Slowly we're clearing out the clutter.

Invisible clutter. Just because you can't see it, doesn't mean it takes up no effort in your life or costs nothing.

First, we returned our Sam's Club membership. They have a full refund policy at any time if you cancel your membership. The Texas Sam's Clubs don't carry a lot of the products I used to buy in South Carolina, including bulk cornstarch, whole wheat pasta, or certain spices. Their milk was more expensive than the grocery stores, as was their produce. I used to buy whole wheat bread there for cheap, but I make my own now. They don't carry bread flour. Over, and over again I would head to Sam's Club with a long list, and leave with butter and chickens. Then, a local grocery store started carrying butter for the same price.

$35 back in our pockets!

We paid off our van in December, and switched the coverage from Full to Liability Only. Our van is maybe worth $1800.

$35 a month, back in our pockets!

Husband changed his cell plan. He did have a supernifty one with unlimited nationwide roaming. When he realized that his company wasn't sending him to any outlying oil platforms any time soon, he changed plans.

$15 a month, back in our pockets! We can always change to the upgraded plan at any time, if we need to go out of town.

I changed our cable service yesterday. This was tricky, because we have a package deal (phone, internet, and cable.) I work from home watching TV, and I had to have certain channels for my job. The best package I could get cost $160 after taxes (including taxes, fees, and DVR.)

In January, our cable company sent us a notice that prices would be going up by $5. But, they also added several new packages and bundles. We went to a different phone plan, eliminating long distance (husband gets it for free on his cell, anyway), went to a slower internet, and lost a bunch of channels.

Truthfully, even though we "lost" about 100 channels, the only ones we'll miss are The Science Channel, Noggin, HBO, and EWTN.

Savings? $50 a month!

(But oh, how I wish they would let you pick 25-30 channels that you want for a low price. I get 100 channels still, but most we skip over. I can totally do without the Golf channel, QVC, MTV, Spike, and 4 channels broadcast in Spanish.)

Invisible clutter elimination - works for me!

For more Works for Me Wednesday, check out Rocks In My Dryer!

Labels: Frugal, Journey to Simplicity, Working from Home, Works For Me Wednesday

Food Stamp Challenge - feed my family for $2 per person per day. ($140 a week).

Well, this week threw us a curve ball. Husband dear is paid by the hour, and there were some unexpected slow times plus a sick day. Add that to unexpected expense and an oopsie on my part (I thought I paid for 6 months of car insurance in December, but I actually went on the monthly plan, so we had to pay a month's worth of car insurance, too), plus rent due, and we have $75 to spend on food and whatnots until next payday (February 6).

It's feast or famine in the construction industry. Last two weeks? 35 and 40 hours. Next paycheck? 58 hours this week, scheduled for 84 hours next week (time and a half for overtime, woot!)

So. Two week's worth of meals for $50? Can it be done?

Well, yes it can. On the other hand, this is a realistic challenge. How many families run out of food stamps at the end of the month?

I stock up whenever I can (remember those 35 pounds of meat I bought last week?) so I only needed a few staples. We'll be eating less fresh fruit this week, but I'll be breaking out my "hurricane stock" of juice and canned veggies in order to make sure everyone gets their vitamins. We rarely drink juice, so a glass of pineapple juice will be a treat for the kids, instead of a sacrifice.

Here are my saving graces:

• A stocked pantry. I have rice, beans, peas, lentils, flour, cornmeal, popcorn, bulgur, quinoa... and I know how to use them. Truthfully, I could have not gone to the store at all (but the meals would have been a little meager. Plus I really did need eggs, since I plan on baking!) Thanks be to God for giving me the means to have extra money in the "fat" times so we have food for the lean times.

• The knowledge, skills, and ability to make many things myself. I didn't fret about being able to afford bread - I have flour, yeast and water at home. I have access to an oven, freezer, and refrigeration. I know how to make bland foods taste good enough that the kids ask for seconds (sometimes...) Thanks be to God for giving me understanding and providing such a nice kitchen and comfortable home!

• I have been reading frugal, cooking, and mommy blogs and been blessed by other ladie's insights, tips, tricks, recipes, and encouragement. Thanks be to God for all of the people on the Internet (and the amazing gift of the Web, as well) who freely share so that others may be helped.

• I spent an hour and a half planning our menu this week, poring through the pantry and the circulars. Thanks be to God that I have a safe place to store my food, and the luxury of time to sit and ponder recipes.

I think the real challenge will be in two weeks, when I restock!


What I spent: $36.15 on food (plus $6.25 on diapers. 30 diapers for the week? BWAH HA HA HA! Seriously, we'll be working on potty training this week!) I left some room to buy milk, oranges, and anything else that might crop up.

What I got:
7# onions, large bunch kale, 5# russet potatoes, 5# Yukon gold potatoes, 5# carrots (again. We really do eat 5# of carrots a week!), 6 0z. fresh blueberries (pregnant mama with gestational diabetes can't drink juice to get her fruit.)

42 oz. quick oats, balsamic vinegar, 1# dried black eyed peas, 2 bottles Ken's Salad dressing (paid 49¢ each for them, and they are one of the few brands that do not have MSG or artificial colors), 2 jars Pace picante (paid 76¢ for them), 2 cans Rotel (40¢ each), 100 corn tortillas.

1# cheese, 5 dozen eggs, 3# ground chuck, 24 oz. Green Giant Veggie Steamers (free after coupon).

What we'll be eating (no price breakdowns. The thought of doing fourteen of them was overwhelming. Plus, this post is already long.)
Sunday Jan 25: Baked penne with spaghetti sauce (noodles in pantry, gallon bag of meat sauce leftover from my giant vat of sauce last week.)

Monday Jan 26: Ham bone soup (which we didn't have last Monday, as my pan of lasagna was so filling it lasted for two meals!) (Which means ham bone is still in the freezer. And husband dear informed me that black eyed peas would be way better than split peas).

Tuesday Jan 27: Bangers and mash. Okay, it's really bratwurst with chunky kale/potato puree and canned green beans.

Wed, Jan 28: Beef stir fry with frozen veggies (those free Veggie Steamers) and sprouts.

Thur Jan 29: Lentil Soup, rolls

Fri Jan 30: Bean tostadas (with that salsa. Is that a vegetable?), corn/Rotel salad.

Sat, Jan 31: Birthday celebration for Miss E! She wanted hamburgers (that's why I bought the ground chuck). Hamburgers, brats, potato salad, chocolate cake with chocolate frosting, popcorn, and spinach. Yeah, she got to pick the menu. I forced the potato salad on her, though. She really loves spinach, believe it or not.


Sun, Feb 1: Turkey, stuffing, broccoli and cauliflower blend (I bought an extra turkey at Christmas because they were so cheap! $2.50 for a 12# bird!)

Mon, Feb 2: Chili with red beans, cornbread

Tues, Feb 3: Turkey tetrazzini with broccoli

Wed, Feb 4: Pork chops, spaetzle or latkes, sweet and sour cabbage (Doh! Forgot to buy cabbage.)

Thurs, Feb 5: Beef and barley soup

Fri, Feb 6: I lied. I only planned 12 meals. Payday! Goin' to the store!
A word about fruits and veggies:
We eat tons of fresh fruit and fresh veggies. The kids really did eat the kale, turnips, yams, hominy, eggplant, zucchini, and did I mention we eat our way through 5# of carrots a week? However, it was simply not in the budget this week. I made a list of fruit/veggie snacks to make sure they get what they need, nutritionally. But I'm paranoid about things like that, so they'll probably be getting one of Mr R's multivitamins for the next two weeks, too.

From my stash of cans and pantry staples:
Pineapple rings (frozen because it's good that way)
Pineapple juice - I have 4 cans!
oranges (we have a few left)
pumpkin bread
pineapple yogurt (can of crushed pineapple in pantry, plain yogurt, honey)
Split pea soup (a lunch standard around here)
Spaghettios (w/ tomato paste and nutritional yeast for "cheesy" flavor. I know. It sounds totally gross, but the kids like it. Or maybe they're just used to it.)
Sprouts - so easy to make, cheap way to get fresh green veggies.
Two mystery cans that Baby X peeled the labels off. Don't know what they are (I suspect crowder peas) but we'll eat 'em!

From my fridge and freezer:
Apple juice (3 cans)
Lemonade (with lemon juice and pulp in them, 2 cans)
Pumpkin soup for lunch this week
Banana muffins (frozen overripe bananas)
Smoothies (bag of frozen fruit I bought last week, yogurt)
Carrots, the ever popular snack

Kid in the Kitchen picture is Mr S, making brownies to celebrate the feast day of his patron saint. And Miss C enjoying a brownie. Because my family reads here.


Are you a frugal foodie? Leave your link here and make sure to link back!

Labels: C, cooking, E, Food Stamp Challenge, Frugal, Frugal Foodie, health, Journey to Simplicity, Kids in the Kitchen, S

One popular dish at our house is Salad Bar Night. (Yes, that's the remains of that gallon of coleslaw in the corner!). I try to put out a great variety of veggies, and supplement with protein rich hard boiled eggs, chick peas, white beans, or any leftover meat we have on hand.

All those veggies can get expensive. I'm going to try a garden this year!

We're starting small. I am having a baby in June, after all, and I've never gardened in this zone (9a for us.)

We're using the Square Foot Gardening method.

Husband dear built a bed. He did this last October when he was rebuilding the fence from Ike.


Lay down a weed barrier. Cardboard and newspaper, in our case.
(Dang, lady, mow that grass!)


Got some dirt. The bed is 2x12, and 6" deep, so we needed 12 cubic feet.
7 bags of humus: $9.50
2 bags of Peat Moss: $20.00
1 shovel - $10
2 purple sparkle shoes to make sure the edges are straight - priceless.


Mix and fill. I couldn't find the vermiculite or plain Perlite that SFG recommends, so we just mixed humus and peat moss.

Drive your husband crazy by taking his picture while he tries to work, insisting he move so the shadows don't get in the way.


Next steps: Lay out the grid, plan the crop layout, direct sow, and water.


I have a black thumb. Wish me luck!

Labels: black thumb, cooking, Frugal, Journey to Simplicity

My family (okay, it was all me, and the rest were along for the ride) tried a food stamp challenge in October of 2008. We came in under budget - for many reasons.

I am starting what I'm calling a Journey to Simplicity in 2009. I want to make room for the things that matter. Part of that journey is simplifying our food and reducing our expenditures.

The fact that we need to buy a new (to us) Mamamobile that can fit 10+ people *might* have something to do with it, too...

I've seen varying amounts for the Food Stamp Challenge. Onedollardietproject allots $1 per person per day. The famous Oregon Governor experiment allotted $3 per person per day (all amounts are for food only).

I'm estimating for a family of 10 -since I'm pregnant. One dollar would be $70 a week. $3 per person per day would be $210 per week.

My goal falls in the middle. $2 per person, per day. I think I will be able to purchase organic milk, and plenty of fresh seasonal produce for $140 a week.

I didn't buy organic milk in December, but it is something I want to start doing on a regular basis. I don't think you have to buy everything organic, but milk + young children will have a big impact on health, IMO. Do your own research and do what's right for you.

Along the same theme, I know I posted about my meat dilemma previously. I am still undecided. There are butchers around, but I don't speak fluent enough Spanish to ascertain where their meat comes from. I've been kicking around the idea of ordering half a cow - my sister's in-laws do every year - but we don't have an upright freezer right now. We shall see how a quest for better meat pans out over the next year.

My first trip actually occurred on Dec. 31, 2008 - but the food will be consumed in 2009 so I thought it would be a good starting point. I'll do my darnedest to keep track of expenditures month to month. We continually restock our pantry and although I will be using things I already have (milk, rice, etc.) I'm not going to nitpick. I'll have to buy more and then those items will appear in our expenses.

I have a few freezer and fridge items on hand that will be used up soon, as well. I have a 10 lb. turkey, 4 or 5 bags of frozen veggies, two eggplants and a head of cabbage. As well as the ever-present gallons of milk and sticks of butter.

Mindfulness is the first step to simplicity, and I think publicly posting our food consumption will definitely make me more mindful! I hope it can help my readers, and I'm counting on my readers to help me out, with tips and recipes, too!

Labels: cooking, Food Stamp Challenge, Frugal, homemaking, Journey to Simplicity

Much has been made of the housing bubble, how it broke, and what's going to happen next.

In a nutshell:

Banks have assets and liabilities. On their balance sheet, mortgages are assets (they bring money in through interest payments, fees, etc.) and deposits by customers are liabilities (they have to give the money back).

So many people have defaulted on their mortgages, that the amount of bank owned property has skyrocketed. The banks made loans on inflated property values. Properties that the bank has on their books as a $250,000 loan (a $250k asset) is now actually worth maybe $175k, what someone will pay for it. However, the banks cannot sell these properties at such a loss. So they keep them on the books as a "real property" asset, for $250k even though the asset is not worth that amount of money. Someone called it "Enron style accounting".

If the banks were to adjust their books to reflect the actual value of their assets, they would be bankrupt. Their liabilities would far outweigh the assets.

Some analysts are predicting a second wave of mortgage defaults in the next year as a few other special types of loans, such as the Option-A, come due and go into default.

How does this affect me?

We do not have a mortgage. We rent.

I am still worried, though. Our landlords are not professional property developers. Rather, it is a family that outgrew this house, and moved into a larger one. Later, the husband got transferred out of state. Instead of selling the two homes here in Texas, they kept them as rental properties.

If they default on their mortgage, I will be the last to know. I have a friend who went through this scenario in August. Her landlord was foreclosed on, and she didn't find out until the sheriff arrived to serve an eviction notice - three days after she had paid that month's rent. She had 10 days to pack up, find a new home, and move.

My landlords are very nice, upstanding citizens, and are a military family. I do not think they would try to rip us off. Then again, I don't know what their credit rating is. I don't know the terms of their loan. I can't control whether there will be a layoff or illness affecting their income.

However, I still think it would be prudent to plan for a "just in case". Set money aside for a new deposit, should we need one. Money to move quickly. Cash for a motel. (Although we ran into a motel problem when we first moved here - occupancy restrictions. I couldn't even get a quote for a family with more than four children!)

Beefing up the savings is all part of the new economy, especially if your shelter is at the mercy of someone else's payment.

Labels: Frugal, In The News, Journey to Simplicity

(I know the 7 Quick Takes should be, ya know, quick takes; but as I was typing this up and came out with 7 reflections, I couldn't resist!)

I tried the Food Stamp Challenge in October, and was surprised at the results. We used less than half our "allotment", spending just under $500 for the month.

However, I've been thinking about this challenge. It's easy to play at poverty. For many, being frugal is a means to an end, and it can be entertaining, but it is not a matter of survival. If one scores a great deal at CVS, it's wonderful; but for most of us in the Mommy Blogosphere, if we can't get shampoo for free, we still have the means to purchase it.

We might, out of necessity, go without luxuries like packaged chicken broth, but it's never really a question of whether we'll eat. It's more a question of what we'll eat. We choose to eat beans instead of steak to achieve a goal - staying at home with the kids, paying off the car, or even just to beef up our retirement savings. If we choose the steak, we might have a goal setback but it is not a catastrophe.

We might have a tight grocery budget, but generally a dime increase in a bag of flour will not break us. Our children will still eat. If eggs are too expensive, we have the means and the knowledge to buy something else. If milk prices rise too high, we will hop on the Internet and research the McDougall diet or buy calcium fortified orange juice or look up and calculate the calcium requirements for the members of our family. We have education, knowledge, and resources to overcome many challenges.

It's easy to say, "Well, I used only half of what the government would give me. It's not that hard." But to do so denies the reality of the situation many food stamp recipients are in.

I am not trying to stereotype anyone; the following broad generalities are based on my personal experience with friends and acquaintance who were food stamp recipients coupled with reading various reports and human interest stories published by the papers.

Here's why what was easy for me and an intellectual challenge to stretch my paradigms and budget may not be so simple for others.

1. I was able to price shop. I have three major grocery stores, a Big Lots, a dollar store, AND a Super Wal-Mart all within a quarter mile of my house. I have walked to the grocery store before!

Reality: Many people live in very urbanized areas, where grocery stores are few and far between. Often, the nearest place to buy food has expensive, convenience store prices and poor selection, especially for fresh produce.


2. I was able to make many things from scratch. I am a stay at home, homeschooling mom. Baking bread, for example, is not an insurmountable obstacle.

Reality: Many food stamp recipients are "working poor". They work a full time job, maybe two. Then they must pick up their children, supervise homework, perhaps go to the laundrymat on their days off, and fit making budget meals into the limited evening hours, after they are exhausted from the day's work. For a woman working double shifts, having a three hour window of time in the kitchen for mixing, rising, and shaping loaves could be impossible.


3. I have reliable transportation. It was not difficult for me to stock up on a 10 lb. turkey for $4 and a 6 lb. roast plus buy regular groceries and frozen foods.

Reality: Many food stamp recipients do not have cars; they rely on public transportation or pay exorbitant fees for taxis. If they can't carry it in their arms, they can't bring it home. They might have children tagging along, as well. Would you carry a 10 lb. turkey on a bus, if you also had your four year old along as well as your other necessary groceries?


4. I am part of a team that includes another adult. When I am busy or overwhelmed or tired, there is a backup. If I am tied up making yogurt or kneading bread or cooking eggs, and the kids need something, there is usually another adult around (at least at dinnertime) to tend to them. I don't usually have to leave the kitchen or risk burning our meal to bandage a scrape or change a diaper.

Reality: Many food stamp recipients are single parents, or work split shifts so there is only one parent at home. If a situation arises that needs parental intervention, including a sick child, a neighborhood skirmish, a childhood injury, that parent must leave the food (possibly to ruin). Also, everything is on one person, making it more difficult to come up with creative meal ideas or even make many things from scratch.


5. I have easy and quick access to the Internet. Thousands of recipes are a click away; I can cruise over to Hillbilly Housewife and print out a $45 dollar menu and grocery list. I can read frugal blogs and nutrition websites. I can plan to make the most of my money. I can read, I can write, and I can generally tell which foods are not a good buy.

Reality: Many food stamp recipients do not have daily access to the web. If they can get to a library (see the above paragraph on transportation) they can find cookbooks or access the Web - but it takes time and familiarity to know where to look. There are still illiterate people in America; many libraries probably don't carry The Tightwad Gazette in Spanish or Russian or Swahili.


6. I have many modern conveniences. I have a reliably working refrigerator and freezer; I don't worry that my meat won't keep or the milk will spoil. I have a large pantry to store food bought in bulk. I have an oven, a stove, a microwave, and a crockpot to cook a variety of dishes in a variety of ways; I have a blender, an electric mixer, and a drawer full of gadgets and utensils designed to make cooking easy and enjoyable.

Reality: Many people do without even a basic kitchen. At one point, my family lived in a weekly motel. Most of the other "residents" did not speak English; many were migrant workers. We paid $10 a week extra for a mini fridge, and I cooked in a crockpot plugged in on top of the dresser. We washed our dishes in the bathtub. We also were fortunate enough to own a microwave. My pantry consisted of a Rubbermaid tub; my kitchen tools were a knife, a vegetable peeler, a cutting board, and a can opener.

We kept lunch meat and leftovers for husband dear's lunch in the fridge; every night I would make a quart of powdered milk for the children because that was all the fridge would hold. I had transportation; I visited the grocery almost every night for the next evening's meat and meals (we could only hold about a pound of meat of that fridge, I could not buy ahead.) However, I could not cook many frugal staples - like rice or pasta. I could make beans in the crockpot, but I couldn't make cornbread to go with it. I couldn't buy frozen vegetables or keep homemade, cheap chicken broth on hand. Everything had to be canned or packages and shelf stable (adding to cost.)


7. I had the luxury of failure. One of my meals did not turn out. (Well, it did eventually, but took much longer to cook than anticipated and wasn't done until 8:30 pm!) What did we do? Bought a rotisserie chicken.

Reality: Food stamps cannot be used at fast food restaurants. If a meal is ruined, it still must be eaten or the family must go hungry. This is exacerbated by the time constraints; if one cooks almost everything from scratch to stay under budget, and nothing is prepared, then there is nothing to eat (at that time.) It is a luxury to run for fried chicken or to even have the time, resources, and knowledge to prepare and freeze a casserole ahead.

*** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** *** ***

My random musings on our economic crisis have made me think that many people are going to embark on a path to frugality. Even people who may have retired early and are living "off the interest" are going to be slashing costs or looking for work as the Fed lowered their interest rate to an obscenely low amount. Nobody is making anything off interest, now!

I hope they practice frugality before it is a necessity, and make their mistakes while they have the luxury of recovering.

Labels: cooking, Food Stamp Challenge, Frugal, Journey to Simplicity