Wallet Friendly Dinner Ideas

Well hello there Wednesday......

I'm taking a break from the budget busting series to share a few yummy (and super easy!) recipes that I've been adding to my repertoire.

Cutting down on your monthly expenses is MUCH easier if you make an effort to cook at home. I know many of us aren't blessed with the gift of culinary expertise, but that doesn't mean you have to spend the rest of your life eating from a box.

I find the majority of my recipes from either Eating Well, or Budget Bytes.

Over the last few months, Budget Bytes has been the place to be for me. Easy, quick and most of the recipes utilize several items that I keep on hand (canned tomatoes, veggie broth, etc.).

Below, I've listed a few of my favorites to get you started.....

Enjoy!

First up, chicken taco bowls. This is honestly SO easy. You dump all the ingredients into a slow cooker and BAM - deliciousness. We've had them twice in the last three weeks. Leftovers are perfect for lunch, and I swear - it is even better the next day!

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2011/07/taco-chicken-bowls/


Next up, the Spinach and Artichoke wonder pot. This recipe is AMAZING. Easy, quick and it tastes a fancier then it truly is. Easy on the wallet too!

http://www.budgetbytes.com/2013/10/spinach-artichoke-wonderpot/


And finally, a true staple in our house. It can be jazzed up with a few modifications. I had a friend serve it for a casual dinner party. To make it "dinner party worthily" she added high-quality mushrooms and topped with an expensive cheese (sorry parmesan, you aren't exotic enough!)

YUM! This is also a great option for lunches. It keeps well, reheats well, plus it is easy and delicious.

http://www.eatingwell.com/recipes/skillet_gnocchi_with_chard_white_beans.html

Cheers to a delicious dinner!

Budget Buster Series - Part 2

Ok, so it's been a while - but I'm back on my soap box and ready to spew the second part of FHL's four part budget busting series.

Part two consists of "cutting corners" aka - spending less on all of those  "adult-ish expenses" (cable, groceries, utilities).

Let's start with food, because frankly, if you take a real look at your budget it's probably the area that is currently making your wallet explode at the seems. Have you ever really calculated how much your family spends on food on a daily, monthly or weekly basis? If you haven't - try it. You'll be amazed.

Brag-worthily moment: my weekly grocery shopping bill regularly comes to $75.00 or less per week. For those of you who don't know, I'm feeing two people mouths and three doggie mouths, which equates to a decent amount of grub required.....

Before I left my full-time corporate job, I budgeted $150.00 dollars a week for groceries and I ALWAYS spent it. I would mindless throw all kinds of goodies in the cart each week, only to mindlessly toss lots of stuff we didn't eat. Shameful, I know.

So, you ask - how does one avoid letting their weekly shopping trip break the bank?

PLAN YOUR MEALS! SHOP WITH A LIST! BUY STORE BRAND...............AND......

BRING A CALULATOR

 

Look, I know the last part makes people cringe. We've (Ok maybe we all haven't - I HAVE) judged the lady with 20 kids, a massive coupon organizer and calculator in tow but lets get real and realize that this lady it SMART! She doesn't waste money, and neither should you!

 

The calculator is KEY to keeping you on track. Watching that number grow really does something to your psyche (if you don't need it - don't buy it!).

 

The second "cutting corners" tip - haggle like you mean it people! Cable companies, natural-gas providers, etc. are all vying for your business- MAKE THEM WORK FOR IT.

 

Don't ever pay the advertised price for utilities. Call 'em up and tell them you're leaving. They'll get the message and you'll get some extra green in your pocket (disclaimer: this doesn't always work, and you may get someone with an attitude but for pete's sake at least give it a go! Wouldn't you be super peeved if you found out your neighbor was paying less for the exact same cable package? Use that thought as your backbone and have at it).  

 

Lastly,  take a long hard look at all of those other "no fun" monthly expenses. Cell phone bills, car repair bills, etc. Could you switch to a family plan to make that cell phone that much more affordable? Are you taking your car to the dealership for service (unless you drive a maserati I personally think you are just fine taking a visit to the local mechanic).

 

Remember, the less cash you spend on lame-o adult things, the more cash you have to spend on fun things :)

 

If all of my rambling wasn't enough budget busting advice for you, check out some of the help websites below.

 

 http://money.cnn.com/magazines/moneymag/money101/lesson2/index.htm

(this one mentions "spending creep" which is totally a real thing. Ever heard the phrase "the more money you make the more money you spend".....it happens!)

http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/budget/cut-grocery-bill-jan05

(this one mentions our good friend the coupon!)

http://momanddadmoney.com/negotiating-your-bills/

(the key to getting want you want - BE NICE! BE PATIENT, neither of which is particularly easy for me)

 

Happy Tuesday!

 

Budget Buster Series - Part 1

WASTING MONEY ISN'T GOING TO MAKE YOU RICH PEOPLE!!!!!

Now that we're living lush on a smaller income, I figured I would let you all in on a few  "budget busting" tips that I've learned along the way.

FHL'S "Budget Buster Series" will be made up of four parts:

(1) Three painless and EASY ways to start gaining control over the dollar bills you've got!

(2) Cutting corners (how to reduce your monthly "no fun" expenses: groceries, cable, all that jazz)

(3) Paying down debt (I am a self-proclaimed pro at this!)

(4) Taking a step back and APPRECIATING what you've already got (Do me a favor - clean out your closet. That blouse you never wore. Um, yeah - that was a WASTE of $$$$$)

Disclaimer : I am by no means (duh!) a financial genius, expert, planner or Suze Orman. I am merely a chick who loves to crunch numbers, land a deal and NEVER PAY RETAIL! 

Let's start with part one, shall we?

Three EASY, almost PAINLESS ways to STOP lighting a match to your HARD EARNED dollar bills (and, no I won't tell you to stop drinking lattes. I love lattes. The world loves lattes.  All lattes do not have to fall victim to your new fiscally responsible ways!)

- Carry cash. Debit and credit cards don't always feel like real money. Let's be honest with ourselves, shall we? Swiping is easy, handing over REAL, ACTUAL $$$ hurts a bit! No joke, I cringe at the thought of handing over cash, it is a horrible feeling!

 

- Have separate accounts for bills and fun. Your "bill" account is just that - an account for bills. Your fun account is where you can house your "play" money. Don't beat yourself up about using your play money. If you've paid your bills, funded your savings (even a tiny bit!) then you're allowed to give yourself permission to buy something you want. Go nuts with your fun money on lattes ;)

- Cook at home! I realize this isn't going to be "easy or painless" for some. However, eating out is EXPENSIVE. Especially if you've got little ones in tow, or a husband who wants an appetizer with every meal. 

See, that wasn't all that bad - was it? I didn't tell anyone to stop drinking lattes, or to hunker down in their house and wait to ever come out again until ever single penny of debt was paid off (I'd die in my house if that was the case!).

Happy fiscally responsible latte drinking to you all :) Stay tuned for part two of FHL's four part series!

These old floors - picture time people!

Ah, alas - the flooring project is complete. We're officially floored (cheesy pun? I couldn't resist) with the results. Our wallets are also officially screaming from the pain. Like, holy hell. Flooring isn't cheap ladies and gents. The good news is, it's done and it won't need to be done again for a LONG, LONG time. The floors are pre-finished, but they're also solid (vs engineered) so we do have the option of sanding them down and re-staining once they've been ravaged by pets, shoes and maybe (eventually!) kids and toys....

Please, enjoy the entire adventure in photos.....

Arrival day. Doesn't look like much, but you're look at roughly 1800 square feet of new flooring....

Down she goes!

Dinning room take over:

If you know me well, you know the photo below caused/causes me major anxiety. My precious vintage sofa!

Dinning room almost finished!

Saving vintage features:

The original staircase was dismantled and put back together. We aim to keep as many of the original features as possible.

That's a wrap folks! Special thanks belongs to our amazing friends, Lindsay & Gio as well as our amazing contractor Dan. We couldn't be happier with the results!

DIY Fall Wreath

Happy Saturday all! We've had a bit of a rough week here at casa de Dylewksi, as Andrew had back surgery on Monday. Thankfully, the procedure went well and he has been not-so-patiently recovering at home. As a result of his surgery, the majority of our DIY projects will be on hold for the next few months.

In the interim, we've hired out our flooring install project upstairs (I'm thanking my lucky stars on this one, I simply can not deal with looking at box after box of flooring for the next several months!). Our fabulous contractors will be arriving next weekend, I'll be sure to take plenty of photos :)

To remain calm during this stressful time, I'm doing some small projects to add to "fall flare" to our farmhouse.  Last weekend, I made a new fall wreath. Several years ago, my friend Christina taught me how to make wreaths. It is a fun, simple way to add a little charm to your front door!

I'm not a huge fan of "cluttered wreaths", so I frequently decorate one side of the wreath base, leaving the rest of it exposed. Personally, I like a more rustic look.

You can buy a natural wreath base at any craft store for about $10.00. You can also use a foam base, a ribbon base, the possibilities are endless. For a more simple wreath, I always go for the "natural" base. Once you've found your base, you'll need a glue gun, silk flowers, embellishments and a bow (if you'd like to have one!).

Once your glue gun is hot, go to town! There really isn't a "science" behind wreath making, I just put things where I think they look best. I do advise to lay your flowers, embellishments, etc. out first before you get glue gun happy. It is easier to move things around before you've got them glued down.....

I didn't take any pictures during the process, as I was moving quickly with my glue gun!

Below is the finished product, nothing super fancy, just a nice little burst of fall -

Happy wreath making!
x0x0xx0

Why buy when you can build - DIY Radiator Covers

Oh radiators, how I love thee. Free standing, cast-iron radiators first made an appearance in the 1860's and let me tell you, the ones in our house look to be about that old....

I've always loved the character of exposed radiators; however, when we installed the new flooring we needed to make a decision....

We could shut off the heat and temporarily move the 100(+!) year-old broads, or cease the flooring at the radiator feet and build a cover to "hide" the fact that the flooring didn't go all the way under the radiators. 

Usually, I'm not a fan of going the "short cut" route, but once our plumber started talking about how many full-grown men he'd need to help him carry these bad boys out of the house, my wheels started turning.

Lord knows we don't need to suddenly have 10ish non-functioning radiators, or several broken toes, or a broken back, or any slew of the aforementioned combinations....

SO

We decided to go the radiator cover route and as serial DIYers, we sure as heck wouldn't be BUYING them.

Andrew researched a few options and ultimately decided to build a pretty simple box, trim the bottom with quarter round and purchase pieces of decorative metal for the front. He used solid pine lumber, and then painted the radiators a crisp white.We will eventually put the same quartz we purchased for the kitchen counters on the top of each radiator cover for a more finished look.

For now, I've spruced them up with a few decorative accents (pictures below!).

For more information on how to build an awesome radiator cover, check out this link:

http://www.thisoldhouse.com/toh/how-to/intro/0,,1582598,00.html

Picture Time! Our DIY radiator covers, handmade by the talented Andrew Dylewski ;)

Dinning Room (still needs to be painted):

Hallway:

Kitchen:

Hubs + Fire pit = S'MORES!

A few weeks ago, Andrew got the brilliant idea to build a fire pit in our backyard.

I'll be honest, I wasn't totally sold on the idea, simply because I'm not the biggest "outdoors woman". I don't like being too hot, or too cold, or rained on, etc.

I do, however, like to eat s'mores.

SO....I  agreed to let him dig a giant hole in the yard.....

And, I've gotta say, it looks AMAZING!

Huge "shout out" goes to Gio for spending his weekend helping Andrew get this thing finished :) What can I say, we've got amazing friends!

Our fire pit fun can be found below - happy marshmallow roasting!

Framing/retaining wall built:

Side picture of the pit (waiting on surrounding stones):

Front (still waiting on stones):

All finished (wine and all!):