Among the frugal living blog world, I find meal planning to be the norm.  I agree with the notion that if you fail to plan you plan to fail. However I don’t think it is necessary, or even wise, for me to plan meals for my family.

I believe that I keep quite a tight grocery budget despite my un-organized-ness.  My brand of frugality is more spontaneous and has to do with creativity.  Number one in my book is to “Use it up.”

My meal planning is thus:  I look in the fridge, freezer, and pantry.  Could I invent a meal from these items? We may end up with creamed peas over mashed potatoes, but we are full and happy.

Obviously, some meals require a little bit of planning: thaw the meat, soak the beans, etc. Every evening I have a good idea of what I will be eating for lunch and dinner the next day.  But the meal planning toted on other blogs (blogs that I love dearly, don’t get me wrong!) is much more involved.  It involves keeping a binder, rotating recipes, assigning certain meals to days of the week, weeks and months of planning in advance, and, frankly, a whole lot of time!

I have tried conventional meal planning on more than one occasion and I just can’t make it work.  For several reasons:

First, I cook for only two adults.  We are perfectly capable of eating spaghetti leftovers for three days.  Likewise, if we are not hungry we may not eat anything.  We don’t have children that we are responsible for keeping healthy or happy.  In my tries at meal planning I always purchase and cook too much food for us.

I don’t like to have a weekly shopping day.  Instead I shop when we need food; about every 2 weeks.  I buy Spencer’s lunch food (meat, cheese, yogurt, bananas, chips), milk for Spencer, and then stock up on items to refill my stockpile.

My fridge always has carrots and cabbage because they keep well.  Depending on the season I have either apples or oranges.  I also keep eggs and butter.  The freezer has corn, peas, and broccoli.  Sometimes I buy meat at a good price.

I fill in with other “treats” that are marked down, on sale, or seasonal like green peppers, mushrooms, and asparagus.

In my pantry I keep canned tomatoes, dried beans, garlic, potatoes, various whole grains, and various pastas.  I also keep basic baking ingredients like flour, sugar, baking powder, etc.

I follow ratios and formulas more than recipes.  A meal for us has some sort of carb (potato, whole grain, or pasta), a protein source, and a vegetable.  Instead of following a recipe for a fritatta I will saute whatever veggies I have and add seasonings that go well with the vegetables.

I don’t love spending time in the kitchen.  Spencer inhales whatever I put in front of him which can take the fun out of a fancy meal.  Sometimes I get in a baking or cooking mood and that is when I look ahead and stock my freezer.

Part of the reason the “pantry” method works for me is because it is how Mom plans meals.  Growing up we lived 30 minutes from a decent grocery store so we couldn’t run out for supplies when we needed something.

Does it pay off? Over the last three months our grocery spending, according to Mint, has averaged about $200 per month.  Spencer also makes purchases that I don’t track, but estimate to be about $100.  This includes people food, toiletries, drinks, snacks, coffee shops, restaurants, and pizza.  We eat out or order in about once each week. I think this number is decent because this is not a bare-bones budget.  Spencer and I both drink alcohol and soda (in moderation), I have a severe coffee addiction, and we make meals out of Reese’s eggs on too many occasions.

Point being: Do what works for you.  I, of course, love the saying “Make it do.”  If meal planning doesn’t “do” it for you, then don’t do it! Try something new.

No, I cannot make my debt-free scream yet, but I have Baby Step #1 done ($1000 in the bank) and am ready to go gazelle.

I thought I would share my transcript for when I call in to the Dave Ramsey show in May of 2017.

Dave: Next up we have Kayla Kramer calling in from Iowa.  Hi there, Kayla, you’re on air.

Kayla: Hi, Dave, thanks for much for having me on the show.

Dave: No problem, Kayla, what’s up?

Kayla: Well, Dave, I’m just calling to say I’m debt free.

Dave: Wow, let’s hear about it.  How much debt did you pay off?

Kayla: $29,001.92 in 64 months.

Dave: That’s great.  Making what kind of money?

Kayla: I work as a public school teacher and make about $30,000 per year.

Dave: Wow! How’d you do it?

Kayla: Well, Dave, I paid myself first, depositing a portion of my paycheck into an online account that I did my best never to see.  I documented my debt-free adventure on my blog, Kayla K’s Thrifty Ways.  I was able to help others along on their journey and was able to turn a small income from the blog as well.  I also put my artistic talents to use.  I started a new website, Kayla’s Daily Doodle, and started to sell my crafts at the local farmer’s market.

Dave: And how old are you, Kayla?

Kayla: I’m 27 years old.

Dave: Wow, Kayla, what’s up next for you?

Kayla: My husband and I are looking forward to purchasing our first home with more than 20% down.  We also hope to start a family soon.

Dave: Wow, Kayla, what a blessing to start a family on such a solid foundation.  Alright, let’s count it down!

IIIIIIIIIIIIIII’m DEEEEEEEEEEEBT FREEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEEE!!!!!

Mark my words, blog readers.  This. Will. Happen.

And, hopefully in less than 64 months.

My crochet-with-recycled-materials addiction is swiftly overtaking my life… and my living room

Everyone I know and love has a plarn tote from me, and my closet is filling with extras.  I have even more than I need for a single grocery shopping trip.  It is about time I did something useful with this strange addiction!

I have a scrubbie made with nylon tulle that I purchased from the Amish community north of my home.  I have used that scrubbie for ages but its useful life is drawing to a close.

In the process of collecting non-recyclable food packaging I have accumulated mesh bags as well.  The bags come from potatoes, onions, apples, and garlic.  I have finally collected enough to recreate my favorite scrubbie.

To make your own, collect scratchy mesh bags.  Tie them into yarn as described in my “Plarn” tutorial.

With a size “N” hook, Ch 2.

6 sc in 2nd ch from hook.

2 sc in each sc around: 12 sc

2 sc in each sc around: 24 sc

1 sc in each sc around: 24 sc

*Draw up loop in next st, draw up loop in next st, yo, draw through 3 loops on hook.* Repeat until only 1 stitch is left.

Tie off.  Cut “yarn” and draw to center of scrubbie.  No use to weave in ends!

This little guy took me like, literally, 5 minutes start to finish.  The materials were free.  You could easily offer these at a farmer’s market for $1 or $2.

Happy Hooking!

Hi All!

Today I am participating in Bonnie Hunter’s Yard Sale Saturday.  What a great way for me to share my vintage sheets, as well as some other goodies.

First up: A kaliedoscope of vintage sheets, cut to fat quarter size.

$20 Sold

Next, fat quarter sets:

Each little pack has three fat quarters.  The whole set has 12 FQ total.
I am asking $18 per set of 12.

I have several sets available.

Vintage Knits book:

$5

Retro Knits

$5

Charlevoix Jelly Roll:

$15 Sold

• Interested? Email me: kaylarevae@yahoo.com
• I will confirm your order by sending you my PayPal information
• Prices include shipping
• I will do my best to remove items as they are purchased
• Thanks for shopping!

Just last night I was reading Dave Ramsey’s Financial Peace.  One of his lines (other than beans and rice) is that if you fail to plan, you plan to fail.  He said this in relation to the importance of monthly budgeting.

I have gotten in the bad habit of grabbing a donut and coffee on my way to work – more than once each week.  I have also purchased school lunch on more than one occasion. Not only is this crappy for my budget, but my tummy has been hating me.

I applied the “plan to fail” notion to my morning routine.  Last night I:

• Set out my clothes
• Measured oatmeal, butter, and jam into a small thermos
• Set my automatic coffee machine (obvious, but the first time I’ve used the timer)
• Packed dinner leftovers into lunches for the next three days
• Told Spencer he was NOT allowed to leave until I was awake and OUT of bed

This morning I:

• Added boiling water to my oatmeal (my the time I got to work it would be cooked)
• Poured my coffee into a traveling mug

and then…

I was so far ahead that I had extra time.  I decided to enjoy some of my coffee and catch the morning news.

SURPRISE! Two hour delay because of icy roads!  Now, not only do I get to enjoy a two-hour delay, but I already have a great start to my day.  I feel awesome and have no plans to go back to bed.

What tricks and tips do you have to a smooth start to your day?

P.S… I installed a new spam filter but I have a sneaky suspicion that it is deleting comments from humans! Please try to leave a comment so I can troubleshoot.

My mom, Jo, from Jo’s Country Junction is letting her frugal flag fly!

She says:

I’m not a “save the planet girl” and I’m not a “be totally thrifty” girl.  I am just a gal who is a little of each and I like to use things that God has given me to the best of my ability…be that talents, money, time or possessions.  I am doing things all the time to reuse, repurpose, reorganize and I bet you are too.  I thought it would be great to have a spot where we all can bring our ideas together..and maybe we can learn ways that we all can make better use of what has been given to us.

I am linking up to her and showing off my new scrappy hat.  It was very fun to make.  I made it with leftover yarn from Spencer’s brother’s ski hat.  Carter and I like opposing Iowa teams, so I had to add in some cardinal red.

This was a fun way to use up yarn scraps.  I love to try new stitch patterns and this bright, fast-to-crochet hat was perfect.

This hat is similar to the Karlo Beanie, for which I have written a free pattern. Instead on crocheting identical rows, I added in some color and a new stitch pattern.

I am excited to go see what everyone is offering for their Waste Not Wednesdays. Take some time to check out her post, or share your ideas in the “Comment” section below.

Do you prefer blogs with lots of pictures or lots of words?

My mom has a very popular blog, Jo’s Country Junction.  We talk blogger business quite frequently.  We like using Google Analytics to track our traffic sources and number of guests.

I have technically been blogging longer than her, but she has far surpassed me in daily number of visitors.  Mom’s suggestions include:

• Blog everyday to build a relationship with your readers
• Make everyday experiences into blog posts
• PICTURES, PICTURES, PICTURES!

Mom never writes a blog post without a picture.  She even took pictures of processing pigs!  I am not confident in my photography skills so I avoid pictures if they are not necessary.

I am doing my best to heed her suggestions, although getting a post up everyday is difficult for me.  One way I am adding more pictures to my blog is utilizing Flickr.

You can view and download pictures without a user ID.  On the Flickr homepage, search for the item you would like.  Before viewing your results, choose “Advanced Search.”  Scroll to the bottom of the page and select “Creative Commons” licenses.  Choose “Pictures to use Commercially.”

The resulting images are yours to use legally on your blog.

I chose an image for this post called “New Camera.”  I clicked on the image which brought me to a new page.  Under the “Share” tab I selected “Grab the HTML/BBCode.”  There are a variety of sizes to choose from.  Copy and paste the generated HTML code into your blog post.

You may also download the image to your computer and upload it to your blog.  This is not my favorite method.  One: It is more work.  Two: These artists are giving away their images for free.  It would be kind of you to promote the artist by linking back to their work.

I can’t promise a post everyday, but the posts I do have will have pictures from photographers far more talented than me.

I was so surprised at my students this past week. As part of my lesson on whole grains I fixed my students a pot each of rice and cornmeal mush. I offered several different breakfast toppings for the students to enjoy.

It was so funny how much the students loved the cornmeal mush. And that they have never had rice for breakfast!  It was by far my most popular demonstration yet.

The most popular combination was rice and cornmeal with butter and pure maple syrup.

Apparently the negative and “poor” connotation of rice and cornmeal mush is loosing its power with this generation.

Do you know how to make cornmeal mush?

It is made in a 4-to-1 ration.  I used 8 cups of water total for my students.  I set two cups of cold water aside to mix with two cups of cornmeal.  6 cups of water were set to a boil.  When the water reached a boil I mixed in the cornmeal slurry.

I cooked it at a medium heat, stirring frequently, until the mush was thick.

I intended to save leftovers to demonstrate fried polenta the next day, but they gobbled it all up.

I get my cornmeal in bulk from the Amish community near Hazelton, Iowa.  It makes for a very hearty and inexpensive breakfast.

It is frustrating as a teacher to have so many important things to teach and just not enough time to teach them.  I do not have time for full lessons on everything I want, so I fit them in with “teachable moments.”

I started class with a journal entry.  Students were given a USDA Food Plan chart and answered the question:

According to the USDA Food Plan Chart at your table, how much money does the average family of your size spend on food in one month?

This was an eye opener for the students.  I asked if they were surprised by how much groceries cost.  One student piped up:

Not the way my mom complains about how much I eat!  She was so mad when I drank all of the egg nog!

Ah, the joy of raising teenage boys.

After students calculated the cost of food at each level, I showed this (very) short video clip.  It is quick but very informative and has some hard-hitting statistics that really impressed the students.

According to the video, the average American wastes 28% of the food they buy.

I had the students calculate how much money they were potentially wasting.

As homework, students listed three ways to waste less food at home and in the classroom.

I have been noticing a lot of waste in my classroom with perishable goods.  I purchase milk and eggs for a lab, but do not use the leftovers up.  I shared some ideas for preventing food waste during our pancake lab.

First, I taught the students how to use dry milk.  I mixed the milk powder in with the dry ingredients and used water in the moist ingredients. The leftover milk powder is shelf-stable and will be kept for the next lab.

We also substituted flax seed for eggs.  I purchased only the amount of ground flax seed needed for the lab from the bulk goods section.  Students will use one heaping tablespoon ground flax seed with 1/4 cup water.

Students seemed very interested and were surprised to find that the pancakes tasted no different than others they had tried. As an incentive to continue the discussion at home, I added 2 points extra credit for a parent signature. I am excited to hear about parent’s insights.

My dad is very much a go-big-or-go-home kind of builder.

Last time I “went home” he gave me a thread holder.

I wanted a thread holder to use bulk thread in my sewing machine.  (Hopefully my fussy Bernina diva will cooperate!) I have always admired my Mom’s thread holder that Dad made because it is very sturdy.

The holder is welded to a solid steel block.  You would stub your toe on it before knocking it over!

I do not know how well it will work on my sewing machine because I got sidetracked.  I have my thread holder rigged as a ball keeper/yardage count.

I place my flat center-pull balls on the thread holder.  I weave the thread up to the line meter that I attached to the hook.

The line meter was purchased from a bait shop.  It is perfect for measuring yardage.  I love to write crochet patterns but my readers have been frustrated because I don’t provide yarn yardage.  Now I can still use recycled yarn, but still write an accurate pattern.