1.  Crock Pot or Slow Cooker

 Cheaper cuts of meat are either fatty, tough, or both.  My crock pot has allowed me to buy the tougher cuts of pork or beef and still come up with delicious and tender meat entrees. 

The crock pot has also made it easier to cook pork or beef roasts without heating up the oven, and the entire house in the process.  Contrary to common belief, the crock pot does not need water to cook.  I dry-rub seasoning on the pork or beef roast, put in in the crock pot, and turn it on low.  It is just like oven-baked when done.

If you do not have a crock pot/slow cooker yet, choose one that is oval instead of round.  Roasts fit in it better.  And get one with durable handles.  One of the handles broke off as I was transferring my crock pot to the table, spilling the delicious clam chowder all over the floor.

You can get your own crock pot or slow cooker here.

 2.  Rice Cooker

 Rice is the most versatile and cheap food that I serve.  I can pair it with fish or any kind of meat, then add a side of veggies.  I can serve it steamed then fry the leftovers.  Hubby can eat it by itself with just a dash of vinegar and salt.  The kids love it with mayonnaise.  I love it mixed with chicken noodle soup.  I do not have to serve as much fish or meat because the rice stretches the meal into something more filling.

The easiest and fool-proof way to cook rice is to use a rice cooker.  Just follow the instructions and you can relax — no hovering and stirring involved here.  The general rule of thumb is to rinse the rice until the water drains clear, then add 2 cups of water for every cup of rice.  Once you turn on the rice cooker, do not lift the lid until the rice is cooked.  I do not add oil or salt to the rice when I cook it.

If you do not have a rice cooker and would like to get one, choose one that has a non-stick interior.  Cooked rice, by nature, is sticky.  The non-stick interior makes it so much easier to clean. 

You can get your own rice cooker here.

 3.  Coffeemaker with Timer

 I like the convenience of having coffee ready for me.  For the longest time I would stop at a gas station close to the highway and grab a cup to go.  We have all heard of “the latte factor”, and when I added up what it was costing me per month to have that convenience, I decided that a coffeemaker with a timer is the cheap way to go.  I set it up the night before, and my coffee is ready for me in the morning.  Additional savings come from not getting tempted to pick up a pastry or doughnut!

For those that like to grind their beans right before brewing, there are coffeemakers with timer with built-in grinder.  You can get your own coffee maker with timer here.

 4.  Faucet-Mount Water Filter

 I do not mean to sound snotty, but we do not like tap water.  It tastes like the chemically-treated water that it is.  However the cost of those bottled waters really add up.  We used to buy gallons of Ice Mountain water, then switched to store brand as a cheaper alternative.  We also tried the fill-your-own-container filtered water kiosks at the grocery store for a long time before I realized the folly of my ways.  Why am I lugging 5-gallon containers of filtered tap water?  Why not get a filter at home?

Since we could not afford those elaborate water filtration system, we settled on a faucet-mount system.  Granted, it is not the same level of filtration as the store water kiosks but the chemical taste and smell are gone.  This has saved my wallet and my back.  All I need to lug around every few weeks is a pack of replacement filters.  These faucet-mount filters have indicators when it is time to change the filter.  If you ignore the indicator in an effort to stretch your filter use a little bit, you will really notice the difference in taste.

You can get your own faucet-mount water filter here. 

 5.  Single-Portion Containers

 These little containers have saved me from the drive-through.  I like to cook for more than one meal, especially on weekends, but the kids do not really like leftovers.  A trick I have learned is that leftovers look better in single-portion containers.  The kids can just grab one to heat and eat when they get hungry.  I now rarely get the request to get fastfood on the way home.   Pasta dishes are the best ones to cook double and save for later. 

If you are planning to get single-portion containers, make sure they are microwave-safe.  Do not forget to provide kids with reheating instructions.  Also choose containers which have lids that are easy to open or close. 

You can get your own single-portion containers here.

I took a look at what they have.  They had dresses and tops only.

I personally am not a designer-label kind of person but I thought someone who would love to have some designer duds on the cheap might appreciate the link.

Photo:  blingyourself.com

Spam, a canned meat product (or some may cheekily say ”meat-like product” or “meat by-product”), was the staple in American kitchens during the Great Depression.  Parents back then, desperate to save money but still serve their families some protein would “butcher” a can of Spam. 

With everyone trying to cut back on spending, it looks like Hormel’s Spam is once again helping Americans feed families.  The New York Times reported that since July, production of Spam at the Hormel plant in Austin, MN has been relentless:  two shifts, seven days a week at 149,000+ cans of Spam per shift.

What is Spam?  People know Spam as “junk e-mail”, but Jay Hormel, the son of the company founder, says that Spam is a combination of ham, pork, sugar, salt, water, potato starch and a “hint” of sodium nitrite “to help Spam keep its gorgeous pink color.”  Spam is available in regular, Low Sodium, Spam with Cheese, and Spam Hot & Spicy.

Find Spam recipes here.

In my post A Quick Way to Save Money and Lose Weight I mentioned that I wanted to save money and lose weight at the same time.  That post also mentioned that by planning my workday lunches and snacks in advance I was able to save $27.50 last week.

I can also happily report that I have lost 2 lbs last week!  I have not been taking any diet pills or started any exercise regimen at all, so I am very excited.

I must confess that a couple of times last week, I went to the vending machine and got some crunchy Cheetos (so that makes it $1 less than what I originally saved).  The snacks I had prepared for the week were all sweet (fresh cherries, fruit cups, chocolate animal crackers) .  I should have known that, from past experiences, eating something sweet triggers my craving for something salty, and vice versa.

This week I am doing the same thing.  I had already shopped for my lunches and snacks for the coming work week.  I have frozen entrees again, then yogurt and Cheetos for snacks.  I have already pre-packaged the Cheetos into snack baggies and I am only bringing one baggie a day to avoid eating all of the Cheetos in one day.  I believe in moderation, not self-denial.

The weather should help this week.  It is supposed to be really cold all week so that really kills the desire to go out for a quick drive (and drive-thru) at lunch time.

The next step is to be able to watch live or recorded shows on the TV instead of the computer screen.  This was crucial, as there are four of us and we could hardly gather around the computer to watch the same show at the same time.  About two years ago, my son had gotten an Xbox 360 in lieu of having a birthday party.  Windows Media Center can stream any digital content to the Xbox 360 via your home network.  I decided to give it a try and it has worked really well for us.

You do not need to have computer or networking knowledge to do this.  All you will need are:

• Windows Media Center
• Xbox 360
• Network connection

You may view instructions on how to connect your Xbox 360 as a Windows Media Center Extender here.

Once everything is set up, you will now be able to stream any digital content (videos, recorded shows, photos, MP3′s) from your computer to your TV.

Fun hint:  If you have guests, your Xbox 360 and your TV can play selected songs while displaying your photo slide shows!

More posts to come on cable and Satellite TV alternatives.  Please check back soon, or subscribe to my RSS feed!

My daughter got an Aeropostale hoodie for Christmas, but it was too small for her.  Armed with the gift receipt, we headed to the nearest mall with an Aeropostale store.  Luckily for us we found an exact same hoodie in a bigger size.  I noted that the hoodie was already in the bargain rack along with other winter clothes, giving way to spring items.  At the counter the sales clerk was about to do a “like for like” exchange but I asked her:

“Is there a price difference?”

The clerk kindly obliged me and checked.  There was an $11 difference!  She could not give me cash back, but gave me a store gift card with that amount.  Of course my daughter happily turned around and found something else to buy in the store,

$11 might not be much in this case (although that is half a tank of gas for me).  However, it is money that you are entitled to.  Why not take it?  Some store clerks might tell you that it is not possible to give you money back.  Just point out that it is just like you are returning the item for a full refund and buying the same item for its current cheaper price.

My daughter noted that the clerk did not volunteer to check for a price difference, and admitted that she would never have thought to ask about it either.  I hope she learned a valuable lesson there, just as she did when we went clothes shopping with $50 and a coupon.

Tip # 4:  Have a Game Plan — Plan your healthy meals and snacks in advance.

Tip # 7:  Stash Snacks — Stash a supply of filling snacks to grab when you need a bite.

On a normal work day I do not eat breakfast, I have a mid-morning snack, then lunch, then a mid-afternoon snack.  I am ashamed to confess that for the most part, the snacks come from the vending machine.  The items there cost between $0.50 to $1.00 so I will just average it out to $0.75 per item, which makes it $1.50 per day.  Lunch costs between $6.00 to $10.00, so an average of $8.00.  So everyday I spend around $9.50 on lunch and snacks at work for a total of $47.50.

So on Sunday I went grocery shopping and planned my lunch and office snacks for this week.  Lunch will be my favorite frozen entrees.  They cost $1.78 x 5 = $8.90.  Since those darn things never keep me full until dinner, I have a variety of snacks:  chocolate animal crackers (they are great with tea, and satisfies my craving to have the chocolate taste in my mouth), fresh cherries, fruit cups  and yogurt-covered raisins.  Overall I spent less than $20 for this week’s planned lunch and snacks, and they are much-healthier alternatives than the vending machine and fast food selections.

The evidence is already clear:  if I stick with my plan this week and not be tempted to go out and get sushi, my savings this week is at least $27.50.  50 weeks of that comes to $1,375!  Wow, that’s more than my monthly mortgage payment!

I am eagerly awaiting the other half of the desired results:  losing weight.

What about you, what are you doing different this year?

Yes, I signed up!

While this would have been enough to elicit a reaction years ago, the number of people getting rid of their cable or satellite TV subscription has been steadily increasing in recent times.  The most common reasons are:

• It costs too much.
• There is nothing to watch.
• To watch what you want when you want it, it costs extra.

A computer we purchased in December 2007 came with a TV tuner, and that has been such a wonderful device!  If you have a relatively new computer, check the connections in the back.  Find a port that has no cable connected to it yet.  Check out its labels.  My TV tuner card has “DTV Ant”, “FM Ant” and “Analog Ant” underneath the ports. 

This is the indoor antenna I have sitting on top of my computer.  It is a Philips High Performance Amplified Indoor Uhf/Vhf/Fm/HDTV Antenna.  I connected the antenna cable from that to the port on the back of my computer marked “DTV Ant”.  Then came the fun part of trying to get the right orientation.

My computer has Windows Media Player and it made setting up the indoor antenna so much easier by providing feedback on the antenna strength of each channel available to me.  Click here to check if your computer already has Windows Media Player.

Another thing that helped me find the right orientation is a website called antennaweb.org.  I entered my address (and made sure I unchecked any subscription opt-ins) and it gave me a listing of the stations in my area plus their compass heading, frequency assignment, and distance from my location. 

If you do not have a TV tuner card on your computer and you know what you are doing around electronics, you can get one like this Hauppauge 1128 WinTV-HVR-1800 Internal Hybrid TV Tuner/Video Recorder.  You will need to install it in your computer and set it up.  I recommend you get a techie to do that for you.  A computer is expensive and you don’t want to mess it up!

More “Cable and Satellite TV Alternative” articles to come.  Check back soon!

For the past 15 winters I have kept my house at 80 degrees Fahrenheit.  Yes, it is pretty warm for most people, but I am a tropical island girl and love to roam the house barefoot, in short sleeves, and shorts.  We also have a parrot who starts shivering and sneezing when she gets too cold.  This winter, things are different.

We invested in a Honeywell programmable thermostat almost like this one, the house is much cooler, and I am making everyone, including myself, dress for a cooler indoor climate.  The thermostat has a Monday-Friday and a Saturday-Sunday schedule, and four triggers:  Wake, Leave, Return and Sleep.

My daughter has to be in school by 7:15 a.m. and she finds it hard to leave her nice, warm bed so early in the morning.  During the weekdays, the thermostat is set to “Wake” at 5:15 for 76 degrees.  This seems to thaw everyone out of their deep sleep as they start kicking off their bed covers as the house gets warmer.  The thermostat is set to “Leave” at 72F while the humans are gone.  The dog loves the cooler temperatures in the house, while the parrot has a heated perch and layered cage covers to keep her warm.  About 15 minutes before the children return, the thermostat triggers “Return” and raises the temperature to 74F.  “Sleep” sets the overnight temperature back to 72F at midnight.  I am a night owl, and having the house go cold forces me to go to bed by around 12:30!

For the weekend, “Wake”, “Leave”, and “Return” triggers are set to the same temperature –  74F starting at 7:30 a.m. – and “Sleep” sets it to 72F at midnight.

What about you?  Do you have any tips to share on what you are doing to lower your heating bills?