Ever since I finally posted that blog about repugnant ideas that make economic sense, I started thinking about some of my repugnant ways. Since I'm finally blogging now, I've decided to jump in with both feet and start making a few confessions...
This first one is about leftovers. I just confessed this one to Whatever this week, so I might as well share it with the rest of anyone who reads this blog. Unless refrigerator leftovers smell funny, taste funny, feel funny or look funny, I'll probably eat it. PLEASE NOTE: If you come to my house for dinner, all the food will be fresh. I only feed suspicious leftovers to myself. Not to you, not to Husband, not to anyone else in the family.
I've convinced myself that I have an iron stomach. It probably has more to do with the fact that I tend to eat stuff relatively soon after it's been made, otherwise it gets pushed to the back of the fridge and I forget about it until it smells, tastes, feels or looks funny.
It is likely that I will one day give myself food poisoning. I figure it won't be anything fatal, simply unpleasant. Until that time, I will continue to pretend that expiration dates and rules of thumb about when to throw something away don't apply to me.
Eat on, friend.
___________
Pre-run breakfast: toast and orange marmalade 28 cents
Post-run breakfast: Fancy McD's coffee $2.72?
Lunch: Chili and a mozzarella roly-poly (a melted cheese wrap thingy) 48 cents + 30 cents
Snack: Girl Scout Cookies 36 cents
Dinner: Yum, Yum, Yum: Pasta with mushrooms, asparagus and red peppers in a spicy smoked sardine-tomato sauce topped with mozzarella and a piece of toast to sop up the leftover sauce. $1.05ish
Total: $5.19
Saturday, January 29, 2011
Thursday, January 27, 2011
Mmm, Mmm Good
I love soup. It doesn't matter what kind of soup. I'll drink a cup of chicken broth--just because I think it is delicious. No matter what you call it: stew, soup, chili, bisque. Just give me a spoon.
Here is my elastic soup equation and a recipe for the Beans, Greens and Sausage Soup I made last night:
Beans, Pasta or Rice: I used one cup of dried beans that I cooked overnight in the slow cooker. 35 cents
Something Meaty: I used 1/4 pound sausage and 1/3 package of Boca meatless crumbles. $1.75
Something Veggie: I used a 10 oz package of frozen spinach. I would have added some sauteed onion or other veg but Husband doesn't like onion and I didn't have any other veg I thought would work. 99 cents
Something Soupy: I used about 4-5 cups of chicken broth (one can and the rest homemade). 50 cents
Something Spicy: I used garlic powder, onion powder, Tabasco, Worcestershire, a tiny bit of Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Pepper and a tiny bit of sugar. I'm guessing about 20 cents.
Cook what needs to be cooked and let it all simmer together.
Total: My soup made 8 cups. 47 cents for a cup.
There is nothin' like a steaming bowl of soup for lunch or dinner on a cold winter day and, believe me, we've had plenty of those lately.
And (bonus) there's nothin' like some hot oatmeal for breakfast. I used to think the only way that oatmeal was edible was those Quaker instant oatmeal packages. Apples and cinnamon was my favorite. But (very recently) I've grown up and appreciate the control you have over your own breakfast oatmeal with just a box (or bag) of your favorite oats and whatever junk you have in your house to dress them up.
My favorite combination of oatmeal is 1/2 banana and 1-2 spoons of peanut butter. Because I'm always running late in the morning, I mix up all the ingredients and put them in a microwave container with a tight-fitting lid. The first thing I do when I get to work is cook up some breakfast.
Here are all the things in my house that I would combine or use to make my own special flavors of oatmeal. In my freezer: bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, nuts, powdered milk. In my fridge: apple butter, butter, milk, coffee mate, flax seed, wheat germ, apple cider, orange marmalade, applesauce, orange juice, grape jelly, chocolate icing. In my pantry: peanut butter, honey, pancake syrup, rice syrup, sugar, brown sugar, hot chocolate mix, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, sweetened flaked coconuts, dried cranberries. In the spice rack: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
__________________
Breakfast: oatmeal, banana, peanut butter 21 cents
Lunch: Beans, greens & sausage soup 47 cents
Snack: Orange and chips 42 cents
Dinner: My dinner out for the week-McDonald's Dollar Menu $3.24
Total: $4.34
Here is my elastic soup equation and a recipe for the Beans, Greens and Sausage Soup I made last night:
Beans, Pasta or Rice: I used one cup of dried beans that I cooked overnight in the slow cooker. 35 cents
Something Meaty: I used 1/4 pound sausage and 1/3 package of Boca meatless crumbles. $1.75
Something Veggie: I used a 10 oz package of frozen spinach. I would have added some sauteed onion or other veg but Husband doesn't like onion and I didn't have any other veg I thought would work. 99 cents
Something Soupy: I used about 4-5 cups of chicken broth (one can and the rest homemade). 50 cents
Something Spicy: I used garlic powder, onion powder, Tabasco, Worcestershire, a tiny bit of Apple Cider Vinegar, Salt, Pepper and a tiny bit of sugar. I'm guessing about 20 cents.
Cook what needs to be cooked and let it all simmer together.
Total: My soup made 8 cups. 47 cents for a cup.
There is nothin' like a steaming bowl of soup for lunch or dinner on a cold winter day and, believe me, we've had plenty of those lately.
And (bonus) there's nothin' like some hot oatmeal for breakfast. I used to think the only way that oatmeal was edible was those Quaker instant oatmeal packages. Apples and cinnamon was my favorite. But (very recently) I've grown up and appreciate the control you have over your own breakfast oatmeal with just a box (or bag) of your favorite oats and whatever junk you have in your house to dress them up.
My favorite combination of oatmeal is 1/2 banana and 1-2 spoons of peanut butter. Because I'm always running late in the morning, I mix up all the ingredients and put them in a microwave container with a tight-fitting lid. The first thing I do when I get to work is cook up some breakfast.
Here are all the things in my house that I would combine or use to make my own special flavors of oatmeal. In my freezer: bananas, blueberries, strawberries, peaches, nuts, powdered milk. In my fridge: apple butter, butter, milk, coffee mate, flax seed, wheat germ, apple cider, orange marmalade, applesauce, orange juice, grape jelly, chocolate icing. In my pantry: peanut butter, honey, pancake syrup, rice syrup, sugar, brown sugar, hot chocolate mix, cocoa powder, chocolate chips, sweetened flaked coconuts, dried cranberries. In the spice rack: cinnamon, ginger, nutmeg and allspice.
__________________
Breakfast: oatmeal, banana, peanut butter 21 cents
Lunch: Beans, greens & sausage soup 47 cents
Snack: Orange and chips 42 cents
Dinner: My dinner out for the week-McDonald's Dollar Menu $3.24
Total: $4.34
Wednesday, January 26, 2011
Me and the Electric Company
We're conspiring together to make Husband more frugal, Electric Company and I. He got a call from Mother-In-Law today that shook his whole world-view to the core and caused him to call me at work. "Mom and Dad's electric bill went up $20 for the month and Aunt's went up $30." Weird, because there wasn't a rate hike and our bill didn't go up too much. What was going on?
Upon closer inspection of our bill, Husband noticed that Electric Company was re-figuring everyone's "spread it out evenly over the year" bills. We pay roughly the same amount throughout the year, no matter how much electricity we use. Electric Company guesstimates and evens out your bills--except they must not be too good at guesstimating. Our bill will go up next month--about $45. Ouch!
On the other hand, I'm pleased to report that there may be some changes around here--changes I fully support but never believed I'd be able to talk Husband into. Not only are almost all our lightbulbs either LED or CFL, but they're not on as much as they were yesterday. I'm a fan of the "one person, one bulb (or at the very least, one fixture)" rule whereas Husband seems to like to keep all the switches in the "on" position. Also? We're not leaving things plugged in anymore. Yay! He's changing all his power strip settings to be able to cut electricity-suckers (like the Xbox) off the power source completely when they aren't in use.
And here's the thing I never saw coming...Husband advocating using the drying rack instead of the dryer. Wha? I used to do this ALL THE TIME. I mean, to the point where I would use every chair in my apartment as a drying rack if I was doing multiple loads of laundry. Now, everything goes in the dryer--even if I don't want it too. (I'm lucky, I guess. He washes clothes.) I mean, one of my favorite things in the world is a clothesline. I may not be very conservative or liberal, politically speaking, but I'm a huge supporter of the right to have a clothesline in spite of what your covenants say. (I call my parent's covenants "comunants." Hmm, that doesn't look as good written out as it sounds. Ok, say it to yourself.) Husband generally ignored me outright every time I mentioned putting up a clothesline. He also never understood why I put anything on the drying rack at all.
Do you think I'll be able to argue that keeping the fan on all night is a waste of electricity? Will this new-found electricity conservation ethic hold until the summer when it's time to turn on the air conditioner? Only time will tell. But just in case I start to lose these battles, Electric Company hopes to hike rates some more.
__________________
Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, apple butter 27 cents
Snack: orange 17 cents
Lunch: polenta and green beans 50 cents
Snack: pudding cup 36 cents
Dinner: chili and crackers with cheese and salami 48 cents + 44 cents
I forgot I ate some Thin Mints too! 31 cents
Total: $2.53
Total: Blerg. I don't feel like adding this all up today. It's cheap. I'll figure it up tomorrow and update this post.
Upon closer inspection of our bill, Husband noticed that Electric Company was re-figuring everyone's "spread it out evenly over the year" bills. We pay roughly the same amount throughout the year, no matter how much electricity we use. Electric Company guesstimates and evens out your bills--except they must not be too good at guesstimating. Our bill will go up next month--about $45. Ouch!
On the other hand, I'm pleased to report that there may be some changes around here--changes I fully support but never believed I'd be able to talk Husband into. Not only are almost all our lightbulbs either LED or CFL, but they're not on as much as they were yesterday. I'm a fan of the "one person, one bulb (or at the very least, one fixture)" rule whereas Husband seems to like to keep all the switches in the "on" position. Also? We're not leaving things plugged in anymore. Yay! He's changing all his power strip settings to be able to cut electricity-suckers (like the Xbox) off the power source completely when they aren't in use.
And here's the thing I never saw coming...Husband advocating using the drying rack instead of the dryer. Wha? I used to do this ALL THE TIME. I mean, to the point where I would use every chair in my apartment as a drying rack if I was doing multiple loads of laundry. Now, everything goes in the dryer--even if I don't want it too. (I'm lucky, I guess. He washes clothes.) I mean, one of my favorite things in the world is a clothesline. I may not be very conservative or liberal, politically speaking, but I'm a huge supporter of the right to have a clothesline in spite of what your covenants say. (I call my parent's covenants "comunants." Hmm, that doesn't look as good written out as it sounds. Ok, say it to yourself.) Husband generally ignored me outright every time I mentioned putting up a clothesline. He also never understood why I put anything on the drying rack at all.
Do you think I'll be able to argue that keeping the fan on all night is a waste of electricity? Will this new-found electricity conservation ethic hold until the summer when it's time to turn on the air conditioner? Only time will tell. But just in case I start to lose these battles, Electric Company hopes to hike rates some more.
__________________
Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter, apple butter 27 cents
Snack: orange 17 cents
Lunch: polenta and green beans 50 cents
Snack: pudding cup 36 cents
Dinner: chili and crackers with cheese and salami 48 cents + 44 cents
I forgot I ate some Thin Mints too! 31 cents
Total: $2.53
Total: Blerg. I don't feel like adding this all up today. It's cheap. I'll figure it up tomorrow and update this post.
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
The Best Granola Bars You Will Ever Make
Guess who's not watching the State of the Union address? That's right, me. I figured I'd learn about as much tending to the state of this blog. I'll catch the highlights during my interminable commute tomorrow morning.
I've been making these for awhile but it's hard to figure out the cost. That's why I resisted posting this for so long. The recipe is so elastic--lots of options to make these how you want them.
These are Smitten Kitchen granola bars. The original recipe is here, although it is an adaptation of a King Arthur Flour recipe. I've made some other granola bars before, but these are better, easier and have the potential to be cheaper. Some of the ingredients in the Smitten Kitchen recipe are more specific if you want to check that out. I loosened it up.
The Best Granola Bars
1 2/3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar or less
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
spices: any combination of the pumpkin pie spice family. Anywhere between none and 2 teaspoons, maybe?
2-3 cups of jazziness: dried fruit, nuts, coconut, ground flax seed, wheat germ, I've even used some stale Cheerios and a chopped up Larabar. This is where it could get expensive. I generally use 1 cup dried raisins or cranberries. Once I dried apples in the oven for granola bars. I use 1 cup nuts (peanuts and something else) and coconut and somewhere close to 1/2 cup of flax seed and wheat germ.
1 teaspoon vanilla or a little more
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup liquid sweetener: honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, I even use pancake syrup.
2 tablespoons of something else sweet: more honey or syrup. I often use this grape jelly that someone made and gave me that didn't quite set up right.
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup peanut butter or canned pumpkin puree if you want. This is optional. I've done it with both and they are both really good.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a square pan with parchment or foil (one sheet down the middle and over the sides--it shouldn't cover the whole pan. You're just using it to pull out the hunk of granola bar when it's done). Spray the paper/foil and pan with something Pam-ish.
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin if you're using it. Mix dry and wet (add peanut butter now if you're using it). Press into the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes.
Cool completely. You may need to chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes if they are too crumbly to cut. Lift out and cut into bars.
These usually equal out to about 20-25 cents per bar. They probably aren't a lot cheaper than buying the sale ones in the store but I'm bossy so I like to decide to have pumpkin in my granola bars if I want it. Plus they're fun to make and they taste a lot better than store bars. Also? less packaging = less trash. These are almost cookies--great substitute for the vending machine candy bar. If you're all gluten-free or think HFCS is the devil--this recipe is the way to go. Just don't include the pancake syrup.
___________________________
Breakfast: oatmeal, peanut butter & banana 21 cents
Lunch: Hamburger Helper and an orange 60 cents
Snack: turkey wrap 56 cents
Dinner: chili, corn muffin and crackers 77 cents
Total: $2.14
I've been making these for awhile but it's hard to figure out the cost. That's why I resisted posting this for so long. The recipe is so elastic--lots of options to make these how you want them.
These are Smitten Kitchen granola bars. The original recipe is here, although it is an adaptation of a King Arthur Flour recipe. I've made some other granola bars before, but these are better, easier and have the potential to be cheaper. Some of the ingredients in the Smitten Kitchen recipe are more specific if you want to check that out. I loosened it up.
The Best Granola Bars
1 2/3 cups rolled oats
1/2 cup sugar or less
1/3 cup flour
1/2 teaspoon salt
spices: any combination of the pumpkin pie spice family. Anywhere between none and 2 teaspoons, maybe?
2-3 cups of jazziness: dried fruit, nuts, coconut, ground flax seed, wheat germ, I've even used some stale Cheerios and a chopped up Larabar. This is where it could get expensive. I generally use 1 cup dried raisins or cranberries. Once I dried apples in the oven for granola bars. I use 1 cup nuts (peanuts and something else) and coconut and somewhere close to 1/2 cup of flax seed and wheat germ.
1 teaspoon vanilla or a little more
6 tablespoons butter, melted
1/4 cup liquid sweetener: honey, corn syrup, maple syrup, brown rice syrup, I even use pancake syrup.
2 tablespoons of something else sweet: more honey or syrup. I often use this grape jelly that someone made and gave me that didn't quite set up right.
1 tablespoon water
1/3 cup peanut butter or canned pumpkin puree if you want. This is optional. I've done it with both and they are both really good.
Preheat oven to 350 degrees. Line a square pan with parchment or foil (one sheet down the middle and over the sides--it shouldn't cover the whole pan. You're just using it to pull out the hunk of granola bar when it's done). Spray the paper/foil and pan with something Pam-ish.
Combine dry ingredients. Whisk together wet ingredients in a separate bowl. Whisk in the pumpkin if you're using it. Mix dry and wet (add peanut butter now if you're using it). Press into the pan. Bake 30-40 minutes.
Cool completely. You may need to chill them in the fridge for 30 minutes if they are too crumbly to cut. Lift out and cut into bars.
These usually equal out to about 20-25 cents per bar. They probably aren't a lot cheaper than buying the sale ones in the store but I'm bossy so I like to decide to have pumpkin in my granola bars if I want it. Plus they're fun to make and they taste a lot better than store bars. Also? less packaging = less trash. These are almost cookies--great substitute for the vending machine candy bar. If you're all gluten-free or think HFCS is the devil--this recipe is the way to go. Just don't include the pancake syrup.
___________________________
Breakfast: oatmeal, peanut butter & banana 21 cents
Lunch: Hamburger Helper and an orange 60 cents
Snack: turkey wrap 56 cents
Dinner: chili, corn muffin and crackers 77 cents
Total: $2.14
Monday, January 24, 2011
I'm the Weirdo in the Car Next to You Talking to the Radio
There are few news stories that interest me so much that I talk to the radio. This was one of them. In case you don't want to read it, it was a story on the NPR show Marketplace that aired on December 28. Entitled, "It's Repugnant, But Hey, It's Efficient!" the story is based on the idea that economists are more likely than the general populace to embrace a repugnant idea if it is the most efficient idea. They illustrated this idea with a few stories from 2010 and I found myself thinking (let's face it, saying out loud) "Yes! Why not? That's the way it should be?"
So do these ideas make sense or are they repugnant and I should think about becoming an economist?
1. A new law in Israel, aimed at boosting the nation's low organ donor rates, gives priority to those on organ waiting lists if they've signed up as a donor. So if you are willing to donate your organs and then end up needing one, you're tops on the list. Golden Rule, bitches. That's not repugnant, right?
2. A councilman in Modesto CA has proposed to treat sewage waste water and pipe it to farmers who need water to water their crops. Um,what do they think happens to treated water from the water treatment plant? It's not shipped to the Nevada desert in double-walled stainless steel containers and buried alongside radioactive waste.
Yeah, I don't really get what's so repugnant about these ideas. I'm know there are some things out there that make economic sense on the personal level (money savers) that I find repugnant (like this and this) and I'm sure there are other ideas out there that may make economic sense but are repugnant ("SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!") but you're going to have to get a lot more repugnant to out-repugnant this non-economist.
_______________
I never thought I would be telling people what I ate in such close proximity to a Soylent Green reference.... That is repugnant.
Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter and marmalade 35 cents
Lunch: Chili and Crackers/Cheese/Salami/Cucumbers $1.72
Snack: Free chocolate and then I gorged myself on Girl Scout Cookies 60 cents
Dinner: Free Pizza. I don't count it because Husband bought it. Also? He didn't realize he bought Diet Dr. Pepper instead of regular Dr. Pepper until he was reading this blog. Also? If you feel bad about laughing at Husband jokes, don't. He reads them and laughs with you. Also? If you're not laughing at my jokes, maybe you shouldn't expect to find something serious when you Google "Poor Man Snacks."
Total: $2.67
So do these ideas make sense or are they repugnant and I should think about becoming an economist?
1. A new law in Israel, aimed at boosting the nation's low organ donor rates, gives priority to those on organ waiting lists if they've signed up as a donor. So if you are willing to donate your organs and then end up needing one, you're tops on the list. Golden Rule, bitches. That's not repugnant, right?
2. A councilman in Modesto CA has proposed to treat sewage waste water and pipe it to farmers who need water to water their crops. Um,what do they think happens to treated water from the water treatment plant? It's not shipped to the Nevada desert in double-walled stainless steel containers and buried alongside radioactive waste.
Yeah, I don't really get what's so repugnant about these ideas. I'm know there are some things out there that make economic sense on the personal level (money savers) that I find repugnant (like this and this) and I'm sure there are other ideas out there that may make economic sense but are repugnant ("SOYLENT GREEN IS PEOPLE!") but you're going to have to get a lot more repugnant to out-repugnant this non-economist.
_______________
I never thought I would be telling people what I ate in such close proximity to a Soylent Green reference.... That is repugnant.
Breakfast: Toast, peanut butter and marmalade 35 cents
Lunch: Chili and Crackers/Cheese/Salami/Cucumbers $1.72
Snack: Free chocolate and then I gorged myself on Girl Scout Cookies 60 cents
Dinner: Free Pizza. I don't count it because Husband bought it. Also? He didn't realize he bought Diet Dr. Pepper instead of regular Dr. Pepper until he was reading this blog. Also? If you feel bad about laughing at Husband jokes, don't. He reads them and laughs with you. Also? If you're not laughing at my jokes, maybe you shouldn't expect to find something serious when you Google "Poor Man Snacks."
Total: $2.67
Friday, January 21, 2011
Striking a Balance
Wednesday, Gretchen Rubin posed a list of tough questions we face when trying to create a happy life on her blog The Happiness Project. The first question, "How do I balance what makes me happy now with what makes me happy in the long term?" is very appropriate for me right now.
I recently made my own tough decision about whether or not to spend money for something that would make me happy. But, of course, spending the money puts me that farther away from my year's goal of doubling my savings.
The dilemma forced me to think about whether I'm being frugal or miserly. And whether or not I'm being frugal or miserly in the correct situations. A list of my own tough questions floated through my mind:
When do my financial goals become an inappropriate damper to living life? (Am I just being miserly?)
When is unplanned spending appropriate?
Would I rather have money or x? (In this case, a great weekend with great friends.)
A few years ago, this wouldn't have been an issue. Savings were an afterthought. While some people took "you can retake a class but you can't retake a party" as their personal mantra, mine was more like "you can pay off your credit cards when you're old and no fun." (If you're a 22-year-old who happens to be reading this blog, just know that you will never live long enough to be no fun and if you do, you'll be too old and sick to earn money to pay off your fun years. Strike a balance now.)
Of all my resolutions, I really didn't think the one I'd be worried about so quickly was "double my savings." I was so proud of my progress so far. But it was hard to figure out where to strike my own balance. I couldn't answer my big questions without figuring out how I felt about some smaller ones. These are the questions I came up with (in no particular order):
1. Do I have enough cash for this?
2. Can I pay back my cash stash for this expenditure within the year?
3. Where can I tighten my belt to make up for this expenditure?
4. Is this something I would encourage Husband to do if he were in my shoes?
5. Is this or a similar opportunity likely to present itself anytime soon?
6. Does this expenditure fit with my values?
7. What are the drawbacks (short-term and long-term)?
8. Do I feel pressure or guilt compelling my decision?
9. What factors would make this decision easier for me?
10. What are the benefits (short-term and long-term)?
In the end, (after dodging that potential car repair bullet) I decided to go have a great time with my friends and I couldn't be happier about the decision. Just the anticipation of getting together with friends (some of whom I haven't seen for a long time) is boosting my mood. I know I will treasure the memories made for a lifetime. And the cost? It's not really that much, but I will have to work harder to meet my end-of-the year goal. I'll just keep plugging along, doing what I'm doing, saving money day by day and watching it grow. And that, too, is something that makes me happy.
_______________
Breakfast: Oatmeal, peanut butter, 1/2 banana 21 cents
Lunch: Hamburger Helper 42 cents
Snack:Orange and Christmas Chocolate 17 cents
Dinner: Thai Restaurant $14.00
Total: $14.80
I recently made my own tough decision about whether or not to spend money for something that would make me happy. But, of course, spending the money puts me that farther away from my year's goal of doubling my savings.
The dilemma forced me to think about whether I'm being frugal or miserly. And whether or not I'm being frugal or miserly in the correct situations. A list of my own tough questions floated through my mind:
When do my financial goals become an inappropriate damper to living life? (Am I just being miserly?)
When is unplanned spending appropriate?
Would I rather have money or x? (In this case, a great weekend with great friends.)
A few years ago, this wouldn't have been an issue. Savings were an afterthought. While some people took "you can retake a class but you can't retake a party" as their personal mantra, mine was more like "you can pay off your credit cards when you're old and no fun." (If you're a 22-year-old who happens to be reading this blog, just know that you will never live long enough to be no fun and if you do, you'll be too old and sick to earn money to pay off your fun years. Strike a balance now.)
Of all my resolutions, I really didn't think the one I'd be worried about so quickly was "double my savings." I was so proud of my progress so far. But it was hard to figure out where to strike my own balance. I couldn't answer my big questions without figuring out how I felt about some smaller ones. These are the questions I came up with (in no particular order):
1. Do I have enough cash for this?
2. Can I pay back my cash stash for this expenditure within the year?
3. Where can I tighten my belt to make up for this expenditure?
4. Is this something I would encourage Husband to do if he were in my shoes?
5. Is this or a similar opportunity likely to present itself anytime soon?
6. Does this expenditure fit with my values?
7. What are the drawbacks (short-term and long-term)?
8. Do I feel pressure or guilt compelling my decision?
9. What factors would make this decision easier for me?
10. What are the benefits (short-term and long-term)?
In the end, (after dodging that potential car repair bullet) I decided to go have a great time with my friends and I couldn't be happier about the decision. Just the anticipation of getting together with friends (some of whom I haven't seen for a long time) is boosting my mood. I know I will treasure the memories made for a lifetime. And the cost? It's not really that much, but I will have to work harder to meet my end-of-the year goal. I'll just keep plugging along, doing what I'm doing, saving money day by day and watching it grow. And that, too, is something that makes me happy.
_______________
Breakfast: Oatmeal, peanut butter, 1/2 banana 21 cents
Lunch: Hamburger Helper 42 cents
Snack:Orange and Christmas Chocolate 17 cents
Dinner: Thai Restaurant $14.00
Total: $14.80
Thursday, January 20, 2011
How I Really Save Money When I Shop
It's Thursday (obvs) and usually I'd do a recipe blog on Thursday but I'm cold and had to shovel the snow when I got home from work. I know, at first glance it may seem like I have a loser unemployed husband who won't even shovel the snow. But in actuality I have a loser (kidding) unemployed husband who has a leg that is hurting and the memory of a not-quite-a-year-old back surgery. So I'm cold and hungry and excited about some things and bummed about others. Therefore, enjoy this post I wrote yesterday. I hope you can agree and disagree along with me.
Tuesday someone wrote over on Wise Bread an article called, "How to Really Save Money When You Shop." You don't have to read it, because I did and here's what the author says: You're not really saving money if you're buying something on sale. You can only save money if what you're buying either: A) lets you avoid consuming something or B) lets you produce something. He also mentions buying things you would rent repeatedly and investing.
I agree and disagree and here's why:
Agree: Avoiding Consuming. Last month we purchased two doo-hickies (technical term) that you put in your water faucet that aerate the water and lets less come through. These two doo-hickies cost about $6. So far as we can tell, we've already saved $20 in water in one month. So they've more than paid for themselves twice. The verdict is still out on some of our other purchases: LED lights (Christmas and regular bulbs), insulated curtains. And there are yet other things that may/will never pay for themselves in terms of savings by consuming less energy: new doors, windows, hot water heater.
Disagree: One of the things he mentions in category B is knitting needles--which is interesting because I just finished my first knitting project: a scarf. I don't remember how much I paid for my needles or yarn (well, actually I think they were a gift--so nothing, but for argument sake...) but I guarantee you that I could buy a scarf for what my time, the needles and the yarn cost. Factor out my time and I would still bet that I could buy a scarf on clearance (with gloves) for less than the yarn and needles. If I keep knitting and get good at it, then yes, I could save money with my knitting needles, but I'd still have to buy different sizes of needles and yarn isn't cheap. It would still be possible (likely?) that any project I make could end up costing more than a similar item bought on sale or at a thrift shop or garage sale. The same is true for sewing--clothes are often cheaper to purchase (new) than patterns, material and notions--not to mention the cost of a good machine and the other tools you need. Again, same with the stuff you need to can produce from your garden. This stuff is only cheaper if you are persistent enough to get good at it and use these tools over and over.
Disagree: Obviously, I'm a big believer that buying something on sale (or with coupons) will save you money if these are things you would buy anyway and use. I've often fallen into a trap of buying something like a bag of apples only to not eat them and have to throw half the bag--and half the money I used to buy the bag--away. But if you're smart and don't get caught up in the marketing aspect of sales, deals and coupons, then yes, buying things you need on sale is absolutely saving money.
So here is what I ate today. And guess what? I saved money by not eating out.
Breakfast: Peanut butter on toast 17 cents. That snow-day bread was a good deal.
Lunch: Free delicious beef stroganoff. Yeah, I get by with a little help from my friends.
Snack: Orange and free applesauce. 17 cents. I have ways of getting free applesauce.
Dinner: I feel like it should cost 17 cents. Instead I'll continue the free theme with sweet potatoes. Sweet potato fries with Greek Yogurt (Here's looking at you, Amb.) and a Grilled Cheese because I'm 5. 70 cents
Total: $1.04
Tuesday someone wrote over on Wise Bread an article called, "How to Really Save Money When You Shop." You don't have to read it, because I did and here's what the author says: You're not really saving money if you're buying something on sale. You can only save money if what you're buying either: A) lets you avoid consuming something or B) lets you produce something. He also mentions buying things you would rent repeatedly and investing.
I agree and disagree and here's why:
Agree: Avoiding Consuming. Last month we purchased two doo-hickies (technical term) that you put in your water faucet that aerate the water and lets less come through. These two doo-hickies cost about $6. So far as we can tell, we've already saved $20 in water in one month. So they've more than paid for themselves twice. The verdict is still out on some of our other purchases: LED lights (Christmas and regular bulbs), insulated curtains. And there are yet other things that may/will never pay for themselves in terms of savings by consuming less energy: new doors, windows, hot water heater.
Disagree: One of the things he mentions in category B is knitting needles--which is interesting because I just finished my first knitting project: a scarf. I don't remember how much I paid for my needles or yarn (well, actually I think they were a gift--so nothing, but for argument sake...) but I guarantee you that I could buy a scarf for what my time, the needles and the yarn cost. Factor out my time and I would still bet that I could buy a scarf on clearance (with gloves) for less than the yarn and needles. If I keep knitting and get good at it, then yes, I could save money with my knitting needles, but I'd still have to buy different sizes of needles and yarn isn't cheap. It would still be possible (likely?) that any project I make could end up costing more than a similar item bought on sale or at a thrift shop or garage sale. The same is true for sewing--clothes are often cheaper to purchase (new) than patterns, material and notions--not to mention the cost of a good machine and the other tools you need. Again, same with the stuff you need to can produce from your garden. This stuff is only cheaper if you are persistent enough to get good at it and use these tools over and over.
Disagree: Obviously, I'm a big believer that buying something on sale (or with coupons) will save you money if these are things you would buy anyway and use. I've often fallen into a trap of buying something like a bag of apples only to not eat them and have to throw half the bag--and half the money I used to buy the bag--away. But if you're smart and don't get caught up in the marketing aspect of sales, deals and coupons, then yes, buying things you need on sale is absolutely saving money.
So here is what I ate today. And guess what? I saved money by not eating out.
Breakfast: Peanut butter on toast 17 cents. That snow-day bread was a good deal.
Lunch: Free delicious beef stroganoff. Yeah, I get by with a little help from my friends.
Snack: Orange and free applesauce. 17 cents. I have ways of getting free applesauce.
Dinner: I feel like it should cost 17 cents. Instead I'll continue the free theme with sweet potatoes. Sweet potato fries with Greek Yogurt (Here's looking at you, Amb.) and a Grilled Cheese because I'm 5. 70 cents
Total: $1.04
Wednesday, January 19, 2011
I've Got Some Catching Up to Do
My folks were in town over the long holiday weekend. Whenever they come, I usually suffer from a food hangover. On Monday night, after they had left, I seriously thought about doing a week or two of detox (not GOOP style, actual food is involved. You don't subsist on $1000 mixtures of coconut water from Bali, pure mountain spring water gathered by Tibetan monks, organic fair-trade grape seed extract, and the blood of 10 virgins). Then I remembered chocolate and bourbon and came back to my senses. Anyway, I ate too much, didn't write enough and didn't exercise enough. On the plus side, the freezer/pantry project aced the family dinner. I only had to buy asparagus and ravioli--and that's only because those are the only things Step-daughter is interested in eating.
______________________
Sweet Jebus, running on the treadmill is not the devil! My very most awesome friend Office Space, Christmas gifted (I hate it when people say gifted. Why is "gave" not good enough anymore?) me a few weeks at her work gym. I meant to be all tough and winter-brave, but then it snowed and I wienied out. Playing chicken with the oncoming traffic and bailing into a dirty pile of frozen slush at the last possible minute may get your heart rate going, but it's not my idea of a fun workout.
______________________
I finished knitting my scarf and I got my very own harmonica and how-to-play-harmonica book from Brother as an early birthday present. I'm pretty good!--but not really. However, if we have to move into a boxcar and warm ourselves by building fires in trash cans, I'm ready to provide our soundtrack!
______________________
My car died at the stoplight on my way to work yesterday. Surprisingly, no one honked. Husband and Police Officer gave it a little push 'round the corner. Can I count steering and braking with no power steering or power brakes as a workout? Long story short--a $64 tow and sitting in an attached garage for 10 hours and it starts. No diagnosis has been made because Husband and Father-In-Law disagree and, come on, there is a good possibility that neither of them is right anyway.
______________________
It's snowing today so I came home early. I had to stop by the grocery store for bread and milk but then I didn't want to look like one of these assholes who runs to the grocery store for bread and milk every time it snows so I bought some other stuff we didn't need but it was on sale and we will use it. So that was pretty much of a fail for the freezer/pantry project. And? I'm still an asshole for going to the store for bread and milk. And? If you're one of those people who goes to the store for bread and milk when it snows, you're not an asshole. But if you're one of those people who wanders around and blocks the whole aisle while people are just trying get their bread and milk, you are an asshole.
______________________
Oh, did I fess up yet to buying that peanut butter for less than $1/jar? Because I totally did it. The sale was supposed to be over when I went to the grocery store for milk and other perishables but it was still on. I can't be held responsible for my actions. We have five full jars of peanut butter in our pantry now. I guess I'll just be eating a lot of peanut butter from now until it's gone. Now accepting your peanut butter recipes.
______________________
Husband just went to the grocery store to get apple cider and came home with two cases of bottled water (There are only three situations that individual-sized bottles of water are acceptable in my book: 1. If you're in Mexico fighting drug lords. 2. If you're wandering along the desert and come across a vending machine of water bottles. 3. Never.), a four pack of root beer, a frozen pizza, a 12 pack of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, and apple cider. Ok, so: A. Not so cheap honey and B. But, that's ok because VINDICATION! And to think I felt bad about buying stuff to make chili.
----------
Today I'm chowing down on:
Breakfast: 2 waffles (one was free, my parents brought box of waffles when they came over for breakfast on Monday), banana, peanut butter 41 cents
Lunch: Orange Pork Chop and stuffing $1.37
Snack: Chocolate that was a Christmas gift
Later snack: Granola bar 26 cents
Dinner: Hamburger Helper and Orange 58 cents
Total: $2.62
______________________
Sweet Jebus, running on the treadmill is not the devil! My very most awesome friend Office Space, Christmas gifted (I hate it when people say gifted. Why is "gave" not good enough anymore?) me a few weeks at her work gym. I meant to be all tough and winter-brave, but then it snowed and I wienied out. Playing chicken with the oncoming traffic and bailing into a dirty pile of frozen slush at the last possible minute may get your heart rate going, but it's not my idea of a fun workout.
______________________
I finished knitting my scarf and I got my very own harmonica and how-to-play-harmonica book from Brother as an early birthday present. I'm pretty good!--but not really. However, if we have to move into a boxcar and warm ourselves by building fires in trash cans, I'm ready to provide our soundtrack!
______________________
My car died at the stoplight on my way to work yesterday. Surprisingly, no one honked. Husband and Police Officer gave it a little push 'round the corner. Can I count steering and braking with no power steering or power brakes as a workout? Long story short--a $64 tow and sitting in an attached garage for 10 hours and it starts. No diagnosis has been made because Husband and Father-In-Law disagree and, come on, there is a good possibility that neither of them is right anyway.
______________________
It's snowing today so I came home early. I had to stop by the grocery store for bread and milk but then I didn't want to look like one of these assholes who runs to the grocery store for bread and milk every time it snows so I bought some other stuff we didn't need but it was on sale and we will use it. So that was pretty much of a fail for the freezer/pantry project. And? I'm still an asshole for going to the store for bread and milk. And? If you're one of those people who goes to the store for bread and milk when it snows, you're not an asshole. But if you're one of those people who wanders around and blocks the whole aisle while people are just trying get their bread and milk, you are an asshole.
______________________
Oh, did I fess up yet to buying that peanut butter for less than $1/jar? Because I totally did it. The sale was supposed to be over when I went to the grocery store for milk and other perishables but it was still on. I can't be held responsible for my actions. We have five full jars of peanut butter in our pantry now. I guess I'll just be eating a lot of peanut butter from now until it's gone. Now accepting your peanut butter recipes.
______________________
Husband just went to the grocery store to get apple cider and came home with two cases of bottled water (There are only three situations that individual-sized bottles of water are acceptable in my book: 1. If you're in Mexico fighting drug lords. 2. If you're wandering along the desert and come across a vending machine of water bottles. 3. Never.), a four pack of root beer, a frozen pizza, a 12 pack of Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper, and apple cider. Ok, so: A. Not so cheap honey and B. But, that's ok because VINDICATION! And to think I felt bad about buying stuff to make chili.
----------
Today I'm chowing down on:
Breakfast: 2 waffles (one was free, my parents brought box of waffles when they came over for breakfast on Monday), banana, peanut butter 41 cents
Lunch: Orange Pork Chop and stuffing $1.37
Snack: Chocolate that was a Christmas gift
Later snack: Granola bar 26 cents
Dinner: Hamburger Helper and Orange 58 cents
Total: $2.62
Thursday, January 13, 2011
Elastic Recipe: The Crap Food Edition
Gourmet food, this is not. It's not even good food. If you want that today, go check out my friend Lauren's new blog. Rest assured, she's always cooking something good and healthy. Not me...
This evening, during my commute, I really started thinking about phoning in dinner. I mean really phoning it in. Well, not really--I'm not much for picking up the phone and ordering pizza or Chinese. That takes too much thought. No, I'm talking about hitting the drive-thru. I wanted bad food and I wanted it stat. No one would even be home to catch my binge as Husband is watching a movie for the second time just so his brother would go see it in the theater. I was debating over whose fries and burgers I wanted most and if there'd be room left over for a shake. I even opened my wallet at a stop light and thumbed through my available cash.
But in the end I steered my car towards home and cooked crap food. Just call this my week of box food. Tuesday was Stove Top and today is Hamburger Helper.What? It was on sale and I had a coupon.
If you're making Hamburger Helper (God forbid) and you're only following the directions on the box, you're missing out on a world on wonderful. You can't just eat it as is unless you're four. I mean, I've had four-year-olds tell me that Chef Boyardee is "Damn Good Stuff." I was babysitting at the time and probably should have reprimanded him but it was all I could do to get out of the room before laughing. What? He wasn't my kid. Point being: you can't trust a four-year-old's taste buds and if you're going to eat Hamburger Helper (or any of the Helper family) at least pretend to zazz it up. Also you don't want that white glove guy telling you what to do.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with the decision to skip the drive-thru. My craving for junk is satisfied and the cooking part was much more relaxing than driving to the drive-thru and waiting in line for the privilege to pay for "food." Also? This counts as part of the pantry/freezer project because I had everything on hand already.
This isn't so much a recipe as My Guide to Zazzy Helper.
Step 1:(I accidentally published right there. First time ever.) Get Helper. Wait until a sale/coupon combo. There is plenty of other cheaper crap you can buy in the meantime. What about the private label kinds? I don't know, but it can't get much worse, right?
Step 2: Cook your meat...or don't. This is the first and second-best place to take liberties with Mr. White Glove. You don't need a pound of meat, you don't have to use the meat they tell you to. Last time I used a mixture of cooked chicken and turkey for a chicken one. This time I used 1/4 pound hamburger and 4 or 5 slices of bacon. You can also use a mixture of ground meet and bulgur or other cooked grain. Or beans or tofu. Or veg you want to sautee like onions or peppers or mushrooms. Or skip this step all together.
Step 3: Mix in the noodles or rice and liquid and powder stuff. This is when I also make extra rice or noodles to stir in at the end. There is usually plenty of sauce/flavoring to support extra noodles or rice.
Step 4: Add in some more vegetables. Zazz it up! Priority number one for liberty taking. Sneak those vegetables past Mr. White Glove! Add anything you want sauteed with the meat (as I mentioned before). Add anything frozen or that you need boiled while you're cooking the noodles/rice. Add canned stuff or greens after the cooking is over.
Step 5: Eat it up!
Costs
Hamburger Helper was 75 cents.
Quarter pound of hamburger was 50 cents
Bacon was 60 cents
Onion was 20 cents
Milk was 48 cents
Broccoli was 33 cents
Tomatoes were 50 cents
Extra pasta was free (coupon)
Total $3.36. Way less than an extra value meal. With all the additions this could easily make 8 servings so 42 cents per serving.
________________________
Breakfast: Peanut Butter on Toast 27 cents
Snack: Granola Bar 25 cents
Lunch: Orange Glazed Pork Chops $1.37
Snack: Yogurt with Blueberries and Banana 83 cents
Dinner: Zazz-burger Helper 42 cents
Total: $3.14
This evening, during my commute, I really started thinking about phoning in dinner. I mean really phoning it in. Well, not really--I'm not much for picking up the phone and ordering pizza or Chinese. That takes too much thought. No, I'm talking about hitting the drive-thru. I wanted bad food and I wanted it stat. No one would even be home to catch my binge as Husband is watching a movie for the second time just so his brother would go see it in the theater. I was debating over whose fries and burgers I wanted most and if there'd be room left over for a shake. I even opened my wallet at a stop light and thumbed through my available cash.
But in the end I steered my car towards home and cooked crap food. Just call this my week of box food. Tuesday was Stove Top and today is Hamburger Helper.What? It was on sale and I had a coupon.
If you're making Hamburger Helper (God forbid) and you're only following the directions on the box, you're missing out on a world on wonderful. You can't just eat it as is unless you're four. I mean, I've had four-year-olds tell me that Chef Boyardee is "Damn Good Stuff." I was babysitting at the time and probably should have reprimanded him but it was all I could do to get out of the room before laughing. What? He wasn't my kid. Point being: you can't trust a four-year-old's taste buds and if you're going to eat Hamburger Helper (or any of the Helper family) at least pretend to zazz it up. Also you don't want that white glove guy telling you what to do.
In the end, I'm pretty happy with the decision to skip the drive-thru. My craving for junk is satisfied and the cooking part was much more relaxing than driving to the drive-thru and waiting in line for the privilege to pay for "food." Also? This counts as part of the pantry/freezer project because I had everything on hand already.
This isn't so much a recipe as My Guide to Zazzy Helper.
Step 1:(I accidentally published right there. First time ever.) Get Helper. Wait until a sale/coupon combo. There is plenty of other cheaper crap you can buy in the meantime. What about the private label kinds? I don't know, but it can't get much worse, right?
Step 2: Cook your meat...or don't. This is the first and second-best place to take liberties with Mr. White Glove. You don't need a pound of meat, you don't have to use the meat they tell you to. Last time I used a mixture of cooked chicken and turkey for a chicken one. This time I used 1/4 pound hamburger and 4 or 5 slices of bacon. You can also use a mixture of ground meet and bulgur or other cooked grain. Or beans or tofu. Or veg you want to sautee like onions or peppers or mushrooms. Or skip this step all together.
Step 3: Mix in the noodles or rice and liquid and powder stuff. This is when I also make extra rice or noodles to stir in at the end. There is usually plenty of sauce/flavoring to support extra noodles or rice.
Step 4: Add in some more vegetables. Zazz it up! Priority number one for liberty taking. Sneak those vegetables past Mr. White Glove! Add anything you want sauteed with the meat (as I mentioned before). Add anything frozen or that you need boiled while you're cooking the noodles/rice. Add canned stuff or greens after the cooking is over.
Step 5: Eat it up!
Costs
Hamburger Helper was 75 cents.
Quarter pound of hamburger was 50 cents
Bacon was 60 cents
Onion was 20 cents
Milk was 48 cents
Broccoli was 33 cents
Tomatoes were 50 cents
Extra pasta was free (coupon)
Total $3.36. Way less than an extra value meal. With all the additions this could easily make 8 servings so 42 cents per serving.
________________________
Breakfast: Peanut Butter on Toast 27 cents
Snack: Granola Bar 25 cents
Lunch: Orange Glazed Pork Chops $1.37
Snack: Yogurt with Blueberries and Banana 83 cents
Dinner: Zazz-burger Helper 42 cents
Total: $3.14
Wednesday, January 12, 2011
Hello, Four-Eyes
As soon as I started this blog and squeezing my nickels tighter, I thought, "you know what, I should wear my glasses more often." Mostly because I was almost out of contacts and didn't want to go the optometrist to choose between A and B for a reaffirmation that my prescription is ok. I'm really bad at making up my mind between all those choices. Better A or better B is hard enough--but then sometimes they throw C in the mix, too.
I'd also had some washed hippie pangs of guilt about all the trash I threw away with contacts. The boxes, little plastic containers, solution plastic jugs and the plastic around the squeeze cap and the boxes they come in. And then the solution always comes with a new plastic case. And sometimes I'd flush my contacts down the toilet--what if I choked a baby fish?
In the end it was a huge adjustment for my eyes. It hurt so much that I had at least one aborted attempt at switching over to glasses. The first few days--or a week even--it hurt to not have those thin parabolas of plastic covering my eyes. I started not wearing my contacts over the holidays, when I had more time off and less time being forced to stare at a computer screen. It took about a full week or maybe more to get over the burning and watering eyes. At first I thought that I'd ruined my eyes permanently. And then there were the times that my vision blurred or I could see better without my glasses. That was weird. Just don't make me chop an onion or mince garlic, I no longer have my eye protection to keep the tears at bay.
Thankfully, everything's fine now and I'm rocking my smart-girl disguise. I won't stay away from contacts forever and I do need to go get my eyes checked. But I'll probably put it off a little while longer while I save up some money. Maybe "smart-girl" isn't a disguise after all...
__________________
Breakfast: Tortilla, Peanut Butter & Banana 32 cents
Lunch: Einstein's Soup I'm pretty sure that this is the most inexpensive lunch you can get within walking distance of my office. You get a bagel with it so it's pretty filling. Our refrigerator and microwave were out of commission today. About $3.25
Dinner: Orange Glazed Pork Chops. $1.37
Total: $4.94
I'd also had some washed hippie pangs of guilt about all the trash I threw away with contacts. The boxes, little plastic containers, solution plastic jugs and the plastic around the squeeze cap and the boxes they come in. And then the solution always comes with a new plastic case. And sometimes I'd flush my contacts down the toilet--what if I choked a baby fish?
In the end it was a huge adjustment for my eyes. It hurt so much that I had at least one aborted attempt at switching over to glasses. The first few days--or a week even--it hurt to not have those thin parabolas of plastic covering my eyes. I started not wearing my contacts over the holidays, when I had more time off and less time being forced to stare at a computer screen. It took about a full week or maybe more to get over the burning and watering eyes. At first I thought that I'd ruined my eyes permanently. And then there were the times that my vision blurred or I could see better without my glasses. That was weird. Just don't make me chop an onion or mince garlic, I no longer have my eye protection to keep the tears at bay.
Thankfully, everything's fine now and I'm rocking my smart-girl disguise. I won't stay away from contacts forever and I do need to go get my eyes checked. But I'll probably put it off a little while longer while I save up some money. Maybe "smart-girl" isn't a disguise after all...
__________________
Breakfast: Tortilla, Peanut Butter & Banana 32 cents
Lunch: Einstein's Soup I'm pretty sure that this is the most inexpensive lunch you can get within walking distance of my office. You get a bagel with it so it's pretty filling. Our refrigerator and microwave were out of commission today. About $3.25
Dinner: Orange Glazed Pork Chops. $1.37
Total: $4.94
Tuesday, January 11, 2011
Stove Top Stuffing
I found the recipe years ago, back when I was in college. I'm not completely sure why I was looking at Stove Top Stuffing boxes. I never remember eating Stove Top as a kid and it's not the kind of thing that you're drawn to, you know. I don't think you wander the grocery store aisles and are suddenly stopped dead in your tracks by a row of gleaming red boxes calling out "Chicken!" "Pork!" "Turkey!" "Cornbread!" And can you ever photograph stuffing so it looks appealing? Also? I've never cooked it on the stove-top.
So anyway, I was looking at a box of "Pork!" Stove Top one day almost 10 years ago and found this little recipe. It's a surprisingly tasty way to zazz up some pork chops. I made it for my college roommates. Then I made it for my parents. It made its way into the "Recipes We Have Tried and Enjoyed Compiled with Love by Mom" cookbook my mom made for me and Brother. And now, I've made it for Husband "What are you doing with that? Why are you mixing THAT with THAT? What IS that?...Hmm, this tastes pretty good." And it was all part of my pantry/freezer clean-out.
Orange-Glazed Pork Chops
1 package stuffing mix for pork 77 cents Thanksgiving is a good time to find this cheap.
1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained and chopped $1.97
1/4 cup butter, cut up 28 cents
4 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick $3.20
1/3 cup orange marmalade 42 cents
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard like 19 cents, maybe?
Mix stuffing mix, 1 1/2 cups hot water, oranges, butter until moistened; set aside.
Spoon stuffing into a 12x8 baking dish. Top with chops (My chops were very thick so I had to de-bone them and halve them. They were beautiful and any self-respecting red-blooded American would have thrown them on the grill or something else that sounds carnivorous. Just call me a commie.)
Mix marmalade and mustard; spread on chops. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until chops are cooked through.
Total: $6.38 This was a meat heavy dinner for us--something like I would have had as a kid when dinner wasn't dinner unless it was a hunk of meat and some potatoes. Something green? If you must, but we preferred corn.
This was about 5 servings, especially because I cut the (now four) chops into smaller pieces. So total per serving was $1.37.
__________
What I ate today:
Breakfast I had a work breakfast. You want to know something weird. I've never expensed a work breakfast before. I've never thought to do so until today...maybe I will but with coffee it cost $5.75 If I made it at home it would have cost $1.26.
Lunch Grilled turkey & cheese and chicken broth (Just so you know, I count chicken broth as free because I make it from leftovers that are costed out already--like chicken bones and leek tops. Also the cheese was free because sometimes I sign up to get free stuff from the webs. Downside, Chase is adamant that I need a new credit card.) 43 cents
Snack: Lep Cookie free from Mom for Christmas (They've been in the fridge and are neither stale nor moldy.)
Dinner In-Laws are taking us out to eat for Husband's birthday, which happens to be today. Woot, 1/11/11!
Total: $6.18
So anyway, I was looking at a box of "Pork!" Stove Top one day almost 10 years ago and found this little recipe. It's a surprisingly tasty way to zazz up some pork chops. I made it for my college roommates. Then I made it for my parents. It made its way into the "Recipes We Have Tried and Enjoyed Compiled with Love by Mom" cookbook my mom made for me and Brother. And now, I've made it for Husband "What are you doing with that? Why are you mixing THAT with THAT? What IS that?...Hmm, this tastes pretty good." And it was all part of my pantry/freezer clean-out.
Orange-Glazed Pork Chops
1 package stuffing mix for pork 77 cents Thanksgiving is a good time to find this cheap.
1 11 oz can mandarin oranges, drained and chopped $1.97
1/4 cup butter, cut up 28 cents
4 pork chops, 1/2 inch thick $3.20
1/3 cup orange marmalade 42 cents
1 tablespoon Dijon Mustard like 19 cents, maybe?
Mix stuffing mix, 1 1/2 cups hot water, oranges, butter until moistened; set aside.
Spoon stuffing into a 12x8 baking dish. Top with chops (My chops were very thick so I had to de-bone them and halve them. They were beautiful and any self-respecting red-blooded American would have thrown them on the grill or something else that sounds carnivorous. Just call me a commie.)
Mix marmalade and mustard; spread on chops. Bake at 375 degrees for 40 minutes or until chops are cooked through.
Total: $6.38 This was a meat heavy dinner for us--something like I would have had as a kid when dinner wasn't dinner unless it was a hunk of meat and some potatoes. Something green? If you must, but we preferred corn.
This was about 5 servings, especially because I cut the (now four) chops into smaller pieces. So total per serving was $1.37.
__________
What I ate today:
Breakfast I had a work breakfast. You want to know something weird. I've never expensed a work breakfast before. I've never thought to do so until today...maybe I will but with coffee it cost $5.75 If I made it at home it would have cost $1.26.
Lunch Grilled turkey & cheese and chicken broth (Just so you know, I count chicken broth as free because I make it from leftovers that are costed out already--like chicken bones and leek tops. Also the cheese was free because sometimes I sign up to get free stuff from the webs. Downside, Chase is adamant that I need a new credit card.) 43 cents
Snack: Lep Cookie free from Mom for Christmas (They've been in the fridge and are neither stale nor moldy.)
Dinner In-Laws are taking us out to eat for Husband's birthday, which happens to be today. Woot, 1/11/11!
Total: $6.18
Monday, January 10, 2011
Getting Back to Normal
The holidays are, for most--if you're very lucky, a time of indulgence. We eat a little more, we spend a little more, we have a little more bourbon in our glass. I noticed, this holiday especially, that it was more difficult getting back to "normal" than I'd hoped. And, (thanks so much for sharing this) I'm not alone. Whatever commented this week how difficult it was for her to get back to her rules and goals following the holiday splurge. I felt relieved that I wasn't the only one.
Here's what happened to me: On 28th I went to Target for two items, eyeshadow and dishwasher detergent. But as I walked into the store, I fell prey to every marketing ploy that box stores use. Dollar items near the door? Maybe there's something I could use. Purses and wallets on sale? Maybe these will help me be better organized. After all, the Christmas cash was burning a hole in my pocket. I needed to spend it on something, stat.
I picked up a number of items, walked around with them and shopped some more. Then I came to my senses. Purses and wallets weren't why I came into Target. Yes, I'd been considering buying a new wallet for months now, but I don't really need one. Nor did I need a Christmas t-shirt. Or more socks. They were just frivolous impulses that I swore off a couple months ago--years ago, in fact.
For me to give in to my rationalizations to buy, would further erode the rules I've established about spending. And the more I erode those rules, the easier it is to break them in the future. That's really why I had trouble in the first place. I'd spent the days leading up to and following Christmas buying things I didn't really need. That $8.99 shirt from J.C. Penney that I wrapped and put under the tree with Husband's and Step-Daughter's name in the "From" line, that second box of Christmas chocolates on sale for half-price after Christmas, that magazine I'm always tempted by but never satisfied with...they were just things, yet they'd managed to disrupt my normal routines and bleed into my non-holiday life.
There are some Christmas splurges I wouldn't give up, though, just to satisfy my rules (but I would give them up if I had to choose between them and heat for the house, of course.). Most notably, the Christmas cookies and ice cream ingredients. If we didn't have them, what would we leave for Santa. Some traditions, especially those that are limited to a few short years, transcend rules.
Oh, and I managed to make it out of Target relatively unscathed. What can I say? I was hungry for Hot Pockets! I guess my new rule is to always have something cheesy at home and ready to eat.
_________
Today was not a banner day to restart my food log. Snow day for step-daughter coupled with paying for babysitting with Taco Bell and bribing my husband with junk food to drive me somewhere equals big spendy day.
Breakfast: Oatmeal, peanut butter & banana A great start at 28 cents
Snack: On sale holiday shape cookies 8 cents
Lunch: Gas station hot dot I'm so ashamed $1
Dinner: Taco Bell $2.98
Total: $4.34
Here's what happened to me: On 28th I went to Target for two items, eyeshadow and dishwasher detergent. But as I walked into the store, I fell prey to every marketing ploy that box stores use. Dollar items near the door? Maybe there's something I could use. Purses and wallets on sale? Maybe these will help me be better organized. After all, the Christmas cash was burning a hole in my pocket. I needed to spend it on something, stat.
I picked up a number of items, walked around with them and shopped some more. Then I came to my senses. Purses and wallets weren't why I came into Target. Yes, I'd been considering buying a new wallet for months now, but I don't really need one. Nor did I need a Christmas t-shirt. Or more socks. They were just frivolous impulses that I swore off a couple months ago--years ago, in fact.
For me to give in to my rationalizations to buy, would further erode the rules I've established about spending. And the more I erode those rules, the easier it is to break them in the future. That's really why I had trouble in the first place. I'd spent the days leading up to and following Christmas buying things I didn't really need. That $8.99 shirt from J.C. Penney that I wrapped and put under the tree with Husband's and Step-Daughter's name in the "From" line, that second box of Christmas chocolates on sale for half-price after Christmas, that magazine I'm always tempted by but never satisfied with...they were just things, yet they'd managed to disrupt my normal routines and bleed into my non-holiday life.
There are some Christmas splurges I wouldn't give up, though, just to satisfy my rules (but I would give them up if I had to choose between them and heat for the house, of course.). Most notably, the Christmas cookies and ice cream ingredients. If we didn't have them, what would we leave for Santa. Some traditions, especially those that are limited to a few short years, transcend rules.
Oh, and I managed to make it out of Target relatively unscathed. What can I say? I was hungry for Hot Pockets! I guess my new rule is to always have something cheesy at home and ready to eat.
_________
Today was not a banner day to restart my food log. Snow day for step-daughter coupled with paying for babysitting with Taco Bell and bribing my husband with junk food to drive me somewhere equals big spendy day.
Breakfast: Oatmeal, peanut butter & banana A great start at 28 cents
Snack: On sale holiday shape cookies 8 cents
Lunch: Gas station hot dot I'm so ashamed $1
Dinner: Taco Bell $2.98
Total: $4.34
Friday, January 7, 2011
I'm Having Grocery Store Withdrawal and It's Killing Me!!
If you've read much of this blog, you know that I love the grocery store. It is my retail therapy. I like to go at least once a week, sometimes more. I got really thrown off over the holidays because my weekly run was disrupted and I'd just pop in and pick up what we needed rather than going through the whole ritual of sitting down with the grocery store flier and plotting out my scheme to take over the world with my shrewd manipulations of "limit one per customer" rules. I haven't even been for a "pop in" visit since December 30.
I started jonesing really badly when the flier came last week. Peter Pan peanut butter for less than $1 per jar. LESS THAN $1!!! Should I go buy some? Never mind that we have 2 unopened jars and 2 opened jars in the cabinet. WE EAT THAT KIND OF PEANUT BUTTER.
Then I started making up excuses to go. I need gas, there is a discount if you bring in your grocery store receipt. I NEED TO SHOP AT THE GROCERY STORE OR ELSE I CAN'T BUY GAS.
I couldn't even make up an excuse that we needed some fresh produce because Office Space gave me some delicious FFA fruit. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I feel sorry for you. Maybe we can't be friends anymore. Unless you ply me with free fruit, that is.)
In the end, it's for the best. After all, if I don't go to the grocery store, I can't spend money on impulse purchases. (OH MY GOD, I'M TOTALLY MISSING OUT ON THE BEST DEALS EVER!) Plus I can follow through on that promise to myself to eat through our freezer and pantry. (BUT THE MEAT! IT'S ON SALE! CHICKEN IS 79 CENTS A POUND! WE DON'T HAVE ANY CHICKEN IN THE FREEZER ANYMORE!)
In the end, everything will be just fine. After all, we'll need more milk eventually. (Keep repeating that to yourself, rocking back and forth, curled up into the fetal position. Just fine.)
________________________
I'm probably going to have to go back to the grocery store this weekend as we don't have the usual suspect ingredients for Step-Daughter's lunch. In actuality, the last run I made was on 12/30--not much time has passed but it seems like forever to me. Also, I've decided to start a list of everything I've made since 12/30 that uses only the ingredients in our house. Here goes:
Erik Estrada
Chicken Fried Rice Hamburger Helper with some extra veg and rice but no eggs
Shrimp and broccoli penne alfredo
Sausage nacho dip
Smitten granola bars
A stock pot of chicken broth
Orange glazed pork chops and stuffing
I'll add to this list as I go and I'll let you know when I make another pantry-clearing dish.
As for my food cost daily totals--they're coming back next week.
I started jonesing really badly when the flier came last week. Peter Pan peanut butter for less than $1 per jar. LESS THAN $1!!! Should I go buy some? Never mind that we have 2 unopened jars and 2 opened jars in the cabinet. WE EAT THAT KIND OF PEANUT BUTTER.
Then I started making up excuses to go. I need gas, there is a discount if you bring in your grocery store receipt. I NEED TO SHOP AT THE GROCERY STORE OR ELSE I CAN'T BUY GAS.
I couldn't even make up an excuse that we needed some fresh produce because Office Space gave me some delicious FFA fruit. (If you don't know what I'm talking about, I feel sorry for you. Maybe we can't be friends anymore. Unless you ply me with free fruit, that is.)
In the end, it's for the best. After all, if I don't go to the grocery store, I can't spend money on impulse purchases. (OH MY GOD, I'M TOTALLY MISSING OUT ON THE BEST DEALS EVER!) Plus I can follow through on that promise to myself to eat through our freezer and pantry. (BUT THE MEAT! IT'S ON SALE! CHICKEN IS 79 CENTS A POUND! WE DON'T HAVE ANY CHICKEN IN THE FREEZER ANYMORE!)
In the end, everything will be just fine. After all, we'll need more milk eventually. (Keep repeating that to yourself, rocking back and forth, curled up into the fetal position. Just fine.)
________________________
I'm probably going to have to go back to the grocery store this weekend as we don't have the usual suspect ingredients for Step-Daughter's lunch. In actuality, the last run I made was on 12/30--not much time has passed but it seems like forever to me. Also, I've decided to start a list of everything I've made since 12/30 that uses only the ingredients in our house. Here goes:
Erik Estrada
Chicken Fried Rice Hamburger Helper with some extra veg and rice but no eggs
Shrimp and broccoli penne alfredo
Sausage nacho dip
Smitten granola bars
A stock pot of chicken broth
Orange glazed pork chops and stuffing
I'll add to this list as I go and I'll let you know when I make another pantry-clearing dish.
As for my food cost daily totals--they're coming back next week.
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Erik Estrada
SimpliFried launched this week. It's a sister blog to Unclutterer. I'm looking forward to following this blog for awhile to see what kind of advice and delicious dishes they come up with.
One of the first posts on the SimpliFried blog is "Elastic Recipes"--ones that are generic enough to incorporate whatever is on special at the grocery store or left in your fridge or freezer. This is a topic I've been thinking about for awhile, so in honor of the SimpliFried launch and my first recipe post of 2011, I'm posting one of my elastic recipes: Erik Estrada.
I love stratas. You can make them ahead of time and warm them up. I always have breakfast when I arrive at work so I want my morning prep to be grab-and-go before I leave the house. Let's face it, I'm usually running late, so whatever I grab for food for the day has to be quick. Plus, stratas feel more like a celebration--a fancy brunch dish--than a granola bar. They are hearty and the aroma of them warming in the microwave makes all of my coworkers jealous because Erik Estrada is all mine.
And Erik Estrada is very flexible. He has a few basic needs: eggs, milk and bread. Beyond that you can dress him up or strip him down as much as you like. (We're still talking about food, not a television motorcycle-riding member of the California Highway Patrol. Quit being gross!)
I can't find the strata recipe I used for my base, but I remember it pretty well. (I think). Anyway, there are lots of recipes for strata online that you can consult if you think the proportions or bake time are off on this.
Flexible Erik Estrada
10-12 slices of bread, cubed. Whenever we get down to the heels, I throw them in the freezer. Same thing with bread that is getting stale or has been around too long. I planned to use it for stuffing/dressing but I used it all for the strata. This was taking up a lot of space in my freezer! What I used was a mix of homemade bread and store-bought heels, but for argument sake we'll call this 72 cents.
A dozen eggs. I had 10 eggs. Luckily, I had a carton of egg whites that had the equivalent of 2 eggs left in it. I uncluttered my fridge and freezer with just one recipe! This time at the grocery store there wasn't a sale so this cost about 2.04.
2 cups half and half. I used a 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream that was leftover from Christmas Ice Cream and 1 1/2 cups of milk. Just milk would be fine and it would cost 48 cents.
1/4 cup bacon. Here is where the fun starts. Just use any meat you'd like. Use however much you'd like--within reason. We have some leftover ham that I wish I'd used. Don't like meat? Don't use it. I used 4 strips of bacon. It cost about 60 cents.
2 cups shredded cheese. Again, use any you'd like and as much as you'd like. $1.28
Can of mushrooms, drained. I don't know what it called for, but I used mushrooms. Here you can use whatever you want. Use up whatever isn't going to last too long in the fridge. Cook up some onion and pepper. Pop in some roasted asparagus. Open up your freezer and use the last bits of broccoli, spinach or corn that is lingering. Lots of possibilities--Erik Estrada loves him some vegetables. 69 cents
Ok. best as I remember, you mix up the bread, meat, cheese, and veg and dump it into a greased 9 x 13. If you've got a small house like me, maybe cut this recipe in half. I've been chewing on Erik Estrada every morning for a week.
Whisk up the eggs and milk. If you've opted for soft cheese, you can whisk it in here. If you want to get fancy with your pantry, throw in some spices or herbs. Salt and pepper are always good options.
Pour the eggs over the bread. Refrigerate for a while. Overnight would be best. Bread gotta soak up them eggs otherwise it's just the old, stale freezer-burned shit you had cluttering up your freezer.
Bake in a 350 oven for like an hour I think. If it gets too brown, cover it with foil. If it gets too smelly, you're probably done baking. Check the middle and if it's not runny, you're probably done. Remember, I said probably. If you get salmonella, it's not my fault. It's Erik Estrada's. Maybe you can get some of that money he made for being on The Surreal Life with Ron Jeremy and Vanilla Ice.
Let your Estrada sit about 10 minutes. Then dig in! It's better than the critically acclaimed telenovela Dos Mujeres, Un Camino.
Total cost: $5.81. This could probably serve 12 so total per serving is about 48 centavos.
One of the first posts on the SimpliFried blog is "Elastic Recipes"--ones that are generic enough to incorporate whatever is on special at the grocery store or left in your fridge or freezer. This is a topic I've been thinking about for awhile, so in honor of the SimpliFried launch and my first recipe post of 2011, I'm posting one of my elastic recipes: Erik Estrada.
I love stratas. You can make them ahead of time and warm them up. I always have breakfast when I arrive at work so I want my morning prep to be grab-and-go before I leave the house. Let's face it, I'm usually running late, so whatever I grab for food for the day has to be quick. Plus, stratas feel more like a celebration--a fancy brunch dish--than a granola bar. They are hearty and the aroma of them warming in the microwave makes all of my coworkers jealous because Erik Estrada is all mine.
And Erik Estrada is very flexible. He has a few basic needs: eggs, milk and bread. Beyond that you can dress him up or strip him down as much as you like. (We're still talking about food, not a television motorcycle-riding member of the California Highway Patrol. Quit being gross!)
I can't find the strata recipe I used for my base, but I remember it pretty well. (I think). Anyway, there are lots of recipes for strata online that you can consult if you think the proportions or bake time are off on this.
Flexible Erik Estrada
10-12 slices of bread, cubed. Whenever we get down to the heels, I throw them in the freezer. Same thing with bread that is getting stale or has been around too long. I planned to use it for stuffing/dressing but I used it all for the strata. This was taking up a lot of space in my freezer! What I used was a mix of homemade bread and store-bought heels, but for argument sake we'll call this 72 cents.
A dozen eggs. I had 10 eggs. Luckily, I had a carton of egg whites that had the equivalent of 2 eggs left in it. I uncluttered my fridge and freezer with just one recipe! This time at the grocery store there wasn't a sale so this cost about 2.04.
2 cups half and half. I used a 1/2 cup heavy whipping cream that was leftover from Christmas Ice Cream and 1 1/2 cups of milk. Just milk would be fine and it would cost 48 cents.
1/4 cup bacon. Here is where the fun starts. Just use any meat you'd like. Use however much you'd like--within reason. We have some leftover ham that I wish I'd used. Don't like meat? Don't use it. I used 4 strips of bacon. It cost about 60 cents.
2 cups shredded cheese. Again, use any you'd like and as much as you'd like. $1.28
Can of mushrooms, drained. I don't know what it called for, but I used mushrooms. Here you can use whatever you want. Use up whatever isn't going to last too long in the fridge. Cook up some onion and pepper. Pop in some roasted asparagus. Open up your freezer and use the last bits of broccoli, spinach or corn that is lingering. Lots of possibilities--Erik Estrada loves him some vegetables. 69 cents
Ok. best as I remember, you mix up the bread, meat, cheese, and veg and dump it into a greased 9 x 13. If you've got a small house like me, maybe cut this recipe in half. I've been chewing on Erik Estrada every morning for a week.
Whisk up the eggs and milk. If you've opted for soft cheese, you can whisk it in here. If you want to get fancy with your pantry, throw in some spices or herbs. Salt and pepper are always good options.
Pour the eggs over the bread. Refrigerate for a while. Overnight would be best. Bread gotta soak up them eggs otherwise it's just the old, stale freezer-burned shit you had cluttering up your freezer.
Bake in a 350 oven for like an hour I think. If it gets too brown, cover it with foil. If it gets too smelly, you're probably done baking. Check the middle and if it's not runny, you're probably done. Remember, I said probably. If you get salmonella, it's not my fault. It's Erik Estrada's. Maybe you can get some of that money he made for being on The Surreal Life with Ron Jeremy and Vanilla Ice.
Let your Estrada sit about 10 minutes. Then dig in! It's better than the critically acclaimed telenovela Dos Mujeres, Un Camino.
Total cost: $5.81. This could probably serve 12 so total per serving is about 48 centavos.
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
It's an Affirmation, Not an Excuse: Starting the New Year Right
A couple weeks ago, I Googled "I can't afford it." A lot of the sites that came up in response to the query admonished readers against saying "I can't afford it." The argument being that it's a question of priorities and that most people can afford most things, if they choose to do so. "Focus on the positive" the websites seemed to say. "Don't wallow in a negatively-framed excuse." Saying "I can't afford it" is on par with that most dirty of phrases to our self-affirmation-soaked culture, "I can't."
But for me, "I can't afford it" is an affirmation. Before I can explain that, I need to explain that the way I use the phrase is as a short-cut way to make a decision. (Much like turning in a straight party ticket on voting day because you didn't have all the time you wished to investigate the candidates.) It seems like we have more decisions to make than ever. Think about shampoo, for instance. In the Target where I do most of my shopping, the shampoo and conditioner spill over into multiple aisles. There is the regular discount-store aisle, the up-scale salon products aisle and the all natural sections. And most brands have five or more different options to choose from. In reality, one soap could suffice for most everything you can imagine. Marketing. The shampoo aisle(s) is all about marketing and if you investigated all your options, you could waste hours choosing something to clean the collection of dead cells that hangs from your head.
For me, saying "I can't afford it" and choosing the cheapest option is just as valid of a decision-making shortcut as is brand loyalty or however else you select a shampoo.Similarly, the phrase allows me to set up "rules" to follow that help me to achieve more of my goals. Is it absolutely true to say that I can't afford cable tv or a parking pass or a massage? No way! But if I choose those things, I can't choose to get a new laptop or hot water heater. If I choose to buy lunch every day I work or hit the fast-food joint on the way home, I can't achieve my goal of saving more money.
And I don't see that as a negative thing. I may have grumbled in the past and I'm sure I'll grumble in the future, but being able to rely on the short-cut "I can't afford it" frees me from having to make a choice or use some other justification.
So call me lazy for having a fall-back phrase, but I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone-it, I can't afford it.
But for me, "I can't afford it" is an affirmation. Before I can explain that, I need to explain that the way I use the phrase is as a short-cut way to make a decision. (Much like turning in a straight party ticket on voting day because you didn't have all the time you wished to investigate the candidates.) It seems like we have more decisions to make than ever. Think about shampoo, for instance. In the Target where I do most of my shopping, the shampoo and conditioner spill over into multiple aisles. There is the regular discount-store aisle, the up-scale salon products aisle and the all natural sections. And most brands have five or more different options to choose from. In reality, one soap could suffice for most everything you can imagine. Marketing. The shampoo aisle(s) is all about marketing and if you investigated all your options, you could waste hours choosing something to clean the collection of dead cells that hangs from your head.
For me, saying "I can't afford it" and choosing the cheapest option is just as valid of a decision-making shortcut as is brand loyalty or however else you select a shampoo.Similarly, the phrase allows me to set up "rules" to follow that help me to achieve more of my goals. Is it absolutely true to say that I can't afford cable tv or a parking pass or a massage? No way! But if I choose those things, I can't choose to get a new laptop or hot water heater. If I choose to buy lunch every day I work or hit the fast-food joint on the way home, I can't achieve my goal of saving more money.
And I don't see that as a negative thing. I may have grumbled in the past and I'm sure I'll grumble in the future, but being able to rely on the short-cut "I can't afford it" frees me from having to make a choice or use some other justification.
So call me lazy for having a fall-back phrase, but I'm good enough, I'm smart enough, and doggone-it, I can't afford it.
Saturday, January 1, 2011
Resolute
This is a long post about my resolutions. Feel free to skip it. Edit: You guys! I totally manipulated the code in the dumb looking button over there to redirect you to my resolution-tracker tool thingy! In html code! I feel smart--undeservedly so because it was pretty easy! Bla-dow!
Apparently, people have been making resolutions since time immemorial. Perhaps they were making good on a debt because it was the equinox or making promises to the gods on the winter solstice. No word on how far back the practice of breaking resolutions goes, but I'd guess it goes back as far as does the tradition of making resolutions. According to this article, a 1997 University of Washington study showed that 47% of Americans who make resolutions give up within two months. I'd guess another 40-50% of Americans who participated in the study were either lying or deluded themselves into thinking they were still on track with their resolutions. I can't even remember what resolutions I made last year to know if I followed them or not.
But, I'm still a sucker for fresh starts. Whether it is January or September (I still get the "new school year" push of optimism, despite not having been in school for awhile.), the first day of the quarter or the month, I feel a sense of promise. What I'm saying is, I'll always make resolutions. That's part of the planner in me. I'll even think through a plan of how to stick with them. The trick is in the follow-through.
Before I can even start to make a good resolution, I started thinking about the word itself to get me in the right frame of mind. Ever since my first Spanish class in high school, etymology has fascinated me. When you slow down and actually study a word, it can begin to reveal new things to you. For example, Webster says that to be resolute means that you are "marked by firm determination" or you are "bold, steady." As a noun, resolve means "fixity of purpose." As a verb, resolve could mean a lot of things, such as to deal with something successfully, or clear something up or to reach a firm decision about something. But this is my favorite verb definition, "to make progress from dissonance to consonance." It is a musical definition, but I think a lot of what resolutions are all about is making progress from the dissonance between who the resolver is and who he/she want to be, to consonance or bringing the two into harmony. I love the image (or sound?) that definition creates. To think of a resolution as something about which I am marked by firm determination, something that I am bold and steady in the pursuit of, something that I've reached a firm decision about in order to deal with something successfully and bring who I am and who I want to be into consonance...well, that's not only a horribly loaded run-on sentence, but it's a lot more exciting than reciting some old overused "resolution" just because you've turned all the pages in a calendar.
I used the idea of SMART goals to write my resolutions this year. Mostly, it was a way for me to hone in on what I wanted to do without wasting a lot of time creating a complicated "plan" that I'd abandon by January 7. If your unfamiliar with what a SMART goal is, here what it stands for with my 5 cents.
S = Strategic. For me, this means moving from dissonance to consonance between what I do and who I want to be. I've also seen "Specific" for the "S" but I think the rest of the letters cover that fairly well.
M = Measurable. These have a number or end-goal in mind so that I know how I'm doing and if I've achieved what I resolved to do.
A = Achievable. None of my resolutions are shooting for the stars. I purposefully scaled some of them back. I'm not trying to be perfect, just better.
R = Realistic. My resolutions are within my realm of what is possible.
T = Timely (meaning that there is a deadline). Duh, a year.
So here they are. Twelve easy resolutions in three categories.
More or Less
I resolve to read more days than I don't. Work doesn't count, nor do Facebook status updates.
I resolve to write more days than I don't. Again, not at work or a sentence on Facebook. I won't be posting to this blog everyday. I have a couple other writing projects I have to work on.
I resolve to exercise more days than I don't. Everything counts except walking to the mailbox or across the parking lot. But 10 push-ups, squats, and crunches or just a mile run? Yes and yes. And hopefully that will grow into a more impressive workout.
I resolve to argue less days than I do. I dislike the discord and have little to argue about so why engage at all?
By the Numbers
I resolve to read 24 books.
I resolve to get rid of 100 things.
I resolve to write 5,000 words of my thesis.
I resolve to run 365 miles.
Better Than 2010
I resolve to run the half faster than last year.
I resolve to finish knitting my scarf and knit a hat. I don't even remember when I started knitting this scarf. How dumb is that?
I resolve to double my savings. Unfortunately, this is not unreasonable for me. I've done the math and it will only be just hard enough.
I resolve to track these resolutions.
So now it's just a matter of follow through (Resolution 12). I'm going to try to use an online tool to track my resolutions and figure out how to post a button to connect the two. I'm using The Happiness Project Toolbox to track my resolutions. Not all my resolutions fit into the "resolutions" category so I'm shoehorning some of them into the "lists" category. The reason I'm using this particular tool is because I already had a username and I'm too lazy to learn something new.
Now I'm done boring you. Happy New Year.
Apparently, people have been making resolutions since time immemorial. Perhaps they were making good on a debt because it was the equinox or making promises to the gods on the winter solstice. No word on how far back the practice of breaking resolutions goes, but I'd guess it goes back as far as does the tradition of making resolutions. According to this article, a 1997 University of Washington study showed that 47% of Americans who make resolutions give up within two months. I'd guess another 40-50% of Americans who participated in the study were either lying or deluded themselves into thinking they were still on track with their resolutions. I can't even remember what resolutions I made last year to know if I followed them or not.
But, I'm still a sucker for fresh starts. Whether it is January or September (I still get the "new school year" push of optimism, despite not having been in school for awhile.), the first day of the quarter or the month, I feel a sense of promise. What I'm saying is, I'll always make resolutions. That's part of the planner in me. I'll even think through a plan of how to stick with them. The trick is in the follow-through.
Before I can even start to make a good resolution, I started thinking about the word itself to get me in the right frame of mind. Ever since my first Spanish class in high school, etymology has fascinated me. When you slow down and actually study a word, it can begin to reveal new things to you. For example, Webster says that to be resolute means that you are "marked by firm determination" or you are "bold, steady." As a noun, resolve means "fixity of purpose." As a verb, resolve could mean a lot of things, such as to deal with something successfully, or clear something up or to reach a firm decision about something. But this is my favorite verb definition, "to make progress from dissonance to consonance." It is a musical definition, but I think a lot of what resolutions are all about is making progress from the dissonance between who the resolver is and who he/she want to be, to consonance or bringing the two into harmony. I love the image (or sound?) that definition creates. To think of a resolution as something about which I am marked by firm determination, something that I am bold and steady in the pursuit of, something that I've reached a firm decision about in order to deal with something successfully and bring who I am and who I want to be into consonance...well, that's not only a horribly loaded run-on sentence, but it's a lot more exciting than reciting some old overused "resolution" just because you've turned all the pages in a calendar.
I used the idea of SMART goals to write my resolutions this year. Mostly, it was a way for me to hone in on what I wanted to do without wasting a lot of time creating a complicated "plan" that I'd abandon by January 7. If your unfamiliar with what a SMART goal is, here what it stands for with my 5 cents.
S = Strategic. For me, this means moving from dissonance to consonance between what I do and who I want to be. I've also seen "Specific" for the "S" but I think the rest of the letters cover that fairly well.
M = Measurable. These have a number or end-goal in mind so that I know how I'm doing and if I've achieved what I resolved to do.
A = Achievable. None of my resolutions are shooting for the stars. I purposefully scaled some of them back. I'm not trying to be perfect, just better.
R = Realistic. My resolutions are within my realm of what is possible.
T = Timely (meaning that there is a deadline). Duh, a year.
So here they are. Twelve easy resolutions in three categories.
More or Less
I resolve to read more days than I don't. Work doesn't count, nor do Facebook status updates.
I resolve to write more days than I don't. Again, not at work or a sentence on Facebook. I won't be posting to this blog everyday. I have a couple other writing projects I have to work on.
I resolve to exercise more days than I don't. Everything counts except walking to the mailbox or across the parking lot. But 10 push-ups, squats, and crunches or just a mile run? Yes and yes. And hopefully that will grow into a more impressive workout.
I resolve to argue less days than I do. I dislike the discord and have little to argue about so why engage at all?
By the Numbers
I resolve to read 24 books.
I resolve to get rid of 100 things.
I resolve to write 5,000 words of my thesis.
I resolve to run 365 miles.
Better Than 2010
I resolve to run the half faster than last year.
I resolve to finish knitting my scarf and knit a hat. I don't even remember when I started knitting this scarf. How dumb is that?
I resolve to double my savings. Unfortunately, this is not unreasonable for me. I've done the math and it will only be just hard enough.
I resolve to track these resolutions.
So now it's just a matter of follow through (Resolution 12). I'm going to try to use an online tool to track my resolutions and figure out how to post a button to connect the two. I'm using The Happiness Project Toolbox to track my resolutions. Not all my resolutions fit into the "resolutions" category so I'm shoehorning some of them into the "lists" category. The reason I'm using this particular tool is because I already had a username and I'm too lazy to learn something new.
Now I'm done boring you. Happy New Year.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)