WHAT ARE YOUR TIME & MONEY TIPS AND TRICKS IN THE KITCHEN, HOME, AND SHOPPING?

From the Community…

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  Posted by MariK Thu Oct 8, 2009 1:12pm PDT

  The best thing about "the old days" is, The Betty Crocker Picture Cookbook.Teaches you how to cook virtually anything, and tells you how to keep it fresh.

  I think one of the smartest ways to save money on a weekly basis is to be REALISTIC about food. Don't buy that quart of plain yogurt and some strawberries and tell yourself you're going to eat it or feed it all that week; it ends up in the disposal, and you end up spending $7 for a breakfast sandwich and coffee on top of the cash you put out for the "planned" food. If you're going to cook, don't fanatsize about how much you're going to do from scratch based on what some magazine article inspires: know your limits, and you'll cut your losses.

  F'rinstance,I make my own bread, regularly, but for the hubby-man's lunch sandwich, it's easier AND thriftier to buy sliced wholegrain bread from the store-- you can't preslice homemade and have it still taste fresh, and it doesn't last as long;if you refrigerate it, it's fresh but hard.This was a tough thing for me to accept, but it's saved money and frustration-- when you throw out Arnold's because it's moldy you blame Arnold's. When you throw out bread you nurtured into life yourself, it's personal, and the you blame the person who didn't bother to eat it!

  More people waste cash on vegetables and fruits that they don't really have time to prepare, for side dishes their kids won't eat, because they're envisioning some idealistic cooking scenario. Scratch cooking can save loads of money, yeah, but if it's not your everyday thing, don 't try to do too much at once. Make a list based on what you usually eat, and the ingredients for one new or untried dish, and don't let guilt or the fantasy-cook ideal trap you. Throwing out those expensive spices, veggies or whatever will not help you eat healthier or save money.

  On the non-food side of thrifty, I've researched and found that you may be able to save significantly on your electric bill, if you commit to using the bulk of your power (like doing laundry, running the dishwasher, TV and other big energy-suckers) during non-peak hours. I read about this in Cooking Light magazine, and

  was surprised to find that our own National Grid offers such a program. Unfortunately, in a way, my usage is not high enough to qualify for that discount, but the average family with a couple of kids would be eligible. I do still try to confine my laundry and dishwashing to off peak hours in order to place less stress on the grid. This type of discount may be available to you, it's worth chekcing out. All you really have to do is wait till after 8pm to run the dishasher, or throw in the laundry-- it will be done before bedtime.

  I hope someone else has a tip or two soon. I need 'em!

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  Posted by Gail Fri Oct 9, 2009 4:29pm PDT

  Thanks for your thoughtful and sensible remarks Mari. I have often found myself enthusiastically buying great looking produce only to ditch it 2 weeks later when it's no longer so good-looking after sitting unused in my crisper.

  My solution to that is to buy frozen veggies!

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