When I was a child, Christmas was my favorite time of the year…for obvious reasons. Now I’m all grown up and I still enjoy the holiday season because it’s a great way for me to save money.

Sales Galore

Have you noticed how many food items go on sale between Thanksgiving and New Year’s Day? Being a budget minded cook, I really look forward to receiving fliers from all my local stores this time of the year. If I’ve been a bit lazy about planning ahead or restocking the pantry, seeing so many items on sale gets me back on track. November and December (if your budget allows it), is the best time of the year to stock up on extra items. Last year I bought extra tubs of cream cheese, shrimp, turkey, gourmet cheeses and breads and enjoyed them all the way through summer. In fact, if there’s ever an incentive to set money aside each week to spend during the holidays, this is it.

Sales After the Holidays

Sales don’t just happen during the holidays. You can find some great deals long after the last Christmas decoration is taken down. And don’t just think food items. Christmas canisters and bags are perfect to put aside ready for next year’s holiday food gifts. I often see gift packages with things like dried fruits and nuts, sometimes 50-75% off during the first week of January. I don’t buy them to give as gifts, but use them for baking during the next couple of months. Plus, I also get a container or basket to use for gifts the following year.

Free Shipping

I often wait until a few days before and after Black Friday to stock up to buy items I want. Things like make up and body care products. Why, because most companies offer free shipping.

Gifts for Birthdays

The holidays are the perfect time to shop for birthday gifts too.

Coupons Season Is Here

More coupons are available from Halloween to New Year’s Day than any other time of the year. It’s the best time to use them…especially on double coupon day at the supermarket. The other good news is most of these coupons are for items that are on sale.

Leftovers

Holiday dinners and parties often result in lots of leftover food. Some can be made into new meals, but other things like appetizers can also be frozen and pulled out for a quick lunch or snack during the New Year.

Making Extra…saving time and money

While you’re cooking for a crowd it doesn’t take much more effort or money to put together a few more servings. Sometimes I’ll cook extra mashed potatoes and put them in my food saver bags. Sometimes it’s extra stuffing that I’ll freeze.

Favorite Foods are Cheaper

Do you have a favorite food that’s only available during the holiday season? For me that’s cranberries and sweet potatoes. If you want to use them in a recipe in say July, first of all good luck trying to find them, and secondly, if you do, they cost twice as much. I always buy at least five bags of cranberries during the holidays and keep them in the freezer. I also cook and mash sweet potatoes and freeze them. Sometimes it’s a nice change of pace to pull them out in the middle of summer and think back to the holidays.

The weather’s turned colder making my brain believe that yes, Thanksgiving is just around the corner. If that thought has sent you into a panic, here are some of my tips for throwing a Thanksgiving dinner that’s both easy on you and your budget.

Don’t Get in Over Your Head

My advice is to stick with recipes that you’re experienced with, or ones you could probably put together in your sleep. If you are going to be adventurous enough to try a new dish, or even a different brand of a popular food item, either give it a test run, or sample it first. That way if something goes wrong, or you want to tweak the recipe a bit, you’ve got plenty of time to do so. And you don’t waste food.

Same Old

Okay, I’m going to contradict myself a bit here, but if your guests can guess what’s on the menu before they arrive…and they’ve not shown prior psychic abilities, it might be time to add some new recipes, or give some old ones a new twist. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy. Maybe try some new vegetables, or you could try cooking the potatoes a different way. Roasted potatoes served around the turkey make a welcome change to plain old mashed potatoes.

Get Fancy for Pennies

If you’re the one hosting Thanksgiving dinner this year and worried you’re going to break the bank, think about easy ways you can jazz up a few things. Last year I didn’t serve stuffing in the usual casserole dish, instead I baked mine in a muffin pan and placed each one on a serving platter. My usual corn casserole wasn’t made or served in a soufflé dish. Instead I pulled out some small round baking pans I’d purchased for one of my cooking classes and made a corn casserole for each guest. If you’ve never thought of serving soup, why not put together something like a squash soup and serve it in a scooped out mini pumpkin. Soup’s filling and guests may not eat so much of the ‘big-ticket’ items.

And speaking of making something for each guest. While lots of people like to pass around dishes and platters for guests to help themselves, if you’re on a budget some foods can quickly disappear. I think it’s perfectly okay to plate the food for each guest. Think of a gourmet restaurant and how everything looks so good. Just get a little creative. And of course, don’t stop anyone from taking seconds if they really want it.

Easy Appetizers

Lots of people don’t like to snack on too much food before the big meal, so it’s not too difficult to keep your guests satisfied. One thing I like to do is have some apple cider with mulling spices brewing just before the guests step through the door. The smell is really welcoming and if you serve it with something salty or spicy, like nuts, it’s just enough to keep hunger pains at bay, but not too much food to ruin anyone’s appetite.

Not Everything Has to Be Made From Scratch

For years I was a bit too over obsessed with making sure everything was homemade. I’d stand at the stove making the cranberry sauce, the gravy. Now I realize that it’s okay to serve certain things from cans and packets. These days I use canned cranberry sauce, a good brand name gravy mix, and a ready-made stuffing mix that I jazz up with some sautéed vegetables.

Help Wanted

Don’t be afraid to ask others to bring along an item or two. Most people will ask anyway, so it’s no big deal to suggest one guest to bring a pie, and another one to supply the bread rolls. It’s also a diplomatic way to spread the cost of the meal among all the guests.

And a Recipe

This is one of my favorite holiday recipes for stuffing. It’s easy to make makes a regular stuffing mix taste gourmet.

Jazzed Up Stuffing 

Serves 8

Ingredients

1 16 ounce package of Pepperidge Farm Herb Seasoned Stuffing mix

1 large onion, chopped

2 medium sized carrots, finely diced

1 8 ounce package of mushrooms, sliced

2 stalks of celery, finely diced

2 tablespoons oil

Instructions

Preheat oven to 375 degrees.

Grease a large baking pan.

Make stuffing according to directions.

Heat oil in a skillet over medium heat.

Add onion and cook until transparent.

Add carrots, celery and mushrooms and cook for about 15 minutes, stirring often and until the vegetables are tender.

Add the vegetable mixture to the stuffing and mix well.

Spoon into the baking pan and cook for about 20 minutes until it’s heated through.

If there’s any leftover, it makes a great stuffing for pork chops. Just make a slice in each chop, fill with some stuffing mixture and cook as usual.

November is just nine days away and that means the holidays are fast approaching. The time of over indulgence and if you’re not careful, over spending too. It’s all too easy to get caught up in the festivities and come January, your budget’s in bad shape. So how can you prepare your budget for the upcoming holiday season, here’s how I approach it-

Stay a Budget Smart Girl

I never let the holidays lure me away from my basic philosophy that is, don’t spend what you don’t have, don’t buy what you don’t need and remember what you do today impacts how you live tomorrow. There’s nothing worse than beginning the New Year in debt you could have avoided.

Cash Is King

One way I’ve got over the temptation to overspend during the holidays is to go to the bank and withdraw a certain amount of money. I put it into an envelope and mark it, holiday budget. Once it’s gone, holiday shopping is over. It makes you think about how much things actually cost and you learn to be creative in what you buy.

Pre Paid Credit Cards

If you’re worried about carrying cash around, purchase one of those prepaid credit cards. Once it’s done, you’re done spending.

It’s Going To be Tempting but…

The economy’s still sluggish which means retailers will once again slash prices to move stock and get us into their stores. However, not everything is a bargain, check before you leave the house, especially on the higher end items.

Don’t Be an Early Bird

Don’t be in a rush to get all your shopping done right after Thanksgiving. Wait until the week before Christmas and prices usually get slashed further and online retailers often offer free shipping.

Can Your Purchase Wait?

If you’re not seeing a friend or relative until after the holidays, wait until then to buy their gift. Why pay full price for something that’s just going to sit under the tree until January?

Not The Usual Places

Look for items where you wouldn’t think to find them. For example, my local DIY store now sells games and toys during the holidays. They have some of the best deals in town and they’re exactly the same products.

Visit Consignment Stores

Check out consignment stores. Not the ones that sell used clothing but things like household items. Just the other day I was in my local one and saw no end of new and almost new items, like a golf cleaning kit, still in its original package, sitting on the shelves. New items can be found in many of these resale stores.

Shop Online

I have to admit I buy most of my holiday gifts online these days. I can comparison shop, prices are lower and I save time too. During the holidays, most online stores waiver shipping fees. And here’s an added bonus if you usually shop for products online (like make-up), wait until the holidays to stock up and take advantage of the free shipping deal!

Spread the Cost

If you’re really feeling the pinch this year; how about buying a gift with another relative or friend and sharing the cost. I know lots of parents and grandparents do this when they’re buying gifts for their grandchildren.

Layaway

The days of putting an item on layaway and paying for it weekly are back. I noticed a few stores advertising just that. My grandmother always used this method for buying everything from toys for me to a new winter coat for herself and she was the ultimate Budget Smart Girl.

I’ve Run Out of Money

So what happens if your budget runs dry and there are still a few names left on your gift list? There’s always the make your own gift certificate. People really appreciate someone doing a chore for them for free so you could offer to cut the grass, wash their car, babysit for them, or even cook dinner one weekend.

Let’s start the second part of the Halloween guide with a giveway-

Halloween Joke Book for Kids
There’s a brand-new Halloween eBook designed specifically for kids – 103 Hilarious Halloween Jokes – Riddles & Jokes Guaranteed To Keep Your Little Ghouls and Monsters Laughing by Scott Allen and illustrated by Michelle Dimuzio( $2.99). These are funny jokes that kids will enjoy – puns, riddles, and jokes – with delightful illustrations.

http://www.amazon.com/103-Hilarious-Halloween-Jokes-ebook/dp/B0046A9Q78
http://search.barnesandnoble.com/books/e/9780982924723/
The author has offered to give away three copies to Budget Smart Girl readers, so just drop me an e-mail or post a comment and I’ll pick at random three winners. Giveaway finishes on midnight, Wednesday October 20th, 2010. I’ll announce the winners next Friday.

For the Ohio Based Budget Smart Girl
For true fashionistas, Columbus offers Highball, masquerade-style Halloween party shuts down the city’s main “drag” in Columbus (High Street along the Short North Arts District) and features a costume couture fashion showdown with local designers, live entertainment and costume contests (for kids, dogs and adults!). The event runs from 3 p.m. to midnight and is just $5. Another option that’s relatively unknown (and outside the normal realm of Halloween events), is Lima Lantern Tours. The Allen County Jail in Lima, Ohio, housed notorious criminal John Dillinger in the 1930s before his gang broke busted in, killed the local sheriff, and started a nationwide manhunt. Working with experts from the recent Johnny Depp film “Public Enemies,” Lima officials have created Lima Lantern Tours to explore the Dillinger saga and other local stories. Walking tours and horse-drawn carriage rides take place Oct. 15-16 and 29-30; tickets are $10 and $20, respectively. Tip: For those interested in a more in-depth glimpse of the Dillinger saga, there’s an exhibit at the Allen County Museum with artifacts including the gun the sheriff was reaching for when he was shot, letters from Dillinger’s girlfriend and an original jail cell. Admission is $3.

Frightfully Delicious Recipes from the Folks At Certified Angus Beef
Here are some recipes that were sent to me from Certified Angus Beef
For more information, visit www.certifiedangusbeef.com.

Spooky Spiders Ground Beef Biscuit
Ingredients
1/2 pound Certified Angus Beef ® ground beef
1/2 package taco seasoning
1/2 cup water
1 16-ounce tube home-style refrigerated biscuit dough
Ketchup
1/2 cup shredded mozzarella or cheddar cheese
16 sliced black or green olives
32 pretzel sticks

Instructions
Cook ground beef and drain excess fat. Add taco seasoning and water, simmer for 5 minutes. Set aside.

Preheat oven to 375°F.

Separate dough into 8 biscuits; place each biscuit into ungreased large muffin tin. Press dough firmly into bottom and up the sides of each cup.

Divide crumbled ground beef evenly into dough cups. Squirt ketchup over meat; sprinkle with cheese. Place two olive slices on top of each for “eyes.”

Bake for 20 minutes, or until biscuit edges are golden brown. Cool 5 minutes; remove from muffin cups. Stick four pretzel sticks into each side of each biscuit cup for “legs”.

Serves 8

Nutritional Information per Serving: 319 Calories; 15g Fat; 6g Saturated Fat; 31mg Cholesterol; 33g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 13g Protein; 1,047mg Sodium; 13% daily value Iron (based on 2,000 calorie diet).

Mummy It’s A Hot Dog

Ingredients
6 Certified Angus Beef ® brand frankfurters
1 11-ounce tube refrigerated breadsticks
ketchup

Instructions
Preheat oven to 375° F.
Remove breadsticks from container; separate into 6 coils at perforations.

To make each mummy, unroll 1 coil of dough. Wrap dough in a spiral around 1 frankfurter, stretching to fit, pinch to seal at both ends of frankfurter.

Place on ungreased baking sheet. Repeat with remaining frankfurters and dough.
Bake at 375°F for 20 minutes, or until golden brown.
Serve with ketchup “blood” for dipping.

Serves 6

Nutritional Information per Serving: 346 Calories; 21g Fat; 8g Saturated Fat; 40mg Cholesterol; 25g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 12g Protein; 1,126mg Sodium; 13% daily value Iron (based on 2,000 calorie diet).

Leaky Cauldron Soup

Ingredients
1/2 pound Certified Angus Beef ® round steak, cut into 1/2-inch cubes
Flour for dusting
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 large onion, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 28-ounce can crushed tomatoes
315 1/2-ounce cans beef broth
1/2 cup uncooked elbow macaroni
1 1/2 cups frozen mixed vegetables
Salt and pepper to taste

Instructions
Season beef with salt and pepper. Dust with flour; pat off excess. In an 8-quart pot or Dutch oven, heat oil, and cook beef until browned. Add onions and garlic; lower heat and simmer for five minutes, stirring occasionally.

Add tomatoes and broth to meat mixture; bring to a boil over high heat. Reduce heat to low; simmer uncovered 20 minutes.
Add macaroni and vegetables; simmer 15 minutes more.

Serves 6

Nutritional Information per Serving: 259 Calories; 7g Fat; 1g Saturated Fat; 26mg Cholesterol; 26g Carbohydrate; 3g Dietary Fiber; 24g Protein; 1,505mg Sodium; 20% daily value Iron (based on 2,000 calorie diet).

It’s Alive! Bread
Ingredients
1/4 cup melted butter
1 16-ounce package frozen roll dough

Instructions
Coat large Bundt pan with non-stick cooking spray.

Arrange frozen dough balls in bottom of pan. Cover pan with a clean dish towel and let rise until doubled, about three hours.

Preheat oven to 350°F. Uncover dough, drizzle butter over top of dough and bake for 25 minutes, or until golden brown.

Carefully invert pan onto serving plate; let rest five minutes before removing pan.

Pull apart and enjoy with Leaky Cauldron Soup.

Serves 6

Nutritional Information per Serving: 307 Calories; 18g Fat; 7g Saturated Fat; 20mg Cholesterol; 33g Carbohydrate; 0g Dietary Fiber; 5g Protein; 913mg Sodium; 10% daily value Iron (based on 2,000 calorie diet). Recipes provided by Certified Angus Beef LLC

What To Do With Leftovers
Leftover treats aren’t that common but here are some ideas about what to do if you have candy sitting around. Thanks to all the candy companies for sending us these ideas.

Trail Mix Surprise: Add together 1 cup of each: Fisher® Milk Chocolate Peanuts, Sun-Maid® Milk Chocolate Raisins, chopped dried Apricots, dried cranberries, bite-size pretzels, rice or corn cereal squares, dried banana chips, salted sunflower seeds and salted Fisher® cashew pieces. Mix all ingredients together and you’ve got Sun-Maid® Milk Chocolate Raisin Fun Mix! Store in a sealable container or zip-top bag and pour into a bowl for everyone to share, or keep stored in a cool place and grab a handful whenever the mood strikes.

For after-school celebrations: Be the coolest mom/dad with treats for after-school and other activities!
Add Sun-Maid® Milk Chocolate Raisins to your favorite Oatmeal Cookie recipe to add flavor, texture and nutrients like potassium, fiber, calcium, iron and protein!

Kids love fruit snacks and they love cupcakes, so why not combine the two? To make a Welch’s® Fruity Cupcake, simply make your kids’ favorite cupcakes and top them off with any flavor variety of Welch’s® Fruit Snacks for a chewy surprise in every bite.

Make any fall party a hit even after Halloween is over:
Put out a bowl of Welch’s® Fruit Snacks pouches and you’ve invited vitamins A, C and E to the party! This is also a great portable snack that allows guests to mingle and munch without having to camp out at the snack table.

Toss 4 oz. of Sour Jacks® into a bag of already made microwave popcorn and shake the bag to mix together for a treat that’s a little salty and a little sweet (serves 2-4).

Stir 1 oz. of Sour Jacks® in with 4 oz. of vanilla ice cream to create your own Sour Jacks® Swirl ice cream (serves 1).

Here’s information on some of the products mentioned above:
www.chocolateraisins.com.

www.welchsfruitsnacks.com.

www.sourjacks.com.

Decorations
And the 3M Command brand products has some spooky ideas for you and all of them can be placed around the house without causing permanent damage to the walls…what parent doesn’t love to hear that!

•Command plastic and metal hooks ($2.99-$12): Make your Halloween party “scary” good by hanging bats, ghosts and cobwebs from ceilings and walls that brush guests as they pass by.

•Command decorator clips ($1.99-$3.99): Hang eerie lights on your entryway to scare trick-or-treaters, or use the clips to hang haunted garlands on your banisters and mantle.

•Command picture hanging strips ($2.99-$4.99): Display creepy cutouts of skeletons and zombies or posters from famous horror films. Showcase framed photographs of your best Halloween costumes from years past.

Once you’ve decorated, enter images of your haunted house in the Take Command of Your Space Facebook Contest. You could win $500, plus a flip-video camera and a prize pack of Command products! Simply visit Facebook.com/CommandBrand and upload a photo or two – we love before and after shots! – along with a tip about how you used Command to decorate your space. They’re selecting a new winner every week through December 25, 2010 so you can enter more than once!

Hope your Halloween’s a fun and safe one!

It’s always fun to put together the annual holiday gift guide so I thought I’d add a Halloween one too-

One Stop Shopping
The folks at Target wanted you to know they have a whole bunch of Halloween related items and everything from candy to costumes for pets- www.Target.com/Halloween

Halloween Crafts
Part of the fun of Halloween is making crafts and here’s a site for doing just that-
www.C4K555.org

HALLOWEEN HAPPENINGS FOR NEW YORK BUDGET SMART GIRLS
Stew Leonard’s Yonkers store announces Halloween happenings it is hosting throughout the month of October, including: free family movie nights every Friday, hayrides, and free ice cream for children in costume at the store on Halloween day.

Halloween Hay Bale Theater
Every Friday night in October, the Garden Center is transformed into a Hay Bale Theater to show a free children’s Halloween-themed movie. Tickets may be picked up in advance at Customer Service. Free refreshments are served. The movies begin at 7:00 P.M., with seating opening at 6:30 P.M.
October 15th: Sponge Bob’s Spooky Sea Tales
October 22nd: Scooby Doo’s Spookiest Tales
October 29th: It’s The Great Pumpkin, Charlie Brown

Halloween Hayride Spooktacular
At the end of this family-friendly hayride, children receive a candy “treat.” The hayrides start Friday, October 1st and run through Sunday, October 31st. Hours of operation
Monday through Friday: 3:00 P.M. until 7:00 P.M
Saturday through Sunday: 10:00 A.M. until 7:00 P.M.

Halloween Day Trick or Treat
On Halloween day, Sunday, October 31st, children can trick or treat throughout the store. Those in costume receive a free ice cream.

WHERE: Stew Leonard’s Yonkers Store
One Stew Leonard Drive
Yonkers, NY
Store Phone: 914.375.4700

Halloween Photo Contest
Check out www.HalloweenPhotoContest.com which allows individuals of all ages and skill levels the opportunity to submit their Halloween photos to win prizes, it also features fun and creative tips on seasonal arts and crafts

Inexpensive Halloween Costumes
Here are two places you might want to check out for inexpensive Halloween costumes-
Once Upon A Child www.onceuponachild.com and also Savers www.savers.com which stock new, licensed costumes and accessories for low prices. For consumers who want to get more hands-on in creating a costume, Savers provides free downloadable project guides for DIY costumes on their Costume Ideas website, including Jersey Shore, Lady Gaga and Katy Perry, all predicted to be popular looks for this year. The necessary items and materials for these projects can all be purchased at Savers stores for budget-friendly prices.

In addition to Savers’ large selection of affordable new and used Halloween items, Savers will be hosting free Halloween “Costume Catwalk” events every Thursday at 3 p.m. in October. In every Savers location nationwide, specially-trained Costume Consultants will showcase that week’s hottest costumes in a Halloween fashion show event. Additionally, these Costume Consultants are always available in-store to help shoppers create unique looks in line with this year’s trends.

Spooky Recipes

Here are some great tips and a few recipes sent by www.Mealtime.org the website of the Canned Food Alliance.

Concocting Halloween treats that sneak in fruits and vegetables and are fun for kids can be a gruesome task. Whether it’s a snack for the little goblin or fiendish fare for an annual monster bash, the Canned Food Alliance has created a spooktacular selection of recipes that would make any ghoul grin. These recipes all use low-cost canned foods, which make Halloween easy and affordable!

Tricks for Treats From the Canned Food Alliance

Try these kid-friendly recipe concepts to nutritiously enliven the day of the dead in your house.

Trick: A canned pear is a poached pear. Save yourself a step and use canned fruits and vegetables in recipes since they are already cooked.

Treat: Caspears the Tasty Ghosts – Place canned pear halves with raisin eyes on a popsicle stick. Are they pears or are they ghosts? BOO! Kids will love preparing these on their own.

Trick: Canned beans of all types are often fat free and packed with fiber, protein and antioxidants. Use them right from the can (with no overnight soaking or cooking) to add nutrients and a punch of flavor, color and texture to a variety of dishes.

Treat: Hallowbean Dip with Skelechips – Find a classic black bean dip on Mealtime.org and pair with chips made from tortillas cut into skull and bones. Use a cookie cutter to make the shapes, spray with oil and bake to become crispy. They’re sure to be a hit at any spooky soirée.

Trick: A recent study published by kid marketing group, Just Kid, Inc., found that most children ages 2 to 12 agree that scooping, dipping and adding toppings make food and drinks fun to eat. Sneak in an extra canned fruit or vegetable to ensure your kids are meeting the daily recommended amounts – and they’ll have fun while they’re eating too.

Treat: Apricot Spider Sundae - A chocolate sundae never looked so scary. Top a scoop of chocolate ice cream with a canned apricot half. Add black licorice legs and dried blueberry eyes and you have the most hauntingly healthy chocolate sundae ever.

Trick: Stocking up on convenient prepared foods like canned baked beans provide a fun opportunity for kids to be a part of mealtime preparation. No slicing, dicing or chopping make it fun and safe for kids to help in the kitchen.

Treat: Worms and Beans - Mom, there are worms in my beans! Slice hotdogs into long thin strips, then boil them so they curl up to look like worms. Place in a tangle on a pile of canned baked beans.

Part Two of the Halloween Guide on Friday

Sticking with a budget is a lot like dieting. You start out with good intentions but somewhere along the way you get tempted. My approach to staying with a budget is the same as the one I take when I want to lose some weight. You’ve stayed with the low calorie foods, you’re close to your goal and while you shouldn’t over indulge, there’s nothing wrong with rewarding yourself with a job well done.

It’s the same principle with your budget. You’ve stuck with your meal plan; you’ve been using coupons, so once in awhile you’ve got to reward your efforts. There’s always room for some luxuries and here’s how I approach them.

Tea
One of my favorite things is a great cup of tea. I couldn’t start the day without one and sometimes it’s the best thing for a mid-afternoon pick me up too. I’ve tried just about every brand of tea out there. Sometimes I buy a budget brand, but I always come back to the more expensive ones. And why, because I’ve found the cheaper ones are really just low-grade teas. They produce a weak brew and I end up having to use two bags to get the same strength as the more expensive ones. Lots of times I’ve been so unhappy with the taste that I’ve tossed the whole box away. I’ve been wasting money instead of saving it. And there are still ways to save a few pennies. I found all my favorite teas at the local co-op. They’re sold in bulk and as I don’t mind using loose tea, I’ve found some of the best bargains there.

Chocolate
I’m not just referring to a great bar of chocolate to eat, but the kind you use in recipes…cookies, frosting etc. I’ve found it pays to buy the more expensive brands because they melt faster and easier. Plus, they tend to have a richer taste so I can sometimes use half the amount. Once again you can easily find bags of gourmet chocolate chips in warehouse stores, so don’t think you can’t afford the top of the line.

Those One Time Treats
Are there some food items you see in the supermarket that you’d love to buy, but hurry by them because of the cost? Just like dieting, it doesn’t always pay to continually walk by what tempts you. Remember what happens when you do that, you end up eating twice as much. Close to where I live is an upscale supermarket. I don’t usually shop there, but once in awhile I’ll stop by there to search for a hard to find item. This store has an olive bar that not only has the biggest selection of olives I’ve ever seen, but the best oven dried tomatoes I’ve ever tasted. As I don’t shop in there that often I’ve given myself permission to buy a tub of these tomatoes each time I shop there.

Main Star
I always think that any food that’s going to be the main star of a dish deserves a bigger cut of the budget. For example, I just mentioned the olive bar at the local supermarket. If I’m making something where the olives are just chopped and mixed with something else I use canned or jarred olives. If it’s a salad or some other cold dish I’ll buy them fresh from the bar.

Special Occasions
If it’s a special holiday, a birthday or an anniversary, then I think it’s definitely okay to splurge. They only come around once a year, so indulge.

Organics
I’ve lost count of the people who tell me they’d love to eat organic food but they just can’t afford it. Like everything else in the supermarket, bargains can be found, even in the organic section. My preference is to buy organic apples, so I’m always searching for a good buy. Lately I’ve found buying organic apples in bags really cuts down on the cost. And just week I purchased a bag of organic kiwis for $1.99. There were seven good-sized kiwis in the bag, which makes them just 28 cents each. So don’t always assume you can’t afford a particular food item.

Things That Are Meant to Last
It’s not only food items that you need to splurge on. For example, clothes. If something is going to be worn a lot and become one of your closet staples, then I say it’s worth paying more. The same goes for appliances and things you hope to keep for more than a year or two. Look at how reliable a brand is rather then how much it costs. Sometimes buying budget priced items isn’t the wisest thing to do.