How to Cancel TV without Giving It Up

I have cable TV and internet, and I'm seriously considering giving it up. Yes, I love my CNN, Food Network and Bravo, but I've come to realize that TV is not only a huge time waster for me, but an unnecessary expense. I pay an extra $25 a month on top of internet for my basic cable, but most of the time when I watch TV, I'm doing it through my computer.

This is because I have the double whammy of Internet TV.... Netflix.com and Hulu.com.

Netflix

I pay $9.71 for Netflix and I only get one movie a month. I also only normally watch one movie per month. This is because what I really get out of Netflix is the Instant Queue feature. Netflix has tons of TV shows that have been released on DVD to watch on your instant queue. You can watch as many as you like and they stream directly to your computer. My husband and I have watched the first four seasons of The Office, I've watched the first season of 30 Rock, and there are a bunch of other shows we are hoping to work our way through.

Hulu.com

Hulu is a website that offers many many shows right after they have aired. Some shows only have the last episode, or the last five, but a few have entire seasons worth on there. I watch Private Practice, Grey's Anatomy, Top Chef, Legend of the Seeker and several others. They even have The Daily Show. The best part is that it is completely free.

So when you're looking to squeeze a few more dollars out of your budget, consider making a quick call to your cable company and dropping your TV service. The internet is all you need!

Frugal Food - Three Ideas for Frugal Dinners

Image by ExperienceLA

More often than not, by the time the end of the month comes we are out of grocery money. 

Groceries are where I slack off in the planning department. Because my husband and I keep odd and busy schedules, I'm reluctant to buy fruit and veggies because they tend to go bad. I also don't keep the pantry stocked as well as I would like, and we rent so our freezer is tiny. 

Often I find that I need to head to the store to pick something up for dinner and I generally don't have much money to spend. I have a lot of cookbooks, but I've found that often the recipes I make myself based on what is in my fridge or what I'm craving serve me well. Isn't there a saying that necessity is the mother of invention?

Here are three of my easy dinner staples that are simple and cheap.

Potatoes and Peppers with Cheddar Cheese

Ingredients:

1 Red Pepper

4 Red Creamer Potatoes

1/4 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese (Grated)

2 Tbsp Olive Oil

Dice the potatoes and the peppers. Heat the oil in a wide pan and add the potatoes. Stir over medium heat for 8 minutes. Add the peppers, cover and cook for another 7 minutes, stirring occasionally. When the potatoes are browned and cooked through, divide into bowls and cover with the grated cheese. 

Serves 2 with lunch leftovers for one.

Egg and Cheese Burritos

2 Large Flour Tortillas

3 Eggs

1/4 C Sharp Cheddar Cheese

1 Tbsp Oil

Heat the oil in a small frying pan or omelette pan. Break eggs into a bowl, add a tablespoon of water, and beat with a fork. Put half of the eggs mixture in the frying pan. Cook as you would an omelette. When done, place omelette in the center of the tortilla. Sprinkle half of the cheese down the middle, then roll it up. Repeat with the other half of the ingredients. 

Cheese and Tomato Pasta Bake

1 Can Diced Tomatoes

2-3 C Small Pasta Shells

1/2 C Cheddar Cheese

Preheat the over to 350 degrees. Cook the pasta in boiling water according to directions. Drain the pasta and place in a small casserole dish or pan about 8" by 8". Mix in the can of tomatoes, cover with the cheese and bake for 10 minutes or until the cheese starts to brown. 

You can add garlic or other herbs as you choose to bump up the flavor. 

By the way, thanks for visiting and reading Distilled Rose. Your presence is noticed and appreciated!

Life Lessons Learned from Kickball

Image by Bunch of Pants

I am so sore today from playing my first ever game of Kickball. It was tuesday and my company had a random day off due to rules about actors actually needing rest. Because I have 11 consecutive days of work coming up, I took the day off too and myself and 7 of my coworkers went to play Kickball in the park. None of us are very sporty so it was a lot of fun, though we did get competitive in the end. 

Upon reflecting on it today, there are some things that a game of Kickball can teach you. 

1. You Can Have Fun Without Spending Money

8 grown adults were able to go out and be completely entertained for several hours with a ball and a field for free. No money was spent except in gas to get there, and one person rode a bike and spent nothing. 

2. If You Want Something Better, You Should Ask For It

When we got to the park, the ball field had a man and his son doing batting practice on, so we started playing on a slope, which meant we were pitching downhill and first base was an uphill run. After a couple of innings, I went over and asked very nicely if the man would mind trading spaces, since he was just throwing balls to his son. He agreed and we got to move to a nice flat field, simply because we asked. 

3. Good Friends Will Support You

Not only did we all cheer each other on a lot during our game, but there were a few times when Daniel might not have made a catch that Doug was right there behind him as a safety net. Keeping each other pumped up and excited made the game more fun, and people letting me know if I made a good kick made me feel so much better even if that kick was caught and I was out. It was the support of my friends that made it so awesome. 

4. Teamwork Goes a Long Way

A ball can bounce out of one persons hands and another teammate can be right there to catch it before it hits the ground. Life can be like that. 

5. Winning Isn't Everything

Today at work all of the Kickball players were sore and tired, but we were all laughing and raving about the game and what a good time we had... and almost no one mentioned which team won. It was the game, not the win. 

6. Memories are Free

I was on the winning team, we were in extra innings, and we were tired. Finally the bases were loaded, bottom of the twelfth (I think), and I ran home from third and scored the winning run. From there we all started screaming and I ran into my teammates arms and he swung me round and both teams came over and we were laughing and jumping up and down with excitement (mostly because the game was over and we could stop being out of breath). It was like a scene from a movie and it's a memory that I will have for the rest of my life. 

It's moments like that, memories like that, that will stay with me.... and there is no price-tag on that. It was blissfully free and will last a lifetime. 

6 Easy Tips for Water Conservation

Photo by Malla Mi

A short while ago I asked readers for water conservation tips. My water bill increased by 10% last month and with it being dry season here in Georgia, I feel motivated to cut my water usage.

Georgia, Florida and Alabama have been in pretty serious drought situation for a while now. Because the population of Georgia and Florida is not getting any smaller, this will surely only get worse. Conserving water and using it responsibly is important for us, because Atlanta gets most of its water from Lake Lanier and last year the lake dropped to record low levels. If that lake somehow gets drained, it's going to be very difficult for the city to get as much drinkable water as it needs.

Even though I know I won't make a dent in the water levels on a grand scale, I can certainly still try and do better by being thoughtful and taking a little extra time to be smart about my water habits. It will probably save me money too.

6 Great Water Conservation Tips

I got some fantastic responses from readers about water conservation, and with a little extra research I have some tips that anyone can implement without having to purchase any special equipment.


1. Use one glass or refillable drinking bottle throughout the day instead of using fresh glasses each time. This reduces how often your dishwasher will be full and allows you to run it less, thus reducing water usage..

This is a great point and something I am particularly guilty of.

2. Instead of putting leftovers in the garbage disposal and washing them down with water, throw them in the trash or compost them.

I can definitely start doing this, but I live in an apartment complex so I can't compost yet. I will try to when i get a house though.

3. Catch tap water in a watering can or bucket while you are waiting for water to warm up. Use this to water the plants.

I used to be great about doing this but have slacked off recently. Time to start again.

4. FrugalWannabe recommends putting a small bottle of water in the tank of your toilet to displace water and therefore using less each time you flush.

Now that I've stopped drinking bottled water, I'm just waiting for the right bottle to come along to try this.

5. Andrea G recommends putting a bucket under the shower while it's warming up and then putting that water in the washing machine.

I think this is a brilliant idea, since washing machines really do use a lot of water.

6. Kelly from Almost Frugal recommends selective flushing, where you don't flush the toilet after you pee, only after you um, do more solid things. Make sure that everyone in your house is okay with it and remember to flush before guests come over.

Of everything on the list, this is the one thing that I am already doing

So with a tiny bit of extra work and no money, I think anyone can reduce their water conservation. Even trying one of these tips will probably help! Please let me know if you have other water conservation tips that work for you!

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Need to Save Money on Entertainment? Watch the Olympics

Photo by CleverCupcakes

I get very excited whenever the Olympics come around. I'm not a sporty person, but I really enjoy watching the Olympics. So many countries come together in the spirit of friendly competition and thousands of athletes get to fulfill lifelong dreams. To even get the opportunity to compete is a really really big deal. 

Since the Olympics are in Beijing and there is a 12 hour time difference, that means that the events are being covered live in the evenings. That also means that for the next two weeks after you get done with your day, you can just flip on the TV and hang out and watch live Swimming, Gymnastics, Basketball, Fencing or anything else you might fancy.... and it's all free! You can also watch almost everything online if you don't have television. Just cook an easy meal or get a bunch of friends together and cheer on your country of choice!

I'm lucky, I get to support three countries in the Olympics. I am an American Permanent Resident, having lived here for seven years, but I also get to support my home country of Great Britain, and since my great grandfather was from Switzerland I can cheer them on too. And of course, if all of that fails you can always root for China since it's their games and as the hosting country they automatically qualified for every single event!

Things to Learn From the Olympics

1. It really doesn't matter what country you come from... it matters how you play your sport. Differences get put aside and become irrelevant. 

2. Dreams can be achieved with hard work. 

3. Team work can lead to greatness. Just ask the American Mens 4x100m Swimmers Relay Team. 

A Menu Planning Experiment

A few days ago, my husband and I sat down with a huge stack of recipe books. I'm quite the collector when it comes to cookbooks, so we had a lot to go through. We each went through the books and marked on a post it note the page numbers of recipes we would like to try. By the time we were done with five or six books, we were a little weary and called it a day. 

However, we had marked more than sixty new recipes that we would like to try. Later this week I will be turning them into a small database and we will start going to the store to get ingredients for three or four of these new meals at a time. Then, we will start the great menu planning experiment. Anything to shake the eating out habit. 

Do you menu plan? Do you have favorite recipes? How do you avoid eating out?

Rainy Days and Water Conservation

It's raining here in Atlanta again. It sounds gorgeous, and it is definitely needed.
However I did just get my water bill and I'd like to try and lower it since it went up this month. As we are renting, we can't make any alterations to the apartment. I already run the washing machine and dishwasher only when they are full. Does anyone have any other tips that could help me cut down on about 10%-20% of our water use?

All comments are greatly encouraged and appreciated.

Frugal Food - Lunch for Less

Photo by bmann

Buying lunch is the achilles heel of many people on a budget, especially if you have an office job. It is so easy to duck out to a fast food joint with your colleagues, or order chinese food for delivery. 

Bringing your own lunch is definitely recommended, but I always forget to make myself something every day. Recently, though I've started having the same lunch every day and I don't have to spend time in the morning making it. 

I eat an English muffin, toasted and a wedge of Laughing Cow spreadable swiss cheese. The muffins come in a pack of 6 and the wedges come in a pack of eight. 

This costs me approximately $0.70 per lunch session. 

If I want to jazz it up I might add a piece of fruit or a hard boiled egg. True, this is a relatively small lunch, but I'll also drink a nice big glass of water as well and it gives me enough energy to make it through the day. 

I would say this probably saves me anywhere from $10 to $25 weekly, depending on where I would go for lunch. I keep the muffins at my desk and the cheese in our community fridge. English muffins tend to keep for about 8 days or so without any trouble, so I don't have to worry about them going stale. 

What are some of your frugal lunch ideas?

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Frugal Food - Cost Analysis of a Lasagna

Yesterday I came across a great article about 20 Healthy Foods for a Dollar on Yahoo.

It was a good inspiration to figure out how much I spend when I cook. I really love making food, and eating out is too expensive for me right now. So after a trip to the Farmer's Market, I decided to figure out how much money I was saving by making my own Lasagna.

Ingredients:

Ricotta Cheese - $1.00
Canned Tomatoes - $0.80
Garlic - $0.05
Sundried Tomatoes - $0.15
Orange Pepper - $1.18
Mozzarella Cheese - $2.00
Portabella Mushroom - $1.00
Zucchini - $0.81
Lasagna - $.30
One Egg - $0.20

Spices from my Cabinet

Total - $7.49

Cost per Serving - $1.49

It took me about five minutes to prep everything, which included making my own very basic tomato sauce out of canned tomatoes, garlic, sun-dried tomatoes and oregano. I just pureed it together in a blender. I mixed the ricotta with the egg and some basil, and then layered the vegetables, lasagna noodles, mozzarella, ricotta and sauce in two layers. Then I put it in the oven for 30 minutes at 375 degrees.

I'm really pleased with how inexpensive this was. I always felt that is was cheaper to cook, but I've never sat down with a grocery receipt in my hand and really looked at it. The only thing I would change would be using red pepper instead of orange, which is all they had at the market. It would probably have lowered the cost by a few cents.

I think there are some things that I do make that are probably less cost effective, like when I make pesto with store bought basil, pine nuts, and really good parmesan cheese. It's definitely a lot more pricey for what I can do with it, unless I just use it as a pasta sauce.

I think it's a good idea to work out what you're really spending when you cook and to check to make sure that you are getting the best value for money when selecting ingredients. Could you substitute one kind of squash for a cheaper one? Is Watermelon a better value than Cantaloupe?

So what is the cost per serving for your favorite home recipe?

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Five Ways to Entertain Yourself for Free (Or Cheap)

It's really hard to find new and entertaining things to do when you are on a budget. I find myself going to movies or coffee shops to get out of the house, which is not the most frugal thing to do. 

So here a few things that I would recommend that you can do to entertain yourself cheaply. 

1. Urban Exploration

Pick an area of your city or town that you have never been to and go and explore it on foot. If you are a budding photographer, take a camera. Look for nice trees, odd mailboxes, strangely named stores. 

2. Join a Meetup Group

There are group for just about every topic in just about every area. Maybe you could join a book club or a philosophical discussion group, or take tours of peoples gardens. The possibilities are really endless. 

3. Go to College Theatre

Most colleges put on one or two theatrical productions a year, and most of the time they are free or cheap. College productions may not have elaborate sets and costumes, but they tend to take more risks with production types, so you can often see some meaty material or a new interpretation of a classic. Also, colleges tend to draw smaller crowds, so the cast and crew will often greatly appreciate your presence. 

4. Fly a Kite

No one seems to fly kites anymore. It's sad because kite flying can be done anywhere that you have an open space, and it is a lot of fun! If you want to invest in a more expensive stunt kite I would recommended finding friends to split the cost with you. If you are looking for something a little less expensive, though, you can try something like this well rated Rainbow Kite.

5. Volunteer

Something in your community is bound to need volunteers. Be it a community center, a park, a zoo, a theatre, a school, an art gallery. This is a great way to meet people and experience something different, and it's good karma too!