Frugal In Florida

I was browsing around over at Budgets Are Sexy  (because I'm learning they ARE) and sure enough, there was a link to click through for a quiz titled How Broke Are You ? Of course I clicked through and took the test. Apparently, I'm the exact opposite of broke and shouldn't be taking the quiz. Hrrmp ... who would have thought? My point, though, is NOT the fact that I'm not broke (I knew I wasn't!) but more along the lines of I know what to do to remain Frugal, live within my means and not over extend myself. Some of the questions on the quiz made me laugh. Do I count my two grown kids as roommates? I should, huh? They are 21 and 23. Oh wait, they don't really contribute MONEY to the household, so to speak. Hmmm.... My real point is that you don't do stupid things with  your money. First up, and the NUMBER ONE no-no: Do you overdraft your account once a month/week? HELLO?  What's the going rate now for overdrawing? $30 or something like that?

I always forget how easy these are to make and the fact that the majority of the family is pretty happy with them ... heck, anything with lots of cheese, gooey and even better, they make a great patio meal. You do realize that SUMMER is fast approaching, right? I'm thinking that this year, I'm going to give these a try on the grill instead of the oven ... somehow I just KNOW that it will work perfectly! So go ahead, give yourself a break and make something simple that will make the family happy! 1 package of hot dogs. Any type will do 1 can of no bean chili 1 bag of cheddar cheese, shredded 1 package of hot dog buns Now that you have the difficult list of ingredients down, lets get cooking! Steam/fry/grill hot dogs until cooked. I've used my bamboo steamer, my grill press pan, the Panini press, skillet with water and grill ... whatever you choose will be just fine! BUT, please, please, please, never, ever, ever EVER boil your dogs. I grew up on boiled hot d

After last week's rant about the insurances and taxes we pay for the house, cars and boat, I've been thinking long and hard about our finances and what I can do to reduce our outflow of cash ... Hubby started his new job a few weeks ago, thankfully, BUT it is for less money that he was earning previously AND now we look at the company insurance plan and think, wow, he really did have it made before ... but then again, it's a much smaller company so the insurance IS going to cost more.  We are leaning towards omitting the dental as we don't 'anticipate' any type of major dental stuff and our dentist has a so-called self insured plan they offer, $99 a year for 2 cleanings, xrays and then 30% discount on any additional services. Hubby said we would be better off doing it that way instead of the $1200 a year for the company dental insurance. Any way. I'm going to sit down this week when Hubby's out of town and re-work my budget.  I think I can get away w

I was off on Friday (Good Friday) and figured I better utilize that day to hit Costco ... certainly did not want to do it on Saturday, that's for sure! Of course, it appeared everyone else had the same exact mindset as me ... mad house! I had a list. Pretty specific. A few things were not picked up ... and imagine my sticker shock at limes. Wow. $9.99!! Then I remembered that I just saw a news piece about "liquid gold" and it was in reference to limes. First it was the lemons that went sky high and now it's limes. (FYI ... lemons were $6.99). So buying the big bag of limes led to the following purchase: 3 large Golden Margarita Mix for $9.99 less $2 each ... ummm, yes, it's a lot, but Cinco de Mayo (my Birthday!) is coming and so are summertime pool parties ... not to mention, this stuff is better than the REAL Golden Margarita stuff and it's half the price ... tequila already mixed in and tasty on it's own! Total spent: $25.41. Well, not really, tha

I really like doing this post weekly as it keeps me accountable and does make me think twice about some things  ... of course, I do not live a wholly frugal life and I also disclose some of the NOT so frugal activities too! It's so nice having Hubby back to work ... and I am honestly trying to figure out how we can reduce our expenses to start paying down the mortgage ... I figure I can toss another $200 a month of MY wages to the pot to offset the principal balance ... but we first need to get a payoff statement (not what the monthly statement shows) ... unfortunately, we are in the awkward transition to Greentree Servicing which means that neither Citi or Greentree will really have any current information to offer us ... they still haven't taken the regular mortgage payment out this month (um, hi, it is normally the 2nd of the month when it's done) ... I told Hubby to brace himself when he calls to inquire. I also was looking at the taxes and insurances for the year.

Living in South Florida has certainly exposed me to more foods than living in the small town in the Midwest. One of the things that surprisingly enough I love, is the pork sandwich, Cuban style, or, Cubanos. These have things that I normally do NOT care for in eating, such as mustard and pickles (bleck) but I can, and do eat them in a Cubano without a second thought. That says a lot, trust me! This is a great way to use up leftover pork ... but in my case, I almost always make sure I have extras so I can make Cubanos ... and using a Panini press that I got dirt cheap is even better! (I gave the one from Aldi's to the Boy when he went away to college ... shortly after, Costco had one pretty cheap) Loaf of cuban bread (or French - I used this , italian, whatever hearty stuff you have) cooked pork. sliced thin cooked ham, sliced thin pickles, sliced thin (I used hot and spicy dills) mustard swiss cheese (or any other cheese you have on hand) butter Such humble beginnin