that better be a LAST resort. if the wires touch together when the pencil lead burns up, they can weld themselves together turning the length of wire into a red hot mess, or even cause the battery to explode. theres also the issue of severe burns or catching something on fire with the white hot pencil lead. this is a neat idea, but quite dangerous.
...the inside of your car has a dome light. Something to see by while you perform the process, so that you can get outside and take a look at the problem. But I agree, it's not the easiest solution, merely a last resort.
Don't mean to rain on your parade, but I see one almighty great flaw with this: I'm in the dark without a light - and I'm supposed to split a pencil down its centre, extract the lead, attach to leads to the 24V battery and twitch to the lead...
It would be the only time I hope there is a smoker in the car!
Why?
Because I'd burn their cigarette-lighter and all their matches before successfully splitting a pencil down its centre without breaking it into several dozen pieces. Both in frustration and improbability.
But the video is well produced, the font-choice, the muzac, yeah, whoever created that put a lot of dollars into into showing us one amazing act of frugality!
Maybe the peanut butter and carrots is a Maine thing, but yeah. Lots of kids brought it to school when I grew up. I conceed, it may not be for everybody, but it works for us.
Avacados with grilled chicken. Amen, whoever you are! I love this combination too. Add a little grilled bacon and some meaty tomato slices . . . heaven! We were in South America for a month or so this past winter. Ecuador and Peru. Avacados were dirt cheap, so guess what we picked up left and right for backpackers' picnics? Love 'em!
peanut butter and carrots? i've heard of celery and peanut butter or carrots and ranch, but thats a new one to me lol.
great post though...i HATE mayo, plus its really bad for you. if i do use anything in its place though, its a mashed up avocado because at least those calories are healthier while being absolutely dreamy with a grilled chicken sandwich :)
It's not so hard, once you accept the fact that you'll be hot and sweaty all the time. (My roommate and I turned off our air conditioning that year as well. We spent all day at an air conditioned office, so it wasn't a huge burden.)
One thing that helped in her case was that the building was old and had been designed without air conditioning in mind. It was just one story, built of concrete blocks, and had louvered windows that let the air flow through while still providing some security.
She (and the other people who lived in that building) all had ceiling fans in every room as well.
I never would have thought of E-Bay. We buy a lot of stuff when we are traveling internationally, but this is really a great idea. I'm definitely filing it for when we tear down this place and put up our larger actual home. We'll have lots of space to fill and we love art!
I haven't had the time to do the make your own card thing in years, but you are right, people really do appreciate them more. Some really great ideas, here!
As a Floridian, I can't imagine how she survived August without an Air Conditioner.
Nonetheless, I do admire her determination to Save Save Save! I think nowadays, with all the pressure from the media and the image of a young professional, it is harder for young people to save.
I'm a sucker for artichokes. You can put them on anything, and I'm happy.
My sister taught me the art of the spruced-up pizza. I've used the fresh dough sold at various stores, and that does work really well. Smells good, too. I've found that you can acutally get away with making a healthy pizza, too. Just go easy on the cheese and chop and drain all the other ingredients well so that they stay on.
I love homemade pizza! Friday nights are pizza nights at our house, and the kids make the pizza. I hardly ever have time to make homemade dough, plus I've never found a recipe that turns out very well. Our grocery store sells fresh pizza dough for 98 cents, so we use that instead. It's really tasty, and making pizza is really easy if you have the dough already made!
We make home made crust, but sometimes you just don't have the time. I have found Pita bread works great for a quick crust that pleases everyone. One local grocery sells 6 x-tra large pitas for $2.19. These crusts baked in the oven to melt cheese will get crispy and be a sort of thin crust. We eat a variety of types of pizza such as a light spread of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and cheese the pizza is great. Great home made pizza sauce also tastes great with pepperoni, veggies, meatballs, or whatever you have onhand. The trick is quality toppings on the simple crust.
I think your lunch group at work sounds great! Not having to worry about lunch three days a week sounds divine. And with so many ways to make larger batch cooking more affordable, this approach is probably an even bigger money saver. Good job!
I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I'm part of a lunch group at work: four of us take turns bringing in lunch for each other. I have home-made delicious lunch provided to me every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, in exchange for bringing in lunch for four on Wednesday.
We talked about it for ages, but then decided to just go for it, and it's been heavenly. Yeah, there's a bit of performance anxiety involved, but everyone is so appreciative that even a simple salad and sandwich is totally acceptable.
We've chosen to keep it vegetarian, and we got real plates and silverware at Goodwill, which seems befitting the lovingly-made food.
...but when I lived in London, a very cool pizza place called Pizza Xpress (it's more swanky than it sounds) would crack an egg over the pizza 7 mins before it was due to finish cooking. The result is excellent, it gives the pizza some extra flavor and the yolk melts into it, making it very moist and delicious. I dare anyone to try it. Who knows, you may love it like I do.
Hi Ladies! I agree on the tortillas and crackers really providing the basis for some helpful and affordable "lunch on the fly" ideas. Linsey, I just checked out your gourmet pizza post . .. fabulous!
On the crackers, I have some recipes kicking around from a Martha Steward episode where you could make up your own dough and roll it into a log and freeze. Then you would slice off thin round sections and bake them up for homemade gourmet crackers. Maybe I should try that sooner rather than later. I do have some bulk dry mix recipes that we use in mass to help keep a handle on the food budget. If you want to check them out they are at our family blog: http://www.webesharin.wordpress.com Just check under the bulk / OAMC recipes section. Linsey, there's one there for bulk pizza crust mix. It makes a thick deep dish type of crust though, so if you're a thin crust girl, that recipe might not be for you. There's also a bulk tortilla mix recipe, one for bulk corn bread and a major budget saver, the dry "cream of whatever" soup mix that's fat free.
Thanks for posting some additional ideas so quickly. I'm still trying to find time to look through the archives here for all the great blog posts.
I have been in both states, and I agree that while they may look the same from a distance, there is definitely a difference. The emotional and mental stressors of living in poverty can age a person far more than making the calculated decisions to "do without."
I appreciate you sharing wisdom with myself and the readers! Maybe people wouldn't be so quick to judge those that choose not to indulge, if they knew the hidden benefits. Great article!
Rockin' post! David and I LOVE gourmet pizza and love experimenting with different kinds at home. We have a recipe for bulk homemade crust mix and try to make it if not once a week, at least a couple of times a month. (In fact, we just made breakfast pizza today - yum)
I think what's cool about having strategies for making great pizza at home is that it's a food item most people like to indulge in when they have the cash. Making some great versions at home really makes you feel like you're living large.
And boy, do I hear you on the wine. It's what we run out of instead of milk at our house. Can't wait to try your Greek toppings idea. Good job!
I brown bag for my hubby every day. It gets kind of boring, but if I put any combination of rice, beans, meat and cheese in a tortilla and wrap it in some wax paper and foil, he is happy! I also wrap odds and ends in them too: sloppy joe meat, lunch meat and cheese, leftover pot roast, etc. Makes for good variety from the sandwich bread.
I'm all over that chicken salad with curry powder! I throw some diced apples in there too. Gives it a nice sweet, crunchy texture.
that better be a LAST resort. if the wires touch together when the pencil lead burns up, they can weld themselves together turning the length of wire into a red hot mess, or even cause the battery to explode. theres also the issue of severe burns or catching something on fire with the white hot pencil lead. this is a neat idea, but quite dangerous.
...the inside of your car has a dome light. Something to see by while you perform the process, so that you can get outside and take a look at the problem. But I agree, it's not the easiest solution, merely a last resort.
Don't mean to rain on your parade, but I see one almighty great flaw with this: I'm in the dark without a light - and I'm supposed to split a pencil down its centre, extract the lead, attach to leads to the 24V battery and twitch to the lead...
It would be the only time I hope there is a smoker in the car!
Why?
Because I'd burn their cigarette-lighter and all their matches before successfully splitting a pencil down its centre without breaking it into several dozen pieces. Both in frustration and improbability.
But the video is well produced, the font-choice, the muzac, yeah, whoever created that put a lot of dollars into into showing us one amazing act of frugality!
Maybe the peanut butter and carrots is a Maine thing, but yeah. Lots of kids brought it to school when I grew up. I conceed, it may not be for everybody, but it works for us.
Avacados with grilled chicken. Amen, whoever you are! I love this combination too. Add a little grilled bacon and some meaty tomato slices . . . heaven! We were in South America for a month or so this past winter. Ecuador and Peru. Avacados were dirt cheap, so guess what we picked up left and right for backpackers' picnics? Love 'em!
peanut butter and carrots? i've heard of celery and peanut butter or carrots and ranch, but thats a new one to me lol.
great post though...i HATE mayo, plus its really bad for you. if i do use anything in its place though, its a mashed up avocado because at least those calories are healthier while being absolutely dreamy with a grilled chicken sandwich :)
It's not so hard, once you accept the fact that you'll be hot and sweaty all the time. (My roommate and I turned off our air conditioning that year as well. We spent all day at an air conditioned office, so it wasn't a huge burden.)
One thing that helped in her case was that the building was old and had been designed without air conditioning in mind. It was just one story, built of concrete blocks, and had louvered windows that let the air flow through while still providing some security.
She (and the other people who lived in that building) all had ceiling fans in every room as well.
Great article, Andrea!
I never would have thought of E-Bay. We buy a lot of stuff when we are traveling internationally, but this is really a great idea. I'm definitely filing it for when we tear down this place and put up our larger actual home. We'll have lots of space to fill and we love art!
Thanks again for the tip!
Wow.
Sorry I missed this one.
These are really great, Paul!
I haven't had the time to do the make your own card thing in years, but you are right, people really do appreciate them more. Some really great ideas, here!
As a Floridian, I can't imagine how she survived August without an Air Conditioner.
Nonetheless, I do admire her determination to Save Save Save! I think nowadays, with all the pressure from the media and the image of a young professional, it is harder for young people to save.
I generally don't trust food advice from the Internet but this one is especially awesome. thank you wisebread!
I'm a sucker for artichokes. You can put them on anything, and I'm happy.
My sister taught me the art of the spruced-up pizza. I've used the fresh dough sold at various stores, and that does work really well. Smells good, too. I've found that you can acutally get away with making a healthy pizza, too. Just go easy on the cheese and chop and drain all the other ingredients well so that they stay on.
Heaven!
I love homemade pizza! Friday nights are pizza nights at our house, and the kids make the pizza. I hardly ever have time to make homemade dough, plus I've never found a recipe that turns out very well. Our grocery store sells fresh pizza dough for 98 cents, so we use that instead. It's really tasty, and making pizza is really easy if you have the dough already made!
We make home made crust, but sometimes you just don't have the time. I have found Pita bread works great for a quick crust that pleases everyone. One local grocery sells 6 x-tra large pitas for $2.19. These crusts baked in the oven to melt cheese will get crispy and be a sort of thin crust. We eat a variety of types of pizza such as a light spread of Extra Virgin Olive Oil, garlic and cheese the pizza is great. Great home made pizza sauce also tastes great with pepperoni, veggies, meatballs, or whatever you have onhand. The trick is quality toppings on the simple crust.
Barb C.
I think your lunch group at work sounds great! Not having to worry about lunch three days a week sounds divine. And with so many ways to make larger batch cooking more affordable, this approach is probably an even bigger money saver. Good job!
I feel like the luckiest person in the world because I'm part of a lunch group at work: four of us take turns bringing in lunch for each other. I have home-made delicious lunch provided to me every Monday, Tuesday, and Thursday, in exchange for bringing in lunch for four on Wednesday.
We talked about it for ages, but then decided to just go for it, and it's been heavenly. Yeah, there's a bit of performance anxiety involved, but everyone is so appreciative that even a simple salad and sandwich is totally acceptable.
We've chosen to keep it vegetarian, and we got real plates and silverware at Goodwill, which seems befitting the lovingly-made food.
...but when I lived in London, a very cool pizza place called Pizza Xpress (it's more swanky than it sounds) would crack an egg over the pizza 7 mins before it was due to finish cooking. The result is excellent, it gives the pizza some extra flavor and the yolk melts into it, making it very moist and delicious. I dare anyone to try it. Who knows, you may love it like I do.
Just teasing! I always doctor up frozen pizza. I'm going to have to try out some of your suggestions. Good post!
I guess your son owes her a new hood. I would flip out too if so if someone dented a brand new car I purchased.
Thanks, everyone, for the kind words.
Hi Ladies! I agree on the tortillas and crackers really providing the basis for some helpful and affordable "lunch on the fly" ideas. Linsey, I just checked out your gourmet pizza post . .. fabulous!
On the crackers, I have some recipes kicking around from a Martha Steward episode where you could make up your own dough and roll it into a log and freeze. Then you would slice off thin round sections and bake them up for homemade gourmet crackers. Maybe I should try that sooner rather than later. I do have some bulk dry mix recipes that we use in mass to help keep a handle on the food budget. If you want to check them out they are at our family blog: http://www.webesharin.wordpress.com Just check under the bulk / OAMC recipes section. Linsey, there's one there for bulk pizza crust mix. It makes a thick deep dish type of crust though, so if you're a thin crust girl, that recipe might not be for you. There's also a bulk tortilla mix recipe, one for bulk corn bread and a major budget saver, the dry "cream of whatever" soup mix that's fat free.
Thanks for posting some additional ideas so quickly. I'm still trying to find time to look through the archives here for all the great blog posts.
I have been in both states, and I agree that while they may look the same from a distance, there is definitely a difference. The emotional and mental stressors of living in poverty can age a person far more than making the calculated decisions to "do without."
I appreciate you sharing wisdom with myself and the readers! Maybe people wouldn't be so quick to judge those that choose not to indulge, if they knew the hidden benefits. Great article!
Rockin' post! David and I LOVE gourmet pizza and love experimenting with different kinds at home. We have a recipe for bulk homemade crust mix and try to make it if not once a week, at least a couple of times a month. (In fact, we just made breakfast pizza today - yum)
I think what's cool about having strategies for making great pizza at home is that it's a food item most people like to indulge in when they have the cash. Making some great versions at home really makes you feel like you're living large.
And boy, do I hear you on the wine. It's what we run out of instead of milk at our house. Can't wait to try your Greek toppings idea. Good job!
I brown bag for my hubby every day. It gets kind of boring, but if I put any combination of rice, beans, meat and cheese in a tortilla and wrap it in some wax paper and foil, he is happy! I also wrap odds and ends in them too: sloppy joe meat, lunch meat and cheese, leftover pot roast, etc. Makes for good variety from the sandwich bread.