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Greetings!
Swing into spring with a new way to clean . . .
And find a niche for everything!
How's your spring cleaning coming? My new April Digest ( click here to purchase), includes many low-cost tips for cleaning and organizing this spring--or any time! Spring cleaning is a time-honored tradition, but the April issue of my Money-Saving Digest will show you some simple steps to do it in a new way as you spruce things up and organize without spending! My special feature for April is "Making a Frugal Fresh Start" and the goal of this month's feature is to suggest new ideas in three major areas--cleaning, organizing, and food (feeding your family). Start taking incremental steps toward lasting change!
But that's not all! You'll discover a fresh supply of inspiration and motivation, more scrumptious recipes, organization ideas, and lots more . . . read more details about the April Digest below the tutorial section.
I hope you enjoyed visiting my blog, www.Econobusters.com, this week. I am so glad that so many of my readers are joining in and leaving lots of great comments and advice. Check out this post and you'll see what I mean--many readers responded to help a family save money on food while their child is in the hospital. If you have a question that you would like for me to post on the blog, just email me-- MollyGreen@Econobusters.com-- I'll be happy to try and help you out!
Here's a brief overview of what I shared this week:
- I'd love to know what you do with your yearly tax refund, so I started a conversation on that topic. Let me know what you are doing with your refund this year!
. . . Look for more wonderful frugal tips and inspiring articles next week! |
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This Week's Recipe
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"Double-up cooking" is something that happens a lot at my house. I'm a big fan of the "cook once--eat twice" system. It's just so convenient to be able to pull a quick dinner out of the refrigerator or freezer on busy evenings. This is a quick and easy recipe that you can "cook once and eat twice" because I always double this recipe to allow for leftovers later in the week.
Calico Beans
½ pound ground beef
½ pound bacon
1 cup chopped onion
Sauce:
½ cup brown sugar
½ cup white sugar
1 cup catsup
1 teaspoon vinegar
1 15 oz. can pork & beans
1 15 oz. can butterbeans, drained
1 15 oz. can northern beans, drained
1 15 oz. can kidney beans, drained
Cut bacon in small pieces and brown with the ground beef and onion. Add the sauce and beans and cook in crockpot for approximately 4 hours.
Note: The beans are sweet, so you can easily cut back a bit on the sugar if you like. The "small" cans of beans are the ones that are around 16 oz.
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Here are some other ideas for making sure that no food in your home is wasted. Just this week, I cooked up some stir-fry, and we ate it with brown rice. However, I ended up cooking too much brown rice. I looked through my pantry and refrigerator and realized that I had the ingredients for chicken noodle soup on hand (leftover chicken, carrots, celery, chicken broth, etc). However, I had no noodles, so I substituted the cooked rice instead! I just put all of the available ingredients in the pot, added some water, salt, and pepper, and warmed everything up. It tasted great!
Sometimes I end up with too many leftover vegetables by the end of the week. Several ways to use these up are:
- soups or stews
- pot pies
- casseroles
Just look through your recipe books for an easy dish that uses whatever you have leftover.
If your dairy products are nearing their expiration date, don't let them go to waste! Use yogurt or kefir in smoothies. Cream cheese and sour cream can be used in cakes, pies, and as toppings for many items (put some cream cheese on muffins, toast, or celery and sour cream on baked potatoes, tacos, and chili.) Use up milk making pudding for a quick and yummy dessert or snack.
Before you throw any food out, try and find another recipe to cook quickly to use it up! |
This Week's Tutorials
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Here are some wonderful tutorials to check out--I hope you find something you like and that you will enjoy doing in your spare time.
Molly's Money-Saving Digest
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- The Egg--Do you know the foolproof way to prepare hard-boiled eggs? Learn an extra tip for making deviled eggs, and enjoy some great recipes!
- The Tax Refund--"What We're Doing With It This Year": What works well for one family and how they enjoyed using their tax refund (hint--not a vacation).
- How to Shop Yard Sales like a Pro! Wouldn't you like to afford luxury items you don't normally buy, name brand clothing you usually do without, and have a stockpile of gifts for later in the year?
- How Do You Hold a Successful Yard Sale? The key to success is organization. Plus 10 more tips that will help you earn more money!
- Sowing Servant Hearts--In "Parenting that Pays," Dena shares about teaching kids responsibility and gives wonderful ideas for making chore time easier.
- A Repurposing Project--An old kitchen cabinet door serves as a key rack and adds a touch of nostalgia and family history (with photos).
- Home Financial Filing System--Don't get lost in the outpouring of receipts and endless papers! Save time and headaches when you start utilizing this simple filing system!
- Consider Double-Duty Furniture--"A place for everything and everything in its place" becomes much easier when you plan on furniture that will work double-duty!
- Goal Getter Spotlight--Annie shares about being frugal to fund an adoption. Jennifer saved for her dream vacation fund. And you'll really be encouraged by Kris, on how her family reached their goal of a 3-month buffer in savings and took control of their finances.
- Store More Than Just Shoes--Tambra wrote in to share the most versatile item that she has found so far--the over-the-door shoe organizer. You'll be astounded at the many ideas she has! This digest has a wealth of information and support to share with you for an incredibly low price! $4.95 is such a small price to pay compared to the great benefits you'll receive and the money you'll be saving once you dig into this E-Book! |
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We Want to Hear from You!
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We have some great topics in the works for Molly's Money-Saving Digests, and would love to include your stories and ideas. Remember, if we include your contribution in a Digest you'll receive that issue FREE. Here's what we're looking for.
June's Digest will focus on frugal vacation ideas. Has your family enjoyed a budget-friendly vacation? How about a "stay-cation" . . . visiting local attractions, or having fun in your own backyard? Or maybe you have fresh ideas for adventurous or relaxing day trips . . . or practical tips for packing, road trips, camping or more. If it's about family vacations, we want to hear about it. Pictures are welcome too! Email Editor@Econobusters.com, but do it soon! We need to hear from you this week. July's Digest will focus on clothing your family frugally. We'd love to get your ideas or inspiration on this topic! Email Editor@Econobusters.com by April 24th. Of course, we're always looking for "goal-getter" stories, examples of upcycled or repurposed objects, and frugal decorating ideas. Would you like a free Digest? Send me your story, and if it is featured, your Digest is FREE.
Until next week! 
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Do you have something to share? Write to us at MollyGreen@Econobusters.com. All submissions become the property of Econobusters.com and The Old Schoolhouse Magazine, LLC ("TOS") and will not be returned. Making a submission constitutes full consent to the Econobusters' Submission Guidelines and Release, and a grant of unlimited permission and continuing, non-exclusive rights for Econobusters.com and TOS, to print, publish, broadcast and use all portions of your submission, including without limitation your full name, on Econobusters.com and other Internet websites owned or operated by TOS, in Molly's Money-Saving Digest and all other electronic, digital and print publications produced, created or published by TOS in accordance with the Econobusters' Submission Guidelines and Release posted at Econobusters. TOS will make reasonable efforts to withhold personal names if requested at the time of original submission. | |
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