Prioritized Living

Master your money. Get organized. Take back your time.

Favorite Products for Banishing Kitchen Chaos: Part 1

This post is part 1 in the series Favorite Products for Banishing Kitchen Chaos.

Favorite Products for Banishing Kitchen Chaos

Note:  This post contains affiliate links.  Read my policy here.

Cooking can be a refreshing and relaxing experience . . . but not when you’re pulling out your hair trying to find everything you need.  Digging through a vat of pot lids, hauling everything out of the freezer to find tomorrow night’s roast, and trying to get everything away so that your kitchen doesn’t look like a war zone can make the process something to dread.

A disorganized kitchen is stressful and wastes your time every minute that you have to do battle with it.  I’ve discovered and come to love the following tools for keeping my food and equipment organized, which in turn saves my time and sanity. [Read more…]

Quick Tip: Slicing a Loaf of Bread

A bread knife is a great tool in the kitchen, but it’s caused some major loaf carnage in my kitchen.  Sometimes the pressure required to slice homemade or bakery bread — especially when it’s toasty warm — can flatten a previously lovely loaf.  Sometimes, wrangling the knife can make it extremely challenging to get even slices of the right thickness and a smooth cut.  Even under the best circumstances though, I wind up with piles of crumbs on my counter . . . wasted bread! [Read more…]

Budget Leeches (and How to Stop the Bleeding): Groceries

This post is part 2 in the series Budget Leeches (and How to Stop the Bleeding).

Budget Leeches and How to Stop the Bleeding - Groceries

Check out Part 1 of this series!

The Problem

In general, purchasing groceries to prepare your own meals is far less expensive than eating out.  Still, are you hemorrhaging money at the supermarket without realizing you’re leaving a trail of discarded cash in your wake?

Here’s a real life example:  I know that I can nab a medium cheese pizza from the local Italian place for about $10, but I can walk into my my grocery store and pick up a frozen pie for $8.  I’ve saved $2, right?  Not so fast.  I’m still giving away my hard-earned money when I could be even smarter with my spending. [Read more…]

Budget Leeches (and How to Stop the Bleeding): Dining Out

This post is part 1 in the series Budget Leeches (and How to Stop the Bleeding).

Budget Leeches and How to Stop the Bleeding - Dining Out

With the new year come all manner of well-intentioned resolutions, including — for many of us — financial resolutions!  You’re determined to make this year more prosperous for your family.  Where do you start though?  You feel as though you’ve been saving and sacrificing, but where has your money gone?!

Enter the budget leeches . . . sneaky, unobtrusive expenses that can blanch your rosy financial optimism or lead to full-blown exsanguination.

Over the next few posts, I’ll look at some of the biggest money-suckers out there with tips for prying them off of your wallet . . .

The Problem

A dinner here . . . a working lunch there . . . a double-mocha-frappucino-with-extra-whip a few times a week . . . some snacks from the office vending machine when the hunger pangs kick in mid-afternoon . . . it adds up!  You might not even see how much if you’re using cash to buy candy bars, purchase coffees, buy a round of drinks at happy hour, take a spin through the drive-through, or visit the office cafeteria with any frequency. [Read more…]