a couple of articles of interest


Happy New Year!

I hope everyone had a wonderful holiday and is ready to start the new year.

I am not a big resolution gal, but I do like to spend some time in the quiet post-holiday season thinking about what happened last year and considering what I want to change this year. In that mind set, I do have some things that I want to try to do differently:

I want to eat at home more. I was guilty this last year of taking advantage of many of the fine eating establishments (and some not so fine) of my home town. Now that DH is home (mostly) I want to eat at home. Of course that involves my having to plan meals and shopping trips. Thankfully, all of the men in my house can cook so that helps to get the food on the table.

I want to buy more of everything I purchase in my own town. I have a lot of reasons for this. Actually, I have one main reason and several other reasons. First and most of all, I hate traffic. I would rather pay a little more and not have to spend the time and gas to crossover to another city. Seriously, when I consider the value of my time and the wear and tear on my vehicle, is the savings really worth it? If you need another reason, I want to support local merchants, even if they are chains, because they are the ones who provide jobs in my town. I would rather spend my money to help the economy here. Last of all, I don't want to provide revenue to a city that I don't get to vote in.

I want use more of what I already have. The Environmental movement  has the slogan "Reduce, Reuse, Recycle". You can apply this in a lot of ways in a lot of areas of your budget. If you are shopping for a new home, how big a house do you really need? There are a lot of people saddled with big houses and crippling mortgages so they can live in a McMansion in the "right"neighborhood. It is sad because they are now slaves to that house. Why did they buy it? to impress other people with where they live? to have a place to entertain? I will tell you the truth. I have lived in this area for a long time and the "right" neighborhood changes about every 5-8 years. And how often do you entertain? I know some people have a real gift for this (I do not) but if this is just for family who come and stay once a year you are really better off saving some money and getting them a room at the hotel or traveling to see them.

So, do you have any money resolutions for the new year? Anyone up for a challenge?
How about this:

Make, shop for and execute a meal plan for two weeks. I have had a meal plan for many years and will tell you more about it in two weeks. (Sorry, but my birthday is next week so I will be busy).
I will show you how I did it, and how to use it. I will also want to hear from you about great websites and other resources for planning meals.

That is all for now. I look forward to hearing from you in the new year.

T

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