Thrifty Gifts

Everyone is feeling the pinch this year. If someone tells you they're not, they're either lying or seriously deluded.

In order to give presents to everyone on our lists, this year I made 13 pounds of chocolate almond toffee. It's remarkably easy to make, delicious and wraps beautifully in cellophane baggies that have Christmas trees on them.

I hope each recipient appreciates the love that went into making them! Besides being able to give something from the heart, we were able to give a meaningful gift to all our friends and family for a very reasonable cost.

I'll post my toffee recipe here soon!

You're not "Saving," You're "Cost Avoiding"

There's a big difference between "saving" and "cost avoiding." It's pretty thrifty to keep this in mind if you're out shopping. After grocery shopping, often times on the receipt it'll say "You saved $xx amount of money today." That's not true. What you've actually done is "cost avoided." If you put the money you cost avoided into a savings account, then you've actually saved.

Know the difference. Saving is powerful. Cost avoiding is just shuffling funds.

Aaah... Those "Deals" on Grocery Endcap Displays

This is something I'd never noticed before, at least with the "sale" endcap displays... Obviously, at grocery stores, some endcap displays are for promoted sales and others are just there to... I dunno... Pimp out certain products that aren't selling fast enough?

I came across this niftiness in an article on cost-cutting your grocery bill:

If ‘salad dressing’ is on your list, do not pick up a bottle from an attractive endcap display. Even if it’s advertised as being on sale, it is probably not the best deal. Instead of buying from a display, always go the salad dressing aisle where you have the full selection of brands and prices to choose from. If you still want to buy the brand featured in the display, it will be there too.

From Suite 101

I'm going to have to pay attention to that... I know there are less expensive items to be found (generics, eg) on the shelf, but what about comparable products? I've noticed this with toilet paper - that the big deal "on sale" brand is not necessarily the least expensive, but usually the least expensive is the cheapest - the kind of TP that'll tear off and stick to your butt once it gets a little wet, if you're not careful enough.

Anyway, thought this was a piece of nifty thriftiness, if it rings true, so passing it along.

Halloween Ghosts From Garbage Bags

Saw this in a neighbor's yard and thought it was clever.

1. Take several white kitchen trash bags, fill 1/4 way with crumpled newspaper or some paper grocery bags.


2. Tie off with a ribbon, thus making a "head."


3. Draw a face on with a permanent marker.


4. Run a string through the top of the ghost's head and tie to whatever you like!

Extra Thriftiness:

Use garbage bag later (keep in mind it has a small hole at the bottom now)

More info:

http://www.ehow.com/how_5115_make-trash-bag.html

Stretching Cooking Stock

Problem:

Often times, recipes call for using a little bit of stock (vegetable, chicken, beef) to prepare a sauce or add flavor. I almost never use all of the stock that comes in a can or box. Every time I cook certain recipes, I need to buy new stock and only use half of it! (Yes, the thriftiest thing would probably be to make my own stock, but, this isn't Martha Stewart's blog, it's mine and I just ain't got time like that).

Solution:

Pour the extra stock into ice cube trays, freeze and bag for later. I date the bags of cubes so that after 6 months or so, I'll replace. A cube equals roughly an ounce. Ergo, 4 cubes = 1/2 cup, etc.

Bonus thriftiness:

Keep an eye out for stock after big holidays, like Thanksgiving and Christmas. Stores load up on extra stock (used for roasting turkeys, creating gravies, etc) pre-holidays and then usually sell them for at least 1/2 price immediately after.