My dad, one of 17 in his family, grew up on a farm.
And they would butcher pigs. Dad used to tell me that everything except the pig's squeal was used in the butchering processs. He wasn't the first to share that saying, but its meaning certainly holds true: Nothing goes to waste.
Thankfully, I've taken that "nothing goes to waste" philosophy to my cooking. And it saved me in both time and money this week.
Want to save money? Try running your car on pure gas rather than fuel mixed with ethanol.
Last week, I took a road trip to Roanoke, Va.
Before I left York County, I filled up on gasoline that contains no ethanol. Only about three stations in the area sell pure gas. The rest peddle fuel that contains 10 percent ethanol.
I made the trip and still had a half tank left from my original fill-up some 300 miles back.
A week later, before I hit the road back to York, I filled up on gas that contained ethanol.
I took the same route and made the same one stop. When I arrived home, I had burned through three-quarters of a tank of gas.
Ethanol may have environmental benefits, but you're not saving any money behind the wheel.
To be clear, I never liked pork and sauerkraut when I was a kid. And mashed potatoes? Forget it.
But, my husband does and my son likes the pork. Those are reasons enough for making it. And after putting together a cheap and easy meal with pork and sauerkraut, I kind of like it now too. We all have to make some sacrifices. :-)
And making it in the crockpot? Holy simple.
I was bad today.
I went out to lunch with co-workers. I spent $6.96, including tip. But I feel guilty. I'm having buyer's remorse.
I spent or should I say wasted almost $7. And on what?
I order a a grilled cheese sandwich with bacon.
Honestly, it was a waste of money, not time, because it really was a nice break from the office.
I will do better in the future. So, again no more going out for lunch.
Lunch at Fujihana is a thing of the past. One of the most expensive places I have eaten for lunch.
And no more El Rodeo, though my bill was under five dollars if I didn't order a soda.
I recently went through my last month's expenses and found I spent almost $600 dollars on lunches and trips to Target. I can't even remember what I bought at Target.
So, on my Facebook account I declared I would not be going out to lunch with co-workers and that I would dearly miss Target.
How am I doing with this declaration of non-spending? Pretty good. I have packed all my lunches this week. And just so I could escape the office I went over to my friend/co-worker's apartment. She lives only a couple of minutes away from work, so it's very convenient.
As for spending money on things I don't need. I haven't this week. Actually, I haven't spent one dime, not even on a soda from the vending machine.
The weekend is soon approaching, but I have some cookouts to go to, so that will occupy my time nicely.
My Smart Mama column that will be published Monday in the Daily Record is about money as well and how my family coped with a job loss. Times are hard. But as individuals you need to look harder at what you spend and don't spend on your money on. My mantra is if I don't need it to breathe, then I don't need to buy it. And so far this week it's been working.
I will keep you updated on what I spend my money on in the near future.
