We’ve been doing some more simplifying in the house (getting rid of clutter). It was a very “get organized” weekend here in the Not Made Of Money household. Now I have to decide if we’ll donate it all to Salvation Army or Freecycle it.

The Sun’s Financial Diary discusses a plan to simplify which includes closing a virtual bank account. I agree that simplifying is a great idea!

Consumerism Commmentary discusses a gas station that is charging different prices based on the use of credit or cash for a transaction.

Five Cent Nickel hosts guest blogger No Credit Needed who shares how my debt reduction journey began.

We save a lot of money in our household by preparing nearly all meals at home but that doesn’t mean we eat boring meals or the same old stuff. I found that by preparing meals at home that are similar to our favorite restaurant entrees, we actually feel content, don’t feel deprived by not “going out to eat”, and save money all at the same time.

One of our very favorite places to dine at is a local Mexican restaurant. They have the best chicken soft tacos and serve huge baskets of tortilla chips with the meal. I worked on perfecting the recipes for refried beans, Mexican rice, and the chicken soft tacos so the entire meal is very similar in taste and presentation to what we would purchase at the restaurant. The only thing missing is the pinata, the Mariachi music, and, of course, the one hour wait to get a seat!

Here are some tips for replicating your favorite restaurant meal home at home:

Start with a list of foods from your favorite restaurant. Detail all the things you like about it - the appetizer, salad, beverage, main course, dessert, and the presentation of the food.

Hit the internet and search for copycat recipes. Use the name of the restaurant and the recipe name while searching online to get better results. For example, try searching for “Olive Garden Recipes” or even “Olive Garden Fettucine Recipe.”

And if you are looking for Olive Garden recipes here are some that I’ve found:

Olive Garden Recipes: They have a list of all the favorites here from the five cheese lasagna to shrimp primavera.

Olive Garden Salad Dressing.

Olive Garden Fettucini Recipe.

Olive Garden Breadstick Recipe.

Once you’ve found the recipes, practice making them until you are satisfied with the results. Keep notes so you’ll know approximate prep and cooking times, because you won’t be inclined to stay at home and eat if takes you forever to make the meal.

After mastering the individual recipes, then create the entire restaurant styled meal at home including serving it in a similar fashion to the restaurant.

Finally, calculate your savings by figuring the price of the meal at the restaurant versus the ingredients used to make the meal at home. The money you save may encourage you to try duplicating more of your favorite restaurant meals.

Our 401K has been on our mind a lot lately. Mr. Not Made Of Money’s employer is changing the plan administrator so our investment choices are changing and the fees are going up. Darn! Anyway, here are some interesting posts I’ve found recently:

Generation X Finance writes that your 401K is not a savings account. An informative article dealing with the correct way to view a 401K plan - it’s for retirement and not a savings account or an emergency fund.

Grad Money Matters asks “what would you do with found money?” Interesting article that discusses the tendency to treat some money as more valuable.

Frugal Gal shares the easiest way to save money when shopping. I absolutely agree!