Monday, April 26, 2010

Monday Monday....Enough already with the Rain!

Here are some thoughts on this dreary Monday....

I feel like I've been sleeping for 3 days nonstop.  I blame all the rain.  I am now getting congested it's gone on so long.  I don't even feel like working on any scenarios or chasing any deals.  If I get the urge I just go look in my living room at the boxes of stuff I am taking to the flea market next month....that cures me right fast!

I have decided that nothing smells worse than 3 days of wet dog....

I stayed out of the grocery stores again last week.  Except for that little spurt a week ago Friday at Price Chopper and on Saturday at Weis and the local independent market, I have NOT done any shopping for 21 days out of the last 23 days.  And I am too lethargic to want to go.
I need a doctor and fast!lol
Hubby has bought milk, celery, eggs and cheese last week-most of it at Walmart of all places!lol(PS-I don't shop at Walmart but DH thinks it's the "bee's knees".)

I watched reruns of the TLC Hoarders:Buried Alive Show on Sunday evening.  I saw one I had missed when they first ran it.  This unmarried woman(mid 40's I think)had moved back in with her widowed mother and had filled this large home with her crap.  Among the things she 'collected'?.....Fabric.
Yikes!
That hit a little too close to home for me.... ;-)

I've been plodding along with the eBay stuff.  No weirdos, scammers or non-payers last week....yeah!  With the rain and my lethargy I am struggling getting stuff listed and sorted out.  I did get another load together for Sallie's however and I've been fairly productive this morning having written up listings for a box+ worth of stuff. 

What can be more frugal than to stay home, not spend money and actually make money?  If this is true then I am the Goddess of Frugality lately....

I need to get my Meal Plan going for the week.  I made up 28 Manicotti yesterday. Fixed half for dinner and froze the other 14 for later.  Today I pulled out pork chops and I'll pan saute them and make a plum sauce, serving them with the last of the Stove Top boxes and whatever frozen veggie the kids pull out of the freezer later today.
Oh, and I am so making that peanut butter & chocolate crock pot cake/pie/thing that Mommy The Coupon Hunter made and talked about on her blog!  Don't even go look unless you want to gain 10lbs. from reading the recipe.lol

And I found this guy in my boxes--anybody remember this guy?  Of course you will be gracious friends and refrain from looking at my messy desk behind him.....
Who remembers what 3 things you can't do in regards to a Gremlin? 8-)
If this is true, I think I am a gremlin....

So what is everyone else up to today?
Me?....I'm growing moss on my northern facing parts.

Sluggy

Sunday, April 25, 2010

No more Lobster.....sniff

Remember my $52.11 splurge on fresh lobsters last week?
Well here is a photo of the last lobster roll...
I ended up buying 6 lobsters(almost 8.75lbs. total).  I ate 2 straight up and then took the other 4, picked the meat out, chopping it up, adding finely diced celery and enough mayo to hold it all together.  Warm a bun, spread  generously on the bun and sprinkle celery seed on top.....then devour!lol  
Of course, there is alot of disagreement among New Englanders on what to add to a lobster roll.  There are the purists-no condiments or binders of any kind....the classists-a little mayo and maybe some butter or salt and pepper.....and then there are those who add what they like as they know from eating many MANY rolls made many different ways-like me!lol  But all aficionados agree on one thing--you NEED a New England  style Hot Dog Roll!  It looks something like this.....

I got 9 lobster roll servings from the 4 lobsters that were left.  Sooooo, if you figure each lobster cost $8.68($52.11 divided 6 ways), 4 lobsters was $34.72.   9 Rolls into $34.72 would be about $3.85 per sandwich.  Considering you would pay at least $10 for a lobster roll at a roadside seafood shack in New England(you can get them at McDonald's up there for about $8) that's $90 worth of eating for $34.72.

A frugal splurge?
Ayah.....you betcha.....


Sorry but I can't stop myself from taking photos of food.
I do need a new camera though that takes closeup shots because mine sucks at it.
Maybe it's time to upgrade my old Power Shot A40.  I've had it 8 years now.
I hear Canon is up into the A500s now making my A40 pretty well obsolete.lol

Sluggy

Making a Food Budget 101...A Month of Homework in May will Reap Rewards in June

I am posting this a few days before the new month begins so everyone can give this Budgeting Idea a try.  You will need to start doing this really EASY Homework from the 1st of May until the 31st. At that point, you need to bookmark this post and come back to finish this assignment.
-sluggy
One area where every household in the World spends a big chunk of money on is FOOD.  If you aren't controlling this piece of your money, then this money is controlling you!  Get a handle on your food spending today by making a Household Food Budget.

 The best 1st step to go about making a food budget is to simply do this......

Save all your receipts you get from buying food for 1 month in an envelope.  I don't care if you use coupons or only buy on sale, Everyone should try this for at least 1 month.  I am sure it would open many people's eyes up to how they actually spend their food money!

If you buy some food and don't get a receipt, write down the amount you spent & what it was for on a sheet of paper and put that with your receipts.
Personally, I have a loose leaf notebook...
Whenever I buy food/toiletries I throw the receipt into this notebook.  At the end of the month I write down all my receipts(date/store name/amount spent/amount saved)and add up what I have spent and saved.
This way I can instantly see if I stayed within my budget, where the money went and how much I saved using sales and coupons.  It helps me plan next month's shopping better.

Bookmark this Post and when the month of saving your receipts is over, come back here, take all those receipts out and add them up.  This is the basis for your 1st working Food Budget.  Whatever you spent last month on food, use this as the baseline for this month's food budget.

Now, go on over HERE and see where your food spending lines up compared to the Federal governments guidelines for what you 'should' be spending.  The USDA keeps a current list of 4 food spending plans--from thrifty, to low to moderate to liberal.  
So where did your monthly spending put you?

What are your thoughts when you see your monthly food totals?
Are you happy?
Does it make you nervous to see how much cash left your wallet last month?

Compared to your total monthly income, what percentage of your spending was on food?
The USDA says the average family spends just under 10% of it's income on food.

Now looking at your food spending for the month....are you comfortable with that figure?
Did you spent more or less than 10% of your income last month on food?
Are you comfortable with how much you spent?
Or do you want to spend less?
If you are like most people these days, you want to or even NEED to spend less!

If you want or need to spend less on food you will need to make different/better choices on what you bought last month.
In order to figure out where/how you can cut the spending, get those last month's food receipts out and a new sheet of paper.
Make 3 columns labeled....BASIC, CONVENIENCE & EXPRESS.
Take each item you purchased on each receipt one at a time, and write it down in one of those columns.

A BASIC Food is something like milk, eggs, butter, salt, dried beans, rice, pasta, meat, fresh fruits or produce, oatmeal, frozen fruits or produce, cheese, canned tomatoes, flour, coffee, tea, bacon, sugar, spices, oils, bread, etc.  A food that is used to make something you eat or a basic form of a food.

A CONVENIENCE Food would be something that comes in a box or a mix or a frozen meal or food that's either already prepared that you just heat up or partially prepared.  Examples are Hamburger Helper, Kraft Mac & Cheese, sugared cold cereals, Beefaroni, Biscuit dough in a tube, pancake mix, cake or brownie or muffin mix, instant oatmeal, frozen tv dinners,  canned or boxed soups or soup mixes, frozen meatballs or burritos, breaded chicken strips, battered anything, pre-made hamburger patties, hot dogs, canned beans, fresh pasta, spaghetti sauce, yogurt, veggies in cheese sauce, pastries or pies, chips, cookies, soda, etc.

An EXPRESS Food is anything that's ready to eat like take-out Chinese, Sushi, McMuffin's, Burgers and Fries, Pizza, Roasted Chickens or the Salad Bar at the Deli Counter, Prepared Cups of Coffee, Donuts, etc.

Now add up the numbers in each of these columns.
Where are you spending most of your food budget?

I bet you are shocked at either how much or where you are spending your money, huh?

Where you want the bulk of your food budget to be is in Column 1, BASIC.
This is the healthiest overall category to spend on.  This category will give you more 'bang for your budget spending buck'.

Some of your spending can be in the CONVENIENCE Category.  Some people lack the cooking skills or don't have the facilities or time to make some things so if you have a decent food budget amount you can spend a bit more overall by buying the premade biscuits in the can rather than making them from scratch or canned beans instead of dried beans if you don't have time to soak and boil them.  Just remember that most convenience foods will cost you more of your budget than the basic form or the basic ingredients that make that food and most convenience foods will have added ingredients that you might not want in your food.

Look at the EXPRESS Category and tell me how many meals out of the 90 to 93 breakfasts/lunches/dinners you ate each month did this category's spending supply?
And then figure how high a percentage of the overall food spending was used on items in this Column.
Can you see how this Category of food spending can supply you with so little in terms of number of meals compared to how much of your budget it gobbles up?

What you want to shoot for...
The bulk of your food spending should be on BASIC type foods with some CONVENIENCE type foods mixed in.
Think of the EXPRESS type foods as the 'condiment' of your food budget....if you have some wiggle room in the budget then include some special 'treats' now and again like homemade calzones from the local mom & pop Italian joint or fish tacos from the local mexican restaurant.
But spend your food dollars sparingly in this Column.
If you do, you'll find that you will overall eat healthier(as you have more control over what goes into your food) and your food dollars will stretch further.

Once you have an amount set for your 1st Food Budget it's time to go spend that money.

But before you set foot in the grocery store, you have some homework to do.

Get a copy of the current sales flyer from wherever you plan to shop, or get flyers from  two or more different stores if you wish to comparison shop.
Get a copy of a coupon insert &/or find an online coupon site where you can print coupons.

Now grab a sheet of paper and write down the foods that are on sale that your family will eat.  Remember to try to choose Basic foods first over Convenience ones.

After you have a list of sale priced items, now you need to come up with meals using those items that you can prepare.  Check your food pantry at home for any ingredients you already have too and then add onto your shopping list any items not necessarily on sale that you also need to fix these meals.

Now check if there are any coupons available for any of the items on sale or not, that you wish to buy and take those coupons with you to the store with your shopping list.
Do a quick preliminary calculation on approximately how much your list of groceries will cost you so you can make sure you take enough cash to the store.  Nothing will ruin a trip to the grocery store if you are short on money at the register after all your hard work shopping.

Now shop for your items and KEEP TO YOUR LIST!
Yes, I know those cookies in the bakery look yummy....but they aren't on your list.  I do give you permission IF you have some spare money in the food budget, to pick up unadvertised specials or deals like discounted produce, canned goods or meats that you know you will use.  Remember, it's NOT a deal if you end up throwing it away!

Bring your groceries home, put them away and save that receipt in an envelope so that next month you can add up your food spending for this month and see how you did.  If you go over your budget this month, you either need to adjust how much you budget for food or reduce your costs in some area(s) by choosing less expensive alternatives or more basic foods.

So get an envelope now and get into a habit of saving your grocery receipts.  This is the 1st step to getting a handle on your Food spending!

Sluggy

Friday, April 23, 2010

Another 2010 BORING BLOG BOX of FUN GIVEAWAY is OPEN!

The 2nd Sluggy's BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY is Ready!

Just to recap, I put things in the box(mostly what I have gotten for free or almost free)each week and when the box is filled we draw a winner from all the entries received.

Here is what went into the Box today.....

1.  A Package of BIC Silky Touch disposable razors.
2.  A sample sized bottle of ACT Mouth Rinse.
3.  A bottle of Ecotrin enteric coated aspirin.


If this is your first time, please go read all the rules for these Giveaways on THIS POST.

Time to enter.....You can enter on this Giveaway post until I post another set of items for the Giveaway--which is usually about a week.

1 entry per person per day on THIS POST.  Leave your name/email addy and a comment for a valid entry on THIS POST only.  When I post again about this BORING BLOG BOX GIVEAWAY entries on this Post will be CLOSED and you must post on the New Giveaway Post to enter.  I hope this isn't too confusing. ;-)
Please NOTE--You MUST be a follower to enter the Giveaway.  If you aren't one, just click on the "Follow" button on the right hand side of my blog to become a follower.

There are 2 ways to get extra entries....

1. Put my blog on your blog's Blogroll.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with the URL of your blog. If I'm already on your Blogroll, say so in your extra comment.
2.  Blog about this Giveaway on your blog or on a Message Board.  Leave an extra comment for this entry on THIS POST only with a link to your blog post or the message on the board.

Again, you can enter on this post until I put another Giveaway Post up and then you need to enter on the NEWER Post.

Any questions?  Just email me at slugmama@yahoo.com

Happy Entering!! 

Sluggy

Thursday, April 22, 2010

Are you a Lover or a Hater?

While I am NOT older than Planet Earth I am older than the day designated here in the USA to honor our "Big Blue Marble".

This day reminds me of this Public Service Announcement from my youth....



It's a shame that it would still be necessary to run this PSA today, almost 40 years later.

My Bloggy Friend Annie Jones has a nice post today HERE.  While it's not an Earth Day post per se, she brings up how to go about making changes in your life(like being more earth friendly) and how to make them stick.

I'll just say I concur with her thoughts there and I'll drag this fine clip out from my archives as it's always a good reminder.
Not only that but this comic/singer/songwriter is one of my favs and even though he is young enough to be my son, I'd do him in a NY minute if he'd just ring me up!



Do something to be kind to Mother Earth today....and everyday!

Sluggy