My Great Scratch and Dent Store Visits and Other Important Things I Did Today

Today I finished my 14 day quarantine after coming back from Austria, and was able to leave the house for the first time. I finally was able to take care of my tooth which was causing me problems, but there was talk about our public transportation system being canceled, and all unnecessary stores shut down, which made me really stressed out, because how would I get to the dentist without buses, and how would I do my important grocery shopping, things that I couldn't get delivered to my house and my local stores don't sell.

So I decided to rent a car from a local person so I could be assured that I'd be able to go to the dentist, and while I had the car, I would do some more important grocery shopping. However, since I don't regularly have a car, when I do have one, I like to take advantage of it and use it to its fullest extent. That means that I wasn't just going to go to the grocery store and the dentist, but I'd be going to the scratch and dent stores as well.

In the two scratch and dent stores I visited today, I was pleasantly surprised by what I found.

Can you save money with a home warranty?

Things break. Paying for them when they do is expensive, and can be a big burden on home owners (which is why some people choose to be permanent renters, so that their landlords can take care of that hassle). One way people deal with these expenses is by having a home warranty. Read on to see what a reader has to share with us about the topic.

Being a homeowner can be so expensive. That’s why people are trying to find new ways to save money. One of the most significant cost is repairs. If you own expensive home appliances and systems, you know that a single repair can cost from a few hundred to a few thousands of dollars. Obtaining a home warranty is one of the ways to secure your budget. Read on and find out more about it!

Delicious and Easy Sweet Cheese Pancakes Recipe

This recipe is very different from most recipes I post. First of all, I never tasted this. Secondly, it isn't particularly frugal or particularly healthy.  Nor is it gluten free, dairy free, or egg free (it's all those, basically). But I made it yesterday for my kids for lunch and they devoured it, and told me that I have to share it here on my blog. This is high in protein, and since I got the cheese free, it was frugal for me as well. They make soft pancakes that hold together well. My kids told me they were less sweet than cheesecake (the flavor I was going for) but sweeter than regular pancakes.

Note, this is quite a large recipe; if your kids are less famished than mine, or if you're a smaller family, you might want to halve this recipe, or even make just a third.

Delicious and Easy Cheese Pancakes Recipe

How to Experience Wellness and Still Save Money

Take care of yourself! Do what you can to boost your body and mind during these hard times with these frugal ideas, sent in by a reader.

The wellness industry is on the rise. Interestingly, the practice of wellness has been with us for ages now but more and more people in Canada are becoming “hooked” on it. Maybe companies have simply become better at marketing wellness products. Regardless, it’s understandable that consumers want to feel well and that they’re willing to spend money to do so. However, unknown to many, there are ways to save dollars on popular wellness practices.

So, Have You Thought About Meds For These Times?

Ok, let's do some real talk here.

I'm on psychiatric meds. Have been for a few years now. Two different ones. And they make my life so much better.

Like night and day better. Like I forget a dose one time and I totally regret it, because I see how much better it makes my life. Like they work for me so well, that my life is so completely different, that I don't ever want to go off of them. It's like when I was eating gluten I lived with a constant stomach ache, and my base line was pain, and I didn't even realize it, but when I went off gluten, I finally understand what it was like to live without any pain. And now that I'm on meds, I finally know what its like to feel "normal" and not with so much mental anguish every single day.

I used to be opposed to the idea of medication. I mean, I don't want to feel numb. I want to still feel my life, and not walk through it like a soul-less zombified person. As depressed and anxious and not well as I was doing, I was even more afraid that medication would somehow diminish my existence, make life less somehow, and make it worse than before I took meds. Add to that my desire to do things naturally, treat myself via a healthy diet and all that jazz, and not want to feel like I was a cop-out, turning to quick fixes. I only finally was willing to take medication when my mental state got so bad that I was not functioning in my day to day life and I reached a critical stage.

But when I finally went to a psychiatrist, and spoke to him, he reassured me about medication. That the point of medication wasn't to take away my feeling, wasn't to numb me or reduce my essence. The analogy he gave me about how medication works was that it simply increases your reserves, increases your tolerance and ability to deal with hardship.

And finally, that, combined with his reassurance that he didn't want me on medication for the rest of my life, but wanted therapy to heal me to the place that I wouldn't need meds anymore, convinced me to try psychiatric meds.

And as I mentioned, they've been life changing for me.

Everything You Need to Know About Teen Spending Habits

As the parent of a nearly teenaged kid, I've noticed that even if you raise your kids money conscious, teenagers have their own way of doing things and are likely to make choices that you wouldn't consider to be financially savvy. However, I'm certain that parents' money lessons aren't in vain, and what we teach kids and teenagers has the possibility of rubbing off on their spending habits, and prevent them from getting into financial trouble already at a young age. This post from a reader explains what teen spending habits statistically are, and it is a wake up call what we are up against, to teach our kids money smarts while their social circles is telling them to spend it all.

Teenagers are an exceptional age group that live in fantasies and spend money generously as compared to the other age groups. Research reveals that girls spend money more than boys and this spending increase between the age of 13 and 15. However, few spending habits are universal and constitute a significant portion of their parent's income. At the same time, some teenagers also undertake a part-time job and spend money according to their salary.

My Dishwasher Finally Works! And How I Fixed My Blomberg Dishwasher's Drainage Issue E01

Warning, this post contains gross pictures, because the inside of a dishwasher that was filled and then never run doesn't look good, especially once the dishwasher tab starts melting everywhere.

When I came back from Vienna last Wednesday evening, I was very frustrated to see that my Blomberg brand dishwasher wasn't working. It kept on making a draining noise, even when it wasn't on, and whenever I tried to turn it on, it gave me an E01 error message.

So my first thought was to call a dishwasher repair person, but being in quarantine I am not able to do that, so I turned to the internet for help. However, the internet basically told me that E01 had to do something with the drainage, which was a great help (sarcasm intended) because I could hear it constantly attempt to drain even though there was nothing in it, even when it was off.

Fun Things To Do At A Dinner Party

I love dinner parties and like to host them on a semi regular basis. And while "just" having a meal is great, sometimes you want to have some plan of things to do at the party. This post sent in from a reader is chock full of great ideas for your next dinner party. Or you can even do them at home with your family over dinner!

Dinner parties are an excellent way to bring people together and enjoy a good conversation over meals. They can be formal for business conversations or a simple casual potluck with a few friends. Nonetheless, you can achieve a whole lot of things over dinner. All you need is to choose the right set-up that suits your guests’ preference and personal style to make the party lively and enjoyable for everyone attending.

Easy and Delicious Gluten Free Vegan Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipe from the Pantry- Allergy Friendly

Fortunately I have quite a lot of food in my house, enough to last a while, with the stock built up over a long period of time, mostly things purchased when they were on sale, so that I could shop from my pantry instead of paying full price for things from the grocery store. Though I do have animal proteins at home, I am trying to stretch them out, so I am making more meals vegan these days.

For that reason, when I was organizing my pantry and saw the TVP flakes, I knew I wanted to make spaghetti with "meat" sauce. TVP, short for texturized vegetable protein, is a byproduct of making soy oil, and is used as a meat substitute because of its meaty texture. It's often used to secretly stretch ground meat (our local stuff often lists "with added vegetable protein), and can be really, really cheap. And unlike many other meat subs, its totally gluten free.

A friend of mine asked me why I don't just make spaghetti with ground meat instead of this, and the number one benefit of this over that is cost. The package of TVP that I bought cost me 95 cents, and I used less than half for this recipe, so basically 45 cents for this, vs however much about a pound of ground beef would cost, and being that its about $4.50 a pound for ground beef on sale locally, and $6.50 when not on sale, this is between 1/10 and 1/13 of the equivalent with ground beef, so I'd say its definitely worthwhile. Other benefit is that this is all shelf stable and can be kept long term, so its great to have the ingredients on hand and shop from your stockpile in emergencies.

So does it taste good? Definitely. Does it taste like meat? Not particularly, but even meat sauce has more of a strong tomato sauce taste to it than a meat taste, so I didn't feel much was missing. And while most fake meat sauces made with lentils or beans or nuts have an after taste, this didn't have that. I'd say it was neutral meat flavor-wise regarding taste, but in terms of texture, it definitely has a meaty feel to it.

If you're just vegetarian and not vegan, this tastes even better with cheese added to it, but it is quite fine even without it. Or if you're vegan and not looking to make this as cheap as possible, feel free to add your favorite vegan cheese to this.

Easy and Delicious Vegan Spaghetti with Meat Sauce Recipe- Allergy Friendly

Caviar Collections by Global Seafood

We live in rough times, when people around the world are stuck at home because of coronavirus, and if you have a special occasion, such as a big birthday or anniversary or other special milestone, you might want to do something nice for it, but can't go out to a restaurant or do something else to leave the house. This, then, is the perfect time to bring luxuries to your home to celebrate at home in a special way. What better way than caviar? Check out what Global Seafood has to offer.

Caviar is basically fish eggs (also known as fish roe) from the sturgeon fish family, scientifically known as Acipenseridae. Black caviar is a specific type of fish roe that comes from sturgeon.

They are particularly delighted to offer you the best option, to buy caviar, Black Pearl brand. Look around at their wide variety, including natural or fish farm-raised caviars.

Black Caviar is not only a delicious and classy treat, but it is also very nutritious and has wonderful health benefits, and is a great way to celebrate your special occasion