Psst... Wanna get out of debt?

For real?

Here's the key: Decide you're going to.

It doesn't matter if you have 27 cents left over after you pay the bills and buy groceries. It doesn't matter if you're only working part time and it doesn't matter if you've been in debt for the last hundred years. Once you decide you're going to do it, you can. And you will.

And that's the only secret there is.

Of course, there are methods and advice and ideas and some are better than others. A post at The Penny Hoarder called "The Ultimate Guide to Getting Out of Debt: A Step-by-Step Plan" spells it out in black and white.

Is it easy? Well, no. It takes some discipline and some planning, but that doesn't mean you can't do it. You can start as small or as big as you need to but the most important thing is to just decide to do it.

You can, you know.

 

How to freeze purslane for later

The garden isn't doing so well this year, but I have a bumper crop of purslane! I mean, a bumper crop! I've been eating a lot of it but after awhile, even purslane gets tiresome. I have tried to freeze it by blanching first without much luck; tried dehydrating it and it lost its flavor. I tried pickling it and that's okay, but how much pickled purslane can one eat in a year?

Finally, though! I finally came up with an idea that works. I had made a big pan of it sauteed in butter when I had company last weekend. There was a little left and I started to put it in the refrigerator for later when I happened to think that maybe I could freeze it.

Today I took it out, let it thaw and warmed it up and it was just like I'd freshly cooked it. Here's exactly how I did it:

Wash, look and chop purslane into one to two inch pieces while heating a skillet to medium heat. Melt enough butter to cook the purslane. Cook quickly, stirring often, just until it cooks down. It should still be somewhat firm. Let it cool, then package for the freezer. How easy is that?

Stretching a Chicken

I know... visions of a chicken being stretched from its neck to its feet, right? I mean stretching a roasted chicken. If you roast a chicken whole, you can usually get one good meal from it, then a few dishes from the leftovers. The more careful you are, the more meals you can get from it.

You don't have to eat them one right after another, but if you freeze the chicken in portions, you will have it on hand for these simple and quick meal ideas: 

You can make simple chicken noodle soup by adding packaged egg noodles and frozen mixed vegetables. Add a little chicken bouillon if more flavor is needed.

Chicken and rice soup is really good on a cold day. Cook together a cup of rice, one large carrot and a couple of stalks of celery in four or five cups of water. Watch the water because it will boil away. When it's all done, add chopped chicken and enough bouillon to bring out the flavor.

A very Americanized version of fried rice with chicken goes like this: Heat a heavy skillet to medium hot, add peanut or sesame seed oil and scramble an egg in it. Add frozen vegetables of your choice, stirring until they are thawed and nearly done, then add cold rice, diced leftover chicken and a little soy sauce.

When you've used your chicken down to almost the end and don't have enough for another meal, put whatever you can get from it into a food processor or blender. Add mayonnaise or salad dressing, coarsely chopped pickles, onions and salt if it's needed. Blend it thoroughly and you will have enough for a few delicious sandwiches.

If you want to get the most from it, though, once you've stripped all the meat that you can, boil the carcass for a couple of hours then strain the bones out of it, saving the liquid. This liquid is the pricey chicken broth that you find canned at the store. You can freeze it in portions to start the soups above, adding a little salt and omitting the bouillon needed, lowering your costs even more.

Let the bones cool for a little bit, then pick through them and get all the little bits of meat out. Put it in a container for soup, stirfry, sandwiches or casserole. If you're going to freeze the meat, pour a little of the broth over it to keep it from drying out.

With the price of food any more, why not get the most from it?

Changing Seasons: Getting Ready for Fall

I know it's still the middle of summer, but with kids going back to school and schedules changing, I keep thinking of fall. Cooler temperatures, colorful leaves, pumpkins and the whole bit.

"It used to be" that when we got ready for fall and winter right after, we would become earnest in putting up the garden produce, finding fruit for jellies and butters and otherwise stocking up for the winter.

Days were filled with canning jars and dehydrating trays. All the extra summer rich cream went to making butter for the freezer and then we started gathering wood for the stoves. Cutting and stacking took days of good, wholesome family work and the first fire of the year was our reward.

I still can and dehydrate and gather in what is available to put up for the winter. Not only is it more frugal to do it myself, the quality is better than I can buy. Besides that, I enjoy it.

Everyone has their own ways of getting ready for fall and winter, but frugal folks tend to make a deliberate effort toward it.

Do you? What do you do to get ready for the seasons changing?

If you have a blog, feel free to answer that question there and leave a link to it in the comment section.

Back to school sales are for you, too.

Back to school sales are all over the place right now! Don't think of them as just for the kids and school; they're for you and your home, too. 

There are sales on pencils, crayons, notebooks and so on, so as you buy for the back to school gang, buy some for yourself while they're cheap. Who couldn't use a few pencils or notebooks throughout the year?

Other deals you'll find right now are on computers and other electronics and inexpensive furniture (for dorm rooms, but who says you or  your kids can't use it at home?). Now's the time to get those storage bins for the laundry or the bright, comfy seating for the family room as well.

Grab some new bedding for the kids (thanks again to dorm rooms), then add a bulletin board and a stack of cube storage boxes and your kids' rooms will look new for very little cash.

Now's the time, but it won't last long. As soon as school starts and the stock is sold, we will be right back to the higher prices, so take advantage of the sales while you can. 

It's time to gather tea for the winter

Right now is a great time to gather plants for tea  (tisanes, actually) from your garden, yard or wild areas to use this winter.

You probably have a few plants (aka, weeds) available that make good tea and right now, they're free for the taking. Free is frugal, right?

So what can you make tea from?

Dandelions (leaves and roots)
Berry leaves (strawberry, blackberry, raspberry, etc.)
Rose hips (a little later in the season; don't forget them)
Mint (any kind, including catmint, horehound, lemon balm and so on)
Flowers like clover, chamomile, goldenrod, meadowsweet and yarrow
Some trees have bark that make tea, like cherry

Make sure you can positively identify any plant that you gather. Most plants are best when gathered early in the morning. Don't pick too many leaves from a plant or you will damage it. You can pick over a few days to minimize damage.

Dehydrate the plant material by putting it in a single layer on a food safe screen or cloth in a warm, not hot, place. Don't dry in the sun, as delicate flavors may be damaged.

Some leaves will be dry and ready to store in a day's time; others will take two days. They are ready when they're crunchy with no trace of moisture left. Store in a glass jar with an airtight lid. As much as you might want to show off your teas, don't store them on the counter. Put them in a cabinet or pantry where it will be dark most of the time.

This winter when the cold winds blow and you want something comforting, put a heaping teaspoon or two of your free tea in a cup and add boiling water. Let it steep at least five minutes or more, depending on the tea.

You will soon learn how much you need and next year, you'll know how much to harvest.

Working oline

Making money is as critical as saving it, and if you're a stay at home parent or between jobs or disabled or in any other position where you need to make money, working online is the ideal way to bring in an income.

There are still scams and "methods" all over the internet, so beware of them. They are usually overly enthused about how much you can make or how little it takes to get rich, but some of them have become a little more sophisticated. It's best to do some research on any company or site before getting involved with them.

You can make a few dollars here and there or, if you're really committed, you can make more than just a few. Honestly, unless you have a specific skill or are an entrepreneur at heart, it's very hard to make a living online. At best, most people will make enough to pay for their internet and maybe pay a bill or two each month.

For some, that's fine. It's perfect, as a matter of fact, for some people. There are several sites where you can work to do that: the ubiquitous Swagbucks is probably the most popular. It takes time, as do most rewards type of online programs.

Then there is Inboxdollars and InstaGC and many more. Once you start looking, you will find many and you'll have to choose wisely if you want to make the most of your time.

"Pocket change" means different things to different people, so you may or may not be happy with what you can earn at places like those.

From a little experience, I can advise you to stay with a site for at least a couple of weeks until you learn the ropes. They're all a little different and you will find new and better ways to earn as you get more comfortable with each of them.

And have fun. It's not all about work and money. Set goals, challenge yourself, enjoy your time and know that you're not wasting it.

Eat better on a budget

Healthy eating on a budget means eating seasonally, avoiding processed food, sticking to basics, cooking from scratch and using coupons with wisdom and caution.

Eating seasonally might take some getting used to, but you'll get the best of food for the least price if you do. Produce which is in season means sweet and tempting strawberries in the spring lucious, juicy watermelon in the middle of summer, firm, bright apples in the fall and plump and tasty turkerys in early winter. Sure, you can get those things other times, but they're just not as good.

When you avoid processed food, you avoid paying for chemicals that you can't pronounce and your body either can't process or does it to its own detriment. Processing makes a food shelf or refrigerator stable at the cost of nutrients and flavor. Other, simple foods are just as easy to prepare and much better for you.

Basic food is food that covers all the nutritional needs without any fancy sauces or flavorings. No exotic or expensive tastes, but good, simple food that satisfies your hunger. Save the expensive and fancy food for special occasions and you'll enjoy them more, anyway.

Cooking from scratch is a necessity if you want to eat basic food because nobody else is going to make it for you. A pot of beans and a pan of cornbread is easy to make, inexpensive and oh, so good! Simple recipes may be harder to find than complicated ones, but it's worth the hunt. Google is your friend.

Coupons can be really good budget boosters, if you use them right. Never use a coupon to buy something you wouldn't buy in the first place. To save money, make out your grocery list, then go looking for coupons to lower the cost of what you need.

There you go. Lower your entire food bill and eat better, too.

Don't Put All Your Eggs in One Basket

That's a phrase usually reserved for expectations or investments, but it fits saving money, too.

If you clip coupons but don't bother to shop second hand for clothing and household goods, you're spending more than you have to. If you only shop the sales rack but you compare auto insurance every 10 years or so, you're probably spending more than you have to.

It's easy to get comfortable and even in a rut when it comes to cutting costs, but relying on one area without looking up and around at all the different ways to save will cost you.

Shop sales, plan purchases, avoid impulse buys, compare all kinds of insurance costs every year, borrow or rent instead of buying, find ways to save on utilities, etc., etc.

Don't depend on one or two things to save money.

No Vacation? Break Loose, Anyway!

Can't afford a vacation this year? You've heard of "staycations" but you're just not convinced it would give you the break you need? How about an overnight trip? Two full days, one night, and you'll feel like you've had a real break.

You will need a sense of adventure, a positive attitude, gas money and money for an overnight stay. Pack a cooler with food and an extra change of clothing, just in case. 

Start as early as you want to. I remember starting out on vacation when the kids were little. It would still be dark out; the coffee in our thermos was hot, the kids went back to sleep, the roads were quiet and the lull of the rolling countryside was peaceful. I griped about it then, but no more. It's a magical time to hit the road.

If that doesn't appeal to you, how about staying home for breakfast, then taking off? Wash up the dishes, unplug everything not needed for two days and away you go.

Where? Start here: Choose a direction. Any direction will do. Drive for two hours. Stop and look around. You might be in a different town or a rural area. Talk to the first person you meet and ask about local attractions. You will get a wide array of answers from the best fishing lake to free museums or maybe you've even stumbled on to a local celebration. If it's nothing more than a picnic in the local park, do it.

If you can't stay busy here the rest of the day, drive another hour and repeat. Near the end of the day, look for a place to stay the night. This could be a KOA cabin, a campground or a motel.

The next morning, take the next road in a different direction and slowly work your way back home, stopping to take in the sights and activities as you come across them.

That's what they call "foot-loose and fancy free" and it will refresh your mind, your body and your soul better than an extended, well planned vacation.

Go ahead, break loose. Take a little chance and you'll find you don't have a thing to lose.

image courtesy morguefile.com