Saving Time and Money

I'm not Martha Stewart and I don't claim to be anything other than a Domestic Diva Wannabe, but last night I was having a conversation with a friend on facebook about ways to save time and money, when it comes to making dinner.

My friend works fulll time and has a 2 year old.  By the time she gets home from work she has about 90 minutes to make dinner, eat dinner and then get her daughter in bed. My position in life is a bit different because I stay at home with my two kids, but I still don't want to spend any more time doing prep work than I have to since I have two "helpers" underfoot and nobody to keep them busy while I'm cooking.  Also, I'm just lazy.

During our brainstorming session here are a few of the things we discussed:

Doing prep work once

*Does your recipe call for only half of an onion? Cut up the entire onion, stick the unused half in the freezer and save for later. 

*Are you marinating meat to put on the grill tonight? Make a double batch of marinade.  Use one batch tonight and fill a ziploc with the other half, stick the meat in it and freeze.  When you go to defrost the meat later it'll already be marinated and ready to cook. This is one of my favorite marinades and I almost always have it in my freezer.

Freeze fruits and veggies when they're on sale

*This goes along with only doing prep work once.  My kids LOVE to snack on red bell peppers.  This year I have been able to buy them in season for 3 for $1. Out of season the same peppers cost at least $1.50/each.  When they're in season, and on sale, I buy about 10-15 peppers and then slice them.  I spread the sliced peppers onto a cookie sheet and freeze.  Once solid I transfer the peppers into a ziploc bag.  Later I can reach in and grab my kids a couple to snack on or throw them into a recipe like fajitas or soup.

*I use this same method with berries.  I wash the berries and spread them on a cookie sheet to freeze.  I slice strawberries before freezing, but leave blackberries, blueberries, and raspberries whole.  Once frozen I put them in a ziploc.  Later I use the frozen berries to make smoothies for my kids or to add to hot oatmeal.

Cook in bulk

*I cook 5-6 chicken breasts at a time. We'll eat two for dinner that night and then I dice the others and freeze them in single serve portions so I can add the meat later to soups, chilis, enchilladas, salads, pasta, etc. In addition to the time savings of having pre-cooked chicken on hand, I'm saving money because I'm able to buy when meat is on sale and I'm only using the electricity to heat my oven once. I am also saving time because I'm only having to do dishes once.

*As one of the original members of the Funky Freezer Girls I am a huge fan of freezer cooking.  You don't have to do Once A Month Cooking or be part of an exchange group in order to make your life easier using your freezer.  If you make your own pasta sauce, make a double batch and freeze half by putting it in a ziploc bag and lying it flat in your freezer until frozen.  If you make enchilladas, lasagna, or another casserole that goes in an 9x13 pan place the recipe in 2 8x8 pans.  Stick one pan in the oven for dinner that night and the other in the freezer for later.  The night before you're going to have your freezer meal, put it in the fridge to defrost and pop it in the oven after work. 


This is, in no way, a comprehensive list, but I pray it'll help you get the creative juices flowing in ways that you can save yourself time, stress and money.  Just because you don't have time to cook doesn't mean you have to eat out or eat processed food!

How Did I Get Here?

It dawned on me the other day that some of my friends know me as a "coupon queen" and are amazed at my deals. I have other friends who also "deal" and who think I'm a novice because my deals don't compare to theirs. I have a third group of friends who are probably amazed that there are people out there who think I know anything about being frugal.

In college, and the years immediately following, I made a lot of "typical" mistakes. I got credit cards and charged clothes I "needed", dinners out I "needed", and when things got tight actual groceries that I really did need. I got to the point where I couldn't afford food. I was begging my roommates to share what they had and scrounging whatever leftovers my coworkers were going to throw away. I remember a lady from church going through her own pantry at 1am giving me canned goods. I skipped meals and went on a "rice and ramen" diet because that's all I could afford. Yes, I was a poor college student, but what I wasn't admitting at the time is I couldn't afford food because all my money was going to pay my credit card bills.

I hit rock bottom a couple years out of college. I was losing sleep over my debt and was a horrible roommate--bouncing checks, avoiding bills, etc. It was BAD. I'm embrassed to be admitting this, but it is part of my story. Eventually creditors were calling me. One bill collector even called my grandma to find out how to get in touch with me. Have I mentioned it was BAD?

Through one collector I ended up giving them post-dated checks for large sums of money to be cashed on my payday. I also went to Consumer Credit Counseling to take care of the rest. I took a second job. My primary job was as a flight attendant, but I also worked 15-20hrs a week at a Christian bookstore. Again, I could barely afford food, but at least this time it was because I was paying off debt, without acquiring any more. All my cards had been cancelled and I swore them off forever. (By the way, knowing what I know now I wouldn't have gone to Consumer Credit Counseling, but it is how I got out of debt)

I worked my tail off and didn't eat much. While flying I cooked ramen noodles in hotel coffee pots, while my crew members were going out to eat. I scrounged off the first class leftovers and ate peanuts because I didn't have money to buy food on my overnight. There were numerous days I worked at the bookstore from 8:30am-3pm, changed in the bathroom, and then headed to the airport to work a red-eye flight to the East Coast that landed at 7am. I was working 20hr days and went over 6mo without a day off. The only time I got a day off at all was if I happened to have a Sunday I wasn't flying, because the store was closed.

Eventually, my debts got paid I and I was able to start "living" again. I made a vow to myself I'd NEVER, NEVER, NEVER get myself in that situation again.

It's funny how God works because a few months after the last credit card got paid off I met this amazing guy, who had never been in debt a day in his life. We started dating and eventually decided to get married. My husband had always done things "right" and was passionate about being debt free because he didn't know any different. My passion comes from having learned my lessons the hard way. I wouldn't be surprised if God was waiting to introduce me to my husband until I had everything straightened out. (In the spirit of full disclosure I should admit that we do have a couple of credit cards we use for the "rewards" that we pay off each month)

My husband has an amazing job. I have been to places I never thought I'd see, I've experienced things I never thought I'd do, and am balancing a family budget with numbers I'd never dreamed I'd see.

I still have student loan debt, and now that I'm a stay-at-home-mom that's something my husband is having to deal with, that he shouldn't. I can't tell you how much I am looking forward to the day it is GONE.

I am passionate about saving money, living on a budget, and living within my means because I learned early and hard the misery that comes with trying to keep up with the Joneses. There are a lot of things I don't "have", but I do have peace knowing that a creditor won't be calling tomorrow and THAT is priceless

God is still using fish to teach . . .

We don't observe Lent, but as a huge fan of seafood I look forward to this time of year because all of the grocery stores have sales on fish.

The most spectacular deal I've found this year has been cod, sold in "family packs" for $2.99/lb at Albertson's. For the past few weeks I have been buying several packages at a time and freezing them into meal-sized portions for our family.

As I was in the kitchen using my FoodSaver on all this fish I saw a postcard on our fridge that we'd received at church at the end of 2008. On it were several verses about honoring God with our money. I read "'Bring the whole tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. Test me in this,' says the LORD Almighty, 'and see if I will not throw open the floodgates of heaven and pour out so much blessing that you will not have enough room for it.'" Malachi 3:10

As I read that I was thinking (ok, whining) "God . . .what more do you want from us? We tithe, we give, what else? Why isn't our storehouse overflowing?" A few minutes later I took my 12lbs of cod I'd just prepared for the freezer and walked into the laundry room (where our spare freezer lives). I opened the freezer door, immediately looked at the fact it is completely stocked with freezer meals, meat I'd been able to stock up on during sales, etc. and was convicted. Our freezer IS overflowing with His blessings. I was so wrapped up in the things we don't have I had completely ignored the blessings He HAS given us. Thank you, Jesus, for Your provision, and for reminding me how truly blessed we are.