Can be a pinch hitter when you're out of milk. I think it provides a creamier taste and texture in sauces.

********************************

Yogurt can pinch hit for sour cream and milk in the right situations/recipes. Generally you're safe.

Bonus: Yogurt is easy to make and you can chain batches so that you're not "reinvesting" in making more yogurt.
Did you know that you can make a ricotta textured cheese from drained yogurt? Maybe ricotta & yogurt could pinch hit for each other too!

These are very similar except that condensed milk is the sweetened version of evaporated milk. So if substituting either way, take sweetness into consideration and tweak the other sweetening agents in your recipes.

Browse my other blog to join!

biggest loser of debt...that is.

Man, if they made losing debt a competition and a reality show, I bet we all would watch it. People acting a goofy from consumer withdrawl. Trash picking to the extreme. Other people tempting others with material possessions. What if they made it a family oriented reality show to also educate the young-ins.

I save mine by cutting off the top portion and stacking them.

(1) Seed Starters (just make sure you mix the water with the potting soil well before you put in the wells, it will be hard to do it later) And make sure there's something underneath just in case water overflows or drips

(2) Snack Tray (from The Complete Tightwad Gazette)

(3) Craft organizer


Leave *your* ideas in the comments =)

(1) Plastic bag organizers (one for the car(s), garage, basement, etc)

(2) Raffle Box

(3) "Honey Do *Box*"


Post more ideas in comments....

Don't spend money on those expensive Diaper Rash creams! Prevent them cheaply!

Jasmin hasn't had a diaper rash since she was 2.5 months old and she's nearly nine months old now.

Everytime I change her diaper I sprinkle cornstarch based baby powder (cornstarch by itself would do fine) and rub petroleum jelly over her bum.

Cornstarch is cheap and lasts a long time, so is petroleum jelly. Unless you have stocks for A&D ointment, don't give the company your money!

I'm going to try giving my plasma for up to $200 a month. It takes about 1.5 hrs and the location near me would give me $25 per session with a maximum of 8 sessions a month (twice a week).

Find one in your area: International BioResources

You know you wanted to save this one. You felt guitly for putting it in the trash next to your uneaten leftovers. You want to free it of it's "Cheese" shackles. It's more than that. There are plenty of uses for that guy with the multi spout top. (wink)

I use them for:

* Homemade Shake N Bake Mix from budget101.com

* Bread Crumbs (from old bread remnants, muffins, etc) in the freezer

* Homemade coffee creamer

* Cookie Crumbs

* Grated bars of soap to mix up laundry detergent

* Baking Soda for my Laundry Room (boosts laundry cleaning)


Go on...keep brainstorming...post other uses. Not just for me...for all of the Kraft Parmesan containers out there in Trashland and blog readers.

Advertisements bomard us with ideas of what we need to buy. They say we need a distinct cleaner for every room and object. Your shampoo is only for hair. Baby products are advertised only for babies. They want you to buy more of their products, not face the truth and save money.

Fact is there are more "all-purpose" products out there without the corporate masks we associate with cleanliness, hygiene, whatever. Do they deserve our hard earned money?

Vinegar, Lemons, Baking Soda, ammonia, rubbing alcohol and bleach have been around a lot longer than commercials and did the just as well for cheap. What do you think that cave people used to survive? Did they die off because they didn't have Lysol?

Same goes for hygiene products. You can use shampoo as bodywash and for some light hand washing. Baby lotion is as good for the mother as the baby. Body lotion is good on *skin*, not excluding our face.

Don't *you* feel taken advantage of? Do you gripe about your underpaid job and yet stuff Procter & Gamble's (for example) pockets with *your* hard earned money?

True- we've been brainwashed. But now, it's up to you to keep your money.

We have to observe the link between time, money and our reserves (resources).

The underlying advantage to using substitutions is to utilize your resources instead of spending time and money shopping for something you still basically have.

How many times do you go to the store just for bread, or milk, or eggs, cheese, or flour, or sugar? The usual suspects bring home with them other unnecessary purchased items.

A suitable occasion to use a substitution would be if you ran out of milk and you have dry milk in reserves. Go mix that milk until you have a good number of stuff on your "list" to make a sensible trip to the store.

Also, let's say that you are out of laundry detergent, but have a lot of bars of soap (hotel size or ones you ended up hating) lying around. If this is the case and you're going on a "sensible" trip to the store, instead of buying "laundry soap", buy borax and washing soda to use with the barsoap and make your own. It will be cheaper, last longer and use up some of your reserves that have been lying around as clutter.

In the back of your mind, always have your goals in focus. It makes it easier to make the better choices.

Power to substitutions! =p

These, as far as I know, are my own ideas. I have not "researched" this on the web. Excuse any "non original" stuff.

(1) Travelling sewing kit

(2) knitting/crocheting notions holder when you don't want to bring the whole "stash"

(3) "moon" kit

(4) sick kit: a few cough drops, Tylenol, etc.

(5) mini makeup kit

A loaf of bread has risen more than a dollar since 1929. A gallon of gasoline has risen over 2 dollars.

Electricity, by in large, has stayed the same price for 77 years!

(info from my utility company)

Our phone bill has offically been downsized! We were paying for 2 $40 cell phone plans; mine had rollover minutes which didn't make sense. So now we have Skype for whoever is home (free calling out to N. America & purchased a phone number for $12 for 3 months or $38 for a year). And we got rid of DH's phone and downsized my phone to a $30 plus tax monthly plan.

Projected savings : DH's plan ($48) + My New Plan's discount ($10) - ($38/12= $3.17) for Skype = $55 per month!

$660 saved on our phones for a year!

*Plus* The virtually free Skype defrays a lot of the exorbitant cable internet charge of $30 a month. Or, you could say that the savings covers the $55 we pay for cable TV a month.

The alternative would be having a land line ($30 a month rather than the Skype which is $3 and change) and snail internet service.

We bought a house a year ago. I think it's improved a lot for our limited income in just one year.

My DH is working on our one car attached garage now. He's making it an extension of his art gallery and his tool haven. He added some countertops, shelves and hooks. He even whitewashed one side.

He is thinking of a way to insulate the side farthest from our "house". So far, we're thinking of using plastic bags.

Any Ideas?

The "Debt Beast" is the alter-ego of "Frugal & Stressed"! It's like the other side of the coin! Except now, I'm dealing with a team of beasts since DH and I have combined finances. Ack!

Debt is the "yin" energy; saving is the "yang" energy.

Okay- I have two confessions.

(1) I am a serious person at heart. I acquired a "funny bone" while dating my now husband. Point: I'll try to interject some humour in my posts as you follow our journey.

(2) I have been in denial. You've assume that being committed- hehe, married, I mean- it should be easier to stay in the green. Well- that's not always the case. I've gotten myself out of debt (medical debt included) before, but now it's a whole new beast. A married/parent financial beast.

I'm not a Taurus for nothing. Bring it on!

*****************************************

P.S. Does saving money count when you're a SAHM? What's the opposite of "income"? Debt, I suppose. Well, saving money doesn't hurt the progress either.