I can make a chicken last for 5 meals for two people
Just put one whole chicken, in the oven with salt & pepper to taste and lots of root veggies (carrot potato onion) Bake at 425 until it reads 155 on a thermometer. with the door closed, turn off the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes. You can also bake bread or cornbread at the same time to save energy... but not cake or muffins or other sweet stuff.
meal 1: freshly roasted chicken legs with some of the veggies and potatoes.
PREP: take all the rest of the chicken meat off the bones. put the bones in the freezer.
meal 2: one half of one chicken breast, with mayo and celery, serve with bread for a sandwich. (and for fun, home made potato chips made with 'recycled' oil... did you know that previously-used cooking oil actually fries food better than fresh-from-the-bottle oil? just strain it and refrigerate it.)
meal 3: one half of one chicken breast, with peas, carrots, kecap manis (asian sauce) and for a different kind of chicken salad, serve with greens.
meal 4: one chicken breast, served with leftover veggies and potatoes
meal 5: There will still be some meat on the bones, so pick that off and reserve it. put bones in cold water, bring to a boil to make stock. add barley/rice/pasta and whatever little veggies you have on hand. Add the bits of chicken last, to heat them through but not overcook them.
These questions all sound like they'd be asked of people in the services industry, like marketing, retail, sales, management. The kind of questions HR would dream up for someone looking for a job in HR. All of these questions and "right" answers amount to "how well can you BS?" It's a total shame that people on the technical side should ever have to endure more than a couple of these questions during an interview. BSing is not their skill, nor is it nearly so important to their job.
I've done two other posts on 10 ways to go green and save money. And you know what? I hadn't covered any of the items on your list, to my recollection. So yes, there are definitely ways out there we haven't necessarily thought of to explore. Good job.
This is an interesting idea. I, however, wouldn't keep the 2nd emergency fund intact at the expense of my credit, for example, because that could impair my future ability to acquire more money or get back on my feet.
So allowing myself to be evicted or default on several credit cards would not be ok to me.
Hi
I've found it site accidentally
The site has an interesting title
I've read many corresnondences
I want to open a new theme
I think,many peaple will be interested in it
By by,everybody mortgage
I think this makes more sense (at least to my spending habits) in the reverse. As in, have a second so you *will* spend the first.
I take no credit, this was detailed in comment #6 on a previous post
(link)
Because 'My car got rear-ended and needs body work' and 'My child's been diagnosed with cancer' are both emergencies, but I would always feel uncomfortable digging in for the first for fear of the second.
Practically, it's almost the same thing, since odds are darned low a real earth shattering variety emergency will ever happen (particularly right after a minor one). So in practice, the first emergency fund doesn't get tapped - but you don't exactly *plan* to never tap it.
What everyone seems to be grossly unaware of is that the seller isn't represented by the seller's agent, they are represented by that agent's BROKER, who then pays the listing and selling agent. Commissions are set in a contract - a listing agreement between the seller and the listing agent's BROKER. Commissions aren't thrown out there on a dime, they are set at the time of listing.
In addition, many real estate agents are REALTORS - members of NAR with a strict Code of Ethics they have to abide by. There are bad apples but at some point those bad apples will lose their licences. Realtors are licensed professionals, not just hired off the street for the purposes of selling. Most importantly, being a REALTOR isn't about selling real estate and you won't make a successful career out of it if this is your approach.
This is pretty crazy but I can't help it. When I chop vegetables I keep the carrot tops, celery bottoms, wilted lettuce, inner onion skins, tips of green beans, etc., in a plastic bag and pop it in the fridge. When I have a big bag of these vegetable trimmings I make stock--sometimes adding a chicken carcass or meat bones, sometimes just a vegetable stock. I don't know if this saves very much money but it smells marvelous and makes a rich soup broth. Then the simmered remains of the vegetables go in the compost.
Just turned 21 and I identify with most of the comments. When I was in college I never bought my textbooks - always found the text online (often through my college library) and brought my book to class, or borrowed a classmate's book and made copies of a chapter if I knew we were going to read in class. At my university this was not the case but at my community college earlier there were always copies of the textbooks in the library. I couldn't drive at that point anyway, so I'd tell my ride to pick me up an hour later and do my homework/reading in the library.
Most of my friends and coworkers like to eat out A LOT (to the point where I'm eating out 4-5 times a week) and while this does cost a lot of money, I try to keep the cost of my meals under $5. I only order tap water and always order the vegetarian option (did this before I was vegetarian as well - saves $1.50 on a burrito or nachos easily!). If it's Subway I'll pay the two dollars extra and get the footlong... then have my dinner waiting for me later :) Kids meals are a fun way to save money if they'll allow you to order them... as are coupons and restaurant.com gift certificates. I love to buy those and take friends out for a $40 meal that only cost me $10. Whenever we go out for drinks I only go on 2-for-1 nights or other special nights. If we go to a more expensive place for a special occasion, oftentimes there is someone who wants to split one of those enormous salads with me... wilted salads are no good as leftovers anyway. Eating out this frequently isn't cheap, but cooking for 1 person ends up being fairly expensive as a lot of my food spoils before I can go through it all (bread, cheese, milk, etc).
Publix for free antibiotics!
Many of my friends work at retail stores like Target and GNC. I hate asking for favors often, but I can have my friend purchase a huge bottle of multivitamins that will last me months with her employee discount. Check the labels - you'll see that when it directs you to consume 2 per day, you're actually consuming around 4000% of your daily dose of some vitamins. Take one a day and be sure to supplement the vitamins that fall short with your diet.
My roommate hates that I don't ever turn on the a/c or heat... but she'd hate $100 electric bills even more than $31 ones. We're not home often enough to warrant turning on the systems, I can sleep with a fan on in the summer and bundle up in blankets in the winter.
I'm starting to get into grinding my own grains and making my own condiments like hummus, pesto (staples of a vegetarian diet!) and it's a bit time consuming, but I try to only go grocery shopping when I know I have a few hours to chop all the vegetables, put food into portable containers that are easy for me to grab for lunches, throw things into the food processor to make in bulk right there, and grind everything so that it's ready to use anytime I'm in a rush.
I with great thought named my first born Stuart due to it's origin meaning "steward of the house" as my husband had just took a powder & it looked like me & baby were on our own. Fast forward to his teenage years where to my great dismay he takes on the moniker of "Stu" which brings to my mind memories of a very large red headed drunken football player from my college days! Certainly not who that precious bundle of 8 lbs 12 oz was ever destined to be in my eyes. Oh well - My name is Tari (like Teri, Terry, Terri etc) so everytime I give the name I am always asked is that with an I or Y to which I reply yes because it just takes to much time to correct them unless it's very important, which of course it never is because if it was they would know how to spell & pronounce my name. And yes - I did have trouble early on with a stupid teacher who didn't belive me when I told her how to spell my name & that I could write myself.
I'm obsessing over canvas grocery bags lately... it's more a green obsession than a frugal obession but my grocery store does give me 5-10¢ per bag for each reusable bag I bring.
And, fixing my nearly 10 year old car to keep it running and delay investing in a new one! I just put 2 car payments worth of repairs into it but I'm saving so much more on insurance and payments by not buying a new car!
I too think it's important for Philip to keep up the good work covering the pychology of money. It's clearly an emotional issue, which is why so many of us here at Wise Bread continue to receive emotional comments on various posts (not a bad thing, just an observation). I think the more information we have to reflect upon why we are or are not making a particular financial decision only helps us in the long run as we try to control our money rather than the other way around. If the pyschological benefits of having a second stash are worth it for you, go for it. If not, spend / save / invest as you see fit.
As you know, I'm always looking for ways to go green that don't drive me into a financial ditch. Love the pen thing you mentioned. What I like about it too, is it brings back into focus an often overlooked gift opportunity, a nice engraved pen and pencil set (refillable) This is something my Mom did for me when I graduated from college, so I would have a nice set in my briefcase at interviews. High school graduation would also be a good time, or a sixteenth birthday. It honors a special occasion, and sets a nice environmental and professional tone at the same time.
Great post, Nora! (And hey, thanks for the kudos on my denim article.)
Last night, realizing I couldn't squeeze any more out the toothpaste tube, I said to my fiancé, "I'm going to open the new tube of toothpaste." His reply? "It's about time; I was wondering how long you were going to make that tube last."
I pointed out that he could have started the new tube, but he said he was curious as to how far I was willing to go before I gave up on a tube. It's pretty far. There was nothing left in that tube.
If you have an IRA or 401K or 403A/B account, it can serve this purpose very well, at least until you retire. You really *should not* remove money from these before-tax accounts, as the penalty is severe. But you can look at it and say "hey, I'm not broke". Of course, once you retire, you'll start tapping it. So it's not quite the same thing. But for the psychology, it's good, I think. At least, it's worked for me. "I have debts, but when I add in my retirement fund, I have a positive net worth!"
I agree that the kind of fear that prompts someone to save in case "the rainy day has a rainy day" is sad and shouldn't be encouraged. (A great line, by the way!)
On the other hand, I'm not sure this qualifies as "stingy" behavior. If your lifestyle is unsustainable (for whatever reason) then it makes no sense to go on throwing money at it, merely to keep it going for another month or two. Far better to find a lifestyle that works for you--and making those changes is a lot easier with some money in the bank than it is after you're already broke.
First, I love how Philip is constantly looking at the psychology and philosophy of personal finance and wealth. I think it is very imprtant to keep thinking about how we view money and wealth, and to look for ideas like this. This is why his posts kick ass.
Second, this idea is somewhat like having a nuclear weapon. Presumably, you'd only use it as foreign troops were sailing up the Potomac. OK, this sets off political discussions and even discussions of WWII, but you know what I mean.
Another psychological advantage is that you can tell yourself that your life mustn't be that bad yet because you still haven't spent your money.
I'm not sure it would help for those desperate situations where it seems like throwing money at the problem would help, but it only puts off the inevitable. People will try so many things that won't help long-term them before they realize that they need more desperate measures. Like you said, before moving, people will use up all their savings, all their investments, borrow money from their retirement fund, and borrow money from all their friends. Only when all those avenues close will some people start looking for a long-term solution.
On the other hand, maybe people will think of taking that kind of money as failing in a way that they just wouldn't think about the other things I mentioned. And so maybe they would switch to long-term solutions more quickly.
We named my son Matteo- and with our Italian surname, the name is like a movie mobster or one of the Sopranos. He's African American. It should be confusing enough years from now when he send resumes around for jobs.
One of his nicknames in our family is "The Spiciest Meatball."
The IRS or the Bankruptcy Court can get their hands on your second or third or fourth emergency fund. I think to be honest it is kind of pathetic to be so scared of being desperately poor that you have to save up for when the rainy day has a rainy day. "Look at the birds of the air...and the flowers of the field. Are you not much more important to your Father in heaven." Money cannot provide security ultimately. Only God can.
I don't think I could personally handle this. I'd be more prone to safely invest in a liquid account. This would give me the ease I would need in knowing it's a smarter alternative. I think it depends on your personality and temperament. I know a couple who just bought a new house a little beyond their needs. They do have some debt and yet keep up their lifestyle. They have one of these 2nd emergency funds. It gives her peace of mind, knowing that even if they're in the hole they still have some money, even though they would never touch it. From what I've observed of them, it seems having this stash has also encouraged them to spend more. Because they know they could cover the debts/expenses if they really needed to but for the time being just making minimum payments. It's a two-edged sword for them.
I can make a chicken last for 5 meals for two people
Just put one whole chicken, in the oven with salt & pepper to taste and lots of root veggies (carrot potato onion) Bake at 425 until it reads 155 on a thermometer. with the door closed, turn off the oven and let it rest for 15 minutes. You can also bake bread or cornbread at the same time to save energy... but not cake or muffins or other sweet stuff.
meal 1: freshly roasted chicken legs with some of the veggies and potatoes.
PREP: take all the rest of the chicken meat off the bones. put the bones in the freezer.
meal 2: one half of one chicken breast, with mayo and celery, serve with bread for a sandwich. (and for fun, home made potato chips made with 'recycled' oil... did you know that previously-used cooking oil actually fries food better than fresh-from-the-bottle oil? just strain it and refrigerate it.)
meal 3: one half of one chicken breast, with peas, carrots, kecap manis (asian sauce) and for a different kind of chicken salad, serve with greens.
meal 4: one chicken breast, served with leftover veggies and potatoes
meal 5: There will still be some meat on the bones, so pick that off and reserve it. put bones in cold water, bring to a boil to make stock. add barley/rice/pasta and whatever little veggies you have on hand. Add the bits of chicken last, to heat them through but not overcook them.
These questions all sound like they'd be asked of people in the services industry, like marketing, retail, sales, management. The kind of questions HR would dream up for someone looking for a job in HR. All of these questions and "right" answers amount to "how well can you BS?" It's a total shame that people on the technical side should ever have to endure more than a couple of these questions during an interview. BSing is not their skill, nor is it nearly so important to their job.
I've done two other posts on 10 ways to go green and save money. And you know what? I hadn't covered any of the items on your list, to my recollection. So yes, there are definitely ways out there we haven't necessarily thought of to explore. Good job.
This is an interesting idea. I, however, wouldn't keep the 2nd emergency fund intact at the expense of my credit, for example, because that could impair my future ability to acquire more money or get back on my feet.
So allowing myself to be evicted or default on several credit cards would not be ok to me.
Hi
I've found it site accidentally
The site has an interesting title
I've read many corresnondences
I want to open a new theme
I think,many peaple will be interested in it
By by,everybody
mortgage
There really are dozens of ways we can go green and save money. It was actually tricky to narrow it down to just ten!
good use.. send me more tips if u hv.
I think this makes more sense (at least to my spending habits) in the reverse. As in, have a second so you *will* spend the first.
I take no credit, this was detailed in comment #6 on a previous post
(link)
Because 'My car got rear-ended and needs body work' and 'My child's been diagnosed with cancer' are both emergencies, but I would always feel uncomfortable digging in for the first for fear of the second.
Practically, it's almost the same thing, since odds are darned low a real earth shattering variety emergency will ever happen (particularly right after a minor one). So in practice, the first emergency fund doesn't get tapped - but you don't exactly *plan* to never tap it.
What everyone seems to be grossly unaware of is that the seller isn't represented by the seller's agent, they are represented by that agent's BROKER, who then pays the listing and selling agent. Commissions are set in a contract - a listing agreement between the seller and the listing agent's BROKER. Commissions aren't thrown out there on a dime, they are set at the time of listing.
In addition, many real estate agents are REALTORS - members of NAR with a strict Code of Ethics they have to abide by. There are bad apples but at some point those bad apples will lose their licences. Realtors are licensed professionals, not just hired off the street for the purposes of selling. Most importantly, being a REALTOR isn't about selling real estate and you won't make a successful career out of it if this is your approach.
This is pretty crazy but I can't help it. When I chop vegetables I keep the carrot tops, celery bottoms, wilted lettuce, inner onion skins, tips of green beans, etc., in a plastic bag and pop it in the fridge. When I have a big bag of these vegetable trimmings I make stock--sometimes adding a chicken carcass or meat bones, sometimes just a vegetable stock. I don't know if this saves very much money but it smells marvelous and makes a rich soup broth. Then the simmered remains of the vegetables go in the compost.
wow thats so tight
Just turned 21 and I identify with most of the comments. When I was in college I never bought my textbooks - always found the text online (often through my college library) and brought my book to class, or borrowed a classmate's book and made copies of a chapter if I knew we were going to read in class. At my university this was not the case but at my community college earlier there were always copies of the textbooks in the library. I couldn't drive at that point anyway, so I'd tell my ride to pick me up an hour later and do my homework/reading in the library.
Most of my friends and coworkers like to eat out A LOT (to the point where I'm eating out 4-5 times a week) and while this does cost a lot of money, I try to keep the cost of my meals under $5. I only order tap water and always order the vegetarian option (did this before I was vegetarian as well - saves $1.50 on a burrito or nachos easily!). If it's Subway I'll pay the two dollars extra and get the footlong... then have my dinner waiting for me later :) Kids meals are a fun way to save money if they'll allow you to order them... as are coupons and restaurant.com gift certificates. I love to buy those and take friends out for a $40 meal that only cost me $10. Whenever we go out for drinks I only go on 2-for-1 nights or other special nights. If we go to a more expensive place for a special occasion, oftentimes there is someone who wants to split one of those enormous salads with me... wilted salads are no good as leftovers anyway. Eating out this frequently isn't cheap, but cooking for 1 person ends up being fairly expensive as a lot of my food spoils before I can go through it all (bread, cheese, milk, etc).
Publix for free antibiotics!
Many of my friends work at retail stores like Target and GNC. I hate asking for favors often, but I can have my friend purchase a huge bottle of multivitamins that will last me months with her employee discount. Check the labels - you'll see that when it directs you to consume 2 per day, you're actually consuming around 4000% of your daily dose of some vitamins. Take one a day and be sure to supplement the vitamins that fall short with your diet.
My roommate hates that I don't ever turn on the a/c or heat... but she'd hate $100 electric bills even more than $31 ones. We're not home often enough to warrant turning on the systems, I can sleep with a fan on in the summer and bundle up in blankets in the winter.
I'm starting to get into grinding my own grains and making my own condiments like hummus, pesto (staples of a vegetarian diet!) and it's a bit time consuming, but I try to only go grocery shopping when I know I have a few hours to chop all the vegetables, put food into portable containers that are easy for me to grab for lunches, throw things into the food processor to make in bulk right there, and grind everything so that it's ready to use anytime I'm in a rush.
I have access to R22 so I think I will try it. Its a liquid and gas.
I with great thought named my first born Stuart due to it's origin meaning "steward of the house" as my husband had just took a powder & it looked like me & baby were on our own. Fast forward to his teenage years where to my great dismay he takes on the moniker of "Stu" which brings to my mind memories of a very large red headed drunken football player from my college days! Certainly not who that precious bundle of 8 lbs 12 oz was ever destined to be in my eyes. Oh well - My name is Tari (like Teri, Terry, Terri etc) so everytime I give the name I am always asked is that with an I or Y to which I reply yes because it just takes to much time to correct them unless it's very important, which of course it never is because if it was they would know how to spell & pronounce my name. And yes - I did have trouble early on with a stupid teacher who didn't belive me when I told her how to spell my name & that I could write myself.
I'm obsessing over canvas grocery bags lately... it's more a green obsession than a frugal obession but my grocery store does give me 5-10¢ per bag for each reusable bag I bring.
And, fixing my nearly 10 year old car to keep it running and delay investing in a new one! I just put 2 car payments worth of repairs into it but I'm saving so much more on insurance and payments by not buying a new car!
I too think it's important for Philip to keep up the good work covering the pychology of money. It's clearly an emotional issue, which is why so many of us here at Wise Bread continue to receive emotional comments on various posts (not a bad thing, just an observation). I think the more information we have to reflect upon why we are or are not making a particular financial decision only helps us in the long run as we try to control our money rather than the other way around. If the pyschological benefits of having a second stash are worth it for you, go for it. If not, spend / save / invest as you see fit.
Provacative post as usual, Philip. Rock on!
As you know, I'm always looking for ways to go green that don't drive me into a financial ditch. Love the pen thing you mentioned. What I like about it too, is it brings back into focus an often overlooked gift opportunity, a nice engraved pen and pencil set (refillable) This is something my Mom did for me when I graduated from college, so I would have a nice set in my briefcase at interviews. High school graduation would also be a good time, or a sixteenth birthday. It honors a special occasion, and sets a nice environmental and professional tone at the same time.
Great post, Nora! (And hey, thanks for the kudos on my denim article.)
Last night, realizing I couldn't squeeze any more out the toothpaste tube, I said to my fiancé, "I'm going to open the new tube of toothpaste." His reply? "It's about time; I was wondering how long you were going to make that tube last."
I pointed out that he could have started the new tube, but he said he was curious as to how far I was willing to go before I gave up on a tube. It's pretty far. There was nothing left in that tube.
If you have an IRA or 401K or 403A/B account, it can serve this purpose very well, at least until you retire. You really *should not* remove money from these before-tax accounts, as the penalty is severe. But you can look at it and say "hey, I'm not broke". Of course, once you retire, you'll start tapping it. So it's not quite the same thing. But for the psychology, it's good, I think. At least, it's worked for me. "I have debts, but when I add in my retirement fund, I have a positive net worth!"
Thanks, everyone, for the good comments.
I agree that the kind of fear that prompts someone to save in case "the rainy day has a rainy day" is sad and shouldn't be encouraged. (A great line, by the way!)
On the other hand, I'm not sure this qualifies as "stingy" behavior. If your lifestyle is unsustainable (for whatever reason) then it makes no sense to go on throwing money at it, merely to keep it going for another month or two. Far better to find a lifestyle that works for you--and making those changes is a lot easier with some money in the bank than it is after you're already broke.
First, I love how Philip is constantly looking at the psychology and philosophy of personal finance and wealth. I think it is very imprtant to keep thinking about how we view money and wealth, and to look for ideas like this. This is why his posts kick ass.
Second, this idea is somewhat like having a nuclear weapon. Presumably, you'd only use it as foreign troops were sailing up the Potomac. OK, this sets off political discussions and even discussions of WWII, but you know what I mean.
Another psychological advantage is that you can tell yourself that your life mustn't be that bad yet because you still haven't spent your money.
I'm not sure it would help for those desperate situations where it seems like throwing money at the problem would help, but it only puts off the inevitable. People will try so many things that won't help long-term them before they realize that they need more desperate measures. Like you said, before moving, people will use up all their savings, all their investments, borrow money from their retirement fund, and borrow money from all their friends. Only when all those avenues close will some people start looking for a long-term solution.
On the other hand, maybe people will think of taking that kind of money as failing in a way that they just wouldn't think about the other things I mentioned. And so maybe they would switch to long-term solutions more quickly.
We named my son Matteo- and with our Italian surname, the name is like a movie mobster or one of the Sopranos. He's African American. It should be confusing enough years from now when he send resumes around for jobs.
One of his nicknames in our family is "The Spiciest Meatball."
The IRS or the Bankruptcy Court can get their hands on your second or third or fourth emergency fund. I think to be honest it is kind of pathetic to be so scared of being desperately poor that you have to save up for when the rainy day has a rainy day. "Look at the birds of the air...and the flowers of the field. Are you not much more important to your Father in heaven." Money cannot provide security ultimately. Only God can.
I don't think I could personally handle this. I'd be more prone to safely invest in a liquid account. This would give me the ease I would need in knowing it's a smarter alternative. I think it depends on your personality and temperament. I know a couple who just bought a new house a little beyond their needs. They do have some debt and yet keep up their lifestyle. They have one of these 2nd emergency funds. It gives her peace of mind, knowing that even if they're in the hole they still have some money, even though they would never touch it. From what I've observed of them, it seems having this stash has also encouraged them to spend more. Because they know they could cover the debts/expenses if they really needed to but for the time being just making minimum payments. It's a two-edged sword for them.