Another Way To Save Money

There are a few "tools" you are going to want to have on hand in the event of an emergency. Some will cost you quite a bit of money, such as generators and some won't. This is one of THE MOST useful tools I have and right now. 

See, my husband and I have made a commitment to eating at home 6 nights a week. We were both gaining weight from all the fast food full of fat and sugar. And another really interesting thing.... we would eat a meal and come home and find ourselves hungry within an hour. In addition, the prices for meals were going up and up and our food budget was out of control. So this year, we shopped with our tax return. We bought a freezer and organized our shelves and started storing and rotating food and supplies. Then we went to Costco and bought LOTS of good wholesome food. 

You may say, "I don't have time to make dinner every night" and that's where the crockpot comes in. I have a couple of really good books to recommend:  Make It Fast, Cook It Slow and More Make It Fast, Cook It Slow by Stephanie O'Dea. These books are FILLED with everything from breakfast to desserts you can make in the crockpot. 

What I do each day is right after breakfast (if I dont' have a weekly meal plan written up already) I think up dinner so I know when the time comes I will have something ready. If I know its going to be an especially busy day, I'll throw something into the crockpot and when I get home the house smells like dinner and within literally minutes, dinner is on the table. 


I know, you are thinking nothing but soups, stews and casseroles... WRONG! There are so many other ideas for putting meal packets in foil together and putting those in the crockpot, or making meat for tacos or burritos and I love the things you can serve over noodles like Beef Tips and Noodles. Yes, you can still make chili, stew, and just about any soup you can think up, but branch out and experiment. You'll be glad you did. The crockpot pictured is a 4 qt. size and I picked it up the end of last year around Christmas time for $14!! It was a bargain. Now I'm thinking in terms of turning on several at a time to cook a meal, appetizer and dessert all at the same time.


So decide to eat more meals at home each week. More... not every. We started by going out for about half the days of the week and eating at home the other half. Then after a little while, we only let ourselves eat out about 3 nights, then 2 and pretty soon... you won't even miss it! It's true. Everyday I'm looking at ways to make food LIKE the food I get out but not to eat out. Its WAY more frugal!!! And again, save money for the larger prep items. 


So keep your eyes open for sales on them and then get a couple! You'll be glad you did!