Someday A Goat

Price book analysis: bacon

Ideally, we would buy bacon without sodium nitrite, but the budget is tight and we really love bacon. We tend to stick to Hormel or Oscar Mayer. Oscar Mayer had a $0.75 off coupon a single package of bacon in last Sunday's paper. We're nearing the end of our bacon stash, so I'll be buying again soon.

decent sale price

        $3.50 per 16-ounce package

consider stocking up

        $3.00 per 16-ounce package

buy as much as you can use

        anything less than $3.00 per 16-ounce package

--- good rule of thumb - spend somewhere in the $3.25 range on an average basis ---

We spent the better part of 2005 and 2006 attempting to perfect a bacon prep method, but strangely didn't buy much bacon in 2007, it's possible I missed a few receipts. I highly doubt that I only bought 7 packages of bacon in an entire year. It's early December 2009, and we have already surpassed our purchases for 2008. We got a cast iron pan. What else do I need to say? Except -- go get yourself one. Lodge is the brand we love, it's cheap and readily available -- everywhere from the dusty hardware store to fancy cookware stores.

Bacon is typically sold by the pound, although some specialty varieties, like center cut, are 12 ounces. Bacon prices fell in late 2007 and went back up in the summer, fall and early winter of 2009. For most of 2009, prices have been steady and low, and in terms of regular pricing, we're back to 2006 levels.

In a world without coupons and sales (aka regular prices)

Please note that I did not pay these prices, it's just based on the advertised regular price when on sale.

The regular price of bacon varies widely from store to store, so if you consume a lot of bacon, it's worth spending 5 minutes to figure out who has the best price without coupons or sales. I tend to pay the most attention to this metric when the difference between regular price on an item is $0.75 or more. That's how much $600 would earn you monthly in a 12-month CD earning 1.5% interest.

The cheapest regular price that we saw on Oscar Mayer regular-cut bacon was $3.99 at Publix in May 2009, and the most expensive was Kroger in August 2008, at $5.49. For Hormel regular cut, the typical Publix regular price for me was $4.79, although I did see $4.49 in June 2008. The highest price is $5.49 at Kroger in August 2009.

My best deal by per ounce price was $0.109 per ounce, or $1.74 per 16-ounce package.

Oscar Mayer 

I used to prefer center-cut bacon, until I admitted that cheaper regular-cut bacon is where it's at when your husband is a master chef of bacon. We bought 14 packages of Oscar Mayer center-cut bacon, mostly in 2006 and 2007. Our low price of $2.99/$3.00 per 12 ounces was in late 2006/early 2007. The most we paid was $5.49 for 12 ounces in January 2008, and haven't bought it since. The average price per ounce was $0.3658.

In the past 2 years, regular-cut bacon has been the standard; almost all 18 packages were purchased during that time frame. Every single purchase of this type of Oscar Mayer bacon since 2006 was at sale price. My low price was $2.50 per 16-ounce package this past June at Publix, and a high price of $3.99 in August and October of 2008 at Publix. Average price per ounce was $0.1983, with an average total price of $3.17. Despite good intentions, it's only this year that I've managed to align an Oscar Mayer bacon purchase and coupon. A decent sale price is $3.50, with a target price of $3.00.

Hormel

A recent addition to our favorite brands list (via a coupon!), we've bought 16 packages, mostly in 2009. We didn't try the brand until June 2008. I couldn't resist the low regular price and coupon. Despite one iffy batch, we love this bacon, especially considering the price point; it's nice to love the cheaper option. A little more than half of the purchases were made on sale, although the averages below are a little off when compared to Oscar Mayer because if we need bacon and buy full price, it's usually Hormel. We bought a few packages of center cut when on sale, but averages below are based on just the regular-cut black label Hormel bacon.

Average price per ounce is $0.211, typically about $3.37 per package. The lowest final price that we paid was $1.74 per package in August 2008 at Kroger, and we've paid full price at Publix ($4.79) a few times because we needed bacon. A decent target price is $3.00 per package -- Hormel goes on sale often enough that you should be able to find that price on a regular basis.

Coupons

I was only able to use coupons on 5 of 47 transactions, but bacon sales are common so it's easy to stock up at low prices. A Hormel coupon introduced us to the brand, and there's an occasional Oscar Mayer coupon.

Differences between stores

Only one of 47 purchase were at any store besides Publix or Kroger. These days I only buy bacon at Kroger if it's a good advertised deal as Publix is our usual store, and they often run the great 2/$6.00 deal on bacon brands that we buy. 

Looking at the big picture over time*

• average price per package: $3.66 (includes both 16 oz and 12 oz packages)
• average price per ounce: $0.250

2006 (first purchase 8/30/06) 10 purchases, 12 packages, 152 ounces (9.5 lbs) $46.62

2007 6 purchases, 7 packages, 88 ounces (5.5 lbs) $27.34

2008 15 purchases, 15 packages, 232 ounces (14.5 lbs) $49.53

2009 18 purchases, 23 packages, 288 ounces (18 lbs) $77.65

*Two purchases of Smithfield bacon and two packages of thick-cut bacon are included in overall figures, but not accounted for elsewhere as we only have bought a few times.

Random notes

• first purchase was 8/30/06 - we've recorded 47.5 lbs of bacon since.

Introduction to price book analysis series

Fruit Roll-Ups

pickles

toilet paper

Click on the price book category on the right to see all available posts.

Please note that my price book posts are based entirely upon my own opinions and purchases. Product links may be affiliate links. This is not a sponsored post. Since I enter all data by hand, chances are good that I'll occasionally make a mistake. Prices do not include tax as it varies by location, and prices may be specific to my store/city. Copyright 2009 Someday A Goat. Enough with the disclaimers already!

2009 Christmas budget: making it jolly

Working on my wreath last year. I spent about $11.08 on all these materials and made a simple wreath.

Decorations, cards, postage, gifts for each other: $80

This includes anything for the house, holiday cards and postage, and what's left over gets divvyed up between the two of us for presents. I've already spent $56.61, so I'll probably hold off on any other decorations until the sales after the holidays. That leaves us only $23.29 for presents for each other. Looks like we'll end up over budget, but not by much.

Holiday cards

I was planning on using any holiday card I have around, but I found a good compromise using a VistaPrint deal for free postcards. I paid shipping and adding color to the back side of the card. The service was pretty easy to use, although the quality isn't the greatest. They were super cheap, though, and I'd hate to kill more trees by sending them back to be reprinted. I'll send longer letters to a couple of family members. I probably wouldn't have done cards last year, but I got a holiday bonus, so I had a little extra money. It was mid-December, so we sent cards with a happy new year message, which we're doing again this year, which has the added benefit of giving me more time to address the cards.

• $26.60 stamps (book of 20 regular rate, 3 books of 20 postcard rate, $1 shipping)
• $14.10 holiday postcards (100)

Decorations

I've bought a few ornaments, but I really don't need much. Last year I spent $11.08 to make a nice wreath for the front door. We'll reuse that, and probably get real garland for the top of the entertainment center again. The cats destroyed the inexpensive tree skirt I bought last year, so I'm not sure what to do about that, I'll probably make something. I also like to fill various vases and hurricane lamps with inexpensive ornaments and LED tea light. We keep it pretty simple.

• $5.12 ornaments and small present at Pottery Barn -- used a $50 gift card, and all items were free shipping. I linked through Upromise, so I'll earn a bit of extra money. We like to have a wide variety of ornaments that don't all match, so I get a few nice ones each year.

Random

I recently used a couple of credits to order prints from Kodak Gallery to send to friends and various holiday projects. I got about $45 worth of pictures for just over @$10.

• $4.86 Kodak Gallery shipping to use $20 bonus credit for photos for family members
• $6.03 Kodak Gallery shipping, used $15 credit to order prints and a photo ornament. I used Ebates, but stupid me, clicked though on the rebate, not the reduced shipping plus rebate. Could have spent even less!

We don't have a lot of holiday expenses for hostess gifts or children's parties. Usually, if we're invited to a party where I feel obligated to bring a hostess gift, we pick up an inexpensive bottle of wine and this comes out of the regular food/beverage budget. We do the same with any meals we make for guests around the holidays. When we hosted a big holiday dinner for our parents last year, my mom bought the prime rib, so everything else was very doable in terms of budget. A potluck holiday dinner could save even more.

TIPS

• Pare down the holiday card -- don't do photo cards, or if you do, look for good deals on prints. Unless you get fancy with the cards, postage will most likely be your biggest expense, so start early when looking at your mailing list so you are prepared. Order stamps from USPS -- pay only $1 over the face value of stamps to save a trip to the post office and make sure that you get the fun holiday stamps you want (many post offices will run out). Spending a dollar to save a last-minute trip to the post office during the holidays is a deal indeed.

• Start with a special and basic ornament collection, add a few each year. You can always say you're going for simple elegance.

• Don't buy a big tree, or get a real one. It's easier to decorate (and store) a smaller tree, and artificial trees have improved drastically in the past few years and can be reused.

• Start stockpiling pantry items like cream soups, sugar, flour -- any non-perishable food and baking supplies that you tend to use every year. If you're keeping a grocery book (link), make a list of items you know you'll need and the prices you want to pay, and keep that in your wallet so you can instantly spot check a good deal.

2009 Christmas Budget Series

Introduction

Presents

2009 Christmas budget: presents

Presents: $165

• 5 siblings (3 on each side, including in-laws): $15 each

Having a smaller budget forces creativity. Our families are generous at the holidays, so I try to put a lot of thought into our small-budget presents. This year, I'm thinking social calling cards for a recently moved sibling, a cute photo album and photo-printing credit to the sibling that just got back from abroad, possibly a small craft project including ticket stubs from the very early 90s for a music-loving sibling. The two that are living somewhere in the Indian Ocean, they're the hard ones.
$90 total

• Parents (only 3 living): $10 each

They might say they don't need anything, but it's easy to be thoughtful with parental presents. Usually, if you involve photos already printed, you're golden.
$30 total

• My gift exchange at work: $25

I work for a small, close-knit company, and we draw names for holiday presents. There's no rule on amount, and some spend more than others, but $20 to $25 is the general guideline. Last year, I spent $20 and felt cheap. Granted, money was tight, and I sewed an adorable little pouch to enclose the gift card, but I can do $25 this year.Even if it is the single largest line-item present in our budget.

• Prized nephew: $20

I made him an awesome toy last year, spent $16.37, and I'm not sure what to do this year, especially since it's our second in a row  at home, which is not where he lives. Regardless, he gets the most money allocated of any family.

Inexpensive present ideas

• Homemade ornaments, look to CraftyPod for ideas.
• A letter saying why you love that particular person and favorite memories of them.
• Scan in old photos and send prints to everyone in pictures.
• Wine stopper
• A Do-It-Yourself Christmas, from Get Rich Slowly in 2008

Ghost of Christmas Past

Last year, I budgeted $210 and spent $278.61.

• $80 for 4 adults and 1 child on my side, spent $99.68
• $110 for 7 adults, spent $114.49
• Didn't budget for each other, spent $36.87
• Didn't budget for wrapping presents, spent $7.57
• $20 secret santa at my work

Totals do not include significant gift card usage from cards I had saved throughout the year, but I have included shipping costs.

Update 11/19/09: Lifehacker has an awesome spreadsheet gift planner. Check it out!

2009 Holiday Budget main post

2009 Holiday Budget: making it jolly

2009 Christmas budget

 

Our holiday budget is $245, everything included: presents, holiday cards and postage, and decorations. That's all I could wrangle out of our budget. Isn't bad, considering the first contribution toward $245 came out of a 10/30/09 paycheck. Eventually these weddings have to slow down, and we'll be able to start saving for the holidays earlier in the year. If I get a holiday bonus, a little may go to bolster the budget, but most will go to debt, with 20% to the emergency fund. Resisting the urge to buy a new camera. Resisting, resisting, resisting.....

Quick & Dirty

• Presents: $165
• Everything Else: $80

Last year was the first we came close to realistic about how much money we could spend on the holidays. I worked my rear off to get somewhat nice presents on a very small budget, and decorate my house to host a holiday family celebration for the first time. At least I remember working my rear off. I realized when I recently started looking for my notes about last year that I had notes scattered and a bit incoherent. I had to pull a Quicken report to figure out exactly how much I spent.

Our planned holiday budget was actually a little higher last year: $255. I said above that we came close to realistic, which is laughable, since we ended up spending $382.32, which is $127.32 over budget. However, compared to what we spent in previous years, it's progress. We spent $62.25 on decorations, $41.46 on holiday cards, and $278.61 on presents. I'll break this down in future posts to look at each category, and see where the weaknesses were.

Tips for setting a holiday budget

• Once Halloween starts showing up in stores, start thinking about a budget and presents. Ideally, this would happen throughout the year, but who's perfect? Get started around Halloween and you should be fine.

• Sit down early with a schedule of paychecks and bills through the end of the year and find where you can make some room for holiday expenditures. It's not a bad idea to extend the schedule through the first or second paycheck of January. We're lucky that my husband gets paid biweekly, and I budget for just two paychecks for him per month. October is usually a 3-paycheck month, so the money gets divvyed up between the holidays and debt paydown.

• When you're making progress on paying down debt, it's hard to not feel guilty about spending money on the holidays, but we're human and winter celebrations are important. You don't have to spend a lot of money, you could still have a joyful holiday on $40 or $50. It may take a lot of creativity and time, but it's worth it. Even just writing a letter to your loved ones, telling them what you've appreciated about them in the past year, is a simple and inexpensive way to show you care.

• Use store coupon's from retailers like Michael's to slowly purchase decorations over a couple of weeks and keep it simple.

• Use programs like Ebates or Upromise to get cash back for your expenditures from online retailers. Research shipping codes to or plan purchases to get free shipping.

• Plan, plan, plan. If you know what you're up against, it's not nearly as stressful.

Simple Mom has a great series about breaking up holiday tasks to manageable chunks. She started in early October with the "12 Weeks to a Peaceful Christmas" series, and each post is full of great ideas. She starts with setting a budget, so make sure to check it out.

2009 Christmas Budget Series

Presents

Making it Jolly

Saving on Sunday

I scored some really great deals on Sunday, and inspired by Money Saving Mom's Super Saving Saturday series, I decided that a post was in order. Also in order? A new camera. Our 2003 model camera is just not taking great pictures anymore, especially since we lost our fantastic tiny tripod somewhere in the last few months. Maybe Santa will surprise me. 

I also used a coupon for a free car wash with an emissions test. My registration renews this month, so the car wash is a nice $13 bonus as an emission test is required.

First stop: Publix

Mainly because I really needed a fountain soda for my big errand run. Plus, double papers go fast at our Publix, so I try to go early to pick one up and check out the penny coupon. 

Spent $17.56
Saved $19.59

sale items

• Muellers Pasta: 2 boxes bowties 12 oz; 2 boxes sea shells 16 oz $1.29 regular price each, paid $0.38 each (BOGO store sale, $0.55/2 manufacturer's coupon)
• 2 Emerald mixed nut 10 oz $5.79 regular price, paid $2.90 each (BOGO)
• Peter Pan whipped 13 oz  $2.47 regular price, paid $0.01 (penny coupon -- we usually use Jif, but for a penny, this is going to my work food stash)
• 2 Dove Ultimate Clear visibly smooth 2.6 oz $4.49 regular price, paid $0.65 each (store sale $1.70 off each, BOGO Publix coupon, $1.50/2 manufacturer's coupon)

needed despite price

• yellow onion 0.66 lb $0.65 -- for the chicken stock I made last night. We had everything else.
• baguette 8.5 oz $1.19 -- for dinner, we already had broccoli and chicken breast at the house.
• Sunbeam Old Fashioned 20 oz $2.69
• double paper $2.36
• fountain soda $1.29

Second stop: CVS

Spent 1.64
Saved 2.90

• Colgate Total Advanced Fresh paste 5.8 oz $4.39 regular price, paid $1.49 ($1.40 off store sale, used $0.50 ECB, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon). I received a $1.00 ECB for this transaction that I'll use on something we need in the next few weeks.

Third stop: Kroger

Spent $10.77
Saved $19.24

sale items

• 3 Kleenex 130-count Aloe & E tissues $2.19 regular price each, paid $0.66 each (store sale $0.70 off each, $0.50 off each from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion, $0.50/3 manufacturer's doubled
• 2 Zesta Crackers 16 oz $3.19 regular price each, paid $0.99 each ($1.70 store sale off each, $0.50 off each from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion)
• YoPlus blackberry & pomegrante 4 cups, 16 oz total $2.49 regular price, paid $0.49 ($0.50 off store sale, $0.50 off from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon)
• Reynolds parchment paper 30 SF $2.99 regular price, paid $1.29 ($0.20 off store sale, $0.50 off from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon)
• 2 Bic Soleil Twilight 3-blade razors 4 count $4.59 regular price, overage of -$0.70 each (BOGO store sale, $3 manufacturer's coupon each)
• Colgate Advanced Clean gel 5.8 oz $3.85 regular price, paid $1.50 ($0.85 off store sale, $0.50 off  from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion, $1.00 manufacturer's coupon)
• Chapstick 0.15 oz $1.59 regular price, paid $0.50 ($0.59 off store sale, $0.50 off from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion)
• Cheez-Its 9 oz $2.99 regular price, paid $0.24 ($1.50 off store sale, $0.50 off from Buy 10, get $5 off promotion, $0.75 manufacturer's coupon)

needed despite price

• Tropicana OJ Homestyle 64 oz $2.89
• onion 0.51 lb, $0.51 (dropped other one in parking lot, need one not to peel, we'll use the first one in something that requires onion sans skin)

Fourth stop: Walgreens

Spent 1.52
Saved 16.89

• 2 Almay One Coat mascara 0.4 oz $6.99 regular price each, overage of -$1.00 each (Wcoupon BOGO, 2 IVC $4.00 each)
• Cottonelle fresh wipes 42 count $3.89 regular price, paid $1.99 (Wcoupon $1.90 off -- couldn't use a manufacturer's coupon on this because I had so much overage on the mascara, and you have to pay all sales tax. No complaints here!)

Technically on Saturday: Ulta

I received a coupon for 20% off entire purchase in the mail, better than the 20% off single item that comes in the paper, so I headed to pick up some of my favorite lotion and some facewash. I ended up snagging some nail polish along the way -- I absolutely love the color.

Spent $28.40
Saved $10.70

Neutrogena Deep Clean 6.7 oz $6.49 regular price
Korres basil lemon body milk 8.45 oz $15.00 regular price
2 Essie Mademoiselle nail polish 0.5 oz $8.00 each (one bottle for a girlfriend that also really likes it, and they were having a buy one, get one 50% off, so it's a small saving on a splurge)

- 4.00 Essie buy one get one 50% off
- 6.70 20% off coupon

(all prices do not include tax, except total purchase price, and some store's regular pricing is less than realistic, take the overall "saved" numbers with a grain of salt)

Finally received our state tax refund

We just received our state tax refund in mid-July. Since we had paid one quarter's estimated taxes last year, which turned out to be unnecessary, it was quite substantial -- $1,120. I had many plans for that money. I'd been making lists ever since we received the return from the accountant. Big chunks to the credit cards, big chunks to savings, lots of little necessary chunks for various household projects.

Once the check was deposited, I felt like we had a little breathing room. For about 2 days. Then I started to panic that we would just spend it all, as we always do when we get a windfall amount like this. So I hit my list of plans for the money and got busy prioritizing and transferring to savings.

Where it went and will it stay there?

Budgeting is always about priorities, and planning ahead means that priorities are much more likely to be met. We mainly focused on sending some money to the credit cards, and taking care of a lot of little things.

Debt: Just over $300 went to the cards. The stupid tax lives on.

Garden: We desperately needed some weed-killer for the lawn, which was pretty and green when we bought the house and has been devolving ever since. We also set aside funds in the garden ING account for future expenditures: lawnmower service, mulch, whatever comes up this fall.

House: The garbage disposal has been leaking badly. We priced them a few months ago, and decided that the bowl catching the leak was a better solution than a cheap replacement. We've set aside $150 to offset the cost and now need to start researching models and how to replace the unit. We also set aside $125 toward an eventual guest half-bath remodel. Initially, we were going to do the whole project with the refund, but decided that there were more pressing matters. I'm still on the fence as to whether this was a good choice, I may transfer it to another priority as nothing in the bathroom is actually broken. It's just depressingly ugly.

Misc.: My passport expired in May and we have family out of the country, including a grandmother. Renewing the passport was a must for this refund. My car hasn't been washed since August 2007, so it's getting detailed. The E Fund contribution was reduced to $10 from $100, which was sad.

Fun: We rarely eat a dinner out that costs more than $30 or $35 on the high end for the two of us. As in we've been eating Chick-fil-A and the like way more often than spending on eating out like we used to, although most dinners have been cooked by my husband in the past year. So we went to one of our favorite restaurants and splurged on a $55 meal, which included a big tip. Another $50 went to a bachelor party, and $50 saved toward our trip to Napa for a wedding.

What didn't make the priority cut

What I thought was a ton of money didn't go very far, and I had to cut some low-priority expenditures. The good thing about planning is that I didn't end up spending the money on the below items only to end up not having the money for things like a stinky, leaky garbage disposal that's older than some of my coworkers.

• Health club dues -- if we were serious about working out, we'd go on a walk, use our on-demand fitness options on the TV or play tennis at nearby courts.
• New deck fund -- our deck needs to be replaced, probably next summer. I only wanted to put $10 toward starting a fund, but couldn't make it work.
• Tree service -- a couple smaller dead trees in our yard need to be removed. Since it's unlikely that anything would be harmed if they fell, this came off the list.
• Pest control -- we have a termite bond that requires an annual payment, but I wanted to start quarterly pest control inside service. We didn't have a lot of bugs inside this year, so it went on the back burner.
• Cats -- I had planned on taking the cats in for an annual checkup, but it's going to have to wait a little while until we can pay for it out of a paycheck.

Jeremy at Generation X Finance posted today about starting small when it comes to building savings, and that's exactly what we've been doing for the past year. A lot of our little allocations won't be spent right away, they're sitting in category-specific ING accounts until we need the money. It may be only $10 going to the E Fund when we're able, but it's something and each time I'm able to transfer that money, I feel a little bit encouraged that we can really do this.

Cheap anniversary, tasty dinner

We went to New Orleans to celebrate our third anniversary at Jazz Fest, but our actual anniversary in May fell about a week after we returned and we wanted to celebrate inexpensively. The dinner we made was extremely tasty and also extremely cheap for the quality of the ingredients.

One of our favorite stores in Atlanta is a little deli and provisions shop, Star Provisions. It is attached to one of the finest restaurants in the Southeast, and as they put it, it's like having access to the pantry and walk-in cooler of the restaurant. Cheeses, meats, breads, spices, cookware -- the variety of items is almost intoxicating. They also have a local farm stand during the growing season.

 

The funny thing is that it is often the most frugal option for us. We can buy bulk spices in bulk and save significantly over even a cheap grocery store. I'm sure we could find bulk prices at other stores that beat these, but when it's so much cheaper than pre-packaged goods from the grocery store, and the quality is so high, why go cheaper? A few cents is not worth it in this case. Some of our recent bulk purchases (and I don't mean large quantities by bulk, we only buy what we can reasonably use) include bay leaves, peppercorns and lentils.

 

The total cost of our meal was approximately $17.78, excluding alcohol. Normally we would have had wine with dinner for an occasion like this, but we classed it up this time with Coors Light cans. The $0.60 we spend per can was much more manageable than all but the cheapest wines. And in our house, cheap without quality is a last-ditch option.

Menu

Pork tenderloin sandwiches with farm-fresh tomatoes and sauteed onions on baguettes, and salad. Prosciutto for an appetizer, and strawberries with balsamic vinaigrette for dessert.

We had lovely prosciutto to start, with plain buttered baguette slices. A little fleur de sel (fancy sea salt) and fresh ground pepper enhanced the meat quite well. Going simple with your dishes is one of the easiest ways to save money and still enjoy expensive ingredients. The most expensive parts of the meal were the prosciutto and the strawberries, and both were so good that they were worth every penny.

While my husband prepared dinner, I portioned out the bay leaves and lentils that he had bought at the store that day.

Unfortunately, when I went to portion out the lentils, I managed to spill them EVERYWHERE. You know you have a good marriage when lentils are scattering all over the kitchen in the middle of dinner preparation and all you can both do is laugh.

With the oven preheated to 350F, the foil pouch with leftover pork tenderloin was put in the oven to warm up. My husband sauteed the onions in a cast-iron pan, with salt and pepper and a little butter, on medium low. After the meat was nice and warm, he toasted the bread in the oven, after brushing just the top half with butter before toasting.

The sandwiches were simple -- pork, topped with farm-fresh tomatoes (uncooked) and sauteed onions. They were heavenly.

Even though we ate a good number of strawberries before dessert (some of the best either of us has had), we enjoyed a nice plate of strawberries drizzled with balsamic for dessert. Perfect end to a lovely meal. One of the best parts of the evening? He wouldn't let me balance the checkbook. There are some occasions where chores like that just have to wait.

A friend of mine has an anniversary tradition that fits with a frugal lifestyle. Each year, they each spend about $20 to $25 on a gift for the other, but only within the traditional themes, such as paper for first anniversary, wood for fifth, bronze for eighth. I think this is a great idea, adaptable for any budget.

Total food cost: $17.78

$4.08    proscuitto -- ate about half (total $8.16 for 0.375 lb)

$3.00    4 mini baguettes

$4.00    local farm strawberries

$3.00    local farm green leaf lettuce

$0.35    local farm tomatoes (approx 6) $3.00 total -- used not even half of one

$0.30    half an onion leftover - at our common price this spring of $0.99/lb, I'd be surprised if half of a small onion cost more than $0.30

$2.50    The pork tenderloin was bought in early April half-off at Kroger and frozen for just this sort of occasion. We thoroughly enjoyed it the night before in the oven, and the leftover are what we used for the sandwiches. The tenderloin cost a total of $5.11 ($1.99/lb), so we'll say that $2.50 was the meat cost for this dinner of sandwiches.

$0.55    Teriyaki marinade -- the garlic probably only added pennies, let's say $0.05. We paid $0.17 per ounce for the teriyaki, and probably used 2-3 ounces, so $0.50 is a nice round guess. Other spices were used in the marinade, but it would add minimal cost.

Please note that this doesn't include electricity costs, nor does it account for the bit of butter, parmesan and balsamic used in cooking and garnishing. If you had to buy an entire bottle of balsamic vinaigrette (we mix our own) or a chunk of parmesan cheese, cost of replicating the meal might be much higher.

Collards and pork hocks

This post is from Thankful's husband A, who loves to cook.

Despite basically spending all but the first two years of my life in Atlanta, I never really ate collard greens, a classic southern staple.

With age I have come to appreciate many dishes that would have sent me running for the hills had I seen them anywhere near my family’s kitchen. I really got fired up about collards after a New Year’s Day party a few years back. The hostess, my friend’s mother, had prepared some fantastic greens and I decided it was time to try my hand at them myself. As luck would have it, my first effort was a remarkable success, giving me a somewhat deceptive culinary ego boost.

Future attempts did not go as well, one of the problems I encountered while trying to develop a recipe was the lack of details in most of the recipes I found online. Each pretty much said boil some hocks or pork neck bones and toss in your greens. Voila! Yeah, not so much.

The vast majority of greens I have been served were prepared horribly. I can count on one hand the restaurants at which I have enjoyed greens. They’ve been bitter, gritty, scummy, cooked beyond all reason and any combination of the above.  Where to start? After all, I’m not trying to make them edible, I’m trying to make them great.

The constant in any recipe is pork. Being quite the fan of pork bbq, I decided smoked hocks were my choice. Who doesn’t like a little smoky flavor? Rather than just tossing a hock in boiling water and letting it fall to pieces, I opt for a slow simmer to make a thick, full-bodied stock. This will take several hours, so it’s worth doing a large batch. After cooking, then cooling in an ice bath, I separate the stock  into pint- or quart-sized containers and freeze them for future use. This allows me to whip up a batch rather quickly on a hectic weekday. You could also use chicken stock if you wanted, but would you really want to?

 

I typically use 2-3 hocks, a few stalks of celery, a medium onion (quartered), a few cloves of garlic, half a tablespoon of black peppercorns and a bay leaf or two, then cover the hocks a few inches over the top with cold water. Put them on the stove on high and keep an eye on the pot, you DO NOT want this to come to a boil. Once you see bubbles about the size of a pencil eraser, turn the stove down to medium low and maintain that level of heat. After about 15 minutes, use a strainer or a spoon to skim the scummy grey layer on top, but don’t stir the pot. Let the stock simmer for as long as 3 hours, skimming every 30 to 45 minutes.

At this point you have some options. You could just add spices and throw in your greens, but I don’t recommend it. The stock you have just made should be loaded with flavor and gelatin, and the greens would be overwhelmed. I suggest straining the stock and returning a pint to a quart to the pot, possibly along with one of the hocks for good measure. Let the rest of the stock cool, then portion it out and freeze.

Ice Bath: To cool stock, don’t just place in the fridge while still warm, which will drastically change the temperature conditions inside. Instead, place bowl of stock in a slightly larger bowl, with a layer of ice between, until cooled down.

A’s Collard Greens

• Salt – Start with a quarter cup for a large stock pot
• 1-2 onions, whatever kind you like
• 1 HEAD of garlic – that’s right, a whole head
• 1-2 tbs paprika
• 1-2 tsp chili powder
• 1 tbs whole black peppercorns
• 1-2 tsp cayenne
• 1-2 tsp mustard powder
• 2-3 bay leaves
• ½ to a whole lemon OR approximately ¼ c apple cider vinegar – you can also use a combination of the two. I find one of these two to be important to countering the bitterness in a lot of greens.

That’s pretty much it – you can add any spices you choose, chives are a good addition as is oregano and basil. I will use fresh cayenne peppers, jalapeños or even habaneros when I can get them. Add all the seasoning to the pot, add water and bring to a boil for 20-30 minutes.

While the pot boils, prep the greens. Pre-cut and washed greens have become a common sight in my local grocery and will save some time and effort. To go the fresh route, get ready to do some washing. Greens are often quite sandy, so a good soak in a sink full of salty water will help take that off and take care of any bugs that might be in residence. Drain and give the greens another good rinse, you don’t want to miss any dirt and sand.

Next, remove the large veins that run down the center of the leaves, they don’t cook evenly and aren’t particularly tasty. Hold the leaf at the base of the vein and pull the leaf down. It should tear away from the vein fairly easily. Then tear the leaves into smaller pieces.

Before adding greens to the pot, you will want to taste the cooking liquid. It should be a level or two spicier and saltier than you want the greens to end up. Basically, it should taste like a grossly over-seasoned soup. If not, you will need to adjust the spices accordingly. I like it to be a little less salty than sea water and spicy enough to get your tongue tingling.  

You are now ready to boil some greens. Throw them in the pot a few handfuls at a time and when they have wilted down, add a little more. Let them boil on medium to med-high for 30 to 45 minutes. Drain greens with a slotted spoon, serve and enjoy!

Check out other blogger's take on Fearless Fridays and find more info about the series at Home Ec 101.

Price book analysis: pickles

We basically buy two brands of pickles: Claussen and Wickles Pickles. Claussen mainly for snacking, and Wickles Pickles are heavenly on a burger with cheddar. I never enjoyed pickles growing up, but I didn't realize that they could be so fresh and crisp. We made two purchases of a third brand, both ill-advised and not tasty. Other great brands may be out there, we just happen to stick with what we know. Eventually, we'll try to make our own pickles with home-grown cucumber.

Of 16 pickle purchases since August 2006, only one has been at a store besides Publix, so I don't have a good store-to-store comparison. I probably missed some transactions made with cash, especially since good pickles are a splurge for us. I've started noticing Claussen coupons lately, so we'll probably use them for a small treat.

Our ability to afford more splurges is evident in our increase in purchases lately. We went from spending under $10 in 2007, to just over $30 in 2008. Total recorded purchases came to $46.15 for 16 transactions, ranging from $1.25 to $3.89, with an average price of $2.88.

Not all pickle jars are the same size, so per-ounce comparisons are most useful on a tight budget.

My average per-ounce cost for pickles overall is $0.1525, the range runs from $0.05 to $0.24 per ounce.

Good pickles are worth it, and not all inexpensive pickles are bland -- it just depends on the application.

Claussen

Seven purchases were various Claussen varieties -- dill halves, spears, sandwich slices. The average price was $2.16 per jar, and $0.0778 average price per ounce.

For Claussen dill spears, $2.00 per 24-ounce jar is a good sale price.

Stocking up isn't always practical with something that requires refrigeration, but anything below $0.07 or $0.08 per ounce is worth it if you have the room and will use before expiration.

Pricing the pickles

Between the two, only Claussen has regular sales prices that I've found, and I've only used a coupon once ever for pickles, just recently for Claussen. That said, price is not the most important criteria for us in this category. Wickles Pickles, which is from a smaller producer out of Alabama, makes spicy and potent pickles that are worth every penny. I like supporting a regional producer, and I really like tasty pickles.

Wickles Pickles

In a nice bit of symmetry, we also purchased Wickles Pickles seven times, the sweet chips variety. All were priced at $3.89, except for one purchase in May 2008 at Publix where they were $0.40 off. This breaks down to about $0.243 per ounce on average. I'm thinking about price checking some other stores to see if I can get a better price. We might splurge more often, especially since it's shelf stable with no refrigeration required.

Stopping the bad car habits

I’ve been bad about car maintenance. My car was due for an oil change last fall, and with the furnace debacle, a Thanksgiving trip back home to see my family and Christmas, I just didn’t get it done. It’s been on my to-do list week after week, and I just ignored it. I finally called last week, and came to find out my last oil change was long enough ago that I don’t want to admit how long it’s been, and that I was due for my 40,000 mile service.

 We dropped off the car last night, and I had been antsy all morning, wondering what problems might crop up. At 38,000 miles, this is the point where the car is no longer new and needs a close eye to keep expensive bills at bay. Since I didn’t work for about a year of the time that I’ve had the car, the mileage is pretty low for more than four years of ownership. I hope to stay in this car for at least four more years, but at the very least until the credit card debt is paid off and we have enough cash for a significant down payment. Both of us drove our previous cars until they basically were no longer driveable, so depending on how well I take care of the car, I may even get more than a decade out of it.

When I bought the car in March 2005, I went ahead and bought the car care service plan. I know these things can often result in paying a lot more for service than necessary, but my mom offered to pay for it, and it’s been a blessing ever since. As bad as I am about car maintenance, I can’t even imagine how bad I would be without the majority of my service appointments being prepaid over the past four years.

 With the service plan, the 40K maintenance will cost more than I had set aside, but still only around $200. What will cost a pretty penny, however, is the other services that need to be done. I talked to the service manager around 11 am this morning, and my back brake pads and rotors need to be replaced, my brake fluid flushed and new wiper blades.

 I could thank them for figuring out what needed to be done, pay for the maintenance, then take my car to a cheap brake place, buy wipers at autozone and skip the brake fluid flush. But honestly, I’ve had a great experience with this service department, they have fixed very expensive items at no charge AFTER my warranty expired, and I have a foreign make of car with a specialized engine and I feel more comfortable with the dealership service. Plus the logistics of locating another shop and transporting my car there, dealing with getting to and from work in the meantime and wondering if I’m getting good service, it is simply worth the money to me. Knowing my luck, my brakes would fail on the way there.

Maybe when I’m perfect and plan and research maintenance and schedule things ahead of time, I’ll be able to do things the “right” way. I have to find a way to be more responsible about something with so much effect on my bottom line (as an asset and in its importance in my ability to earn money).

But for now, I’ll just cringe at the large chunk of change that I’m putting into my car. I’d rather pay a little more now and have the peace of mind that I won’t have to deal with brake failure while traveling at 75 mph on the highway and approaching a traffic jam.