Recipe Book Review

I also have been perusing the book The $5 Dollar Dinner Mom Cookbook by Erin Chase (another blogger turned author $5 Dollar Dinners.com). I started out just looking for some new recipes that wouldn’t call for outrageous ingredients that 99% of the time, seem to be out of season and that are also affordable. Affordability is a must for my cooking because trust you me my family can eat!

Yes the recipes are fab and super affordable. The author even itemizes the prices of each ingredient in the recipes to show how it adds up. Most of the recipes also have extra frugal tips located at the bottoms of the pages.

What really rattled my noggin the most while reading was the idea of stockpiling. I have been over the course of the last 2 months been stockpiling my bathroom necessities and paper goods but I had not gotten very far in the food department. I just didn’t realize that so many foods could be frozen, it’s amazing!

This book has given me new inspiration and with it the undying lust for a freezer to hide in my basement! With tax refunds approaching my dreams of another appliance in my home looks to be coming true shortly! YAY! If you have any freezer recommendations let me know.

Now I feel compelled to visit the library again to find books on freezer cooking!

Frugal Book Review

This week during my visit to the library for storytime I picked up the book Suddenly Frugal: How to Live Happier & Healthier for Less by Leah Ingram. The title really caught my eye. I am always looking for ideas on how to make my life more frugal! So bring on the suggestions Leah!

Well as it turns out the book is the result of another bloggers quest to share her ideas with the world. Suddenlyfrugal.com is still an active site, if you would like to go straight to the source but I liked the layout of the book. Each chapter shows different ways you can save money in your life. Many of the suggestions I have already been introduced to in my search for penny pinching ideas, like making my own cleaning agents and the benefits of composting for your garden. Even so, there were so many ideas in this book it makes it worth reading. And to tip the scales even further in favor, each chapter ends with the dollar amount the ideas would save if implemented. If seeing a four or five digit number in savings doesn’t get your heart racing I don’t know what will.

Check it out and see how much you could save your family!