May 2013
5 posts
3 tags
Why cooking at home is the best way to get & stay...
I am a HUGE fan of home cooking, not just because it is far cheaper than going out for every meal.
This NYT blog post explains the health benefits of cooking at home.
5 tags
What to do when you're out of vegan ice cream (and...
I was really craving ice cream and was feeling too lazy & cheap to walk 6 blocks to Fairway, so I made a shake instead. D got me an ice cream attachment for my vintage kitchen aid mixer, but I haven’t frozen it yet :(. I guarantee I will be ice creamifying this mixture next time!
We always have frozen banana chunks because I always buy more bananas than we can eat before they get too...
2 tags
5 ways frugality helps the environment
Frugality is a great way to save money, but it’s also a good way to save the earth!
1. Cooking at home, and bringing leftovers for lunch in reusable containers, instead of getting takeout at home or at work, means less trash generated. Many restaurants are still using styrofoam, which is horrendous for the earth, and even the restaurants that don’t use styrofoam pack in way too many...
2 tags
Nope, no kids. No plans for any either.
I’m not married yet-we are still figuring out when to head to city hall to tie the knot, but I know that as soon as I am a married lady, strangers and acquaintances will feel my reproductive organs are their business.
I’ve seen it happen to other friends, and my sister, and I’m preparing myself for the onslaught.
Let me put this out there: I love babies. I like holding them,...
5 tags
Creamy collards with coconut and lemon (vegan &...
I love greens! Especially creamed greens!
Ingredients:
6 cups washed & chopped collard greens
1/2 onion, finely chopped
Juice of 1 lemon
1/2 can coconut cream
Salt & pepper, to taste
Directions:
1. Skim some of the fat off the top of the coconut cream (about 1 tablespoon) and put it in a large saucepan, turn heat to medium and add the onion, stir to coat and continue to stir as...
April 2013
3 posts
4 tags
I am a housewife. A highly educated, urban,...
I’ve spent the past few months freaking out about money and constantly on craigslist looking at job openings…. Part of my freak out is probably related to my upcoming 10 year college reunion, where I’m sure everyone will be talking about their career successes, and I was afraid of feeling like a loser because I no longer have my high-powered finance job…or even any job. ...
An inspiring, sweet, and incredibly well-written... →
3 tags
The easiest and best split pea soup recipe (vegan...
I made this soup last night to serve with a big ass salad. D looooved it and I did too. It honestly doesn’t get any simpler than this! The dill somehow makes it very spring-like.
Ingredients:
2 cups dried split peas (I used Palouse brand which I bought from amazon.com. They have QR codes on their bean sacks that show you which field your food was grown on!)
1/2 c fresh dill, washed...
March 2013
7 posts
10 more things I don't do
1) I don’t send my laundry out. We have a laundry room in our apartment building’s basement, and it’s $2/load ($1.25 washer and $0.75 for dryer time). When I was working and time crunched, I’d often send my laundry for wash & fold service, which could be $10/bag! We do at least 2 loads per week so by washing and folding ourselves, we save $16/week, which is...
1 tag
A wedding? Or a house?
P & I are lucky to be members of USAA bank & insurance company because our dad was in the Navy in the 70’s. They send a monthly magazine with financial advice, and I read in this month’s issue that the average wedding in the US is a whopping $27,000!
I totally support the idea of celebrating a special day, and if you have the money and it’s really important to you to...
4 tags
My free dog
One of the dangers of volunteering at an animal shelter is that you fall in love a lot. I met our chihuahua mix when I was volunteering at the ASPCA and fell head over heels for his spunky, sweet, determined nature. He was brought to the city kill shelter in July of last year with severe pneumonia and a broken hind leg. Animal Care & Control transferred him to the ASPCA because they have an...
5 tags
Vegan pantry pasta primavera
I’m trying to cook from our pantry (aka food we have on hand) this week because we splurged this past weekend on a nice dinner with out of town friends, and I want to make sure we come in under budget this month in the food category, since we will be traveling to see my fiance’s mom, and the travel costs will put us over budget in other categories. I have 2 grocery shopping mystery...
How I got into mystery shopping
#Eternallywondering asked how I got into mystery shopping on my last post & I can’t figure out how to reply so I figured I’d write a quick post about it.
I used to mystery shop a brewpub when I was in college-my friend’s cousin worked for the mystery shopping company (MSC) and would rotate all of us through. It was a fun and easy way to get a free dinner & drinks for 2....
3 tags
10 things I don't do
Here are 10 things I don’t do & how they save me money
1) I don’t get my hair cut by a professional. People are flabbergasted when I tell them I cut it myself. I have long, straight brown hair and it is really easy for me to go to town with my scissors and a comb in the bathroom mirror every 6 months to lob off the split ends. I work for myself doing home renovations, so my...
Top 5 Ways That People Waste Money
1. Buying stuff they don’t need. Ask yourself these 5 questions before making any purchase.
2. Paying full price. There are so many ways to score discounts on things that you actually need. You can clip coupons, join rewards programs, take advantage of discounts offered to Triple A members, and shop at sample sales, thrift stores, garage sales and discount stores like Ross or...
February 2013
5 posts
Beyond the latte factor
One of the first nuggets of advice that budgeting gurus dispense is to ditch the daily latte habit. And yes, in terms of pure numbers, that advice is spot-on: two drinks from Starbucks can cost you more than $8 a day; add a food item to that and you’re well over $10. But what if your colleagues make regular trips to Starbucks during work hours and you don’t want to miss out on the...
My bargain basement legal education, Part II
Here’s how I graduated from law school with a relatively sane amount of debt:
1. Luck. Full disclosure: I didn’t do it all on my own. Although my parents did not support me during law school, their generosity helped me get through school with minimal debt in the following ways: (1) they paid for my undergraduate education in full, which meant that I entered law school with no...
My bargain basement legal education, Part I
My parents cut me off financially after I graduated from college, leaving me to pay for law school on my own. By forcing me to rely on my own resourcefulness, my parents gave me a gift that was far more precious than any tuition money that they could have given me. Unlike many of my law school classmates and college friends, I paid for law school myself (both my tuition and living...
Favorite Frugal Blogs
In no particular order, here are some of my favorite blogs promoting thrift, frugality, sustainability, and financial sanity:
The Non-Consumer Advocate - I look forward to Katy Wolk-Stanley’s daily updates on her Goodwill thrifting adventures, restoring her 100-year-old Craftsman style home, and simple living in general.
Frugal Mama - Amy Suardi (a fellow Brown grad!) writes movingly of...
Why do moguls lose their money?
By some strange coincidence, I recently learned about three well-known billionaires who lost their shirts. On the surface, these men don’t appear to have much in common: Merv Adelson was a hotshot Hollywood producer, Peter Eichler Jr. ran a large money management firm in Southern California, and David Siegel, subject of the controversial documentary film “Queen of Versailles”,...
January 2013
5 posts
Plant-based diets can save you $$-and they are... →
Going vegan or vegetarian can help you save money-both on your current grocery bills (beans and tofu are much cheaper per serving than meat!) and on future health care bills (vgetarians & vegans tend to have lower cholesterol levels, and lower blood pressure than meat-eaters. Plus, some studies show that vegans are far less likely to get cancer than people who eat a meat-centric diet.).
This...
3 tags
How to street park in NYC
Garages in NYC can cost more than what people in other cities pay for an apartment that includes a parking space! In super fancy neighborhoods, some garages charge $600 and up for a month of parking a regular size car.
When I was working, I didn’t have time to deal with NYC’s crazy alternate side parking rules, so I paid $250/month (including tax) to house my car in a garage 10 blocks...
4 tags
31 and mortgage free-can it really happen?
Yes, it can happen. It will take luck, perseverance, and sacrifice, but YOU can make it happen.
Here is how I did it:
Let’s start with luck: Lucky point #1: I am incredibly lucky that I was raised by parents who taught me how to save money. I learned early on to make saving a habit. Luckily for me (& for P), our parents gave us the incredible gift of graduating from college debt-free....
3 tags
Vegan potato gratin
It’s gotten super chilly here in the city and I’m in the mood for comfort food, so I decided to make a potato gratin for tonight’s dinner. I’m serving it with a big healthy salad to balance out the pretty high fat content of this dish!
Ingredients:
4 lbs Thin-skinned Potatoes, scrubbed (and peeled if you prefer them that way)-I used a combo of red, yellow, and pink...
7 tags
Make yourself a new rug-for free!
Home decor can be pricey, but with some craftiness and time, it can also be cheap, or even free!
This project requires basic crochet skills.
I was inspired by a beautiful rag rug made for us by my boyfriend’s dad’s wife. I wanted to try my hand at making one but didn’t want to buy new stuff for it, because I am a cheapskate, and also because I didn’t want to waste new...
December 2012
3 posts
2 tags
Making a little extra money
I’ve been stressing about money lately because my unemployment benefits are about to run out (I’m not convinced they will be extended, thanks to the gridlock in Washington) and our rental houses are not yet ready to be rented out-all three still need more work. Our living costs are pretty low since I was able to pay off the mortgage on our apartment while I was still employed. So,...
Fishy lemon bars
Yesterday I had to commit Skinnyflint sacrilege—throwing out perfectly edible food. According to a recent article in The Atlantic Monthly, “Americans throw out about $165 billion worth of food every year, or 20 pounds of food per person per month.” And while some of that waste occurs early in the supply chain, before the food makes its way into consumers’ homes, much of it...
Myra's new bed
We recently discovered that our kitties were infested with fleas, so out went the ancient, leopard-spotted cat bed that I bought for our 10-year-old cat Myra many years ago. (The label specifically said “spot clean only” and I knew that the thing was probably harboring hundreds of flea eggs.) That left us with only one cat bed (which I was able to wash in super-hot water), which...
November 2012
3 posts
Stocking your kitchen on the cheap: KitchenAid...
I just got an email from Bed Bath & Beyond featuring the home cook’s dream appliance-the KitchenAid stand mixer, and it reminded me of one of my favorite kitchen stockup bargains. Bed Bath & Beyond has the mixer offered at $349 and they have a 20% off coupon, so it would be about $280, plus tax. I did a little googling, and found cheaper options: $220 at Best Buy & $199 at...
3 tags
Budget home reno: less is more!
We spent much of last week ripping up what seemed like a million layers of crappy & cheap flooring to get down to the original 1927 heart pine hardwood flooring in our tiny house just outside Detroit. The house is a cutie-it’s a 500 sq foot 1 bedroom cottage with a storage loft, and it was built in 1927. It’s a solid little house and once we are done with it, it will be an...
2 tags
Thrifty weddings! Intro piece
Tuesday night was the BEST NIGHT EVER! Our president was reelected, marriage equality ballot proposals passed in four states, there will be more women than ever in the Senate! But the best part of the best night ever = D asked me to marry him and I said yes!!!
Soooo, we are going to be planning a wedding celebration for next year. It’s going to be a very low-key event, and will absolutely...
October 2012
4 posts
6 tags
Vegan gobi manchurian (gluten free!)
Indian style Chinese food is super yummerific!
We got a head of cauliflower in the csa and I was craving gobi manchurian = crispy cauliflowery spicy goodness. I’m afraid of deep frying because I’m convinced I’m going to light myself on fire, so I decided to try a baked version.
Ingredients:
1 head cauliflower, cut into large chunks
1 cup Chickpea flour
3/4 cup Non-dairy...
5 tags
Vegan spiked hot chocolate
It’s feeling very fall-like in NYC, so I decided to make spiked hot chocolate for desert tonight. It’s simple, but really rich and satisfying.
Here’s how I made it:
Heat non-dairy milk on low heat in a saucepan (1.5 cups milk per serving-I used soy but this would work with almond, hemp, rice, coconut, et al). Once the milk is warm, whisk in unsweetened cocoa powder (I like...
2 tags
Cleaning in a pinch: the power of baking soda!
We ran out of my favorite all-purpose cleaner (Seventh Generation’s thyme scented disinfecting spray). I desperately needed to clean our apartment today (cleaning is therapeutic and I had an emotionally challenging weekend) but was feeling too depressed to leave the house for anything longer than a quick doggie bathroom break.
I briefly considered using white vinegar to clean the kitchen,...
2 tags
Renovating on the cheap: beadboard
One of the things about our new house that really REALLY sucks is that the downstairs apartment (our house is a duplex) walls were covered in 5 ft high horrendous faux brick panelling. We spent an entire day ripping the panelling down and were aghast to see perfectly good walls now ruined by swaths of liquid nails. Granted, some of the panelling in the kitchen was covering walls that had...
August 2012
5 posts
4 tags
Renovating on the cheap: paint
It’s common knowledge that paint is one of the cheapest ways to update your space. But I don’t consider $20+ per gallon all that cheap, especially when you have to paint the inside of an entire house or apartment.
If you aren’t dead set on a particular color, you can save a TON of money on paint in a couple of ways:
1) check your local paint store, hardware store, and big box...
3 tags
Renovating on the cheap
We recently bought a 2-family house in Michigan, which we plan to turn into a rental. It was a foreclosure and had been vacant for two years prior to our buying it-so it needs a lot of work. I’ll be posting tips on how we are redoing it, and will post photos of befores and afters (if we ever get to the afters…….) as things progress.
Tip #1:
Craigslist is your friend!
The...
The CSA Project: pickups 10 & 11
Once again, I’ve been in michigan working on the house for most of my time, so I haven’t been posting because we don’t have Internet at the house! We missed last week’s CSA pickup because my sweetie was in the D (that’s Detroit) with me, but let’s assume 12lbs of veggies and 2lbs fruit. Food that doesn’t get picked up from our CSA location is donated to...
Retail Fast - Update #2
I really miss shopping. It’s taken every ounce of willpower I have to stay away from the Lucca Couture/Isabel Lu warehouse sale, which is going on right this minute just a few miles away from my house. But I won’t go, because I have only 4 days to go until my shopping ban is lifted. Those days can’t pass quickly enough. :)
Here’s what I’m taking away from this...
2 tags
The CSA Project: Pickups 8 & 9
I was out of town last week so my sweetheart picked up the CSA produce last Thursday. I was too lazy to weigh it by the time I got home, but we got a LOT so let’s assume it was 10lbs veggies and 2.5lbs fruit.
This week’s pickup:
3 kinds of peppers: 2 lbs
Garlic: 1/4 lb
Cucumber: 3/4 lb
Roma tomatoes: 1 lb
Corn: 3.5 lbs
Beets & greens: 2.5 lbs
Potatoes: 1.5...
July 2012
10 posts
Getting around towns on the cheap
I’ve been remiss in posting lately, because I’ve been doing a lot of traveling. I recently bought a house in Michigan, which I am fixing up (more on that to come in later posts!), and was in LA last weekend to celebrate the wedding of a great friend from high school.
To get to the wedding, I used a number of cheap travel tricks:
For my flight from NYC to LA, I used frequent flyer...
Retail Fast - Update #1
It’s been about 2 weeks since I started my retail fast and I couldn’t be happier. Knowing that I can’t buy any new clothing or jewelry and that I must make use of what’s already in my closet has given me a marvelous sense of freedom. Yes, I feel an occasional twinge of longing when I skim through fashion websites like Refinery 29 or read about a sample sale that’s...
The CSA Project: Pickups 6 & 7
I was out of town last Thursday, so my sweetheart did last week’s CSA pickup and then washed all the produce-thank you, babe!
Here is what we got in pickup 6:
Basil and parsley 1/4 lb
Carrots (with tops) 3/4 lb
Onions 2lbs
Green beans 1 lb
Loose leaf lettuce 1/4 lb
Red boston lettuce 1/2 lb
Green onions 1/2 lb
Zucchini & summer squash 2 and 1/4 lbs...
My Clothing Inventory
The dictionary defines frugality as “characterized by or reflecting economy in the use of resources.” The key to frugality isn’t simply scoring the lowest price or the best deal when acquiring new things; it also includes making good use of the things that we already own.
To help me achieve my goal of not shopping for the next month, I decided to put together an inventory of my...
Goin' on a retail fast...
The last few months have been profligate ones for this skinnyflint, at least in the spending department. First there was the trip to San Francisco, where I stumbled across a nifty little independent bookstore, followed by a nifty little independent boutique selling handmade soaps, and finally a nifty little independent coffee roaster (and I just had to buy souveneirs from all of them). Then K...
3 tags
Dirt and bugs: dealing with CSA Produce
CSA produce isn’t always as sanitized as grocery store produce. That’s a good thing! Sometimes there will be dirt, or bugs, or both, on the produce- I like it because it’s a sign my food just came out of the earth, and that there are no pesticides on my food.
After our first week, when I just threw the veggies in the fridge as soon as I brought them home, we had some little...
4 tags
An urban farm wife
I felt like a farm wife yesterday-i had to pickup a new CSA batch yesterday afternoon, but we still had a ton of the previous week’s produce. I didn’t want to let the old stuff go to waste, because throwing such beautiful food away would be neither thrifty, nor environmentally friendly.
To make room in the fridge’s crisper drawers for the new stuff, here is what I did:
...
The CSA Project: Pickup 5
I love how fresh and healthy everything from our CSA is. But the best part of CSA ‘shopping’? I get to bring my dog with me to pickup our veggies-that’s not allowed at the grocery store!
Here’s today’s haul:
6 cucumbers: 3 & 3/4 lbs
4 onions: 1 &1/2 lbs
5 zucchini: 2 & 3/4 lbs
Kale: 1 lb
Swiss chard: 3/4 lb
4 summer squashes: 2 lbs...
7 tags
Cold Cucumber Soup (vegan, raw, and gluten-free)
Nothing says refreshing like a big bowl of cold cucumber soup!
Ingredients:
2 large cucumbers, peeled and chopped
handful fresh cilantro, de-stemmed (plus a little more to use as garnish)
juice of 1 lime
1 green onion, white and light green part only, chopped
salt, to taste
1. Put all the ingredients in your blender and blend until smooth. Chill for at least 30mins for flavors to blend,...
4 tags
Road Tripping while vegan
Road trips can be really fun, but they can also be kind of frustrating if you are vegan. Most major cities have at least some vegetarian places or ethnic restaurants with vegan options, but the towns along some highways have very few options for us rabbit food eaters- and often it’s difficult to find a grocery store- convenience stores don’t have much in the way of fresh produce.
The...
