Cook Up a Crock of Gold For Less Green

I seem to be preoccupied with cooking lately. This is my second recipe post in a row! I couldn't really let St. Paddy's Day go by without posting my simple recipe for Corned Beef and Cabbage, though. The corned beef brisket is on sale cheap at all the major supermarkets right now, and carrots, potatoes and cabbage are always inexpensive, so this is a really thrifty meal! Buy a couple of extra packages of corned beef while they're on sale, and freeze for later!

Betsy O'Bargain's St. Paddy's Day Corned Beef and Cabbage

1 corned beef brisket, marinated and ready to cook
potatoes, peeled and cut in half
carrots, peeled and cut into pieces
cabbage, cut into wedges

Put the beef into your crockpot, and add water so it comes within a couple inches of the top. Add the spice packet, if one is included with the beef. Place on high until it starts to come to a boil. Turn crockpot to low, and cook about five hours.

Add the potatoes and carrots during the last hour, and the cabbage within the last fifteen minutes. How many vegetables you use will be limited only by the size of your crockpot. It is done when the cabbage is tender.

Scoop meat and vegetables out of the crockpot with a slotted spoon. Serve with vinegar for the vegetables, and spicy mustard for the corned beef, if desired.

Mmmm, good, and that's no blarney!

Good, Cheap Food, And That's No Crock!

All this cold weather we're having lately has inspired me to share one of my favorite cold-weather recipes with you. It meets all my criteria for a great recipe. It's simple, healthy and cheap to make!

Chilly Weather Crockpot Chili

Ingredients:

(3) 14.5 oz cans diced tomatoes (bought in bulk or on sale with a great coupon, of course!)
(3) 15.25 oz cans kidney beans, drained (ditto!)
a couple handfuls of browned ground beef, or Boca (vegetarian) crumbles (optional)
salt to taste
1-2 packets of those pepper flakes left over from pizza deliveries (you know you have some)
1/2 tsp. cumin (bought in bulk from bins, or from the 99cent store, naturally!)
OR if you don't have any pepper flake packets and cumin, you can use 1 1/2 tsp. chili powder

Dump everything in a crockpot (mine was $1 at a yard sale-so what if it's an ugly 70's orange!). Start the pot on high for about one hour while you get ready for work. Reduce to low when you leave for work. Come home to a fantastic-smelling house. Eat!

Nutritional Tip: If you leave out the ground beef or Boca crumbles, serve over rice to make a complete protein.

P.S. This is very good served with cornbread.

Be sure and let me know how you like this recipe when you try it!

Get Paid to Play

Hobbies are fun. Everyone has them. Everyone should. But why not choose a hobby that doesn't cost much, or even earns you money!

Some hobbies, like golf, require expensive equipment, and involve additional costs such as greens fees. Others, such as travelling, can cost quite a bit depending on how far you are travelling and where you choose to stay while you are there. Some pursuits can be very expensive or not so expensive depending on how high-end you like your equipment and materials to be. Cooking and photography are like that. Not that these hobbies are not worthwhile and a lot of fun, but your financial circumstances may not allow you to indulge in such pricey recreational pursuits.

There are some very inexpensive alternatives out there. Gardening can be a very cheap hobby. Seeds can be had for as low as 25 cents a packet, or you can trade seeds with other gardeners. Here is one place to trade: http://www.seedsavers.org/. Sow seeds directly in the ground, or save plastic buckets from cat litter or bulk foods to use as planters. Save your kitchen scraps to make compost to nourish your plants. This hobby can also save you money if you grow some of your own food, or plants to sell or give as gifts. Related hobbies include beekeeping and raising chickens. I am told both can be done with minimal expense, and save money since the products can be consumed. They taste far superior to store-bought, too!

Couponing and refunding is another fun pastime that can save you a lot of money. The only costs are for postage (although some rebates can be submitted online), envelopes and a good pair of scissors. There are a lot of good websites out there if you want to educate yourself about this. A related hobby is entering contests online. The only cost for this is an internet connection. I have won a few contests, even though I put very little time into this.

Do you enjoy crafts? Make something to sell on Etsy or at local craft fairs. Lots of instructions and patterns for crafts can be found online or in library books. Even better if you can incorporate recycled materials such as corks, cans or jars into your creations. Supplies can be bought with coupons in your Sunday newspaper from Michael's, Joann's or whatever your local craft store is. Dollar stores and yard sales also have some craft supplies.

Reading can be a free and very rewarding hobby. Patronize your local library. Many books can also be found online now. If you don't have a local library, there are many websites that allow you to swap books. Trade with friends and neighbors. Buy some at yard sales.

Blogging is another cost-free hobby that I obviously enjoy. You can find many websites that allow you to set up a blog for free. You can even put an adbar on your blog and get a penny or so anytime a visitor clicks on it. You are definitely not going to get rich this way, but it's great fun, and very rewarding to pass information on to like-minded people. Everybody has some topic that they are knowledgeable and passionate about that they could share with others. Make sure to visit other people's blogs and comment on them. Before long, you will be part of a vibrant community of bloggers.

Others enjoy putting together jigsaw puzzles, or solving word puzzles. Jigsaw puzzles can often be found at yard sales or thrift stores. Some libraries even have them. Just don't be too upset if one is missing the occasional piece! The word puzzle books can be found at dollar stores or you can even subcribe inexpensively. Crossword and word-search puzzles can also be found for free online. Another plus to this type of hobby is that some studies show that solving puzzles can help prevent Alzheimer's Disease!

I know people that enjoy searching for coins and jewelry with metal detectors. After a while, the stuff they find pays for their equipment. Look for used equipment on Craigslist or Ebay. You never know what you'll find!

There are countless free, cheap or even profitable hobbies out there. Have fun exploring the possibilities. I'd love to hear your suggestions too. Be sure to comment on this post!

Swap Till You Drop

Entertaining on a budget has become an art in this tough economy. One of the best ideas for a party I've heard of lately is the Swap Party. Everyone has stuff in their closets that they never use, that doesn't work for them, for whatever reason. It's still good stuff to someone else, guaranteed! Pick a theme, such as books and board games, craft supplies, clothing and accessories, kitchen gadgets and cookbooks, or home accessories. Invite as many friends as you want, and tell them to bring their castoffs in whatever category you've chosen. If exchanging clothing, it's ok to invite people who wear various sizes. If none of the clothing fits, they will probably find some accessories. When everyone arrives, let the fun begin!

Provide an area such as a large table or clothes rack where the items can be displayed. As people get there, have them arrange their items in the space provided. For clothing swaps, provide a separate area for coats and purses so none of these go home with a new owner by mistake!

While the guests look over the items, it's time to snack and enjoy a glass of wine (or two!). Once everyone has arrived and had a chance to relax, mingle and scope out the merchandise, it's time to trade!

You'll probably want to come up with and explain some basic rules before you start. Provide a try-on room with a full-length mirror if it's clothes you are swapping. Give your guests boxes or bags and have them put their names on them, so they can hold onto their finds. It doesn't have to be a one-for-one exchange. The goal is to get rid of everything. Make sure you donate whatever's left at the end of the evening to your local thrift store.

Your guests will have a blast trying on outlandish outfits, coming up with ways to use craft supplies, discussing the plots of books, or dreaming about how they could use that tablecloth or those candlesticks to freshen up their dining room. The thrill of shopping without the agony of the credit card bill that arrives shortly after. What could be better!

I bet you are mentally scanning the contents of your closets, cupboards and bookshelves right now. Time to send out the invitations!

You'll Have it Made When You Learn to Trade

Barter is a great way to stretch your budget. Trading what you have for what you need, whether it's food, goods or services, can save you a lot of money. Whatever you have a surplus of, chances are someone else needs it. Do you get some sort of free perk from work that you don't need so much of? Do you have a larger crop of fruit or vegetables than you need? Do you have a skill such as cutting hair or doing taxes? Chances are someone else needs that very thing, and has something you could use.

To some extent, I've always traded very informally with friends and neighbors. I'll loan you my vacuum cleaner if I can borrow your bread machine. My tree is full of lemons, and you have a bunch of bell peppers ripe, so let's swap. That type of thing. Lately, I've been trying to expand this concept to trading with strangers, via online forums such as Craigslist and Freecycle.

Freecycle is a very loose form of trading, since you offer things you don't want to others for free, and then you can respond when others offer something, or you can request what you need. You don't necessarily give and receive things all at one time, so it's not really an immediate trade. If you keep participating regularly, though, you will eventually do both. Join your local Freecycle group at freecyle.org today!

Craigslist has a barter category, where I have posted ads, and responded to the ads of others. I haven't had a huge response so far, but I have arranged a couple of trades with some really nice people. My goal is to eventually have a network of contacts with whom I trade regularly. One tip I can offer in regard to Craigslist: you have to delete and re-post your ad every couple of days, because they get so many postings that your ad quickly works its way to the bottom of the list, where it's not seen by anyone. Go to Craigslist.org today and check it out. Most cities in the US and lots of other countries are represented there now.

Another place I plan to look for trading partners in the near future is on community bulletin boards. These bulletin boards can often be found in coffee shops such as Starbucks, many apartment and condo communities, community colleges, some grocery stores and libraries. I plan on typing up a simple tear-off ad using a template like this one:

http://office.microsoft.com/en-us/templates/TC010427661033.aspx?CategoryID=CT101432781033

and posting it on local bulletin boards. I will list what I want to trade, what I might like to receive in return, and some simple contact information on the tear-off tabs, such as my name and email address. I'll let you know what kind of response I get!

Obviously, with any of these methods of making trading contacts, you'll want to be careful not to give out too much personal information. Just your name or initials, and an email address, preferably a junk email address that you give out when you don't want to give out your personal email address. When you arrange to meet with someone, agree to meet in a public place, in the daytime, at least for the first contact. Never give out your home address. I personally have never had any problems with anyone I have dealt with from Craiglist or Freecyle, but it pays to be cautious.

As you start to build a network of barter contacts from various sources, you will not only save money and help yourself and others, but you will help to foster a sense of community. In tough economic times like these, it's more important than ever.

Oh, and keep in mind that if you start trading services, the IRS views barter income as income for tax purposes, so go to their website and familiarize yourself with the rules before tax time rolls around.

As always, I would love to hear about your barter experiences, both good and bad, so please leave a comment!

Physically Fit and Fiscally Sound

It's time again for those New Year's Resolutions. One at the top of a lot of lists is getting in shape. This can cost a lot, but it doesn't have to. You can shell out a lot of money for fancy gym memberships, home exercise equipment and spiffy spandex workout clothes, or you can go the frugal route.

One of the best forms of exercise out there is walking. All you need is comfortable clothing and a decent pair of shoes with good arch support. If you want to work your arms out at the same time, get some wrist weights. These are filled with sand and fasten around your wrists with velcro. You can get these at Walmart, Target, Kmart, etc., and they are inexpensive, but I see them often at yard sales or thrift stores even cheaper. I am lucky enough to have some walking trails behind my house, but if you don't have trails at your disposal, walk around your neighborhood, walk in the park, walk up to the grocery store when you only need a few items, walk around the track at your nearest school, walk in the mall - walk anywhere, just walk! Thirty minutes a day is all you need. Walking is good for those people who find exercise boring, because you can look around at your surroundings and forget that you're working out!

If you are more of an indoor exerciser, you can find lots of exercise videos at your local library. Check out different types and change things up to keep from getting bored. The popular exercise magazines also have websites where you can download exercise routines or watch videos. This type of exercise is good in bad weather. All you need is some comfortable clothing, a tv with VCR or computer and some floor space that is clear of furniture. If you have hard floors, an exercise mat can prevent soreness. Again, these can be found cheaply at discount stores.

Don't forget to take advantage of equipment you already have. Do you own a bicycle that's rusting in the garage, or an exercise bike that's really more of a clothes rack at the moment? Dust them off and press them into service. You can even watch tv while you're on the exercise bike, and before you know it, you'll have burned off your dinner calories! Do you still use those skis or skates in the shed? If not, get back in the habit. Do your kids have a Wii or Dance, Dance Revolution? Hook it up and make use of it.

If the idea of any type of formal exercise is still too much for you, just try increasing your activity level. Take the stairs at work instead of the elevator. Sweep and mop floors vigorously. Hang laundry out to dry on the line. Take the rugs outside and beat them. Scrub all the windows until they shine. Walk the dog longer. Just move!

Have Yourself a Thrifty Little Christmas

This year more people are opting for a "green" Christmas. In many ways this can also be a more frugal Christmas. My family and friends have a couple of appropriate holiday traditions I thought you might like to adopt for your own.

First, we have a lot of reusable packaging that we like to wrap our Christmas gifts in. We have tins, cloth bags, boxes that we've decorated with old Christmas cards, corrugated cardboard packaging with trees punched out of it that came with some nuts in it, and my absolute favorite, a takeout container that I saved from an Italian restaurant that has the Leaning Tower of Pisa on it. I wrote "Buon Natale" (Merry Christmas in Italian) on the top with glitter glue, and colored in the tower. I package the gift with natural colored excelsior topped with a little red excelsior so it looks like pasta with sauce. CD's I wrap by stapling an old Christmas card shut, slipping the CD inside, and taping it shut. I write the "to" and "from" directly on the front. This not only saves money since we don't need to buy much wrapping paper, but also makes wrapping presents quick and easy. It also keeps a lot of gift wrap out of the landfill. We add an additional fun element to this by dating the bottom of the package with the initials of the giver and recipient, and the date. It's fun to look and see how many years we've been using the packaging, and the history of where it's been. We also make our own gift tags out of old cards, photos and colored plastic packaging. Simply cut with scissors or paper trimmer, punch a hole with a hole punch, and use a Sharpie to address the tag.

Another great use for old Christmas cards is to make ornaments for your tree, or for gifts. Google "Christmas card ornaments" and you will find many different patterns. I save cards that I receive, and also those that my office receives.

My friend's family has a tradition of collecting samples and rebate items all year such as coffee, shampoo, deodorant, toothbrushes, etc., and packaging the items in a reusable grocery store tote (Target bags are a very festive red, and Trader Joe's has a lot of cute patterned ones). This way the bag can be reused over and over after the contents are gone. All of the items are useful, and will be used up instead of cluttering the recipient's house with unwanted doodads.

One of our favorite frugal Christmas activities is to pile the family in the car with to-go mugs of hot cocoa or cider, and head out to our local version of Candy Cane Lane. I'm sure you all live fairly close to one of those neighborhoods where everyone decorates to the max. Enjoy your neighbors' displays! They are going to a lot of trouble and (electric bill!) expense to entertain you this holiday season.