Ok, so I lied. I didn’t make my chicken stir fry last night. I had every intention but my birthday is today so I wanted to treat myself early. I made my shrimp and cheese grits meal. YUMMY! I make mine mine similar to the link I just provided, but minus the bacon and scaled down to single girl size/proportion. Also, I use a Monterey Jack and cheddar blend cheese that I buy generic from Publix. Also, I used portobello mushrooms because they were on sale and cheaper than regular mushrooms. Frugalista power!
Anyway, the meal was great and I am so glad that I cooked it. Cooking at home can make one rather smug and satisfied. I would have taken a picture but I ate it so quickly…The camera wasn’t quick enough. *Burp*
Anyway, I’m just reflecting on my year and feeling thankful for another year. Last year I celebrated my birthday with Betty Nguyen and CNN. I was doing No-Buy Month, where I didn’t spend any extra money, no shopping, dining out, or getting my hair or nails professionally done!
This year, I am celebrating, well basically with you all! And I am content. Everyone asks me why do I spend my birthdays doing these challenges such as No-Buy Month or Dine-In Week. I do it because it stops me from going overboard spending money on one day! Believe me, even if I cook lobster tonight for dinner, it would be cheaper than my friends and I running wild on South Beach just because it’s my birthday.
So, what’s on your plate? Let’s keep Dine-In Week going! Is it time to pull out the crock pot? I’m thinking so!
Yay! It’s here! From today until Friday we are going to be great Frugalistas and cook every day! It’s Dine-In Week! No more take-out! No more fast food! We need to have something baking, boiling, broiling and hopefully not burning in the kitchen this week!
Here’s my Monday menu:
Breakfast: Apple, Green Tea (using Agave sweetener) and toast.
Lunch: I’m bringing my lunch to work. My lunch is leftover chicken thighs and spinach that I have frozen in my refrigerator. It’s about time that I use them. They are doing me no good staying frozen. Do you ever freeze your food and then forget to eat it? Yes, this week, you can thaw out the ice blocks.
Dinner: Chicken stir fry. Cutting up raw chicken tenderloins from the grocery store and stir frying it in my wok with green pepper, half an onion diced, pinch of garlic, I’m seasoning the stir fry with House of Tsang Szechuan Spicy stir fry sauce. I put in just enough to coat the stir fry lightly. I don’t saturate it.
I’m serving the stir fry over brown rice. Nom nom!
So what’s on your plate? If you are joining in, let me know!
Happy Friday, Frugalistas! Remember next week is Dine-In Week (Feb. 22-26) . I’m spending (and hopefully you too) the week cooking at home. No more take out or dining out! Home cooking will be the best cooking for next week. It’s often healthier for the waist and wallet! I hope you spend this weekend at the grocery store if you need to stock up your shelves/refrigerators with some vittles. I can’t wait to play a culinary queen next week. I’ll be back this weekend to post a recipe!
O.M.G.! If you missed last night’s #dealchat on Twitter, my heart goes out to you! We had SOO much fun! It was only supposed to be 30 minutes, but we went over time. All the Frugalistas and Frugalistos came out to to share hot saving tips! Trust me, I brought my best deals and saving tips but the participants brought even more! LOVED IT!
So, I’m making this a weekly chat. Every Wednesday at 8 p.m. eastern standard time. If you want to follow what we said last night, you can always search the #dealchat hashtag on Twitter. Also, I started a new twitter account, @dealchat. Follow me, pretty please!
Yay, my Frugalistas! Credit Card Reform Part Two is coming to a wallet near you. Starting on Monday, here are some changes:
*People under 21 can’t get offered a card unless they show proof of proper income or have a co-signer.
*Offering an incentive such as T-shirts or books on college campuses is banned.
* Credit Card companies must show clearly the time it will take people to pay off the balance and how they will pay in interest by only paying the minimum
The reforms have been bittersweet. Knowing that the reform was inevitable, credit card companies, started slashing credit limits and jacking up interest rates.
All in all, I think it’s a good thing to have these reforms, especially for college Frugalistas.
Do you agree with the changes? Have you noticed your credit limits getting slashed or your interest rates going on on your credit cards? I have. Meh. Will this help America stop with the credit card abuse?
Hi Everyone! I’m starting a #dealchat on twitter. I’m not sure how many of you are on twitter, but if you aren’t sign it up! Twitter is where all the cool people play. Every Wednesday from 8 to 8:30 p.m., (eastern standard time). I am going to answer questions and highlight some of the hot deals for the week. My twitter handle is twitter.com/frugalista or @frugalista
Your Fruga is trying to do the best she can by ya! Please log onto twitter at 8 p.m. tomorrow.
xoxo,
Fruga
Do you use twitter? Do you abuse it? Am I following you on twitter? Handle, please. Are you following me? You can follow me, but sometimes I’m not sure where I’m going.
Hey Frugalistas! How are you? I’m in the mood for a challenge. How are you? I want to work on my culinary skills. If you’ve been following my blog for any amount of time, you would know that I only really started cooking over the last two years. Yes, so sad. So anyway, food is one of the biggest expenses and dining out can be fun, but not the best for your wallet or your health.
So next week, from Feb. 22 to 26th, I’m going to be cooking like a Top Chef (work with me). So, join me in cooking at home the week of Feb. 22. C’Mon. I say this week, you should tally how much you spend on eating out and groceries and then after the Dine-In Week, we can tally up to see if you saved any moolah.
I’m going to post some recipes that I’ve found and try them out. I hope you share some recipes with me, too.
Are you with me? I sure hope so. Cooking at home for five days shouldn’t be THAT hard. I must tell you, on one of the days of the Dine-In Week is my birthday. This is stopping me from spending my rent money at Rosa Mexicano. Love that place.
The Frugalista is Natalie P. McNeal, a seasoned journalist who created and launched personal finance blog, The Frugalista Files, in 2008. She spent a month without getting her hair done, eating out or getting a manicure or pedicure. She saved $400 and took a "vow of frugality." Read more...
Ok, so I lied. I didn’t make my chicken stir fry last night. I had every intention but my birthday is today so I wanted to treat myself early. I made my shrimp and cheese grits meal. YUMMY! I make mine mine similar to the link I just provided, but minus the bacon and scaled down to single girl size/proportion. Also, I use a Monterey Jack and cheddar blend cheese that I buy generic from Publix. Also, I used portobello mushrooms because they were on sale and cheaper than regular mushrooms. Frugalista power!
Everyone asks me why do I spend my birthdays doing these challenges such as No-Buy Month or Dine-In Week. I do it because it stops me from going overboard spending money on one day! Believe me, even if I cook lobster tonight for dinner, it would be cheaper than my friends and I running wild on South Beach just because it’s my birthday. 
