Pinching penies – A penny pinched

Category : Pinching penies

March 2011: How did we do?

April 3rd 2011 Posted at Budget, Kitchen equipment, Pinching penies
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This month’s groceries, personal care items, and cleaning supplies cost a grand total of $233.52, which is $91.48 under my monthly budget of $325. It was a 5-week month, so perhaps that accounts for the slightly higher spending, but it will all even out in the end. I’m not very good about tracking my savings, but the numbers I did write down total up to $139.25. This number would be quite a bit higher if I were a bit more diligent in recording the savings shown on every receipt, and also if I bothered to figure out just how much I’m saving on the items I buy at Costco.

I wish I could say all this extra cash went straight into the savings account, but where’s the fun in that? I treated myself to a few kitchen toys that set me back around $200. I snagged a shiny new All-Clad 12-Inch Fry Pan on eBay. Then I started obsessing about Le Creuset. Unfortunately, I understand that the Le Creuset outlet store in Kansas City closed a while back, and the eBay deals weren’t all that hot. I finally realized how ridiculous I was and settled for a much more budget-friendly Lodge 6-Quart Dutch Oven in emerald green. Of course, I needed the Le Creuset Stainless Steel Knob if I wanted to bake bread in it. At this point, what’s a couple more things, right? A T-Fal Professional Total Nonstick 12-1/2-Inch Fry Pan and a Lodge Logic 12-Inch Pre-Seasoned Skillet rounded out my order. The total damage was $200.12, which was then slightly reduced by an Amazon gift card from Opinion Outpost and by last week’s eBay Groupon. Whew!

Now you may be wondering how I can write about All-Clad and Le Creuset on a blog titled “A penny pinched.” It seems counter-intuitive, doesn’t it? I personally believe in pinching pennies wherever I can so that I can spend on the things that really matter to me. Donate, save, yes, bot don’t live like a miser. Treat yourself once in a while.

Week ending on 3/20/11

March 20th 2011 Posted at ALDI, Budget, Cleaning supplies, Costco, Coupons, CVS, Groceries, Hen House, Hy-Vee, Pinching penies, Price Chopper, Walgreens
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This past week I shopped at SEVEN stores on two different days. I’m crazy, I know.

First, I ran to Walgreens and CVS last Sunday, and those were by far my most impressive shopping trips of the week. I’m pretty well stocked up, and I don’t need lots of things from the drugstores anymore, so I’d forgotten just how great it can be to walk out of there with a cart full of things for which you paid only a couple of dollars. It’s even better when the cashier can’t believe you’re getting such a good deal, and she asks to see the flyer before she lets you walk out of there with all those things.

Friday was my regular shopping day, and I went to Hen House, Hy-Vee, Price Chopper, Aldi, and Costco. I could’ve skipped Hen House and Aldi since I only went to each of them for a single item. Sometimes it makes sense to go a little out of your way if the savings are worth your time and money, but not always. Even when the savings justify it, make sure you grab the right item so that you don’t wipe your savings by overpaying.

All in all it was a great week. I was only slightly over my initial budget of $50/week, which I have actually upgraded to a more realistic $75/week. I figured that $50 was much too restrictive, especially since I use that money not only for groceries but also for cleaning supplies and personal care items. Moreover, even the thrifty USDA food plan for a family of 2 is $82.60/week as of January 2011. More often than not, I hover around $50/week anyway, but I no longer feel like I’m constantly failing whenever I go above.

Walgreens

Spent: $0.40
Saved: $8.98

CVS

Spent: $3.93
Saved: $42.42

Costco

Spent: $26.03
Saved: $3.00

Price Chopper

Spent: $12.98
Saved: $16.40

Hy-Vee, Hen House, and Aldi

Spent: $10.08
Saved: $9.36

GRAND TOTAL: $53.42
TOTAL SAVINGS: $80.16

Dinner 3/8/11

March 9th 2011 Posted at Cooking, Pinching penies, Recipes
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One of the downsides of pinching pennies is that I don’t eat fish nearly as often as I should. I’m trying to do better, but the sales are rare, and my storage space is limited. My absolute favorite recipe for salmon is the Baked Dijon Salmon, but I wanted to try something different this time. This recipe for Salmon with Brown Sugar Glaze was rather similar to my usual stand-by, but it fell a little short in my opinion. To be fair, I did modify it according to the top review, which means that I used honey instead of brown sugar. I think I’ll stick with my usual recipe and keep looking for something different as well.

If you’re like me, make sure you open a window and run your range hood fan. I managed to set off the fire alarm when I opened the oven door, probably because of the honey that had dripped onto the pan and burned. Yes, I’m THAT neighbor.

Here’s a quick breakdown of the recipe costs.

2 salmon fillets, 4 oz each – $1.50
Rice – $0.10
Lettuce – $0.80
Balsamic vinegar – $0.16
Grated parmesan – negligible
Croutons – $0.12

TOTAL: $2.56 for two servings or $1.28 per person.

Week ending on 3/6/11

March 6th 2011 Posted at Budget, Costco, Groceries, Pinching penies, Price Chopper
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As I mentioned in a previous post, this was a very light week for me. Most of the deals didn’t really appeal to me, so I decided to only go out for the bare necessities, such as milk, lettuce, and fruit. I also got some fresh yeast because the little that I still had left was a bit too old, and my bread dough wasn’t rising properly. Here’s what I got this week:

Costco
1 lb organic baby spring mix – $3.99
1 gallon skim milk – $2.15
2 lbs Red Star active dry yeast – $3.99
Total: $11.03

Price Chopper
4 lbs navel oranges – $1.69
Total: $1.79

GRAND TOTAL: $12.82

Dinner 3/5/11

March 6th 2011 Posted at Cooking, Pinching penies
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I bought some boneless skinless chicken breasts a couple of weeks ago, and I thought they were such a great deal until I got ready to make dinner the other night. The part of the chicken breasts that you could see through the clear plastic wrap was all nice and pretty, but the underside was full of fat. By the time I was done trimming the fat off the chicken, two of the three chicken breasts in the package barely weighed 1 pound. The whole package was 1.92 lbs to begin with. Not such a great deal after all.

After using that one pound of chicken for dinner that night, I had a single chicken breast left to do something with. I chose to grill it last night and served it with leftover veggies in cheese sauce and a salad. Here’s the cost and nutritional breakdown.

1 chicken breast – $0.84
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers – $0.50
Lettuce – $0.80
Salad dressing – $0.12
Grated parmesan – negligible

TOTAL: $2.26 for two servings or $1.13 per person

Not too bad as far as cost goes, but was it healthy?

1/2 chicken breast – Calories: 120, Total Fat: 1.5g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 24g
Green Giant Valley Fresh Steamers – Calories: 45, Total Fat: 1.5g, Carbs: 7g, Protein: 2g
Lettuce – Calories: 0, Total Fat: 0g, Carbs: 0g, Protein: 0g
Salad dressing – Calories: 70, Total Fat: 6g, Carbs: 3g, Protein: 1g
Grated parmesan – Calories: 20, Total Fat: 1.5g, Carbs: 0, Protein: 2g

TOTAL: Calories: 255, Total Fat: 10.5 g, Carbs: 10g, Protein: 29g

Again, not bad, if a bit low on the calories. The fat could’ve been lower had I used a different salad dressing. I normally only use balsamic vinegar, but I wanted a bit of a change this time, so I tried Ken’s Lite Caesar.

Two movie tickets for $9

March 2nd 2011 Posted at Pinching penies
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EXPIRED
LivingSocial is running a great deal today: TWO movie tickets for only $9. I don’t know about you, but we usually try to go to matinee showings to save some money. Compared to that, this deal is only slightly cheaper, but with this you’re not limited to matinee showings! Once you buy, you can redeem at any time before June 6th. Unfortunately, it’s not good for IMAX for 3D showings, but that’s not a deal breaker for me. Please read the fine print before you buy.

So what are you waiting for? Go grab this deal and stretch your dollar a little farther!

Pinching pennies on cable TV

March 1st 2011 Posted at Budget, Pinching penies
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When moving here almost a year ago, I signed up for a TV and internet package with AT&T U-verse. It wasn’t cheap, but it wasn’t expensive, either. Or so I thought. A friend had suggested using an antenna, but I wasn’t about to be that old-school and stoop to that level of pinching pennies. I was above that. I could afford better. I’d insert an eye-rolling smiley right now if I knew how to.

It turns out that I don’t watch nearly enough TV to justify the cost. My first cost-cutting move was to downgrade the TV plan to the most basic one offered by the company, but it was still a whopping $44!!! Does that sound basic to you? It was $19 for the TV service, $15 for the DVR, and $10 for the HD service. I felt nickeled and dimed, so I finally got over myself and ordered a set of rabbit ears.

Well, what do you know? The rabbit ears allowed me to receive the same exact channels I was paying $19 for, for FREE. I was even getting HD channels, although the AT&T rep tried to convince me otherwise when I called to cancel my service. The only problem was that canceling the TV service meant losing the DVR, and I’m absolutely horrible at remembering when my shows are on. Moreover, it’s so much more convenient to watch them when I want to instead of being a slave to their schedule.

TiVo to the rescue! Yes, I had to spend money to save money, but I am convinced it will be worth it in the long run. I bought a refurbished TiVo Premiere unit directly from TiVo for a mere $99.99. The beauty of it is that this way they don’t consider the unit to be subsidized, so you’re eligible for the lower subscription prices. Instead of being locked in at $19.99/month for a year if you had bought a brand new unit at a discounted price, you are now eligible for the discounted price of $12.95/month. Even better, you can lower that to $10.75/month if you sign up for the yearly plan.

Let’s look at the final numbers. I was paying $44 plus tax for AT&T U-verse TV. I am now paying $10.75/month, and I will have covered the cost of the DVR in a little over 3 months. Over the course of a year, that’s $399 that I get to keep. I’d say the rabbit ears are a small sacrifice for that, wouldn’t you?

Saving money on flights and hotels

June 22nd 2010 Posted at Pinching penies
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In a previous post I talked about how package deals aren’t always better than buying a la carte. That may be true for knives, but it’s not true for travel. Here’s what I learned today, after spending some time looking at flights and hotels.

Hotels charge you more if you book directly through them, even if you qualify for a special negotiated rate. I’ll never understand why they give better deals to travel websites when they could simply give you the same lower rate and pocket the difference.
Package deals are often times a better deal than booking a flight and hotel room separately. Often but not always, so always check.
Sometimes a package may be an even better deal than the flight alone, especially if you’re booking at the last minute.
You may get a better deal by booking the flight and room through different websites. One of them may have a deal on flights, while the other may have a cheaper room.
Don’t dismiss a flight simply based on its departure time. It may get you to your destination before the earlier flight.
If you’re taking a red-eye flight, check the flights for the next day. The airlines don’t make this easy for you and a flight leaving slightly after midnight the following day may be a better deal and maybe even more convenient.
Some travel websites (such as Expedia) let you book a hotel room for only part of your trip while still saving you money with a package deal. Combine this with the tip above and don’t pay for an empty hotel room.

That’s what I did and I was able to save quite a bit of money by booking a hotel room with the flight, flying back after midnight, and not paying for that last night at the hotel. Unfortunately, I had some pretty strict constraints to work with, which made it impossible for me to get the absolute lowest price. The more flexible you are, the more you can save. Oh and don’t be like me and book at the last minute. Especially during the summer. To a popular destination. If only the trip were for fun. *sigh*

Leftovers

June 5th 2010 Posted at Cooking, Menu planning, Pinching penies
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Over the years, I’ve heard people talk about “leftovers” as if it were a dirty word. “Oh, we’re JUST having leftovers.”

I suppose people see eating leftovers as pinching pennies , and who wants to be known as a penny pincher? Who wants to eat a bean dish as opposed to a juicy steak? People want to live large and eating leftovers doesn’t belong in that picture.

But until we can afford to stop pinching pennies (and even after if we enjoy penny pinching), we’ll have to eat some leftovers here and there. They’re a great way to save money and time.

Obviously, this depends on the size of your family, but rather than scaling a recipe down to fit your family, try making it as directed or even doubled. In my case, I noticed that most recipes serve 4 people and that’s perfect for a family of 2. You get dinner that night and lunch the following day with no extra effort on your part.

If you’re one of those people turning your nose up at the idea of eating leftovers, you’re either very picky or you’re not reheating the food properly. Some foods are actually better the next day, believe it or not.

I personally judge a recipe by how eager I am to eat its leftovers at lunch the next day. If I find myself looking forward to lunch, I know the recipe is a keeper.

How to make artisan bread

June 1st 2010 Posted at Cooking, Pinching penies
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This is my absolute favorite recipe in the world. It comes from the book Artisan Bread in Five Minutes a Day and it couldn’t be easier. Of course, it doesn’t hurt that it turns what would be a rare indulgence for me into a very affordable staple, if you will. Buy the book or borrow it from the library if you want. You can also find the recipe all over the internet if you’d rather go that route. Here’s how easy it is to make.

This is pretty much all you’ll need. A container, flour, yeast, salt, water, and a few utensils. Easy, right?

Mix the yeast, salt, and warm water.

Add the flour and mix. Let it rise for 2 hours at room temperature.

Sprinkle corn meal on a pizza peel if you have one. I used a cutting board.

Sprinkle a little bit of flour on top of the bread dough.

Shape the dough and place it on the pizza peel. Or cutting board.

Let it sit for 20 minutes.

Preheat the oven to 450 degrees. Wait another 20 minutes.

Sprinkle flour on top of the shaped bread dough.

Slash the bread dough a few times.

Sprinkle corn meal on the heated pizza stone, or cast iron skillet in my case.

Place the shaped bread dough on the pizza peel or cast iron skillet. Place it in the oven for 30 minutes, along with a cup of hot water in a broiler pan on the rack below.