A Little Laundry Change

I never noticed how expensive dryer sheets can be!  I was all out and looked at Target to realize a box of an eco-friendly brand was $8 for 80 sheets.  Yikes!  With the laundry that we (2 + a dog) generate, that size box would last a couple months.  I remembered I had dryer balls at home.

I bought a pair for $5 to use while I was washing our down jackets and comforter.  So, I figured I would try them with our regular laundry.  I noticed a few great things.  #1- They generate no waste!  What could be more eco-friendly than that??? #2- My loads of laundry were drying at least 15 minutes faster.  #3- Our clothes were less wrinkled, our towels were fluffier, and easier to fold.

Money saved: $3 initially plus never having to buy dryer sheets again!

From FIOS to Cable

My husband was in charge of finding out how we can reduce to cost of our TV and internet service.  A high school friend of his works for Cablevision and was able to help us out with a great deal if we switched  to their service.  

So, we switched from FIOS with lots of fees and terrible customer service to a really upgraded package with DVR and a landline phone for a savings of over $50 per month!  

Way to Go, Hubs!  His next task is researching options to combine our car and renters insurance to reduce our payments.

Back to work for me...

My spring and summer lay-off of almost 7 weeks is ending in a few days and I'm heading back to my job as a dining services manager at a university.  So, I'll be back to making my regular pay instead of my unemployment.  (Surprisingly, not that much of a difference in the dollar amount when my benefits are taken out and the gas I use for my commute.)  But since I work in food service, this means free lunch (yay for the salad bar!  boo for the summer camp fried junk menu.), hand fruit, frozen yogurt, and club soda for me.

Going back to work will give me an idea of what to expect when the fall semester begins.  I'm hoping my scheduling manager and I can adjust my old schedule slightly to allow me to substitute teach 2 days a week.  Not only would that add some income, but it would give me some valuable paid experience in a classroom.

I'm not thrilled to go back to work and deal with the typical drama there, but I'm thankful I have a job that pays the bills, gives me benefits, and allows me to be back in school.  It was a nice "paid" vacation".  You know what would be even better?  If I get back to work and get a call about one of the many school jobs I applied for while on unemployment. :)  Here's hoping.

Weekend #1: Date Nights at Home

Let's face it...going out on a dinner date gets pricey.  A Friday or Saturday night dinner with a cocktail or other adult beverage for two of us can sometimes cost more than $70.  It really starts to add up.

So, with a little elbow grease to clean off our dining table and some planning, hubs and I had 2 really nice dinners at home on Friday and Saturday night.  On Friday, I made Slow Cooker Barbecued Pulled Pork from A Year of Slow Cooking.  After 12 hours in the slow cooker, it was AWESOME!  The recipe made enough for dinner that night, 3 containers for the freezer, and one container for the fridge.  The sauce was sweet with a little kick.  On Saturday, when we got home from class, I made Slow Cooker A-1 Dijon Steaks also from A Year of Slow Cooking.  The recipe could not have been easier, the steak was tender, and the flavor of the A-1 and dijon really worked well together.   To make both of these meals (both provided decent amounts of leftovers), veggies, and potatoes (either red or sweet), I spent about $40.  Not too shabby at all for my first attempt.

What did I learn for this week? Cooking 2 meals with meat, in this case, a pork shoulder and 2 decent sized steaks, can be expensive.  (Divided over the servings we have in leftovers, I suppose it isn't that bad.  But I know I can do better.)  So, next week, I'll plan to do one meaty entree and something either vegetarian or made with ground turkey breast (mega-healthy bargain at the local butcher) or frozen chicken breast tenders.  Also, the slow cooker is a HUGE time saver.  I'm so glad I found A Year of Slow Cooking.  A lot of the recipes have very little prep (no cooking before you put the ingredients in the crock) and provide us with leftovers.

Going retro...

I noticed that going retro with recipes is an easy way to cook more affordable meals.

Last night, I made  Impossibly Easy Low-Fat Cheeseburger Pie.  I found this recipe on SparkRecipes, which is a great resource for healthier recipes of all kinds.  It tasted just like a cheeseburger.  It gave us enough for dinner and enough for one of us to have leftovers for lunch one day this week.  If you've never made an Impossible Pie before, it is made with Bisquick (or Bisquick Heart Smart) and you just kind of mix the ingredients together and magically a crust separates from the other ingredients when you bake it.  Pretty cool.

I had to buy a big box of Bisquick Heart Smart for this recipe, so I see more impossible pies and probably pancakes in our future.

Getting started....

My husband and I are both in the midst of career changes to become teachers.  In 8 months, we both need to quit our full-time jobs to student teach.  Perhaps we should have been better planners and savers.  But we need to get down to business and start saving as much money as we can to prepare for what we like to call our "Spring of Sacrifice".

We agreed to only use cash (as opposed to debit cards) for necessary weekly expenses like groceries, gas, and entertainment.  I started clipping coupons, selling unused items on eBay, and planning a weekly menu to cook at home more often.  Together we've started keeping a change jar.  My husband is on the task of lowering our cable bill, combining our car insurance, and figuring out a plan to lower our monthly bills.

We're both really committed to becoming teachers and impacting children's lives in a positive way.  We know that cutting back and saving up is an important piece of this puzzle.  

This blog will chronicle our money-saving measures, cheap recipes we've enjoyed, and anything else we discover to help our savings account grow.