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Meals to Make from Bread

Stretch out your food budget by not letting anything go to waste. When you are faced with dinner time and there is “nothing” to prepare, take a look into your pantry. There are so many things you can make with what may be available. Today let’s take a look at bread. You can usually find bread in most people’s kitchens, and it is great for turning into meals and side dishes. This post is part of the Ideas for Cooking from Your Stockpile series. Main Meals: Try these ideas to make bread, fresh or stale, into a main meal. The … Continue reading →

Emergency Meal Stretching 2

We are talking about some techniques for stretching meals in an emergency, from hosting unexpected company to having to make due with the food resources that you have. If you missed part one, click here: Emergency Meal Stretching. Vegetables are a good choice when you don’t have time to really cook extra food. Canned or frozen, and even fresh, they are generally easy to prepare. You can have large helpings as a side dish or make the vegetable the main ingredient. And here is a trick to make it seem as though your meal is larger than it is. Offer … Continue reading →

Emergency Meal Stretching

If you find yourself having to feed your family for less, if you have unexpected dinner guests or if you just want to tighten the belt to afford a luxury, knowing how to stretch a meal in an emergency is a great skill for any frugal person to possess. Making food go farther without anyone feeling deprived or noticing a difference can be an art form. Here are some tips to get you started. If you are running short on a main ingredient, the most obvious thing to do is to stretch it out is to add other foods to … Continue reading →

Stretching Out a Meal Kit

Prepackaged meal kits can be fun and easy for busy families, but they hardly provide enough food for most families. There are some inexpensive ways to stretch out prepackaged meal kits and make sure that everyone has enough to eat. Let me first start by saying that I normally pass up those prepackaged meal kits because they can cost a lot of money for little food. Often, I can make my own version of these types of kits just by grouping things in my pantry that you find when you open the box of one of these kits. I’ve written … Continue reading →

Travel Tip: Don’t Wing It

When it comes to preserving your travel budget, it’s best not to wing it.  Sure, a few impromptu souvenirs or an extra tropical libation may not break the bank.  However, if you are truly interested in stretching your travel dollar, it’s best to plan ahead.  The more money-saving opportunities you take advantage of, the more cash you can stash for a future trip. Before you jet-off on your next vacation, consider the following: Watch where you eat:  As much as you are careful about what you eat while on vacation, if you are following a strict budget, it’s as important … Continue reading →

Frugal Dry Skin Soothers

One of the real downsides to winter is dry, chapped and cracked skin. Those little spots in your hands that get so dry that they actually bleed. Ouch. There are plenty of expensive creams out on the market that promise to solve the problem, but using them can create another one–a hit to your budget. Here are my best dry skin tips that won’t cost you a fortune. Humidity Needed Try putting some humidity back into the air. Growing up, we would place a pot on the heater, but that doesn’t work too well with baseboard heat. Instead, I simmer … Continue reading →

Frugal Living Month in Review: August 2008

With August passed, it will be hard to hold on to summer, but fortunately, we have a lot of memories of the “dog days.” We also have lots of great articles about saving money, something that is pretty important these days. Take a look at what was posted in August. August 1st Frugal Living Month in Review: July 2008 July went by so quickly for us! There were so many fun and frugal activities and events for us to explore, from a science camp to free movies and sand sculpting. I hope your July was equally fun and frugal. Summer … Continue reading →

75 Things You Can Do to Save Money

If you need or want to tighten your budget, there are so many things that you can do to save money. Pick a few from the list and get started today, or try them all. It will be nice to have some extra money available. Mow your own lawn and perform lawn care yourself. Drink water instead of flavored drinks. Get rid of the cleaning service. Perform your own minor repairs, such as patching a hole or fixing a leaky faucet. Change your oil in the car. Paint a room yourself. Hand wash clothing instead of taking it to the … Continue reading →

Addressing the Rise in Prices

In an earlier article posted today: Food and Gas Price Report, I discussed the latest information from the U.S. Department of Labor about our rising cost of food, energy and other goods. Here, I will offer some strategies and ideas for addressing the rise in prices. Let’s first address the rising food prices. To combat these prices and continue to provide food to your family you can (be sure to check the links for more information): Find substitutes for more expensive items, such as using dry milk for baking or drinking, giving up organic milk, baking your own bread, consuming … Continue reading →

The Frugal Banana

Bananas are a great frugal food, but make sure that you watch banana prices carefully. Like other foods, bananas prices will rise, due mostly from the cost of shipping them to your store. The average banana price here in my little corner of Pennsylvania is about 79 cents a pound, currently. About two weeks ago, the average price seemed to be 49 cents a pound. There are still two places where I can find the bananas for less here. The first is Trader Joes, a health/gourmet food store. At Trader Joes, bananas are selling for 29 cents pound. The second … Continue reading →