One Snarky Chica with Issues

If you are trying to get out of debt like me then you know that to really take a hold of your finances and emerge victorious that you either need to spend less or make more. Ideally, you want to do both but just being able to do one of those is a big step in the right direction.

For most people it is easier to spend less than it is to make more. But how do you go about spending less these days when it seems like the cost of everything from food to gas is going up, up, up?

You just have to adapt accordingly.

I have a car that gets good gas mileage, but I sure do hate pulling up to the pump to see that the cheapest gas is $3.19 a gallon! Yikes! When I made up my budget I decided that I did not want to spend more than $100 a month on gas. This is getting difficult for me as I have family that I visit with some regularity that live about 45 miles away.

So, I had to adapt to those rising gas prices by letting off of that gas pedal a little bit. Actually going the speed limit is sure to save me a little money. I am also trying to limit any extra trips. No more coming home for lunch from work. All errands get run at the same time now.

As for food costs, I have found that it is cheaper to make foods from scratch!

For example, I love, love, love mexican food. But I prefer it at home as opposed to a restaurant. It seemed like I was always buying cans of refried beans at the store for $1.29 a can. Yikes! So, I did some digging and found a great and easy recipe to make my own refried beans!

Vegetarian Refried Beans Recipe

INGREDIENTS

• 1 pound dry pinto beans, rinsed
• 2 tablespoons minced garlic, divided
•  2 tablespoons ground cumin
• 1 tablespoon chili powder  (I used ancho chili powder)
• 2 tablespoons olive oil
• salt to taste

DIRECTIONS

• Place the beans in a large saucepan, and cover with an inch of water. Place over high heat, and bring to a boil. When the beans have come to a boil, drain, and return them to the same pot. Cover the beans with 2 inches of water, and stir in 1 tablespoon of garlic, cumin, and chili powder. Bring to a boil over high heat, then reduce heat to low, and simmer until the beans are very soft, about 3 hours and 45 minutes, adding water as needed.
• Once the beans have cooked, mash them with the remaining tablespoon of garlic, the oil, and salt to taste; use additional water as needed to achieve desired consistency. Place over low heat for 30 minutes, stirring occasionally. Serve.

Not only were these super easy to make, but they tasted way better than the canned ones. The best part though was the cost. Now, I already had the minced garlic, cumin, ancho chili powder, olive oil and salt as those are pretty much staples in my kitchen. And I got a one pound bag of organic pinto beans at Whole Foods for only $1.69! Plus it is way healthier than the stuff in the can.

I made the entire bag as the recipe called for and it made lots and lots of refried beans. Now I have some in the freezer that I can thaw as I need it.

Just a quick note - if you are making this and don’t have cumin try looking for it in “ethnic” food isle. You will find that a little bag of cumin in the mexican or ethnic food section is way cheaper than buying it from the spice section!