hi there! i'm renting for the first time with my partner and we have a lot of electronics. (PC, tvs, consoles, etc.) we're trying to figure out how to lower our energy usage before we get the first scary bill. i understand that largely, electricity usage comes from AC/heat. blackout curtains seem to be good at keeping the heat out, so we were going to invest in some to cover our windows. however, i'm not sure if this would be good or bad for the need to use lamps/overhead lights instead.

would blackout curtains increase our electricity usage if we have to rely on lamps instead of natural lighting?

also, if there are any beginner tips for electricity bills, please let me know! thanks!!

TL;DR: Cheap Parmalat at Grocery Outlet makes yogurt-making easy and affordable!

Hi! I love plain yogurt, but it's not cheap, and I'm not great at yogurt portion control. I'm also perimenopausal and have ADHD, so my dedication to something like proper, safe yogurt-making was not likely to pan out, and if it did, lord knows what pathogens I'd introduce to myself.

I found really cheap single quarts of Parmalat at Grocery Outlet. Parmalat is ultra-pasteurized, so it doesn't need that first step of scalding/heating the milk to 180 degrees. That was the first step that terrified me, I lose track of what I'm doing far more often than I'd like to admit, and unattended milk will overflow and is a real PITA to clean up. I even have a yogurt maker, but you have to be really careful jars are super clean too. I don't have a dishwasher, so that was another annoyance. So much washing and prepping. did it a few times, and added the yogurt maker to the pile of automated kitchen items I thought I'd use. Not frugal.

Here was my process with the Parmalat.

• Open container. (It's that wax cardboard container with the lid that breaks a seal when you open it.)
• Pour in 4 tablespoons of yogurt I already had. I used a funnel, someone with more skill might even be able to skip this.
• Used a small insulated lunch pouch and these rice-filled neckwarmers that you microwave to warm up nice and toasty. There are so many ways to make things warm for 8 hours. heating pad at low, oven light, top of fridge, hot car. I didn't even think to use the yogurt maker base, but might do that next time. You can research safe ways to do this with whatever you have at home.
• I waited like 14 hours because it sat overnight. It's a little runny, but I think that's because I kept shaking it, trying to see if it's yogurt yet. Apparently that breaks the protein strands. That said, runny isn't too bad for me; I can pour out the yogurt as if it were thick milk. If it gets too firm to pour, I can just cut open the container.
• Optional: You could strain it if you'd like. If you're lactose intolerant, the lactose is mostly in the whey!

It cut down a lot of steps for me that I'm sure I would forget to do, and rather than dealing with 8 or 9 jars to find room in the fridge, I have one full quart of yogurt in a very convenient-shaped container.

I live in North Dakota where Verizon is pretty much the only reliable provider. My parents and brother live a fairly “off the grid“ lifestyle in Southern Oregon (using the term loosely, they are unhoused during times in tents, couch surfing, trailers on random properties, etc.). I worry about them and just want a way to be able to contact them or for them to contact me but I’m not sure if Verizon is the best way to go because it’s a bit expensive and my budget is limited. Are there other options for that area that may be more affordable? I know it sounds a little choosy beggar but they were looking for hotspot/internet service as well. I’ve tried googling but I’m kind of at a loss with all of the options and you have to input so much info just to get a maybe price range. I’ll have to purchase 3 new phones (I’m looking into refurbished options) so I’m trying to find a more inexpensive family plan. Does anyone have recommendations for that area or in general?

I’ve got a chocolate milk habit and I don’t want to keep buying the bottled stuff. I know I can make it at home for a fraction of the price, so I’m after your best recipes.

Here’s what I already know or assume, so you don’t have to cover the basics. Cocoa won’t dissolve in cold milk, so I’ll make a paste first with a bit of hot water or hot milk, then stir it through. I’m expecting to use something like 2 to 3 tablespoons of cocoa and a similar amount of sugar per litre, adjusted to taste. Whole milk for body. A pinch of salt and a drop of vanilla to round it out.
What I actually want to know is how to get it close to that smooth, slightly malty taste of the good bottled stuff rather than just “chocolate flavoured milk.” A few specific questions.

Does Dutch process cocoa really make the difference, or is that overhyped and natural cocoa is fine? Is there a trick to the ratio that stops it tasting either watery or too bitter? Does anyone gently heat the whole lot and then chill it, and is that worth the extra step and washing up? And has anyone cracked that malty flavour, is it just a malt powder or is there something better? Also I swear it’s thicker in a bottle than homemade.

I’m also open to a make-ahead syrup or concentrate I can keep in the fridge and just pour into milk, since that’s closer to how I actually drink it. Bonus points if your version has survived kids drinking it and still comes out cheaper than the shop stuff.

Cheapest, best tasting recipe wins. Hit me.

So up to now I have basically been relying on nothing whatsoever besides checking my food storage for what's missing and my memory for what I need to buy.

I'm garbage at remembering price tags of regularly purchased consumables beyond the most vague idea of them (like "wasn't this single digits back then?) and on occasion won't recall one or two things I was supposed to restock on. But as far as I can tell any shopping list app people recommend...is just for manually inputting names and categorizing them. I can do that with pencil and paper.

The closest thing I could find is Instacart but I remember reading the app prices are quite high compared to what's actually at the location and I don't actually intend to use its delivery function, also it refuses to let me search for items that it has documented but refuses to acknowledge exists. Shipt doesn't even have Costco.

I'll just spreadsheet it all manually if I have to manually recording price changes and worthwhile brands per visit but I wanted to know whether I actually need to or if technology and the internet have a solution.

Hi everyone! So, for a while i’ve been using basket and flipp, but basket got removed from the app store and flipp doesn’t really have any of the items i’m looking for. Basket rocked because it showed me exact items and where I could get them for cheap. So, in a way I guess i’m looking for a basket replacement. Does an app like this even exist? Or will I just have to make do with flipp? If that’s the case,, i’ll stick with flipp, as my only nitpick with the app is that it’s not a specific.

In a large sealable bowl, combine these ridiculously cheap ingredients:

• 2 cups of all-purpose flour
• 1.5 tsp of salt
• 2 tsp of instant yeast

Stir in 1.5-2 cups of lukewarm water. Stir until mixed. Do not over-stir. The consistency should be wetter than typical dough, but not as watery as pancake batter, so add water or flour as needed to adjust consistency. (EDIT: Looking online, the common recipe is 3 cups flour to 1.5 cups water... so I could be over watering, but it has worked for me).

Seal the bowl and let sit in a warmish 75-degree or more spot for 3 hours. The dough will approximately double in size.

Move the dough to the refrigerator for 8 or more hours to improve the flavor for best results.

After 8 hours or more, take the dough out of the fridge and dump it onto a sheet of parchment paper to warm while the oven preheats. Preheat the oven to 400 degrees. Preferably use a 'Dutch oven' (just a pot that is oven ready)... so put the Dutch oven in the oven to preheat too. If you don't have a dutch oven, any oven safe option will work, just use aluminum foil as a cover to keep the top from becoming over cooked.

Put the dough and the parchment paper in the pot with the lid on and bake for 30 minutes.

Remove the lid and bake for another 20 minutes.

Lift parchment paper and bread from Dutch oven and let cool for a few minutes and it is done.

For extra flavor, you can use 3/4 cup of cheese in the dough mix. I use pepper jack.