From: Faye H.
A tip I learned recently serves possibly 2
situations.  Purchase deli meats, cheese, and
pizza roll in the refrigerator case, next to the
biscuits.  Open pizza dough, spread top with
anything one likes to have on their pizza. Bake.
Tip one:  A pizza at home with little cost.
Tip two:  Roll the pizza + contents jelly-roll
fashion.  Bake.   Cut pizza roll into 1 or 2″
slices.  Serve as round, filled sandwiches.  Can
be taken in lunch bags or served as appetizers at
a party/get together.
Hope this is useful to everyone.

Today I made some homemade buttermilk. This is the simplest thing to make!

I had some milk that was left out and spoiled. Mike in his ever efficiant manner made sure that we all knew it was spoiled. (see picture )

I went to Dillions today to get some 10 for $10 items and found some marked down buttermilk for .39 so I grabbed it up and made some buttermilk. It will be done in the morning just in time for pancakes.

Here’s the recipe if you would like to try it. It works best with whole milk but it will work with skim just be runnier. For this time I just dumped the buttermilk into the milk container because I had used some of the milk already for biscuits.

Tawra

homemade buttermilk

I was going to put off writing this a few more days but time seems to be speeding by faster then usual for some reason this year.  I was afraid if I waited any longer Thanksgiving would be done and over with before I remembered to give you these ideas.

First of all I know that after that big meal most of us take a nap, watch a football game, or play computer games but this year you might try something different.  Before your company arrives set out some board games. Have some for all different ages. Put them out in the open where everyone can see them. You will be surprised at how many will say “I haven’t played this in years and use to love it!”

Have a stack of family photo albums sitting out for everyone to go through, laugh over and remember. This is a great way for kids to learn family histories. It is also fun because the way you remember an event in a picture your brother or sister will probably remember it totally differently and it is fun for your kids to hear  Uncle Bill’s version and how it differs from mom’s or dad’s.

Have a small table set up with a puzzle on it. I like to do a Christmas puzzle and if it doesn’t get done that day I leave it up all through Christmas and when the kids, grandkids or anyone for that matter comes over they always seem to love adding a couple of new pieces to the puzzle. I have a puzzle of a cute Nativity scene that I always try to have done by Christmas Day.

Having these things set out ahead of time helps to entertain everyone while the last minute meal preps are being done and to keep some unneeded help out of the kitchen.

This year don’t let your family once again bury themselves in front of the TV or computer but put out the games, puzzles and photos and start learning to have fun together.

Jill

People are always asking what we eat if I only spend $350 a month on groceries. Actually I could cut that down to $200-$250 if I wanted to but I choose to buy a few more convenient items that we really don’t “need”.

Some things I buy are bagged popcorn, pre-made cookies (I HATE making cookies), granola bars, string cheese, canned soups, chicken nuggets. Things like that. I buy those things because they are easy snacks the kids can get themselves when I don’t feel well.

For the regular dinners I thought I would start posting some of our dinners so you can see what we actually eat.

Last night I needed a fast dinner since I wasn’t feeling good and we got home late because we had to meet with a teacher. Of course, as usual, I didn’t plan what I was going to have. (Yes, I know mother, I need to plan!)

Despite all that I came up with a pretty tasty meal that took less than 20 minutes to make.

Grilled chicken (on the George Forman)

French Bread broiled with butter and garlic powder

Broccoli with cheese on top

Grapes

It was nice quick healthy meal for less than $5 for 5 of us! Not too bad.

Tawra

From: Kat
Hi!
I was just reading about your experience with
zenni optical and wondered what method of payment
you used—did you feel good about dealing with
them? I’m not used to making purchases online,
etc., and the safety and security is always an
issue for me. I briefly looked at their
website, and liked what I saw—but thought that
someone who had personal experience with them,
could guide me better….thank you so much!!! I
appreciate it!

Kat, I personally had a very good experience with them. I have never had a problem purchasing items online. What most people don’t know is that a “human” never sees your card number a lot of time.

In our business we use a secure payment system for receiving orders. Because of this we never see the customers credit card number. So we have not had any problems in this area. Tawra

It’s a new program called Swagbucks. You earn gift cards while searching for things online (like with Google). Now, it’s not a huge amount but it is enough that I am going to give it a try and see what happens.

Sign up didn’t even take 1 minute and you don’t have to give any info. like address or phone plus no fees or credit card numbers to give out.

Elly wants the set of Rainbow Magic fairy books for Christmas so maybe I can earn enough to get her that with an Amazon gift card.

They have a referral program. Refer friends, family or have a blog tell all your readers and you can earn more points and then turn those in for gift cards.  Go sign up here and give it a try!

I read about this from Crystal, thanks for spreading the word!

Tawra

If the kids have any candy left this is a great idea. Tawra

From: Karen
I wanted to send a tip on saving.  After the
kids are done halloweening I grab 24 candies for
each child (I have 4) to save for a countdown to
christmas instead of buying the caledars in the
stores.  I usually have them in a bag but you
can get the kids to decorate shoe boxes or stick
the candy to a calendar with tape.

From: Donna
I have a great and cheap idea to share for
Christmas savings. I love giving gift baskets,
they’re versatile, personal, and best of all…
cheap.

This year I am making a candle and potpourri
basket for my sister in law. I bought a bunch of
the $1 tiny jar candles from Wal Mart and Dollar
General so she can test out new scents, and a big
bag of potpourri on clearance for $2. ($10.00)

For my dad, who LOVES Jack Daniel’s, I’m making a
Jack basket. Since I do not want to hand over an
excuse to become an alcoholic, I found Wal Mart
sells 1 pot Jack Daniel’s coffee bags. I also
found Jack Danie’s mustard and BBQ sauce. ($7.00)

My best friends husband loves to grill, so I
bought a basting brush paper plate holders,
grilling spices, and marinades. ($6.00)

And for my best friend (an Air Force wife and
employee and mother of a 1 and a half year old), a
spa basket. She always seems to be stressed out,
and never gets downtime. I bought a 4 piece green
tea bath mix ($3) from Wal Mart, added two small
candles, potpourri, a bath pouf, and a sleeping
mask. ($18.00)

Needless to say most of my ideas came from Living
on a Dime, I just switched them around a little to
compliment my friends and family. I have a few
more people to shop for, but so far I have not
spent over $20 on any gift, and everyone is
getting about 6 different items.

Hi, I hope everyone likes the new blog. We had some major problems with the other one and we just couldn’t fix it so we had to go to a new system.

If something isn’t working or if you think we could improve something please let us know and we will see if we can fix it.

Thanks! Tawra

Do you have any ideas for Christmas on a dime??? I would love to see some ideas.  I have teenagers who have been happy to receive furniture that I have refinished like end tables and solid wood rocking chairs… things they will take with them when they move out. A Reader

We have several articles here that you can check out here at the bottom. How about it readers? What are your ways to save on Christmas?

Tawra