New Balance for December 2011

2011
Month	Credit Card	Student Loans	Car	Net of Debt	Amount Paid Off
August	$979.96	$8,968.33	$13,836.81	$23,785.10
September		$8,877.18	$13,455.70	$22,332.88	$1,452.22
October		$8,374.76	$13,100.83	$21,475.59	$857.29
November		$7,871.86	$12,752.27	$20,624.13	$851.46
December		$7,042.95	$12,401.12	$19,444.07	$1,180.06
			Diff of:	$4,341.03

Total of Tracking Expenses for 30 Days

 Overall Review: 

Food:

Oct 29^th           15

Oct30th           18

Nov 7^th            32

Nov 10^th          38

Nov 12^th          55

Nov 13^th          14

Nov 17^th          54

Nov 23^rd          41

Total:              267

Extras:

Oct 31^st           30        Eating out

Nov 3^rd            2          Pop

     20                Meds 

     45                Eating out

Nov 4^th            8          Eating out

Nov 4^th            13        GF Beer

Nov 7^th            79        Gym membership 3 months

Nov 12^th          35        B-day gift

     36                Xmas gifts

Nov 13^th          3          Eating out

Nov 15^th          13        Eating out

No 21^st            21        Eating out

     29                CVS

      24        ATM/ with Bank Fees

Total:              358

Bills:

Nov 4^th            217.67

Nov 10^th          836

Nov 21^st          104

Nov 25^th            385

Total:              1,542.67

Gas:

Nov 7^th            35

Nov 15^th          31

Nov 21^st          19

Total:              85

Day 30 Tracking Expense

Nov 26th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Day 29 Tracking Expense

Nov 25th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Day 28 Tracking Expenses

Nov 24th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Day 27 Tracking Expenses

Nov 23rd

Bills: $0
Necessities: $41
Extra: $0
Total: $41

Spent $41 on Thanksgiving food. The price alone for a gluten free pie already made is crazy; $14. I take blame for not planning ahead and making one myself. I don't really trust myself to do that just yet, lol.

Day 26 Tracking Expenses

Nov 22nd

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


It feels good to not spend =)

Not Buying It Review

So I finished the book and have mixed reviews. On one hand I liked the book because it was honest with the struggles of not buying things but on the other hand I would have like to learn more about what they did to save money on everyday things. I would have like to have read more about that than her opinions on certain topics like the cell phone tower for an example. Just one out of many things she spent a lot of time talking about. I liked how she described that since they decided not to be consumers their friends/family became more of a consumer on their behalves. Meaning that since they were not buying things their friends/family would step in an want to take them to the movies, out to dinner and little treats here and there. I never really thought about that but it is true. People will shell out money for themselves and others just to have the accompany with them. People have a hard time getting together and not spend money. People think they have to go meet up for dinner, drinks, movies, shopping, pot lucks (all in which money is being spent) and so much more just to enjoy each other's company. I guess to have something going on besides just sitting and talking. Overall I liked the book but was not impressed with the book. I wouldn't read it again but would tell others to at least read it once.

Day 25 Tracking Expenses

Nov 21st

Bills: $104
Necessities: $19
Extra: $74
Total: $197


Received paycheck from second job and all that went towards student loans: $104. Had to put some gas in the car: $19. Was running late again (this seems to happen way too much) and bought breakfast/lunch: $21. Needed to stop by CVS to pick up a few items: $29. After work I noticed my tires were really low and maybe even a flat. Had to drive to the closest gas station to fill up my tires to at least make it home. I had no cash and had to us an ATM with tacked on fees because it wasn't my bank. I took out $20 with at least $4 in fees. What a crappy ending to my night.

Day 24 Tracking Expenses

Nov 20th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Day 23 Tracking Expenses

Nov 19th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Day 22 Tracking Expenses

Nov 18th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Day 21 Tracking Expenses

Nov 17th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $45
Extra: $0
Total: $45


Ended up running over to Whole Foods for this weekend and next weeks meal plan. This ended up to be $54. I noticed just walking around looking at their prices and noticed they are a lot higher than other stores. I understand why but I wonder is it really worth it that additional price markup. I have to eat gluten free items and had some coupons for Whole Foods. I think if I would have went to Hyvee it would have been cheaper even without using any coupons.

Day 20 Tracking Expenses

Nov 16th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Didn't spend a dime!

Chicken, Bean and Rice Casserole

I found this recipe on Gluten Freely Frugal .

I have not tried this yet but looks amazing! Thought I would share!

 

Chicken, Bean and Rice Casserole

  Ingredients:

• 2 boneless/skinless chicken breasts
• 3-4 cups cooked rice
• 1 cup frozen corn
• 2 cups cooked black beans
• 1 container Original Philadelphia Cooking Creme (Note:  This is NOT necessarily frugal, I only used this because I had 9 of them in my fridge that I picked up for next to nothing with sales and coupons, so you could try substituting all yogurt or sour cream instead)
• 1/4 cup sour cream (or could use yogurt)
• 1 cup diced tomatoes
• 1 cup cheddar cheese (plus more for topping, or could use crushed corn chips)
• 1 teaspoon dried cilantro
• Salt and pepper to taste
• You could add some Mexican seasoning, but I didn’t

Cook the chicken in a pan in olive oil.
Mix all the rest of the ingredients together, and layer in a 9 x 13 baking dish.
Bake at 350 for 40 minutes, covered with foil.  Uncover, add some cheese or corn chips on top, and bake uncovered for another 10 minutes.

Day 19 Tracking Expenses

Nov 15th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $31
Extra: $13
Total: $44


I was really lazy and spent money on eating out for lunch and dinner; $13. I also put $31 worth of gas in my car. I could have gone without eating out and saved that $13.

Day 18 Tracking Expenses

Nov 14th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Another day of spending nothing!!!

Day 17 Tracking Expenses

Nov 13th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $14
Extra: $3
Total: $17


I was out and broke down for a sonic drink that cost $3 (rounded up to the next dollar). It's crazy how much the price of soda has increased. Also had to run back to the store to grab a few items; $14. Didn't have a list on me the day before.

Day 16 Tracking Expenses

Nov 12th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $55
Extra: $71
Total: $126


I took $140 out of the ATM for spending for the next two weeks (gas, xmas shopping, food and ect...) I spent $35 for a birthday gift, $36 for xmas gift and $55 for food and home necessities.

Day 15 Tracking Expenses

Nov 11th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Another day of spending nothing!!!

Frugal Living Books

I am wanting to learn more ways to save money. I feel like I understand the steps it takes to stop spending money on stupid things but want to learn how to save money on the everyday items. For example coming up with cheap weekly meal plans, learn to make my own spices and food from scratch, cutting back on electric/water bills, items that are cheaper to make than buy and just more frugal in general. I feel like if I keep reading and talking about ways to save money it keeps me motivated. With that said I have started to make a list of books I want to rent from the library (FREE). Here is my list so far;

1.      Tightwad Gazette

2.      Not Buying It

3.      Women and Money

4.      The Millionaire Next Door

5.      Your money or Your life

6.      The Penny Pincher’s Almanac

7.      Made from scratch

8.      Money Can Buy Happiness

9.      365 ways to living cheap

10.  The encyclopedia of country living

11.  Fight for your money

12.  The Druggars: 20 & counting

The following books are the ones I have on hold;










I am thinking that I will write up a summary/report on what I have learn/taken from the book. Share the tips and advice each book may have.

Thanksgiving Meal

I have been the only family member that has been gluten intolerant for several years which made holiday meals really hard for me. I love my family and bless their hearts but they would forget how I am unable to eat certain foods. But recently my two sisters have become diabetic. So now not only do we have to watch gluten but now carbs and sugar. So my challenege is now to find a dessert recipe to make that is gluten free, low in carbs/sugar and tastes good! If anyone has any suggestions please let me know!

Chili Recipe

I am trying a new recipe for chili tonight for dinner and wanted to share. Cooked it up this morning to put in the crockpot while I am at work. Looked really good just sitting there =) This was a pretty cheap recipe too! Gotta love that!

INGREDIENTS:

2 pounds ground beef

2 (16 ounce) cans kidney beans, rinsed

and drained

2 (14.5 ounce) cans diced tomatoes,

undrained

1 (8 ounce) can tomato sauce

2 medium onions, chopped

1 green pepper, chopped

2 cloves garlic, minced

2 tablespoons chili powder

2 teaspoons salt

1 teaspoon pepper

Shredded Cheddar cheese

DIRECTIONS:

In a skillet, cook beef over medium heat until no longer pink; drain. Transfer to a slow

cooker. Add the next nine ingredients. Cover and cook on low for 8-10 hours or on

high for 4 hours. Garnish individual servings with cheese if desired. 

Day 14 Tracking Expenses

Nov 10th

Bills: $836
Necessities: $38
Extra: $0
Total: $874


Paid some bills (part of student/car loan (I like to pay twice a month), car insurance, taxes for land and cell phone bills which nets to: $836.00) and went grocery shopping $38. Nice little chunk was spent but nothing but necessities.

Homemade Kettle Corn -- In the Microwave!

Love this recipe!!! I got this recipe from:
http://content2be.blogspot.com/2011/11/homemade-kettle-corn-in-microwave.html

and thought I would share! Super easy and super cheap snack. Hope you enjoy!

Microwave Kettle Corn

Serves 1

Ingredients:

2 Tbsp. popcorn kernels

2 tsp. oil 

1 Tbsp. sugar or sugar substitute (I use 2 packets of Ideal)

Dash salt

Directions:

• Pour the kernels, oil, sugar and salt in a small bowl.  Mix until all kernels are well coated with sugar, salt, and oil.  
• Pour the bowl's contents into the paper bag.  Place the bag on a plate and fold the top of the bag over 1" twice.  
• Place in the microwave on popcorn setting or for about 1 minute, 15 seconds. Either way, shut off microwave when popping slows to less than a pop every second to avoid burning.
• Open slowly and carefully, as steam will be hot.  

Healthy No-Fat Variation:  Omit oil and sugar.  Pour kernels and salt into bag.  Fold down top of bag 1" twice. Place bag in the microwave; no plate is necessary.  Microwave time will be significantly shorter with the absence of oil, so stand by and listen for popping to slow down.

Day 13 Tracking Expenses

Nov 9th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Another day of spending nothing!!!

Extreme Couponing

The following is a link to a video that talks a little about extreme couponing. This is something that I am interested in but at the same time not. I am not a fan of buying stuff I don't need or wont need for a month or more. There is just two people under my roof and we don't go through stuff very fast except for the basics like toilet paper. I am interested to learn more though.

http://www.cnn.com/video/?hpt=hp_t3#/video/us/2011/11/08/dnt-extreme-couponing.khou

Day 12 Tracking Expenses

Nov 8th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Another day of spending nothing!!!

Homemade VS Pre Made Foods

 VS


http://abcnews.go.com/GMA/video/pre-made-food-making-food-save-money-14880416?tab=9482931&section=1206834&playlist=1363932

Thought I would share this link. Thought it was really cool to hear what she has learned. I have never thought about making homemade hotdog buns before. I bet that would make hotdogs even better with nice fluffy warm bun =) I was really shocked to find out how much I could save making vanilla extract! WOW! That is crazy!

Day 11 Tracking Expenses

Nov 7th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $67
Extra: $79
Total: $146


Had to fill the tank up in the car, $35. Needed to grab some food for this week from the store, $32. I signed up for a gym membership because the current gym I am signed up for has the women's locker room shut down for repairs that will last 4 weeks or longer. I loved the gym because I could go to work early and workout before work or during my lunch break. It freed up my nights to come home and relax after work. The only time I would be able to workout is after work with these repairs and we are not getting any compensation for this from the gym. I am wanting to work out in the mornings and this would push me more to do so. This was an un-needed expense but I really want to start working out again. I slacked off really bad for the past couple of months. The membership is for three months that will cost $79 ($26.33 a month). During the three months I could roll it into a year membership $237.50 ($19.79 a month)

Day 10 Tracking Expenses

Nov 6th
Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Another day of spending nothing!!!

Day 9 Tracking Expenses

Nov 5th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0


Spent nothing!!! Yay!

Day 8 of Tracking Expenses

Nov 4th

Bills: $217.67
Necessities: $0
Extra: $21.00
Total: $238.67


Spent a lot more than wanted to this day on extras. Spent $5 for breakfast, $3 for lunch, $217.67 for student loan (got my first paycheck from second job and all went to student loans) and $13 for beer for a tailgating the next morning. I could have done without of all the $21 worth of extras and just paid on student loans.

Day 7 of Trackin Expenses

Nov 3rd

Bills: $0
Necessities: $65
Extra: $0.80
Total: $65.80



Had to pick up some medicine before the weekend since I will be leaving town right after work on Friday and bought a pop ($.80) too. Not bad for the medicine considering I had a $2.00 coupon! yay!!! I love coupons! We forgot to put something out for dinner and decided to go out to eat pizza at Waldo Pizza. Since we were there they had this gluten free beer I have never tried. So we got pizza, a side salad to spilt and a couple of beers that totaled to $45, ouch! Spent more than I wanted but was nice to have a date night!

Ratatouille Recipe

Wanted to share this recipe. This was super cheap and easy. I ended up adding some seasoning to this. I like to add Italian seasoning to everything with spaghetti sauce, lol...

Ratatouille Recipe
1 eggplant ( cut into 1/2 chunks without skin)
1 zucchini ( cut into 1/2 inch chunks)
1 yellow bell pepper (sliced thinly)
2 cloves of garlic finely chopped
1 jar of traditional spaghetti sauce
2 tbs of olive oil
　
Turn the stove on med heat. Add the olive oil, garlic and all the vegetables in the pan. Cook until the vegetables tender. Once the vegetables are tender add the spaghetti sauce and simmer until sauce is warm. Serve right a way!


This is the very first time I have ever had this. We are trying to eat at least two meals a week that are vegetarian. I wanted a little more than vegetables and spaghetti sauce so I made gluten free garlic cheese bread. I was so full and had plenty left over. You could always add more vegetables or even add cooked pasta to this dish. I will be using this recipe a lot more!
　

Day 6 of Tracking Expenses

Nov 2nd

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0

Day 2 of spending nothing!!! Feels amazing!!!

Day 5 of Tracking Expenses

Nov 1st

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0

Worked both jobs and spent nothing! That felt AMAZING! Have to keep this going!!!!!

Day 4 Tracking Expenses

Oct 31st


Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $30
Total: $30

Worked until 7:00 pm and was too tired to cook dinner. Decided to go out to eat, cost $30! Ouch! Tomorrow starts November and will be spending a lot less. Even though dinner was $30 it was nice to have a little treat for Halloween =)

Day 3 Tracking Expenses

October 30th, 2011

Bills: $0
Necessities: $18
Extra: $0
Total: $18

I bought some ingredients for the week meal plan. Everything I needed added up to only $18 at Price Chopper. So far I only spend $33 on groceries for the week. If I don’t spend anything else on food I would say $33 for a weeks worth of groceries is great!

New Balance for November 2011

Month	Credit Card	Student Loans	Car	Net of Debt	Amount Paid Off
August	$979.96	$8,968.33	$13,836.81	$23,785.10
September	$0.00	$8,877.18	$13,455.70	$22,332.88	$1,452.22
October		$8,374.76	$13,100.83	$21,475.59	$857.29
November		$7,871.86	$12,752.27	$20,624.13	$851.46
			Diff of:	$3,160.97

Weekly Meal Plan Oct 29th- Nov 6

Date Meal Saturday  GF Corn Dogs Sunday  Ratatouille with GF garlic bread Monday  Quesadillas with salad Tuesday  Left Overs Wednesday Fish with steamed veggies Thursday Salad Friday Out of Town Saturday  Out of Town Sunday Out of Town

Gluten Free Corn Dog Recipe

1 pack uncured, nitrate-free 100% beef hot dogs
2 cups Pamela's Gluten Free Bread Mix (no yeast needed)
1 cup yellow cornmeal
1 tsp sea salt
2 eggs slightly beaten
2 cups warm water

Yield: 8 dogs

I had a lot of batter left over after using 8 whole hot dogs. I could have done a lot more mini corn dogs. I ended up keeping the left over batter and will most likely use tomorrow for lunch or dinner.

In a 12 inch skillet heat approximately 2 inches of oil to 375 degrees

Slice hot dogs into quarters and set aside

Mix dry ingredients together

Lightly whisk eggs and water. Add wet ingredients to dry, whisking until smooth. Started to get a little messy!

Heavily coat sliced hot dogs in batter (this gets really really messy and why I don't have any pics of this, lol). Place in hot oil for about 4 mints until dark golden brown. Drain corn dogs on cooling rack and serve.

FYI's- I learned some hard lessons while making this. I will share so you guys won't do the same. Really use a 12 inch skillet for this or a deep pot with high sides. I thought I would cheat the system and use a sauce pan because these were mini hot dogs. I thought since they were so same I could save oil and use a sauce pan. Don't do that. Also don't feel the pan up really high. Don't turn the burner on high and forget that it's on high. I dropped my first corn dog in the pan and started an oil fire, burn myself and my boyfriend burnt himself too trying to help me tame the fire. Below is what that corn dog turned out like and caused the fire due to the oil being way too hot and exploded once it hit the bottom of the pan;

Needles to say you don't want to eat something that looks like this or have a fire in the kitchen. It took awhile to get the fire out and clean up all the oil that got everywhere. I will say after the burnt one the rest turned out amazing. My boyfriend was really impressed on the taste.

Day 2 Tracking Expenses

Oct 29th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $15
Extra: $0
Total: $15

I bought some stuff to make gluten free corn dogs tonight. Everything I needed added up to $15 at Whole Foods. Spent nothing else for the day. I think it was a great day of spending!

Quote of the day

 “Neither a borrower nor a lender be; For loan oft loses both itself and friend; And borrowing dulls the edge of husbandry [economy].” – William Shakespeare

Day 1 of Tracking Expenses

Oct 28th

Bills: $0
Necessities: $0
Extra: $0
Total: $0

Worked until 5:45 pm and then hit the gym. After the gym went and picked up a free book to read from the library. Went home and cooked pork chops and veggies for dinner. It felt great to spend nothing! It's amazing how much money you can save from cooking at home! Day 1 was a success!

DIY- (Do It Yourself) Taco Seasoning

I just came across this on http://smashedpeasandcarrots.blogspot.com/2011/06/diy-taco-seasoning-recipe.html and thought I would share!!!! I would love to save money by making my own instead of going to the store and buying these. Plus a lot of taco seasoning are not gluten free!



DIY Taco Seasoning

1/4 cup chili powder

1 1/2 tsp onion powder

1 1/2 tsp garlic powder

1 1/2 tsp cumin

1 1/2 oregano

1/2 tsp paprika

1 tsp salt

1 tsp pepper

Mix all the ingredients above in a small bowl.  Keep fresh in an air tight container for up to 6 months.  

Double or triple recipe as needed. 

To use:  substitute 2 rounded Tablespoons for 1 packet of taco seasoning. 

**You can also kick up the heat a notch by adding in 1 teaspoon of red pepper flakes!!**