Pecuniarities

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 [...]

Surprise your trick-or-treaters this year by giving them something besides ordinary candy. If you feel like doing something different for your neighborhood children, here are a few suggestions. Some of these options may or may not work for you depending on your budget as they might cost a little more the average Halloween candy, but [...]

This is a really handy and yummy recipe we have been using a lot lately. It’s great as a snack or as a meal, and something the whole family is sure to love. The recipe is flexible, just as it is whenever making your only pizza. The cost of each slice probably comes to about [...]

Welcome to the 139th Edition of the Festival of Frugality! This week’s edition celebrates the sensational achievements of Michael Phelps, holder of 15 Olympic Gold Medals and 7 World Records in swimming, in the past week and a half at the 2008 Olympics with photos and inspirational quotes from the champion himself.
I am also hosting [...]

Madoline and I lived in Los Angeles (in the San Fernando Valley) for a year and a half, during which time we went through a shopaholic phase followed by a phase of extreme frugality (described in Our Family Financial History). When we decided to be frugal, I learned a lot about free and low cost [...]

This is a really yummy, inexpensive recipe, easy and quick to prepare requiring only one pot. It’s great for kids, but I eat it all the time.
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

Slice hot dog into [...]

With the charms of summer also come not-so-charming and unwelcome visitors. With consistent 100+ degree weather in the desert we call home, 6- and 8-legged visitors (or really more like trespassers) are almost a regular part of life. But we have discovered a few safe and relative effective ways to keep the trespasser traffic under [...]