Thrifty Thursday - Thanksgiving Dinner On A Budget

I’m always very happy whenever November 1st rolls around.  That seems to be when it becomes socially acceptable to start talking about Thanksgiving.  It’s my favorite holiday, so I start talking about it, and planning it, long before now, but at least as of today it seems to be alright with everyone else.

We’ll be hosting an evening Thanksgiving meal at our house again this year.  I’m still absolutely loving the fact that Nick doesn’t have to work the holidays anymore.  We’ll also be taking Thanksgiving dinner to the local hospice house for lunch.  I’ve been in touch with them, and they’ve said they’re happy for us to bring the meal.  I’m always a little nervous that they’re going to say no, so I’m pretty excited that they said yes.  They never really offer any feedback as to anything they especially liked or didn’t like, so I’m planning to stick with essentially the same menu and setup as the last two years.  I’m assuming it isn’t broken, so I’m not going to try to fix it. 

Occasionally someone will mention the costs associated with feeding a crowd, or with cooking two separate Thanksgiving dinners, so I thought that would be a good topic for a Thrifty Thursday post.  I’ll just go ahead and get a few things out of the way. 

First, I’m not breaking anything down by specific prices or numbers.  This is mostly because I hate math.  I mean, I really, really, really hate math.  I enjoy blogging, so I’m not about to mix math in with it.  It’s also because it’s just not accurate.  A good price for something for me may be a terrible price on the same item for someone who lives in a different place, and an impossibly low, never going to find it priced like that for yet another person living in yet another place.  I think general guidelines are probably just easier for everyone.  And they don’t involve math! 

Second, I know a lot of grocery stores are regional, so I realize you may not have the same ones in your area that I do.  Again, it’s just meant to be a general idea of what works for me.  I’m only naming specific stores in case any of you have the same ones available.  I love Aldi.  If you haven’t shopped at Aldi, give them a try, even if you’re not hosting Thanksgiving.

Lastly, if you’re hosting Thanksgiving, do what works for you and your guests.  You may very well have different priorities.  Don’t get caught up in trying to make it look like someone else’s ideal Thanksgiving. 

All of that being said, here’s what we do to host Thanksgiving without going broke.

Start early.  This is the time of year when grocery stores start putting the things you need for the holidays on sale.  Pay attention to the sale ads, and get the things you need ahead of time, while they’re on a good sale.  You probably won’t find butter cheaper than you will during the next few weeks.  It’s also a great time to stock up on flour, sugar, nuts, and other baking essentials. 

Shop around.  If you’re fortunate enough to have a few different grocery stores near you, check everyone’s sale ads, even if you usually only shop at one.  There’s likely going to be some competition among them to get you in the door, so if time and distance allow, consider buying the best priced items at each store.  I typically shop at three different grocery stores every week to get the best prices on what we need. 

Remember the main parts of Thanksgiving Dinner are relatively inexpensive.  Fortunately for those of us who love Thanksgiving, the traditional dishes aren’t typically very expensive.  Most grocery stores will price their turkeys very low this time of year, especially if you spend a certain amount in a single transaction.  Potatoes and sweet potatoes are typically inexpensive anyway, and likely to be priced even lower leading up to Thanksgiving. 

Buy store brands, or shop at Aldi.  I typically never buy name brand flour or sugar, unless it happens to be on a great sale that makes it cheaper than the store brands or buying it at Aldi.  I think there’s some difference if you’re buying something already prepared (salsa, cookies, etc),but when it comes to ingredients, the finished dish seems to come out the same, whether you’ve used name brand ingredients or not.  I’ve been using Aldi brand cheese, evaporated milk, and pasta in my macaroni and cheese for years.  The same goes for their canned pumpkin in my pumpkin pie. 

I will say, though, that in my experience, Aldi isn’t the cheapest place to buy the turkey.  Overall, I haven’t been terribly impressed with their meat prices.  Here, Harris Teeter or Ingles typically have the best prices on turkeys. 

Look into the price matching policy at the store(s) you regularly shop.  Some stores have a policy that they’ll take competitor’s coupons, or meet or beat competitor’s prices.  Read the fine print, but that may be a way for you to get the best prices, and still be able to shop at your regular grocery store.

Be on the lookout for coupons.  Look for coupons in the weekly sale ads or papers, and pay attention to the fliers the grocery stores mail you.  Take note of the expiration dates, and any minimum purchase requirements so you can plan your lists accordingly.  A Publix recently opened near us, and they seem to be in serious competition with Harris Teeter, so we’re getting coupons in the mail from both stores.  My trick for remembering to actually use the coupons is to fold them around my debit card. 

Don’t serve appetizers.  I realize this one isn’t going to work for everyone, but it does for us.  Our style of entertaining is very informal; it’s what we’re comfortable with, and it’s what works well with our house.  We have a fairly small kitchen, and eating area as well, so we end up serving Thanksgiving (and most meals we host) buffet style, and we usually eat fairly quickly after guests start arriving.  If we say 6:30, people are usually eating by 6:45.  Buffet style makes it easier to get started if you’re still waiting for a few people to show up, so you don’t have hungry guests waiting around.  There’s so much food already, and since we’re not sitting around waiting, it works for us. 

Don’t serve alcohol.  Again, I realize this choice isn’t for everyone, but it works for us.  Cocktails, or even wine and beer, can get expensive quickly, so sticking with nonalcoholic beverages (tea, coffee, soda, etc) is an easy way to reduce spending.   

Plan your menu carefully.  I tend to go a little bit overboard when it comes to the Thanksgiving menu.  In all honesty, not serving appetizers is about the only scaling down I’ve done when it comes to the menu now that we’re actually able to host Thanksgiving. Obviously, I don’t think there’s anything wrong with that, but some things to keep in mind when deciding what and how much to prepare are the eating habits of your guests, whether or not you want leftovers, and whether or not you’re planning to send leftovers home with guests. 

If most of your guests are vegetarians you probably don’t need 20 pounds of turkey.  If most of your guests prefer desserts other than pumpkin pie, you probably don’t need multiple pumpkin pies.  Don’t feel like you have to make something no one loves just because it’s Thanksgiving, or that you can’t make something everyone loves because it’s not a traditional Thanksgiving dish.  The important thing is that everyone is happy, able to spend time together, and enjoys a good meal.

If you’re the type to go overboard with cooking, and know you’re likely going to have enough leftovers to feed your entire neighborhood for a week, ask your guests to bring containers with them so they can take leftovers home.  And know that you probably won’t be cooking for the rest of the weekend. 

So what about you?  What are your tips for hosting Thanksgiving on a budget?  What are the must have parts for you?  What are you willing to skip? 

Thrifty Thursday - That’s Not A Very Good Sale

I’ve been meaning to share this picture for almost a year now.   I never thought I’d see something like this in person, so I had to take a picture when I did.  Nick and I were in Wal-Mart, and not being much of a math person, I confirmed with Nick that I hadn’t misread something. 

Nope.  The clearance price is actually higher than the original price.  I assume it was the result of some poorly thought out rearranging, but it did make me think about how easy it is to get sucked in by a sale. 

I know I’m guilty of seeing “sale” and thinking “must buy”.  I guess this is a good lesson not to buy something simply because we’re told it’s on sale.  Aside from being something we may not need, or have the money to spend on, it may not be much of a bargain anyway. 

What about you?  Are you a sucker for a sale?  Have you seen any unfortunate sign placement like this in person?

Thrifty Thursday - The Decluttr Edition

One of the things I want to do this year is finally get the clutter in our house under control.   We’ve been making much more of an effort not to bring in things we don’t really need, and to get rid of things we aren’t using.

However, books are a major weakness for both of us.  Nick and I are both readers, but we don’t read the same things.  I mostly read fiction, and a few biographies.  I also have an addiction to cookbooks.  Nick mostly reads non-fiction.  He enjoys reading textbooks as well.  We’re both suckers for a good book sale, which our library has yearly.  Needless to say, the book situation in our house was getting out of control.

Movies are another weakness of ours.  When we were first together we didn’t have cable (still don’t) or any streaming service, but we did have a Blockbuster membership.  We usually bought a few movies a month.  The used ones were always pretty cheap, and we’re both homebodies.  A quiet evening on the couch with a good movie makes us both really happy.  We’d also each get several movies a year as Christmas gifts, so our movie collection has grown quite a bit.

We decided it was time to seriously cull the books and movies.  It was that or get more shelves, which we don’t really have room for.  We each went through our books and pulled out the ones we’ve read and won’t realistically read again.  We also pulled a few that had been given to us that we didn’t have much interest in reading. 

We also went through all of the movies, and grouped them by type.  We pulled the ones that we’re highly unlikely to watch again.  We pulled a few that only one of us like.  Nick got rid of a few horror movies, and I got rid of a few romantic comedy movies. 

By the time we were finished we had amassed a large pile of books and movies.  We were also able to fit the things we kept on our shelves. 

One of my coworkers is beginning to downsize, and told me about Decluttr.  It’s a site where you can sell your books, movies, CDs, and some tech gadgets online.  You can download an app to scan bar codes (I didn’t because there wasn’t room on my phone) or you can manually enter the numbers (I did that, and it’s really not hard).  The site tells you right away if it’s something they’re buying, and what they’re paying for it. 

It works kind of like reverse online shopping.  You scan or enter all of your barcodes, and it puts everything they’ll accept in a cart.  Once you’re finished with that, you process your order.  They pay the shipping, you just print out a packing list, shipping label, package it all up, and send it to them.  We opted to be paid via Paypal since I already had an account, and we received the money in less than a week both times.  We’ve done two shipments to Declutttr.  The first time we received exactly the amount quoted.  The second time we received about twenty cents less than the amount quoted due to a quality issue.  They didn’t specify which item, but I really didn’t think such a small amount was a big deal. 

Selling books and movies to Decluttr is about the fastest and easiest way we’ve found to get rid of the ones we don’t want anymore.  A few thrift stores in our area won’t take them anymore, and it’s kind of a hassle to drive around to different thrift stores dropping different things off.  I like one stop shopping, etc.  I suspect if we had been willing to invest the time we might have been able to sell at least some of the books and movies for more on Amazon or Ebay, but I didn’t really want to take the time to take and upload pictures, and create listings for dozens of books and movies.  For us the goal was more to get rid of things and reduce clutter than to make money.  We did earn enough from our Decluttr payments for dinner out, and to buy our favorite sauces from the restaurant to use at home, so that was definitely a nice perk. 

In case you’re wondering, Howard has not been deemed clutter in need of being shipped off to Decluttr.  Pictures of boxes of movies and books or bookshelves are pretty boring, so I thought I’d take this opportunity to share Howard’s latest meerkat picture with you.  I think he’s adorable in it.

So what about you?  Do the books and movies get out of control at your house?  Do you have a system in place for limiting the amount of books and movies you own?  Have you sold books and movies online?

Thrifty Thursday - Send A Free Military Care Package

Do you ever have posts that you just absolutely have to do on a certain day?  Posts where everything just comes together in the right way, on the right day (or at least really close), and it’s the only post you could possibly share that day?  It doesn’t happen often for me, but this is one of those posts. 

Yesterday would have been my grandfather’s (a.k.a. Dad Dog) 89th birthday, and he was retired from the Air Force.  Recently I found an opportunity to send free care packages to troops.  I couldn't pass up the opportunity for a Thrifty Thursday post about sending a free care package to troops the day after his birthday!

Crown Royal has teamed up with Packages From Home to send packages to troops serving overseas.  You can access the site here.  You have to be 21 or older to access the site, you have to provide your date of birth, and you have to provide your email address.  However, there is absolutely no cost to you.

Once you’ve accessed the site, you can choose four items from the most requested list to be sent to troops.  I chose cookies, nuts, lip balm, and tea.  Of course I have to choose tea any time it’s an option!  Dad Dog was also a tea drinker, so it seemed like an appropriate choice.  Coffee, oatmeal, chips, and pretzels were some of the other options.

It takes less than two minutes of your time, costs you nothing, and maybe makes life just a little bit more pleasant for someone in harm’s way, away from their family and loved ones.  If you’re so inclined, please take the time to visit the site and select four items to send.   If you participate, I hope you’ll share your choices in the comments.  It’s always interesting to see what other people choose.

Thrifty Thursday - The Valentine’s Day Edition

Yes, I know it isn’t actually Valentine’s Day yet, but talking about a holiday on the actual holiday usually feels like I’m late for blogging about it.  I also feel like I need to preface this post by saying that I am not at all anti-Valentine’s Day.  I absolutely believe that we’re all allowed to choose our favorite holidays and celebrate them in ways that make us and our loved ones happy.

When I was single I had this idea that once you were happily in a relationship Valentine’s Day was this magical day full of hearts and pink flowers.  I thought it was incredibly romantic, and that of course anyone who was truly in love would go all out for it.  I was sure if you were happily in love it had to be your favorite holiday.

I’m not sure where I got those ideas from.  Maybe it came from years of working in offices that looked like a flower shop on Valentine’s Day, reading so many romance novels, or watching too many romantic comedies.  I’m really not sure.  As usual, reality has turned out to be very different from how I thought things would go.

I really think that Nick and I are just bad at Valentine’s Day, and I’ll freely admit that I’m definitely worse at it than Nick is.  I’m not sure what it is.  We’ve tried.  We’ve really tried.  It’s not that we don’t like holidays, and I think we’re fairly good at most other holidays.  Nick is great at birthdays.  Nick’s mom is great at Christmas, enough so that the rest of us can just kind of follow her example and be pretty good at it.  I like to think I’m fairly good at Thanksgiving, which, for the record, remains my favorite holiday of all time.  Valentine’s Day is just a completely different story for us.

It seems that most years at least one of us is sick on Valentine’s Day.  We’ve both had the flu on Valentine’s Day.  One year Nick left work with a stomach virus, and I ended up going to get the frozen bananas I’d had delivered to him at work.  Some years the weather has wreaked havoc on our attempts at Valentine’s Day celebrations.  There was the year that Nick sent me a gardenia plant at work.  It arrived right after they closed my building ahead of a major snow storm, so it sat in its box in the security room for four days.  It was a dead, crusty lump by the time I got it.
Emma’s birthday was the day after Valentine’s Day, and we always made a big deal out of her birthday, so last year was a little hard since it was our first year without her.

Over the years we’ve lowered our expectations for Valentine’s Day.  For a few years we just did cards, but it seemed like even that was a hassle that had at least one of us, usually me, out buying a card on the actual holiday.  Again, I don’t know what it is with Valentine’s Day.   I have several Christmas presents for this year already.  I’m capable of cooking two separate Thanksgiving dinners on the actual holiday and having them both ready on time.  I’m not usually the person running around trying to do things at the last minute.  I don’t know why I can’t seem to get it together for Valentine’s Day.

This year, we’ve agreed that we’re not doing anything for Valentine’s Day.  We have no plans for going out to dinner.  We’re not sending each other flowers, candy, fruit, or anything else.  We’re not even planning to exchange cards.

We briefly considered cards, but then decided against them.  Honestly, it felt more like yet another thing on a to-do list than something we were excited about doing.  We don’t save cards, so they just would have ended up in the recycling bin in a few weeks anyway.  That seemed like such a waste, especially since Valentine’s Day cards seem to be anywhere from $5.00 and up.  That’s admission to some museums or state parks, and since we’re trying to make more of an effort to do things this year we thought we’d be better off putting our time, energy, and money into going to a museum, state park, or even just trying a new coffee shop.  Obviously not on Valentine’s Day, though, since our plans on that day never seem to work out.

It doesn’t sound romantic or exciting I know, but it has taken away a lot of pressure to plan, to spend, and to try to live up to expectations.  It’s not that we’re anti-holiday.  I’m sure that we’ll do our usual big events for Thanksgiving and Christmas.  Everyone has to choose how to spend their time, effort, and money.  We’re just choosing to acknowledge that Valentine’s Day isn’t the holiday that’s worth it for us to go all out for.

So what about you?  Is Valentine’s Day a big event for you?  Do you have better luck with it than we have?  Or is there another holiday you prefer to make a big event of?

Thrifty Thursday - How We Did With The Pantry Challenge

I didn’t really have a good picture to go with this post.  Let’s face it, pictures of a bunch of cans of tomatoes are kind of boring, so I thought I’d share this picture of Caroline.  I think she looks adorable, and I’m always happy to share pet pictures.  Now, on to the actual post.

It’s finally February.  January always seems like the longest month to me, but it’s finally over, and we’re a little closer to spring.

With the end of January comes the end of the Pantry Challenge.  I think we did fairly well with it, though we still have a long way to go.  I have a serious grocery shopping addiction, and an extreme habit of overbuying groceries.  Not for the last month, though.

Our grocery total for the month of January came to $63.85.  Not bad for a whole month.  I think it actually could have been lower had a couple of our grocery trips been to Aldi instead of Wal-Mart, but convenience won out twice.  Once when I went to buy cold medicine and picked up a few grocery items while I was there, and once when Nick went to buy a retirement card for a co-worker and picked up a few grocery items while he was there.

I wish I could say we kept our total so low because we’re just that good at buying groceries cheaply, or because I got really creative in the kitchen, but that’s just not the case.  It was really because I’ve stocked up on so many things.

We ate out an average of once a week in January, which is about normal for us.  We also made more of an effort to use up leftovers, rather than letting them get shoved to the back of the fridge, and we made more of an effort to use things up before they expired.  Other than that, it was pretty much cooking and eating as normal.  We bought eggs, milk, yogurt, sugar (because no one wants me to run out of sweet tea) bread, produce, lemon juice (because fresh lemons are way too expensive and pitiful here right now), and probably a few other things that aren’t coming to mind at the moment.  No meats or canned items, though.  All of that came from the freezer and cabinets.

We’ll probably do a modified version of the Pantry Challenge in February, but haven’t decided yet exactly what that will entail.  I’m not in favor of not keeping a very well stocked freezer and pantry because it is nice to have things on hand.  I like being able to make a meal for someone with very little notice, I like not having to rush to the grocery store ahead of bad weather, and it’s nice not to have to go out for things if we’re not feeling well.  That being said, I do need to find a better balance.  It’s probably possible to be well stocked, but not overstocked.

So what about you?  Did you do a Pantry Challenge in January?  Or have you already found the perfect way to be well stocked, but not overstocked

Thrifty Thursday - Free Revolution Doses

As I’ve said before, we use Revolution for Duke and Chuzoo’s heartworm and flea prevention.  They’re much cuter than a box of Revolution, so I thought I’d take the opportunity to share pictures of them on the way back from visiting the Poinsett Bridge.  Pretty much any excuse to share pet pictures works for me. 

In case you’re not familiar with Revolution, it’s applied topically once a month. If you use it for any of your fur kids you probably know that they’ve had an ongoing deal where you get two free doses when you buy six doses. 

We’ve always bought the six doses at a time.  The vet we take the dogs to is over an hour away, and I don’t mind making the drive to take them there, but I don’t want to do it once a month if we don’t have to.  So we typically buy six doses, get the two free, and don’t have to worry about getting more for eight months.  It’s dosed by weight, so Chuzoo and Duke are on different doses.

We had to take Chuzoo for an appointment last week, and while we were there we learned that this is the last month that Revolution will be offering the free doses.  Apparently they’re switching to some sort of rebate program in February.  Our vet’s office didn’t have a lot of details about it yet, but seemed to think it wasn’t going to be as good or convenient as the free doses.  It also seems like there may be some issues with the rebate program that will have to be worked out. 

We could have waited until next month to buy more Revolution for Duke, but we decided to go ahead and buy it while we were there.  It saves us a trip, and we were able to get the two free doses.  We just bought Chuzoo’s last month, so we’re well stocked on his.  Hopefully by the time we need to buy it again they’ll have worked out any issues with the rebate program.  If nothing else, our vet’s office should know the ins and outs of it by then, so they can tell us what we’ll need to do.

If you’re a fellow pet parent I’m sure you know how nice free doses of a monthly treatment are.  And if you’re a fellow pet parent who happens to use Revolution, you may want to go ahead and stock up this month.  If you know anything about the rebate program I’d love to hear your thoughts in the comments. 

So what about you?  Is there anything you buy several months worth of at once to get a month or two free?

Thrifty Thursday - The Chicken Tikka Masala Substitution Edition

On Saturday I decided to make Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner, and I made a substitution that I’m calling a win on multiple fronts.

We’re doing a Pantry Challenge this month, so we’re making a real effort to use what we have on hand, stay out of the grocery stores as much as possible, and spend a lot less money on groceries this month.  I decided on Chicken Tikka Masala for dinner because we had chicken breasts in the freezer, cream in the fridge that was fast approaching its use by date, and some fresh ginger that really needed to be used.  It also sounded perfect for dinner on a cold and windy night.

It was so cold here on Saturday!  We had been in the mid fifties on Friday.  It had rained all day, but it was at least warmer than it had been.  On Saturday we were back down to the low twenties, and had crazy high winds.  Going out to the grocery store, or anywhere for that matter, wasn’t much temptation.  I had absolutely no interest in changing out of my nice warm pajamas, or leaving the house.

The only problem was that the recipe I was using called for a serrano chili, which we didn’t have.  The recipe also called for canned tomatoes, which we have an abundance of.  Harris Teeter put their brand of canned tomatoes on sale for 37 cents a while back.  That’s cheaper than Aldi, and the cheapest I’ve ever seen canned tomatoes.  Most of our favorite recipes seem to be tomato based, so I thought it was a good idea to stock up.  As usual when there’s a great sale on groceries, I went overboard in my effort to stock up.  We have a lot of canned tomatoes!  And that’s just one of the many, many reasons why we’re doing a Pantry Challenge this month.

 Since I really, really didn’t want to go out, I decided to substitute canned tomatoes with chilies for the serrano chili and canned tomatoes.  I’m very happy to report that it worked out perfectly, and that the Chicken Tikka Masala was delicious.

I was thrilled:

1.  Not to have to go out in the cold.  That was honestly the best part of my successful substitution.

2.  That we stayed on track with the Pantry Challenge.  I most likely would have ended up buying more than a single serrano chili if I had gone to get one. 

3.  That I have a new substitution that I know works.  It’s much faster and easier to open a can of tomatoes with chilies than it is to deal with coring and chopping a chili.  That’s good to know for busy days when I need to get dinner ready in a hurry, and want to make things as easy as possible.

So what about you?  Have you made any recipe substitutions to use what you have on hand lately?   Is the cold weather enough to make you do whatever you can to stay home? 

Thrifty Thursday - We’re Doing A Pantry Challenge

In case you’re not familiar, the Pantry Challenge is when you make a concentrated effort to stay out of the grocery store, and to use up what you have on hand.  The idea is to force yourself to use up the random things lingering in your cabinets and freezer, to get a little more creative in the kitchen, and to save money.

Good Cheap Eats hosts one every January.  You can read more about it here, and it’s not too late to join in.  It’s fun to interact with other people, and you can usually learn something; a new way of preparing something, creative uses for leftovers, etc.  Honestly, it’s kind of fun just to get a little (virtual) peek into other people’s kitchens.

We’ve decided to make January a Pantry Challenge month.  It seems like a great way to save some money this month.  And I have a tendency to seriously over shop (and overspend) at the grocery store.  I love grocery shopping.  I seem to use grocery shopping as a sort of retail therapy.  Shoe shopping is no temptation for me, but show me a great sale ad for any of our local grocery stores, and I tend to go way overboard.  The picture is the one cabinet I’m willing to show you. 

I’m trying to develop better habits, so a Pantry Challenge seemed like a good idea.  My goal is to keep the grocery spending this month between $50.00 and $60.00.  Based on what we have on hand, it seems doable.  I’m only planning to buy produce and dairy since we’re very well stocked on basically everything else. 

I went to Wal-Mart during lunch on Tuesday to buy some cold medicine.  Nick has a terrible cold of some sort, and I’ve been teetering on the edge of coming down with it, so we needed the cold medicine.  It was the first time I’ve been to a store this month.  I know it was only the 9th, but for me to go over a week without grocery shopping is progress.  Anyway, we needed milk and eggs, and a few vegetables so I decided to get them while I was there. 

Aldi would have been a cheaper option, but I really didn’t feel good, and just wanted to get everything in one stop so I wouldn’t have to stop at a second store after work.  I’m not counting the cold medicine or tissues in the food total since those aren’t groceries.  I spent $18.49 on actual groceries which included milk, eggs, bread, some produce, and apple juice.

I think that puts us mostly on track so stay in the $50.00 - $60.00 range for the month, so we’ll see how the rest of the month goes. 

So what about you?  Do you tend to go overboard in the grocery store?  Are you doing a Pantry Challenge this month?

Thrifty Thursday - The Kale Substitution Edition

One of the easiest ways to save money is to simply not buy things.  It seems like a no-brainer, really, but it can be hard at times.  We live close to a few different grocery stores, and I love grocery shopping.  That’s a good thing when it comes to shopping the sales, but not always a good thing when it comes to not buying things we don’t really need.  It’s so easy just to make a quick trip to the store for that one thing, and of course that always turns into buying several things.

We’re growing kale in our garden for the first time this year, and it is thriving.  I think it must be about the easiest food to grow because we have been inundated with kale.  I’m not complaining, but I really didn’t expect so much kale.  At this point I’m pretty much considering all of the kale that gets picked to be free.  I feel like we’ve already more than recouped our investment of seeds and soil.  I’ve also been trying to find new ways to use kale.

Last weekend I decided to make Spinach Alfredo for dinner.  I don’t follow an exact recipe; it’s usually something I make when I realize we have milk and/or cream that needs to be used up.  We didn’t have spinach, so I decided to substitute kale for the spinach.  I tore the kale into very small pieces, and then cooked everything exactly the way I would have with spinach.

It was delicious!  Kale Alfredo doesn’t have quite the same ring to it as Spinach Alfredo, but I thought it was every bit as good.  Nick said he prefers it with the kale.  It’s definitely going to be a repeat for us since we have an almost unlimited supply of kale right now, and even when the garden is finished for the year, kale is typically cheaper in the stores than spinach.

I know it’s a really, really small thing, but I see it as a step in the right direction.

So what about you?  Have you made any thrifty recipe substitutions lately?  Would you try Kale Alfredo?

Thrifty Thursday - The Realization That Something Needs To Change

We’ve recently decided to get serious about paying off debt and saving money.  A combination of things lead to this decision:

We’ve realized that we’re not in a position that allows either one us to take a job with much of a salary decrease.  Even if it’s a job that’s otherwise perfect, it just wouldn’t be feasible.  That severely limits options, and it’s not a good feeling.  Reducing debt would change that.  Even if it’s not something that we would opt to do, just the idea of being able to is empowering.

Without sharing stories that aren’t mine to share, we’ve had front row seats to what happens when you neglect retirement planning and saving.  It isn’t pretty.  And it’s definitely not a situation we want to find ourselves in thirty years from now.  We all know that time flies, so it makes sense to plan and save now.

And the more fun motivation is that we’ve realized we want to travel.  It’s something we’ve talked about, but only in vague terms along the lines of “wouldn’t that be fun/interesting/exciting”, but nothing beyond that.  Neither one of us have ever really been outside the south, and while we’re happy here, there are so many other places to see.

We recently spent an evening with some older friends, and they told us about their trip to Italy a few years ago.  It inspired us.  There’s a whole big world out there, and we’d like to see more than our tiny piece of it.  It’s not something that’s going to happen this year, or next, but we’ve set a major trip by the time we’re 40 as our goal.  We have yet to define exactly what “a major trip” means for us.  NYC?  Europe?  Alaska?  Some sort of cruise?   But we do know that it’s something we’ll have to save up for.  We’ll both be thirty-five by the end of the year, so we’re working on a five year plan.  It seems doable.  You have to have goals, right?

Long term goals seem to be harder sometimes.  Small steps can seem insignificant or pointless.  It’s so easy to get distracted or discouraged.  It can be hard to decide where to start.  Accountability helps.  At least it helps me.  So I’ve designated Thursday as Thrifty Thursday.  Every week I’ll share something that we’re doing to save, plug up the holes in the budget, or somehow reduce debt.

So what about you?  What are your long term goals?