Home Economics

[Lady Day]

I just calculated my coffee expenses:

$7 for a can of Italian Roast from Trader Joes.

6 scoops for the large french press = 1/7 of the can.

$1 per French press run = 4 cups of coffee.

so each 10oz cup of joe I make is about 25¢

30¢ if you factor in sugar and soy milk to taste.

Ill go through a can a week (unless I make coffee at work for free and they have pretty good joe, but I bring my own soy mink) but its good to know the price brake down so I dont feel like a tool when I say "no thanks" to an office coffee run.

LD

 

[Darhling]

^ french press is my absolute favorite. What coffee do you buy?

 

[KittyT]

I just calculated my coffee expenses:

$7 for a can of Italian Roast from Trader Joes.

6 scoops for the large french press = 1/7 of the can.

$1 per French press run = 4 cups of coffee.

so each 10oz cup of joe I make is about 25¢

30¢ if you factor in sugar and soy milk to taste.

6 scoops seems like an awful lot for a 4 cup French press. I use whole beans and only use about 1/2 c of beans (or 2 oz of whole beans) per French press run. I buy 36oz bags of coffee beans at around $8/each. That's 18 French press runs or 72 cups of coffee at about $0.11 each. I find that I use a lot less coffee with a French press than I used to with a drip maker.

 

[Lady Day]

6 scoops IS a lot of coffee. I never said it wasnt. I like my coffee strong. Thats why I like my cost brake down. More bang for my buck, so to speak.

LD

 

[Lola Getz]

Lady Day, I'm a six scooper too. I hate to toot my own horn (toot!) but my French Press coffee is better than anything I can buy so I'll just stick with that. The last time I had Starbucks I was so disappointed. Yuck!

 

[miss_elise]

can i ask what a french press is?

 

[KittyT]

Lady Day, I'm a six scooper too. I hate to toot my own horn (toot!) but my French Press coffee is better than anything I can buy so I'll just stick with that. The last time I had Starbucks I was so disappointed. Yuck!

Those of you who like strong coffee may get more bang for your buck by buying whole beans and grinding them as you use them. I've found that even using the same brand of coffee, the quality is higher and the coffee tends to be stronger if I grind whole beans as I use them, rather than buying pre-ground coffee. We drink our coffee strong too, but you don't have to use a ton of coffee to make it strong - just use freshly ground beans and let them steep longer. We always get medium roast so we can steep the coffee longer for a stronger taste without bitterness.

 

[miss_elise]

can i ask what a french press is?

it's alright... i looked it up... it's a plunger

 

[Lady Day]

I buy whole bean kawfee, and grind it at Tjs then take it home and enjoy it throughout the week. After that, its my weekly trip back to TJs and the process starts all over again. I think thats 'fresh' enough for me. Plus I dont have to get a kawfee grinder or dirty my blender to grind beans.

LD

 

[miss_elise]

Add to the list: When you ask the spouse "What would you like for dinner...?"

THey respond with: "I don't care."

ahhhh *pulls out hair*

i find the more annoying one is when you say "what do you want for dinner?" then he says "oh, nothing - i'm not hungry"...


then an hour later comes the question "what's for dinner - i'm hungry..."


grrrr

 

[Darhling]

i find the more annoying one is when you say "what do you want for dinner?" then he says "oh, nothing - i'm not hungry"...


then an hour later comes the question "what's for dinner - i'm hungry..."


grrrr

When that has happened I have made dinner. For one. That wil quickly teach them to speak up or make it yourself.

 

[Lola Getz]

Those of you who like strong coffee may get more bang for your buck by buying whole beans and grinding them as you use them

I already do this. There's nothing like the smell of freshly ground coffee!

Getting back to the spirit of this thread, I used to be broke. Really broke. So sometimes I revist the past for fun and play How-Can-I-Feed-Everyone-on-X-Dollars-a-Week? I know I get in a rut of biuying the same things over and over so I sit down with the sale flyer, make a mock weekly menu listing things which are on sale to see if it's balanced/feasible, then head off to the store with a list and CASH. No room for extras. My husband thinks I'm weird for thinking this is "fun" but I like a challenge and am quite the frugalista. If you or your family aren't flexible (like, eating breakfast for dinner sometimes) this might not work for you, but my guys always look forward to trying something different and I like seeing how far my money went.

 

[miss_elise]

When that has happened I have made dinner. For one. That wil quickly teach them to speak up or make it yourself.

i usually make him cook... i say "there's food in the kitchen...make something for us"

usually works out okay, last time i got a warm moroccan lamb salad which was excellent...

 

[Darhling]

i usually make him cook... i say "there's food in the kitchen...make something for us"

usually works out okay, last time i got a warm moroccan lamb salad which was excellent...

I have tried that a couple of times in the past, unfortunately it has resulted in sandwiches both times. But I guess it takes a different approach to different men.

 

[desi_de_lu_lu]

i find the more annoying one is when you say "what do you want for dinner?" then he says "oh, nothing - i'm not hungry"...


then an hour later comes the question "what's for dinner - i'm hungry..."


grrrr

That is what Cereal is for... lol

 

[Joie DeVive]

I I know I get in a rut of biuying the same things over and over so I sit down with the sale flyer, make a mock weekly menu listing things which are on sale to see if it's balanced/feasible, then head off to the store with a list and CASH. No room for extras. My husband thinks I'm weird for thinking this is "fun" but I like a challenge and am quite the frugalista. If you or your family aren't flexible (like, eating breakfast for dinner sometimes) this might not work for you, but my guys always look forward to trying something different and I like seeing how far my money went.

You sound a lot like me! I'm with you, I feel such a sense of challenge in seeking bargains, and triumph when I can see those savings add up!

 

[patrick1987]

I can vouch for the tastiness of the 1990 container of curry powder. The chicken dish was so excellent we didn't have any leftovers. Dollar store brand spices aren't good even when they are fresh so that's a dollar wasted right there. I saw shredded newspaper in one bottle of herbs at a local dollar store.
Check your sales receipt no matter how long or short it is, especially with coupons for free items. The cashier almost always charges you for another item instead of taking off the price of the one you bought! It's mind-boggling how badly they can mess up a 15-item order.

 

[Lady Day]

I just spent $38 on nuts and dried fruit. I mix my own trail mix, and getting the things I like separately instead of the $8 a pound of all kinds of mixed stuff at the store, has given me over 12 lbs of yummy mix! Aint too shabby at about $3 a pound.


LD

 

[Paisley]

Yea! $3 trail mix is a good deal.

I started perennials from seed early this spring. I figure it cost me around $5 or $6 to start 14 maltese cross plants. If I'd bought them at the nursery, I'd have spent around $70. Same with the hollyhocks--I started almost 20 of them for a few dollars. The nursery sells perennials for around $6 apiece minimum.

 

[Red_Lipstick]

Packed lunches

Hello


About the eternal question of the husband/boyfriend eating a lot or eating out: I had the same problem and I think the answer is not to serve him all the food you've cooked, since he'll tend to finish it (my boyfriend used to eat more than he needed and then he couldn't sleep!) and to pack lunches. My boyfriend works in a pretty fancy office and they used to go to posh restaurants for lunch (around 15-20 euros daily!!) so I knew giving him some leftovers in a tupperware container wasn't a match! Then I discovered the Japanese tradition of bento lunches (basically, several little portions of different meals arranged in a cute/elegant way). I bough a nice lunch box for him and I just have to plan what will I pack the previous night and defrost that food, so we don't have to eat the same than we had for dinner. I work part-time, so I don't have time to cook from scratch in the morning, but I find that arranging the food in a nice way can make a real difference!
A link with examples:
http://lunchinabox.net/

I wish they had coupons in Spain, though >.< I used them when I lived in London (UK) but for some reason they don't like coupons in here!! The only ones I get are "2 euros off if you spend 25" and that's in shops I don't like too much...