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Find the Best Interest Rates on Savings Accounts
Are you looking for a place to park your savings that will earn a respectable rate of interest, such as 6 or 7 percent? You can stop looking. Nothing close to that exists in this economy. Readily available are savings accounts with 0.5 annual …Read more.
Pet Health Insurance? Get Real!
If you have pets, you know that animals come with unavoidable expenses. But the day-to-day expenses to own a healthy pet are a drop in the food dish compared with what you'll spend if you decide your pets deserve the latest and greatest medical …Read more.
This Desperate Situation Requires Drastic Measures
Dear Mary: I've been reading your Debt-Proof Living newsletter and blog for some time now. The problem I continually run into is where to begin. I don't have enough money to pay all my bills each month. So how do I begin to save money? My bills come …Read more.
How To Trick Yourself Into a Big Savings Account
Now and then, a great reader tip washes up on my desk that causes me to wonder, "Why didn't I think of that?" It makes so much sense: Think of your paycheck as 100 percent savings. Then, as you must, transfer into your checking account …Read more.
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Roast Your Own Coffee for Fun and Frugality
If you love good coffee but hate paying $11 to $16 a pound for high-quality coffee beans, have I got great news. You can drink the best and pay half the price. The secret? Roast your own coffee beans. It's cheap, it's fun, and you'll be the envy of your friends and family.
Theoretically, you can roast coffee in any vessel that gets very hot. A Whirley Pop Stovetop Popcorn Popper works well, as does a cast-iron skillet. I've used both outdoors on the side burner of my grill. The beans must be stirred manually and watched carefully. This stir method is not as reliable or as easy as a third option: the air popcorn popper, specifically a West Bend Poppery II air popper. If you don't have one stashed in your garage, pick one up at a garage sale or on eBay for just a few dollars. Because coffee roasting produces some smoke and chaff, set up the popper outdoors on a patio or balcony, using an extension cord. Pour three-quarters of a cup of green coffee beans into the chamber where the popcorn kernels go. Put the top, including the butter-melting dish, in place. The beans will stir themselves. After two or three minutes (times vary), you will hear them begin to "crack." After about five minutes from the start, you will be at a light (city) to medium roast. If you wait up to about six minutes, you will have a full-bodied dark French roast. The roasting fragrance smells nothing like coffee. But you will enjoy it. Once you reach the desired roast, immediately unplug the popper and pour the beans into a colander, with another colander or sieve standing by. Allow the roasted beans to mellow for at least two hours before you grind them. Store the beans in a tightly sealed container. Grind only the amount you need to make a pot of coffee. Use the beans within two weeks. And now for the good news: Green coffee beans start as low as $4.29 a pound (at this writing), depending on the origin and variety. My favorite is La Minita Tarrazu from Costa Rica. I usually pay about $6 a pound plus shipping for my favorite beans and order 25 to 50 pounds at a time. If you cannot find green coffee beans locally, try U-Roast-Em (www.URoastEm.com), the best coffee company in the world. Their service is impeccable, and they have a huge offering of coffee. If you find a good cup of coffee to be one of life's extraordinary joys, just wait until you make it from beans you've roasted yourself. It's very much like the difference between a vine-ripened tomato from your garden and one of those barely pink excuses for a tomato in a grocery. Need I say more? Mary Hunt is the founder of www.DebtProofLiving.com and author of 17 books, including "Debt-Proof Living." You can e-mail her at mary@everydaycheapskate.com, or write to Everyday Cheapskate, P.O. Box 2135, Paramount, CA 90723. To find out more about Mary Hunt and read her past columns, please visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.
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