savings
Save the Life of a Fruit
February 24th, 2011 | Comments
Tags: Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, recipes, savings
For years, we’ve been extending the life of our overly enthusiastic produce purchases by drying them before they go bad.
We have an old dehydrator that we love. It’s simple to use and the slow work of reducing the fruits and veggies to their essence fills the house with lovely sweet smells. It’s amazing. Turn grapes into raisins; apples, bananas and carrots into smart snacking chips; blueberries, strawberries and raspberries into simple cereal toppers.
At other times we’ll set the oven to 175 or 200 degrees and toss in half pears or peaches or tomatoes.
And you thought being a ‘dried up old prune’ was a bad thing.
Not for this thrifty bitch.
Real Women Fake It
October 16th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: bargains, savings, Shopping
Smart women have been faking it forever.
But it’s the really talented ones who pull it off without anyone ever guessing.
Special events like a wedding, a charity ball, a State dinner (by the way, we’re still smarting over being left off the list) come around and normally sane women go crazy buying new expensive clothing and accessories.
It makes us want to get on a chair with a megaphone and scream:
“Those of you on the charity or State dinner circuit, stand up and identify yourselves, please. We all know you can’t wear the same dress over and over again. And, for the rest of you, it’s called a special occasion for a reason–it only happens occasionally. Why blow the wad on what is likely to be a one-night stand? Worse, what if you blow the wad and then get a stain?”
Fashion Week (is anyone else wondering why this isn’t it plural?) taking place seemingly everywhere has shown us once again that what’s new is really old. Just as there is no single ‘right’ beauty or body aesthetic, there is no single dominating design aesthetic. Remember, great taste need not be expensive. Think about it, Lanvin is the latest iconic house designing for H&M.
Since every savvy gal on a budget must amortize her costs, we stick by a steadfast rule of putting money into ‘keeper’ pieces that get frequent wear. Besides, since we are contrary by nature, the fancier the event, the bigger the thrill of a bargain ‘fraud’.
A modern woman takes matters into her own hands.
Haunt consignment stores, eBay and friend’s closets for dresses. Haul out ancient, but faithful, investment grade all-purpose black dresses, and tart them up with the latest passing fads like studded pumps, monster pearls twined with motorcycle chains and bows, sequined leopard bags. Cruise TJ’s, Target, the street guy at 72nd and Broadway for accessories. The bolder the better.
We covet our little secret bargain buys: A favorite evening jacket -purchased a decade ago on the streets in Shanghai for $7 bucks. Our most admired earrings- big, faux and flea market. Best of all, a pair of comfy killer stilettos- priceless, but bought on sale at Nine West.
The true climax of every good fake.
Trust us, there is nothing more thrilling than giving the real swells a big phony smile when they stop and admire your precious pretenders.
Looking for more smart ways to live well no matter what the state of your budget? The Star Ledger of New Jersey wrote the book Bitches on a Budget is filled with ”tips, guidance and ploys for you to maintain, or attain, the glam of a glossy fashion mag. Clothes, home furnishing, vacationing, dining and, yes, plastic surgery, this book covers it all.…this book has more ideas than Bergdorf’s has snobs. Buy it!”
The Cheapest Beauty Tip, Like, Ever
September 28th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: bargain, Beauty & Grooming, savings
We were thinking about all the money a gal spends on make-up and grooming products. You know: the Sephora binge and shame jaunts; the Duane Reade/CVS/Walgreen hair accessory pick-me-up-basket-fill-ups; the Avon lady calling and you buying all she’s selling visits.
When it occurred to us the biggest error most of us make when applying make-up or styling our hair is that we do it facing a mirror.
Huh? What’s wrong with looking straight into the mirror? Nothing and everything. While you get a fabulous full frontal view, you miss all the nuanced dimensions of how people really see you. (Well, not exactly metaphysically, more superficially and three-dimensionally.)
So, the one key grooming and beauty item you should have in your arsenal is a hand held mirror. It’s the biggest beauty buy of all ($2.99 and up) to make sure the back of your hair is in concert with the front, the clips are pinned straight, and the make-up is blended smoothly back from the jaw into the neck line.
It’s About Timex
September 2nd, 2010 | Comments
Tags: budget, J Crew, savings, Shopping, Timex, watches
It’s about time.
This morning we went to J Crew to return an impulse purchase from yesterday. In fact, getting it together to make amends in such a timely manner and dispose of this mistake made us feel proud. We avoided the ‘meaning to return it’ predicament that can get a gal into trouble. You know the problem: you mean to get to the store and you mean to get to the store, but you’re always so busy that taking the time to go back just doesn’t happen. The shirt or shoes or scarf end up in the bag in the back of your closet. You feel shame when you eventually give the item away with tags still attached.
But we digress.
As we were waiting to make the return, we noticed a stack of really cute Timex watches. True, we don’t need a new watch but we’ve been wanting a man-sized-round-faced watch with big easy to read numbers.
And, hey, we did deserve some reward for avoiding return FAIL. These were perfect and we assumed not too pricy. Hello, they were Timex. Then we turned the box over and saw the $150 dollar price tag. Even though the watch was pretty sweet, style-wise, there was NO WAY we could rationalize using our return-good-doobie-credit to buy it.
 J Crew Timex Still, we were excited and inspired. Of course, a Timex mens watch would be just the ticket to requite our watch-lust. We returned home, got to work and found these simple cool Timex watches for under $30 bucks on Amazon.
 
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P.S. Just in case you’re not in the market for a watch, as we were leaving J Crew, we spied this to-die- for velvet jacket in dark plum. (It looks even better in person.) This time we did not make a hasty purchase and followed our own advice: search and lust, wait and purchase. Although, when it goes on sale we’re so in.
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Bitches on a Budget: “More Ideas than Bergdorf’s has Snobs”.
August 20th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: bargain, Beauty & Grooming, Book Reviews Bitches on a Budget, budget, Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, savings, Shopping, Travel & Entertainment
The Star-Ledger of New Jersey
wrote about Bitches on a Budget:
“...this book has more ideas than Bergdorf’s has snobs. Buy it! With a prose style that clickety-clacks across the page like stiletto heels on a marble floor, Rosalyn Hoffman gives pointers, tips, guidance and ploys for you to maintain, or attain, the glam of a glossy fashion mag. Clothes, home furnishing, vacationing, dining and, yes, plastic surgery, this book covers it all.”
“Some tips: The clothing at Walmart can be as stylish as at Neiman Marcus, and pleasure in a museum as seductive and romantic as a European spa. Dining out? Lunch at that expensive new restaurant everyone is talking about is cheaper than dinner.”
The Sassy Minx  wrote about Bitches on a Budget:
“Seriously, I LOVE this book. It’s for minxes like us, who know what we want but don’t want to pay the earth for it. Author-girl, Roz Hoffman is officially my new recession era fashion guru, travel agent, grooming consultant, therapist, sommelier and life coach all rolled into one – come meet her, read about her awesomeness, (more…)
Watermelon and Feta
August 19th, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tags: bargains, Food & Spirits, recipes, savings, Shopping, watermelon
This summer watermelons seem to be the bunnies of the vegetable world. (They are the state vegetable in Oklahoma, we’re still struggling with this discovery.)
Everywhere we go watermelons of all shapes and sizes are spilling out of crates, trucks, farmstands. Suckers that we are for a bargain, we recently came home with an old-fashioned- jumbo-sized-black-seeded (yes, they still make them) crispy-juicy-red watermelon. It cost all of four bucks.
Then we had to eat it. We ate big seed spitting slices; we drank glasses of watermelon juice; we made watermelon pickles .
Here’s one of our favorite savory dishes made with watermelon. It is scary simple and really good.
Watermelon and Feta Salad
-Cube fresh watermelon into 1-2” chunks.
-Crumble a high quality feta cheese (sheep and goat milk) on top.
-Drizzle with a touch of extra-virgin olive oil.
-Top with torn pieces of fresh spearmint (love spearmint, uh, not so much peppermint).
-Sprinkle with salt and serve.
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Coconut Water: A Nutty Choice?
August 10th, 2010 | 2 Comments
Tags: bargain, budget, coconut water, Food & Spirits, Health & Fitness, savings
It’s hot again on our planet and we’ve been thinking about how to stay hydrated. We’re big water drinkers. It’s free, it’s easily available, it’s free, it’s not too sweet, and, did we mention, it is free.
We were kvetching at dinner about how we can’t remember what it’s like to not be sweaty and thirsty, one thing led to another and the topic of coconut water (CW) came up. A friend told us about the explosive growth in the sector and we remembered that we noticed last week that our local supermarket is suddenly carrying a section of half gallon milk-like cartons emblazoned with coconuts. We really should be paying more attention, but to be honest, when we read early on that Madonna invested gobs of dough in one of the CW companies and planet Hollywood started walking around consuming coconut water as the next new ‘it’ drink (don’t forget ‘Water Bars’– places selling designer bottled water sprang up in La- La-Land) we decided to remain woefully ignorant. (more…)
Think Small. Save Big.
August 9th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: budget, savings, Travel & Entertainment
In Chapter 7, Get Out, Get Entertained: Welcome to the New Good Times, we tease out the difference between comfort and pleasure. We offer up new and old venues (rethought) and activities for you to get out to, so you can enjoy yourself without blowing your wad. After all, there are lots of leagues to play in, whether it’ s in food, art, theater, music or sports.
From Bitches on a Budget:
This is your opportunity to stand up and rethink the activities that you’ve been spending your time on. Money and things can be re-earned and remade, but time is a nonrenewable resource, and only you have control over how you spend yours.
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Despite common wisdom, spending money doesn’t bring true, long-lasting pleasure. Yes, we know the rush when you snag a table at that hot new restaurant or score tickets to a sold-out concert. But how long does that feeling last?…Did you really love the deconstructed, reconstructed, molecularly reengineered food? Did you truly adore the narcissistic spectacle–gyrating hips, fireworks…. of that stadium concert?
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It’s time to consider a separation from the jaded majors in favor of playing the field with the sweet farm team. After all, why would you want Alex Rodriguez when you can have a fresh, waiting-to-be-broken-in, pliable, up-and-coming prospect? (Yep, that’s how we like them: up-and-coming.)
Honey, this little economic adjustment may be just what the doctor ordered to get back in touch with the things you love and break the ‘more is more’ and ‘bigger is better’ cycle.
Bitches on a Budget is published by the New American Library division of Penguin Books. Available at most bookstores and Amazon.com.
A Bitch on Wheels Knows Her Limits
July 19th, 2010 | Comments
Tags: budget, buying cars, cars, savings, Shopping, used cars, women and cars
A Bitch on Wheels Knows Her Limits is the title of the chapter in our book about cars, bikes, scooters, blades, trains, shopping carts…basically, all rolling transport.
Since a new car is ghastly expensive when you factor in the cost of the vehicle, sales taxes, excise taxes, and insurance, we advise holding your hand when it comes to car purchases:
“Cars are not a fashion accessory. Get a grip and resist the auto industry’s new-model cycle. Beware that new-car smell luring you into “premature purchase”. Most cars should last at least eight to ten years before very costly repairs are necessary.”
That said, eventually the old beast runs out of gas and you need to invest in a new one. We offer guidance and smart resources for a gal looking for a car. We think buying used is one of the smartest ways to save since depreciation on a new vehicle is shockingly high, shockingly fast — 45% in the first 3 years of ownership. Just make sure you do your homework: buy from a dependable source and have it checked out by a hot mechanic with good hands. (Ok, you just need a good mechanic.)
How you finance your car purchase, whether it’s new or used, is important. We advocate for careful saving in advance to avoid leasing and loans, but we know that’s not always possible. So, before you go shopping for your car, head over to your own bank or credit union so you can go in armed to purchase with your own financing in place. While there are loads of upright dealer citizens, we know of too many stories where unscrupulous dealers play games with contracts and make excess profit off financing plans.
For more on all things that roll–including the ultimate in ‘to die for’ shopping trolleys–check out Bitches on a Budget!
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Use Less and Live Big
June 29th, 2010 | 1 Comment
Tags: budget, Environment, Food & Spirits, green, Health & Fitness, savings
Our official mantra “less is more” makes us good green queens. While there’s little good to have come out of this recession, we count our blessings that the go-go days of consuming everything in our path are in the past. After all, nothing is less attractive than a bloated bitch.
Here’s a short list of ways to edit your life so that more becomes less:
Recycle everything. It is not only chic but also sexy. Think about it, how often in life do you get to go both ways? (Spring semester junior year was a long time ago). Take out the middleman for maximum satisfaction. Think consignment stores, backyard sales, flea markets, listings on Craig’s List, e-Bay — all are AC/DC fests extraordinaire.
Plastic surgery is out. Facial rejevunation is in. Think tiny tweaks, nips and jabs. No big jobs; they’re the equivalent of buying a Hummer when a Prius will get you around.
Be a bitch on wheels. Lobby your pols for dedicated bike lanes. Nothing is hipper than rolling to work on a vintage cruiser or zipping around town on an adorable red Vespa.
Go to museums and libraries. Do you need to own things to appreciate them? Do you need to spend hard earned cash to have pleasure? Absolutely not.
While we are tongue in cheek about most things (we wrote Bitches on a Budget — need we say more?) we never kid around when it comes to good food. Stay local, buy local, eat organic. Tiny carbon footprints to market result in fresher, more interesting, and better tasting foods.
Apply our “less is more” rule to almost everything you do. Lighten your load, your look, and make all the other B’s green with envy.
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