Cooking at Home Part Deux

I found a few links to some great blogs, articles, etc. that should help you dig even deeper into your new life as a budding chef. More money we save the better...

Noshtopia - Fantastic blog covering healthy eating and wellness, simple recipes, food product reviews, snack ideas and more. The tagline says it all: "a splendid place about eating healthier in a hectic life."

KitchenParade - Great food column on frugal eating and shopping from Alanna Kellogg, who can also be found over at Veggie Venture.

Frugal Gourmets - Great article from the Washington Post last November on frugal grocery shopping.

10 Ways to Save Money on Food Shopping - Why not listen to a doctor's advice. Courtesy of WebMD.

Saving 101: Cooking at Home Saves Money

Peruse FoodNetwork.com for a few minutes and you'll understand what I mean by the title above. I'm not aiming for blanket statements here, but just mere minutes of browsing through  the Quick and Easy Recipes section netted an article titled 100 + Italian Recipes, with everything from Italian Hummus to Italian Shaved Ice.

Cooking at home often garners two responses: A) Grocery shopping for fresh ingredients to cook with is expensive and B) I don't have the time. Pshaw. Folks, I understand that the daily grind of work, kids, bills, and so on makes cooking at the end of a long day about as appealing as filling cavities with super glue, and I'm certain that most of us are unable to grocery shop without either buying too much or staring at aisles without a clue as to what entails building a meal.

I've compiled a few tips over the past few months, mostly from my own experiences and a little reading here and there, that should at least give you a fighting chance at saving money by cooking at home. It's not the end all be all, nor do I consider myself a shopping guru, but it's a fresh start that could help you cut grocery costs each month.

• Produce is not your enemy. There tends to be a strange stigma surrounding fresh goods that implies expensive and wasteful when in actuality, aiming for sale items in the produce section can produce several small meals/snacks at a reasonable cost.Veggie dips, stir fry, mixed salads, etc. are a great way to eat healthy and stretch your meals out over a period of several days. Buy the sale veggies versus the ready-made salads and frozen mixed veggies.
• Boxed food is not necessarily cheaper. A rice pilaf in a box with seasonings that costs somewhere between $2-$3 nets a single meal, maybe two at max. Buying your base ingredients is a better option. A single bag of brown or long-grain rice, green pepper, an onion and some type of all-seasoning can net multiple, fresh meals that boxed food can't compete with. 
• Focus on core ingredients that provide a solid base of important nutrients. I suggest grains, pasta, fresh green veggies, eggs (use just the whites in a scramble if you want to cut saturated fat), lean meats and so on. Mix and match to create simple meals.
• Snacks are your best friend. Everything from fresh veggie salads to yogurt and granola to whole, unsalted almonds are a great way to bridge the gap between meals and keep your meal portions small and affordable.
• Shop weekly. The tendency is to buy in bulk for the month or multiple weeks which forces you to buy canned, boxed and frozen. Granted it's an extra trip each week to the store, but it's far easier to plan each meal for one week at a time and focus on finding core ingredients on sale than to buy for an entire month.

Obviously these are but the tip of the iceberg when it comes to advice on saving money by cooking at home. I'm a relatively simple cook, so I tend to focus on the core items that I know mix well together and can provide multiple meals. I've also found that shopping weekly prevents the inevitable waste of buying food in bulk that often goes bad or sits in pantry land before the next round of shopping. Weekly shopping challenges you to be extremely precise in what you are buying, so give it a shot and let me know your thoughts.

Saving 101: The Truth About Dollar Stores

In honor of our less-than-rosy economic situation, I thought it appropriate to start scouring the wide world o' Web for useful nuggets on saving money and shaving costs. Let's face it, a vastly small percentage of us are sleeping like hibernating bears in the wake of higher monthly bills, debt, the job market, etc.

Now to the meat of it. If anyone hasn't perused the library of useful information over at HowStuffWorks, then I suggest you take a stroll and a gander. Tons of categorized tips and information on, well, how stuff works. It's the kitchen sink mentality, so don't be surprised if your curiosity surrounding an octopus' ability to look like other animals or how beer is made will meet it's intellectual match.

Onward to the question of the day. What's up with the dollar store? It's an odd stigma that often prevents many of us from taking full advantage of the ludicrous savings involved, so when I stumbled upon an article over at HowStuffWorks titled What's the deal with dollar stores, I had to stop and window shop.

I've compiled some interesting points from the article that I think are worth looking a bit more closely at.

• Advertising - No brand loyalty and no big bucks and no talking heads to make the off-brands spin across marketing lines makes it hard to sell these brands as legit. I tend to agree.
• Status - This is an interesting point in the article that I think could serve as a series of blogs studying the microcosm of our society's buying habits. No celebrity endorsements = no national branding = dollar stores can't compete with the big dogs to advertise their products.

So it's save to say ( I had to, sorry)  that the stigma of a dollar store offering "cheap" and not necessarily "thrifty" or "affordable" items is perpetuated by the fact that dollar stores simply can't advertise with the larger corporations. I think the article hits the nail on the proverbial head.

But what does this mean for you? Well, right now the dollar store is looking good on several fronts. According to the article, Family Dollar Store's stock index value rose 42 percent in 2008, handily outperforming major companies with the dough to back their products. So win number one for the dollar stores and its employees.

Enter the economic downturn and its effect on shopper mentality. While name brands inspire spending under normal circumstances, saving money inspires frugal shopping, making the appeal of a dollar-store bargain even greater. An even more interesting point, that I was completely unaware of, is the fact that dollar stores will often buy product from larger retailers that are closing stores or going under during hard economic times. Of course, there is no guarantee that the name brand products will last, but it's the fact that you have options to get the items you need, and want in many cases, at a much lower cost than average.

Look, don't take my word that dollar stores are legit. That's really a personal financial choice. We all could use any advice or avenues to shaving costs right now. I think the article raises some very valid points and sheds light on what is really a social enigma. I'll leave it to you to decide whether thrift shopping is on your docket, but I think for the sake of saving money on household items, the dollar store is a worthy option.

Natural Gas Prices on a Downward Spiral

Did you notice that your natural gas bills were quite low this winter season? I sure did! I had my heater cranked this season and was expecting enormous heating bills but instead was quite shocked when I didn't have to sell a kidney to pay my bills.

I started researching the natural gas market because truly my heating bills were ridiculously low. I stumbled across an article in The Wall Street Journal that answered the mystery.

As it turns out, natural gas prices have hit a record low partly because of the recession. Seems the demand from industrial users has declined and that means the US now has an abundant supply of natural gas in storage so to speak. The supply and demand factor is off kilter, too much supply of natural gas and not much demand.

As this is bad news for natural gas producers, it does mean we, the consumers, can expect natural gas prices to stay low.

To learn more, read the article Spring is Next Test for natural Gas Prices.

Looking to Stretch Your Dollar?

I'm always on the look out for ways to save money on everything from grocery shopping to utility bills. While researching money saving tips online, I ran across an article that listed some sites to help you save money by lowering your bills, by shopping with coupons and even a way to teach your children the value of a dollar. Check out the article on On The Money on CNBC.

Bundling 101

If the economy has got you down and you are looking to cut costs around the house, one of the first places you will probably look will be home services like TV, high-speed Internet and phone service. Before you give up your beloved movie channels or downgrade to dial-up, considering bundling your home services to save.

Here are some points to consider before shopping for bundled services:

Know Your Options
Find out what companies service your area. While most households only have one cable company available, don't forget to investigate telcom companies like AT&T and Verizon. These companies either offer their own options or bundle their services with satellite providers.

Become a Bundle Expert
Knowing what to look for can help save you even more. With most providers, signing up for more services equals more savings. In addition to TV, Internet and phone service, bundles also have the option of integrated services like caller ID on your TV screen, which is offered with some phone and cable packages. In addition, triple-play offers often come with more extras, such as free installation and free premium channels. Plus, you are more likely to be guaranteed low rates for a longer period of time with triple-play than when subscribing to services one at a time.

It's All in the Details
Before you make a choice, weigh your options! Don't choose one company over another strictly based on price. If you aren't getting the features or channels that you want, it might not be worth it to save a few dollars a month, especially if you have to pay a fee to cancel your service when you realize you are unhappy with it. Find out which TV providers carry programming you really want. Check your budget and see how much you spend going out to the movies. It may be more cost effective to upgrade your premium movie package and cut back on your theater time! Also, keep in mind that fiber and satellite usually have a termination fees but cable rarely charge them.

These are just a few of the important things you should consider when choosing to bundle your home services. Check out WhiteFence.com Bundled Services section to see what's available in your area to get started.

Get the Average Utility Costs for December

The December data has been updated at the WhiteFence Index, our handy little tool that shows the average utility costs among 20+ of the top U.S. cities. You can compare phone, high-speed Internet, cable TV, electricity and natural gas prices in cities like New York, Boston, Dallas, Chicago, Atlanta and more.

The index also allows you to compare by city or by service, giving a ton of options to dig down and see what our neighbors are paying for home services.

WSJ MarketWatch Recommeds WhiteFence.com

Looking to save money on home services? In their recent article Cutting TV, Internet and Phone Bills, The Wall Stret Journal MarketWatch recommends bundling your services and checking out WhiteFence.com!

...in an effort to cut your bill, take a look around the Web to see what specials are available from all the providers in your area, including cable, satellite, DSL and fiber-optic service. Sites including WhiteFence.com can help consumers compare rates for services side by side...

The article also suggests that for households using all three services, bundling can often be a better deal than purchasing services a la carte.  

Bundle your phone, Internet and TV to save money today!

As Seen (and Green!) on TV?

If you are like me, you find As Seen On TV products pretty fascinating. I blame my father, as I get at least one thing every Christmas from an infomercial! However, I came across a blog post recently that made me look at some of the products in a whole new light.

Sustainablog did a great review of Five Greenish Products You've Seen on TV. While the products aren't exactly what you would consider "green" and there is no endorsement of any particular product, I think it's an interesting topic to consider.

Take the ShamWow for instance. One of the selling points is that you can use it for a lot of jobs you would normally reach for a paper towel to do. Anything that can help you avoid using paper products is a plus. On the other hand, it's made out of a "rayon-type" material that may not be so easy to recycle.

Another product mentioned in the post is the Twin Draft Guard, a product that I must admit I have had my eye on. My doors are pretty drafty! They may help to save you money on energy, but there isn't much known about the materials used or manufacturing process.

I think it's important to give products like these a look, especially if you feel like you've run out of "greening" ideas. However, it's a good idea to use them more as a guide to what you want to do next. And if you find something you like that you think might be a solution, be sure to research it beyond what the spokesperson yells at you from your TV at 2 o'clock in the morning.

Resolution Zen

Having trouble keeping those New Year's resolutions? Still trying to come up with some? Check out the great blog Zen Habits.

Zen Habits covers anything and everything to do with simplifying your life and meeting your goals, including topics like: productivity, being organized, eliminating debt, saving, getting a flat stomach, eating healthy, simplifying, living frugal, parenting, happiness, and successfully implementing good habits.

Start out with the The Beginner's Guide to Zen Habits, a handy post with links to some of the better posts to start with. Economy got you down? How about The Cheapskate Guide: 50 Tips For Frugal Living? If you are overwhelmed just thinking about making changes, give Simple Living Simplified: 10 Things You Can Do Today to Simplify Your Life a try. Or if you just want to do nothing, well, check out The Art of Doing Nothing!

If you want 2009 to be your best year yet, I highly recommend taking a look at this motivational blog!