Recession Busters # 60: Food, Fun & Frugality

I absolutly adore Clara! I watched several of her videos. Does anyone remember the Tightwad Gazette? I used to read her newsletter long before she was published in books. Amy Dacyczyn was my hero. In looking for a recession recipe to post to, I found a recipe that I used to make all the time when I was a kid. The person who posted it to her blog called it Ghetto Pizza

Ghetto Pizza
2 tbsp spaghetti sauce from a 26 oz. $2 jar — $0.071

slice of white bread — $0.101

slice cheese (mozzarella, swiss, etc.) — $0.15
optional pepper, dried oregano — negligible
Total: $0.32

When I was in college I worked in the Rathskeller, our college's central gathering place where you could buy a drink and a snack. We made something similiar to these pizza's but we used a bagel instead of bread and pizza sauce from a jar instead of spaghetti sauce. I wish I could remember what we charged for them.

You may also want to check out this title - 10,001 Ways To Live Large on a Small Budget. by The Writers of Wise Bread. The bloggers at the personal finance site WiseBread.com offer thousands of ways to spend less while still enjoying life. The frugal living part includes ideas from gourmet cooking on a shoestring to cheap sunburn remedies. There are money-saving tips on travel, entertainment, and most other aspects of life. The book's second half is devoted to personal finance topics like budgeting, credit, housing, and even how to hire and/or fire a financial adviser.

It cracks me up that a lot of the money saving ideas (getting in free here, save 15% percent there, etc...) still all involve spending money of some sort. How about staying home? You could:

• Watch TV which you are probably already overpaying for because you have cable or a satelite dish.


• Play a game, which you probably already own a closet full of.


• Clean out your junk drawer, you might even find some money in there.


• Clean out your garage, you might find some things you haven't touched in years, list them on craig's list and make some money that way.


• Read a book from the library - free except for the gas to pick up and return the book.


• Listen to an audiobook you downloaded from Overdrive - free except for your internet service.


• Knock on the door of the person that lives across from you and introduce yourself, if you already know your neighbor stop in and have a chat and get caught up on one another.


• Take a walk around your neighborhood, free and good for your health.

Yes, it is hard to be a bored teenager in my household because this is just a sample of the things I say to my girls when they say they are bored. Being bored is just one of those things I have never been nor can I imagine myself being. That coupon you just got in the mail from Kohl's that will save you 15% throw it away and you'll save 100%! What do you really NEED anyway.