Michelle has a question that she would love an answer to. Can you help her out?
Would you know where homeowners can obtain free tree seedlings in the Ottawa area? With Earth Day coming, I was hoping to find some free seedlings but could not find anything in this area. Thanks!
Perhaps readers not from the Ottawa area could also chime in with their ideas on where to obtain free tree seedlings anywhere in Canada?
Have you got a question you would like to ask Simply Frugal readers? Submit your question here, and I’ll consider posting it!
Last week I went over my favourite ways to save money eating out. This week I hope to show you how easy it is to make restaurant meals at home, for cheap! There’s something satisfying about creating a meal that tastes really similar to your favourite dish at a local restaurant. It costs way less, the quantity is much larger and well, it tastes great!
One of my favourite recipes that I make is a copy cat recipe for Panera Bread’s (an American chain) Broccoli & Cheddar soup.
5 cups broccoli florets
6 cups chicken broth
1 1/2 cups milk or half & half
1/2 cup plus 2 tablespoons flour
2 – 3 cups grated cheddar cheese
bacon, cooked and chopped (optional)
Steam broccoli until tender, about six minutes. Chop finely. Set aside. In a large saucepan combine broth and milk. Slowly whisk in flour. Cook over medium to medium high heat stirring frequently. Cook until it starts to thicken but not too thick. I usually do it until it just starts to boil. Add chopped broccoli. Reduce heat to med low. Continue to cook about 5 minutes. Add cheese stir until cheese melts. Serve. If using bacon sprinkle each bowl with a little.
Another way I like to create restaurant meals is by making my own pizza! By the time you finish ordering your take out pizza, the cost can be pretty pricey. What I like to do is make up the dough, divide it into two, make one entire pizza then freeze the other half of the dough to have on hand for the next pizza.
I thought I would share one of my ideas for frugal fun!
Quite often on weekends, my Dad and I go for a drive and we bring along our cameras. (Photography is my Dad’s favourite hobby and he’s now teaching me a few tricks!)
We fondly refer to these drives as Photo Safaris. They usually involve a trip to Starbucks as well. 🙂 (paid by Swagbucks!)
Basically, we drive around and hunt photo opportunites. During our Safari on Sunday, we saw an opportunity to take some really neat hoar frost pictures. So we tromped through snow that was well above our knees to “get those shots”!
We have a ton of fun while catching up and enjoying the fresh air! The nice thing about our photo safaris is that we can go any time of the year!
Finally! Mint.com is now available to Canadians! They’ve added Canadian banks so we can use one of the most raved about free online budgeting tools! Here’s some more information about Mint.com:
Mint allows you to do three simple things: See where your money goes, make budgets to stay on track, and set financial goals for the future.
Our tools help you understand how you spend so you can reach your financial goals, whatever they may be.
Since our start in 2007, we’ve become the most popular online tool to organize your money.
Think of Mint as a trusted partner in managing all of your finances.
It really is easy to save a buck here and there in order to reach some goals without feeling deprived. Each of the 10 ways I list below save a significant amount of money, especially over a long period of time, and when they're combined together, these tips save us a lot of money. No matter where you're at financially, implementing one idea can start to save you money instantly. Before you know it, you might even be inspired to start adding a bunch of things together to make your savings account grow in leaps and bounds!
Here are the 10 little ways we save money:
Cook at home:
You all know by now that I'm a huge advocate for menu planning. This has not only saved me money at the grocery store but it keeps me cooking at home.
When I know what to make for dinner that night and have all the ingredients on hand due to my menu planning, I have no excuse to eat out! But, I'm not going to lie, we do like to eat out about once a week. I enjoy cooking most of the time but occasionally, I like not having to do anything!
Bring a bagged lunch:
Going along with cooking at home, I make plenty of dinner in order to have leftovers to bring for our work lunches the next day. All I add is some fruit and homemade granola bars or muffins for snack time!
Use grocery bags as trash can liners:
You know all those plastic grocery bags that keep piling up? Especially when you forget your reusable shopping bags? Well, after recycling many of them, we end up keeping some of them to line our trash cans around the house. I double bag the kitchen bin for added leak proofing.
Pay our bills on time:
This is probably one of the most simple ways we save money. Many of our bills are set up to automatically withdraw from our account come due date time. Saves us the hassle of remembering to pay them on time and it saves us all those late fees that can really add up over time!
Since we have a rule of never charging our credit card with anything over and above what we have in our savings account, we never have to tend with interest rates either because we're able to pay our bill off in full each month.
Swagbucks:
Are you sick of hearing about Swagbucks yet? 🙂 Honestly, earning Swagbuckshas saved me a ton of money when it comes to my weekly Starbucks stop. I'm able to get $10 gift cards with my Swagbuckspoints! My husband and I have also been taking advantage of the $5 Amazon gift cards that Swagbucks offers to pay for another hobby, reading!
Buy Work Clothes from a Thrift Store:
Since my job at a local golf course does not require me getting all dolled up, I tend to buy all my work clothing from second hand stores. I wear through my knees often enough that I can't justify spending more than $5 for a pair of pants!
Shop around:
When we're on the market for something specific, we really take our time in researching the best possible deal for that particular item. Newspaper flyers and online deals really help us save gas money when it comes to research!
Enjoy the Outdoors:
We really like being outside. Especially since most of the outdoor activities we like to do are free! Exploring our local hiking trails, hitting a tennis ball, and bike riding are among our favourite activities!
Use Vinegar:
Seriously, I love vinegar! I use it for so many things! Vinegar has replaced fabric softener, commercial cleaning products and Jet Dry for the dishwasher at our house. I've written another article on why I love vinegar so much right here!
At-Home Haircuts for my Husband:
Now, this one might not fly with many of you, but my husband really doesn't like going out to get his hair cut professionally! I really don't mind cutting his hair since it saves at least $20 a pop! We really like our Wahl Hair Cutting Kit. Me on the other hand, I will not let go of my professional haircuts unless I really, really had to!
What are some of the little ways you save money? What are some of the little ways you could save money?
