I have to inform you, fellow big scrimpers, that there won't be any new posts for the next few weeks. We'll be overseas until the beginning of July, but after that, I intend to write about traveling well on a small budget, although I acknowledge that probably no one can do this better than the Frugal Traveler. (I've been told traveling well on a small budget is called 'flashpacking,' but I'm not so sure about that.)
A bientôt!
Thursday, June 11, 2009
Monday, June 8, 2009
Soups
It's hardly news that a pot of soup goes a long way, but seriously, it really, really does. Case in point: It's been almost two weeks since I made a large and very cost-effective pot of asparagus and leek soup, and I've just now finished it. Granted, I consumed the leftovers with other things (bread, cheese, olives, salads) and made other food in the meantime, but it's still amazing that a pot of soup can stretch so far (so long? so well?). And it was delicious. (Thank you for that, Jamie Oliver.)
Also, the original pot of soup was shared with two friends. This means that it would have stretched even farther if it was made for one or two people. I don't necessarily recommend not sharing food, though. In fact, I feel strongly about sharing food even and especially when money isn't quite flowing (or "rolling", as my mother-in-law says).
Something amazing about lots of soups, by the way (and if you don't already know this), is that they get better the longer they sit in the fridge. The flavors combine, the color becomes richer, and depending what's in the soup, it becomes thicker and creamier. The wonderful thing about the pot of asparagus and leek soup is that the most expensive ingredient in the soup was the asparagus, which was not expensive, especially because it's currently in season in Ontario. Even bunches of organic asparagus are cheap (around $3 or $4 for ~12 stalks) right now. Cheese is wildly expensive in Ontario, which is very unfortunate for cheese extremists like myself, but I bought a small nine-dollar wedge of parmesan to grate and add to the soup once it "went to plate". Because I only used the cheese with the soup, it too managed to last for a very long time.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of said soup to share, but as I get the hang of this blogging thing, I'll be better about remembering to take pictures of ways I'm big scrimpin'.
Also, the original pot of soup was shared with two friends. This means that it would have stretched even farther if it was made for one or two people. I don't necessarily recommend not sharing food, though. In fact, I feel strongly about sharing food even and especially when money isn't quite flowing (or "rolling", as my mother-in-law says).
Something amazing about lots of soups, by the way (and if you don't already know this), is that they get better the longer they sit in the fridge. The flavors combine, the color becomes richer, and depending what's in the soup, it becomes thicker and creamier. The wonderful thing about the pot of asparagus and leek soup is that the most expensive ingredient in the soup was the asparagus, which was not expensive, especially because it's currently in season in Ontario. Even bunches of organic asparagus are cheap (around $3 or $4 for ~12 stalks) right now. Cheese is wildly expensive in Ontario, which is very unfortunate for cheese extremists like myself, but I bought a small nine-dollar wedge of parmesan to grate and add to the soup once it "went to plate". Because I only used the cheese with the soup, it too managed to last for a very long time.
Unfortunately, I don't have a picture of said soup to share, but as I get the hang of this blogging thing, I'll be better about remembering to take pictures of ways I'm big scrimpin'.
Wednesday, June 3, 2009
Savin' G's...
We've decided to start a blog about living very well on just a little (money). Hence the title. Our goal is to share ideas, tips, tricks, etc. about something we've perfected over the years: making very little money and still managing to live well.
We're a young couple, living just outside Toronto, Ontario, though we hail from the U.S. and sometimes really miss the places we used to live in the good old U. S. of A. I (your ever-loving author) am a graduate student working on a PhD in Philosophy, my dude is a mostly unemployed artist, teacher, musician, and occasional traveling salesman.
Let me just say right off the bat that we understand that "very little money" is a relative term. What is "very little" to most of us in the industrialized, Western world is likely "quite a bit" to the rest of the world. This is something that all of us industrialized, wealthy Westerners have to recognize and maybe, just maybe, do something about. (Indeed, doing both of these things may make us realize just how easy it is to live well on what we make, even if it's well below six figures.) That said, our goal with this blog is simply to share what seem like pretty easy, relatively painless, and usually joyous ways of saving money. We know that it's possible to enjoy life and heck, to feel like you're really living it up, even if you don't make much money.
One additional note: I'm not going to disclose just how much money comes our way, partially because I think it's gauche to do so, and partially because I'd like to retain some sense of financial privacy, despite writing (and wanting to write) this blog. For now, I'll just tell y'all that we definitely pull in less than, say, $50,000 per year, we save a bit each year (when we can), and we don't have kids. We do have a cat, who seems like our kid, but caring for her doesn't cost nearly as much as caring for a human kid.
Cheers, big scrimpers!
Here we go...
We're a young couple, living just outside Toronto, Ontario, though we hail from the U.S. and sometimes really miss the places we used to live in the good old U. S. of A. I (your ever-loving author) am a graduate student working on a PhD in Philosophy, my dude is a mostly unemployed artist, teacher, musician, and occasional traveling salesman.
Let me just say right off the bat that we understand that "very little money" is a relative term. What is "very little" to most of us in the industrialized, Western world is likely "quite a bit" to the rest of the world. This is something that all of us industrialized, wealthy Westerners have to recognize and maybe, just maybe, do something about. (Indeed, doing both of these things may make us realize just how easy it is to live well on what we make, even if it's well below six figures.) That said, our goal with this blog is simply to share what seem like pretty easy, relatively painless, and usually joyous ways of saving money. We know that it's possible to enjoy life and heck, to feel like you're really living it up, even if you don't make much money.
One additional note: I'm not going to disclose just how much money comes our way, partially because I think it's gauche to do so, and partially because I'd like to retain some sense of financial privacy, despite writing (and wanting to write) this blog. For now, I'll just tell y'all that we definitely pull in less than, say, $50,000 per year, we save a bit each year (when we can), and we don't have kids. We do have a cat, who seems like our kid, but caring for her doesn't cost nearly as much as caring for a human kid.
Cheers, big scrimpers!
Here we go...
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