An $8 date

We've made it a priority in our marriage to have a date every week. This may sound expensive, but our dates are rarely the traditional dinner and a movie type dates. In fact, the one time we did eat out and see a movie the same day, it was lunch and a matinée. 

 For our most recent date, we took a long walk downtown.

 We walked along the canal...

 watched the local animals...

had fun taking photos...

 

 watched part of a free concert that happened to be going on...

and saw parts of the city we'd never seen before, like the central library.

(It's pretty epic.)

And we just had fun.

We bought some sorbet at the mall, which was our only expense other than the unavoidable parking costs. 

 

It was one of the best dates we've had in a while!

Being a One Car Family

One cost-cutting measure I've seen recommended numerous times is becoming a one car family. Ugh. Every time I saw someone make that suggestion, I cringed. I vowed that would never happen in our family. I'm sure part of my thinking came from my grandmother, who had her own car despite the fact that she almost never drove. Cutting back to one car just seemed too radical.

I started to think a little differently when we moved at the beginning of this year. Instead of being 20 miles away from work, my commute is about 0.4 miles. In other words, I can walk to work, home for lunch, back to work, and back home in less time than it took me to drive to work before. Do we really need another car when I'm that close? Even if the weather conditions make it unsafe for me to walk, it wouldn't be too inconvenient for a coworker to give me a ride. In fact, three people offered to take me home one day when it was snowing.

I still resisted the idea of going down to one car. I wanted to at least have the option to drive. But two weeks ago, Nathan's car died. Completely died. There's still a chance it could be fixed, even though we've been advised not to put another dime into it, but so far we haven't messed with it. Nathan has been driving my car to work, and I've walked every day, even in rain and snow. And guess what? It hasn't been that bad. Will we buy a replacement car? Maybe..maybe not. It will of course be necessary when we move or if I change jobs, but for now, one car is actually okay.

There are several advantages of not having a second car and walking to work...

• I'm forced to get some exercise.
• The walk to work makes me much more awake and ready to start my work day.
• I can't go buy fast food for lunch (at least not on my own).
• I sometimes see geese, ducks, and killdeer on my commute.  
• We save money on gas, even if not a lot. 
• If we do get rid of the second car, we'll save on insurance and maintenance. 

And the disadvantages?

• I don't feel like jogging when I get home. (I do walk another mile with Nenya though.)
• If Nathan has car trouble, I can't go pick him up.
• I can't run errands during lunch.
• It's not easy to go to doctor's appointments, although I found a dentist right by work.
• People think I'm weird. Walking commutes are rare in the suburbs I guess.
• I don't like inconveniencing people, so I hate asking for rides.

We aren't sure what to do about our car situation for the time being, but at least I know we can survive with one car.


Are you, or have you ever been, a one car family? If not, would you ever want to be one?


 

Review: The Money Saving Mom's Budget

With all the books and blogs out there about financial management and saving money, it’s difficult to know which ones are worth reading. When I first started trying to figure out couponing in the spring of 2010, I was reading at least six blogs on the topic. It wasn’t long before I’d unsubscribed from all of them except for one local blog and Money Saving Mom, written by blogger Crystal Paine. What set this blog apart? I began reading during the middle of a series on how Crystal and her husband paid cash for their first home. And she wasn’t even 30 yet! She knows her stuff.

I was excited to read Crystal’s book The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, and even more excited to have the privilege of receiving an advance copy. By the end of the first chapter, I knew I would not be disappointed. This isn’t just a book of money saving tips that you’ve already heard; it’s a book that helps you discover what you want to achieve and then shows you the steps you can take to achieve it. At first glance, the second chapter, “Streamline Your Life and Cut the Clutter,” isn’t even about money at all, but it’s possibly the most important one.

Although some of the concepts will seem a little basic to those who are a little more financially stable, such as the “secret formula” of creating a budget and saving $60 a year, unless you have met all the financial goals you ever hope to achieve, you will learn something from this book. My husband and I have had a written budget since the beginning of our marriage, but I still enjoyed reading through the chapter on budgeting since our system is far from perfect. And if you’re worried this book will tell you that you have to live on beans and rice and never have any fun until you’ve achieved your financial goals, you will be happy to see chapter eight: “Going out on the Town Without Going Broke.” It’s a book for real people.

What I love most is that Crystal shares this wealth of information in a way that is like a friend cheering you on, leaving you inspired rather than discouraged. Most of the time when a book I’m reading gives some “exercise” to do, I brush it off and just keep reading. But when Crystal talks about setting financial goals, I actually thought about what financial goal we could achieve in the next six months to a year. There’s a lot of passion in this book.

Crystal Paine’s passion for helping others is truly evident in her reason for publishing this book. While originally hesitant to accept the book deal, she realized what an impact it could have if she gave all the proceeds away. And that’s what she is doing: all of her proceeds will support Compassion International. When you buy a copy of The Money Saving Mom’s Budget, you will be giving money to a Child Survival Program in the Dominican Republic that offers life-saving health and medical care to expectant moms, young moms, and at-risk babies and young children.

Want to win a copy of The Money Saving Mom's Budget? Just leave a comment!

For additional entries (leave a separate comment for each entry):

1. Like Newlywed Trek on Facebook and leave a comment telling me you liked the page.

2. Follow Newlywed Trek on Twitter and leave a comment telling me you followed.

Be sure to leave a link to your blog or your e-mail address so I can contact you!

The giveaway will end January 18, 2012. Winner will be announced January 19.

Brand Loyalty

For the most part, I'm not very brand loyal. I buy whatever brand I can get for lowest price at the time. I have no problem buying Meijer brand toilet paper or Kroger brand salad dressing, and I'm currently using Suave shampoo and Herbal Essences conditioner.

I think it's interesting to see what brands people insist on buying - a certain kind of diapers, a particular brand of toilet paper. I searched our apartment for cases of brand loyalty and found three. I will not compromise when it comes to these three items!

1. Crest Cinnamon Rush toothpaste

Nathan and I were both using this toothpaste before we met. It's not so much a case of brand preference as it is flavor preference. Neither of us like mint flavor, and this is the best non-mint toothpaste out there. Even if it costs $3 and I can get another kind for free, I'm sticking with the cinnamon.

2. Clean & Clear persa-gel 10

Not all creams with 10% benzoyl peroxide are created equal. This is the only one I've found that doesn't leave a flaky residue. It goes on clean and clear!

3. Lemi Shine dishwasher detergent

This stuff is amazing! A Target cashier once referred to it as "gold" when I was buying it. Until we move somewhere without super hard water, this is the only detergent I will put in my dishwasher. It's worth the extra money to not have white powder on all our dishes and utensils. The detergent I use for the pre-wash is still whatever is cheap though.

How about you? What are the brands you have to buy?

What to Do with Stale Cereal (Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars)

I hate letting food go to waste. I do my best to make sure we use food before it goes bad, but sometimes we still have some wilted lettuce or sour chicken broth. When we ended up with 3 cups of Cheerios that were too stale to eat, I really didn't want to throw them out.

With just four other ingredients, I was able to use the Cheerios to make some cereal bars. You couldn't tell the Cheerios were stale, especially after a day or so. I was pleasantly surprised at how much better these are than the cereal bars you can buy at the store. I bought some Cheerios and Cinnamon Toast Crunch bars once since they were cheap, and five months later we still have one left. Nathan devoured these homemade ones.


Chocolate Peanut Butter Cheerios Bars 
(Adapted from The Homesteading Housewife)

3 cups Cheerios

1/2 cup sugar

1/2 cup honey

1/2 cup peanut butter (I used crunchy)
1 tablespoon unsweetened cocoa powder

Combine the honey and sugar together over medium heat and bring to a boil. Once the sugar is dissolved, remove from heat.

Add the peanut butter and stir until it's well blended. (As you can tell by the flame in this photo, I forgot the "remove from heat" part of the previous step.)

Stir in the cocoa powder until it's mixed in.

Pour the chocolaty peanut butter goodness on top of your Cheerios and mix until the Cheerios are coated.

And pour the Cheerios mixture into a buttered 9x9 pan (I used an 8x8 pan since I don't have a 9x9).

Once they've cooled, cut the pan into squares. If you let them cool in the refrigerator too long, you will probably need a saw. Nathan managed to cut them after a lot of work with a big knife.

What ways have you found to use up food that is a little past its prime?

Shared at Frugal Friday on Life as Mom.

Our Labor Day Weekend

We spent a lot of our three-day weekend working on more decluttering. We filled Nathan's trunk (a huge one!) with boxes and bags of excess to take to Goodwill. We also sold a box of books at Half Price Books for $11.50 (and managed to leave the store with $3). 

We continued weeding out the clutter after the Goodwill trip. I spent time going through my dresser, asking questions like how many pairs of Christmas socks is excessive? Nathan went through his closet and found several shirts, pants, and ties he didn't need. We came up with enough extra clothes between the two of us to fill at least another trash bag!

Marsh was tripling coupons again this weekend, so we had to make a trip there. We got all of this for $10.65, and they weren't even tripling $1 coupons this time. That definitely topped my Memorial Day triple coupon shopping. It was fun having Nathan with me to help me decide what to buy and to watch my couponing skills in action. He said I "kicked some serious tail."

(An old photo. It wasn't that cold Monday.)

While we spent a lot of Monday relaxing, we were very active for some of the day. We started out the day by taking Nenya on a two and a half mile walk, and later Nathan and I biked another 11 miles. Not bad for two people who have hardly exercised at all the past year!

It wasn't anything too exciting, but we have so many weekends with planned events or traveling out of town that it's nice to just stay at home sometimes!

10 Small Ways I'm Cutting Costs

Now that we're currently living on just my income, we need to identify areas where we can cut back on our spending. It's a great opportunity to refocus on what necessities really are and how we can save money on those things we do have to buy.

These are a few small actions I've taken (or plan on taking) to help us live on as little as possible. Even if this season of one income is very short, some of these changes will hopefully become permanent and help us reach our financial goals.

1. Not getting my hair cut

This may sound extreme to some, but for me it was an easy decision to make. I've only been getting regular haircuts for the past year, so going without one for a while won't bother me. Of course I'm hoping Nathan will find a new job before I'm due for a haircut anyway.

2. Stepping up my couponing game.

I have no desire to look through recycle bins for coupons, but I need to make better use of the ones I have. I've gotten a little lazy lately and let some good ones expire.

3. Buying cheaper razors

I'm normally not a brand loyal person, but I've been using Schick Quatro razors for years. I decided to switch to two-blade razors that were 75% cheaper. This has turned out to be a painful decision (literally), but I think I can handle it for a while.

4. Only grocery shopping every two weeks

It's too early to know if this change will actually save us money, but I think it will. If nothing else, I'll be spending less time shopping and less money on gas than I was when I shopped once a week.

5. Temporarily stopping HSA contributions

Right now, part of each of my paychecks goes directly into our Health Savings Account. If the unemployment continues for another month or so, I'll stop making that contribution. We already have enough money between out HSA and emergency fund to cover our out of pocket maximum.

6. Only buying 1% milk

For a year I've been buying skim for me and 1% for Nathan. I finally decided that I'm not going to become obese from drinking 1% milk, so I've stopped buying skim. With the two of us sharing one gallon, we're much less likely to waste any because it's gone bad. The extra refrigerator space is a nice bonus too.

7. Severely limited eating out

I know some people seem to think you should never eat out, but it's nice to be able to go out for dinner as a couple or have lunch with coworkers at least a couple times a month. I don't think we'll be able to completely give it up, but we're going to have a very small number in this budget category. Thankfully, I have several unused Groupons we can use for a date.

8. Not buying new makeup

I've run out of both my foundation and mineral veil, so I'm looking very natural right now.

9. Shopping for a lower car and renter's insurance.

We're spending a huge chunk of our income on insurance. The company Nathan chose several years ago had the best rate at the time, but now that he's added another driver, a second car, and renter's insurance to his policy, it's time to look again.

10. Deleting all daily deal e-mails immediately

Groupons are great for saving money on restaurants, entertainment, and even clothing, but when you don't have a budget for these categories, it's brutal looking at all the deals you have to pass up. Heartsy was really rough. It's better to just delete the e-mails before I can read what they're offering.


What small or big changes have you made to save money?


More Top Ten Tuesday from Oh Amanda.
More Frugal Friday on Life as Mom.

Meeting Money Saving Mom

Last night I got to meet one of my favorite bloggers: Crystal Paine, the Money Saving Mom!

Crystal in the light green shirt under the Starbucks sign, me in the blue shirt in front,

other awesome ladies all around whom I will not try to name. (Photo from Money Saving Mom)

Crystal was in town for a conference with a friend, so eight of her local blog readers got together for an informal meet-up. I've been reading Money Saving Mom for about a year now, so this was exciting for me. Thanks mostly to tips I've learned from Crystal's blog, the amount I spend on groceries for Nathan and myself each month is the same as I spent for just me when I was single. And she has over 134,000 Facebook fans, so she's kind of a big deal. Some of the women drove over an hour just to have coffee with her!

After meeting Crystal in person, it's clear that she doesn't think of herself as a big deal. She greeted all of us with a hug and was happy to meet us. She seems to genuinely enjoy helping and educating others, without even the tiniest bit of a know-it-all attitude. 

It was great meeting all these wonderful women and chatting about our frugal adventures. I found out I'm definitely not the only one lamenting that we don't have a Rite-Aid around here to take advantage of their great deals, despite the fact that we have about every other store! I was the only non-mom in the group, so I got to hear what shopping and couponing with kids is like. It was a lot of fun and I wish we'd had more time together.

Have you ever met any of your favorite bloggers/celebrities in person? Who would you most like to meet?

The Triple Coupon Experience

Doubling coupons up to $0.50 is nice, but what about tripling coupons up to $1? That's what Marsh was doing over Memorial Day weekend. It actually took me awhile to decide to go since Marsh's standard prices and even sale prices are fairly high. I'd only been there once in the past year, and I wasn't sure that I could get good enough deals even with triple coupons. The deal that ultimately got me in the door was the Era detergent - on sale for $2.99, and I had a coupon for $1 off! I couldn't pass up free detergent.

Here's what I ended up buying, and the prices I paid after the coupon:

• Popcorn, Indiana Popcorn — $0.99
• Popcorn, Indiana Chips — $0.99 
• Era detergent — FREE 
• Uncle Ben's Ready Rice — $0.14
• Hormel pepperoni — $0.94
• Kraft mayo — $1.49 each
• Heinz ketchup — $0.39
• Yoplait yogurt — $1.45
• Classico alfredo sauce — $0.50 each
• Dole fruit crisp — $0.99
• General Mills Milk 'n Cereal Bars — $0.49
• Covergirl mascara — $2.99 (Is that even a good price? I never replace my mascara until it's basically solidified.)
• Kraft sliced cheese — FREE

Before I went shopping, I set a few guidelines for myself. I didn't follow them perfectly, but they kept me from getting too crazy.

1. Only buy items with matching coupons. I had no trouble following this one. I went to a quiet aisle before checking out and actually placed the coupons I was using on the items to make sure I had them all ready.
2. Spend less than $1 on items we wouldn't normally buy. Well, we wouldn't normally buy white cheddar popcorn or chips, but since Nathan and I both LOVE white cheddar popcorn, I couldn't resist.
3. Spend less than $10 total. My final total was $13.33. I could have put a few things back to bring that total down, but I was really excited about everything I was getting, as I knew would be the danger.

I was hoping for more free or nearly free items, but several of the items I had $1 off coupons for (Endust and Heinz 57, for example) weren't anywhere in the store. I may have had better luck at a bigger Marsh.

So, while this wasn't exactly an "extreme" couponing experience, I was pretty happy with my 77% savings and had a lot of fun doing it.

Playing the Drugstore Game

I've shared before how I've been able to find deals on groceries and clothes, but saving money on household and personal items is where I struggle. I don't think about buying toothpaste or toilet paper until we're almost out. Even though I had heard how a lot of people manage to get some really good deals at drugstores and even make money, it still just seemed like a waste of time to go to extra stores. However, when I finally saw some deals on products that we actually use, I went for it.

Week One: Earning Rewards

Skintimate shave gel (CVS): $3.18 after coupons, got $2.50 Extra Bucks

Speed Stick deodorant (Walgreen's): $1.30 after coupons, got $1 Register Rewards

Snickers eggs (Walgreen's): $0.54

I thought I could get the eggs for free at Walgreen's, but the coupon was rejected. The cashier already seemed annoyed with my existence since I had given her a special Walgreen's discount coupon after she had rung up my items and "That's supposed to be scanned first!" and had to get a manager. I decided to just buy them.

Total spent: $5.02
Total rewards earned: 3.50

Week Two: Using the Rewards 

For my second trip, I was able to use my Extra Bucks and Register Rewards to get even better deals.

Sinus medicine (CVS): $3.70 after using my $2.50 Extra Bucks. I was more concerned about getting relief from my congestion than getting fantastic deals!

Aussie hair spray and mousse (Walgreen's): $5.49 for both after coupons and Register Rewards and got $3 Register Rewards back. 

Total spent: $9.19
Total rewards earned: $3

I had the same cashier at Walgreen's, and once again my coupon was rejected. "This says Herbal Essences. You bought Aussie" was her explanation. Except that it says OR AUSSIE right after the Herbal Essences and even has a picture of the purple bottles right on the coupon! But once I pointed that out, she actually got the coupon to work for me. After two trips to Walgreen's and two rejected coupons, I'm beginning to see why many people have just given up shopping there.

 Week Three: Making Money

For my third trip to CVS, even without any Extra Bucks to spend, I was able to make money! The Honest Tea was on sale 3/$4, and you earn $1 Extra Bucks by buying 3. With three $1/1 Honest Tea coupons and a CVS coupon for a free beverage that took $2 off, I was able to get four drinks for $0.84 and earned $1 in Extra Bucks. We're basically getting paid $0.04 to drink each of them. 

Total spent: $0.84

Total rewards earned: $1

So, yes, drugstore shopping can be a hassle, but I think if I stick with it long enough I can drastically reduce the amount we spend on household items. And getting paid to drink tea and Dr. Pepper? You can't beat that.

Is Paying for Coupons Worth the Money?

Buying a newspaper just for coupons, buying a book of coupons...is it worth it? I debated this for a long time. I can't speak for everyone, but this is what I've concluded.

Newspapers
A Sunday paper around here costs $1.75. If I can only use $2 worth of coupons from it, that's hardly worth the time it takes to clip them out. But one day I picked up a Sunday paper and saw a little paper inside with an online code to get a one-year Sunday/Thursday subscription for 99 cents a week. At that price, I thought it would be worth it.

Nathan's opinion? He was excited about getting the funnies. 

I haven't added up exactly how much we've saved a week with our paper subscription, but I know we get more than our money's worth without even trying. There are many bonuses in addition to the coupons. I have a physical copy of the weekly ads for Kroger, Meijer, and all the other local stores, which we wouldn't receive otherwise. There are restaurant coupons packed in there as well. And you can't put a price on how engrossed in the comics Nathan becomes every time we get a new paper. It's just hilarious.

The Entertainment Book

I was also worried about getting our money's worth out of the Entertainment Book, even though two of the books I've read this year recommend it. Sure it has thousands of dollars in coupons, but how many would we actually use? What finally made me decide to buy one was an offer from MyPoints to earn 1,700 points with the purchase of an Entertainment Book. I paid $17 and earned more than enough points for a $10 gift card. I knew we would save at least $7 with the coupons. 
 

And then I bought a bike...

The Entertainment Book has 3 coupons for Dick's Sporting Goods: $20 off $100, $15 off $75, and $10 off $50. When we bought a bike, 2 helmets, and a bike lock, the cashier let us use all 3 coupons on one transaction. We saved $45 on one purchase! No matter how many more coupons we use out of that book this year, it's already been worth it.

Is buying coupons worth the money? Depending on how much you pay for them, yes, it definitely can be!


Do you ever spend money to get coupons?

Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half

 
I wasn't sure what to expect from Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half with America's Cheapest Family. I don't feel like our monthly grocery budget can get any lower than it is without making some major sacrifices. And authors Steve and Annette Economides (yes, their real name) only go grocery shopping once a month, which is not something I'm willing to attempt at this point. As it turned out, I learned much more from this book than I expected. I skimmed through the chapter on stocking up and organizing since I don't really have enough space for 20 cans of tomato paste right now, but even that chapter got me thinking about how I could store and organize food.

Here are some examples of tips from the book that I liked:

• Keep your impulse buys in a separate hand basket in your grocery cart. Before you check out, decide if you really need the items in the basket.
• Use a calendar to track grocery store sales with dates
• Buy medium eggs if there is more than a 5 cent difference between medium and large eggs
• Swish water in a nearly empty jam jar and empty it into a smoothie or pancake batter

If you're at all interested in saving money on food expenses, even if you think you already know a lot, read this book. You will learn something.

Other Books Read in 2011

• Eat, Pray, Love
• Healthy Meals for Less (Review)
• Half-Price Living (Review)
• Linchpin (Review) 
• To Buy or Not to Buy Organic (Review)
• Mosaic

Vacuuming The Car from a Second Story Apartment

Nathan is the official family vacuumer. He was apparently hit with a bit of spring cleaning fever this past weekend and decided he was going to vacuum out both cars in addition to the apartment. I didn't really think about the fact that he would have to find a way to plug in the vacuum in order to do this. Not finding any outdoor outlets, he resorted to this:

A chain of power strips running from the closest outlet to the hallway...

All the way down the stairs...

And outside to the sidewalk! Unfortunately, the cord still wasn't long enough for the vacuum to reach the entire car.

So then he found an outlet in the laundry room.

Success!

You may be wondering, why didn't we just go to a gas station and use a coin-operated vacuum? Well, while I tend to be the frugal one, there are some things that Nathan just doesn't like to spend money on. (He thinks clothes at Goodwill are too expensive.) Why pay to use a vacuum when you already own a perfectly good one?

What crazy things have you done in the name of saving money?

That's Not Good Enough!

Week 8 in Financial Peace University, which is all about finding good deals, is titled "That's not Good Enough!" It's funny how as you find better and better deals, what you consider to be a good enough price becomes lower and lower. $10 for a pair of jeans? Not bad, but after the deals we found this weekend, I'm not sure that will be good enough anymore.

 

We got this dress shirt, sweater, and jeans all for less than $5! 

Here's how:

Jeans (from Target)
Original Price: $24.99
Sale price: $6.24
Used a Target printable coupon for $5 off women's denim item
Final cost for jeans: $1.24


Then Nathan and I went to Kohl's as part of our date night (what a good husband!).
Dress Shirt
Original price: $38.00
Sale price: $7.60

Sweater
Original price: $30.00
Sale price: $6.00

Used postcard I received in the mail for $10 off any purchase
Received an extra 15% off
Final cost for dress shirt and sweater: $3.06


$93 worth of clothes for $4.30...That's good enough for me. I know opportunities like this might not happen very often, but just knowing that they happen at all is very exciting!

Living on One Income

It might seem somewhat odd that I would read a book called Half-Price Living: Secrets to Living Well on One Income when we currently have two incomes and no plans of changing that in the near future. But I figure any advice on how to live well on one income applies just as well to people with two incomes, and we never know if life will go the way we plan. As Ellie Kay says in her book, "I dreamed of becoming a CEO for a major corporation in an effort to 'be' somebody...I found that the dreams God dreams for us are better than the dreams we dream for ourselves."

This is not a book telling you that you must live on one income because it's a woman's job to stay home with her children but rather a book of advice and encouragement for those women who want to stay home. She gives 7 steps to create a stay-at-home-mom and offers tips on topics like cutting your grocery bill in half, buying a home, and retirement planning. One thing I learned from this book that really struck me was that as many as half of a grocery store's weekly sales are unadvertised. I knew some deals were unadvertised, but half? I guess I need to look up from my grocery list more often.

While I did learn some things, I felt like the content of the book was a little disappointing. With less than 20 pages a chapter and a total of 168 pages, there aren't a whole lot of details on each topic; it's more of a starting point to further studying. And although it might be true that some moms who quit their jobs will automatically save money on things like childcare, wardrobe updates, transportation, lunches at work, or trips to the beauty salon, that wouldn't be much of a cost saver for me. I know childcare is an expense I don't have to consider now, but I almost always bring a lunch to work and don't think I would spend much less on clothing or haircuts if I weren't working outside the home. The only real money saver would be gas. Also, some of her money-saving tips, like house swapping to save money on vacations, just aren't things I would want to do.

After finishing this book, I didn't really feel any more convinced than I was before that being a stay-at-home-mom would work for me. The book gives general advice on a broad spectrum of topics, but it wasn't anything life changing. However, reading this book did lead to a discussion with Nathan about how soon we can be debt free and have a down payment for a house with our current income. We basically decided that there’s no reason I couldn’t be a stay-at-home mom if I want to be, but the question is do I really want to. I can’t imagine giving up graphic design altogether, and although I could theoretically work from home, I don’t know how much designing I could do with a baby. We’ll just have to cross that bridge when we come to it.

How Not to Save Money

When I'm making my grocery list, I always ask Nathan if he has any requests. This week, one of his requests  was banana chips. I didn't really want to put that on the list since banana chips cost about 10 times as much as fresh bananas.

Then Nathan asked if we could make them.

Of course! We would make them! After all, we don't pay for our gas, so we can use our oven as much as we want.

I bought four bananas, sliced them, dipped them in lemon juice, and then baked them at 175 for 3 hours. But instead of looking like the normal banana chips in the photo above, they looked like this:
 

Uhhhh...what?

I did some more research and found out a few mistakes I made:

1. I bought ripe bananas instead of green ones.
2. I sliced them a little too thin.
3. Using a food dehydrator (if I had one) would have been better.

So...my penny pinching kind of backfired this time. They aren't terrible, just not the right texture at all. There are plenty of times when DIY can save a little money, but for me, banana chips is not one of them.