New Year's Resolutions

Do you "New Year's Resolution"? I'm not typically one for making big fancy resolutions on the first of the year. They are too easy to break, first of all. But I'm really more of an "improve as you go" kind of girl. Well, we can see how that's working for me. Just look at the last time I posted to my blog.
Well, in re-reading the last post, it very well could have been last week. Nothing much has changed. We still have the same jobs and we still have the same trouble making ends meet. Well, in fact maybe more trouble. Despite having negotiated a new cable contract 2 years ago, our bill has just gone up 3 times in 3 months. I believe there is to be another increase this month. I guess our super-saver agreement ran out. Time to negotiate again.
In addition, my son is now 17 and just got his driver's license. So the car insurance just went up by $700. I think that's prorated for a partial year so it's likely to be an even bigger increase.
Add to that, that as I move farther into my 50's the weight is creeping up as well as the aches and pains associated with it.
So, I guess I need to make some resolutions.
1. I resolve to lose enough weight to comfortably fit back into my size 10 clothes. (I got rid of the scale, the thought of stepping on it terrified me.)
2. Plan meals more around the freezer/pantry and less around the store circulars. ( I know shopping the sales saves money, but don't you sometimes feel like you buy more things, just because they are on sale?)
3. I would really like to cut the cable cord. Does anyone have any suggestions? I'll give more specifics in a subsequent post.
So what is a poor girl to do? It's fully apparent to me that I need to be very organized about this.
The first stop is the freezer and the pantry. I'll let you in on a little secret. My husband and my son are deer hunters and they did fairly well this fall. Not so much last year, but this year, I have plenty of venison in my freezer. Ground, sausage, roasts and stir fry pieces. Also, I have 2 freestanding upright freezers and the freezer that is attached to my refrigerator. I have a pantry in the kitchen and a cabinet in the basement for overflow. There should be plenty of food to at least use as a base for many meals to come if I plan right.

Still Trying to Make it Work

 

Well...It's been a long time since I've sat down to write here. I've certainly thought about it. I'm still trying to "Make it Work".  My husband has a job, but, being in retail now, he works a lot of long hours that seem to be the opposite of my hours. For instance, I worked from 8-11 this morning and he's working 11-8. Our income hasn't risen considerably over unemployment and although we've reportedly avoided the fiscal cliff, I think we're about to fall into the recently enlarged income tax sink hole.

So, currently I'm on a spending vacation. Well, for myself anyway. I've got a 14 year old son who just can't get with the "no spending program" and stop growing. Yeesh! He just keeps on getting taller and broader. I grew up with 2 sisters so this whole teenage boy thing is rather foreign to me. But he's currently in need of new sneakers, dress shoes, suit coat, orthopedic inserts for his shoes, Boy Scout pants, karate uniform and new blue jeans. Yikes. So I'm making a list and hoping to spread it out over a few paychecks.

Luckily I have a few money saving options. The dress shoes and suit coat don't get worn very often so we'll be shopping at Walmart and Goodwill for those. I can probably wait for a sale on Levis and even get free "ship to store" at Sears. The Boy Scout pants need to be kahki or green so maybe I can also find them on sale at Sears. As for the inserts, well, we tried getting Dr. Scholl inserts when he outgrew the last pair, but they were not really helpful, so in the end, not a bargain. And as for the sneakers, when you wear inserts, not every pair of sneakers fits so we take what we can find.

So I'm back to trying to clean out the pantry and the freezer before I buy more food. When I go to the grocery store my new plan is to shop the perimeter only for fill in food and fresh fruits, vegetables and dairy. (Obvious exemptions are toilet paper and pantry staples when I don't have an acceptable substitute.) Ok, maybe it's not a new plan, but I am approaching it now with new vigor.

One more item- paper products. I'm trying my best to buy as little as possible. I do have some paper towels in the cabinets for those really messy jobs, but on the counter I have a pretty basket with layers of cut up t-shirts. I use these for most day to day counter wipe-ups. I have micro-fiber cloths for bigger jobs and for meals we are using the cloth napkins that I used to hide away for special occasions.

                                                                                                                                                                             

Does Making My Own Save Me Money?

     I have spent the last two days making Beach Plum Jelly. I have a few things to say about this:

     First, whenever I mention either Beach Plum Jelly or Apple Butter to friends the response is either "What?" or "Oh my gosh, I haven't had that since I was a child." I don't think you can buy beach plum jelly. And the apple butter that you buy is nowhere near as good as the homemade. For all of my life these were made by either my Nanny or by my mother. This weekend was my first foray into the world of both jelly making and sterile canning.

     Secondly, jelly making is a breeze...until it doesn't work right. The juice seemed to cook up fine. The jars boiled and sterilized easily. All my jars sealed with a satisfying little "pop". What could be easier? I did just 15 jars yesterday. I needed to buy more cap collars today, so I only did one batch yesterday. It all seemed great until I checked them this morning and only 8 out of the 15 had jelled properly. I'm assuming that it was the last 8 jarred that jelled because they had more time over the heat, but that's just my very unscientific guess.  I had a lot of beach plum juice (2 gallons) so I had 3 batches (these are double batches, by the way) to do today. Jelly making is really a nice thing to do in the fall. It's still nice enough to have the windows open while you work, but it's better than spending a hot August afternoon in the kitchen over boiling pots of water.

     Thirdly, does making my own jelly save me money? Well I'm not sure. I think when you enter into the world of canning you need to be in it for the long haul. For me, I did not buy the berries or the jars (51 of them). I inherited about 1/3 of the flat tops and cuffs (when canning, the tops come in flat tops that seal onto the jars and screw on rings that hold them tight.) I borrowed the special canning tongs (to insert and remove hot jars from boiling water). I bought a wide mouth funnel for $5. I had to buy 3 boxes of tops (both parts) for about $4.50 each, 4 packets of Sure-Jell at $4 each and 20 lbs of sugar (yes, that's not a typo) for $13. Wait a minute while I get out my calculator.... That's about $47.50. That works out to a little over $1 per jar of jelly. Now some of my jars were 8oz jars, but some of my jars were 12 or 16 oz jars. Some of those jars I will give to my sister and my mother. Some of those jars will be given as Christmas gifts this December (a homemade gift fot $1? Not bad). The rest will be eaten by my family through the year or given as hostess or thank you gifts. So, even taking into account the pre-used jars and screw caps, I think it did save me money. A jar of Smuckers grape jelly (is not nearly as good, in my estimation) costs about $1.50 for 8oz. So far I'm ahead.

     Now, adding in the Time Value of Money (or maybe it's the Money value of Time), that's a little more difficult. This is quantified differently for different people. I find working in the kitchen to be therapeutic. I enjoy making food from scratch, and I love to have homemade gifts for people. So I find it hard to add more cost to the equation in this way.  So I'm sticking with a base cost of $1 per jar of jelly. My verdict? Yes, making my own jelly saves me money.

     Now...ask me again tomorrow after I've checked to see if all the jars have jelled properly.

My (Potted) Herb Garden Runneth Over

I am not much of a gardener. Most of my house plants look aneimic, I have trouble keeping the perennials going in any of the beds outside. So why did I try to grow a vegetable garden out my front door this spring? I thought it would be fun to have closer contact with my food source? Hmmm. No, I thought it would be cheaper. I planted radishes, carrots, onions, lettuce, and beets. I had planned to add tomatoes and green beans once the weather warmed up, but the first round was such an abysmal failure that I decided to forgo the rest. (I got one side dish of beets and beet greens, several bowls of lettuce, a few scallions and not a single radish or carrot.)
     Several years ago when we first moved into our house I was optomistic enough to think I could plant our sandy hill with herbs. Herbs like well drained soil, right? Apparently not this well drained. I carved out an 8 foot square on the diagonal, put in stone crossed pathways through the middle and planted different types of herbs in each corner. Nice idea, but the herbs couldn't really be convinced to proliferate.
     This year I bought small to medium pots of herbs and transplanted them into larger clay pots for my patio. Bingo! I finally hit the gardening jackpot. Lavender, Sage, Oregano, Parsley, Mint, Dill, Rosemary and Basil. Especially Basil. I've never been able to grow enough basil to make more than one measly little batch of pesto. Until now.
     So what do you do with more herbs than you can use at one time? I have dried oregano in the oven before and I has worked pretty well, but I prefer to freeze my herbs. Frozen herbs are much more like fresh than dried herbs. Soft herbs such as parsley and cilantro can be washed, dried well ( a lettuce spinner works well here), chopped and frozen in a plastic container. When ready to use simply scrape off the desired amount with a spoon into your salsa, soup or chicken piccata and return the rest to the freezer. Hardier and woodier herbs such as sage, rosemary and oregano can be washed, dried and frozen in small baggies right on the stem. When ready to use simply use your fingers to slide the leaves off the stem; chop them and add to your recipe.
     For basil, I wash it, chop it, mix it with a little olive oil. Then I spread it about 1/4" thick on a piece of plastic cling wrap. Fold it up and freeze it flat. Once frozen you can slice off 1 tablespoon at a time for soup or sauce. If you are making pesto from frozen basil, it thaws quickly in this form, ready to be mixed with garlic, chopped nuts and Parmesan cheese.
     Easy to freeze herbs. Easy to use.

So what do I do when the tax cuts expire?

    
Reading through the headlines on the Comcast homepage today I came across a small tidbit on the possibility that the tax cuts will expire in January. Without getting into my political persuasions I think it's fair to say that if the tax cuts expire we may all be in a pot of hot water come January. According to the Associated Press, "a married couple earning $50,000 to $80,000 with two children would see a tax increase of $2,200." We don't fall exactly into that category, but I think we are pretty close- actually we only have one child, so I'm doing the math and it doesn't look good.
     I've mentioned previously that my husband was laid off from his job in March. He recently accepted a job which he is starting in August. Yeah! We are all happy that the search is over. My foray into frugality, I fear, is not over. I continue to see this as a challenge in making my dollar stretch further and further.
     I'm still exercising at home. The Warrior X Fit program has become my favorite home work out. In addition, the 15 minute yoga Wake Up for a Beautiful Day found at Vimeo.com has really improved my morning tennis game.
     I'm still trying to eat up what's in the freezer rather than buying food. I think I'm generally more successful than not in this endeavor, but the freezer is not empty yet. Somehow new things keep finding their way in.
     I'm still making homemade rather than buying where it makes the most sense. A while back I mentioned reading the book Make the Bread, Buy the Butter. I'm still not quite finished with it. I bought the e-book because it was cheaper, but since I don't have a Kindle, I'm reading it on my laptop through Kindle for PC. This just means I won't be reading it during the day while I'm sitting on the beach. But anyway, I ,again, recommend this book. This woman has guts (after her success with chickens and lack of success with ducks, she went on to buy 2 of her own goats. You'll have to get the book yourself to see if she was successful.) On her recommendation, I made my own yogurt. It was cheaper than store bought, easy to make and the best yogurt I've ever had.
     So, there's no golden egg in my near future. I guess I'm in this for the long haul, but I'm still excited by the challenge to find new ways to make it work.

Love Your Library

     I feel like my last post was a little self serving. So I'm going to try and get myself back on track with this post.
     I am a reader. I've been a reader for as long as I can remember. What I mean is that I enjoy reading. In fact I think maybe there is a familial reading gene in my lineage. As I sit here typing this blog, both my mother and my neice are sitting with me on the porch reading (both under the ceiling fan, one swinging in the hammock). Sort of a perfect morning. As a young teenager, my friend Lisa and I spent hours upon hours reading Nancy Drew books. Sitting on the same screened porch where I sit now, we made our way through the entire series more than once. I didn't own many of those books; they came from the library. When I outgrew the Nancy Drew series (a very sad day for me) I moved on to books by Daphne DuMaurier, Charlotte Bronte, Phyllis A. Whitney, and Stephen King. My current library visits bring me down the stacks to Stuart Woods, Sue Grafton, Janet Evanovich and John Grisham. You could say I have an interest in detective/mystery books.
     But to talk just about books at the library is so limiting. The library is so much more. The library is books on CD for my long car trips to Cape Cod. It's movie DVDs. It's a cool place to sit and read in the summer and a warm place to sit and read in the winter. It's a wing back chair and the latest edition of Real Simple magazine. The library is a wi-fi hot spot for your lap top or tablet. Or sit down at one of the library's available computers.
     Every Monday our library is CT Works; a local resource for employment and career oportunities. They provide workshops, one on one sessions with job counselors and job networking groups.
     Our library offers ebooks for your Kindle or laptop.  A few months ago when I couldn't find a library hard copy of Dreams of Joy by Lisa See I was able to check out the ebook through the library. Ebooks are available for 3 weeks. There are even movies available to stream to your computer.  Our library also offers language learning through Mango Languages.
     My husband has now been unemployed for 5 months. In addition to his looking for employement we have been tossing around the idea of creating a professional organizing business. I did some research on the internet and found an online course on How to Become a Professional Organizer. The course is available for $60 from Universal Class.  Through CT Works my husband found the exact same course offered through our library- for free! How's that!
        I love free. I love my library. Check out your library and it's website to find out the wonderful offerings available to you for free.

Affordable Vacationing

When was the last time you and your family went on vacation? I'm not sure that the "Al Bundy Week in the Freezer Aisle" counts. Our last true family vacation was in 2007. We flew to Orlando, FL and spent 5 days at Walt Disney World. We scrimped and saved for this vacation. We used frequent flyer miles for at least 2 out of 3 airplane tickets. We stayed "off campus" to save money and rode the free shuttle to and from the park rather than rent a car.  Even with that, I think it took us 8-10 months to pay off the resulting credit card bill. I'm glad we waited until my son was 9 years old because, at least he was old enough to remember the Magic Kingdom. 

     This past December we took advantage of a Groupon. We spent a night at the Westport Inn for half price. We even "splurged" and got 2 half price rooms. One for us and one for our son. Westport is not far away, an hour drive, tops. We planned to make a weekend of it. Norwalk Maritime Aquarium on the way down; use the indoor pool and workout room while we were there; A tour of downtown Westport the next day; Louis' Lunch (birthplace of the hamburger) and Ikea on the way home. The weekend was mostly very nice. We love the aquarium, Westport is a nice town, Louis' Lunch is a great place to go for lunch (once) and Ikea is, well...Ikea. Sadly, the Westport Inn appeared half renovated and the pool was not in working order. Oh well. Bonus- we found a Trader Joe's while we were down there and I happened to be carrying a gift card in my wallet.

     That said, we are not a family who routinely plans a yearly vacation to (pricey) parts unknown. Working in a school system I often hear, "What did you do on your April vacation?" Hmm. How to answer? Nothing...Cleaned my linen closet...rediscovered Netflix. Hmm. Not very scintillating conversation.

     So, where do I vacation? The family homestead. This is no "staycation". No, we don't stay at home in Connecticut. Each summer we venture for a week or two  at a time (repeated several times throughout the summer) to my parents home on Cape Cod. We are lucky enough to have a place to stay, free of charge, in one of the most beautiful places in the United States. Every summer my parents graciously open up their house not only to me, my husband and my son, but also to my sister and her two children. We have the opportunity to swim in Barnstable Harbor, play tennis, sail, and enjoy friends, both old and new, without racking up huge credit card debt.

     But living with your family is not without its pitfalls. Much like the Westport Inn, you have to take the good with the difficult. While I struggle with sharing a bathroom and a certain lack of independence/control, I'm sure my parents are feeling a lack of privacy and perhaps remembering the old adage that "guests, like fish, begin to stink after 3 days". But we all grin and bear it. I'm sure my parents are conceding much more than I in this arrangement. I'm just thankful that they are so willing to adjust their lifestyles and schedules to us each year and give us the opportunity to vacation in such a wonderful and affordable way.