I think that in light of the new economy, this article actually has some merit. Sure, you could tell someone of the MySpace generation (which could arguably be age 15 to late twenties) to go flip burgers, but in many areas, even these jobs are scarce (and let's be realistic, in some cases, those that haven't lived long enough to even obtain a college degree are competing against someone with of Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration to even get the job.)
Ingenuity, flexibility, and a passion to connect virtually all seem to be traits that define users of the MySpace-type tools. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if you're a full-time HS or college student, and getting a traditional job just isn't in the cards (try finding a job in a town of 1800 where there ARE no jobs), then finding alternative and LEGAL ways of raising cash is an admirable skill. (And might I mention that it most definitely prepares one for some of the job categories that are growing right now.)
Encouragement to explore your own kind of entrepreneurialism is what made many of us successful today. (And I'm SURE you didn't mean to imply that freelance writing is somehow not a respectable career -- try telling that to my utilities company when I use my freelance writing checks to pay my bills, on time, every month.)
Thanks for the comment (and thank YOU Bob for the eye-opening guest post.)
Let's please be honest: Most people eat fast food because it tastes good and is convenient.
It's NOT cheaper than buying food at a grocery store and making several small meals for yourself a day. If, for example, you were trying to save money you would not eat two meals a day at a fast food restaurant. You would spend $15 no problem. Let's be serious. Any combo meal is $7 for sure. Plus tax.
On the other hand I will take you to any grocery store and purchase a small bag of oatmeal, a dozen eggs, a dozen apples, a small bag of carrots, four cans of tuna and a loaf of 12-grain bread for $20. I buy that EXACT combo at least once a week at various grocery stores and it never costs more than $20. Double that and for $40 a week you can have several relatively healthy meals that will fill you up and provide you with a much healthier mix of protein, carbs and fat than fast food. There's no way you're getting by on $40 a week eating fast food, I don't care what you say. Check your bank account statements. Start being realistic and taking responsibility for yourselves.
So why don't people do this? Simple. It's not very tasty and it's not very convenient. So many people - such is our nature! - make excuses like "It's too expensive to eat well" and "I literally don't have time to eat well." Right. It's a choice and people are just generally LAZY and UNMOTIVATED and EXCUSE-DRIVEN...simple as that. I know because I was like that, too, for many years. But THAT'S why so many people are fat. THAT'S why fad diets and pills and quack "doctors" and useless gadgets (you actually think you can lose weight by sitting in a vibrating chair for 11 minutes a day!?) are so popular.
Will a tax help? I have no idea. But I do know that what people need in their lives are incentives. See a relative die of a heart attack, or a mother suffer from lung cancer for four years, or a child become so obese he/she can't participate in gym at school. I'd urge anyone reading this to be proactive and stop making excuses. Buck up, spend the $50 a month on a gym (the money you save from not eating out will more than cover it, trust me!), talk to the resident nuritionist, make a budget and a meal plan, and STICK WITH IT. Give it a year. You'll see the results and then you can help others.
OR...they could get off their butt and go get a job where they have to work hard and use *GASP* muscles! And Energy! OH THE HUMANITY!
People wonder why the economy is so bad, when we're trying to figure out non-jobs for 'myspace generations' (What the hell is that anyway?) Seriously? I really don't want inexperienced coddled teenagers reviewing products I might buy someday. FREELANCE WRITING? You know who else wants your writing skills? YOUR FREAKING ENGLISH TEACHER.
All teens who read this article: please ignore everything you read - and go get a real job. You've got to pay your dues and work hard- that will create perspective and teach you valuable lessons.
After school kid snacks. Take two apple slices with peanut butter between them and add raison "teeth". These look like lips. Banana separated into thirds (along the "seam") and reassembled with peanut butter. (Sticks better than with a cut banana.) The traditional ants on a stick (celery, PB, and raisons).
We do smoothies for breakfast, especially as the boys like to sleep until the very last minute and rush to make the bus. Current favorite is banana, mango, peach yoghurt, and milk.
I would not be against a junk food tax if it went towards the proper purposes, which does not automatically mean being applied towards the usual recipents of "schools, bridges, and all that good stuff." Next year the Ontario government will be increasing the tax on ice time paid by minor hockey organizations which will furthur push the cost of amateur sports out of the reach of many families. Why is it that if I take a class in cake decorating at a college or university it is tax deductable because it is "eduactional" while if I join a marathon training group at the Running Room it is still fully taxed? People forget that the other side of the equation is to become physically active while still eating well. Maybe if the "junk food tax" helped people become physically active rather than just eliminating junk food I would be for it.
For full disclosure I have two children in rep. hockey which is costing me almost $6000 per year but I'm hoping that they will discover a lifelong love of excercise. I myself have also run 10 marathons over the past 5 years and enjoy Taco Bell and a bottle of Coke on occasion.
As a former RadioShack manager, I can attest to the high markup on cables. I was a manager just before HDMI was came around, so composite, s-video, component and coaxial were the norm. Our costs for a high end Monster S-video cable were fairly cheap, around $10 (if I remember correctly) and we would sell them for $60-70. Even the high-end store brand cables were marked up at a ridiculous percentage. Profit profit profit. I loved selling them (at the time) but I wouldn't set foot in any big box retailer to buy a cable unless I absolutely had to. I buy all my cables online. If I know I'm buying a new HDTV, I'll order the cables online before I buy the TV.
Hello, I have a question, I bought a stock pot 17 qt. from Biglots, paid $12 ducks, it has a flat top, will this work for stilling ??? I plan to add coils if it will... Can't wait to get the first batch going...
Enjoyed the article --- spend a number of weekends at Lake Almanor this summer. Loved the area and looking forward to seeing it throughout the year. We are in escrow on a house . . . . we will be part time residents. We will be able to telecommute about 30% of the time --- a nice start.
While I don't agree with the government "being in everyone's business," why NOT have a fat tax? Half of the reason health care is so expensive is because of these obese people all around us! It's only fair they SHOULD be paying of their care, because I sure as hell don't like doing it.
We love stovetop popcorn!
Cheaper even than your big bag. :)
Carrots and apples are both faves here too.
Not that it is healthy but you could make chocolate dipped mini pretzels. That would be a fun favor for a party, or good for a gift (like a teacher gift for Christmas).
We love peanut butter "lollipops" too. My dad "invented" them. It's peanut butter on a spoon.
Another crazy thing my kids like is ice, or juice frozen (for summertime).
Good one, Julie. One thing we're working on here (notice I say working because we're not there yet and I have no idea when we will be) is a manual or two for the house. One would be for house sitters and people that need to come in and help us out during emergencies. Locations of things, lawn sprinkler procedures, etc.The other would be for us with things like check sheets for home maintenance tasks, emergency info, etc. We'd have a digital version too, but for quick reference during power outages and whetever, we'd like to have one. I will definitely check out your spreadsheets. Right now we are using a wall calender and a day planner. Have been looking for software but haven't found it yet. Definitely a project in process.
It's been interesting to watch the internet start from a one person, plin text-based thing to a growing, interactive and visual meeting place for the world. It never ceases to blow my mind that I can have clients in Romania, friends in Italy and 5 conversations in a room from people from all over. :)
I would pretty much not have a business at all if it wasn't for the web :)
You know, everyone who works retail is going to get crap from customers every now and then. It happens.That's just life. And the comment you made about fat people coming in and ordering four pizzas at a time? I'm not sure if you're aware, but a good majority of the U.S. population is obese.
Lindsey,
As another work-at-home, homeschooling mom to 4, I'm with you. I'm not always up for a full day or weekend of cooking and freezing, though periodically I'll do some. Like you I've adapted the whole batch/freezer cooking thing to fit our time.
Every time I buy meat, I do all the prep work and freeze it in portions so that all I have to do is grab a bag and start cooking. I blogged about how I do this here:
Like you, I also chop up bell peppers for my husband's pizza. Peppers are nice because you don't have to blanch them before freezing them, not for chopped peppers anyway. I've never tried freezing whole peppers - might have to give that a try.
I also do what others have suggested and make bigger batches of normal dinner meals to freeze for later as either dinner or lunch portions. My husband hates the feeling of having last night's dinner left overs, so I just freeze lunch portions and he picks from his "lunch shelf" in the freezer of what to take to work that day/week. It saves us from buying things for his lunch, and he gets much healthier lunches too. :)
I would really like to try freezing cooked eggs for breakfast sandwiches. Never tried that before, but I have frozen raw eggs using the instruction Lisa Vitello shared in her New Harvest Homestead newsletter. That works well as well. But since we don't have laying hens, we don't tend to have a surplus of eggs too often.
Stratas and Quiche are fun to make in muffin tins for freezing later as portable breakfast foods. I've had fun with that too.
Rolls freeze great. I usually make a big bunch, and then freeze in portion size bags for snacks and dinner.
Chicken stock and the ingredients to make chicken stock are always in my freezer as well. That way I always have it on hand to make up a new batch or to use when I need it.
Oopps..this is getting rather long. Great article.
@Reracking - Haha, I like the way you think my friend. It's all about making it fun!
@SoCal - Sure, another excellent way to manage your money as well! It doesn't work for me personally (I prefer budgeting with spreadsheets and credit cards ), but as long as people find a way that works great for THEM I think that's great. It really is about tweaking and trying out new methods until one sticks.
I know "budget" has a dirty connotation to it (hence, the adding of "sexy" to spice it up!) but it's a necessary element to financial freedom - even if just to get the ball rolling. And you don't have to be all old and boring to appreciate it either ;)
It's always hard to part with cash. There is something about it. If people had to buy houses with cash - you'd see prices drop like a rock. It's amazing what people will sign up for when all that is needed is a signature.
The best way to handle credit cards is to never have a balance and pay them off when they show up in the mail. I went twenty years without paying a dime in interest and got all the mileage perks. The credit card companies still make their money - off the merchant. That's why you should always use cash when you bargain with small merchants - between sales taxes and credit card fees - some merchants are willing to wheel and deal.
People try to hold onto their cash. It's that simple. Just try doing cash for a few months and see what happens.
I actually avoid the holiday buying rut by shopping for Christmas, Easter, & Birthday gifts year round. I do the same for decorations and wrapping supplies. I think I agree with "the experts," I think the sales and spending this year will be about the same as last year. I wouldn't say our economy has gotten much better or worse. I am going to attempt black friday this year for the first time and will probably set my alarm early on cyber monday- just to get the few gifts I haven't picked up yet. You really don't need to shop on those days to find deals though.
I think that in light of the new economy, this article actually has some merit. Sure, you could tell someone of the MySpace generation (which could arguably be age 15 to late twenties) to go flip burgers, but in many areas, even these jobs are scarce (and let's be realistic, in some cases, those that haven't lived long enough to even obtain a college degree are competing against someone with of Bachelor's of Science in Business Administration to even get the job.)
Ingenuity, flexibility, and a passion to connect virtually all seem to be traits that define users of the MySpace-type tools. Absolutely nothing wrong with that, and if you're a full-time HS or college student, and getting a traditional job just isn't in the cards (try finding a job in a town of 1800 where there ARE no jobs), then finding alternative and LEGAL ways of raising cash is an admirable skill. (And might I mention that it most definitely prepares one for some of the job categories that are growing right now.)
Encouragement to explore your own kind of entrepreneurialism is what made many of us successful today. (And I'm SURE you didn't mean to imply that freelance writing is somehow not a respectable career -- try telling that to my utilities company when I use my freelance writing checks to pay my bills, on time, every month.)
Thanks for the comment (and thank YOU Bob for the eye-opening guest post.)
Linsey Knerl
The best way we've found to keep track of activities is Google Calendar. Love it!
Let's please be honest: Most people eat fast food because it tastes good and is convenient.
It's NOT cheaper than buying food at a grocery store and making several small meals for yourself a day. If, for example, you were trying to save money you would not eat two meals a day at a fast food restaurant. You would spend $15 no problem. Let's be serious. Any combo meal is $7 for sure. Plus tax.
On the other hand I will take you to any grocery store and purchase a small bag of oatmeal, a dozen eggs, a dozen apples, a small bag of carrots, four cans of tuna and a loaf of 12-grain bread for $20. I buy that EXACT combo at least once a week at various grocery stores and it never costs more than $20. Double that and for $40 a week you can have several relatively healthy meals that will fill you up and provide you with a much healthier mix of protein, carbs and fat than fast food. There's no way you're getting by on $40 a week eating fast food, I don't care what you say. Check your bank account statements. Start being realistic and taking responsibility for yourselves.
So why don't people do this? Simple. It's not very tasty and it's not very convenient. So many people - such is our nature! - make excuses like "It's too expensive to eat well" and "I literally don't have time to eat well." Right. It's a choice and people are just generally LAZY and UNMOTIVATED and EXCUSE-DRIVEN...simple as that. I know because I was like that, too, for many years. But THAT'S why so many people are fat. THAT'S why fad diets and pills and quack "doctors" and useless gadgets (you actually think you can lose weight by sitting in a vibrating chair for 11 minutes a day!?) are so popular.
Will a tax help? I have no idea. But I do know that what people need in their lives are incentives. See a relative die of a heart attack, or a mother suffer from lung cancer for four years, or a child become so obese he/she can't participate in gym at school. I'd urge anyone reading this to be proactive and stop making excuses. Buck up, spend the $50 a month on a gym (the money you save from not eating out will more than cover it, trust me!), talk to the resident nuritionist, make a budget and a meal plan, and STICK WITH IT. Give it a year. You'll see the results and then you can help others.
OR...they could get off their butt and go get a job where they have to work hard and use *GASP* muscles! And Energy! OH THE HUMANITY!
People wonder why the economy is so bad, when we're trying to figure out non-jobs for 'myspace generations' (What the hell is that anyway?) Seriously? I really don't want inexperienced coddled teenagers reviewing products I might buy someday. FREELANCE WRITING? You know who else wants your writing skills? YOUR FREAKING ENGLISH TEACHER.
All teens who read this article: please ignore everything you read - and go get a real job. You've got to pay your dues and work hard- that will create perspective and teach you valuable lessons.
This is one area that I use to struggle with in the past. Nice examples to give people ideas.
thanks!
After school kid snacks. Take two apple slices with peanut butter between them and add raison "teeth". These look like lips. Banana separated into thirds (along the "seam") and reassembled with peanut butter. (Sticks better than with a cut banana.) The traditional ants on a stick (celery, PB, and raisons).
We do smoothies for breakfast, especially as the boys like to sleep until the very last minute and rush to make the bus. Current favorite is banana, mango, peach yoghurt, and milk.
I would not be against a junk food tax if it went towards the proper purposes, which does not automatically mean being applied towards the usual recipents of "schools, bridges, and all that good stuff." Next year the Ontario government will be increasing the tax on ice time paid by minor hockey organizations which will furthur push the cost of amateur sports out of the reach of many families. Why is it that if I take a class in cake decorating at a college or university it is tax deductable because it is "eduactional" while if I join a marathon training group at the Running Room it is still fully taxed? People forget that the other side of the equation is to become physically active while still eating well. Maybe if the "junk food tax" helped people become physically active rather than just eliminating junk food I would be for it.
For full disclosure I have two children in rep. hockey which is costing me almost $6000 per year but I'm hoping that they will discover a lifelong love of excercise. I myself have also run 10 marathons over the past 5 years and enjoy Taco Bell and a bottle of Coke on occasion.
As a former RadioShack manager, I can attest to the high markup on cables. I was a manager just before HDMI was came around, so composite, s-video, component and coaxial were the norm. Our costs for a high end Monster S-video cable were fairly cheap, around $10 (if I remember correctly) and we would sell them for $60-70. Even the high-end store brand cables were marked up at a ridiculous percentage. Profit profit profit. I loved selling them (at the time) but I wouldn't set foot in any big box retailer to buy a cable unless I absolutely had to. I buy all my cables online. If I know I'm buying a new HDTV, I'll order the cables online before I buy the TV.
If it is stainless steal and you can seal the rim of the lid, then yes. It will work.
Hello, I have a question, I bought a stock pot 17 qt. from Biglots, paid $12 ducks, it has a flat top, will this work for stilling ??? I plan to add coils if it will... Can't wait to get the first batch going...
Agreed.
The government subsidies
@berb - Great line! Just ask them the same question back. Tee hee!
@Guest (above): Heh heh - great idea! One problem: the cost of travel insurance!
Enjoyed the article --- spend a number of weekends at Lake Almanor this summer. Loved the area and looking forward to seeing it throughout the year. We are in escrow on a house . . . . we will be part time residents. We will be able to telecommute about 30% of the time --- a nice start.
While I don't agree with the government "being in everyone's business," why NOT have a fat tax? Half of the reason health care is so expensive is because of these obese people all around us! It's only fair they SHOULD be paying of their care, because I sure as hell don't like doing it.
We love stovetop popcorn!
Cheaper even than your big bag. :)
Carrots and apples are both faves here too.
Not that it is healthy but you could make chocolate dipped mini pretzels. That would be a fun favor for a party, or good for a gift (like a teacher gift for Christmas).
We love peanut butter "lollipops" too. My dad "invented" them. It's peanut butter on a spoon.
Another crazy thing my kids like is ice, or juice frozen (for summertime).
Good one, Julie. One thing we're working on here (notice I say working because we're not there yet and I have no idea when we will be) is a manual or two for the house. One would be for house sitters and people that need to come in and help us out during emergencies. Locations of things, lawn sprinkler procedures, etc.The other would be for us with things like check sheets for home maintenance tasks, emergency info, etc. We'd have a digital version too, but for quick reference during power outages and whetever, we'd like to have one. I will definitely check out your spreadsheets. Right now we are using a wall calender and a day planner. Have been looking for software but haven't found it yet. Definitely a project in process.
You can also follow me on Twitter and Trek Hound.
Is corn a vegetable?
It's been interesting to watch the internet start from a one person, plin text-based thing to a growing, interactive and visual meeting place for the world. It never ceases to blow my mind that I can have clients in Romania, friends in Italy and 5 conversations in a room from people from all over. :)
I would pretty much not have a business at all if it wasn't for the web :)
You know, everyone who works retail is going to get crap from customers every now and then. It happens.That's just life. And the comment you made about fat people coming in and ordering four pizzas at a time? I'm not sure if you're aware, but a good majority of the U.S. population is obese.
Lindsey,
As another work-at-home, homeschooling mom to 4, I'm with you. I'm not always up for a full day or weekend of cooking and freezing, though periodically I'll do some. Like you I've adapted the whole batch/freezer cooking thing to fit our time.
Every time I buy meat, I do all the prep work and freeze it in portions so that all I have to do is grab a bag and start cooking. I blogged about how I do this here:
http://workathomehomeschoolingmom.com/2009/07/saving-money-on-groceries-...
Like you, I also chop up bell peppers for my husband's pizza. Peppers are nice because you don't have to blanch them before freezing them, not for chopped peppers anyway. I've never tried freezing whole peppers - might have to give that a try.
I also do what others have suggested and make bigger batches of normal dinner meals to freeze for later as either dinner or lunch portions. My husband hates the feeling of having last night's dinner left overs, so I just freeze lunch portions and he picks from his "lunch shelf" in the freezer of what to take to work that day/week. It saves us from buying things for his lunch, and he gets much healthier lunches too. :)
I would really like to try freezing cooked eggs for breakfast sandwiches. Never tried that before, but I have frozen raw eggs using the instruction Lisa Vitello shared in her New Harvest Homestead newsletter. That works well as well. But since we don't have laying hens, we don't tend to have a surplus of eggs too often.
Stratas and Quiche are fun to make in muffin tins for freezing later as portable breakfast foods. I've had fun with that too.
Rolls freeze great. I usually make a big bunch, and then freeze in portion size bags for snacks and dinner.
Chicken stock and the ingredients to make chicken stock are always in my freezer as well. That way I always have it on hand to make up a new batch or to use when I need it.
Oopps..this is getting rather long. Great article.
...Shannon
Great list and I appreciate that you mention Tip'd. I am heading over there right now!
@Reracking - Haha, I like the way you think my friend. It's all about making it fun!
@SoCal - Sure, another excellent way to manage your money as well! It doesn't work for me personally (I prefer budgeting with spreadsheets and credit cards ), but as long as people find a way that works great for THEM I think that's great. It really is about tweaking and trying out new methods until one sticks.
I know "budget" has a dirty connotation to it (hence, the adding of "sexy" to spice it up!) but it's a necessary element to financial freedom - even if just to get the ball rolling. And you don't have to be all old and boring to appreciate it either ;)
It's always hard to part with cash. There is something about it. If people had to buy houses with cash - you'd see prices drop like a rock. It's amazing what people will sign up for when all that is needed is a signature.
The best way to handle credit cards is to never have a balance and pay them off when they show up in the mail. I went twenty years without paying a dime in interest and got all the mileage perks. The credit card companies still make their money - off the merchant. That's why you should always use cash when you bargain with small merchants - between sales taxes and credit card fees - some merchants are willing to wheel and deal.
People try to hold onto their cash. It's that simple. Just try doing cash for a few months and see what happens.
I actually avoid the holiday buying rut by shopping for Christmas, Easter, & Birthday gifts year round. I do the same for decorations and wrapping supplies. I think I agree with "the experts," I think the sales and spending this year will be about the same as last year. I wouldn't say our economy has gotten much better or worse. I am going to attempt black friday this year for the first time and will probably set my alarm early on cyber monday- just to get the few gifts I haven't picked up yet. You really don't need to shop on those days to find deals though.