Monthly Archives: January 2011

9 Ways to Prepare for Food Inflation

Posted on by  at  12:23 pm
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If you’ve been to the grocery store lately, you’ve no doubt discovered that the price of most foods has increased significantly. There’s plenty of blame to go around: increased commodity prices due to increased demand, increased oil prices, devaluation of our dollar, and on and on.

Whatever the reason, increased food prices are putting a major dent in our household budget. Since we can’t do much about the prices, we have to look for other ways to reduce (or at least keep even) our overall food expense.

Food is a unique budget category in that normally when you are struggling with less income and/or increased costs, the natural inclination is to turn to cheaper alternatives. Unfortunately, as many people are discovering, when it comes to food this means an unhealthy diet.

Think of the cheapest foods at your local grocer – they are likely cheap pastas and boxed processed foods (Ramen noodles, mac and cheese, packages of potato flakes sold as “instant mashed potatoes,” etc). While these foods will do in a pinch, they aren’t exactly healthy staples to build the basis of a clean diet.

Nine Ways to Reduce Your Grocery Budget

1. Plan to shop every two weeks. Make room in your pantry (and your budget) to shop for enough food to last two weeks. The more often you see the inside of a store, the more likely you will give into temptation and deviate from your list.

2. Buy in-season produce. The simple laws of supply and demand tell us that things that are plentiful should be a little cheaper. Of course, the opposite is true if a particular produce item is not plentiful in your area, because it has to be shipped in from another part of the country (or world), and those increased costs to transport are passed along to you, the consumer.

3. Eat less. This one seems obvious, but to someone like me raised on three squares (big squares) a day, the idea of skipping a meal or two seems foreign. However, here lately I’ve been trying to eat only when hungry, not when the clock says 8:00, 12:00 and 6:00.

4. Grow your own vegetables. The last couple years we’ve experimented with square foot gardening. This year, we plan to expand on the idea and grow a variety of vegetables in garden boxes in our backyard. We also planted fruit trees last fall that will hopefully yield fresh fruits in the years to come.

5. Compare unit costs, not product packaging and creative pricing. Remember bigger isn’t always cheaper, and neither are the 10/$10 deals. I recently stocked up on a few items included in a 10/$10 sale and the next week the store returned the item to their normal price…$0.88.

6. Consider swapping beans or eggs for meats when looking for a protein source. Like any good carnivore, I like to build a meal around a good meat. Unfortunately, this can get expensive. Here lately, we’ve been enjoying eating “breakfast” for dinner – with scrambled eggs as the main course.  Beans also provide a nice source of protein and can augment a smaller amount of meat in dishes like tacos and chili to bulk up the recipe with out increasing the cost per meal.

7. Avoid the “junk food” aisle. Nothing good comes from this aisle. Soft drinks, chips, snack cakes, and cookies are simply empty calories. And they are expensive when you consider you can’t plan a meal around them. Your waistline won’t miss this aisle, either. Now, this is an area where I need to take my own advice!

8. Eat leftovers. One of the most effective ways to lower your cost per meal is to simply stretch your prepared foods across more meals. In fact, I have found that meals like spaghetti, soups, and meatloaf actually taste better the next night.

9. Freeze the extras. If you are short on freezer space, consider a second freezer to stock up on meats and vegetables when on sale, or to freeze leftovers of your favorite meals. My wife makes a huge batch of soup and freezes the portions we don’t eat the first two days for later consumption. Weeks later, on a particularly hectic day, we’ll toss the frozen soup in  a crock pot to thoroughly reheat and enjoy an easy meal.

These tips probably make sense in any environment, but are particularly important in the face of rising food costs, high unemployment and a time of high economic uncertainty. I highly recommend taking the time now to streamline your food budget and use some of the savings to build a pantry of stockpiled food.

Best case scenario, your pantry will provide cheaper food than is currently available in the store. Worst case scenario, your pantry will provide food if there isn’t any in the store. It’s my hope that we never face the latter scenario, but I’d rather be prepared just in case.

How are you dealing with increased food costs?

Weekly Roundup – What’s Your Most Embarrassing Non-Frugal Habit?

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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We often share ways to save money, reduce our monthly expenses, etc, but I’m sure many others are like me and have a couple non-frugal habits they are ashamed to admit. I have a few, including:

  • I hate using soap in the shower after the bar is reduced to 1/16th of an inch. Seriously, I know I should use them up, or save them to make a new bar, but I take pleasure ditching that sliver of soap and unwrapping a new bar.
  • I hate scraping the bottom of peanut butter and mayonnaise jars. Is a quarter of a teaspoon really worth the effort?
  • I don’t particularly like to clip coupons, even though I know they save money. I’ve tossed many more coupons that I’ve cashed in over the years.
  • Despite the known energy savings, we keep our thermostat at a fairly comfortable setting (74 in the summer and 70-72 in the winter) while at home. Our power bill is a little higher, but I refuse to sweat (or shiver) in my home if I don’t have to.

That’s about all I care to admit in this post. Now, it’s your turn!

The Frugal Roundup

January Skill of the Month: Bread Baking. Who needs to run out for milk and bread before a snow when you can just make your own bread! By the way, I just recently found this site and am working through the archives now. Oh, and I’m officially jealous of her food pantry room. Great stuff!

Stocks with 5% Dividend Yield. Check out this list of top-yielding dividend stocks. A few of these companies offer both high yields and steady growth.

I Just Lost My Job! How I’m Downsizing My Household Expenses. I certainly don’t revel in learning about others losing their jobs, but I do enjoy reading from those who are surviving, and sometimes even thriving, after losing a job.

Five Credit Myths that Can Destroy Your Finances. It’s rare to find an article in the larger media outlets that addresses credit myths, but that’s exactly what I came across at Forbes (via The Daily Crux).

Setting and Achieving Monthly Goals and Projects. I enjoyed this entire post, but Trent’s “Twenty Ideas” in particular inspired me to set a number of goals myself.

10 Creative Ways States and Cities are Plugging Leaks in Their Budgets. Perhaps a couple of these ideas will inspire you to plug the gaps in your own budget (and be prepared to rely less on the government).

Best of the Rest

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5 Lessons Dave Ramsey Taught Me About Healthy Living

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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The following guest post is from Lisa Byrne. Lisa is a holistic health coach who teaches busy moms about holistic nutrition and whole person approaches to healthy living at the Well Grounded Campus… when she’s not burping a baby or chasing toddlers around herself, that is!

Many of you may be familiar with Dave Ramsey. Jason has spoken about his financial philosophies, strategies for getting out of debt and establishing wealth here.

I’m also a fan of his work.  And as a health coach, I’ve found that his underlying financial perspectives are true for other areas of your life, most specifically getting out of poor health and into a rich life of sustainable, vibrant health.

Here are the 5 core lessons on financial peace that Dave Ramsey teaches which have clear correlations to healthy living as well.

1. Debt is Slavery

Dave often says that living in financial debt is like slavery. Every minute you work, that money earned is not your own, you’ve already sold it off.

Many moms I work with have the distinct experience of energy debt: the feeling of drain, exhaustion, and depletion throughout their day. They become addicted to energy crutches like too much caffeine or sugar just to get through the day. And these “crutches” actually keep us in a constant state of exhaustion and overwhelm because we are not tapping into true and sustainable sources of energy.

They are like the quick fixes (akin to credit cards) that give us an illusion that we are getting by, but in fact just under the surface we are falling farther and farther into poor health.
Establishing healthy and natural sources of gaining energy is a primary foundation of healthy, vibrant living.

2. Lasting, Permanent Change Takes Time

When you are interested in a monumental, sustainable shift in your lifestyle (whether it is getting out of debt or experiencing whole-person vital health), the truth is that change takes time. Dave’s work encourages making and keeping a budget, which takes a few months of testing things out, tweaking, and refining until a working system is in place that can begin to run smoothly.

And it’s the same with establishing wellness systems in your life. Eating healthy foods, caring for your emotional and mental health, nourishing your spiritual needs and tending to your self care needs must be part of a plan that works within the life you live.
And that wellness plan needs to go through a period of experimenting, testing, refining, and tweaking too. One size does not fit all.

If you want true health with freedom from the yo-yo dieting experience, you’ll have to take the time to come to know your unique needs, read the language of your own body, and creatively put that information into concrete and practical strategies that work in the life you lead right now.

3. You Are the Captain of the Ship

Dave makes it clear you must tell your money what to do in order for your money to work for you.

Likewise, in order to make your health and well being a priority, you’ll have to get used to telling your time what to do.

Trying to “fit in” aspects of health living is just not realistic in most of our lives. We may have good intentions, but it is essential to establish a clear plan for when and how we will do the things that we need in order to stay well.

From the start of your week or day, telling your time what to do, means you won’t be wasting time…which of course shouldn’t be confused with simply having down time. In fact, I’ve found that scheduling in proper down time helps me actually take it and benefit from it, without the sense that time is just slipping by and I’m still left feeling frazzled and scattered.

4. Go for Early Successes

Part of Dave’s program is to hit your debt with a snowball effect, and to start chipping away at the smallest debt you have so you can experience initial success and keep your motivation going. I’ve found the same is true for our health.

When we feel our long term health goals are too lofty and daunting then it is hard to keep motivated. But establishing smaller, short terms goals so you can feel the rush of accomplishment and success is essential to staying steadily on the path you want to be on.

It’s a basic principle I come back to that small, simple, and consistent steps in the right direction yield huge, powerful rewards. The magic bullet claims and quick fixes only serve as distractions that ultimately keep you stuck in the same place over time.

“Small steps, big results” is what my weekly email program called The Ripple is all about–if you aren’t on my list yet, you can get on here for free.

5. Common sense is the new sexy.

The principles of handling your money well that Dave shares are really time tested, traditional principles.

Steady and responsible movement toward real change is the fastest path to producing major rewards and reaching your goals.

Though the common sense banner doesn’t feel as sexy amidst all the glitz and buzz we are flooded with daily…I tend to think what is really sexy is great results that last and make a huge impact in your life.

Quit Making Excuses and Start Making Opportunity

Posted on by  at  5:00 am
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The following guest post is from Jackie Beck. Jackie is an entrepreneur who started her first “business” in the 2nd grade, which — not too surprisingly — failed, since it involved selling polished rocks. (She’s since moved on to iPhone apps.) Jackie writes about learning to love your financial life and reaching your goals at MoneyCrush. She’s currently working with her husband on paying off their mortgage by the end of 2011.

I love to read success stories — both because I enjoy seeing people succeed, and because I want to succeed too. The success stories that I most enjoy include things like paying off a large amount of debt in a short amount of time, quitting a full time job to start a small business, traveling the world, etc.

Responses to the stories usually fall into one of three camps:

1. Congrats, that’s great! I’m working on that too!
2. Congrats, that’s great! I did that too and here’s how…
3. Well, that’s great for you, but I could never do that because blah blah blah.

It’s the last one that gets me.

You see, if you really, really want to do something, you can almost certainly accomplish it if you keep at it long enough. No matter what your circumstances. You just have to quit making excuses and start making opportunity.

And if you don’t really want to do something, go ahead and admit it.

None of us need to do everything. It’s ok to have a 30 year mortgage that you’re not trying to pay off early, to work for someone else as an employee without having your own business, and to be perfectly content with never leaving the city limits. It’s ok to do pretty much anything, so long as what you’re doing isn’t illegal or harmful.

But if you have a dream, and all you can see are obstacles, it’s time to look at things a little differently.

If the reasons why you can’t fulfill your dream keep popping up like a song that’s stuck in your head, go ahead and put the reasons down on paper to get them out of your head.

But then go beyond that.

Instead of spending your time on “I could never do that because…”, change the things you tell yourself. Start out by asking, “How can I find a way to do that anyway?”

In other words, every time an idea of yours is met with a mental “but I can’t do that because…”, respond to yourself with “But how CAN I do it?”

Ask yourself questions like these:

  • What could I change?
  • Who could help me?
  • What could I do differently?
  • What could I give up that really isn’t important in the long run?
  • How could I make it work despite that?
  • What other resources do I have that could help make it happen?

Then do those things. Try, try again, until you succeed.

There are plenty of people who have overcome some pretty massive challenges in life, and gone on to fulfill their dreams. You can too.

Let me end with a little story.

When I was 7 years old, I fell on the ice while walking to school and landed on my arm. It really hurt. I distinctly remember spending the school day staring at a boy who sat across from me who was allowed to use a chalkboard to write with because he had broken his arm. I think he had something helping him, too.

“But MY arm hurts too,” I whined. “It’s not fair!”.

I spent a good part of the day feeling sorry for myself and complaining that I couldn’t do my work because my arm hurt.

Luckily for me, my whining fell on deaf ears.

Finally, near the end of the day I remembered some note cards that my grandma had. They were covered with the most beautiful drawings — drawings made by a woman who used her mouth to draw because she was paralyzed from the neck down.

I figured if that lady could use her mouth to make those beautiful drawings, I could deal with an arm that hurt, and just write with my other hand.

And so I did. After all, an arm that hurt was hardly a big deal. It wasn’t like I was paralyzed or anything. (Thank goodness.)

I went on to break 5 more bones after (what turned out to be) my first broken wrist. Each time I just dealt with it and the awkwardness of the casts, and found a way to accomplish the things I wanted to accomplish despite the broken bones.

That philosophy works pretty well for life in general, too.

Obstacles are there to make you creative, and to help you create opportunities. And even if you feel (or are!) paralyzed, you can find a way.

Preparing for Power Blackouts: Plan Ahead and You Can Weather Any Storm

Posted on by  at  2:33 pm
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The following guest post is by M.D. Creekmore of The Survivalist Blog dot Net.

According to the National Grid Plc more than 29,727 homes and businesses were without power as a result of recent snowstorms that recently blanketed the U.S. East Coast. Power outages are nothing new and thousands of homes are without power every year in the U.S. most for only a few hours, but some for days or even weeks – would you be prepared if the power stayed off for several days or even months?

Such extended power outages are a real possibility after a serious hurricane, winter storm or even the result of a terrorist attack affecting the power grid or an EMP strike. The U.S. runs on electricity, without a functional power grid the U.S. would come to a standstill. Without electrical power, gas pumps no longer work, scanners at the supermarket will fail, radio and television stations go off the air and computers fail to connect to the web.

Could you provide for your family?

Everyone should plan for and prepare for the possibility of being without power for an extended period of time, but where do you start. What do you need to put away so the next blackout won’t become a nightmare. Let’s take a look…

Have Safe Water

Every emergency kit should begin with a safe supply of drinking water. Granted, if you are on a municipal water supply your water may not be affected by a power outage, but you should still stock up. If backup power fails at water-treatment plants then that water may become unsafe for drinking or cooking and need to be boiled, or treated before use. Including water in your emergency kit is always a good idea no matter how secure you think your current method of supply.

The Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends storing at least one gallon of water per day per person for emergency use. A normally active person needs at least one-half gallon of water daily just for drinking they state. You’ll also need to take into consideration age, physical condition, activity, diet, and climate to determine needed qualities. And don’t forget about your pets, they need water too.

I live off-the grid with most of my water provided from a nearby spring, but I still include stored water in my emergency kit. The easiest way to store drinking water is to simply buy bottled water from the supermarket shelf. But it is cheaper to store water from your own tap. I store most of my water in six-gallon water jugs bought in the sporting goods department at my local Wal-Mart for the purpose. But you can use cleaned 2 liter plastic bottles instead.

Some of the readers of my blog, have asked about using milk jugs for water storage, and I always recommend against it. While milk jugs can work short-term, they are prone to leakage and the plastic deteriorates quickly. Milk jugs are also more susceptible to bacterial growth because of milk proteins that are often left in the container even after cleaning. A much better solution is two liter plastic soda bottles.

If using two liter plastic soda bottles the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) recommends sanitizing the bottles after cleaning with dishwashing soap and water, by adding a solution of 1 teaspoon of non-scented liquid household chlorine bleach to a quart of water. Swish the sanitizing solution in the bottle so that it touches all surfaces. After sanitizing the bottle, thoroughly rinse out the sanitizing solution with clean water.

Contrary to what you may have read elsewhere, there is no need to add liquid household chlorine bleach to tap water before storage as this water has already been treated by the water utility company. In this case all you need to do is fill the bottles to the top and tightly screw on the cap.

Emergency Food

Next you need food. This should include things your family already eats you just need to store extra for your emergency kit. Canned soups, meats, nuts, fruits and vegetables, peanut butter, dried fruits and vegetables and crackers for example will last at least a year if stored in unopened air tight containers.

Self-rising flour, corn meal, sugar, salt, rolled oats and other died goods should be stored in air tight, food safe containers made of plastic or glass to keep out pests and moister. One mistake a lot of people make is not using what they’ve stored. They buy up a bunch of foods for emergencies; they put it on the shelf and end up throwing it out when it passes the listed expiration date.

This can be avoided by implementing a simple food rotation program.

Date each container with a permanent marker or date stamp and use on a first-in first-out basis (FIFO). As each item is used in your normal everyday meals, replace that item with a new product of the same value, date and repeat. If you follow this simple principle you will never have to discard food from your emergency kit and will always have a fresh supply on hand for emergencies. With canned foods this rotation can be automated by building or buying a building a rotating canned food shelf.

I suggest you keep at least a two-week emergency food supply on hand at all times, several months to a year would be even better, but isn’t practical for most people. This food storage calculator is a big help when determining needed amounts, but it isn’t exact and you will have to make the final decision based on your family’s eating habits.

Heating and Cooking

Most power outages in the U.S. happen during periods of extreme weather. For example, in 1993, I was without power for three weeks after an ice storm blanketed my area. Luckily, I had a fireplace for heating and cooking and a supply of wood to keep the fire burning. But, many folks aren’t so lucky and need to make other preparations for cooking and staying warm.

Kerosene heaters can be used for heating and even cooking with certain models, for example the Alpaca Kerosene Cooker. Kerosene can be stored in large quantities for long periods of time without any special treatment. It has been estimated that a gallon of kerosene will provide about the same heat output as a wheelbarrow load of wood!

Kerosene is easy to store and has a longer storage life than gasoline. I store kerosene in blue cans marked for its use. Mistakenly pouring gasoline into a kerosene heater, could have dire consequences. Following a color coding system helps avoid this possibility.

The main disadvantage to using a kerosene heater is that they can be smelly if not used properly, they have to be refilled every few hours and the wick needs to be replaced every few months depending on how much the heater is used during that time.

The standard fuel container color coding system is blue for kerosene, red for gasoline, and yellow for diesel. I suggest you follow this system. You’ll need roughly two – three gallons of kerosene per day with continues use, so for two weeks you would need a minimum of 28 gallon.

Keep in mind that this is only an estimate and actual usage will depend on several factors. Including but not limited to the type of heater, quality of the fuel, condition of the wick (don’t for get to add an extra wick to your emergency kit) and environmental conditions where the heater is used.

Propane heaters like the Mr Heater Buddy can be used indoors and in my opinion they are safer and more efficient than the kerosene heaters mentioned. I’ve used one of these heaters for the past two winters to heat my travel trailer with no problems what so ever. They work great and I like not having to refill the tank every few hours or needing to replace the wick as is the case when using kerosene.

I drilled a two-inch hole through my floor beside the outside wall and connected a 100 lb propane tank to my Mr Heater Buddy heater via a hose adapter and filter then sealed the hole around the hose with expanding foam insulation. This also has the advantage of keeping the fuel source outside. One 100 lb tank will last me over a month even in the coldest weather, if I keep the heater burning at the lowest setting.

The downside to the Buddy heater are that they are difficult to cook on and you’ll need a stove just for that purpose if you don’t already have a gas cook stove in your home. I suggest a small propane Colman camp stove; these can be found in the sporting goods department at your local Wal-Mart or Kmart.

It is recommended that portable gas camp stoves not be used indoors as the fumes can be deadly. Using the stove in a ventilated area will help reduce the risk of carbon monoxide poisoning. In other words crack a window or door and have a working carbon monoxide detector if you must use the stove for cooking indoors. And make sure the stove is turned off after use.

Miscellaneous Suggestions

Most of these items can be stored in some sort of bug out bag, five-gallon plastic bucket with gamma seal lid or plastic totes until needed.

  • A good first aid kit
  • A sleeping bag for each family member
  • Several pairs of wool socks for each family member
  • Thermal underwear for each family member
  • A battery-operated or crank radio and extra batteries
  • A deck of cards, jigsaw puzzles, and board games etc.
  • Flashlight and batteries
  • Battery-powered lamps or lanterns
  • Non-electric can opener
  • Prescription drugs and other needed medicine
  • Rock-salt to melt ice on walkways
  • Chemical fire extinguisher
  • Battery powered smoke alarm
  • Battery powered carbon monoxide detector
  • Disposable plates, bowls and utensils (to avoid wasting water washing dishes)

If you have any other suggestions or questions feel free to ask in the comments below or email me directly. Stay safe.

M.D. Creekmore is a full-time blogger and emergency preparedness consultant. He can be found on his survival blog where he provides free information to help others prepare for and survive disaster.