Posted by Melody on Monday, Aug 28, 2017
CareerBuilder recently came out with a report finding that 78% of U.S. workers live paycheck to paycheck and 32% of workers stick to a clearly defined budget. When money is tight, budgets are hard. They take tenacity and willpower.
What makes budget living easier is knowing which spending categories are negotiable. Like more than 50% of those surveyed, I can't give up my expensive home internet and mobile phone bills either. Our grocery bill, however, has a lot of fat we could trim.
Enter the Dewey Decimal number 641.552--"money-saving cooking." I discovered this section a few months ago when looking for ways to reduce our grocery budget. It's been helpful for not only nightly meals but sack lunches at work as well. I'm happy eating leftovers for lunch.
You can find money-saving recipes throughout the cookbook collection. Take the Single Guy Cookbook, for instance, or my current favorite, Vegan on the Cheap. If I drill down into our grocery bill minutia, fake meat purchases add up fast, and this book offers inexpensive but hearty replacements. (I have a slow cooker Corned Seitan and Cabbage dish simmering as I type.)
But what about that *other* recent news that says free time makes people happier than money? I can tell you that the times I put in the prep work and have dinner ready by the time we get home from work and daycare, my sanity has been saved. No menu decisions have to be made, no knives have to be wielded when the hungry child clings to my leg. I absolutely love having delicious and nutritious meals waiting for me at home. (Big-batch cooking on Sundays works too.)
And for those who want to save even more time, search for the "time-saving cooking" Dewey number--641.555. It is just down the way from the money-saving cookbooks. Heck, you can even save time by saving a trip to the library and find a cookbook on OverDrive.
Cookbook Sections
CatalogPro lets you find books by their Dewey number. Here's a rundown of the cookbook sections mentioned in this post.
641.552 Money-saving cooking
641.555 Time-saving cooking
641.561 Cooking for one or two people
641.5884 Slow cookers
Cooking & Food on OverDrive
Categories
About the Author
I've been at the library for more than 10 years now, and I still find joy when choosing the best books for our readers. My current reading journey is taking me book by book through different genres. I'm challenging myself to find books that are enough outside my wheelhouse that I'd pass them by on first glance. The genre I'm looking forward to... more
When judging this book by its cover, I assumed it was going to be a little lame and poorly written. And how wrong I was! This book is a madcap adventure if I ever read one. I don't want to give too much away, but I chortled at every gag our heroes used in an attempt to get out of sticky situations. Who brings a slingshot to a gun fight? These guys. The setting for this book--Isle Royale National Park--was the other selling point for me. I love indulging in books that take me to faraway places. A forested island with no ticks or bears, but plenty of moose and the chance to see a wolf, equals one that will capture my daydreams. Lovers of national park hiking adventures: this one's for you! -Melody