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...
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