Saving Money Feels Fantastic: Apologies and Food or Fluff

Hellooo again!!

First off, i want to apologize for not posting when i said i would. I had a ‘whopper’ of a migraine on Tuesday and have been recuperating. Thank goodness for wonderful people in my life who, at the drop of a hat, came and took care of me all day. I’m blessed despite my health issues.

So, back to the Challenge! The next one is Meal Planning. Now, this just so happens to be one of those things that i would absolutely love to do each week – but it’s also one of those things that don’t happen (like grooming my dog each week). Reading through her article : http://www.squawkfox.com/2012/05/25/meal-planner/ inspires me to try. But with my lack of energy and everything, i’m going to skip it and go on to the next item on the LIST : What’s your fluff factor? but i like the phrase – Food or Fluff??

Now, we all know what Fluff is, but for those of you who want to pretend you don’t know. I’ll enlighten you : cheetos – nut clusters – that chocolate peanut butter spread (what is that called??) – tater tots (these are up there on the list with french fries. i love them but know i shouldn’t eat them) – ice cream ….. notice any common factors with these items? They are all processed. I.E. – not fresh. not real. But get this percentage – we throw away about 25% of our grocery ‘haul’ each year. TWENTY-FIVE PERCENT. Ouch. That’s a lot of waste . And i love what she says (paraphrasing here) – ‘fluff doesn’t bring happiness. It costs you money’.

You have got to read her article on this, she has a great mathematical problem on how to calculate your ‘fluff factor’. And after that, she gets me for skipping the meal planning part. For how do you keep from buying ‘fluff’? Have a meal plan – make a grocery list – calculate fluff factor. Well, I might have to start trying to plan meals weekly. I will say this, with my diet, it’s harder to buy such ‘fluff’ and with my bank account (which is painful to look at) it makes it easier to buy essentials and essentials only.

They do know how to market those items though. Sadly. We are fed information that we neeeed it, we just won’t be as happy as we could be if we bought it. And sure, it’s true. For a few minutes. And then it’s gone.

Oops, sorry. I’ll get back on track here: Honestly, there isn’t much fluff in my basket when i go shopping. How about you? How do you avoid grabbing that tantalizing item? Share!

And next up is Freezer Tactics.

On other topics. I am currently trying a new Challah bread recipe. I will share with you how it goes. It’s looking a little iffy right now =( Plus i’m going to throw together a spicy root and lentil soup for dinner. YUM!