Thriftism

We made quiche (or as Race calls it-egg bake) to use up some of our eggs. We got 4 dozen when they went on sale for $0.96/dozen. I wasn't too sure about how it would turn out as we basically threw in whatever we had, which wasn't too much. I did buy spinach to add to it just to get something healthy in there. I think overall it can't be too bad for me to eat and it did taste great! Here is a breakdown of the ingredients with costs. We might have put some garlic powder in and we did add hot sauce when we served it, but these costs are minimal- probably less than 1 cent.    Quiche 10 eggs 0.8 .96/dozen 16 oz Spinach 1.79 2 Onions 0.53 3.97/5lb 3 Potatoes 0.58 2.88/5lb 1/2 C Cheese 0.99 1.98/2 Cups Total 4.69 Per Serving 0.39 We mixed everything together and baked it in a 9"x13" cake pan at 350 degrees for around 40 minutes. Any pan will work and any batch size will work ( fewer egg...

Today was day 15 of the 30 day Challenge. Weight: 150lbs Waist: 27.25" (up) Hips: 32.5" (down) Thighs: 22.25" (up) Calf: 15.25" (up) Arms (L-R): 12" - 11.25" (up) I actually gained inches in my arms, calves, and waist, but my hips decreased. I think this must be do to an increase in muscle. I had to take it fairly easy today because two days ago I had Lasik. I didn't want to pressure my eyes or sweat in my eyes so it was hard to keep up, but I did the whole workout.

Finally finished my hand towel. I haven't been putting much time into knitting lately as I've been more worried about working out and to be honest a lot lazier after working out. But I think it turned out fairly well. I liked it enough to start a second one. I haven't decided yet if I should make it to hang over the oven handle like the last one or to just make a square hand towel that could be used in the kitchen or in the bathroom. For the second one I made up my own pattern and I'm skipping over Christmas since I was hoping to give this as a gift. I am going straight to Valentine's day. I came up with a pattern that varied between rows of 4 and 3 hearts across the whole towel. I have the first two rows done. Making a pattern is fairly easy. What you need: An Idea Graph Pattern Pencil I wouldn't say making a pattern for clothing or something you've never made is easy. I am adding different designs to things I've already made or adding design...

Winter is coming and with that cooler weather. Fend off the cold with a warm, healthy, and cheap dish. The best part about chili is you can really make it your own. What You'll Need 1 C dry red beans 1 C dry pinto beans 1 C dry black beans 7 Tomatoes or 2-3 cans diced tomatoes (Preferably reduced salt) 2 Onions Lots of Chili Powder Garlic (Fresh or powdered) Meat (Optional) I try to avoid adding salt to anything and try to buy ingredients with the least amount of salt as well. Salt causes bloating and in general isn't great for your body. Some salt is necessary, but everything now has so much salt that anytime we can cut back on that it's good. I used all dried beans because they are ridiculously cheaper than buying canned beans and again it reduces salt intake. You also lose all those preservatives that come with the canned beans. Lots of people avoid dry beans because it can take a lot longer to cook. You can either soak them overnight or do a quick soak wh...

If you have an individual phone plan, you've probably noticed your phone bill is hugely expensive. Unless you can add lines and shares the costs of the plan or get a company discount, it is a lot of money to pay every month. I faced this dilemma earlier in the year and noticed that contracts cost more than a monthly prepaid month. In fact, at AT&T if I had stayed on a contract plan, my bill would be about $25 more than it currently is on a month-to-month and with a contract I wouldn't have unlimited minutes. With the monthly plan, I get unlimited minutes, text, and since I have a basic phone, I get unlimited internet as well. I believe it is also cheaper to do a month-to-month for a smartphone. Sprint might be better because it has unlimited everything for $80. This includes unlimited data on a smartphone, which is the better option for those who watch tv on the phone. Many of the contract plans continue to have a limit on minutes, which is not very viable in this day and a...

My sister is moving into her first house later this month and I couldn't decide what I should get for a house warming gift. Usually if you buy something from a store, everyone knows how much you spent. Having said that, it reflects poorly if you spend say $5 when others might spend $20. So, I decided to make my presents. I recently taught myself to knit. It's pretty simple to learn and there are tons of how to guides with pictures and movies online. I didn't say I am great yet, but good enough to make something worth using. I searched for towels or dishcloths, anything that would be fairly simple, but still useful. After some searching I found this great pattern online and it is actually offered as a free pattern, making it even better! The pattern makes two hand towels and three dishcloths. It calls for three colors, but I bought my yarn on sale and only two matching colors were on sale, therefor, I am using only two. You can buy knitting needles fairly cheap on ebay or...

Sometimes, you just need to relax for awhile. For instance, today I wanted to hurry and finish the wood floor in my guestroom. All I had to do was mop on the restore oil and I figured I could do it quick before supper. Turns out glass cleaner and the restore stuff comes in almost the same bottle. About half way through I realized I had just mopped glass cleaner all over the floor. I then got to spend the next hour trying to remove it all from the floor. After that there was no way I had the motivation to work on anything.  I don't feel too bad taking a break though because I can play games to earn magazines, books, or movies to name a few things. On gsn.com, there is a wide variety of games that are short so they don't extend your break too terribly long, but still relaxing and fun. I used my down time last spring to get National Geographic for a year for free! You won't get rich or anything too valuable, but might as well get something while you're taking a rest.