Tuesday, December 2, 2008

Saving

Camouflage trash is working out pretty well. I keep calling the satellite people trying to get out of my contract. Hopefully they'll eventually get sick of me calling and let me cut it off. Good news though, I've discovered that I can watch my favs (Gray's Anat*my, E*R, Private Pract*ce and Brother & Sist*rs) on the internet with very few commercials so who needs cable/tv anyway?

I've received several requests for Bodie Beans. Soak pinto/great northern/black beans overnight. Rinse and cover with water in a Crock pot on low all day. In the last hour add salt to taste, sauteed garlic (4 to 5) cloves, sauteed onion (1 to 2) and 3 or 4 habanero peppers. Continue cooking for about another hour. Serve as is or use an immersion blender to make refried beans. May need to remove some liquid before. Note: careful with peppers. My first version of this had 1 pepper in it and the beans were pretty warm. Since then I've had to add 3 or 4 to get the same heat that I had in the first pot. Have no idea why.

Everything is unplugged all day unless needed and electrical panel switches are off (except to freezer/fridge) all night. J has a flashlight in case she needs one. The furnace is gas but does require electricity for the fan. I've adjusted the settings on the fridge & freezer to not be quite so cold. Yet even though we have made all those changes we are still using about 15 kwh a day. I do not understand. Considering everything that is cut off I would've thought it to be less. Before we did this we were averaging 26 kwh per day. I was hoping for 10 kwh per day. Still striving for it though. Thinking of turning on the ventless gas logs for heat instead of central. They're supposed to 99% efficient whereas I believe that central heat/air is about 90%. I stopped typing and did just that. I'll have to look tomorrow and see how many kwh were used to find out if this is my problem. Tried to change the overhead kitchen/breakfast room lights to CFL's but they are some kind of funky size that won't work with CFL's. Dang.

My grocery bill has gone from $100 per week to $20-25. Beans & rice baby! Juices can be watered down some and still taste great. No complaints from J. Vitamins/calcium/zinc are every other day. Zinc is only temporary but J had those little white spots on her nails so I knew she was deficient. A radical kid with a zinc deficiency can mean a self-regulating problem coming. Wearing clothes more than once if they are still clean and not stinky. We are down to 3 loads of laundry every two weeks including sheets.

I talked the p-doc into seeing J every 2 1/2 months instead of every month to save gas, plus I don't need to be traveling in the autobahn that is Atlanta without insurance.

Tonight is our treat night. G gave us a package of chicken and we're going to have chicken piccata. Decadent & delicious. God bless chicken!

9 comments:

Jillene said...

Mmmm chicken!! I love chicken!!

I am glad that things are working out for you!! I hope the Satelite company will disregard your contract!!

Kristina P. said...

That's a great grocery savings! Let me know if you notice a difference in the utility bills.

Anonymous said...

...so who needs cable/tv anyway?

I gave up cable years ago. Just watch online and using Netflix. All the shows I want to see are available and they always look great on DVD. Screw Comcast!

A said...

I wish that was my grocery bill!

I tried to make chili with the bagged kind of pinto beans this weekend, and I could not get those darn things to get soft. I soaked them for TWO DAYS beforehand, too. I had them in the crockpot from 10 am until 8 pm and by then the chili looked burnt. I have no clue what I did wrong, but needless to say we had something different than chili for dinner that night :)
Is there a low price minimum auto policy you can get?

Annette Anthony said...

I am the youngest of eight. I never knew that the juice my mom made was so deluted! When I was first married my husband made juice and it was so gross! He said he followed the directions. Sure enough he did. I still can not handle any really powerful juice! I always add another can or two of water!
Sounds like you are doing really well! I am so PROUD of you!

Alyssa's Mom said...

You listed every one of my favorite shows!

Great minds...

I am using my reader. THANKS!

I'll talk to you tomorrow.

Me

Torina said...

Ditto, on the beans to Amy's comment. I buy em canned when there are good deals cause I can't get the dry ones to ever soften either. Mmmmm....chicken piccata.

Do you have an attic fan in your house? Those are big electricity drains.

Holly said...

Glad what you are trying is working for you. Sounds like you've made the most progress in the grocery arena, but I'm interested to hear the outcome on the utility changes. As far as cable, we ditched it several years ago, it just wasn't worth it.

junglemama said...

Wow--- and I thought that I was penny pinching. I am sure that I could learn a thing or two from you. Hey, come to think of it, I did buy rice and beans today but the avings were offset by the new dental bill I was just presented with. Ugh!

Happy Holidays.