Article on saving money that might actually help me/people save money

One of my whole reasons for starting this blog was a feeling of dissatisfaction with the "Save money! Now!" articles that kept popping up on my computer screen. They seemed to be geared towards people with money to spare who were temporarily squeezed or simply looking to be smarter with their money.

I came across this article today, though, on Yahoo. While it falls into some of the same traps, concerning ATM fees, collecting your spare change daily, and coffee-house coffee, and assuming a decent credit history/bank account, there is some information that is helpful.

"Know how you use plastic" - a sound piece of advice, because it is easy to deny your own habits. This is something about which I have had to be honest with myself. For me, if my card is getting too much of a work out, a mental reminder isn't enough. Physically removing it from my wallet/purse, and putting it someplace where it is inconvenient to access helps. Someplace like a box, tucked away in the closet, or the freezer, in a bag filled with water. Having to de-clutter a closet or defrost a card will make you think twice about using that card.

"Are you really going to pay yourself first." - I like direct deposit, and my automatically deducted retirement plan payments. Splitting your direct deposit amongst savings versus spending accounts is a great way to ensure money is getting saved. But, this pre-supposes that you have a job who will do direct deposit (which does seem to be more frequent now), and that you have a bank account. I used to think that everyone did, but have learned that grown-up does not equal bank account, for various reasons. If you live a cash-only life, I'm not sure what to tell you, other than the envelope method sounds like a good place to start.

"Have paychecks deposit paychecks into savings account" - again, presupposes a bank account... see above?

"Allow yourself only one ATM withdrawal per week" - How about avoid ATM withdrawals at all costs? I'm thinking of the fees involved. The article seems to be thinking that if you automatically get cash back off of every debit card transaction, you are not fully aware of how much cash you are spending, which is true. Taking a moment to think about your expected cash needs for a given time period, and then using only that money is a safe way to go about using cash.

"Record credit card purchases as you make them in your check register" - I like the idea behind this: keeping track of CC spending, as if it were debit card spending. Not only does it help you keep track of your spending, but it also ensures that you will have the money to pay the bill, and pay it off. So, no late or missed payments, plus, you'll be able to pay off the balance monthly (assuming you start doing this at a 0 balance, yada, yada...) It is the application where I am weary. My uneasiness stems from the fact that I live almost a cashless existence. If I have cash, I will spend it like water. So, that means I use my card a lot. So, I should be recording everything, but the simple truth is I don't. Do I need to do some serious behavior modification, probably.

"Save your spare change" - I guess these guys are trying to cover all bases by talking about ways to save with CCs and with cash. I can attest to the value of saving spare change, having helped collect over $100 in coins, mainly pennies, from my mother-in-law's house when they moved. Should you start using cash more in order to have change to save? Should you stop spending change in order to collect it up as a holiday stash? I'm inclined to say no. If you use cash, and have change, save it. If you are currently using change to buy bread and milk, keep on. So, this is a good idea, but I'm not sure that I would drastically alter my behavior in order to do so.

"Bag the savings from taking your lunch" - An interesting idea. Seems to be a lot of work if you aren't using cash to buy your lunch in the first place (at least a lot of work for your mouse, if you online bank, or for your teller, if you go in daily to transfer $5 from checking to savings). I suppose you could always just say at the end of the week "I took my lunch X number of days, so I saved Y," and transfer that. But then, I wouldn't have written out my entire thought process. And what fun would that be. So, yes, this is a good idea, but what about people who are taking their lunch because that $5 lunch excursion would have equaled no rent money? C'mon, guys, these are the kinds of things I contemplate.

"Pay yourself once you've paid off a debt" - I like this. If you don't have other debt you'd rather put the money towards, this is great. I don't think I can be reminded about this enough. I admit it, I am tempted to keep up with various different Joneses sometimes. A reminder to keep paying myself and my future is always good.

"Give yourself time to think about purchases." - my husband does this, the "it'll be here tomorrow; if not, I wasn't meant to have it." Frustrates me sometimes. But, I realize the wisdom in it. We don't usually go back for the item, or if we do, it is gone. Honestly, can't remember what it is we haven't bought.

Alright, there you have a little insight into my brain. What do you think? Did you like the article? Am I being too nit-picky, or not nit-picky enough?

Recipe Thursday

Holy Toledo, Batman! I almost forgot about Recipe Thursday!

How about some yummy hot chocolate for the cold winter's nights?

This probably won't be the most inexpensive hot chocolate, nor is it particularly good for you, but I sure do enjoy it!

I devised this recipe when I was in high school, using a large, almost stein sized mug that my dad had. The proportions here are slightly smaller, but I still use the largest mug we have to make it. This mug probably hold two cups of liquid, easy.

Set water to boil, and pull out your favorite/largest mug.

Start with 2 heaping tablespoons of cocoa. Preferably a nice dark cocoa. Whatever you have/like works.

Add 2 slightly less heaping tablespoons of sugar (more or less to taste), and stir until well mixed.

If you are so inclined, and/or remember, add a pinch of salt here, and mix.

Add a drop or two of vanilla extract.

Add a splash to a tablespoon or so of the thickest milk/cream you  have on hand. We would have heavy whipping cream during Christmas, and that is just wonderful. Half and half works well, too.

Stir it all together like the dickens. Ideally, the consistency will be paste-like, but this will differ with the type of cream/milk you use. Whipping cream = more paste-like. Half and half = more like chocolate milk.

When the water boils, fill the mug up about half way, and stir well. When well-mixed, continue to fill mug till full. Stir some more.

Try not to drink it too fast.

Do you have a favorite cold weather drink?

Expiration dates

As I said recently, I think of expiration dates as general guidelines for when I should use food, and then, how I should prepare it. My husband, on the other hand, is more likely to follow those dates.

On Monday, I linked to an article from Slate.com about how, well, I was right, and that food is generally safe for consumption past those little stamped dates. I also emailed it to my husband. He responded with this article about using expired foods to save money may not be worth the cost of gastronomical distress.

I thought that I should share it with you, as well. You know, present the other side of the argument and all. It's true, though. I wouldn't want to risk my health to save a few bucks, because in the long run, illness would end up costing more.

I do want to highlight a small portion of the article he sent me:

Sniff tests, as well as checking for any color changes, are usually good indicators of a food's safeness.

Many expiration dates are not symbolic of when the food actually expires, but simply a date that indicates how long before the food's characteristics change. They are also used as a suggestion of "best when used by" dates, or "sell by" dates for grocery stores. -Ashley Holstrom


Felt nice to see that in print. I am a big fan of the sniff test. A caution, though, sniff and sight tests are not fool-proof, and if you are uneasy about eating something, don't.


Here's an interesting site that will tell you how safe something is to consume after the stated expiration date.

Food Expiration Dates Poll

Have something to say about food expiration dates that haven't been addressed in my posts or poll? Care to share?

Did my poll not adequately cover your feelings on food expiration dates?

I want to know.

Have fun!

Spring is in the... somewhere

It is, really. I can almost feel it in the air sometimes. I find myself dreaming of garden plots that I've never had, on land I don't have either.

Gardening is one of those skills that I could have learned from my mom, had I been paying attention as a kid, instead of running around, climbing trees, sneaking TV, and reading. Certainly those are not bad childhood pursuits, but they left little time for learning of more practical fun skills, like jamming, knitting, or gardening.

I look forward to one day having some semblance of a garden, and harvesting things like tomatoes, cucumbers, and maybe even strawberries from it. I think about what I could use this bounty for, and learning how to can and even pickle to preserve the extra.

I am probably a good ways away from all of that though. I don't have a garden, or even a potted plant. I also don't know how to pressure can, or have a pressure cooker. I've got one heck of a learning curve ahead of me, and I'm sure that it will be full of hard work, mistakes, and inadvertently murdered plants.

I've heard that tomatoes are hardy plants, that seem to grow, despite gardener neglect, so am thinking of starting with these. As well as some herbs that are supposed to do well in pots.

And then there are things like this that seem like they were designed for people like me. People who want to grow things, but have neither the skill, experience, or space to do so. (Yes, I had a shopping channel on as background noise as I was reading one night. I must say, this product intrigued me, but I did not buy one.)

Do you have a backyard, deck, or community garden plot? How long have you been at it? And, any tips for a  (very) novice gardener, looking to get started?

Poll 3 Results: Thermostats beware!

Thanks for taking part in the Thermostat poll, and feeding my general curiosity about the subject. The majority of you are keeping your home in the 70 (21.11C) to 75 (23.89C) range. There are also those of you that adjust the temperature based on whether or not you are home, which is a great way to go about it. There are even those of you who have opted to turn off your heat, completely. To you, I say, "Brr; kudos!" Doing that will definitely reduce your heating bill, and help conserve resources. I will go ahead and say that if you choose to go this route, take to follow the instructions of your landlord/home/plumbing system to ensure that your pipes don't freeze, as that could create an even bigger and more costly mess in the long run.

Really, though, I'm shivering just thinking about the heat being completely off.

Despite Punxsutawney Phil seeing his shadow on February 2nd, I have felt a slight lessening of the cold here. This could also be due to the fact that I just spent several days farther south, were it is warmer. I can almost end of winter, which means that we'll be able to lay off of our HVAC system for a bit, and take advantage of natural light for more hours of the day. Exciting!

But, I just turned to my office window, and noticed that there is a very light snow coming down. I guess throwing open the windows for light and a breeze will have to wait.

Food Wast Reduction Challenge, Week 3

So... wasn't the best week for me. I wasn't home for the majority of the week, and was instead on the road for that business trip. I even ate in a college cafeteria once, and was reminded how much food can get wasted there. I opted for a stir-fry, and while I could choose the veggies and such that went into it, I couldn't do much to control the amount, so that plus the fact that I didn't get a chance to eat till after the presentation and Q&A session... I think about a quarter of the rice was left, plus about a quarter of the brownie, and a quarter cup of baby corn + beets. I just looked at it, deciding between letting it be thrown away or trying to force-feed myself before a six-hour drive. I didn't eat it.

 A week or so ago, we had both bought eggs on the way home, independent of each other. It takes us a while to use eggs (unless I'm on a baking spree), so that coupled with the fact that I was gone for 4 days meant that many eggs ended up in the trash, as they had passed their expiration dates

It looks like we are also holding on to about a quarter of a gallon of milk that has not only passed the expiration date, but also my smell and taste test.

I don't know if anything else was tossed while I was away, but it doesn't look like it.

Regarding expiration dates, I'm of  the "they are just a suggestion" camp. Thinking that they tend to be "best by" dates, I am generally ok with eating things a few days or so past the stated expiration date. I may not cook an expired egg over easy with a yummy runny yoke, opting instead to hard boil it or fry it until the yoke is hard. My husband is more likely to go by the expiration date, and throw stuff out.

If you are interested, and haven't seen it already, here's an article from Slate.com about expiration dates. (you may need to sign in to view it)

I have a couple of questions for you now. One: how are you doing with the Food Waste Reduction Challenge? and Two: how do you feel about expiration dates on food?