I've been paying a great deal of attention to the news lately. Between the presidential debates and the "financial rescue", I'm almost news saturated. What irks me about the financial bailout are the foolish people that we are bailing out. Although I have great respect for V.P. candidate Sarah Palin, she made a comment Thursday night during the debates that the people we are bailing out are "financial victims". Baloney!
Buying a $500,000 home on an Adjustable Rate Mortgage (ARM) when you can only afford a $100,000 home at a flat rate mortgage does not prove stupidity, yet it does mean that you might have low self esteem and feel the need to compete with the neighbors. Charging up all of your credit cards and living beyond your means will hit you hard during the next few years. You have a good chance of losing it all.
For the last 10 years, I've lived on nothing more than the money I make and what we can afford. I do admit to having two lines of credit...one for the car which is a necessity to living in Houston; and, another one for the heavy duty washer/dryers that I NEED for day to day living. That's it!
What we can't afford, we don't buy. Sometimes it hurts to the point that I want to cry. We all want the best for our children. Right now, $60.00 high school yearbooks and $100.00/month guitar lessons have been cut out of the home budget. I would love to go out and buy the best film-making equipment for my son's class projects, yet what would I be teaching him in the end? Mom's an endless source of money and I'm going to live with her forever?
Hopefully I am teaching my son to live on what he makes and that saving makes sense. Also, maybe I can prompt him into growing up and getting a job, and finally getting brave enough to take driving lessons?
And, we're starting to rethink college. My son is already saying he wants to spend his first two years at the local community college. With this mom's frayed nerves and just trying to make ends meet by breaking the glass salary barrier, I'm almost nodding my head "yes" in agreement with him.
The media says that we're in for approximately 3 years of high inflation in order to pay for the bailout. I will be going back to the ways of the recession of twenty years ago...shopping the grocery sales, taking my calculator to the grocery store, buying only what we need, and becoming a fanatical couponer.
By the way, check out some of the various blog sites on couponing. You'll find lots of good tips, including one lady and her fan club who give you real examples of how they spend $2.00 or less by shopping the weekly bargains at CVS. Nothing like buying something for little or nothing!
Take care of you and yours...Terre
Showing posts with label frugal. Show all posts
Showing posts with label frugal. Show all posts
Saturday, October 4, 2008
Saturday, August 2, 2008
$3.00 Pot Roast
$3.00 Pot Roast? Yes, believe it or not, I have been able to get some high quality meats at my local Randall's store, courtesy of their discount section. In Houston, at least on the far left side of the Randall's (grocery) meat case, there is a section containing meat that needs to be immediately cooked, or in my case frozen.
Last week while perfoming my taxi cab duties for my teen's film shoot, I grabbed four packages of meat (ground beef, chicken, pork and beef fajita) in 1 lb. packages for a grand total of $5.90. This will feed my household of two, anywhere from 4 to 8 meals.
Yesterday, I made a pot roast in the crock pot. My base was a package of onion dip mix (onion soup mix works well, too), with 1" of water. I turned the pot on high and put the frozen meat into the pot. After turning the meat a couple of times at the 1 and 2 hour marks, I finally added diced potatoes and carrots to the mix at the 3 hour mark. The result? Two hours later after returning from another teen taxi cab run, our delicious dinner is waiting for us. There were no leftovers last night, although the beef and onion broth (sans the fat ladeled out) will make for a good pot of soup later.
Do you have frugal recipe ideas? Please feel free to post and share, or send me your blog links.
Last week while perfoming my taxi cab duties for my teen's film shoot, I grabbed four packages of meat (ground beef, chicken, pork and beef fajita) in 1 lb. packages for a grand total of $5.90. This will feed my household of two, anywhere from 4 to 8 meals.
Yesterday, I made a pot roast in the crock pot. My base was a package of onion dip mix (onion soup mix works well, too), with 1" of water. I turned the pot on high and put the frozen meat into the pot. After turning the meat a couple of times at the 1 and 2 hour marks, I finally added diced potatoes and carrots to the mix at the 3 hour mark. The result? Two hours later after returning from another teen taxi cab run, our delicious dinner is waiting for us. There were no leftovers last night, although the beef and onion broth (sans the fat ladeled out) will make for a good pot of soup later.
Do you have frugal recipe ideas? Please feel free to post and share, or send me your blog links.
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Still doing hospital visits
It's almost 3 weeks later and my household is still making daily and semi-daily runs to the hospital. I am fortunate because the hospital is on my route to/from work, and I can run lots of errands on my way home. I feel like I am on auto pilot at this point.
It has been difficult to run a frugal household while having a sick loved one in the hospital. One thing I have discovered, the hospital volunteer shop is cheaper on snacks than the hospital cafeteria, and cheaper than the vending machines. I came out with 2 bags of Chex snacks and a bottle of water for $1.72. I know I would have paid at least $3.00 anywhere else, so it pays to have an open mind.
My grocery bill has been higher due to buying convenience foods. We don't always give in to eating fast food, although my waistline says "time to give it up". Last weekend, I bought lots of veggies for myself - easy to microwave and nutrition packed yams, potatoes and acorn squash. Also, I've been able to catch some of the lower salt microwave meals at $2.50/item, which is also much cheaper than eating out.
Anyway, say a prayer for my family. We've still got a long healing process for two family members during the next few weeks.
Take care,
Terre
It has been difficult to run a frugal household while having a sick loved one in the hospital. One thing I have discovered, the hospital volunteer shop is cheaper on snacks than the hospital cafeteria, and cheaper than the vending machines. I came out with 2 bags of Chex snacks and a bottle of water for $1.72. I know I would have paid at least $3.00 anywhere else, so it pays to have an open mind.
My grocery bill has been higher due to buying convenience foods. We don't always give in to eating fast food, although my waistline says "time to give it up". Last weekend, I bought lots of veggies for myself - easy to microwave and nutrition packed yams, potatoes and acorn squash. Also, I've been able to catch some of the lower salt microwave meals at $2.50/item, which is also much cheaper than eating out.
Anyway, say a prayer for my family. We've still got a long healing process for two family members during the next few weeks.
Take care,
Terre
Sunday, January 20, 2008
The art of feeding teenage boys
All of this raising a boy stuff is totally new to me, even almost 16 years later. Why? I grew up in a household of all females, except for my father.
My main challenge these days is keeping my teen son fed. Last night, a pound of ground meat fed the boys sloppy joes and bolognese sphaghetti for me. This is one of my frugal mom secrets - he hates sphaghetti and I hate sloppy joes. One frugal sauce can sometimes produce many meals. Last night there was nothing left over. The good news? Where can you feed 3 people for $7.50 if we were eating out?
The other thing I've learned about feeding a teen is to NEVER, ever stock up the whole household at one time. If you do, you'd better have a locked cupboard somewhere. It doesn't matter how much food I buy, it's never enough for the bottomless pit. 90% of the food bill belongs to him, 10% of the other stuff is mine. My stuff is on the outside ring of the grocery store, his is all the inside, expensive stuff.
One thing I've gotten smart on, if my son will cooperate. Go feed him a meal at Sonic and then make a run to Dollar General. Teen junk food and beverages are a lot cheaper there. I'm talking $60.00 at DG vs. $100.00 at the local grocery. Sometimes I can persuade him to make the 99Cent Store run with me, but those days are very rare. He has to be in desperate need of cheap electronics and chocolate to go there.
Happy living...T
My main challenge these days is keeping my teen son fed. Last night, a pound of ground meat fed the boys sloppy joes and bolognese sphaghetti for me. This is one of my frugal mom secrets - he hates sphaghetti and I hate sloppy joes. One frugal sauce can sometimes produce many meals. Last night there was nothing left over. The good news? Where can you feed 3 people for $7.50 if we were eating out?
The other thing I've learned about feeding a teen is to NEVER, ever stock up the whole household at one time. If you do, you'd better have a locked cupboard somewhere. It doesn't matter how much food I buy, it's never enough for the bottomless pit. 90% of the food bill belongs to him, 10% of the other stuff is mine. My stuff is on the outside ring of the grocery store, his is all the inside, expensive stuff.
One thing I've gotten smart on, if my son will cooperate. Go feed him a meal at Sonic and then make a run to Dollar General. Teen junk food and beverages are a lot cheaper there. I'm talking $60.00 at DG vs. $100.00 at the local grocery. Sometimes I can persuade him to make the 99Cent Store run with me, but those days are very rare. He has to be in desperate need of cheap electronics and chocolate to go there.
Happy living...T
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Laundry Wise...frugal & healthy household
"Houston - the national geographic wonderland of the world". This was the quote from one of my oil industry boss' wives. She had moved to Houston on the company transfer and couldn't believe that frogs were actually mating in her backyard pool.
In this warm climate, many other things flourish, too. A few summers ago, my son contracted a mild form of MRSA, the dreaded drug resistant version of the staph infection, now common to hospitals and locker rooms everywhere.
One evening after my son had his shower, he lifted his arms and I noticed a large 2" diameter looking boil about 4 inches below his armpit. I tell you, I just about freaked! One doctor visit later (luckily the pediatrician understands my budget), and a tube of prescription Bactroban in hand, we were told to swab our nasal passages with a dab of Bactroban ointment on a cotton swab twice daily, for a month. Then we were told to wash everything in hot water (and when able, bleach) and to especially keep the washing machine clean by periodically giving our machine a bleach bath.
What shocked me most was that although we are not the cleanest people in the world, I certainly could have won a clean laundry contest, as I was doing at least 20 loads of laundry a week.
To avoid germs, wash most things in warm water, towels in hot water, and clean your laundry machine periodically with a heavy bleach solution (at least one cup of bleach to a full load of water by itself) to avoid bacteria.
To frugually make the most of all that washing, do full loads. Buy your towels all in the same color - in my opinion, preferably white to bleach and know they are clean. Buy cheaper washclothes in bulk and use as one-time use hand towels - this avoids spreading germs between household members.
And, ooo gross, should you have a runny nose that won't stop (MRSA colonizes in the nose!), or a huge boil that appears out of nowhere, please go see your doctor immediately. MRSA can kill if you don't catch it quickly. For more information, do a search on the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website for MRSA.
Be healthy! Terre
In this warm climate, many other things flourish, too. A few summers ago, my son contracted a mild form of MRSA, the dreaded drug resistant version of the staph infection, now common to hospitals and locker rooms everywhere.
One evening after my son had his shower, he lifted his arms and I noticed a large 2" diameter looking boil about 4 inches below his armpit. I tell you, I just about freaked! One doctor visit later (luckily the pediatrician understands my budget), and a tube of prescription Bactroban in hand, we were told to swab our nasal passages with a dab of Bactroban ointment on a cotton swab twice daily, for a month. Then we were told to wash everything in hot water (and when able, bleach) and to especially keep the washing machine clean by periodically giving our machine a bleach bath.
What shocked me most was that although we are not the cleanest people in the world, I certainly could have won a clean laundry contest, as I was doing at least 20 loads of laundry a week.
To avoid germs, wash most things in warm water, towels in hot water, and clean your laundry machine periodically with a heavy bleach solution (at least one cup of bleach to a full load of water by itself) to avoid bacteria.
To frugually make the most of all that washing, do full loads. Buy your towels all in the same color - in my opinion, preferably white to bleach and know they are clean. Buy cheaper washclothes in bulk and use as one-time use hand towels - this avoids spreading germs between household members.
And, ooo gross, should you have a runny nose that won't stop (MRSA colonizes in the nose!), or a huge boil that appears out of nowhere, please go see your doctor immediately. MRSA can kill if you don't catch it quickly. For more information, do a search on the CDC (Center for Disease Control) website for MRSA.
Be healthy! Terre
Frugal things to do with old shampoo
- Baby shampoo works great for getting the fleas off of your dog.
- Put a drop or two of baby shampoo in 2 - 4 ounces of water and use it as a rinse to wash your eyelids. (This was a suggestion from my grandmother's doctor - it seems the oil on your eyelids can make your eyes burn - something I must have inherited.)
- Use a drop of baby shampoo on a warm washcloth to clean your cat's eyes. My kitty gets extreme dry eyes - he hates this routine, yet it seems to be helping his eye allergies.
- Use any non-oily shampoo to wash your hand washables. A little goes a long way, and your clothes will smell good, too.
Any more suggestions? I'm sure I've forgotten at least a dozen more uses.
Sunday, September 9, 2007
Only a few more days
I've got to admit that I'm becoming a Blogger junkie. Luckily, the new cable internet will be installed this Friday, and hopefully that will mean I can start posting more often.
In the meantime, my friend Pat Veretto (see link on the right) has nominated me as a "Frugal Subversive" on her website. I had to look up "subversive" to see if that meant a good or a bad thing. It means that I honestly attempt to live the frugal lifestyle.
These days with the son now in high school, life doesn't seem frugal. I still need to write out $30 in checks for school supplies. The yearbook is $75 and the school dances are another $75. Eeek! I think I need to take on some technical writing sidework at home!
I hope to be successfully writing again next weekend. Until then...
In the meantime, my friend Pat Veretto (see link on the right) has nominated me as a "Frugal Subversive" on her website. I had to look up "subversive" to see if that meant a good or a bad thing. It means that I honestly attempt to live the frugal lifestyle.
These days with the son now in high school, life doesn't seem frugal. I still need to write out $30 in checks for school supplies. The yearbook is $75 and the school dances are another $75. Eeek! I think I need to take on some technical writing sidework at home!
I hope to be successfully writing again next weekend. Until then...
Friday, July 27, 2007
Mom's frugal time out (from the dog!)
I have a dog, a toy rat terrier, who loves to be loved. She makes you love her by being in your face everyone moment of every day. She follows me everywhere, because obviously, I am the mom of the wolf pack. Notice I didn't say alpha dog, because I would most certainly leave that honor to all 12 pounds of her.
When I need a break from this beloved creature, I attempt to find her rolled up rawhide bone, it's at least 8 inches long. Instead of going to the local pet store and buying expensive treats, I make my own, and the dog loves them.
I keep a jar of $1.00 store peanut butter in the refrigerator. Then I take a teaspoon and try to fill in every available hole in the bone. In addition, I usually smear a bit of peanut butter on top of the bone for her to lick off easily.
The end result...a dog who barks incessantly while I am refilling her rawhide bone. Then I hand it to her and she prances out of the kitchen with the bone and hides quietly under the table for an hour. When she's done, she drops in and says hello. And believe me, peanut butter breath smells a lot better than her usual doggy breath.
When I need a break from this beloved creature, I attempt to find her rolled up rawhide bone, it's at least 8 inches long. Instead of going to the local pet store and buying expensive treats, I make my own, and the dog loves them.
I keep a jar of $1.00 store peanut butter in the refrigerator. Then I take a teaspoon and try to fill in every available hole in the bone. In addition, I usually smear a bit of peanut butter on top of the bone for her to lick off easily.
The end result...a dog who barks incessantly while I am refilling her rawhide bone. Then I hand it to her and she prances out of the kitchen with the bone and hides quietly under the table for an hour. When she's done, she drops in and says hello. And believe me, peanut butter breath smells a lot better than her usual doggy breath.
Wednesday, July 25, 2007
Frugal home computing
Hi everyone! It's frugal home computing time, so please excuse the lack of postings through the summer.
If anyone has the answer to this one, please let me know.
My son and I are manually handing off the DSL modem back and forth, because it is Houston summer time and we need to conserve the dollars for our electric bill. I ordered the megaconglomerate's wi-fi DSL modem and that cost me $130.00. It came with an offer for $$ off to have a geek come hook it up for me. Unfortunately, we did not have the $$ for the geek, either. The lack of instructions for the whole setup was thoroughly frustrating and I refused to play mega's "sock it to me" game. End result: We shipped it all back and I'm refusing to pay the bill until proper credits are made to my account.
So here's my dilemma: I've got wi-fi on my PC, so how can I hook up to the internet for relatively cheap at home without having to network my two home PC's? Would cable modems hooked into our TV cable system be a cheaper alternative overall?
Any help is appreciated.
If anyone has the answer to this one, please let me know.
My son and I are manually handing off the DSL modem back and forth, because it is Houston summer time and we need to conserve the dollars for our electric bill. I ordered the megaconglomerate's wi-fi DSL modem and that cost me $130.00. It came with an offer for $$ off to have a geek come hook it up for me. Unfortunately, we did not have the $$ for the geek, either. The lack of instructions for the whole setup was thoroughly frustrating and I refused to play mega's "sock it to me" game. End result: We shipped it all back and I'm refusing to pay the bill until proper credits are made to my account.
So here's my dilemma: I've got wi-fi on my PC, so how can I hook up to the internet for relatively cheap at home without having to network my two home PC's? Would cable modems hooked into our TV cable system be a cheaper alternative overall?
Any help is appreciated.
Wednesday, May 23, 2007
Good luck, a little planning, $2.00 or less spent
I've shopped for next to nothing for a couple of my "in-between" major shopping trips lately.
If you haven't heard me say it before, I enjoy shopping where you could literally set up a picnic on the floor and not worry about eating there. A couple of my local stores fit that profile, CVS drugstore and Randall's grocery store.
Both stores offer loyalty programs. CVS offers those wonderful CVS free bucks, in addition to giving $3.00 - $4.00 off every $15.00 - 20.00 spent. These coupons print at the bottom of your receipt, which probably tells you why my wallet is always overflowing even though there's no money in it. I take advantage of these free bucks.
Last night at CVS, I paid $1.36 for the following items: 1 gallon of milk, 1 Lever body wash, 2 bags of Goldfish crackers, and 2 pints of ice cream. Here's how I did it. I had a $1.00 coupon for the Lever body wash, I had the $10.00 freebie bucks from recent prescription purchases ($10.00 off for every 5 prescriptions purchased - I save on the prescriptions, too - that's another article in itself!), and a $3.00 coupon off for $15.00 spent. Hurrah, just enough groceries to make it to payday!
I came across a similar deal at Randall's approx. 2 weeks ago. I always ask for the extra coupons that are sitting on the register. Guess what? Two of those coupons ended up to be freebie bucks adding up to $13.00. In addition, I found an in-store grocery coupon for one of the items in my cart. I ended up paying only $2.00 that night for $15.00 worth of groceries.
Both of these shopping trips needed a bit of pre-planning, yet I think the 15 minutes I spent prior to each of the two shopping trips paid off. I'm not the world's best couponer; however, I do enjoy "free"!
Good luck, and think before you buy...Terre
If you haven't heard me say it before, I enjoy shopping where you could literally set up a picnic on the floor and not worry about eating there. A couple of my local stores fit that profile, CVS drugstore and Randall's grocery store.
Both stores offer loyalty programs. CVS offers those wonderful CVS free bucks, in addition to giving $3.00 - $4.00 off every $15.00 - 20.00 spent. These coupons print at the bottom of your receipt, which probably tells you why my wallet is always overflowing even though there's no money in it. I take advantage of these free bucks.
Last night at CVS, I paid $1.36 for the following items: 1 gallon of milk, 1 Lever body wash, 2 bags of Goldfish crackers, and 2 pints of ice cream. Here's how I did it. I had a $1.00 coupon for the Lever body wash, I had the $10.00 freebie bucks from recent prescription purchases ($10.00 off for every 5 prescriptions purchased - I save on the prescriptions, too - that's another article in itself!), and a $3.00 coupon off for $15.00 spent. Hurrah, just enough groceries to make it to payday!
I came across a similar deal at Randall's approx. 2 weeks ago. I always ask for the extra coupons that are sitting on the register. Guess what? Two of those coupons ended up to be freebie bucks adding up to $13.00. In addition, I found an in-store grocery coupon for one of the items in my cart. I ended up paying only $2.00 that night for $15.00 worth of groceries.
Both of these shopping trips needed a bit of pre-planning, yet I think the 15 minutes I spent prior to each of the two shopping trips paid off. I'm not the world's best couponer; however, I do enjoy "free"!
Good luck, and think before you buy...Terre
Thanks to The Stretcher Community!
I've got to say a huge "Thanks!" to the Dollar Stretcher community, especially Pat Veretto, for their help in giving my site a second look. It's a great incentive to keep writing.
Here's the link to the discussion/bulletin boards at stretcher.com:
http://community.stretcher.com/
I promise I'll get out there and create a profile soon!
Regarding the stretcher.com website, be sure to give their website a view, also. They have several areas in their website, everything from the bulletin boards with how-to's and advice on frugal living to articles on credit cards and how to stay out/payoff debt, to the pros/cons of renting vs. owning your home. It certainly pays to be an informed consumer.
Good luck, and think before you buy...Terre
Here's the link to the discussion/bulletin boards at stretcher.com:
http://community.stretcher.com/
I promise I'll get out there and create a profile soon!
Regarding the stretcher.com website, be sure to give their website a view, also. They have several areas in their website, everything from the bulletin boards with how-to's and advice on frugal living to articles on credit cards and how to stay out/payoff debt, to the pros/cons of renting vs. owning your home. It certainly pays to be an informed consumer.
Good luck, and think before you buy...Terre
Sunday, April 15, 2007
Shop those cellphone prices
I admit it. My son and I had to trash our cellphones two years ago because the pricetag of $90.00/month was killing our household budget, especially as summer electricity bills kept rising.
Recently, we lost our home phone service for a whole week due to a bad thunderstorm that knocked out our landlines, and courtesy of the "new and improved extremely large mega-conglomerate phone company" passing the buck on the customer service front. I was not happy to say the least.
So being a good mom and not wanting to leave my child stranded at home without a phone line, I started shopping the internet for a temporary cellphone. The range of prices vary greatly, everything from those old family package plans to finally, a new and improved system of buying your cellphone and the number of minutes you want to go with it.
Here's what I did. I went to Walmart one morning and looked at the different phones. The sales clerk was very helpful, especially when I started asking questions about coverage areas and which satellite systems the phones ran from. Guess what? The cellphones are runnning off of the same towers your high-price major cellphone companies are using!
I'm not endorsing any one product here. However, I ended up choosing a remanufactured Nokia cellphone running off of the Net 10 system. The wonderful part? The cellphone purchase and two months of service are only costing me $40.00 total. When my 300 minutes expires after 60 days, I have the option of buying the number of minutes I need in quantities of 150, 300, 450, 600, etc. minutes - all at 10 cents a minute. If you're a low-end user, like myself, this plan is perfect. My potential $15.00 a month bill certainly beats the $90.00 + I used to pay.
Good luck in your cellphone search!
Recently, we lost our home phone service for a whole week due to a bad thunderstorm that knocked out our landlines, and courtesy of the "new and improved extremely large mega-conglomerate phone company" passing the buck on the customer service front. I was not happy to say the least.
So being a good mom and not wanting to leave my child stranded at home without a phone line, I started shopping the internet for a temporary cellphone. The range of prices vary greatly, everything from those old family package plans to finally, a new and improved system of buying your cellphone and the number of minutes you want to go with it.
Here's what I did. I went to Walmart one morning and looked at the different phones. The sales clerk was very helpful, especially when I started asking questions about coverage areas and which satellite systems the phones ran from. Guess what? The cellphones are runnning off of the same towers your high-price major cellphone companies are using!
I'm not endorsing any one product here. However, I ended up choosing a remanufactured Nokia cellphone running off of the Net 10 system. The wonderful part? The cellphone purchase and two months of service are only costing me $40.00 total. When my 300 minutes expires after 60 days, I have the option of buying the number of minutes I need in quantities of 150, 300, 450, 600, etc. minutes - all at 10 cents a minute. If you're a low-end user, like myself, this plan is perfect. My potential $15.00 a month bill certainly beats the $90.00 + I used to pay.
Good luck in your cellphone search!
Sunday, April 8, 2007
Carpet Cleaner for Extremely Old Carpets
Dawn dish soap has a million uses, although one of my favorites is using it to shampoo my cruddy old apartment carpet that is a lost cause to the world. I've tried several different carpet formulas over the years - generic oxyclean, the commercial carpet cleaning products containing ammonia, even just plain hot water. And still the best solution I've found is about 3 - 4 tablespoons of Dawn dish soap (pick your favorite scent - Apple smells heavenly) added to hot tap water, and then go to town shampooing your carpet.
I admit it gets really sudsy, yet I'm not complaining, especially when I'm pulling pure sludge out of my carpet. It is gross to say the least. Be sure to pour the dirty water tank remains down your toilet, and flush often.
The day after your carpet dries, make sure you run the vacuum thoroughly and pick up the pilled carpet dust bunnies. I assure you your carpet will be clean and remarkably soft for at least the next two months, and you won't have black feet as you get into bed at night. (No judgements here, I'm the lone woman coping with a 15 year old boy, frequent teen hangouts and a dog and a cat!)
Another benefit, I live in Houston and we don't have flea problems in my household.
I admit it gets really sudsy, yet I'm not complaining, especially when I'm pulling pure sludge out of my carpet. It is gross to say the least. Be sure to pour the dirty water tank remains down your toilet, and flush often.
The day after your carpet dries, make sure you run the vacuum thoroughly and pick up the pilled carpet dust bunnies. I assure you your carpet will be clean and remarkably soft for at least the next two months, and you won't have black feet as you get into bed at night. (No judgements here, I'm the lone woman coping with a 15 year old boy, frequent teen hangouts and a dog and a cat!)
Another benefit, I live in Houston and we don't have flea problems in my household.
Saturday, March 31, 2007
Frugal Fun - A Toad in My Flower Pot
It looks like this one - it is an endangered Houston Toad? We have a pair of them!Tiny (my little 11 pound rat terrier) and I were outside early this morning repotting a couple of our herb plants. Who are the herbs for? Tiny, of course! She loves to eat fresh pieces of broken mint and also enjoys the earthy scents of thyme, rosemary and oregano.
Imagine my surprise when I looked down into the now empty pot of mint and found a toad inside! This is the second big toad we have found this week. We found the first one hiding underneath a mud hole beside the sidewalk.
Toads are frugal bug eaters. We don't mind sharing our container gardening space with these guys, yet next time I hope the toads won't almost kill my mint by digging underneath them and depriving them of water!
Friday, March 23, 2007
Frugal, Flavored Iced Tea
My son and I drink lots of water - tap water, filtered into the Brita pitcher, usually.
However, we do get tired of drinking water all of the time, so I make up a couple of decaf iced teas that taste great and beat the heat. We're always watching our weight, so we use Splenda if we want a sweet tea.
Here's the recipes for our favorites - peach or raspberrry
1 bag decaf flavored peach or raspberry tea
2 bags decaf black tea
Approx. 20 ounces of boiling water
1 ceramic tea pot
Steep for 5 minutes. Allow to cool, or pour over lots of ice.
Yum, I think I'd better go make some now!
However, we do get tired of drinking water all of the time, so I make up a couple of decaf iced teas that taste great and beat the heat. We're always watching our weight, so we use Splenda if we want a sweet tea.
Here's the recipes for our favorites - peach or raspberrry
1 bag decaf flavored peach or raspberry tea
2 bags decaf black tea
Approx. 20 ounces of boiling water
1 ceramic tea pot
Steep for 5 minutes. Allow to cool, or pour over lots of ice.
Yum, I think I'd better go make some now!
Living without health insurance
After reading my last post, you are probably wondering, how does this idiot woman make it without health insurance? I will be glad to elaborate. I don't think any of my ideas are perfect, it's just that I've learned to make do after three years of living without health insurance.
A little background about my family situation. I'm a single mother for the past 11 years supporting an almost 15-year old son who is the light of my life. I also lovingly support a cat and a dog, although unfortunately, they do not qualify for tax relief of any sort. I generally fall about $1,000 - $3,000 short any year of qualifying for the Earned Income Credit, therefore disqualifying me of any significant discounts on my tax bill. I do get monthly child support from my ex, although I would consider it insignificant, in light of the fact that it never even came close to paying for a monthly childcare invoice. I'm ranting, I know...
So back to the subject, how do I make it on no health insurance?
A little background about my family situation. I'm a single mother for the past 11 years supporting an almost 15-year old son who is the light of my life. I also lovingly support a cat and a dog, although unfortunately, they do not qualify for tax relief of any sort. I generally fall about $1,000 - $3,000 short any year of qualifying for the Earned Income Credit, therefore disqualifying me of any significant discounts on my tax bill. I do get monthly child support from my ex, although I would consider it insignificant, in light of the fact that it never even came close to paying for a monthly childcare invoice. I'm ranting, I know...
So back to the subject, how do I make it on no health insurance?
- Pay cash only at the doctor's office.
- Tell your doctor you are a cash patient, especially if they are working for an HMO.
- Be prepared to argue or discuss your medical fees with the clerk at the front desk. Explain that you are paying cash and have no health insurance up front. I know this is embarrassing! Be tough - your home finances should be treated as a business decision, too!
- Be informed - know about the medical tests that have been requested for you and what benefit they have for reaching a diagnosis. I had to cut out several medical tests recently, just because I couldn't afford them.
- Know your targeted health risks. Mine are heart health and diabetes. Your family history might suggest cancer or some other high risk illness.
- Ask your doctor for a generic drug, free samples, or a low cost over-the-counter alternative.
- Sign up for any prescription discounts that you may qualify for such as Partnership for Prescription America, etc.
- Walmart and Target now have $10.00 or less generics. Ask for a generic alternative, if possible.
- Do you really need to go to the Emergency Room? Do your ABC's - does it involve Airway/Breathing or Circulation (Bleeding)? If you can't breathe or are bleeding badly, definitely go. Otherwise, consider waiting until regular doctor's hours for a visit, or try one of the smaller 24/7 emergency clinics.
- Home remedies - I was fortunate enough to come from a pioneer Texas family. One set of relatives was from West Texas and the other from North Texas. Luckily these traditions have been passed along verbally from one generation to the next. Don't know any home remedies? The internet is a great resource.
- Live healthy, be proactive about your health. Take care of yourself including your dental health, eat right, be active.
Let's all pray that our health care system in America changes with the next Presidential election. I don't have the answers, yet I know something better awaits us. In the meantime, take care of yourself...Terre
Health care in America, or lack thereof...
Dear Presidential Hopeful,
Team Hillary, you will need to convince me thoroughly about how you will change health care in America, after thoroughly messing it up during the first Clinton administration. Even as I worked diligently in my Fortune 500, Working Woman recommended jobs, you made my single mother life a living hell. First, I had to give up my favorite family doctors, then I had to change over to the preferred provider network, and finally I gave up and just threw in the HMO towel.
After working myself to death in corporate America, I quit working for that number one company, and started the life of a contract worker. Now I have less stress, no commitment to my job, AND NO HEALTH INSURANCE.
Sure, I could have stayed on with the number one company, but as I tell my current co-workers frequently, the amount of money I spend on health care today is no different than it was three years ago. If anything, my health care expenditures are less!
Believe me, I am not advocating that anyone live life without a safety net. I'm just stating that had I stayed at the top company, I would surely now be dead of a heart attack and financially drained, because there isn't much difference in my mind financially by having no health insurance.
Whereas I used to pay low co-pays, a trip to the emergency room less my $75.00 or $100.00 deductible would no less, wipe me out. As I signed my rights away to pay what health insurance didn't cover, I also signed myself up for being billed outrageous fees, only to learn that my insurance (buyer beware - that insurance was self-insured by the company I worked for, and they were really making the rules) was only going to pay for 1/4 of it, if at all. That left me holding the financial bag.
Tell me, Mrs. President, how are you going to fix the messes you made during the first Clinton administration?
Team Hillary, you will need to convince me thoroughly about how you will change health care in America, after thoroughly messing it up during the first Clinton administration. Even as I worked diligently in my Fortune 500, Working Woman recommended jobs, you made my single mother life a living hell. First, I had to give up my favorite family doctors, then I had to change over to the preferred provider network, and finally I gave up and just threw in the HMO towel.
After working myself to death in corporate America, I quit working for that number one company, and started the life of a contract worker. Now I have less stress, no commitment to my job, AND NO HEALTH INSURANCE.
Sure, I could have stayed on with the number one company, but as I tell my current co-workers frequently, the amount of money I spend on health care today is no different than it was three years ago. If anything, my health care expenditures are less!
Believe me, I am not advocating that anyone live life without a safety net. I'm just stating that had I stayed at the top company, I would surely now be dead of a heart attack and financially drained, because there isn't much difference in my mind financially by having no health insurance.
Whereas I used to pay low co-pays, a trip to the emergency room less my $75.00 or $100.00 deductible would no less, wipe me out. As I signed my rights away to pay what health insurance didn't cover, I also signed myself up for being billed outrageous fees, only to learn that my insurance (buyer beware - that insurance was self-insured by the company I worked for, and they were really making the rules) was only going to pay for 1/4 of it, if at all. That left me holding the financial bag.
Tell me, Mrs. President, how are you going to fix the messes you made during the first Clinton administration?
Welcome to My Blog!
Dear Reader,
As I sit here at home this weekend, my bank account is $241.00 lighter after a trip to the doctor yesterday and no affordable health insurance. Please don't feel sorry for me, I'm just stating a fact.
It's going to be tough until I make it to the next payday. Maybe you're in this same situation, too? That's why I'm writing this blog...to give others hope that we can make it.
I try to live my life based on these principals:
As I sit here at home this weekend, my bank account is $241.00 lighter after a trip to the doctor yesterday and no affordable health insurance. Please don't feel sorry for me, I'm just stating a fact.
It's going to be tough until I make it to the next payday. Maybe you're in this same situation, too? That's why I'm writing this blog...to give others hope that we can make it.
I try to live my life based on these principals:
- Live stress free, or as close as humanly possible.
- Be a decent and ethical Christian woman who makes everyone around her feel accepted and loved, whether it be at home, work or in my day-to-day living.
- Pay cash for everything, live on the income I make, live frugally.
- Live for today, hope for a better tomorrow.
- Pull myself up by the bootstraps whenever possible.
- Be thankful for all my blessings!
I'm hoping my blog generates a lot of ideas and that you, my reader, will enjoy the journey with me. Please post often! Cheers, Terre
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