Archive | October, 2013

Saving Money Feels Fantastic : On To the Freezer (Again)

7 Oct

Hello! I really hope you all are clicking the links and reading her full article on squawkfox. I love her sense of humor that she throws in. Take this next one – Freezer Tactics.

http://www.squawkfox.com/2012/06/20/zombies/

I enjoyed reading this, although my freezer doesn’t need organized – I did that when I defrosted it!! (pat on the back for me inserted here) But I had never heard of OAMC – Once A Month Cooking. Interesting. I can  see how one could want to do this with working full time and whatever else fills up your schedule (a little one, like she says). But, for me, I prefer to have a few backups in the freezer for those random times. Not as a  regular thing. But, I am also blessed with the fact that I am home often enough to make dinner for my OH and I . She also has links for freezing  items from your garden – yay! 

Next on the list was freezer inventory – with templates for a freezer map and inventory list. I can see the super organized type A types, liking both of those. Sadly, i’m not either. So, i won’t be using those (check back when we have kids and i’ll probably sheepishly admit to using both). 

http://www.squawkfox.com/2012/07/05/freezer-organization/

Next up is the Organized Pantry, which i really, really need to go through anyway. I’ll describe our pantry situation to you in the next post. =) 

Thank you for joining me on this journey – let me know if you’re enjoying my blog posts 

Happy Fall,

Laura

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Saving Money Feels Fantastic: Apologies and Food or Fluff

4 Oct

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! 

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