Christmas Simplicity

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Christmas season is now in full swing!  TV ads, Radio ads, newspaper ads, all incessantly shouting
"BUY"!  Merchant coupons and catalogs are flooding the mailbox.  How enticing it all is!   I find myself frequenting the stores that I've tried to avoid in order to save money these past few months and my credit cards are getting a workout.  I KNOW that I am spending much more money than I should be spending.  I KNOW that the true meaning of Christmas is not about how much money I spend on gifts, but is rather about the important things such as faith, family and friends.  It's just that we (most of us) have been trained to believe that more presents under the tree equals more comfort and joy!    But as the song whispers to our souls in words that ring true, "God rest ye merry gentlemen, let nothing you dismay...remember Christ our Saviour was  born on Christmas day... Oh tidings of comfort and joy!"
Let us bask in the comfort and in the joy and always remember that there is only ONE reason for the existence of the Christmas spirit ... of course the retailers will tell you otherwise.

The "To Do List"

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Many of us have the proverbial "to do" list somewhere in our possession.. either on a piece of paper that we keep in a "very special" place or somewhere on our computer or on some other PDA device.   An interesting concept that I recently learned from my 90 year old mother is that instead of having a "to do" list, make a "things I did today" list.  My mother keeps this list because she wants to assist her memory.  I made one of these lists to assist my perception of my productivity and realize everything I CAN do in ONE day. It is pretty empowering!   I feel like a genius! *see link below
At a time in my life when I have been forced into semi-retirement due to the economy, I still need to know that I am a productive individual making a contribution to family and society.
Here is a sample of one of my recent "things I did today" lists.
Woke up, (6am) made coffee, emptied out the dishwasher, fed the dog, sorted 3 loads of laundry and put a load of laundry in the washer, made a sandwich and packed a lunch, took a shower, got dressed, drove my son to school, met some friends for breakfast, came home,went online to pay household bills, checked my e-mail, went into my office to work for 2 hours, drove to the post office to pick up mail, then to the drug store to purchase some sale items and then shopped at the supermarket for groceries. Came home and unpacked and put away all, completed the laundry, went back to work in my office for another 2 hours, checked my e-mail, began to scrape off the wallpaper in my dining room,  prepared dinner, ate dinner, put dishes in dishwasher, drove my son back to school, (8pm) came home and collapsed.
 Try making a list of things that you DID today!  You will AMAZE yourself.

http://whowritesforyou.com/2010/10/21/divide-your-attention-%e2%80%93-you-are-a-genius/?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=divide-your-attention-%e2%80%93-you-are-a-genius

Dining - Out or IN

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I've known this for quite some time... dining out is much more costly than eating at home.
The problem lies in the fact that sometimes we just need a change of scenery.  It's not just the food but it is the "event" as a friend once told me.  Going out for dinner is an event. One gets to "people watch" and taste some foods that are too expensive to make at home or, are just very different from the usual home fare.
    I recently went to one of my favorite local restaurants and had chicken with apples and walnuts.  It was a 22.95 special which I could make at home for less than 5.00 per person.  I had a glass of wine that night which was more costly than an entire bottle of a good but inexpensive wine.  So for sure, after the dinner and tip, my family and I were in the hole
for over 100.00... an amount that we could have dined at home on for about 10 days.  Now it is not impossible to find a place or two which may actually be less expensive than eating at home.
For example, a family run restaurant at the beach serves all-you-can-eat Prime Rib for 15.95.  It may be a wash but think of not having to clean any dishes with that heavy beef fat on them... yum AND yuk!
Oddly enough, the local Chinese buffet place has some items that would cost me more to make at home.. King Crab legs and Sushi being just a couple to mention... After all, the buffet is only 16.95 per person for dinner.  How can I possible eat all the coconut shrimp I want along with so many other delights and follow that with ice cream and fruit?  Can't.
Well, for now, I'm trying to stay out of the restaurants...that is until I open up one of my own.
People have to eat somewhere.

Live Simply

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Each day as I pull out of my driveway I view my neighbor's 18 yr old daughter's car with a bumper sticker on it that says "Live Simply" and I smile. It is a nice (however trite) motto that any 18 year old can quite easily accomplish. But for those of us who are embedded in decades of accumulating "stuff", living simply is not quite that easy.
Each time I see that bumper sticker I remind myself that I will have to do that someday, and I would like that "some"day to be sooner rather than later.  Of course, in order to "live simply" I need to eliminate many different "things" such as magazine subscriptions, gym memberships, a couple of houses, a few of the cars that I own and perhaps even some investments. The paperwork and the manpower and the brainpower needed to sustain all of these things is overwhelming.  I don't even have enough time to read all of the magazine subscriptions and newspapers that come into my home.
Unfortunately, I have a spouse who likes to "hold on to things".  He's not quite a hoarder but rather a "collector". The problem is that in doing so the cause and effect syndrome is STRESS and more STRESS! Furthermore, while keeping the junk along with the valuables, it is more time consuming to weed out the trash from the important things.... let alone the issue of storage.   My latest strategy is throwing out things that are exclusively mine.. therefore I am not trespassing. Hopefully when my family sees a sense of order and calm come over me, they may want to emulate it themselves...AAHH, HA ,HA ,HA!
Although leaving little bits of my past in some garbage dump is a painful thought, I do try to donate things that others may find useful... trying to expand that directive of living simply to "Live simply so that others may simply live".   We do have so, so much to be thankful for.

 

The Road Not Taken

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Oh how I wish there were a road here in NJ that I have not taken!  It seems as if all I do is jump in the car and drive here and there and everywhere.  But I'm not alone... no Siree! I have tons and tons of company whilst driving on the busy roadways.  My question is - How can everyone afford such a luxury?  This week the price of gasoline went up 12 cents per gallon in and around my neighborhood.  What is going on?  Is this just a gearing up for another holiday week-end to gouge the metropolitan drivers?  After all, why not rape the American consumer who is out to enjoy those Columbus Day sales?  Or what about those traveling to a recreational activity?  Let's just make it even more painful for them to save a buck.
Well, my only suggestion (and something that I will attempt to do myself) is STAY HOME and wait until the "Holiday" is over.  Maybe gasoline will shed the 12 cent increase.
I think I'll just do some work around the house and go for a nice long walk... if only, if only.

Air is Free (most of the time)

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I love the Fall.  As a matter of fact, Autumn is my favorite season.  I love the crisp cool air and the way the flowers are at their peak... especially the Impatiens.  I also have always loved the start of a new school year... yes, contrary to many kids, I adored school.  And today, even though I am only living vicariously through my son, I still feel the anticipation of a great and wonderful school year each September.
As much as others dislike Autumn because it heralds the start of cold, grey winter, I take it for what it's worth... a season where my hair won't frizz! It's also a time for delicious apples, harvest moons, brilliant fall foliage, and, a time for celebrating my birthday.  However, in this season of living with less money, I'm loving the Fall even more because the air in my home is free.  I don't have to "condition" it to make it cool, I don't have to heat it to make it warm, and I can open our windows to refresh everything that is closed up for most of the year. 
This year I will see how long I can go without turning on the heat.  I know I can do it, but the troops are not happy wearing sweaters and such in the house.  But right now I am enjoying the sound of silence... that is no a/c compressor starting and no furnace pumping up the steam.  The air is truly free.

How low can you go? (generically speaking)

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I've never been a real fan of generic brand anything... I don't know why, but somehow I feel that I'm always getting an inferior product.  For instance, when I buy a drug, I want Zithromax... not generic azithromycin.  When I buy stuffing mix I want Stovetop Stuffing, not America's choice, and when I buy shampoo, I want Paul Mitchell, not CVS brand.   Well, lately I'm starting to change my ways... the price difference is just too steep to ignore. Unfortunately, my mouth is a tough critic and some generic brands just don't taste right.  I tried ShopRite Vitamin water and it couldn't compare to THE Glaceau Vitamin Water.  It tasted more like cool-aid..ugh.  Well I'll just have to wait until the real stuff  goes on sale and then print out some coupons.
The shampoo thing is another issue.  I've been told for years by my hairdresser that inferior shampoos will damage my hair, so I've been spending upwards of 12.00 for a smallish bottle of high end shampoo. 
Shampoo has come a long way since my grandparents were using bar soap to wash their hair. And, when I was a kid, the Breck girl was then envy of every teenage girl. How I longed for the things that Breck shampoo could do for me.
Luckily, I now know that my shampoo won't give me popularity or anything else other than clean hair, so just for kicks I decided to use the shampoo that my son and husband use.   I'm actually embarrassed to use the name of it (no it's not Suave) as it normally sells for .99 a bottle.  What a far cry from my Paul Mitchell.
Even crazier is the fact that my husband came in from one of his shopping adventures and was very excited that "his" shampoo was on sale for .88 a bottle.  Wow... that's almost free!  So, against all better judgement, I tried the 88 cents shampoo.  Incredulously, my hair never looked shinier!  No, I'm not going to try the bar soap next.

Crazy for Coupons

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I have never been a coupon clipper.  As a matter of fact, I  would always get extremely annoyed when the person in front of me on the check out line had a million coupons for the checker to scan. I would think "Geez lady, don't you know this is the EXPRESS line"?  "You bought 15 items and you have 15 coupons! Oh  pa-leeeze?"
Well today I decided to try out what all those annoying people were doing with their myriad of coupons.  I went online and visited several coupons sites and downloaded and printed about 20 coupons.  I then went to my store's weekly flyer and made a list of things that I needed that were on sale.  (OK, so I didn't NEED the Mallomars but they were a steal.)  At the end of my shopping excursion I left the store dazed and confused but happy.  I think even my check out person was stunned. My total shopping bill was $116.37 and I paid $50.02...less than half.  My priceplus card saved me 18.60 BUT, I had $47.75 in manufacturer's coupons deducted from my bill.  HOLY COW!  From now on just call me crazy... crazy for coupons that is... and Mallomars too!

 

Addicted to Bottled Water

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I am a bottled water aholic... there I've said it.  The only way to beat an addiction is to acknowledge the addiction. (You've all heard the AA stories.)  I am so angry at the companies' ads that have pictured mountain streams and pristine lakes on their water bottles when the water is actually dredged from the Hudson River and filtered!  Well, I'm not sure it's the Hudson but there are many exposes` that let us know the water is not from a wonderful freshwater spring in the Rockies!
I am very fortunate that in my home town there are two deep wells where residents are able to fill up their water jugs.  My problem is that a nice bottle of Poland Spring is like a security blanket for me... gotta have it with me at all times. And now, I am so addicted to the feel of the bottle on my lips that I can hardly drink water out of a glass... even if I poured the Poland Spring into it.  You see how CONDITIONED I am.  Those marketing gurus should be very proud of themselves.  So this is my plan... I am going to my town well, and getting my free fresh spring water and filling up my Poland Spring bottles until I can tear myself away from the packaging... oh how I love how that bottle fits so nicely in my hand.. good grief!! I need help.
Have you noticed lately that when soda goes on sale it's actually cheaper than bottled water... Now that's pathetic. Research shows that we pay 2000 times more for bottled water than we do for tap water?!  Is there any other product that we would be willing to spend 2000 times more for?  Think about it...  It's time to stop the maddness.

Spending Nothing - More than a game.

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It's only 10 days into this challenge of the  "spend nothing game"  (see link below) and  I am finding that changing one's spending habits can be quite difficult.  For me, it has now become more of a necessity rather than a game... but I like to think of it as a game so as not to feel "deprived".  It has also caused me to stop and re-evaluate what is a "need" and what is a "want".   When I had so much disposable income, I truly didn't bother to think about what I purchased, and, I purchased oh so much more than I needed.  Things just snowballed from the first Tahari suit to my first luxury car to a cruise line suite to the best hotels and ski in ski out lodging.
When my husband I were first married we would stay in the Days Inn or some other 19.00 per night hotel.  The Days Inn became the Radisson and then the Marriott or Hilton and then the Ritz Carlton until it was 5 star hotels all the way.   It was up and up and up... and spend and spend and spend.
Once you go UP it is quite difficult to go DOWN.  But realistically we all need to hold on to our money a little tighter... because who knows what tomorrow will bring.  The current state of the economy has caught me off guard.. and now I need to circle up the wagons.  I feel bad that I'm not pumping up the economy as I used to... sorry Uncle Sam.

http://whowritesforyou.com/2010/02/15/the-spend-nothing-game-–-how-long-can-you-go-without-pending-any-money/

Spending Nothing - A Freebie!

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So my husband's cell phone finally gave out. It's been on the fritz for months and now it was time to make the "upgrade". Of course, this was not a good time for a phone breakdown as I am trying to adhere to the rules of the "spend nothing game" this month.  I went online and looked at some phones - several of which had the word "free" in the cost column.  Free????  Now why would they give the phones away for free... along with free overnight shipping.??  So I went to the Verizon store only to find out that free phones were promotions that were listed online only and were not available in the stores.  Still not able to grasp the word FREE, I went back home and ordered the most expensive "free" phone that was available. I figured I'd get more "free" if the orginal list price was higher than others.  It was a basic phone and did not require an expensive monthly data fee, but still had a few capabilities.  I was so excited that I didn't have to spend anything to get the new phone! Hope it's worth it.

Spending negative nothing - a crabby story

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Today I consider myself a spender of negative nothing.  Sounds strange, I know, but this is my reasoning.  Today I made crab cakes for dinner.  Usually I buy a can of lump crab meat and make them using my world famous recipe that brings friends and family begging for my crab cakes. (Sorry for bragging but it's true!) I usually make them 2 or 3 times a summer because of the expense... over 20.00 for that can of crab meat is bothersome to me.  If I have to feed more than 4 people I end up buying two cans or three ergo spending over 40.00-60.00...almost the cost of filet mignon! That's why only the most avid of crab cake lovers will be the recipients of my endeavors.  Every once in a while I go out to dinner and order crab cakes and they range from 20.00-25.00 an entree of 2 cakes.  So if my family goes out to dinner and we all get crab cakes that would be about 75.00 plus and they're not half as good as home made.   But today I reverted back to a time when man had to hunt and kill his food for dinner.  I spent part of the week-end crabbing in the bay and caught a good number of crabs.  Together my husband and I ripped their shells off and then cleaned and steamed the little buggers.  I methodically removed all of the meat from the shells and had a nice amount to make a crab cake dinner!  It was quite a process but quite delicious.   Since I made the dinner without buying anything I consider it a less than spending anything adventure!  Wonder what else I can find in the wild to eat.

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Spending Nothing Through a Holiday Week-end.

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Spending nothing on a holiday week-end has it's challenges...especially when those around you are using the week-ends to shop and dine out. (What recession???)
Luckily, I got to enjoy the beach for 3 days without spending anything.
http://lessbutmoreaj.blogspot.com/2010/07/vacationing-at-my-vacation-home.html

Unfortunately, I had to travel 200 miles on the Autobahn -AKA the GSP- in order to get to the beach.
I did, however, try to save on my gas usage by a) attempting to NOT step on the brake for the entire trip and  b) drive at a reasonable speed. LOL, LOL.
For those not familiar with the driving regulations in the great Garden State, let me just give a quick review on the speed limit.  The speed limit signs are not to be taken seriously.. they are just a "suggestion" and not the law. Driving in the slow lane requires that you go 10 mph over the speed limit.  The center lane is for those driving 15-20mph over the speed limit and the "fast" lane is for the Autobahn drivers whom, in any other state, would get their license revoked for reckless driving.  NJ state police typically ignore anything less than 20mph over the speed limit... so when you see them- lights flashing, pulling someone over- you KNOW there was some REAL speed involved.  In any event, I put my car on cruise at 10mph over the speed limit and actually managed to brake only once.   Of course, I left at an ungodly hour, when most drivers were still sleeping and the roads were only half full.  (Stating "no traffic" on NJ roads is an oxymoron.)
My reward was getting 28 mpg with my large V8 automobile and making the round trip without buying gas.
That, along with the stellar beach weather made me quite happy. :)

http://whowritesforyou.com/2010/02/15/the-spend-nothing-game-–-how-long-can-you-go-without-pending-any-money/

Spending Nothing - Day 2

OK, I actually spent nothing today... no, sorry, that's bending the truth a bit.  But you see,  I had a major appliance problem and it just wouldn't go away.  My dishwasher has been on the fritz for weeks and despite all of the fixes I found online -white vinegar- special Walmart products, adding additional hot water - nothing worked.  My dishwasher is, after all, 12 years old and the internal walls are buckling up and the racks are pretty much rusted through... so, I NEED a new one.  Funny thing is after visiting store number one in the "inner city" and the salesperson said to me..."for that price, I'd wash my dishes by hand", I began to evaluate my NEED.  Needless to say, he did not make the sale. (Don't you just wonder why people say things)

Instead I went to Sears and jumped through a few hoops (opened up a Sears credit card) and that coupled with the holiday week-end sales brought me a very nice discount for the dishwasher. Anyway, I don't have to pay for the thing until next month, so I guess that forgives my spending sin.  And besides, I have to save money by cooking at home and I can't possibly be washing all those dishes BY HAND.  

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Spending nothing.. Day 1.

Damn this is hard!  I walked into two stores today and kept saying "no, I can't", "no I must not spend" "no, no, no I don't need that".  I think it best to just stay out of the stores altogether.
So here is how day one went.. Just so you know that we're not starving... We had our usual coffee and juice for breakfast (we're not big on eating early in the am).  I made the family french toast for brunch and homemade vegetable soup for dinner with left over chicken cutlets and a salad... all ingredients were on hand... didn't even have to buy food...today. We have a veritable ice cream shop in the freezer (due to a great sale) which should sustain our dessert needs for quite some time. Our nightly bowl of ice cream won't be compromised this month.

Now in keeping with my intent to spend nothing I had to rummage through the house for some time today. A flood light had  burned out so I needed a new bulb. My husband usually stockpiles things, but often he is not very particular as to where he keeps those stashes.  "It could be here or there, if not there then maybe there or there".   Eventually I tracked them down in the barn and was so relieved that I didn't have to spend 5 or 6 dollars for a new one. You know, it is reeeaaallly difficult to spend nothing! I would have just gone to

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one of my favorite haunts, and bought the darn bulb if I wasn't on this new challenge.  Unfortunately, I spent about the same amount of time looking for the bulb as I would have spent driving back and forth to the store BUT I saved the expense.

Now I have to buy birthday cards... luckily I have some Hallmark rewards money.
 I still have to cross that forbidden line and walk into a store. Let's see how much self control I have. :(

Spending Nothing.

Today I've decided that I will embark on a new adventure... spending nothing for one month.  It's going to be tough but I will post how the day went.  That doesn't mean that I won't pay my bills nor starve to death, but I will not go shopping for anything other than bare necessities.   I have enough food in the house to live on for a month - with the exception of milk, bread and cold cuts. (But, brown baggin it is the only way to go).
So let the games begin... anyone want to join?

http://whowritesforyou.com/2010/02/15/the-spend-nothing-game-%E2%80%93-how-long-can-you-go-without-pending-any-money/

An Abe Lincoln story

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Everyone in my circle of forefathers (mine and my friends) seemed to have an Abe Lincoln story... "When I was a kid I WALKED to school five miles each way"... and then the story gets embellished with "in a blizzard" or with "holes in my shoes" , etc, etc.  For many of us baby boomers the essence of tragedy is somehow lost when we say "in my day we had to dial a phone or "I didn't have a cell phone until I was 40 years old."  However, my parents had an Abe Lincoln story, or should I say a "great depression" story... They lived in a flat with no heating system (just a coal stove) and had no kitchen chairs...they sat on milk boxes. Now this was post WWII and to this day, I just can not believe that not one friend nor neighbor nor relative had two spare chairs for them to sit on!  In any event, they worked hard and moved up in the world so that our family of five had a nice apartment with chairs AND with central heat!
I, also, have my own version of an Abe Lincoln story involving my current home and this helps keep my drop in disposable income in perspective.  Many moons ago my husband and I purchased our home from an elderly (near 90) woman.  The house was built by her parents in 1898.
The house was all but condemned and friends commented that we were "out of our minds" but we were ambitious and determined to make it livable.  The main issue with the house, (besides the extreme disrepair) was that it had plaster walls with no insulation in them at all.  The windows were so rickety that the wind blew through them.  The price of oil was skyrocketing at the time and we kept the thermostat at 55 degrees.. That's right folks, 55 degrees and we could not afford to heat our home to even that temperature.  Soooo, we had to sell one of our cars to pay for our oil bill. (The transaction barely covered the cost.)
Today, as I sit comfortably in 72 degrees on one of my thirty some odd chairs that I own, I feel thankful.

Surviving an IRS audit (Reminiscing)

 My husband and I spent our first year of married life renovating a two family home that we had purchased as an investment.  My husband was a high school teacher at the time and I was working part time and taking some graduate courses.  Needless to say, money was sparse.  We were lucky enough to live upstairs (two family home) from my in-laws who charged us a below market rent.  Ambitiously, we put every dime that we earned into renovations, hoping to make a quick profit.  It was tough, but also an adventure as we did ALL of the work ourselves.  We came home exhausted every day and lived on pasta and peas... (really, it tastes pretty good).

Just as we were putting the house on the market, a letter from the IRS arrived in our mailbox.  We were being audited!!  Oh my gosh, what did we do wrong??  I was in a panic, especially being such a youngster at 24 yrs old.  There was not much that we could do to prepare.. all our receipts were in a large shoe box..and it was stuffed to the hilt.  I remember that day clearly.  We gave the agent our shoe box and sat there as she meticulously added things up.  We were 50.00 off from our tax return.. an amount that was insignificant to the IRS... whew!  No fine, no additional tax!  At the end I asked the woman why we got audited and this is what she said. "We could not believe that you both would be able to live on the money that you earned less the money that was claimed as expenses!"

 I remember those words now as I struggle to live a "rich less" life...and I don't even have to eat pasta and peas because it's cheap.. I eat it because it's tasty!

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When life gives you lemons..

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Well, what about figs!!!???  Huh, huh, huh... what about them?  I have tons of figs and they are free... thanks to my father-in-law (God rest his soul) who planted fig trees in three places on my property.  The good thing is.. I love figs!  The bad thing is.. there are only so many that I can eat and they are quite perishable.
However, as I mentioned in a previous post, when things are starting to spoil the best thing to do is start baking.  So I can't wait until tomorrow.. I will make fig cake and fig bars and baked figs with brown sugar.  Tonight I will dream of figgy pudding. :)

At the Li ber eeeee

Am I dating myself or does anyone else remember the ad campaign for reading that had a bunch of little kids chanting "at the library"... but pronounced li-ber-eee.    I've been singing that song a lot lately as I visit my local library to pick up books, movies, books on tape and CDs.  This is a new habit for me as I used to visit my local mega book store.  The booming economy had spawned a proliferation of Barnes and Noble stores that sport comfy couches and coffee shops.  I always visited to purchase a wanted or needed book because I could afford to. (and it always smelled so good in the store..ahhh).  Who needed the library???  It was the same with movies. If I wanted a movie, I just purchased it at Target or even at my local grocery store... But now, I refrain from buying when I can get it for free.  This summer was filled with movies that I was too busy to see at an earlier time in my life (when I was busy being a workaholic).

I've even gotten time to curl up with a book before drifting off to sleep.  So if you too are missing the smell of your local mega book store, then go visit your local li-ber-eee and put on a pot of coffee or herbal tea.  You can even bake your own tea biscuits and relax on your own comfy couch. Ahhhh.

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• Print is not dead - libraries booming (sfgate.com)

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Ode to Mr. Hammer

When my husband and I were first married, we purchased a two family home as an investment. We had absolutely no money at the time but my husband was eligible for a VA loan.  So incredibly, we purchased a small 2 family house for "no money down".
We were going to renovate the house and then "turn it over" within the year.  The home was a smaller home that had three rooms on each floor.  Living on the top floor was Mr. Hammer, a 90 year old World War I Veteran who had a huge American flag hanging in his front window.
 Mr. Hammer was quite a character.. He was still strong as an ox, even at 90.. He could whistle as loud as a steam engine through his missing two front teeth.  The whistle could scare the bejesus out of anyone and he used it for just that!  Mr. Hammer was extremely suspicious of us young whippersnappers and rightly so. One of our upgrades to the property involved separating the utilities so that each tenant paid for their own.  Mr. Hammer was used to living in the apartment without paying for any utilities, so he decided that he was NOT going to use any electricity or gas until he figured out if the separated utilities were working correctly!!  If he used NOTHING and his bill was NOTHING then that would be proof that all was well.  Here is how he did it... He only listened to a battery operated radio - no TV. no phone, no air conditioning, no cooking.  He took a cool bath once a week and washed out his underwear in the bathwater.  He then proceeded to use the bath water to flush the toilet for a week.  Luckily for Mr. Hammer, it was summer time and he didn't have to worry about heat.  When the electric company came to read Mr. Hammer's meter, they decided that it must be broken... It did not move from month to month!
It was then that Mr. Hammer revealed his frugal lifestyle.  Can you imagine???  He even ate only one meal a day which he got from a local catering business... He paid minimally for whatever leftovers they had that day. 
We sold the house after one year as we had planned and we often drove by to see if the American flag was still hanging in the window.. it was for many years thereafter so we knew Mr. Hammer had lived a long and good life.  Here's to you, Mr. Hammer.

The Greatest Show on Earth, Sunrise/Sunset and More.

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Every day we have the opportunity to see the greatest show on earth ABSOLUTELY FREE...no, not the circus... but one of mother nature's greatest accomplishments.... the sunrise.   I am blessed to be able to see the sun rise over magnificent horizons.. the Atlantic Ocean in the summer, and the NY Skyline in the winter.  And every evening, another show, on the western horizon... the sunset with the beautiful blue hour of twilight.  And then God gives us the encore of all encores... the moon rise and a night sky filled with galaxies. Take a moment to look up to the skies and enjoy the show. Every day and every night it is there for us to behold, ever changing yet still the same, the performance is beyond any other.

Something's rotten in Denmark

Or should I say, in my kitchen!  It seems like there is always something unrecognizable in my refrigerator.  Something that is fuzzy or blue, or something that was crunchy turned to mush, or something that was liquid and turned to solid (milk).  Isn't chemistry amazing?!!

The point of the matter is that as food rots, hard earned money gets wasted. 

I am a great advocate of buying perishable food in quantities that can be utilized before the rotting stage sets in.  My husband, however, loves a bargain... and when they are selling bananas for 39 cents a pound, you can be sure we will have 10 lbs of bananas on the kitchen counter.  I have tried to explain to him that if we buy more food than we can reasonably consume before it rots, and we have to throw half of it out, then we are not getting a bargain at all!!!  Please, do the math!

The benefit of having an over zealous bargain hunter in the house is that I can virtually shop in our basement... for canned goods, toiletries, and other non perishables.  I'm convinced that we can survive Armageddon with the stock piles that we have!

  I have been given all kinds of advice as to how to use spoiled food, and most of those ideas involve BAKING... Jenny Craig here I come!
Banana cream pie anyone?

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If it ain't broke don't fix it

The problem today is that most things ARE broken or are about to break.  Due to shoddy craftsmanship and inferior products (need I mention the "C" word) our world is falling apart.  I recently purchased a 3 pack of household scissors and an electric pencil sharpener at Staples.  I came home and found that the scissors did not cut and the pencil sharpener did not sharpen.  I couldn't believe it... granted they were both inexpensive, but come on, not even able to work on the first try!  At a previous time, I would have trashed both and when I had some time, I would have gone back to purchase a higher quality, more expensive product.  But now that things have changed for me (financially) I took both back to the store to get a refund.  I began to look at the options that I had and tried to find products that were "Made in USA"
Help!  I couldn't find any. What are we to do... continue throwing our money away on "dollar store" items that are sold in the general retail market and masquerading as quality items? 
I'm going to go "garage sale" shopping.. perhaps then I can find items made in that long ago era when things actually worked well and were built to last. 

Goodies from Grandma

My 90 year old mother lived some of her younger days during the depression.  Many of the habits she developed in order to survive stuck with her, and in the process, she has managed to save thousands of dollars.  I know we can't live exactly like she does but humor me for a while.  Grandma saves every last bit of food to eat at a later date.. nothing goes in the trash.  In all the years that she has practiced this, she only got food poisoning once.. not bad... one time in 75 years.  She does the laundry once a week and uses the water that drains out of the washer to wash the kitchen floor!  Now isn't that resourceful!  Grandma has never, ever purchased a storage container... she only reuses the ones that tubs of margarine and cheese come in.  Grandma's car is 20 years old.. and it runs "just fine".  Grandma never shops in the mall... she doesn't need to... she has everything she needs and then some.  She gave me back a cell phone that I had purchased for her.. she didn't need it.
Whenever I think about how I must sacrifice the little things now.. I just think of how my mother lives and how she is none worse for the wear... as matter of fact, she is better off than most of us.

Rebate duplicity

I find it amazing that I can't just walk into a store and buy something "on sale" without having to complete a rebate form.  The retailers know that most of the general public will simply forget to send in their rebate forms on time.  Even more deceptive, is the way the retailers deliver the rebates to your home... in non-descript envelopes and post cards that appear to be junk mail.
I recently received a non-descript envelope with a message inside that said "Enclosed is your Staples Visa card"... without hesitation I started walking towards my shredder thinking "I didn't apply for a Visa card"... then with one hand removing the card to insert into shredder heaven I continued reading "This card represents your rebate of 100.00 for the purchase of blah, blah ,blah.  I almost shredded 100.00!!!
Let's all be aware of the post cards and Visa cards and other chicanery that the retailers use to cheat us out of our money... Let's use the darn rebate money... I know I will.

Aerobic excercise for my fingers

Flick, click, flick, click, flick.... that is the sound of my fingers as they exercise... that is, turning off light switches, power buttons, and remotes.  How is it, that in my household, the only fingers getting this workout are mine?  I know why... it's because I pay the utility bills!    I walk through my home turning off lights and radios and video games and televisions and and and.   I just love walking into a room where the music is blasting and all the lights are on and no one is in the house... and they haven't been home for hours!
There are two issues here... one is wasting resources.. the other is wasting money.
While visiting Germany two years ago, I found that many hotels would not allow any lights on unless your key card was in a holder inside the room... therefore you could not be out of the room and leave the lights on.  They also had motion sensor lights in the hallways. How effective is that in reducing the electric use for lighting?!  But the greatest invention that I saw was a hotel room that had a governor on the a/c... the a/c would not go on unless the windows were closed and latched shut.... now that is ingenious!!!   I vow to live more like the Germans live... I do.

The Power of power washing

Power washing can be soooo EMPOWERING!  Today I power washed our outdoor shower and saved about 75.00 doing it myself.  Power washing (or pressure washing)  rates in the NY Metropolitan area go for close to a dollar a square foot.  Renting one can also be costly but not as much as having the pros do it.
Buying our own power washer about 7 years ago was one of the best investments that we ever made. It's a smaller Karcher with about 1300 PSI.. a great little machine for women to use.. and I have used it and used it... for outdoor furniture, the exterior of the house and the decks. Since the PSI is not so high, I can even use it for the composite decking on one of my decks.  It takes a while getting used to, and establishing the proper technique... but then it's clear sailing.
Now all I have to do is repaint the outdoor shower white...where's Tom Sawyer when you need him!

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Confessions of a performing arts junkie

All my life I have enjoyed the performing arts.. concerts, theatre, Broadway productions, dance.. you name it, I supported it, and in more ways than one.  I have been giving great portions of my disposable income to the Arts.  I've had active memberships in every performing arts venue, along with public television donations etc.  Well, sorry folks, today I'm out of cash. I still get calls from the NY Philharmonic, the NJ Symphony, NJPAC, NJN, and various other theater and arts groups.  I feel very sad that I can no longer support their missions.
Buying a 350.00 ticket to a Broadway show was very doable for me a couple of years ago... however, today I have found ways to see great productions for only 30.00 or even for free.  I recently saw a production of 42nd Street that was really off, off Broadway.. by about 100 miles!  But, the actors were superb and I got that same warm and fuzzy feeling as if I had just spent 300 bucks to see a Broadway show.  Also, there are so many free concerts by community bands and orchestras... many of which are excellent. Last week, I saw a concert by "The Kings Brass".. they were absolutely breathtaking and asked only for a small donation.. we gave them ten dollars for the three of us... can't find a better deal than that.  So, despite my lack of money, I can still fuel my addiction to the Arts.. Hey, it's one of life's better additions!

Paper towel enlightenment

Bounty! The one and only paper towel for me.  Who cares that it is the most expensive paper towel on the market.. it is the best!  Well, at least I wait for it to be on sale before I buy it.  So I scoured the circulars this week because I was totally out of paper towels.  After checking all the supermakets and wholesale stores I found that CVS was the winner with an 8 roll pack for 6.84.  So I arrived at the store very happy with myself because I was getting a bargain, only to find that they were out of them.  They, of course, offered me the rain check which I took, but on my way out I noticed a CVS brand paper towel on sale for 4.94 an 8 roll pack.  I looked carefully and they looked suspiciously like Bounty. I said, what the heck, for that price I'll try them and guess what! They are like Bounty.. I can actually squeeze them out and reuse them as I can Bounty.  Watch out Bounty... there's a new kid on the block!

Grooming and personal hygiene

OK.. As far as I'm concerned, we are way too clean.   We often take two showers a day, wear clothing once before it is washed and toss a towel into the laundry with only one use. My washer and dryer ran almost 24/7 for just the 3 of us.   Now that I have to live more frugally I am pushing the limits on my clothing.. I ACTUALLY wear the same article of clothing 2 or 3 times before washing it!! Can you imagine?  And I don't even smell...  I haven't yet figured out how to shower less than once per day, but I now re-use my bath towel for a few days.  I've managed to reduce laundry loads down to 8 per week instead of 21 per week! I am also mindful of my time in the shower... less time means less hot water, less hot water means lower utility bills.   Five minute showers are the norm.. and I'm just as clean as if I took a 20 minute shower. :)

Being clean and looking clean are not always one and the same... personal grooming products, and especially services can be very expensive.
Haircuts and manicures/pedicures used to gobble my money.. of course I willingly fed the salons and nail spas with my weekly visits.  Today, because I simply can not afford those visits I cut my own hair, polish my own nails and cut my son's and husband's hair.  This life style change has saved over 160.00 per month...and it's kinda fun.

Clothing..how much do we really need?

I can't remember exactly when it happened but I went from owning  4 pairs of jeans, 10 tops, and 5 pairs of shoes to having multiple closets and dressers burgeoning with clothing!    It's not that I keep clothing forever... as a matter of fact in the pre recession days I gave regularly to clothing drives and local charities.   It all had to do with excess disposable income burning a hole in my wallet.  Many times I went shopping for clothes in such a hurry that I pulled things off the rack without even trying them on.  My husband often joked that my charities got clothing with the tags still on.  So now I ask..what is the purpose of all of this clothing?
As a child from a lower income family I did not own many articles of clothing.  I had 7 outfits per season, one for each day of the week. My mother did laundry once a week and my outfits were ready to go. Needless to say, they were all very well worn.   Today, I am certain, that based on the clothing that I own, I could wear a different outfit for each day of the year!  Seriously, I counted my shoes the other day.. 78 pairs of shoes.  I have 15 winter coats as well as 15 bathing suits...  I am not buying another article of clothing for the rest of my life.