September grocery money journal

It's the end of September, already! We did okay with grocery spending this month. Our pantry had some large gaps, at the end of August. So, it was time for a restock of some basics. But with a smaller grocery budget, I would have to be smart about this.

I did two things differently from my usual monthly shopping. One, I limited myself to basic ingredients. I wanted some bananas, popcorn and chocolate chips. But we have plenty of fruit right now (there will be a time for bananas this winter). Popcorn prices (at the cash and carry) are still reflecting the poor corn harvest from 2012 (79 cents/pound is too high for my budget for a grain). And chocolate chips are too snackable. I went with cocoa powder instead. At least with cocoa powder, you have to actually "do" something with it, to turn it into a snack. (I later found popcorn on sale at a price within my range for grains :-) )

As I posted earlier in the month, the other change I made was to think of grocery shopping as if I were stocking an institutional kitchen. For example, a case of canned tomato paste gave me a savings of 50 cents on each #10 can, over buying one or two of the large cans. So I bought the case.

I barely went over my $170 budget this month, spending a total of $176.30. I think that is pretty good. So, here's what I bought.

Sept. 1. Made a trip to the cash and carry, bought a case (6 #10 cans) of tomato paste, a case (4 gallons) of white vinegar, 50 lbs of whole wheat flour, 50 lbs of white sugar, 50 lbs of brown rice, 25 lb bag of lentils, 1 gallon of lemon juice, 35 lb container of vegetable oil, and 50 lb sack of onions. I spent $152.95

Sept. 1 Trader Joe's is just down the street from the cash and carry. I stopped in for a 9 oz container of cocoa powder. Spent $2.49

Sept. 1 Buying a turkey roasting pan at Wal-Mart, checked their price on salt, 48 cents a canister. I bought 2. Spent 96 cents.

Sept 4. Dollar Tree for kosher salt (good for pickling). Spent $1

Sept 4. Fred Meyer for bulk spices (ground cloves, ground ginger, ground nutmeg, cream of tartar). Also found popcorn on sale for $1.09/2 lb bag (that's 55 cents/pound). I bought 4 bags of popcorn (8 lbs) Spent $8.44.

Sept. 5. Albertson's for milk, whole milk at $1.79/gallon (limit 2 w/ coupon). Spent $3.58

Sept. 24. Albertson's for whole milk, 2 gallons at $1.99/gal, and salt for 25 cents a canister (really great price for salt, here). I bought 12 canisters of salt. Salt keeps indefinitely. This supply will last 1&1/2 to 2 years.

Total spent for the month, $176.30, $6.30 over budget, which will be deducted from October's budget.

At month's end, I am completely out of all-purpose flour, and will need canned tomatoes, too, this month. I'll be making a trip to the cash and carry this week. The new store special flyer is posted on Monday for each week. So, I'll be checking online to see what my store has on offer right now. (BTW, I believe that there are 52 Cash and Carry's on the west coast, most of which are in Washington state and Oregon, but a handful in California, Idaho and Nevada.) I'll also go by the produce stand to pick up jalepenos and garlic for making salsa. Even with buying most of the ingredients for salsa, it's still far more economical for me to make my own, than to buy salsa pre-made.

That's about it for now. I hope you've been finding deals at the grocery store this month, too!

Meals on a budget for the family vacation

I realize that family vacation time is on hiatus for the fall school-term for most families. But if I don't post this now, I'll forget all about it later. So . . .

Last week we were on our pre-university family vacation. Much of the vacation had been pre-booked and paid in advance. But the one area still open for changes, to help ease the budget, was meals.

Our usual frugal way with meals on vacation -- book a hotel/motel with free breakfast, find a local grocery store to pick up sandwich fixings and snacks, and eat out several dinners (but at somewhat budget-friendly restaurants and sharing meals).

This vacation -- we did much of the above, booked a place with complimentary breakfast, complimentary fresh fruit in the lobby of the hotel daily, fridge and microwave in room, and in-room coffee/tea, and we budgeted enough $$ for 3 lunches out and 1 dinner out (all sharing meals at counter-service restaurants).

However, instead of shopping at a grocery store at our destination, we packed all of our groceries with us on the drive.

I "shopped" my pantry, fridge, freezer and garden for most of our food.

I baked and cooked at home, freezing as I went. Then I packed this all into a large cooler and two insulated bags, where it stayed cold enough for the drive down. Once there, we popped it all in the in-room fridge, to continue thawing, and used through the first half of the week.

I also shopped the dollar store at home, for treats like chips, pretzels, and candy, for "fun" snacky stuff, to keep us from buying much more expensive snacks and goodies on vacation. This saved us a bundle!

I made up a menu plan, on paper, for each day's meals we would be gone, and included our dinner once we returned home at the end of the trip. We planned for 4 meals out, over the course of 9 days. The rest, we put together in our hotel room. I brought a copy of this menu plan, and for the most part stuck to it. We did switch around two meals in the hotel room, as one entree thawed faster than anticipated, and the other thawed slower.

I cooked the week before leaving, and froze enough for the 5 of us to have on the trip. I made mostly vegan entrees, to reduce the risk of food spoilage/illness for us. And I froze everything *solid* before packing in the cooler. These items stayed partially frozen, at the least, for the entire two-day drive. At the hotel on the first night, I brought the cooler into the room and put everything in the in-room fridge for the night, where it continued to thaw at a very slow pace.

The home-cooked items were consumed early in the week. For later in the week meals, we had canned refried bean and packaged flour tortilla burritos, and pbj sandwiches. I even baked enough bread for all of our sandwiches (I baked, sliced and froze the loaves, then kept in the hotel room fridge, and amazingly none of it developed mold!).


Items that I baked or cooked, and froze, for the trip:

2 jars of pinto and black bean sandwich spread
2 loaves of sandwich bread, sliced then frozen
1 loaf of French bread, frozen
1 batch of home made hot dog buns
1 vegan lasagna casserole
1 rice and black bean casserole
1 container of bean and vegetable soup
2 batches of cookies
1 batch of apple muffins for breakfast on the road on day one, and mini muffins for snacking later
5 gallon ziplocs of popped popcorn for the drive down, to snack on (these lasted all week, and we even had one bag left for the drive home)

Items I had in the pantry, fridge or garden, that we brought for the trip:

hot dogs, frozen solid
2 jars of peanut butter (only needed 1)
2 large packages of dried fruit (prunes and apricots)
Kool-aid (we decided to forgo any soda pop for this trip)
tea bags
hot cocoa mix
carton of soymilk
pineapple juice
carrot sticks
tomatoes, cherry and slicing for sandwiches (these came out of the garden the day before we left, and lasted the entire week)

Items that I bought, for the trip:

from Dollar Tree--
candy corn, mellow-creme pumpkins, Tootsie Roll Midgies
potato chips, tortilla chips, pretzels

from regular grocery store--
tortillas
canned refried beans
Fig Newtons (I had a craving, and they're healthier than many cookie types)

In all, I spent about $15 on purchased items, which came out of the vacation budget.

The menu--

Saturday

breakfast: apple muffins, milk and coffee in the car
lunch: egg salad sandwiches, popcorn, pineapple juice, carrot sticks, cookies
dinner: half-way to destination, in-room microwaved hot dogs, cherry tomatoes, cookies, (this hotel had fresh-baked cookies in the lobby)

Sunday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: in car, bean spread sandwiches, dried fruit, carrot sticks, cookies, popcorn
dinner: counter service -- split 2 entrees, candy/cookies from home

Monday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: fast food -- split 3 entrees, brought carrot sticks and dried fruit with us
dinner: in-room -- rice and bean casserole brought from home, with fresh tomatoes on the side, Kool-aid

Tuesday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: bean spread sandwiches, pretels, fruit (from hotel lobby), bought  onion rings to share
dinner: in-room -- lasgana brought from home, with carrot sticks

Wednesday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: bean spread sandwiches, fruit, chips, cookies, carrot sticks
dinner: in room -- bean-veggie soup from home, French bread, last of apple muffins

Thursday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: bean spread sandwiches, dried fruit, pretzels, bought sweet potato fries to share
dinner: split 3 fast food dinners, fresh fruit/candy/cookies for dessert

Friday

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: pbj sandwiches, dried fruit, chips, cookies
dinner: Mexican counter-service, split 2 large entrees, ate outdoors, also had bag of tortilla chips from home

Saturday (on the road)

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: in car -- mix of sandwiches, dried fruit, Kool-aid, microwave popcorn, fresh fruit, cookies
dinner: in room (half-way point home) -- bean burritos with packaged tortillas and canned beans, fresh tomatoes, cookies (complimentary fresh-baked in hotel lobby)

Sunday (last day)

breakfast: hotel provided, complimentary
lunch: in car -- mix of sandwiches, mix of leftover chips and dried fruit, Kool-aid, cookies
dinner: at home -- homemade pizza, made before trip and kept in freezer, reheated once home

I've bold-printed the meals/side items that we actually bought on the trip. In addition, we bought a caramel apple to share, a piece of pumpkin fudge to share, and a package of honeycomb candy. Our budget was $100 for purchased food. We spent $117 -- a bit over budget, but we made up for it with spending less on gas for our trip. Based on previous vacations, I estimated that we saved about $70 on eating out on this trip. For a 9-day vacation, I think we did pretty well on the cost of meals.

I've been away for a week

We drove in late last night, through pouring rain and, at points, zero visibility. It was exhausting! But we made it home, safe and sound. I had a homemade pizza waiting for us in the freezer, to quickly heat for a late dinner. I'll give more details on our trip in another post. Today I have to catch up on absolutely everything!! Including reading other blogs, your always helpful comments, a ton of laundry, baking bread and getting my 2 daughters set for Welcome Week at their university. I may be a tad busy this week.

I hope your week is off to a great start!

Gift giving when the budget is small: part 2, how I purchase gifts with a modest budget

In my post earlier this week, I outlined gifts that I could craft for fall birthdays and Christmas, this year. But not every gift on my list can be crafted. And even when I handcraft a gift or two, for a particular person, there's always a little something that I'd like to purchase, in addition. 

In part 2, I thought I'd share with you the gifts that I purchase, while keeping to my modest budget. And as my spending money is limited, I've had to get creative in just how I make these purchases. Here are my plans, so far.

Gift cards that I've been given, can be used to purchase new gifts

--I have craft store, book store, coffee shop, and outdoor recreation store gift cards. When I have a person on my list that I need to actually buy a gift for, I'll turn to stores where I have gift cards, first.

Coupons

--I receive Kohl's $10 coupons every couple of months. These are good for $10 off any purchase. Last month I was able to birthday shop for someone, using one of these coupons and found a couple of nice gifts.

--I received a coupon for Lands' End last month, for a percentage off, free shipping, and they sent me the clearance catalog. I was able to purchase 2 of my son's birthday gifts, and 1 Christmas gift for about half the retail price. And all three of these items were generically on my list for him (meaning I wasn't particular about color or pattern, but had a type of shirt, slacks and belt in mind). I had intended to shop Lands' End for him anyways, as that's a preferred brand with him.

Second hand stores

--there's a type of second-hand gift that is generally acceptable to almost all gift recipients, that's the collectible gift. When I'm in a second-hand shop I always check areas like housewares, for potential gifts. Last December, I found a Christmas serving dish (new condition), in a pattern that someone I know collects, for about 1/10 of the retail price. I had already sent a gift to this person, so this has been saved for this Christmas. It's a small Christmas serving tray. I'll make up a batch of homemade candies (like toffee), and some white chocolate-covered pretzels, sprinkled with candy cane pieces. Then I'll bag these goodies up, and include with the tray. 

Dollar stores

--I buy mittens every year as stocking stuffers at the dollar store. Sometimes there are two pairs tagged together, making the gift 50 cents per pair

--picture frames, for the framed photo you plan on sending to Grandma and Grandpa. In addition to finished frames, they have unfinished wood frames, which can be painted or gilded to customize them to the recipient's decor. We have two "someones" on our list, to whom we'll be sending family photos. I'll customize the frames to each recipient, and add a picture or two, from this past year.

--candles and candle holders. I like to start with a pillar candle, then add decor, like greenery, moss, beads, etc. These make nice hostess gifts or teacher thank you gifts, and several can be made at a time, kept in a closet, then wrapped up for presentation when needed.

--confection-making supplies, like pretzels, for chocolate covered pretzels, and nuts, for peanut brittle, toffee and fudge.

It may only be September, but by beginning early, I should have the holidays wrapped and under the tree in time for me to enjoy the season. And not receive the Grinch's hefty credit card bill in the mail come January!

Have you begun your Christmas gift planning for this year? What are your best tips for gift-shopping with a small budget? Some of you are fabulous "clearance shoppers". Do you have any tips on finding those great bargains?

Gift giving when the budget is small: part 1, organizing my supplies

I made these tea bags, from loose tea, coffee filters, cotton thread
 and scrapbook papers

Giving gifts is one area that is really important to me. I like taking the time to find just the right gift for each person on my list. So, reducing this part of the budget was hard for me.

My gift-giving budget was cut in half this summer, at least for the next 12 months. Our annual gift-giving budget is drawn up in August of every year. We save, year 'round, for birthdays, holidays, weddings, new babies, and any other gift-occasion that should arise. Each recipient, for each occasion has an allotted amount budgeted for a gift. We try very hard to stay within that amount. In addition, I have a category for those events that can't be foreseen a year in advance, such as new babies, weddings, housewarmings, and hostess gift-giving.

The biggest (and easiest) cut in gift-giving, was for my husband and I to severely cut back our spending on each other. We've also reduced (but not as drastically) the amount we'll be spending on our children. But that doesn't mean that the grinch has stolen our Christmas, birthdays, Easter or Valentine's. I just need to get creative, and brainstorm how to find gifts for a fraction of what I have spent in prior years. And I'm off to a good start -- several gifts made (or bought at a deep discount) and waiting.

So here's my Gift-giving on a small budget plan, part one, organizing my supplies:

I approach gift-giving much in the same manner as I approach menu-planning. I don't open up the cookbooks, and see what looks good. Instead I survey my pantry, freezer, fridge and garden and see what I have to work with.

My approach to gifts this year, follows the same approach. I look into my cupboards, closets, pantry and sewing room to see what I can work with. Then, I brainstorm how to use these materials.


Brainstorm

Open cupboards, closets, trunks and drawers in search of potential raw material/supplies for making gifts, and actual gift items.

Everything is laid out on the dining room table, to see what I have to work with. It's an impressive selection of supplies, and some purchased gift items.

From the kitchen:
nuts, dried fruit, candy pieces, popcorn, white chocolate, dark chocolate, loose tea, special canning jars, recycled tall jars with lids, special bottles, coffee filters, empty coffee cans and large food storage containers

From the craft cupboard:
all types of glues/adhesives, beads, citric acid, rubber stamps and stamp pads, note card blanks, scrapbook paper, ribbons, shells, magnets, styrofoam shapes, fake greenery and moss, acrylic paints, gold spray paint, wax, soap-making supplies, pine cones, brown papier mache boxes, pot pourri, essential oils, large wooden letters, epsom salt

From the sewing closet:
large variety of fabric, including some Christmas fabrics, polar fleece, small bells, ribbons, lace, trims, yarns, knitting needles, and patterns for: pj pants, men's boxer shorts, aprons, vests, hats, mittens, padded hangers

From the gift closet (this is where I keep items that I pick up that I think would make wonderful gifts):
ready-to-go gifts -- an assortment of holiday items, holiday tins, a couple of clothing items, a spa basket, and a couple of gifts that I bought intending to give to my daughters on their birthday last year, but completely forgot

From my purse:
gift cards and coupons (for purchasing gifts for those who may be difficult to craft/bake for, and for those items that I am really wanting to give to specific persons on my list -- as hard as I try, I don't think I could craft and sew waterproof winter parkas for my daughters, or nice work slacks for my son)

From my gardening supplies/plants:
seeds, plants that are easy to propagate, pots, potting soil

From my bank of skills:
While I have some yarn, I'm really not a terribly good knitter. Knitting is not one of my primo skills. It would be an exasperating waste of time for me to try to knit gifts. (In fact, a couple of years ago, I attempted to do just that. I've vowed -- never again!) I do sew well-enough, however. I enjoy baking and other kitchen endeavors. I have a knack for yeast bread. And I make a good loaf of sourdough bread. I love the packaging end of making gifts.


Now that it's all laid before me, I can begin to see potential gifts. Just off the top of my head I can think of several gifts -- home-crafted tea bags, blackberry pancake syrup (using NW wild blackberries), sourdough bread, homemade granola in a jar, jams, holiday aprons, hand-crafted candles and soap, bath bombs, bath salt, small jewelry boxes for keeping earrings, sachets and shoe/boot stuffers, wall-mounted necklace hanger/display, fleece mittens and hats, men's boxers, tins of flavored popcorn, potted plants, beaded bracelets, beaded hair combs, a lace or velvet vest, a corduroy or wool vest, and a denim log carrier. I have absolutely everything I could need to make all of those items.


For more inspiration, I turn to Google. I enter "homemade" "gift" plus the name of a particular material/supply. And up pops dozens of items I could make with what I have on hand.


So, I've begun with the crafting, using what I have on hand. I am doing much of this assembly line style, making as many of an item as I have materials for. I'll "shop" my stash of creations, as I need gifts. And I'll look beyond Christmas and birthdays, and begin work on a baby item, to have on hand, and a hostess gift or two. By starting now, I won't be rushed into buying something at the last minute.

Here's how my crafting/making calendar is shaping up:


Day 1

Assembled raw materials/supplies and potential gifts

Also on Day 1

I assembled all the giftables that I already have. These could be items gifted to me the year before, or gifts that I bought with the thought that I'd give them to someone. Place all in a gift closet/box to shop from later.

Regifted gift baskets can be taken apart, and the individual items gifted separately. For example, let's say I was given a spa gift set. I could take this apart and use the individual items as stocking stuffers for my daughters.

Lastly on Day 1

I assembled coupons, gift cards, vouchers for use to purchase gifts for those on my list who are difficult to craft, sew or knit/crochet for.

Day 2 (not necessarily the day right after Day 1. A few days after Day 1. I typically work on crafting projects 2 to 3 days per week.)

Began brainstorming

I got out my list of recipients, and brainstormed ways to use my supplies for each. Having a written list keeps me focused and upbeat about this enormous undertaking of making and/or discount-buying so many gifts. I tried to also think of items I could make, that are light weight, so as to minimize postage costs.

I Googled specific materials and included words like "make", "homemade" "gift", bookmark specific projects and online patterns.

Day 3

I went back to the bookmarks and my own list, and chose a handful of simple projects to begin, sticking with items that require minimal additional materials (a spool of thread is all that I've bought so far). Shopped for those minimal items -- that spool of thread.

Day 4

I began my crafting days. I chose one of the projects and made as many of it as I had ingredients for.

Day 5

Following the crafting day, I had a packaging day. I took items made the day before and packaged nicely. They are placed in a box to "shop from" a few weeks before the holidays.

Day 6

New project -- repeat of day 4

Day 7

Repeat of day 5

My plan is to continue repeating days 4 and 5 until I have exhausted my supplies, or believe that I have enough crafted items for gifts.

Over the next several weeks, I'll highlight one or two items that I've made or are making that week. A few of the things, I've made before, and are on this blog.

an assortment of home-crafted tea bags in a pretty canning jar

This jar of hand-crafted tea bags, for example. The instructions for making tea bags can be found here. I sewed a bunch of bags, filled them, sewed closed, then added the strings and labels. I was able to make 2 gifts on the afternoon that I crafted these.

functional, yes, but will be appreciated -- boxer shorts, made using 

a plain sheet, some elastic and McCall's pattern M6104. I did have

 to figure how to leave the fly open, as the pattern has it sewn shut, 

but that was not very difficult

Men are the hardest to make gifts for, for me. So, for the men in my life:

• I've made a few pairs of boxer shorts (see photo above)
• I'm in the process of making a denim log carrier
• My husband uses cotton hankies in winter, and they are so easy to sew 
• Flavored popcorn in large coffee tins is always a hit with the men I know 
• Homemade candy is always appreciated by my "men"
• And of course, food gifts of any kind, are almost always well-received, by men and women. I made blackberry pancake syrup for a few on my list. I had a couple of those tall quilted canning jars in my cupboard, which I used to can some of this year's blackberry syrup. I will make up a bag of homemade pancake mix, to slide into a decorated muslin bag, to accompany the syrup. One man on my list enjoys his pancake breakfasts.

Any suggestions on gifts that could be made, using my list of supplies? I am totally open to ideas. What gifts have you made in the past, that have been well-received? Have you ever had someone on your list, who just didn't appreciate the hand-crafted gift? How did you handle that?

Later this week, part 2, how I plan to "purchase" some of the gifts, with little actual cash.

Making donuts at home

Going out for donuts is a fun Saturday morning event. If my family of 5 visits our local donut shop, and each orders 1 donut, at 90 cents per donut, that's $5, including tax.

Making donuts at home on a Saturday morning, is a fun activity, too. The atmosphere is festive, as we all anticipate their yummy crisp outsides, and warm, soft insides. I can make 10 donuts, 2 per person, with the following recipe, for a cost of about 5 cents a donut, or 50 cents total.

Yeast donuts are actually easy to make. The dough is forgiving, and doesn't require a lot of kneading. I don't even allow them to rise fully, on the counter, before frying. My French bread recipe has more yeast in proportion to flour, than my sandwich bread. This added yeast gives a good rise to French bread, pizza crust, and donuts, without a lengthy rise time.

When I use my French bread recipe for donuts, I up the sugar just a bit, to tenderize the dough and add a touch of sweetness. Here's how I make donut twists.

Donut Twists

for 10 twists:

3/4 cup warm (85 degrees or so, not hot) water
1 teaspoon dry yeast
1 to 2 tablespoons granulated sugar
scant 1 teaspoon salt
1 tablespoon vegetable oil
1  3/4  to 1  7/8 cup flour (I use about 3/4 cup whole wheat and 1 cup white), adding extra flour, if needed, and to flour the counter
vegetable oil for frying.

In a large bowl, soften yeast in warm water. Allow to sit 3 minutes.

Stir in sugar, salt and oil. Begin mixing in flour, half at a time. After first addition of flour, beat well with a large spoon. Continue mixing in flour, until you have a soft dough. Add more flour, as needed. The dough will be only very slightly sticky. You should be able to coat the dough with a sprinkling of flour and have it stick just a little, or maybe not at all, to your hands. You don't want it so well-floured, that it is stiff and difficult to manipulate.

Knead gently in the bowl, for a minute. Sprinkle with a touch of flour and allow to sit for 10 minutes.

Flour your counter. Divide dough into 10 equal pieces.

Roll/form each piece into a log about 5-6 inches long.

With a table knife, split this log, lengthwise, leaving 1/2-inch un-split.

Twist the 2 parts of the split log, to form a twisted rope. Pinch the ends together.

Set in a floured spot on your counter, to rise. Continue with the remaining pieces of dough. If you are not a perfectionist, the process goes very quickly!

Allow to rise for 15 minutes. Pour about 2 to 3 inches of oil, into your frying pot. Start heating your oil, over MED heat, in a heavy-bottom stock pot, or large saucepan, to 375 degrees. If you have a candy thermometer, use that to determine temperature. Without a thermometer, you can test-fry a 1-inch cube of white bread. It will brown in 60 seconds, if your oil is around 375 degrees F.

Your donut dough will not be completely risen, like as for a loaf of bread. It will puff up in the fryer. After 15 minutes of rise-time, carefully drop the twists into the hot oil. (I use my hands to lift the donut off the counter and drop into the oil, but then use a slotted spoon for turning or removing.) I fry in a stock pot, and like to fry 3 to 4 donuts at a time. Use a slotted spoon to turn the donuts after a couple of minutes. The underside should be medium golden brown. If your oil is deep enough, the twists will turn themselves, as they cook.

Remove from oil and drain on paper towels or brown paper bag. Allow to drain 2 to 3 minutes.

Sprinkle with cinnamon and sugar, powdered sugar, or, drizzle with a glaze. In the top photo, I had some leftover maple icing, that I thinned with milk for a maple glaze, for glazed donuts.

In October, I'll be making my pumpkin-spice donuts. They are THE snack, paired with hot apple cider, after a day of raking leaves. I'll post that recipe soon.

Oh my goodness!

I have to share this!! I finally got my electricity bill. We're billed every 2 months. Last bill was for $132. This bill was $69! I had to do the rub-your-eyes-and-make-sure-you're-seeing-straight thing. I knew it would be this low, but seeing it in black and white really gave me a thrill.

Not many folks are checking their inboxes, daily, hoping to find bills, but that has become me. I am wanting confirmation that all our efforts are working. I can't wait to tell my husband when he gets home, as I'm not sure he's been believing me, regarding just how much we could save if we made some changes!

Even as our bill ticks up a bit, as winter approaches, this is money that we saved that can't be undone. It's money in our account, or as I've done with half of the savings, bought LED light bulbs, to save even more in the future.

There have been days when I just wanted to get the laundry done, and wanted to use the dryer. But I've resisted. And it has paid off!


I'm skipping off to do my housework. I hope your day is filled with pleasant surprises, too!

All out of baking powder? Here's the substitute I've been using

You'll find this post, and many others like it, just a click away on this page (click) -- a compilation of my recipes, shopping lists, and menu plans that illustrates how I feed my family of 4 adults on $175 to $200 per month.

Baking soda and vinegar

I am down to my last little bit of baking powder, and I have squirreled it away it for particular recipes.  

A few months ago, I was baking cornbread and discovered that I was about out of baking powder. I used my 4-step method to finding a solution (found in the post in this link), determining my end goal (leavening for baking), brainstorming possibilities (cream of tartar/baking soda and vinegar/baking soda came to mind), then tested out the least expensive (vinegar and baking soda). I was thrilled that the least expensive option worked in my baking.

Best frugal substitute for baking powder Finding substitutes for ingredients is a key component of frugal living. This substitute for baking powder uses only 2 ingredients that you probably have in your kitchen right now -- baking soda and vinegar.

As far as cost goes -- the leavening amount of baking soda and vinegar is about 1/3 to 1/5 the cost of the same leavening amount of baking powder! 

Use in any baking application

This combo works well in muffins, cakes, quick breads, pancakes, waffles and some soft cookies (the kind that have at least a small amount of water, juice or milk in them) -- basically cake-like bakery items.

tender, cake-like cornbread -- crispy crust,
but soft and cake-like inside.
No baking powder, just used baking soda and vinegar, instead.

Simply mix the baking soda into the dry ingredients and the vinegar into the liquids (any liquid, it doesn't have to be milk).

pancakes made with baking soda and vinegar

The leavening action will be short-lived and the dough or batter needs to be baked or cooked right away (within about 10 to 15 minutes).

muffins using baking soda and vinegar, instead of baking powder

I have been using the baking soda and vinegar combination as my primary baking powder substitute for a month now, and have been very pleased with the results.

scones using baking soda and vinegar

The only trouble I had was remembering the amounts. So, I wrote the following down and taped it to the inside of my baking cabinet.

to equal the leavening of:

1 teaspoon baking powder . . .  use 1/4 teaspoon baking soda *plus* 1 teaspoon vinegar

2 teaspoons baking powder . . . use 1/2 teaspoon baking soda *plus* 2 teaspoons vinegar

1 tablespoon baking powder. . . use 3/4 teaspoon baking soda *plus* 1 tablespoon vinegar


There is no acid taste from the vinegar and no soda-y taste from the baking soda. The two do a good job of neutralizing each other.

And remember, mix the baking soda separately with your dry ingredients, and the vinegar separately with the liquids in your recipe, then combine.

sugar cookies using baking soda/vinegar instead of baking powder

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

UPDATE  Just to let you know, it's now February 2014, and I've been using this baking soda/vinegar combination as my substitute for baking powder since August 2013. I've been very pleased with the results. And I found a plastic spoon in a drawer in my kitchen that measures exactly 3/4 teaspoon -- perfect for measuring the baking soda. I wrote a post on finding that spoon here. Gotta love those plastic fast food spoons.

ANOTHER UPDATE It's now February 2015, and I still haven't bought any baking powder, but continue using this substitution formula! And an FYI, any kind of vinegar will give you the rise you want, just be careful about delicate flavors. The plainer the vinegar (white, apple cider, rice, champagne, white wine, and palm vinegar would be your most mild vinegars, and as well, they wouldn't color the batter of any item too heavily), the better tasting your final product.

FURTHER UPDATE: It's now September of 2015, over two years since I began substituting baking soda and vinegar for baking powder in all of my recipes. I have not had a single baked good fail as a result of this substitution. I've made cakes, biscuits, cookies, scones, cornbread, quick breads (like banana bread and cranberry bread), pancakes, muffins, waffles, dumplings (the kind that is a dough that you drop into a pot of hot soup). I've baked in the microwave, in a conventional oven, on the stove-top, on the griddle, in the waffle iron, and still no fails, not a one. I've made our special celebration cakes, like birthday cakes, the chocolate mini-cakes that I make for New Year's Day, an Easter cake, an apple-nut cake for Thanksgiving -- all using this substitute, I have so much confidence in its ability to turn out a high-quality product, and reliably leaven anything I choose to bake. I've served these baked goods to my family, brought to church picnics and suppers, served to my good friends over tea, and served to dinner guests in our home. I can hardly describe just how pleased I am with the on-going results I'm having using baking soda and vinegar to substitute for baking powder.

It's just a matter of kitchen science. Commercial baking powder is a combination of carbonate or bicarbonate (baking soda) and one or more acid salts (such as sodium aluminum sulfate or monocalcium phosphate). Baked goods are leavened by an acid-base reaction which produces carbon dioxide gas bubbles, causing the dough or batter to expand or leaven.

Commercial baking powders use chemical acids. In our home kitchens, we can substitute a food acid. Vinegar is one such food acid, of reliable strength (commercial vinegars must meet specific standards in the US, with regards to their acidity percentage), it's inexpensive and already in many homes.

AND YET A FURTHER UPDATE: July 2016, and yes, I'm still using baking soda and vinegar in place of baking powder. It's a no-brainer at this point. It always works for me, saves me money, and I always have those 2 ingredients in the kitchen. Oh, someday, I'll get around to buying baking powder again, I'm sure. But for now, this works.

SEPTEMBER 2016. I can't believe that it's been 3 years since I originally posted this. I get emails every week about this one post. Thank you! I love hearing about your successes. And I'm glad that some of you have now passed this info on to others. What was once my "emergency" substitute for baking powder has simply become my everyday "baking powder".

Anyways, I continue to be pleased with this substitute. I hope you will be, too! Happy baking!

NOVEMBER 2017. I post an update on this formula every so often. I still use this as my baking powder. I keep telling myself that I should buy some "real" baking powder. (You know, just so I can feel normal.) But I never do, and continue on with this tried and true substitute. I've honestly never had anything fail with this vinegar/baking soda substitution. I even bake special occasion cakes using this formula. My two daughters are now lovely, grown young ladies, and love to bake. They've memorized the proportions, too, and this is just a normal adjustment they make with baking. 

I'm glad that you've now found this and can use this formula for baking for as long as you need. Happy baking!!

SEPTEMBER 2019. Yup, still using baking soda and vinegar. It's great stuff and super cheap.

NOVEMBER 2022 UPDATE. Still using baking soda and vinegar for all of my baking powder needs. It's just easy. I always have both ingredients on hand and never have to worry that my baking powder may have expired.


If you've found this post helpful, please share. Help others find this info, too. Thank you!

Fallen leaves

Sunday was my turn to bring cookies to coffee hour. After perusing my supplies, I realized that I needed a cookie recipe that didn't call for eggs, baking powder or very much butter. If you bake, then you know that reduces my selection of recipes to a minimum.

Then I remembered gingerbread cookies. They use about half the butter of most recipes, no baking powder (only baking soda), and no eggs whatsoever. They get their leaven from a combination of the acidic molasses and the baking soda. Bingo! I found my cookie! A frugal cookie choice when I'm low on eggs, butter and baking powder. (You can find my recipe for gingerbread cut-out cookies in this link.)

I had actually wanted to make these for a couple of years. I have these autumn leaf cutters, you see, and I just thought they'd look appropriate done in a gingerbread, like a fallen leaf.

After baking, I drizzled with a maple icing. They were delicious, and I thought very beautiful, too. Just my kind of cookie. . . fallen leaves.

What's your favorite go-to frugal cookie?

Cutting the grocery bill by buying institutional-sized packages

I've had to tweak my grocery spending just a little, to reduce our grocery bill, with our new income.  I've slightly changed my thinking on how I stock our pantry. I am now approaching this task as if I were stocking an institutional kitchen.

I already buy the bulk of my grocery basics at a wholesaler that caters to restaurants and institutional kitchens. But wanting to save BIG on groceries, then shopping like a restaurant on some items, seems to be the way to go. Restaurants don't buy teeny tiny boxes or cans. So, for a few of my items, neither will I.

I first read about shopping at a cash and carry restaurant supply in the mid-90s, in the Tightwad Gazette. I searched around our area, looking for a cash and carry wholesaler and I found 3. Costco Business, Sysco Foods and United Cash and Carry. (You may be familiar with Smart and Final. It's a well-known, national chain of cash and carry.)

United Cash and Carry was my choice, as I it's close to home and doesn't require membership. Back in the day (18 years ago), they were strictly cash and carry, no credit, no personal checks. Today, our local store takes credit, debit, cash and business checks.

Many of the packages are black and white, no enticing colorful images. No product placement of name brands at eye level, and off-brands up high or down low. Nothing, really, to lure you into buying something just on impulse. And certainly not much that a toddler in tow with me, would have whined for.

Some of the same big names that you find in mainstream grocery stores are also found at restaurant supplies. For example, the oats I buy (in a 25 pound, plain paper sack), are Bob's Red Mill. They carry Hunt's tomato products in #10 cans (those cans that hold almost a gallon). I buy Darigold Butter in 30 pound cases. For greatest savings, I often choose one of their house brands, First Street and Simply Value.

What you won't find at an institutional cash and carry is an entire aisle, dedicated to colorful boxes of cold cereal, or chips and crackers, or cookies. They do have those items, but they take up very little of the warehouse foot print.

There is no Starbucks in the store, nor sample ladies (although, I have seen vendors with samples on two occasions).

While they welcome any one with cash in hand (and they take credit), their primary customer is a small restaurant owner/chef, or, someone planning a large event for their social or work group, or, a small cafeteria cook. Very few "soccer moms" shop here.

There is no unit pricing on the shelf, so I always bring a calculator. I have a good memory for regular store product prices and standard sizes, so I can make my comparisons in my head. Someday, when I can no longer remember product prices, I'll likely bring a price book, for the items I buy there.


So, how do the prices stack up?

I'll give you what I paid in common unit pricing, at the cash and carry, and compare it to what I would have paid, if I bought in smaller quantities.

Vegetable oil: My normal is to buy 1 gallon at a time. This month, I bought a 35-pound container of vegetable oil. It was $24.17. I used my empty, 1-gallon oil jug, and refilled it with oil from this new container. This requires a steady arm, funnel and 4-cup measuring container with a sharp pour spout. I poured the oil from the 35-pound container into the 4-cup measuring cup. Then poured that into the gallon container. I also keep a small bottle of this oil on the kitchen counter, for quickly adding oil to food prep. I've once before bought a 35-lb container of vegetable oil. The oil kept just fine, but it was a hassle to manipulate the large box/jug.

A 35-pound box is equal to 4.37 gallons. At $24.17, my purchase came out to $5.53 per gallon. The price on vegetable oil in a 1-gallon container was $8.27. I saved $2.74 per gallon, or $11.96 on the 35-pound container. This size is a 6-7 month supply for us. If this sounds like we go through a lot of oil, consider that we cook and bake almost everything from scratch. I use vegetable oil in baking, cooking, frying, salad dressings, bath oil, furniture polish, and hot-oil hair treatments. And I've been considering making soap, using some of the vegetable oil in that process.

the spout drips, so until I can get all of this into 1-gallon containers,
I've pulled a plastic bag onto the bottom of the box

It's important to know that oil can go rancid. Most vegetable oils have a shelf life of between 6 and 12 months. Cool storage is imperative to get the longest life from oils (below 72 degrees F. 55 degrees F is considered ideal for oil storage). Our pantry is quite cool from mid-September through April (about 66 degrees F). But still, I'll be storing most of this in the fridge, in well-rinsed 1-gallon vinegar jugs. Refrigeration can retard spoilage of many types of oils.

Storing oil in a dark location will prolong the life of oils. Fortunately, this oil came packed in a cardboard box that is usable as its storage container.

The type of oil matters as to how long it will keep, as well. I bought soybean oil. Soybean oil is one of the slower-to-spoil oils, not the slowest, but slower than many. Canola and corn oil (two other very common vegetable oils), spoil more rapidly than soybean.

Canned tomato paste: My normal is to buy 1 #10 can at a time. A #10 can of tomato paste is 6lbs 15oz, or the equivalent of 18 & 1/2 small 6-ounce cans of tomato paste. Buying 1 of these #10 cans, at the regular price of $4.99, is like paying 27 cents per 6-oz can, which in itself is a very good price for tomato paste, in my area. 

These #10 cans are also sold in cases of 6, for $26.65, which works out to $4.44 per #10 can, for a savings of 55 cents per #10 can. This brings the cost per 6-oz use, to 24 cents. The case of 6 #10 cans is about an 8 month supply for us. I use tomato paste in pasta/pizza sauce, homemade tomato soup, added to other soups and beef stew, Tex-Mex dishes, and now in our own homemade ketchup.

On this purchase, I saved $3.29 buying the case, over buying 1 large can at a time (my usual).

Long grain brown rice: My normal is to buy one 25-pound sack at a time, at about $12.79. Not a bad per pound price at 51 cents/pound. 

We actually do eat a lot of rice in our house. It's the one grain that I can count on being able to eat, with my food issues. I grind it into flour for some of my non-wheat baking. I use it to make homemade rice milk (for my dairy intolerance) for cooking with. And we have rice with meals about 3 times per week.

So, this month, I went ahead and bought the 50-pound sack. I've only bought this size one other time, and it lasted about 9-10 months. This much grain needs to be cycled through a 24-hour freezing, in 1-gallon plastic containers, to insure no pests have hitch-hiked.

The 50-lb sack was $22.78, or 46 cents per pound. I saved $2.80 by buying the 50-lb sack, instead of the 25-lb sack.

White vinegar: My normal is to buy 1 gallon of white vinegar at a time, at $3.37/gallon. I use white vinegar for cleaning, hair rinse, cooking, pickling, salsa making, homemade ketchup and teriyaki sauce, salad dressings and as a cheap substitute for the acid part of quick bread leavening agents.

I go through 1 gallon every 2-4 months, depending on whether or not it's pickling, seasoned vinegar or salsa-making season. This month, I decided to buy the 4-gallon case, at $11.29. This works out to $2.82 per gallon, or a savings of about $2.19 for the case, over buying just 1 gallon at a time.

Yellow onions: For most of the year, my normal is to buy a 25-pound sack of onions. Late summer I usually buy a 50-lb sack, as I use quite a few in pickling and making salsa. 50 pounds will last us through Christmas. I keep most of them in the fridge. (See why I need that spare fridge in the garage?) I triage the onions when I get them home from the wholesaler, picking out the ones that need using or freezing immediately. The rest go into the drawers in the fridge. A 50-lb sack of onions in late summer sells for $8.95 at the cash and carry, or 18 cents per pound. I love onions. A favorite side dish is grilled onions with a pinch of salt and dab of butter.

upside down -- too heavy to right side up the bag just for the photo

I also bought a 25-lb sack of lentils ($12.89), a 50-lb sack of whole wheat flour ($19.18), and a 50-lb sack of granulated sugar ($19.25). But these are normal sizes for us, so no new savings here.

You may be interested to know, pinto beans are generally the least expensive dried beans for us, around $18 or so for a 50-lb sack. Green lentils and green split peas follow at around $12-13 for a 25-lb sack. So, these are the beans we consume in greatest quantity. I like to have one other type of bean, just for variety. Sometimes it's black beans, sometimes garbanzos, sometimes small white beans. I rotate between those, but they are priced around $20 for 25 pounds.

While at the wholesaler, I priced cocoa powder in the 5-lb bag (a size I used to buy). But Trader Joe's cocoa powder, at $2.49 for 9-ounce container is still a better price per pound than the cash and carry's 5-pound bag. And popcorn, in the 12.5 pound bags were about 79 cents per pound, at the cash and carry. Although we've been out of popcorn for a while, and it is a good, inexpensive snack food, I passed this month. 79 cents per pound is too high for my price point on grains (around 50 cents per pound). I knew I would find it on sale at a local grocery store this fall (common sale time for popcorn in our area). And I did. Yesterday I found it for 55 cents per pound in a 32-ounce bag at a nearby grocery store. I bought several bags.

This month, shopping with the idea of buying institutional sizes, I saved $20.24 over what I would normally spend with my usual stock-up method (based only on how I changed my shopping, meaning my savings on the first 4 items on this list). That savings right there, is half of what I need to shave, to make my grocery budget reduction of $40/month. Woo hoo!!

My husband and I won't always be able to go through these large quantities. There will come an empty nest time for us, too. At that point, I see two scenarios. One, my kids continue to come home and shop mom's pantry. Or two, I find a few friends who want to form an informal co-op with us, and we can cost-share these large sizes.

Shopping in these large sizes is not a one-size-fits-all thing. Many people don't have the storage space, or couldn't use it all before it went bad. Some people just don't like to have all that much on hand at any one time. I understand that. Maybe you just found some entertainment value reading this. or maybe you're cheering me on, in my pursuit to reduce our spending. For whatever reason, I hope you enjoyed my shopping ramblings, today!

This week (the ultimate frugal edition)

So, I've had another one of those extremely busy weeks that result from needing to be very frugal. In other times, when being frugal has been more of a choice, I could do frugal things, as my energy and desire allowed. But in this phase of our finances, I feel urged, constantly, to do everything possible to reduce our spending.

I've been employing the usual cost-saving strategies, such as hanging laundry to dry, gardening, cooking from scratch, shopping second hand. But I've also plunged right in to many other active frugal endeavors.

I've baked a lot -- from graham crackers to French bread, from zucchini muffins to hot dog buns, and a large batch of biscotti. Baking from scratch saves a bundle over buying these same items at the a bakery or grocery store.

I made donuts, not just once, but twice, over the weekend, using my French bread dough, and upping the sugar just a smidge. We estimated that we saved about $10 on home donut-making. And fresh-made donuts are crispy and delicious!

I made a large batch of pinto bean sandwich spread for lunches. I followed my garbanzo bean sandwich spread recipe, substituting pinto beans for the garbanzos. I froze several jars, to use in future weeks. Peanut butter is a standard for sandwiches in our house. But the price of peanut butter has been high the past 2 years. Bean-based sandwich spreads save us about $1 per jar, over jars of peanut butter.

I froze my pears, using lemon juice, instead of ascorbic acid to prevent browning (about 2-3 tablespoons per pint container, sprinkled over the blanched pears, before adding sugar syrup). I am hoping we'll enjoy these this winter. If we do, then a couple of favorite recipes that call for canned pears, can be made with my home-grown, frozen pears, saving us a couple of $$ on store bought canned pears.

I've been rejuvenating clothing, with patches, dye and taking in seams. I have repaired, restyled and restored 8 pairs of jeans and pants in the last few weeks. I have one more pair of jeans and one skort in my pile to alter. Rejuvenating clothing has saved us over $100.

I patched all my daughters' casual socks. I'd hoped to replace all these socks at the end of summer, but now it looks like we need to make them last a few months longer (guess what Santa will be putting in the stockings this December?). New socks would have cost $15 on sale this fall. Santa will be buying socks at an annual 50% off sock sale, the day after Thanksgiving.

I made several gifts, both birthday and Christmas. And I'll continue making gifts for the next couple of months. I made these gifts, using only materials that I had at home. I have no idea how much I have saved making gifts. And this type of frugal activity is fun!

I made a batch of ketchup. I didn't follow a recipe, but borrowed my ketchup-loving daughter's taste buds, while I combined minced onion, vinegar, tomato paste, sugar, salt, lemon juice and water. It came out to our liking -- very tomato-y. We made a better product, skipping ingredients that commercial products contain, for about 25% less than store-bought ketchup.

I made a half gallon of wild blackberry pancake syrup. Oh man, is that stuff heaven! One of the jars has been set aside as a Christmas gift. My daughters picked the blackberries for us. We have many places nearby, where wild blackberries are found in abundance.

I've been working in the gardens, making them as beautiful as possible, using my efforts in place of new plants. I am saving some money for daffodil bulbs, for a couple of patches on the property. I finished the spot where I began in spring, with a dry river bed, some hostas, a couple of rhododendrons, and some hydrangeas. Over the years, I'll divide the hostas, and fill the space, as well as move some purple and white crocus to underplant them with. I'll take some photos and post them soon.

And I finally did some grocery shopping. When September hit, I assessed my pantry and went to the restaurant supply to buy what feels like the basics for us. I thought long and hard about which items were our family's essentials. I brought my calculator to the wholesaler, and unit-priced in the aisles. And in almost every case, I went with large institutional sizes.


So, fill me in. What's been keeping you busy this last week?