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Question: What do time and money have in common? Answer: They’re both very valuable and I’m always trying to find more of each. Do you agree? If you’re looking for ways to find more time and more money, I have the perfect gadget for you: a slow cooker! You probably already know about the convenience of using a slow cooker; you throw in the ingredients in the morning and come home hours later to a delicious, warm, homemade meal. There’s minimal prep, and because you can cook the whole meal (or most of it) in one pot, there’s also minimal clean-up! But did you know that a slow cooker is also a great tool for saving money? Yup, it is! Keep reading for 9 ways to save money with a slow cooker:

1. Use cheaper cuts of meat. Because the cooking takes hours you can use cheaper cuts of meat that are usually tougher. The long cooking time tenderizes the meat and you’d never know the difference.
2. Great flavor with cheaper ingredients. Slow cooking coaxes out great flavor so you can use cheaper ingredients across the board and you won’t need fancy herbs and spices.
3. Less waste. Slow cooking requires planning, which means less impulse or last minute expensive shopping.
4. Save time. Because your meal practically cooks itself, you can spend that time doing other things and being more productive.
5. Save energy. A slow cooker uses less energy than the stove or oven.
6. Less takeout. You won’t be stuck at the last minute, having to spend money on expensive (and sometimes unhealthy) takeout.
7. Use dry beans. A crock pot is a great way to cook lots of beans and lentils. You can cook dry beans which are cheaper than canned.
8. Cook in bulk. If you have a large crock pot you can cook a lot and freeze for later.
9. Make your own stock. Homemade stock is cheaper and tastier than store bought, plus you get your money’s worth when you use vegetable and meat scraps.

Something that can save time and money? If you don’t already own a crock pot you should get one now- and you don’t even have to save up for it because they’re not expensive at all! Anyway, you’ll make up the small cost in savings before you know it!

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