This weekend in Houston gas was down to $2.87 a gallon in the Copperfield area, and I believe at the HEB at Highway 529 & Barker Cypress, I saw $2.77/gallon. I'm wondering if July 4th Holiday is going to magically raise those gas prices again?
At my local super market, orange juice has gone up to $3.00 for a 1/2 gallon, even for the generic brand. Grocery prices in general are hitting the home budget this summer. In addition, my May electric bill just came in at $179.00. Youch! And the hottest summer weather hasn't even hit yet.
My parents noted a good local deal at the HEB supermarkets. If you pay attention to either the store ads, or the store displays at the front of the market, HEB allows you to buy a bundle of items such as items for a BBQ and then you get a couple of the items free. HEB tends to be less expensive than the other stores, so this might work out well, especially when you are cooking for a crowd.
I'd love to hear from readers about prices in your region of the U.S.
Monday, June 25, 2007
Yuck! Changing the litter box
My 21 pound tomcat, Johnny Cat (yep you got his name right - my son named him after cat litter), is one of the most affectionate and empathetic cats I have ever known. When my son was a little guy, kitty would curl up beside him while he ran a fever and keep a watchful eye. Every breath noted and every mumble acknowledged, sometimes with kitty curled up on the pillow while keeping one paw on my son. Johnny Cat loves his family.
However, his cat box proves a dilemma. For years, I used just the plastic litter box alone without a liner, because inevetibly JC would scratch through the liner from his shear weight alone.
Recently one of my neighbors suggested a better alternative. She told me to put an old towel down in the freshly scrubbed litter box and then put the cat box liner (I use two large 13-gallon kitchen garbage liners) in as normal. I didn't have any old towels, yet I did have a couple of those rug grabbers that I had picked up at a local garage sale.
I lined his litter box with the rug grabbers, and kitty has not scratched through the lining again. It seems that the old towel or anything that kitty can get a grip on, will keep the cat from shredding through the liner. Yippee! Problem solved.
Reverse the litter box liners as you pull them out of the litter box and have a third bag ready for disposal. I can almost guarantee that you won't be strowing cat litter all over the place when you head for the garbage can.
However, his cat box proves a dilemma. For years, I used just the plastic litter box alone without a liner, because inevetibly JC would scratch through the liner from his shear weight alone.
Recently one of my neighbors suggested a better alternative. She told me to put an old towel down in the freshly scrubbed litter box and then put the cat box liner (I use two large 13-gallon kitchen garbage liners) in as normal. I didn't have any old towels, yet I did have a couple of those rug grabbers that I had picked up at a local garage sale.
I lined his litter box with the rug grabbers, and kitty has not scratched through the lining again. It seems that the old towel or anything that kitty can get a grip on, will keep the cat from shredding through the liner. Yippee! Problem solved.
Reverse the litter box liners as you pull them out of the litter box and have a third bag ready for disposal. I can almost guarantee that you won't be strowing cat litter all over the place when you head for the garbage can.
Saturday, June 2, 2007
Credit card points...really a good deal?
My banking institution has been sending me advertisements both online and via U.S. mail lately about their latest credit card points system. The cost of the points club program is $1.00/month or $12.00/year.
When I looked further into the program, the fine print read that only 1 point was earned for every $4.00 spent. Then I look over at the reward list and note that I can receive a $100 Cash Rebate for 10,000 points or $40,000 dollars spent. So that would be net $88.00 for the year if I spent $40,000 on my credit card.
I don't mean to sound lame, but there have got to be better ways to earn $88.00 during the year, don't you think? I'd love to get some feedback on this one. Let me know what you think.
When I looked further into the program, the fine print read that only 1 point was earned for every $4.00 spent. Then I look over at the reward list and note that I can receive a $100 Cash Rebate for 10,000 points or $40,000 dollars spent. So that would be net $88.00 for the year if I spent $40,000 on my credit card.
I don't mean to sound lame, but there have got to be better ways to earn $88.00 during the year, don't you think? I'd love to get some feedback on this one. Let me know what you think.
Gas...$2.95/gallon
This week in Houston, gasoline prices are hovering between $2.95 - $3.10/gallon, depending on location and demand. $2.95/gallon is here the local neighborhood where there is high demand; $3.10/gallon was noted on long stretches of open road in northwest Houston.
I did okay last weekend during the Memorial Day specials, spending only $85.00 at my local grocery store compared to $100.00 the previous week.
This week the items in the dairy and cold sections of the store had gone up significantly. Shredded cheese was back to 2/$5.00, rather than 3/$4.98, lunch meat was up to $4.00/package rather than 2/$6.00 or 2/$7.00 and milk was back up into the $3.89/gallon or higher range.
Items at the 99 cent store that had previously been $2/.99 have now gone back up to 99 cents. It made for double the bill when I hit the checkout - GULP, so watch those prices. I need to take my own advice next time, and "think before I buy"!
I did okay last weekend during the Memorial Day specials, spending only $85.00 at my local grocery store compared to $100.00 the previous week.
This week the items in the dairy and cold sections of the store had gone up significantly. Shredded cheese was back to 2/$5.00, rather than 3/$4.98, lunch meat was up to $4.00/package rather than 2/$6.00 or 2/$7.00 and milk was back up into the $3.89/gallon or higher range.
Items at the 99 cent store that had previously been $2/.99 have now gone back up to 99 cents. It made for double the bill when I hit the checkout - GULP, so watch those prices. I need to take my own advice next time, and "think before I buy"!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)
