Eating beans and rice will save you money. Photo by NCRThe holidays are long gone, but the bills popping up in our inboxes make it feel like Christmas and Hanukah have just begun: $50 for Gift A due in two weeks; $120 for Gift B due in a month; and the list goes on.
To pay for the previous month's merriment, you're trying to squeeze more money out of your paychecks than actually exists. The only way to do it is to make cuts. But where? You're already living as frugally as you know how, right?
As the
Total Money Makeover financial wizard Dave Ramsey preaches, there are always ways to cut more expenses from your life, ways to stretch the almighty dollar, even if it means doing things that you never fathomed--like eating beans and rice.
Sound crazy? Or does it sound delicious?
I thought it sounded yummy. I like beans. I like rice. Why not throw on some yummy toppings and make them, in and of themselves, a meal?
I tried it. Not only was the dish filling, it was also delicious—and dirt cheap. The whole meal (for two people) cost less than $5. (Note: I had the spices, hot sauce and chicken stock in my pantry already).
I spruced up the canned beans with spices and garlic, and, to give it more flavor, I cooked the rice in chicken stock. I topped the beans and rice with cilantro, ricotta salata cheese and hot sauce. Check out my recipe below.
Because the beans-and-rice experiment was so successful, it inspired me to dream up other food-related ways to pinch my pennies this month. After all, food seemed to be the one area where I could make the most adjustments, given many of my other bills are fixed on a monthly basis.
Following are five ways I've reduced my food costs. If you're trying to save money, consider implementing them.
1) Make meals that yield leftovers and bring the leftovers for lunch: Soups, stews, chilis—one-pot wonders—are all stretchable meals, meaning you can make them for dinner and then have plenty leftover for the next day’s lunch (maybe even dinner too). Not only do these kinds of dishes save you money, they also save you time in the kitchen. Check out my healthy
turkey chili and
chicken soup recipes.
2) Limit how much time you spend in the middle of the grocery store: I consider the middle of the grocery store a trap. It’s packed with a lot of stuff—prepackaged chips, cookies, crackers—you don’t need. Your body doesn’t require these foods. These kinds of foods are wants. And the problem with them is the more you eat, the more you want (starches and sugars are addicting). Each week, they can add $40 (or more) to your grocery bill. The healthier foods—fruits, vegetables and lean proteins—will cost you less money and keep you healthier, which means less doctor bills.
3) Make a store list and preplan meals: Heading into a grocery store without a plan is a recipe for thinning out your wallet. You start buying things on a whim with no clue as to what you’re going to do with them and, as a result, you end up buying way more than you actually need for the week. Making a list is critical. Sometimes I get super Type A about my grocery list. I’ll type it up and categorize everything by section of the store. Other times, I quickly tap the list into my iPhone. And then there are those times were I write it on 10 sticky notes. Where or how you write it out doesn’t matter. Just make sure you write it out. It forces you to be thoughtful about the kinds of meals you’ll be preparing for the week. Too, it lessens the chance that you’ll forget something and have to make another trip (or five) to the grocery store. Less trips means less gas, which equates to more savings.
4) Make getting coffee drinks out a treat, not a given: I’ll admit that I am a sucker for a really good Americano from my favorite coffeehouse. But at $3 a pop, seven days a week, they add up. I can buy a one-pound bag of good coffee beans for $15, and that will yield me coffee daily for two weeks. Knowing this, I’ve started making coffee at home more often and made the $3 splurge at the coffeehouse a special treat.
5) Use cash for food: I learned this from a very wise man. If you take your grocery budget out of the bank in cash each week, you’ll be much more likely to stick to it. It forces you to be particularly mindful of how much you’re spending because you only have available exactly what you have in your wallet. When you’re swiping a debit or credit card, you’re more likely to splurge because it's, well, just so easy to swipe a card. Try the cash method out for a week and see how effective it is.
Beans and Rice
(Serves 2)
1 15-ounce can of low-sodium black beans
1/2 teaspoon coriander
1 teaspoon cumin
1 clove garlic, minced
2 1/4 cups low-sodium chicken stock
1 cup brown rice
2 tablespoons ricotta salata cheese, crumbled
1 avocado, cut into chunks
1 tablespoon cilantro, chopped
1 teaspoon hot sauce
Pour the chicken stock and rice into a medium pot. Cover and bring the stock to a boil. Once the stock is boiling, reduce the heat to low. Cook for 20-25 minutes or until all the stock is absorbed and the rice is tender. Remove from the heat and let sit for 5 minutes with the lid on. Fluff with a fork.
Meanwhile, place the beans in a colander, and rinse and drain. Next, place the beans in a small pot with the garlic, cumin and coriander. Cook the beans over a medium heat for 6-8 minutes.
Place 1/2 cup of rice into each bowl. Top each rice bowl with 7 1/2 ounces of beans. Top the beans with avocado, cheese, cilantro and hot sauce. Serve.
Sunday, May 27, 2012 at 06:25PM 
These puppies are ready for their date with the freezer. Photo by NCRI love smoothies. I drink at least one, sometimes two a day.