Poor Woman's Hot Cocoa

June was pretty awful. Disastrous, really.

My car got totaled on June 1, and that kind of set the stage for the entire month. By the end of June, I had wiped out my entire savings, maxed out all of my credit cards, borrowed money from my parents to keep me afloat (and fix the lemon of a car that some unscrupulous used car dealer sold me to replace the aforementioned totaled car), and my hours at work got cut.

Suffice it to say, I entered the month of July completely flat out broke. No money to spend on even the smallest of treats. Yesterday, I had a craving for a Starbuck's hot chocolate. Never mind that it was 110 degrees out. I really wanted my hot chocolate.

I did what I do best, and I googled a solution to the problem. I found a copycat recipe here and gave it a try. It was thick, syrupy, and kind of gross. It had potential, but the serving size was way too large, and it was way, way too concentrated.

Today, I decided to try again, so I tweaked the recipe, cutting down the syrup. What follows is a pretty good approximation of Starbucks hot chocolate, made entirely from items found in the pantry. It makes about 12 fl. oz. - the equivalent of a tall size.

Syrup:

• 1 tablespoon cocoa powder (I used dark chocolate because it's what was in my pantry, but I think regular chocolate would taste more authentic.)
• 1 tablespoon sugar (I used turbinado sugar because it's what was in my pantry, but white or brown should work, too.)
• 1 cup water

Mix and heat in the microwave for 30 seconds to 1 minute, until hot. (My water cooler has a hot water dispenser, so I only needed 30 seconds. If you start out with cold water, you'll need longer.)

• Add 1/3 cup powdered milk. Mix well. Enjoy.
• Optional - add 1/4 tsp vanilla extract.

Money Saving Mondays – Television

Welcome to the second installment of Money Saving Mondays!

Who wants to pay $100+ for 8 bazillion channels with nothing on? Not me! There are a lot of websites out there about the practice of “cord cutting” (free or low-cost legal alternatives to cable).

To make this work really well, you’ll need a high speed internet connection. The internet companies will probably try to sell you on a fancy expensive 5 megabit per second plan, but I get along just fine on a 1 megabit per second plan. I used to have a 756 kilobit per second plan, and that was a bit slow, but it was for two people often trying to stream at the same time. It should be fine for one person. Also beware of data caps from your ISP. My plan allows 50 GB per month, which is good enough for a single light user like me, but if you watch a lot of internet based tv and movies, you’ll need a higher data allowance. An hour long tv show is usually 400 MB at standard definition. A full-length movie in high definition can run in the 2-4 GB range.

Depending on where you live, your options vary, but here’s my setup:

Rabbit ears
The first step to low-cost television is an antenna. Homeowners have the option of mounting an outdoor antenna on the roof, but since I’m a renter, I’m somewhat limited in my options. Federal law does allow renters to place an antenna or satellite dish 3 feet in diameter or less on the balcony/patio/porch regardless of lease provisions, but I opted for a set of rabbit ears sitting on top of my tv instead.

I spent $20 on an antenna, but if you get lucky, sometimes you can get one on sale for less. It’s the standard VHF/UHF antenna (two prongs and a ring). I can pick up about 50 channels, including some really good ones that are almost cable-like in quality. I live in an area that is populous but flat, so that increases the range. If you’re in a rural or mountainous area, you’ll get fewer channels. If you type your address into antennaweb, you’ll get an idea of which channels you can pick up with which types of antennas.

Netflix/Hulu/etc.
Another component is Netflix, Hulu Plus, Amazon Prime Video, etc. I get a limited selection of streaming video included with my Amazon Prime account. Since I have the account for shipping anyway, I’m counting this as no extra cost.

Regular Hulu is free, but you have to wait a week for shows to go up. If you want them right away, Hulu Plus is your best bet. It’s something like $8 per month (I don’t know for sure because my sister lets me use her account, since it doesn’t cost her any extra to share). There are a lot of shows available, but usually only the most recent five episodes are posted.

Netflix is also reasonably priced (once again, in the $8ish range, but I piggyback on my sister’s account). There’s a large selection of movies and television shows, but it takes several months for the shows to be posted.

If there’s a show that you just have to watch, and you can’t find it anywhere for free, iTunes and Amazon also have season passes for many current shows. If you buy standard definition instead of HD, you can expect to spend $30 for an entire season. If you only have a few shows, it can be a real bargain, but it adds up if you watch a lot.

Other websites
Many television channels will post recent episodes on their website. This is a free way to watch shows that you missed.

There are also sites that stream specialty content (news, weather, documentary, special interest, religion, etc.). Finding them can be hit or miss, but if you google for whatever you’re looking for, you’ll probably find a whole treasure trove.

Computer (or streaming media device)
Watching all this stuff from a computer can get annoying. Sometimes I just want to sit on the couch and watch things on the television itself. This is where technology comes in. The Roku is a popular device to solve part of the problem. It’s a small purple box that costs anywhere from $50 up depending on the model. It’s wifi enabled and plugs into your television. It allows you to watch Netflix, Hulu, etc. on your television. There are hundreds of channels available for the Roku – some are free, and some are paid. When my sister and I lived together, I used her Roku, and I really liked the interface. However, you can’t surf the web or watch regular streaming video with it, so that limits its usefulness in my opinion.

I have an old desktop computer that was collecting dust, so I freshened it up and hooked it up to my television. I went to the computer parts store and bought a vga to rca converter box for $40 and plugged everything in. I had to turn the screen resolution way down and magnify the text, and it’s still sometimes a bit hard to read on sites with small print, but the video quality is fine. I can watch Netflix, Hulu, Amazon, etc. just like I could on the Roku, and I can also watch video from anywhere on the internet. I’ve ripped some of my dvds to the hard drive so I can watch them there, too. (I have a dvd player, but sometimes it’s easier to just use the computer instead of digging the discs out of storage.)

Redbox
If you love your movies, never fear. Redbox is an alternative to expensive movie channels. There are kiosks located at grocery stores, convenience stores, and gas stations all around, and rentals are just a dollar a day. Plus, if you use your google skills you can often find free rental coupon codes.

Public library
Last but not least, there’s the public library; it’s not just for books anymore. Libraries rent out movies and television shows on dvd, and they’re not just old dusty documentaries. Major blockbusters and popular shows are available. It’s one of the best kept secrets in the quest for cheap entertainment.

Money Saving Mondays – Cell Phones

I’ve tossed around the idea for a while of starting a new blog feature called “Money Saving Mondays” where each Monday I chronicle a way that I save money without depriving myself of modern conveniences. I can’t guarantee that it will happen every week, but I’m going to give it a go. Today’s edition is cell phone plans.

Cell phone plans are quite expensive. An average smartphone plan can cost $50-$150 per month. My monthly smartphone bill? $0. And yes, I do have a smartphone.

What’s my secret? Two acronyms – MVNO and VoIP.

Flying on a shoestring budget

I'm still here! I moved to Phoenix a week and a half ago, and I ended up having to take a quick unplanned trip out of town a few days ago. It would have been a 10 hour drive (each way) or a 1.5 hour flight. Allegiant had a cheap enough flight, even at the last-minute, that I opted for flying. I was a bit hesitant to fly on a discount airline, but the regular airlines were way too expensive due to the short notice.

I flew out of the Mesa airport, which is 45 minutes from my apartment. (Phoenix is 30, so it's not appreciably further.) Long-term parking is only $6 per day, which is a bargain. I got through security in under a minute. The airport has a courtyard separating one half of the terminal from the other half. My gate was on the other side of the courtyard, so I got some fresh air on my way to the gate. There was a gray cat walking along the grass chasing birds. I stopped to pet the cat, and an airport employee walked by and said that the cat was the airport cat. I didn't catch the cat's name, though.

Allegiant charges for everything, so be sure to read the fine print. Checked bags cost money, which is to be expected. What isn't to be expected is that carry-on bags cost money, too. I was able to cram everything into my "purse" (really a large shoulder bag), so I didn't have to pay for carry on luggage. Also, they board an hour before the flight instead of the standard 20-30 min, so be sure to leave extra time. If you pick your seat, that costs extra, too. I opted for the free version where the airline assigned my seat. I ended up being assigned a middle seat both ways, but on the return flight, there was an empty seat next to me, so I moved into the aisle seat. Snacks and beverages cost extra, too, so I brought my own. The lavatory is free, though!

I'll probably fly on Allegiant again. By giving up the frills, I saved about $120 over a full-service airline. I'll check back to see if it's still appreciably cheaper when I book in advance, and if it is, that's how I'm getting home for Thanksgiving. (Probably not for Christmas, though, since baggage fees will likely eat up any savings.)

Book Review - Make the Bread, Buy the Butter

I recently read the book Make the Bread, Buy the Butter by Jennifer Reese. It's half cookbook, half memoir. Reese chronicles her efforts to make tons of food items from scratch after losing her job. She documented the cost of the homemade version, the cost of the store bought version, and how difficult or annoying it was to make the item herself. She chronicled both her successes and her failures.

I found the book to be both funny and useful. I especially liked her empirical approach to the issue. Since I'm saving up to buy a house, I don't want to waste money on things that are more trouble than they're worth. Plus, I'm not someone who finds great joy in cooking. I like to take on a big project now and then, and there are some things I find fun to do, but mostly I see cooking as a chore - something that I do simply because it needs to be done. I do, however, have a bit of a mad scientist streak, and this book appealed to that part of me.

Reese enjoys cooking way more than I do, so her calculation falls a little more to the "make" side of the equation than mine does. However, I was surprised by some of the things she said fell in the "buy" category. Burritos and jam both fell under "buy" for her. While I love a good taqueria burrito, they're not that hard to make at home. And homemade jam is far superior to anything at the store and costs about the same.

Several times throughout the book, I found myself surprised that anyone would think to make certain items homemade. There's a recipe for pop tarts, for example. I was pleasantly surprised to see how easy it is to make ricotta cheese. I'm going to have to give it a try sometime. She has a marshmallow recipe that I want to try as soon as I can figure out what to use in place of the gelatin to vegetarianize it. (I'm thinking either pectin or agar-agar.)

I skipped most of the meat chapters, but I did start reading the one on chickens with the hope that I could find some egg recipes. But halfway through a rather graphic description of killing a rooster, I decided to skip the rest of that chapter, too.

In all, I recommend the book. There's something for the urban homesteader, the person who loves to cook, and the mad scientist.

Economic impact of the BART strike

Anyone who lives in the bay area is aware that BART (commuter rail between the east bay and San Francisco) was on strike for the past week. The strike has now been (at least temporarily) ended, after 5 days. I'm sure lots of people will be analyzing the aggregate economic impact this has had, and I wouldn't be surprised if it ended up being very expensive.

I decided to analyze the economic impact that the strike had on me personally. I ended up coming out ahead.

The strike lasted for one work week - July 1 - July 5.

I drove to work alone on Monday. I usually drive on Mondays due to a standing appointment on Monday nights in a location where BART doesn't go, so there was no economic impact there. Thursday was a holiday, and it would have been a holiday even without the strike, so there was no impact there either.

That leaves three work days (Tuesday, Wednesday, Friday) to analyze. I drove a carpool with co-workers for those days.

If I had taken BART, my cost would have been $46.41 for the three days. ($10 per day for BART fare, $3.50 per day for bus fare, $1.50 per day for parking at the BART station, and $0.46 per day for the diesel to get to the BART station from home.)

The cost to drive on Tuesday was $19.75. ($10.25 for diesel, $2.50 for bridge toll, and $7 for parking.) Wednesday and Friday cost $12.75 each because I got free parking. So, the total commute cost for the three days was $45.25.

I'm already $1.16 better off. But wait! My carpool people contributed to the commute. I didn't ask for any money, since I would have been driving anyway, but when they offered, I didn't turn them down. I ended up getting $35 in donations.

I did have to get up extra early to avoid traffic, but I was compensated by getting to leave work early, so that's a wash.

So, my total savings due to the strike came to $36.16. Not bad.

Homemade Yogurt!

It's true! It's possible to make homemade yogurt. It's ridiculously easy, too. The only ingredients are milk, and a little bit of yogurt to use as a starter. I made mine from nonfat milk and nonfat yogurt, but you can use any type. I've even seen vegan recipes from soy milk (with soy yogurt as the starter).

Super Easy Homemade Yogurt:
2 quarts milk
1/2 cup plain yogurt (Make sure it has live active cultures, otherwise it won't work. I used Trader Joe's nonfat organic Greek-style yogurt.)

1. Put the milk in a crock pot on low for 2 1/2 hours.
2. Turn off the crock pot, but leave the lid on, and let sit for 3 hours.
3. Add the yogurt to the milk and stir until it's all mixed in.
4. Put the lid back on and wrap the crock pot in a bath towel to insulate it. (Don't turn the crock pot on. If you do, you'll kill the Lactobacillus acidophilus, and it won't turn into yogurt.)
5. Let it sit for 8 hours.
6. Once it has turned into yogurt, refrigerate it and use within 7-10 days. You can use some of this batch as the starter for the next batch.

I haven't tasted it yet, since it wasn't ready until 6:00 this morning, and I didn't want to eat warm yogurt for breakfast. I stuck it in the fridge, and I'll try it when I get home tonight. It smelled right, though. I'm not sure if the batch can be doubled or cut in half, since I haven't tried it. I think next time I'll cut it in half and see what happens. 2 quarts is a lot of yogurt for one person. I'm also going to try mixing it with various fruits to see what tastes good.

I love how much money I saved. 2 quarts of plain yogurt would have cost $5.98 at the store. I spent $1.39 on a 5 oz container of plain yogurt. (It can be gotten more cheaply, but I wanted to use organic yogurt.) I used powdered milk that one of my old roommates gave me, so the milk was free. Total cost: $1.39. Savings: $4.59. (Even if I had to buy milk, it's only $1.49 for a half gallon, so I would still be saving $3.10.) The savings increase on the second batch because I don't have to buy the yogurt again. Since I still have some powdered milk left, my next batch of yogurt will be free! Plus, now I know exactly what's going into my breakfast.

Frugal Living Tips for the Rest of Us

Websites with frugal living tips abound on the internet. However, they're not typically useful to someone in my situation. The tips are generally geared toward a married couple (consisting of one wage-earner and one at-home individual) with several kids. This family lives in a house with a yard suitable for growing a vegetable garden. I'm single, I juggle work and school, and I live in an apartment where the only dirt available is whatever the dog tracks in.

Nonetheless, I'm known as the queen of frugality. I manage to have monthly living expenses of slightly under $500. (Given that I live in Silicon Valley, one of the most expensive areas of the entire country, this is nothing short of a miracle.) Here's what I've learned along the way. (I'm sure I've missed stuff; this is just what I remember right now. After a while, frugality just becomes an automatic way of life.)

Frugal Living Tips for People Who Don't Have Time, Space, or Inclination to Raise Chickens for Their Eggs*:

Washing Machine Update

Life marches on, and clothes still need to be washed. I ended up buying a spin dryer, and I love it! My roommate did an experiment, and she measured the amount of water the spin dryer extracted from a load of laundry. The result: 6 cups! No wonder it took so long for the clothes to dry. Imagine how long it takes to boil off that much water. Now it takes about 30 minutes to dry a load. Hopefully this will help with the electric bill.

So, now that the spin cycle problem is fixed, it paved the way for yet another problem. I got home last night, and my roommate was mopping up water from the kitchen counter. Apparently, the faucet adapter that allows the washer to hook up to the kitchen sink is loose. We tried tightening it, to no avail. This has happened once before, and a little bit of plumber's tape fixed it. Unfortunately, we're all out. At least this is a problem that can be solved with a trip to the hardware store and 2 minutes of taping.

Washing Machine Agitation

I live in an apartment with no washer/dryer hookups. I'm on the third floor, and at least one person per week gets stuck in the elevator. As a result of the flaky elevator, I just pretend that it doesn't exist and take the stairs all the time.

There is a laundry room downstairs, but it costs $2 to wash and $1.50 to dry. Figuring on 2-3 loads per week, that's $35 per month spent on laundry. Plus, the one time I used the laundry room, my only good towel got stolen. (The thief left the old ratty towels alone and took my pretty blue absorbent one.)

I decided to invest in an apartment sized washing machine, and my quest for cheap clean laundry has given me some great stories.

Story 1 "Free Can Sometimes Be Expensive"- Setting: February - July 2006
I don't remember exactly what prompted this one, but I ran an internet search for dryers that run off of 110 volt power. I think it's because in my quest for a washer, I wanted to see if I could find a dryer, too. Anyway, I discovered that there is such a contraption as a 110 volt ventless dryer. I was excited by this find because I didn't have anywhere to vent the dryer, and I didn't have a 220 volt dryer plug.

I checked craigslist, and I found a couple of these dryer contraptions. It turns out that it's actually a washer/dryer combo unit. Not a stackable unit, but a washer and dryer in one. Put in dirty clothes, and clean dry clothes come out. There was one in Pacifica that a guy was giving away for free. The catch was that it needed a new water pump.

I figured free was a good price and that a water pump would be easy enough to fix. I called my mom and asked if I could borrow her minivan to haul it, and she said yes. My mom lives in San Jose, I live in Fremont, I went to school in San Francisco, and the washer/dryer was in Pacifica. I called my neighbor who went to school with me and offered him a ride to school in exchange for helping me pick up the washer. He said yes. (We usually took the train, so it saved him the cost of a train ticket.)

The running total for the free washer/dryer: $10 savings for not taking the train, offset by $10 for parking. No bridge toll because I was carpooling. $25 for gas. Net total: $25- still a pretty good deal.

I got out of class and headed to get the washer/dryer. Of course, I got lost driving down a windy mountain road. I finally managed to find the place and we hauled it into the back of the van. When we got it home, we tried to get it up the stairs. This contraption probably weighed 75 lbs. It took me, my burly former football player neighbor, and my roommate to get it up the stairs.

I hooked the washer up to the sink and ran a test load. It worked beautifully. I figured I had gotten an amazing deal, and I was excited. This excitement lasted for about 10 loads before the water pump gave out, flooding my kitchen floor. I mopped up the mess and called Sears to get someone out to repair it. The repair technician came out and said that he had never heard of my brand before and had no idea how to fix it. Fortunately he didn't charge me for the visit. I did some checking online, and I made some phone calls, and nobody could fix it.

I decided to cut my losses at this point. I placed an ad on craigslist offering a free washer/dryer combo that doesn't require hookups, but has a broken water pump. I received several responses. The first person I set up an appointment with stood me up. The same with the second, the third, the fourth, etc. Finally, I got sick of it and moved the monster out onto my front porch. I put up an ad describing it and saying that it was free to the first person to haul it away.

I got home the next day (it's mid-April by now) and saw that someone had strapped the washer to a furniture dolly and had left me a note saying that he would be back the next day to haul it away. Apparently he had tried to move it himself and had quickly realized that he needed help. I called him back and confirmed that he was coming.

Several days passed and the washer was still there. I called the guy again. He made some excuses and said he would come and get it. This back and forth continued until June, when he called me and said he wasn't comfortable taking the washing machine because he suspected that I was mad at an ex-boyfriend and was getting rid of his belongings in a fit of rage. (I have no idea where he came up with that one. Maybe he was projecting something that was going on in his personal life.) Meanwhile, nobody else wanted it either. I asked the guy when he wanted to come retrieve his furniture dolly, and he kept putting me off.

I finally got so sick of the ugly washer on my porch that I decided to haul it to the dump. I called my dad and he came with the minivan on a Saturday morning. We managed to get it down the stairs and to the dump. It cost me $50 to dispose of it, and I took my dad out to lunch for his trouble, costing another $15 or so.

So, the total cost of the "free" washer/dryer combo that lasted me for 10 loads: $90. Oops. Free can sometimes be expensive.

Story 2 "They Don't Make Things Like They Used to, and Sometimes That's a Good Thing"- Setting: March-August 2006
While the nonsense with the impossible to dispose of behemoth was going on, my clothes still had to get clean. I looked into other ways of having a washer in my apartment, and I stumbled upon the Wonderwash. Basically, it looks like the offspring of a propane tank and a slot machine. You put your laundry, detergent, and water in, close the lid, and crank it for two minutes. Then you drain the water, fill it with clean water and crank it for another minute to rinse. Then you wring your clothes out and dry them.

The wonderwash worked ok, but it was extremely labor intensive. I was basically hand-washing everything. Also, it's really small, so I could only wash a few items at a time. Since it doesn't have a spin cycle, my clothes took forever to dry on the clothesline I had strung up in my shower to compensate for the loss of my dryer.

I still have the wonderwash sitting in a closet somewhere. If I ever have a laundry emergency during a power outage, I'm good to go.

Story 3 "All Good Things Must Come to an End"- Setting: February 2009
In August 2006, I bought an apartment sized washing machine. It's made by some company in China called Haier. It's about the size of a garbage can, and it's designed to hook up to the sink and roll away into a closet when not in use. It can only wash small loads, and it plays "Jingle Bells" at the end of the cycle. I found a 110 volt dryer in December 2006, and I leave it on my balcony so that it can vent. All in all, I've got a pretty good setup. No more laundromats for me.

Well, when you buy a $100 washing machine that comes from some unknown company in China and is made of plastic, a limited life-span is to be expected. When I first got the washer, I was the only person using it. I'm single and I don't generate much laundry. Now, both of my roommates are using it as well, and they each have a kid. So, instead of laundry for one adult, it's laundry for three adults and two children.

About three months ago, the washer started making awful clunking noises during the spin cycle. I took a look at it and noticed the belt was getting worn. I trimmed the loose bits of rubber and that seemed to fix it for a short while. About a month ago, it started making the noise again, and clothes would come out soaking wet, as if it hadn't been through a spin cycle. I replaced the belt last week. (It took that long for the part to arrive.) The first load worked like a dream. The second load was back to the clunking, whirring jet-engine noise and soaked clothing.

I figured it was toast, so I started scouring the internet for a replacement. A new one was going to cost $200. I found some on craigslist ranging from $50 to $120. At first I was hesitant to buy a used appliance that only had a lifespan of 2 1/2 years, but I decided I was cheap. Anyway, the first appointment fell through, and my roommate managed to limp the washer along a little while longer.

Last night, I did my laundry again, and I had to majorly wring my clothes out. The spin cycle is completely toast, but the rest of it works fine. Now I have to figure out what to do. My options are:
1. Replace the washer. This would have the advantage of getting a fresh start and may end up being the easiest solution. Still, I'm hesitant because the washer still gets my clothes clean.
2. Deal with it the way it is now. This may be the cheapest solution. However, it's a pain to have to wring out the clothes, and even when I wring them out, they still take longer in the dryer because I'm not as good as a spin cycle. Plus, I don't know how dilligent my roommates are going to be about wringing out their clothes, and I'm the one paying the electric bill.
3. Invest in a spin dryer. I've recently become aware of a nifty contraption called a spin dryer. Basically, it's an appliance that is like a souped-up spin cycle. It spins at about 3200 rpm and uses centrifugal force to extract the water. You run it for 2-3 minutes per load. It cuts down drying time because the clothes are practcally dry already.

So, that's my laundry saga. Who knew that getting clothes clean could be such a task. At least I don't have to beat my clothes with rocks in the river.