The Sweet Life On A Budget

Eat Well On 4 Dollars A Day:  Good and Cheap By Leanne Brown Leanne Brown created an earlier version of this book during her time at New York University while getting her MA in Food Studies.  Leanne choose to design the recipes in her updated book on the concept of eating for $4.00 per person per day. This is the rough calculation for what SNAP (US food assistance program) recipients receive in assistance.  Her desire to educate and empower people to eat healthy on this low of a budget inspired her cookbook. In her cookbook, she shares her tips on how to purchase nutritious food at the lowest price, building a pantry, how to think/eat seasonally, and make good choices when it comes to meal planning.  Her price calculations are based on 2014 prices, but you can get the general ideas as to which foods are cheaper to purchase and how to combine different low/high price items to create delicious meals and still maintaining your weekly grocery budget.  

French Chocolate Croissants ($0.14  per serving) Several years ago I found so many Pinterest Pins on making French Chocolate Croissants, but they were the same recipes with very minor changes.  I tried this basic recipe and it quickly became one of my son’s favorite breakfast holiday treat. I tend to make it for Christmas, Easter, Etc. Here is how I do it: Ingredients ¼ cup of Chocolate Chips Refrigerator Crescent rolls (8 count) 1 Egg Directions: I open up the crescent rolls and separate them into their individual triangles.   I then divide the chocolate chips between the eight triangles and slightly press them into the dough. I roll them up into the croissant shape and apply an egg wash. Bake at 350 degrees for 12-16 minutes.   Enjoy. Recipe Notes: Mini Chocolate Chips work the best. Egg Wash is created by cracking an egg into a bowl, adding a little water and whisking.   If you have a child, make 2

Making small changes that have big results. On Friday’s I share 5 frugal ideas to help you maintain The Sweet Life on a Budget.  These things will have money saving ideas and/or a way to enhance your lifestyle for very little money. Started to plan my kitchen garden.  Our public library has a seed collection that people can “borrow” AKA getting seeds for free starting in February.  I have organized the green house location for growing my seeds in February. Hmm. I think I’m getting Spring Fever.   Leftover Seeds from Last Year Experiment- Save Seeds from last year Stockpiling Items-  This week our Kroger store had a $3.00 off of 6 items and some items were quite a bargain.  So I took advantage of my MUST larger food budget this week and cashed in. Pasta was at my stock up price and I picked up 6 of them for $3.00.  Cheese was on sale for $3.00 for a pound, but wait--- I also had a coupon for $1.00 off. That lowered the price to $2.00 fo

We Haven’t Learned Our Money Lessons The news feeds over the past 2 months has really concerned me regarding how unprepared our citizens are for hard economic times.  Our recent January layoffs and the US Government shutdown with the possibility for it to occur again in February, really concerns me.   It makes me sad that so many people are struggling and needing assistance because of losing 1 income for just 1-2 months and it got me thinking about our household and how that situation would affect us.   I don’t think many people could manage an extended job loss especially if the job loss is the major wage earner. So, what can we do? I think we can start being mindful of our spending habits, taking the time to evaluate our  purchases and planning for lean times. I know that every Friday, I identify 5 things our family has done that week to maintain a reasonable budget, but if times become financially tight, there is so much more we could be doing.