The topic for today is education...
I Myth'ed, or Open Sourced "TiVo'd" a 60 Minutes one sunday not long ago... A segment that I saw really got to me....it was a bit from Peter Thiel on education, and the need for it vs. the expense of it.
How does this fit in with saving money? Well, one could argue that you save money by NOT going to college. No parent wants their kid to have to go through paying dues like they
did. The dues students pay now, their college loans, are choking the financial
stability right from underneath their feet. These dues are far steeper than the previous generation, and are unsustainable.
The reason for the instability is our fascination with a modern faerie
tale... fabled place of milk and honey called "College."
For decades now we have demanded our kids
go to "college." Over and over we have told them by telling them to study for the SATs, get a good score, get into college. As a society we have repeatedly stressed that skills
are not important, only the fabled land of college is important.
The skills vs. education pendulum as swung so hard to the "get an education" side that many parents see no value in education of skill sets. We have drained all of the high schools of any and all skills. Industrial arts, home economics, and art teachers have had their budgets or departments gutted and cleaned out. The side effect is that when things need to be "Made in America" (like the olympic outfits), the skill sets just are not there. Forget the funding, the job creators and the other BS. But the skilled labor that knows how to sew and set a sleeve, or do a welding job is sadly lacking.
Peter Thiel swings the pendulum to the polar opposite position. He advocates being trained in a craft or skill, and to skip out on the big pricey college path.
Some might find financial value in this advice. Choosing an educational career path requires thought. His thoughts of skipping traditional college altogether is tempting. In the short term it will save you money...or will it?
This concept needs more flushing out for it to be workable.
Fact: It is damn near impossible to get a white collar above the poverty line job with out SOME college.
Vocational schools have taken up the slack when it has come to filling this educational area. To make things really interesting, regional trade schools have experienced a overflow of applications that rivals the college application process.
These schools are where the biggest bang for your local tax dollars lie. These schools have a rich academic program mixed in with life and trade skill that is demanded today in the work force.
Sending a student here not only gives them the trade skills, but it also gives them a firm foundation for college. That's right. COLLEGE.
The cost savings here is to graduate with a skill set to earn a real paycheck, while attending college. Not only does this take the sting out of college loans, it gives the student a leg up when it comes to post-grad employment. It also provides a "skilled job" safety net for the student to leverage when the pink slips fly in the white collar job world in the years to come.
Dynamic education is where the money is. Education is not limited to AP classes and the classics. Education is the foundation of knowledge tools that we grow and prosper from in the years after graduation.
Educating students just so that they can graduate from college is educating our students into financial ruin. Subsequently, this "college or bust" educational track is stripping our manufacturing sector of qualified job applicants, leaving many jobs unfilled in what is a high unemployment era for white collar work.
Imagine being able to get a job because of a dynamic skill set that was part of the educational curricula in your teens. Imagine being able to pay back your school loans if college didn't work out for you, with a real paycheck from a real job due to your vocational skills. This is not to say that some college tracks are highly profitable directly out of college. But "Plan A" doesn't always work out for people. I am now on "Plan C." Reinventing myself has proven to be a tough process and very risky when a mortgage has to be paid when looking at adult vocational education fees.
In order to not only save money but make money in the future, the way we define education needs to be changed.
Monday, August 13, 2012
Friday, July 20, 2012
Saving Money... Part 4
Ok, I am a bit out of sequence here. I promised a blog on "Laundry: The Biggest Money Leach of All"...
You don't have to pay a ton of money on doing laundry...well, if you don't have a washer and dryer at home, you will have to shell out quite a few quarters to make something happen...but the soap component, that you can trim down to pennies a load by making your own laundry detergent.
Yeah, I know how it sounds. But for how expensive this stuff is... people are stealing it, just to have the luxury of clean clothes.
Check out this article from the NY Times
I am not kidding...
So what does it take for you to make your own? You can follow this simple soap recipe:
1 cup washing soda (this is NOT BAKING SODA) you can find it in the stainremoval area of your market)
1 cup borax (The stuff your grandmother can tell you about... she might call it "20 mule team")
1. Mix store in an airtight plastic container.
2. Use 2 tablespoons per full load.
That is all...
Don't like the powdered stuff?
Make liquid detergent instead. I bought a cheap large spaghetti pot to make this in ( I did not spend more than $8 for it). It may be just soap, but I don't want to have soapy tasting spaghetti if I don't wash it the pot out well enough.
Also do Save a few of your detergent bottles before you make this, or forage in the local laundromat in the waste bin for bottles to store it in.
1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar Soap (grated)
Large Pot to mix
Large Bucket to cut soap in
Containers to store in
Bring the three pints of water to a boil, turn off the heat. Add the grated soap, mix until soap is melted. Turn on heat back on to low, and then add borax and soda. Mix until you notice the liquid thicken some, then turn off the heat. Now you need to cut this with water... Here comes a choice for you... I used to fill a 5 gallon bucket and mix then try to fill it up and try to pour into bottles...this only spells disaster.
I now fill about 5 bottles up with 1 gallon of water each, then divide the remaining mix evenly into those 5 bottles... it is far easier to pour a small amount of liquid then a heavy bucket.
Once the mix hits the water it will congeal slightly. You will have to shake the bottle to pour it out. I use the cap to measure how much for each load. This does not "suds up" much, and is ideal for both HE washers and regular ones too.
You don't have to pay a ton of money on doing laundry...well, if you don't have a washer and dryer at home, you will have to shell out quite a few quarters to make something happen...but the soap component, that you can trim down to pennies a load by making your own laundry detergent.
Yeah, I know how it sounds. But for how expensive this stuff is... people are stealing it, just to have the luxury of clean clothes.
Check out this article from the NY Times
I am not kidding...
So what does it take for you to make your own? You can follow this simple soap recipe:
Powdered Detergent
2 cups grated laundry soap (look for Sunlight soap in Canada, or Fels Naptha in the States, you can also use hand washing soap like Dove if you like)1 cup washing soda (this is NOT BAKING SODA) you can find it in the stainremoval area of your market)
1 cup borax (The stuff your grandmother can tell you about... she might call it "20 mule team")
1. Mix store in an airtight plastic container.
2. Use 2 tablespoons per full load.
That is all...
Don't like the powdered stuff?
Make liquid detergent instead. I bought a cheap large spaghetti pot to make this in ( I did not spend more than $8 for it). It may be just soap, but I don't want to have soapy tasting spaghetti if I don't wash it the pot out well enough.
Also do Save a few of your detergent bottles before you make this, or forage in the local laundromat in the waste bin for bottles to store it in.
Liquid Detergent
3 pints of water1/2 cup Washing Soda
1/2 cup Borax
1/3 bar Soap (grated)
Large Pot to mix
Large Bucket to cut soap in
Containers to store in
Bring the three pints of water to a boil, turn off the heat. Add the grated soap, mix until soap is melted. Turn on heat back on to low, and then add borax and soda. Mix until you notice the liquid thicken some, then turn off the heat. Now you need to cut this with water... Here comes a choice for you... I used to fill a 5 gallon bucket and mix then try to fill it up and try to pour into bottles...this only spells disaster.
I now fill about 5 bottles up with 1 gallon of water each, then divide the remaining mix evenly into those 5 bottles... it is far easier to pour a small amount of liquid then a heavy bucket.
Once the mix hits the water it will congeal slightly. You will have to shake the bottle to pour it out. I use the cap to measure how much for each load. This does not "suds up" much, and is ideal for both HE washers and regular ones too.
Thursday, July 19, 2012
Wedding Kittehs!
I know I have been promising (and promising and promising) my facebook friends the photos of the Kitteh Favors I made for my sister in law, Anna's wedding this Summer!
Here is the finished product:
And here is how I got there:
I have an art degree, but I am always on the look out for new ideas and new sculpture concepts. I surf the internet, attend classes and even watch TV to get new ideas about things. I am not a "paper" art kinda person...more of a sculpture, living art sort really.
So a few years back that I saw a TV segment on "Crafter's Coast To Coast", or what is now called "That's Clever."
In the middle of fast forwarding through what I thougth was a "paper junk" segment (am not the biggest fan of scrapbooking), I stopped cold. The paper segment was about how to make a paper mache butterfly seed ornament, with art teacher Steve Hess.
This was not the "elementary school" strip up the newspaper, flour and water, paper mache project. This was how to make "paper" from making pulp, but not to make flat sheets of paper... it was to make paper in sculpted form with seeds imbedded. To put more clearly, it was an elegant sculptured art form. One that was decidedly rustic but uniquely elegant.
Watch the HGTVnetwork video here:
seed ornament video
When my sister in law (the ultimate kitty mom) got engaged, I told her of the seed ornament concept ( I was just dying to try this as it was something new), and instead of a butterfly it could be a kitty! Why not? Right?
As she is a environmental chem person from Caltech, I knew we had a shared hatred of eco-waste and wedding favors that get left behind after the reception are the epitome of waste for me. Any kittehs left over, could be crumbled into her Mom's garden and the paper could compost on its own as the flowers grew from the seeds. Low footprint friendly favors and flowers to boot! What is not to love!
So with her go ahead with the favor concept, the kitteh production began. The HGTV video had a very flat ornament as its featured project, and it kinda looked like a cookie cutter punch out. That would be the easy way for this project to run, but oh no... I had to go and get fancy! I wanted some detail, and honestly it would be a whole heck of alot easier to paint 200 smiling kitteh favors if I had some detail on the face in the mold so I could just follow the lines. And of course detail led to it having to have depth, and the scope of the project shifted.
There was a bit of a trial and error process and as this is turning into a long blog I will give you the highlights of what I learned:
1)Make MORE than 1 positive from clay. An errant cat walking on your design table on the kitteh being designed is a bit disasterous.
2) Make your mold out of something FLEXIBLE. Do NOT use plaster of paris to make the mache end product IT WILL NOT DRY in the 24 hour window in which the video states.
3)DO NOT USE YOUR BLENDER as he says to in the video. You WILL be either sharpening your blender blades (even if it is a dedicated craft blender) or buying a whole new one...ask me how I know. :)
4) Boil your paper for a few hours after soaking it over night. This will loosen the fibers and your blender with love you for it!
5) Remember to calibrate color... as color when wet is ALWAYS darker, and do test out how much paper to paint to ensure a consistent color as my kitteh's were a bright red raspberry after adding too much to the sealant... I ended up giving up on sealing them altogether as I ran out of time. I fixed it by doing a "white wash" over the existing color.
6) Although kitteh's may not be sealed, don't think you will go as fast as you did when painting faces with the sealed ones. It takes way longer as the paint gets more absorbed into the paper.
I had a LOT of fun making these. And when the wedding was all done, we only had 2 kittehs left behind on tables.
Awesome!
I have more photos to post with these, but I did want to finally get these up on the web for folks to see!
Here is the finished product:
And here is how I got there:
I have an art degree, but I am always on the look out for new ideas and new sculpture concepts. I surf the internet, attend classes and even watch TV to get new ideas about things. I am not a "paper" art kinda person...more of a sculpture, living art sort really.
So a few years back that I saw a TV segment on "Crafter's Coast To Coast", or what is now called "That's Clever."
In the middle of fast forwarding through what I thougth was a "paper junk" segment (am not the biggest fan of scrapbooking), I stopped cold. The paper segment was about how to make a paper mache butterfly seed ornament, with art teacher Steve Hess.
This was not the "elementary school" strip up the newspaper, flour and water, paper mache project. This was how to make "paper" from making pulp, but not to make flat sheets of paper... it was to make paper in sculpted form with seeds imbedded. To put more clearly, it was an elegant sculptured art form. One that was decidedly rustic but uniquely elegant.
Watch the HGTVnetwork video here:
seed ornament video
As she is a environmental chem person from Caltech, I knew we had a shared hatred of eco-waste and wedding favors that get left behind after the reception are the epitome of waste for me. Any kittehs left over, could be crumbled into her Mom's garden and the paper could compost on its own as the flowers grew from the seeds. Low footprint friendly favors and flowers to boot! What is not to love!
So with her go ahead with the favor concept, the kitteh production began. The HGTV video had a very flat ornament as its featured project, and it kinda looked like a cookie cutter punch out. That would be the easy way for this project to run, but oh no... I had to go and get fancy! I wanted some detail, and honestly it would be a whole heck of alot easier to paint 200 smiling kitteh favors if I had some detail on the face in the mold so I could just follow the lines. And of course detail led to it having to have depth, and the scope of the project shifted.
1)Make MORE than 1 positive from clay. An errant cat walking on your design table on the kitteh being designed is a bit disasterous.
2) Make your mold out of something FLEXIBLE. Do NOT use plaster of paris to make the mache end product IT WILL NOT DRY in the 24 hour window in which the video states.
3)DO NOT USE YOUR BLENDER as he says to in the video. You WILL be either sharpening your blender blades (even if it is a dedicated craft blender) or buying a whole new one...ask me how I know. :)
4) Boil your paper for a few hours after soaking it over night. This will loosen the fibers and your blender with love you for it!5) Remember to calibrate color... as color when wet is ALWAYS darker, and do test out how much paper to paint to ensure a consistent color as my kitteh's were a bright red raspberry after adding too much to the sealant... I ended up giving up on sealing them altogether as I ran out of time. I fixed it by doing a "white wash" over the existing color.
6) Although kitteh's may not be sealed, don't think you will go as fast as you did when painting faces with the sealed ones. It takes way longer as the paint gets more absorbed into the paper.
I had a LOT of fun making these. And when the wedding was all done, we only had 2 kittehs left behind on tables.
Awesome!
I have more photos to post with these, but I did want to finally get these up on the web for folks to see!
Monday, May 21, 2012
Saving Money, Part 3
So we covered small appliances...and I promised you the killer meatball recipe...so here it is...I wrote it up on facebook a while back and now am copying and pasting it here!
Killer Meatballs...
Ok, well they don't "kill" anyone, but this is what I did to make probably the BEST meatballs I have ever had the other night... and I grew up in a neighborhood where my neighbors from Naples made some of the best food anywhere...and this was just like being back in the 'hood shall we say!
1 lb, steak (that's right..steak... rib eye to be exact, got it on sale and it was on special deal..no ground meat purchased)
.5 lb pork in pork chop form (no ground meat here either)
2 TBS +/- of fresh chopped parsley
3 large shallots
2-3 cloves garlic
1 cup Parmesan breadcrumbs ...these were purchased in a box ( you can make your own breadcrumbs and add oregano and a TBS of Parmesan cheese to the mix...)
2 large eggs
1/2 teaspoon salt and 1/2 teaspoon pepper
Using my Kitchen Aid grinder attachment, I ground my own meat using the larger die. After all the recalls of the tainted meat, you couldn't pay me enough money to buy ground beef in patty or regular shrink wrap form. We almost NEVER make meatloaf because of it. Go ahead, laugh...the local market (my favorite one..and they are generally very good) had a recall last month...again.
If you do not have a grinder, you can chop the meat really finely. I did this once before for meatballs and it does work.
If you have gone with a grinder option, peel the garlic and shallots and then put them thru the grinder at the end, to clean it out. Push through with an extra shallot if you are having problems.
Take the ground items and mix it up with the chopped parsley, breadcrumbs, two eggs and the salt and pepper.
Using a small disher (what looks like a small icecream scoop) scoop out the mixture and make a ball in your hands that is 1.5 inches in size... give or take.
In a hot pan with 3 tbs of olive oil, cook the meatballs 5-8 at a time. Do not over load the pan as this will cool the pan down. Reduce the heat and then cook on med low, turning the balls until nicely browned on all sides.
This recipe does not have any additional fats added to it... my friend Diana pointed out you could use 90% lean beef that is preground to have the same fat ratio, but honestly the texture would be much different.
Add to a pan with spaghetti sauce, and simmer for a while, do not over stir as the balls are more delicate as they don't have as much fat in them to be a binder.
Enjoy!
Friday, March 30, 2012
Saving Money... addendum...
Wow, I guess I beat America's Test Kitchen to the punch here! They had an episode the day after my post called "Here's the Beef" http://www.americastestkitchen.com/recipes/detail.php?docid=27836
There are a few differences between my method and theirs... but its all good!
Unlike what I do, they put the beef into the food processor. Earlier in the episode they went over what tools were good for doing the grinding and the food processor was used in the segment as they felt it would be a tool that everyone would have in their kitchen.
Another difference was: Instead of putting suet in.....they put in butter! Oh YUM! I don't know if this is a "saving money" option, but it does certainly add taste! The beef they chose is "flat meat." I actually get the sale beef items, and actually if the angus beef is on special it goes RIGHT into my cart!
Do watch the video if you are concerned about how to grind meat in your food processor.
If you are curious about the recipe that they have, you must be a "member" of the webpage.
This does carry a fee...it may be worth it to you to subscribe, it may be more worth it to you to set your TiVo or MythTV to record it! (I do!).
I hope you try it! The burgers are awesome!
There are a few differences between my method and theirs... but its all good!
Unlike what I do, they put the beef into the food processor. Earlier in the episode they went over what tools were good for doing the grinding and the food processor was used in the segment as they felt it would be a tool that everyone would have in their kitchen.
Another difference was: Instead of putting suet in.....they put in butter! Oh YUM! I don't know if this is a "saving money" option, but it does certainly add taste! The beef they chose is "flat meat." I actually get the sale beef items, and actually if the angus beef is on special it goes RIGHT into my cart!
Do watch the video if you are concerned about how to grind meat in your food processor.
If you are curious about the recipe that they have, you must be a "member" of the webpage.
This does carry a fee...it may be worth it to you to subscribe, it may be more worth it to you to set your TiVo or MythTV to record it! (I do!).
I hope you try it! The burgers are awesome!
Friday, March 23, 2012
Saving Money....part 2
Did I scare you with making your own cheese? I hope not. What I am trying to get at here is for people to take a chance. I want people to try something new and realize that they can do things with out having to buy them. Once you start this, then you raise your family's standard of living PLUS start to save money in the process.
Is there an investment? Yes! And that investment is in YOU. It is in knowledge and in household tools that can be found cheaply and easily. The knowledge you will gain from reading my blog posts, but as my father says: you need the right tool for the right job.
So you guessed it, today's blog topic is going to be on TOOLS!
What tools do you need in order to save money? Well, first of all put down those silly books that have you cough up $35 for their "system". This is not about a system, its about saving you money in the long run by giving you the structure and the tools to work with in your own life and increasing your standard of living.
The kitchen is the largest area of money savings. The tools you have in the kitchen will empower you to go beyond what is largely available for retail sale for the food industry. Food preparation tools, small appliances, and hand tools are easily found in stores like Williams and Sonoma, Bed Bath and Beyond, and many other retail establishments. Buying tools here can and will create a huge debt mountain in your credit card fairly quickly. This is the problem that we are facing today. "Keeping up with the Jones'" is burying us in debt. Contrary to popular belief, you can indeed wait for that new kitchen set, the deluxe food blender, and the commercial grade range.
Lots of people feel that they have to have the perfect xyz item, have the biggest kitchen with lush counters, and picture perfect decor. To have a good showing in the cul-de-sac society, the competition is with the McMansion next door, giving people the compulsive need to have that dazzlingly shiny Kitchen Aid, Brevilles, or Cusinarts are on display at the neighbors house. But does anyone really use them?
Do they even know how? The more important question is: Did they have to buy them new? The answer to to most of those questions above is: NO. You can have the same functionality of a tool with out shelling out huge money, and save money by actually using rather than having it as an object d' art on your counter.
One place people don't look, but really should, for kitchen tools is in antique shops, thrift stores, used furniture stores, yard sales, and "junk" stores. These places are famous for having odd ball kitchen tools for pennies on the dollar of original cost. Do check in with them regularly, as many places will get incoming stock on a daily or weekly basis. But as with any "hit or miss" shopping experience, you have to make up rules to keep your pocket book under control. My Mom makes it a point to shop once a week at the Salvation Army store near her on half price day. That is the ONLY day she will allow herself to go over there. If she did not do this, she freely admits that any savings that she did gain would be spent on things that were more want vs. need and at a price that is double what she would pay on Wednesday to begin with. Don't think it works? Mom got a breadmaker for $10. I looked up the price on amazon and found it selling USED for $100. That model sold new for $250. That is just ONE of the items she has found at rock bottom prices.
Before we jump on the power tool bandwagon, or er..the small appliance soap box....
Before there was this great thing called electricity, many people did far more with HAND TOOLS. Gasp! Shock! Horror! Say it isn't true! It is folks.
Hand tools are a GREAT way to save money. They may cost you time upfront, but they will save the money for you in the long run.
Did you know that every attachment the stand mixers have, you can get as a hand tool!
-Meat Grinder? Yep
-Pasta Maker? Yep
-Ice Cream Maker? Yep
-Wisk? Yep
-Food Processor? Yep (you have heard of a grater or a knife, right?)
-Dough Hook?.... Well, if you have arms, you can use what God gave you. If you don't this may be the one place you slide the small appliance into the "need" category.
So what small appliance tools do I suggest having in your kitchen?
-Stand Mixer with dough hook
-Hand Mixer (if Stand Mixer is out of your budget)
-Food Processor
-Blender
-Electric Skillet
-Food Scale
All of these can be found, if you shop consistently in the thrift store circuit.
Since the "Pink Slime" scare is currently front and formost in the media headlines, let us look at how we can provide hamburger, meatballs, and other ground meat products with out buying them pre packaged.
When you make something, control is taken away from the middle guy and is placed in your lap. You control the product. You control what goes into it, and what doesn't. You control the salt and fat content. You know if you make it, there is no gluten in there, because you didn't add any bread products.
How to Make Awesome but Cheap Hamburger
Take a stroll through your supermarket meat section. Find the "Manager's Special" (the stuff that is still good, but its at the end of the shelf life to sell), buying it will get you a nice cut of meat for a fraction of the cost, and you will make your own hamburger if you add suet to the mix.
Yes, I said suet. It is fat, and is available from your grocery store in a far corner of the refrigerated meat area. If not on display, ask the folks behind the counter. Please don't make that face. Yes, that one... It is already there in all hamburger products. No pink slime, honest.
Your meat supplier adds suet to all ground meat. This is evident in the % lean statement that is on each label. Add the percentage that you find you like (if it is 90% lean, then just add 10% fat). Still confused? Break the pounds down to ounces. We have 16 oz in 1lb, right? 10% of 16 is?... 1.6oz. So for every pound, you are putting in 1.5 (give or take) ounces into your beef for fat.
To grind the beef, cut into strips that will fit into your grinder and then interchange putting the beef and the fat through the grinder. Mix together evenly in bowl once ground. Patty and grill as normal!
Do note that some grinders have different size "die". The "die" is the disk that extrudes the size of the grind you are looking for. Some people like a fine grind, and some like one that is akin to that of a chop steak. Add some salt and pepper an you have made your own hamburger!
Just be sure to grind, cook (and/or) freeze that day if using "manager's special" products. There is no refrigerator time left on those meat products. Mind the dates on all meat labels and you will be just fine!
In my next post, I will be listing my "Killer Meatball" recipe... Later everyone, I gotta get outside and start working in the garden if I expect to have anything to can (as in canning...as in "canned tomatoes... c'mon folks, work with me here!) in the months to come.
Is there an investment? Yes! And that investment is in YOU. It is in knowledge and in household tools that can be found cheaply and easily. The knowledge you will gain from reading my blog posts, but as my father says: you need the right tool for the right job.
So you guessed it, today's blog topic is going to be on TOOLS!
What tools do you need in order to save money? Well, first of all put down those silly books that have you cough up $35 for their "system". This is not about a system, its about saving you money in the long run by giving you the structure and the tools to work with in your own life and increasing your standard of living.
The kitchen is the largest area of money savings. The tools you have in the kitchen will empower you to go beyond what is largely available for retail sale for the food industry. Food preparation tools, small appliances, and hand tools are easily found in stores like Williams and Sonoma, Bed Bath and Beyond, and many other retail establishments. Buying tools here can and will create a huge debt mountain in your credit card fairly quickly. This is the problem that we are facing today. "Keeping up with the Jones'" is burying us in debt. Contrary to popular belief, you can indeed wait for that new kitchen set, the deluxe food blender, and the commercial grade range.
Lots of people feel that they have to have the perfect xyz item, have the biggest kitchen with lush counters, and picture perfect decor. To have a good showing in the cul-de-sac society, the competition is with the McMansion next door, giving people the compulsive need to have that dazzlingly shiny Kitchen Aid, Brevilles, or Cusinarts are on display at the neighbors house. But does anyone really use them?
Do they even know how? The more important question is: Did they have to buy them new? The answer to to most of those questions above is: NO. You can have the same functionality of a tool with out shelling out huge money, and save money by actually using rather than having it as an object d' art on your counter.
One place people don't look, but really should, for kitchen tools is in antique shops, thrift stores, used furniture stores, yard sales, and "junk" stores. These places are famous for having odd ball kitchen tools for pennies on the dollar of original cost. Do check in with them regularly, as many places will get incoming stock on a daily or weekly basis. But as with any "hit or miss" shopping experience, you have to make up rules to keep your pocket book under control. My Mom makes it a point to shop once a week at the Salvation Army store near her on half price day. That is the ONLY day she will allow herself to go over there. If she did not do this, she freely admits that any savings that she did gain would be spent on things that were more want vs. need and at a price that is double what she would pay on Wednesday to begin with. Don't think it works? Mom got a breadmaker for $10. I looked up the price on amazon and found it selling USED for $100. That model sold new for $250. That is just ONE of the items she has found at rock bottom prices.
Before we jump on the power tool bandwagon, or er..the small appliance soap box....
Before there was this great thing called electricity, many people did far more with HAND TOOLS. Gasp! Shock! Horror! Say it isn't true! It is folks.
Hand tools are a GREAT way to save money. They may cost you time upfront, but they will save the money for you in the long run.
Did you know that every attachment the stand mixers have, you can get as a hand tool!
-Meat Grinder? Yep
-Pasta Maker? Yep
-Ice Cream Maker? Yep
-Wisk? Yep
-Food Processor? Yep (you have heard of a grater or a knife, right?)
-Dough Hook?.... Well, if you have arms, you can use what God gave you. If you don't this may be the one place you slide the small appliance into the "need" category.
So what small appliance tools do I suggest having in your kitchen?
-Stand Mixer with dough hook
-Hand Mixer (if Stand Mixer is out of your budget)
-Food Processor
-Blender
-Electric Skillet
-Food Scale
All of these can be found, if you shop consistently in the thrift store circuit.
Since the "Pink Slime" scare is currently front and formost in the media headlines, let us look at how we can provide hamburger, meatballs, and other ground meat products with out buying them pre packaged.
When you make something, control is taken away from the middle guy and is placed in your lap. You control the product. You control what goes into it, and what doesn't. You control the salt and fat content. You know if you make it, there is no gluten in there, because you didn't add any bread products.
How to Make Awesome but Cheap Hamburger
Take a stroll through your supermarket meat section. Find the "Manager's Special" (the stuff that is still good, but its at the end of the shelf life to sell), buying it will get you a nice cut of meat for a fraction of the cost, and you will make your own hamburger if you add suet to the mix.
Yes, I said suet. It is fat, and is available from your grocery store in a far corner of the refrigerated meat area. If not on display, ask the folks behind the counter. Please don't make that face. Yes, that one... It is already there in all hamburger products. No pink slime, honest.
Your meat supplier adds suet to all ground meat. This is evident in the % lean statement that is on each label. Add the percentage that you find you like (if it is 90% lean, then just add 10% fat). Still confused? Break the pounds down to ounces. We have 16 oz in 1lb, right? 10% of 16 is?... 1.6oz. So for every pound, you are putting in 1.5 (give or take) ounces into your beef for fat.
To grind the beef, cut into strips that will fit into your grinder and then interchange putting the beef and the fat through the grinder. Mix together evenly in bowl once ground. Patty and grill as normal!
Do note that some grinders have different size "die". The "die" is the disk that extrudes the size of the grind you are looking for. Some people like a fine grind, and some like one that is akin to that of a chop steak. Add some salt and pepper an you have made your own hamburger!
Just be sure to grind, cook (and/or) freeze that day if using "manager's special" products. There is no refrigerator time left on those meat products. Mind the dates on all meat labels and you will be just fine!
In my next post, I will be listing my "Killer Meatball" recipe... Later everyone, I gotta get outside and start working in the garden if I expect to have anything to can (as in canning...as in "canned tomatoes... c'mon folks, work with me here!) in the months to come.
Monday, March 19, 2012
Saving Money...part 1
Signs and ads scream almost every second around the world about how much money you will save with XYZ product. 20%! 30% and more!
The truth is, "save more" is often a marketing ropeadope for the consumer public. This predatory maneuver is heavily cloaked as a "feel good" sales mechanic to invoke an action. Its goal is getting you to take do something. It is actually getting you to… (drum roll please)
you guessed it:
Spend - more - money.
The truth is: Just because they are selling it, does not mean that you have to buy it.
Now, that does not mean that you see a choice between two brands and you choose the one that costs less… yes, choosing the less expensive one is the obvious choice when buying something. But what about taking the sales guys out, taking the middle man out, and taking back the power of not only what you spend but also what they heck goes into what you are buying?
Back in my late 20's the Atkins diet was all the rage. Niche low-carb businesses sprouted up to service this new diet market, supplying myself and the other rabid weight loss consumers with "no-carb" products.
Many people who got on the diet, did not get Mr. Atkins' actual message. Yes, he was all for taking out the sugar and carbs that people were addicted to, but his bigger point was actually advocating getting away from "processed" products and closer to the actual component foods than what people were used to. Taking out the middle men was where the value, the true value of the food was.
The real irony was that new niche businesses ignored this completely and supplied the public with carb free toaster pizza, low-carb energy bars and no-carb bagels one could use as hockey pucks. All of these products were far more processed food than any person in their rational mind would buy. But we wern't rational at the time. We were part of a revolution! (Why do I feel like I just looked at my highschool yearbook photo?)
The same problem has happened with saving money. Lots of people have jumped in to fill the void of the financial diet that we are now all forcibly put on. And on this financial diet there are tons of new products brought to the market that are designed to " save you money"…when in all actuality its goal is to get you to spend more, by feeling like you saved money. You guessed it, these products too are chock full of "processing".
So how do we take back that power? Simple. We don't buy what they are selling. You need a product, or XY and Z thing. Do it yourself. Grow it yourself. Make it yourself.
I am not telling you to go out and buy a farm… but if you do my hat is off to you! You are a better person than I!
What I am telling you is to reexamine what you have and what you could do for yourself. Let's start with one thing at a time here. Let's look at something that is by all accounts something that you would buy and wouldn't' think to make: Cheese!
Making your own cheese…
Ok, I know I promised you something here…1 new blog each week on saving money (and with some "how to" and it seems like I am taking you from the frying pan and tossing you into the fire here.
You are thinking "me? make cheese?" Yes, you! And you know what it will be better tasting and far more nutritious than what has been sitting on the shelf for the past month. And I promise you, it will happen in 30 minutes (give or take)!
This is NOT my recipe. I am simply going to point you towards where you need to go for that recipe and all the resources since it is not mine. Not that I don't believe in sharing out here in the digital frontier, but I do believe in copyrights and in respecting other peoples work.
Take a look at Ricki's work here http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html
This is an AWESOME recipe and is fun for the whole family!
I will also divulge why I cringed upon seeing what was portrayed in that Good Housekeeping article and why it failed miserably.
The mother in that article sat there proud as punch with her store brand ultra-pasteurized "organic" milk. I sat there and banged my head on my desk as I saw her preening. She didn't know that what she had bought was actually as over processed and as tasteless as the other "non-organic" milk.
The more processed something is, the more it has lost, and the further is is away from the source.
You need to get closer to the source to get more for your dollar.
The better value for taste and getting closer to the "source" would have been regular pasteurized milk (example: Garelick Farms here in New England). Ultra pasteurization is actually a process of "cooking" the milk rather than doing a simple pasteurization. Making cheese requires milk, and ideally that kind that has had a simple pasteurization rather than the ultra pasteurization. They also believe (Garelick Farms) in no hormones, to read more on this, follow this link http://www.garelickfarms.com/newprod/
The closest to the source you can get, taking one more level of processing out is that of raw milk. Many people swear by it. However the FDA frowns on it. Here in Massachusetts you can only buy raw milk "on the farm". Yes, it is one step closer to the source and it does take the "processing" out; and then ultimately puts the money back in to your pocket with more for your dollar, but at a risk. The raw milk has not been heated to get rid of the potentially harmful bacteria that your body may not like. So I stick with pasteurized milk, and avoid the ultra- pasteurized stuff completely.
But I encourage you to make cheese tonight! It is so simple and so fun! And as long as you have milk in your fridge, you won't ever run out of mozzarella again!
Next week: Laundry, the biggest money leach of it all...
The truth is, "save more" is often a marketing ropeadope for the consumer public. This predatory maneuver is heavily cloaked as a "feel good" sales mechanic to invoke an action. Its goal is getting you to take do something. It is actually getting you to… (drum roll please)
you guessed it:
Spend - more - money.
The truth is: Just because they are selling it, does not mean that you have to buy it.
Now, that does not mean that you see a choice between two brands and you choose the one that costs less… yes, choosing the less expensive one is the obvious choice when buying something. But what about taking the sales guys out, taking the middle man out, and taking back the power of not only what you spend but also what they heck goes into what you are buying?
Back in my late 20's the Atkins diet was all the rage. Niche low-carb businesses sprouted up to service this new diet market, supplying myself and the other rabid weight loss consumers with "no-carb" products.
Many people who got on the diet, did not get Mr. Atkins' actual message. Yes, he was all for taking out the sugar and carbs that people were addicted to, but his bigger point was actually advocating getting away from "processed" products and closer to the actual component foods than what people were used to. Taking out the middle men was where the value, the true value of the food was.
The real irony was that new niche businesses ignored this completely and supplied the public with carb free toaster pizza, low-carb energy bars and no-carb bagels one could use as hockey pucks. All of these products were far more processed food than any person in their rational mind would buy. But we wern't rational at the time. We were part of a revolution! (Why do I feel like I just looked at my highschool yearbook photo?)
The same problem has happened with saving money. Lots of people have jumped in to fill the void of the financial diet that we are now all forcibly put on. And on this financial diet there are tons of new products brought to the market that are designed to " save you money"…when in all actuality its goal is to get you to spend more, by feeling like you saved money. You guessed it, these products too are chock full of "processing".
So how do we take back that power? Simple. We don't buy what they are selling. You need a product, or XY and Z thing. Do it yourself. Grow it yourself. Make it yourself.
I am not telling you to go out and buy a farm… but if you do my hat is off to you! You are a better person than I!
What I am telling you is to reexamine what you have and what you could do for yourself. Let's start with one thing at a time here. Let's look at something that is by all accounts something that you would buy and wouldn't' think to make: Cheese!
Making your own cheese…
Ok, I know I promised you something here…1 new blog each week on saving money (and with some "how to" and it seems like I am taking you from the frying pan and tossing you into the fire here.
You are thinking "me? make cheese?" Yes, you! And you know what it will be better tasting and far more nutritious than what has been sitting on the shelf for the past month. And I promise you, it will happen in 30 minutes (give or take)!
This is NOT my recipe. I am simply going to point you towards where you need to go for that recipe and all the resources since it is not mine. Not that I don't believe in sharing out here in the digital frontier, but I do believe in copyrights and in respecting other peoples work.
Take a look at Ricki's work here http://www.cheesemaking.com/howtomakemozzarellacheese.html
This is an AWESOME recipe and is fun for the whole family!
I will also divulge why I cringed upon seeing what was portrayed in that Good Housekeeping article and why it failed miserably.
The mother in that article sat there proud as punch with her store brand ultra-pasteurized "organic" milk. I sat there and banged my head on my desk as I saw her preening. She didn't know that what she had bought was actually as over processed and as tasteless as the other "non-organic" milk.
The more processed something is, the more it has lost, and the further is is away from the source.
You need to get closer to the source to get more for your dollar.
The better value for taste and getting closer to the "source" would have been regular pasteurized milk (example: Garelick Farms here in New England). Ultra pasteurization is actually a process of "cooking" the milk rather than doing a simple pasteurization. Making cheese requires milk, and ideally that kind that has had a simple pasteurization rather than the ultra pasteurization. They also believe (Garelick Farms) in no hormones, to read more on this, follow this link http://www.garelickfarms.com/newprod/
The closest to the source you can get, taking one more level of processing out is that of raw milk. Many people swear by it. However the FDA frowns on it. Here in Massachusetts you can only buy raw milk "on the farm". Yes, it is one step closer to the source and it does take the "processing" out; and then ultimately puts the money back in to your pocket with more for your dollar, but at a risk. The raw milk has not been heated to get rid of the potentially harmful bacteria that your body may not like. So I stick with pasteurized milk, and avoid the ultra- pasteurized stuff completely.
But I encourage you to make cheese tonight! It is so simple and so fun! And as long as you have milk in your fridge, you won't ever run out of mozzarella again!
Next week: Laundry, the biggest money leach of it all...
Thursday, March 15, 2012
Best Audo Book Narrator List
Ok, I did promise this earlier, and sorry for making this after my last blog post. But anyway here we go:
My Personal Favorites:
Johanna Parker
Gabra Zachman
Cassandra Cambell
Luke Daniels
Elenna Stauffer
Favorites From People at Large:
(have not listened to these folks as of yet)
John Lee
Jim Dale
Simon Prebble
George Guidall
Frank Muller
Barbara Rosenblat
David Case AKA Frederick Davidson
Jonathan Cecil
CJ Critt
Please notice that I have not included any of the infamous Hollywood set. Not that they are good or bad, its just that these guys are the best of the best and are often overlooked. I would like to mention that Stephen Fry is always a good bet for audio or acting on screen.
This list will evolve over time I would expect, so do check back often!
My Personal Favorites:
Johanna Parker
Gabra Zachman
Cassandra Cambell
Luke Daniels
Elenna Stauffer
Favorites From People at Large:
(have not listened to these folks as of yet)
John Lee
Jim Dale
Simon Prebble
George Guidall
Frank Muller
Barbara Rosenblat
David Case AKA Frederick Davidson
Jonathan Cecil
CJ Critt
Please notice that I have not included any of the infamous Hollywood set. Not that they are good or bad, its just that these guys are the best of the best and are often overlooked. I would like to mention that Stephen Fry is always a good bet for audio or acting on screen.
This list will evolve over time I would expect, so do check back often!
Saving Money...
I know I promised months ago that I would put an audiobook "best of" narrator list up in my next post. This is not it.
That will come in the next few, but I have something a bit more important for people to know here: Saving money. Every one has something to say on the subject: clip coupons, forgo the lattes, and cut back to eating out 1x a week. The media seems to recycle the same damn advice over and over and over.
At the dentist yesterday, I picked up a copy of Good Housekeeping, intrigued by a Dr. Oz article on the cover. After reading it, and thinking maybe I should buy a copy before it goes off the stand I noticed what looked like an interesting article on saving money, titled "How We Saved $10,000 in Just One Year." Money wins out over calorie counts every time! Wow. 10k! They must have been doing something really REALLY different! I was grinning ear to ear thinking I was going to learn something new. Oh boy! I was in for a treat!
Skimming it, I first saw the photo of this picture perfect American family, proud as punch of their achievement and holding items from their "saving sojourn." In the photo, the mother was holding in her lap, a half gallon carton of 360 milk from my favorite "fleecing your money via fear" supermarket who I fondly refer to as "Whole Paycheck." Insert *Facepalm* here.
I did skim the article, and to be fair to my first impression before I posted here, I reread it on line (http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/budget/we-saved-10-grand-wealth-watchers)
Honestly, I couldn't stomach most of it. The life this person lived, seemed to be one step below the partial sharing jetset folks. This magazine (Good Housekeeping) is supposed to appeal to the American women with a household to manage and run. Who exactly was this supposed to appeal to?
I sat there and wondered if the editors at Good Housekeeping are suffering from Romney-itis, and are incapable of relating to the majority of the country who earns far less than 500K a year. Reading on, she enlisted friends of hers that had already lost their jobs, had some money in the bank, but were cutting back to make their nest egg last as long as it had to. These folks were a diet buddy of sorts. And although they had some common sense ideas that people in the below that income bracket already do, it was almost sad.
Saving 10K is not as important to the wealthy of our country as it is to the folks who are trying to scrape by and are at their wits end. For these folks who are barely getting by, coupon clipping is not even coming close to making things easier. Instead the insults kept coming...the author panics in the article about having to "pay" for college, never even had a brain cell thought about having her kids get a job to help defer the cost.
The one common sense thing that the author did do was to keep track of what she was spending ala Weight Watchers. The "discretionary" daily spending amount was another facepalm moment. $90 a day? Seriously? But I do give her kudos for keeping track of what she spent in a semi-structured manner.
I am very saddened by this article and honestly, I am not going to buy April's edition of that magazine. In the next few postings I will be illustrating some of what I do to save money and also provide me with a better standard of living than what is currently sold to the American public's current philosophy of today.
As my posting history here is spotty, I am committing to having one new blog post here up each week. Intermingled with the "saving money" bit, will be odds and ends that come across my path and be of interest to folks who wander on by. I hope you will pick up some info and insight as I share what I have learned to make my life richer with you all.
That will come in the next few, but I have something a bit more important for people to know here: Saving money. Every one has something to say on the subject: clip coupons, forgo the lattes, and cut back to eating out 1x a week. The media seems to recycle the same damn advice over and over and over.
At the dentist yesterday, I picked up a copy of Good Housekeeping, intrigued by a Dr. Oz article on the cover. After reading it, and thinking maybe I should buy a copy before it goes off the stand I noticed what looked like an interesting article on saving money, titled "How We Saved $10,000 in Just One Year." Money wins out over calorie counts every time! Wow. 10k! They must have been doing something really REALLY different! I was grinning ear to ear thinking I was going to learn something new. Oh boy! I was in for a treat!
Skimming it, I first saw the photo of this picture perfect American family, proud as punch of their achievement and holding items from their "saving sojourn." In the photo, the mother was holding in her lap, a half gallon carton of 360 milk from my favorite "fleecing your money via fear" supermarket who I fondly refer to as "Whole Paycheck." Insert *Facepalm* here.
I did skim the article, and to be fair to my first impression before I posted here, I reread it on line (http://www.goodhousekeeping.com/family/budget/we-saved-10-grand-wealth-watchers)
Honestly, I couldn't stomach most of it. The life this person lived, seemed to be one step below the partial sharing jetset folks. This magazine (Good Housekeeping) is supposed to appeal to the American women with a household to manage and run. Who exactly was this supposed to appeal to?
I sat there and wondered if the editors at Good Housekeeping are suffering from Romney-itis, and are incapable of relating to the majority of the country who earns far less than 500K a year. Reading on, she enlisted friends of hers that had already lost their jobs, had some money in the bank, but were cutting back to make their nest egg last as long as it had to. These folks were a diet buddy of sorts. And although they had some common sense ideas that people in the below that income bracket already do, it was almost sad.
Saving 10K is not as important to the wealthy of our country as it is to the folks who are trying to scrape by and are at their wits end. For these folks who are barely getting by, coupon clipping is not even coming close to making things easier. Instead the insults kept coming...the author panics in the article about having to "pay" for college, never even had a brain cell thought about having her kids get a job to help defer the cost.
The one common sense thing that the author did do was to keep track of what she was spending ala Weight Watchers. The "discretionary" daily spending amount was another facepalm moment. $90 a day? Seriously? But I do give her kudos for keeping track of what she spent in a semi-structured manner.
I am very saddened by this article and honestly, I am not going to buy April's edition of that magazine. In the next few postings I will be illustrating some of what I do to save money and also provide me with a better standard of living than what is currently sold to the American public's current philosophy of today.
As my posting history here is spotty, I am committing to having one new blog post here up each week. Intermingled with the "saving money" bit, will be odds and ends that come across my path and be of interest to folks who wander on by. I hope you will pick up some info and insight as I share what I have learned to make my life richer with you all.
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