Recession Preparation

There is a lot of talk right now about who to blame, how the government should or shouldn't fix it, and lots of fear and anger. All of this is understandable, and it's sure tempting to get involved in it. Whether it's business, banks, government, or regular folks, we seem to be in over our heads with debt. It's a scary situation, and we just don't know what to do.

But it doesn't seem too productive to put a lot of energy into being angry at all these people, especially when you really can't single out just one source to blame. I think it makes good sense to do your best to take care of your family and live below your means. We can work more or harder. We can find new ways to save. We can sell off some stuff we don't need - and maybe never should have bought. We can find ways to feel abundance even as we have less to work with. I would much rather put my energy into making the most of the situation for my family and looking for positive ways to improve our lives. If we want to see businesses act more responsibly, or the government, that's great - but they are merely a reflection of us. Change has to start at home.

So as I work on ways to do this for my own family, I'll share my ideas with you. I hope you'll share too. We can take this as an opportunity to become more responsible with our money. I know I'm not the only one who appreciates a time of having very little money, looking back. It taught me how to save and live on less. This recession experience can do the same for us. Let's look for the positive and do our best with what we've got.

Giant - More Nearly Free Stuff

On Saturday night, we took one more trip to Giant to make use of their store brand coupons. I had one cart, my husband had another, so we were able to use two sets. He thinks it fun watching me in action, saving money. It's like a sport. :)

My cart:

Care1 Liquid Handsoap - $1.39, on sale for $1, had a $1 coupon - FREE
Guaranteed Value Ranch Dressing - $1.09, had a $1 coupon - 9 cents
Nature's Promise Organic Tomato Sauce - $1.39, had a $1 coupon - 39 cents
Giant Paper Napkins - $2, had a $2 coupon - FREE
Giant Relish - $1.04, had a $1 coupon - 4 cents

Total with tax - 70 cents

His cart:

Care1 Liquid Handsoap - $1.39, on sale for $1, had a $1 coupon - FREE
Guaranteed Value Ranch Dressing - $1.09, had a $1 coupon - 9 cents
Nature's Promise Organic Tomato Sauce - $1.39, had a $1 coupon - 39 cents
Giant Paper Napkins - $2, had a $2 coupon - FREE
Giant Dijon Mustard - $1.79, had a $1 coupon - 79 cents

Total with tax - $1.45

Menu Plan Monday

This week I'm trying to use some things up.

Monday - Banana Pepper and Pineapple Pizza (I swear it's good) - using frozen homemade pizza dough, pineapple we got at with coupons at Giant for 14 cents and sauce we got for 29 cents.

Tuesday - Sliced turkey in gravy, mashed cauliflower (leftover in freezer) and asparagus

Wednesday - Leftover pizza

Thursday - Pinto beans (slow cooker), guacamole, cheese, salsa, etc.

Friday - Tuna melt (with homegrown tomato)

Saturday - Salmon, homegrown chard, homegrown tomato salad

Sunday - Friends coming for dinner (rescheduled from last week) - low carb pasta with pesto, brocolli with garlic, salad

(I'll probably add a green salad for all of these. My favorite is the butter lettuce blend that Aldi carries.)

This week I cut down most of my large basil plant and made pesto to freeze. I need to work on some recipes using sage, mint and thyme, since I have a lot of those too. I think at least the thyme plant I should be able to move indoors. Any suggestions are welcome!

For more menus head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Super Savings Saturday - 68% off at Giant with Coupons!

The other day at Giant, I picked up a little flyer put out by the store to celebrate their 85th anniversary. In it were some manufacturer's coupons and store coupons. I suspected I could get some nearly free deals with them, so I made a brief trip to the store today. (I'm currently not supposed to be doing much due to an ovarian cyst - I think I was back to my house within 30 minutes.)

I saved 68% off the regular prices of these items, between in-store sales and coupons. This is what I got:

Care1 Milk and Honey Hand Soap - $1.39, on sale for $1, had a $1 coupon = FREE

Guaranteed Value Ranch Dressing - $1.09, had a $1 coupon = 9 cents

Pure Soft Bath Tissue 4 rolls (needed TP) - $2.59, had a $1 coupon = $1.59

Giant Dishwasher Rinse Agent - $2.28, had a coupon for $2 = 28 cents

Organic Grape Tomatoes (for a salad for a party this weekend) - $3.99, on sale for $2.50, had a $1 coupon = $1.50

Dannon Light Yogurt Drink 4pk - $2.39, on sale for $2, had a coupon for $1 = $1

Add in 20 cents of tax and my total for all of this was just $4.66, and I'm happy with the prices for all of the individual parts as well.

(Since I first wrote this I went back again and got more salad dressing for 9 cents, more free soap, free paper napkins, 89 cent organic ketchup (good for avoiding high fructose corn syrup), more $1 yogurt drinks, and 14 cent canned pineapple. I'm going to go back tomorrow for more nearly free stuff. I wish I had found these coupons sooner!!)

I need to remember to look around at stores more for coupons like this. All of the coupons I used in this trip came from this one flyer. Unfortunately, most of these coupons expire tomorrow, so I won't be able to do similar deals again soon. I'm glad I had the opportunity to stock up on some things we will use.

For more stories of savings, head over to Money Saving Mom.

Frugal Friday - Getting Craft Store Coupons

A few weeks ago I talked about getting cheaper vanilla extract at the craft store. There are lots of other good deals at the craft store, especially if you have a coupon.

Unfortunately, I don't seem to get the craft store flyers in my mailbox or even in the newspaper very often where we live now. But since I have Michael's, Joann and A.C. Moore all within easy driving distance, it was worth it to figure out how to get the flyers and coupons.

All you have to do is sign up on each of their websites and they will send you flyers and coupons via email. I'm not sure if you get extra coupons this way, but you might. Another advantage to this is that you can print out multiples of coupons - you just have to use them one at a time.

I rarely buy anything at one of the craft stores unless it's at least 50% off, because I know that if there isn't a coupon this week, there likely will be next week.

So if you enjoy shopping at craft stores too, take a minute and sign up. When you consider how much you will save over time, it's a great little investment of your time - a high yield activity.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Giant - Opportunities for Next Week

I just got my Giant flyer, and I am so excited! (Make sure the Giant in your neighborhood is the one you find through the link - there is more than one chain of Giant stores.) I managed to get to the end of the month with some extra food money and I'm hoping to stock up the pantry some. I was hoping there would be a good deal next week to help me stretch the money even farther. Giant did not disappoint.

Next week they are doing triple coupons up to 99 cents. You should see the coupons on the flyer they send to your home. If not, they sometimes have extras of these flyers in the stores - with the coupons - but it's rare. You get six coupons that let you triple your manufacturer's coupons. A few rules - you must spend $15 after all discounts, and they say they will not give overage, although in my experience they sometimes do. It says each household can use up to 6 of these. Whether they would hold you to that over multiple visits, I'm not sure.

Other, lesser deals - $6 off any 3 participating meat products. Also, $3 off your next purchase when you purchase any 5 participating P&G products. I'm going to look at my coupons and see if I have anything that will make this a worthwhile deal for me.

Recent Samples

Here is what I have received in the last week or two. It's not tons of stuff, but a bunch of it is useful:

Orville Redenbacher's 100 calorie mini smart cakes, plus $1 coupon

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser, plus 50 cent coupon

Cascade Complete Dishwasher Detergent - in the pellet form that I really like. With blue and green swirls this has to be the prettiest dishwasher detergent ever - yes, I know that is very silly. Plus, a $1.50 coupon, which I will definitely use next time this stuff is on sale.

Dunkin Donuts Original Blend coffee - 1 oz.

Pantene Pro-V Blonde Expressions shampoo and conditioner

Clean and Clear Morning Burst Oil Absorbing Sheets - 15 - I find this brand gives generously sized samples.

More baby stuff, which I am passing along to others.

Walmart Samples

I had a question from From the Land of Oz about where the Walmart samples page is these days. It looks like they moved it a little, but it's still around. Go here.

I think they may be offering less than in the past, but it's still the easiest place to check (I think). I also get whatever looks interesting when Crystal posts freebies. Other than that I don't go out of my way to hunt them down.

Works for Me Wednesday - Leave That Apron On

I don't know about you, but I find there is a direct relationship between whether I can't afford to have food get on me during dinner and if it happens. If I have to get out to orchestra in ten minutes and am behind on laundry with few other clothing options, then I will surely end up looking like a mess. Perhaps it has to do with being in a hurry.

So, the easy solution is to just leave my apron on for dinner. This won't prevent everything that can happen, but it helps a lot. It couldn't be quicker and easier either. It works for me!

Head over to Rocks in My Dryer for more ideas.

Menu Plan Monday - Use it Up Low Carb

The only thing I should have to buy this week is salad, and maybe milk. That will give me some room to stock up on pantry items a bit - but I'll wait until the very end of the month to do so, just in case.

Monday - Chicken Enchiladas from The Insulin-Resistance Diet, steamed baby carrots

Tuesday - Tomato, feta and green pepper salad (vegetables from the garden) - this is our "family favorite" for the week - see details below

Wednesday - Sauteed mushrooms and onions on whole wheat bread, cheese, salad

Thursday - Quiche from freezer, salad

Friday - Black beans/tomato with green chiles/corn soup, salad

Saturday - family cookout - I'm bringing salad and bottled water

Sunday - Friends are coming for dinner - high protein pasta with pesto using our fresh basil, salad

Tomato-feta-pepper salad

A couple of years ago, my husband had to go to a conference in Greece. I didn't go - it was a choice between go to Greece or buy a car and move to the suburbs after several years near our university in the city. It was an easy choice. He had a pretty good time, and came back with several good food ideas, including this one. It's basically an ingredients list which you can proportion to your own taste. For example, I like fewer olives than he does.

Fresh tomatoes (garden are best)

Green bell pepper (frying peppers are good too)

Feta cheese (can be in a block, or crumbled - check Aldi for a good price)

Kalamata olives

Sprinkle good olive oil on top

Sea salt and freshly ground black pepper

Serve this with some bread if you like. It is quite filling for a salad, and a nice easy summer dish. The contrasting colors are very pretty too.

For more menu plans head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Wonderful Weather

(last fall, a lovely foggy morning at Windsor Castle)

I checked weather.com to see what's coming up this week. All but one of the next ten days should be sunny, high temps in the 70s. I LOVE this time of year! I love having the windows open and letting fresh air in. I love needing a sweater to keep warm. I love using our (faux, gel) fireplace. I think I'm finally ready for some fall decorating. I started off by picking up a Pumpkin Spice scented candle (with $5 off coupon of course), and today I should have a chance to do some more. Happy Fall everyone!

Walkers?

I can't believe I actually forgot to do Frugal Friday. It's been a busy week, but really!

I spent the day helping out my grandmother. I'm glad I can do it, but it sure can be tiring. She saves up nearly all of her errands for me to help her with. She doesn't walk well and it's getting worse. My shoulders are a wreck from helping her stay upright all day. Which brings me to the walker question...

So far, I haven't been able to sell her on the idea of a walker - she likes a cane and holding onto me, or whoever else is around. In her apartment, I think she holds onto her cane and furniture. We visited a friend of her's who is temporarily in a rehab place after a broken hip, and ALL of the people with walkers walked better than she does, so I don't think I'm being unreasonable to think it would be appropriate for her.

It's been a few months since we last discussed it, so I'm thinking I'll just buy one and give it to her. If she doesn't like it, she can stick in a corner and ignore it. But I suspect that if it is there she will realize that it can be a help.

So does anyone have experience helping older folks and have any input about what to look for in a walker? I'm thinking something lightweight, because her arms can hurt her too and I don't want it to be to hard to lift. But of course it needs to be stable as well. Maybe a model that includes a basket? If you have ANY thoughts, let me know - I know nothing.

Thanks and have a great weekend.

Book Review: Decorating Rich

The book I'm reviewing today is old enough that Amazon doesn't even have an image link for it. Decorating Rich was published in 1988, and it certainly feels like it sometimes - but it's still worth a read for anyone interested in decorating. I've read it two or three times.

Remember 1988? I was nine, so I don't remember it that well. However, the idea of aiming to impress others and look successful is likely a part of anyone's image of the eighties. There's some of that here. I wouldn't look at decorating the way the book does, but I still get a lot out of it. I'm not out to impress so much as to make a home I enjoy. I want it to look nice, and I don't want to spend a lot. This book will help you with that.

The author divides styles into four potentially overlapping categories: European Opulence, Classic Contemporary, Country Charm and American Pedigree. By focusing on a look (or an intentional blend of looks), your room will look more put together and complete. There are good ideas in all chapters. Regardless of signature, she wants you to aim for a timeless look - this is a very frugal idea. It doesn't matter how cheap your decor is if you get sick of it and change it every few years.

Perhaps the primary thing she focuses on is creating a cohesive look. Buying what you like is sometimes easier than putting it together in a way that works. Reading through the book would definitely help with that. Whether you are looking to buy new stuff or just rearrange what you have, making it fit together well is very important.

One of the strengths of this book, when it was initially published, was probably its expansive source listing, which would help you find what you are looking for in any signature. Now, this list is surely somewhat out of date, but as I look at it, I can see that many of the suppliers she includes are still around.

She stresses that "the rich" value an object's history and don't mind if something is a bit worn out as long as it is interesting. I'm used to our inherited furniture - new and unbruised furniture doesn't feel as comfy to me. This idea may work well in many homes.

I think this is a good, informational read. It's much more text than pictures, in the style of an older decorating book. I personally find the late 80s tone entertaining. You can get this super-cheap online (I'm thinking about picking one up), but see if you can get it from your library.

Excedrin Express Gel at CVS

You never can tell what coupons you'll get when you check out at CVS, but just to let you know:

I stopped by hoping to do the Excedrin Express Gel deal and then get some dishwasher detergent (I had coupons for that as well). They were out of the Excedrin, but had the Cascade. When I checked out with that, I got a coupon for $1 off the Excedrin Express Gels.

I figure I'll drop by another local CVS when I'm out taking my grandmother to the doctor later in the week. With the $1 coupon, it should be better than free: I'll give them $2.99 plus tax and my coupon, and they'll give me a $3.99 ECB. They'll pay me to take it home!

And now AIG...

For the briefest overview, go here. (By the way, if any of you enjoyed the book Crunchy Cons, this is the author's blog.) For a longer news report, go here.

I think what it says about this being a necessary bailout is right. Nearly all the instituional banking entities were or are holding these mortgage derivative products, and if suddenly AIG's insurance credibility went away, we could see a huge domino effect. Everyone would have had to reassess the value of their holdings, and it could have pushed many other companies over the edge. It would be a frightening level of disaster, not just here but around the world.

It was interesting for us to be in Ireland when Bear Stearns went down. The reporting there certainly stressed that they hoped it would be isolated, but they clearly understood how interdependent we all are. I think smaller countries feel that more than we tend to here.

None of this can happen in isolation. I'm just hoping that despite the huge cost to the taxpayer of doing all this, we will be better off in the long run.

The Finance News

Yesterday was an unusual day in the financial world - and I think it struck us as significant even more because my husband works for a finance company. Thankfully, his is doing fine. However, all parts of the puzzle that is the economy are connected in some way, and it's hard to know how it will all play out.

I remember back in college, when a lot of folks I knew were planning to go into investment banking, that Lehman Brothers was seen as one of the best places to land a job. I had several friends who interned there and they found the grind of long, sometimes hard, hours of work challenging. Who would have guessed that not ten years later the company would not even have been attractive enough to sell for cheap?

There is a lot of talk about these topics, and I don't want to add too much to it. We'll just have to see what happens. Could mortgages be harder to get in the future? (I sure hope so - it would have been better for many people with sub-prime mortgages if they hadn't been able to buy.) Could house prices be affected? Seems likely. Clearly, we're going to end up with a different looking finance landscape in a lot of ways.

I found this article, which discusses some of the underlying reasons for our situation, very interesting. It's not too terribly long, but brings a lot of good ideas together. It grabbed my attention with its discussion of leverage and demographics. Maybe not just coincidentally, both of these are areas where our culture has veered away from the Biblical norms of the past.

Commitment to Loveliness...

Emma is hosting this again - thank Emma! Head over to her blog to see what others will be doing this week.

Here is my list for this week:

1. Start on fall decorating.

2. Weed the garden more, and maybe pull out the tired petunias.

3. Re-organize a few kitchen cabinets - I seem to be in an organizing mood lately, so this will be fun.

4. Stick to my exercise plans despite not feeling well!

5. But take it easy and catch up on reading when I'm feeling sick from the clomid - I'll start it sometime between Wednesday and Friday.

Menu Plan Monday

It looks like I should have to buy very little this week, which will be just great.

Monday - a sandwich of some kind (just me for dinner)

Tuesday - Leftover Indian food

Wednesday - Chicken quesadillas (yes, we are trying chicken after many years as vegetarian and then just eating fish too - should be interesting), salad

Thursday - Tomato/feta/green pepper salad (fresh tomatoes and peppers from our yard!)

Friday - Wrap sandwiches (have to use up those tortillas!)

Saturday - Stuffed tilapia, cauliflower mush (from freezer), brocolli

Sunday - Quiche (from freezer) and salad, or dinner with family

You may have noticed I was all excited about my slow cooker a few weeks ago and then nothing more was said about it. I went out and got a Smart Pot (which switches to warm when it's done) to avoid burning my food. Well, it turns out that this new crockpot does nothing but burn food. I've tried several things, including stuff that was just fine in my old, virtually identical crockpot. So I'm going to try taking it back to Target as defective. It should be next to impossible to burn stuff in the crockpot - especially with the warm function. What we could eat of the recipes was good, but I need to get another crockpot and give them a fair try.

For more menu plans, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Frugal Friday - Being Selective About Deals

I have so enjoyed learning to play the drugstore game and just a lot about couponing in general in the last few years. (I learned mostly from Crystal at moneysavingmom.com and her e-course featured here.) Between that and sampling I have quite a stash of good stuff in my home - especially toiletries.

In the last few months, I have noticed something - maybe you've seen this too - while I have gotten a lot of good deals, I seem to run out of money for the stuff I really need by the end of the month.

We have one envelope (budget category) for food and toiletry spending. It's probably more money than it should be for just two people to begin with, yet we keep running out. I have not been using my car much, so I've re-allocated gas money to food, but it really shouldn't be happening.

So this week, I didn't get the free lotion at CVS - I already have plenty. I also didn't get the free candy at Walgreens - I'm trying to avoid eating that stuff anyway. It's true that I'll need to maintain my stash eventually, but for now I want to focus on essentials.

Our change in diet has thrown off my estimates of what we need and how often - and of course also how much it will cost. It will take a month or two to figure out our new diet.

So for now, I'll do deals on food we need, and totally free (not even putting out $ and getting it back later) stuff along the way. For example, I picked up several free things at Giant earlier this week, while getting the food I needed anyway. As much fun as it would have been to pick up some of the other deals, it wouldn't have been as wise.

Another way I'm tricking myself into being selective - in the past I've put our whole monthly food budget into the envelope at once. Instead, I'm putting money in after each pay period (twice a month). This is helping me be more aware of how much I really have left. Hopefully we'll get to the end of the month with a more comfortable amount left to spend.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

Next Week at Giant

I just got next week's Giant circular. It's not as exciting as this week, but it does have a useful coupon for $5 off any meat purchase of $20 or more. They are also running a deal where you can get $5 off your next purchase if you purchase 8 selected products. I'm not sure that I want enough of these items to make that worthwhile for me, but I'm going to consider it, and see if I have any coupons that match.

You probably already know this if you shop at Giant, but they always do double coupons up to 99 cents. I have gotten a lot of great deals and close to free items this way.

Book Review: A Life That Says Welcome

I used some of my tired time recently to catch up on books I've been meaning to read. I had heard a lot of good things about this one.

The author manages to keep a friendly and encouraging tone throughout the book. She addresses why hospitality is important and that it's not optional for Christians. Always a good thing to be reminded of. Then she addresses the many areas that can hold us back in offering hospitality and offers lots of ideas and stories to help with this. She discusses cooking, cleaning, decoration and putting your family first. There are a lot of good ideas in these areas.

One point I found particularly interesting was that she had done a survey asking about what was more important to people - fancy decor, or just a clean, reasonably orderly space - gourmet food, or plenty of plain and tasty food. Not surprisingly, the response was that simple, welcoming homes were what people really wanted to experience, not perfection. This should be reassuring to all of us.

I finished this book encouraged to reach out even more than I have been. There is a lot I can do even given our tight schedule and my current medical situation. It also was a good reminder that when there is a choice between warm and comforting versus impressive in my home, I want to make the choice toward warmth. Not only is it more welcoming to any guests, it's also more supportive for me.

I recommend it, but for me at least, it's not a book I need to own. I got mine from the library and copied a few recipes I wanted to try. I may read it again in the future, if I know I need some encouragement in this area.

Giant: Double $1 Coupons

If you live near a Giant, check this week's circular for coupons that let you double $1 off coupons. My store was giving them out too.

Last night I sorted through my coupons to find some $1 coupons that should get me close to free items if doubled. I'm planning to go there later today.

It does require a minimum $15 purchase after all coupons. I made a list of other stuff I need, so that should work out fine for me.

Edited to add: I'm pretty sure they won't do internet coupons for this. Just a heads up.

Edited again: It looks like this deal is not happening this week in all areas. Too bad - I got some great stuff yesterday. See the comments for more on this.

My apologies if it's not in your area. Keep an eye out though - they seem to be running this deal more frequently in the last few months.

Also, when I did this deal yesterday, they let me keep the overage, even though the circular said they wouldn't. It was a good trip.

Yet another note!: I just posted about next week at Giant here.

Stormy Tuesday

We had some brief but strong stormy weather here this morning. I ended up without internet access for the first half of the day. Probably a good thing! ;) I did get a lot done.

I had a funny experience dealing with the phone service provider (Verizon). My phone line was hanging down into the street, low enough for cars to drive under but for trucks and school buses to hit. As it happens, we live very near the township school bus garage, so this was a major issue. Every time one of them hit it, the whole house shook. Frayed parts of one of the cables were dangling down to just a foot or two above the street. It was not good.

I saw a police officer stop by and take note of it, so I figured this probably would take care of the matter, but I figured I ought to call to let Verizon know of the problem too.

After navigating through several minutes of voice activated menus, I finally spoke to someone. She told me they could have someone out sometime on Thursday. I replied, no, you don't understand, this is a dangerous situation. She reiterated that someone would be out on Thursday. I think I may actually have said "you've got to be kidding," (I blame it on the provera ;) ) . She responded that that was what her prompt said. She then offered to refer my concern to Consumer Advocacy. I said she was welcome to do so, but this just would not do, to leave this hazardous situation as it was for three days. Again, she said she's let Consumer Advocacy know. I said fine, and asked if she would recommend calling the police. She said I should call them and they could pull the line to the side (clearly she didn't get the fact that it was entirely attached still, so this was impossible). I told her to tell Consumer Advocacy that her response was not helpful to me, and proceeded to call 911. I was really afraid that someone would get hurt or major damage would be done by one of the larger passing vehicles.

Talking to them, I learned that the police had already called Verizon and were told they would be there today. Within two hours, a very friendly service guy was on the scene and fixed it very quickly.

So, I wonder, why such a lousy response for the consumer, but good for the police? The actual service guy was fantastic, but the phone support was ridiculous. Consumers need to be able to get a response on hazardous situations too, not just law enforcement. Why bother the police with something that they can't fix?

Part of me is tempted to write and tell Verizon about this experience, because it isn't good service and no company should want to do that. On the other hand, past experience with them tells me it's unlikely they would want to change. What would you do?

Menu Plan Monday - Beginning Lower Carb

I'll probably do another post later on about some of what I've been reading, but here's the basic idea: I've learned that PCOS is actually caused by insulin resistance, that's how it work, which is not the same as what my doctor told me (that insulin resistance sometimes accompanies it but not in my case). I learned that the diabetes drug metformin can make a huge difference in miscarriage rates for women with PCOS. I know I won't be prescribed it because I don't test out as insulin resistant for the fasting tests - which I have read is not uncommon, even though that's how the disease works. I've also got a 50% chance of developing diabetes by 40, according to the research. My mom has type 2 diabetes. Not good.

So I've decided to take matters into my own hands, since I don't see much help coming from my doctors. I've started eating lower carb meals and just generally being more mindful of balancing protein and carbs together. (I actually got into the habit of doing this to combat morning sickness in the past.) Since exercise also helps with insulin resistance, that explains why my body worked much better back in the early summer when I was running more regularly. Despite the fact that I'm back on provera (because the clomid cycle failed), which knocks me out, I dragged myself out of bed this morning to run. These drugs are a compelling excuse to not exercise, but I need to resist it.

I also discovered that I am borderline hypothyroid - depending which of the many opinions expressed by the official endocrinologist group in the last few years you take. So I'm supplementing iodine and already seeing an improvement in my morning temperatures. I also discovered that large amounts of soy are bad for iodine function. So, can I stick to just eating beans, eggs, dairy and fish, especially considering lots of fish and TTC don't work well together? Not so sure, but I'll figure it out as we go along.

All this is just the tip of the iceberg of what I've been learning. I think I've spent at least two solid days researching. It has been good, but I'm hoping to work on some other projects this week.

Dinner menus

Monday - Leftover pizza, salad, bean salad

Tuesday - Tomatoes and mozzarella, salad

Wednesday - Green bean and tomato pasta (may need to add more protein here), salad

Thursday - Salmon, asparagus, sweet potato, salad

Friday - Indian eggplant and chickpeas

Saturday - Spinich quiche, salad

Lunches will be leftovers or easy sandwiches.

Breakfast menus

Monday - Fried egg on toast, grapefruit

Tuesday - Mushroom/asparagus swiss cheese omelette, fruit

Wednesday - Pancakes (whole wheat from the freezer), sugar free syrup, sausage, maybe eggs

Thursday - Waffles and sausage

Friday - Cereal and berries (high protein cereal with milk balances out ok)

Saturday - Waffles from freezer and eggs

Sunday - Cereal and fruit

For more menu plans, head over to I'm an Organizing Junkie.

Frugal Friday: Laundry Detergent Revisited

Back in April, I did a post about our homemade laundry detergent. We had been using the stuff for years and it always seemed to work fine. I had some questions from readers about using it on tough stains (toddlers!) but I really could say, since we haven't had that experience yet.

However, it was around that time that we started our running plan and had dirty workout clothes around all the time. If I waited to put them in the wash much at all they got even yuckier. While we had certainly worked out before, while using the homemade laundry detergent, I guess we hadn't put it to quite this much of a test. It didn't succeed in making the clothes not smelly. (I think it's possible that using a normal washer in our house instead of a commercial one at our old apartment complex makes a difference.)

So, I proceeded to try a couple of laundry detergents from the store. I first got Trader Joe's environmentally friendly one. It didn't quite do the job, and I hadn't noticed that it was slightly lavender scented - nice for sheets, but it didn't go over quite so well with my husband for clothes. Next we went for All Free and Clear, which we had used before. That seems to do it well enough. I also got some nearly free scented detergent from CVS and tried that out. It did a good job, but confirmed that neither of us can tolerate a smell that strong close to our faces for very long. So it's probably ok for workout clothes, socks and underwear (which I wash together on hot), but not for everyday clothes.

In the end, I'll use up my homemade laundry detergent on light loads of wash, but I think I'll use store bought in the future. The difference in cost is better than it used to be too - now I know how to get things for much less using coupons and sales.

For more frugal ideas, head over to Biblical Womanhood.

My Favorite Summer Food

My favorite summer food is something I never even knew existed until about 10 years ago. I was lucky to marry a guy who is part Italian-American and discover a whole bunch of wonderful new-to-me foods.

My favorite is this: garden fresh tomatoes with fresh mozzarella, basil from right outside my door, with some olive oil, great balsamic vinegar and salt. This is delicious by itself or with bread.

We have a lot of tomatoes that aren't ripe yet, as well as some ripe ones, so I suspect we'll be enjoying this several more times before frost.

Samples

I have quite a pile up of samples, so I figure it's time to list them here again. I wanted to mention a little about my sampling strategy too.

When I first started getting free samples, I sought out information on them on boards devoted to the topic. Some were legit, some probably not, but I used a separate email account to deal with any spam. (I also trained my spam filter in Thunderbird (Mozilla's email client) to eat the spam.) In the end though, I found that most of the best stuff came from Walmart, or was now listed on Crystal's blog, moneysavingmom.com, which didn't exist when I started. Most of the time looking other places was wasted.

So my strategy now is that I subscribe to Money Saving Mom in my feed reader and get whatever samples she lists that look interesting. I occasionally check Walmart (which has been offering fewer good online samples than in the past), especially if I'm already there through on of Crystal's links. I'm sure I could get a few more, but the return on using a bunch more time is not worth it. I have plenty as it is.

As I've mentioned before, I also use the Google toolbar's autofill function to make filling out sample forms much quicker. That's a big help.

So here's what I have gotten recently:

• Pond's Clean Sweep Wet Cleansing Towelette

• A $10 off of $50 Lowe's coupon (not sure why I got this, but it could be useful)

• A coupon for one complimentary grill menu entree at P.F. Chang's - my husband like's this place, so this will make a cheap night out sometime soon

• Sunsilk Captivating Curls shampoo, conditioner and creme, plus two $1 off coupons (I recently used these coupons from an earlier Sunsilk sample to get full size bottle close to free at one of the drugstores.)

• Sunsilk Hydra tlc shampoo, conditioner and creme, plus coupons

• Sunsilk Waves of Envy shampoo, conditioner and creme, plus coupons

• Free postcards with images of student art from my college, for making a small donation (I do this every year to help keep their alumni giving rate, and in turn ranking, up. I figure it does me good in the end.)

• Pantene Pro-V blonde expressions shampoo and conditioner

• A free American Greetings card and a coupon for buy one get one free

• Free address labels (This is a kind of funny one. Raymour and Flanigan, a big furniture store, keeps sending out these advertisements which including address labels with our name, but with silly furniture pictures on the left side. I cut the furniture off and use the nice plain labels. It takes about two seconds to turn it into something useful instead of trash.)

Financial Shape in 2008

Crystal is again hosting a check-up on our progress toward our financial goals.

Our progress for July and August is not very interesting in some sense - we just kept paying down our last remaining student loan, eliminating several thousand dollars more. We estimate finishing it off sometime early next year, and then starting on house savings.

We were slowed down a bit by a few unsurprising expenses - car insurance, which we pay every six months, and new tires for my husband's car. While I like the idea, in theory, of just saving up each month for these expenses, in practice I find it too cumbersome. We can handle these things out of monthly cashflow (thankfully!), and so that's what I do. I just takes a bigger bite out of the debt repayment for that month rather than a little bite each month. I'm ok with that.

So for the next few months, it's just more of the same - keep on paying off that loan. It will feel great to be done with it. And hopefully, my husband will be done his dissertation defense by then too and we can feel REALLY DONE with school. I can't tell you how good that would feel.

At times like this, when doing the right thing gets boring, it's tempting to look at all of our friends buying houses while they still have lots of student loan debt and want to do the same. However, we know we'll be better off for it in the long run.

For more check-ups, head over to Money Saving Mom.

Cheap DVD Player

If you are one of the few who hasn't gotten a DVD player yet (yes, I know there are some people who don't have one, having worked in a library not long ago), and you have an ALDI nearby, you might pick one up this week. They are just $24.99 - just about anyone could find room in the budget for that. Obviously, if you don't want it, don't get it, but I often encountered customers at the library who hadn't gotten one thinking they were still very expensive - not true. I've seen $35 many times (and that's what I paid a few years ago), but this is even better.

On the other hand, realize that all sorts of places see videotapes as of little value these days. At the last library I worked at, I was working on gradually getting rid of the kid's videotapes, and many libraries had gotten rid of them already. We sold them off for a dollar each. Keep in mind, if you are looking at used videos from a library or rental place, the tape may be very worn out. An even better source would be a thrift store or garage sale. Most people have upgraded to DVD now, and many have felt the need to replace their videotapes with DVDs of the same items. There aren't a lot of buyers for these things, as DVDs are more popular, so they tend to be cheap. If videotapes still work for you, keep an eye out for some good ones. It's generally cheaper than renting a movie.

Menu Plan ... Tuesday

I'm too late to be part of the menu plan Monday group, but it's still a good idea.

We had a busy weekend, but we did manage to get out and enjoy the beautiful weather. I hope you did too. :)

Tuesday - Baked ziti, brocolli, salad

Wednesday - Mushroom-basil rice noodle dish, cucumber and dip

Thursday - Slow cooker pinto beans and rice, salad

Friday - Brocolli quiche and salad

Saturday - Tomatoes and mozzarella with bread, salad

Sunday - Taco salad using leftover pinto beans, cheese, etc.

I will probably actually flip the order of this around depending on when I have some more tomatoes ready to eat.