A Jar Of Soap

My grandfather traveled a lot for his job.  On average he was on the road at least three weeks a month, home on weekends, and my grandmother didn't seem to mind it a bit.  In fact, I think she rather enjoyed it.  One summer, not long after I moved into my very first apartment, my grandparents came to Idaho for a visit.  My grandmother brought me a jar of soap.

I get a lot of my thriftiness from her and as I remember it was a great big sauerkraut jar that she had pr0bably washed out and saved.  She told me that very week, when my grandfather came home from being on the road, he would give her all the little bars of soap he had collected from the hotels he stayed in.  In those days when you checked into the hotel there would be two or three little bars of soap wrapped in paper with the hotel logo on it.  This was before hotels gave away the little bottles of shower gel, lotion and shampoo.

When she handed me the jar I remember thinking it was kind of an odd thing to give someone, but I also thought it was kind of quaint too.  And so like her.  The jar was filled with tons of little rectangular soaps.  Mostly white bars but there were some yellow and pink ones too.  All different brands like Ivory, Dial, Zest and Safeguard.  She told me it might come in handy now that I was on my own.

Little did I know how right she was.  That jar of soap went with me from house to house as I moved, married, divorced, moved and moved again.  And it really did come in handy.  Every time money was tight, and it frequently was, I'd dip into that jar and grab a bar of soap to put in the shower or set by the bathroom sink.

Last week a friend of mine sent me home with a basket of hotel soaps and shampoos that she had collected last year while she and her husband traveled.  It was fun for me and the girls to go through and take a few things, but the one thing I decided I really wanted was all those little bars of soap.

I had put a jar in the donate box last month because I had hung onto it for well over a year and hadn't come up with a use for it.  Then I thought - Hey! 

I unwrapped all those little bars of soap and filled it up while telling my girls about the one my grandmother had given me so many, many years ago.  Now, once again, I have a jar of soap in the house.

Because you never know.  It just might come in handy.

Steakhouse Brown Bread - Yum!

When we go out for a steak dinner we love it when they bring the bread basket and the whipped to the table.  Especially if there is a loaf of that lightly sweet brown bread in it.  As I've grown more confident with my bread baking skills I've enjoyed branching out and trying new ones.  This is what I came up with for my steakhouse style brown bread recipe.

Steakhouse Brown Bread

2 cups whole wheat flour

2 cups all purpose flour

1/4 cup sugar

1 tsp salt

2 Tbs baking cocoa

4 tsp yeast

1/4 cup dark molasses

1 egg

1 Tbs olive oil

1 -1 1/4 cup hot water

Select the dough cycle.  Place dry ingredients in pan and select start.  Add molasses, egg, water and oil.  Once dough forms a smooth ball (you may have to add a little flour or water depending on humidity) close lid and allow cycle to run completely.

Once finished remove dough from machine and knead lightly on a floured surface.  Dough should be smooth and not be sticky.  

Divide dough into three equal parts.  Shape into a round loaf and place on a lightly oiled baking sheet.  

Cut a cross on the top of each dough ball, if desired.

Cover with a tea towel and allow dough to raise until doubled in size in a warm draft free place, approximately one hour.

Bake loaf in a preheated 400° oven for 20 minutes.  Remove from oven and brush top with butter, if desired.

I like to brush with butter or spray with a little non stick cooking spray to keep the loaves soft.  If you prefer a crunchy crust just leave them alone.  Sliced and served with whipped butter is fantastic but we also think this would be excellent bread to use for tuna or ham sandwiches.

Home Repair With A Little Ingenuity

Since we moved back into our home over Labor Day weekend 2014 I have been systematically making my way through the house and yard making repairs and improvements.  One of the bigger ones to tackle was the kitchen backsplash.  It had sustained some water damage while we were away and as a result it warped and popped off the wall.

It took me awhile to get to it for a couple of reasons.  The biggest was to decide whether I was going to repair it or replace it.  Once I decided it would be best, for the time being, to repair it I had to figure out the best way to get this accomplished.  I had a pretty good idea of how I thought I could do it, but whether or not it would actually work remained to be seen.

After cleaning it all up and removing the old caulking with a sharp razor blade I squirted liberal amounts of heavy duty construction adhesive behind the backsplash.  I stacked pieces of wood in front of the backsplash where it was warped the most and used another piece of wood and a length of furring strip to wedge it tight up against the wall and hold it into place.

Hey, whatever works!

Twenty four hours later I removed my crazy contraption and found it had worked just as I had hoped.  After some new caulking to seal it up and make it watertight once again it is good as new.

I really love having my backsplash repaired, finally, and this item crossed off of my "to do" list.  Much easier to keep things clean too, not to mention it looks so much better.

It was an inexpensive repair too.  Only cost me the price of a tube of caulk.  So, why the heck did I wait so long to fix it?

Last Week's Thrifty Moves

Sunday afternoon I made two loaves of whole wheat bread and a batch of 1000 Island dressing.

Monday I stopped in at Fred Meyer for fresh produce.  I didn't need much, but I did happen across a clearance rack full of winter gloves marked down at 59¢ a pair!  What a deal!  I bought several pairs for the girls and have put them away for Christmas.  Another item off my gift list.  Whoo hooooo!

The only grocery shopping I did this week was for a bag of lettuce mix, broccoli, scallions and a bottle of vegetable oil.  I stopped in at Walgreens for two bottles of laundry detergent that were on sale plus I had two $1 OFF coupons making the final price 99¢ each.  I don't think I'll need to buy any more laundry detergent this year and will probably have some for next year. J

I helped my youngest make a Valentine gift for her sister.  At Christmas she had wanted to buy her a music CD, however her budget didn't allow it.  We were at the library last month and she found the CD there.  Together we came up with the idea to borrow it, load it onto her computer and burn it onto a CD.  Then we could make a label for it and she could give it to her for Valentine's Day.  She loved that idea.  Saturday we printed out a label using a picture we found online and completed her little gift.  I already had the CD and labels and she used a case from one of her computer games.  Once it was done she was quite pleased with the results.

Saturday morning I tried a new recipe for brown bread.  It was a smashing success and I will be sharing the recipe soon.

I also made three small loaves of honey oat bread to give to my girlfriends for Valentine's Day.

I used one of my bargain buy cake mixes and a tub of frosting I had snagged from the markdown bin awhile ago to make cupcakes for my friends and family.  I even tinted the yellow cake mix with a few drops of red food coloring to make the batter pink.

I washed out 3 one gallon Ziploc bags and 2 quart bags to reuse.  I've been using them to store bread in so it is cinch to wash them out and keep them clean.

How was your thrifty week?

Not All Of My Financial Decisions Are Thrifty

It's true.  Not all financial decisions I make are thrifty, but I do try to make sure that the ones that aren't are at least smart.  I do think it is very important to be smart about how we spend our money, especially when it comes to the big things.

As you may recall, in November I purchased a brand new automobile.  I did not set out with the intent to purchase a brand new car, but to be honest, I was hopeful.  I knew what I wanted and I knew what I was willing and able to pay.  I took my time.  I did my research.  I shopped and shopped and shopped for this car.  For nearly nine months I worked on this "project" of mine.  I stuck to it and I didn't waiver on what I considered acceptable.

I had found a 2013 Nissan Altima that was a lease return.  Two years old, basic model with AT, AC, power windows and locks, cruise control, 38,000 miles on it and a limited powertrain warranty.  I was seriously considering this car.  The loan was for 72 months at 3.65% interest.  Not too bad.  I would put a good amount down and plan to pay it off early.  It was a good car.  Practical, suitable, pretty.  The only thing was I wasn't in love with this car.  I don't know why, but it just wasn’t "the one".  And for that kind of money, I should love it.  Shouldn't I?

So I looked at the Versa.  Less money, very basic.  I don't need power windows and locks.  I can roll my own windows down, afterall.  It does have cruise and AC.  Better gas mileage than the Altima.  And it's cute.  And the girls could use it in college.  And then I can get something else later.  Maybe?

No, that whole line of thinking just seemed dumb to me.  You see, I was thinking thrifty, which is what I tend to do, but I knew I wouldn't be happy because I was going to have to settle.

So I decided instead to think smart.

What I really wanted was a Sentra.  Even though this would make it the fourth one I've owned, that is what I really wanted.  I love them.  However, unless I wanted something really old I couldn't find a nice used one.  So I started looking at new ones.  And at a different dealership a couple of towns away I found her.  And I fell in love. J

In the color I wanted.  Brand spanking, shiny new, beautiful, smells so good.  Yep.  I was in love alright.

It had 28 miles on it.  It came with a full warranty.  It is not the base model.  She's loaded.  It came with a $300 package of custom floor mats and a trunk liner.  It has a fancy stereo (that is important to me).  And it is the nicest car I've ever had.  Yep, I'm in love.

Here’s the best part.

I looked at it and less than two days later they contacted me.  They had lowered the price down to where it was only $300 more than the two year old lease return Altima.  The dealership was in serious clearance mode.  They also told me I had qualified for Nissan's latest promotion 0% interest financing for up to 72 months.  I didn't need a calculator to figure out this was a smarter option than the used Altima.  And I didn't have to settle.

There is seriously nothing thrifty about owning cars.  They cost money.  Money to run, insure, license, maintain and they depreciate.  Their value always goes down.  Unless you own a well sought after classic, they go down.  It’s just how it is.  You can pretty much say that about anything with an engine.

But you do need to be smart.

Take your time, weigh your options, do the math, and then purchase what you can easily afford.  And don't settle.  In my opinion, there is nothing thrifty or smart about spending your hard earned money on something you really don't want or aren't completely happy with.

Perhaps another time we'll talk housing. J

I'm Still Stocking Up On $5 A Week

Last year I wrote this post about my plans to stock up on $5 a week to see if I could make the kind of progress I hoped I could and not feel it quite so much.  Well guess?  It worked pretty slick, I tell you.  We did so well with it that I am still reaping the benefits so I decided I'm going to keep on trucking!

You wouldn't think that you could make much of a difference with just $5 a week which averages only $20 to $25 a month, but it really does!  I'll admit, I went into last year a bit skeptical, but I was also hopeful and determined.

The reason it worked out so well for me is that I love a challenge.  Give me $5 and tell me I have to get as much of one thing as I can for that 5 bucks and my creative juices get to flowing.

I shopped the sales and stocked up on the loss leaders.

I used coupons along with the items on sale to really stretch my $5

I shopped at places other than my regular grocery store - Outlet Market & Dollar Tree

I saved up  my $5 for  two or three weeks and bought in bulk at Cash & Carry

I had a list and I marked items off and put the prices down too.  I found that frequently I came in under the $5 which allowed me to compensate on the weeks I went a little bit over.  It all worked out.

What do you think?  Would setting aside $5 a week from your grocery budget to use only for stocking up be a benefit to you?  Have any of you tried it?

A Week Of Meals At Our House

I like to make big Sunday dinners and last week was no exception.  I put on a big pork roast in my slow cooker, added half an onion I chopped up and some verde sauce I had leftover and tashed in the freezer.  I cooked it until it literally fell to pieces.  The roast cost approximately $7.50 making it the most expensive meal I prepared all week.

I cooked up two cups of long grain rice.  I served the pork verde over the rice with a cup of shredded cheese and a cup of sour cream to garnish.  We had salad leftover from Saturday's dinner as our side.  I also baked up a batch of buttermilk cookies for our dessert.

Sunday afternoon I made a fresh pan of homemade whole wheat dinner rolls.  I froze half and served the rest with Saturday's leftover broccoli cheese soup, our supper on Monday.  I prepared a fresh green salad to go with it.  I also made a batch of homemade buttermilk salad dressing.

Tuesday's supper was leftover pork verde, rice, cheese and sour cream in flour tortillas.  I served it with leftover salad and dressing from the night before.  The leftover pork was put into a freezer container and will be dinner sometime in the not too distant future.

Wednesday I prepared a pasta dish using two links of spicy sausage I had found in the markdown bin and froze a couple months ago, a pound of pasta and a can of Italian style tomatoes.  We still had leftover salad so I served as our side.

Only $1.00 from the markdown bin

Thursday we enjoyed our farm fresh eggs made up in cheese omelets with toast and fruit salad.  Simple, easy and delicious.  Definitely my thriftiest meal of the week.

Friday we enjoyed leftover pasta, dinner rolls and salad for supper.

Saturday I put on a pot of taco soup.  I made a pan of homemade cornbread and a fresh garden salad.  I served sour cream as a garnish for the soup.

Throughout the week we enjoyed leftovers for our lunches too.  The soups I make on Saturday usually make another appearance the following week as supper and a lunch or two.

I try to make enough food at each meal for leftovers but not too much that we end up with waste.  Having leftovers is a great way to stretch our budget and it makes for fewer full meals to prepare each week.