I'm not sure if I should be happy that word is getting out that people can cut their shopping bills while helping those in their local community or if I should be hiding in shame in a deep, dark corner. It is definitely a double edged sword when articles refer to you as The Coupon Man when you dislike couponing as much as I do…

I have had a number of people wanting to know more about me which I also view as a double edged sword, but one that is dancing precariously close to my neck. That is because I am nowhere near as interesting as some of you apparently believe someone stupid enough to make this type of bet with his sister must be. Here are a few questions that have come my way:

What are you like in real life?

Pretty boring. You know that guy that you see in the corner of the coffee shop typing away at his computer day after day as you come in to get your daily cup of Joe? That could very well be me.

Is house sitting your job?

No. House sitting is actually my charity work. I don't charge when I house site, but instead ask the person I am house sitting for to make a donation to their local SPCA in the amount they would have had to pay to place their pet(s) into a kennel while they were gone. I see this as a win-win situation for all involved.

What is your real job?

I am not sure that I have ever had a “real job” (Okay, I did a long time ago and hated it, so I would rather just forget about that) — currently I make my living as a professional blogger / website owner. I write several blogs and run several websites. I don't make a huge amount of money, but then I can eat well on less than $1 a day so I don't need a lot πŸ™‚

How do you stay motivated?

I have a lot of little quirks that I use to stay motivated. For example, I take a lot of walks (my time to think and relax) and I watch a video each morning as I start the day — things like that. (this is the video I have been watching this week — how can you have a bad day when you start the morning watching something like this?)

I also have a lot of quote all over the place so I constantly see them and remind myself of my goals. “Never doubt that a small group of thoughtful, committed individuals can change the world. Indeed, it's the only that ever has.” (Margret Mead) is written on my computer and “Every man is guilty of all the good he didn't do.” (Voltaire) is on my bag (feel free to share quotes that inspire you – I love them)

What do you do in your spare time?

Spare time? What is that?

If you have questions about me and why I do this, feel free to ask them in the comments and I will do my best to answer them (or ask any questions you have about this challenge). Also feel free to leave the reason(s) you have decided to follow this challenge as I am as curious about all of you and what has prompted each of you to join me along in this journey.

Black Plum Smoothie

I took another walk by the school with the plum trees and picked up a few more so that I could have the morning smoothie with fresh fruit again (plums, frozen banana, ice and blueberry juice)

black plum smoothie

Eggs, Toast & Veggies

It is so nice having leftovers that I can easily make into a quick meal (I just need to make sure I don't get lazy and rely on the leftovers and never make anything new). I warmed up the roasted veggies and decided to cook up a couple of eggs and place them on whole wheat toast (with a couple of strawberries on the side). Nothing fancy, but good tasting, quick and easy:

eggs toast veggies breakfast

Chicken Stroganoff

I just don't know how to leave well enough alone. After my last attempt with chicken stroganoff I should have just accepted that it was a dish that wasn't meant for me. Of course, that would be assuming that a person that decided to eat well on $1 a day actually has common sense. So I tried the recipe again, this time with sour cream in the refrigerator.

I did have to make some simple substitutions on the veggies and used onions, green peppers and real garlic along with the rest of the chicken breast I had previously cooked:

chicken stroganoff veggies

I must admit that the finished product using sour cream instead of ranch salad dressing turned out many times better, but I think that I chickened out and didn't place enough sour cream into the dish. I was expecting a creamier meal than it turned out. If course, now I will have to debate with myself whether or not to attempt it again…

chicken stroganoff

Banana Peanut Butter Ice Cream

There are some days that you will always remember and today is one for me because I discovered the absolutely perfect dessert of all time (it is going to be difficult for me not to eat this on a daily basis — and the best part is that it's healthy so nobody can really complain)

Somehow the people following this blog have figured out that I like peanut butter and banana in combination. pepsibookcat left a comment about frozen bananas on boingboing and DeeAnn then emailed me the frozen banana peanut butter & honey ice cream recipe. I don't have honey on hand, but do you think that would ever stop me from trying something like this? Frozen banana and peanut butter (that was it — one frozen banana and one spoonful of peanut butter mixed in a blender) and I was in instant heaven!

banana peanut butter ice cream

This is the current list of food I still have
This is the current list of what I have purchased:

Goal: 100 days eating on $1 a day
Current Money Spent: $48.85
Money Left to Spend: $51.05 ($6.17 must be spent at CVS, $1.50 must be spent at Safeway)
Retail Value of Everything Purchased: $1396.37

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The Beginning ::: Day 82: Some Foods Don't Mix

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