Save bucks by bartering

A couple of weeks ago, Oprah Winfrey did a show on Money Saving.  In case you missed it you can catch the straight goods at Oprah’s website. In fact, her website is loaded with money saving tips!

Unfortunately, most of the tips seem to be old news to those of us already enshrined in the money saving culture.  However, one great tip that stood out to me was the usefulness of bartering with friends.

On the show, Cassandra and Stacy shared with Oprah how they swapped couches, and swapped services with other friends.  For example, Stacy provides free dance lessons to her neighbors’ children, and in return, her family can eat at her neighbors’ restaurant for free.

Recently I watched a children’s film - the most popular children’s film in Japan, actually - called Kiki’s delivery service.  In the movie, a young witch named Kiki leaves home at age 13 and is able to find a place to stay and enough food to eat, and she starts her own delivery service.  She accomplishes all of this in part because she finds adults who are willing to barter with her - they provide food and rent while she takes care of their bakery part time.

It got me thinking why we don’t use this system more.  Why are we so focused on accumulating new stuff all the time?  There is enormous potential - we all have extra ’stuff’ that we don’t need or don’t use, and we all have skills that we could share.  Meanwhile, we spend our time shopping and the stuff we no longer need ends up in landfills.

So here’s an exercise: think about what you currently want and need, and see if you can trade something with your friends to get what you need.  Have a book you’d like to read, a movie you’d like to rent?  About to go shopping for fall clothes?  Need a babysitter? A plumber? Someone to help you fix your computer? Simply ask around and you might find exactly what you need - for free!

Attention Frugal Wine Lovers

I just ran across this great blog post on Spin the Deal called “Vino on the Cheap”. I thought it would nicely augment my earlier post, “The Grapes of Wrath” since it offers more tips on where and how to access cheap wine.  

I also ran across this wiki: How to Brew Cheap Wine.  Personally, I love wine too much to reduce it down to an “educational project” but I thought I would share it in case any of you are up to the challenge!  

Cashless Philanthropy(Charitable Series, Pt.1)

On Gail Vaz-Oxlade’s blog today, she posted a very interesting article on tithing, called “Giving a Part of What You Have.” In the article, Gail argues that even if tithing is important to your religious beliefs, you should put it aside temporarily if you are drowning in debt.  Gail’s point is that when you make charitable contributions on credit, the money is not really yours to give.  Instead, she encourages financial responsibility to begin with.  If giving is important to you, make sacrifices; don’t just rely on credit.

To give with real spirit, as opposed to by rote or by rule, is to take what you HAVE and give a little to someone else. It is about prioritizing the needs of others over our own wants. It requires thinking about how you will spend your money so that you can also afford to give some of that money in support of your beliefs.

If you can’t afford to live within your means, you aren’t demonstrating responsible living, and you don’t have to right to salve your conscience by tithing. The fact is, only solvent people have the right to tithe, and if you don’t have your crap together yet, you shouldn’t be doing it.

In response, I thought I would post a few suggestions of how to continue to give philanthropically while on a budget, through cashless gifts.  If you are on a strict debt diet but still want to give back, here are some suggestions on how to make an impact.

1. Volunteer - but be creative! You may have more skills than you realize! Charities will appreciate it if you go to them with something specific in mind, especially if it requires minimal supervision on their part. For example, my sister and I once put together an original workshop for an at-risk youth group, encouraging the children to dream of a world without drugs, by building a collage.  Using symbolic representation through words and pictures in old cut-up magazines, the kids put together an outstanding, inspirational piece of art.  Volunteering does double duty - it helps you remember what you have.

2. Give away your “stuff.”  Do you own anything that you’re no longer using but might be useful to someone else? You can give to a thrift store, but you can also directly contact an organization you wish to serve, such as The Redwood,  St.Christopher House or St. Joseph’s Residence, where your item can go directly towards helping someone. 

Kitten blankets for the THS

3. Give homemade gifts. For example, some women recently knitted warm blankets for cats at the Toronto Humane Society. If your gift has a cash value - for example, you are a professional quilter or artist - then you may get a tax-receipt for the cash value of your “in kind” gift.

4. Make a Planned Gift (such as a Residual Gift in your Will). This might seem irrelevant and too far away to have an impact, but it will give you the time to accumulate assets and it will make a big difference to the charity when the gift is finally made. These gifts are the lifeblood of many charities.  Most people don’t realize that even if they are liquid poor, they may have assets that can make a big difference to a charity after they pass away.  In my line of work, I see the impact of these gifts every single day.

5. Life insurance and Securities - two other tax-efficient ways of giving that don’t delete your cash flow.  I will post more on these options soon in a post dedicated to tax-efficient giving in my Charitable Series.

Blossoming savings

Yesterday my family gathered in the kitchen after visiting an apple and pumpkin farm.  While we scoured the pumpkin patch for the perfect pumpkin, my sister Camille revealed a unique and tasty money-saving tip.  She gathered the pumpkin blossoms and took them home for a tasty snack.  There are lots of recipes online for making this treat, but my sister took a minimalist approach, with a simple beer batter. She seeded the blossoms, then washed the blossoms, then sat them on a paper towel to dry.

Then she dipped her blossoms into the batter (which consists of beer, flour, s&p and a little water) and fried the blossoms. After laying them on a paper towel to absorb some of the grease, she lightly salted them and served them up!

Not only is the treat nearly free, it’s also probably better than the alternatives you’d find in a pub or grocery store when you’re craving something fried.

My sister, who lives in a small condo and nurtures a rooftop garden, first made this snack this summer, when she discovered that her zucchini plants did not yield any fruit.  She made the best of the situation, however, and avoided waste by turning the blossoms into a tasty treat.

Don’t forget to discard the stems, and enjoy! Also see Money Saving Mom for tips like growing vegetables on your patio.

Snack Happy

One great way to reduce your grocery bill is to look over your past month of grocery receipts and look at what your most expensive items were.  Then you can think creatively about how to reduce the cost of what your’e spending on these items.

Snack foods are generally products that are highly marked up and are packed with salt and preservatives and other unhealthy ingredients.  By switching to home-made snacks, you are not only going to reduce your grocery bill, you may very well reduce your waistline as well.  Not to mention that it’s better for the environment, because you can just re-use your own packaging (tupperware, mason jars) at home.  Here are some examples of how you can replace your favourite snack foods.  I’ll start with my favourites:

Hummus - I can’t believe how marked up chickpeas are.  I prefer Presidents Choice garlic hummus, and even though this is the best deal around (especially when you buy the family size) it still goes for about $5 a container.  Instead, make your own hummus - it’s dirt cheap, consisting mainly of chickpeas, tahini paste (buy a jar and it will last forever), lemonjuice, garlic, olive oil and s&p (the majority of which you probably already have in your kitchen).

Salsa - Why is salsa so expensive?  It consists of a few basic ingredients and is easy to make.  Here’s how you can make it easily at home.  Chop tomatoes, jalepeno, onion, cilantro, garlic (all to taste) and mix in lime juice, a teaspoon of olive oil and s&p.  Let it sit in the fridge for at least 12 hours and presto, you’ve got a delicious salsa waiting for you. (Note: you can also add chili powder.)

Guacamole - Why anyone would bother buying the expensive, pre-packaged stuff is beyond me.  You’re missing out on the best part - mashing the avocado!  For some reason, I love preparing avocados.  They’re just so… fun!  And tasty.  All good guac needs is to be mashed with some lemon juice, s&p, and garlic.  I usually include a tiny bit of olive oil too, especially if the avo is just on the edge of being ripe enough.  Minutes later, and for the cost of about $1 (depending if avos are in season) and you’re done!

Roasted Garlic -  Cover a head of garlic in tin foil - you can add a little olive oil on the top if you want, but you don’t need to - and sit it in the oven at a high temp, between 350-400,  for oh, about 45 minutes.  When you unwrap it, you’ll find gooey, tasty garlic, that is easily and delightfully spread on crackers or crispy pita chips.  That is another great, cheap snack!

Popcorn -  Forget those pre-packaged microwave popcorn pockets that are woefully bad for the environment when you can do it yourself.  Here are a couple of suggestions.  Buy your popcorn at the Bulk Barn or another bulk store - since you don’t pay for packaging you can get a big bag of popcorn for pennies.  Then you can use a popcorn popper (these are super cheap nowadays; as my sister pointed out to me recently, you can pick one up at any department store or at a garage sale - but as garage sale season has now passed, I would recommend ebay or simply seek out a handmedown from friends or family members.) But Alton Brown has kindly shown us that we can make microwave popcorn at home, using brown paper bags.  You can buy a stack of $100 for $1 at the dollar store.  Put in the popcorn in the bag and fold the top a couple of times; seal it with two staples (not more, not less).  Microwave it as you normally would and then add your butter or other toppings.

Chips & Queso - It’s a very guilty pleasure but I love this gooey cheese.  It costs at least $4 in the store if my memory serves correctly.  One night as a university student desperate for a naughty snack, I came across a cheap alternative and realized it tasted just as good. Searing in a near empty fridge, I found Cheeze whiz, and mixed it with some chopped banana peppers (the pickled kind in the jar.)  I microwaved it until it had melted and was hot (it doesn’t take long, so watch it carefully and stir thoroughly) and found it entirely reminiscent of my name brand fave.

Babaganoush - This tasty Indian dish doesn’t have to cost you more than one eggplant.  Here’s an example of a good recipe for it - it’s easy!

1 1/2 lb Eggplant

3 tb Lemon juice
1 ts Salt
2 ts Minced fresh garlic
3 tb Sesame tahini
– (optional: substitute
– yogurt or sour cream)
1/4 c  Chopped parsley
1/2 c  Toasted pine nuts (I think this is optional so simply delete if you’re like me and never have pine nuts in your home)
2 tb Olive oil

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F.  Prick eggplant all over with a fork.
Bake whole until tender (about 30 minutes).  Remove from oven, halve
and scoop out the flesh.  Blend in a food processor with the lemon
juice until smooth.  Mash the salt and garlic together and combine
with the eggplant, along with the tahini.  Cool and stir in the
parsley and pine nuts. Before serving, drizzle with the olive oil.
Serve as a dip with tortilla chips or triangles of flat (pita) bread.

(Adapted from The Victory Garden Cookbook)
From: The Cook’s Garden catalog, Spring/Summer 1993 (page 20)

Tortilla Chips - Don’t have chips hanging around for salsa?  If you have left over tortillas, you can turn them into chips by brushing them with olive oil and brushing them with oil and chili powder and then baking them on a greased shet in a 350 degree oven for 8-10 minutes.  If you have stale pita, you can use them for the same purpose.

If you are using your salsa for fajitas, you may also want to see some recipes for tortillas at Frugal Zeitgeist.

Veggies, beans… these are far cheaper than packaged snacks and sauces.  You control what goes into your food and your food tastes fresher, too!

Please share with me your favourite home-made snacks!

Pumpkin cream cheese muffins

I’ll admit that Starbucks has delicious pumpkin cream cheese muffins - but they are expensive! (And addictive!)  You can easily make your own and bring them to work or school with you and enjoy them as an afternoon treat. This recipe below comes from Canadian living, although I recently found another recipe at Recipe Zaar that I would like to try.

1 3/4 cups all-purpose flour

3/4 cup packed brown sugar

1 1/2 tsp baking powder

1 tsp cinnamon

1/2 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

1/2 tsp ground ginger

1/4 ground cloves

1/4 tsp nutmeg

1/2 cup chopped walnut halves

2 eggs

3/4 cup canned pumpkin puree

1/4 cup vegetable oil

1 tsp vanilla

MAPLE CREAM CHEESE SPREAD

1 tbsp icing sugar

1 tbsp maple syrup

1/4 vanilla

In large bowl, whisk together flour, sugar, baking powder, cinnamon, baking soda, salt, ginger,cloves and nutmeg; mix in 1/4 cup of the walnuts.  In a separate bowl, whisk together eggs, pumpkin puree, oil and vanilla; pour over dry ingredients.  Stir just until dry ingredients are moistened.  Spoon into prepared muffin cups.  Sprinkle with remaining walnuts.  Bake in centre of 375 degree oven until golden and tops are firm to the touch, 20-35 minutes.  let cool in pan on rack for 5 minutes.  Transfer to rack; let cool. To fill the muffins with the delicious icing, we cut the tops using a paring knife on an angular slant. The we put a dollop of the icing and squished the muffin top closed.  We found that the muffins were even better eaten after being chilled in the fridge

Someone else enjoyed the muffins, too.  Or the icing at least.

There you have it - an easy muffin recipe, eliminating your need for expensive treats at Starbucks!  Take one (or two) in your lunchbag or enjoy in the morning with a coffee.

*UPDATE* - To see a better way of filling the muffins, see my “Muffin Update”

More Thanksgiving crafts

On the same Sunday that I made the pumpkin vase and toasted the pumpkin seeds, I made another little craft using only a few gourds and other supplies that I had available.  Since I tend not to buy flowers, I have a vase available that I like to use to house unorthodox items to create an interesting little decorations.  The vase is a handmedown, by the way, and I just love it.  In the summer, I fill it with shells (I buy them at the dollar store) and place a tea candle it in - it creates a soft, lovely glow.  On Sunday, I filled the vase with 6 gourds that I bought at a farm outside of Toronto.  (They are of course plentiful here in Toronto, too - I paid 50 cents each for them. You can find them here for 50 cents but can also pay up to $1 each.)  I also went outside and collected acorns (there is one large tree near me that yielded more than enough acorns).  I then washed them, dried them with a tea towel (they dried well enough so they did not require toasting in a warm oven) and then polished them with my furniture polish.  I filled up the rest of the space of the vase with acorns, and when I was done, tied a piece of ribbon around the vase.  (I collect bits of ribbon that come with gifts and purchases.)  The result is a cute fall centre piece that only cost $3 for the gourds.

Really, my ideas are a simple and I am not a craft master by any means.  But the general idea is to use what you have, look around you, look outdoors.  Recognize the abundance that comes in a handmedown, an acorn tree, a scrap of ribbon that may otherwise get thrown out, and a vase with many functions.  There is possibility in everything we have and everything that surrounds us.  Use your creativity to enjoy and engage with this abundance to create value, warmth, and fun in your life.

A “Seedy” Sunday

In yesterday’s post, I described making a pumpkin vase and mentioned setting aside the seeds for a tasty snack.  I’ve always done this when pumpkin carving but as the only thing I’ve ever added to the recipe was salt, I never realized what delightful snack pumpkin seeds can really be.  I used a recipe again from Martha Stewart’s website but I also was inspired by a recipe on 101cookbooks. The opportunities are endless!  And delicious.  I couldn’t get over how tasty Martha’s pumpkin seeds were.  In fact I ate nearly the whole snack in one sitting.  Needless to say, you can go far using the ingredients you have, especially if you keep a well stocked pantry with basic baking supplies and spices.  It’s also another example of how to make your own snacks instead of paying high prices for packaged foods.  You could follow the recipes provided above using other kinds of nuts too - like unroasted peanuts, or almonds (you can get either of these at the Bulk Barn).

Thanksgiving Pumpkin Vase

You don’t have to spend a lot to enjoy the fall colours and smells - you can bring them right into your home and display them beautifully for next to nothing.  Lately I’ve been admiring the cute autumn displays that a lot of the local flower and convenience stores have out on the sidewalks.  I noticed a pumpkin vase in particular that was quite cute, but of course I thought, “I could do that.”  And I did!  I made a pumpkin vase and enjoyed two potted mums for under $5.  You can follow my instructions below or see Martha Stewart’s example at marthastewart.com. Also see the home spun heart for great ideas about what to do with a pumpkin, including creating a vase!

A small pumpkin should run about 75 cents.  Choose one that will fit your ideal centrepiece. Lay your pumpkin out on the table on some newspapers.

Next, take a black marker and draw a line around the top of the pumpkin where you want to cut it.  Make sure that the pumpkin is wide and tall enough to fit the pot of flowers.  Keep in mind you may want to put your flowers or plant in a glass jar or other container, which can take up quite a bit of space.

Use a knife (I used a boning knife that worked quite well) to cut along the rim an open up the top of the pumpkin.  Then cut along the inside, scooping out the innards with an ice-cream-scoop and trimming down the inside as much as possible, also making sure the inside is flat.  Set the seeds aside for a tasty snack.

Next, place your flowers or plant in a container that fits the pumpkin and place it inside the pumpkin.  I actually split my mums in half, and put half of the plant into a small flower pot I had lying around.  I packed the soil down, and then took a ziploc bag and put the pot inside the bag, folding the top down and tying an elastic band around it securely - this will ensure that excess water gets caught in the bag.

Above is my final creation.  I left a little of the green paper inside.  The other half of the mums I repotted and placed outside on my front porch. In this photo you can see my kitten peering over the table.  (Note that the table, autumn-themed placemat, and doily all happen to be handmedowns!)

Butternut, my curious kitten, (who, incidentally, I frequently affectionately refer to as “pumpkin”)  is being naughty here and climbing onto the kitchen table.  I snapped a picture before shooing her down.