Paying Almost $500 Less Monthly and Gaining Home Ownership, A Hobby and A New Love

Like many people these days, I have been struggling to not only make ends meet but just to have ends. I have over 100 job applications in. The days of deciding where I'd like to work are past. I just want a job, any job. Formally a professional writer, presently one month shy of panhandling.

A problem I was running into though was that I needed more then a job...I needed at least two to pay my monthly expenses. I live very frugally, drive a motorcycle to save gas and insurance, eat A LOT of tuna (mercury poisoning is less fatal then starvation) and pretty much have cut so many corners I don't have any left. Still I was looking at potentially living in someone's closet if something didn't change soon.

Then inspiration came in the voice of my dear friend Margie (aka my guardian angel I think sometimes). Financially savvy, her and her husband are 100% retired in these lean times. When she talks, I listen. And recently she was talking about an upcoming rv vacation, and listening has paid off big time.

Mentioning an rv spot cost them $250 a month, all utilities included meaning internet and cable TV also, a light bulb went off in my head. Why couldn't I do that permanently? Calling around, I found a park near where I live for $375 a month, internet, water and cable TV part of the deal. I pay electricity. Just that brings my total monthly expenses down by almost $500.

In addition I'm with in walking distance now of Walmart, a large Goodwill, a bakery and an old fashioned green grocer. I get a small yard I can fence off, access to a laundromat, an address with no apartment number and the pride of owning my own home. If I wanted a pet I could have one with no deposit or fuss. If I hadn't given up smoking I could now smoke in my own place.

Better quality of life, increased opportunity to save money and reduced monthly expenses as well as buying an investment that I can live in and enjoy. And the downsides are....

I'm SO glad I had my listening ears on! ^.^ See photos of my new home in my albums!

Survival Savings

Been awhile since I last posted to Penny Pinscher and a lot has changed in my life.

I went through a sudden divorce, moved out on my own and have been figuring out how a divorced writer that stayed at home with her kids for the past 17 years is supposed to make it in a job poor economy. I thought I was frugal before.... I wasn't even close. I'm getting a crash course in survival economics.

The past year has been an interesting one. I cringe when I think of some of the money I wasted and I have learned many new things. The whole last year of my life seems a little unreal, like an overly dramatized movie. I can see it now...

~Crouching Pinscher - Hidden Pennies~

A acolyte of frugality climbs up the mountain to see the wise man at the top who could give her the secret she yearned for. After a long montage rich with scenes of suffering and struggle she reaches the top to stumble and fall at his feet.

"How do I save more?" she gasps. He looks down at her now lean from long months of eating tuna and walking to save gas.

"If you want to learn to be a truly frugal saver you must first learn to save frugally." His voice creaks as his bushy eyebrows knit together like hairy caterpillars having a smooch. She looks at him imploringly.

"Can you teach me this knowledge?" The only sound is the wind blowing through her empty change purse, whistling mournfully. Their eyes meet, and from somewhere in the cave music from Rocky starts playing.

"I can teach you, but it will be hard. You will save like you have never saved before, eat things you never thought you would eat and learn new skills. You will want to quit, you will fail and have to try again but if you persist you will succeed and become a master like me."

"And live rent free in a cave?" She asks hopefully.

"If you are lucky and learn well, Grasshopper." (fade to black)

Well, I am learning. Necessity is a great teacher and I have already learned so many new things I look forward to sharing. At the moment I am making a move that saves me $500 a month which I will be discussing at length here. And no, I am not moving back in with my mother.

I'll be dishing out the details later today and redesigning a few things. Penny Pinscher has grown up a bit and is entering a whole new arena of savings.

Rubber Roast

This month I have spent $135 on groceries to feed a family of five, plus three cats and a large dog. I include pet food, cleaners and toiletries in with my grocery money. That's $35 a week to feed everyone, and I've got some big eaters.

I keep the food bills low several ways:

• I get free cereal and snack foods at CVS and Walmart by use of coupons with sales.


• I keep my eyes peeled for windfalls like wild fruit or a neighbor's over productive garden.


• I make leftovers on purpose and use them up.


• I keep chickens, so I have a source of high quality protein (eggs) for very little expense.


• I trade my eggs for other food items.


• I make recipes like Rubber Roast to stretch our food dollars.

I use the term "recipe" very loosely in reference to Rubber Roast. It's more a conceptual menu then a recipe. It expands and contracts easily to fill in a week. This elasticity is why I call it Rubber Roast. Besides, it just sounds funny.

Here's how you do it. First, purchase a low cost pork roast. I try to purchase my meat for less then $1 a pound. My last roast cost $1.13 per pound.

Day One: Fried Pork Steaks, Boiled Potatoes and Salad

1. Prepare the roast for surgery, and cut thin slices off one end. I have five people in my family, so I made five slices.


2. I boiled up ten large potatoes and put the rest of the roast in a large pot of water with a little soy sauce and as many carrots, onions, tomatoes and other veggies as would fit in the pot with the water and roast.


3. I fried up my pork steaks and served meat, potatoes and salad.


4. Leftover potatoes and pork roast went in the fridge for tomorrow.

Day Two: Chopped Pork and Veggies Over Cheesy Potatoes

1. Pulled out boiled roast still in its pot and heated it up.


2. Chopped up remaining potatoes with butter and cheese and microwaved them. I use a pastry cutter and a bowl to make it quick and easy.


3. Spoon out some meat and veggies with a slotted spoon to keep liquids in pot.


4. Add grains to remaining liquid and continue to heat. There will still be plenty of veggies and meat bits left in the pot. Remove bone and save.


5. Serve meat and veggies together with cheesy chopped potatoes and salad.

Day Three: Vegetable Pork Soup with Fresh Cuban Bread and Salad

1. Take the soup out of the fridge and start heating it up. Add water if it needs it and any spices to taste.


2. Make easy Cuban Bread from Amy Dacyczyn's Tightwad Gazette.


3. Serve soup, salad and fresh bread.


4. Reserve about 4 cups of soup, watered down as needed.


5. Soak dried beans - enough for another meal.

Day Four: Pork Fried Rice and Veggies

1. Make rice, using the remaining soup, veggies and meat instead of water. Try to make enough to have a little extra.


2. In a skillet saute chopped carrots, green beans, onions, celery and whatever you have on hand. Add soy sauce when they have softened.


3. When rice is done, add to skillet and mix everything.


4. Start your beans boiling with your pork bone.


5. Put leftover rice and veggies in fridge.

Day Five: Pork & Beans With Cornbread

1. Start heating up your beans from yesterday. Remove pork bone at this point and discard it (or give it to your large dog).


2. Make your cornbread.


3. When your beans are hot, add rice and veggies from yesterday. Rice and beans make a complete protein and are delicious and satisfying together.


4. Leftovers from this meal go into the fridge for their final act.

Day Six: Quesadillas and Salad

1. Spoon beans, meat and veggies from container and microwave.


2. Chop lettuce, tomatoes, olives and anything else you like in a Mexican salad.


3. Lay a tortilla in a hot pan, add beans and cheese and top with another tortilla.


4. Serve with salad.

And you're done. You've just saved money by stretching that roast out over nearly a week. You've also saved a lot of cooking time since after the first day everything is practically instant. You probably haven't eaten out much either, saving more money.

Next week I'll be pulling out my crock pot and seeing if I can stretch a chicken for a week. I think I'll call it Everlasting Chicken;)

Free Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio

Hot Freebie Deal From iMommies:

From Penny Pinscher: I just did this deal and now have two radios on their way for $0. This will be great to use with the kids to keep track of them! Thanks iMommies... please make sure yyou check out her great site for more deals!

Regularly priced at $29.99, this Bellsouth Two-way Talk Radio with a five-mile range is on sale this week at Buy.com for $10. Use the Google Checkout promotion to discount your purchase by $10, and pay $0 out of pocket.

Of course, this is only for ONE radio, so if you don’t already have one in your household, it would be most helpful to purchase TWO! Only one use of the Google Checkout promotion discount is allowed per email address and credit card, so if another member of your family has not yet used Google Checkout…shop away! The promotion ends June 30th!

1.) Click HERE to access Buy.com
2.) Click the Weekly Advertised Deals tab at the top of the page
3.) Click on the $10 Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio image to display the product details
4.) Add the item to your Buy.com cart
5.) Select Google checkout to receive the $10 discount
6.) Select free shipping. (If your total isn’t $0, you’ve missed a step (unless you live in the sales tax states of California, Massachusetts, or Tennessee.)
7.) Receive your free Bellsouth Two-Way Talk Radio within a few days (usually much faster than their website indicates).

Buy.com allows one free Google checkout item per email address and credit card. (You’ll have to enter your credit card information to check out, but once the Google Checkout discount is applied, your item will be free.)

There IS Such a Thing As a FREE Lunch!

Working at a school can help you learn some interesting things. I've learned that the teacher's lounge always has some sort of baked good waiting there. I've also learned that kids are much more fun when you don't have to clean up after them. And recently I learned that a majority of schools around the nation serve free lunch and breakfast to any child under the age of 18! There are no forms to fill out, no income to verify, no IDs to show. Children just walk in and get lunch.

It's all part of the Summer Food Service Program created by the USDA. While I couldn't find a comprehensive list of all sites involved, I did find plenty of info on Google. Looks like most states participate. I called the schools near my house to find out which ones participate.

I've actually had personal experience with this program prior to rediscovering it. A few years ago I would take my kids to the park at noon and there would always be a group of moms and their kids gathered for lunch.

The kids would have a blast getting out of the house to meet friends, and I loved having the midday meal taken care of every day. It was playdate and lunchtime all rolled into one. I loved it.

I'm curious to see how the program works in other states. In New Mexico it was held in a park, and here in Florida it is held in all the schools. Let me know how it is where you are in the comments section and be sure to spread the word. Who doesn't appreciate a free lunch these days?

Super Saving Saturday!

It's been awhile since I did my SSS update. The truth is, I've been working like crazy and have been too busy to CVS. *GASP!* I know, that's hard to believe...

The one trip I've made recently was to get three Colgate toothbrushes, two bars of Johnson's Buddies soap and six Cadbury chocolate bars for 13 cents OOP plus $12 ECBs back. Not too impressive, but I'm still happy with it.

Now that summer is four days away, I'll be down to two jobs and have TONS more time to spend at CVS and at Penny Pinscher. Four days to freedom! Wahoo!

Note from Penny Pinscher: New to CVSing? Crystal over at Money Saving Moms has an excellent CVS primer you can read here.

Flashback Time: Remembering Redneck Economics

The other day a friend of mine told me how to catch a gopher. At first I was perplexed.

"Why do you want to catch a gopher?" I asked.

"To eat him!" was the matter of fact reply with an implied "Duh!" for punctuation.

"Oh!" I answered, and a light went on in my head.

Gophers are made of meat. Gophers are made of free meat. Gophers are free range, antibiotic free and pretty much organic. They apparently taste like chicken. Did I mention that they were free? My interest was piqued. There are only a few problems I could see.

1. I've never caught a gopher.


2. I don't know where any gopher holes are.


3. I'm not sure I really know what a gopher looks like.


4. I'm not sure I could really drag a fuzzy little creature out of a hole with a broom handle, nails and can contraption, look in his soft little eyes and then bean him (even if he is made of free meat).

Suddenly I realized my limitations as a child of the suburban middle class. While I was wasting my teen years gawking at A Clockwork Orange and David Bowie, my redneck counterparts were learning useful skills like automotive repair and gopher catching.


When the economy starts sliding and push comes to shove, what skill have I got? I know how to apply eye liner like Robert Smith. What about my redneck brethren? He's smacking down gopher soup that he caught last night with a Busch Lite can.


The heat is on in our country and suddenly The Great Depression doesn't look so much like ancient history. The rich are insulated with a fat pad of wealth and the brains to keep it. The poor were already in the middle of a fight to survive. It's the middle class that gets the brunt of the shock wave.


In my two car, two and a half bath world it's a nasty surprise to look around and think "What do you mean, I can't afford milk?" It doesn't compute to the Liz Claiborne and Areopostale set. It's taking some of us a moment to let the new reality sink in. Driving and food are expensive. Computers and cars don't really need to be upgraded every year. No, we can't move up into a better neighborhood in the next six months.


My gophers-as-food conversation brought to my attention, however, that there is a valuable subculture among us that can help us all, if we can keep from turning our noses up. Like the Indians showed the early pilgrims how to hunt and grow corn, our twangy accented neighbors suddenly seem invaluable for their do-it-yourselfer ways.


A few days later I had another short conversation that made me re-evaluate our nations middle class values. At the school where I work I was urging children to look through the heaps of lost & found items that had gathered on the cafeteria stage before they were donated to charity.


"Make sure you look for any lost items!" I reminded an Abercrombie & Fitch clad mini fashionista as she cruised by without a glance. She waved a rhinestone covered hand dismissively in my direction.


"My mom never wants me to bring back items if they have been in the lost & found." she declared with a sniff. "They might have cooties."

Amazed, I thought "Good for her!"

One of these days her mom will look around and realize that her credit's run up and American Express is no longer her friend. In the meantime, I'll take her $75 cast off pullover home with me. I have an old fashioned machine called a 'warsher' that kills cooties, and I need something to wear while sitting around the fire pit enjoying my Fuzzy Catch of the Day Fricassee.'

Note from Penny Pinscher: Originally posted on January 23rd, Redneck Economics has been one of the most popular posts ever to appear on this blog. Besides making numerous networld appearances and being forwarded into inboxes everywhere, the opening lines of Redneck Economics were selected as Wisebread's Quote of the Week. We hope you enjoy this flashback!