Frugal Living : Barbecue it all & Save Money

The summer is a great time to take advantage of all the delicious, fresh foods that are in season. It’s also a great time to dust off the barbecue and save a few dollars. The trick to saving money and lowering your hydro or gas bills is to cook all of the food for a particular meal, on the barbecue. So, instead of cooking the meat on the barbecue and all of the side dishes on the stove, do it all on the grill. You can save on hydro and/or gas by doing all of your cooking with one appliance, and cooking outside will help to keep your house cool.

This may take a little planning, but you can barbecue virtually anything. Fold vegetables into tinfoil pouches with olive oil, skewer them, or roast them on a pan. Use the side burner on your barbecue to cook starches like rice or pasta, and soak ears of corn (husk and all) in a little water, then toss them on the grill. Heck, you can even make dessert on the barbecue; try grilling fresh fruit and serve it with a little ice cream for a tasty treat.

Use your imagination, save some money, and enjoy outdoor cooking and eating while you still can.

[When the snow flies, or merely for a change of flavor, ditch the energy hoggin oven for

small and efficient, counter top rotisserie from Ronco - Today's money saving tip sponsor]

How to save power and save water to the max?

When it comes to utility bills, the prices have only gone up. Opening your water bill and your electric bill gets more and more painful as the years pass. So, what are the solutions? How to save water, how to save power? Is there any quick fix?  How can we conserve water and save money? A rain barrel, cistern, or an atmospheric water generator? Or, is it just a matter of improving our habits and reducing our water consumption? How about electricity, it’s becoming very expensive, so how do we save electricity? Energy efficient light bulbs, solar panels, or a geothermal power system? Or, again, is it more about our habits and can we lower our power bill if we become more self aware and manage our power usage better? It’s all of the above! Frugal living and thrift mean changing your habits to save water and save power, but also discovering and employing the best technology and tools to make your home more sustainable.

A big thank you to ThriftCultureNow.com