Diet Busting and thoughts of Pickles

For the holiday weekend, I ate out twice, and had experiences at opposite ends of the "budget wise" spectrum.

First, two thumbs up goes to Red Mango for the self-serve, pay-by-the-ounce frozen deliciousness.   If you haven't been there and you have one nearby, check it out.  Not only is it healthy (they even post their calorie counts), but you give yourself as much as you want and pay only for the amount you'll eat. . . .as opposed to paying $7 for an ice cream you can only eat 1/3 of before it melts (which then cycles, because you eat more than you want and then have to pay for the gym membership and...well, that's a post for another day.)   So, I had 2 different flavors (dark chocolate and coconut) AND had a lot of strawberries on top, and walked out for under $2.  Not a bad treat.

Second, a big thumbs down to major chain burger restaurants.   I won't tell you which one I went to because they are all the same anyway, but I wanted a burger and a I wanted fries.  Just a bite of each would have been plenty.  I don't like a lot of stuff on my burger so I didn't want any of the value meals.  The kid's meal was $2.70 and would have been perfect, but I knew I would be paying for a toy & packaging...not to mention I didn't need the drink.    I was in the drive-thru and didn't have a lot of time to study everything up, but I saw they had a "double cheeseburger" on the "Value Menu" (so it was $1) and they also had fries on the $1 value menu.   OK.   I ordered "A small cheeseburger, just a single burger and a small fry."

In my mind, a SINGLE burger should have been less than a DOUBLE cheeseburger, and the fries should have been $1, so I was expecting everything to be under $2.  Sensible, right?

When the total was $2.91 I was a little confused, but since it was the correct items I didn't question her.  I reasoned "tax, the new food tax, drive-thru adders, etc...its been so long since I got a fast food burger, maybe the add-ons really did increase the bill that much.

When I looked at the receipt, I discovered that the single burger was $1.40. . .so I could have saved $0.40 by throwing away one patty.   The small fries were $1.25.  Apparently "value" is smaller than small.

Go figure.

Next time I am getting my toy and saving myself the stress!

Debt Free but not happy about it

Sometimes, I just get angry.

Angry over the spending of others.  Angry that I am not spending like they are.  Angry, perhaps, over the loss of my innocence.

I want to be able to go out to lunch and not think "Oh my goodness, this is SUCH a waste of money!"

I want to be able to buy a new top and not think about how "I don't really NEED this new top and perhaps this money should have simply gone into savings, because I might need this money five years from now when I need a new vehicle."

I want to stand in the snack aisle of the grocery store and think about what I WANT, and not about what is the best value, what I have a coupon for, or overall what a waste of money all the choices are.

I don't want to waste my time with cutting coupons, reading ads, getting discount emails or shopping around.

When I read an article like this one, about last season's Biggest Loser winner, who had lost his job and was in debt when he joined the show, I wonder how he feels when he's not being interviewed by Dave Ramsey.

Basically, this guy won $250,000, and because he had been a follower of Dave Ramsey was wise enough or prudent enough not to blow it all on frivolous items and then be left in more debt than ever when tax-time rolled around.

So he paid off some debt, eliminated a car payment, and starting meeting with CPA's and financial planners.

All very wise.  All very prudent.   Not at all fun.

He's 28 years old, and he's wondering how best to USE the money to cover his retirement, his children's educations, and all manner of sensible future plans.

Is he angry, ever?   Angry that the scare of job loss and debt robbed him of innocently blowing his 1/4 of one million dollars on.... ohh..... a boat?  Jewelry for his wife? Electronic toys?  A really awesome party?

Or is he just happy that he was prepared enough to keep a level head.

Personally, it makes me a bit depressed.  A reminder that even $250,000 wouldn't be enough to make me spend with abandon.   

May Check-In

It's hard to believe it, but it's 1/3 of the way through 2011 already.  How are your resolutions & goals coming along?

I am continuing to fully fund my ROTH IRA, so the progress on my future is coming along nicely.

I am continuing to put money away in my annual savings funds, though not as much as I would like.  I can tell you that Christmas will be slim in 2011, judging by where I am right now, although I am still putting some into the fund each month, as well as contributing to my future car fund and my current car repair fund.

I've been on a bit of a spending spree of late.  Not sure why that always happens in cycles, but I've learned in the past five years it certainly does.  We have some new furniture.  I have a new wardrobe.  I've had all sorts of one-on-one training at the gym.  It's cut back on how much goes into savings, but on the other hand, it's increased my comfort, it's increased my health and overall the purchases were all well worth it.

Summer is coming.  A time for vacations and traveling.  A time to watch the price of fuel and plane tickets sky rocket.

Perhaps a time for cookouts at home and lazy evenings watching the sunset.

But I'm rambling.

The point is, now is a time to assess and be honest with yourself.  Do you have the savings budgeted for your vacation?  For your summer wardrobe and activities?  For back-to-school purchasing?  Halloween? Thanksgiving? Christmas? New Years?  

The second half of the year is a downhill slide of spending that you have to be prepared for and budget for now.  

How much do you spend on cable?  Can you cut back for the summer and put that $30, $60 or $90 a month into the funds you've been neglecting for four months?

Now is the time of year to check on saving on auto insurance, to see you can scale back your cell phone plan, to remember to leave the lights off until it's actually dark out, to turn off your heat and avoid turning on your air conditioner.

I tell you this because I need the reminder.  For a month or two money has been flying out of my pockets, and it has me below the 1/3 mark of my annual goals.  But summer will come, and entertainment will be as inexpensive as reading a library book in the sunshine.  New clothes will last, new furniture will last, and the lessons that I learned at the gym will continue on long into the future.

Didn't My Cell Phone Used to have Games?

This weekend we went out to watch the UFC pay-per-view fights.  MMA is his sport of choice, so getting to watch the fights has become our regular date night.   

Unfortunately, the bar we normally watch at was not showing the fights this week, so we had to head to another bar.

This bar had EVERY television set to the fights.  No bar trivia games. No Nascar race on some of the televisions.  Nothing but men in tight shorts hitting each other everywhere I turned.

Needless to say, I quickly got bored.

Not to worry, though. In my purse I had my cell phone, the constant companion, filled with entertainment.

Which got me to thinking. . . .

When I bought my first cell phone, it came included with silly, low quality games.  Tetris or Crab Catch or a similarly mind-numbing game.  They drained the battery, but if you were stuck waiting in a parking lot waiting for someone it would entertain you for a while.

Over time, the games started getting better, more in depth, and actually draining the battery less.

Then came the day my phone came with three games, all in full color.  . . but I could only play them for a few minutes before I was required to buy them.  On that phone, I eventually did spend the $1 to buy a silly little game for that mindless entertainment I needed at times....like when I was sitting in a bar for four hours watching men beat each other senseless.

My current phone, though, didn't come with any games.  Where Tetris should be is a link to an Internet site with HUNDREDS of games. None of them are free.

This weekend I was bored enough I thought about spending another dollar on a game, just to have something on my phone.    That's when I learned. . . .

The games are now SUBSCRIPTIONS!  Pay-per-month!  Oh, and for many of them, expect to use airtime or data time when you want to play them!   I don't even HAVE a data plan because I just want my phone to make phone calls.   And, occasionally, provide free mindless entertainment.

Why is it that as technology gets more commonplace and easier to produce, it also is becoming more expensive?  Shouldn't phones still be able to offer crab catch or hangman included with the software?  Or, at the very least, if only fancy full color games can be marketed, why aren't there options you pay for once, and own? That don't require use of airtime when you're playing?  

I think I might dig out my held-hand electronic solitaire again.  Sure, the 3rd column burned out and you can't tell what the cards are anymore, but at least it won't rack up subscription fees!

Sad Day ~ Readjusting the Budget

When I printed off my budget for May, I officially had to adjust it.
I now allot myself $120 per month for fuel.   Considering my commute is less than 3 miles each way, that was sort of a depressing adjustment.
Let's hope that will be enough!

The Budget Wise Make Home Cooked Meals

We've all heard it.   Cooking at home leads to healthier food, reduced food budgets and happy, perfect families.   Not cooking at home is the downfall of modern society.

Right?

Before I tell you my story, let me tell you that I was raised with home-cooked meals.  I was raised sitting around a dinner table at 5 o'clock, on the dot, with no television or radio in the room and eating a meal my mother had prepared.  I was raised without Hamburger Helper, and I was raised in an environment where going out to eat was a treat, and definitely not the norm.

Let me also tell you that I ENJOY cooking.  I like to bake, I like to cook, I love to try new recipes and I am not "afraid" that what I make will come out poorly. 

Let me also say that I don't have kids, nor am I really "all that busy," come right down to it.  I work 40 hours, I hit the gym,  I don't volunteer overly much, don't have a second job, and my social life is a rare treat!


Now, all that being said, cooking at home is a pain in the butt!!   If you don't like to cook at home or tell me you don't have the time I will NOT lecture you on making the time or making it a priority or considering your budget, because chances are I fully agree with you!

Case in point, I purchased a very lovely pork loin not too long ago, which I was very much looking forward to having.  I had visions of pork and garlic mashed potatoes and zucchini and squashed sliced thin and grilled down to tastiness.  It would be better than anything I would get in a restaurant,  it would be much cheaper AND there would be plenty of leftovers.

On the day of the planned pork loin meal, I worked my normal 8 hours, and then hit the gym, arriving home about 6:30pm, famished.  I pulled out the defrosted pork loin, turned on the oven to preheat, and then looked up how long it would need to cook.

Forty to 50 minutes.

Excuse me?!?

So, I am not going to be eating until after 7:30pm, which means it will be nearly 8pm before we're done, then we have to clean up (have I mentioned we don't have a dishwasher so "cleaning up" is a family affair of washing and drying?), THEN I will have to prepare lunches for tomorrow, clean up AGAIN from that, go unpack my gym bag and repack it for tomorrow.  It will easily be 9pm then, so it will be another day where I don't have time to even turn on the computer, let alone blog, it will be a day where I have no time to get caught up on my book-club-book.  Heck, I won't even have time to just sit on the couch and relax!  The idea of working on a grocery list or starting laundry or doing any of the varied and random projects scattered around the house won't even occur to me.

On the other hand, if I had stopped at a restaurant on the way home from the gym and grabbed takeout, we would have been eating at 6:30pm, by 7 we would have been "cleaned up" and I would probably have the meals for the next day ready to go, too.  I'd energetically get the gym bag ready for the next day, possibly throw in a load of laundry, and have time to write a quick blog and check emails before moving on to camp on the couch, in front of the television, for an hour of relaxation.

Did I mention that I pass a minimum of 15 restaurants on my way from the gym to home? A distance of less than two miles, and that's only counting restaurants I have actually eaten at and would eat at again.  The alternative route is the same distance, but hits more like 20 restaurants.  I wouldn't have to go out of my way at all!

Let me add that while I am writing to you about the pork loin, since it is fresh on my mind from this week, it is actually not as bad as nights you attempt to cook something that requires action ~ stirring and adding ingredients.  Multiple pots and pans that will need washing.  Chopping and grating and measuring.  At least the pork loin I could pop in and walk away from.

Incidentally, my solution that night was to start the pork loin, then make Tuna Helper for that night.  I was done eating by the time the pork was done.  It set, was sliced, and wrapped for lunches.

So what's to be done?

You have to find balance, based on your lifestyle.  You have to have options that require different levels of preparation, and even options that different family members can create. 

If I can keep a frozen pizza on the freezer, then I can call him from the gym and ask him to pop it in the oven and he can prep a salad to go with it.  I can walk in the door to dinner on the table.

If we're open to having "breakfast for dinner" we can quickly fry up some eggs and meat, make some toast, and be eating within minutes.

I do buy the Hamburger/Tuna & Chicken Helpers and work them in to the busy nights or the lazy nights.
I do buy things to cook on the grill because it means I can do something else while he's in charge.

On the other hand, I do cook chicken breasts purchased on sale in 10 or 20 lb batches, and we do work together to chop it into "salad" size, back it in individual portions, and freeze it for use on salads, pizzas, in soups and pastas. 

I do cook large roasts on Sunday's and freeze individual portions for lunches or lazy quick dinners at a later date. 

I do microwave frozen vegetables and rely on instant mashed potatoes and frozen french fries for quick sides. 

Many of our meals are "made" by the frozen pre-made Texas Toast garlic bread, which I can throw on the grill, in the oven, or on the cook top to quickly add to just about any meal.

There are times I think about how simple and cheap the meal I am making would be if I just made it from scratch.  But when I start thinking "if I could just have a television/computer/chair in the kitchen, I realized the value in using the Philly Cooking Creme as a pasta sauce rather than making my own is well worth it!