Budget-friendly Living

Being a poor college student and a mom of 10 fur-kids, I am always trying to come up with creative ways to save money. At my age, living in a studio apartment eating ramen noodles off of a table made of pallets, nestled on a couch made of FedEx boxes, is not exactly my idea of home. I live in a 2,000 square-foot house with a dream kitchen. My ideas of home décor and fine cuisine demand a little more than that. 

After posting a picture of my living room on Facebook, one of my friends commented that it looks like a picture out of a magazine. That got me thinking since I hadn’t really put much planning into the room. Decorating is definitely NOT one of my talents. As a result, I thought I’d share a super-easy, budget-friendly project with you. (See picture below.) I bought a collage picture frame set from Tuesday Morning a few years ago for under $30. You can easily find similar frames at any discount big-box retail store or at your local thrift stores and yard sales. Look for something simple that can go with any décor or style. The frame should not overpower what is in it. My frames have seven openings. Next, fill the frames with images that you love. When I first bought my frames, I put black and white pictures of my family in them. Once I moved in with my partner, we had a completely different décor than I had in my apartment. So, I changed out the pictures in the frames to match. I simply went online to Google Images and put “mint green” in the search bar. Up popped pages of images with mint green in them. I just picked out seven that I liked, even though they were completely unrelated. One was of a fire hydrant, another of a Vespa, yet another of a skirt made of men’s neck ties. What they all had in common was the color mint green. What the image is of doesn’t matter. Next, print them. I just printed mine on regular old paper, nothing fancy. When you put them all together, you get a piece of art that goes with your room, cost next to nothing, and is uniquely you! 

Today, I decided to change it up and update my art to coincide with my new living room décor. This time, I didn’t go for color, but for mood. I Googled images of hippie-type things that make me feel relaxed and open-minded like mandalas, patchouli, goddesses, incense, chakras, runes, and meditation. When you see the picture below, you will surely be able to smell the Nag Champa. 

All this creativity made me hungry. It’s a good thing I had some leftovers from last night, which was a kind of collage dinner that I thought I’d share as well. With the weather turning cooler and my classes getting increasingly demanding, I needed a quick, easy, cheap, comforting dish. Here’s what I did. I grabbed a can of Minestrone soup out of the cabinet. I make this often, by the way, especially in the colder months. Every time I make it, it is different, but always yummy! Next, I scour the cabinets for any of the ingredients that already come in Minestrone: beans, veggies, pasta, etc. It’s the kind of dish that is better with whatever you have on hand – a sort of “clean out the cabinets” kind of meal. The great thing is that you can make it to feed two people or you can make it to feed a crowd and anything in between.  You can also make it meatless or with meat. 

I usually make mine for two people by browning ½ pound of ground beef with some diced onion and pressed garlic cloves in a big pot. Once the meat is brown, I add a the can of soup, a can of broth (whatever kind I have on hand), a squeeze of tomato paste (from the tube), and throw in whatever can of veggies I have hanging around -- NOT drained since I need the liquid. Sometimes, I throw in a can of beans. I like a little kick in mine, so I add whatever hot stuff I have on hand, whether it is crushed red pepper or a few drops of tobasco sauce, it adds to the warmth of the dish. After I bring all of this to a boil, I add in some pasta. I like to use the smallest pasta I have in the cabinet, or you could break up some angel hair pasta or even broken up spaghetti will work. I look at the concoction, see if I need more liquid to cook the pasta, and add water as needed. When the pasta is al dente, it’s done! Garnish with Parmesan cheese and serve with bread. I like to eat my Minestrone with Jimmy John’s day old bread, which costs 50 cents and is better and fresher than any bread you can find in a store. If I happen to forget to grab some JJ’s day old, I will sometimes make cornbread, which is also great with this dish. Like anything Italian, the leftovers are always even more delicious than the fresh dish and is one of the FEW leftover dishes I will even eat! 

My love of divine food and desire for my home to be my sanctuary could prove to be expensive. As a student, I would be living above my means to afford me the lifestyle I enjoy. With a little creativity, I manage to live on shoestring budget with little sacrifice and still enjoy the finer things in life. 

What are some creative ways that you save money with little sacrifice?