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Happy Tuesday Everyone,

You know, one of the reasons that I stay interested in frugality has to do a wee tiny bit with my competitive ego.  Ahh yes.  It’s a darker Penny that side of me…I like to keep her indoors and away from large crowds.  But, truth be told, if I didn’t feel a teensy tiny eeny weenie bit smug when I compare my ability to manage my finances to other people the same age as I, I may have quit the race long ago.

That sounds sorta harsh and juvenile of me, doesn’t it?  Gagh!  Please forgive me.  I’m only human after all!  And hey—I suck at sports so I needed to excel at something or another, right?

Anywho: while letting my brain dance around this subject in between snooze button push #1 and #2, I wondered: HOW DO YOU MEASURE YOUR FRUGAL OR FINANCIAL SUCCESS?  I am not certain that there is only one right answer here, and I think you have to swicth up your definitions from time to time (just like marathoners work towards faster runs, and beginning readers work towards chapter books).  Nonetheless, here are a few mile markers for a “typical” twenty something….I think with each of these that you fall under, you should give yourself a pat on the back, knowing that at least you’re doing “something” right.  This is especially helpful on those days that everything seems to be going wrong…

• You live as an independant adult (you pay some version of rent or a mortgage every month)
• You work
• You don’t have more children than you can reasonably care for w/o Gov’t or other assistance
• You can cook a three-course meal
• You’ve checked your credit reports at least once for errors; you have a rough idea of what your credit rating may be (good-bad-ugly-excellent)
• You can tie your own shoes (okay—this is a bit of a freebie for those struggling thusfar)
• Your debt payments equal less than half of your income (there’s a little bit of wiggle room if you’re attending med school)
• Your wallet fits comfortably in your back pocket (cuz you don’t carry a ton of cash or a ton of credit cards)
• You owe $5,000 or less on the car you drive

Okay….that’s it (off the top of my head).  Please let me know what you think.  Was I too tough?  Was I too lenient?  Was I plain ole mean or insensitive?

We’re All in this Together,

~Penny

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financial checklist, financial milestone twenty something

Word.

It’s just about time to go to the annual family gathering for our Nation’s Birthday.  For many of us here in the Midwest, that also means “bring a dish to share”.  Because this is cool and tasty and requires the skill of “mixing”, I thought I’d put it up for you all to use if you like.  In my mind, this stuff ranks right up there with Bomb Pops.
Enjoy!!

INGREDIENTS:
64 oz bottle cranapple juice
12 oz frozen lemonade concentrate
12 oz frozen limeade concentrate
6 cups water
1 cup sugar
A couple of two-liters of Sprite/7-up/Sierra Mist
OPTIONAL: 2 cups vodka

DIRECTIONS:
Mix all but Sprite in a 5 gallon ice cream pail (or similar).  Cover and freeze for 8-12 hours—try to stir every four hours or so.  Serve in glasses with Sprite.

~Penny

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cranapple slush recipe, homemade slushies, Mom's slush recipe

Whattup?

After hearing co-workers bemoan their food budgets, I thought it smart to post another frugal (and crocktastic!) recipe that’ll fill you up without slowing you down the way fast food tends to.  I made this meal just yesterday, and I estimate it cost about 45 cents per roll (perhaps you’ll eat 2-3).  You can serve it with or without sides like glazed carrots, extra rice, rolls, corn, mashed taters, or a salad.  This recipe makes a good 12 rolls, and freezes pretty well.

Meanwhile: have a fave ingredient?  If you have a “normal” ingredient that you are looking to turn into a meal, please let me know: penny@radiatortoast.com.  We’re (still) all in this together!

INGREDIENTS:
1 head cabbage
1 small onion, chopped
1 lb ground beef (or turkey or pork or whatev)
1-2 servings rice (1-1.5 cups cooked)
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
8 oz. can tomato sauce or crushed tomatoes
Spices: black pepper, brown sugar, lemon juice, worcestershire sauce

DIRECTIONS:
Boil water—cook whole cabbage head for three minutes.  Cool and drain.  Meanwhile, cook rice and brown meat.  In one bowl, combine beaten egg, milk, meat, onion, and rice.  In a smaller bowl, combine tomato sauce and about 1 teaspoon of each spice.  Gently remove about twelve limp cabbage leaves.  Fill each leaf with 1/4 cup meat mixture and roll up.  Place rolls into a greased crockpot.  Cover rolls with sauce.  Cook on low for 8-9 hours.

NOTE: this doesn’t make the house smell uber-pleasant.  If possible, feel free to crock this recipe in the garage!!

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cabbage rolls, crock pot cabbage rolls, crockpot recipe

Greetings,

Since I began posting figures about expenses for weddings and groceries over a year ago the numbers have changed.  Here’s a quick overview of what expenses one might “typically” expect to run into for various products and services.  Please feel free to provide your feedback below!

~Penny

WEDDING COST: 2009
According to a variety of sources such as this one, first quarter 2009 weddings in the USA fell to about $20,000 from their 2007 high of about $28,000.  This figure does not include the rings or the honeymoon.  Interestingly, 55% of future brides surveyed by David’s Bridal suggested that they plan to spend $600 or less on their wedding gowns.  My wedding took place this past April, at a cost of about $6,000.  I have posted a few blogs on how I personaly saved money in the “Weddings” catergory.

FEED ME, SEYMOUR:
As many of you are aware, I live in the Minneapolis, MN area.  I have a carpenter hubby who eats a lot, and two cats.  Because we’ve been trying to do even more fruit and veggies and whole grains, we have seen our grocery expenses creep up a bit over the last several months.  That, and the cost of food didn’t really come down with the cost of most other things during this past recession.  So….for our family to buy people and animal food, plus toiletries, but NOT including any dining out, we now spend about $180/month.  It sucks, b/c how often do you see coupons for produce or cheese???  Anywho: I’ll keep growing some veggies during the two months of summer we get up here, and of course I’ll keep posting frugal recipes!

PEDAL TO THE METAL:
Ahhh yes.  I knew I’d find one semi-sunny spot in this blog!  Gasoline prices!  Since peaking in 2008 at more than $4.00 per gallon, we saw a brief respite where, in my neighborhood anyways, gas fell well below the $2.00/gallon mark before beginning to go up again for the summer.  Now, I know that gas will probably only go up s’more as our economy recovers (and it is recovering!), but it’s nice to “save” that jiing for the time being.  Puts a smile on my face, anyways!  Update: gas is $2.47/gallon (unleaded) by my house as of 6/24/09.

THERE’S NO PLACE LIKE HOME
Finally, today I’d like to briefly review historic home mortgage rates over the past 15 months or so.  Way back in March of 2008, I refi’d out of my interest only ARM to a 30 year fixed rate.  I got very lucky with my rate of 5.5%.  Since then, during late 2008 and early 2009, we actually saw these rates fall to their lowest levels ever.  I have several co-workers, for example, who refi’d their 30-year loans to as little as 4.7%.  Nowadays, you can still score a great rate (maybe 5.75%), the kicker being that you now need to prove your income, and carry a desirable FICO score.  Plus, your home must appraise “right”, and you shouldn’t plan on getting any cash out.  Basically, plan to stay put for a few years fellow homeowners—now’s a great time to get to know your neighbors :).  One fun goal to work towards?  Getting rid of your PMI payments!  More on that in a later blog.

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Average Grocery Cost, Average Wedding Cost, Monthly Food Bill, Mortgage Rates, updates

The previous post, in which I discuss my homemade wine project, can be found here:

http://radiatortoast.com/?p=315#content

The Results:

Do not ever, ever, try to make mead in 2 weeks.  The stuff I made for the two week mark is awful.  Imagine taking the worst vodka you’ve ever had and flavoring it with honey.   I also made a couple gallons that will be aging for 6 months, and I’m told this turns out great.  I will let you know in November.

The cider was a little bit better, but still not something I’d want a full glass of.  It sort of tasted like soap.  I’m told that aging it for a couple months improves it, so I will wait longer before my next taste.  I’ll give it another go in August.

The lesson: there is no cheap, easy and *fast* way to make booze.  Here’s to hoping there’s a cheap, easy, and slow way.

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DIY, home made wine, homemade wine, moonshine wine

I see and hear of far too often people buying things for less than they had paid for them in the past, and concluding that this must have been a good deal. I will use fake examples to avoid putting anyone I know on the spot, but they should give you the idea:

• A hair dye job and styling for “only” $45+tip

• A new stereo system that’s on sale for a limited time

• Eating out at a cheap restaurant

The thing that all these purchases have in common is that, with limited exceptions for the restaurant, no one truly needs these things.  If you’ve spent less money on something that you don’t need, then you’ve wasted less money than you otherwise would have, that’s all.

You don’t have to be a complete killjoy, if there are one or two hobbies or luxuries that you find make a real difference in your life, then find out how much they cost you and budget for it.  However, it’s important to know that being frugal doesn’t always mean getting the same things you always buy for less; it means reconsidering what you are buying.

Make sure that your necessary expenses aren’t “self-fulfilling prophesies”, as they say.  I believe I need this manicure/make-up/clothing to feel good about myself, therefore when I get this manicure/make-up/clothing I will feel good about myself.  I believe I enjoy music more when I have an expensive player, therefore when I have an expensive player I will enjoy my music more.  This type of thinking is not just irrational, it costs you money.

~Ava

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Hi All,

Haven’t written much lately: my apologies for this!  I thought I’d toss another wedding-related blog out there as it’s the season for lots of us (or our friends, or our siblings, or our cousins, yada yada yada).

In my case, I had two brother’s girlfriends that were between the ages of 18 and 20 when I was ready for a Bachelorette/Stagette party.  This of course was not the end of the world, it just meant that we had to think of a party that went beyond playing “Suck for a Buck” at the bars, right?  I ALSO had some girlfrineds that were a few years my senior and had children in school—so they were hoping for something somewhat close to town and affordable.  Most of these ideas can be slightly adjusted for Bachelor parties—a slumber party could easily become a fishing/camping trip, for example.

Here are my top ideas that don’t center around a bar:

1. Casino with shared hotel rooms. 
This is what I went with in the end.  It was totally cheap, and the Casino had a pool and gym and other stuff to do besides drink (21+) or gamble (18+).  There were nearby restaurants for dinner and brunch, too.  Score!

2.  Get dressed up for a change.
My “Plan B” was to actually get dressed up and go on a group girls-only date to a dinner theater or show in town—the sorta date we wish our fellas would take us on once in awhile.  We could’ve gotten our hair done, or rented a limo or what-evs, and it still would’ve been a reasonable cost.

3.  Slumber Party.
If my Bach party would’ve taken place during the warmer months, I may have rented (or borrowed a family member’s) cabin for a weekend-night to do a sorta slumber party theme.  This way, nobody needs to drive if they choose to drink at the cabin, it should be cheap—we could all bring snacks or community food to share, and we could play games, watch chic flicks, go dancing, go boating, blah blah blah.  This is cheap—especially when everyone carpools.

What about you?  Did you have a similar dilemma?  Please feel free to share your ideas in the comments below.

Best Wishes Brides-to-Be!
~Penny

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18+ bachelorette party ideas, bachelorette party ideas, underage bach party ideas

I ride the bus almost daily.  I would like to dispel some myths about riding the bus.  Even if you do have a car, riding the bus can save you money on both gas and parking.  There are some common objections people have to riding the bus that I believe are myths.

Myth 1: Riding the bus is unreliable

I may sometimes complain that the bus is late, and, yes, this can be an occasional problem.  However, the norm truly is an arrival within a minute or two of the scheduled time.  I consider this inconvenience small compared to the unreliability of a car.  At any moment, any number of many moving parts that you probably only vaguely understand the function of may go out without warning.  Also, even if your car is perfect and reliable, any of the boneheads traveling the same route every day could crash into you and cost you hundreds, if not thousands, of dollars.

Myth 2: Riding the bus wastes time

Nothing can be done while driving except listening to the radio.  Bus riders can also read, use a computer, study, play games, sleep and safely chat or text on their cell phones.  I even surf the internet on my phone while on the bus.  I’ve used my laptop to watch TV and news that I previously downloaded.  In my city and many others, buses can use shortcuts that are unavailable or illegal for cars to use.  An hour long ride home by car could be half an hour by bus.

Myth 3: Riding the bus is dangerous

According to the National Transportation Safety Board, an average of 114 people die *daily* in the US from car accidents.  This is not in the news because it’s so common.  Occasionally, you’ll hear about a hold up or violent crime on the bus.  That is in the news *because* it’s unusual, and even in these extreme circumstance people rarely *die*.  This is not the norm.  Note: If you do not own a car at all, there is sometimes the problem of walking to and from the bus stop late at night. If you feel unsafe, take a cab.  Even if you take a cab home every weekend, it is unlikely to be as expensive as owning a car.

Happy Travels!

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city bus MN, public transportation, riding city bus

Here’s something that may surprise you: making wine at home is very cheap and easy.  There is no shortage of internet-people willing to show you how.  I dug up some link spam on the subject, but I would encourage you to do your own research before you try it.

First, learn to sanitize everything properly.  The same sugars that feed the yeast can also feed bacteria. I was originally going to use bleach, but I decided against this because it can also kill the yeast if there is any residue.  I am going to go to a hobby shop to get some no-rinse sanitizer.  It’s cheap enough to be cost-negligible, and a little goes a long way, so just get professional wine-making sanitizer.

*Correction* I had concluded this after a misunderstanding of the use of a product called “campden tablets”.  They will protect your wine’s flavor from germs, and they cost pennies per batch so you should definitely use them.  However, they *do not* sanitize equipment well.  Therefore, I am still going to use bleach for the equipment.

Also, always boil (and let cool) the water that goes into your batch.

Methods for fermentation

Cheapest version:
Part 1: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xvL3yxNeXok&feature=related
Part 2: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tV568GpyI0Q&feature=related

Here’s another method that’s quite popular:
http://www.leftofme.com/how-to-brew-cheap-wine/

An easy way to make mead, also called honeywine, in a couple weeks:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_RmlanI71-U

A better way to make mead, but this one takes 6 months:
http://www.stormthecastle.com/mead/fast-cheap-mead-making.htm

I will be making some quick mead and cider this evening.  I will update you on the results when they are finished.

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DIY, home made wine, homemade wine, moonshine wine