Search Results for: blog two favorite ways to save money in the kitchen

5 Frugal Practices That May Be Costing You Money

Sometimes even the best intentions to save money fail. Are you losing money while trying to be frugal? Here are five frugal practices that may be costing you money. • Stockpiling Do you still have cans of vegetables from 2001? Have the breadcrumbs gone stale? Stockpiling is a great way to save money and to be prepared for rising prices, but when you have half a pantry full of expired food then stockpiling is costing you money. To solve this problem, don’t give up on the stockpiling, just get a little more organized. Rotate your pantry items and keep track … Continue reading →

5 Things to Make From Scratch to Save Money

Homemade is usually best, especially when it comes to saving money. Here are five things you can make from scratch to save money. They include homemade cleaners, food prepared from scratch, baby items and more. Pizza Pizza dough is quick and easy when you make it in a bread machine. Even with loads of toppings, two large (restaurant large, not supermarket large) thin-crust pizzas will cost you around $4. For a little more money, you can buy prepared dough, but of course making your pizza completely from scratch means a lower cost as well as a lack of preservatives and … Continue reading →

The Easy Way to Cook from Scratch

Cooking from scratch is a great way to reduce your overall food bill. Eating out can cost three or four times as much as cooking at home, on average. Faced with the reality of the savings, why don’t we all cook more and eat out less? Well, one of the main reasons is that the idea of cooking every meal at home when our lives are so busy can seem daunting. Guess what, though? Eating at home can actually be less time consuming than going out in many cases. Plus, if you follow the following advice, you will see that … Continue reading →

The Multitasking Apple

This fall, stock up on inexpensive apples and make them work hard for you while they save you money. The key is get the apples as cheaply as possible and use them for more than one purpose or use as much of the apple as possible. One of my favorite ways to do this is to get five or six large apples, and peel them, trying to make sure that I get a few good long peels in the process. I cut the apples and then place them in the crockpot with 1/4 cup of water, 1/4 cup of sugar … Continue reading →

Saving on Holiday Decorating

I’m not much of a holiday decorator when it comes to my home. In fact, there are only two holidays in which I do, the fall season and Christmas. This is the time of year in which I break out the scarecrows. Mr. Bob (yes, I named him) is my favorite. He is my largest scarecrow that sits on our porch. I also have a few pumpkin decorations that grace my home as well. I keep it neutral. In other words, it isn’t about Halloween or Thanksgiving. It is more of a “harvest” look, so that way I can keep … Continue reading →

Developing a Meal Plan

I have shared in a few blogs my lack of meal planning. Which in turn means I don’t always feed my family well…or at all. In fact, my children are frequently complaining about their mother not preparing dinner and yes, I do feel guilty about that. As a housekeeper, I take my role as caring for the home and family very seriously. But let’s face it…I am human and I am imperfect. There are some areas that I do better in. But I also have those areas I really struggle with. I have had good intentions about changing this but … Continue reading →

Dishwashing By Hand

It always seems that I’m in a hurry, from the time I wake up until the time I go to sleep at night. Hurry to work, hurry home, hurry through dinner, and clean the house quickly. You name it, I do it fast. I’m not sure what I’m in such a rush for, but I’m always rushing from one thing to another. Lately with all the hustle and bustle of the holiday’s it seems that I’m in even more of a rush. So much is going on that I hardly every have any time just to be still. In an … Continue reading →

How to Give When You Are on A Budget

Just because finances are tight doesn’t meant that you have to give up on giving. Here are some strategies to help you make the most impact within limited means. Play favorites Really take the time to concentrate your charitable efforts. Instead of giving a little to many charities, focus on one or two that really resonate with you and your family. Not only will this make a bigger impact to your chosen charities, but you will probably get to know the causes better than if you spread your money around every time there is a candy fundraiser, car wash or … Continue reading →

How to Find Pantry Storage Space

In a recent post, I talked about all of the frugal benefits of having a small home. A small home can save you quite a bit of money, especially in the long run. But one thing a small home usually doesn’t have is extra storage space. And when you combine lack of storage space with stockpiling and cooking from scratch (two practices that can also save you a lot of money) you may wonder if you are going to be in trouble. Finding pantry storage space isn’t always as hard as you might think. Here are some tips on how … Continue reading →

Ways to Save on Vacation Lodging

If you have had enough of the staycation and want to actually travel somewhere away from home, then lodging will be an expense that you will have to deal with one way or another. Fortunately, there are a lot of choices and opportunities, if you think a little bit out of the box. Here are some great frugal tips for saving money on your vacation stay. For the large family or group If you have more than four people traveling, then you are in for some issues. As part of a family of five, I know first hand. This is … Continue reading →