The ingredients are as follows:

• Tortilla chips
• Chili
• Salad*
• Salsa
• Ranch Dressing

 

* I like to use the prepped salad mixes to save time as it doesn’t cost much more than buying fresh produce and saves preparation time.

Additional optional ingredients for a fancier (but less fast and frugal) version:

• Taco meat instead of chili (made with taco spice – i.e. McCormick’s)
• Sour Cream
• Guacamole
• Olives
• Jalapeños
• Shredded Cheese

Preparation

1. Put a layer of Tortilla Chips on the bottom of the plate
2. Add Chili on top of the Chips
3. Microwave for 1 minute to heat up Chili (You can also heat the chili on the stove but it would create another dish to wash.)
4. Add Salad on top of Chili
5. Drizzle Salsa and Ranch Dressing on top
6. Any additional toppings as desired. I don’t like cheese and sour cream so I use Ranch Dressing, but you can use whatever you like.

Done!

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Pizza
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl
• Our Financial Lent: Giving up Chocolate and Ice Cream for a Month to Save $14

Originally posted 2008-03-15 20:17:50.

We have always loved noodles: Asian noodles, pasta noodles, rice noodles, egg noodles, noodles in soup, fried noodles, noodles in sauces, and so forth. Growing up, rice was a staple, but noodles were always a treat. And they are usually inexpensive at about a dollar a pack and cook in a few minutes.

But even if something is already affordable, it never hurts to make it cost less. With wheat flour priced at $0.25 per pound at our local grocery store, the cost of making a serving of noodles is incalculably small. Not only is it easy and inexpensive to make our own noodles, but they are so good that we can eat them every day for weeks at a time.

To make your your own noodles, you don’t even need to have a pasta maker or other machine (unless you are feeding an unusually large group of people). You can simply roll out dough with a rolling pin and chop it into strips with a knife (we prefer a cleaver for this job). Not only is it cheaper to make your own noodles, but fresh noodles take less time to cook than dried noodles and so cuts utility costs. Homemade noodles are also less fattening than ramen and many store-bought kinds of noodles.

How to Make Homemade Noodles

Here’s how to make homemade noodles. It is not an exact science, you sort of get a feel for what you like after you make it once or twice.

1. Warm some water in the microwave until almost hot (about 1/2 cup to 1 cup for a medium to large batch)

2. In a bowl, mix a few cups of flour with a dash of salt

3. Stir in the warm water

4. Stir in additional flour one cup at a time until dough no longer sticks to side of bowl

5. Divide dough into manageable sections, place one ball on a well-floured cutting board, sprinkle flour on top, and roll it to the thickness of a pie crust.

6. Using a knife, slice dough into strips

7. Cook in boiling water. These noodles cook really fast (about a minute or less), so don’t wander away.

8. Drain, rinse, and serve.

More Ways to Make Noodles

• You can make them thick or flat, wide or narrow, like udon, or soba, or linguine
• Beat in an egg or two for egg noodles
• Add sugar or other spices and herbs
• Experiment with different kinds of flour such as whole wheat, rice flour or other.
• A dough with more water and less flour will make softer noodles with fewer calories
• Cook several meals worth of noodles and refrigerate
• Uncooked noodles can be tossed in flour and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. If your uncooked noodles stick together in the refrigerator, you need to make a dryer dough or cook them before storing.
• You can also store lumps of dough in the refrigerator and cut out noodles as you need them.

Don’t be discouraged if your noodles are crooked or weird in the beginning. Our first homemade noodles looked so bad that we referred to them as tapeworms. But we love to eat these noodles so much that we are now expert noodle wranglers.

We plan to share the many ways in which we eat noodles at Frugaltroph, including cold noodle recipes for summertime, so check back soon.

Happy noodle making!

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Chilled Noodles With Peanut Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #13

For our very first Frugaltroph article, we decided to feature our new favorite frugal dessert. Whenever we bake a whole cake, it often begins to go stale before we’re halfway through it. Therefore we came up with the idea of Cup-o-Cakes, an easy, time- and money-saving way to prepare personal-sized cakes as a snack for yourself, to enjoy with a friend or everyone at your dinner table.

How to Make Cup-o-Cake

1. Prepare cake mix as directed in an airtight container. If you do not consume a lot of cake, just mix 1/3 of a pack of cake mix with 1 egg and cut the other ingredients (oil and water) to 1/3.
2. Store unused batter in the refrigerator.
3. When you feel like having cake, put a few spoonfuls of batter in a microwaveable cup or mug. Do not fill cups more than 1/2 full because the cake will rise quite a bit.
4. Microwave for about 1 – 1½ minutes or until cake is fully cooked.
5. Top with frosting and sprinkles if desired.
6. Eat or wrap as gift.

Sack/School Lunch: Tup-o-Cake

If you have children or bring your own lunch to work, imagine how nice it would be to have a beautiful, personal sized cake for a snack or dessert. To do this, follow the same directions for Cup-o-Cake, but make it in a small microwave-safe Tupperware or food storage container. Top it with frosting and/or sprinkles to make your children feel special.

For convenience, you can prepare a week’s worth of Tup-o-Cakes on Sunday evening.

Varying Cake Flavors

• Swirl different cake mixes together
• Change frosting colors and flavors
• Mix in chocolate chips
• Top with jam
• Mix in blueberries, mashed bananas and other fruits
• Top with maraschino cherry
• Use brownie instead of cake mix
• Top with instant pudding instead of frosting
• For the health & weight conscious, mix some oats or bran into your batter before cooking
• Layer different colors of cake mixes in your cup or container
• Add vanilla, lemon, almond or other extract in your cake mix

Benefits of Cup-o-Cakes and Tup-o-Cakes

• Saves utilities: eliminates oven preheating and baking
• Saves time: only requires 1 or 2 minutes to cook a cake
• Saves money by buying in “bulk” and using as needed
• Prevents waste from making more than you can consume
• Reduces risk of forgetting and burning a whole cake
• Portion control

Cost of a Cup-o-Cake

We tend to eat small servings and usually use about 2 tablespoons of batter in an 8 oz. cup. With cake mix at $1.00 or $1.50, we estimate the cost of each serving to be around $0.20 including the egg, oil and frosting.

Gift Ideas

A Cup-o-Cake makes a great gift for any occasion.

• Present it to a friend or co-worker on his/her birthday.
• If giving a mug as a gift, you could prepare a Cup-o-Cake in the new mug as part of the gift.
• Add candles for a birthday.
• For coffee lovers, make a coffee flavored cake.
• Wrap the Cup-o-Cake in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

Family Member’s Birthday

On your child or spouse’s birthday, prepare a Tup-0-Cake with his/her lunch. Put pretty frosting on it, or write Happy Birthday in frosting or candy letters, include a candle or put a bow on the Tupperware.

Be creative and have fun.

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Basics for the Young, Single and Frugal
• Introducing Frugaltroph
• Make It Do: Frugal Forever
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs

 

Yakisoba Ingredients

• 1 pack of Ramen Noodles (Maruchan, Top Ramen, etc.) – but we won’t be using the soup base powder
• Cabbage – chopped
• 1/2 an Onion – cut in slivers
  
• Oil
• Soy Sauce
• Worcestershire Sauce
• Sugar

Ramen noodles are about $0.12-$0.15 a pack, and as low as $0.08 a pack on sale, cabbage is one of the more economical vegetables at around $0.69/lb. where we live, as is onion which you can buy in bulk bags for about $2.00. This dish is also really good with sliced mushrooms added in, but alas, I used up all the mushrooms on yesterday’s breakfast of mushroom & onion omelet scrambled eggs.

A note before we begin: we never measure when we cook. We just sort of go by how much we feel like eating. We usually like to use a lot of cabbage because it shrinks when it cooks, and we sort of season it to taste. If you like it saltier, add more soy sauce; tangier, more Worcestershire; and sweeter, more sugar.

But anyways, to business.

Yakisoba Preparation

Step 1: Cook the ramen as instructed on the package but leave out the soup base powder. I usually set the water to boil when I start chopping the vegetables, put in the noodles when I start stir-frying (Step 2), and it’s usually ready at the same time as the vegetables. Be careful not to overcook the noodles; you can tell they’re ready when they start to look translucent.

Step 2: Pour oil into a frying pan or wok, and stir-fry the cabbage and onion until partially cooked

Step 3: Add soy sauce, Worchestershire sauce and sugar to the vegetables. You should use enough to flavor both the vegetables and the noodles.

Step 4: Add the cooked ramen noodles to the vegetables and stir it around till the noodles are thoroughly coated in the sauce and mixed in with the vegetables.

Et Voilà! Bon Appetit!

Related posts:

• Welcome MSN Money Central Smart Spending Readers!
• Our Financial Lent: Giving up Chocolate and Ice Cream for a Month to Save $14
• Pecuniarities (Our Fourpence Worth) 1 Year Anniversary
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl

Ingredients

• Steamed Rice – white or brown (your choice)
• Steamed Vegetables — as many or few as desired — below are a few suggestions:
  • Broccoli
  • Cabbage
  • Onions
  • Carrots
  • Mushrooms
  • Zucchini
  • Green Onions
• Teriyaki Sauce made with:
  • Soy Sauce
  • Water
  • Sugar or honey
  • Additional optional flavoring for the sauce:
    • Ginger (we often use powder)
    • Rice Wine

Preparation

1. Cook the rice
2. Steam or microwave the vegetables
3. To make the sauce:
   1. Heat the Soy Sauce in a saucepan on the stove with low heat
   2. Add a little water
   3. Add sugar to taste (as sweet as you like)
   4. Optional flavoring (ginger flavoring or rice wine) if desired
4. Serve:
   1. Put steamed rice in a bowl
   2. A layer of vegetables on top
   3. (If using meat add it here.)
   4. Ladle the sauce over both. Using a spoon or small ladle and adding the sauce in small increments is recommended as soy sauce can be quite salty.

That’s it. Enjoy.

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Homemade Noodles: a Surprisingly Delicious and Versatile Frugal Food
• Our Financial Lent: Giving up Chocolate and Ice Cream for a Month to Save $14
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Taco Salad

Originally posted 2008-03-01 00:08:57.

 

Ingredients

• Noodles – can be Ramen, Udon or even better Somen from the Asian food section of the grocery store
• Cucumbers (Julienne)
• Cut corn, if desired

Peanut Sauce Ingredients

• Chunky peanut butter
• Vinegar
• Sugar
• Water

Optional ingredients

• Boiled, shredded chicken or other meat
• Sesame oil in the sauce or rubbed on the noodles
• Sesame seeds to sprinkle on top of complete dish

Preparation Directions

1. Cook and drain noodles.
2. Chill the noodles by
   1. Rinsing in cold water, or
   2. Rubbing sesame oil on noodles and refrigerating.
3. Mix the sauce
   1. Warm up the peanut butter (on stove or for 20 seconds in microwave.)
   2. Mix vinegar, sugar and a little water to preferred taste – should have a sweet & sour flavor.
   3. Chill if desired.
4. Layer chilled noodles on bottom of plate.
5. Layer cucumbers and corn over noodles.
6. Pour peanut sauce over all.
7. Optional: Sprinkle sesame seeds on top.

That’s it. Bon appetit!

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl
• Our Financial Lent: Giving up Chocolate and Ice Cream for a Month to Save $14

Originally posted 2008-03-23 09:01:09.

Ingredients:

• Any frozen cheese pizza (store brand or name brand on sale) from the grocery store. Frozen cheese pizzas can be had for as little as $2.00 per pizza when on sale. And we have found store brand pizzas (Stater Bros in our case) to be quite good.
• Any toppings you desire – olives, mushrooms, pineapple, mandarin oranges, ham or Canadian bacon, spinach, garlic, onion, etc. One can or package of toppings can make you several pizzas, so the cost per meal is divided into the number of meals.

Directions:

1. Open frozen pizza and preheat oven as directed
2. Put your desired toppings on the pizza. We recommend moderation with toppings.
3. Bake in oven

Homemade Pizza Tips:

• If using fresh vegetables, do not over-dress, as they can produce excess moisture and cause the crust to not fully bake.
• Mushrooms are very moist toppings and are best sliced thin and used in moderation.
• Always drain canned vegetables and fruits, and squeeze juice out of pineapple chunks.
• Garlic is best if added first on top of the cheese and under the other toppings. This allows the garlic flavor to seep into the cheese while baking and prevent burning.
• A little sprinkle of oregano, basil or cilantro on the cheese and under the toppings also adds a nice subtle flavor.
• A little Parmesan cheese sprinkled on top in the last few minutes can add a desirable flavor.
• If everyone likes different toppings, each person can top his/her own section of pizza.

This method is less expensive than buying a frozen pizza with toppings, as cheese pizzas are often much cheaper, and your own purchased toppings will last you through several more pizzas. It may or may not be less expensive than making your own crust (I haven’t calculated), but it is definitely faster, easier, tastes good and shouldn’t cost you more than $3-4 for one pizza.

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Taco Salad
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Fast and Frugal Recipe: Mediterranean Pizza Toast
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl

Originally posted 2008-03-31 14:33:44.

Chilled noodles make nice cool meals for summer days but we also love to eat them in the winter. You can use any type of asian noodles and even angel hair pasta to make chilled noodles. They are espeicially good with the  homemade noodles we blogged about previously.

To prepare the noodles, simply cook as required for the type of noodle you use and rinse in cold or iced water.

To made our Spinach and garlic sauce you will need (for 1 serving):

• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 -2 tbsp Seasoned rice vinegar (or rice vinegar, salt, and sugar)
• 1/2 tsp Chili oil
• Raw  garlic (Diced)
• About 1/4 cup chopped spinach (thawed)

Mix the above ingredients and adjust to taste. Toss in the noodles, add a dash of Furikake (sesame seeds and dried seaweed) and you are ready to eat.

You might add extra sugar if the sauce is too sour.  We like Chu Chow Chili Oil best, but you can substitute with your favorite hot sauce or make your own chili oil by pan frying or soaking chili peppers with garlic.

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Chilled Noodles With Peanut Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl
• Homemade Noodles: a Surprisingly Delicious and Versatile Frugal Food

"Sie essen, sie trinken und bezahlen nicht gern." They like to eat, drink and don't like to pay. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Image by Madoline Hatter

We are happy to announce the start of Frugaltroph, a frugal cooking column which we have been planning for some time. From high school through college and beyond, the two of us have been cooking for ourselves and our pets. Our diet has been healthy, frugal, convenient, and–most importantly–full of little luxuries. We have invented not a few recipes, made easy adaptions of traditional and ethnic dishes, and would like to begin sharing our experience with our readers  on a weekly basis.

One of the areas Frugaltroph will focus upon is school lunches for for kids. While growing up, the lunches our mother packed for us were the envy of our friends. Now that we are adults, we are aware that most people have very little time to prepare sack lunches five days a week and make each one seem like a treat or special affair. We have some good ideas to make pampering your kids (or yourself) easier.

We will also post recipes for many ethnic (especially Asian) foods, diet foods, easy family meals and snacks, cold summertime meals, ways to make instant or processed foods healthier and much more.

A brief explanation of our project title and motto

In biology, the term “-troph” is combined with another word to describe a way of feeding (e.g. autotroph, heterotroph). Therefore, “frugaltroph” is our way of saying “Frugal Feeding” or the diet of Homo frugalis.

Our motto “Sie essen, sie trinken, und bezahlen nicht gern” is a line from Epiphanias, a humorous poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe which is one of our favorite songs (music by  Hugo Wolf). In English, it says “They eat, they drink, and do not like to pay.” Our three pigs, represent the three kings of the poem.

We currently plan to do one cooking project a week: to make and photograph the process and results, and write up a post with ingredients and instructions which will be posted here and also at the Frugaltroph site, which is there for readers who are only interested in food. Check back soon for our first Frugaltroph column, and visit Frugaltroph.com to see the new site.

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Cup-o-Cakes & Tup-o-Cakes: Easy, Frugal Portable Desserts
• Homemade Noodles: a Surprisingly Delicious and Versatile Frugal Food
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Yes, Dogs Can Catch Colds … and it’s Messy

"Sie essen, sie trinken und bezahlen nicht gern. They like to eat, drink and don't like to pay." — Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Image by Madoline Hatter

Frugaltroph is a blog about frugal cooking containing recipes, money saving tips, and simplified versions of traditional dishes. We, Penelope Pince and Madoline Hatter, consider good dining an important part of life, but not so important as to take up a major portion of our time and finances. We have been cooking since our teens and would like to share our experience and a few of our own recipes and methods.

We plan to write on subjects such as school lunches for kids, ethnic foods, holidays an special occasions, creative presentations, and foods of various colors.

A brief explanation of our project title and motto

In biology, the term “-troph” is combined with another word to describe a way of feeding (e.g. autotroph, heterotroph). Therefore, “frugaltroph” is our way of saying “Frugal Feeding” or the diet of Homo frugalis.

Our motto “Sie essen, sie trinken, und bezahlen nicht gern” is a line from Epiphanias, a humorous poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe which is one of our favorite songs (music by Hugo Wolf). In English, it says “They eat, they drink, and do not like to pay.” Our three pigs, represent the three kings of the poem.

We currently plan to do one cooking project a week: to make and photograph the process and results, and write up a post with ingredients and instructions which will be posted here and also at the Pecuniarities site, our frugal lifestyle blog. Check back soon for our first Frugaltroph column.

©2009 Frugaltroph. All Rights Reserved.

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This is a great recipe to have kids make on their own. Each member of the family can prepare his/her pizza toast as desired.

Following are 3 versions of our Mediterraean Pizza Toast recipe. As the Mediterranean flavor may not be palatable to some younger children, check out the alternative topping suggestions and combinations farther down.

Mediterranean Pizza Toast

Ingredients

• Wheat bread
• Olive Oil
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Feta Cheese
• Diced Roma Tomatoes
• Spinach
• Basil
• Garlic (fresh or powder)

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375° F
2. Spread a teaspoon of olive oil on a slice of bread
3. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons mozzarella cheese over the surface
4. Spread minced garlic or sprinkle garlic powder over mozzarella
5. Spread out diced tomatoes and spinach
6. Crumble feta cheese over top
7. Sprinkle basil on top
8. Toast in oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes (or until cheese is brown)

Mushroom and Tomato Pizza Toast

Ingredients

• Wheat Bread
• Olive Oil
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Sliced Mushrooms
• Diced Roma Tomatoes
• Salt
• Basil
• Optional: Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375° F
2. Spread a teaspoon of olive oil on a slice of bread
3. Sprinkle 3 teaspoons mozzarella cheese over the surface
4. Sprinkle basil on cheese
5. Layer thinly sliced mushrooms over cheese
6. Place diced tomato over mushrooms
7. Sprinkle 1 or 2 teaspoons of mozzarella cheese over toppings
8. Optional: Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over toppings
9. Toast in oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes (or until cheese is brown)

Garlic and Cheese Pizza Toast

Ingredients

• Wheat Bread
• Olive Oil
• Mozzarella Cheese
• Feta Cheese (Crumbled)
• Basil
• Rosemary
• Fresh Minced Garlic
• Optional: Parmesan Cheese

Preparation Instructions

1. Preheat oven or toaster oven to 375° F
2. Spread a teaspoon of olive oil on a slice of bread
3. Sprinkle 2 teaspoons mozzarella cheese over the surface
4. Crumble feta cheese over mozzarella
5. Spread minced garlic over the cheese
6. Sprinkle basil and rosemary over garlic and cheese
7. Optional: Sprinkle Parmesan cheese over toppings
8. Toast in oven or toaster oven for about 10 minutes (or until cheese is brown)

Alternative Ingredients

As mentioned above, pizza toast can be made any way you like. Here are a few other ways and topping combinations:

• Pasta, Pizza, Alfredo or Tomato Aauce instead of Olive Oil
• Shredded Cheddar Cheese in place of Feta
• Topping Combination: Olives, Mushrooms, Pepperoni and Sausage
• Topping Combination: Bell Peppers, Onions and Mushrooms
• Topping Combination: Ham/Canadian Bacon, Pineapple and Mandarin Oranges
• Topping Combination: Pepperoni, Mushrooms and Onion
• Topping Combination: Plain Cheese with Basil and Oregano

Get creative, have fun and bon appetit!

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Pizza
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #7
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Our Financial Lent: Giving up Chocolate and Ice Cream for a Month to Save $14

Ingredients

• Uncooked spaghetti (or other preferred pasta such as macaroni)
• Condensed tomato soup (Campbell’s or similar store brand
• 1 hot dog
• About 1 teaspoon sugar
• Optional: chopped onion (very yummy)

Preparation Directions

1. Slice hot dog into about 15 pieces
2. Cook spaghetti noodles until almost done
3. Pour out the water
4. Add tomato soup (or pasta sauce) into the pot with the noodles
5. (Add a little water to dilute the condensed tomato soup)
6. Stir in sugar
7. Toss hot dogs into the soup/sauce
8. Simmer until noodles are done and sauce is thickened.
9. When preparing for children, be sure to let cool sufficiently beforehand. Pasta is extremely hot right after cooking.

Pasta sauce can also be used in place of tomato soup.

Eat up!

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Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Our Financial Lent: Giving up Chocolate and Ice Cream for a Month to Save $14
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Taco Salad
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Pizza

As for actual gifts, we believe most mothers would appreciate something you made or put some thought and effort into. Below are some suggestions for Mother’s Day gifts. Ideally, you would do some of these things all year round, but Mother’s Day is a good time for them too. Not all of these ideas will suit everyone, but hopefully some of these will work for you and your mother, grandmother, great-grandmother, wife, or any other maternal figure in your life.

Note: Not all of these suggestions are really “frugal” as in “cheap”, but they are frugal in that they are ideas for prudent, useful and practical, but still meaningful gifts that show you’ve put thought and effort into it and, therefore less likely to go to waste as many commercial Mother’s Day gifts tend to.

Hobby Gift Baskets

A few suggestions for baskets you can assemble. You can often find nice baskets at dollar stores or at thrift stores for a very low price. Many of the items recommended in the following list (i.e. books and music) can be purchase used and still in good condition. Used items often clean up nicely with a bit of rubbing alcohol and a paper towel. And even purchased new, these items still make useful gifts with lasting benefits.

• For the Literary Mom
  If she likes to read, scour used books stores and library sales for books she would like (mysteries, vintage books, classics, etc. – paperbacks suggested) and assemble a book basket. You could even include a few snacks to enjoy while she reads (cookies, chocolates, cocoa, tea or coffee mix).
• For the Crafty Mom
  A basket of yarns, fabrics, sewing, knitting or crochet supplies. You could pick out a craft instructions book, find a project she might like and assemble the necessary supplies for that project.
• For the Musical Mom
  CD’s, sheet music, and music books. You might pick a particular theme such as Mozart, Beethoven, Debussy, romantic piano, or Italian opera or music from her youth. For older moms, you might have to include a CD player. For pianist moms make or buy a cushion for the piano bench (the unpadded ones are incredibly hard even for young bodies).
• For Moms with Pets
  Assemble inside a new litter box or pet bed: treats and necessities such as grooming supplies, pet vitamins, hair catching tools, odor control, collars and leashes, training equipment, hair bows, super odor suppressing cat litter, car restraints (seat belts), and/or an obedience class paid for by you.
• For the Gardening Mom
  An assortment of seed packets with flowers, spices, fruits, and vegetables. The frugal mom may save a lot of money growing her own produce. For areas with insect problems, herbs such as lavender may deter bugs from the home. You can also include a book on using herbs for health and beauty and include seeds for the plants described.
• For Culinary Moms
  Collect free recipes online to present on index cards or a handmade book. You might choose recipes based on a theme, such as appetizers, a certain ethnicity, a favorite ingredient, or health benefits. You might wish to include few kitchen gifts like a baking pans, knives, silverware bought on clearance (we got ours for under $5), cheese graters, rolling pins, seeds for herbs or young herb plants. Instead of a basket, you could give a blender filled with fruits and smoothie recipes.
• For the Scrapbooking Mom
  Scrapbook supplies and the promise to provide future memories for her to document. Look for creative scrapbook materials such as pretty paper salvages from greeting cards, gift wrapping paper, and nice packaging from things you buy. Ribbon, beads, lace, small toys, letters of the alphabet cut from magazines, cards, and used books. Doilies and decorative embellishments can be purchased at half price or less after a holiday. Glue and scissors might be useful too.

Home and Garden Help

• Clean her house for her (this is one of those that may not suit all personalities)
• Tidy her garden or yard for her
• Go through her house and look for things that need minor (or major) repairs and maintenance and fix them if you can, or arrange for professional assistance if necessary
• Clean all her windows, inside and out. This is a sure way to brighten a life.
• Check smoke and carbon monoxide detectors and replace batteries if needed. Install a carbon monoxide detector if she doesn’t have one.

Favors and Services

• Make a nice breakfast and clean up afterwards
• Wash her car, vacuum the interior, clean the upholstery and carpet, take it for a tune up and oil change, check and inflate the tires if needed, and preset her favorite radio stations.

Flowers

• Buy some flowers to plant for or with her (small plants and flowers are often available for under $1.00 at garden centers and even drugstores like Rite-Aid)
• Instead of cut flowers, which while nice, are not very frugal because they only last a few days, you could give her a vase for putting flowers from other flower gifters (this way she’ll think of you every time someone else gives her flowers)
• Give attractive artificial flowers that last all year round. You could even fashion them into curtain tiebacks or trim a hat with them (just use hot glue).

Health and Fitness

• If she doesn’t get enough exercise due to weather, time, environmental or other constraints, consider a Pedal Exerciser that she can use while sitting at home – i.e. on the couch while watching TV. (We bought one of these for ourselves when we lived in the Bay Area where it was cold in the winter, and our grandmother took it because she said it was perfect for her situation.)
• Dumbbells in a pretty color. For the non-athletic mom, you might get a pair of 2 lb. dumbbells.
• Make slipcovers for her stationary bike, treadmill, or other exercise equipment.
• Spend the day with your mom, watching DVDs and pedaling or doing some other aerobic exercise.

Pets

While pets are not considered a frugal gift for the giver or recipient, they can bring a host of other benefits that make the cost worthwhile. Pets are especially good for elderly people who live alone and can use the companionship and are capable – physically, mentally and financially – of caring for them. If your mother lives alone and is fond of animals, a nice gift would be to help her adopt a pet. There are thousands of cats and dogs in need of good homes, and studies have shown that pets bring many health benefits, both physical and mental, to their owners including:

• Lower blood pressure
• Lower cholesterol
• Lower stress and anxiety levels
• Fighting depression and loneliness
• Faster recovery after illness
• Overall better health and fewer doctor’s visits

However, don’t surprise her with a pet. Rather, discuss it with her ahead of time and if she likes the idea and is sure that it is a commitment she is capable of taking on, go to a local animal shelter, pet rescue or other pet re-homing organization together and spend some time choosing a suitable pet for her. Be sure the animal you choose is suitable for in various ways:

• Type of Pet
  While both dogs and cats provide companionship, dogs tend to be more interactive and require more attention and maintenance than cats. Cats and dogs are not the only types of pets to be had, however. Birds, mice, gerbils, hamsters, chinchillas and guinea pigs also provide a presence and can help fill the space and quiet of an empty apartment or house.
• Size and Weight
  Make sure the animal is a size and weight that she can handle. If it is a dog, it should be a weight that she can easily control when walking on a leash.
• Age of Pet
  For elderly persons, mature pets are often more suitable, as they do not require as much physical interaction and activity as young animals, and will have reached a more stable mental, social and emotional level.
• Home Environment
  Make sure the animal will be compatible with the living space. Size isn’t necessarily the only factor to consider, but disposition. A small but high energy dog may or may not be suitable for a small living space, and there are older and larger dogs that can live happily and comfortably in smaller living spaces.

There is no end to the benefits and happiness pets can bring people, especially elderly people who live alone, so if you think your mother might be a suitable candidate for pet ownership, here are a few links to websites with more information on pet ownership for the elderly:

• How Pets Help People
• Animals and Your Health: The Benefits of Pet Ownership
• Safe Dog Breeds for Elderly People
• The Pets for the Elderly Foundation
• The Importance of Pets for Elderly People

Again, remember that pet ownership, regardless of the size or type of pet, is a responsibility not to be taken lightly and sprung on your mother without prior research and consultation with her.

These are just a few suggestions. Whatever you choose to do, remember that what your mother will appreciate most of all is the thought and effort put into the gift and not the monetary value of it.

Happy Mother’s Day!

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Under the Weather – Recommended Reading
• Pecuniarities (Our Fourpence Worth) 1 Year Anniversary
• Recent Blog Carnivals (February 2009)
• Frugal, Unique and Meaningful Valentine’s Day Gift & Date Ideas, Plus Budget Tips

I have no trouble with the yarn I purchased for myself; these I keep in resealable plastic bags organized by fiber type. The real trouble is the accumulation of “interesting” yarns which my grandmother—a highly skilled knit and crochet artist—gifted regularly to me as a solution to her own yarn buildup. These yarns come in a larger variety of fibers than I usually buy and range in appearance from extremely beautiful to frightfully gaudy. There is rarely enough of one type of these miscellaneous yarns to make a whole project.

I have now resolved once and for all to reclaim the hours I spend reorganizing yarns for more profitable use. Having just become aware that many people are troubled by yarn accumulation and resort to giving away or donating materials which had cost them money, I would like to share my solution for disposing of yarn without waste.

Convert yarn into useful items

Yes, this is done by knitting or crocheting. You may say that not having time to knit and crochet was the cause of your problems. I do not insist, however, that you make the project you planned when you purchased the yarn. Instead of painstakingly following patterns and counting stitches, easily dispose of your yarn of by forming them into square or rectangular shapes. Knitted or crocheted squares and rectangles can be sewn into charming pillows. These pillows may be plain or trimmed with lace crocheted from more of your extra yarn. Crocheted squares make very charming blankets, large or small, for yourself, children, or pets.

It is logical to use one type of yarn for one project, but I did make one blanket from an incredible hodgepodge of my grandmother’s old yarn including silk, wool, natural & synthetic fibers of all colors and sizes. I expected the resulting blanket to be quite ugly, but was proven wrong. Each crocheted square has a resemblance to something such as strawberries, owl feathers, Japanese kimono fabric, etc. The whole is unified by a white border and is only slightly lumpy due to the combinations of so many types of fibers and has been machine washed and dried without warping or shrinking. This blanket which rid me of a great box of yarn is my favorite throw for reading in the winter.

These easy projects can be done while watching television and made shorter by the use of large crochet hooks or knitting needles. I myself knit and crochet in the evenings while watching a DVD and pedaling an exercise bike. Avoid wasting the money already spent on your yarn and save extra money by making something you would otherwise buy. Some easy rectangular projects are: blankets, pillows, scarves, arm and leg warmers, bags and purses, square pockets or patches for clothing, bed skirt or ruffle, curtain valance.

 

Uses for odd bits of yarn

After you have made useful things out of your yarn, roll the leftovers into neat balls and store them on a basket for miscellaneous use. Some possible uses of yarn remnants are:

• Tie yarn around rolled up paper containing handwritten or typed messages. This is a economical substitute for greeting cards, note cards, and gift tags. Insert a sprig of herb or small flower under the yarn for a special touch. 8.5” x 11” papers look fine, but smaller pieces such as 3” x 4” are prettiest.
• Use yarn instead of ribbon to tie around a present. Two strands in related or contrasting colors look very nice.
• Tie around papers such as computer printouts, research papers, poetry and manuscripts to keep them together.
• Use to secure sets of stationary and envelopes for attractive storage on your desk.
• Bind notes, music, recipes, & scrapbooks by threading yarn through punched holes in paper. I use this method to secure sheet music in manila folders. Paper bound this way can be easily added to, reorganized, or taken out for use. Attractive covers can be printed on card stock.
• Crochet trims such as ruffles, lace, or furry cuffs onto plain sweaters and gloves.
• In crafts such as with plastic canvas which can be purchased for about $0.3o a sheet, creating attractive small storage solutions (see monogrammed suitcases pictured).
• Yarn can often substitute for twine and string.
• Stitched with blunt needle to secure braided hair on your head.
• Hang Christmas ornaments or Easter eggs from ceilings, windows, or other places.
• Use as embellishments: threaded through fabric or baskets, in bows, tie closures for clothing and boxes, curtain tiebacks, decorative stitching.
• Holding some desperate broken thing together.
• Replacement shoe laces?

Related posts:

• Free Printable Templates: Gingham Mini Carrier Bags
• Free Printable Templates: Holiday Snowflake Gift Tags, Treat and Mini Carrier Bags
• The Financial Woes of Wolfgang Amadeus Mozart
• Public Domain Music: Music you already own!
• Frugal, Unique and Meaningful Valentine’s Day Gift & Date Ideas, Plus Budget Tips

Originally posted 2008-02-29 15:55:08.

When I got online today, one of the first things that caught my eye (after “Pringles can designer buried in his work”) on MSN.com was this headline: “Frugalists find bargains in trash,” and of course I couldn’t help but click on it. I thought at first it was just about people digging up some still usable knick knacks or gadgets, but it turns out there are people, called Extreme Consumerists, who actually dumpster dive to set their dinner tables. And these aren’t homeless and very poor people, but people that have full-time jobs, own their homes, and are quite well off.

One woman interviewed about her unique lifestyle says that despite her affluence, she still worries about not having enough money, and by eating out of the dumpster, she can use her money to splurge on things she really wants like a new laptop computer or a pair of nice sneakers. Everything she eats comes out of the dumpster except for milk and butter.

Now, I am all for frugality, but this to me just seems a little too extreme. Having done a brief stint in the food services industry, I am very wary about food safety and sanitation. On our first day at Togo’s (sandwich shop), we were taught that hot food had to be kept at over 170° F and cold foods under 40° F in order to prevent bacterial growth. Also, if you touch anything other than food or sanitized items, you must wash your hands with antibacterial soap in hot water in order to kill bacteria on your hands.

A dumpster filled with food contains more than just [clean] food. Who knows what it has held in the past even if it looks clean. These large metal containers sit in the sun all day incubating bacteria, and even if it has been recently emptied it is still a hotbed of germs.

Dumpster diving for food is something I hope to never have to do. If for some reason I ever ran out of money, I would find other ways to make money to buy food. In my opinion, it’s not worth it to risk getting food poisoning, E. coli or Salmonella (which can cost you a lot more unless you can also dumpster dive for a doctor and medication too) to save a couple of hundred dollars a month.

There’s a reason “Healthy” comes before “Wealthy” in the famous quote by a very wealthy (and wise) American. (Though maybe “Wise” should have come before “Healthy.”)

What do you think? Would you eat out of the dumpster for a new computer or pair of sneakers?

Links mentioned:

• Pringles can designer buried in his work
• Frugalists find bargains in trash

Related posts:

• June 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Festival of Frugality #140: The Frugal Quotes Edition
• Festival of Frugality #152: Affected by Recession Edition
• No Year’s Resolution
• Hosting Festival of Frugality and Money Hacks Carnival Next Week

Originally posted 2008-06-03 14:04:33.

Even though we live at the edge of a growing suburb with new houses springing up around us every year, we sort of think of our house as being in the country. It is still a little isolated and teeming with birds, bugs and lawn-destroying rabbits. And now that summer is coming on, the yard smells like roses and grass (we are actually terrible gardeners, but the roses proved incredibly hardy).

And because we call this country life, we built a country themed shelf for our kitchen with a dairy cow pattern on the sides. The purpose of this shelf is to keep clutter off the counter and store towels and non-perishables in an attractive manner.

The materials for this shelf cost about $10, comprising entirely of leftover lumber, paint, and nails from household projects and repairs. Because large furniture will not fit in our car and shipping is so expensive, we usually opt to building large shelves and cabinets ourselves. The cost of this shelf is even less than the shipping we would have paid had we purchased a similar sized item.

It was lucky for Penelope and me that we attended an unusual private elementary school when we were kids where we were required to learn how to saw and hammer and do carpentry as early as age 7. We have built a lot of unique and pretty furniture with these very basic skills and would like to recommend that fellow frugalites give furniture making a try.

For kitchen storage, we like a country market look. This is easily achieved by lots of wicker baskets, egg baskets, and mini milk crates from the dollar store. Clean, unused trash baskets make nice bins for apples, onions, oranges, and bread. We keep rice and flour in large Christmas popcorn tins which come cheaper than storage containers sold without food.

As for the refrigerator, it looks the way it does, because P. Pince is fond of cleaning my paint brushes there (so as not to waste paint) before they are washed.

Related posts:

• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Affordable Storage Solution: Covering a Cardboard Box to Make a Treasure Chest
• Covering Cardboard Cartons: The Simple Suitcase (Storage Box)
• The Life Stages of a Dish Sponge
• Warm Weather Food Safety Tips

In the past year, propane cost has inflated so much that our bills do not decrease even when we conscientiously use less fuel. So Penelope and I have learned that it is more efficient to heat water in the microwave before using it to cook on the stove or other appliances. Because a microwave oven heats water much faster than other means, we can cut the costs of cooking with our stove, slow cooker, or oven by taking this step.

In cooking rice, for example, we start with microwaved water which comes to a boil in less than a minute, allowing us to turn the stove to low for the remainder of the cooking process. Usually, a large pot of rice takes five to ten minutes to come to a boil–or longer if it contains chicken and vegetables (our dogs’ food).

Our new slow cooker also takes several hours to bring a pot of chicken to a boil. If we had thought to begin with heated water, it would have cost very little to maintain that temperature, whereas heating is the most expensive use of electricity.

A microwave oven works by exciting water molecules to motion and the water produces heat. This is significantly more efficient than other appliances which produce heat and then transfer it to your food by diffusion, losing much energy along the way. Water is especially resistant to temperature change, making heating by diffusion very expensive.

A water molecule has a positive end and a negative end (like a magnet). A microwave is an electromagnetic wave which causes the molecules to turn—like passing a strong magnet over a group of weaker magnets.

While some people have concerns about potential health risks associated with microwave ovens, the levels of radiation emitted by a microwave during operation is rated by the FDA as being safe for humans. It is also a non-ionizing form of radiation which is not associated with cancer risk. Microwaves are also used for wireless internet access, broadcasting, cable TV, and mobile phones. Like television and computer screens, which we all know to emit radiation, I definitely think the benefits of using microwave ovens outweigh the risks.

Some Non-Pecuniary Benefits of Using a Microwave Oven

• Less risks of burns—A microwave oven only heats the food it cooks and not its own parts, so you do not have dangerously hot surfaces to mind during and after cooking. Cookware in the microwave is heated by the food they contain and are not as hot as cookware removed from stove or oven.
• Less risk of food poisoning—A microwave is the fastest means of bringing food temperature from the safe cold zone (below 40˚ F) to the safe hot zone (above 170˚ F). By reducing the time your food spends in the in-between temperature which germs love, you consume less bacterial toxins (which may remain in the food even after the bacteria are killed).
• Less cancer risk—A microwave oven cooks by heating water contained in foods and so does not form carcinogens from charring as cooking on stove or oven.

Safety Reminders

• NEVER EVER cook with the microwave door open. Most ovens don’t allow it, but there may be a rare exception or old model. You might end up cooking yourselves. Make sure your kids know this.
• Never allow small pets near or in the microwave oven.
• Metal utensils in the microwave may cause sparking, changing normal air into harmful gases. Check teabags for metal staples before putting in the microwave. Also Watch out for foil-lined packages and metallic paints on ceramics.
• Beware of excessively heated water and liquids. Overheated contents may explode when surface tension is broken. Always hold microwaved containers of water far from your face (and other people) and drop in your first spoonful of coffee at an arms length. If you think you have heated something too long, let it sit and cool undisturbed in the oven for a minute or two.

Related posts:

• Daylight Saving Time: Turn Your Clocks Forward Today!
• Cup-o-Cakes & Tup-o-Cakes: Easy, Frugal Portable Desserts
• Fast and Frugal Recipe: Mediterranean Pizza Toast
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Pizza
• Financial Lent: A Frugal Fast to See What You Can Live Without

Welcome to the 1st Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights!

I am thrilled to have received such a response from the personal finance blogging community for this first edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Thank you to each of the 68 participants for your submissions; it has been a pleasure to read and include each of your articles.

A little about the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

For those of you who are just hearing about this new carnival, the purpose of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is to showcase content of lasting value from the personal finance and frugality blogosphere. There is no restriction as to the age of the posts submitted so bloggers are free to submit their best and favorites from any part of their archives.

As the priority is lasting value, you will not find items with an “expiration date.” This means, no temporary promotions for businesses, shopping deals or credit card offers. Even if you were to happen upon this carnival 6 months from now, the content would all still be relevant.

More information: About • Schedule • Hosting • Submissions

Giveaway Winners

For Article Submissions	For Hosting Applications
David from MoneyNing	Momma from Momma’s Blog

Pecuniary Art by Madoline Hatter

In our past year of financial blogging, my sister Madoline Hatter, our resident graphic designer and artist, has produced not a few financially-themed pieces for this blog and our CafePress shop. As we have just concluded 2 giveaways of piggy bank art magnets featuring Madoline’s work to kick-off the launch of this new carnival, I have decided to theme this first edition around more of her pecuniary art.

Shameless plug: All of the images you see below are available on numerous types of products at our shop. They make great gifts for those with an interest in finance or frugality, and most are available with and without captions. Click on an image to see more.

Now, without any further ado, allow me to present the first ever Carnival of Pecuniary Delights: The Madoline Hatter Pecuniary Art Edition.

Editor’s Picks

• FIRE Finance from FIRE Finance presents Early Retirement Case Study – Sandy Aldridge and Dale Lugenbehl.
• Kelly from Almost Frugal presents The ABCs of frugality.
• Frugal Dad from Frugal Dad presents Is Frugality The Anti-Stimulus Plan?.
• Linsey Knerl from Wise Bread presents Beware of pretty things: 4 reasons I’m keeping my old ugly stuff.

Feast On Your Savings

Frugality

• Miss Thrifty from Miss Thrifty presents Make Do And Mend: Vogue for the Credit Crunch Bunch.
• Abigail from I Pick Up Pennies presents Are Americans really learning?.
• Lulugal from How I Save Money presents Frugal Frauds Revealed.
• Mike from Four Pillars presents Changing your mind.

Frugal Home and Garden

• Momma from Momma’s Blog presents 9 No Spend Weekend Ideas.
• David from Personal Finance Blog by MoneyNing presents My Virgin DIY Haircut Experience.
• Kate Kashman from The Paycheck Chronicles presents Seven Reasons Why Clutter is Costing Me Money.
• Heather Levin from The Greenest Dollar presents How To Save Money On Laundry Day.
• Leslie from Spilling Buckets presents It’s that time of year again: Gardening Season.

Frugal Kitchen

• Green Panda from Green Panda Treehouse presents Brownbag Your Lunch and Save Money.
• Jenn from Frugal Upstate presents The Making of a Lunch for Princess-Lunchbox Philosophy and Execution.
• Jim L. from The Switch to Riches presents Saving Even MORE on Groceries.
• Smarty from Growing Money presents How I Cut Down On Food Expenses.

Incontinent spending?

Saving on Spending

• Kimberly Palmer from Alpha Consumer presents My Experiment: Asking for a Better Deal.
• RC from Think Your Way To Wealth presents Negotiating a Deal and Tips on Becoming a Better Negotiator.
• Christina from Northern Cheapskate presents Don’t Let Coupons Clip Into Your Free Time.
• J. Money from Budgets Are Sexy presents 3 Tips to Putting BLING on That Finger of Hers.
• Laura from No More Spending presents Cold Turkey on Magazines and Confessions.

Money Management

• Jim from Bargaineering presents Your Financial Network Map.
• PT Money from Prime Time Money presents Save More Money: Automate and Separate Your Savings.
• JT Locke from The Frugal Housewife presents How Much Is Too Much?.
• Cindy Morus, The Money Mender from Mend Your Money presents How to Have More Fun With Your Tax Refund in 2009.
• Karen from Living Well on Less presents Time for new tires — or why I’m glad we have an emergency fund.
• Kay Bell from Don’t Mess With Taxes presents When renting is the right choice.
• Money Progress from Money Progress presents How to Save Money and Feel Good About It.

A penny is the first part of a million.

Personal Finance

• Megan from Counting My Pennies presents Support Your Non-Profits.
• BSimple from Simplified Financial Lifestyle presents Financial Planning is EASY as Vacation Planning.
• Jason from My Money Minute presents What We Learn From Tragedy.
• Fred from Very Personal Finance presents Personal Finance Is Personal – Very Personal.
• Patrick from Cash Money Life presents Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace University.
• Dave from Do You Dave Ramsey? presents Do You Dave Ramsey?

Green Living

• Prune Danish from Frugal Luxury presents More Beauty Products You Could Probably Do Without.
• Alunachic from The Frugal Musician presents The Frugal Musician Makes a Cardboard Mailer.

Debt and Credit

• Silicon Valley Blogger from The Digerati Life presents Get Rid Of Your Debt With These Debt Defying Strategies.
• Jeremy M. Simon from Taking Charge presents Phone line makes me popular with debt collectors.
• Greg Keene from Managing Money God’s Way presents Can you cosign this loan for me?.
• Trevor Shipp from Financial Nut presents You’ll Always Have a Car Payment.
• CPF from Christian Debt Help presents Negotiate with credit card companies and Win!
• Baker from Man Vs. Debt presents Declaring War: Cancelling Your Credit Cards.
• Marlon from Penny Scraper presents A fast way to improve the credit score of a family member.

Shining Credit vs. Infernal Credit

Taxes and Economic Stimulus

• Madison from My Dollar Plan presents $8,000 First Time Home Buyer Tax Credit.
• FFB from Free From Broke presents Paying Back The Economic Stimulus Payment – Lots of Tax Confusion!
• Miranda from Yielding Wealth presents Tax Time: Identity Thieves on the Prowl.
• Bruce from Taxguy presents A Little Straight Talk.
• Mr. ToughMoneyLove from Tough Money Love presents Consider this Likely Future Tax Benefit of Early Mortgage Payoff.

Economy

• Rocketc from Rocket Finance presents Financial Fairytale.
• Lisa Spinelli from Greener Pastures presents Is the Time Ripe for the Next Generation of Outliers?
• HIB from Happiness Is Better presents The TED Spread and What It Means to You .
• LAL from Living Almost Large presents Do I get paid too much?

Investing

• Zach Scheidt from Zach Stocks presents Double Your Investment Returns (Too Good to be True?).
• Jeff Rose from Good Financial Cents presents 7 Things To Know About a Roth IRA For 2009.
• Clare Kierans from Money Energy presents Why You Should First Invest in Dividend Reinvestment Plans (DRIPs).
• Mike from Richer by the Day presents Forever Stamps, A Losing Investment.
• MFD from My Findependence Day presents How Important are the CESG Grants to an RESP?.
• Sun from The Sun’s Financial Diary presents Are Vanguard Mutual Funds Getting Expensive? .
• Mr. GoTo from Go To Retirement presents Why I like I-Bonds in My Retirement Portfolio.

Career and Income

• WC from Wisebread presents On Salaries: Knowing What Your Coworkers Make.
• Viviana from The Lean Times presents When the work dries up.
• Peter from Bible Money Matters presents To Succeed Diversify And Create Multiple Streams Of Income.
• The David from Pimp Your Finances presents 20 Questions with J.D. Roth, author of Get Rich Slowly.
• The Smarter Wallet from The Smarter Wallet presents Job Hunting Tips: How To Deal With Losing Your Job.

Practice Maintains Perfect

Miscellany

• Kyle from Suburban Dollar presents Quit Paying for What You Can Get for Free (Open Source software).
• Ishan from Save Few Bucks presents Does it really makes sense to buy a Hybrid Car?.
• Papa Boomer from Consumer Boomer presents Not All Credit Cards Companies are the Same.
  Note: While I usually prefer “positive” stories, I thought this psot could serve as a consumer review of a bank on which I myself have less than stellar opinions through personal experience.

Enchanted Pumpkin Fairy Ship

* * *

This concludes the First Edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Next week’s edition will be hosted by Wise Bread, so be sure to get your submissions in by Wednesday April 8th, 6:00 PM PST.

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Pecuniary Links ~ August 2009 #1

When I got the idea for my last post, Financial Lent: A Frugal Fast to See What You Can Live Without, Madoline and I wracked our brains for what our financial fast could be. And to be honest, it was really difficult, because we have been economizing so much lately and cut out almost all extra money-costing things.

Things we already don’t do:

• Smoke or drink
• Go to or rent movies
• Shop recreationally
• Eat out
• Drive a lot (I drive 2-3 times a month to run errands, which I can’t do without a car because we’re somewhat isolated

Things we considered cutting:

• Watching DVDs or TV online, but considering it’s one of the few activities we enjoy together and we don’t go out for entertainment, I wasn’t quite willing to give that up.
• Tying to cut our electric bill by not using lights for a week. This would entail getting up and going to bed with the sun, which we will be trying in a while once we get our sleep schedule synced for this.
• Computer use, but as most of our computer use is for income purposes, I decided that this wouldn’t be a practical one at this time.
• Eating less, but as we average 2 meals a day, it didn’t seem a wise idea.

Chocolate and Ice cream

Then today, I thought of one – chocolate and ice cream. We don’t buy chocolate and ice cream on a regular basis year-round, but we do go through phases where we do, and the past month has been one of them.

Within the last 30 days, I bought:

• (Easter) M&M’s twice on sale BOGO at $3.59 (total $7.18 for 4 bags)
• Dreyers ice cream on sale once at $2.99
• Thrifty brand ice cream once at $3.49

That’s a total of $13.66 we spent on chocolate and ice cream in the last month (food items in California are exempt from sales tax).

So we decided that for our first Frugal Lent, we will be abstaining from chocolate and ice cream for the next month. Although we didn’t buy any for a long time prior to last month, it is likely that by having started it up, we might have kept up the habit for at least another month. By abstaining from chocolate and ice cream in the coming month, we estimate that we will save approximately $14.00.

How far $14 can go

That’s enough to buy a DVD, our main source of entertainment, or 70 packs of ramen noodles with which we could make 140 servings of yakisoba, one of our favorite frugal meals. (With vegetables added to the ramen, we each only need 1/2 pack per person per meal.)

Now that I’ve counted this out, I will definitely think twice, or thrice, before buying another pack of chocolate or tub of ice cream. Not that I will never buy those things again, because life is not life if you can’t ever have anything that you enjoy, but I will think more about what other, more important things could be done with that money before I take another order from my sweet tooth.

Related posts:

• Financial Lent: A Frugal Fast to See What You Can Live Without
• The No-Budget System
• August 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Taco Salad
• Introducing Pecuniary Associates & Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #17

I’ve been working away this past week at creating a new blog carnival for the personal finance and frugality blog community. It’s called the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights and its purpose is to showcase quality blog posts from around the personal finance blogosphere.

What the Carnival is For

For Readers

The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is for anyone looking for a variety of quality blog articles on the subject of personal finance and frugal living. Because blog carnivals feature content from bloggers around the web, readers can quickly find information, viewpoints and tips from a varied pool of sources.

Carnival Topics

• Personal Finance (general)
• Money Management (tips on saving, spending, budgeting, etc.)
• Frugal Living (anything related to frugal living)
• Frugal Home (frugal home and garden)
• Frugal Kitchen (frugal dining, cooking, recipes)
• Frugal Family (frugal parenting, family activities, etc.)
• Green Living (tips that save money and the environment)
• Personal Financial Journey (anecdotes)
• Debt & Credit (advice and tips – not credit card reviews)
• Investing (strategies and advice but not “hot stock picks”)
• Economy (observations and commentary)
• Other (relevant topics)

For Bloggers

Unlike some of the blog carnivals out there, there is no post age restriction, and the focus is content of lasting value, so no credit card offers, deals, promotions and content that has an expiration date.

You can submit posts that you wrote 1 or 2 years ago that is still relevant to today. One of the reasons to do this is to help revive traffic and discussion to good posts that may have been buried among the hundreds of posts in your archives or those written in your early days when your blog had fewer readers so didn’t get the attention they deserved, because some of your best work might come from the early days when you were fresh with ideas.

However, because some of the submitted content may have been seen before, hosts are asked to be very selective in only including content they personally feel are of lasting value, rather than including everything that isn’t SPAM.

Please visit About the Carnival of Peucuniary Delights: For Bloggers for more information.

Hosting and Submissions

This carnival will occur every Thursday with the first edition on April 2, 2009 here at Pecuniarities, and we are open for submissions as well as looking for volunteers to host. Both participating in and hosting a carnival are great ways to increase traffic and exposure to your site.

Please visit the following pages for info on:

• Submissions (for submitting your posts)
  
• Hosting

And please help spread the word about this new carnival. We have created some Carnival Buttons and Banners that you can use on your site.

I look forward to your submissions!

Related posts:

• Pecuniarities is Hosting the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights This Week!
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Carnival of Pecuniary Delights Giveaways: Cute Piggy Bank Magnet Prizes for Hosting and Submissions
• Pecuniary Links ~ July 2009 #2
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19