Thriftism

May Day has many different claims on the origin of the holiday. Some say it sprouted from the Socialists' protests on working hours which occurred in 1886. Others point farther back to Roman times celebrating Flora, the goddess of flowers. No matter which origins you cling you (or none at all), this can be a joyful spring holiday. For a more complete history check out The Incomplete, True, Authentic, and Wonderful History of May Day (Spectre) By Peter Linebaugh. One tradition that has passed through the ages is the giving of May Baskets. May baskets can be made out of just about anything nowadays and contain a small gift whether it be flowers, trinkets, or candies. These baskets are to be left at a person's doorstep anonymously. The giver drops the basket off, rings the door bell, and runs away. If they are caught, tradition says they are supposed to kiss the receiver. I don't think many people follow the running/kissing part of this tradition anymore, but the baskets c

Blueberry muffins can be a fun start to your day. They can also load you full of sugar and fat which can kill your productivity for the day and cost a few bucks to do so. Try your hand at making these yummy muffins at home to reduce your sugar intake and save a few bucks. You'll Need: 2 Cups Flour 2 Tbsp Sugar 2.5 tsp Baking Powder 0.5 tsp Salt 1 Egg 1 Cup Milk 1/4 Cup Butter Crisco or Butter or Liners Mini Muffin Pan or Muffin Tin Preheat oven to 350 Chop Blueberries Mix your dry ingredients. Beat the egg, add milk and butter. Combine wet and dry ingredients. Add Blueberries Grease or line your muffin tins. Bake mini muffins for 10 minutes and regular muffins for 20 minutes. When you can insert toothpick and it comes out clean they are done! Enjoy these easy to make, yummy muffins as breakfast or a snack! Feel free to be creative, branch out, try raisins, pecans, apples and cinnamon. The sky is the limit.

Spring has sprung and that means gardening season is just around the corner. Gardening has quite a few benefits. To start with, you have a steady supply of fresh food all summer and a garden promotes healthy eating by having vegetables readily available. Vegetables make great additions to any meal or can be eaten plain for a yummy, healthy snack.  You also have more control over your food if you are growing it. You will know whether or not pesticides/herbicides have been used. Gardening can also save you quite a bit of money. For example: Tomatoes 1 LB at Store: $3.99/pound Plant (yields ~  20 pounds Tomatoes): ~$5 or $0.25/pound Seeds (Lots of plants that yield ~ 20-30 pounds Tomatoes): $3.95 for 125 seeds If you only grow 3 plants, that comes out to $0.07/pound and goes down with every plant grown. **This used a conservative number for costs and # of tomatoes. You may be able to get cheaper seeds and often times plants will produce more than the pound amount specified

Love baby red mashed potatoes? Add garlic and they get even better. This incredibly easy recipe offers you an affordable restaurant quality side to serve at your next family meal. Saving money never tasted so good! What you need: ~8-10 baby red potatoes Pot to cook potatoes 3 Cloves Garlic (or equivalent powder, but I prefer fresh.) 1/2 tsp Salt 2 Tbsp Butter 5 oz Milk Potato Masher or Food Processor Start by rinsing your potatoes. You want to mash sure the skin is nice and clean if you plan on eating it. Potato skins have a great array of nutrients and make a wonderful addition to your diet, but you can peel your potatoes if you prefer. Cut/Quarter your potatoes and add to your pot. Add enough water to cover potatoes and boil for ~20minutes. You can check if they are done by using a fork. If there is little resistance they are done! Hence the saying  "Stick a fork in me, I'm done." Now if you have a potato masher you can add the rest

In Parts 1 & 2 we discussed some the causes and criteria for evaluating cracked PCC, now in Part 3 I will cover some of the options available for crack remediation. A word of caution to those who have not experienced the brutal stubbornness PCC removal, in certain situations, can be capable of inflicting, start in a small non-essential area and equip yourself with adequate tools for the task. Alternative 1: Do Nothing Always an option but you need to evaluate your situation independently. Alternative 2: Rout & Seal PCC Cracks This method is likely to be the most common for the average homeowner as it is relatively low cost and does not require a high degree of skill. Routing and sealing is largely intended to waterproof the crack, while providing some degree of overall aesthetic improvement. It does not join/fuse or restore any strength to the panel and does not work well with high movement/deflection cracks as the sealer typically fails. Great method for use in poorly

So you want to crochet? You'll need to learn how to complete the chain stitch to start out. It is the foundation of your crochet projects. It is typically abbreviated as ch or chs followed by the number of stitches. For example ch 10 would be chain ten. What you need to crochet: Yarn Crochet Hook Start by forming a slip knot. Click the link to see our previous post on how to create a slipknot along with a video. Place your crochet hook inside the slipknot. Tips on holding the yarn: Hold the slipknot in left hand and use your left thumb to hold the tail of the yarn. Tips of holding the crochet hook: Hold the crochet hook in your right hand. Your thumb and index finger should be on the flat part of the crochet hook with the rest of your fingers curled around the handle. Crochet hook should be facing upwards. Slide the hook between yarn and left hand index finger. Grab the yarn (or yarn over) with the crochet hook. Pull the yarn down through your slipknot.

There are so many projects that you can make once you know how to crochet. Which is why we're going to begin at the beginning so you can follow our patterns in the future with ease. Different patterns use different stitches, hooks, and yarns. We're going to begin by showing you stitches. Patterns usually indicate hook size and yarn type. It is easiest to buy a set of hooks so you have all available. Amazon has a great selection to choose from. What you need to get started: Crochet Hook Yarn Once you have your slipknot you can progress to our next post How to Crochet - Beginner Basics - Chain Stitch (CH or chs)

Tax day is just around the corner. For some this can be a fun time of year when you get mailed a check, but for many, it's a stressful time that involves paying (sometimes substantially) into the government. While it may be too late to lower to tax bill for last year by selling stocks, donating to charities, or use many other deductions, there are still a few ways left for you to hang onto your hard earned money. Rather than giving your money to Uncle Sam, you can invest in yourself this spring by doing one of these three things: IRA Contributions (traditional, not Roth) Must have been opened in 2014 Must be younger than 70.5 Claim Traditional IRA Contribution Can be done before contribution is made, but the contribution must be in place by the tax return due date (April 18 this year). Self-Employed 401(k) Contributions Must have been opened in 2014 Must be younger than 70.5 HSA Contributions (Health Savings Account) Must have been opened in 2014 Must b

Glad you were able to tune in for Part 2 of our concrete series where I will give some tips and tricks on identifying causes of concrete failure and methods for DYI repairs. Before we get started, a brief clarification on the term concrete which is synonymous with Portland Cement Concrete (PCC) and widely accepted as a reciprocal. However, concrete is the mixture of a binder/glue and aggregate, and many types of concrete exist such as asphalt concrete, resin concrete, or the most famous Portland Cement Concrete. Please also note the term cement is used when referring to a neat mixture of binder/glue, think of the plaster of Paris used in sheetrock. With that pet peeve addressed lets dig into identifying some common root causes of PCC failure. Uncontrolled Cracking - A menacing term with simple meaning, this is any cracking that occurs outside of the intended locations or joints. Typically affects relatively new PCC < 1 year in age and is commonly caused by failing to adequately

Who doesn't love muffins? Maybe a few of you, but it seems most people are all about muffins. Buying them at a coffee shop or even at a bakery can get spendy and they have a lot more calories and sugar than you would think. We started making our own to enjoy great flavor, fresh ingredients, and save money by making our own snacks (or breakfast). Makes ~12 regular size muffins or 24 mini muffins or a combination of both! INGREDIENTS: 2 Cup All Purpose Flour 2 Tbsp Granulated Sugar 2 tsp Baking Powder 1 tsp Salt 1 Large Egg 0.25 Cup Butter 1 Cup Milk 1 Cup Cranberries (Optional: add 1/2 Cup Sugar to sweeten Cranberries) Preheat your oven to 400° F. Begin by chopping up cranberries. Or use a food processor to speed things up. You can use dried cranberries too, but this increases cost and adds a lot of sugar to your recipe. Sift together flour, sugar, baking powder, and salt. Add in eggs, milk, and butter. Mix Finally, mix in your cran

Spring has finally arrived, banishing old man winter for nicer weather! However, it is possible old man winter has left a few things behind in your driveway, patio or perhaps walkway adjacent your house. I am not talking about snow but freshly cracked concrete! Winter and subsequently its partner in crime frost or frozen ground, can be very hard on your paved surfaces when Spring rolls around causing a phenomena known as frost heave. This distress results in the movement and short term weakening of subsurface soils/aggregates reducing support to the pavements above. The most basic analogy I can provide is trying to cut a peanut butter tortilla sandwich and the peanut butter squishes out the sides. That is similar to what is going on under your sidewalks and driveway during the Spring thaw, a soft saturated layer of material trapped between an upper layer of hard pavement and bottom layer of hard frozen ground. This situation creates ideal conditions for concrete failure. Cracking

It's that time of the month... time to check in on goals you know? :) Have you been sticking with it or have your goals fallen by the wayside? Here's where we at Thriftism stand: Take 6 Courses Online (3 of 6) Teach English: Foundational Principals (Completed FEB 2016) Teach English: Theories of Second Language Acquisition (Completed MARCH 2016) Teach English: Lesson Design & Assessment (Completed MARCH 2016) Looking at taking a marketing class Install Kitchen Backsplash and Cabinet Pulls We have the backsplash... No more progress here. (again) Construct Captains Bedframe  The main frame and drawers have been constructed. Now we just have to add the facing and get drawer pulls. I'd say about 60% done. Read 12 Books Down by the River - Robyn Carr (75% Complete) Friday Night Lights (30% complete) Still more magazines... Visit London Planning is in progress. I have finished 3 counties or shires or whatever they are called.  So much to do, so l