From WRAL-5 (N. Carolina).
"If you're trying to cut your costs, skip designer frames. That can save you hundreds. And with designer frames, you're usually paying for a licensing fee, not for better quality,” said Consumer Reports’ Jamie Hirsh.
The most frequented chain in Consumer Reports' survey, LensCrafters, was also one of the most expensive with an average of $244 per pair of glasses, as was Pearle Vision.
Far better was Costco, which was a standout for low prices with an average of $157 per pair. It was also the highest-rated large chain overall. Costco had the fewest complaints within the first few weeks of purchase.
Customers of other chains reported problem with distorted or blurred vision and damaged frames, but Costco didn't have as many frames from which to choose.
"If selection and service are more important to you, our survey shows that doctors' offices and independent eyeware shops are often a better choice,” Hirsch said.
That better selection and service translates into higher costs. However, even though glasses at independents costs more than Costco, they're still less on average than the eyeglass chains.
Some health insurers will cover a portion of the cost of new glasses, so it's worth checking with the insurance company. Also, for those going to a chain store, look for coupons first. Many stores offer them."
I've had good luck with Sears' BOGO offers--I wear bifocals, and need Transitions lenses to counter glare, so my glasses bill runs up rather quickly. As for frame selection, I've been to these other places (including Sam's and BJ's), and the frame selection always leaves me wanting.
I've boiled it down to: the more the store charges, the better the frame selection. This is why I wait for a junk mail sale at Sears, Penneys, or LensCrafters. All the other place seem to have the same variety of frames to choose from, and none of them work for my face.
Shamefully, the cost to replace JUST THE LENSES (like I used to do) has reached far beyond the price of a whole new set of glasses. This makes no sense, but that's how it is nowadays.
UPDATE: For safety glasses, DEFINITELY go to a warehouse store for them! The frame selection may suck, but the glasses cost around $60 no matter the prescription--you can also write them off on your taxes as a work expense.
If you're lucky, you can even find a pair of safety glasses with the slip-off side shields, making the glasses wearable for daily use AND work use. Sam's Club has a couple of types.
Friday, December 31, 2010
Three Ways NOT to Save Money in the New Year
From Yahoo Financial.
"Here are 3 money-savings tricks to avoid if your New Year resolution calls for saving money:
Buying How To Save Money Books
If one of your resolutions for the New Year is to save money, you've probably noticed that bookstore shelves are overflowing with advice manuals. Titles like How to Save Money Everyday,The New Frugality, Saving Your Way to Success and 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget promise to share money-saving tricks.
The irony is that you're spending on the book, and the investment may or may not pay off. If you are looking for money-saving tips, there are plenty of sources online where you can find free tips. If a particular money-saving advice book seems to stand above the rest, find it at a library. Jumpstart your savings by not spending money to get advice about saving money.
Using Credit Cards to Earn Cash-Back Rewards
Many savings gurus suggest that using credit cards to get cash-back rewards is a valuable savings tool. By using credit cards instead of cash or debit cards, it's easy to slip off the budget. An unexpected job loss or major expense that upends a plan to pay the card in full at month's end can quickly turn an anticipated windfall into a high interest payment due. Consumer debt in the U.S. as of November 2010 topped $2.4 trillion. Although consumer debt is on the decline, Americans are still indebted on average to the tune of $20,000 per family, with $15,700 of that amount credit card debt. Using credit cards for routine purchases in the hopes of generating cash savings is risky at best and foolhardy for the 46 percent of credit card holders who already don't pay their balance in full every month.
Stocking Up on Sale Items
Stocking up on pantry and freezer items on sale - things you know you will eventually buy anyway- may seem like a no brainer, but sometimes it backfires. Especially when there are kids in the house, stocking up on snacks may very well lead to more snacks being eaten simply because they are there. And if you buy an extra frozen dessert, might you not be tempted to pull it out when you might otherwise have gone without dessert? It also seems like major power outages tend to happen right after the freezer gets filled with sale items. Waiting to buy until you're ready to consume is a surefire way to avoid overbuying.
When seeking out money-savings tips, be sure to consider the potential pitfalls as well as the advantages."
As for stocking the freezer with meat, see my alternative to head off any power failure fears. You should always seek to buy with TODAY'S dollars in an inflationary economy.
If still in doubt, at least stock up on non-perishables, like paper goods, soap, deodorant, shampoo, trash bags, food storage bags (if used), etc.
"Here are 3 money-savings tricks to avoid if your New Year resolution calls for saving money:
Buying How To Save Money Books
If one of your resolutions for the New Year is to save money, you've probably noticed that bookstore shelves are overflowing with advice manuals. Titles like How to Save Money Everyday,The New Frugality, Saving Your Way to Success and 10,001 Ways to Live Large on a Small Budget promise to share money-saving tricks.
The irony is that you're spending on the book, and the investment may or may not pay off. If you are looking for money-saving tips, there are plenty of sources online where you can find free tips. If a particular money-saving advice book seems to stand above the rest, find it at a library. Jumpstart your savings by not spending money to get advice about saving money.
Using Credit Cards to Earn Cash-Back Rewards
Many savings gurus suggest that using credit cards to get cash-back rewards is a valuable savings tool. By using credit cards instead of cash or debit cards, it's easy to slip off the budget. An unexpected job loss or major expense that upends a plan to pay the card in full at month's end can quickly turn an anticipated windfall into a high interest payment due. Consumer debt in the U.S. as of November 2010 topped $2.4 trillion. Although consumer debt is on the decline, Americans are still indebted on average to the tune of $20,000 per family, with $15,700 of that amount credit card debt. Using credit cards for routine purchases in the hopes of generating cash savings is risky at best and foolhardy for the 46 percent of credit card holders who already don't pay their balance in full every month.
Stocking Up on Sale Items
Stocking up on pantry and freezer items on sale - things you know you will eventually buy anyway- may seem like a no brainer, but sometimes it backfires. Especially when there are kids in the house, stocking up on snacks may very well lead to more snacks being eaten simply because they are there. And if you buy an extra frozen dessert, might you not be tempted to pull it out when you might otherwise have gone without dessert? It also seems like major power outages tend to happen right after the freezer gets filled with sale items. Waiting to buy until you're ready to consume is a surefire way to avoid overbuying.
When seeking out money-savings tips, be sure to consider the potential pitfalls as well as the advantages."
As for stocking the freezer with meat, see my alternative to head off any power failure fears. You should always seek to buy with TODAY'S dollars in an inflationary economy.
If still in doubt, at least stock up on non-perishables, like paper goods, soap, deodorant, shampoo, trash bags, food storage bags (if used), etc.
Do We Expect College to Replace Frugality?
From Saving Advice.
"This is just something I found myself thinking about the other day based on personal observation and experience and I wanted to put it out there to see what others think. So here it is: I found myself wondering whether or not we now expect a college education to take the place of learning frugal skills.
It seems like we send kids to college today in the hopes that they won’t have to be frugal. We send them to school to get a degree that will (hopefully, unless they major in philosophy) earn them enough money so that they won’t have to deploy any frugal skills. The hope (or expectation) seems to be that Junior will earn enough that he will be able to easily pay someone else to fix his car, clean his house, or make his meals. It’s like we’re trying to earn our way our of frugality.
Since it became the “norm” to send kids to college a generation or so ago, I’ve noticed that many people don’t teach their kids frugal skills anymore. The widespread teaching of cooking, sewing, car repair, basic handyman skills, and gardening doesn’t happen any more. It’s not even that the parents don’t want to teach the kids, it’s more often that the parents themselves don’t have the basic knowledge to pass on because they never learned frugal skills. These skills aren’t even taught in most secondary schools anymore. Shop and home economics classes are relics of the past because there isn’t time to teach those kinds of classes and get the kids through all the AP courses that will get them into college.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting kids to earn high salaries. We should all be so lucky. College is certainly one way to punch that ticket. However, even with a great degree and a high earning job, there is likely to come a day when frugal skills will be needed. Look at the sheer number of highly intelligent, hard working people on the unemployment line today. Many of them did everything “right” — the same kind of right that we hope our kids will achieve by going to college. They went to a good school, got good grades, got a good degree and a good job. For many years they probably earned enough that they didn’t have to be frugal. But economic Armageddon happened. How great would it be if they could repair their own car, prepare cheap yet nutritious meals, or repair their own clothes? Their situation might not be so dire if they’d learned some frugal skills along the way. Instead, many people try to learn this stuff late in the game when they have no other choice. Trying to learn frugality on the fly while no money is coming in and things are getting worse by the day is stressful and doesn’t yield the best results. If people had a deep well of knowledge and experience to draw upon, they’d have a greater chance of weathering the storm.
Even if economic tragedy never strikes, high earnings coupled with frugal skills puts you further ahead of the game. You’re able to keep more of that money you work so hard to earn. You can out-save those who have no frugal skills and set yourself up for an early and well-funded retirement. If you earn good money over your working years and you keep more of that money by doing much of your own maintenance, repair, cleaning, etc., think how much more you’ll have stashed away than the person who earned the same amount but paid a cleaning lady every week, a contractor every time something malfunctioned in the house, and ate out five times per week because they couldn’t cook.
There are also other times someone might need frugality despite earning a good salary. What if you want to take that great college education and start a business that will eventually earn you millions? Chances are that business won’t pull in a ton of money the first year. It would be helpful if you knew how to live frugally while waiting for things to take off. It’s also helpful to be able to live frugally while saving the money to start that business in the first place. You’ll need money if you want to quit your day job. Frugal skills also come in handy in the business world as you can run your business on a shoestring until you have the money to upgrade.
College is great and I’m not saying that kids shouldn’t go. But I think that we (as a society) have perhaps placed too much emphasis on college as a way to avoid having to be frugal. We’ve sold ourselves and our kids on the idea that, if you just go to college, you can earn enough money so that you never have to be frugal and that isn’t really true. We place so much emphasis on AP classes, languages, extracurricular activities, sports, and anything else that will get the kids into college that we don’t (or can’t) teach them the frugal skills that will make their lives much easier if they ever have need of them (and they will). This is why we see so many people today who are completely lost. They are having to be frugal for the first time and they have no idea how to do so. At least the good news is that today’s adults are acquiring skills that they can teach their kids.
I would suggest that, as parents, if you are able to teach your kids things like cooking, car repair, coupon use, gardening, or sewing that you do so. They may roll their eyes and think you’re nuts, but someday they’ll thank you. If the kid has a chance to take shop or home economics in school, let them take it. College is great, but it’s not a substitute for frugality. You can’t earn your way out of needing frugal skills forever."
Case in point.
"This is just something I found myself thinking about the other day based on personal observation and experience and I wanted to put it out there to see what others think. So here it is: I found myself wondering whether or not we now expect a college education to take the place of learning frugal skills.
It seems like we send kids to college today in the hopes that they won’t have to be frugal. We send them to school to get a degree that will (hopefully, unless they major in philosophy) earn them enough money so that they won’t have to deploy any frugal skills. The hope (or expectation) seems to be that Junior will earn enough that he will be able to easily pay someone else to fix his car, clean his house, or make his meals. It’s like we’re trying to earn our way our of frugality.
Since it became the “norm” to send kids to college a generation or so ago, I’ve noticed that many people don’t teach their kids frugal skills anymore. The widespread teaching of cooking, sewing, car repair, basic handyman skills, and gardening doesn’t happen any more. It’s not even that the parents don’t want to teach the kids, it’s more often that the parents themselves don’t have the basic knowledge to pass on because they never learned frugal skills. These skills aren’t even taught in most secondary schools anymore. Shop and home economics classes are relics of the past because there isn’t time to teach those kinds of classes and get the kids through all the AP courses that will get them into college.
There’s nothing inherently wrong with wanting kids to earn high salaries. We should all be so lucky. College is certainly one way to punch that ticket. However, even with a great degree and a high earning job, there is likely to come a day when frugal skills will be needed. Look at the sheer number of highly intelligent, hard working people on the unemployment line today. Many of them did everything “right” — the same kind of right that we hope our kids will achieve by going to college. They went to a good school, got good grades, got a good degree and a good job. For many years they probably earned enough that they didn’t have to be frugal. But economic Armageddon happened. How great would it be if they could repair their own car, prepare cheap yet nutritious meals, or repair their own clothes? Their situation might not be so dire if they’d learned some frugal skills along the way. Instead, many people try to learn this stuff late in the game when they have no other choice. Trying to learn frugality on the fly while no money is coming in and things are getting worse by the day is stressful and doesn’t yield the best results. If people had a deep well of knowledge and experience to draw upon, they’d have a greater chance of weathering the storm.
Even if economic tragedy never strikes, high earnings coupled with frugal skills puts you further ahead of the game. You’re able to keep more of that money you work so hard to earn. You can out-save those who have no frugal skills and set yourself up for an early and well-funded retirement. If you earn good money over your working years and you keep more of that money by doing much of your own maintenance, repair, cleaning, etc., think how much more you’ll have stashed away than the person who earned the same amount but paid a cleaning lady every week, a contractor every time something malfunctioned in the house, and ate out five times per week because they couldn’t cook.
There are also other times someone might need frugality despite earning a good salary. What if you want to take that great college education and start a business that will eventually earn you millions? Chances are that business won’t pull in a ton of money the first year. It would be helpful if you knew how to live frugally while waiting for things to take off. It’s also helpful to be able to live frugally while saving the money to start that business in the first place. You’ll need money if you want to quit your day job. Frugal skills also come in handy in the business world as you can run your business on a shoestring until you have the money to upgrade.
College is great and I’m not saying that kids shouldn’t go. But I think that we (as a society) have perhaps placed too much emphasis on college as a way to avoid having to be frugal. We’ve sold ourselves and our kids on the idea that, if you just go to college, you can earn enough money so that you never have to be frugal and that isn’t really true. We place so much emphasis on AP classes, languages, extracurricular activities, sports, and anything else that will get the kids into college that we don’t (or can’t) teach them the frugal skills that will make their lives much easier if they ever have need of them (and they will). This is why we see so many people today who are completely lost. They are having to be frugal for the first time and they have no idea how to do so. At least the good news is that today’s adults are acquiring skills that they can teach their kids.
I would suggest that, as parents, if you are able to teach your kids things like cooking, car repair, coupon use, gardening, or sewing that you do so. They may roll their eyes and think you’re nuts, but someday they’ll thank you. If the kid has a chance to take shop or home economics in school, let them take it. College is great, but it’s not a substitute for frugality. You can’t earn your way out of needing frugal skills forever."
Case in point.
Nutrition Labels Coming to Meats
From HealthDay News.
"Nutrition Labels Coming to Meats in 2012
Starting Jan. 1, 2012, many meats will be required to come with nutrition labels that include information such as the number of calories, so consumers can be better informed about what they eat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.
The rule applies to 40 of the most popular cuts of meat and poultry products, including pork, beef, lamb, and ground meat such as hamburger or turkey, according to published reports.
"More and more, busy American families want nutrition information that they can quickly and easily understand," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. "We need to do all we can to provide nutrition labels that will help consumers make informed decisions."
The rule will require meat producers to reveal the total number of calories, the number of calories that come from fat, and the total grams of fat and saturated fat. The labels must also provide information about protein, cholesterol, sodium and vitamins in the product, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Calorie consumption is a worrisome issue in the United States, with an estimated two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Nutrition facts" labels have existed for several decades, and became mandatory on virtually all processed foods by 1994. But cuts of raw meat generally were left out of the labeling system -- until now, the Times reported.
The American Meat Institute, a trade group, said the new requirements would give the industry a chance to highlight some of its more healthful offerings."
So labels are coming to meats? Here's what I wrote about food with labels:
Well, it looks like libel is coming to a meat market near you.
"Nutrition Labels Coming to Meats in 2012
Starting Jan. 1, 2012, many meats will be required to come with nutrition labels that include information such as the number of calories, so consumers can be better informed about what they eat, the U.S. Department of Agriculture announced Wednesday.
The rule applies to 40 of the most popular cuts of meat and poultry products, including pork, beef, lamb, and ground meat such as hamburger or turkey, according to published reports.
"More and more, busy American families want nutrition information that they can quickly and easily understand," Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack said in a news release. "We need to do all we can to provide nutrition labels that will help consumers make informed decisions."
The rule will require meat producers to reveal the total number of calories, the number of calories that come from fat, and the total grams of fat and saturated fat. The labels must also provide information about protein, cholesterol, sodium and vitamins in the product, the Los Angeles Times reported.
Calorie consumption is a worrisome issue in the United States, with an estimated two-thirds of Americans either overweight or obese, according to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention.
"Nutrition facts" labels have existed for several decades, and became mandatory on virtually all processed foods by 1994. But cuts of raw meat generally were left out of the labeling system -- until now, the Times reported.
The American Meat Institute, a trade group, said the new requirements would give the industry a chance to highlight some of its more healthful offerings."
So labels are coming to meats? Here's what I wrote about food with labels:
"I have come to believe that the label on the front of foods is just as dangerous as the one on the back, because it serves as a lure for shoppers. The best and healthiest foods come without a label—especially on the back. Some are lucky enough not to have one on the front, either. Shopping for and living with these foods, as well as their effects, has revealed a way to health, happiness (spatial, temporal, and financial), and the way back to nature—where it all began. I found a way out from under the commercialism and marketing deluge, and an excellent way to stretch my (mostly organic) food dollar with ease. No more price books, coupons, rebates, or other trickery to deceive me (and hopefully you too) into buying low-quality, high-label food again—now I see too clearly to ever go back.
If you’re going to buy canned peaches and green beans, why not buy REAL peaches and green beans instead? No name, no shame. No label, no libel."
Well, it looks like libel is coming to a meat market near you.
Your Medicare Taxes Won't Cover What You'll Cost
From Yahoo Health.
"What you paid in Medicare taxes shows up on your W-2 income tax form every year. So when you retire, you want your money's worth.
That's how most Americans see it. In an Associated Press-GfK poll nearly 6 out of 10 said they paid into the system so they deserve their full benefits — no cuts.
But a newly updated financial analysis shows that what people paid into the system doesn't come close to covering the full value of the medical care they can expect to receive as retirees.
Consider an average-wage, two-earner couple together earning $89,000 a year. Upon retiring in 2011, they would have paid $114,000 in Medicare payroll taxes during their careers.
But they can expect to receive medical services — from prescriptions to hospital care — worth $355,000, or about three times what they put in."
But what if I continue to care for myself in this way--doesn't this mean I'll be less burden to the system? As it is, my doctor only wants to see me twice yearly.
"Consider an average-wage, two-earner couple together earning $89,000 a year. Upon retiring in 2011, they would have paid $114,000 in Medicare payroll taxes during their careers.
But they can expect to receive medical services — from prescriptions to hospital care — worth $355,000, or about three times what they put in.
The estimates by economists Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane of the Urban Institute think tank illustrate the huge disconnect between widely-held perceptions and the numbers behind Medicare's shaky financing. Although Americans are worried about Medicare's long-term solvency, few realize the size of the gap.
"The fact that you put money into the system doesn't mean it's there waiting for you to collect," said Steuerle.
By comparison, Social Security taxes and expected benefits come closer to balancing out.
...
"Many workers may believe their Medicare payroll taxes are going for their own insurance after they retiree, but the money is actually used to pay the bills of seniors currently on the program.
That mistaken impression complicates the job for policymakers trying to build political support in coming months for dealing with deficits that could drag the economy back down.
Health care costs are a major and unpredictable part of the government's budget problems, and Medicare is in the middle. Recent debt reduction proposals have called for big changes to Medicare, making the belt-tightening in President Barack Obama's health care law seem modest. Some plans call for phasing out the program, replacing it with a fixed payment to help future retirees buy a private plan of their choice.
Peel back the layers, and there are several reasons why Medicare benefits and taxes are so out of line. First, the rapid rise in health care costs."
...
"Another reason is that payroll taxes cover most, but not all, of Medicare's costs. They are earmarked for the giant trust fund that pays for inpatient care.
Outpatient doctor visits and prescription drugs are paid for with a mix of premiums collected from beneficiaries and money from the government's general fund. Seniors pay only one-fourth of the costs of those benefits through their premiums.
The system has worked for 45 years, with occasional fine tuning. But the retirement of the baby boomers, the first of whom become eligible for Medicare in 2011, threatens to push it over the edge.
Medicare covers 46 million seniors and disabled people now. When the last of the boomers reaches age 65 in about 20 years, Medicare will be covering more than 80 million people. At the same time, the ratio of workers paying taxes to support the program will have plunged from 3.5 for each person receiving benefits currently, to 2.3.
"With Medicare, we are all still making out like bandits, shoving all those costs to future generations," said Steuerle. "At another level, we know that this system is totally unsustainable."
An unspoken but huge issue within the health care community is the fact that we as people don't really take care of ourselves--instead, we tend to rely on high-priced medical types to patch us back together, when oftentimes the cure is a simple change in diet instead of an expensive medicine or procedure.
In other words, we're paying for the CONVENIENCE of taking a pill, and that convenience cost is ever-spiraling upward as more and more of us rely on the fallback position of pills/procedures that are covered by some form of insurance, because we love the convenience, so we continue to abuse our bodies so we can fall back on the system, etc...lather, rinse, repeat. It's become a self-serving cycle because too many of us have either forgotten how to do for ourselves, or never learned in the first place.
PREVENTION means never having the accident happen in the first place--whether it's a health accident, a safety accident, or whatever. We need to focus more on PREVENTION, which will cut the demand and cost of CURING, and save our precious resources for serious illnesses, diseases, and health issues which SO FAR CAN'T BE PREVENTED BY A MERE DIET CHANGE.
I blame careless eating and HMOs for the whole thing--too many of us have become too complacent when it comes to health care. "Don't worry--my $5 co-pay will handle everything!" So would $5 worth of fresh produce, and the farmers need your money more than the hospitals.
Your primary care doctor, in my opinion, should be a nutritionist. After that, you shouldn't have to see much of anybody else unless you break a bone, or eating plan alone doesn't solve your medical issues.
"What you paid in Medicare taxes shows up on your W-2 income tax form every year. So when you retire, you want your money's worth.
That's how most Americans see it. In an Associated Press-GfK poll nearly 6 out of 10 said they paid into the system so they deserve their full benefits — no cuts.
But a newly updated financial analysis shows that what people paid into the system doesn't come close to covering the full value of the medical care they can expect to receive as retirees.
Consider an average-wage, two-earner couple together earning $89,000 a year. Upon retiring in 2011, they would have paid $114,000 in Medicare payroll taxes during their careers.
But they can expect to receive medical services — from prescriptions to hospital care — worth $355,000, or about three times what they put in."
But what if I continue to care for myself in this way--doesn't this mean I'll be less burden to the system? As it is, my doctor only wants to see me twice yearly.
"Consider an average-wage, two-earner couple together earning $89,000 a year. Upon retiring in 2011, they would have paid $114,000 in Medicare payroll taxes during their careers.
But they can expect to receive medical services — from prescriptions to hospital care — worth $355,000, or about three times what they put in.
The estimates by economists Eugene Steuerle and Stephanie Rennane of the Urban Institute think tank illustrate the huge disconnect between widely-held perceptions and the numbers behind Medicare's shaky financing. Although Americans are worried about Medicare's long-term solvency, few realize the size of the gap.
"The fact that you put money into the system doesn't mean it's there waiting for you to collect," said Steuerle.
By comparison, Social Security taxes and expected benefits come closer to balancing out.
...
"Many workers may believe their Medicare payroll taxes are going for their own insurance after they retiree, but the money is actually used to pay the bills of seniors currently on the program.
That mistaken impression complicates the job for policymakers trying to build political support in coming months for dealing with deficits that could drag the economy back down.
Health care costs are a major and unpredictable part of the government's budget problems, and Medicare is in the middle. Recent debt reduction proposals have called for big changes to Medicare, making the belt-tightening in President Barack Obama's health care law seem modest. Some plans call for phasing out the program, replacing it with a fixed payment to help future retirees buy a private plan of their choice.
Peel back the layers, and there are several reasons why Medicare benefits and taxes are so out of line. First, the rapid rise in health care costs."
...
"Another reason is that payroll taxes cover most, but not all, of Medicare's costs. They are earmarked for the giant trust fund that pays for inpatient care.
Outpatient doctor visits and prescription drugs are paid for with a mix of premiums collected from beneficiaries and money from the government's general fund. Seniors pay only one-fourth of the costs of those benefits through their premiums.
The system has worked for 45 years, with occasional fine tuning. But the retirement of the baby boomers, the first of whom become eligible for Medicare in 2011, threatens to push it over the edge.
Medicare covers 46 million seniors and disabled people now. When the last of the boomers reaches age 65 in about 20 years, Medicare will be covering more than 80 million people. At the same time, the ratio of workers paying taxes to support the program will have plunged from 3.5 for each person receiving benefits currently, to 2.3.
"With Medicare, we are all still making out like bandits, shoving all those costs to future generations," said Steuerle. "At another level, we know that this system is totally unsustainable."
An unspoken but huge issue within the health care community is the fact that we as people don't really take care of ourselves--instead, we tend to rely on high-priced medical types to patch us back together, when oftentimes the cure is a simple change in diet instead of an expensive medicine or procedure.
In other words, we're paying for the CONVENIENCE of taking a pill, and that convenience cost is ever-spiraling upward as more and more of us rely on the fallback position of pills/procedures that are covered by some form of insurance, because we love the convenience, so we continue to abuse our bodies so we can fall back on the system, etc...lather, rinse, repeat. It's become a self-serving cycle because too many of us have either forgotten how to do for ourselves, or never learned in the first place.
PREVENTION means never having the accident happen in the first place--whether it's a health accident, a safety accident, or whatever. We need to focus more on PREVENTION, which will cut the demand and cost of CURING, and save our precious resources for serious illnesses, diseases, and health issues which SO FAR CAN'T BE PREVENTED BY A MERE DIET CHANGE.
I blame careless eating and HMOs for the whole thing--too many of us have become too complacent when it comes to health care. "Don't worry--my $5 co-pay will handle everything!" So would $5 worth of fresh produce, and the farmers need your money more than the hospitals.
Your primary care doctor, in my opinion, should be a nutritionist. After that, you shouldn't have to see much of anybody else unless you break a bone, or eating plan alone doesn't solve your medical issues.
The Whole (Foods) Story
From Energy Times.
"What accounts for the link between whole foods and improved health? For one thing, such foods aren’t burdened with the excessive salt, fat and sugar used to make processed foods more palatable. Their biggest advantage, though, lies in an excellent nutrition-to-calories ratio. Produce and unrefined grains supply a wide spectrum of vitamins and minerals in addition to protein building blocks called amino acids, complex carbohydrates for sustained energy and healthy fats—think avocados versus cheeseburgers. Whole foods also provide insoluble and soluble fiber to promote digestive health and curb appetite, and to keep cholesterol at healthy levels and blood sugar from spiking after meals.
In addition, whole foods contain live enzymes. Although not nutrients themselves, these substances assist in the thousands of metabolic reactions that occur within the body every second. Some, known as digestive enzymes, help break down nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins into more basic molecules that can be absorbed and used. Others, known as systemic enzymes, help maintain, repair and fuel the body’s trillions of cells.
Whole foods also supply a wealth of phytonutrients. “Phytonutrients act as anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, and help boost the immune system. They protect cells from damage, and help lower blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease,” says Koutoubi.
The presence of bright colors—the red in tomatoes, the orange in carrots—“is an indicator of phytonutrients. I recommend eating a variety of colored fruits and vegetables daily,” says Victoria Drake, manager of the Micronutrient Information Center at the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University. Phytonutrients—and these are only a few examples—can be classified according to where they fall on the color spectrum:
• White through Yellow: allyl sulfides (garlic, onion); quercetin (most produce); limonene (lemons, noni); lutein (mango, winter squash)
• Green: catechins (green tea); chlorophyll (barley and wheat grasses, leafy greens, spirulina); sulforaphane (broccoli)
• Red through Blue-Purple: lycopene (tomato, watermelon); ellagic acid (pomegranate, raspberry,
strawberry); reveratrol (grape); anthocyanins (açai, berries, mangosteen, goji)
Health Concentrated
Koutoubi and Drake agree that phytonutrients represent a growing area of research. The ability of many phytonutrients to influence cell behavior appears to retard cancer development. Diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to maintain proper levels of glucose, or blood sugar; phytonutrients are believed to fight diabetes by several means (International Journal of Molecular Sciences 3/10)."
...
"Despite the mounting pile of studies, many scientists believe that we have only scratched the surface in terms of understanding how individual phytonutrients function and how these substances—to say nothing of vitamins, minerals, fiber, enzymes and other whole-food components—interact with each other. “There’s thousands, perhaps as many as 10,000, phytonutrients and probably ones that have yet to be isolated,” says Drake. “There’s a lot we don’t know about their mechanism of action.”
That’s what makes synergy the key to whole-food nutrition. It’s the way that all of the components found in an apple—carbohydrates, fiber, quercetin and other phytonutrients—work together to provide health benefits that are more than a sum of the parts."
...
"Innovative, science-based supplement manufacturers started adopting the principle of nutritional synergy back in the 1980s by adding whole foods such as brown rice and the superfood spirulina to their products so they could capture hundreds of nutrient cofactors, such as phytonutrients, in an effort to bolster effectiveness and absorbability. Today, however, some “natural” products are created by feeding vitamins and minerals to yeast to generate synergistic cofactors. However, yeast is devoid of many healthful nutrients that only true whole foods can provide. The best products are based on concentrates of whole foods—an important consideration given how many people are allergic or sensitive to yeast. (Organic supplements provide even more protection from exposure to potentially problematic synthetic compounds.) These products also include concentrates of such cutting-edge ingredients as açai, goji, noni, mangosteen and pomegranate.
Whole-food concentrates provide not only vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients but also amino acids, enzymes, fiber and other components found in whole foods. Such products are undergoing research; in one case, a whole-food supplement was able to reduce blood pressure (JANA 2010 Vol. 13 No. 1).
The best way to maintain health is to eat a diet based on whole foods whenever possible. Unfortunately, many people simply do not consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. According to the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance (www.nfva.org), Americans consume little more than a cup of vegetables a day—a number that has barely budged for the past five years and which is far below the recommended three to five daily servings. What’s especially worrisome is that this consumption gap correlates with increased costs for illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and stroke over the past 10 years (National Action Plan to Promote Health Through Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 2010 Report Card, NFVA).
Although no substitute for a proper diet, whole-food supplements can help increase intake of the crucial dietary components contained in such foods—components many Americans aren’t getting enough of. Supplementation can also help cover the nutritional gaps that may occur despite the best of dietary intentions; even careful eaters can go astray when life becomes overly hectic, as it too often does.
A whole-food diet containing plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables remains the dietary gold standard when it comes to reducing disease risk and fighting the effects of aging. Whole-food supplements help makes the nutrition power found in these foods readily available."
This is why you should back away from the chips and sodas at the supermarket, and rush over to the produce section.
"What accounts for the link between whole foods and improved health? For one thing, such foods aren’t burdened with the excessive salt, fat and sugar used to make processed foods more palatable. Their biggest advantage, though, lies in an excellent nutrition-to-calories ratio. Produce and unrefined grains supply a wide spectrum of vitamins and minerals in addition to protein building blocks called amino acids, complex carbohydrates for sustained energy and healthy fats—think avocados versus cheeseburgers. Whole foods also provide insoluble and soluble fiber to promote digestive health and curb appetite, and to keep cholesterol at healthy levels and blood sugar from spiking after meals.
In addition, whole foods contain live enzymes. Although not nutrients themselves, these substances assist in the thousands of metabolic reactions that occur within the body every second. Some, known as digestive enzymes, help break down nutrients such as carbohydrates, fats and proteins into more basic molecules that can be absorbed and used. Others, known as systemic enzymes, help maintain, repair and fuel the body’s trillions of cells.
Whole foods also supply a wealth of phytonutrients. “Phytonutrients act as anti-inflammatories and antioxidants, and help boost the immune system. They protect cells from damage, and help lower blood pressure and prevent cardiovascular disease,” says Koutoubi.
The presence of bright colors—the red in tomatoes, the orange in carrots—“is an indicator of phytonutrients. I recommend eating a variety of colored fruits and vegetables daily,” says Victoria Drake, manager of the Micronutrient Information Center at the Linus Pauling Institute, Oregon State University. Phytonutrients—and these are only a few examples—can be classified according to where they fall on the color spectrum:
• White through Yellow: allyl sulfides (garlic, onion); quercetin (most produce); limonene (lemons, noni); lutein (mango, winter squash)
• Green: catechins (green tea); chlorophyll (barley and wheat grasses, leafy greens, spirulina); sulforaphane (broccoli)
• Red through Blue-Purple: lycopene (tomato, watermelon); ellagic acid (pomegranate, raspberry,
strawberry); reveratrol (grape); anthocyanins (açai, berries, mangosteen, goji)
Health Concentrated
Koutoubi and Drake agree that phytonutrients represent a growing area of research. The ability of many phytonutrients to influence cell behavior appears to retard cancer development. Diabetes is caused by the body’s inability to maintain proper levels of glucose, or blood sugar; phytonutrients are believed to fight diabetes by several means (International Journal of Molecular Sciences 3/10)."
...
"Despite the mounting pile of studies, many scientists believe that we have only scratched the surface in terms of understanding how individual phytonutrients function and how these substances—to say nothing of vitamins, minerals, fiber, enzymes and other whole-food components—interact with each other. “There’s thousands, perhaps as many as 10,000, phytonutrients and probably ones that have yet to be isolated,” says Drake. “There’s a lot we don’t know about their mechanism of action.”
That’s what makes synergy the key to whole-food nutrition. It’s the way that all of the components found in an apple—carbohydrates, fiber, quercetin and other phytonutrients—work together to provide health benefits that are more than a sum of the parts."
...
"Innovative, science-based supplement manufacturers started adopting the principle of nutritional synergy back in the 1980s by adding whole foods such as brown rice and the superfood spirulina to their products so they could capture hundreds of nutrient cofactors, such as phytonutrients, in an effort to bolster effectiveness and absorbability. Today, however, some “natural” products are created by feeding vitamins and minerals to yeast to generate synergistic cofactors. However, yeast is devoid of many healthful nutrients that only true whole foods can provide. The best products are based on concentrates of whole foods—an important consideration given how many people are allergic or sensitive to yeast. (Organic supplements provide even more protection from exposure to potentially problematic synthetic compounds.) These products also include concentrates of such cutting-edge ingredients as açai, goji, noni, mangosteen and pomegranate.
Whole-food concentrates provide not only vitamins, minerals and phytonutrients but also amino acids, enzymes, fiber and other components found in whole foods. Such products are undergoing research; in one case, a whole-food supplement was able to reduce blood pressure (JANA 2010 Vol. 13 No. 1).
The best way to maintain health is to eat a diet based on whole foods whenever possible. Unfortunately, many people simply do not consume the recommended amounts of fruits and vegetables. According to the National Fruit & Vegetable Alliance (www.nfva.org), Americans consume little more than a cup of vegetables a day—a number that has barely budged for the past five years and which is far below the recommended three to five daily servings. What’s especially worrisome is that this consumption gap correlates with increased costs for illnesses such as cancer, heart disease and stroke over the past 10 years (National Action Plan to Promote Health Through Increased Fruit and Vegetable Consumption 2010 Report Card, NFVA).
Although no substitute for a proper diet, whole-food supplements can help increase intake of the crucial dietary components contained in such foods—components many Americans aren’t getting enough of. Supplementation can also help cover the nutritional gaps that may occur despite the best of dietary intentions; even careful eaters can go astray when life becomes overly hectic, as it too often does.
A whole-food diet containing plenty of colorful fruits and vegetables remains the dietary gold standard when it comes to reducing disease risk and fighting the effects of aging. Whole-food supplements help makes the nutrition power found in these foods readily available."
This is why you should back away from the chips and sodas at the supermarket, and rush over to the produce section.
Thursday, December 30, 2010
One Last Update to the Bay Leaf Saga
I went to Sam's Club yesterday, and it seems they DO have bay leaves, but not in their usual section. They were on a holiday food display, along with other spices. I paid $2.67/oz. at Food Lion, when I could've paid $1.37/oz. at Sam's--almost double the savings, and no coupons.
Now I know for next time! But at least I did better WITHOUT the coupon, and will do better still going forward (with no coupons). That's my final answer to the TLC coupon queen show--no thanks. Not only did I walk away from coupons years ago, but I'm also walking away form the TV and satellite dish next year (when the contract's up).
So now we're down from the old original $23.00/oz. to $1.37/oz., which nets me about 16.8X the amount of bay leaves for the money. ($23.00 divided by $1.37 = 16.8 rounded up)
~Wenchypoo
Conquering food inflation one heavily-discounted bay leaf at a time :)
Now I know for next time! But at least I did better WITHOUT the coupon, and will do better still going forward (with no coupons). That's my final answer to the TLC coupon queen show--no thanks. Not only did I walk away from coupons years ago, but I'm also walking away form the TV and satellite dish next year (when the contract's up).
So now we're down from the old original $23.00/oz. to $1.37/oz., which nets me about 16.8X the amount of bay leaves for the money. ($23.00 divided by $1.37 = 16.8 rounded up)
~Wenchypoo
Conquering food inflation one heavily-discounted bay leaf at a time :)
"Hold Onto Your Food" Meteoroligists Warn (Africa)
From the Daily Monitor. Another reason why we frugalites are sitting on our pantry stash while the coupon-queening ants are busy scurrying around trying to secure their own stash for the coming HARDER times. Now, it's not just inflation--it's weather for the next 25 years, thanks to La Nina. This may as well be our own Dust Bowl, only with drought and excess rains instead of dust.
Why does this news from Africa concern you? Exports.
"The weather in 2011 could be grim as the moderate La Niña conditions, which have been evolving since July 2010, are now well established, according to the El Niño/La Niña Update issued by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The update suggests that La Niña conditions are likely to continue at least until the first quarter of the year.
The term La Niña is opposite of El Niño. La Niña is used to describe the periodic building up of unusually cold waters in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, El Niño, (Spanish word for “the Christ-child”), refers to the periodic building up of a large pool of unusually warm waters in the same region of the ocean basin. Thus, La Niña and El Niño are phenomena that periodically occur (on average every two to five years) in the equatorial Pacific Ocean region.
It has been observed that during El Niño and La Niña events, world-wide weather and climate extremes such as droughts, floods, cold/hot spells, tropical cyclones, among others are common, even in some regions that are very far away from the Pacific Ocean basin.
Such weather and climate extremes are often associated with far reaching socio-economic impacts including loss of life and property, mass migration of people and animals, lack of water, energy, food and other basic needs of human kind. Major La Niña events recorded since 1950 are: 1950, 1954, 1955/56, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1970/71, 1973/74, 1984/85, 1988/89, 1995/96, 1999/2000, 2007.
According to Mr Michael Nkalubo of the Department of Meteorology, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda should expect potential impacts of the prevailing La Niña event on the climate.
Mr Nkalubo says the normally dry season of January to February is expected to be longer and drier than normal.
It is expected that sunny and dry conditions characterised by higher than normal daytime temperatures will occur over the entire country during the period December-January-February 2010.
“The rainfall during the first rainy season of March to May 2011 is expected to be suppressed (below normal). The areas which are likely to be more affected are cattle corridor areas running from Mbarara up to Karamoja region,” Mr Nkalubo says.
He says, in general, the occurrence of this moderate to strong La Niña is likely to have some implications on various socio-economic activities in the country and the region at large.
According to him, the negative potential impacts will include: failure of crops, low water levels in dams and lakes which can lead to severe power rationing and the associated large economic losses and rural-urban water shortages for both domestic and industrial use.
Others are lack of pasture and water for animals that may lead to severe conflicts between pastoral communities; lack of food leading to famine and the associated health problems and fire outbreaks in forests, grasslands and settlements.
The weather outlook shows that La Niña event is likely to increase the level of vulnerability of many people in disaster areas far beyond their coping capacities if this prediction is not integrated into agriculture and food security, and other disaster management programmes of the most vulnerable sectors in the country.
It may be recalled that the 2007 La Niña-related drought had severe impacts on both human and animal lives and many social-economic activities particularly in the eastern region.
Mr Nkalubo advises that there is need for action in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner so as to reduce the possibility of personal injury, loss of life and damage to property.
“Appropriate coping mechanisms should therefore be put in place to see the country through this difficult period until normal conditions are realised,” he says.
The pastoral communities living in the cattle corridor areas should use the prevailing rains to harvest more water that can cater for expected drought. It also recommends the rehabilitation of the existing boreholes and construction of temporary dams in semi and arid areas as temporary solutions to the water scarcity problem.
The ministry also advises concerned authorities to assist the pastoral communities in de-stocking of the animals to avoid further loss in their main source of livelihood.
Mr Nkalubo advises the public to keep enough food that can cater for the expected drought and farmers should make use of fast maturing and drought resistant varieties of crops. “In view of this, agricultural officers should be in position to advise farmers accordingly,” he says."
Take a gardening tip from Africa, and do the same. If global weather patterns persist in the way Africa's are predicted to, then it's going to affect world-wide exports, which leaves us growing our own food because exports that DO come in are going to be rationed in some way (high prices, low supply, or both).
Now you know how Britain feels, and felt in WWII.
Why does this news from Africa concern you? Exports.
"The weather in 2011 could be grim as the moderate La Niña conditions, which have been evolving since July 2010, are now well established, according to the El Niño/La Niña Update issued by the World Meteorological Organisation (WMO).
The update suggests that La Niña conditions are likely to continue at least until the first quarter of the year.
The term La Niña is opposite of El Niño. La Niña is used to describe the periodic building up of unusually cold waters in the eastern and central equatorial Pacific Ocean. On the other hand, El Niño, (Spanish word for “the Christ-child”), refers to the periodic building up of a large pool of unusually warm waters in the same region of the ocean basin. Thus, La Niña and El Niño are phenomena that periodically occur (on average every two to five years) in the equatorial Pacific Ocean region.
It has been observed that during El Niño and La Niña events, world-wide weather and climate extremes such as droughts, floods, cold/hot spells, tropical cyclones, among others are common, even in some regions that are very far away from the Pacific Ocean basin.
Such weather and climate extremes are often associated with far reaching socio-economic impacts including loss of life and property, mass migration of people and animals, lack of water, energy, food and other basic needs of human kind. Major La Niña events recorded since 1950 are: 1950, 1954, 1955/56, 1962, 1964, 1967, 1970/71, 1973/74, 1984/85, 1988/89, 1995/96, 1999/2000, 2007.
According to Mr Michael Nkalubo of the Department of Meteorology, Ministry of Water and Environment, Uganda should expect potential impacts of the prevailing La Niña event on the climate.
Mr Nkalubo says the normally dry season of January to February is expected to be longer and drier than normal.
It is expected that sunny and dry conditions characterised by higher than normal daytime temperatures will occur over the entire country during the period December-January-February 2010.
“The rainfall during the first rainy season of March to May 2011 is expected to be suppressed (below normal). The areas which are likely to be more affected are cattle corridor areas running from Mbarara up to Karamoja region,” Mr Nkalubo says.
He says, in general, the occurrence of this moderate to strong La Niña is likely to have some implications on various socio-economic activities in the country and the region at large.
According to him, the negative potential impacts will include: failure of crops, low water levels in dams and lakes which can lead to severe power rationing and the associated large economic losses and rural-urban water shortages for both domestic and industrial use.
Others are lack of pasture and water for animals that may lead to severe conflicts between pastoral communities; lack of food leading to famine and the associated health problems and fire outbreaks in forests, grasslands and settlements.
The weather outlook shows that La Niña event is likely to increase the level of vulnerability of many people in disaster areas far beyond their coping capacities if this prediction is not integrated into agriculture and food security, and other disaster management programmes of the most vulnerable sectors in the country.
It may be recalled that the 2007 La Niña-related drought had severe impacts on both human and animal lives and many social-economic activities particularly in the eastern region.
Mr Nkalubo advises that there is need for action in sufficient time and in an appropriate manner so as to reduce the possibility of personal injury, loss of life and damage to property.
“Appropriate coping mechanisms should therefore be put in place to see the country through this difficult period until normal conditions are realised,” he says.
The pastoral communities living in the cattle corridor areas should use the prevailing rains to harvest more water that can cater for expected drought. It also recommends the rehabilitation of the existing boreholes and construction of temporary dams in semi and arid areas as temporary solutions to the water scarcity problem.
The ministry also advises concerned authorities to assist the pastoral communities in de-stocking of the animals to avoid further loss in their main source of livelihood.
Mr Nkalubo advises the public to keep enough food that can cater for the expected drought and farmers should make use of fast maturing and drought resistant varieties of crops. “In view of this, agricultural officers should be in position to advise farmers accordingly,” he says."
Take a gardening tip from Africa, and do the same. If global weather patterns persist in the way Africa's are predicted to, then it's going to affect world-wide exports, which leaves us growing our own food because exports that DO come in are going to be rationed in some way (high prices, low supply, or both).
Now you know how Britain feels, and felt in WWII.
Rationing--and Ration Cutting--Comes to Cuba (and Iran)
From Reuters.
"Cuba's government, trying to save money and wean its citizens from subsidies, said on Wednesday it will remove soap, toothpaste and detergent from the monthly ration of food and consumer products it has handed out since the early days of the Cuban revolution.
The latest cut in the ration known as the "libreta" goes into effect on January 1, according to a resolution published in the government's Official Gazette.
The notice said the products would be sold in stores at fixed prices ranging from five to 25 pesos (23 U.S. cents to $1.13), several times their current subsidized price.
Cubans, who make an average monthly salary of about $20 (£12.90), complain widely about their economic circumstances and many have expressed concern about the dwindling ration.
The communist-run government has previously cut such things as potatoes and cigarettes from the ration, which was created to make sure Cubans did not go hungry after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power and the subsequent imposition of a trade embargo by the United States.
His younger brother Raul Castro is now president and has launched a campaign to cut state spending and get Cubans used to paying their own way.
He has said healthcare and education will remain free of charge to Cubans but other subsidies will be trimmed.
Excessive subsidies have discouraged hard work and led to low productivity, which must be reversed for Cuba to pull out of its chronic economic woes, Castro has said.
He has put forth reforms that include slashing 500,000 jobs from government payrolls in the next few months and expanding the island's private sector.
He has said healthcare and education will remain free of charge to Cubans but other subsidies will be trimmed.
Excessive subsidies have discouraged hard work and led to low productivity, which must be reversed for Cuba to pull out of its chronic economic woes, Castro has said.
He has put forth reforms that include slashing 500,000 jobs from government payrolls in the next few months and expanding the island's private sector.
While the reforms are already underway, the ruling Communist Party is expected to officially approve them at a congress in April."
Fidel was right when he said to a reporter that the Cuban model doesn't even work for Cuba any more! So why is it WE seem to be the only country headed TOWARD rationing while others are headed AWAY from it (like Cuba and Europe)?
UPDATE: Iran seems to be doing the same as Cuba: From BBC News.
"Iran has cut energy and food subsidies, risking a repeat of angry protests which followed fuel rationing in 2007.
The cuts, introduced on Sunday, mean a four-fold rise in the price of petrol and reduced subsidies for bread.
Each car will get 60 litres of fuel per month at a subsidised price of 40 cents per litre, up from 10 cents per litre.
Iran, whose fragile economy has been hit by United Nations sanctions, has said it pays about $100bn (£64bn) in subsidies annually.
In 2007, protesters set alight dozens of petrol stations after the system of fuel rationing was introduced.
News agency reports on Sunday said there was a heavy police presence in the capital Tehran, but there were no reports of trouble.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that the cuts in subsidies were the "biggest surgery" to the economy in 50 years.
Mr Ahmadinejad also said his government was paying $4bn in bread subsidies, which are being gradually phased out."
...
"The government says that under its Subsidy Smart Plan, money from increased prices will be returned to the people through cash payments.
But some economists fear the increased prices, which also apply to electricity, water, and flour, will fuel inflation, already thought to be running at 20%"
"Cuba's government, trying to save money and wean its citizens from subsidies, said on Wednesday it will remove soap, toothpaste and detergent from the monthly ration of food and consumer products it has handed out since the early days of the Cuban revolution.
The latest cut in the ration known as the "libreta" goes into effect on January 1, according to a resolution published in the government's Official Gazette.
The notice said the products would be sold in stores at fixed prices ranging from five to 25 pesos (23 U.S. cents to $1.13), several times their current subsidized price.
Cubans, who make an average monthly salary of about $20 (£12.90), complain widely about their economic circumstances and many have expressed concern about the dwindling ration.
The communist-run government has previously cut such things as potatoes and cigarettes from the ration, which was created to make sure Cubans did not go hungry after the 1959 revolution that put Fidel Castro in power and the subsequent imposition of a trade embargo by the United States.
His younger brother Raul Castro is now president and has launched a campaign to cut state spending and get Cubans used to paying their own way.
He has said healthcare and education will remain free of charge to Cubans but other subsidies will be trimmed.
Excessive subsidies have discouraged hard work and led to low productivity, which must be reversed for Cuba to pull out of its chronic economic woes, Castro has said.
He has put forth reforms that include slashing 500,000 jobs from government payrolls in the next few months and expanding the island's private sector.
He has said healthcare and education will remain free of charge to Cubans but other subsidies will be trimmed.
Excessive subsidies have discouraged hard work and led to low productivity, which must be reversed for Cuba to pull out of its chronic economic woes, Castro has said.
He has put forth reforms that include slashing 500,000 jobs from government payrolls in the next few months and expanding the island's private sector.
While the reforms are already underway, the ruling Communist Party is expected to officially approve them at a congress in April."
Fidel was right when he said to a reporter that the Cuban model doesn't even work for Cuba any more! So why is it WE seem to be the only country headed TOWARD rationing while others are headed AWAY from it (like Cuba and Europe)?
UPDATE: Iran seems to be doing the same as Cuba: From BBC News.
"Iran has cut energy and food subsidies, risking a repeat of angry protests which followed fuel rationing in 2007.
The cuts, introduced on Sunday, mean a four-fold rise in the price of petrol and reduced subsidies for bread.
Each car will get 60 litres of fuel per month at a subsidised price of 40 cents per litre, up from 10 cents per litre.
Iran, whose fragile economy has been hit by United Nations sanctions, has said it pays about $100bn (£64bn) in subsidies annually.
In 2007, protesters set alight dozens of petrol stations after the system of fuel rationing was introduced.
News agency reports on Sunday said there was a heavy police presence in the capital Tehran, but there were no reports of trouble.
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad said on Saturday that the cuts in subsidies were the "biggest surgery" to the economy in 50 years.
Mr Ahmadinejad also said his government was paying $4bn in bread subsidies, which are being gradually phased out."
...
"The government says that under its Subsidy Smart Plan, money from increased prices will be returned to the people through cash payments.
But some economists fear the increased prices, which also apply to electricity, water, and flour, will fuel inflation, already thought to be running at 20%"
Recap: TLC's "Extreme Couponing" Show--No, I Didn't Watch It
From Big Babble.
"The premiere of TLC’s Extreme Couponing has people frantically searching the web for coupon deals. But “extreme couponing” can be a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, as ABC News reported this week. ABC profiled shoppers featured on Extreme Couponing, like Amanda – who once used over 1,000 coupons to take her shopping total from $1100 to a meager $51. Is that savings impressive? Sure. But not if you stack it next to the $35,000 she and her husband pay to insure their stockpile of goods.
Extreme couponer Nathan had this to say about his obsession: “Shopping is like chess. You’re trying to beat the opponent, which is the store.” I can’t imagine walking into a store feeling like I was heading into battle. The shoppers examined on Extreme Couponing aren’t just average people trying to save on their grocery bill. They’re like gamblers addicted to the thrill of finding the next great sale."
And from the San Antonio Examiner:
"TLC's new special Extreme Couponing follows four die-hard couponers who revel in the glory of a good score, and turn up their nose at the thought of paying full price, for, well, anything. Online couponers will be most familiar with Joanie Demer, who runs the Krazy Coupon Lady website online. Other participants include Nathan, who brings TLC cameras along on a 2,000-item grocery haul, and Joyce, who claims she hasn't paid for a stick of deodorant or a tube of toothpaste in more than 30 years.
Early reaction online has been skeptical, with many critics comparing some of the extreme couponing techniques discussed as akin to a hoarding or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. But with saving money sitting at the top of many Americans' New Year's resolutions, it's hard to dismiss any ideas, no matter how unfamiliar, that might put a few extra dollars back in someone's pocket."
I don't need a rush, an excuse for shopping, or to feel like the conqueror--I just like to get my shit (at least a year's worth, at the lowest price possible) and get out. I also get free toothpaste by going to the dentist twice yearly--beyond that, I bought a case of it about three years ago, and we still have most of it left. No coupons. I got my shit and got out...probably for less than they did, and I won't have to go back again for a good long time.
"The premiere of TLC’s Extreme Couponing has people frantically searching the web for coupon deals. But “extreme couponing” can be a form of obsessive compulsive disorder, as ABC News reported this week. ABC profiled shoppers featured on Extreme Couponing, like Amanda – who once used over 1,000 coupons to take her shopping total from $1100 to a meager $51. Is that savings impressive? Sure. But not if you stack it next to the $35,000 she and her husband pay to insure their stockpile of goods.
Extreme couponer Nathan had this to say about his obsession: “Shopping is like chess. You’re trying to beat the opponent, which is the store.” I can’t imagine walking into a store feeling like I was heading into battle. The shoppers examined on Extreme Couponing aren’t just average people trying to save on their grocery bill. They’re like gamblers addicted to the thrill of finding the next great sale."
And from the San Antonio Examiner:
"TLC's new special Extreme Couponing follows four die-hard couponers who revel in the glory of a good score, and turn up their nose at the thought of paying full price, for, well, anything. Online couponers will be most familiar with Joanie Demer, who runs the Krazy Coupon Lady website online. Other participants include Nathan, who brings TLC cameras along on a 2,000-item grocery haul, and Joyce, who claims she hasn't paid for a stick of deodorant or a tube of toothpaste in more than 30 years.
Early reaction online has been skeptical, with many critics comparing some of the extreme couponing techniques discussed as akin to a hoarding or an obsessive-compulsive disorder. But with saving money sitting at the top of many Americans' New Year's resolutions, it's hard to dismiss any ideas, no matter how unfamiliar, that might put a few extra dollars back in someone's pocket."
I don't need a rush, an excuse for shopping, or to feel like the conqueror--I just like to get my shit (at least a year's worth, at the lowest price possible) and get out. I also get free toothpaste by going to the dentist twice yearly--beyond that, I bought a case of it about three years ago, and we still have most of it left. No coupons. I got my shit and got out...probably for less than they did, and I won't have to go back again for a good long time.
Cheapskate Santa Delivered the Best Christmas Ever
From the S.F. Chronicle.
"This year, my husband and I told our kids that Santa was probably going to give each of them just two presents. Not because they were bad, we said, but Santa was exhausted. "He really tired himself out last year, trying to haul so many presents around the world, many of them way too heavy for him and the reindeer.
"The elves are burnt out too," we said. "And if they work too hard again, they might not be able to do anything next Christmas."
Last year, my husband and I went crazy with gifts. Flashy ones like kitchens you had to build that came with wooden food and matching plate sets, plastic cars big enough to sit in, and pretty clothes from Mudpie. And in spite of our efforts, maybe even because of them, it seemed like everyone ended up in a bad mood.
I was unhappy surveying the loot, because I had no idea where to put all that stuff. I didn't want a tent in my living room.
Santa gave my kids an air hockey table so large a family of five could eat Christmas dinner on it. My husband was upset, because I didn't appreciate the air hockey table that he transported in his truck, home from Target, and then spent hours and hours putting together-- along with the play kitchen and the car. I was mad about that too, because while he assembled, getting in a progressively horrible mood as he misplaced tiny parts, I was left to do all the wrapping, in beautiful paper sold by individual sheet, tied up with sheer, wiry ribbons that he didn't seem to admire at all.
Needless to say, on Christmas morning a year ago, when the kids woke up and tore open their presents, there were no cries of "how lovely!" about the wrapping. They were disappointed when all the unwrapping was over. No more presents! And then they went on to covet and compare and argue over each other's gifts.
So this year each kid got a Penbo Penguin-- a penguin that waddles around, talks when you pet it, and lays an egg. (Apparently, my kids along with many others across America, saw this creature on TV and fell in love.) My toddler also got some monster trucks, my four year old received a stuffed, lavender unicorn, and my seven year old, a rockstar Zhu Zhu pet.
Here's the thing: my kids got upset when there were no more presents to open, but no more upset than they were last year when they received more than triple the presents. Seriously. I could time the minutes they spent on regret, and it would be the same.
Here is what I learned: no matter how many presents there are, the ending will always come and endings are always kind of sad. The major difference this year was that I was able to just let my kids be sad. I didn't get mad at them about how ungrateful or spoiled they were for not appreciating the time and money that went towards making the day perfect for them. For the first time, I didn't try to use my adult reasoning on their child-minds to get them see the light. I let Christmas be about them and not about me. Not taking it all personally, I was able to see their point of view, let them bum out a little, and then move on in their own time.
I could do this because I felt serene. I didn't have my annual anxiety attack about all the stuff and how there was nowhere to put it. And maybe the best thing, for my family and the planet: there were no mounds of garbage! Not only were there less presents, but there was no pile of gorgeous paper and $10 bows. On Christmas Eve, instead of swearing as he assembled toys with directions as elaborate as nuclear bombs, my husband and I wrapped together, using thin paper from Walgreens that ripped easily. I let him help, appreciating his lumpy wrap-jobs, white undersides showing at the corners, just happy to do it together. In twenty minutes, we were all done, and we had a great night, watching a movie by the fire.
I wonder what it would be like to start 2011 well-rested with no hangover?"
All this refers to the Fulfillment Curve, which I previously wrote about here.
"This year, my husband and I told our kids that Santa was probably going to give each of them just two presents. Not because they were bad, we said, but Santa was exhausted. "He really tired himself out last year, trying to haul so many presents around the world, many of them way too heavy for him and the reindeer.
"The elves are burnt out too," we said. "And if they work too hard again, they might not be able to do anything next Christmas."
Last year, my husband and I went crazy with gifts. Flashy ones like kitchens you had to build that came with wooden food and matching plate sets, plastic cars big enough to sit in, and pretty clothes from Mudpie. And in spite of our efforts, maybe even because of them, it seemed like everyone ended up in a bad mood.
I was unhappy surveying the loot, because I had no idea where to put all that stuff. I didn't want a tent in my living room.
Santa gave my kids an air hockey table so large a family of five could eat Christmas dinner on it. My husband was upset, because I didn't appreciate the air hockey table that he transported in his truck, home from Target, and then spent hours and hours putting together-- along with the play kitchen and the car. I was mad about that too, because while he assembled, getting in a progressively horrible mood as he misplaced tiny parts, I was left to do all the wrapping, in beautiful paper sold by individual sheet, tied up with sheer, wiry ribbons that he didn't seem to admire at all.
Needless to say, on Christmas morning a year ago, when the kids woke up and tore open their presents, there were no cries of "how lovely!" about the wrapping. They were disappointed when all the unwrapping was over. No more presents! And then they went on to covet and compare and argue over each other's gifts.
So this year each kid got a Penbo Penguin-- a penguin that waddles around, talks when you pet it, and lays an egg. (Apparently, my kids along with many others across America, saw this creature on TV and fell in love.) My toddler also got some monster trucks, my four year old received a stuffed, lavender unicorn, and my seven year old, a rockstar Zhu Zhu pet.
Here's the thing: my kids got upset when there were no more presents to open, but no more upset than they were last year when they received more than triple the presents. Seriously. I could time the minutes they spent on regret, and it would be the same.
Here is what I learned: no matter how many presents there are, the ending will always come and endings are always kind of sad. The major difference this year was that I was able to just let my kids be sad. I didn't get mad at them about how ungrateful or spoiled they were for not appreciating the time and money that went towards making the day perfect for them. For the first time, I didn't try to use my adult reasoning on their child-minds to get them see the light. I let Christmas be about them and not about me. Not taking it all personally, I was able to see their point of view, let them bum out a little, and then move on in their own time.
I could do this because I felt serene. I didn't have my annual anxiety attack about all the stuff and how there was nowhere to put it. And maybe the best thing, for my family and the planet: there were no mounds of garbage! Not only were there less presents, but there was no pile of gorgeous paper and $10 bows. On Christmas Eve, instead of swearing as he assembled toys with directions as elaborate as nuclear bombs, my husband and I wrapped together, using thin paper from Walgreens that ripped easily. I let him help, appreciating his lumpy wrap-jobs, white undersides showing at the corners, just happy to do it together. In twenty minutes, we were all done, and we had a great night, watching a movie by the fire.
I wonder what it would be like to start 2011 well-rested with no hangover?"
All this refers to the Fulfillment Curve, which I previously wrote about here.
Cheap "Pay As You Drive" Insurance
From MSN Money.
"Low-mileage drivers are finding new opportunities to save big on auto insurance rates.
A handful of companies now offer so-called pay-as-you-drive car insurance that charges motorists based on how much they drive and other factors.
For drivers, basing rates on the mileage driven "empowers them over their auto insurance rates," says Richard Hutchinson, the general manager of usage-based insurance for Progressive.
Pay-as-you-drive insurance can be a boon for those who drive fewer than 15,000 miles a year. Examples of drivers who could benefit include:
* Someone in an urban area who takes public transportation to work.
* A retiree who typically makes short trips to the store and back.
Hyundai, VW top safest cars list
Go to Nightly News
* A suburban mom who only uses the car to take the kids to school and soccer practice.
* Someone who works from home.
Pay-as-you-go insurance can give such drivers discounts that run well into the double-digit percentages.
Progressive's pay-as-you-drive program is called Snapshot. It provides discounts of up to 30% per year off its regular car insurance rates. Snapshot is currently available in 25 states. Because each state sets its own insurance regulations, the program needs approval on a state-by-state basis.
Snapshot provides discounts on auto insurance based on miles driven, when the car is driven and how it is driven. Driving between midnight and 4 a.m. -- the peak time for accidents -- and making sudden starts and stops can impact rates.
Snapshot works only for cars built in 1996 or later because a monitoring device must be plugged into the onboard diagnostic port. The device monitors mileage, time of day when the car is driven and driving style. There is no GPS, so it doesn't track where the vehicle is driven.
GMAC Insurance, in collaboration with OnStar, offers a discount in 35 states for those who have a GM vehicle equipped with OnStar and drive fewer than 15,000 miles per year. By the end of 2011, GMAC hopes to offer the discount in almost every state.
The less you drive, the higher the discount, which can range from 8% to 54%, says Tim Hogan, GMAC's vice president of national accounts. Mileage information is collected by OnStar, and your discount grows for every 2,500 miles fewer you drive.
For example, someone who drives between 10,001 and 12,500 miles might save 18%, while someone who drives 7,501 to 10,000 miles per year might save 26% off standard rates.
Recently, the Federal Highway Administration awarded grants to a number of states with proposed projects aimed at easing traffic congestion. Among them was a grant of almost $2 million to the Texas Department of Transportation to test pay-as-you-drive insurance by working with Dallas-based insurer MileMeter.
MileMeter allows customers to pay only for the miles they use. It offers such policies only in Texas. Drivers purchase between 1,000 and 6,000 miles of insurance, and are covered for six months.
Become a fan of MSN Money on Facebook
When drivers renew their policies, they pay for any extra miles used. Unused miles roll over to the next six-month period. Drivers typically save 25% to 75% per year on insurance.
MileMeter requires customers to photograph their odometer and driver's license, and submit the photos when they apply for or renew their insurance. There's no mileage-tracking device, which alleviates concerns about privacy and tracking drivers.
Hutchinson says some states allow monitoring for mileage but not for vehicle location.
Starting in February, California customers can enroll in pay-as-you drive auto insurance programs with State Farm and the Automobile Club of Southern California. With both programs, drivers can self-report their mileage.
* Compare premiums for thousands of cars
State Farm customers can also have their mileage reported via OnStar, and Auto Club members can plug in a small "telematics" device that will record the number of miles they drive. Those who use the verified mileage methods will have slightly lower rates than those who self-report their mileage.
For many customers and state regulators, "the single biggest concern is locational privacy," Hutchinson says."
I'm sure there will be an app for that next week sometime...it would make sense given that people with smart phones have a GPS with them all the time--just like regular cell phones.
In the meantime, all you have to do is ask your insurance agent if he/she offers a low-mileage discount. GEICO's had one for years, and I have been taking advantage of it. They verify my mileage with my mechanic--every time I get a state inspection, they report it, and GEICO checks up on me with the state.
Because we live so near Hubby's work, he also qualifies for the discount.
"Low-mileage drivers are finding new opportunities to save big on auto insurance rates.
A handful of companies now offer so-called pay-as-you-drive car insurance that charges motorists based on how much they drive and other factors.
For drivers, basing rates on the mileage driven "empowers them over their auto insurance rates," says Richard Hutchinson, the general manager of usage-based insurance for Progressive.
Pay-as-you-drive insurance can be a boon for those who drive fewer than 15,000 miles a year. Examples of drivers who could benefit include:
* Someone in an urban area who takes public transportation to work.
* A retiree who typically makes short trips to the store and back.
Hyundai, VW top safest cars list
Go to Nightly News
* A suburban mom who only uses the car to take the kids to school and soccer practice.
* Someone who works from home.
Pay-as-you-go insurance can give such drivers discounts that run well into the double-digit percentages.
Progressive's pay-as-you-drive program is called Snapshot. It provides discounts of up to 30% per year off its regular car insurance rates. Snapshot is currently available in 25 states. Because each state sets its own insurance regulations, the program needs approval on a state-by-state basis.
Snapshot provides discounts on auto insurance based on miles driven, when the car is driven and how it is driven. Driving between midnight and 4 a.m. -- the peak time for accidents -- and making sudden starts and stops can impact rates.
Snapshot works only for cars built in 1996 or later because a monitoring device must be plugged into the onboard diagnostic port. The device monitors mileage, time of day when the car is driven and driving style. There is no GPS, so it doesn't track where the vehicle is driven.
GMAC Insurance, in collaboration with OnStar, offers a discount in 35 states for those who have a GM vehicle equipped with OnStar and drive fewer than 15,000 miles per year. By the end of 2011, GMAC hopes to offer the discount in almost every state.
The less you drive, the higher the discount, which can range from 8% to 54%, says Tim Hogan, GMAC's vice president of national accounts. Mileage information is collected by OnStar, and your discount grows for every 2,500 miles fewer you drive.
For example, someone who drives between 10,001 and 12,500 miles might save 18%, while someone who drives 7,501 to 10,000 miles per year might save 26% off standard rates.
Recently, the Federal Highway Administration awarded grants to a number of states with proposed projects aimed at easing traffic congestion. Among them was a grant of almost $2 million to the Texas Department of Transportation to test pay-as-you-drive insurance by working with Dallas-based insurer MileMeter.
MileMeter allows customers to pay only for the miles they use. It offers such policies only in Texas. Drivers purchase between 1,000 and 6,000 miles of insurance, and are covered for six months.
Become a fan of MSN Money on Facebook
When drivers renew their policies, they pay for any extra miles used. Unused miles roll over to the next six-month period. Drivers typically save 25% to 75% per year on insurance.
MileMeter requires customers to photograph their odometer and driver's license, and submit the photos when they apply for or renew their insurance. There's no mileage-tracking device, which alleviates concerns about privacy and tracking drivers.
Hutchinson says some states allow monitoring for mileage but not for vehicle location.
Starting in February, California customers can enroll in pay-as-you drive auto insurance programs with State Farm and the Automobile Club of Southern California. With both programs, drivers can self-report their mileage.
* Compare premiums for thousands of cars
State Farm customers can also have their mileage reported via OnStar, and Auto Club members can plug in a small "telematics" device that will record the number of miles they drive. Those who use the verified mileage methods will have slightly lower rates than those who self-report their mileage.
For many customers and state regulators, "the single biggest concern is locational privacy," Hutchinson says."
I'm sure there will be an app for that next week sometime...it would make sense given that people with smart phones have a GPS with them all the time--just like regular cell phones.
In the meantime, all you have to do is ask your insurance agent if he/she offers a low-mileage discount. GEICO's had one for years, and I have been taking advantage of it. They verify my mileage with my mechanic--every time I get a state inspection, they report it, and GEICO checks up on me with the state.
Because we live so near Hubby's work, he also qualifies for the discount.
Wednesday, December 29, 2010
10 Easy Ways to Save Money on Organic Food
From U.S. News & World Report.
"1. Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!
There are several ways to collect coupons for organic food. You can check the circulars that come to your mailbox, search your store's web site for coupons, or check the manufacturer's website for coupons for a particular item you are looking for. You can also sign up for newsletters and emails that will send you coupons and promotions on organic food. To get started check out MamboSprouts.com.
2. 'Buy One Get One Free' Offers
While shopping at the grocery store, pay close attention to any buy one, get one free offers. If there's a particular item of organic food that you use a lot of, take advantage of the offer of buying one and getting one free. You might see the offer this time around, but the offer might not be available next time.
3. Get A Rewards Card
Many stores these days offer a rewards card if you shop at their store frequently. These types of cards will often save you money at the checkout counter. If you use a rewards card at the drugstore, you can use the extra money you save to buy more organic food.
4. Buy Organic Food That Is Locally Grown
Your local food markets will often have lower prices on organic food items than traditional grocery stores. You can check the web site Local Harvest for the markets that are in your area.
5. Comparison Shop
While you're at your grocery store, take note of what organic food costs. When you go to other stores, take note of their prices as well. Sometimes prices will change, and it might save you some money to go to another store.
6. Subscribe to Save
Consider a program like Amazon's Subscribe and Save program which gives you a 15 percent discount on food products (and other items) that you "subscribe" to by having them automatically purchased and shipped to you in 1, 2, 3, or 6 month intervals.
[Visit the U.S. News My Money blog for the best money advice from around the web.]
7. Buy In Bulk
Many warehouse food stores now offer organic food, and you can buy these items in bulk. Buying organic food in bulk is sometimes cheaper than buying from regular grocery stores.
8. Buy Organic Foods That Are In Season
Out of season foods can cost more because of shipping costs, as well as the demand versus the availability of the item. Buying foods that are in season saves on the transport energy, and lowers the cost of the food. If you would like a certain type of organic food year round, and you don't want to spend more money when the food is out of season, consider buying that item in bulk when it is in season, and freezing it during the off-season.
9. Save Money In Other Areas
You could save money in other areas of your life, and put that money towards organic food. Instead of spending a lot of money on shampoo or body washes, consider making your own with a homemade recipe. Use the leftover money to buy the organic food you want.
10. Start Your Own Organic Vegetable Garden
One guaranteed way of saving money on organic food is to grow your own. You can plant what ever kinds of fruits and vegetables you like, and freeze any extra fruits and vegetables you're not using yet. When you grow and freeze your own fruits and vegetables, you'll have an endless supply of healthy food. You might be able to even sell your own organic food to your local farmer's market."
Just beware: the same coupon principles and deterrents I mention for regular groceries also apply to organics--especially organics, since they cost so much more. Here's my way to save money on organics.
"1. Coupons! Coupons! Coupons!
There are several ways to collect coupons for organic food. You can check the circulars that come to your mailbox, search your store's web site for coupons, or check the manufacturer's website for coupons for a particular item you are looking for. You can also sign up for newsletters and emails that will send you coupons and promotions on organic food. To get started check out MamboSprouts.com.
2. 'Buy One Get One Free' Offers
While shopping at the grocery store, pay close attention to any buy one, get one free offers. If there's a particular item of organic food that you use a lot of, take advantage of the offer of buying one and getting one free. You might see the offer this time around, but the offer might not be available next time.
3. Get A Rewards Card
Many stores these days offer a rewards card if you shop at their store frequently. These types of cards will often save you money at the checkout counter. If you use a rewards card at the drugstore, you can use the extra money you save to buy more organic food.
4. Buy Organic Food That Is Locally Grown
Your local food markets will often have lower prices on organic food items than traditional grocery stores. You can check the web site Local Harvest for the markets that are in your area.
5. Comparison Shop
While you're at your grocery store, take note of what organic food costs. When you go to other stores, take note of their prices as well. Sometimes prices will change, and it might save you some money to go to another store.
6. Subscribe to Save
Consider a program like Amazon's Subscribe and Save program which gives you a 15 percent discount on food products (and other items) that you "subscribe" to by having them automatically purchased and shipped to you in 1, 2, 3, or 6 month intervals.
[Visit the U.S. News My Money blog for the best money advice from around the web.]
7. Buy In Bulk
Many warehouse food stores now offer organic food, and you can buy these items in bulk. Buying organic food in bulk is sometimes cheaper than buying from regular grocery stores.
8. Buy Organic Foods That Are In Season
Out of season foods can cost more because of shipping costs, as well as the demand versus the availability of the item. Buying foods that are in season saves on the transport energy, and lowers the cost of the food. If you would like a certain type of organic food year round, and you don't want to spend more money when the food is out of season, consider buying that item in bulk when it is in season, and freezing it during the off-season.
9. Save Money In Other Areas
You could save money in other areas of your life, and put that money towards organic food. Instead of spending a lot of money on shampoo or body washes, consider making your own with a homemade recipe. Use the leftover money to buy the organic food you want.
10. Start Your Own Organic Vegetable Garden
One guaranteed way of saving money on organic food is to grow your own. You can plant what ever kinds of fruits and vegetables you like, and freeze any extra fruits and vegetables you're not using yet. When you grow and freeze your own fruits and vegetables, you'll have an endless supply of healthy food. You might be able to even sell your own organic food to your local farmer's market."
Just beware: the same coupon principles and deterrents I mention for regular groceries also apply to organics--especially organics, since they cost so much more. Here's my way to save money on organics.
Welcome to the "Mostly Insurance" Edition of the Cavalcade of Risk
I'm not kidding here--all but about three or four submissions (that I kept) were about insurance (specifically life insurance), so it's going to be an INSURANCE and NON-INSURANCE kind of carnival, because I like to keep things simple.
Could it be that someone is trying to send a message? :)
Okay--here we go. Got coffee? Got snacks? Been to the bathroom? Oh well---too late now.
INSURANCE
Jeff Rose of Good Financial Cents shows us (with charts and graphs, mind you) How Much is Term Life insurance if You Use Tobacco, and boy, this alone should cause many to quit on the spot! Many would probably quit retroactively if they could. Jeff says, "I always assumed that life insurance for tobacco users was more expensive than those that don’t use it, but I never realized how much more."
My mother caught me smoking when I was 12. HER smoking cessation campaign was the scrap end of a 2 X 4 applied to my ass. Now I see she was really doing me a favor!
Boomer of Boomer & Echo sends us Understanding Life Insurance: Part 1 and adds, "Life insurance is a must for anyone with family responsibilities and little personal wealth." Will there be a Part II? I hope so.
Our favorite Hank Stern of Insureblog takes us back to STOLI Revisited (and no, it doesn't involve cheap Russsian vodka). "It's not often that investment risk and insurance risk overlap, but my post on Stranger Owned Life Insurance covers both bases."
Michael of The Dough Roller (one of my fans) has A Few Quick Ways to Lower Life Insurance Premiums. He adds, "Life insurance is a great way to protect your family and we have a few ways to lower your premiums tomorrow." I'm going to include this entry into my own carnival--Frugal Feast--because this is something MY readers can use!
Tred Eyerly of Insurance Law Hawaii warns us about how Excess Policy Incorporated Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause, Eliminating Coverage (hey guys--is this known as "insurance stacking"? Wenchypoo wants to know.), and explains, "this case demonstrates the importance of considering the language of both the primary and excess policies when faced with a catastrophic event."
Note to Tred: I know you're writing for other insurance professionals, but on my blog, you have potential customers (also known as the consumer class) reading this too--about 250 daily (globally, although most are Americans), and the Cavs are the biggest "hit" hit here (for at least a month afterward--people seem to love my archives!). We don't always understand industry lingo, so please break it down a little. :)
P.S.--Enjoy the First Family while you've got them over there! If I didn't get snowed in, I'd have stowed away in Sasha's suitcase.
Nancy Germond of AllBusiness.com (my kind of lady--all business) says that Middle Market Insurance Buyers Should Set High Expectations, and says, "if you are a middle market insurance buyer, you probably spend more money each year on premiums than you do on legal fees, and a great deal less time with your agent than you do your attorney. Your insurance agent should be a trusted advisor just like your CPA or lawyer, not just someone who, once a year, manages your renewal process. If you aren’t receiving true, value-added benefits you can quantify from your broker, then perhaps when another agent calls, it is time to say, “I’d love to meet you."
Consumerati translation: the above article refers to business insurance--if you don't own a business, move on. If you think you might own one some day, please read.
NOT LIFE INSURANCE, BUT STILL INSURANCE
James at Car Insurance Comparison asks What Companies Offer Cheap Insurance to Military Personnel? As a former navy wife, two come immediately to mind: GEICO and USAA (or at least they're the ones most marketed to military families). I imagine anybody would offer the discount if you asked for it, and can prove you're in the military, but that's just me--asking for discounts wherever I go (even the bathroom).
The beauty of GEICO is that even though we're now a civil service family, we still get to keep our coverage (just not the deep active duty discount--but it's still cheaper than anything else out there).
James adds: "It's too bad that many in the military simply don't realize all of the potential discounts and cheaper insurance rates available to them." That's because the officers all tell the young bucks that the insurance is available only for officers (meaning you had to hit a certain income level)--or at least that's what we were told repeatedly. When Hubby made E-5, we looked into it, and switched.
This next entry could be filed under "legal" or "politics", but I'm filing it under "health insurance" because it has to do with the Health Care Reform act. Jaan Sidorov of Disease Care Management Blog sends us a wonderful article (complete with flow chart) of Why Appeals on the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act Will Not Be Fast-Tracked to the Supreme Court--basically, a lot of foot-dragging will be involved, even though they have the General Welfare clause on their side. In reality, though, I have to concede that HCR may be the only way to handle the incoming tidal wave of boomer seniors that are going to overwhelm the Medicare system, much like the unemployed have overwhelmed the Medicaid system.
I'm just mad that I have to help pay for it when I do something completely different to preserve my health.
Talk about screwing health insurers through marketing, this little ditty from the Notwithstanding Blog shows us how Model Marketing (and new Hampshire's $4300 cheek swabs) does just that--guilts us into becoming bone marrow donor registrants through a cheek swab, then bills our health insurance exorbitant sums for the honor! I've never NEVER seen a CSI episode where they swabbed a cheek, then billed the suspect.
Since when is New Hampshire so desperate for bone marrow that it has to set up it's own registry? Oh wait--I know: Referring back to F-I-L's motorcycle safety admin days, New Hampshire has no helmet laws, or many other laws, so personal protection there is probably pretty lax. No safety, more personal injuries and deaths, and pretty soon, no more leukemia!
I imagine New Hampshire is just moving beyond mere organ donation.
Jason Shafrin of Healthcare Economist presents Home Health Case Mix, and no, it isn't a crunchy snack. It has to do with how Medicare adjusts home health payments based on patient case mix.
Okay, now for the two NON-INSURANCE posts:
This entry from Scott Wright of Streetwise Security Zone talks about the Stuxnet Worm and Industrial Risk: Stuxnet worm provides a glimpse into the future of industrial quality control and risk management. My hubby is an engineer, and even HE could see the damage done to Siemens controller systems (and it helps that he has a friend who used to work for them).
You run the risk of this type of thing any time you have computers and equipment interfacing with each other. Just thank God Stuxnet wasn't aimed at the medical equipment community!
As it is, Id like to thank whoever invented Stuxnet--because of him (them?), Iran will never have an active nuke plant until they completely replace all their systems with new parts. It looks as if the 12th Imam won't be returning in Ahmedhinijad's lifetime.
Scott comments: "The Stuxnet worm hails a new era in targeted malware that manufacturers and even federal authorities need to be concerned with. This worm was found to be infecting Siemens industrial Programmable Logic Controllers in Iran - with the chilling intent of sabotaging critical modules in industrial control systems. The potential for injecting large-scale flaws in manufactured equipment raises some scary prospects for future news headlines. The complexity and innovative features of this malware raise the stakes an order of magnitude in terms of damage to an organization, a nation or large groups of people. This article identifies some of the potential risks from this new approach to using malicious software, and provides some guidelines for hardening manufacturing processes and systems to resist this type of attack."
The next one could be aimed for our electrical grid--you know the so-called "smart grid." I'm switching to gas. My paranoid neurotic brain asks "why do you think there's been such a push to get us all on solar?" But then, you could just carpet bomb solar farms and windmills (no hackers needed), so where's the energy security?
And lastly, Tax Debt Help warns is about Other Tax Scams IRS Warning Taxpayers About. It seems like every year, the IRS comes out with it's "dirty dozen" list of tax scams, but there are others that don't make that magic list--you should still know about them.
That concludes this edition of the Cavalcade of Risk. I now hand the torch off to Health Business Blog. Have a happy and safe New Year, and if you happen to have a spare snow blower, send it my way! :)
Could it be that someone is trying to send a message? :)
Okay--here we go. Got coffee? Got snacks? Been to the bathroom? Oh well---too late now.
INSURANCE
Jeff Rose of Good Financial Cents shows us (with charts and graphs, mind you) How Much is Term Life insurance if You Use Tobacco, and boy, this alone should cause many to quit on the spot! Many would probably quit retroactively if they could. Jeff says, "I always assumed that life insurance for tobacco users was more expensive than those that don’t use it, but I never realized how much more."
My mother caught me smoking when I was 12. HER smoking cessation campaign was the scrap end of a 2 X 4 applied to my ass. Now I see she was really doing me a favor!
Boomer of Boomer & Echo sends us Understanding Life Insurance: Part 1 and adds, "Life insurance is a must for anyone with family responsibilities and little personal wealth." Will there be a Part II? I hope so.
Our favorite Hank Stern of Insureblog takes us back to STOLI Revisited (and no, it doesn't involve cheap Russsian vodka). "It's not often that investment risk and insurance risk overlap, but my post on Stranger Owned Life Insurance covers both bases."
Michael of The Dough Roller (one of my fans) has A Few Quick Ways to Lower Life Insurance Premiums. He adds, "Life insurance is a great way to protect your family and we have a few ways to lower your premiums tomorrow." I'm going to include this entry into my own carnival--Frugal Feast--because this is something MY readers can use!
Tred Eyerly of Insurance Law Hawaii warns us about how Excess Policy Incorporated Anti-Concurrent Causation Clause, Eliminating Coverage (hey guys--is this known as "insurance stacking"? Wenchypoo wants to know.), and explains, "this case demonstrates the importance of considering the language of both the primary and excess policies when faced with a catastrophic event."
Note to Tred: I know you're writing for other insurance professionals, but on my blog, you have potential customers (also known as the consumer class) reading this too--about 250 daily (globally, although most are Americans), and the Cavs are the biggest "hit" hit here (for at least a month afterward--people seem to love my archives!). We don't always understand industry lingo, so please break it down a little. :)
P.S.--Enjoy the First Family while you've got them over there! If I didn't get snowed in, I'd have stowed away in Sasha's suitcase.
Nancy Germond of AllBusiness.com (my kind of lady--all business) says that Middle Market Insurance Buyers Should Set High Expectations, and says, "if you are a middle market insurance buyer, you probably spend more money each year on premiums than you do on legal fees, and a great deal less time with your agent than you do your attorney. Your insurance agent should be a trusted advisor just like your CPA or lawyer, not just someone who, once a year, manages your renewal process. If you aren’t receiving true, value-added benefits you can quantify from your broker, then perhaps when another agent calls, it is time to say, “I’d love to meet you."
Consumerati translation: the above article refers to business insurance--if you don't own a business, move on. If you think you might own one some day, please read.
NOT LIFE INSURANCE, BUT STILL INSURANCE
James at Car Insurance Comparison asks What Companies Offer Cheap Insurance to Military Personnel? As a former navy wife, two come immediately to mind: GEICO and USAA (or at least they're the ones most marketed to military families). I imagine anybody would offer the discount if you asked for it, and can prove you're in the military, but that's just me--asking for discounts wherever I go (even the bathroom).
The beauty of GEICO is that even though we're now a civil service family, we still get to keep our coverage (just not the deep active duty discount--but it's still cheaper than anything else out there).
James adds: "It's too bad that many in the military simply don't realize all of the potential discounts and cheaper insurance rates available to them." That's because the officers all tell the young bucks that the insurance is available only for officers (meaning you had to hit a certain income level)--or at least that's what we were told repeatedly. When Hubby made E-5, we looked into it, and switched.
This next entry could be filed under "legal" or "politics", but I'm filing it under "health insurance" because it has to do with the Health Care Reform act. Jaan Sidorov of Disease Care Management Blog sends us a wonderful article (complete with flow chart) of Why Appeals on the Constitutionality of the Affordable Care Act Will Not Be Fast-Tracked to the Supreme Court--basically, a lot of foot-dragging will be involved, even though they have the General Welfare clause on their side. In reality, though, I have to concede that HCR may be the only way to handle the incoming tidal wave of boomer seniors that are going to overwhelm the Medicare system, much like the unemployed have overwhelmed the Medicaid system.
I'm just mad that I have to help pay for it when I do something completely different to preserve my health.
Talk about screwing health insurers through marketing, this little ditty from the Notwithstanding Blog shows us how Model Marketing (and new Hampshire's $4300 cheek swabs) does just that--guilts us into becoming bone marrow donor registrants through a cheek swab, then bills our health insurance exorbitant sums for the honor! I've never NEVER seen a CSI episode where they swabbed a cheek, then billed the suspect.
Since when is New Hampshire so desperate for bone marrow that it has to set up it's own registry? Oh wait--I know: Referring back to F-I-L's motorcycle safety admin days, New Hampshire has no helmet laws, or many other laws, so personal protection there is probably pretty lax. No safety, more personal injuries and deaths, and pretty soon, no more leukemia!
I imagine New Hampshire is just moving beyond mere organ donation.
Jason Shafrin of Healthcare Economist presents Home Health Case Mix, and no, it isn't a crunchy snack. It has to do with how Medicare adjusts home health payments based on patient case mix.
Okay, now for the two NON-INSURANCE posts:
This entry from Scott Wright of Streetwise Security Zone talks about the Stuxnet Worm and Industrial Risk: Stuxnet worm provides a glimpse into the future of industrial quality control and risk management. My hubby is an engineer, and even HE could see the damage done to Siemens controller systems (and it helps that he has a friend who used to work for them).
You run the risk of this type of thing any time you have computers and equipment interfacing with each other. Just thank God Stuxnet wasn't aimed at the medical equipment community!
As it is, Id like to thank whoever invented Stuxnet--because of him (them?), Iran will never have an active nuke plant until they completely replace all their systems with new parts. It looks as if the 12th Imam won't be returning in Ahmedhinijad's lifetime.
Scott comments: "The Stuxnet worm hails a new era in targeted malware that manufacturers and even federal authorities need to be concerned with. This worm was found to be infecting Siemens industrial Programmable Logic Controllers in Iran - with the chilling intent of sabotaging critical modules in industrial control systems. The potential for injecting large-scale flaws in manufactured equipment raises some scary prospects for future news headlines. The complexity and innovative features of this malware raise the stakes an order of magnitude in terms of damage to an organization, a nation or large groups of people. This article identifies some of the potential risks from this new approach to using malicious software, and provides some guidelines for hardening manufacturing processes and systems to resist this type of attack."
The next one could be aimed for our electrical grid--you know the so-called "smart grid." I'm switching to gas. My paranoid neurotic brain asks "why do you think there's been such a push to get us all on solar?" But then, you could just carpet bomb solar farms and windmills (no hackers needed), so where's the energy security?
And lastly, Tax Debt Help warns is about Other Tax Scams IRS Warning Taxpayers About. It seems like every year, the IRS comes out with it's "dirty dozen" list of tax scams, but there are others that don't make that magic list--you should still know about them.
That concludes this edition of the Cavalcade of Risk. I now hand the torch off to Health Business Blog. Have a happy and safe New Year, and if you happen to have a spare snow blower, send it my way! :)
Holiday Gift Cards--Think Before You Swipe
From the L.A. Times.
"Now that Christmas is over, after-holiday sales can be tempting. But if you want to save big bucks using a gift card, pause before you swipe!
Consumer experts recommend scanning the internet for online coupons and promo codes before you cash in your gift card.
Also, make sure and pay attention to seasonal sales. For example, the month of January, many department stores offer white sales. Fitness equipment is usually discounted just in time for New Years resolutions. Flat-screen televisions often go on sale just before the Superbowl.
Although waiting to spend can pay off, Sue McConnell with the Cleveland Better Business Bureau says, "If your gift card is from an area restaurant or a smaller company that doesn't have a national presence, you shouldn't wait too long to use the card because there's always that risk the business might unexpectedly close."
According to federal law called the Credit CARD ACT, most gift cards will not expire for 5 years. However, if you don't use your gift card for the first year, you may be charged an inactivity fee.
If you get a gift card you do not want to use, some websites like Plasticjungle.com and Giftcardgranny.com allow you to trade, buy or sell your unwanted gift cards for cash or offer discounts on another card.
The Better Business Bureau warns if you're going to use a website that is unfamiliar, always read the fine print."
"Now that Christmas is over, after-holiday sales can be tempting. But if you want to save big bucks using a gift card, pause before you swipe!
Consumer experts recommend scanning the internet for online coupons and promo codes before you cash in your gift card.
Also, make sure and pay attention to seasonal sales. For example, the month of January, many department stores offer white sales. Fitness equipment is usually discounted just in time for New Years resolutions. Flat-screen televisions often go on sale just before the Superbowl.
Although waiting to spend can pay off, Sue McConnell with the Cleveland Better Business Bureau says, "If your gift card is from an area restaurant or a smaller company that doesn't have a national presence, you shouldn't wait too long to use the card because there's always that risk the business might unexpectedly close."
According to federal law called the Credit CARD ACT, most gift cards will not expire for 5 years. However, if you don't use your gift card for the first year, you may be charged an inactivity fee.
If you get a gift card you do not want to use, some websites like Plasticjungle.com and Giftcardgranny.com allow you to trade, buy or sell your unwanted gift cards for cash or offer discounts on another card.
The Better Business Bureau warns if you're going to use a website that is unfamiliar, always read the fine print."
Reasons to Cheer a Jump in Temporary Hiring
From Fortune Magazine. This may be the sign we were waiting for.
"Last week, The New York Times chronicled how companies are hiring again -- but this time, they're favoring no-strings, easily fireable temporary workers instead of benefits-earning permanent employees. The rise of temps, the Times suggested, was a bad a thing, putting workers in a tough spot that promised less job security. Since January, employers have added 307,000 temps, which is more than one quarter of the 1.17 million private sector jobs added in total. In November alone, temps made up about 80% of the 50,000 jobs added by private companies.
It's true that most would prefer a permanent job rather than something temporary. But the rise of temps may portend more aggressive hiring trends ahead.
Tig Gillman, who runs Adecco Group's North America operations, says the trend isn't necessarily all bad news for the millions searching for work today. If anything, the surge in temp hiring over the past year signals that there's demand for labor following a period of very deep job cuts and could lead to more permanent positions in the private sector.
"Temporary workers are the first to be let go and the first to come back," Gillman says. Since 2007, the economy shed virtually all temporary jobs – approximately 900,000. And since the recession officially ended in June 2009, about 400,000 temp jobs have been added, meaning we're almost halfway back to 2007 levels.
"We're well into the temporary segment of the recovery and now we're moving into permanent," he says.
It's not just executives in the temporary employment business who are so optimistic about the latest upswing in temp hiring. Economist David Autor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology says historical trends show that temp jobs boomed when the economy emerged from recession and then contracted as employers hired longer-term or permanent employees."
We shall see. Remember, holiday hiring always skews things--if there isn't a jump in new unemployment claims to follow, and these people remain on the payroll well into spring, then we might have something to cheer about!
"Autor says given that the latest recession is even deeper it's uncertain how the trend might pan out this time around.
"It's good news that someone is hiring," he says. "It's bad news if a large share of the new jobs created will remain temporary-help jobs, since these jobs do offer less security. But that depends on the strength of the recovery, not the temporary help sector per se."
Certainly things are far from rosy; there are plenty of obstacles ahead. The latest U.S. jobs report showed that the economy in November added just 39,000 jobs – down from the gain of 172,000 jobs in October. And few believe this is the calm before the big job storm.
While private companies are actually adding jobs, local governments experiencing huge budgetary shortfalls are shedding employees. Just when it seemed like the unemployment rate was at least staying steady, it actually rose slightly in November to 9.8% from 9.6% in October. With governments cutting jobs, more hiring in the private sector hasn't been enough to reduce unemployment or even to keep pace with people entering the work force.
What's more, the number of jobs open at private companies have risen 44% since the month after the recession ended, according to the Labor Department. This is good news, but as Fortune's Nina Easton highlighted earlier this month, there are as many as 3 million jobs going unfilled for various reasons, from mismatched skills to employers being choosier about who they hire.
So while Gillman might have good reason to be optimistic about the private sector hiring more permanent workers, other variables could very well discount the positive development. And Gillman is well aware.
"I believe we're going to see a continued improvement in the attitudes of the private sector," he says. "We're going to see that move up over the next six months. The problem is that it's not going to move enough that it's going to reduce unemployment dramatically."
It could also be that this is the new job market reality--permanent temporaries. I'd like to check back a year from now to see just how many of those "temps" turned into full-timers or even part-time permanents.
"Last week, The New York Times chronicled how companies are hiring again -- but this time, they're favoring no-strings, easily fireable temporary workers instead of benefits-earning permanent employees. The rise of temps, the Times suggested, was a bad a thing, putting workers in a tough spot that promised less job security. Since January, employers have added 307,000 temps, which is more than one quarter of the 1.17 million private sector jobs added in total. In November alone, temps made up about 80% of the 50,000 jobs added by private companies.
It's true that most would prefer a permanent job rather than something temporary. But the rise of temps may portend more aggressive hiring trends ahead.
Tig Gillman, who runs Adecco Group's North America operations, says the trend isn't necessarily all bad news for the millions searching for work today. If anything, the surge in temp hiring over the past year signals that there's demand for labor following a period of very deep job cuts and could lead to more permanent positions in the private sector.
"Temporary workers are the first to be let go and the first to come back," Gillman says. Since 2007, the economy shed virtually all temporary jobs – approximately 900,000. And since the recession officially ended in June 2009, about 400,000 temp jobs have been added, meaning we're almost halfway back to 2007 levels.
"We're well into the temporary segment of the recovery and now we're moving into permanent," he says.
It's not just executives in the temporary employment business who are so optimistic about the latest upswing in temp hiring. Economist David Autor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology says historical trends show that temp jobs boomed when the economy emerged from recession and then contracted as employers hired longer-term or permanent employees."
We shall see. Remember, holiday hiring always skews things--if there isn't a jump in new unemployment claims to follow, and these people remain on the payroll well into spring, then we might have something to cheer about!
"Autor says given that the latest recession is even deeper it's uncertain how the trend might pan out this time around.
"It's good news that someone is hiring," he says. "It's bad news if a large share of the new jobs created will remain temporary-help jobs, since these jobs do offer less security. But that depends on the strength of the recovery, not the temporary help sector per se."
Certainly things are far from rosy; there are plenty of obstacles ahead. The latest U.S. jobs report showed that the economy in November added just 39,000 jobs – down from the gain of 172,000 jobs in October. And few believe this is the calm before the big job storm.
While private companies are actually adding jobs, local governments experiencing huge budgetary shortfalls are shedding employees. Just when it seemed like the unemployment rate was at least staying steady, it actually rose slightly in November to 9.8% from 9.6% in October. With governments cutting jobs, more hiring in the private sector hasn't been enough to reduce unemployment or even to keep pace with people entering the work force.
What's more, the number of jobs open at private companies have risen 44% since the month after the recession ended, according to the Labor Department. This is good news, but as Fortune's Nina Easton highlighted earlier this month, there are as many as 3 million jobs going unfilled for various reasons, from mismatched skills to employers being choosier about who they hire.
So while Gillman might have good reason to be optimistic about the private sector hiring more permanent workers, other variables could very well discount the positive development. And Gillman is well aware.
"I believe we're going to see a continued improvement in the attitudes of the private sector," he says. "We're going to see that move up over the next six months. The problem is that it's not going to move enough that it's going to reduce unemployment dramatically."
It could also be that this is the new job market reality--permanent temporaries. I'd like to check back a year from now to see just how many of those "temps" turned into full-timers or even part-time permanents.
Tuesday, December 28, 2010
My Blessed Christmas Budget
From Salon.com.
"I was downsized from my job in October 2008 along with a few dozen others at the company. At the time I was let go, I had $35,000 in carefully accrued savings and an IRA with a little more than $8,000 in it.
It's gone now, all of it. Two years of food, rent, lights, phone, food, rent, lights phone -- and before you know it, you're taking a can of coins to the supermarket and dumping them into Coinstar, that green, sticky refrigerator-sized machine that spits out a receipt you take to the checkout counter and pay for groceries with. You can get cash, too.
I had, naturally, cut back on all nonessential spending since the layoff. Like a lot of people in the country, I watched in disbelief as the economy fell off a cliff, banged into the side of the mountain, rolled a few times, then burst into flames at the bottom. The earth split open and what was left continued falling to hell, where, as far as I know, it's still smoldering. When I was laid off, Bernie Madoff was a respected investor living on the Upper East Side. That's how long ago it was. Nobody knew the storm that was coming.
Today, I live day to day, hour to hour and sometimes minute to minute. I work, seven days a week, at the small freelance jobs I'm happy to take, work that makes it possible to survive another day – and which pays as much as 50 percent less than what I made doing the exact same work five years ago. My life now almost completely revolves around making money, far more than it did when I actually had that nest egg. Sometimes I'm OK with that, and sometimes I really miss it. $35,000 seems like a fortune now. It's getting harder to remember what it was like to make split-second decisions, like going out to dinner or a movie, going away for the weekend. I can't even imagine buying a new office chair, far less going to the dentist or the doctor. Did I once actually sign up for boxing lessons? There were so many little things I just took care of and didn't think about.
Nothing needed to be juggled. No monthly bill needed to be rolled over to the next month so another could be settled. No late fees. No reconnection fees. No bounced check fees. No payment plans arranged. No automated phone calls two and three times a day warning me about service interruptions. Not having money costs money.
And now, here comes Christmas, a time when the world turns into one big carrot dangling in front of your face. On one hand, it's like another bill I can't pay. But if I don't let the sadness and the defeat get to me, I feel a strange detachment from all this consumer frenzy. I feel an odd peace. Perhaps it's the peace of Christ. Perhaps it's the peace of denial. But I think it's something more than that. Here are few reasons why being short on cash at Christmas is a weird gift in itself:
You don't have to fight store mobs.
The crush of people inside Macy's, the snaking lines at the mall? Not even on my radar. The only store I go to is the grocery store, and I haven't bought any clothes in two years, save for some new T-shirts. Mobs freak me out, anyway. If you want real peace on earth, avoid all shopping in December.
Being cash-strapped forces you to be inventive.
I recently attended a reception for a friend who was married last summer and noticed she didn't have an official photographer. I had brought my camera just in case and, after dinner when people were dancing, I quietly walked around snapping assorted drunken relatives, 95-year-olds and smiling guests at their tables. I had the photos made into an album for less than $10 and sent it to the bride with a congratulatory card. She called and said it was the nicest gift she'd ever gotten in her life.
A full fridge, after cashing a paycheck, is Christmas any time of the year.
Bread. Coffee. Peanut butter. Fresh greens and fruits. Yams. Going to sleep knowing that your fridge is full when you've cashed your check and gone straight to the supermarket feels like Christmas even when it's not Christmas. Grapes never tasted so sweet and bagels never so chewy.
You come to appreciate the little things, like an electric Jesus.
There are blizzards of bulbs, tinsel, lights, electric Santas and Jesuses hanging from people's trees, doorways, bushes, porches and desks. You could say that it's childish and a waste of time. But there's another energy about it, an energy that says, "We all agree, for the moment, to forget the troubles of this world, to raise a glass and dammit, be merry." If we can't come to a consensus on religion, or politics, at least we can come to a consensus on fun.
Hey, it's better for the environment.
Christmas is one of the most un-green holidays; approximately 4 million tons of wrapping paper, tags, ribbons, boxes and other gift paraphernalia are tossed on Dec. 25 and the day after, according to one report, and that doesn't include all the lousy presents people toss. I don't say this to be scolding, because who doesn't like tearing into a wrapped gifts? But one of the tough lessons of being broke is just how wasteful we can be, without ever really thinking about it.
Money doesn't buy happiness -- and being without it doesn't have to produce misery.
I hope to get a steady, good-paying gig soon, thank you very much. But I'm happier in ways now than when I was working full-time in that kinda smelly office with the fluorescent lights and sadistic, insane supervisor. Everything isn't so *important* now. What I feared the most has come to pass – I've been fired, failed to get another full-time job, my money's gone, and it's Christmas. It ain't like I've been cut from the reindeer team because of a red nose.
The best stuff really is still the free stuff.
iPods and Kindles are nice. But they're nothing compared to the sun, the wind, the smile on a kid's face when you look at him sideways, the pleasure of playing the guitar I've played every day since I was 14, the warm body of my warm wife. Sure, having no money at Christmas can feel like a curse. Having no presents under the tree can be depressing. But each day can feel like a gift from existence if you look at it that way."
"I was downsized from my job in October 2008 along with a few dozen others at the company. At the time I was let go, I had $35,000 in carefully accrued savings and an IRA with a little more than $8,000 in it.
It's gone now, all of it. Two years of food, rent, lights, phone, food, rent, lights phone -- and before you know it, you're taking a can of coins to the supermarket and dumping them into Coinstar, that green, sticky refrigerator-sized machine that spits out a receipt you take to the checkout counter and pay for groceries with. You can get cash, too.
I had, naturally, cut back on all nonessential spending since the layoff. Like a lot of people in the country, I watched in disbelief as the economy fell off a cliff, banged into the side of the mountain, rolled a few times, then burst into flames at the bottom. The earth split open and what was left continued falling to hell, where, as far as I know, it's still smoldering. When I was laid off, Bernie Madoff was a respected investor living on the Upper East Side. That's how long ago it was. Nobody knew the storm that was coming.
Today, I live day to day, hour to hour and sometimes minute to minute. I work, seven days a week, at the small freelance jobs I'm happy to take, work that makes it possible to survive another day – and which pays as much as 50 percent less than what I made doing the exact same work five years ago. My life now almost completely revolves around making money, far more than it did when I actually had that nest egg. Sometimes I'm OK with that, and sometimes I really miss it. $35,000 seems like a fortune now. It's getting harder to remember what it was like to make split-second decisions, like going out to dinner or a movie, going away for the weekend. I can't even imagine buying a new office chair, far less going to the dentist or the doctor. Did I once actually sign up for boxing lessons? There were so many little things I just took care of and didn't think about.
Nothing needed to be juggled. No monthly bill needed to be rolled over to the next month so another could be settled. No late fees. No reconnection fees. No bounced check fees. No payment plans arranged. No automated phone calls two and three times a day warning me about service interruptions. Not having money costs money.
And now, here comes Christmas, a time when the world turns into one big carrot dangling in front of your face. On one hand, it's like another bill I can't pay. But if I don't let the sadness and the defeat get to me, I feel a strange detachment from all this consumer frenzy. I feel an odd peace. Perhaps it's the peace of Christ. Perhaps it's the peace of denial. But I think it's something more than that. Here are few reasons why being short on cash at Christmas is a weird gift in itself:
You don't have to fight store mobs.
The crush of people inside Macy's, the snaking lines at the mall? Not even on my radar. The only store I go to is the grocery store, and I haven't bought any clothes in two years, save for some new T-shirts. Mobs freak me out, anyway. If you want real peace on earth, avoid all shopping in December.
Being cash-strapped forces you to be inventive.
I recently attended a reception for a friend who was married last summer and noticed she didn't have an official photographer. I had brought my camera just in case and, after dinner when people were dancing, I quietly walked around snapping assorted drunken relatives, 95-year-olds and smiling guests at their tables. I had the photos made into an album for less than $10 and sent it to the bride with a congratulatory card. She called and said it was the nicest gift she'd ever gotten in her life.
A full fridge, after cashing a paycheck, is Christmas any time of the year.
Bread. Coffee. Peanut butter. Fresh greens and fruits. Yams. Going to sleep knowing that your fridge is full when you've cashed your check and gone straight to the supermarket feels like Christmas even when it's not Christmas. Grapes never tasted so sweet and bagels never so chewy.
You come to appreciate the little things, like an electric Jesus.
There are blizzards of bulbs, tinsel, lights, electric Santas and Jesuses hanging from people's trees, doorways, bushes, porches and desks. You could say that it's childish and a waste of time. But there's another energy about it, an energy that says, "We all agree, for the moment, to forget the troubles of this world, to raise a glass and dammit, be merry." If we can't come to a consensus on religion, or politics, at least we can come to a consensus on fun.
Hey, it's better for the environment.
Christmas is one of the most un-green holidays; approximately 4 million tons of wrapping paper, tags, ribbons, boxes and other gift paraphernalia are tossed on Dec. 25 and the day after, according to one report, and that doesn't include all the lousy presents people toss. I don't say this to be scolding, because who doesn't like tearing into a wrapped gifts? But one of the tough lessons of being broke is just how wasteful we can be, without ever really thinking about it.
Money doesn't buy happiness -- and being without it doesn't have to produce misery.
I hope to get a steady, good-paying gig soon, thank you very much. But I'm happier in ways now than when I was working full-time in that kinda smelly office with the fluorescent lights and sadistic, insane supervisor. Everything isn't so *important* now. What I feared the most has come to pass – I've been fired, failed to get another full-time job, my money's gone, and it's Christmas. It ain't like I've been cut from the reindeer team because of a red nose.
The best stuff really is still the free stuff.
iPods and Kindles are nice. But they're nothing compared to the sun, the wind, the smile on a kid's face when you look at him sideways, the pleasure of playing the guitar I've played every day since I was 14, the warm body of my warm wife. Sure, having no money at Christmas can feel like a curse. Having no presents under the tree can be depressing. But each day can feel like a gift from existence if you look at it that way."
Yet Another Tale of Gift Card Woe--UPS Workers Charged With Stealing Gift Cards from Packages
From WAVE-3 News, Kentucky.
"Two Louisville UPS employees are accused of helping themselves to hundreds of dollars in gift cards.
Courtney Allen and Sean Frank are charged with theft by unlawful taking.
Police say the pair, who work in the Louisville ground district for UPS, opened packages and stole more than $500 worth of gift cards. They say Frank even sold one gift card on eBay."
So you went online and did all the hard work of securing a discounted (or not) card for yourself or others, and expected it to be mailed to you...not only did you have to worry about receiving a hot card, but you could've received a card that was already spent, or worse--none at all, thanks to UPS employees. The gift card world just keeps getting better and better.
"Two Louisville UPS employees are accused of helping themselves to hundreds of dollars in gift cards.
Courtney Allen and Sean Frank are charged with theft by unlawful taking.
Police say the pair, who work in the Louisville ground district for UPS, opened packages and stole more than $500 worth of gift cards. They say Frank even sold one gift card on eBay."
So you went online and did all the hard work of securing a discounted (or not) card for yourself or others, and expected it to be mailed to you...not only did you have to worry about receiving a hot card, but you could've received a card that was already spent, or worse--none at all, thanks to UPS employees. The gift card world just keeps getting better and better.
An Example of How Futile Savings Efforts Are Using Coupons vs. Cost Per Unit
Using my health food store as an example (because it's still too dangerous to drive out and find prices), I found a non-organic, regular plain old long grain brown rice bag. This bag was 32 oz. priced at $4.22--does that sound about right for regular grocery stores?
LG Brown Rice--32 oz. @ $4.22, or $2.11/lb.
I compared this to a bulk buy of long grain brown rice (again, no organics)--this larger bag was 40 lbs. for 32.25.
Bulk LG Brown Rice--40 lbs. @ 32.25, or .81/lb.
You can immediately see two things:
1. the cost per unit saved us $1.30/lb.
2. the savings from just two pounds of the bulk rice would pay for one smaller bag of rice, with money left over.
$2.11/lb. - .81/lb. = $1.30/lb.savings.
The original 2 lb. bag of rice costs $2.11/lb., and the $1.30/lb. savings (from buying bulk) X 2 = $2.60, which covers the cost of the original bag of rice completely + change left over. Not only did you get that first 2 lbs. of rice for free, but the next 38 lbs. are at rock-bottom prices, and who knows where the next "rock-bottom price" will climb to?
That extra savings ($2.60 - $2.11) comes to about the amount of a coupon (.49) for smaller grocery store-sized bags, so you've covered the savings of the coupon AND the cost of the grocery store rice just in one purchase!
You can almost assuredly do better with small-bag rice prices in a grocery store than my example here, but bulk prices (wherever you get them) will always do one (or more) better compared to smaller, individual-size prices, no matter how many coupons and sales you stack, and here's why:
The benefit of buying 40 lbs. of rice at once? Not only is it cheaper per pound, but you will have bought enough rice to last for months, as opposed to the 2 lb. rice bag user, who's going to have to return to the store 20 times to get the same amount of rice you just bought. If she's got coupons, can she really be sure she's going to have coupons to cover all 20 shopping trips? If she miraculously does, can she get the rice for .81/lb. like we did buying bulk without coupons?
Remember, inflation always creeps in. Buying stuff with TODAY'S dollars is always cheaper than waiting for that bargain that never arrives until the economy makes a spectacular comeback.
Now comes the longevity of your buy: rice is served at 1/2 cup (cooked) at a time, which means it swells to 2-3X the dry measure. That 2 lb. bag will make (minimum) 8 servings of cooked rice, while the 40 lb. bag will cook up to make (minimum) 160 servings, all of which will freeze, and dry rice will keep for months (maybe even a year), if it's kept away from heat and bugs.
That's 160 servings of rice you won't have to track down at some supermarket before tracking down a coupon for it! Now, apply this principle to ALL your food purchases...
Don't have space for 40 lbs. of rice? Then order smaller bulk bags (they come in 25 lbs. too), buy multiple smaller bags with coupons, get friends/relatives to split the larger bag with you, start a co-op, or find the room to store it (the stranger the better--how about under the bed?)
Not only have you saved money on food, but you've saved time and gas money as well, which is going to be important in the year ahead.
UPDATE: Remember my jail break from the spice trade and Mickey C not too long ago? Well, guess what showed up in my junk mail pile today? Yup, a coupon for .75 off any one Mickey C spice or herb. In my original story, I showed you how I saved $20.00/oz. just by shopping for spices in the international aisle, and now you have another example of coupon futility. What's saving a mere .75 when I saved $20.00/oz. without it?
The original bay leaf bottle was priced at $2.76, and the cello pouches in the international food aisle were priced at .69 each (and two pouches equaled the bottle's content weight), making a savings of well over the .75 that the coupon would've offered me!
$2.76 (bottle price) - $1.38 (price of two pouches) = $1.38 (price savings)
For the price of one bottle, I have 4 cello pouches of bay leaves.
$2.76 (bottle price) - .75 (coupon) = $2.01 (new price of bottle)
$2.01 (new price) - $1.38 (price of two pouches) = .63 (money left over)
That .63 left over could've almost bought me a third pouch of bay leaves instead of a discounted bottle that I would've had to return to the store to replace later on, and there might not be another coupon available later on.
If you noticed, you would actually lose a pouch in the discount--notice the underlines. This is a prime example of how coupons can actually TAKE AWAY savings from you if you have something to compare it to!
LG Brown Rice--32 oz. @ $4.22, or $2.11/lb.
I compared this to a bulk buy of long grain brown rice (again, no organics)--this larger bag was 40 lbs. for 32.25.
Bulk LG Brown Rice--40 lbs. @ 32.25, or .81/lb.
You can immediately see two things:
1. the cost per unit saved us $1.30/lb.
2. the savings from just two pounds of the bulk rice would pay for one smaller bag of rice, with money left over.
$2.11/lb. - .81/lb. = $1.30/lb.savings.
The original 2 lb. bag of rice costs $2.11/lb., and the $1.30/lb. savings (from buying bulk) X 2 = $2.60, which covers the cost of the original bag of rice completely + change left over. Not only did you get that first 2 lbs. of rice for free, but the next 38 lbs. are at rock-bottom prices, and who knows where the next "rock-bottom price" will climb to?
That extra savings ($2.60 - $2.11) comes to about the amount of a coupon (.49) for smaller grocery store-sized bags, so you've covered the savings of the coupon AND the cost of the grocery store rice just in one purchase!
You can almost assuredly do better with small-bag rice prices in a grocery store than my example here, but bulk prices (wherever you get them) will always do one (or more) better compared to smaller, individual-size prices, no matter how many coupons and sales you stack, and here's why:
The benefit of buying 40 lbs. of rice at once? Not only is it cheaper per pound, but you will have bought enough rice to last for months, as opposed to the 2 lb. rice bag user, who's going to have to return to the store 20 times to get the same amount of rice you just bought. If she's got coupons, can she really be sure she's going to have coupons to cover all 20 shopping trips? If she miraculously does, can she get the rice for .81/lb. like we did buying bulk without coupons?
Remember, inflation always creeps in. Buying stuff with TODAY'S dollars is always cheaper than waiting for that bargain that never arrives until the economy makes a spectacular comeback.
Now comes the longevity of your buy: rice is served at 1/2 cup (cooked) at a time, which means it swells to 2-3X the dry measure. That 2 lb. bag will make (minimum) 8 servings of cooked rice, while the 40 lb. bag will cook up to make (minimum) 160 servings, all of which will freeze, and dry rice will keep for months (maybe even a year), if it's kept away from heat and bugs.
That's 160 servings of rice you won't have to track down at some supermarket before tracking down a coupon for it! Now, apply this principle to ALL your food purchases...
Don't have space for 40 lbs. of rice? Then order smaller bulk bags (they come in 25 lbs. too), buy multiple smaller bags with coupons, get friends/relatives to split the larger bag with you, start a co-op, or find the room to store it (the stranger the better--how about under the bed?)
Not only have you saved money on food, but you've saved time and gas money as well, which is going to be important in the year ahead.
UPDATE: Remember my jail break from the spice trade and Mickey C not too long ago? Well, guess what showed up in my junk mail pile today? Yup, a coupon for .75 off any one Mickey C spice or herb. In my original story, I showed you how I saved $20.00/oz. just by shopping for spices in the international aisle, and now you have another example of coupon futility. What's saving a mere .75 when I saved $20.00/oz. without it?
The original bay leaf bottle was priced at $2.76, and the cello pouches in the international food aisle were priced at .69 each (and two pouches equaled the bottle's content weight), making a savings of well over the .75 that the coupon would've offered me!
$2.76 (bottle price) - $1.38 (price of two pouches) = $1.38 (price savings)
For the price of one bottle, I have 4 cello pouches of bay leaves.
$2.76 (bottle price) - .75 (coupon) = $2.01 (new price of bottle)
$2.01 (new price) - $1.38 (price of two pouches) = .63 (money left over)
That .63 left over could've almost bought me a third pouch of bay leaves instead of a discounted bottle that I would've had to return to the store to replace later on, and there might not be another coupon available later on.
If you noticed, you would actually lose a pouch in the discount--notice the underlines. This is a prime example of how coupons can actually TAKE AWAY savings from you if you have something to compare it to!
Wasteland--The $7.8 Billion of Food Aussies Waste
From the Sydney Morning Herald. And they say America's wasteful!
"On a day when fridges are groaning with Christmas leftovers, figures show NSW households are throwing more than $1000 worth of food into the garbage each year.
Data collated by environmental lobby group Do Something! released exclusively to The Sun-Herald show the state's annual food waste bill comes to $2.5 billion.
Across Australia, about 4.45 million tonnes of food, worth $7.8 billion, is discarded.
Do Something! founder Jon Dee said the true amount of waste, once commercial food waste was added, could easily top 7 million tonnes.
"As governments collect better data, it's becoming increasingly clear that Australia's food waste problem is far bigger than previously thought," Mr Dee said.
The figures are collated from a combination of bin audits, waste reports and data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Governments would use them in waste management strategies, Mr Dee said.
Social researchers blame changes in household and house size and time pressures for the substantial increase in wasted food.
"One-third of food is discarded for reasons that could be solved, such as a lack of fridge and freezer space, lack of storage containers and a lack of motivation or effort," social researcher Mark McCrindle said. He said younger people were the biggest culprits.
"Four in five Australians believe that we waste more food today than a generation ago. We also have the first generation of children growing up today without people in their lives who had experience or memories of food rationing and shortages in the austerity years following the Great Depression and World War II."
According to Mr Dee's calculations, each household throws away $1036 worth of food, or 585 kilograms, each year.
About 40 per cent of household bin contents comprised food, including fruit and vegetable scraps that could be composted or reused, he said.
"The vast majority of Australians are unaware that when discarded food rots in landfill, it gives off methane, a greenhouse gas that's 25 times more potent than the carbon pollution that comes out of your car exhaust," he said.
Proposals to reduce food waste have included microchips in bins to measure food content and a "scrap tax" on all fresh food waste.
But Mr Dee said these would be difficult to implement. He favoured kerbside composting schemes.
Penrith Council gives residents biodegradable bags for food and organic waste, which are collected in a separate bin and sent to a composting facility. The program has helped halve the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Fiona Chandler, of Freshwater, has taught her four children about waste through a family compost bin and vegetable garden. "There is a lot less rubbish which goes out and you also consider what you're bringing in."
Lifting the lid
- Households throw out 585kg of food each year.
- Food waste up by 50 per cent since 2005.
- Rotting food in landfill gives off methane.
- 9 out of 10 Australians feel guilty about wasting food.
- Today is National Leftovers Day."
"On a day when fridges are groaning with Christmas leftovers, figures show NSW households are throwing more than $1000 worth of food into the garbage each year.
Data collated by environmental lobby group Do Something! released exclusively to The Sun-Herald show the state's annual food waste bill comes to $2.5 billion.
Across Australia, about 4.45 million tonnes of food, worth $7.8 billion, is discarded.
Do Something! founder Jon Dee said the true amount of waste, once commercial food waste was added, could easily top 7 million tonnes.
"As governments collect better data, it's becoming increasingly clear that Australia's food waste problem is far bigger than previously thought," Mr Dee said.
The figures are collated from a combination of bin audits, waste reports and data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics. Governments would use them in waste management strategies, Mr Dee said.
Social researchers blame changes in household and house size and time pressures for the substantial increase in wasted food.
"One-third of food is discarded for reasons that could be solved, such as a lack of fridge and freezer space, lack of storage containers and a lack of motivation or effort," social researcher Mark McCrindle said. He said younger people were the biggest culprits.
"Four in five Australians believe that we waste more food today than a generation ago. We also have the first generation of children growing up today without people in their lives who had experience or memories of food rationing and shortages in the austerity years following the Great Depression and World War II."
According to Mr Dee's calculations, each household throws away $1036 worth of food, or 585 kilograms, each year.
About 40 per cent of household bin contents comprised food, including fruit and vegetable scraps that could be composted or reused, he said.
"The vast majority of Australians are unaware that when discarded food rots in landfill, it gives off methane, a greenhouse gas that's 25 times more potent than the carbon pollution that comes out of your car exhaust," he said.
Proposals to reduce food waste have included microchips in bins to measure food content and a "scrap tax" on all fresh food waste.
But Mr Dee said these would be difficult to implement. He favoured kerbside composting schemes.
Penrith Council gives residents biodegradable bags for food and organic waste, which are collected in a separate bin and sent to a composting facility. The program has helped halve the amount of waste sent to landfill.
Fiona Chandler, of Freshwater, has taught her four children about waste through a family compost bin and vegetable garden. "There is a lot less rubbish which goes out and you also consider what you're bringing in."
Lifting the lid
- Households throw out 585kg of food each year.
- Food waste up by 50 per cent since 2005.
- Rotting food in landfill gives off methane.
- 9 out of 10 Australians feel guilty about wasting food.
- Today is National Leftovers Day."
Why We Should Brace Ourselves For Hard Times
From Daily Nation (Africa).
"The government has assured the country of food sufficiency for the next eight months. But as if to belie the assurance, legislators from northern Kenya were at the same time asking the State to speed up food relief to the region which is already facing shortages.
Official statistics indicate that the price of essential food commodities has gone down significantly or stabilised in most parts of the country.
The shortages being experienced in the north are partially attributable to poor food distribution, which has, for years, seen parts of the country go hungry while food was going to waste elsewhere.
Other people who may take the government’s assurance with a pinch of salt are the internally displaced persons and the urban poor, who perpetually suffer shortages because they have little money.
So far, predictions from weather forecasters have being uncannily precise. Three months ago, they predicted depressed short rains due to the effects of an unfolding La Nina. This has come to pass.
This is the main reason the northern part of the country is facing a shortage of water and pasture now being manifested in increasing cases of armed conflict. Further, the forecasters have predicted that La Nina may continue well into the New Year, compromising the quantity and distribution of the long rains.
If this happens, and we must assume it will, then we could very easily slide back to the hard times of hunger, water and electricity rationing, declining economic growth and poverty-related crimes.
The fact that we face hardships after the relatively good rains this year underlines how little we have learned to apply modern technology to improve our survival. This means that this year’s good fortune from Mother Nature was greatly wasted."
This is news out of Africa. If Africa is warning it's citizens NOW, imagine what we're in for in the months ahead!
"The government has assured the country of food sufficiency for the next eight months. But as if to belie the assurance, legislators from northern Kenya were at the same time asking the State to speed up food relief to the region which is already facing shortages.
Official statistics indicate that the price of essential food commodities has gone down significantly or stabilised in most parts of the country.
The shortages being experienced in the north are partially attributable to poor food distribution, which has, for years, seen parts of the country go hungry while food was going to waste elsewhere.
Other people who may take the government’s assurance with a pinch of salt are the internally displaced persons and the urban poor, who perpetually suffer shortages because they have little money.
So far, predictions from weather forecasters have being uncannily precise. Three months ago, they predicted depressed short rains due to the effects of an unfolding La Nina. This has come to pass.
This is the main reason the northern part of the country is facing a shortage of water and pasture now being manifested in increasing cases of armed conflict. Further, the forecasters have predicted that La Nina may continue well into the New Year, compromising the quantity and distribution of the long rains.
If this happens, and we must assume it will, then we could very easily slide back to the hard times of hunger, water and electricity rationing, declining economic growth and poverty-related crimes.
The fact that we face hardships after the relatively good rains this year underlines how little we have learned to apply modern technology to improve our survival. This means that this year’s good fortune from Mother Nature was greatly wasted."
This is news out of Africa. If Africa is warning it's citizens NOW, imagine what we're in for in the months ahead!
Lessons From the Recession--10 Things We Learned in 2010
From WalletPop.
"1. Our Houses Are Homes, Not Piggy Banks or Retirement Funds
2. Public Libraries Are a Good and Free Thing
3. Only Fools Go Shopping Without First Googling for Coupons
4. Ask for Discounts Everywhere
5. Savings Accounts Are a Good Thing
6. The Friendly Credit Card Company Is Not Our Friend
7. Car Loans Are for Wusses
8. There Is No Such Thing as Job Security
9. Vacations Are a State of Mind
10. Share What You Have"
See original article link above for details on each.
"1. Our Houses Are Homes, Not Piggy Banks or Retirement Funds
2. Public Libraries Are a Good and Free Thing
3. Only Fools Go Shopping Without First Googling for Coupons
4. Ask for Discounts Everywhere
5. Savings Accounts Are a Good Thing
6. The Friendly Credit Card Company Is Not Our Friend
7. Car Loans Are for Wusses
8. There Is No Such Thing as Job Security
9. Vacations Are a State of Mind
10. Share What You Have"
See original article link above for details on each.
Bride Barters Service to Save Money on Wedding
From APP.com.
"The preparations that led up to the big day on Dec. 18 will be just a memory, but the frugal bride's efforts to save money will be documented in this news story as well as by this Irish family's tale about "Meg's wedding."
"While weddings are unremarkable in that they happen often, everyone still loves them. What's extraordinary is that in the difficult economic times and how the bride creatively afforded some of the very necessary details," said Peg Willman, the mother of the bride.
When Ocean Township High School English teacher Spaeth, 27, of Ocean, asked Megan Willman, 27, the oldest of Peg and Bob Willman's five children, to marry him Christmas Eve 2009, the bride-to-be said she immediately began planning her dream wedding.
"I had a year to plan it and found that you could save a lot of money by having a winter wedding. A December wedding is considered off-peak and not in the April through October wedding season," she said.
In addition to being able to get a better price on the cost of the reception and limousine service, she found that it was easier to reserve the date she wanted at the church — the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart in Newark — and at her reception venue of choice — Nanina's in the Park in Belleville.
"Everyone wanted to know how I got in because both the church and the restaurant have a long waiting list," she said.
Willman also found a creative way to save money on other wedding essentials, including her custom wedding gown, photography services, invitations and matching materials, a gift card box, and hair and make-up for the wedding day.
An acupuncturist with her own business in Little Silver, Willman offered her services to her creative friends, who had recently launched businesses of their own.
One of them, Nicole Zaccaria, 27, of New York City, designed Willman's strapless, sweetheart neckline, mermaid-style wedding gown of chiffon, lace and silk, made the pattern for the one-of-a-kind gown, secured the fabric and cut it out. Seamstress Anna Troltz, 80, of Freehold made the gown."
...
"Another friend, Jenelle Kappe, 27, also here, provided photography services for the wedding, saving the bride $4,000, and Amy Lynn Creteau, of Franklin Park, provided the invitations and place cards and a card letting the 250 wedding guests know that a donation was being made in their name to the American Heart Association in memory of the groom's late father, Keith R. Spaeth, who died Sept. 4, 2007. The invitations and printed items would have cost Willman $1,400 had she paid for them.
The bride's cousin, Kara Cahill, 23, of here, did the bride's hair, saving her $120, and Kim Thorman, of West Long Branch, provided a cake envelope box for the reception, an item which would have cost about $80.
The bride was married by her second cousin, the Rev. Gearoid O'Donoghue, who flew in from Fenit in County Kerry, Ireland."
This article is loaded with tips on how to save on weddings just from their story.
"The preparations that led up to the big day on Dec. 18 will be just a memory, but the frugal bride's efforts to save money will be documented in this news story as well as by this Irish family's tale about "Meg's wedding."
"While weddings are unremarkable in that they happen often, everyone still loves them. What's extraordinary is that in the difficult economic times and how the bride creatively afforded some of the very necessary details," said Peg Willman, the mother of the bride.
When Ocean Township High School English teacher Spaeth, 27, of Ocean, asked Megan Willman, 27, the oldest of Peg and Bob Willman's five children, to marry him Christmas Eve 2009, the bride-to-be said she immediately began planning her dream wedding.
"I had a year to plan it and found that you could save a lot of money by having a winter wedding. A December wedding is considered off-peak and not in the April through October wedding season," she said.
In addition to being able to get a better price on the cost of the reception and limousine service, she found that it was easier to reserve the date she wanted at the church — the Cathedral Basilica of Sacred Heart in Newark — and at her reception venue of choice — Nanina's in the Park in Belleville.
"Everyone wanted to know how I got in because both the church and the restaurant have a long waiting list," she said.
Willman also found a creative way to save money on other wedding essentials, including her custom wedding gown, photography services, invitations and matching materials, a gift card box, and hair and make-up for the wedding day.
An acupuncturist with her own business in Little Silver, Willman offered her services to her creative friends, who had recently launched businesses of their own.
One of them, Nicole Zaccaria, 27, of New York City, designed Willman's strapless, sweetheart neckline, mermaid-style wedding gown of chiffon, lace and silk, made the pattern for the one-of-a-kind gown, secured the fabric and cut it out. Seamstress Anna Troltz, 80, of Freehold made the gown."
...
"Another friend, Jenelle Kappe, 27, also here, provided photography services for the wedding, saving the bride $4,000, and Amy Lynn Creteau, of Franklin Park, provided the invitations and place cards and a card letting the 250 wedding guests know that a donation was being made in their name to the American Heart Association in memory of the groom's late father, Keith R. Spaeth, who died Sept. 4, 2007. The invitations and printed items would have cost Willman $1,400 had she paid for them.
The bride's cousin, Kara Cahill, 23, of here, did the bride's hair, saving her $120, and Kim Thorman, of West Long Branch, provided a cake envelope box for the reception, an item which would have cost about $80.
The bride was married by her second cousin, the Rev. Gearoid O'Donoghue, who flew in from Fenit in County Kerry, Ireland."
This article is loaded with tips on how to save on weddings just from their story.
Monday, December 27, 2010
How to Make Shampoo
From Ultimate Money Blog.
"I’ve got the perfect shampoo recipe you can make yourself that’s all natural and won’t break the bank. This is a tried and true recipe; Mr. Money uses it exclusively and loves it!
Ingredients
* 1 Bar of Soap (I used homemade but you can use something like Dr. Bronner’s or Ivory.
* 1/4 Cup of olive oil
* Your favorite essential oil (I used peppermint)
* Water or tea (I used mint tea)
Directions
Grate your bar of soap on a cheese grater. Put your grated soap, olive oil, and a little bit of water in the blender. I started with about 1/4 cup of mint tea. Add in about 10 drops of your essential oil. Blend until it is the consistency that you’d like. You may need to add more liquid.
When it’s the consistency that you like, put it into an old shampoo bottle. I like to use a funnel. Now you’ve saved money by making your own natural shampoo and you’ve also kept a bottle out of the landfill."
I've just been buying shampoo by the gallon from Sally Beauty Supply (on sale) and diluting it by half. Since I have a seemingly endless supply of Ivory soap in my pantry, I may give this a try when I finally run out of Sally's stuff.
Come to think of it, this stuff could be used on laundry--no? It sounds like it would make an excellent laundry soap.
"I’ve got the perfect shampoo recipe you can make yourself that’s all natural and won’t break the bank. This is a tried and true recipe; Mr. Money uses it exclusively and loves it!
Ingredients
* 1 Bar of Soap (I used homemade but you can use something like Dr. Bronner’s or Ivory.
* 1/4 Cup of olive oil
* Your favorite essential oil (I used peppermint)
* Water or tea (I used mint tea)
Directions
Grate your bar of soap on a cheese grater. Put your grated soap, olive oil, and a little bit of water in the blender. I started with about 1/4 cup of mint tea. Add in about 10 drops of your essential oil. Blend until it is the consistency that you’d like. You may need to add more liquid.
When it’s the consistency that you like, put it into an old shampoo bottle. I like to use a funnel. Now you’ve saved money by making your own natural shampoo and you’ve also kept a bottle out of the landfill."
I've just been buying shampoo by the gallon from Sally Beauty Supply (on sale) and diluting it by half. Since I have a seemingly endless supply of Ivory soap in my pantry, I may give this a try when I finally run out of Sally's stuff.
Come to think of it, this stuff could be used on laundry--no? It sounds like it would make an excellent laundry soap.
$5/Gallon Gas Possible in 2012
From CNN Money.
"The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.
In an interview with Platt's Energy Week television, Hofmeister predicted gasoline prices will spike as the global demand for oil increases.
"I'm predicting actually the worst outcome over the next two years which takes us to 2012 with higher gasoline prices," he said.
Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service says Americans will see gasoline prices hit the $5 a gallon mark in the next decade, but not by 2012.
"That wolf is out there and it's going to be at the door...I agree with him that we'll see those numbers at some point this decade but not yet." Kloza said.
"The demand is still sluggish enough in some of the mature economies."
The third world has woken up to the fact that he who has the (energy) power rules the world, and they're rushing to buy it up while it's still relatively cheap.
"The former president of Shell Oil, John Hofmeister, says Americans could be paying $5 for a gallon of gasoline by 2012.
In an interview with Platt's Energy Week television, Hofmeister predicted gasoline prices will spike as the global demand for oil increases.
"I'm predicting actually the worst outcome over the next two years which takes us to 2012 with higher gasoline prices," he said.
Tom Kloza, chief oil analyst with Oil Price Information Service says Americans will see gasoline prices hit the $5 a gallon mark in the next decade, but not by 2012.
"That wolf is out there and it's going to be at the door...I agree with him that we'll see those numbers at some point this decade but not yet." Kloza said.
"The demand is still sluggish enough in some of the mature economies."
The third world has woken up to the fact that he who has the (energy) power rules the world, and they're rushing to buy it up while it's still relatively cheap.
A Little Late for Christmas: Free Downloadable Copy of "Debt Free for Life"
From WalletPop. Available at WalletPop on January 5th.
More Farmers Markets Go Year Round
From Yahoo News.
"A growing number of farmers' markets are extending their operation into and through the winter months — even in cold-weather states like Massachusetts. The expansion comes as more farmers are prolonging their growing seasons with greenhouses and other methods. It's also fueled by an increased number of people who aim to eat locally produced food year-round.
"It can't be a five-month-long thing and then just stop and everybody go to Walmart," said Dave Purpura, a farmer who participates in the winter market at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum dedicated to the Pilgrims. "If you want to be serious about promoting the local food economy, you have to go through the winter."
Purpura planted some vegetables late in the season specifically for sale at the winter market.
Nearby, Donna Blischke sold potatoes, onions and squash that she stores in a root cellar at her small organic farm in Carver. The winter market also gives her a chance to sell jams, jellies and sauces made from produce left over from the fall harvest.
"It's a way to earn a little extra money in the winter months, while still providing local foods," Blischke said.
There are at least 898 winter farmers' markets running nationwide, a 17 percent increase from two years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A winter market is defined as one that operates between November and March.
Winter markets often run less frequently than their summer counterparts; the Plymouth Farmers Market, for example, runs weekly from June through October and monthly from December through March.
Perhaps surprisingly, several northern states are among those with the largest numbers of winter markets, including Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut and Michigan, the USDA said.
Chicago's Green City Market expanded to year-round operations three years ago and draws an estimated 60,000 visitors during the winter months, said Lyle Allen, the market's executive director. He recalled his anxiety before the first January opening.
"It was 2 degrees and the wind chill was 40 below," Allen said. "I was worried. We were concerned about what kind of reaction we were going to get from the general public."
But his fears evaporated when he showed up at the museum where some 35 to 40 farmers set up shop twice a month in the winter.
"There were a thousand people waiting to get in," he said.
The trend toward year-round markets fits in with overall growth in farmers' markets. The number nationwide grew 16 percent from 2009 to more than 6,100 nationwide this year, according to the USDA's 2010 farmers' market directory. Many markets have been reporting record sales in recent years.
Year-round markets tend to do better. A USDA survey found markets that operated for more than seven months in a year had three times the amount of sales revenue per month and twice as many customers per week as those that didn't.
Stacy Miller, executive director of the Farmers Market Coalition, a Maryland-based group that promotes farmers' markets nationwide, said that makes sense.
"If you open up in May and shut down in October, every May it's `OK everybody . . . remember farmers' markets?' Having some continuous presence over the winter helps mitigate that," Miller said.
The markets encourage farmers to try a variety of ways to extend their seasons, she said. Growers combine old techniques, such as storing vegetables in root cellars, with new ones like hoop houses, which use plastic or some other material to trap warmth from the sun and protect plants from frost.
Many shoppers at Plimoth Plantation welcomed the opportunity to have a farmers' market in the winter.
"I love it," said Joyce Malaguti, a yoga instructor from Plymouth. "My purpose is to support the local farmers and the good food, as much as I can."
But some farmers see a downside to year-round markets. After an exhausting growing season, some said they look forward to a break during the winter to rest and plan for the next year.
Weston Lant, who owns an organic farm in Rochester, Mass., expected to sell off the last of his green vegetables at the December market in Plymouth and wasn't sure whether he would return in January or February.
"I need a little bit of down time," he admitted."
"A growing number of farmers' markets are extending their operation into and through the winter months — even in cold-weather states like Massachusetts. The expansion comes as more farmers are prolonging their growing seasons with greenhouses and other methods. It's also fueled by an increased number of people who aim to eat locally produced food year-round.
"It can't be a five-month-long thing and then just stop and everybody go to Walmart," said Dave Purpura, a farmer who participates in the winter market at Plimoth Plantation, a living history museum dedicated to the Pilgrims. "If you want to be serious about promoting the local food economy, you have to go through the winter."
Purpura planted some vegetables late in the season specifically for sale at the winter market.
Nearby, Donna Blischke sold potatoes, onions and squash that she stores in a root cellar at her small organic farm in Carver. The winter market also gives her a chance to sell jams, jellies and sauces made from produce left over from the fall harvest.
"It's a way to earn a little extra money in the winter months, while still providing local foods," Blischke said.
There are at least 898 winter farmers' markets running nationwide, a 17 percent increase from two years ago, according to the U.S. Department of Agriculture. A winter market is defined as one that operates between November and March.
Winter markets often run less frequently than their summer counterparts; the Plymouth Farmers Market, for example, runs weekly from June through October and monthly from December through March.
Perhaps surprisingly, several northern states are among those with the largest numbers of winter markets, including Massachusetts, New York, Pennsylvania, Ohio, New Jersey, Connecticut and Michigan, the USDA said.
Chicago's Green City Market expanded to year-round operations three years ago and draws an estimated 60,000 visitors during the winter months, said Lyle Allen, the market's executive director. He recalled his anxiety before the first January opening.
"It was 2 degrees and the wind chill was 40 below," Allen said. "I was worried. We were concerned about what kind of reaction we were going to get from the general public."
But his fears evaporated when he showed up at the museum where some 35 to 40 farmers set up shop twice a month in the winter.
"There were a thousand people waiting to get in," he said.
The trend toward year-round markets fits in with overall growth in farmers' markets. The number nationwide grew 16 percent from 2009 to more than 6,100 nationwide this year, according to the USDA's 2010 farmers' market directory. Many markets have been reporting record sales in recent years.
Year-round markets tend to do better. A USDA survey found markets that operated for more than seven months in a year had three times the amount of sales revenue per month and twice as many customers per week as those that didn't.
Stacy Miller, executive director of the Farmers Market Coalition, a Maryland-based group that promotes farmers' markets nationwide, said that makes sense.
"If you open up in May and shut down in October, every May it's `OK everybody . . . remember farmers' markets?' Having some continuous presence over the winter helps mitigate that," Miller said.
The markets encourage farmers to try a variety of ways to extend their seasons, she said. Growers combine old techniques, such as storing vegetables in root cellars, with new ones like hoop houses, which use plastic or some other material to trap warmth from the sun and protect plants from frost.
Many shoppers at Plimoth Plantation welcomed the opportunity to have a farmers' market in the winter.
"I love it," said Joyce Malaguti, a yoga instructor from Plymouth. "My purpose is to support the local farmers and the good food, as much as I can."
But some farmers see a downside to year-round markets. After an exhausting growing season, some said they look forward to a break during the winter to rest and plan for the next year.
Weston Lant, who owns an organic farm in Rochester, Mass., expected to sell off the last of his green vegetables at the December market in Plymouth and wasn't sure whether he would return in January or February.
"I need a little bit of down time," he admitted."
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