I find that one of the greatest ways to save money is cooking at home. I have friends, male and female, who dine out for nearly every meal: breakfast, lunch, and dinner. They certainly have a good time eating out, and they do eat well! However, this is an expensive habit. What I think they fail to realize is that you really can prepare great tasting, restaurant-esque meals at home quickly and with minimal cost. I regularly make inexpensive meals that take less than half an hour of preparation time, with enough leftovers to eat for the next few days. When these same friends visit my home for a dinner party, they are enthralled with the menu. If only they knew how little I had spent! Further, when I prepare meals at home, I can create a variation of that meal and carry it for lunch the next day (i.e., baked chicken = chicken salad sandwich, chicken quesadilla, or a grilled chicken caesar salad).

There are many reasons people don’t cook at home, with fear/ignorance of the kitchen and limited cooking skills among those reasons. However, I believe that the biggest obstacle that prevents people from affordable home cooking is that they don’t have a kitchen that is stocked with basic staples. So they end up having to buy every single ingredient at once when they finally decide to try cooking something at home. The idea of this becomes so daunting for people that they ultimately throw in the towel and decide to order take-out. This is what I deem a “lose-lose” scenario. Not only does frequenting restaurants or ordering take-out daily add up, in terms of cost, but take-out food is usually higher in calories and loaded with a whole bunch of other “junk” that we really should be avoiding.

To prevent this “lose-lose” scenario, I suggest that you prepare in advance and begin to stock your pantry shelves today with the basic staples. By “staples” I mean ingredients that a lot of recipes call for, that will keep for a long time. We’re talking about making a very small investment that will ultimately allow you to create delicious meals with minimal fuss. The best part is that all you need spend is $150 and you may begin this process of stocking your kitchen with the basics! So, ladies, by sacrificing that one visit to the day spa for your monthly microdermabrasian you can cook at home for weeks on end.

Will this really save me money? It certainly will! It’s really quite simple. You see, when you already have certain basic staples stocked in the pantry, you are more likely to opt for home cooking rather than eating out. The reason: the ingredients are already on-hand and, thus, preparing your choice meal requires little to no effort (e.g., trips to the grocery store). With each trip to the grocery store you can add more to your repertoire of kitchen staples. I think you’ll discover that, not only are you saving money, but home-prepared food is much more delish than restaurant-food!

Here is my shopping list of staple ingredients for a well-stocked kitchen.

Baking
All-purpose flour
Baking powder
Brown sugar
Condensed Milk
Corn meal
Corn starch
Evaporated Milk
Vanilla
White Sugar
Yeast

Herbs & Spices
Black pepper
Chicken bouillon cubes
Cilantro
Cinnamon
Crushed garlic
Garlic powder
Green seasoning (found in the international aisle of grocery store)
Nutmeg
Oregano
Onion powder
Sea salt
Seasoned Chicken Breader by House Autry

Oils, Stocks, Condiments
Beef stock
Chicken broth
Lemon juice
Olive oil
Red wine
Soy sauce

Tomato sauce
Vegetable oil
Vinegar
White wine
Worcestershire sauce

Miscellaneous
Cream of mushroom/celery/chicken soup (canned)
Pasta
Rice/Couscous

Ladies, what are your kitchen staples? What are those “must have” ingredients that you keep stocked in the pantry at all times?

Ladies, what are your kitchen staples? What are those “must have” ingredients that you keep stocked in the pantry at all times?

Share your own “frugal” kitchen tips with us!

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It’s my fault, I totally didn’t budget for any off these expenses. I knew that my hair appointment was coming up but didnt factor that in, didnt think the cat would get sick again so soon, and decided on a whim that we needed to get the carpet cleaned in the whole house. *sigh* But I’m learning the important lesson of thinking/budgeting ahead, so read on.

Scotch, the Alpha Cat our beloved kitty

Scotch is quite the rambunctious cat, always has been.

[Exhibit A: , yes that would be Scotch on top of the closet door trying to get to the high shelf in the closet :), mmhmmm yes ma'am ]

You can guarantee that he will get into something at least every 3-4 months. Well this time was no different. Since getting a new kitten, Max, we’ve been keeping Scotch and Max separate because Scotch is rather aggressive and often tries to hump Max when he thinks we aren’t looking. After a few solo nights in the cat room, Scotch in his infinite cat wisdom started digging up the carpet in an effort to dig under the door. All that is left are the exposed nails, and you guessed it, while digging for freedom he got a nasty little cut on his front paw. By the time we noticed, it was already swollen, smelly and crusted with blood and pus. We took him to our trusted vet, Capitol Hill Veterinary Clinic and they patched him up. [Sidebar: They are the absolute BEST vet in the DC area IMHO] My mom and best friend scoffed at the cost just to have him seen and given a few meds but after the scare we had in October I think the cost is well worth it. I wasn’t blogging back in October 2007 (well about personal finance) but we spent over $1000 on his vet bills in 6-8 weeks. No insurance because we just didnt think we would ever need it. But I am happy that we didnt resort to using the credit cards, all cash baby! However, its now February 2008 and we’ve already spent $237.50 on his new litter, meds, vet bill and shots. I want to rip my hair out for not getting the vet insurance sooner but we will sign up on our follow up visit on Monday.

Damage: $237.50

Lesson: Plan ahead for vet expenses, and sign up for pet insurance. We didn’t have pet (medical) care as a line item on our budget this year as we only factored in their food and toys. I think this will call for $40/month in an ING sub account for things like this but I want to see how much the vet insurance will cost us and what it covers. At this point we need it to cover routine visits and “I’m being a bad ass kitty and need help” visits. *sigh* While administering Scotch’s meds last night and treating Max for pink eye, my husband said “Baby, we’re parents now, LOL!”. He has a point, they are like our kids, never quite saw it like that, but hey I wouldn’t have it any other way.

Carpet Cleaning

We moved in here last June and we had the carpet cleaned with the Rug Doctor and another cheapie carpet cleaning service. At $8 a room, we got what we paid for and the Rug Doctor was garbage. I don’t think it made a significant difference in the overall carpet appearance. So I called up the company, Superior Fabric Cleaners, made the appointment and they came out yesterday. FABULOUS! They cleaned, sanitized, deodorized and treated the carpet, top to bottom! I came home and screamed! I can now say that we have a home and not a house. There’s something about having a CLEAN carpet that made everything else in here POP! So it was well worth it for me. Why is it a budget buster? It cost $450 not including tip But the house is rather large at 3000 square feet and the technicians had to factor that in.

Here are some pictures of the living room and basement:

Very pleased!

Damage: $550 including tip

Lesson Learned: PLAN PLAN PLAN for things like this. Could the carpet cleaning have waited? I’m sure, but with 2 animals and a broken vacuum cleaner it needed to be done.

Hair Salon

So I’ve had this appointment for months, LOL! This is one of the things I struggle with on my budget because it costs $150-$200 plus tip every 8 weeks. Sure, I could just do my own hair but yea not so much and I definitely wouldn’t change hairdressers because she does awesome work. If you’re a black woman reading this, then you know that we don’t switch hairdressers often and when you find someone you like, you stick with them. Nuff Said. BUT—>I should have factored this expense into the budget because with everything else it just hit me that this is way too much going on for one weekend.

Damage: $230 including tip

Lesson Learned: Budget hair appointments into monthly budget.

Total damage: $1017.50

As you can see my overall lesson here was to plan for things that I don’t normally think about with regards to our budget. They aren’t emergencies so it didn’t warrant dipping into the emergency fund but situations which sorta kinda warranted immediate action, well except for the carpet ad hair salon appointment. I’ve been bad I know, but February will be better. Wait, this all happened in February. Well, I’ll do better for the rest of the month, how’s that?

We still have to go to Lowes or Home Dept to get some stuff in order to increase our energy efficiency because Washington Gas and Pepco are getting out of control, more on that in another post. We’re going to seal all the windows and *gasp* turn down the thermostat to see how much of a difference it makes in next month’s bill. We do have friends staying with us so we are accounting for 4 people living here and not just 2. We also have random, somewhat planned trips to go down to the wharf and get crabs for the game later. SSHHH!!! This is soo not a good way to start February.
January spending coming up soon!

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(Source: FrugalFashionista)

Happy New Year!

Ive given a lot of thought to my look for the new year. Whike I think my style has evolved over the last few years, its time to take it to the next level in every area. I have already began updating my handbag collection to only include bags or purses that fits my style, not simply because it the new “it” bag. Ive fallen prey to that a couple times in 2007. I could have kicked myself when I saw that Zara had a similar version of the Yves St. Laurent Muse bag in their store a few weeks ago. Needless to say I was pissed. My name is Ginger and I have a problem. Moving on—-> Last year I threw out LOTS of clothes in an effort to revamp my wardrobe and its coming along nicely. I learned the hard lesson of shopping at cheapie stores like Newport News and La Redoute and never again. While I am on a budget, I am not willing to buy clothes that will fall apart after only a few washes. I would rather save and spend money on classic, quality clothing that will last me a while.

I plan to revamp in the following areas:

Hair

Im rather stubborn in this area as I just reached my hair length goals. I am currently an inch past armpit when stretched/straightened and not so open permanent color. So I havent quite decided yet. Whatever I choose probabaly won’t involve me cutting MY hair because I need my cury kinkies in the summr as they love to roam free. Tracee Eillis Ross is my hair idol so I need to work this out!

Makeup

I am not a fan of the wild and bright makeup color choices. Over the years I stuck with the more earthy neutral tones with an occasional pop when going out. Ive been a Mary Kay girl for a few years now and I really do like their foundations. However, I found an even cheaper alternative, Milan Minerals. They are toted to be the best mineral makeup for African American skin and since trying them out I must concur! The application is smooth and easy, almost like brushing on a new clear, even, bright layer of skin. I have yellow undertones and get about 4 shades lighter in the winter so I only have to mix in a new shade when I change seasons. Why is this a change for me? I don’t look as made up as I do with Mary Kaywhich gives my skin a cleaner look. I also plan to order a few of their shadows, brushes and colored pencils. As a treat to myself I an going to ask the makeup artist who did my wedding makeup to come over and give me a few tips. Ive yet to learn the art of placing eyeliner on my bottom lid without looking like a hooker on New York Ave.

Clothing:

I think I can do way better in this area by only purchasing quality, classic clothing that fits my body shape and personal style. As of late, I havent been one to stay with every trend but I like to remain up to date with each season. While I am still trying to figure out my personal style, I’d like it to evolve into classy-chic. I have the former but working on the latter, LOL! My issue in the past is that Ive shopped for clothes that didnt hold up after a few washes and had to throw those out with the last batch. I also need to take care of my clothes better than I do now. Since revamping my wardrobe, most items are Dry Clean Only so whereas I used to take a chance in the washer with those items, now I know I need to either hand wash or take them to the cleaners.

Shoes

Right now I have the basics with a few trendy pairs here and there. I am not a shoe fetish kinda gal but I need an update in this area. This season I was in love with the color block platforms:

(Source: Steal Style)

Still, I don’t think Im doing too bad, but I need an upgrade.

House and Home

I dont have too much to finish in this area. In the master bedroom we need a piece art to fill up the wall space and paint the walls. Otherwise it looks rather clean and contemporary, which I love. We still need a dining room set but my mom is sending us a table so we just have to get the chairs. I have a few things here and here to get but I don’t see myself focusing on it during the spring because I will be so busy. We have a furniture “fund” set up so we’re just going to save for it all and then at the end of the semester go shopping. Why not just buy it now? Because we have other priorities such as paying down more debt and I often take a while to obsess over something to make sure I like it. If only I could do this when it comes to clothes, LOL

But I plan to be better this year than I have in previous years, so no worries!

Happy New Year!

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