The incredible, edible oat

Growing up one of my favorite breakfast foods was Quaker Instant Oatmeal. I loved picking out my own individually-sized packet from the box of assorted flavors and "making it" myself (aka. adding hot water or milk). My favorite flavor was strawberries and cream, because the freeze-dried strawberry pieces (really, strawberry-flavored and sugar-infused milk sponges of questionable origin would be a more appropriate description) turned the milk pink. Those were the days when I thought pink milk was perfectly normal. Sweet tooth? Oh my, you betcha.

Fast forward thirty years. While my sweet tooth is still going strong, since moving to California eight years ago I've developed a passion for eating simple, whole foods. Foods with ingredients that, as Michael Pollan would say, your great-grandma would recognize (sorry, Instant Oatmeal - you don't qualify). Being a new mom has taken this interest to the next level as I'm now not only eating healthy for myself but want our kids to grow up loving wholesome, nutritious food. (Mom, if you're reading this, I want to let you know I place the blame for those Instant Oatmeal packages  - and the Pop Tarts, Toaster Streusel, and unlimited Entenmenn's Coffee Cake - on Dad and thank you for all of the nourishing, delicious food you cooked for us as kids. P.S. Dad, thank you for the sweet tooth.)

Enter the oat. I'm talking about the real deal, which comes in 32 ounce round cardboard containers (or the bulk bin) from the grocery store. It wasn't until our oldest son was born that I discovered these beauties sitting quietly on the bottom shelf of the cereal aisle. It started with baby steps - buying one container and making fresh oatmeal and a batch or two of granola - and now it's to the point where whenever we walk into Target my son tells me we need to get more oats. Last week we bought four containers because they were on sale. I'm now so familiar with purchasing oats that I can even tell you, down to the penny, the cost of 32 ounces of oats at Trader Joe's, Target, and Walmart.  The best deal? Target at $2.99 for 32 ounces (or $2.69 when on sale).

Oats are not only an inexpensive, healthy whole grain to feed your family, but are simple and fun to cook. It's easy to involve kids in making things like oatmeal or granola as the ingredients are straightforward, typically on-hand and easy to mix together. In our home we make oatmeal a few times a week (which is just about as instant as Instant Oatmeal), use leftovers to make oatmeal pancakes, and every Sunday my three-year-old helps me make a big batch of granola. He loves mixing (and eating) it so much that I think he wishes we made it every morning. Bonus? When baking in the oven it makes our house smell heavenly.

Below are our weekly go-to oat-inspired recipes. Have one of your own? Please share in the comments. I hope you enjoy!

Cheers,

Julie

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(Almost-instant) Oatmeal
Makes 2-3 servings.

1 cup regular (or quick) oats
2 1/4 cup milk
Extras: Pinch of cinnamon, handful of raisins or cranberries, honey or maple syrup to sweeten

Add the oats and milk together in a saucepan and place on a medium heat burner. Once the mixture begins to simmer turn down to low. The oatmeal will be ready to eat in approximately 5 minutes, once the oats soften. Add additional ingredients or sweeteners to taste.

Easy Granola
Makes 4-6 servings.

Solid Ingredients

3 cups whole oats
1/2 cup nuts
1/2 cup unsweetened coconut flakes
1/2 cup sunflower or pumpkin seeds
1 tablespoon brown sugar

Liquid Ingredients

1/4 cup butter or olive oil
1/4 cup honey
1/4 cup maple syrup

Preheat oven to 350.

Mix together the solid ingredients in a large bowl. Melt the butter if using. Add the other liquid ingredients to the butter or oil and blend well. You should have about 3/4 cup fat/liquid mix to every 3 cups oats. Mix the liquids into the solid ingredients.

Line a rimmed baking sheet with parchment paper. Put the granola on top and pat into a single layer. The granola will bake for 20-30 minutes, depending upon if you used butter or olive oil as the fat. You can either stir the granola at about 15 minutes when it starts to brown on top, or leave it in the oven undisturbed the whole time (if you do,  keep a close eye on it so it does not burn). Remove from oven when the top of the granola has a golden brown color. The parchment paper on the bottom of the tray will have browned it from below.

When cool, mix in the dried fruit of your choice (cranberries, blueberries, raisins, etc.). Store in an air tight container.

This recipe doubles easily.

Oatmeal Pancakes
Makes about 20 3 inch pancakes.
From the Joy of Cooking.

Whisk together in a large bowl:
1/2 cup all purpose flour
1 teaspoon baking powder
1/2 teaspoon salt

Beat in a separate bowl:
2 eggs

Stir in:
1 1/2 cup cooked oatmeal
1/2 cup milk or buttermilk
2 tablespoons melted butter
1 mashed banana (our family's favorite addition)

Quickly stir this mixture into the dry ingredients. The batter may appear lumpy. Use 1/4 cup batter for each pancake.

Kid, earth & budget-friendly cleaning solutions

I have one sweet word for my bottles of Windex and 409: goodbye!

I  used to think I would never be able to survive without those trusty solutions at the ready. It didn't even occur to me that there were alternatives to traditional cleaners until I started reading books and magazines about frugal, simple living. My interest was piqued.

I started small: a vinegar and water spray to clean my kitchen counters, windows and mirrors. It worked like a charm (albeit with a bit more elbow grease than usual). I also didn't have to worry about my kids eating off of the surfaces after they were cleaned. And, to boot, it was way cheaper than buying a bottle of cleaner at the store. (Not to mention that it didn't require a trip to the store in the first place.) I was sold.

A few years later I am still making a vinegar and water solution for windows and mirrors, but have graduated to a "heavier duty" antibacterial cleaner for surfaces like kitchen counters and the dinner table. No bleach or harsh chemicals here - instead the workhorses are vinegar, tea tree oil (the anti-bacterial agent), washing soda and lavender.

The best part? My kitchen smells heavenly.

Truth be told, there is still a bottle of hallmark blue liquid lurking in my hall cabinet for emergencies. But I'm finding that there are fewer and fewer times I need to pull out the "big guns." The reality is that my homemade cleaners get the job done 95% of the time.

Cheers to a clean and happy home!

Julie

Vinegar & Water Solution

It doesn't get simpler than this. Fill an empty spray bottle with 50% water and 50% white vinegar. Spray on surfaces and wipe down with a clean cloth. A microfiber cloth works wonders on windows and mirrors.

All-Purpose Kitchen Cleaner

2 cups hot water
1/4 cup white vinegar
1/2 teaspoon washing soda
15 drops tea tree oil
15 drops lavender oil

Mix ingredients together in a spray bottle. When you add the washing soda to the liquid it will fizz, so make sure you leave space in the bottle for a reaction.

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Making the most of a promotion

Last week my husband called from work to go over some mundane items on the proverbial to-do-list, and then hit me with the news.

"Oh, and I got promoted to winemaker this morning."

I nearly fell off my chair. We'd been talking about him becoming a full-blown winemaker ever since our dreams of the wine industry took root. And now, in the blink of an eye, here it was. The real deal. Winemaker.

Holy cow (that's the PG version). I'm so proud of you babe.

After the initial giddy shock wore off, we did what any other couple faced with a promotion does:  daydream about how this was going to change our lives. You know where this is going...to the land of, "Now we can buy a new house/car/fill in big-ticket item here." Before you knew it, we were trolling Trulia and ogling diesel pickup trucks.

As a writer of a frugal blog I'm kinda ashamed to admit that it took a late night visit via public television from Suze Orman to snap me out of it. It's just so easy to get caught up in the frenzy of the thought of what new money can buy. It feels like a drug. You want that big ticket item you've been waiting for and you want it NOW.

After returning to earth (from Google Earth, where a million dollar house with vineyard views looks quite nice...and way out of our price range), we realized we needed to back-up. Way up. Why were we even thinking about buying these things in the first place? It was time to go back to the financial planning process and revisit our goals.

Whenever an unexpected financial windfall comes your way there are lot of questions you should ask yourself. Here are a few we're pondering right now.

• What are my goals? This is a pretty basic question, but so important. It should be the first thing you ask yourself when it comes to how you spend your money. In our case, some of our goals include funding our children's education, buying a larger home for our growing family, replacing our 10+ year-old cars, and funding our retirement at 15% of our gross income/year. 
• Should I change my standard of living? It may be tempting to spend/shop more now that you're making more, but do you really need to? For example, we've proven to ourselves we can live on $75 a week for groceries. Do we really need to relax our budget - or can we stick to it and instead put the money saved towards our goals?
• Do I need to increase my emergency fund? You should have a minimum of eight months of expenses saved in a savings or money market account in the case of an emergency. This money is not to be touched unless there is a real emergency - like you loose your job. When extra income comes into the picture, this is the perfect time to increase your emergency fund if need be. One thing we are exploring this time around is using a Roth IRA for a portion of our emergency fund.
• Thinking about a big purchase - like buying a house? Practice the new payments. For example, we'd love to get a larger home but are concerned about affordability. How much of our monthly income can we spend on housing and not feel financially stretched/stressed? As we ponder our next move, we're going to pretend we have a higher monthly payment and save those extra dollars into our down-payment fund. That way we're increasing our down-payment and proving to ourselves - before we sign on the dotted line - that we can afford a higher mortgage.
• Increasing/buying life insurance. If you've been thinking about buying life insurance or increasing the amount you have, this is an excellent time to do it. 

What are some of the financial questions you ask yourself when you get a raise or a new job? Please share in the comments!

Cheers,

Julie

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Bye-bye student loans: How we paid off $50K in one year

A few weeks ago, we made our final student loan payment. In just over a year, we had paid off more than $50,000 in student debt. As in, a home downpayment. A luxury car. A start to a new business. Or, ahem, a UC system education. (Well worth the investment, but pricey nonetheless.)

Was it easy? Heck no. We don't make six-figure salaries and live in Napa, CA where the cost-of-living - the median price of a home is currently $450,000 - is one of the highest in the country. As new parents we have new financial responsibilities, including childcare to the tune of a monthly mortgage payment. Moreover, I recently started working part-time vs. a previously full-time schedule. In a nutshell, some might think us crazy to tackle $50K of debt in a year. They may just be right.

But tackle it we did - with plenty of blood, sweat and, well, not all that many tears. It was us vs. Sallie Mae/Citibank/Federal Direct Loans and, by golly, we squashed them. It was as if we won the Super Bowl and the trophy was being debt free. I'll take that over a ring any day.

Though there were lots of beans for dinner, no cable TV, no flashy cars, no expensive nights out on the town, and no style updates to the wardrobe (ouch - that last one hurt), quite frankly it was empowering to know we could do it. It was one of the best life lessons I've had and, while I certainly don't recommend going into debt to learn the value of money, I think I'm a better person - and will be a better parent - for it.

Here are some tips on how you can squash your debts too:

• Be a team: If you're in a relationship, you and your partner need to be in this together. Eating beans once a week wouldn't have flown if my husband wasn't equally invested in obliterating our loans. There will be times you need to cheer each other on and agree that, yep, you can go without pricey Christmas gifts this year. As with any challenge in life, paying off a large debt as a united front will strengthen your relationship.
• Make a budget and stick to it: If you don't have a budget, tackling debt is pretty much impossible. The first thing you need to know is how much you're currently spending. Mint.com is an excellent tool for this. Once you have an accounting for a month or two, look at where your money is going and decide how you should be spending (e.g. you discover your wardrobe is costing you more than your groceries).  At that point, say you you want to find an extra $500 to put toward your loans. Look at each bucket of your expenses (food, clothing, savings, etc.) and trim where you are able. Then, each month, check-in on your expenses weekly to make sure that you're not going over budget. If you are, stop spending. "Shop" from your pantry. Turn away from the tempting cute shoes. Block Amazon.com from your computer. Walk to the store rather than drive. Do whatever it takes to live without dipping into your bank account. (What are reasonable budgets? As two examples, we manage to live on $300 a month for groceries and $50 a month for restaurants. Not easy, but doable.)
• Make it your number one financial priority besides retirement: Experts recommend contributing a minimum of 10% of gross income toward retirement. While we continued to do so while paying off our loans, we cut way back on our other savings goals, like buying a new house. (I should mention that before we embarked on this quest, we worked hard to build up an emergency fund. Knowing we had that cushion gave us the freedom to put our savings on hold without feeling like we were unprepared if one if us lost our job, etc.)
• Take stock of your assets: The first thing we did when faced with $50K remaining in student loans was take a look at our financial assets and decide if we were using them wisely. For example, we had some money in stocks, a gift from our wedding, that was not allocated toward any immediate goal. We decided to sell a portion and use that to take a chunk off the top of that $50K. It was a nice mental boost that made us feel we were making immediate progress toward our goal. While that may not be the right decision, or even an option, for everyone, think about what you do have that could get you closer to your goal. It might be a car that you're making payments on (buy a used car that fits your budget instead and reallocate the monthly payments to your loan). Or an entertainment center you don't really need. Or jewelry that you never wear. Whatever it is, you can do without it (really, you can!) until you reach your goal. Sell it and put the money toward your debt. (Don't have anything that comes to mind? That's OK too - if we hadn't done this, it would have taken us closer to two years vs. one to pay off our loans.)
• Pay attention to interest rates: Start paying off your debt with the loans that have the highest interest rates. For example, put an extra $500 a month towards the loan with the 8% vs. the 5% rate. Once you pay off the 8% loan, move on the 5% loan (with both that extra $500 and what you were spending on monthly premiums for the 8%  loan), and so on until you're done. 
• Cut your fixed expenses: Look at all of your fixed expenses - groceries, phone bills, power bills, mortgage payments, etc. - and think about how you can cut back. For example, I called AT&T and got a $10 credit toward each bill for the year. Or, on a larger scale, I called our county property assessor and had our home reassessed. We were able to knock more than $1,000 off our property taxes. Other examples? We refinanced our house, reduced our power bill by being smart about energy use, and cut our monthly DSL expenses from $35 to $20 by changing our provider.
• Save for fixed expenses: Don't get caught off-guard with a car insurance payment or any other large expense that you know is coming. Divide your annual payments by twelve and save that amount each month.
• Extra money? Put it towards the loan: Get an annual bonus? Take $100 off the top to get yourself something special and put the rest toward the loan. Yes, all of it.
• The little stuff counts: That bag of clothes with the tags still on that you'll never wear? Return it. The fishing equipment you got for your birthday that - let's be real - you'll never use? Sell it on eBay. All those little things add up for big savings.
• Count your pennies: One easy way to do this? Check your receipts. I can't tell you how many overcharges I've caught on grocery bills - at least one mistake a month.
• Extra paychecks: If you get paid bi-weekly, two months out of the year you will get three paychecks. As you're already used to living off of two monthly paychecks, find out when you'll see the extra ones and note on your calendar to put them toward the loan. 
• Dual income family? Try living on one income:  If both you and your partner work, try living off of the larger income and put all of the second toward your loan.
• Give of your time vs. your money: This is a time in you're life when you're not going to have the financial resources to give large gifts to family members or significant donations to charities. That's OK. What you do have is the gift of your time. Volunteer for the causes that are important to you. Make Christmas gifts for your family vs. buying them. Oftentimes, those are the gifts that mean the most.
• Make due: Much of what got us through the last year was a mindset that unless we really needed something, we were not going to buy it. Besides saving money, this is a great way to recalibrate your complete way of life. By making due with what you have, you will forever shift your priorities, better manage your resources, and be able to focus on what brings you true fulfillment. (I highly recommend the book Your Money or Your Life for those who want to dive deeper into these principles). 

While we present an extreme case for paying off debt (see above-noted craziness for tackling $50K in a year), I hope that our story inspires others to think creatively about how to become debt-free. It may take a year, or five, or ten, or more - but for those committed to whittling down expenses and putting every extra dollar toward their loans, it will happen. In the long term, the money saved in interest payments and the financial freedom gained will be well worth the effort.

The last year wasn't the easiest year of my life, but I can easily say it was one of the best years. It challenged me to focus on what is important - family, friends, and a healthy, positive outlook - and leave behind concerns about status and "Keeping up with the Joneses." I learned that true happiness doesn't come from how much money you have (or spend), but from the relationships you build, the goals you set for yourself, and a glass-half-full approach to life. I learned to be thankful for what we have and not to focus on what we don't.

And, I have to say the payoff was great. Pun definitely intended.

What have you learned by tackling debt or living a frugal lifestyle?

Cheers!

Julie

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Dad's $75 weekly meal plan

Last weekend my husband gifted me a Mom's afternoon out and took over meal planning and grocery shopping for the week. I got a mani/pedi (his treat!) while he combed my dinner diary for recipes and took our toddler shopping at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's. 

Pinch me? I could get used to this.

Besides being pampered for a few hours, reading three back issues of Sunset Magazine, and returning home to find two happy boys, perhaps the best part of my day was seeing the delicious meal plan my husband put together while I was out. Not only that, but his shopping trip totaled only $48 which, when added to the $15 spent at the farmer's market/grocery the previous day, kept us below our $75 a week grocery budget. (Note: Our total $75 grocery budget does include breakfasts, lunches, snacks and kid-friendly staples. As far as planning goes, we focus on dinner as that is the main meal we prepare each day, and our lunches are nearly always leftovers.)

As with each of our weekly meal plans, he took into account what we already had in the fridge, garden and freezer, substituted (or omitted) ingredients in recipes, stayed away from processed foods, and stuck to his list when he went to the store. While your family may not be able to match our exact spending given what you already have on hand, the meal plan below is budget-friendly, reuses ingredients, and takes advantage of fruits/veggies that are in season (and thus less expensive). To help you see how we cut corners and saved money, I inserted notes on how we prepared each meal.

Have your own meal plan tips? Please share them in the comments!

Cheers,

Julie

Matt's Awesome Meal Plan

Saturday: Burgers with Kale Chips 

• The grass-fed ground beef for the burgers came from my husband's winery. Don't have your own free beef from work? (Really, who does?) Buy it on sale and stock your freezer. We get the kale from our garden, but you can find a bunch of it at the grocery store for $1.50 or less. If you have kids, I bet you can get them to try these delicious and crunchy kale chips. Our toddler loves them.

Sunday: Salmon Tacos with Carrot & Cabbage Slaw

• This recipe is for white fish tacos, but we like to spice it up with salmon. We buy 1/2 lb of fish for our family of three and make it work by having plenty of veggie toppings. Other ways we keep this recipe cheap: skip the jicima and red cabbage (just do green), and if you don't have all of the spices for the fish rub, no biggie. We often just do chili powder.

Monday: Grilled Whole Chicken w/Tomato Cucumber Salad

• We stock up on chickens when they are on sale (like this week) and put them in the freezer. Tomatoes and cucumbers are in season so if you don't have them in your garden like we do, you can find good deals at your grocer or farmer's market.

Tuesday: Chicken and Black Bean Tostadas

• Use leftover dark meat from the grilled chicken for these yummy toastadas. Also plan to reuse a lot of ingredients from the salmon tacos: tortillas, chilies in Adobo sauce, sour cream, limes, and cabbage. We also save by not including the radishes, and keeping our pantry stocked with black beans we bought on sale.

Wednesday: Chicken BLTs and Side Salad

• Use the leftover white meat for these yummy BLTs and whatever bread you have on hand. Save any remaining bacon for a leisurely weekend breakfast. For the side salad, be creative with whatever you have on hand. For us this week? Let me guess...tomatoes and cucumbers...

Thursday: Zucchini Baba Ganoush with Fresh Vegetables

• This has become our go-to recipe this summer - it's delicious, easy and healthy. You will need to invest in Tahini paste the first time you make this, but it keeps well and can be used to make other great frugal dishes like homemade hummus. I've also found that I can use half the amount of Tahini called for in this recipe and the result is even - if not more - delicious. Zucchini is in season and if you ask around, you may find a friend who would beg you to take some off their hands. We serve our Baba Ganoush with Mediterranean flatbread from Trader Joe's (or leftover tortillas), sliced tomatoes, cucumbers, and onions. Notice a veggie theme this week?

Friday: Margarita Pizza with (shocker) Tomato Cucumber Salad

• I love pizza nights because I can almost do the cooking with my eyes closed. We buy pizza dough and a huge hunk of mozzerella (you always save when you buy ungrated cheese) from Trader Joe's, and use tomato sauce that we canned last year. If we have leftover veggies or meat from the week, onto the pizza they go.

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Meal Planning: How we eat well on a $75 weekly budget

As a total foodie and someone who loves planning (the word spontaneous is not in my vocabulary, much to my husband's chagrin) I'm not sure what took me so long to put two and two together, but suffice it to say that when I discovered the concept of meal planning my life was forever changed.

Yes, seriously. And whether or not you are also a type A personality, I bet it will change your life - or at least the way you eat - too.

It wasn't until our son was born and we slashed our grocery budget to $75 a week ($300 a month) that the thought of planning our family's meals even occurred to me. Until then I thought that it was normal to go to the grocery store and ask the aisles for inspiration. Or to find new tasty recipes and buy every "necessary" ingredient. Or to not have a monthly grocery budget at all (though that's a topic for another post).

In all honesty, this was not a lightning bolt idea that hit me one day. It was inspired by reading the cookbook Dinner: A love story (one of my all-time favorite books). The author writes of keeping a diary of her family's meals to get organized for each week and to remember favorite recipes. I immediately knew I had to start my own dinner diary and upped the ante - planning our meals to make the most of each ingredient and cut our expenses.

Let me tell you, it works. Not only are we able to stick to our grocery budget, but it's so nice to come home from work and know what I'm making for dinner that night. It also helps me maximize resources - our food, our money, and perhaps most importantly, our time together at dinner as a family.

Here are some tips on how to get started with your own meal planning.

1. Create a record: Buy a small notebook to keep track of your meals. On each line, write the date and what you had (or will have) for dinner that night. So simple to do and so nice to revisit to get inspiration for future meal plans.

2. Plan: Set aside 20 minutes each week (I do this on Saturdays) to brainstorm meals for the week. I pull out my favorite cookbooks, my binder of recipes from magazines, and my computer so that I can look up recipes online. Start by making note of any nights that you will not need to make dinner (going out, off to a friend's house, etc.), and then fill in the blanks based on the tips below.

3. Shop first from your pantry, fridge, garden and freezer: The first thing you want to know is what you already have on hand. I begin by going through the fridge to see what is leftover from the previous week - especially perishable items -  that can still be used. For example, left over sausage and spinach can be transformed into a delicious pizza. Do the same for your garden (what is fresh that needs to be picked?), freezer and pantry. I find this especially helpful when, sometimes at the end of the month, we need to stretch our budget and keep grocery shopping to a minimum.

4. Pick one protein: Meat is expensive and, though my husband and I are a far cry from vegetarians, we try to limit it in our diet from both a health and a cost-conscious perspective. On a typical week we pick one protein - for example, chicken - and cook with that ingredient throughout the week. Night one might be a roast chicken, night two is an Asian chicken salad (with leftovers), night three is chicken and arugula pitas (again with leftovers), and night four is a butternut squash soup made with chicken broth from the carcass. 

5. Pick recipes that reuse ingredients: As with protein, make the most of everything you buy by finding recipes that reuse leftover food throughout the week. If you're buying arugula for chicken pitas, plan an arugula salad the following night or make an arugula pesto pasta.

6. Substitute in recipes: Have a recipe that calls for parsley or basil but all you have is cilantro? Use the cilantro. Need sour cream for your tacos? How about the plain yogurt already in the fridge. You'd be surprised just how much you can chop your shopping list by thinking ahead and substituting ingredients and trust me - your dinner will be just as delicious.

7. Stay away from prepared/processed foods: We've all heard the old adage to shop the perimeter of the grocery store - produce, proteins, and dairy - and stay away from the aisles upon aisles of processed foods in the middle. This practice is good for your waistline and your pocketbook. The average number of items in a supermarket now tops 50,000 (90% of them, I bet, made from corn). Wow. Something tells me that the goal isn't to offer you more selection, but to get you to buy more stuff.

8. Make your shopping list: I start my shopping list as I begin the planning process so I can see what ingredients I'll need to work into multiple meals.  

9. Do a final check: Go through your list and double-check to make sure you don't already have ingredients on hand. 

10. Shop around: Especially when it comes to staples, it pays to find the stores in your town with the best deal. For example, we buy our oats from Target, almonds from Trader Joe's, and coconut oil from Whole Foods (yep, they have the best price). Though it takes extra time, check weekly sales flyers for specials - this is a great way to get inspiration for your weekly meal plan.

11. Stick to the list and don't shop mid-week: When you go to the store only buy items on your list. Obvious? Yes. Hard? Oh my, yes. But at this point you don't want to sabotage your hard work by putting that frozen pizza they're sampling at Trader Joe's in your cart. Also, if you find mid-week that you need to run to the store, first ask yourself if you really need that ingredient. Is your soup begging for bread or would a quesadilla made with items you already have suffice? More often that not, you'll find you can make due.

To get you started, below is one of our recent meal plans. When putting this together I took stock of what was already in our fridge/pantry/freezer, which allowed me to keep within our $75 a week grocery budget.

Saturday: Yogurt Marinated Grilled Chicken & Salad
Sunday: Chicken BLTs
Monday: Pesto (from the freezer) Pasta  & Salad
Tuesday: Chicken, Apple and Black Bean Salad
Wednesday: Sweet Potato & Black Bean Burritos
Thursday: Spiced Red Lentils with Onions and Spinach & Brussel Sprouts
Friday: Homemade Margarita Pizza & Brussel Sprouts

In the spirit of sharing meal plan inspiration with fellow frugal mamas (and dads), every few weeks I will post one up to the blog.

How do you organize your family's meals - do you have any favorite tips/meal plans/recipes? Please share in the comments!

Cheers,

Julie

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How we spend $50 or less each month at restaurants

For our family, living a frugal life means stretching each dollar as far as it can go. What it doesn't mean is sacrificing our quality of life. When it comes to eating out, we, like any family, sometimes need a break from the kitchen. Whether it be for a change of pace or to fulfill a craving - or simply to avoid doing dishes - going out to eat is a treat that we enjoy a few times a month.

Napa Valley, the place we call home, is the Garden of Eden when it comes to restaurants. From The French Laundry to Meadowood to La Toque to Morimoto's to countless others, there is no lack of amazing places to find your next meal. What can be difficult is finding an affordable meal, especially on a monthly restaurant budget of $50.

I am here to tell you that, even in one of the most expensive places in the world to dine, it can be done. In fact, we're typically able to stretch $50 into two or more meals over the course of a month. Are we eating at one of the Napa Valley's many Michelin star restaurants? Obviously not if we're paying. But we are enjoying incredible, budget-friendly meals and having fun as a family. Here's how we make it happen:

• Counter service: These days, plenty of non-fast food restaurants offer great menus without table service. Avoiding a 20% tip stretches your budget.
• Tip properly: When you do have table service, tip well - as I waitressed during college, it's a rare occasion when I tip less than 20%. However, don't forget to calculate your tip on the bill before tax. Here in California - where restaurant tax is nearly 10% - that makes a big difference. (For fellow Californians, an easy tip trick is to double the tax on your bill to tip 20%. Voila!) Even when you don't have table service, put a dollar or two in the tip jar - you'll feel good about paying it forward.
• Share your meal:  Portion sizes at restaurants are often so large that each person doesn't need their own meal. Sharing a dish with your partner or child will make the most of your night's budget.
• Drink water: You'll shave at least $10 or more off your night's bill if you forgo fancy beverages for Plain Jane water. Drinking water obviously applies to more than just eating out  - it's also a good way to cut your grocery bill, not to mention great for your health. Miss a glass of wine with your meal? Enjoy it as a nightcap when you get home. 
• BYOB: If you do want wine with dinner, bring your own. More and more restaurants these days have corkage fees, typically $10-$20 to open your bottle (there are quite a few in Napa that waive the fee completely). Before heading out for dinner, call the restaurant to find out if you can bring wine. At the end of the night, remember to tip your server as if you had purchased a bottle of wine off the menu - look at the wine list to find a bottle close to your budget and mentally add that amount to your bill (minus any corkage fees).
• Happy Hour pricing: As anyone with little kids knows, it's all about the early dinner! What's good for your little ones is also great for your checkbook as an early dinner helps you take advantage of deals like happy hour pricing. It's not all about the booze anymore (although two beers for the price of one is sure to make Mom & Dad happy!). Many restaurants have deals on appetizers or nightly specials - call ahead to find out what they offer and until what time.
• Nightly specials: To build up business local spots may offer specials on weeknights. Whether deals are on specific menu items or the entire meal, it pays to find out so you can get the most bang for your buck. Here in Napa one of our favorite places to eat, the Oxbow Public Market, has Local's Night on Tuesday. We rarely eat at the Oxbow on any other night as the Tuesday deals are too good to pass up. 
• Join a club: Does your favorite sandwich place offer you a free sandwich once you've purchased ten? Lots of restaurants have loyalty clubs - ask the next time you're there.
• Get on the email list/fan their Facebook page: Find out how your favorite places share deals with their customers and make sure you're in the know. For example, one of our favorite pizza spots in town, Firewood Cafe, offers two pizzas for the price of one a few times throughout the year. We get updates via email and plan a night out around the special.
• Coupons: While it can be difficult to find coupons for local restaurants, it's nice to have a few for the big chains in your back pocket in case you need them. For instance, we always clip the Subway coupons so that when we want to go for a picnic and don't have the fixins' at home we can get two subs for the price of one. Our bill always comes to less than $6 for the whole family to eat. Not too shabby.
• Go out for breakfast: One of my favorite discoveries since having a child is the joy of eating out for breakfast. I'm not sure why we never ventured out for breakfast before, but something tells me it's because we were, well, sleeping. Since there's not much of that going on anymore, we may as well get up and start the day with some delicious food! Besides scrumptious waffles and pancakes and sausage and bacon and chicken friend steak and biscuits and oh-so-many-wonderful treats, one of the best things about going out for breakfast is the price. Not to mention your child is running on a full tank of gas and on his/her best behavior. Ah yes, breakfast is the meal of champions. 

I've been surprised, and pleased, by how far we stretch $50 using these tips. Cheers to your next (frugal) meal out on the town and - do tell - how do you maximize your restaurant budget?

Julie

Tips for lowering your power bill

I pull back the curtains to reveal a beautiful and unseasonably warm February day here in Napa. Opening the back door, I can hear our chickens waking up to greet the day and breathe in the the fresh, crisp morning air that will soon heat up to over 70 degrees. There are many thoughts going through my head - including that I must add an unplanned stroll downtown to today's to do list - but chief among them is that it's time to get the laundry started because this gorgeous sunshine is about to lower my power bill.

Probably not what you were expecting but, well, no one has ever accused me of being impractical.

It was not until recently that I experienced what a big impact lifestyle choices can make on energy use. While I've always done little things to conserve gas and electricity, like turn off lights and keep the furnace set a reasonable temperature, there wasn't incentive to do much more as our usage was already very low.

Then we had a baby. And, as all parents know, with a baby comes laundry - mountains and mountains of it, especially if you're using cloth diapers like we are. What was once a one- or two-times-a-week-thing quickly became a daily occurrence - often snowballing into multiple loads. The dryer seemed like it was running constantly and, needless to say, the first bill we received from PG&E after our son was born was a painful one. Although I expected our costs to go up, my jaw hit the floor when I saw our electricity bill had increased by nearly 100%.

After recovering from the initial shock (I had NO idea the dryer used that much energy), it was time to figure out how to get things back within the budget. Enter into the equation much trial and error and a newfound passion for our PG&E SmartMeter and, I'm pleased to report, our energy use is back to, and some months even lower, than our pre-baby bills.

You know you're a little crazy when you do a dance of joy when your power bill arrives. Bonus? What's good for us is good for the environment.

It's been a bit of a long road getting here and along the way I discovered ways to conserve energy - some big, some small - that have made a big impact on our bottom line. Here are a few things that have worked for us.

Know your enemy: Identify the energy hogs in your home. For us they are the electric dryer, electric stove, and gas furnace. Now, everytime I use these I mentally see dollar signs and think about how to conserve energy. Another potential culprit? Your hot water heater - we replaced our old electric one with an on-demand gas hot water heater a few years ago and the $1500 price tag has already been paid for. Yep, that was a good investment.

Become friends with your SmartMeter: I love this new contraption. I can log into my MyEnergy page online and see, virtually in real time, my energy use down to the hour. I even kept an energy log for a week and compared it to the online graphs to identify our above-stated energy hogs. I. Love.It. (No, I have not been paid for this endorsement - though that's not a bad idea...)

Be a master of the obvious and use your energy hogs less: I'm all about bang for the buck so I stared with the big guns. Here are some tips on reducing your use of the oven, dryer and furnace. (We do not have an air conditioner, so unfortunately I can't offer any good tips to that end except the obvious - don't use it. I know we're lucky to live in California where that is an option.)

Oven

• Use your slow cooker or toaster oven more often.
• Plan fewer meals each week that require the oven - for example salads, sandwiches, etc.
• When you do use the oven, take advantage of the cost to preheat and and piggy-back your dishes.

Dryer

• Line dry your clothes. Seriously. The first month you do it you will see a big impact. I guarantee it. If you don't want to put an ugly umbrella looking contraption in your back yard to do this, I'm right there with ya. Invest in a retractable clothesline for all of $10 and you'll be saving money in no time.
• Be strategic when you do use the dryer. Obviously the winter months make it difficult to harness the power of the sun so when you do need to use the dryer, be smart about it. For example, as we do a load of cloth diapers everyday, I wait to dry the diapers until I have another load of laundry that also needs to go on the dryer. If I dont have another load that needs to go into the dryer, they get put on the clothes rack in the garage to dry which leads me to...
• Line dry inside. You know that pop-up clothes rack you have for your delicates? It's also a great way to save money. Put things that you don't need to be dried immeately on the rack. Even if they don't dry completely, the dryer will not need to work as hard.
• Spin, spin, spin. Let the spin cycle on your washing machine get out as much water as possible.
• Pay attention to the temperature setting. I was using low heat and the temperature sensor to dry our clothes, but noticed that things were not getting dry and I needed to keep the dryer on longer - thus using more energy. I switched to medium heat and now do a 30 minute (or less) cycle to start. Often that does the job but if the clothes need more time, I add it in 10 minute increments.

Furnace

Over the last year I had some major 'ouch' moments with our gas bill as I figured out how to set the thermostat with a baby in the house. As a new mom, the last thing I wanted to do was make our home uncomfortable for our little boy. While it was easy to monitor his temperature when he was in our room either in a co-sleeper or our bed, after he moved to his crib and the cold winter months ensued I didn't know how to keep him warm - but not too warm - at night.

To make a long story short, after a few very high bills I called PG&E to see if they had any advice. I spoke with a sweet mother of five kids, and she told me, in not so many words, that I was over-thinking the situation (me? Never). Here are some tips I gleaned -

• Keep your heat set at 62 at night - if your child is too cold, he/she will let you know it.
• During the day set your thermostat at 67 or less when people are in the house, and have it turn off when no one is there. If you are cold - or worried about your child being cold - get out a sweatshirt.
• Things you can do to help keep your child warm at night are use a footed sleeper and/or a sleep sack, put socks on under the sleeper and, if need be, put a cap on your child.
• As SIDS has been linked to overheating at night, be careful not to put too many layers on your child. Err on the side of slightly cool rather than too warm.

So, that night I put our little guy in a sleeper and sleep sack and turned the thermostat down to 62 degrees and, wouldn't you know it, he slept through the whole night and we all woke up refreshed. Go figure. Problem solved.

Energy Tiers: Here in California we are on an energy tier system. The lowest electricity tier (for us, an average of 11 KW per day) is the cheapest, once you exceed that you get bumped into the second tier, once you exceed that it's into tier three, and so on. After I understood how the system works, it was easier to manage our energy costs and shoot for the 11 KW average that would keep us in the lowest tier (though I think it's just about impossible to live on 11 KW a day - even with our 1,000 square foot house that doesn't have AC). Call your utility company to find out how your plan is set up and see if there are other pricing plans you can try - for example, many power companies offer a 'time of use' plan that, as you might imagine, charges different electricity prices based on the time of day. The lowest prices are typically at night, so that is the best time to run the dryer, heat up the stove, etc. If you're religious about it, I hear the savings are significant - I'll be able to let you know soon as we're going to give it a go.

These tips have made a huge difference for us in trimming our power bill and I hope they are helpful for other frugal mamas out there. How do you conserve energy and keep your costs down? Please share your ideas in the comments section!

Tricks of the trade from 'Be Thifty' and 'Living Well on a Shoestring'

During one of my mid-day walks with Will, we headed to the library to find some good reading material on how to start a family while cutting back financially. While I didn't find exactly what I was looking for (maybe I should take a stab at writing a guide myself...), I did find a few good books on frugal living that I brought home and devoured from cover to cover. From olive oil hair treatments to reusing vacuum bags, below are some of the best tips that I've either implemented or filed away for future use.

Be Thrifty: How to live better with less, Pia Catton & Califia Suntree (2010)
I really enjoyed this book - I even bought it after returning the library's copy, and goodness knows that's saying something. (I found it used on Amazon - did you know there are warehouse deals via Amazon that are eligible for free $25 super saver shipping? Always click on the 'used book' option to see what you can find.) It was an easy read and I found myself dog-earing just about every page. Some of the new things we are doing in our home include:

• Cutting my husband's hair. We bought a $20 Wahl clippers from Amazon and I've cut his hair for 6 months now. That's already a savings of at least $80 given he used to have his hair cut every six weeks. After getting over his initial fear of being my next DIY project, I think he secretly likes it...no hassle to get to the barber shop anymore. And honestly? No one can tell the difference.
• Cooking more often with dried beans, which are SO much cheaper (and more delicious!) than their canned counterparts. There is a great chart with some quick tips for soaking and cooking different types of beans, including a quick soak method I've already used a few times when I've forgotten to soak beans overnight (put beans in water, bring to a boil, cover and turn off heat and let soak for an hour). I used to have no luck with beans - they would be one of two extremes, burned or rock hard - but with the help of this book I've managed to overcome my bad bean karma.
• Making our own cleaning supplies. I've been using vinegar and water for a while now on my countertops, but after reading this book and articles in Natural Home and Urban Farm magazines, I've been inspired to switch up my whole cleaning regimen and go the natural (and cheap) route. This weekend I'm picking up washing soda, Borax, grapefruit essential oil and other supplies at the store. Let the experimenting begin (and let's hope that there are no explosions).

Living Well on a Shoestring, by the editors of Yankee Magazine (2000)
It's pretty amazing how many things have changed since this book was written in 2000 - for example, cell phones, online shopping, and streaming movies. Although it was quaint reading about inexpensive ways to store floppy disks and VHS cassettes, I enjoyed all of the ideas as I could tell they were written by a kindred spirit. Some of my favorites (for the 21st century) include:

• Leftover rice? Make rice pudding.
• If you get paid bi-weekly, twice a year you will get three paychecks in a month. Instead of allowing that third one to get eaten up by expenses, as soon as you receive it put it into a savings account or allocate it towards one of your goals.
• Put a small spray bottle with detergent in the bathroom to start treating clothes when they go in the laundry (vs. spending extra money on Shout or another stain pre-treater)
• Make facecloths from old t-shirts
• Make a hot oil treatment for hair: Empty out a travel-size shampoo bottle and fill with olive oil. Drop into a hot bath to warm. Put on hair for 10-15 minutes under a shower cap.
• Make a heart-shaped cake from 1 8-inch square pan and 1 8-inch round pan (cut round cake in half and add to two adjacent sides of the square)
• Turn old Christmas cards into a paper chain for decorating - cut the fronts into thirds, make into loops and create a chain (I love this idea - so fun for kids!)
• Make a garland of dried citrus slices
• Child gift idea: Find a small wooden chair at a garage sale, spray paint and stencil their name on the back
• Reuse your vaccum bag (I'm in the midst of trying this out). When bag is full, cut a slice in the side and empty into the trashcan (p.s. a messy endeavor). Seal with duct tape and reuse for one more cycle

These are just a few of the 'pearls of wisdom' I gained from these two books. If you are of thrifty mind, I am sure you would find the time reading them to be well spent!

Cutting Back - Part Two (aka. my ode to Mint.com)

You know, it's pretty amazing what you can do when you put your mind to it, and I have to admit I'm even surprised that we've been able to live so well on so little since adjusting our budgets. Below are a few things we've done to change our spending habits - both large and small.

1. Savings Goals: When you're paying down debts like our student loans, your savings accounts are going to suffer a bit. However, once you get rid of those payments you'll be able to direct all of those funds back into your savings accounts and build those nest-eggs. We've continued our 10% into retirement (which is typically viewed as a bare minimum), but have pared back our other savings accounts to the basics (see next point...).

2. Continue saving for big fixed expenses: Put away a little each month for property taxes, home insurance, life insurance, car insurance, holiday gifts, home maintenance, car maintenance, etc. so that you're prepared when those large expenses hit.

3. Keep your savings goals - just adjust them: Have a slush fund account? An emergency fund (you should! At least enough to cover your fixed expenses for three to six months)? A 529? Don't stop funding these accounts entirely - just figure out what you can afford to put into them right now. $25 or $50 a month? Even just a little bit will make you feel like you're still making progress towards these goals.

4. Reduce your fixed expenses: You'd be surprised how much you can save when you make a few phone calls and decide to change your lifestyle in small ways. For instance, we've made the following changes -

• We don't have cable. My husband put an antenna on the roof of the house for $25 a few years ago and that's all the TV we get. We've gotten to enjoy not having the TV on all the time. Yes, we do get Netflix, but if we needed to we would give that up and just get movies out of the library.
• Call your car/home insurance companies and see how much you can cut back. I did so recently and cut nearly $300 off of our annual car insurance costs.
• Line dry your clothes. Really. I cut nearly $30 off our power bill each month by not using the dryer.
• Clip coupons. Not for everything, but for those items that you're going to need to buy anyway.
• Cut your own hair. Or, at least, your husband's hair. Thank goodness I have a husband who's willing to let me experiment on his tresses (and who has one of the easiest haircuts ever)...and that saves us $15 a month.
• This is one of those times in your life when you may have more time than money. For example, learn how to sew to save money on alterations. I hem my husband's pants and that saves us $20 a pop.

5. Make a budget and track what you spend (and save!). With websites like Mint.com it's easier than ever - and, better yet, free! You're not going to know how much you're paying each month for, say, groceries, until you start tracking it - and I dare say you'll be surprised. On the flip side, you'll be able to watch your savings accounts grow (even though it might be slowly!) and it will feel good to get closer to those goals.

6. Food. Ah yes, despite my penchant for cutting back I'm not about to give up our passion for good eats. I'm not going to mention the basics about forgoing your lattes (that's pretty obvious), but here are some tips for eating well on a budget.

• What is a reasonable food budget? I could find just about nothing out there on specific numbers but for reference, we're spending about $300 a month, or $75 a week, to feed the three of us.
• Meal planning. Seriously, this was a life changer for me. It was like suddenly everything came into focus when I realized that, with a little pre-planning, I could use our leftovers with purpose. For example, grilling a chicken on Sunday? Make chicken tacos on Monday, chicken salad on Tuesday, and use the final bits for a pizza on Wednesday. Use the chilis in Adobo sauce you bought for your tacos on Monday to add a little heat to your pizza sauce on Wednesday. Oh, and use that cilantro for the tacos on Monday to season your salad on Tuesday. Yep, it's fantastic and yes, I have a type A personality.
• Dried beans. Learn to love them and learn to soak/cook them. In fact, learn to love everything in the bulk department at your grocer.
• You can still do organic/Whole Foods. We shop at Whole Foods and Trader Joe's every week and manage to keep our weekly food bills less than $75. It can be done. See meal planning above.
• Freeze. Buy things on sale (like chicken breasts) and freeze the extras. Make stock and freeze in batches. Make pesto and freeze in ice cube trays. Make a list of what you freeze so that you know what's in there. And, most importantly, use it.
• Use meats sparingly. We are definitely not vegetarian (my husbands hunts), but at least half of our meals each week are meatless. The savings are seen not only in our food bill, but in our waistlines.
• Garden. I'm lucky to have a husband that loves working with his hands and treats our garden like his man-cave. When we make up our dinner plans for the week I 'shop' in the garden first.

7. When you waver, remember why you're doing this. When I feel the need to go to World Market and purchase new curtains or pillows for the living room, I remember that I've given that up for the time being so that I can spend more time with my son. Talk about putting things in perspective. And, if I'm dead set on some project I want to do around the house, I head to Goodwill or a consignment shop to find inspiration at a fraction of the price.

These are just a few things that we've done to cut our spending by thousands every month - yes, thousands. It can be done and, honestly, I've found it to be quite enjoyable. I feel more in control of our spending then I ever have and I know that we're using our finances in a way that allows us to live the life we want to lead.

Cutting Back - Part One

I've always been of frugal mind, but becoming a Mom brought my natural inclination to the next level.

Having a kid helps you clarify things. My husband and I have always been savers, but seeing our finances through the lens of new parenthood made things all the more clear. For instance, when along the line had we decided that, unlike debts like credit card and car payments (which we detest), it was OK to hold onto student loan debt? Yes, there is an interest deduction for tax purposes, but, ah hem, given my husband's out of state tuition at the University of California (yes, the degree was worth it honey!), let's just say we were paying a whole lot more in interest than we were able to claim on our taxes. While we've been paying down these loans above and beyond the minimum payments for years, when our son was born all of a sudden we saw these loans for the burden that they are - monthly financial responsibilities keeping us from living on one income.

I absolutely loved the four months I spent with my son during my maternity leave and while I was at home I massaged our financial data to the point where we could have made it on one income - barely. As in, 'savings go-out-the-wazoo-and-we're-living-paycheck-to-paycheck' barely. The stickler? Those darn student loans.

We went through the whole stay-at-home Mom vs. working-Mom thing and were lucky to find a solution that presents the best of both worlds. Let's just say that I'm extremely blessed to work for an employer that was willing to work with me to find a part-time role that allows me to spend more time with my son while giving us the extra padding that we need to live without stressing about overdrafts.

And, I should add, a solution that helps us pay down those pesky student loans.

How, exactly, are we making do? After all, when you include the cost of childcare, I'm making less than 25% of what I was making previous to my maternity leave. (Ouch - it still hurts.) Plus, in an effort to prove that we can do it on one paycheck, we are living off my husband's salary and nearly 100% of what I make above and beyond childcare is going to student loan payments so we can finally rid ourselves of those debts.

Continued in Part Two...