Spending to Save

"You can get one free if you buy two," the clerk told me as she scanned my candy bar. I thanked her graciously but I told her with a little laugh that if I got three, we would eat them. That kind of spending to save doesn't usually work, unless you normally eat those candy bars often, yet have the self-discipline not to eat all of them that day. So, no, that's not how I "spend to save".

Another thing, "spending to save" often is not an option for those who are struggling just to survive. That's one of the (many) reasons I don't feel we should ever say, 'poor people could help themselves if they wanted to'.  Really? With what? So if you're one of those who is struggling to put food in your mouth, please don't get annoyed at my post about spending to save. Maybe if I can encourage myself and others to save, maybe we will have more to share with you or with someone else who could use a little help.

Okay, here are some of my miscellaneous ideas for spending in the short term in order to save in the long term...or for "spending a little to save a lot":

1) Recently one day, my husband went to zip up his 'decades-old-but-still-very-good' down jacket and the zipper jumped the track (or something like that). I thought maybe I could fix it, but it didn't look I was going to conquer that learning curve in a hurry. So, after calling around a bit, we took it to a dry cleaner that does alterations. They fixed it for him, as good as new. I could hardly believe it cost only ten dollars! Replacing it with a new, comparable jacket would have probably cost at least a couple hundred dollars, maybe more. Back in the days before he had business casual dress at work, he also used to get his dress shoes re-soled, saving a lot of money by not needing to buy expensive new shoes very often.

2)  Ah, and my favorite fence post story.  We once had a large house on a large lot, where we were somewhat "house poor", meaning the house payments, insurance, and repairs were eating away at our discretionary income. We had an essential chain link fence which had a rotting post, rusting out at the bottom where it goes into the ground. Someone suggested we repair it ourselves and told us how to do it. We took off the top of the post; measured the diameter of the pipe; measured the height from the ground to the top. Then, he told us, go to the hardware store and buy a piece of hollow pipe, slightly smaller in diameter and about 2-3 feet longer in height. We climbed a ladder, put the new pipe into the hollow post, and watched it slide down. With a rubber mallet, we pounded the extra couple feet down, down, down into the ground. (Now, had there been good concrete in there, it might not have worked, but the same man who suggested this repair had noticed that the concrete base had worn out along with the pipe.) So the new pipe went in very nicely and held our fence strong for years. Like the jacket zipper, it cost only a few dollars...maybe $20 or $40 to fix all four posts, but in this case - by the time we had fixed all the posts - we may have saved as much as a thousand dollars or more, considering that, without those repairs, we would have had to get a whole new fence.

3) You've all heard this one, but it's so true: An oil change is worth its weight in gold...or at least in oil. My husband and I don't get oil changes every 3,000 miles but we do get them on a regular basis (you can usually check the recommendation in the owner's manual for your car).  My '93 Pontiac minivan made 17 years and just under 100,000 miles before we had to replace it. My husband has driven his 2001 Jeep over 200,000 miles so far, and it's still going strong. That half hour in the quick lube place is so worth it and that 30 to 50 dollars may have saved us tens of thousands of dollars over the years. (But I'm careful about how much extra work I let a quick lube center do...and if they say something major is wrong, I say, "Thank you. I'll tell my mechanic."  We do also have a good mechanic.)

These are just a few of the ways we have saved money by spending money.  Of course, you can also save money without spending money, but I just wanted to share these thoughts for now. How about you?  Are there ways that you have saved a lot by spending a little?

Choose Your Foods

As I work on preparing the Myers Family Recipes book for publication, I think about nutrition.  This recipe book will be a culmination of 35 years of cooking for my family.  As a young adult, I read a plethora of nutrition books, and I decided on two things: take supplements and eat natural foods. I believe those decisions kept me centered as I watched the nutrition advice pendulum swing this way and that, over the decades.

Butter? Sugar? Eat them. Don't eat them. Substitute for them. Don't substitute for them. For awhile, we used only honey for a sweetener but then we decided to just eat these foods in moderation.

Proteins? Carbohydrates? Fats?  Don't eat too much protein. Eat mostly protein. Eat carbohydrates. Avoid carbohydrates like the plague. Cut fat from your diet. You need fat.  Over most of those years, my primary goal was simply to provide meals comprised of all three of those components and composed of natural ingredients. We ate lean meats, poultry and fish; used low fat dairy products; and ate whole grains, vegetables and fruits; with some pasta and occasional sweets added in.

In the past decade or so, as we dealt with some major stresses piled on like dominoes, I began to veer from that course. I added lots of convenience foods, sought comfort in an abundance of sweets, and indulged my soda addiction (high fructose corn syrup, sugar, or artifical sweetener? I've tried them all). My weight crept higher and higher.

So I began to look at books to help me with my weight, and to study nutrition, once again. But first I sought counseling. And I learned that I need to love myself. I know. Crazy, huh?  I mean, it's not like I was suicidal or  taking drugs or whatever. And I always knew God loves me. But I kind of thought my whole role on earth was to please other people (just try to guess what everyone wants of you). And you should have heard my self-talk! I still catch myself on occasion. I might silently criticize myself in a derogatory or sarcastic way, and then say, "Boy, is your self-talk bad!  What is the matter with you?!"  Oops, I think I should be gentle in correction. Yes, I believe that loving ourselves - which is not the same as being selfish or indulgent, but having a gentle, respectful, nurturing attitude - matters. I believe it matters even in our ability to take steps each day for our physical health.

And I have found that very attitude of self-respect included in some of the recent nutrition books that I have found. The other missing ingredient in my nutritional past was the importance of mono-unsaturated fatty acids, or MUFA's, as some say.  MUFA's, they say, nourish our brains, help us to avoid or lose belly fat, and help our heart health. They come in olive oil, olives, avocados, and some nuts and seeds and fish. And no, we don't now eliminate all other foods from our diets and eat these exclusively. (Heaven help us!). We need them only in small amounts. It's still all about balance.

And so, I want to share with you these titles, my favorites, my new go-to books on nutrition, in case you too might be interested in them.

General Nutrition, Food Choices, and Recipes:

Nutrition Diva’s Secrets for a Healthy Diet, Monica Reinagel, MS, LN, CNS, 2011

(This book takes you through the grocery store and through the day.)

The Perfect Recipe for Losing Weight and Eating Great, Pam Anderson, 2008

(Although the very title speaks of losing weight, this book is largely about nutritional balance.)

Brain Health , Weight Loss, and Recipes:

Feed Your Brain, Lose Your Belly, Larry McCleary, MD, 2011

(This explains the science of how MUFA's help your brain and help you to avoid or lose belly fat.)

Flat Belly Diet! Liz Vaccariello, MPH, RD, 2008

(This is the more practical book on MUFA's and how to incorporate them into your diet.)  

Can't Afford Kindle? Think Again

You might not be able to afford to buy a Kindle device.  

But if you have your own computer and internet service provider, then you can download the free app, Kindle for PC  (or the free Kindle for Mac), and then you can build your library of free and inexpensive Kindle books to read on your computer. 

Or you can even get a free Kindle app for your smart phone, iPhone, iPad or iPod touch. 

So yes, for most of you who are reading this post, you probably can read Kindle books!  And there’s such a plethora of them available.  Many are free. Many cost only $.99 or $1.99.  Enjoy!

Oh, and as a friend asked me about Nook, I would like to add a link to the reading app for Nook. 

Beware of Medical Bills or How I "Saved" $50

"Save a copy of the medical bills you have paid," I often say. "And keep your insurance company's Explanation of Benefits that they send you". 

So I receive a bill for co-pays...a bill for $65.  My co-pays for this doctor were $10 per visit and recently went up to $15 each.  As I looked at all the dates of this bill, I had that feeling:  the "I know I paid most of these already" feeling. But, although I never actually throw away my medical bills, I might as well, for all the hope I had of finding them.

But we live in an electronic age.  So I went to my bank website and looked for that payment.  I don't even remember how I found it but I did.  I had paid it last September (before the last $15 charge), and they had deposited it.  So I called the doctor's office to tell them...and they gave me credit for it.  It was all that simple.  If it hadn't been that simple I would have mailed them a printed copy of the electronic picture of my check.  It would have still been simple.

I just wanted to share this to remind you. Medical office billing is not infallible.  They get busy. They have new people to train. They have turnover.  They change from one medical billing software to another.  There are any number of reasons why they could make a simple mistake.  So it's up to us to keep an eye on those bills.

And if you can't find the paperwork you thought you had, don't be too quick to panic.  Maybe you have a record of that transaction some other place, in some other form.  It's always worth a look.

   

What Will You Do with the Old One?

Or Decluttering 301

I can't believe how long it is taking me to declutter! Of course, it might help if I didn't go off on rabbit trails. This morning I got online to get ideas about whether I could actually donate a somewhat raggedy blanket. What did I find but a controversy about donated clothing being sold to Africa. The websites I stumbled upon claim that we are putting African textile workers out of jobs. So I had to try to find more on this. Is it true? Which charities do this? I didn't find the answers, so I hope I'm not sending YOU off on any rabbit trails.

I did find a website (although it was a website in Australia) that said St. Vincent de Paul gives clothing to needy people and then sells the surplus in thrift shops. Oh, yes, I had forgotten. And their clothing donation bins are accessible here. I suppose I could get them to pick up other things, but for me, it's more convenient to donate my other stuff to Salvation Army, who sells their items at what I believe are fairly reasonable prices for today's thrift market, and who provide rehabilitation centers.

As I went back to contemplating the blanket, I remembered a woman I met through my local Freecycle who deals in dog rescue. So I emailed her, and she was grateful for the blanket.

But, looking for new homes for old items reminded me of an old story that my husband and I love. I would like to share it with you. I don't remember what book it came from, except that it was a book by Dr. Robert H. Schuller. I found someone quoting it again online. I hope it's a short enough quote not to break copyright as I post it here. But it is, after all, an old fable.

"There was a Chinese wife who said to her husband. 'I would like a new coat.'

Her husband said to her,’ What will you do with your old coat?' She said, 'I will make a bed cover out of it.'

He said, 'What will you do with your old bed cover?' She replied, ‘I will make pillowcases out of it.'

He said, ‘What will you do with the old pillowcases?' She said, ‘I will make new cleaning cloths with them.’

He said, 'What will you do with the old cleaning cloths?' She said, ‘I will tie them together and make a mop out of them.'

He said, 'What will you do with the old mop?' She said, ‘I will chop it up in little pieces, mix it with cement, and we will patch the holes in our cottage in the springtime.'

He said, 'All right. You may have a new coat.'"