So, our response to any emergency should be to Be Prepared - Have the tools and resources with you - But most importantly - DON’T PANIC.<<<
The don’t panic is the most important part of survival.
[Photos on site]
http://creditcardpundit.com/blog/8-over-the-top-mothers-day-gifts/#more-159
8 Over the Top Mother’s Day Gifts
Posted on 06 May 2008 by Deborah
At a loss over what to get Mom for Mother’s Day? Had enough of the same old flowers or earrings? Here’s a few Mother’s Day suggestions for the Mom who has everything….and trust me, she’s worth it.
tttt
1. Give mom the gift of good oral hygiene with the $1750 water fountain toothbrush. Well, the prototype is $1750, eventually this puppy’ll cost $3 - which makes one wonder why one wouldn’t want to wait until the cheaper model comes out? Why so special? Because the toothbrush directs water into your mouth for rinsing.
over the top computer mouse
2. Is Mom into a little social networking or computer gaming? Then she’ll surely want this 18K White Gold computer mouse. Retailing for a mere $24,180, this mouse contains 59 brilliant cut diamonds personalized in the pattern of your choice.
Fendi bag
3. Sparkly mice not your thing? Maybe Mom is more about accessories and this one doesn’t disappoint. How about a $20,000 Hermes Birken Bagi It looks like an ordinary bag for sure, but the Hermes people pretend they’re very hard to obtain so all the bored rich people have to have one.
pgo.porsche.speedster.500
4. Won’t Mom enjoy tooling around town in this the Porsche Speedster replica covered with Swaorvsky crystals? She’ll be the envy of the early bird buffet crowd when she pulls up in this puppy.
78089841GC004_Guinness_Worl
5. Perhaps Mom is a fan of the fragrance? If so, you”ll just have to buy her a bottle of this $230,000 perfume. The perfume, 500ml of Clive Christian’s No.1 Imperial Majesty perfume, comes in a bottle featuring a 5 Carat diamond and a solid gold collar.
Amour Amour Dog Collar
6. If mom truly does have everything, why not buy a present for her favorite pet? This Amour Amour dog collar contains 1600 hand set diamonds including a 7 carat diamond centerpiece can be bought for a mere $1.8 mil.
Swavorski Crystal Bra
7. At $250 this Swavorski Crystal bra is a more affordable option. How special will mom feel wearing this on Bingo night?
diamon cell phone
8. Keep in touch with my by giving her this diamond encrusted cell phone. Choose from white or yellow gold or platinum. But hurry, these $88,000 beauties are made to order.
http://www.rd.com/advice-and-know-how/hochman-family-cuts-spending/article99718.html
My Family’s No-Buy Experiment
We ended up richer, but not in the way we expected.
By David Hochman
A Month of No Spending
When you’ve committed to a month of no spending, the scariest sound in the world goes something like this: glug, glug, gorgle, glug, followed by my wife saying, “Oh, God. Honey? We need to call a plumber!”
Our experiment in money-free living had been cruising along beautifully. We were happily eating our way through the pantry, borrowing instead of buying, and feeling the burn from our free seven-day trial gym membership. But now-and on a holiday weekend at 11 p.m., naturally-a grotesque and putrid black ooze began mushrooming up from the shower drain, which could mean only one thing: an overtime service call from the Roto-Rooter guy.
“Think!” I thought as my wife, Ruth, rummaged for the plumber’s business card. “Think.”
I was still a no-spending newbie, but already I was one with the Zen of money-free living. Take a deep breath. There’s always a way around opening your wallet.
The idea to stop spending had been percolating for a while, but it was a trip to Target one afternoon that finally broke me. With our four-year-old, Sebastian, in tow, Ruth and I loaded up on packs of underwear, bath mats, barbecue gear, Spider-Man toys, kitchen gadgets, and a plug-in thingy guaranteed to kill mosquitoes. As we approached the checkout aisle, I thought, We don’t need any of this junk, and we abandoned the cart (after distracting Sebastian with ice cream), saving a good $300.
That got me thinking about all our pointless expenses: DVDs by mail, lunches out, car washes, “bargain” toys, fancy coffee drinks, and just about everything I’ve ever bought on eBay and Amazon. Especially given the current economic climate, not to mention the state of our landfills, it all suddenly felt like excess. With a promise that we’d stop if it was killing us, I convinced the family to take the giant leap into frugality.
The rules were that we would buy nothing for 30 days except absolute essentials, like fresh milk and fruit; and even there, after one too many “essential” trips to the market those first few days, I capped expenses at $100 for the rest of the month. A handful of key outlays like our mortgage, utilities, and Sebastian’s preschool tuition were excused, but restaurants, parking, clothing, toiletries, Internet access, babysitting, and, yes, gasoline, were now in the no-buy zone.
So were overpriced plumbing repairs, if I could help it. Unfortunately, taking a plunger to the shower drain only served to anger the sewage gods, and I watched the muck grow thicker. Searching online (thank you, dear neighbor, for not using password protection), I read about poor souls who’d paid $200, $400, and even $1,500 to have this exact problem fixed. That’s when I stumbled onto the Dawn brigade.
On a website called thriftyfun.com, thousands of users posted tip after penny-saving tip on conserving cash. There wasn’t a crisis on earth, it seemed, that couldn’t be averted with some combination of baking soda, white vinegar, lemon juice, salt, and a certain dishwashing liquid. I squirted a shot of Dawn in a kettle of boiling water, poured it into the shower, and the goop slrrrrged down the drain. Materials used: 10 cents. The look on Ruth’s face after I actually fixed something: priceless.
I realize many people live like this all the time, by necessity, not by choice, and I anticipate letters saying, “Boo hoo! You had to give up your decaf Frappuccino.” But this wasn’t an exercise in “playing poor.” Our month of no spending was a financial wake-up call, a chance to recalibrate our relationship with money at a time when everyone I know has money on the brain.
Do we really need all the things we buy? Does acquiring stuff have actual value in our lives? Can’t we be just as happy-or perhaps even happier-living on much less?
Our adventure kicked off with a rousing start. After that first day, I wrote in my journal: “Feeling supercharged. We have so much. What could we possibly need to spend money on?
Frugal Living Strategies
“By 9 a.m., Ruth had already made compote from old strawberries and picked flowers I didn’t even know we had in the garden. I cleaned the car by hand for the first time in years, then found a mother lode of black beans in the back of the cupboard. Woo! Oh, and I read and returned the neighbor’s newspaper before he woke up. Total spent today: $0. This is going to be fun, fun, fun!”
Then came Day Two. A rich person once told me money is important only if you don’t have any. I suddenly understood that when it was my turn to entertain Sebastian. Normally, we stop at the comic book shop and the frozen yogurt place and maybe the bookstore, spending all the way. Now we weren’t allowed to even feed the parking meter. Sebastian was starting to lose it, but then inspiration struck.
“Hey, Bubba,” I said. “Do you wanna ride in a silver carriage and see cool stuff and eat junk food?”
“Yaaay!” he screamed.
Okay, so getting pushed around in a shopping cart isn’t exactly Space Mountain, but Costco does have cool stuff and something even better-free samples. For an hour, we munched on chicken sausages, cheese ravioli, franks-in-jackets, raspberry fruit twists, cranberry lemonade, and chocolate pudding (nutrition goes out the window when you’re eating anything you can get).
What was remarkable was how liberating it felt to be at a cathedral to consumerism like that and not spend a dime. I’m always confused when people rave about how much they “save” at warehouse club stores. In my experience, I can’t get out of Costco or Wal-Mart for under $200. You want to talk savings? Try going in without your wallet.
One of the unexpected benefits of no spending is that it brings you closer to people. There’s a stigma in our culture about discussing money, but the mere mention of our project prompted friends, neighbors, and even strangers to really open up, mostly about how cheap they secretly are.
The advice was great: Use an Internet application like Skype for free phone calls. Ask neighbors with gardens for extra vegetables and herbs. Look for unclaimed funds under your name at missingmoney.com (I actually found some-interest on an old bank account I’d forgotten about!). Make the public library your first stop for DVDs, music, and books. Answer online surveys at reputable sites like mysurvey.com for free products and cash bonuses. My favorite tip: Fill out the order forms in catalogs and see if you still want the stuff a week from now. You won’t.
Online communities like Craigslist and Freecycle have enough free stuff to clutter a small country. Cameras, couches, skis, reptiles, “clean dirt,” everything. One guy was giving away a brand-new 52-inch plasma TV so his ex wouldn’t get it in their divorce (it was gone in less than 60 seconds). I landed a stack of financial magazines (did you know the world’s richest man doesn’t use a computer?) and then relisted them. Two weeks into our spending fast, Ruth scored a free haircut from a stylist looking to build clients at an upscale salon.
As days turned into weeks, we became so skilled at living lean, it was scary. We started riding our bikes to save gas. Sebastian’s finger paintings were recycled as gift wrap for the homemade presents we gave my dad on his birthday. We figured out the perfect time to show up at our farmers’ market for giveaways. Ruth turned stale bread into French toast and staler bread into bread crumbs. Sebastian and I had a perfectly wonderful free lunch one day at the local Hare Krishna temple.
At a certain point, though, the rush wore off and reality set in. Having just enough just isn’t enough. I love my iPhone. Ruth loves our gleaming stainless steel refrigerator. Sebastian loves his sneakers that light up.
It’s pathetic, I know. I came to the sad realization that spending tricks us into believing we lead meaningful, successful, exalted lives. Take that away, and what do you have? I suddenly wasn’t sure.
With only $8.72 left for essential expenses heading into the final week, I was feeling sorry for myself-and a bit cranky. I almost strangled a visiting friend when she poured heaping glasses of milk that we were trying so hard to conserve. Ruth and I started bickering after she bought sponges-not a necessity in my book-at the 99-cent store. And on one of our Costco runs, Sebastian cried when someone beat him to the last sample of dinosaur-shaped chicken bites.
A therapist I’ve seen agreed to a session in exchange for my running errands. (How did that make me feel? Boy, he pays a lot for organic salsa!) He listened and then smiled warmly and told me, “Go home. Play with Sebastian. Tell Ruth how much you love her and think about ways to help other people.”
What a novel solution. Gratitude. Service. Duh. I felt like an idiot. Fortunately, all those hours away from restaurants and shopping gave me time to do exactly what he said. I pedaled home and invented an outer-space-themed card game to entertain Sebastian (Jupiter and comets were wild in the homemade deck we played with for hours).
Ruth and I, meanwhile, spent our last few days volunteering at the Bread and Roses Café near our house in Venice, California. Since 1989, the café has been serving 150 people in need each morning in a restaurant setting. Ruth passed out plates of pasta and poured coffee, and I assisted the chef at the stove. Between courses, we met folks making do on the barest of resources. “This place means everything to me,” a homeless vet told me. “Anytime I get upset about my situation, I think, Things could be a lot worse. At least I’m around people who care. It helps to think like that.”
It was probably the best advice that I got all month, and it was absolutely free.
In the end, we saved more than $2,000 by not spending for a month. When we began, I imagined we would rush out the moment we were done and stock up on groceries after breakfast at our favorite pancake place. Then maybe hit the mall or go to the movies. Instead, we stayed close to home and played outer-space poker, and I wrote out a check for Bread and Roses.
Comments :
By XLaura, 01/19/2009, 6:39 PM EST
Not everyone has to be poor or struggling to learn lessons about saving money. This article really inspired me. We make a very comfortable living, but my husband and I feel our kids have way too much “stuff” so we are doing a major decluttering and finding ways to save money. There is no excuse to waste money, whether you make $10,000 a year or $100,000 a year.
http://www.thesimpledollar.com/2008/07/17/100-things-to-do-during-a-money-free-weekend/
Ways to Live Cheap
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100 Things to Do During a Money Free Weekend 78comments
July 17, 2008 @ 2:00 pm - Written by Trent
Categories: Frugality
About a year ago, I offered up the idea of the money-free weekend:
For the last few months, my wife and I have been doing something every other weekend or so that we call a “money free” weekend, in an effort to live more frugally. It’s actually quite fun - here’s how we do it.
We are not allowed to spend any money on anything, no matter what. In other words, we can’t make a run to the store to buy food, we can’t spend money on any sort of entertainment, and so on. Since we often do our grocery shopping on Saturdays, on a “money free” weekend, we delay it to Monday or Tuesday.
We can use our utilities, but no extra expenses on these utilities. No renting movies on cable, no text messages that aren’t already covered by our cell phone plan, and so on.
I followed this up with fifteen things to do during such a weekend, fifteen more things to do, and fifteen deeply fulfilling things to do during such a weekend.
Since then, lots of people have sent me ideas for activities for money-free weekends, plus we’ve uncovered a bunch of our own. At the same time, many readers have asked for a master list of all of these ideas.
So, here we go - one hundred fun ways to spend a money free weekend. The list below includes the first forty-five (with duplicates removed), plus about sixty new ones. Print this off and use it as a checklist or a thumbnail guide for your own money-free weekend. Please note that everyone’s interests are different - you probably won’t find everything on this list fun and neither will someone else, but the two lists won’t overlap (I can think of countless things other people find fun that I find utterly dreadful). Anyway, here goes!
1. Check out the community calendar. Look at your town’s website (as well as those of cities and towns nearby) or stop by city hall to find a list of events going on in the community, many of which are free. You’ll often be surprised at how many interesting (and free) activities are going on right now in your area.
2. Visit your community library. Not only is a library a warehouse of books, most libraries also have extensive CD and DVD collections you can check out. Many libraries also have “story time” for young children, film nights, book clubs, and many other events that you may be unaware of - completely for free. Stop in and check out what they have to offer.
3. Get involved in community sports. Many towns have community sports fields where both youth and adult sports leagues and activities are regularly going on throughout the weekend. Stop by, watch a game or two, and if something intrigues you, look into joining either as a participant or as a volunteer.
4. Get your financial papers in order. This may not sound like a fun activity up front, but the peace of mind it gives you will make your life a lot more relaxing. Spend an hour or two organizing all of your statements and other financial documents. This is a perfect time to start your own filing system. If you’re more adventurous, try initiating an electronic filing system, as it will save you significant space and make information retrieval easier (though it’s more of a time investment up front).
5. Check out some podcasts. Podcasts are wonderful things - top-notch audio programs available for you to listen to for free. Give some a sample - you can do it easily by using iTunes. Visit the Podcast section of the store and check a few out. My favorites include The Splendid Table (on food topics), Marketplace (on economics and business), Speaking of Faith (on religion), Fresh Air (interviews of general interest), This American Life (quirky general interest stuff), and This Week in Tech (technology news), among many others.
6. Play board games. We have a pile of board games, mostly received as gifts, that we often pull out and play, plus our closest friend has a few choice ones. Classic games like Monopoly and Pictionary can be great fun, but our favorites are Settlers of Catan, Cartagena, Puerto Rico, and especially Ticket to Ride. Just dig through the recesses of your closet, find an old board game you haven’t played in ages, and bust it open!
7. Bake a loaf of homemade bread. You probably have everything you need to make a loaf of bread in your kitchen right now (except for maybe the yeast). Anyone can do it, and the bread turns out deliciously. Here’s a detailed visual guide for making a simple loaf with minimal ingredients and complexity.
The Court Jester by clspeace on Flickr!8. Learn how to juggle. All you really need is three balls and a video showing you how to do it. Not only is it a fun activity to learn, it’s something that’s fun to bust out as a party trick on occasion (trust me, you can always get people to smile if you juggle three fruits in the kitchen while preparing something).
9. Teach yourself how to change the oil in your car. If you’re due for an oil change, just bring the oil you need home with you and teach yourself how to do it. All you really need is an old pan to catch the wasted oil and a funnel to pour the old oil back into the canisters for later disposal. Just use your car manual as a guide for the procedure and you might just find that not only is it a lot easier than you thought, but it’s a useful skill to have and it’s cheaper than taking your car into Jiffy-Lube (or wherever you take your car for oil changes).
10. Meet your neighbors. Make an effort to introduce yourself to your neighbors if you don’t know them well. Invite any interesting ones over for a cup of coffee and a chat, just to get to know each other better. Your neighbors can not only become friends, but can also be a valuable resource - a friendly pair of eyes on your property when you’re away or a helpful set of hands when you’re trying to complete a challenging task.
11. Have a “cupboard potluck.” Go through your cupboards and find any items that might have slipped to the back over time. Invite some friends to do the same, then get together for a potluck dinner prepared from only these ingredients and whatever else you have on hand. It makes for a “free” meal and a lot of fun for everyone involved.
12. Clear out your media collection - books, DVDs, CDs, etc. Just go through what you’ve got, determine which ones you’d actually like to keep, and get rid of the rest. You can either sell them at a used media shop or swap them online using services like PaperBackSwap, SwapTree, and SwapADVD. In either case, you’ll get rid of stuff you don’t watch or read or listen to any more in exchange for either some money or new media to enjoy.
13. Make a 101 Goals in 1001 Days list - then start on some of them. A 101 Goals in 1001 Days list is a very effective way to codify all of the ideas of things you’d like to do all into one place, so that when you have spare time, you can just turn to the list and do what’s next on it. Spend some time thinking of things that belong on this list, then when it’s finished, you’ll have an excellent list of potential accomplishments and be ready to go with lots of activities.
14. Make decisions about and write out your will. This is a thought process that many people put off, but it makes you feel quite relieved when it’s done, adding to your peace of mind and relaxation. Spend some time thinking about what you want to happen to your personal assets when you die, particularly in terms of the personal mementos that you want others to have and where you want the value of your estate to go. Do you want it all to stay with family members? Do you want to remember a charity? Then, when you’ve figured it out, sketch out the basics of a will. Later, you’ll likely have to have a lawyer prepare it for you, but just having the decisions made doesn’t cost a thing and is a big mental relief.
15. Do a household maintenance walkthrough. Just go through your home and look for any little maintenance tasks that need to be done. Do filters need to be replaced? Are there any burnt-out light bulbs? Here’s a maintenance checklist that might give you some ideas as to what to look for. It might not be the most fun activity you can think of, but it’ll add subtly to your enjoyment of your home when it’s done - cleaner air, light bulbs in place, and so on.
16. Organize a walking tour. Find out about the interesting historical and cultural sites in your town, then go on a walking tour of it. Pack a lunch in your backpack and have a picnic on the village green or in the park. You can easily turn this into a full day if you live in a compelling area.
17. Teach yourself how to knit. Knitting requires two needles (a dollar, or probably free if your closet looks anything like ours), some yarn (extremely cheap and also likely laying in the closet if your home is like ours), a lot of patience, and an instructional video or two. Try making a scarf or two for your friends or a small blanket for a new baby in the home of a friend or a family member. While it’s not quite free, if you stick with it, you’ll make things much more valuable than the input cost of a bit of yarn, plus you may learn a compelling new skill.
18. Take some digital photographs. Take your digital camera out with you and take pictures of anything you find interesting. Take lots of them, then go home later and see if you’ve taken anything beautiful and compelling. Great images can make for the basics of homemade greeting cards (yep, keep going downwards for more on this), nice desktop wallpaper, screensavers, or many other interesting uses.
19. Share those digital photographs with others. Sign up for a free Flickr account, then upload some of your most interesting pictures to share with others. Spend the time to title them appropriately, add interesting captions, and allow them to be used under a Creative Commons Attribution license so your images can be enjoyed by as many people as possible.
20. Start a blog on a topic that interests you. You can get a free blog at Wordpress or Blogger. Join the service and start a blog on a topic that interests you. Not only can it be a ton of fun, it also helps you improve your communication skills, reach out to others, and perhaps earn a bit of income as well.
21. Organize a potluck block party. Get permission from the city to do this before you try it - ask if you can block off a street for a block party on a certain date. Then throw yourself into organizing it. Go door to door, telling people about the block party, and inviting them to bring something. Ask if they have tables and/or chairs that can be used for it. Then, on the day of the party, set out the tables and chairs you borrowed and dig in. Since you’re the host, just contribute one of the “cupboard potluck” dishes you made from idea #11.
Flusspferd - Albert im Kölner Zoo by marfis75 on Flickr!22. Visit a free museum or a zoo (or find out when you might be able to get in for free). Many cities have free educational attractions, such as zoos or museums. Make an effort to enjoy these free attractions. If your community doesn’t have free zoos or museums, call them and ask about opportunities for “free to the public” exhibits or “free days” or even free passes upon request. Quite often, you’ll find that there are many opportunities to enjoy museums, zoos, science centers, and the like without any cost at all.
23. Learn the basics of a new topic. Just go to MIT’s OpenCourseWare, find a topic you’re interested in, download a bunch of mp3s of lectures on the topic, and listen to them while you’re doing household chores. Some great suggested starting points: microeconomics, macroeconomics, basics of philosophy, western philosophy, and introductory physics. Another great option: fire up iTunes, then click on the “iTunes U” option on the left hand side. You’ll find tons of material there to teach you the basics of countless topics.
24. Cook some meals in advance. If you already have a bunch of basic food staples on hand, spend some time cooking some meals in advance to store in the freezer. It’s easy to prepare casseroles, soups, pasta meals, and many other items all at once, then store them in portion-sized containers in the freezer for eating later. Not only is this way cheaper than eating out or buying convenience foods, it’s also healthier and also far more social. Missing some ingredients but have an abundance of others? Team up with friends and make it a social event - share ingredients so that you can all take some casseroles or other dishes home for the freezer.
25. Build a basic net worth calculator for yourself. One great way to ensure that you’re consistently making financial progress is to build your own net worth calculator. Once you have it set up, updating it is easy, and it can provide a great snapshot of your financial situation as well as show off your progress. Here’s a detailed guide to making one with any basic spreadsheet program.
26. Have a quilting bee. All you need is a bunch of spare cloth (old shirts will even work, as will old curtains, old sheets, and so forth), some needles (in a lot of closets), some thread, some scissors, and some friends. Just get together, cut out squares of interesting cloth, and start sewing. You can stuff the inside with soft excess cloth, like tee shirts and such, instead of buying batting, and you’ll create a warm and interesting quilt over time.
27. Try out some great open source and free software. Ever wanted Microsoft Office but didn’t want to foot the bill? Spend some time downloading and setting up OpenOffice. Want a good scheduling program? Try out Sunbird (a program I really like). Want to design a nifty newsletter or lay out some pages? Try out Scribus (which I’m actually currently using for a future Simple Dollar-related project). Your computer can do so much more - and it’s free!
28. Practice origami. All you need is some scrap paper and a bit of time. The simple things, like cranes and frogs, then you can try harder stuff like an origami iris. A well-made origami piece constructed from interesting paper can be a beautiful decoration.
29. Make a how-to video for YouTube. Share your knowledge! All you need is a digital camera that captures video and (optionally) some video editing software. Just create a video to demonstrate how to accomplish something interesting and useful. Start off by making a script to follow, then turn on the camera and follow it. When you’re done, upload it to YouTube and let others enjoy it. If it’s useful and entertaining, people will come.
30. Do a “bill reduction.” Spend a few hours trimming your monthly bills. Find ways to reduce your regular bills. Ask for credit card rate reductions. Think about what monthly bills you can completely eliminate, then do the footwork to get rid of them. This might be a boring task now, but if you can trim $50 from your monthly bills for free, your future self will be very happy.
31. Play football / soccer. All you need is a ball, some open space, and some friends. Designate whatever is available as goals, then kick the ball around. Don’t worry about being terrible at the game - as long as everyone’s just having fun, it really doesn’t matter how bad you are. Trust me - I’ve played football with Europeans who spent their entire life playing while I’d played perhaps an hour of serious football in my life, yet I had a lot of fun (albeit with a lot of falling down and jumping out of the way).
32. Scan your old pictures. If you have a digital scanner laying around somewhere, bust it out and scan in the piles of old prints you have laying around. If you have a screensaver of pictures, scanning in old prints and adding them to the rotation will make your screensaver all the more amazing. Plus, it becomes easy to just attach them to emails and send them to friends and family.
33. Have a film festival. Invite some friends over and have them each bring one of their favorite DVDs. Then just settle in with some snacks (whatever you have on hand) and burn a lazy afternoon and evening just watching movies together. It’s a ton of fun and it doesn’t cost anything at all.
34. Seduce your partner. Really, is there any way to really have more fun than that for free? It’s fun, romantic, great exercise, and can really help heal any relationship problems you might be having. An afternoon in your partner’s arms will make both of you feel better, and it won’t cost a penny.
35. Do some networking. Spend an afternoon writing emails to professional contacts, just to see what they’re up to and letting them know what you’re up to, setting them up to send en masse on Monday morning. While it might be boring for some, it can open countless doors for your career if you do it consistently, help you build new relationships and friendships, and all it takes is a little bit of spare time.
36. Practice yoga - or try it for the first time. All you need is some floor space and a blanket to do most yoga poses. Try out a basic yoga session to see if you like it. It increases flexibility, improves concentration, and holding some of those positions for long periods can be a powerful workout.
37. Cut your own hair. I have a pair of hair clippers in the bathroom and every once in a while, I take them out and just whack away at my hair. Not only is it a free way to get your long hair cut, it can also make you look a lot more presentable, plus the act of cutting your own hair is a really powerful experience.
38. Do a neighborhood cleanup. No need to organize a formal activity. Just walk through the shared spaces in your neighborhood (parks, sidewalks, etc.) with a trash bag and pick up the trash. Not only is it a pleasant way to get your blood rushing, it also beautifies the area around you, not just for your enjoyment, but for the enjoyment of everyone. If you want to really get into it, invite people that live near you to get involved as well and make it an event.
39. Build some paper airplanes. Design and build a bunch of different paper airplanes, then have a competition in the back yard to see which one flies the best. This is a great way to use up some scrap paper, particularly old newspapers. You can easily turn it into a contest - the winner gets to pick what activity to engage in next, or gets to choose what you’re having for supper.
40. Rearrange the furniture in a room. It’s amazing how much a room can be refreshed just by moving the furniture around to a new position. Try moving the couch to a different wall, then moving the entertainment center elsewhere. Take your bed and turn it ninety degrees, then moving the dressers to match the new configuration. It’ll refresh the look of the room and give you a good workout to boot.
41. Read an entertaining book. Look around your house for a fun book to read, perhaps something loaned to you by a friend or something you received as a gift, and curl up and let yourself be sucked into the story. I’m a sucker for Stephen King novels - I can just pick up any one and quickly be sucked straight into the plot for a fun afternoon’s read.
42. Build a giant blanket fort. If you have kids, there are few things more fun than an afternoon spent building and playing in a gigantic fort in the living room. Use chairs, blankets, and tables to make an enormous hidden structure, then hide in there and play games and read books. If they’re a bit older, build two forts (on opposite sides of the room) and have “fort wars” - toss small beanbags and pillows back and forth. No cost, but an afternoon that’s a ton of fun.
43. Call a family member or a friend you haven’t spoken to in a while. Not only does it provide you a chance to catch up and firm up a relationship with another person who is important to you, it can also be a very entertaining and enjoyable way to spend an hour or two.
44. Start a natural collection or an observation notebook. In other words, spend some time in nature collecting items of interest (like particular rocks) or observations of things. Perhaps you’ll want to look for birds, or maybe your passion is rocks or feathers. Whatever it is, get your hiking boots on, get out there, and see what you can find. Here’s some advice on how to get started.
45. Start a compost bin. All you need is a barrel or a large bucket (or, if you live in the country, some open space). In that bucket, just keep vegetable waste, coffee grounds, and eggshells. On occasion, scoop in a bit of dirt from the ground. Move the contents around regularly and keep it a bit moist. Over time, the compost will turn almost black. At that point, you can let it dry out and have perfectly natural fertilizer for your lawn or garden.
46. Have a yard sale. A yard sale is a very lucrative way to spend a money-free weekend. Not only does it provide you an excuse for cleaning out unwanted stuff from your home, it can also bring in a nice little wad of money as well, plus give you a weekend’s worth of entertainment and activity. This is really a great way to spend a money-free weekend.
47. Learn a foreign language. Doubt this can be free? There are a lot of ways to learn a foreign language online, from podcasts that teach language skills to YouTube videos and many other free language learning opportunities. Search around for resources for any language that you might want to learn - you’ll find tons of materials to help you.
48. Deep-clean the room in your house you spend the most time in. One great afternoon project that will provide aesthetic value for years is deep cleaning a single room in your house, ideally the room you’re in most often. Getting that room pristine will subtly add to your enjoyment of that room for quite a while. This means going the full nine yards - moving everything out, scrubbing the walls, thoroughly cleaning the floor, cleaning all of the items in it, and so forth. When you’re done, the room will feel fresh and new in a very subtle way.
49. Make some homemade greeting/birthday/Christmas cards. All you really need for this is some card stock or some cheap blank cards from your local dollar store, plus some photographs (or a desktop printer). You might also want to have some other creative printed materials on hand - I like to keep old New Yorker covers for purposes like these. Just use pictures and other elements to create unique greeting and holiday cards, then save them for the appropriate occasion. Here are some tips on what to write on the inside.
50. Take a nap. Seriously. Most people do not get adequate sleep during the week. Why not just kick back and take a snooze for an hour or two. It’s the ultimate free energy refreshing technique.
51. Get things done. Almost everyone has a long list of things to do “when they have time.” Use the fact that you’re intentionally spending a money-free weekend to in fact get some of those things done. Clean up the house. Dust the front room. Fix that old toaster. Go through the stuff on the garage loft. At the end of the weekend, you’ll have accomplished something useful, plus your wallet will be fully intact.
52. Dig up your family tree. Take a peek at genealogy.com and see what you can find out about your ancestors. Try to assemble a family tree, and see if you can link to any distant cousins or long-lost family members. Doing this can give you a much clearer picture of your heritage and help you get in touch with your family roots.
53. Sit down with your partner for an afternoon and talk about your goals. Spending some time with your partner discussing goals can go a long way towards getting you both on the same page in your relationship. Find out what your partner wants out of life and what you can do to support it, then share your own desires. Find areas where you’re working in concert towards something bigger. Doing this can only lead to more clarity in your relationship. Here are some tips for getting started.
54. Play Calvinball. You need a ball (or a few balls) and some number of children and some open space. Just kick the ball around (or throw it) and make up rules as you go along. With three or more kids, a game of Calvinball can go on for a good hour with everyone having a good time.
55. Do some puzzles. I enjoy doing both sudoku puzzles and crossword puzzles. You can find a huge number of these puzzles online for free. They’re a great way to stretch your mind a bit at the kitchen table for a half an hour or so, solving a problem with just your intellect.
56. Volunteer your time. There are countless volunteer projects out there that need nothing more than your time. A Saturday spent working for a volunteer cause is a Saturday well spent - it gives you a full day spent making a positive contribution to society, working your body and your mind for the benefit of others, and leaving you at the end of the day knowing you used your gifts to provide for others.
57. Turn on the water sprinkler. This is another great one for family fun with kids. Just run out a hose in the backyard, attach a sprinkler to the end, and turn it on, jetting the water up in the air. Then run around in the water. Lots of fun for the kids - and it can be a ton of fun for the parents, too, if they run through the sprinklers.
Meditation by HaPe_Gera on Flickr!58. Try a basic meditation technique. Meditation is a spectacular way to push stress out of your life and calm yourself. Knowing how to meditate effectively and doing it regularly can be a major part of your stress management, and it costs nothing. Here’s a wonderful basic meditation technique to get you started - there are countless others out there. Try a few and see which ones work well for you.
59. Get involved in an open source programming project. If you’re a computer programmer, there are few more intellectually stimulating ways to get involved in your passion than to be involved in an open source programming project. One role that almost every project can use is a person that is willing to fix mundane and boring bugs - finding that one line of code that’s causing a minor issue and fixing it. Look for a project that’s compelling for you and dig in.
60. Teach yourself a card trick. There are many card tricks out there that rely on knowing a specific pattern, some basic sleight of hand, or some combination of the two. Learning a clever one and mastering how it’s done can be a great way to spend an afternoon, especially since the skill can be used again and again as a party trick. Here’s a great one to learn - it’s really clever and can utterly baffle people.
61. Attend a religious service. Even if you’re not a believer, attending a religious service can be a worthwhile educational experience. I really enjoy attending services of different faiths, as the varieties of religious experience are quite fascinating and incredibly insightful. Plus, most religious services - if you pay careful attention - offer a ton of intellectual food for thought no matter what your beliefs are. A religious service is always a worthwhile experience.
62. Start a workout routine. Most basic exercises - push-ups, sit-ups, jogging, and so forth - require no extra equipment at all. Spend some time doing research into fitness and figuring out a basic workout routine that will work for you, then do the basic “stress tests” you’ll need to do to figure out where you’re at. For example, the one hundred pushups routine is very useful, but you need to couple it with other exercises, such as leg lifts, prone lifts, and jogging. You can also try out the lifetime fitness ladder for a more diverse workout routine.
63. Read a “great” book. By this, I mean a book that genuinely challenges both your beliefs and ideas as well as your language skills. Reading a great book is always a good mental workout. I recommend trying out any of the Pulitzer Prize winning novels or any essential work of philosophy to get started. Try hitting the library and checking out A History of Western Philosophy by Bertrand Russell, The Executioner’s Song by Norman Mailer, Sophie’s Choice by William Styron, or Invisible Man by Ralph Ellison - all of which deeply challenged and moved me. These books are deep, challenging reading - read them slowly and you’ll grow as a person.
64. Go swimming. Almost every town has a community swimming pool or some sort of area where the public can swim - lacking that, go to a state park with a public swimming area. Swimming is wonderfully invigorating and often makes me feel very peaceful - best of all, it’s something you can do for free.
65. Get involved with public access television. If you’ve ever wondered what goes into the process of producing a television show, most communities offer the resources for you to do just that. Stop by your local public access station and see what opportunities are available there. You can usually get involved for free in an ongoing program as an extra hand and learn a great deal about the whole process.
66. Blow bubbles. Just mix one part liquid dish detergent with 15 parts water - one quick way to do this is to just mix 1/4 cup detergent with 3 3/4 cups of water. Use filtered and fairly soft water if you can. Then, take a wire coat hanger, bend and twist it into a small loop or two, and you’re ready to go. Another idea - take tin cans or coffee cans, remove the top and bottom, and hammer down any sharp metal edges, then dip the end in the solution and wave it in the air. Blowing bubbles works even better if you have small children who love to chase them or are just learning to blow them.
67. Start a journal. A journal can be a powerful way to recall the events that happened in your life previously. Getting in the habit of writing the events of the day down at the end of each day is a great way to remember the specifics, plus writing entries on what you’re thinking about now can be the basis of powerful memories and reflections in the future. Plus, it can often be a release from the tensions of the day. All of that for just a pen and an old notebook - a great free way to spend some time.
68. Write a letter to your future children or grandchildren. All of us have some advice or some stories inside of us that we want to someday share with our children, grandchildren, or other loved ones. Take some time to write these things down with the intent of giving them to that person some day. In the event that you pass on, you can be sure that they’ll still receive the things you want to tell them. This can be a very powerful way to consider your feelings and memories as you format them in a way that they can be shared with the ones you care about the most.
69. Make Christmas gifts in advance. If you know already that some people will be on your Christmas list, why not spend some time now making them interesting gifts and saving yourself some money over the long haul? Make them some homemade soap, some homemade hot chocolate mix, and maybe a bottle of homemade beer as a gift. Prepare all of these items, then go ahead and box and wrap them, since they’ll stay good for months. Not only is the gift less expensive than what you’d spend at your local department store, it’s also more thoughtful, and it’ll save you time during the harried Christmas season.
70. Go “coupon scavenging.” If you get the Sunday paper, scavenge the coupons out of it, see if there are any for products you normally buy, and chuck the rest. If you find several coupons, then it might be worthwhile to scavenge. Stop by any friends or neighbors who also get the paper and ask if you can have their flyers when they’re done with them, then clean out the coupons in those, too. For example, if you buy V8 Fusion as the default fruit juice for your kids (it’s far healthier than almost anything else like it you could give them) and you spy a $1 off coupon for a bottle, every coupon you scavenge is like finding a dollar bill, and it costs you nothing.
71. Pick up a musical instrument and learn it. Yes, you can find an instrument for free and learn how to play it for free as well. Just hit Craigslist and Freecycle looking for freebies, then utilize YouTube and other resources for tutorials. Here’s a detailed guide to learning an instrument for free. With a bit of diligence and effort, you can go from nothing at all to being able to play an interesting song on your own instrument for no cost.
72. Plan next year’s summer vacation. Figure out what you want to do in general, then use the internet to find specifics on the area. Do some detailed comparison shopping for travel and even set up alerts for cheap tickets. Gather up all of this research, then have a family meeting about the trip. Not only will this save you a ton of money, it can actually be a lot of fun researching a potential trip and thinking of the enjoyment you might get from it.
73. Hone all of your kitchen knives. I actually consider this to be a lot of fun, so I do it on a very regular basis. If you don’t, it’s an even better idea because your knife blades are likely in very bad shape. All you need is a honing steel - a long piece of somewhat rough steel in the shape of a rod with a handle on the end that probably came with your knife set. Just draw your knife blades along this a few times as shown in this YouTube video. Before you know it, you’ll have much more useful knives for your next kitchen experiment.
74. Pick up (and read) a copy of the town’s free newspaper. Many cities have a free newspaper that you can snag at the grocery store - some cities have quite a few of them. I love them - they’re free reading that keeps me informed about the local area and also lets me know about free upcoming events. Around here, we have several free newspaper options - Toons and Cityview are both well worth reading. Try looking in the front lobby of your local library for your free newspaper, or in the front of your local grocery store.
75. Play with a pet - even one not your own. An hour spent scratching a dog’s belly and playing fetch or frisbee with it is an hour well spent, as can be some time spent curled up petting a cat. Spend some quality time with your pet or with the pet of a neighbor or a friend - every pet loves attention and a bit of exercise and interaction.
76. Go on a wandering walk. Just head out your front door and go in whichever direction looks the most interesting. As long as you have some basic navigational skills, you won’t get lost, and you can turn around or backtrack whenever you get bored or hit a dead end. Along the way, who knows what kind of interesting stuff you might find?
77. Hold a baby. To me, there are few things more enjoyable than holding a very young baby. They smell wonderful, are usually warm and soft, and often drift right off to sleep in your arms. I don’t even mind the crying ones, as some whispering in their ear can usually calm them down. There’s nothing better than sitting all relaxed in a chair with a soft, sweet-smelling newborn in your arms.
78. Exchange massages with your partner. A great massage is incredibly relaxing and enjoyable, but they can also be really expensive. Instead of shelling out the cash, just stay at home and exchange massages for free with your partner. Agree to spend fifteen minutes or a half an hour massaging each other deeply and you’ll find that you’re both quite relaxed and happy - and perhaps ready to try other free and fun activities.
79. Help out an elderly or disabled friend or neighbor. There’s always a person or two in your life that could use a helping hand, but often are too proud to ask. One great way to bridge this gap is to just stop in and visit and pay attention - if they need something, you’ll usually find out. Then just volunteer to do it and get started on the task. Quite often, you’ll find that it’s the simple things that really help - reaching something on a high shelf or managing a simple household task. And that little effort can make all the difference. Few things can make you feel more fulfilled than helping someone you care about in their moment of need.
80. Start a book club - or find one to join. If you like reading and know other friends that enjoy it, too, consider starting a book club with them where you all read the same book for a week then meet to talk about it. It can transform reading from a solitary activity into a more socially oriented one, and with a library at your disposal, it can be a free activity as well.
81. Play a card game. A deck of cards and a few friends is all you need for a fun afternoon. Games like bridge, canasta, pinochle, pitch, euchre, hearts, spades, and 500 are not only intellectually challenging, but are intensely social activities as well, drawing you out to interact with others around you. This is a perfect activity for an afternoon with friends and relatives and it costs basically nothing at all.
82. Have an “entertainment swap” with a friend. This one’s pretty easy. Just have a friend bring over a pile of their own DVDs, CDs, books, video games, etc. that they own that they think you’d like. When they get there, have a big temporary swap - swap them an item for an item. This not only will refresh your media collection for a while, but can provide a great opportunity for you to talk about your interests with a friend.
83. Take a child to a playground - and actually play with the child. Take your own child, or a child of a family member or a friend, to the local park, but instead of just watching the child play, dive in and participate, too. Go down the slide. Swing in the swings. Climb across the monkey bars. Not only will the child adore you for it, you’ll find that playing like that is simply exhilirating - a little taste of childhood all over again.
84. Explore a blog you like. If you’re reading this, you’re probably at least a casual reader of at least one blog. What you might have forgotten, though, is that most worthwhile blogs have tons of useful and entertaining stuff in their archives. Dig deep in the archives of one of your favorite blogs. You can start with The Simple Dollar by visiting the chronology - a listing of all of the articles ever posted here in chronological order - and clicking through to the ones you find interesting. Most popular blogs have a similar feature.
Campaign sign for Margaret Barrett by lordsutch on Flickr!85. Work for a political campaign. Really involved in politics? There are a lot of ways you can work for a campaign from your own home whenever you have the spare time (like during a money free weekend). One great way to do it is to get involved with a phone bank - basically, you call up people to provide information about your candidate of choice. You can do this using the free weekend minutes on your cell phone or by using software provided by the campaign. Just contact the campaign you’re interested in helping.
86. Clean out a closet. We’ve all got spaces in our living areas that accumulate junk, and it’s often a small psychological burden - we dread going in there and digging for something we need. Well, get rid of that burden - clean out a closet in your home. Find out all the stuff that’s in there and get rid of the unimportant items. Not only might you find some interesting things, you’ll feel a lot better about your organization when you’re done.
87. Play Frisbee at the park. Just get a friend (or a pet) and dig that old frisbee out of your closet, then head out to an open field and toss it around. It’s a lot of fun, a great excuse to run around and stretch and jump, and it doesn’t cost a dime.
88. Take a long, soaking bath. Just fill up a tub with warm water, strip down, get in, and relax. I like to do this with a bottle of wine, and I’ve even read a book while doing it. Just stretch out and soak for a while and your stress will melt away - it feels fantastic!
89. Play Desktop Tower Defense … or some other great free online game. There are tons of deeply engrossing and completely free games to play online - Desktop Tower Defense just happens to be one of my favorites. Try Peggle for a very simple action puzzle game, or any of the mountains of free games available at Yahoo! Games, Kongregate, and PopCap.
90. Visit a magazine room. Most libraries have a “magazine room” where you can read all of the latest issues of many popular newspapers and magazines for free. Just grab a few, settle in a comfy chair, and read. Don’t like the library environment? You can usually do the same thing at most bookstores.
91. Attend a dress rehearsal. Many performance groups have dress rehearsals that are open to the public if you call in advance, particularly if you have young children. Give the theater a ring and ask if there are open dress rehearsals for a particular show and then enjoy the show for free! It’s a great way to give your kids a taste of theater without any cost.
92. Attend a free community class. Many institutions and stores offer free classes on the weekends on all sorts of topics. Stop by a local food store and catch a free cooking class, or a hardware store to learn about a home repair topic. Got kids? Try something like the Home Depot Kids Workshop, where they offer free how-to clinics for kids ages five to twelve - these can be a lot of fun (I’ve seen them ongoing when stopping by a Home Depot on a Saturday morning).
93. Donate some unwanted things to charity. If you’ve gone through your stuff but don’t want to have a yard sale, consider giving the stuff to charity. Not only will you have a clean house, you’ll have the good feeling of knowing your items are going to be used by someone who actually needs them, plus you’ll have a pile of receipts to use for tax deductions next April.
94. Discover new music that you like. Download last.fm. It’s a program that allows you to enter the name of your favorite musical artist and generates a radio station for you that plays songs similar to that artist. The songs are selected based on the enormous last.fm database, which collects information on what people listen to in iTunes and sorts it in different ways, finding songs by other artists that are popular among fans of a particular group. Give it a whirl - you’ll be surprised at the good music you’ll find for free.
95. Build a cardboard castle. This is a great one if you have kids. Stop by an appliance store and ask if they have any extra appliance boxes you can get, then flatten them and load up your vehicle. Get home, then use them as pieces in building a giant cardboard castle in your living room or in your back yard. Cut out doors and windows, and attach them together to make rooms. This can be a great afternoon of fun for free!
96. Dig an old video game console out of the closet and play some of your favorites. A lot of families have old video game consoles in the closet - an ancient PlayStation or Super Nintendo, long forgotten about, with a controller and a few games. Dig out that old console and hook it up to a television, then relive some of the memories of the games you used to play for hours. I did this not too long ago and found myself replaying a good chunk of Final Fantasy IX.
97. Do some amateur stargazing. Go outside on a clear evening, preferably away from city lights, and look up at the sky. Use some handy star maps to know what you’re looking at. Spread out some blankets on the ground, lay flat on your back, stare upwards, and realize how magnificent the universe is around you.
98. Go on a hike or a long walk. Go to the local hiking or walking trails and just take off. Let yourself get absorbed into nature and simply enjoy the journey. Go at your own speed - this is for your own personal enjoyment, after all.
99. Take a stab at writing poetry (or other forms of creative writing). The basics of poetry are easier than you might think - just try writing down what’s on your mind. Whatever you’re thinking about, just write it down. That can provide the basics of any poem. Then, just read through the stuff you’ve written down, choose the words that seem beautiful to you, and assemble them until the whole work means something. This can be a deeply enlightening and personal experience, actually, and one that really stirs the creative juices.
100. Go on a bike ride. If you’ve got a bicycle and a helmet in your garage or closet, you already have everything you need for some good exercise and some good fun. Head outside and bike away. Almost every town and every state park around here has an extensive array of bike trails, so you can almost always find somewhere new and interesting to ride, plus it’ll help get you into shape really quick.
Hopefully, this list will provide for a ton of fun money-free weekends. Want some more tips? Here are 100 additional tips for saving money.
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http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/13-things-your-grocer-wont-tell-you/article118923.html
13 Things Your Grocer Won’t Tell You
Get smarter about grocery shopping. These tips could change your family eating habits.
By Adam Bluestein and Lauren Gniazdowski
From Reader’s Digest
Also in this article:
* 18 More Tips From Your Grocer
1. If you hate crowds and lines, shop at dinnertime (5 to 9 p.m.) or even later. Only 4 percent of shoppers hit the aisles between 9 p.m. and 8 a.m. Least-crowded day of the week? Wednesday.
2. Go ahead and reach way back for the fresh milk. Everybody does.
3. Coupons with a bar code are easy to scan. The other ones take an eternity. But if you’re willing to wait …
4. That star fruit has been here a lot longer than the broccoli. Familiar produce turns over more quickly than exotic things.
5. “The more products you see, the more you are likely to buy,” says Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat. “That’s why the aisles are so long and the milk is usually in the far corner.”
6. Like employees with a good attitude? Shop at chains that are employee-owned, suggest customer-satisfaction surveys. When employees have a stake in the profits, it shows in their attitude.
7. The “grazers” order food at the deli, eat it as they’re shopping, and get rid of the wrappers before they check out. We also call that stealing.
8. I’m not just selling groceries, I’m selling real estate. Look high and low-literally-for good values from smaller manufacturers who can’t afford to stock their products in the eye-level sweet spot.
9. We’re marketing to your kids too. That’s why we put the rainbow-colored cereals and other kiddie catnip at their eye level.
10. Be wary of “specials.” When people see signs with numbers-”8 for $10!” “Limit: 5 per customer”—they buy 30 to 100 percent more than they otherwise might have.
11. The baby formula is locked up because thieves resell it on the black market. Ditto for the cough and cold medications, smoking-cessation products, razor blades, and batteries.
12. Driving your Ferrari to the Piggly Wiggly and want to avoid shopping-cart dents? Park far, far away.
13. You’ll end up tossing 12 percent of what you buy.
Sources: Maurice Nizzardo, former supermarket executive in Connecticut; David J. Livingston, an industry consultant; Brian Wansink, author of Mindless Eating; and others. Interviews by Adam Bluestein and Lauren J. Gniazdowski.
Comments :
By saffireph, 02/11/2009, 8:55 AM EST
You obviously know nothing about the grocery industry. Try working with a good grocery chain like Whole Foods or Harris Teeter to come up with a better list than this garbage.
By jnw2009, 02/10/2009, 3:26 AM EST
Awesome advice, I do it every time.
By jnw2009, 02/10/2009, 3:25 AM EST
When grabbing a shopping cart, always ripe down obvious places like the handle, but remember, to wipe where the kid with the diaper has been sitting lid up and down, because the purse or delicate food item may go there next, and you don’t want to bring home some kids invisible mess!
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/18-more-tips-from-your-grocer/article119347.html
18 More Tips From Your Grocer
Get smarter at the supermarket with these tips from grocers.
From Reader’s Digest
Also in this article:
* 13 Things Your Grocer Won’t Tell You
1. “Don’t buy anything with more than five ingredients (too processed), with ingredients you can’t pronounce (too processed), with anything artificial (tastes bad), with a cartoon on it (direct marketing to children), or with a health claim (misleading),” says Nestle.
2. Check sizes. “Stores are constantly trying to repackage things to make them sound like better deal,” says David Livingston, a supermarket industry consultant. “The new Jiffy peanut butter container looks the same, but it actually has less peanut butter inside. Ninety-five percent of customers don’t watch this kind of stuff.”
3. Paper? Plastic? We don’t really care. But asking us to double-bag…that’s just wasteful.
4. Dig and reach for the freshest produce. Older merchandise gets pushed to the front of the bin and spread across the top to encourage customers to take it first.
5. This isn’t a social service agency. “The purpose of grocery stores is to get you to buy more food, not less,” says Marion Nestle, author of What to Eat (North Point Press). Only 14% of consumers overall stick to just the items on their shopping list.
6. Very few people really like the “loyalty card” program, and it’s expensive for us to run.
7. The kid at the cash register or the cart collector in the parking lot is making minimum wage at best. The buyers for the store and department managers earn bigger paychecks.
8. Attention, shoppers: Don’t start your shopping just as we’re closing. We just want to leave. It’s been a long day.
9. Watch out for gimmicks. They are intended to get you into a store more frequently and to keep you away from competitors.
10. The person who supervises it all has a tough job; they’re just a big babysitter.
11. Thanksgiving is our least favorite holiday.
12. Bring back your recyclable cans and bottles, but wash them out first. Don’t bring them in with soda still inside—it’s not sanitary, and it’s disgusting.
13. Dealing with perishables, such as seafood and produce, is tricky business. “I always say we have to have everything that the customer wants, but maybe they don’t want it today. Maybe they don’t want it tomorrow. But we still have to have it here,” says Nizzardo. “Perishable items are where supermarkets loose the biggest amount of money.”
14. Signs of a store in trouble: Stocking fewer perishable items, storing non-perishables in refrigerated cases to make them look full, and “dummying up” shelves with empty boxes. If we were offering the best prices and highest quality, wouldn’t there be more people shopping here?
15. I’m not getting rich here. After-tax net profit for the grocery industry is less than 2 percent, and by the end of 2013, the Food Marketing Institute, an industry group, predicts annual average wages will be just $18,000.
16. If you get in the 10 items or less line with 25 items, don’t be surprised if you are asked to leave. If you have 12 items, not many people will care.
17. Watch those shopping-cart handles. They’re covered in bacteria, says food-safety consultant Jeff Nelken. Use a sanitary wipe if the store provides them. Finicky shoppers can even patronize supermarkets that send their carts through a cart wash.
18. Skip the center aisles. That’s where you’ll find the junk food, like sodas and snack foods.
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/13-secrets-from-your-pharmacist-/article98501.html
13 Things Your Pharmacist Won’t Tell You
What to bear in mind the next time you visit the pharmacy counter.
From Reader’s Digest
1. Don’t try to get anything past us. Prescriptions for painkillers or sleeping aids always get extra scrutiny.
2. We’re not serving fries in here. I’d think twice about using a drive-through pharmacy. Working there distracts us-not a good thing when it comes to pharmaceuticals.
3. We’re human … and we make mistakes (about two million a year). Ask if we use a bar-code system to help keep us from pulling the wrong drug off the shelf or giving the wrong strength of the right drug.
4. Sometimes we can’t read the doctor’s handwriting either. E-prescribing can help, but as of 2006, fewer than 20 percent of prescriptions were being electronically transmitted.
5. I hate your insurance company as much as you do. “Even if something’s working for you, the insurance company may insist you switch to something else,” says pharmacy owner Stuart Feldman.”I’m stuck in the middle trying to explain this to customers.”
6. We can give flu shots in most states.
7. A less-qualified pharmacy technician may have actually filled your prescription. Currently, there is no national standard for their training and responsibilities.
8. Generics are a close match for most brand names. But I’d be careful with blood thinners and thyroid drugs, since small differences can have big effects.
9. I can give you a generic refill that’s different from the one you started with. When in doubt, ask. Online resources like cvs.com let you double-check your pill.
10. We’re not mind readers, and there’s not some big computer database that tracks your drugs and flags interactions for pharmacists everywhere. Use one pharmacy. If you start using a new one, make sure we know what you’re taking.
11. Avoid the lines. It gets busy Monday and Tuesday evenings, since many new prescriptions and refills come in after the weekend.
12. Look into the $4 generics offered by chains like Target, Kroger, and Wal-Mart. And it can’t hurt to ask your pharmacy if it will match the price.
13. Yelling at me won’t help. If I can’t reach your doctor and/or insurance company to approve a refill, there’s nothing I can do about it. “It’s frustrating,” says pharmacist Daniel Zlott, “but I’d be breaking the law in some states if I gave it to you.”
Sources:
Dr. Daniel Zlott, oncology pharmacist, National Institutes of Health; Cindy Coffey, PharmD; Greg Collins, pharmacy supervisor, CVS/pharmacy, California; Stuart Feldman, owner, Cross River Pharmacy, New York
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/9-more-things-your-pharmacist-isnt-telling-you/article99245.html
9 More Things Your Pharmacist Isn’t Telling You
More secrets from behind the drug counter.
1. Don’t put up with the silent treatment. Pharmacists are required by law in most states to counsel patients and answer their questions. If your pharmacist seems too busy to do talk with you, take your business someplace else.
2. An over-the-counter version might do the trick. You may just need to take more pills and forgo insurance reimbursement. But always talk to your pharmacist, and do the math.
3. Ask about over-the-counter drugs. “People assume that if it’s over-the-counter, it’s safe,” says Daniel Zlott, a pharmacist at the National Institutes of Health. “I’ve seen serious complications.”
4. Go ahead and call me doctor (I’m just not that kind of doctor). Since mid-2004, pharmacy students must pursue a doctorate in pharmacy (Pharm.D) in order to be licensed. Pharmacists licensed before then must have at least a Bachelor of Pharmacy and pass a series of exams. Either way, your pharmacist has spent more time studying drugs than even your doctor has.
5. Open up a little. “The better I know you as a patient—your health history, your family, and how busy your life is—the better I can tailor medications to fit your lifestyle,” says Zlott. “You may not want to take a drug three times a day, for example, and I’ll know that if I know you.”
6. “People take too many drugs, definitely,” says Stuart Feldman. Two out of every three patients who visit a doctor leave with at least one prescription for medication, according to the Institute for Safe Medication Practices. “Drugs are an easy solution,” says Feldman, “but there are other solutions.”
7. Talk to me—and check my work. Half the prescriptions taken in the U.S. each year are used improperly, and 96 percent of patients nationwide don’t ask questions about how to use their medications. When you pick up your prescription, at a minimum, ask, What is this drug? What does it do? Why am I taking it? What are possible side effects? and How should I take it? Not only does this help you to use the drug correctly; it’s also a good way to double-check that you’re getting the right drug.
8. We’ll save you money if we can. “A good part of a pharmacist’s time is spent dealing with patients and their incomes,” says pharmacist Cindy Coffey. Part of that is suggesting generic or OTC alternatives. Or if a doctor has prescribed a newer drug with no generic alternative available, says Zlott, “I might call the doctor to suggest an older drug that’s equally effective.”
9. “Some pharmacies are so volume-driven that the pharmacist can’t look up all day,” says pharmacist Cindy Coffey. There were a record 3.8 billion prescriptions filled in the U.S. in 2007—a 13 percent increase from 2003.
13 More Secrets from Your Pharmacist
Comments :
By vineyardrx, 10/17/2008, 10:07 PM EDT
I have been a practicing Pharmacist for 36 years. I would like to add that we are not serving fast food. Please understand that this is your health we are dealing with. People need to understand that it takes time to accurately process and fill your prescription.
By CPhTinOREGON, 10/02/2008, 1:32 PM EDT
I am a Nationally Certified Pharmacy Technician and I am offended by the comment :” A less-qualified pharmacy technician may have actually filled your prescription”. First of all I have worked very hard to become Nationally Certified and I take my job VERY seriously. And second that statement implies that a Pharmacist does not check my work. Which of course is FALSE! I think you are generating unjust fear in the general public. CHECK YOUR FACTS!!
By OneHotRxMama, 09/19/2008, 10:44 AM EDT
I have been practicing Pharmacy for 30 years and I understand that life, and people, are busier now. I think the last comment is probably exactly what I was going to say. Our favorite expressions in the pharmacy are “lack of planning on your part is NOT an emergency on mine” and “help me help you”. Read your labels and call with questions - there are no stupid ones, but we need people to take personal responsibility. We will do everything we can to help but please don’t shoot the messenger!
By Rxforever, 09/11/2008, 3:29 PM EDT
Finally! There is one thing I would like to add to this. People need to take some responsibility for their health care. All prescription labels have the number of refills on them and the date the prescription will expire. If you wait till you’ve run out of medication the day before, have no refills or the prescription is expired AND it’s friday at 6PM, I will be able to do little for you. Yes, I will try, but don’t get mad at me if no one answers my phone call. This is all too common.
http://www.rd.com/living-healthy/41-secrets-for-your-next-doctor-visit/article75920.html
41 Secrets Your Doctor Would Never Share
Those free medication samples may not be the best — or safest.
By Cynthia Dermody & Patricia Curtis
From Reader’s Digest
If You Only Knew ...
Reader’s Digest offered two dozen doctors a chance to tell it like it really is, and general practitioners, surgeons, shrinks, pediatricians, and other specialists took the challenge. Some wanted to be anonymous; some didn’t care. But all of them revealed funny, frightening, and downright shocking things that can help you be a better, smarter patient.
We’re Impatient
• I am utterly tired of being your mother. Every time I see you, I have to say the obligatory “You need to lose some weight.” But you swear you “don’t eat anything” or “the weight just doesn’t come off,” and the subject is dropped. Then you come in here complaining about your knees hurting, your back is killing you, your feet ache, and you can’t breathe when you walk up half a flight of stairs. So I’m supposed to hold your hand and talk you into backing away from that box of Twinkies. Boy, do I get tired of repeating the stuff most patients just don’t listen to.
—Cardiologist, Brooklyn, New York
• I was told in school to put a patient in a gown when he isn’t listening or cooperating. It casts him in a position of subservience.
—Chiropractor, Atlanta
• Thank you for bringing in a sample of your (stool, urine, etc.) from home. I’ll put it in my personal collection of things that really gross me out.
—Douglas Farrago, MD, editor, Placebo Journal
• One of the things that bug me is people who leave their cell phones on. I’m running on a very tight schedule, and I want to spend as much time with patients as I possibly can. Use that time to get the information and the process you need. Please don’t answer the cell.
—James Dillard, MD, pain specialist, New York City
• I wish patients would take more responsibility for their own health and stop relying on me to bail them out of their own problems.
—ER physician, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• So let me get this straight: You want a referral to three specialists, an MRI, the medication you saw on TV, and an extra hour for this visit. Gotcha. Do you want fries with that?
—Douglas Farrago, MD
• I used to have my secretary page me after I had spent five minutes in the room with a difficult or overly chatty patient. Then I’d run out, saying, “Oh, I have an emergency.”
—Oncologist, Santa Cruz, California
• Many patients assume that female physicians are nurses or therapists. I can’t tell you how often I’ve introduced myself as Dr. M. and then been called a nurse, therapist, or aide and asked to fetch coffee or perform other similar tasks. I have great respect for our nurses and other ancillary personnel and the work they do, but this doesn’t seem to happen to my male colleagues.
—Physical medicine and rehabilitation doctor, Royal Oak, Michigan
• The most unsettling thing for a physician is when the patient doesn’t trust you or believe you.
—Obstetrician-gynecologist, New York City
• It really bugs me when people come to the ER for fairly trivial things that could be dealt with at home.
—ER physician, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Your doctor generally knows more than a website. I have patients with whom I spend enormous amounts of time, explaining things and coming up with a treatment strategy. Then I get e-mails a few days later, saying they were looking at this website that says something completely different and wacky, and they want to do that. To which I want to say (but I don’t), “So why don’t you get the website to take over your care?”
—James Dillard, MD
• I know that Reader’s Digest recommends bringing in a complete list of all your symptoms, but every time you do, it only reinforces my desire to quit this profession.
—Douglas Farrago, MD
Pills, Pills, Pills
• Sometimes it’s easier for a doctor to write a prescription for a medicine than to explain why the patient doesn’t need it.
—Cardiologist, Bangor, Maine
• Those so-called free medication samples of the newest and most expensive drugs may not be the best or safest.
—Internist, Philadelphia
• Taking psychiatric drugs affects your insurability. If you take Prozac, it may be harder and more expensive for you to get life insurance, health insurance, or long-term-care insurance.
—Daniel Amen, MD, psychiatrist, Newport Beach, California
• Ninety-four percent of doctors take gifts from drug companies, even though research has shown that these gifts bias our clinical decision making.
—Internist, Rochester, Minnesota
Bills, Bills, Bills
• Doctors respond to market forces. If the reimbursement system is fee-for-service, that results in more services. If you build a new CT scan, someone will use it, even though having a procedure you don’t need is never a good thing.
—Family physician, Washington, D.C.
• I really do know why you’re bringing your husband and three kids, all of whom are also sick, with you today. No, they are not getting free care.
—Douglas Farrago, MD
• Doctors get paid each time they visit their patients in the hospital, so if you’re there for seven days rather than five, they can bill for seven visits. The hospital often gets paid only for the diagnosis code, whether you’re in there for two days or ten.
—Evan S. Levine, MD
• Twenty years ago, when I started my practice, my ear, nose, and throat procedures financially supported my facial plastic surgery practice. Today, my cosmetic practice is the only thing that allows me to continue to do ear, nose, and throat procedures, which barely cover my overhead.
—Ear, nose, throat, and facial plastic surgeon, Dallas/Fort Worth
Free Advice
• Avoid Friday afternoon surgery. The day after surgery is when most problems happen. If the next day is Saturday, you’re flying by yourself without a safety net, because the units are understaffed and ERs are overwhelmed because doctors’ offices are closed.
—Heart surgeon, New York City
• In many hospitals, the length of the white coat is related to the length of training. Medical students wear the shortest coats.
—Pediatrician, Baltimore
• Often the biggest names, the department chairmen, are not the best clinicians, because they spend most of their time being administrators. They no longer primarily focus on taking care of patients.
—Heart surgeon, New York City
The Darker Side
• It saddens me that my lifelong enjoyment and enthusiasm for medicine has all but died. I have watched reimbursement shrink, while overhead has more than doubled. I’ve been forced to take on more patients. I work 12- to 14-hour days and come in on weekends. It’s still the most amazing job in the world, but I am exhausted all the time.
—Vance Harris, MD, family physician, Redding, California
• In many ways, doctors are held to an unrealistic standard. We are never, ever allowed to make a mistake. I don’t know anybody who can live that way.
—James Dillard, MD
• Not a day goes by when I don’t think about the potential for being sued. It makes me give patients a lot of unnecessary tests that are potentially harmful, just so I don’t miss an injury or problem that comes back to haunt me in the form of a lawsuit.
—ER physician, Colorado Springs, Colorado
• Doctors often make patients wait while they listen to sales pitches from drug reps.
—Cardiologist, Bangor, Maine
• It’s pretty common for doctors to talk about their patients and make judgments, particularly about their appearance.
—Family physician, Washington, D.C.
• Everyone thinks all doctors know one another. But when we refer you to specialists, we often have no idea who those people are. Generally, we only know that they accept your insurance plan.
—Pediatrician, Hartsdale, New York
• In most branches of medicine, we deal more commonly with old people. So we become much more enthusiastic when a young person comes along. We have more in common with and are more attracted to him or her. Doctors have a limited amount of time, so the younger and more attractive you are, the more likely you are to get more of our time.
—Family physician, Washington, D.C.
• Plan for a time when the bulk of your medical care will come from less committed doctors willing to work for much lower wages. Plan for a very impersonal and rushed visit during which the true nature of your problems will probably never be addressed and issues just under the surface will never be uncovered.
—Vance Harris, MD
• At least a third of what doctors decide is fairly arbitrary.
—Heart surgeon, New York City
• Doctors are only interested in whether they are inconvenienced — most don’t care if you have to wait for them.
—Family physician, Washington, D.C.
The Sensitive Side
• When a parent asks me what the cause of her child’s fever could be, I just say it’s probably a virus. If I told the truth and ran through the long list of all the other possible causes, including cancer, you’d never stop crying. It’s just too overwhelming.
—Pediatrician, Hartsdale, New York
• Most of us haven’t been to see our own physicians in five years.
—Physical medicine specialist, Royal Oak, Michigan
• When a doctor tells you to lose 15 to 20 pounds, what he really means is you need to lose 50.
—Tamara Merritt, DO, family physician, Brewster, Washington
• If a sick patient comes to me with a really sad story and asks for a discount, I take care of him or her for no charge.
—Surgeon, Dallas/Fort Worth
• Though we don’t cry in front of you, we sometimes do cry about your situation at home.
—Pediatrician, Chicago
Shocking Stats
60% of doctors don’t follow hand-washing guidelines.
Source: CDC Morbidity and Mortality Weekly Report
96% of doctors agree they should report impaired or incompetent colleagues or those who make serious mistakes, but ...
46% of them admit to having turned a blind eye at least once.
Source: Annals of Internal Medicine
94% of doctors have accepted some kind of freebie from a drug company.
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
44% of doctors admit they’re overweight.
Source: Nutrition & Food Science; Minnesota Medicine
58% would give adolescents contraceptives without parental consent.
Source: New England Journal of Medicine
Anatomy of a Doctor’s Bill
Just how much of the $100 your doctor charges for taking 30 minutes to investigate your stomach pain goes into his pocket? After paying the bills, he gets less than half. The breakdown, according to Robert Lowes, senior editor at Medical Economics:
$3.50 for malpractice insurance
$3.50 for equipment, repairs, and maintenance
$6 for supplies, including gowns, tongue depressors, and copy paper
$7 for rent and utilities
$11 for office expenses, such as telephones, accounting fees, advertising, medical journals, licenses, and taxes
$28 for secretary, office manager, and medical assistant salaries and benefits
$41 Amount that goes into the doctor’s paycheck
Over the course of a year, that adds up to $155,000, the annual salary of the average family physician. That number rose just 3.3% between 2002 and 2006, while expenses increased nearly 25% over the same period.
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Stir Fried Broccoli and Romaine
Ingredients
* 1/2 bunch broccoli
* 1 medium head romaine lettuce
* 4 slices bacon
* 1 tsp. salt
* 1 tsp. sugar
* 1/4 cup water
Directions
About 20 minutes before serving, remove any large leaves from broccoli and trim ends if stalks are tough or woody and cut into 2x1/2 inch pieces. Tear romaine into bite size pieces; set aside. In pan over medium heat, fry bacon slices, diced, just until crisp. Add broccoli, stir quickly and frequently (stir-fry) until pieces are coated with bacon drippings. Add water, cover and cook 4 minutes. Uncover and add romaine, salt and sugar. Stir-fry 3 minutes more or until vegetables are tender crisp. Serves 6.
By Robin from Washington, IA
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© 1997-2009 ThriftyFun.com
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Broccoli Ham Chowder
Ingredients
* 1 lb. broccoli
* 1 1/2 cups chicken broth
* 3 cups milk
* 1 cup cubed cooked ham
* 1/4 tsp. salt
* 1/8 tsp. black pepper
* 1/2 cup half and half or milk
* 2 Tbsp. butter or margarine
* 1 cup shredded Swiss or cheddar cheese
Directions
Trim the leaves and coarse stems from the broccoli, and cut the stems and florets into bite-size pieces. Meanwhile, bring the chicken broth to a boil in a 3-quart saucepan. Add the broccoli and cook, uncovered, for 5 minutes, or until the broccoli is crisp tender. Using a slotted spoon, remove the broccoli from the saucepan, chop coarsely, and set aside.
Add the milk, ham, salt, and pepper to the broth, bring to a boil, then stir in the half and half, butter and the broccoli. Heat until the soup returns to a simmer. Top each serving with 1/4 cup of the cheese.
Source: United Church Cookbook
By Raymonde from North Bay, Ontario
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Bread Bowls for Chili or Chowder
It is Chili and Chowder time. Here is a good recipe to make when friends are getting together.
* 2 packages yeast
* 1/2 cups warm water
* 1 tsp. sugar
Combine these 3 ingredients in a small bowl and set aside to “proof”. It should “grow” in the bowl which means it will foam up and begin to fill the bowl.
Meanwhile, combine these ingredients in a bowl large enough to add the flour*.
* 2 cups warm water
* 2 tsp. salt
* 2 Tbsp. vegetable oil
Add the yeast mixture and stir .
* Approximately 7 cups all-purpose flour
Then add half the flour and stir well. Stir remaining flour in 1/2 cup at a time until the dough pulls together and loses some of its stickiness.
Turn it out onto a lightly floured surface and knead until smooth and elastic, about 6-10 minutes. Add flour a little at a time to sticky spots as you knead it. Wash your bowl out, dry it and lightly oil it. Place the dough in the bowl and turn it once to coat with the oil. Cover with a cloth and let rise in a warm place until doubled in volume, about 40 minutes.
Punch dough down, and divide into 8 equal portions. Shape each portion into a 4 inch round loaf. Place loaves on lightly greased baking sheets sprinkled with 1 Tbsp. cornmeal. Cover and let rise in a warm place, free from drafts, until doubled in bulk, about 35 minutes.
Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Make an egg wash of 1 egg white and 1 cup of water. Lightly brush the loaves with half the egg wash. Bake for 15 minutes. Brush with remaining egg wash and bake 10-15 minutes longer or until golden brown. Cool on wire racks
To make bowls: Cut a 1/2 inch thick slice from the top of each loaf and scoop out the centers, leaving 3/4 inch shells. Fill bread bowls with your favorite chili or chowder and serve immediately.
Source: I found this on the internet somewhere a few years ago after we had eaten chili served this way in a little diner in Utah.
By Harlean from Hot Springs, Arkansas
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What are Chili Peppers?
Hot peppers (chilies) are often used to spice up dishes, and they are especially popular in ethnic cuisine including Mexican, Indian, Thai, Vietnamese, Arab and Spanish cooking. Chilies are an excellent source of vitamin C if you can withstand their powerful bite.
Contrary to popular belief, the hottest part of the chili pepper is not the seeds but where the seed attaches to the white membrane inside the pepper. This area has the highest concentration of capsaicinoids. Capsaicinoids are flavorless, odorless substances that act on pain receptors in the mouth and throat. Capsaicin is the primary capsaicinoid. Capsaicinoids can be found throughout the flesh of chili peppers though their concentration varies in different areas so that one part of a pepper may be hot and another part of the same pepper quite mild.
The seeds are often hot because they are in such close contact with the white membrane.
There are several varieties of chili peppers (see box below) and each differs in flavor and heat intensity. Even within each variety, there may differences in how “hot” each particular chili is. Typically, larger chilies are more mild because they contain less seeds and white membrane in proportion to their size. Most varieties can be found dried, canned, or fresh.
Varieties:
* Anaheim (California Green Chile or Long Green Chile)
* Ancho
* Cascabel
* Cayenne (Long Hots)
* Cherry
* Habanero (Scotch Bonnet)
* Hungarian
* Jalapeno
* Poblano
* Serrano
Availability, Selection, and Storage
Chili peppers are available year round and in the United States they are grown in California, New Mexico and Texas. When selecting chilies, look for firm, glossy chilies with taut, unwrinkled skin and fresh green stems. Dried hot peppers should be glossy yet unbroken.
Chilies should be stored unwashed and wrapped in paper towels in the refrigerator for up to three weeks. Dried chilies should be stored in airtight containers at room temperature for a maximum of four months. To keep dried chilies for more than four months, store them in the refrigerator.
Related: Preparing Chilies
Nutritional Information
Serving Size: 46g
Amount Per Serving % Daily Value
Calories 10
Calories from Fat 0g
Total Fat 0g 0%
Saturated Fat 0g 0%
Cholesterol 0mg 0%
Sodium 50mg 2%
Total Carbohydrate 2g 1%
Dietary Fiber 2g 8%
Sugars 1g
Protein 1g
Vitamin A 4%
Vitamin C 60%
Calcium 2%
Iron 2%
* Percent Daily Values are based on a 2,000 calorie diet.
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Growing vegetables and chili tips
By Gary Guzman
* Choose a good location. Preferably a west location as this side will have plenty of sun. Most vegetables like lots of sunlight. Especially green chili peppers, japapenos and other southwestern chili’s
* Vegetables and Chili plants love the long southwestern sunshine which is ideal for productive and abundant crop.
* Rototill the land or at least dig up the soil with a shovel to loosen the dirt/soil.
* Clear the spot or location of any large rocks, grass or weeds that may be in the area.
* Choose a good vegetable fertilizer and apply it over the soil.
* Chili or peppers do NOT like cooler temperatures. Plant them when temperatures are consistently above 50 degrees fahrenheit during the night.
* A good fertilizer will have the following nurtients: Nitrogen (N), Phosphorus (P), and Potassium (K) are the three nutrients of concern to most gardeners. Calcium (Ca) and magnesium (Mg) are also needed. A good fertilizer will have a 4-10-6 mixture. Apply about 2 tablespoons per 50 sq ft.
* Consider growing vegetables and chili seeds that are suitable for your area. Call your local Nursery for information on what will grow well in your area. Many nurseries have vegetables and chili already planted as seedlings. These type of plants will do better for the novice gardener since they are already set to plant and grow!
* Remember its YOUR garden decide if you want vegetables seeds or grown container plants?
* Water is essential to your vegetable garden. Use a good Drip System or water by hose on a daily basis especially in the desert southwest. About 1.5” of water per week should do.
* Vegetables like low acid PH levels in the soil. You can always amend the soil with nutrients at a later date.
* Weeds will suck up all the nutrients from the soil. So remember to pull out all weeds whenever possible.
* Do NOT over water or have standing water over a long period of time. Overwatering is just as bad as little or no water!
* Try to buy tomatoes and chili that are resistant to “VFN”. What is “VFN”? Following is what this means: V=Verticillium F=Fusarium, and N=nematodes. These are fungii that causes plants to wilt.
* The above tips are normally for USDA zones: 7b-8a
About The Author:
Gary Guzman is the author of the above article: You can read it online at: http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com/vegetabletips.htm";>http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com/vegetabletips.htm Or visit his website at: http://www.guzmansgreenhouse.com
Gary Guzman has free valuable information on southwestern gardening.If you have any questions regarding gardening in general. email him at: gary@guzmansgreenhouse.com
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When Should I Pick My Chili Peppers?
Question:
I am growing Santa Fe green chili peppers, they are about 8 inches long, but not sure if ready to pick? How do I know when to pick? Once picked how do I remove skin, for cooking. I know its tough skin, most say grill or broil, is there any other way?
Hardiness Zone: 6-7
Thank you,
Judy from Grand Junction, CO
Answer:
Judy,
Your peppers are ready for harvest when the pods are a glossy green color and they feel firm when you squeeze them (usually August). If you leave a few pods on your plants until September, you’ll be able to harvest some red ones. To remove your chilies from the plant, use a sharp knife of scissors and cut them off leaving them with at least 1 inch of stem. You can tie the stems together for drying and ground the dried pods into powders for sauces. The best way to remove the tough outer skins is by blistering or roasting them on a grill (do this outdoors!). Simply place them on a hot grill and turn them until all sides get evenly blistered. Try to avoid letting them get too black in one spot. If you want crisper chilies, plunge them into an icy bath immediately after blistering before peeling them. For softer, more thoroughly cooked chilies, remove them from the grill and seal them in plastic bags or place them in a covered pan with a damp cloth for 10-15 minutes and allow them to continue steam cooking. Make sure you wear gloves and protect your eyes before peeling off the skins. Peeling the skins is easiest if you start from the stemmed end of the chili and use a small paring knife to remove areas of skin that stay attached to the flesh. You can blister chilies in an oven using your broiler setting, but make sure you have some fantastic ventilation going! A small propane torch and a pair of tongs will work fine, too.
Ellen
About The Author:
Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
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© 1997-2009 ThriftyFun.com
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Drying Peppers
I’m from the south and this was new to me, here you learn to eat Mexican food. Hatch is the most popular place for growing chili peppers. While driving through Hatch one day we took this picture of a way they dry the peppers by putting them on the roof. When the peppers are ready you will know it because the places will begin to roast peppers for freezing.
Drying Peppers on the Roof
By Pat from Turnage
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Growing Monster Vegetables
By Ellen Brown
Have you ever wondered how people grow those gigantic vegetables that you see at the county fair? You’ve seen them-the scale crushing pumpkins that weigh in at 1,000 pounds, the 6 pound carrots and the cabbage heads twice the size of basketballs. Growing these giant beauties isn’t as hard as you might think. If you want to impress your neighbors by having the biggest veggies on the block, here are a few tricks that will get you BIG results.
Select Giant Varieties
Planting seeds of a large-fruited variety will get you large fruits (under the ideal conditions). Sure, there are ways to coax those standard-sized corn stalks to grow taller than usual, but you’ll never reach the really BIG leagues unless you start with the proper seeds. When selecting seeds, look for the words “large,” “big,” “giant” or “mammoth” in the name or description. Those are the varieties of seeds genetically programmed to give you monster results.
Cultivate Growth Carefully
Make sure you remove any obstacles that could prevent your plants from optimal growth. Protect them from frost, weather extremes and damage from pests. Even a day or two of stress can put a temporary halt to growth while the plant waits for better conditions. This is especially true when it comes to a lack of water. Always keep the soil evenly moist during the growing periods. Stress-free plants are more likely to reach their potential if they can focus solely on growth. As the plants get bigger, you’ll need to give them extra support to keep from becoming damaged from moisture or from the weight of their fruit.
Feed Them Well
Start with fertile soil that contains the nutrient requirements the plants need. Have your soil tested and amend it with good quality organic nutrients as necessary. Pay attention to the pH. Most garden vegetables grow best in soil with a pH of 6.0 to 6.5. As most plants grow, they remove nutrients from the soil. Keep the soil fertile with a regular regime of water and organic fertilizer.
Feed Them Often
As soon as you see your plants heading into a growth spurt, start a weekly feeding regime of compost tea, fish emulsion or another type of organic fertilizer. You can also side-dress plants with compost or rotted manure to ensure roots get a steady supply of soluble nutrients every time it rains. Genetically gifted plants are voracious eaters and you’ll need to feed them more frequently than the rest of the garden.
Growing Monster Vegetables
Once you grow a few of these epic vegetables you’ll be hooked-and you’ll have the BIGGEST vegetables on the block.
Save Only the Best for Biggest
This isn’t the way to bigger yields, but it’s the only way to bigger fruits. You’ll need to remove most of the fruits growing on each plant so all of the energy goes to those that are left. The fewer fruits on each plant, the bigger each will grow. After the plant flowers and fruit starts to grow, deadhead any blooms to prevent new fruit from growing.
Most vegetables are available in “giant” varieties including eggplants, cabbage, watermelon, sunflowers, peppers, pumpkins, squash, tomatoes, carrots, radishes, okra, onions, corn and cantaloupe. Once you grow a few of these epic vegetables you’ll be hooked-and you’ll have the BIGGEST vegetables on the block.
About The Author:
Ellen Brown is our Green Living and Gardening Expert. Click here to ask Ellen a question! Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
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Growing Fruits and Vegetables in Containers
By Kim Noblin
If you thought containers were only for flowers, think again! You could be enjoying fresh fruits and vegetables grown on your porch or patio in containers and hanging baskets. Here are a few ideas to get you started:
1. Strawberries
Strawberries are easily grown in containers. Plant them in barrels, tubs, hanging baskets or strawberry jars. Plant in early spring and place them where they will get at least 6 hours of sun each day. When the season is over, don’t toss them out. They can be overwintered by covering with straw or move the container into your garage or basement. The next year’s harvest will be bigger and better.
2. Tomatoes
Who doesn’t love the taste of home-grown tomatoes? Plant tomatoes in a container that is a least 16” deep and 20” wide. Be sure to stake or cage the plants to encourage a high yield and to keep them from flopping over.
3. Carrots
Carrots and other root vegetables will grow well in containers as long as the pot is deep enough. Be sure to choose a container that is twice as deep as the length of the carrot at maturity.
4. Salad Greens
Arugula, endive, leaf lettuce, and mustard are great choices for containers. Imagine being able to open your door and harvest fresh salad greens! Keep soil moist and be sure to fertilize every two weeks with a liquid fertilizer at half strength. You should be able to get four or five cuttings from each plant. Replace mature plants with new ones to keep your salad supply growing.
5. Herbs
Herbs are easy to grow in almost any type of container. Suggested herbs are: basil, chives, cilantro, dill, margoram, mint, oregano, parsley, rosemary, sage, tarragon, and thyme. Harvest as soon as there are a fair amount of leaves on the young plants. Cut off leaves as you need them, but never cut more than a third of the foliage at any one time. Constant trimming of the leaves for use in your kitchen will help keep the plants bushy and productive. Many herbs are perennials and can be overwintered by moving the container into your garage or basement.
Take good care of your container grown vegetables and fruits by providing plenty of water, sun, and fertilizer as needed. You’ll enjoy the fruits of your labor all season long!
About The Author:
Copyright © 2004, Kim Noblin - Kim Noblin is the editor of HerWorldOnline.com an online magazine with articles and ideas for everyday living.
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© 1997-2009 ThriftyFun.com
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An Introduction to Container Gardening
By Ellen Brown
If your ability to garden is limited by a lack of space, a lack of accessibility or poor quality soil, then consider container gardening. All you need is a selection of plants, a few containers, the proper growing medium, and a sunny window, balcony or porch and you’re on your way to an excellent crop of vegetables or flowers.
Choosing Your Crops
The varieties of vegetables, flowers and herbs that thrive well in containers are nearly limitless. Vertical “climbers” like bush beans, peas, cucumbers and tomatoes adapt to container conditions easily. Vegetables like lettuce, eggplants, onions, carrots, peppers, potatoes-even corn and squash work well, too. In general, small, quick maturing crops perform best, as do compact varieties of normally large plants like cabbage and melons.
A Good Growing Medium is Key
The success of container grown plants is highly dependant on the quality of growing medium provided for them. Both air and water are needed to support proper root growth so container soil should be somewhat porous. The soils typically used in gardens tend to be too heavy for container gardening. They compact easily and don’t offer good drainage. A packaged lightweight potting mix works well. Some of these are slightly acidic so amendments may be needed. There are also soil-less potting mixes available designed specifically to deter insects and soil-borne diseases. If you purchase mix, avoid those containing peat moss. Look for substitute ingredients like coir or bark products. The impacts from extracting peat have become a real environmental concern. You can also make your own growing mix out of equal parts sharp sand, loamy garden soil and compost.
Types of Containers
Containers can be purchased, built or recycled from items found around the house or garage. The most important consideration is choosing containers that best accommodate your plants. Onions and radishes will grow fine in aluminum cake pans. Root plants, like carrots, need a deeper container.
Plastic containers are lighter weight, but can become brittle in cold temperatures. Terra Cotta containers are wonderfully porous and beautiful to look at, but are heavy, break easily and tend to dry out more quickly. Wooden containers made from Cedar or Redwood are more naturally rot-resistant than other woods. Metal containers heat up rapidly which can cause root damage, so consider using a clay or plastic pot as a liner. Other things to consider are color and drainage. Dark colored containers absorb more heat, sometimes too much, which can damage plant roots and make it difficult for them to thrive.
Make sure all your containers have adequate drainage on the bottom or sides near the bottom. Place them on brick feet or place a saucer under them to catch excess drainage or consider setting them on castors (before filling with heavy dirt!) to keep them easy to move.
The Care & Feeding of Container Plants
Watering: Plants growing in containers dry out more quickly and need frequent watering. Because their roots can’t dig deeper to find moisture, they need constant attention. Check them daily in warm temperatures and give them water until you see it draining from the bottom of the container. Keep newly sown seeds and transplants moist and water older plants when the top inch of soil becomes dry. Mulch containers with grass or gravel pebbles to reduce moisture loss between watering.
Fertilizing: It’s necessary to supplement the growth of container plants with fertilizer due to nutrients leaching out from frequent watering. After the first 3-4 weeks of growth, add a diluted organic fertilizer like seaweed extract, fish emulsion, manure tea or compost tea when watering. Do this every two weeks and adjust fertilizer levels as necessary according to how the plants respond.
Light: The amount of light your container needs will vary by crop. Most plants require at least 5-6 hours of full sun per day. This can be maximized with the addition of reflective materials (aluminum foil, glass marbles) placed around containers.
About The Author:
Ellen Brown is an environmental writer and photographer and the owner of Sustainable Media, an environmental media company that specializes in helping businesses and organizations promote eco-friendly products and services. Contact her on the web at http://www.sustainable-media.com
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Container Gardening - Thinking Outside The Box
For going green to save our environment, I’m teaching a class soon on “Container Gardening - Thinking Outside The Box” and needed to come up with some unique ideas for containers for my plants. Some I came up with are:
I took an old metal fan apart and unscrewed the wire basket parts (had one on each side of the fan), then placed cocoa liner I’d bought inside the wire basket, and placed wire hangers on the basket to hang it, filled it with soil and planted low hanging vine plants in it for 2 nice hanging baskets.
I took an old vase with barnacles on it my family had found while snorkeling, drilled 3 holes in the bottom, put in soil and planted succulents inside.
I took an old metal teapot, drilled 3 holes in bottom, filled with soil and planted pansies in it.
These pots are unique and did not cost a dime, recycle some items and see what you can come up with for your garden this year. It is fun and they sure last longer than those ugly plastic pots you’d buy.
By Linda from Fort Walton Beach, FL
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Ludlow3:
Here’s something I’m doing:
I am growing potatoes in a 55 gallon trash can that is broken. I duck taped the splits, and fill in with about 6 inches of dirt. put the potatoes in the soil, and cover with about 1 inch of soil. The plants will grow up and potatoes will form along the stem. The stems just need to be covered with dirt as they grow. When they get over the top of the trash can, they can just continue to grow. Potatoes can be picked all along the stems.
RE: Container Gardening - Thinking Outside The Box
Post By John.J.R.P. (Guest Post) (03/15/2008)
16-3-2008
Hi ALL, if you want to see how I grow things in over 8,000 waste plastic containers to help reduce them going to landfill sites in the UK, please visit my website www.recycling.moonfruit.com if you realy do want to see some outside the box ways of doing things, which you might like to try out for your self, if you want to know more please e-mail me. John.J.R.P.