I used to pick up lunch at work. You know, a cheapo sandwich from Safeway, a burger from the cool indie burger place across the street, takeout teriyaki from the stand that seemed to have new owners every week. Back in the day, four years or so ago, I used to budget $6 a day [Continue Reading...]
What Leftovers Look Like
September 27, 2011 by · 8 Comments
I know people who refuse to eat leftovers. At least, they think they refuse to eat leftovers….little do they know how creative professional kitchens get to minimize food waste. Ever ordered the soup du jour or the daily lunch special? If so – you’ve had leftovers. Personally, as I’ve mentioned before, I don’t know what [Continue Reading...]
Negabucks – What’s Your Hobby Time Worth?
September 12, 2011 by · 16 Comments
I love food, gardening and economics, so it follows that I’m interested in looking at gardening from an micro and nano-economic perspective. As someone who gardens on a scale large enough to make a pretty significant dent in our family food budget, my gardening hobby is intimately tied to our household budgetary realities. Just another day at [Continue Reading...]
No Spend Month: Week 4 Review
July 29, 2011 by · 4 Comments
Last Week’s Total: $216.03$7 – Parking at the county park when we went swimming$1 – Parking, Nick’s second job$46.09 – Tank of gas TOTAL: $273.12REMAINING: -$23.12 Well, we went over. For the first time ever, I blew through a No Spend limit. And it wasn’t the kids presents that did it either – it was [Continue Reading...]
Frugal Friday: Detox From The Treat Spiral
July 29, 2011 by · 2 Comments
I’ll be honest. I can’t wait for no spend month to be over. I can’t wait to spend money again. This is how I’ve felt every time we’ve done the no-spend exercise – by the time the month is over, I’m ready to start laying down some cash. We all feel better for the occasional splurge, for a treat [Continue Reading...]
"Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer" Owes Me Sleep
July 27, 2011 by · 11 Comments
I was at the library a few days ago and saw Farm City: The Education of an Urban Farmer by Novella Carpenter on the shelf. Novella was all over the urban homesteading blog world this spring when the City of Oakland kicked her in the proverbial nuts over her garden/mini-farm/oasis in the ghetto. She got [Continue Reading...]
No Spend Month: Week 3 Review
July 22, 2011 by · 4 Comments
I had a dream last night that I went out shopping. I don’t remember what I bought, I just remember the dream sensation of handing over a big chunk of money. No Spend Month must be in full effect! Updated tally for this week: Last Week’s Total: $141.01$9 – Two large pickling crocks my friend [Continue Reading...]
Frugal Friday: What Farm Grandmas and Chefs Do (And You Should To)
July 22, 2011 by · 15 Comments
When I was in culinary school, we learned how to filet salmon. Even if you are amazingly good (and we weren’t), when you cut the filet off a whole fish there is a little layer of salmon left against the bones. My instructor showed us students how to use a spoon to scrape the carcass [Continue Reading...]
Is DIY Kitchencraft Really Worth It?
July 21, 2011 by · 17 Comments
Sometimes when you are up to your eyeballs in berry juice and the whir of the food dehydrator has been going on so long you are hearing noises that aren’t really there, you gotta wonder – is it worth it? Is it really worth it to, say, make your own jam when you could just [Continue Reading...]
No Spend Month: Week 2 Review
July 15, 2011 by · 3 Comments
Updated tally for this week: Last Week’s Total: $95.76Yet more strawberries (I’m done, I swear): $26 Birthday present for a kid’s party: $6.25* Pitcher of beer at a company farewell party for a coworker (Nick): $13 TOTAL: $141.01 REMAINING: $108.99 *Actually the present for the kid-friend was more than this but I had a $14 [Continue Reading...]
Frugal Friday: The Budgeting Process And Advanced Fun Card Techniques
July 15, 2011 by · 2 Comments
Last Friday I talked about our household’s budgeting tool, the Fun Card. It’s a very simple idea that helps keep our day-to-day expenses in line. But, like any tool, the value comes in the use, not the having. Homebrew Husband and I used to think budgeting was the act of making a budget. That’s like [Continue Reading...]
No Spend Month: Week 1 Review
July 8, 2011 by · 5 Comments
Well $250 is going to be a lot harder than I anticipated. I managed to forget about provisioning berries for the year, and with the late spring, all the mid-June strawberries ripened in early-July. I’m looking at blueberries and raspberries coming down the line in the next few weeks and I’m wondering if I blow [Continue Reading...]
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