Living On a Dime

Homemade After Shave
1/4 cup rubbing alcohol
1/2 cup water
1 tsp. cologne, give or take*

Mix rubbing alcohol and water. Add favorite cologne. I just put several squirts in the mixture until it looks like about a teaspoon or two.

*Or add one or two little cotton cologne samples (like Avon samples).

11 Tips for Frugal Living
by Tawra Kellam
http://www.LivingOnADime.com

Frugal living is all about making the most with what you already have. Here are 11 tips from LivingOnADime.com to help you get started:

1. Barter for services when possible. For example, we exchanged lawn mower repair from our neighbor for a table (garage sale find) that he was looking for.
2. Learn to fix things for yourself. These days, with the Internet making information so easily available, you can fix most things yourself. We do 95% of the repairs around our house and we aren't that handy. We just keep looking for the information about how to do it and keep working until we get it fixed!
3. Stop eating out. I know you hear it all the time but STOP!!! The "average" family spends $300-$500 a month just eating out! Eating out truly is one of the biggest causes of debt! I am always amazed how someone can be "totally broke" and can't pay their bills but are still able to go to the drive-thru of their favorite restaurant.
4. Study nutrition information and find out what you need to eat to have a healthy and balanced diet. Then stop eating the junk and eat healthy inexpensive meals at home. We have a lot of menu ideas here at LivingOnADime.com that can help you get started.
5. If something breaks and you don't have the money to fix or if you are out of something and you don't have the money to buy more, figure out a way to live without it. If the lawn mower breaks, can you borrow a friend's lawn mower? If your washer breaks, go to the laundromat. If you break your tea kettle, use a saucepan to heat water. In most instances, you can find a way to make do or do without something until you have the cash saved up.
6. Do things for free. Go to the library, have a picnic or read a book. Kids are just as happy playing with mom and dad in the backyard as they are going to the zoo. If you can't pay cash for the "fun stuff" you can always have fun at home.
7. Buy items used. We buy 90% of the items for ourselves used. Going to yard sales and thrift stores does not take any longer than going to a retail store but you can save 90% off the retail price!
8. Just say no...to your kids. Let kids buy their own toys and extras! Our kids pay for all their own soda, candy, treats like nail polish, their own computers and extras. You are not the Bank of Mom so just say no!
9. Find a cheaper way to do things. Go to a beauty school to get your hair colored (or don't have your hair colored at all it isn't something you need to survive). Go to a mechanic school to get your car fixed. Hire a kid instead of a lawn service to mow your yard (only if you can't do it yourself for medical reasons. :-) Paint your own house instead of hiring someone, cut the cable and the cell phone (gasp!), and have birthday parties at your house. There is almost always a cheaper way to do things so try to find the cheapest way and save some money!
10. Cut kids' activities. Most kids are in way too many activities and they're often expensive. I know families who pay $175 a month for gymnastics lessons but can't pay the mortgage. There is a problem with this kind of thinking! Kids won't die if you don't give them all the lessons and activities you can't afford.
11. Get it for free. When the landscapers were laying sod in our new neighborhood, I asked for the scraps and we were almost able to put in our entire backyard for free. When they were building houses, I asked for the 2x4's that were going into the dumpster and got enough wood for our shed. When they were pouring concrete patios, I asked for the leftover concrete and they just poured our entire cement pad for our shed for free!! If friends have kids older than your kids, ask if you can have their hand me downs when they are done.

Get as much as you can for free and you can save thousands of dollars!

      -Tawra

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit http://www.LivingOnADime.com , sign up for our free Living On A Dime Newsletter and learn to save more!

Homemade Baking Mix Recipesby Tawra Kellamhttp://www.LivingOnADime.com

Baking Mix
9 cups flour
2/3 cup dry milk
3 Tbsp. baking powder
2 tsp. salt
1 cup shortening or 1/2 shortening and 1/2 butter*
Mix flour and other dry ingredients. Cut in shortening. Use a mixer on low to cut in the shortening to save time. Store in an airtight container up to 6 months. This recipe uses a 5-pound sack of flour when doubled.
*Refrigerate if using butter.

Baking Mix Pancakes
2 1/4 cups baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
1 1/2 cups water
2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Mix ingredients until moist. The batter should be lumpy. Cook on a hot greased griddle. Flip when bubbles break on the surface and the edges begin to dry. Makes 15-18 medium pancakes.

Baking Mix Biscuits

2 1/4 cups baking mix
2/3 cup water or milk

Mix lightly until dough forms a ball. Turn onto a lightly floured surface. Knead 10-12 times. Roll dough about 1/2 inch thick. Cut with a 2-inch cutter or the rim of a glass dipped in flour. Bake at 450 degrees for 10-12 minutes on an ungreased cookie sheet. For drop biscuits, use 1 cup water and drop by tablespoonfuls onto a baking sheet. Makes one dozen.
*For cheese biscuits, add 1/4 cup cheddar cheese.

Baking Mix Muffins

2 1/4 cup baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
1 egg
3/4 cup water
1/3 cup vegetable oil
Mix dry baking mix and sugar. Add egg, water and vegetable oil to dry ingredients. Mix only enough to moisten flour. The batter will be lumpy. Fill greased muffin tins two-thirds full. Bake at 400 degrees for 20 minutes.
*For an added surprise fill muffin cup halfway and then add a spoonful of jelly. Top with more batter. Add raisins, cinnamon or nuts for gourmet muffins. Makes 12-15 muffins.
Butterfly Ring
2 1/2 cups baking mix
1 Tbsp. sugar
1 egg, beaten
2/3 cup milk
1/4 cup butter, room temperature
Grease a jellyroll sheet and preheat over to 375. Mix first four ingredients until well blended. Dough will be sticky. Knead on a lightly floured surface 18 times. Roll out into an 11x14 inch rectangle. Spread butter on the dough, then the filling on the dough. Serves 12.

Filling
2 Tbsp. butter, melted
1/2 cup sugar
3/4 cup nuts (optional)
1/2 cup cherry jelly (raspberry, strawberry or any other jam or jelly will work)
1/2 tsp. cinnamon
1 Tbsp. flour
Add the ingredients to the melted butter. Blend until smooth. If necessary, heat jelly 30 seconds in the microwave if you need to make it smooth. Spread filling onto dough. Roll the dough lengthwise and seal the edges by pinching them together. Form into a circle on the jellyroll pan. Cut 4 to 5 slits in the top to release steam. Bake for 20 minutes. Cool and frost with butter cream frosting.

Breakfast Puffs
2 cups baking mix
1/4 cup sugar
1/4 tsp. nutmeg
2 Tbsp. butter or margarine, softened
1/2 cup milk
1 egg
1/2 cup butter or margarine, melted
2/3 cup sugar
1 tsp. ground cinnamon
Heat oven to 400 degrees. Grease 24 mini muffin cups. Mix baking mix, sugar, nutmeg, margarine, milk and egg. Beat vigorously for 30 seconds. Fill muffin cups about 2/3 full. Bake 10 minutes. Mix sugar and cinnamon in a bowl. Quickly roll the puffs in melted margarine, then in the cinnamon and sugar mixture. Makes 24 puffs.

Jill Cooper and Tawra Kellam are frugal living experts and the authors of the Dining On A Dime Cookbook. Dining On A Dime will help you save money on groceries and get out of debt by cooking quick and simple homemade meals. For free tips & recipes visit http://www.livingonadime.com/go.php?offer=footemom12&pid=3 , sign up for our free Living On A Dime Newsletter and learn to save more!

The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch

I am very honored that Candy from Strategic Shopping asked me to write a frugal post for her blog.  I have known Candy for a long time....and she's not one of my "internet" blogger friends that I have never met!  Candy and I have a son the same age and they went to school together since Kindergarten - so I personally know Candy!  

I have to tell you that Candy amazes me.  Perhaps out of necessity - she knows how to be frugal as she is mom to 12 children!  At this time in our own life, with just two of us to feed, it is as important for me to become frugal as it was when I had a family at home to feed.  In this day and age it is not easy to make ends meet with the price of everything rising on a daily basis.  Sometimes it is harder to cook for two and not be wasteful so I try to make recipes that suit 4 people so we have enough for dinner and enough for leftovers one time during the week or even to pack for a lunch.  

As I started to think about what Candy wanted me to present to her readers I realized that for us it is a little more costly to make a pasta dish because I need to buy the lower carb pasta for Grumpy as he is Type 2 Diabetic.  So, if you don't need to watch your carbs, you can save more by buying the regular pasta which is about half the price of the low carb pasta.  We often like to eat pasta with seafood and while we love shrimp, we don't eat it on too regular of a basis because it is not only expensive, but high in cholesterol.  Grumpy's favorite fish is cod so I am always trying to think of ways to serve cod other than deep frying it.  

Peppery Cod with Lemon Garlic Linguine

Serves 4 people

Approximately $1.50 per serving - using the Dreamfield Pasta

I also had a glass of Coyote Moon Vineyard's Fireboat White which is 10.95/bottle 

Total for meal:  $3.33

6 oz dry pasta (I used Dreamfields), cooked according to package directions

3/4 pound fresh cod fillet, cut into small chunks

1-1/2 teaspoon ground pepper - I buy peppercorns and grind mine as I use it

1/2 teaspoon salt

1 teaspoon lemon zest

juice of 1 lemon

1/4 teaspoon dried thyme

1 large garlic clove, minced

2 tablespoons butter

Cook pasta in medium saucepan according to package directions.

Toss cod pieces with salt and pepper.  Set aside

In small saucepan bring lemon rind, lemon juice, thyme,and garlic to a simmer.  Add butter and simmer until melted.

Cook cod over medium-high heat with 1 teaspoon olive oil in non-stick frying pan, turning pieces over after about 3 minutes.  Cook 3 minutes more.

Place drained pasta in saute pan with cod.  Add lemon butter garlic sauce and toss to coat pasta and fish.  Sprinkle with parsley flakes.  

Shelby aka HoneyB
The Life and Loves of Grumpy's Honeybunch