Tag Archives: budget

Burnt Toast and a Crock Pot

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Recently I was having a texting conversation with a friend of mine who lives in another state. We haven’t seen each other in years, but we manage to stay in touch, like many people, through email, texting, and social media. We’ve been talking a lot more lately with everything going on with COVID-19 in the country.  One of our conversations was on a day when we had both made a quick run to our grocery stores to stalk the pantry and the fridge. We joked back and forth about wiping off the plastic grocery bags with disinfectant wipes. And I laughed when she sent me a picture of her purchases because I had just shot of video of my shopping trip (for an upcoming post), and realized our grocery filled counters looked very similar (mine above; hers below) “right down to the carrot cake mix,” I told her.

After we’d chatted a bit, and I discovered that she shopped weekly in order to keep fresh produce in the house, I asked her how that was working out for her financially, since weeks earlier, she had unfortunately been laid off from her job like so many others resulting from the pandemic’s negative impact on the economy. When we spoke, she was still waiting on her first unemployment check, but we talked about how she’d made it a priority to eat healthy, even through these times when she also had to watch how she spent her money. As we talked more about not only her shopping habits, but cooking, I asked her if she would be open to sharing a little about her ventures to my followers.

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If you’re anything like me, when that lock down took effect, I got worried. I wasn’t too worried about the financial aspects because I knew unemployment would be coming my way. The worry was about eating! OK, I admit it, I’m a lousy cook. My mantra is “I never cook for people I love,” except my ex-husband! How do you think I got rid of him so easily?

I’ve always been a career focused woman without a direction in cooking. I had an awesome boyfriend after my divorce that would cook for me or take me out to dinner. When I lived at home, my mom and dad were the chefs! Dad was an expert on the grill. Mom would make us yummy Slovenian dishes and desserts. Her homemade bread? Well there’s no describing it. But me? I have to buy two loaves of bread just to get two edible pieces of toast because I’m constantly burning them. How do you set those toasters anyway? So complicated.

Being a vegetarian, I don’t have to worry about meats, poultry and fish. But I do get concerned about eating too many carbs. When a vegetarian goes out to dinner and lets the waitress know they are vegetarian, the first thing they do is bring a big plate of pasta with tomato sauce poured over it. Yuck! Even “I” can make that! I don’t like to eat heavy in the evenings so most of it would go to waste.

I guess the reality finally hit me by the middle of my first week in lockdown… I don’t have any food in the house! Thankfully I have a wonderful friend who just so happened to call me just as I was “also” down with the flu. Knowing I’m not a kitchen girl, Mary asked me where the crock pot was that she donated to me a few weeks earlier. My response was one of, “uh … well, um ….” Within an hour, she knocked on my door, slid her hand inside, which was holding a brown paper handle bag filled with goodies, AND instructions on how to use the crock pot! When I opened the bag I thought, “What! You mean I have to “put this stuff into the crock pot!” I was a mess.

Except for the just made warm loaf of challah bread, in the fridge the bag went. And there it sat.

Two days later I pulled out the goodies and my crock pot. I was actually quite impressed. She brought me carrots, celery, fresh parsley, and several little jars filled with measured spices, barley, vegetable stock, etc., And a “recipe”! All I needed to do was put everything in the crock pot with some filtered water, turn the dial to 4-hours, and I was golden! Wow! What a concept.

I took all of the recipes she so generously printed out, along with some recipes my sister brought back from Australia, and I made a list of the foods that I would like to eat and would be able to make in my crock pot.

During my trip to the grocery store, I bought fresh fruits, spring mix lettuce, baby spinach, mushrooms, fresh and frozen vegetables, almost ripe avocados, golden potatoes, high protein pastas, nuts and seeds, some cheeses, sour cream, eggs, vanilla yogurt (to protect my good bacteria), a greek olive mix of feta, kalamata and Spanish olives, ground spices, and a fresh loaf of my favorite Tuscan bread. Yes, two loaves.

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My kitchen was flourishing. For two weeks I made the most delicious foods that not only kept me healthy and filled up, but I lost weight! I was so proud of myself! I had a kitchen filled with beautiful fruits and veggies that I put on display, a new selection of fresh herbs and spices, and my two loaves of Tuscan bread. My freezer had some frozen fruits for smoothies, plus I treated myself to some pierogies. Yes, I did.

In my venture out, I opted to go to Aldi’s. They have great prices and a large selection of organic choices. The avocados were on sale so I stocked up as much as I could knowing they’re perishable. The bread was at Giant Eagle, so I made a trip across the street. Much to my surprise the prices at GE were LESS than Aldi’s! I was very surprised. The third stop I made was to Big Lots – they have some organic spices that really saved me a lot of money. With all this shopping, my bill was less than $70! Did it take extra time, yes, but it was a great day to start my new venture with my crock pot … my toaster, and my pots & pans. I need new ones, by the way. I should send a hint to Mary!

No matter your opinion is about the CV19 lockdown, the reality is we have to go on with our every day. We have to get up in the morning. We have to get dressed. We have to mentally prepare for our survival. AND! We have to eat! Do yourself a favor… make this fun. Find something new in your kitchen, your basement, your garage. Fill your day with happiness and new ventures.

Good luck!

Forget Paris. Focus on Your Own Fashion Week!

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Two weeks ago, high temperatures where I live were in the 40s for several days; with low temperatures below freezing a couple of those days. Last weekend, my friends in Cleveland, OH experienced another epic spring snowfall, while many in the upper central plains continue even today with their cold temperatures. The calendar might say “spring” but the weather doesn’t always align with our hopeful schedule of the four seasons.

I learned a long time ago to dress for the weather not for the season. And with that, I have to say that shopping “out of season” is one of my favorite things to do. You see, retailers don’t care what the weather is doing outside. They will try to force you into dreaming of whatever comes next, inside, filing their stores with what they want to sell, rather than what you may need to buy. Autumn-colored clothes quickly follow the red, white and blue of July. Winter coats fill racks in September. Spring’s pastels are plastered everywhere in January. And the sleeveless tops of Summer make their debut before the Ides of March!

Because of retailing’s over-anxious, and sometimes obnoxious attempt at rushing each new season, they are equally motivated to get rid of the last season’s leftovers to make room. And fortunately for us bargain hunters, it can be a clothing gold mine of great finds; perfectly useful outfits with still weeks worth of wear to go. And for people like me, who’s more concerned with function than with what some fashion magazine tries to tell me is in or out at any given time, those bargain finds can last not just a few more weeks, but years after!

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Recently I went shopping to update my wardrobe, with great results. I got all five of these tops for only $32.00; and that’s with sales tax! No, I didn’t get them from a discount store. But I did get them at a tremendous discount. Their material is thin enough to wear comfortably, with or without a light jacket, through the next several weeks, but their “colors” are meant for Fall (which is when I will gladly take them back out of the closet and begin getting even more wear from them). So off to the sale rack they went!

All but one of the shirts was regularly priced well over that total of $32.00 spent. They actually had been repeatedly marked down over the weeks, and these were some still left. I happened to go into the store when they were having their “final” Final Sale! Everything on the sale rack, whose price ended in $.98 was further marked down to $9.98! Yes, that meant the $29.95 shirt was now less than ten dollars; the $34.95 one was also $9.98; as was the almost $60.00 one! Five shirts for less than the cost of what the higher one of them would have cost me alone — if I was the type who paid full prices for my clothes!

What drew me to that store, on that day, was the $25.00 off coupon I had off anything $50.00 or more. It was getting ready to expire. I had waited as long as I did to use it because I knew I would find some great deals in the transition of the seasons at the store. And so I did! With my total coming to just under $50.00 (a purposefully deceptive  practice by this particular store that I’ve just come to accept), I was forced to purchase one other thing; unfortunately a five dollar item to make up a difference of mere cents; but that’s no accident. I’m convinced the main retailer knows exactly what they’re doing when they run those coupons — you can never get right to $50.00; always will have to go over to use it!

It was still worth the trip and the cost to pay so little and get so much; not just for the sake of shopping, but to end up with clothes I have already worn, and will continue wearing, including later this year and most definitely into next and beyond.

My advice to other bargain shoppers who are looking for deals and wanting to maintain a budget?

  • Stop worry about what’s coming down the runway during Fashion Week. The fashion designers, sellers, and retailers are trying to make money convincing you that it’s not cool to wear “last season’s” stuff. In reality, unless you work in the fashion industry, your friends and coworkers are not keeping up with when or where you bought your clothes, or what’s suppose to be “in or out” for the average woman!
  • If you need to do some shopping, do it during a time, and with the retailers who offer you something in return (i.e. store cash dollars, coupons, reward points). They’re doing it to get you back into the store. But you’re doing it to take advantage of the savings on your next shopping trip.
  • If you can split your shopping needs up. Purchase half of what you need when those retailers are offering coupons (the old, spend $50 and get a $25 rewards coupon for your next visit). Then return to pick up the rest of your items using the coupon or points you earned the last time you were there. Four weeks ago, I bought two pairs of pants that I needed for a trip, which is what earned me that $25 coupon that was used to help buy those five tops later.
  • Sign up for the emailing lists of the retail outlets you visit the most. It might seem bothersome to start getting all their emails, but that’s the best way to keep up with when they’re having a major sale. Then choose that time period to do your shopping. Just be sure to confirm that the retailer will allow you to use that coupon on items marked down on sale. Another tricky thing you have to watch out for.
  • Never go shopping when you don’t need anything. But always remember that you can make purchases for the birthdays, anniversaries, graduations, and other special occasions of other people in your life; and still reap the benefit of bargain shopping and savings for yourself!

 

Why I Don’t Shop on Black Friday Anymore.

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I woke up super early on Thanksgiving morning. It wasn’t by choice; it just happened. I tried to lay in bed in the hopes of falling back to sleep, but when it didn’t happen by 4:30, I decided I was suppose to get up. So I did, and started my morning routine. It had been a month since I was at the gym, thanks to a nasty cold that wouldn’t go away (remnants of which still remain). So out of the door I went just after 6 o’clock in the morning, with predictably almost no traffic, and only about a dozen of other early morning risers in the gym already working out.

I was happy to learn that the gym would be closing early so that the workers could be home with their families that evening for Thanksgiving dinner, and that they wouldn’t reopen until 7:00 on Friday morning. Though my intentions were to wake up early and get my workout out of the way, I actually overslept a bit after turning off my 6 a.m. alarm. Funny how that worked out. The morning I wanted to sleep in, I woke up super early, and the morning I wanted to wake up early, I overslept!

 I was expecting a larger crowd at the gym. While there were more people there than the crazy time I arrived on Thursday, there still weren’t as many there as I thought might be following all the overeating and high calorie foods from the day before. But the parking lots of Kohl’s and Walmart sure were full!   

I’m not knocking anyone who decided to get up early to shop, although I question those who camped out, given the temperatures last night. But I do wonder how many of the people out there have just gotten caught up in all of the buzz and “excitement” of the whole Black Friday phenomenon.

I’ve been part of that Black Friday frenzy in the past. If I were to be honest, I loved it! Back when my nieces and nephews were younger; at that age where they were expecting something from their Auntie, I would go out and try to find good deals. Sometimes I would even shop on behalf of my mom, who didn’t care for the Black Friday crowds, but liked the Black Friday prices; especially since she had so many grandchildren to buy for. Now, all but one of them are young adults in their 20s and 30s, and in general, sadly, we hardly ever get to spend the holidays together anymore.

But today, just as with the past four or five years, I simply asked myself, “Is there anything out there that you need that you don’t already have?”  The answer of course was no. When I calculated the fact that there was also nothing out there I was planning to purchase for friends or family that just had to be bought today either, it definitely wasn’t worth it to me to be out there. 

Moreover, I wonder how many people; namely, the early morning shoppers, even know the origins or meaning behind “Black Friday” and where the term came from? According to History.com:

The first recorded use of the term “Black Friday” was applied not to holiday shopping but to financial crisis: specifically, the crash of the U.S. gold market on September 24, 1869. Two notoriously ruthless Wall Street financiers, Jay Gould and Jim Fisk, worked together to buy up as much as they could of the nation’s gold, hoping to drive the price sky-high and sell it for astonishing profits. On that Friday in September, the conspiracy finally unraveled, sending the stock market into free-fall and bankrupting everyone from Wall Street barons to farmers.

The most commonly repeated story behind the post-Thanksgiving shopping-related Black Friday tradition links it to retailers. As the story goes, after an entire year of operating at a loss (“in the red”) stores would supposedly earn a profit (“went into the black”) on the day after Thanksgiving, because holiday shoppers blew so much money on discounted merchandise. Though it’s true that retail companies used to record losses in red and profits in black when doing their accounting, this version of Black Friday’s origin is the officially sanctioned—but inaccurate—story behind the tradition.

So basically, when you run out to shop the day after Thanksgiving, buying a lot of stuff for the holidays — often things you “want,” rather than what you “need” — simply because the items have been discounted, you’re basically supporting the retail industry making profits at the expense of your own bank account and personal budget taking a loss.

As I’ve said to many friends and family members, it doesn’t matter how great a sale is; if you’re spending money on things you don’t need, you’re still wasting your money.

Be careful that your Black Friday shopping doesn’t turn into Red Saturday regrets, and January depression as the credit card bills start to roll in.