Money for the Rest of Us

Lately I’ve been experimenting with ways to make some of my favorite foods more cheaply. One snack I particularly enjoy is chips and guacamole. However, I don’t eat chips frequently enough to justify buying an entire bag. (Plus, they’re just not very good for you.)

Thus, I’ve started making my own homemade tortilla chips. It’s very simple, and they are actually far tastier than packaged chips. And to top it all off– it’s more economical than buying chips.

Here’s the recipe:

1-3 tortillas (1.5 per person is a good amount)

.5 Tablespoons Olive Oil

dash salt (optional)

Preheat oven to 375 degrees Fahrenheit. Cut the tortillas up into chip size pieces using a knife or pizza cutter. Pour Olive Oil onto cookie sheet and spread around using a brush or paper towel. (Needs to only be very lightly coated). Spread tortilla pieces evenly (one level) over cookie sheet. Lightly salt (if desired- I usually don’t.) Bake at 375 until lightly brown 5-8 mins. Then, flip each piece over and bake for another 3-5 mins. Serve warm or at room temperature.

You can substitute wheat tortillas or the flavored tortillas for regular ones. Also, note that tortillas keep for a very long time in the freezer.

Enjoy!

This is the fourteenth post of the series “15 Tips for Cheap Travel.” You can navigate the rest of the series by going to the 15 Tips for Cheap Travel Index.

When you visit a new city you will want to try all the local foods that the city has to offer, but you will also want to keep within your budget. Here are some ways to cut down on costs, while still enjoying tasty foods:

• If your hotel has a fridge:
• Get milk, cereal and yogurt and make breakfast in your room
• Save leftovers from restaurants
• If your hotel has breakfast included:
• Take an extra piece of fruit or bread to eat for a snack at a later point in time
• Eat Dinner for Lunch: Many restaurants offer lunch menus with prices that are significantly cheaper than their dinner menus.
• Have a Picnic Meal: Find a local bakery and cheese shop, make some sandwiches, and relax in the park.
• Check out the stands: Most big cities have street vendors that offer delicious food at very reasonable prices. How do you go about choosing one? Find the stand with the longest line.
• Find the Local University: Cheap food is abundant around colleges and universities. If you’re unsure which restaurant or stand to go to, find the one with the longest line or ask a kid with a backpack. They’ll be happy to recommend something.
• Search Best Cheap Eats: Do an internet search for “Best Cheap Eats” + your destination. You wouldn’t believe the number of cheap eat and bargain lists available on the internet. I did this before a recent trip to Toronto and found several lists with wonderful and cheap food.
• Don’t skimp on your favorites: You are on vacation so remember to enjoy yourself. If you like a particular kind of food (Italian, French, Hamburgers, Ice Cream) search for it on the internet before you go. Make a point to stop and spend an extra dollar or two at these special places.
• Buy snacks: Go to a local grocery store and buy a box of granola bars to carry with you. You’re much more likely to splurge when you’re starving.
• Drink lots of water: Not only will this keep you feeling fuller (thus less splurging) drinking water keeps you healthy when traveling.
• Eats fruits and vegetables: Like with drinking water, fruits and veggies keep you full and healthy. And you can pick up fruit for relatively cheap at the grocery store.

If you buy a Chipotle burrito today (April 14) or tomorrow (April 15) you get a free one on Monday (April 16th) to “EZ Your Tax Day Pain”.

And Tuesday (April 17th) is Free Cone Day at Ben and Jerry’s (as I mentioned in a previous post in how to get free ice cream.)

Mmm, free burritos and ice cream.  Life doesn’t get much better than this!

I like food a lot. And I really enjoy cooking. Here are a few gadgets that I’ve found are worth the initial investment to save you money and time in the long run:

1. Salad Spinner: Prewashed bagged salad costs at least $1-$3 more than a head of lettuce. Wash it yourself with a Salad Spinner and within a few weeks the spinner with pay for itself. If you eat one bag a lettuce a week and save $2 buying a head of lettuce and washing it yourself you’ll save $104/year.
2. Good Knives: My set of three Cutco knives was quite an investment, but they have saved me a lot of time and hassle (and probably a few trips to the hospital since you’re more likely to cut yourself with a dull knife.) I’m not going to try to put a price on the value of your finger…
3. Water Bottle I carry a Small Nalgene Bottle with me everywhere. It fits inside my purse and keeps from from randomly having to buy beverages whenever I’m at school, work, or running errands. If you purchase one bottle of $1 water/day you’ll save $365 over the course of a year.
4. Wine Saver A wine saver works better than a cork and will keep your wine fresh for days. (I actually watched a PBS show once where they recommended pouring your half drunk bottles of wine into ice cube trays, freezing the wine, and months later using it to cook with. Apparently it will stay good for months in the freezer and doesn’t affect the wine all that much). If you’re saving a half a bottle of $15 wine a week, you’ll have saved $390 over the course of a year.
5. Tupperware Tupperware works great for leftovers. I also love it for dividing up items for work– I buy applesauce, yogurt, and salad dressing in larger sizes and divvy it up into these small containers. Consider just the savings from buying a tub of yogurt for $2 and dividing it up into 5 small Tupperware instead of buying 5 individual yogurts for $0.80. You’ll save $104 a year.
6. Food Chopper I love this thing. I found one on sale for $5 at Target at I chop nuts and chocolate chips all the time with it. (It’s a great thing for stress relief too!) It may not save you money, but it chops things in seconds and saves a lot of time.
7. Pitcher Orange juice, apple juice, lemonade, iced tea, you name it– it’s all cheaper to buy concentrate and make your own. One half gallon of premade orange juice costs $3 whereas concentrate costs only $0.99. At a half gallon a week you’ll save $104 a year.
8. Coffee Tumbler Brew your own coffee, carry it with you and save $1-$4 per day (depending on what kind of coffee you drink.) Let’s average $1.50 savings/day, 5 days a week: that’s $390 a year.
9. Brita Filter- Instead of buying bottled water, filter it yourself either on the sink or in the fridge (I like the fridge pitcher but they also offer one to pp so the water gets extra cold). Savings: (if you drink only bottled water) at least $3/day. You’re saving $1095 a year.
10. Spatula- I have been forever changed by my small spatula. I used to not believe that spatulas could get much more cake batter out of a bowl or peanut butter of of the jar, than say, a regular spoon could. But, my partner recently introduced me to the spatula (and by that I mean she would take it out and re-scrape the cake batter bowl with a spatula after I had already used a spoon.) It’s amazing how much extra food a spatula will pick up. This one will probably only save you a few dollars a year, but you’re wasting less which has it’s own value.

This post is a continuation of Money for the Rest of Us’ “Free Stuff Week” posts. The previous posts have been about: how to find free samples, how to find free online classes, how to get free movie screening passes, and how to get free books.

Summer is just around the corner and since ice cream is one of my favorite foods I appreciate any excuse to eat more of it. Free is an even better excuse to eat ice cream than the heat of summer. Here are the ways I have found to get free ice cream:

Ben and Jerry’s Free Cone Day: On free cone day Ben and Jerry’s gives a free ice cream cone to everyone who comes through the door. Usually there’s a long line, but it moves quickly. Mark your calendars– Free Cone Day is April 17th this year!

Sign up for Email Lists: Maggie Moos, Baskin Robbins, and Cold Stone Creamery all email you a coupon for free ice cream on (or around) your birthday if you sign up for their email list. Maggie Moos also sends you a coupon for buy-one-get-one-free when you first sign up for the list.

Make it Yourself: While it’s not completely free since you have to pay for ingredients and an ice cream maker, homemade ice cream tastes far better (and once you have the maker it’s cheaper) than any store bought kind. (Here’s my favorite recipe: easy homemade chocolate ice cream.)

Did you know that today, tomorrow, the next day (and maybe the day after that) and are the best days of the year buy expensive chocolate? I’m unable to find any studies officially confirming this, but I’m fairly certain it’s true.

I found this out by accident when I went into a Godiva store 2 days after Valentine’s Day last year. Imagine my bitterness when I discovered that the same exact box of chocolate I had purchased two days before was now 90% off. This year I’ve learned my lesson. My partner and I waited to buy chocolates and are going tomorrow to hit up the sale. I stopped by today but the chocolate was only 25% off. The store is right by my office so I asked the sales clerk if the prices would go down more tomorrow. She looked around to make sure her boss didn’t hear and said that the prices would keep going done. Since it is so close to work, I have no problem dropping by everyday until they are giving the chocolate away for free!