Thriftism

Thanksgiving is already upon up, which means so is Black Friday. Maybe you're really organized and have already finished your Christmas shopping, but if you're like the rest of us, this can be a great time to check a few items off your list. Though you have to be careful, because if you don't have a plan you may end up breaking your budget on Black Friday or missing out on some of the best deals while you're trying to get an ok deal. We're going cover a few basics to keep you on track for a big win this Black Friday.   Plan Ahead!! There are plenty of ads out already and available online to view deals. A few easy ones to find are BlackFriday.com ,  BFads.net , or FatWallet.com , as well as the store websites. Try to make a shopping list now to make your Friday shopping easier. If you are doing some Christmas shopping, write out a list of everyone you are buying presents for and try to think of ideas for them. You can then check to see if there are deals on

Got sour milk? There's not much worse than pouring yourself a bowl of cereal only to find the the milk has started to turn. Well maybe there is... finding out the milk is starting to turn after eating a bit of the cereal and realizing you still have over half a gallon of milk left. What a waste!! As you've probably figured out if you've been following the blog or can surmise from the name, we don't like waste here. Good news is that you don't have to throw out sour milk. If it's got chunks- it's too late and cut your losses, but until that point there are loads of great ways to use up sour milk. Here is one of our favorites. The best part? No one will know you used sour milk unless you tell them! Sour Milk Chocolate Cake What you'll Need 2 Cups Sugar 0.5 Cup Shortening 2 Eggs 2 tsp Baking Powder 2 Cups Sour Milk 3 Cups Flour Vanilla Preheat oven to 350 Cream shortening and sugar Add remaining ingredients (sift if need

When you think Black Hills, SD, you probably think of Mount Rushmore, but there is so much more to the area than this iconic landmark. One of our favorites is hiking on the countless trails in the area. This free activity will take you down the path less traveled (quite literally sometimes) and might help tire out the kiddos (or make you feel better about having some of the amazing fudge produced in the area. As a bonus, there is a good chance you'll see some wildlife ranging from birds and deer, to bighorn sheep and mountain goats. Did I mention this was FREE?  While it is a free activity, I recommend coming prepared for the hike you are about to embark on. Also try to choose accordingly to your or your child's skill level. Do you really want to carry a 2-year old on the 4-mile hike back to the car? Maybe try a shorter, flatter hike with small children and work your way up to the more challenging paths. A few must-haves for longer hikes include water, snacks, comf

Fall is here and with it comes an abundance of squash. Its all over the stores and if you've grown squash, you probably have quite the stockpile now. Today we are specifically looking at spaghetti squash. This one is a bit different than other winter squashes such as butternut or acorn in that, like the name suggests, it is stringy. There are almost endless recipes for spaghetti squash, but for all of them you will need a cooked spaghetti squash. You can either bake it or microwave it. This post will cover how to bake your spaghetti squash. What you'll need Spaghetti squash Olive oil Knife Baking sheet Tin foil (Optional) Spoon Begin by using a butchers knife to slice the stem off the squash. Continue by cutting your squash in half. Preheat oven to 350. Next you will want to scrape all the seeds and pulp out of the center. Be sure to save the seeds as roasted squash seeds make an excellent snack or if you plan on growing squash again next spring. See our pos

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) I still need to look at more courses. Check out  Coursera  for a wide variety of free courses or  Duolingo  for language learning. Install Kitchen Backsplash and Cabinet Pulls INSTALLED!!! We finally put our backsplash up in May. We have to grout one more section, but it looks pretty sweet. See the how-to videos below if you're looking to put up backsplash in your home.  We also put in all the cabinet pulls. It sure is nice to have a handle on the drawers. :)     Construct Captains Bedframe  The main frame and drawers have been