Chilled noodles make nice cool meals for summer days but we also love to eat them in the winter. You can use any type of asian noodles and even angel hair pasta to make chilled noodles. They are espeicially good with the  homemade noodles we blogged about previously.

To prepare the noodles, simply cook as required for the type of noodle you use and rinse in cold or iced water.

To made our Spinach and garlic sauce you will need (for 1 serving):

• 1 tbsp Soy sauce
• 1 -2 tbsp Seasoned rice vinegar (or rice vinegar, salt, and sugar)
• 1/2 tsp Chili oil
• Raw  garlic (Diced)
• About 1/4 cup chopped spinach (thawed)

Mix the above ingredients and adjust to taste. Toss in the noodles, add a dash of Furikake (sesame seeds and dried seaweed) and you are ready to eat.

You might add extra sugar if the sauce is too sour.  We like Chu Chow Chili Oil best, but you can substitute with your favorite hot sauce or make your own chili oil by pan frying or soaking chili peppers with garlic.

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Chilled Noodles With Peanut Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl
• Homemade Noodles: a Surprisingly Delicious and Versatile Frugal Food

For those of you who haven’t yet had the pleasure of getting to e-know me (7 Things You Didn’t Know About Me), I grew up in Hawaii, and for several years suffered a serious addiction to surfing. Don’t get me wrong, I sucked. But just one good ride a session was enough to keep me getting up at 4:00 a.m. on a weekend, suiting up and diving into freezing water in the hopes of catching just one more good ride.

I lived at Sunset Beach on the North Shore of Oahu during those years, which afforded me the best views of some of the best surf in the world – Sunset Beach, Banzai Pipeline, Waimea Bay, etc. So for today’s edition, I thought I’d take you on a stroll down one of my memory lanes.

I have invited one of my favorite bands, The Beach Boys, to set the mood for today’s edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Press play (unless you’re at work) and proceed. And it is true: catch a wave and you’re sittin’ on top of the world.

Editor’s Picks

Photo: Kanaka’s Paradise Life

• My Dollar Plan presents 10 Financial Tips for New Grads.
• DoughRoller presents Say Goodbye to Cable and Hello to Free Digital TV!.
• Bargaineering presents Making Your Own Dog Food.

Entertainment

Photo: Prob1t

• The Buck List presents Use Your Library.
• Funny about Money presents The High Cost of Culture: 16 Low-cost Routes to the Better Life.
• The Happy Rock presents Top 8 Free Music Websites.

Automotive

Photo: Prob1t

• Money Help For Christians presents When is it time to buy a ‘newer’ car?.
• Free Money Finance presents How Do You Decide When to Get a New Car?.

Frugal Home & Garden

Photo: Kanaka’s Paradise Life

• Passive Family Income presents Frugal and Freecycle Landscaping.
• Budgets are Sexy presents Bring Lunch or Buy Lunch? I Say a Little of Each..
• Practicing Thrift presents Textured Vegetable Protein (TVP).

Personal Finance

Photo: Kanaka’s Paradise Life

• M is for Money presents Save or Pay Down Debt?.
• The Digerati Life presents Best High Interest Savings Accounts In Online Banking.
• Prime Time Money presents Opening a Roth IRA for the First Time.
• Good Financial Cents presents Benefits of the 401k Rollover.

Economy, Job & Stock Market

Photo: Kanaka’s Paradise Life

• Christian Finance presents 20 places that are hiring (in this economy).
• The Smarter Wallet presents S & P Index and Crude Oil Market Trends: Next Steps?.

Parting Song and Shots

Photo: Hawaiian Sea

This wraps it up for the 12th edition of the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights. Next week’s edition will be hosted at Momma’s Blog. If you’re a blogger, be sure and get your submission in by Wed. June 24 6:00 EST!

Photo: Prob1t

Related posts:

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• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #20
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19
• New Personal Finance and Frugality Blog Carnival: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights

My dog Luwi (”loo-vee” short for Ludwig) loves movies. Ever since he was a puppy, he has been fascinated with the television, especially scenes with animals or action. He would jump up on the TV and lick or bite the screen when he saw something exciting. Naturally, he was equally if not more captivated by the remote control, the all-powerful apparatus that could switch the wonderful television on and off.

Over time, however, Luwi became more and more fascinated with the remote control, to the point of obsession. While he still loves the TV and watches it, his focus has shifted more to the remote control. When we mention any of the words “TV,” “movie,” “watch,” “DVD,” and anything else related to the activity in question, he runs to the remote control and stares at it with a mad gleam in his eye.

Whenever we pick up any of the remote controls, he jumps up in “ready position” and doesn’t take his eyes off the remote till we put it back down, and he continues to stare at it until he’s sure we’re finished with it. If and when he can, he steals the remote control to hold or guard on his spot on the bed. He still watches the TV, but I believe his enjoyment of it is less than it used to be because he is now obsessed with getting the remote control rather than watching TV.

Luwi is a good example of how we, people and animals, can forget the original reasons why we do certain things. Many of us are concerned with saving money becuase we want to be able to live comfortably or happily without the stress of being in debt. But we can sometimes get too caught up in the act of saving money and forget our original reasons for doing so. If you ever find yourself spending hours and hours looking for a better deal rather than spending that time doing something more productive or enjoying time with your family just to save a few dollars, you have forgotten.

The same goes for making money. In the beginning, many people want to make money so that they can provide a comfortable life for their families. Over time they sometimes forget and get caught up in making money, become workaholics, and instead of spending a weekend afternoon playing with their kids or pets, they’re locked away in the office working (or blogging ) and shouting at the kids or pets to keep it down.

I am not saying it’s bad to want to make or save money. Just don’t let it consume you the way the remote control has consumed Luwi. An activity he used to enjoy has turned into a vigil rather than a hobby. He is now more concerned with the state of the remote control than what is actually happening on the screen and has completely forgotten the point of it all.

Wise Bread: Carnival of Personal Finance #205: Pay it Forward Edition included our post DIM (Did-it-Myself!) Country Kitchen Storage Shelf.

Almost Frugal: The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 8 included our post Sewing: A Frugal and Fulfilling Hobby – Save Money by Sewing Your Own Clothes.

I Pick Up Pennies: Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 7 included our post The No-Budget System

Stretchy Dollar: Money Hacks Carnival – Otter Pop Edition included our post Use Amazon Price History Tracker to Make Sure a Sale Really is a Sale.

Related posts:

• Recent Blog Carnivals (February 2009)
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals: Week of Unexpected Delays
• May 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals
• March 2008 Finance and Frugality Blog Carnivals

Quite a few years ago, when P. Pince and I were starting out, we rented a tiny studio apartment. To make a little more space, we built a free standing loft over our beds where we had a computer, some little shelves and cabinets and one of those pouffes for a chair.

After moving into a comfortably large house, we gradually disassembled our loft and reused the boards and hardware to make furniture more befitting our new lifestyle. Most of the pine boards went into making a large wardrobe called “the Monstrosity” and the top of our computer desk.

After making two little beds (like the ones in Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs) for our puppies on their first birthday, all we had left of our old loft was a rickety set of steps.

We had often been on the verge of tearing apart these three crudely made steps, but we felt sentimental about the last traces of our former and relatively poorer life. So, I finally decided to keep our loft stairs as a step stool for our library/master bedroom where we had built a wall of ceiling-high shelves.

But I like everything to look pretty in my life in as well as to having a dual purpose, so I turned the stairs on end, nailed on a back and bottom, installed a hinged top on each step, and painted it pink with leftover paint from doing Penelope’s bedroom floor.

Our renovated little staircase stands three feet high and is great for hiding things out of sight, especially long rolls of wrapping paper. Our steps also make a pretty display for baubles and antique books. It goes with our mother’s old dining table which has also been redone with the same leftover paint.

Making new things from old or broken objects is one of my favorite creative/useful activities. To anyone interested in this sort of craft, I suggest reconsidering the potential of any old or broken furniture you own, consider taking them apart for lumber, turning them upside-down or sideways, and reusing ornamental parts or hardware. You could even volunteer to “dispose” of unwanted things for your friends, family and neighbors. One could even start a business selling unique furniture made from reassigned materials.

Related posts:

• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Festival of Frugality #140: The Frugal Quotes Edition
• Make Something Useful Out of Your Christmas Tree
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• How to De-worm a Difficult Horse

Our city’s water billing system is run by a tiny 2-person department that seems to send bills out when they can instead of on a set schedule. Our water billing cycles are 2-month periods, so logically we would have a bill due every 2 months. But our water department being so small, with more and more people moving into the area, those 2 poor ladies are swamped from 8-5. I tried all day yesterday to call them but always got a voicemail, and finally left a message around noon today and was surprised to get a call back in the afternoon (a first with this department.)

Anyways, this means that our bills come very irregularly and we sometimes don’t get a bill for 3 or 4 months, and then sometimes we receive a bill a month for 3 months in a row. It isn’t unusual for us to be paying a bill for services from fall of the previous year in the spring (i.e. paying for water used Oct 2007 – Dec 2007  in March 2008). Needless to say, this can get confusing and I often have little panics where I think I’ve missed a payment when I haven’t.

This week was one such instance. I had made a water payment on the due date of March 12, 2009 and so wasn’t expecting to have another bill due until mid-May. It turns out that they had sent out another bill some time in March or April, which I don’t recall receiving, and that I had a payment due April 24th. I honestly don’t know what happened with that bill but obviously somehow messed up.

When I spoke to one of the ladies from the water department today to ask about it, she told me that, yes, bills are due once every 2 months, but no, I did miss a payment on April 24th. I think because she saw the illogic of it, she was nice enough to waive the $15 penalty for me. I didn’t even have to ask (though I had been planning to) for this one-time courtesy.

So, it never hurts to call in and inquire when you have a billing discrepancy such as this. If the late fee is just $1 or $2, it might not be so bad, but a $15 late charge on a $68 bill not even a month overdue was a little too much for me to let slide by.

Just remember when you call in to be polite, don’t demand but ask nicely, and you will most likely have a positive result.

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• Simple Solutions to Staying Out of Debt
• Booking Flights Early Could End Up Costing More

Still a very active person, my Grandpa ‘putters’ quite a bit. He spends a lot of time on his computer, managing his finances, staying in touch with friends, and working on genealogy. A mainstay in his office has been his old computer – he’s had it for 8 years. It’s old, really old. I’ve fixed some things for him a couple of times, and it’s close to heading to the museum. It doesn’t even write to a CD, still has a 3.5″ disk drive. The monitor is about 13 inches big.

He knows that there are better, faster, easier to use computers out there, but as the saying goes, “if it ain’t broke, don’t fix it.” He’s content to use his old machine, even if it takes ten minutes to start, chugs along through some of the more difficult tasks it has, and needs the occasional upgrade or repair.

Be satisfied with what you have

I’ve written about this previously, but it’s very easy to become jealous of things that your friends or co-workers have. Sometimes it seems like everyone else has something you can’t afford, and it become easy to fall into the trap of wanting, which easily leads to the even bigger trap of spending beyond your means, or debt.

Learn Basic Repair Skills

My grandpa doesn’t do much of the repairs around the house anymore, but he does a very good job of finding people who do a very good job for a low price. While ideally it’s best to learn how to fix some basic things on your own, if there are some things you can’t do, finding a reliable local repairman can lengthen the life of your products.

Purchase Quality Products

Sometimes the cheapest option isn’t always the best. Quality is an important consideration to research when making any kind of a major purchase. Technology has advanced so rapidly that it’s possible for any one to start producing almost any different kind of product. The bargain brand of TV at Wal-Mart may perform the same task as a higher-end Sony or Samsung TV, but they length of time the product will work and the quality of the user-experience may differ greatly. It’s important, though, to save for these purchases.

The Point: Frugality isn’t all about buying the cheapest product or not spending money, but spending it wisely on products that will last a long time. Purchasing a high-quality product and learning to maintain it yourself can save you quite a bit of money in the long run.

* * *

This post is part of the “Use It Up, Wear It Out, Make It Do, or Do Without” Series

Part 1 – Bible Money Matters: “Use It Up”

Part 2 – The Dough Roller: “Wear It Out”

Part 3 – Pecuniarities: “Make It Do”

Part 4 – StretchyDollar: “or Do Without”

Thank you for reading!

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• Pay Bills Online and Save
• Shipping via USPS? Mail Your Packages Before May 12th
• The Frugal Art
• Motivating Children to Practice Music (Part 3)
• Festival of Frugality #140: The Frugal Quotes Edition

A Simple Cooling System

Heat naturally diffuses from areas of higher concentration to areas of lower concentration. And cold being the absence of energy, a block of ice literally draws heat out of the air.

As was mentioned in P. Pince’s recent article, our air conditioning system is on holiday at this inopportune time. While looking at cooling units online, I saw several that were merely refrigeration systems which fanned air over ice or cold water. These systems are meant for use in places with dry climates, and as we live in the desert which is just such a place, we thought we’d give it a try.

Instead of purchasing a new unit or repairing our old one, we decided to simply use containers of ice placed in front of fans in rooms where we’re working or hanging out. When the ice has melted and the water is near room temperature, we remove it and bring in a new one if still needed. We make the ice at night when it requires less electricity for the refrigerator to keep cold.

We also consider thawing frozen vegetables in our rooms prior to cooking, though I wouldn’t do this with meat or anything that might lead to food poisoning.

If your automatic ice maker is already cranking out heaps of ice faster than you can consume, take some out and let them melt. You could do the same with the ice from defrosting your freezer.

And with entropy in mind (a concept of energy flow), I believe it would be advantageous to bring home ice, ice cream, and cold items (cooled on someone else’s dollar) during the day rather than at night. The saving may be very small indeed, but we’d make poor misers if we dismissed an economization on account of smallness, wouldn’t we?

Related posts:

• Frugal Thermodymics Part I: Limiting Sources of Heat in the Home
• Is “Simple Living” Just Another Term for “Giving Up?”
• Pecuniarities (Our Fourpence Worth) 1 Year Anniversary
• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Under the Weather – Recommended Reading

Even though science has always been one of my favorite subjects, I am frequently surprised at how even the most basic principles taught in high school have proven useful to everyday life, household management and health issues. Of late, because heat is the primary financial drain in summer, the laws of thermodynamics are very much on my mind. These laws are very simple concepts dealing with heat and its natural tendencies which is helpful in figuring out how to stay cool while using our resources efficiently.

Limiting Sources of Heat in the Home

The first thing to understand is that heat is a form of energy, it is often produced as a byproduct of other processes. The heat of summer, for example, is the byproduct of nuclear reactions in the sun. And while we unfortunately cannot control that particular source of heat (except by insulating our homes and drawing the curtains shut), we can improve our situation by limiting other means of heat production. Following are just a few of the possible sources of heat in your home which you may choose to regulate.

• Electronics
  Computers, televisions, lights and other electronics emit high quantities of heat. Turn them off when they are not absolutely necessary. Unplug appliances and stereos that still draw electricity when not in use (the ones with glowing lights or numbers). Limit cooking and cleaning activities (especially ironing or using the dryer) to the cooler hours of the day.
• Human Metabolic Activity
  “Calorie” is simply another word for “heat.” You constantly produce heat in the process of respiration. Therefore, strenuous activity and indoor exercise can really warm up your home. You can avoid this by exercising outdoors or elsewhere. For the weight conscious, drinking lots of cold water can raise your metabolism while literally flushing a good deal of body heat out of the house. Also note: metabolic activity produces water vapor in addition to heat which increases the humidity of your house (see below) so that is another reason to work out elsewhere or at night.
• Pet Metabolic Activity
  Pets such as cats and dogs have higher metabolic rates than people. A medium sized dog can noticeably heat up a small room. For your own good as well as the good of your pets (to avoid heat stroke) discourage them from being too active during the hottest hours.
• Trash & Food
  Decomposing matter generate heat from bacterial and  fungal respiration. This means that it would be to your advantage to take out the kitchen trash more often than usual and throw away unwanted or spoiling food sooner rather than later. Germs, mold and other microbes burn calories just like you and your pets. So logically, the fewer “little housemates” you have, the cooler you’ll be.
• Humidity
  Water vapor is the gratest contributer to the greenhouse effect. A humid house with sunlight streaming through the windows will easily reach tropical temperatures. I strongly suggest ventilating well after showers, fixing leaks, not having too many fish tanks or house plants, avoiding indoor exercise, and getting a dehumidifier if necessary.

While some of the means mentioned above may seem so insignificant that most people may feel inclined to dismiss them, I believe that many small factors can make a notable change. And the proof is that we are enjoying a fine day at home in the Mojave Desert with full sun, no breeze, and being no poorer for it.

Related posts:

• Frugal Thermodymics Part II: A Simple Cooling System
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Super Easy Taco Salad
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Vegetable & Rice Teriyaki Bowl
• The Benefits of Deprivation: 10 Days Without Air Conditioning and Counting! Plus Tips for Staying Cool
• Make It Do: Frugal Forever

Wise Bread is holding a $10 Amazon Gift Card Giveaway for a random answer to the above question and I thought it would be a good exercise for me.

Frankly my first reaction to this question was “There is no silver lining.” Our business sales are lower than ever so income is down while food, utility and gas prices keep rising. We have several things around the house that need repair but are holding off on them because keeping money in the bank seems more important at this time.

One of the things that need repairing is our central air conditioning, which is somewhat important as we live in the desert and are expecting temperatures as high as 110° Fahrenheit starting today, but we have decided to try to make do without for now, which is highly unpleasant.

So where’s the silver lining in all this?

It took a little thinking, but I’ve come up with one. The silver lining for me is that this is happening while I’m still young.

I feel guilty and selfish for saying this because not everyone is able to, but I am young enough that this recession won’t destroy my entire future and I can learn from it. For those at or near retirement age, this recession could permanently impact the rest of their lives by wiping out or taking a large chunk out of their retirement savings and investments. I am at an age where, once the recession is over, I still have a chance to build up investments and savings.

Throughout my life, I’ve read stories, watched movies or learned in school about the Great Depression, but because it was all so long ago and our society seemed so far advanced that the possibility of our falling into another depression never occurred to me. I’ve always been careful with my money, but took for granted that our society and economy are well enough advanced that we need not worry about the not having enough money for basic necessities.

While we are not at the point of destitution, things are worrisome enough now that this is something I will never forget. I have learned that merely being careful with money is not enough. I have now learned to be vigilant with my money, and that is something I won’t cease to do even when this recession is over.

That’s not to say I will be living in a state of pecuniary paranoia for the rest of my life, but you can be sure that I will never take economic and financial stability for granted again. So the silver lining in this recession for me is a lesson well learned and remembered.

While my silver lining is only a silver lining for me and those of my age group, I hope that those further on in years have found silver linings in other forms.

Related posts:

• Frugal Thermodymics Part II: A Simple Cooling System
• Dear Taxpayer: Good News! Your Property Tax Has Decreased … P.S. So Has Your Property Value
• Festival of Frugality #152: Affected by Recession Edition
• Patchwork Berets from Fabric Scraps
• Affordable Storage Solution: Covering a Cardboard Box to Make a Treasure Chest

Even though we live at the edge of a growing suburb with new houses springing up around us every year, we sort of think of our house as being in the country. It is still a little isolated and teeming with birds, bugs and lawn-destroying rabbits. And now that summer is coming on, the yard smells like roses and grass (we are actually terrible gardeners, but the roses proved incredibly hardy).

And because we call this country life, we built a country themed shelf for our kitchen with a dairy cow pattern on the sides. The purpose of this shelf is to keep clutter off the counter and store towels and non-perishables in an attractive manner.

The materials for this shelf cost about $10, comprising entirely of leftover lumber, paint, and nails from household projects and repairs. Because large furniture will not fit in our car and shipping is so expensive, we usually opt to building large shelves and cabinets ourselves. The cost of this shelf is even less than the shipping we would have paid had we purchased a similar sized item.

It was lucky for Penelope and me that we attended an unusual private elementary school when we were kids where we were required to learn how to saw and hammer and do carpentry as early as age 7. We have built a lot of unique and pretty furniture with these very basic skills and would like to recommend that fellow frugalites give furniture making a try.

For kitchen storage, we like a country market look. This is easily achieved by lots of wicker baskets, egg baskets, and mini milk crates from the dollar store. Clean, unused trash baskets make nice bins for apples, onions, oranges, and bread. We keep rice and flour in large Christmas popcorn tins which come cheaper than storage containers sold without food.

As for the refrigerator, it looks the way it does, because P. Pince is fond of cleaning my paint brushes there (so as not to waste paint) before they are washed.

Related posts:

• Finance Blog Carnivals of Late
• Affordable Storage Solution: Covering a Cardboard Box to Make a Treasure Chest
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As I’ve mentioned before, I am a big fan of Amazon.com, which is the first place I check when I need to buy anything — household things, dry groceries, personal care items, craft supplies, carpentry tools and — my favorite things to shop for — movies. If you are also an Amazon shopper, you may know that they are currently holding a big DVD sale.

Being a an avid movie watcher, I naturally took advantage of the sale and bought a couple of DVDs, one of which was Music and Lyrics for $6.49 becuase Hugh Grant is one of my favorite actors. I thought I’d gotten a pretty good deal at $6.49 until a few days later when I discovered an Amazon price history tracker called CamelCamelCamel.

Out of curiosity, I looked up the movies I had just ordered to see how much I had saved. To my slightly unpleasant surprise, I saw that while I did get The Jane Austen Book Club at the lowest price it’s been at in 5 months ($10.49), I actually got Music and Lyrics at the highest it’s been in the same time frame. It would appear that Amazon raised the price of this DVD and threw it in with the Sale DVDs in the hopes of making customers think that they were getting a better deal, when in actuality this item had been priced at $4.99, $5.49 and $5.99 at different points between last November and the end of April.

Despite this little deception, Amazon is still my favorite place to shop because its prices are still competitive. But I have learned my lesson about doing my research to make sure the item they say is on sale really is.

CamelCamelCamel Amazon Price History Tracker

CamelCamelCamel is a site that allows you to check the price history of products sold at Amazon. It shows you a history of price changes, the lowest, highest and average price for that product, as well as a graph for visual comparison.

How to Track Amazon Prices with CamelCamelCamel

1. Sign up for an account (free).
2. Start searching for products you want or import a wish list of items you want to track.
3. Enter a price under “I wish to be notified when the price is ___ or less.”
4. You’ll receive an email when the price falls to or below your set price.

You can subscribe to an RSS feed that will alert you when the price of a product you are tracking falls below the parameters you have set.

Click on the image to view full size

CamelCamelCamel Firefox Add-on

As it’s a bit of a hassle to have to go to the CamelCamelCamel site to check every product you’re looking at (I find that this site’s search function is a little slow), so they have a handy little Firefox add-on that lets you view an item’s price history right on the Amazon product page. You need to first install the Greasemonkey add-on from the Firefox site which will then enable you to run the Amazon price tracking script.

Click on the image to view full size

I’m very wary of installing plug-ins and scripts because having too many slows down my browsing speed, but I’ve tried this script on both my computers and neither seems to be slower for having it, and it makes it much easier to see if it’s the right time to buy something or if an item “on sale” really is on sale. The add-on also puts a “track this product” button on the Amazon page so you can start tracking it without having to search for it on the CamelCamelCamel site.

Good bargain hunting!

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Roundup of Notable Reads

• Counting My Pennies talks about breaking things down into per unit costs, something I myself like to do. At my first job where I made $9 an hour, I used to sit at my desk and calculate how much I made per minute, per 5 minutes, per 15 … you get the picture. I’d be putting together a report or labeling office keys (I was a “secretary/receptionist” but basically I was assistant to 4 big bosses and an over-secretary) and think to myself, “Ooh, just made 15 cents!”

  Anyways, check out Megan’s post for a tip on a way to see how much you’re paying per movie through your Netflix plan at  How much does it really cost?

• Living Well On Less tells of her laptop’s near death experience, a good reminder to frequently backup important files. And don’t drink and type!
• Mrs. Micah says Doing What You Love Won’t Make You Rich, but that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it.
• Money Ning clears up some Misunderstanding of Frugal Living.
• Almost Frugal offers A Basic Guide to Smart Shopping and warns of seller tricks.

Blog Carnivals

Thanks to the following carnival hosts for including my posts in the following recent carnivals.

• Money Ning hosted the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 5: A Little Definition Edition. If you’ve been wondering what “pecuniary” means, this is your chance to find out. And my post The Library Card: Your Other “Rewards Credit Card” was selected as Editor’s Pick – double thanks!
• Greener Pastures hosted The Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 6: Are You Cashing in on Going Green? which included my post Language Lesson ~ Frugality is a Virtue (if you’ve been dying to know the origins of the word “frugal,” check it out!).

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We have always loved noodles: Asian noodles, pasta noodles, rice noodles, egg noodles, noodles in soup, fried noodles, noodles in sauces, and so forth. Growing up, rice was a staple, but noodles were always a treat. And they are usually inexpensive at about a dollar a pack and cook in a few minutes.

But even if something is already affordable, it never hurts to make it cost less. With wheat flour priced at $0.25 per pound at our local grocery store, the cost of making a serving of noodles is incalculably small. Not only is it easy and inexpensive to make our own noodles, but they are so good that we can eat them every day for weeks at a time.

To make your your own noodles, you don’t even need to have a pasta maker or other machine (unless you are feeding an unusually large group of people). You can simply roll out dough with a rolling pin and chop it into strips with a knife (we prefer a cleaver for this job). Not only is it cheaper to make your own noodles, but fresh noodles take less time to cook than dried noodles and so cuts utility costs. Homemade noodles are also less fattening than ramen and many store-bought kinds of noodles.

How to Make Homemade Noodles

Here’s how to make homemade noodles. It is not an exact science, you sort of get a feel for what you like after you make it once or twice.

1. Warm some water in the microwave until almost hot (about 1/2 cup to 1 cup for a medium to large batch)

2. In a bowl, mix a few cups of flour with a dash of salt

3. Stir in the warm water

4. Stir in additional flour one cup at a time until dough no longer sticks to side of bowl

5. Divide dough into manageable sections, place one ball on a well-floured cutting board, sprinkle flour on top, and roll it to the thickness of a pie crust.

6. Using a knife, slice dough into strips

7. Cook in boiling water. These noodles cook really fast (about a minute or less), so don’t wander away.

8. Drain, rinse, and serve.

More Ways to Make Noodles

• You can make them thick or flat, wide or narrow, like udon, or soba, or linguine
• Beat in an egg or two for egg noodles
• Add sugar or other spices and herbs
• Experiment with different kinds of flour such as whole wheat, rice flour or other.
• A dough with more water and less flour will make softer noodles with fewer calories
• Cook several meals worth of noodles and refrigerate
• Uncooked noodles can be tossed in flour and stored in the refrigerator or freezer. If your uncooked noodles stick together in the refrigerator, you need to make a dryer dough or cook them before storing.
• You can also store lumps of dough in the refrigerator and cut out noodles as you need them.

Don’t be discouraged if your noodles are crooked or weird in the beginning. Our first homemade noodles looked so bad that we referred to them as tapeworms. But we love to eat these noodles so much that we are now expert noodle wranglers.

We plan to share the many ways in which we eat noodles at Frugaltroph, including cold noodle recipes for summertime, so check back soon.

Happy noodle making!

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Chilled Noodles With Peanut Sauce
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Yakisoba (Japanese Chow Mein)
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #13

Sign the Petition against SB 250 for Mandatory Sterilization of all California pet dogs and cats.

Last year I wrote to ask for help defending pet owner rights against a proposed California legislative bill AB 1364 which would require California pet owners to sterilize all pet dogs and cats over the age of 4 months. Thankfully, AB 1634 was defeated in the Senate last summer but a new bill has arisen which would once again take away a lot of our rights as citizens and pet owners.

It is my belief that the decision to sterilize a pet should remain the right of each pet owner under advisement of the pet’s veterinarian. Sterilization is a veterinary/medical procedure requiring general anesthesia and not without its risks. Read my post from last year, Help Defend the Rights of California Pet Owners, to see some of the side effects of sterilization.

This does not mean that I am against spaying and neutering in general. It is the right choice for some pets, but it should not be a blanket regulation.

Why You Should Care

According to ASPCA Pet Ownership Statistics, 63% of all U.S. households have a pet. This legislation might only affect California residents for now, but if this law is passed, it won’t be long before other states, cities and/or counties follow suit.

Why SB 250 Will Not Work

A mandatory sterilization law would increase animal control costs and more tax dollars would have to be spent because:

• Animal control officials would have the added responsibility of patroling and citing pet owners for intact pets.
• More pets would be abandoned because irresponsible pet owners, who are the cause of the current overpopulation problem, would find it more convenient and less expensive to simply abandon their pets. Those who don’t already abide by the regulations will only ignore any new ones.
• The current economic crisis has already aggravated the pet abandonment problem. Pets are being abandoned left and right as pet owners find themselves strapped for cash. The shelters are already overflowing with unwanted animals.

In April 2008, the county of Los Angeles passed a mandatory sterilization ordinance which was to go into effect in October 2008.  In August 2008, the county gave this up as officials realized that they couldn’t afford the facilities and employees necessary to enforce the new law.

More on Mandatory Spay/Neuter Laws—A Failure Everywhere.

Why SB 250 is Unethical

From the American Kennel Club website:

The bill continues to require sterilization if a dog is at-large, if the dog is not licensed, and if the dog violates local animal control ordinances, even on a first offense. This is an unreasonable standard as even a responsible owner can have a single incident where an animal is let out by a meter reader, neighbor or faulty gate. The American Kennel Club continues to oppose this bill as it unreasonably penalizes responsible dog owners and breeders. We encourage legislators to draft legislation that targets owners who are consistently irresponsible, rather than passing legislation that will harm responsible members of the community.

Existing state law already requires owners of intact animals to pay a license fee that is at least double that of licensing a sterilized animal (Food and Agriculture Code Section 30804.5) and provides for enhanced and graduated fines for owners whose intact dogs are impounded (Food and Agriculture Code Section 30804.7). These statutes are sufficient to incentivize owners to sterilize their animals and to address animal control concerns with specific intact animals who are repeatedly impounded.

The only people who would be punished by this new law would be the responsible pet owners who are already abiding by the rules.

Again, I am not campaigning against pet neutering and spaying, but rather for it to remain an individual pet owner’s right to decide for his/her own pet. Sterilization can be the right choice for many pets and owners, but it should remain just that: a choice.

How You Can Help

The Senate Appropriations Committee hearing for this bill is on May 11, 2009.

Even if you don’t live in California, every person who voices an opinion counts. Remember, where one leads others will follow, and it could be your state, county or city next.

• Sign the Petition
• Write, Call, Fax or E-mail the following representatives

Senate Appropriations Committee
State Capitol, Room 2206
Sacramento, CA 95814

Senator Christine Kehoe (Chair)
State Capitol, Room 5050
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4039
Fax: (916) 327-2188

Senator Dave Cox (Vice Chair)
State Capitol, Room 2068
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4001
Fax: (916) 324-2680

Senator Ellen Corbett
State Capitol, Room 5108
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4010
Fax: (916) 327-2433

Senator Jeff Denham
State Capitol, Room 3076
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4012
Fax: (916) 445-0773

Senator Mark DeSaulnier
State Capitol, Room 2054
Sacramento,CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4007
Fax:(916) 445-2527

Senator Loni Hancock
State Capitol, Room 3092
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4009
Fax: (916) 327-1997

Senator Mark Leno
State Capitol, Room 4061
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4003
Fax: (916) 445-4722

Senator Jenny Oropeza
State Capitol, Room 5114
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4028
Fax: (916) 323-6056

Senator George Runner
State Capitol, Room 4090
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4017
Fax: (916) 445-4662

Senator Mimi Walters
State Capitol, Room 3082
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4033
Fax: (916) 445-9754

Senator Lois Wolk
State Capitol, Room 4032
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4005
Fax: (916) 323-2304

Senator Mark Wyland
State Capitol, Room 4048
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4038
Fax: (916) 446-7382

Senator Leland Yee
State Capitol, Room 4074
Sacramento, CA 95814
Phone: (916) 651-4008
Fax: (916) 327-2186

Thank you for your help.

Related posts:

• Help Defend the Rights of California Pet Owners
• Beware of Fake IRS (Internal Revenue Service) Phishing Email Scams
• Frugal Thermodymics Part I: Limiting Sources of Heat in the Home
• Dear Taxpayer: Good News! Your Property Tax Has Decreased … P.S. So Has Your Property Value
• Remembering Why We Do What We Do

For our very first Frugaltroph article, we decided to feature our new favorite frugal dessert. Whenever we bake a whole cake, it often begins to go stale before we’re halfway through it. Therefore we came up with the idea of Cup-o-Cakes, an easy, time- and money-saving way to prepare personal-sized cakes as a snack for yourself, to enjoy with a friend or everyone at your dinner table.

How to Make Cup-o-Cake

1. Prepare cake mix as directed in an airtight container. If you do not consume a lot of cake, just mix 1/3 of a pack of cake mix with 1 egg and cut the other ingredients (oil and water) to 1/3.
2. Store unused batter in the refrigerator.
3. When you feel like having cake, put a few spoonfuls of batter in a microwaveable cup or mug. Do not fill cups more than 1/2 full because the cake will rise quite a bit.
4. Microwave for about 1 – 1½ minutes or until cake is fully cooked.
5. Top with frosting and sprinkles if desired.
6. Eat or wrap as gift.

Sack/School Lunch: Tup-o-Cake

If you have children or bring your own lunch to work, imagine how nice it would be to have a beautiful, personal sized cake for a snack or dessert. To do this, follow the same directions for Cup-o-Cake, but make it in a small microwave-safe Tupperware or food storage container. Top it with frosting and/or sprinkles to make your children feel special.

For convenience, you can prepare a week’s worth of Tup-o-Cakes on Sunday evening.

Varying Cake Flavors

• Swirl different cake mixes together
• Change frosting colors and flavors
• Mix in chocolate chips
• Top with jam
• Mix in blueberries, mashed bananas and other fruits
• Top with maraschino cherry
• Use brownie instead of cake mix
• Top with instant pudding instead of frosting
• For the health & weight conscious, mix some oats or bran into your batter before cooking
• Layer different colors of cake mixes in your cup or container
• Add vanilla, lemon, almond or other extract in your cake mix

Benefits of Cup-o-Cakes and Tup-o-Cakes

• Saves utilities: eliminates oven preheating and baking
• Saves time: only requires 1 or 2 minutes to cook a cake
• Saves money by buying in “bulk” and using as needed
• Prevents waste from making more than you can consume
• Reduces risk of forgetting and burning a whole cake
• Portion control

Cost of a Cup-o-Cake

We tend to eat small servings and usually use about 2 tablespoons of batter in an 8 oz. cup. With cake mix at $1.00 or $1.50, we estimate the cost of each serving to be around $0.20 including the egg, oil and frosting.

Gift Ideas

A Cup-o-Cake makes a great gift for any occasion.

• Present it to a friend or co-worker on his/her birthday.
• If giving a mug as a gift, you could prepare a Cup-o-Cake in the new mug as part of the gift.
• Add candles for a birthday.
• For coffee lovers, make a coffee flavored cake.
• Wrap the Cup-o-Cake in cellophane and tie with a ribbon.

Family Member’s Birthday

On your child or spouse’s birthday, prepare a Tup-0-Cake with his/her lunch. Put pretty frosting on it, or write Happy Birthday in frosting or candy letters, include a candle or put a bow on the Tupperware.

Be creative and have fun.

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Basics for the Young, Single and Frugal
• Introducing Frugaltroph
• Make It Do: Frugal Forever
• Fast & Frugal Recipe: Spaghetti with Hot Dogs

"Sie essen, sie trinken und bezahlen nicht gern." They like to eat, drink and don't like to pay. -- Johann Wolfgang von Goethe, Image by Madoline Hatter

We are happy to announce the start of Frugaltroph, a frugal cooking column which we have been planning for some time. From high school through college and beyond, the two of us have been cooking for ourselves and our pets. Our diet has been healthy, frugal, convenient, and–most importantly–full of little luxuries. We have invented not a few recipes, made easy adaptions of traditional and ethnic dishes, and would like to begin sharing our experience with our readers  on a weekly basis.

One of the areas Frugaltroph will focus upon is school lunches for for kids. While growing up, the lunches our mother packed for us were the envy of our friends. Now that we are adults, we are aware that most people have very little time to prepare sack lunches five days a week and make each one seem like a treat or special affair. We have some good ideas to make pampering your kids (or yourself) easier.

We will also post recipes for many ethnic (especially Asian) foods, diet foods, easy family meals and snacks, cold summertime meals, ways to make instant or processed foods healthier and much more.

A brief explanation of our project title and motto

In biology, the term “-troph” is combined with another word to describe a way of feeding (e.g. autotroph, heterotroph). Therefore, “frugaltroph” is our way of saying “Frugal Feeding” or the diet of Homo frugalis.

Our motto “Sie essen, sie trinken, und bezahlen nicht gern” is a line from Epiphanias, a humorous poem by Johann Wolfgang von Goethe which is one of our favorite songs (music by  Hugo Wolf). In English, it says “They eat, they drink, and do not like to pay.” Our three pigs, represent the three kings of the poem.

We currently plan to do one cooking project a week: to make and photograph the process and results, and write up a post with ingredients and instructions which will be posted here and also at the Frugaltroph site, which is there for readers who are only interested in food. Check back soon for our first Frugaltroph column, and visit Frugaltroph.com to see the new site.

Related posts:

• Chilled Asian Style Noodles with Spinach and Garlic Sauce
• Cup-o-Cakes & Tup-o-Cakes: Easy, Frugal Portable Desserts
• Homemade Noodles: a Surprisingly Delicious and Versatile Frugal Food
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Yes, Dogs Can Catch Colds … and it’s Messy

From Pecuniary Associates

• Living Well On Less gives us:  Frugality is good for the Earth
• Financial Nut offers A Comprehensive Guide To Understanding The Pros & Cons Of Investing Into A Roth IRA, one of the many things I’ve been meaning to look into.
• Greener Pastures asks Should I Refinance? Obama Says Yes.
• Counting My Pennies talks about Keeping Money Matters Quiet, to which I completely agree.

Blog Carnivals

• At Money Ning: Carnival of Personal Finance #200 – Edition of Mini Accomplishments
  Post included: Slowing Down Makes Sense: Drive Safely, Save More Than Money

• At Mighty Bargain Hunter: Welcome to the Carnival of Personal Finance
  Post included: Falling Off Your Financial Horse: If  you’ve never fallen off a horse, you just haven’t ridden enough.

• At Wise Bread: Carnival of Pecuniary Delights No. 2: Saving Money Edition
  Post included: Honestly Frugal: the Ethics of Saving Money.

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #12
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #2
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #3
• Early to Bed and Early to Rise Makes a Man [or Woman] Healthy, Wealthy and Wise

Unicorn Browband

Last month we received an order for a Unicorn Browband, a costume attachment for a horse’s bridle to give the illusion of them riding a unicorn. People often order the Unicorn Browband when they have a parade, show or a costume contest. The customer placed an order for a ready-made unicorn horn and then sent an email with special requests, one of which we agreed to do for her at no extra charge even though it cost us more.

She also told us her horse had a very large head and asked us to make the horn larger, which we couldn’t do because the horn was already made, and we advised her to order a custom horn in order to better suit her horse, but she decided to just take the smaller, less expensive one that she had ordered.

So we finished off the item (the horn was made but the length of the browband had to be customized to her specification) and added a special feature that she requested — Velcro loops instead of regular sewn loops at the ends — and shipped it off to her. A week later, she e-mailed to tell us the horn didn’t look right on her horse because it was too small and wanted to return it and order a larger custom horn as we had suggested at the time of her order.

We don’t normally allow returns due to health concerns — you never know if a customer will try a costume on an animal that isn’t clean, has parasites or communicable diseases and then return it. But because sales are slow this year and she wanted to order a replacement item, we made an exception and offered to send her a gift certificate for the purchase price after she returned it to us. She waited another 3 weeks to send it back to us, and when I emailed her a claim code for her store credit, she wrote back and said she had changed her mind and just wanted a refund.

A quick Googling of this customer shows that she participates in horse shows, and I am inclined to suspect that she used the unicorn browband for a show and then returned it for a refund, because she didn’t send it back to us until a month after making her order. This may or may not be true, but it wouldn’t surprise me if it was because I have heard of people doing the same thing with clothes.

I know businesses are supposed to love their customers, and I do like most of mine. But many people believe that a business must always treat customers as if they’re always right and give them anything they want, to which I don’t agree. As a customer, I am aware of what is honest and right. If I neglect to read a product description or terms of sale before buying something (which I never do), then it’s my fault. Perhaps this is unreasonable, but as a business I expect customers to be equally honest and take responsibility for their own errors.

So Madoline and I have decided that we will no longer accept orders from this customer. It may not be the smartest thing to do to turn away potential future earnings from her, but her actions have proven her to be more of a hassle and not worth the money we might earn, because:

• She wasted our time by not reading the product description
• She expected special features that weren’t offered or included with her purchase
• She ignored our advice to order the right size for her horse
• She expected special treatment when her decision to not take our advice turned out to be a bad idea
• She lied about wanting to order a replacement item and took advantage of us after the item had been returned to us
• She may have used the item for a show before returning it over a month after the order

All these reasons make it not worth our while to do business with her again. Maybe she’s not dishonest and merely unintelligent and inconsiderate, but I have no desire to deal with her in the future. I know we may lose a few sales that way, but most of our products are custom made from scratch to a customer’s specification and it’s not worth the risk of custom-making something for her just to have it possibly used and then returned under false pretenses again.

We agreed to give her a refund minus the shipping costs and a 15% restocking fee to cover the expense of her special requests and customization, and I will lock her account so she can’t place future orders.

Is this a wise business decision? Probably not. But as I said before, when it comes to my business, It’s Business But It’s Also Personal, and I won’t put up with dishonesty and aggravation (the dishonest ones often require the most personal attention and interaction) to earn a few dollars.

Related posts:

• Daylight Saving Time: Turn Your Clocks Forward Today!
• It Saves to Be Nice Part 2: How to Be a Nice Customer
• It Saves to Be Nice Part 1: It’s Business But It’s Also Personal
• It Saves to Be Nice Part 3: How Being Nice Pays Off
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #14

As some of you already know, I am the worst of procrastinators. And taxes being so unpleasant, I naturally tend to procrastinate when it comes to filing my taxes every year.

First of all, I do put off filing my tax return for one valid reason: we owe each year so I prefer to wait till April to file and pay in order to earn more interest in  savings. But this also gives me an excuse to put off working on our returns.

This year I was worse than usual, and my procrastination and 2 unforeseen events almost got me in trouble.

My Taxing Experience

• Dec. 31, 2008–April 11, 2009 — Procrastinated
  We have a few different sources of income so there are a lot of elements involved in our tax returns – calculating various types of expenses and almost 20 different forms between the two of us. Needless to say, this takes a lot of preparation, which I just kept putting off.
• April 11 9:30PM — Started to panic
  3 days, 2 hours before April 15th, I finally realized just how little time was left and kicked myself into action.
• April 12–13 — Worked like mad
  Pulled an all-nighter and finished my “first draft” of the PDF forms.
• April 13 11:00PM — Crisis #1: Printer wouldn’t print
  After double- & triple-checking the forms and calculations, I was ready to print and be done with it — only to find that the printer wouldn’t print. I re-filled the ink cartridge but print quality was awful. Thinking the ink needed time to settle and let the air bubbles work their way up, I called it a night.
• April 14 5:45PM — Crisis #2: Power outage
  After more ink re-filling and printer maintenance, it was printing properly again, but half-way through approx. 40 pages, our power went out due to wind storms in the area. the outage was all over town and lasted until 11:00PM, so I didn’t finish compiling and packing everything up till around 1:15AM.
• April 15 — Phew!
  Got to the post office and got everything mailed out. Thoroughly exhausted.

I was extremely lucky that I was still able to get everything done by the 15th. Had I delayed just one more day, I probably wouldn’t have made it. When the power went out on the 14th, I started contemplating all the other things that could possibly go wrong, such as:

• What if my car won’t start when I need to go the Post Office tomorrow?
• What if the wind storm gets worse tomorrow and I can’t drive?

Any number of things could have prevented me from being able to get our returns postmarked on the 15th. The amount we owe is high enough that a penalty and interest charge would be quite unpleasant.

This experience got me thinking about other ways procrastination can set back your financial health. I have been thinking about this for the last 2 days and here are my conclusions.

Other ways procrastination can lead to financial disease (and possible eventual death)

Putting off . . .

• Contacting service providers, insurance companies, etc. to lower your bills
• Canceling services you no longer need
• Minor maintenance and repairs on your home or car until they become major repairs
• Paying off credit card debt by just paying the minimum payment
• Refinancing loans when interest rates are low
  

I have to admit I have been guilty of all but one of the above (I don’t have credit card debt). When I was in college, my fellow students and I often joked about how we procrastinated studying for our exams or writing term papers. The fact is, I’m the type that works better under pressure. Oftentimes, when I sat down to write a paper that wasn’t due for a few more days, I would get writer’s block. But the night before the due date, I would get serious and the ideas would start flowing.

Thus, I have always operated under the premise that this is just how I work so it’s O.K. to procrastinate. But now that I’m a grown-up dealing with grown-up matters where it’s no longer just a grade at stake, I’m beginning to see just how self-destructive this type of behavior can be. While this past week has been torture, I have learned a valuable lesson, so perhaps it was good for me that I had this harrowing experience.

It seems the tax gods were with me this time and let me get by with a lesson learned and no harm done. I shouldn’t expect to be so lucky again and must start getting things done ahead of time. Not only could it save me potential financial penalties, but keep the stress and blood pressure levels to a minimum.

Related posts:

• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #19
• Funny Money Lessons from Fiddler on the Roof: If I Were a Rich Man
• Holidays Should Be Happy: Have a Party-Preparation Party to Reduce Stress
• Interesting Reads from Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #10
• Interesting Reads From Fellow Personal Finance Bloggers #20