What would you do if you had an extra $100 a month? Would it make keeping up with bills easier? Just imagine how fast you could pay off your debt if you could put that extra $100 toward it each month?

The problem is $100 sounds like a pretty big number and it isn’t all that easy to come up with that extra cash. But what about $25? Seems a lot more attainable, doesn’t it? So that’s what this week’s Frugal Challenge is going to be…”make” an extra $25.

I’m using the term “make” rather loosely here. You can either earn an extra $25 or save them somewhere else in your weekly budget. Either way, see if you can do it in a way that you can repeat each week. Here are a couple of ideas:

Ways to Make More

• Babysit 2 hours per week
• Tutor a neighbor child
• Hold a yard sale
• Sell something on ebay
• Take clothes and toys your kids have outgrown to the consignment shop
• Crafty? Sell your crafts and craft patterns on etsy.com
• Love to write? Start a blog at blogger.com and monetize it with google adsense
• Love to cook? Share your recipes on a blog and again monetize with google adsense and affiliate products. (You could become a HBHW ebook affiliate)
• Work a few extra hours if you have a job (or ask for a raise)
• Got administrative skills? Consider working as a Virtual Assistant a few hours a week. See Shelancers.com for more info.
• Do some consulting in your field of expertise.

Ways To Save More

• Cut out that daily trip to the coffee shop
• Cut down on your phone, internet and cable plans
• Go to the library instead of buying books
• Drink water instead of soft drinks
• Cut back on eating out
• Make your own convenience foods
• Meal plan

Obviously this is just a small list. I’d love to hear your ideas. Get creative… if you had to make an extra $25 this week, what would you do?

Just got the following email and thought I’d share it with you since you’re probably wondering if freezer cooking can really save you money.

Hi Suzanne,

Thank you – Cindy H. SC

Big Kudos go to Cindy for going out and getting that great deal on chicken and then taking the time on a Sunday to make all those freezer meals. I’m so happy you’ve found it useful and are already saving money on your groceries.

Since we’re on the topic, I thought I’d share another email with you as well…

I have researched freezer cooking extensively and gave a talk to over 200 women last year on the subject. You did a fantastic job putting your freezer cooking info together. I am really impressed.I am a registered dietitian in Iowa and refer people often to your website. It is a wealth of info on frugal and healthy cooking as well as other subjects. Keep up the good work!
Michelle

Thank you both for your kind words. It means the world to me. – Susanne

To get your copy of Freezer Cooking Made Simple, click here or on the image below:

We had a pretty slow and relaxing Saturday for a change. I spent part of the day knitting my first pair of socks (I’ll post pictures when they are finished) and the rest of the day on a little experiment…

I’ve had lasagna on my mind all week, and this was as good a day as any to make it. I dug through my pantry and saw that I had plenty of everything, enough to make a few extra lasagnas for the freezer. And since I’ve been working on my Freezer Cooking Made Simple ebook, I thought this was a great opportunity to see exactly how much time making freezer meals saves. The results were four 3-Minute meals.

Let me explain…

I made the first lasagna and timed myself. Then I went back to make four more lasagnas (to be frozen for later). Including clean-up each time, and assembling all these lasagnas it took me just under 10 minutes longer to make four than it did to make the single lasagna. They are now sitting in my freezer, waiting to be pushed in the oven and cooked on a night when I’m too tired to cook a whole meal. That means it took me an average of 3 minutes to make these extra meals.

Granted, it may take another minute to move each lasagna from the freezer, sprinkle it with cheese and then remove it from the oven when it’s done, but you get my point. By cooking double, triple or in my case quadruple quantities of foods that will freeze and reheat well, you can save a lot of time. Time that you can spend with your family instead.

You can get your copy of my freezer cooking ebook here.

Here’s my freezer lasagna recipe:

Home Made Lasagna

• 10 uncooked lasagna noodles
• 1 lb. ground beef
• 1 C onions, chopped
• 2 garlic cloves, minced
• 3 t parsley flakes
• 1 t salt
• 1 t dried basil
• 1 t dried oregano
• 3 (8 oz.) cans tomato sauce
• 1 C ricotta cheese
• 2 egg whites
• 1 C mozzarella cheese, shredded
• 2 tbsp Parmesan cheese, grated

Directions:

Cook the lasagna noodles as direction on the package.
Drain well then set aside and keep warm.
Heat the oven temperature to 350 degrees.
Place the beef, onions and garlic in a skillet placed over medium heat.
Cook 10 minutes or until the beef is no longer pink.
Drain and pat off excess grease with paper towel.
Return the meat mixture to the skillet and sprinkle in the parsley, salt, basil and oregano.
Pour the tomato sauce into the pan and stir to combine all the ingredients together well.
Reduce the heat to low and cook 10 minutes, stirring often.
In a small bowl mix together the ricotta cheese and egg whites until well combined.
Spread 1/4 C beef mixture into the bottom of a 9X13 ungreased baking dish.
Layer 1/2 the cooked noodles over the beef.
Layer more of the beef mixture over the noodles and top the beef mixture with part of the cheese mixture.
Continue with the layers until all the ingredients have been used.
Sprinkle the top with the mozzarella and Parmesan cheeses.
Bake 40 minutes or until bubbly and the cheese has completely melted.
Let stand 10 minutes before serving.

Makes 8 servings

When freezing omit the two cheeses and do not bake. When ready to use do not thaw. Cover and bake in a preheated 350 degree oven for 1 hour 35 minutes. Uncover, sprinkle with the cheeses and continue baking 30 minutes or until bubbly.