We have a supper out planned tomorrow for another mystery shop. We should be able to keep all of our food within the amount they will reimburse us for. At most we might have to spend a dollar or two on the tip, and that’s money I’m willing to pay for an otherwise free meal I don’t have to cook or clean up after!

For the rest of the week, meals are planned that should be easy enough to make, even after a long day at work. This should help us stay on track to spending $50 or less on food for the rest of the month, though we have been pretty good about eating at home so far this month. In January that was a struggle, but as we see our debt coming down, I think we’re becoming more committed staying in to save money to pay off our debts and then start saving for a down payment on a house and maxing out our Roth IRAs.

Vinegar is one of my favorite super products. It’s cheap, and it’s got so many uses! Here are my top 10 uses for vinegar.

1. Flavoring cucumbers. My favorite way to eat cucumbers is sliced up and then soaked in equal parts apple cider vinegar and water. Yummy!
2. Making “buttermilk.” I have a few recipes that call for a cup of buttermilk, but I don’t want to go out and buy some when we won’t drink it and very few recipes call for it. Instead I add a tablespoon of vinegar to a measuring cup and then fill to the one cup line with milk. Let it stand a few minutes, and you’ll have a great substitute for buttermilk.
3. Cleaning carpets. We’ve always used equal parts vinegar (white tends to be the cheapest) and cold water to clean up pet stains. Soak up as much liquid as you can, and then using an old scrub brush or rag, use the vinegar and water solution to clean the carpet and neutralize the smell. The resulting vinegar smell should disappear as it dries.
4. Cleaning showerheads. I did this just this past week. Our showerhead’s pressure was getting low because of hard-water build up, so we removed the showerhead and soaked it in a bowl of vinegar and water. It was far cheaper than chemical cleaners you can buy at the store, and I liked not having to use a harsh chemical at all. This is like natural CLR.
5. Cleaning drains. This won’t clear a clog, but it can help keep your drains clean. Just pour some vinegar down the drain once a month or so. Vinegar is naturally anti-bacterial, so it will kill anything lurking in your drain. For added fun and to better get at gunk starting to coat the sides of the pipes, pour some baking soda down the drains first. This is lots of fun, especially for kids. It’s like having a volcano science experiment in your drain!
6. Making rocks bubble. Yes, I admit that this is really dorky, but it was fun when I was a kid. It seemed like magic. My dad used to take pieces of limestone and put them in vinegar for us. The rock would then bubble because the vinegar was eating the lime (same concept as cleaning the showerhead—vinegar eats lime buildup, which is what limestone is made of).
7. Soothe a bee sting. Put a bit of vinegar on it to relieve some of the pain. Another option is a paste of meat tenderizer and water.
8. Laundry softener. As an alternative to expensive products like Downy or Bounce, you can add ½ cup of vinegar to the rinse cycle. The vinegar smell will be gone when the clothes are dry, and they’ll be left extra clean because the vinegar will get rid of any lingering soap residue.
9. Disinfect a cutting board. It’s important to disinfect cutting boards occasionally to kill any bacteria that might be hiding in the knife marks. Many people recommend bleach, but an alternative is vinegar, which is anti-bacterial and better yet—won’t stain your clothes if you spill it!
10. Clean the dishwasher by pouring 1 cup of vinegar into the bottom and then running it empty.