photo by wordridden This is the first part in the series Breakfast Bargains -- ideas on how to feed your family nutritious, frugal breakfasts. You can read the introduction to this series here. ------------------------------------------- Pancakes are a great way to feed your family in the morning. They can include a variety of ingredients and can be dressed up in so many ways. What I particularly love about pancakes is that they freeze well and are easy to reheat on a busy morning. Making them from scratch does take quite a bit of time, but I make a double or triple batch on a slow morning and "flash freeze" the leftovers. The time I put in Keep Reading
Breakfast Bargains: Pancakes
Frugal Living 101: When To Say When
I just received two questions from a Frugal Living reader and I thought it may be helpful to answer them on the site and also get your input. I will answer her second question in a later post.photo by tj scenesRachael asks the question (paraphrased): When do I know when to stop buying? It's difficult to stop taking advantage of deals even when we don't need the items. I especially enjoy giving our extra deals to others, but we need to get out of debt.Great question! Here are my thoughts::: Set a monthly food & household budget and stick to it. I cannot stress this enough. Right now my budget is $265. My husband pulls that amount of cash from our Keep Reading
Frugal Dinners: Slow Cooker Chuck Roast
Slow Cooker Chuck Roast One thing you must know about me (Angela) is that I do not enjoy cooking. I am not particularly good at it. And when I become a millionaire, I plan to hire a full time cook/massage therapist/laundry folder. That said, I thought it may be helpful to post some dinners that I scrape together to inspire those who are bent in a similar way. Here's what I made for Friday's dinner: Slow Cooker Chuck Roast You will eventually notice that I do exactly the same thing with all other beef crockpot meals. Here are my ingredients: First, I dumped a 1 lb bag of baby carrots ($1) and about 7 organic, chopped potatoes ($.50) in Keep Reading
Guest Post: Earning Money from Home
photo by newagecrap Guest Post by Anne HughlettTwelve years ago, I was a stay at home mom with 3 boys, ages 5, 7 and 9. My youngest was in school 1/2 a day with the prospect of being gone a full day in the near future. While it looked like I may have a little time on my hands, it also meant a tuition bill for 3 kids in private school. The internet was relatively new, and I wanted to somehow use it to my advantage. I began to contemplate ways I could stay at home to be there for my family, while earning some kind of income to help stretch the finances. I checked out a few books from the library and investigated some online opportunities Keep Reading
Frugal Family Fun: OMSI Membership
With gas prices dropping, I am contemplating leaving the house again with my kids to explore Portland. And honestly, I need to get out of the house during the winter. In the past, we have had family memberships to both the Portland Children's Museum and the Oregon Zoo. I would definitely consider CM2 again; the Zoo is cool, but not more than once a year for our family.This year, I was thinking of asking for membership to OMSI for Christmas or forking over the cash myself. I have heard great things about their exhibits for preschoolers. I just received a promotional mailing from OMSI, offering a $20 off any membership. We would have to get the Keep Reading
Passing on a Financial Legacy
Conversation between Audrey, my 4-year old daughter, and me while driving in the car last night:Audrey: Mama, what is rich?Angela: It's when someone has more money than another person.Audrey: Safeway is rich because they give away money.Yes, Audrey B, they really do. Keep Reading
Frugal vs. Cheap
At our introduction class, I spoke about the definition of frugal living. I just ran across a post that I thought expanded on the idea.Northern Cheapskate writes:Frugality...is a lifestyle choice I have made for the greater good of my family. It represents the time I put into making the most of our limited resources so that I can be a better mother, wife, daughter, and friend.Read the entire article here.Enjoy! Keep Reading