Category Archives: frugal strategies

This week in the kitchen

frugal strategies, homemaking

It’s been months since I’ve done any canning. I did some pantry organizing this week and was surprised at how many empty jars I have. That’s a good thing, since it means that I’ve been regularly using up all that I canned!

I did a quick inventory and saw what hasn’t been getting used. There wasn’t much of a surprise there – I canned delicious clementines that were bitter after canning, then turned them into clementine jam. However, we don’t use regularly use jams, so they’ve been mostly sitting. That, along with some canned grapefruit and lychees, are not getting much attention. Fortunately it’s less than ten jars so I’m going to think about what to do with them in the next few weeks to clear the shelf space for something more useful.

I had a bunch of cabbage that needed to be used, so I decided to make a large pot of meat cabbage soup. I sauteed a few onions, added two kilos of shredded carrots, two large heads of shredded cabbage, a kilo of green beans, 3- 4 cups of meat gravy (I pour gravy off roasted meat or chicken and keep it to cook soups and stews with), a liter of home canned tomatoes, and two liters of home canned tomato juice. My son didn’t have a chance to grind the meat I was intending to add so I left that out; it didn’t need any additional seasoning because the gravy was so flavorful.

I did an experiment when making this – I had a number of large cucumbers that were beginning to turn yellow. I figured that since they’re in the squash family, I could use them as a substitute for zucchini. I’m pleased with how it worked out: since it has a higher water content than zucchini, it dissolved and became more of a thickener than recognizable on its own.

While I prepared this I thought a lot about my aunt. She was one of my most beloved people and passed away several years ago. I remember her making a vegetable soup using vegetables from her garden, serving some for dinner and then canning the rest all up – just like I did yesterday.

I canned 14 quarts and 7 pints of cabbage soup, the smaller jars for ds17 to take to yeshiva with him. I also canned seven quarts of beef stew for him. I told him to think about what dishes he’d like me to prepare so I can make them for him in the next couple of weeks, so he’ll have variety, but he said he’s not picky and is happy with whatever I make him. Sending canned meals for him this last year has made a huge difference for him.

(Ds6 and dd5 in background peeling cucumbers)

I also canned 14 quarts of chickpeas, since it makes it very easy to prepare chumus from scratch. I have other canned beans that I use much less frequently, but I use lots of chickpeas. I had about six cups of soaked chickpeas that didn’t fit into the canner so I decided to cook them and use them this week. Unfortunately, as happens too often when I cook chickpeas, I didn’t keep a close eye on them, so the water boiled down and they got a bit scorched. It made me think that perhaps I should stick to canning all the chickpeas I want to cook.

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During the year I get up by 5:30 am and often much earlier, but during vacation it’s nice to be able to sleep in. The younger kids wake up before six in the morning; I don’t like hearing or seeing young children when the hour is still 5, even 5:59 am. 6 am is fine. Yes, it’s completely psychological! But since they continue to get up earlier than my mental settings would prefer, today I decided rather than starting my day feeling put upon, I’m better off getting up earlier like usual.

This morning I continued to channel my aunt, who made biscuits for breakfast every morning. Hers were always delicious, light and flaky. I substituted butter for the Crisco she used to use, and spelt flour for white flour. Then, not being fully awake, I accidentally measured out baking soda instead of baking powder. I realized the mistake before mixing it in and tried to take it out, but some remained and the final result was perfect except for the taste of too much baking soda. Oh, well. They were edible, but not the delicious biscuits I remember from my aunt.

Before going to bed, I made a batch of flaxseed mixture to bake into crackers today. I intended to put them in the dehydrator first thing in the day since they need three hours to bake on low to be ready, then they’d be finished before we left for our trip. However, my seventeen year old son is in the middle of building a playhouse for the kids and left the transformer I need for the dehydrator in the backyard.

I didn’t feel like going outside at that moment so chose to try out another cracker recipe in the meantime. While the kids were having biscuits and scrambled eggs for breakfast, I mixed up the new recipe for crackers. I’m not a pinterest cook and don’t care about rolling them out perfectly; they taste great and we’ll take them on our trip later this morning.

Next I’m planning to make a large batch of plum compote, if I can keep the kids out of the plums long enough! They’re gobbling them down. What I’ve done in the past that has worked really well for us is to can compote in quart sized jars, then have it available for a Shabbos dessert.

We’ll also be hosting a kumsitz for men and boys Thursday night, so this afternoon the boys will be preparing food for that. I took ds17 shopping and he bought some good stuff! I’ll stay out of the kitchen while they work. My daughter and her husband will be coming for Shabbos and will hopefully arrive with my husband in time for the kumsitz.

I had hoped my older two married sons would be here for the kumsitz as well – I love when all of our sons sing together – but one changed plans and won’t be coming at all during this vacation period, and the other one is coming with his family on Friday.

Avivah

Baking bread with my fast and easy whole grain bread recipe

frugal strategies, recipes

Late last night, I realized that we didn’t have any bread for sandwiches for the children going to camp (at their schools). Since the bread locally is sold out by the morning, there wasn’t any to buy. I could have gone to the store early in the morning to buy their overpriced bread, which is what I did a couple of weeks ago when I was in the same situation (teen boys eating the bread that was intended for the younger kids school lunches).

This time, I decided to bake some bread instead of making another early morning run to the market. The only problem was I was too tired to start baking at that time of night, so instead I set my alarm for 4:50 am.

My husband woke up at the same time and seeing how tired I was, very generously offered to make the bread for me so I could sleep a bit longer, but when he couldn’t find some of the ingredients I got up. It’s just the getting up when I’m tired that’s hard; once I’m up I enjoy the early morning hours.

It’s a quick recipe to put together so in a few minutes I mixed it all up, then made one loaf and a bunch of rolls.

My oldest daughter had an early morning driving test (which she passed her first time!), and at 6:15 am her three children arrived, joining me and our four youngest children. With seven children who all wanted to eat, play and talk at the same time, and three of them needing to get dressed and ready to leave the house between 6:45 and 7:20, it was busy.

Pro parenting tip: everything goes much more smoothly when there’s food ready to eat as soon as the kids are ready! Hungry kids are cranky kids, and having freshly baked rolls to offer the kids definitely helped keep that busy first hour enjoyable for everyone.

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The last time I ran out of bread, I got up at 5 am, got to the local market by 5:15 and bought a loaf of spelt bread for 20 shekels. Small markets are always more costly, but I needed it and was glad to be able to get it.

However, this time I realized it wouldn’t even save time to buy it. It takes longer to go to and from the store than to spend five minutes of hands-on time mixing the dough. Of course, it takes time to rise and bake, but that’s passive so as long as you start an hour and a half before you need it, you can make it fresh for a significant price savings.

Avivah’s Fast and Easy Whole Grain Bread

  • 4 c. warm water
  • 2 T. yeast
  • 2/3 c. honey, date syrup or sugar
  • 2/3 c. oil
  • 4 t. salt
  • 8 – 10 c. whole wheat or spelt flour

Mix the warm water and yeast. Then add the remaining ingredients in the order listed. Mix in flour until the dough is slightly tacky but able to be handled without sticking to your hands. Form into loaves or rolls and let rise until doubled. (This went very quickly today in a non-air conditioned kitchen with outdoor temps over 105 degrees. :)) Bake for 30 minutes at 350 degrees Fahrenheit/180 degrees Celcius.

This recipe yields three large loaves.

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Here’s a breakdown of my costs:

  • Sweetener – I used date syrup, 20 shekels a kg. 2/3 c. is about 4.5 shekels.
  • Coconut oil – 17.5 shekels a liter; 2/3 of a cup is about three shekels.
  • Spelt flour – 7.5 shekels a kilo (I buy by the case), I used one bag.

The cost of salt and yeast is minimal but let’s say it’s another shekel, so 16 shekels for three loaves of spelt bread, of much higher quality than one store bought loaf.

Avivah

Grind your own meat for quality and savings

frugal strategies

I was at the supermarket this week and asked at the meat counter about when they would have ground beef in. They won’t, I was told.

Since it’s been months since it’s been available, I asked about what’s happening. They explained that the Ministry of Health no longer allows them to grind meat because a fly could get in or something unsanitary like that.

Ground beef is a staple that so many families use to stretch a meal, in a way that you can’t do with a roast. I have so many ways that I use ground beef, and not having it as an option was very limiting for me. I asked the butcher to cut up a few roasts so that at least I could use it for stews, and he asked me if I was planning to grind it myself. That possibility hadn’t crossed my mind, but after he made that comment, I was determined to see if it was something we could do.

Two years ago, following another very long period of not being able to buy ground beef, I bought a meat grinder attachment for my Bosch mixer. Unfortunately, the one experience we had with it caused me to mentally discard using the grinder as an option – the meat couldn’t be ground when frozen, but once it was defrosted, it came out of the grinder mushy. I chalked it up as an unfortunate purchase and waste of money.

After the butcher asked me if I was going to grind the meat myself, it jolted our grinder back into mind. I wondered if there was something different we could do to get a better result, and resolved to do some research about it. I quickly found out that a basic principle of grinding meat is that the meat and the grinder blades should all be very cold.

We put both the meat and the grinder attachment in the freezer for an hour, and then my fourteen year old son ground everything while I took a nap. He ran each batch through the grinder twice, and the resulting meat looked perfect. Though unfortunately the piece that pushes the meat down has disappeared and not having it made the job harder than necessary, it was still doable and it’s so nice to know that now this is a viable option for us.

Meat grinders can be bought fairly inexpensively. In my case, I opted to buy an attachment for a mixer that I already had, rather than get a freestanding grinder that would take up more space.

Since the ground meat I can purchase from another source is more than twenty shekels a kilo than the roasts I can buy and then grind, the potential savings are significant. Since we regularly use ground beef (when we can get it :)), it won’t take that long until the cost of the grinder will be offset by the savings.

Avivah

What to use as a substitute for eggs in baking

frugal strategies, homemaking

Long, long ago I explored veganism, and my recipe notebook still includes different egg substitute options.

Though I use eggs – lots of them, actually! – sometimes I run out and it’s helpful to have options to substitute for them. None of these replace eggs that you’re eating as eggs: hardboiled, omelettes or sunny side up. But they’re great for replacing eggs in baked goods.

With eggs jumping in price and in some countries in short supply, it’s even more helpful to know alternatives.

To determine which replacement will work best in the recipe you’re making, it’s helpful to understand what eggs do in a recipe: they add moisture, they bind the ingredients together, and they add lightness/fluffiness to a recipe. I’ve made a note as to what purpose each replacement serves, so you can match it with the desired results are.

  • 1 T. ground flaxseed and 3 T. water = 1 egg. This forms a gel like substance when blended together. It’s a good binding agent and have a pretty neutral flavor.
  • 1 T. chia seeds + 3 T. water= 1 egg. Like flaxseed, the mixture forms a gel-like substance. I prefer to mix it with water, then blend the mixture, and lastly to add it to the recipe. This is also a good binding agent and has a neutral flavor.
  • 1 T. cornstarch + 3 T. water = 1 egg. This is good as a binder but if you need some fluffiness, it’s not the option to use.
  • 1/4 c. applesauce (preferably unsweetened) = 1 egg. Adds moisture and binds.
  • 1/4 c. mashed banana = 1 egg; use in recipes that the banana flavor will blend with. Adds moisture and binds.
  • 1/4 c. pumpkin puree = 1 egg. Like banana, use in a recipe that the flavor blends well. Adds moisture and binds. I discovered pumpkin as a substitute years ago when I did a no-shop grocery challenge and was forced to look at the items in my pantry with a creative eye.
  • 3 T. aquafaba (water left from cooking chickpeas) = 1 egg. This can be beaten and used as a replacement for beaten egg whites in meringues and mousse.

Avivah

What the chief financial officer explained after firing 30% of staff, and what we’re doing about it

frugal strategies, homemaking

My husband was hired by a startup in Tel Aviv a year ago. A month after he was hired, a number of people were let go and they closed down one of the two floors they had rented in a large building.

A couple of weeks ago, thirty percent of his coworkers were let go. My husband went in for the special meeting held with the remaining employees to explain what is happening.

The chief financial officer of my husband’s company was one of the first in the Israeli tech space to be interviewed and talk publicly about the assumption there will be an economic recession over a year ago. He now explained that investment money used to go to start ups that were spending money hand over fist. No one wanted a company on a budget; they wanted to see growth.

Now the investment money is looking for companies that are lean, in order to get through the financial dip that is expected. He explained that they are making these cuts in advance, to prepare for what is coming with the hope that the company can make it through. They also have shut down their large spacious offices and are moving into a smaller space. He said that most companies still don’t see what’s on the horizon, they aren’t changing their spending or projections and a lot of them aren’t going to make it.

I was paying attention to what he said a year ago, and I’m paying attention now. Sometimes you don’t want to hear something negative like this, because it makes you feel anxious and worried about what your own future holds. But I try to move beyond my tendency to be avoidant of what I don’t want to hear, and learn from it.

If the chief financial officer is taking steps to buffer the company for an economic downturn by turning to frugal strategies, it seems prudent for us to take steps to buffer our families by doing the same.

Obviously I’d prefer to think we’ll be minimally affected by the economic bumps that are anticipated. Don’t we all?

As uncomfortable as it was to consider, my husband and I had a discussion about what would happen if we were to experience job loss. We decided that it would be prudent to scale our expenses down now. The intention is twofold: to create more savings, and to know that we could live on less if we needed to. It’s much easier and less stressful to do this as a response to a proactive and thoughtful decision than to suddenly and reactively need to cut expenses from a place of deprivation.

Though my husband has been managing the finances for many years, a few months ago we agreed that it’s time for me as the frugality ninja to step up to the helm since I enjoy rather than tolerate the minutiae of money management, and taking the above steps means looking closely at all outgoing money.

It’s taken a lot of time but I’ve been enjoying this purposeful and focused work, and have been gratified by the progress we’re making. Some of my efforts have been on cutting expenses, while sometimes it means spending more money now, so we won’t have to spend it later (eg replacing our old energy guzzler freezer with an energy efficient chest model).

We don’t have any debt other than our mortgage, as I’ve consistently stuck to my hard and fast rule of not spending money that I don’t have. This includes making five weddings in five years. If I did have debt, I would be focusing on getting it paid off.

Here are some steps we’ve taken:

  • cut expenses in different spending categories
  • looked for ways to increase income
  • increased our savings rate
  • paid down a chunk of our mortgage
  • refinanced our mortgage to a set rate
  • took care of non-urgent repairs on our vehicles rather than delay to when they become necessary
  • withdrew pension funds (a recession would affect the stock market) and reinvested the money
  • been generous with charitable giving while we have the ability to do so

Rather than being negative or alarming to think about, considering less cheerful possibilities has helped us make choices that have led us to feel more empowered and relaxed.

Expenses (energy, food, gas) are expected to continue to rise in the coming year – some financial experts say that they’re going to rise significantly. Increased job loss is also being predicted.

I don’t know if that’s what will happen. But I do know that if it does, the combination of rising costs and decreased income isn’t a good match for a relaxed home. I’m sharing some of what we’re doing to proactively buffer our family with you in the hope it will inspire you to take actions that will likewise empower your family.

If you’re already taking actions of this sort, I and other readers would love to hear about it! Please share in the comments. 🙂

Avivah

Ancient Roots Israel herbalism conference – starting today!

frugal strategies, health, home remedies,

When I learned that the Ancient Roots Israel herbalism conference would be held this year in Poriya, not far from my home, I was excited that I’d be able to attend on a day pass. I could put my kids on the school van in the morning, daven, milk the goats, and make the fifteen minute drive over in time to join others for breakfast!

Then my daughter got engaged, and with so much to be done in a short time (the wedding will be the end of February and we have a short engagement period of just seven weeks), and I wondered if it was responsible of me to take two days out to learn about plant uses when there were so many pressing things to attend to.

Last week I concluded that busy or not, I would regret giving this up if I didn’t go. (Have you ever noticed how we parents so often give up the things that are important to us, to do the things that are important to other people?) Just a week before the conference was to begin, I registered.

There’s a lot I know about health and healing, but I enjoy continuing to expand my knowledge, and learning about the medicinal qualities of the plants all around us is empowering. I remember when I learned on a nature walk in Maryland about the ability of plantain to instantly soothe bee stings, and soon after used that knowledge when a boy next to us at my son’s baseball game was stung. (We were sitting on the grass, so I quickly picked some plantain growing right on the ground next to us, told him to chew it and put it on his sting. He was amazed that right away it felt better.) It’s not just for my own family but to help others that I want to learn more, though I have no desire or intention to pursue healing at a professional level.

Some of the compounds in plants have been isolated and used to produce pharmaceutical products, but many more remain unknown to most, despite having been effectively used for thousands of years in cultures across the world. Last year I went on a foraging hike and enjoyed learning about the plants growing locally, and my interest in learning more continues to grow.

Here’s the schedule of events for the Ancient Roots Israel herbalism conference. I’m planning to attend two of the plant walks, in addition to other talks. (They have also done free virtual plant walks, the videos of which can be found here.)

Since my younger boys get home at 2 pm, I’m going to be hiring my thirteen year old to take care of them during the afternoon hours I’m gone. My husband will give everyone dinner and put the younger boys to bed, and I’ll get up in the morning with them to get them ready for school. Initially I thought I might come back home during the extended breaks, but that may be stressful so I have the option of staying there for the entire day. The conference begins 5:15 pm today, and concludes on Tuesday at the same time.

I really wanted to let you know about it in advance, knowing that there are those of you who would be interested in attending, and am sorry that my time constraints didn’t allow me to share about it sooner. At this point, all the rooms are taken and only day passes are available.

Having said that, in the event that someone is spontaneous and wants to attend even though it’s the last minute but the last of room at the hotel room leaves you without a place to stay, be in touch with me (avivahwerner at yahoo dot com). I have guest rooms available for a small fee and will be driving back and forth daily, so you’re welcome to join me. 🙂

Avivah

My rising monthly mortgage payment, and what I’m doing about it

frugal strategies, homemaking

Back in June, I noticed a jump in our mortgage payment, which had previously been stable for years.

My husband and I wondered what was going on, so he called the bank to find out. They told him that a portion of our mortgage loan is linked to the prime rate, which means it’s linked to the Bank of Israel interest rate increases.

(Quick explanation of Israeli mortgages so all of this will make sense: the standard mortgage consists of three different loans, each with different terms. One portion is fixed, one portion is linked to inflation, and the third portion is linked to interest rates. A completely fixed mortgage isn’t a typical offering here, no doubt because the high prices of real estate necessitate loans to be rigged like this to make them affordable to the average buyer.)

Concerned about the possibility of inflation, we made the decision over a year ago to pay off the portion of our mortgage that was linked to inflation. We talked about this for a long time, and breathed a sigh of relief when it was done, relieved that our mortgage payment wouldn’t be affected by market fluctuations. (At that point we were still unaware that the prime loan was linked to interest rates.)

It was a very unpleasant surprise when we learned that we still had a portion of our mortgage with a variable rate. My husband was told by the bank representative that they’re legally allowed to raise the rates eight times in a year – though when he called someone who works in mortgages to verify this information, he assured us that they wouldn’t do that because it would destroy the economy. (Good we’re not in Australia, where I was told they had interest rate increases for eight months straight! I suppose they aren’t worried about destroying their economy?)

After seeing the mortgage go up in June, I considered converting our prime loan to a fixed rate, but assumed it would be fixed at a much higher interest rate. That obviously would mean a much higher payment, and I mentally debated if it was worth it. While I was mentally waffling, my monthly mortgage steadily moved higher, and is now up 20% in the last six months.

Two weeks ago I finally called to get the details on converting our variable loan to a fixed rate, rather than continuing building up in my mind how costly it would be.

Our mortgage broker told me that interest rates will be going up again in January, but suggested I wait to convert my mortgage until next year when he hopes rates will go down. Though generally people convert a mortgage to take advantage of lower rates, I explained that I want the stability of a predictable, fixed monthly payment.

I was very pleasantly surprised to learn I could get a fixed rate for less than one percent more than what I’m currently paying. I was sure that it would be at least 3 – 4 percent higher. To think that for months I debated converting to what I thought would be a much higher rate, when the fixed rate for a prime loan is just marginally higher than the prime rate itself!

I am very much hoping we will have our loan converted before the interest rate increase in January. The paperwork is in process so we’ll see. It’s been reassuring to have taken this step, even if it’s not finished yet.

Avivah

Is homeschooling expensive?

frugal strategies, homeschooling

Following the last two posts that I wrote and shared years ago on a homeschooling forum, below is my follow-up to questions asked, about an article on budget-wise homeschooling that I mentioned just having written, babysitting and curriculum costs, and burnout. The costs are all specific to the activities mentioned in the last post. Again, this was from 2004, with six children ages 2 – 11.

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The article I wrote was for Live Free Learn Free (a mostly unschooling mag), and should be out soon (printing was delayed because of the holidays), and was titled, “Homeschooling, expensive?  Naah!”  In that I detailed how we spent less than $150 for the year for six kids, including all outside expenses, including Girl Scout and 4H dues. 

I have never hired babysitters to watch the younger kids, and have always had babies and toddlers since I started homeschooling.  (My youngest is now 2.5.)  So we didn’t have that expense. The first year I started homeschooling, I purchased curriculum used on vegsource.com (namely Saxon math).  It cost less than half of what I would have paid for it brand new, and I resold it three years later when I switched to Singapore for the price I paid for it.   (And then that money was used to make my new purchases. :))  For the three years I used it, I didn’t need to make any further outlays.

There are always free and low cost alternatives, regardless of where you lived.  In Seattle, we had great community centers and my kids were able to take swimming, dance, karate – all very cheaply.  Otherwise, we did things on our own as a family. 

In Baltimore, classes like that are four times the price, so we do different things.  Here I am hooked up with the larger homeschooling community and can go to activities as part of a group and get the sharply discounted rates.  Recently, in the space of three weeks, I took my kids to a concert at the symphony hall (got free tickets from a friend), a dance concert at the university (free), the Nutcracker (student performance – $4 per ticket), a Chanuka concert for the family ($5 for family), and a musical of The Lion, the Witch, and the Wardrobe (I blew my usual budget and paid $6.50 per ticket for this, also a student ticket price).  That is a lot of entertainment for the money, though people will tell you that providing quality exposure to the arts is pricey.

My girls now take sewing lessons once a week – it costs $10 for each of them per lesson.  That is my largest ongoing expense, and $80 a month doesn’t compare to what I would pay for school even with the biggest tuition break I might qualify for.  The knitting club is free, 4H has minimal dues, Girl Scout dues are about $30 – 35 a year each. 

I have a membership to a science museum which allows me reciprocal privileges that I use at other places (science centers, cultural museums, aquariums) when I travel – that’s $50 a year.  We use the library a lot, frequent the library book sales and thrift shops for cheap reads. 

A couple of my older kids will be joining a math club next week, and it will be $30 per child for the semester (which goes until the beginning of the summer.)  When my kids took a sailing class, it was also as part of a homeschool group, and we got much better prices than the general public because they were already there and had very little business in the middle of the week.  When we go ice skating, I go to a homeschool session – $4 for the first person, $3 each additional person, and it includes the skates. 

Parks and nature centers are free.  Lots of historical events are free or minimal charge.  Even for events that charge, there are times that it is more affordable – for example, I took the kids to the Renaissance Faire in September, which is $17 for adults, $8 for kids.  I went on the one weekend that kids under 12 were allowed in free, and at the gate they gave me a $3 discount on my ticket because I shop regularly at a certain supermarket (I didn’t know that until I got there and they asked me).  So it cost me $14 for the entire day with all six of my kids and a friend of my son, going to plays, jousting, puppet shows, historical reenactments, etc.  Would the next weekend at full price when they did the same events have been more satisfying? 

I buy Singapore math books – the textbooks are non-consumable and can be passed from once child to the next, so it is a one time purchase (about 7.50 each). The workbooks are about also about 7.50 each, and each child uses two a year. That’s $60 total for my purchased curriculum.

Games are cheaply bought at any yard sale, and can provide loads of educational value. Paper, pencils, and art supplies also aren’t expensive.  Fun with friends is free. I don’t send my kids to a private rebbi or tutor for Judaics – not because I can’t afford it, but because I enjoy learning with my kids and learning groups tend to become very school-like in their approach.  This is where I see most frum homeschoolers paying big bucks. 

Homeschooling is about choices, but homeschooling with minimal costs doesn’t mean doing without or burning out.  It means choosing what is worth spending money on – I wouldn’t pay $10 per person for any museum or class.  (Remember I have six kids so with at least four kids in a class this would add up fast.)  As far as burning out, a parent always has to be aware of their limitations and act accordingly, or they will become overwhelmed. 

I do a lot with my kids, but I monitor my energy so that I don’t get caught up in running around to every possible opportunity that presents itself.  ‘Know thyself’ is applicable in many circumstances, particularly to moms who want to do it all and do it well.  Burnout would be less of an issue if people didn’t keep pushing themselves when all their internal warning signals were bleeping dangerously.

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Are you enjoying the recent ‘look back to the past’ posts?

Avivah

Baked Oatmeal – gluten free, sugar free

frugal strategies, recipes

My sixteen year old son baked a few large pans of Amish oatmeal for the yeshivas bein hazmanim breakfast that he organized for the Sukkos vacation and it was a big hit. It’s one of several baked oatmeal recipes that I have – they’re all good but more dessert-like than I prefer to serve for a regular breakfast.

Here’s a healthier version that I jotted down ages ago and finally made this week – I made it the evening ahead so it would be ready for breakfast the next day, but half the pan was gone before everyone had gone to sleep! This has a mellow sweetness that my family enjoys; it’s gluten free and sugar free.

For me this was a very frugal recipe, but please don’t make the blanket assumption that if I say it’s frugal, then it will be equally inexpensive for you. I use a lot of strategies that keep my food costs down that you may not use, and have different resources available that you may not have. And you have frugal resources and options that I don’t have! If the exact recipe doesn’t work for you, take the general principal of frugal cooking – use ingredients that are inexpensive for you to make meals with.

Baked Oatmeal

  • 1 c. applesauce
  • 10 large Medjool dates
  • 4 eggs
  • 4 c. milk
  • 1/2 c. juice
  • 2 T. baking powder
  • 1 t. cinnamon
  • 6 c. rolled oats
  • 1 c. fresh or dried fruit, chopped

Blend the dates with the milk, juice, applesauce and eggs. Mix the dry ingredients, then add the applesauce mixture to the dry mixture. Fold in fruit.

Pour in the pan, and refrigerate overnight. In the morning, you can top with nuts if you like. Bake at 350 degrees F/180 degrees Celsius for 35 – 45 minutes, and serve warm.

My cost breakdown:

  • applesauce – I got the apples free, and cooked and preserved the applesauce when I got them last season
  • dates – free (my son picked them locally)
  • 4 eggs – 3 shekels
  • milk – I used a half of a carton of coconut cream, 7.5 shekels (purchased at restaurant supply store I told you about; at Shufersal I saw it for double the price I paid). Dairy milk would be cheaper.
  • juice – didn’t use it, instead I cut the coconut cream with water
  • baking powder, cinnamon – purchased in bulk bags of 1 kg each, don’t know how much a spoonful would be but let’s say .50 for both
  • 6 c. rolled oats – 6 shekels
  • dried or fresh fruit – I left this out

Total: 17 shekels for a deep 9″ x 13″ pan or two shallow 9″ x 13″ pans; this makes a generous amount for two breakfasts for a family of six.

Avivah

When the pull to buy something you can’t afford is so strong

frugal strategies

Fifteen years ago we bought a van that was a lemon, and that frustrating experience combined with being very pregnant and knowing that with the birth of that baby we would be outgrowing our van motivated me to buy my first and only vehicle from a dealership.

It was so nice, getting a much, much newer and nicer vehicle. It felt prosperous. I felt on par with all the other carpool moms on the road in their nice passenger vans. Nope, no eight year old van for me!

The monthly loan payment was another story, though.

As the weeks went on, I enjoyed the newness and niceness less and less, and was more and more bothered by that monthly payment.

After three months I made a decision. I got a quote from the dealership that serviced my vehicle to find out how much they would pay if I sold it back. Then I went to our original dealership with that quote and asked if she could do better, after explaining that I would rather have an older vehicle and no debt.

She couldn’t beat their offer and told me to take them up on it – and she also told me how impressed she was with my choice, that it was very rare for someone to be willing to live within their means. (We had an interesting conversation as she shared her experiences selling vehicles and seeing people’s financial numbers when they qualified for loans, and her commenting that for a lot of people it was irresponsible to finance a vehicle.) Although we didn’t recoup the three thousand dollar initial payment we had put on the van, it was worth it for us to be free of that monthly debt.

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This week I’ve thought a lot about that experience, because there’s been a big something I’ve wanted to purchase. It sounds melodramatic to say ‘more than I ever wanted to buy anything’ but it’s honestly way, way up there. I’m not a high maintenance person and having this much desire for something is unusual for me. If I want something, it’s usually small enough and affordable enough that I just buy it.

I don’t have enough to buy it in cash, but I could easily qualify for a loan and have it paid off within two years. As long as my husband continues to be employed at his current salary, we can make the monthly payment without compromising ourselves financially. And I really, really wanted it, so much that I was willing to put aside any of my usual compunctions and debt-avoidance.

However…you know there has to be a ‘however’, right? I have concerns about the direction that the global economy is taking, and as such have been taking steps to tighten up our budget, to create more margin by building savings and reducing the amount we need to live on. It feels particularly important at this time.

Buying something on credit absolutely doesn’t fit into this picture right now. Even if I really, really want it. Even if two people I told about my excitement about this offered to loan me the money. Even if I’m pre-qualified for a loan of that amount and simply have to press a button on the computer screen of my online bank account to have it automatically appear in my account.

I thought about what a relief it was to sell our van back to the dealership, and to buy a replacement van with cash outright, just as we always had. I thought about how fleeing my pleasure of that acquisition was and how quickly the pleasure was overtaken by the pressure of the loan repayment.

Then I thought about this purchase. If life continues as has been for the next two years, we’d be fine financially even if we make this purchase. But what if we experienced a personal economic contraction during that two year period?

I didn’t want to think about negatives. I didn’t want to be fearful about potential downturns in the economy. I wanted to make this purchase!!

Fortunately, I do have a rational brain and in this case, my rational brain was my husband who said he really didn’t want to do it. Despite my resistance to hearing him say that, I couldn’t help but reactivate my own financially cautious brain, which was hovering there at the wings.

The more I thought about this, the more clear it became to me that I need to emotionally step back from this purchase at this time. Who knows, maybe it will come back again at a time that we can make the purchase without going into debt. Or maybe it will never come back but I can focus on the abundance of all that I have, rather than thinking about what I don’t have.

Right now, I’m choosing to simplify, cut costs and cut back in order to create a financial margin for our family. There are significant things going on in the financial markets, and I’ve decided that I’d rather be sitting on the sidelines with fewer expenses and some extra padding in the bank account to weather that instability.

Sometimes it’s really hard to be financially responsible. But along with my very acute disappointment, I have a sense of peace that I’m making the right decision.

Avivah