I'm thinking of writing a book called "Things Poor People Can Do" because as an unfunded graduate student I am, to a certain extent, a poor person. Yet I do a lot of stuff. And I get the impression that many people think poor people can't do a lot of stuff. Frankly, that's just not true.
For example, the other day I found chickens for 49 cents a pound. 49 cents! God bless those poor dead birds. If I were killed to feed someone, I'd be so offended if I only fetched 49 cents a pound (although, when you compare the number of pounds in me compared to a chicken, I'd still be a costly investment). I will use these kind, dead winged things to make me soup that will last for weeks. Thus, I have accomplished two things- saved money on discounted chicken, and made soup. 2 things for a poor person to do.
I mention chickens because, honest to goodness, my food budget is crazy. It's probably not crazy compared to many people, but I find it is the one area of my life where I have great trouble trimming it down. I can wait for yarn to go on sale (usually) or just not buy any (*sob*), and take books out of the library instead of buying them (which is not nearly as inconvenient as my constant wingeing would make it seem), and I'm quite tidy and organised so my clothing lasts me several years, but FEEDING CHRISSY IS EXPENSIVE.
I've trimmed down the obvious costs. In a grocery store, my policy is:
I pack my lunch and eat at home, so that's all good and very sensible, but I find my weakness, for both diet and budget, is the "treat" section. When I want something delicious, it's a craving that just won't go away, but bakeries cost the moon ($20 for a cake? for real? Damn.) and even ice cream pushes the double digits (and don't tell me a pint of B&J is more than one serving because IT. IS. NOT.). Candy bars are full of toxic chemicals and don't tell a stressed out PhD with piles of Sanskrit and Tibetan homework to bake herself some cookies because OMGWHEREWOULDIFINDTHETIMEAREYOUCOMPLETELYINSANE?
So, my treat, when I can't knit away my cravings, is hot chocolate. Good calcium. I've got the ingredients in the house. It's fast. It's delicious.
My recipe, which is the result of many a non-scientic study, is below.
1 cup skim milk
1 tblsp unsweetened baking cocoa
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Heat the milk. Mix the honey in first, then add the powered ingredients. (Otherwise they stick together.)
Now, at first glance, this seems pretty exotic. "How poor can she be," you may be asking yourselves, "if she's fannying around with nutmeg in her drinks?"
Think about it- Premade cocoa mix, like Swiss mix or any of that variety, is more expensive than unsweetened cocoa (which you find in the baking section, by the way, not in the drinks section) and tells you to use 2-3 tablespoons per serving. This means you're going through it 2-3 times as fast, paying more and ingesting lots of junk. By using pure cocoa, you genuinely only need 1 tablespoon. And by using honey, which I find much sweeter than sugar, you only need 1 teaspoon. Buy the cheap honey.
I get my spices for $1.99 a container, and each container is about 1/2 a cup. There are 8 tablespoons in 1/2 a cup, 3 teaspoons in one tablespoon and I only use 1/4 a teaspoon per serving....someone do the math, but it works out much cheaper. The nutmeg and cinnamon add a wonderful layer of flavor that is more satisfying, in my opinion, than a serving of whipped cream on top, or added sugar. (Saving calories = saving money = very good!)
Plus, by concocting this extravagant (by my standards) drink, I satiate my need for exotic drinks, which means I can wander past Starbucks without spending $5 on a beverage.
Bonus- If you're unsure of what to do with your gauge swatches after you begin a new sweater, use them as drink coasters. Above, you can see the gauge swatch from my V-Neck Lace Pullover, still loved and in use by my bedside.
There you have it. A poor person making
For example, the other day I found chickens for 49 cents a pound. 49 cents! God bless those poor dead birds. If I were killed to feed someone, I'd be so offended if I only fetched 49 cents a pound (although, when you compare the number of pounds in me compared to a chicken, I'd still be a costly investment). I will use these kind, dead winged things to make me soup that will last for weeks. Thus, I have accomplished two things- saved money on discounted chicken, and made soup. 2 things for a poor person to do.
I mention chickens because, honest to goodness, my food budget is crazy. It's probably not crazy compared to many people, but I find it is the one area of my life where I have great trouble trimming it down. I can wait for yarn to go on sale (usually) or just not buy any (*sob*), and take books out of the library instead of buying them (which is not nearly as inconvenient as my constant wingeing would make it seem), and I'm quite tidy and organised so my clothing lasts me several years, but FEEDING CHRISSY IS EXPENSIVE.
I've trimmed down the obvious costs. In a grocery store, my policy is:
- no booze (make friends with bartenders and you'll never pay again)
- no cigarettes (they're gross, so that was never an issue)
- no prepackaged food (that's trickier because marketing works and I'm lazy)
- no junk food (see above)
- clip coupons and adjust my eating to what's on sale (quite a good strategy actually-it forces diversification)
I pack my lunch and eat at home, so that's all good and very sensible, but I find my weakness, for both diet and budget, is the "treat" section. When I want something delicious, it's a craving that just won't go away, but bakeries cost the moon ($20 for a cake? for real? Damn.) and even ice cream pushes the double digits (and don't tell me a pint of B&J is more than one serving because IT. IS. NOT.). Candy bars are full of toxic chemicals and don't tell a stressed out PhD with piles of Sanskrit and Tibetan homework to bake herself some cookies because OMGWHEREWOULDIFINDTHETIMEAREYOUCOMPLETELYINSANE?
So, my treat, when I can't knit away my cravings, is hot chocolate. Good calcium. I've got the ingredients in the house. It's fast. It's delicious.
My recipe, which is the result of many a non-scientic study, is below.
1 cup skim milk
1 tblsp unsweetened baking cocoa
1 tsp honey
1/4 tsp nutmeg
1/4 tsp cinnamon
Heat the milk. Mix the honey in first, then add the powered ingredients. (Otherwise they stick together.)
Now, at first glance, this seems pretty exotic. "How poor can she be," you may be asking yourselves, "if she's fannying around with nutmeg in her drinks?"
Think about it- Premade cocoa mix, like Swiss mix or any of that variety, is more expensive than unsweetened cocoa (which you find in the baking section, by the way, not in the drinks section) and tells you to use 2-3 tablespoons per serving. This means you're going through it 2-3 times as fast, paying more and ingesting lots of junk. By using pure cocoa, you genuinely only need 1 tablespoon. And by using honey, which I find much sweeter than sugar, you only need 1 teaspoon. Buy the cheap honey.
I get my spices for $1.99 a container, and each container is about 1/2 a cup. There are 8 tablespoons in 1/2 a cup, 3 teaspoons in one tablespoon and I only use 1/4 a teaspoon per serving....someone do the math, but it works out much cheaper. The nutmeg and cinnamon add a wonderful layer of flavor that is more satisfying, in my opinion, than a serving of whipped cream on top, or added sugar. (Saving calories = saving money = very good!)
Plus, by concocting this extravagant (by my standards) drink, I satiate my need for exotic drinks, which means I can wander past Starbucks without spending $5 on a beverage.
 |
| Dig my lime green bedspread? That was on sale too. Obviously. |
There you have it. A poor person making
- a coaster
- an exotic, Starbucky beverage
- a calcium-enriched healthy snack
- a great example of procrastination as she has translations due tomorrow but would rather stay online and write to you :)
I <3 this post and miss you!
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