Money and Time Savers

Money and time are precious commodities when your in college.

Here are a few simple time and money savers to make the most of your money and time in the kitchen.

10. Bouillon
      --save space in your cabinets, money in your wallet, and time in your day
      --dried bouillons $1.55 for a six cube packet (12 cups) vs. $4.50 for store-made carton (4 cups)
      --homemade stock is better, but given the time and effort to make it, I usually opt for the above.

9. Limit grocery shopping to once / week. 
      --returning 2-3 times / week is likely to increase your spending on additional items with each trip
      --it's also a waste of time going back and forth to the store

8. Make a menu
      --even if only one meal / day is planned, this will keep your shopping focused
      --make your list, stick to it, and go once a week

7. Buy in bulk, especially meats on sale and other items you can prep and freeze
      --look out for sales on your higher priced items, and when possible, buy 2-3 times the amount
      --once you get home, portion them into freezer-safe containers for future use
      --money and timed saved on both ends

6. Invest in good-quality Tupperware. 
      --after shopping in bulk, have a set of containers that seal properly and can store your foods.
      --prep veggies when you get home from the store so that they are ready for salads and snacking
      --freeze additional amounts of soups, pasta sauces, casseroles in proper containers and freezer bags 

5. Store-bought Roasted Chicken.
      --one of the best time savers there is
      --master the limitless options with Roasted Chicken
      --chicken salad, chicken enchiladas, roasted chicken, chicken noodle soup, chicken quesadillas
      --just to name a few

4. Skip the meat. 
      --become vegetarian 2-3 x per week
      --this is one of the ultimate ways to cut your grocery budget

3. Drink more water and make your own tea and coffee. 
      --skip the soda, alcohol, energy drinks.
      --buy a good thermos to take with you to class or the library

2. Cook in bulk. 
      --double batches of spaghetti sauce, meatballs, soups, stews, pasta bakes
      --make sure you have the containers (mentioned under no. 6) to store and freeze the extras

1. Learn to cook. 
      --next to skipping meat for a few days, this can make a huge difference
      --even just learning a few skills, like making eggs, omelet, searing a pork chop, or making a sauce
      --limit dining out (even fast food), another budget-buster,  and eat leftovers.
      --doesn't always save time, but it will save money and is usually healthier for you

(Compiled from my own experience as well as from friends' and family members' advice)

Not So Plain Turkey Burgers

Turkey burgers are another great alternative to burger night.  The meat is leaner, less fatty, and by many, considered much healthier than the red meat version.  But oftentimes, the leaner cuts lack flavor and depth, because the fat's missing and the meat becomes dry.

Martha Stewart's Great Food Fast  cookbook posts a simple, yet effective, counter to ensuring that your turkey burger doesn't dry out or lack flavor. If you can throw the ingredients in a bowl and then form a few patties, you are ready for a great meal.  

Equipment:

Large Non-stick skillet (use a grill skillet if you have one)

Functional stove or grill

Mixing bowl

Knife, for chopping 

Ingredients:

1 1/2 lbs ground turkey meat (I prefer ground turkey breast)

1/4 cup bread crumbs

1/2 cup shredded Swiss or Gruyere cheese 

1 Tbls Dijon mustard

4 scallions, finely chopped

1 garlic clove, minced

1 1/2 tsp of salt

Fresh ground pepper

2 tsp butter / olive oil

Condiments:

Cheese

Red or White onion (raw or grilled)

Pickles

Mayo

Ketchup

Heinz 57 Sauce

Mustard

Lettuce

Tomatoes

Hamburger buns

Instructions:

1. Wash Your Hands 

2. Combine ground turkey with the bread crumbs, cheese, scallions, Dijon and garlic.  Mix well.

3. Add salt and pepper.

4. Divide the mixture evenly and form equal-sized patties.

5. Heat 2 tsp of butter with 1 tsp olive oil over MEDIUM-HIGH heat.

6. Sear one side of patty (without looking) for 4-5 minutes over MEDIUM heat before turning it over.

7. Sear the other side for another 5-6 minutes until cooked thru.

8. Toast your buns and start adding the condiments to your taste.

Enjoy the burger plain with a side of Proscuitto-Wrapped Asparagus (see previous May 2013 blog) or with all the fix in's (see partial photo from original recipe photo)!

Makin Bacon

It's been a long time that I have gone over ultra-easy cooking skills.  And, eventhough I do not recommend daily doses of high-fat-laden foods, bacon when done properly, is one of those little pleasures in life worth having once in awhile.

Obviously, this is one of those skills that will need to be adapted to your preference--some people like a  crisp, almost burnt, bacon whereas I like mine more meaty with a little bit of "chewiness". Experiment with cooking times to figure out the level of "done-ness" you enjoy.

Equipment:

Large non-sttick skillet

Papertowels

Fork or thongs (cooking thongs that is)

Stove-top burner

Ingredients:

Bacon

Instructions:

1. Wash your hands frequently in between handling any pork products.

2. Heat your skillet on MEDIUM-HIGH.

3. Place bacon in a single layer to cover the skillet surface.

4. Allow bacon to cook UNTOUCHED for 6-7 minutes.

5. At this point the underside should be a dark carmelized red-brown. 

6. Turn each strip of bacon and cook for another 3-4 minutes depending on how crispy you like it.

7. Once the bacon has cooked to your desired "doneness" remove the bacon onto papertowels.

8. Remove excess grease by patting bacon.

9. Try it plain, crumbled, on a burger or as an awesome BLT!

Case For Cooking

Through the years I have been a huge believer in teaching kids about finance well before they hit college.  We started our kids off in their pre-teens with envelopes and budgeting their meager allowance into Spending, Charity, and Savings.  As they grew up into high school, allowance went away at age 16, but they were allowed to start a job.  During their senior year in high school each of the boys received a weekly budget for bus fare, school lunches, necessities, haircuts, school supplies--you get the point!

The goal of this process was to accustom them to being responsible and getting a taste of managing their money, even if only a small amount--they were encouraged to set aside automatic debits to their stock accounts--one son did well turning 300 investment in Dicks Sporting into a 700 dollar return that he promptly put in 6 shares of Apple that netted him a total amount of approx 3000 when all was said and done.

The other son burns holes in his pockets with cash--but even his limited saving paid for his volunteer trip to save the Sea Turtles last year with Rustic Pathways--so as to the success of our feeble financial education, I'm not 100% sure; but they did get the message that money should not control you.

Rather "your hard-earned money needs to be working for you" at all times--in a stock account, investing in property, passive income, developing your talents, getting better interest rates, Roth IRA, etc.--and the more your money works for you, the less you will be working for money.
We will see how successful we were when our last son embarks on his own next year June 2014.

As college begins, having these habits in place--paying yourself first, thinking about your expenses (most of which are dependent on you and your spending) in terms of wants vs. necessities, and living frugally (but not miserly) becomes critical if you are branching out on your own.

As in the previous financial link I provided from The Empowered Dollar and the blog I posted...take charge of your budget--start learning, start planning and thinking of ways to improve your cash-flow, even if it is meager at this point--developing those habits with little income will be the foundation of continuing those habits with a bigger paycheck.

As for the link that I am sharing today discusses, one of the first places to look for hidden expenses is FOOD costs!  This is where cooking skills, even if only a few, will stretch your budget a long way, and help you avoid the unnecessary costs of pre-made, pre-packaged, processed foods or eating out when you really can't afford to.

I know I have stated this before, but it is nice to see that others in the financial blogging sector think similarly!  Next to housing expenses, food costs, either groceries or eating out, is the second largest expense for most Americans.

Be curious and check out this blog snippet from www.20somethingfinance.com; and, if you have the time, I would encourage you to systematically read his entire "summer" project titled 'Summer of Savings'.  Great advice from someone in your shoes!

http://20somethingfinance.com/save-money-on-food-groceries/

Other bloggers worth looking at

---- www.budgetsaresexy.com
---- www.financialsamurai.com

Eat Well. Stay Hungry. Dream big. Don't Settle.

Your money could be doing a whole lot more for than going down the toilet!