February 2011 - Page 2 of 3 - The Outlier Model

Cheap eats! Vietnamese “Sour Soup”

Vietnamese beef noodle soup, pho, soup, noodles, Vietnamese sour soup

CF / February 16th, 2011 / 2 Comments

Having the most frugal grocery budget in the world isn’t going to help you any if you can’t put together at least a few healthy, tasty, and cheap eats! Every month, The Outlier Model features a cheap recipe idea, along with the cost breakdown. This post originally appeared on our WordPress site. Enjoy! Simple Vietnamese “Sour Soup” Vietnamese sour soup, or cahn chua, is typically made...

Posted in: Recipes Tagged with: canh chua, recipe, sour soup, Vietnamese soup

Indulge yourself to stay on track

Indulge yourself, coffee, latte, splurge

CF / February 13th, 2011 / No Comments

Budgets are tough. It’s easy to want things and so much harder to say no. Saying no to yourself does get easier over time, but it helps if you leave enough room in your budget for the occasional indulgence. It’s like a diet. Everyone knows that eating lots of fruits, vegetables and fiber will keep you healthy, but the occasional chocolate bar does no harm and may offer some benefit as...

Posted in: Entertainment and Leisure, Money Tagged with: avoid lifestyle inflation, budget, indulgence, staying on budget

Net worth update 2010

income tax refund, tax refund, extra money, Net worth update , net worth, financial success, financial health

Brian / February 8th, 2011 / 2 Comments

In terms of overall financial health, your net worth is a great indicator of overall success. To calculate your net worth, add up all of your assets (things that are worth money) and subtract your debts (loans, etc). 2010 was the first complete year that both CF and I kept track of our net worth on a monthly basis. At first, adding up all of my assets and debts seemed like a big task. Now, I enjoy...

Posted in: Money Tagged with: assets, debt, loans, Mortgage, net worth, paying off debt, RRSP, TFSA

A grocery budget for 2

food budget, grocery budget, meal prep, grocery budget for 2, high cost of fresh produce, produce, cheap produce, expensive produce

CF / February 5th, 2011 / 12 Comments

Last time, I posted my grocery budget for singles, including a breakdown of where this money went over a three month period. This was basically how I ate while I was in university. I lived alone (stupid, stupid, stupid… !) and given the high costs of housing in Vancouver, I had to learn to maximize my budget. It worked out pretty well for me. I cooked most of my meals at home and supplemented this...

Posted in: Food and Grocery Tagged with: $100 grocery budget, budget, couple, grocery