Recent comments

  • Frugal Gluten-Free Living: French Bread in Under an Hour   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Yes! Absolutely. The texture will probably remain nearly the same since tapioca flour is a starch, just like cornstarch. Also, look into potato starch and experiment with that. I've had great success when I've used tapioca flour in baking. I typically use it for more delicate textured treats, like cakes and tea cookies. It should be a great substitute.

  • Ask the Readers: What Money Advice are You Sick Of? (Chance to Win $20!)   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Yes I paid off dept. Get a part time job, coupons, plan your meals around weekly sales. coupons, Turn down, turn off, use less. yada yada yada I even work for free in hope of landing a job. I was even told at a job that I worked to well and thats Not what I was told to do. oh did I mention coupons, 101 ways to cook chicken. Aarrrggg

  • Organize a Room for $10 with No Extra Effort   15 years 41 weeks ago

    If you work at an office, bring home those sturdy computer paper boxes. They are great for storing just about anything, and they are all the same size (unless you mix regular and legal).

  • Save Money: Take the Boring Challenge   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Mend your underwear and nightclothes instead of buying new.

  • Save Money: Take the Boring Challenge   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Save all that money, put it towards a vacation, and suddenly you aren't so boring!

  • Save Money: Take the Boring Challenge   15 years 41 weeks ago

    I would buy underwear, sox, shoes, and swimsuits new.

  • Save Money: Take the Boring Challenge   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Depends how far you live from work. I live in Chicago & take transit to work. (I choose to be carless.) If I worked to and from work, it would take me a total of 5 hours. Now I'd have great legs and a flat tummy if I did that, but I'd never get anything done!

  • Buy Your Groceries European-Style   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Who has time to shop every day? I do stock up on non-perishable items if they are on sale, however.

  • 5 Expenses to Ditch After Age 30   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Except for entertainment and rent, I don't think you should EVER pay for the stuff you listed above. It's nice to say you shouldn't rent after age 30, but you have to keep in mind that lots of people are just finishing up paying off their college debts at 30, and some STILL are. And if you are 30 right now (2010), you might be afraid to buy a home in this economy, even though prices & interest rates are low. What if you lose your job?

  • Sex Up Your Sandwich: Ideas for Budget Conscious Brown Baggers   15 years 41 weeks ago

    This a great post, thanks for this! It is always helpful to find articles like. People would not want to get stuck to eating the same sandwich everyday that it why it nice to get the ideas from blogs like this. Thanks for this again! Hope to read more!

  • Living Well on a Feast to Famine Income   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Great post. On kind of the opposite side, I have variable expenses. For example, my kids have sports camps they must attend for high school sports every summer. The total cost for all the camps is around 1200 dollars. So I put 100 dollars away every month into a Smarty Pig account so the expense is not a shock to my checkbook when July rolls around.

    You are so right that having information is the key to make any variable income or expense manageable. You are very organized and seem to be doing a great job!

  • Save Money: Take the Boring Challenge   15 years 41 weeks ago

    If your grandpa didn't give you this van, you would've paid $40,000 for a different car? I kind of doubt that.

  • Christmas Shopping With Fake Money: Time to Get Started   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Those are some great ideas to cut costs and enjoy the season without having to use debt to finance a holiday! Frugality at its finest! :-)

  • Frugal Gluten-Free Living: French Bread in Under an Hour   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Is it okay to use tapioca flour in your other bread recipes you've posted on WiseBread? (instead of cornstarch, which I'm supposed to avoid)

    heather (at) heatherbrandt (dot) com

  • Why Do a Credit Card Balance Transfer, and How?   15 years 41 weeks ago

    I was lucky enough to have the option to choose a low apr for the balance of the card. My husband had made a mistake and borrowed a lot of money for a business investment, not realizing that the introductory APR was for only three months. When we realized what had happened, I transferred the remaining balance onto two cards at low (under 6%) for the life of the balance. There is no way I could have paid off the balance during the introductory rate had I chosen the 0% option. Now all my debt is below 6% and I make great progress paying it down every month. People need to realize that a balance transfer fee paid several times can reduce your savings substantially. Also, playing the credit card transfer game too much can have a negative effect on your credit.

  • Ask the Readers: What Money Advice are You Sick Of? (Chance to Win $20!)   15 years 41 weeks ago

    I hate hearing about about the percentages- 30% of your income should go to housing, etc. etc. It really all depends on what your income is!

    As well, I hate the coffee example: "Instead of going for a daily coffee, if you saved that money, in 20 years you would have X dollars". You could do this example with anything; people need to learn the basics of saving, not how to cut things out of their lives to be happier later- let's all be happy now, but for less!

  • Christmas Shopping With Fake Money: Time to Get Started   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Great stuff. It's also a great way to budget for Christmas and encouraging earning free money if you limit your spending to the fake money...

  • Save Money: Take the Boring Challenge   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Most of these tips are frugal, not boring : )

    Here's boring: devise your own uniform. Cuts down on clothing and accessory expenses; speeds you out the door in the morning. For summer, mine is hawaiian or other wildly patterned shirts, basic chinos and earth shoes. For spring and fall, add a cardigan. For winter, switch to flannel shirts and jeans, w/same sweater if chilly.

    This works especially well if you grew up being taught that clean, neat and covered were more important than fashion. And if your parents had given up on affording anything other than "appropriate enough" attire for the whole family!

    And it's only slightly less boring than buying only beige clothes, which one of my college friends did. Any combination of items worked!

  • Cooking from Scratch: Where's the Work?   15 years 41 weeks ago

    I never use the bread hook in my stand mixer when I make bread - just the regular old whisk-type attachment. Once I think it's about done I take it out and knead it for 3-5 minutes by hand. Turns out perfectly for me. Using a Kitchen-aid, not sure how well other models would work with this.

  • How to Make Moonshine   15 years 41 weeks ago

    So you just came across 10 pounds of used crushed grapes some had made wine from? So did I. I added 10 pounds of sugar and enough water to make 5 gallons of wash. With the added sugar in the grapes, I expect a little over 14% alcohol. At 5 gallons, I should be able to pull off about a half a gallon of 140 proof, or 70%, alcohol. After fermenting it, you can try to pull the alcohol out of the skins, but I will just squeeze them and distill.

  • How to Save Money at the Butcher's   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Sara - how about we keep the discussion to what was written in the article, rather than trying to preach your own views. If I wanted a discussion on whether eating meat is ethical and moral I would have searched for it.

    I am not against one way or the other, I just don't like to be preached to about someone else's way of living, unless I have asked for it.

  • Living Well on a Feast to Famine Income   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Great post. These tips will help people with regular income too. For example, saving through out the year for an annual expense (insurance premium) or an irregular expense (car servicing) will help in regulating the debt repayment & savings.

  • Ask the Readers: What Money Advice are You Sick Of? (Chance to Win $20!)   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Wow, there are so many things. I think what I'm most sick of is advice that tells people (like me) who are in debt that the best way to get financially healthy is to pay off your debt. Um, duh. Thanks. Doing that. Have any other words of wisdom?

  • I Went Christmas Shopping With Fake Money   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Do you also do surveys or test products?

    I have managed to weed out all the bogus or worthless survey sites down to the ones I only make either cash by PayPal or check, Amazon Gift Cards, and more If you are like me, you would love it! I haven't had to use my own money on my kids' clothes, Xmas and B-day gifts, extra special things for myself, and more since signing up! If you are interested, let me know and I can direct you to all the legitimate ones. I am a SAHM, so I have all day to do the surveys. The more sites you belong to, the more you make.

    I also do what you do, but I haven't done Swagbucks, but another site just like it...

    If any of you are interested in doing surveys, it really is worth it if you have the patience and like to answer surveys. Let me know :)

  • Ask the Readers: What Money Advice are You Sick Of? (Chance to Win $20!)   15 years 41 weeks ago

    Sick of getting the obvious ideas for advice.
    1. Skip the lattes, daily newspaper, & impulse purchases
    2. Pay down the credit cards
    3. Pack a lunch
    4. Carpool, bike or use public transport
    5. Cancel cable
    6. Turn out the lights - and other obvious energy saving 'tips' for the home -fluorescent lights, insulation, etc
    Anyone can think of these things. It's annoying to find them in published articles and lists. If I'm going to click to read, I want to be rewarded with new ideas. Not retreads.