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Welcome to Bitches on a Budget! We're a book, a blog, an attitude. Bitches on a Budget was just released by NAL/Penguin and is on sale now. Our blog is a smart B's daily destination for original, witty, candid articles. If you’re a woman who lusts after bargains (and, uh, other things), who wants the high life even when the bankbook’s low, who likes to eat well and look amazing without the guilty conscience—well, you’ve come to the right place. Join our community of B's. Share ideas and opinions on all topics. We’re happy to provide a safe place to come and bitch all you want— we won't judge. |
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Frozen Pleasure: A Frosty Splurge
March 11th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Shopping, Splurge

Maybe it’s because spring is in the air, but we’ve been jonesing for popsicles. A friend acquainted us with this baby, and now we’re in ice novelty heaven.
ZOKU. According to Williams Sonoma, “Now you can create your own customized frozen pops, including cream-filled varieties, in as little as seven minutes.” Cost: $50.
We know what you’re thinking: 50 bucks? And you call yourself budgeting bitches? Just hear us out.
A box of those rocking Edy’s Fruit bars are between $4-5. The Whole Foods variety—all organic—go even higher. Say you invest in a box once a week for the summer, and you’re spending $75 minimum.
This contraption lets you make popsicles INSTANTLY (well, in a few minutes anyway). It’s got some space-age mojo happening, so that anything you pour in freezes solid by the time you can say “thank you, bitches, for yet another amazing recommendation.”
Clamoring, sweaty, whiny kids? Stick a fresh apple juice pop in their beaks. No extra sugar, corn syrup, preservatives. No need to run into the store. Soothes tempers instantly. Got pretentious and/or health-nutty friends coming over? Green-tea-and-raw-honey on a stick, anyone? Use yogurt, juice, tea, milk, cream, anything (so long as it’s not carbonated). Our friend just runs chucks of watermelon through a food processor and pours it in. Bingo.
Yes, you can absolutely use those plastic popsicle makers from the dark ages (and should use them if they’re your only option—you’ll save $$!), but they require planning and forethought and patience. Sadly, we don’t have a lot of those things to spare at present.
We’re all in favor of giving gifts that are things that aren’t ‘necessities’. If you’re a grandma wanting to delight your four-year-old grandson or college student gearing up for a hot spring on the quad, the Zoku will win you lots of admirers. Definitely a splurge, but a delicious and healthy one.
We’ve got to say it: aren’t we being so well-behaved? Aren’t you impressed by how wholesome we are? How clean our mind is? If you’ve read our book, you know too well how much we like our dirty puns. And yet we’ve made it though a whole post about popsicles (of all things!) without once making a single suggestive mention of other activities that require lots of licking and—
Never mind.
Legos Are a Renewable Resource
March 10th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: kids, mamas, savings, Shopping

Parents have cornucopias of junk. Rubbermaid boxes overloaded with gadgets and gizmos of all shape and size. Puzzles, books, animals, tops, drums, kazoos, blocks, teethers, jack-in-the-boxes, wing-dings, do-hickies, whatchamacallits. And yet everyone invests in these same objects again and again. All the Mama B’s on your street are buying the same toys. Why not organize a swap? A toy library?
The allure of a new plaything vanishes after a little while… give it a couple weeks, a month, and the glow of the new fades; soon that cherished Mister Potato Head is growing extra eyes in a corner. Share him! Make some other rugrat’s day—and save her mama big bucks. Later, when he’s returned to you, little Jenny gets the sweet pleasure of re-acquaintance.
Invite trustworthy friends to join. Label objects. Rotate in and out monthly. Sanitize. It’s green, thrifty, and keeps life fresh. Sorry, Toys R Us—Smart B Us Mamas.
We Like it RAW!
March 9th, 2010 | 2 Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, healthy food, raw honey
We first started writing this blog under the cover of relative obscurity, (before we became really big bitches –that’s what they say about us now), we wrote about experimenting with rough raw stuff. We were addicted pouring big...
Talking about The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo
March 8th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: dragon tattoo, girl with the dragon tatoo, movies, new cinema, simple pleasures, sneak previews, talk cinema, Travel & Entertainment
In the book we talk a lot about following your passions, about finding simple pleasures in life, and about doing things that help you learn and grow. One of our passions is going to the movies. Old movies, new movies, foreign flicks, comedies,...
B’s Give Back: The Power of Art
March 6th, 2010 | 5 Comments
Tags: Giving Back
A modern woman is in touch with her own needs– and the needs of others. That said, it’s easy to give back when time and money are plentiful. We wonder: when cash is tight, when we feel so overburdened ourselves, how can we find the...
Read Between The Lines
March 5th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness
We never deny ourselves great food. Nope, us Bitches on a Budget believe wholeheartedly in yummy, satisfying, healthy, occasionally indulgent food. Our favorite food mantra comes from Julia Child: “Everything in moderation, including...
Disco Ball In Your Pants?
March 4th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: Beauty & Grooming
Does this ever happen to you? You undress and your partner’s overwhelmed, flushed, delighted. He smiles appraisingly. Then, as his eyes land on your lower region, his face falls and he says, “Nice, but I wish you sparkled a little...
Be a Video Star Contest
March 3rd, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tags: Beauty & Grooming, Contests, Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, savings, Shopping, Travel & Entertainment
We never give up. (It can be kind of an annoying habit or a great strength–depends who you ask.) Anyway, we have this vision– the greatest piece of installation art on a Facebook fan page ever! We like to live without rules, be on the...
Contest #5: Re-Purpose The Ordinary—Beauty Secrets of Savvy B’s
February 28th, 2010 | 36 Comments
Tags: Beauty & Grooming, Contests, Food & Spirits, savings, Shopping
Our high school biology teacher used to tell us that shampoo was a “Madison Avenue lie.” He’d stand before the class, proudly stroke his overgrown bowl haircut, and say, “Look! I wash my hair with ivory soap and it comes out fine!”
OK, he...
B’s Give Back: Mothers Without Borders
February 27th, 2010 | 2 Comments
Each weekend, we feature one B who’s making a difference in her community. We wonder: how can we give back, especially when money is short? When we feel so overburdened ourselves, how can we find the energy/time/resources to help others? With...
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| Being a "bitch" means having fun, knowing what you want, not settling for second best. It means being savvy. Smart. In control. In other words it’s a way of living—NOT a way of treating others. Be a bitch without being bitchy. Be generous and share your money-saving tips with the rest of us. Pretty please? We’re in it together, after all. (If that’s not enough to convince you, there’ll be prizes…) READ MORE » |
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