside a day to bake pumpkin pies. A friend collected aluminum pie tins for her. She bakes the pies, allows them to cool and then she puts them in the freezer, unwrapped until they are frozen. She wraps them in plastic wrap and stacks them on top of each other. Then they just have to be thawed out and warmed in the oven. Fruit pies can be frozen unbaked.

If you can master making pie crust you will then be able to make your family all sorts of pies from items that perhaps some people give you. In our area we have mulberries growing all of the countryside. They taste like a blackberry. These berries make delicious pies (and jams). If anyone asks if I want some, I always take them.

Also, you can take leftover meats with some gravy and some vegetables and pour into a pie crust. Top with a lattice crust and you have a grand leftover supper pie. I use pie crust to make meat tarts out of browned hamburger seasoned with onions and some chopped carrots for a perfect meal for a winter evening.

Remember, when learning any new skill you will have some failures. Take those failures and make them into those little pastry cinnamon rolls for your family and they won’t even think it was a failure. They will love them.

Page 58 – WHAT TO DO WITH . . . .

1. Old baby gates. Use as a drying rack for sweaters that need to dry flat. Simply place the rack over the bathtub.

2. Mustard squeeze containers. Use for cake decorating. The tips can be cut with a sharp knife to make different designs. I have used this idea when I was “filling” cupcakes with a frosting/filling. It worked great.

3. Old T-shirts. Cut into a long strip 2 inches wide. (Start at the bottom and cut around and around into one long piece.) Stretch this so that it curls to make a cord. Crochet into hot mats, doormats and even baskets. Use colored shirts to create designs.

Here is a link with step by step instructions. I am definitely going to try this one. I think it would be a great idea to make a rug to put in front of my kitchen sink. I would have to put a rubber pad underneath to keep it from moving though. This would make a great gift and it is another way to recycle old t-shirts.

4. Holey rubber gloves. Cut into sections. These make great rubber bands which can be custom cut for specific uses. Fingers make small ones, cuffs make large ones.

5. Potato Peelings. Scrub your potatoes well and peel with a knife, trying to get large pieces. Place peels in a bowl and add salt, pepper, garlic and onion powder. Grease a cookie sheet and place the skins on it. Bake in a hot oven at about 400 degrees for 8 to 10 minutes or until done. Remove from oven, sprinkle with grated cheese, then return to the oven just until cheese melts. These sound good without the cheese too.

These were some great "use it up" tips.  We need to remind ourselves that we can sometimes be wasteful without thinking.  The next time I peel potatoes, I will dig into the potato to get a little more potato on the peel and I will make potato skins for a snack.  Of course that will have to wait until we are done with this incredible heat wave.  I'm starting to think I live in the Iowa "Sahara" Desert.

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Five - July 12th

Here are some great tips and ideas from the Tightwad Gazette III.

TIP ONE – SURPRISE PIES

A reader wrote in to say that her family doesn’t care for cooked carrots, but she can often get carrots at a great price. So she uses cooked carrots in place of pumpkin for a pie. Her family loves it and it doesn’t take a lot of carrots – 4 large – for a pie.

TIP TWO – Tightwad Turnovers

Use the refrigerator dough to make turnovers. Simply roll a ¼ cup portion of dough into a circle. On one half of the dough place a savory or sweet combination, fold it over and pinch the ends of the dough. Bake in a 400 degree oven for 15 minutes. This is a great way to use up leftovers. I have taken seasoned ground hamburger along with chopped up leftover potatoes and some carrots and used it up this way. Also, leftover sloppy joe mixture is delicious and so is chicken or ham with some cheese. You can make up a few different ones with various leftovers for a “pot luck.”

A TALE OF TIGHTWAD TRANSFORMATION

Amy wasn’t one to brag about how she had influenced people’s lives. However she did receive several letters from readers detailing how she had changed their lives and after thinking about it she decided to pick one that seemed to represent all of the others.

The lady that wrote in “Karen” began her letter by pointing out that prior to reading Amy’s books she was a miserable spend thrift, in debt and was a working mother. Karen’s reading of Amy’s books inspired her to do the math and she discovered that her working outside the home caused her family to simply break even and sometimes lose money. So she quit her job and incorporated many basic lifestyle changes that produced immediate results.

1. Making school lunches every day.

2. Cooking from scratch.

3. Going to garage sales.

4. Reusing common household items, including Ziploc bags, foil and bread bags.

5. Using a price book

6. Using a freezer.

7. Buying in bulk.

8. Setting up and using a pantry under the basement stairs.

9. Using the library more.

10. Buying kids shoes used.

11. Being more creative with birthday parties.

12. Having her kids make economic choices. Karen and her husband provide the basics of life and her children figure out ways to come up with their own extras.

13. They entertain themselves with little or no money. Examples are free concerts, parks, garage sale board games and church activities.

14. Gardening

15. Cutting her family’s hair.

Karen also listed the benefits of these changes:

1. She doesn’t have to deal with the stress of working outside of the home and putting her kids in day care.

2. Her family eats better.

3. They are greatly reducing their consumer debt.

4. They enjoy family activities that they didn’t have the time for before.

5. She has learned how to cook at the age of 38.

6. Her kids have set new lunch trends at school. Other kids try to trade their store bought treats for their homemade treats.

7. Her kids have learned quickly about cost and value.

8. When she worked, her kids actually had to make an appointment to spend time with her because she was so busy.

9. Karen and her kids were able to drive to Florida to see her parents.

10. They are happier and life is fun.

SKINFLINT SKIN CARE

Amy gleaned some information from a book she read that was recommended by the American Academy of Dermatologists and the book talked about what we need and don’t need. The book even addressed the fact that some homemade concoctions could actually irritate the skin.

So, what then “don’t” we need?

1. Scrubs. A simple washing and scrubbing with a wash cloth will do the trick.

2. Masks. Masks only make your skin feel better for a few hours at the most and the actual benefits are few.

3. Astringents. Also called toners, are to be applied after you wash your face to remove oil or between cleanings to refresh your face. Actually they irritate your skin so that the area around the pores swells temporarily making the pores appear to shrink. If your skin is oily you can use an astringent when you are not able to wash your face.

4. Wrinkle creams. There’s no proof that any nonprescription cream, lotion or gel will remove wrinkles.

Here is a list of products that are useful.

1. Cold creams and cleansing lotions. Great for removing makeup and useful for cleaning your skin if it is too dry for frequent washing with soap and water.

2. Soap and water. With the exception of the above uses for cold creams and cleansing lotions, soap and water are adequate for most cleaning. The choice of soap depends on skin type and personal preference. I got tired of spending a lot of money on a name brand cleansing lotion, so I started to wash my face with Dove soap and I love it. I think it works better than the cleansing lotion and is a whole lot cheaper.

3. Moisturizers. These make dry skin smoother and softer.

So in the end, you don’t have to spend a lot of money on your skin care regimen. Right now I use Dove soap to wash my face, scrubbing with a wash cloth, and Cetaphil moisturizer on my face after I wash it. That is all I do and I think my skin looks great.

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Four - July 8th

Here is today's reading from the Tightwad Gazette III.  Lot's of great advice in today's reading - especially the Create a Dinner Casserole recipe.  Enjoy this - it is classic Amy Dacyczyn.  Lots of great money saving ideas. 

If anyone tries the Create a Casserole Dinner recipe, let us know what you made.  I am always on the lookout for some interesting recipes. 

Page 39 - ROTTEN BANANA IDEAS

When you are shopping and you find a good deal on over ripe bananas let’s say 15 cents a lb. do you buy them? Okay in our area and 15 years after Amy wrote this book the price would be more like 29 cents per lb.

Of course, Amy says to go ahead and buy those bananas as there are a lot of recipes you can use them in. Also bananas can be frozen whole in their peels, sliced or mashed and frozen in a baggie. I freeze bananas mashed in ½ cup portions as they take up less freezer space. Also when I purchase a bag of over ripe bananas, there are usually a few that are not too over ripe to eat. If you do freeze the bananas whole, simply thaw them and then cut open the end and squeeze the liquidy banana out. No need to mash here.

So what do you do with these over ripe bananas? Make a banana shake or smoothie or take the smoothie mixture and freeze in a Popsicle mold. How about banana “ice cream?” Simply combine frozen bananas with enough orange juice to keep the mixture blending. Add some other fruits, freeze and top with some homemade granola.

What about banana French toast? Simply mash one banana and mix well with 2 eggs, a little milk and 1 teaspoon cinnamon. Pour into a blender to “blenderize.” Dip bread slices into mixture and fry on both sides in oiled pan. Serve with fruit puree or syrup.

And then you can always make the standard banana bread to eat and give away. Think about it. Wouldn’t a neighbor or friend love a loaf of fresh baked banana bread as a treat? I also make banana cake by reducing the amount of liquid in my yellow cake recipe and adding mashed banana. I make banana icing by adding mashed banana to my favorite icing recipe and delete all other liquid from it.

TIP ONE – BUDGET BUBBLES

Here’s a great idea for summer fun in the backyard, make your own bubbles. Mix 6 parts water, 2 parts Joy dishwashing liquid and ¾ part corn syrup. Mix this ahead of time for the best results. This is cheaper than the recipe that requires glycerin.

TIP TWO – SWEET AND LOW COST

Make your own brown sugar by taking 1 cup of white sugar and mix in 2 tablespoons of molasses. This reader said that this homemade version of brown sugar is cheaper than buying a 2 lb. bag of store bought brown sugar. A lot of the brown sugar you buy is “beet” sugar mixed with molasses. However, you can buy actual brown sugar which is usually a name brand and is more expensive. I personally can’t tell the difference in baking so I buy whatever is cheapest. Since I stock up on “brown” sugar when it is on sale at $1.50 or less for a 2 lb. bag, I don’t need to mix the homemade version. But this is great to know that in a pinch you can make your own. I always have molasses or sorghum on hand so I can always use this as a backup if I am out of brown sugar.

PAGE 47 – CREATE A DINNER CASSEROLE

In the spirit of Amy’s recipes for Create a Muffin and Create a Quiche, we now have Create a Dinner Casserole. It’s all about using up leftover bits of food and creating an interesting, delicious meal. Actually this recipe was given to Amy by a newsletter reader and quickly became a favorite.

Create a Dinner Casserole

1 cup main ingredient
1 cup second ingredient
1 to 2 cups starchy ingredient
1 ½ cups binder
¼ cup “goodie”
Seasoning
Topping

Main Ingredient suggestions: tuna, cubed chicken, turkey, ham, seafood.

Second ingredient suggestions: thinly sliced celery, mushrooms, peas, chopped hard cooked eggs.

Starchy ingredient suggestions: Thinly sliced potatoes, cooked noodles, cooked rice.

Binder suggestions: cream sauce, sour cream, can of soup.

Goodie suggestions: pimiento, olives, almonds, water chestnuts.

Topping suggestions: potato chips, cheese, bread crumbs.

Thoroughly mix your combinations of the above ingredients. If it seems dry, add some milk or vegetable or meat stock. Place in a buttered casserole dish, top with the topping and bake at 350 degrees for 30 to 45 minutes.

One evening I was home alone and I looked in the fridge and found 2 hardboiled eggs. I made a cream sauce, added some grated cheddar cheese and the chopped hardboiled eggs. I poured the concoction over some toast and it was delicious. Now my family would never eat something like this, but this to me was true comfort food and was delicious.

The lesson here in this casserole recipe is that some of the best recipes are concoctions that you make up with what you have on hand. When you are making up your own recipe for a casserole you might want to keep track of what you put in the casserole in case you would ever want to replicate it.

Our next reading for the Tightwad Gazette gives some great tips from readers along with some Tightwad Transformations from Amy's readers, frugal skin care and making pies.  

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Three July 5th

Here are highlights from today's reading of the Tightwad Gazette III.  As always Amy doesn't let us down as she offers great advice along with some things for us to ponder.

How many of you would be willing to give up your dishwasher for a day, week or forever?  Something to think about.  Here we go.

Page 25 – CRACKING THE DRESS CODE

Amy tackles the problem and expense of a woman who needs business clothing for work. A reader wrote in to say that she gets one month’s worth of clothing for her job out of the following items: 2 blazers, 3 tops and 4 bottoms. Make sure that the blazers and bottoms all coordinate and that you limit yourself to few patterns on the clothing. Mathematically these 9 articles of clothing can be combined to make 24 combinations.

If I were to go back into the workforce, and I have no desire to do so, I would definitely apply this principle of minimalism but I would probably have more than 9 articles of clothing for work. I would make it work with about 20 articles of clothing. However, if a woman does a lot of business travelling, having 9 items that coordinate into many outfits would be perfect.

Now that I am not working, I am trying to rid my closet of items I don’t wear so the same principle works for someone who does not work outside of the home. My goal over time is to come up with a small “stay at home” wardrobe that can be easily coordinated.

PAGE 26 – WILL A DISHWASHER SAVE MONEY?

The average dishwasher lasts about 11.5 years, uses about 8 gallons of water for a normal wash and 14 gallons for the pots and pans cycle. Amy calculated the cost of water and energy usage, along with the average repair occurring around the 8th year of ownership, and she calculated that it would cost her family around $119.75 annually to maintain and operate a dishwasher.

Amy calculated that for her family it would be a timesaver to have a dishwasher. However Amy and her husband enjoy washing and drying the dishes together as they watch the news on the kitchen t.v. and they also talk during that time. They decided that for their family, they would continue to wash dishes by hand knowing that as their children grew the chore would become something her kids could do.

We had a dishwasher for several years, but when it broke down, we didn’t replace it for almost 2 years. During that time my husband and I would clear the table and I would put the leftovers away while he washed the dishes. I also would wipe the countertops and the stove top, the table and straighten up the kitchen while he did the dishes. At the most this would take 20 minutes.

We replaced the dishwasher as when our oldest son would come home from college we had so many more dishes to wash and my husband got tired of it. He said he wasn’t going to go through another summer without a dishwasher.

This weekend we had some problems with an outlet in the kitchen so we had to turn off a breaker until an electrician would be able to come to the house today. The breaker affected the dishwasher so I hand washed dishes for 4 days. Now that there are just the 3 of us and in a few years, there will be just the 2 of us, I would be hard pressed to replace the dishwasher if it would break down and not be able to be repaired. I would rather have the cabinet space.

Because I am home I can keep up on the dishes as the day goes on and it doesn’t bother me to hand wash the dishes. Also, I don’t fill the sink full of water. I use only a few inches of water and add a little more hot water as needed. I know that I would not use over 8 gallons of water in a day.

Maybe we have just become accustomed to a dishwasher being a necessity as time has gone by. As to the hot water in the dishwasher sterilizing the dishes and so on, I put the hottest water I can stand in the sink to soak the washed dishes before I put them in the dish rack to dry. As soon as they are dry, I put the dishes away as I don’t like dishes in the dish drainer to look at all day long.

My grandmother would boil a teapot on the stove and then pour the boiling water over the rinsed dishes to “sterilize them.” It worked great.

PAGE 28 – AVOID DEPTH CHARGES

A reader wrote in to say that to avoid her kids taking baths in quite a bit of water, she placed a piece of electrical tape in the bathtub to mark an appropriate level.

First of all, never let young children bathe alone. It is very dangerous and children can drown even in a small amount of water. Otherwise, I think this is a great idea for older children.

In our household showers are the norm and our youngest son can take a very long shower. I don’t think he realizes how long a shower he is taking as he listens to music while he is in the shower. I plan on putting a kitchen timer in the bathroom and having him set it for a reasonable amount of time.

In our community we are charged for water coming into our house along with the water going down the drain to the sewer. So any water than we can refrain from using, is a double savings.

PAGE 29 - NOT STIFFED ON STARCH

A reader wrote in to say that her husband liked heavily starched shirts but the spray cans of starch could be expensive. Instead this reader bought powdered starch and mixed 4 tablespoons with 4 cups of hot water. Using a good spray bottle, she sprayed the starch (shaking it often) and irons the garment as usual. The cost of the powdered version was 10 cents versus 87 cents for the spray can.

I’m not sure if you can still get powdered starch in the stores or not, but I have seen the liquid starch. It is a liquid concentrate that you add water to get the appropriate amount of starch on your clothes such as heavy, normal or light. I’m sure it would be cheaper and the next time we are out of spray starch, I am going to buy the liquid starch. We starch the majority of my husband’s work shirts. When I say we, he does the majority of his own ironing but I use starch also on many of my cotton tops.

Our next reading will highlight the cost of raising a child, the trend of woman quitting their jobs to stay home, ideas for using up bananas and more. 

Tightwad Gazette III - Day Two - July 1st

Today’s reading profiles the USDA Food Plans which I like to use to compare to my own budget for food. Also there are some great tips from Readers and we end with Amy’s tip for using refrigerator yeast dough.

PAGE 10 - HOW DOES YOUR FOOD BUDGET COMPARE?

A reader sent Amy a copy of the USDA’s guidelines for food plans along with a cost per plan. These food plans are labeled as Thrifty, Low-Cost, Moderate and Liberal and as you may have guessed there is a specific amount of money set per plan. This money amount is a guideline. So as you may have guessed the Thrifty plan has the lowest amount of money and the Liberal has the most amount of money to spend on food. Amounts are given for children in a specific age range and adult male and females in different age ranges per the different plans.

Amy figured that her food budget for her family was below the amount allotted for the Thrifty plan.

Years ago I found the USDA food plans listed in a magazine. I was fascinated by the amounts given on these food plans and I have used it as a guideline ever since.

Here is the link to the 2011 USDA Food Plans. How does your budget compare to the plans?

READER TIP ONE: GUNK GETTER

When drains get sluggish, try this time tested remedy:

Pour 1 cup of baking soda in the drain. Follow the soda with 1 cup of vinegar. Pour a pot of boiling water down the drain and follow with a plunger.

In some cases boiling water will be enough.

READER TIP TWO: STATIC ELIMINATOR

Instead of purchasing a product such as Static Guard, make your own by mixing 1 part liquid fabric softener with 20 parts water. Pour into a clean spray bottle. When your clothes have static, spritz on a small amount.

PAGE 19: SAVE A WAD OF DOUGH

Amy’s husband would stir up a batch of refrigerator yeast dough on a Saturday night. On Sunday mornings he made powdered sugar and cinnamon sugar doughnuts from some of the dough. Monday night Amy made homemade tomato soup and yeast rolls from a portion of the refrigerator dough. On Thursday her husband made 1 dozen cinnamon rolls from the balance of the refrigerator dough.

The point of this is that refrigerator yeast dough is very versatile and inexpensive. Amy didn’t give a recipe, but found hers in an old Betty Crocker cookbook. This recipe called for mashed potatoes so they used potato flakes for instant mashed potatoes. You can find a recipe on the internet. The dough can be used for just about any type of bread product and that can be a money saver and a great addition to any meal.

We will pick up our reading tomorrow, (I’m rested up – finally). Some of the interesting articles we will review are dressing for work on a budget, shopping and does a dishwasher save money.   And as always there will be a few reader tips.

Tightwad Gazette III - Day One - June 28th

And so we begin the Tightwad Gazette III.  I'm not going to list daily readings this time.  Instead I will just start profiling each reading and you will easily be able to follow along.  I usually try to read and "digest" about 6 to 7 pages per post.

As a reminder, I didn't write the Tightwad Gazette III and the ideas that I highlight are those of the author, Amy Dacyczyn.  I am reading the book and giving you the "Cliff Note" version.  Also any comments that I make will be underlined in each post.  Be sure to add comments of your own.

PAGE 3 - DROWNING IN RISING EXPECTATIONS

Amy starts this article by saying that there is a common idea going around among the “Baby Boomers” that middle class people couldn’t afford to have children anymore on their middle class incomes. Amy started her newsletter because she believed that to be false. It is her belief that people are victims of their own inflated expectations.

Politicians feed this by convincing people that they are hurting and one political party can bring back opportunity. There are the news reports that inflation has made income decline and so on.

Amy wrote this book back in 1996 when we were beginning the boom years, but now two years after the Great Recession ended many people have not recovered financially and may never recover. Incomes have declined, prices have gone up and we don’t know what is around the corner, BUT we do know that we don’t have to sit and take it as there are some things we can do. For example, live on as little as possible so that you can pay your bills and perhaps even put some money away in savings. I have always felt that the statement “expenses rise to meet income” is so true. The days of “if I lose my job I can get a new one within a short period of time” are gone. Learning to live on less and lower your expectations is the way to live now.

People feel poorer because they have come to expect more. They buy more stuff; each driving age family member has a car of their own; people travel a lot more; people spend an exorbitant amount of money on hobbies and recreation; people don’t cook at home and they eat out.

The reason people feel priced out of the housing market is because they want houses that are so much bigger and better. Though the average family is smaller, the average modern, new house is twice as big as the average one built after World War II.

I was watching CNBC this afternoon and Tom Brokaw’s documentary “Baby Boomers” was on. Tom talked about the parents of Baby Boomers that bought homes that had around 1200 square footage and their children want to build the monster homes that have a master suite that is like an apartment. Each house must have bedrooms for each family member plus for guests, the kitchens are almost as big as a small apartment and then there are the 4 car garages, the great rooms and more. Homes are no longer places for shelter and family life alone but have gone beyond shelter to large enough that a family member can be alone in the same house even when everyone is home. Having the biggest, best, newest home is the mantra.

Amy says “that even if there is a financial inequity, complaining about it wastes emotional energy. You could use this same energy to be even more creative than your parents were. For example, our family expenditure for food and clothing is almost the same as what my parents spent for these items 25 years ago, and this isn’t adjusted for inflation.”

We have 2 cars and 1 truck in our family that were purchased before I lost my job. Back then if I knew I was going to lose my job, we would only have 2 vehicles and I would share my car with our son. But now with one car being paid off this month and the truck being paid off in 3 more months, we will be correcting this in the future by not replacing one of those vehicles when it wears out.

I don’t feel as if I am going backward financially by not being able to afford the things that our family could afford when we had two paychecks coming in. Many people think that if you are driving a 2008 vehicle and you replace it with a 2006 vehicle, then you are going backwards financially by not continually buying newer and newer. The same is true of building a home. Many people feel that they have not achieved a major milestone by building their own home. Instead they should look at home ownership as shelter and a cozy place for your family to live. Living in a 1200 square foot 3 bedroom ranch with 1 bathroom does not mean that you are less successful in life than the family that is living in a 3000 square foot “monstrous” brand new home.

Page 5 – MACARONI MIRACLE

Many times Amy is able to purchase the standard Macaroni and Cheese dinners (similar to Kraft) for only 25 cents. She adds some meat or tuna to make a quick meal. It is about the only convenience food that she purchases. Amy did look into the cheese powder and except for the food coloring; the ingredients didn’t appear to be “fake food.” A reader had written in to say that she was able to get the cheese powder in bulk at a health food store and wondered if by adding store bought bulk macaroni if it was cheaper than the boxes. However, Amy was consistently able to get the boxes on sale cheaper than the buying in bulk items.

This is one item that you can keep on hand and make it into a quick casserole or even a pasta salad.

Page 6 – THE KIDS’ CLOTHING INVENTORY

Amy spent about $50 annually to dress her six kids with an average of $8.33 per kid. This includes winter outerwear. Socks and underwear were purchased new. Many clothing items were given to their family by their relatives and many items were purchased used.

Amy kept an inventory sheet on each kid as to what clothes they wore and the sizes along with what clothes that child had in their closet to wear. So for one child she wrote down the number of winter shirts and the sizes. This was to ensure that gaps and surpluses don’t occur. For example, one child ran short on shoes so she knew that in the future she needed to make sure they had enough shoes for the year.

Since manufacturers differ in their sizes, Amy started to measure the clothing to make sure that she would be getting the correct sizes at garage sales. For example, she would measure inseams and also would measure shoes for the correct size. Then when an item was needed she would take a tape measure along with her to a garage sale and it was easy to measure and know that pants and shoes would fit her child.

I think this is a good idea from the standpoint of clothing does shrink after washing, so you may look at an article at a garage sale and think that you are buying the correct size only to find out the item had done some shrinking. Measuring ensures a good fit.

Amy kept a list of the sizes along with the measurements that went with that size so she could make sure the clothing would fit. For example size 2 in pants measures to be an 8 ½” waist (measured in the front) and 11 ½ inch inseam.

Even if you didn’t keep a list of the sizes, but only took an inventory of your children’s clothing you would be able to see if they needed any “new” clothing for a season. Then you would be able to go ahead and buy those items before they were needed as compared to going to a garage sale and buying everything “willy nilly”. Having a plan to buy only what is needed and nothing beyond that will save you money, even at garage sales. Also just because items are cheaper at a garage sale doesn’t mean that you buy your child 10 dresses, 15 pairs of pants and 25 shirts. Money is money so only buy what your child needs.

Having a clothing inventory for every member of the family would be a good idea too. Think of the money you will save by not going out and buying extra items when you aren’t sure if you really need them or not.

Tomorrow's reading will cover such things as comparing your food budget to other families, some reader tips and buying dented, dated and discounted food items. 

Random Money Thoughts and Tightwad Gazette III

Today I am sitting on my back porch as a way of avoiding the housework I must do today.  Well, I'm not avoiding it, just delaying it.  As I sit here I made a list of the things that were on my mind. 
Here they are:

1. Desk. Need a desk for my son to put in the den next to my desk. He’s been using my desk and it doesn’t work to share. I will have him use a card table until I find a used desk.. Solves two problems – will he really use a desk of his own and and if we decide this is a need, he can use the card table until we find a used desk.

2. New workout shoes. I wore my workout shoes on vacation as we did a lot of walking but Curves insists on wearing “clean” shoes when you work out. I can’t afford new shoes. Instead I will clean them off with all purpose cleaner after my evening walk and will be able to take them to Curves instead of buying another pair.

3. I need to clip and organize my coupons as I grew lax over the past few weeks between graduation and vacation.

4. Bike more. Yes, gasoline has gone down in price but at $3.39 a gallon it still is high by any standard. I’m biking places now. The bike basket I bought over two years ago doesn’t fit my bike and is collecting dust. Instead of ordering a new one on line perhaps there is some way I can make it work by “remaking” it.

5. I need to get rid of more clothes so I can make room for some of my new sewing creations.

6. I need to make a list of items to sew for Christmas presents so I can do a little bit at a time. One idea for gifts is to make kitchen valances out of different holiday fabrics that I have found on sale throughout the year. I have the following theme fabric: Valentine's Day, Easter, Patriotic, Halloween, Thanksgiving and Christmas.

7. Price Book – my dream would be to own a tablet computer and put my price book on that, but not on an austerity budget. I need to re-organize and re-do my Price Book and put it in the old fashioned way – a small notebook – to fit my purse. I have everything in Excel but I am finding prices are really starting to vary from Wal-mart store brand items to other grocery store brands. I can no longer rely on memory. Prices are changing constantly and I am struggling to figure out the best price for meat. There is power and money to be saved by updating this tool.

I have read the reading for today for the Tightwad Gazette III and will post it this evening.  I am surprised that after 2 books Amy is still giving great advice and it is not just a repeat of prior books.  You will love going through this book with me.