Common Cents: Look ahead to recovering expenses of holidays
Tuesday, December 23, 2008 11:51 PM PST
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E-mail this articleColumn by Gayle Bryant
For The Daily News
The presents are wrapped, the goodies are baked, the kids are out of school and the checkbook balance has seen better days. Merry Christmas.
Like most Americans, our spending skyrockets at this time of year as we lavish gifts on the people we love, give to charity and celebrate with elaborate feasts. And after the last present is opened and the leftovers are tucked away in the fridge, we tighten our belts to make up for it.
So I’ve come up with a few tips that will knock at least $50 off your January grocery bill. Some of these you might already be doing, but if you were to institute all of these ideas in one month you could easily save $50 or more.
Drink Water With Meals — Most of us are drinking soda pop, milk, or juice with our meals, but by switching to water (toss a slice of lemon, lime or orange in for some zing), you will improve the look of your skin, flush out toxins, and enhance weight loss from all the over-indulgences of the season.
As for savings, if you normally consume one gallon of milk per week during mealtimes, at $2.30 a gallon, there’s $9.20 off your monthly budget right there!
Serve One Meatless Meal Per Week — Don’t let this intimidate you. It doesn’t have to be tofu, bean paste or some other foreign vegetarian food. A meatless meal can be homemade macaroni and cheese, a baked potato night with salsa, cheese, or steamed veggies on top; a meatless chili with cornbread, or vegetable soup and rolls.
If hamburger costs $2 a pound and a four-pack of boneless-skinless chicken breasts is about $5, you could save between $8 and $20 a month by cutting out meat just once a week.
Buy Generic — I know, I know. There are some brands that we are just not willing to budge on. But do you realize that most of those generic brands are made by the same companies that are making your name brands? In most cases, you’re paying for packaging and advertising but getting the same quality of product.
Consider trying one or two generic brands this month instead of your name brands and see if you notice the change.
Make It Yourself — I can make two dozen chocolate frosted homemade donuts for close to 50 cents. I can make four gallons of liquid laundry soap (128 loads) for $1.42, and I can make homemade 409 cleaner for 35 cents.
There’s not much out there that can’t be made yourself with a good Google search and a willingness to try something new.
Have A Leftover Night At The End Of The Week — Many of us send our leftovers to a fuzzy death in the back of our refrigerators. This results in perfectly good food going to waste. Give yourself a night off and have a leftover buffet on Saturday nights. My kids think this is great fun. I set it all out in a row on the counter, pop the lid off the Tupperware, stick a spoon in it and everyone just dishes their own plate up and heats it in the microwave.
Don’t Believe The Container — Companies want you to use up their product fast so that you’ll buy more. Therefore, they recommend much larger servings than are actually needed. When I used to buy liquid laundry soap I found that half of the measuring cup cleaned my clothes just as well as the whole cup.
Dryer sheets cut in half kept my clothes static free and smelling fresh and lasted twice as long. A tablespoon of powdered dishwasher detergent got my glasses just as clean as a whole scoop did. Experiment a little and see how much you really need to get your things clean.
If you implement even a few of these ideas you’ll see your checkbook recover in record time. Reducing your family’s grocery budget can be done. Just think out of the box and be willing to experiment a little bit.
Have a wonderful Christmas holiday.
HOMEMADE 409
Adapted from the book “Clean House, Clean Planet” by Karen Logan
1 trigger spray bottle
2 Tablespoons distilled white vinegar
1 teaspoon of borax
Water
1/8 of a cup of mild liquid dish soap
I put a funnel in the top of my spray bottle and put in the vinegar, borax and then 1 cup of hot water to dissolve it. Then I add enough cool water to almost fill it to the top and pour the dish soap in last. Don’t shake. This costs me about 35 cents per bottle versus $3 to $4 per bottle for the store brand. And it’s great for food surfaces and bathrooms because white vinegar is a disinfectant.
MEATLESS BROWN RICE AND LENTIL CASSEROLE
From “The Tightwad Gazette” by Amy Dacyczyn
Serves 6
Surprise, Surprise! My kids devoured this. They licked their plates clean and declared that it tasted like bean dip! Anything that can disguise lentils enough for all four of my kids to eat is definitely worth 5 stars.
3 cups broth
3/4 cup lentils
1/2 cup brown rice
3/4 cup chopped onion
1 teaspoon Italian seasoning
1/4 teaspoon garlic powder (I use more)
1 cup grated cheese
Preheat the oven to 300 degrees.
Mix all ingredients except the cheese in a 11 x 7 baking dish.
Cover with foil and bake for 1 hour 10 minutes.
Remove the foil, add the cheese, and bake for an additional 20 minutes.
CROCKPOT MACARONI AND CHEESE
Adapted from “Fix It & Forget It Lightly” by Phyllis Pellman Good
Serves 8
8 ounces of macaroni cooked al dente
2 1/2 cups milk ( I use reconstituted powdered milk in my cooking)
2 eggs, slightly beaten
4 cups grated cheddar cheese
1/4 teaspoon salt
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Grease inside of crockpot.
In crockpot combine lightly cooked macaroni, milk, eggs, 3 cups of cheddar cheese, salt and pepper.
Top with remaining cheeses
Cover and cook on low for 3 hours.
For more frugal tips visit Gayle’s blog at http://grocerycartchallenge.blogspot.com. For questions or comments e-mail Gayle at gaylebryant6@hotmail.com.
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