Recessionist Nirvana

Thousands of people are unemployed or underemployed thanks to the recession. If you are one of the many who are scrabbling for a new job, we at Recession This! feel for you -- many of our friends and loved ones are out there with you.

However, if you are out there struggling to replace the job you had with one at the same salary, you might want to read today's post at The Simple Dollar. It explains that "...the magical amount of 'enough' income is much lower than many people think."

While this is not a tip on how to, say, save money by using your freezer*, hopefully it will help you stress less while on the job hunt and help you decide on a job you want to do, versus one that pays what your last (probably crappy) job paid.

*Like how we snuck that tip in anyway? From NYTimes via Lifehacker]
[Photo by J. Star]

NPR Challenge: How Low Can you Go?

NPR's All Things Considered has been running a challenge for professional chefs and home amateurs alike: How Low Can you Go - Feed a group of four for less than $10.
I've heard several of the on-air features listening to the NPR Food Podcast.

So far, they have interviewed and featured recipes from 4 chefs:
Gina and Pat Neely do Mac & Cheese for $9.
Navy Chef Michael Edwards makes a skate dinner.
Chef Ming Tsai prepares Chicken and Corn-Fried Rice.
and (my favorite of the 4) Spanish Chef Jose Andres makes a Chickpea and spinach dish.

The links above take you to a transcript of each interview with the chef as well as the recipe and comments from listeners. The pages also have a link to listen to the story - I have to recommend that you give them a listen, especially the Jose Andreas segment.

AND you too can join the challenge! If you have a great recipe for a meal that can feed 4 people for $10 or less, submit it to All Things Considered here. Let us know if you have enter the challenge and we'll feature your recipe here on Recession This!
Bonus: at the $10 challenge page you can see all of the recipes submitted by listeners in the comments.

Good luck and happy recession cooking!
Image from NPR's How Low Can You Go challenge page

Reduce, Reuse, ReGoogle

Finding yourself with random stuff lying around your house taking up space that you don't want to send to the landfill, but can't sell or foist upon Goodwill? Google a way to repurpose it!

For example, I have a bunch of old mouse pads (culled from the day job) that I could not think of a new use for. A quick Google (actually, I used Goodsearch and gave to my favorite charity without spending my own money [See this previous RT! post]) and I found these myriad ideas:

• Bases for houseplants, etc. to protect your furniture [from Craftster]
• Pads for table & chair legs [from Reader's Digest]
• PDA sleeve and insoles [from eHow]

For general inspiration, you can also do a flickr search or Goodsearch image search of "repurpose" and see what others have come up with. Some folks, like Scavengerjo, even make art of things that have no other life left.

Also check out Brooklyn-based RePlayGround for tips and for kits to help make new things out of old trash.

What do you have sitting around your house that could find new life as something useful?
[Ode to the Modern Housewife by Scavengerjo]

You Know Why? Chicken Thigh!

Chicken thighs are cheap and delicious. And, thanks to Real Simple, you can eat them in this cheap and delicious recipe. What makes this recipe great, aside from the heavy cream, is the number or ingredients you probably have on hand. I always seem to have frozen peas and white wine around, for example, so there wasn't much left to buy at the store. And, since the ingredients aren't fancy you can go to a regular ol' grocery store and buy 'em for less. Bust out the slow cooker that's gathering dust in your cabinet and get to cooking!

CHICKEN WITH TARRAGON AND LEEKS

1 1/2 pounds baby new potatoes (about 16)
8 small skinless chicken thighs
3 leeks (whites and light green parts) cut into 1 1/2 inch pieces
1 cup dry white wine
Kosher salt (I use regular old Morton's)
1 10 ounce package of frozen peas
1/3 cup heavy cream
1 tablespoon fresh tarragon

Place potatoes on the bottom of a 4 - 6 quart slow cooker. Add chicken, leeks, wine, and 1 teaspoon of salt.

Cook, covered, until chicken and potatoes are tender, on high for 3 to 4 hours, on low for 6 to 7 hours.

Transfer the chicken and all but 4 of the potatoes to plates. Using a fork, smash the remaining potatoes into the cooking liquid to thicken.

Add the peas and cream and cook just until heated through, 3 to 5 minutes. Spoon over the chicken and sprinkle with the tarragon.

Feeds 4.

Recession Fitness!

You no longer have an excuse to sleep in on Tuesdays. Starting May 5th certified personal trainer Abby Sweitzer is offering running classes for FREE. Don't have an expensive gym membership? Don't need one! This one hour a week work out is enough to motivate you to create your own training program and it won't cost you a dime -- o.k., you might have to buy some decent running shoes. Aside from that, just throw on an old t-shirt and shorts and get ready to run!

Bonus Earth Day Post

Now that you've shrunk your bills (see previous post) check out this free book download from Grist.org. Register with Grist for free and get tips on how to live green every day (because, as we've said time and again, living greener usually means living cheaper too).

Not only will you get the free e-book, but you will also be registered for a free trip to Bonnaroo '09!

[Photo by SouthernPixel]

Bill Shrinkage

Shrink your bills! Not by wading into a cold pool with them, but with BillShrink.com

Enter a few generic details about yourself and your cell phone or credit card bill, and they offer alternatives that save you money. For instance, I plugged in info about my rewards credit card, and they offered me 32 alternative credit cards that would save me more money/give me greater rewards.

Found the link in an MSNBC article about saving $1K on your cell phone bill; check that out here.

[Photo by 99 James Nguyen]

Where to Hide Your Money

In these tough times, you are probably holding onto any money you can get and/or still have. AOL has a list of some crazy places to hide money (actually, some make sense to me), though it seems the best idea is to stuff it in your bra like this woman did -- it could save your life.

And check out this post for the worst places to hide money (especially if you live in a crack-addled neighborhood). [via Bloggingstocks.com]

Why not play with those bills before you hide them? Check out how to at the Origami Resource Center.

[Photo by nathangibbs]

Quick Tip: 6 Things to Stop Buying to Save Money

From Yahoo! comes a quick list of things you don't really need to buy that will help save your pocketbook (and the planet):

1. Air fresheners
2. Bottled water
3. Dryer sheets
4. DVDs and books
5. Trash bags
6. Wrapping paper

Odds are, as a reader of this blog, you have already cut one or more of these things out of your budget -- perhaps more! And if someone gives you a hard time about buying less, tell them it's not your fault that the economy is in the toilet.

Paranoia is Healthy

Just in case you didn't have enough to worry about, now it seems you have to be especially worried that "ATM skimmers" aren't stealing your PIN and taking what little money you have left.

According to Consumerist.com, here are some tell-tale signs to look for:

• Slots that don't fit (and can be removed!)
• Multiple mirrors - one could be hiding a camera that records your PIN
• Strange ATM error messages
• Trouble inserting or removing your card
• The ATM looks different from the other ATMs around it
• Dummy brochure boxes with hidden cameras on them

Read full article here (especially if you live in New York City).


[Photo by ohad*]