Finding Wasted Money

I know that I can save a few bucks a month on my satellite bill  if I plug into a phone line.  But what’s $5? I don’t have time to deal with that.  I bet I could trim a couple dollars off my home phone bill, though,  because we don’t use the land line for anything but the occasional fax. It’s kind of a pain to figure out though.  I’ll do it later.  I don’t have an RV why would I need motorhome towing on my insurance policy?  And how did it get there in the first place?  I need to check on that right away.  And while I’m thinking about it… my cell phone bill is awfully high.  I’ll put that on my list to check out too.

The above is my thought process for the several months.  Every time realization of something wasteful hit me I was busy in the middle of something and thought “it’s only a few bucks.  No biggie.  I’ll get to it.”  Then I one day realized that all of those $5/10/20 savings added up to a lot of money!  So I got to work.

I actually still don’t have a phone line hooked up for our satellite dish because I can’t figure out a convenient patch to take the wire.  But I DID learn that I was being overcharged for an outdated plan that no longer exists AND I realized that I was paying rent on a unit we weren’t even using.  I also  learned I was paying ridiculous amounts on my cell phone bill for information calls, games, ringtones, etc.

No, it was not fun to make all these phone calls and wait on hold and figure everything out.  It was pretty frustrating and I did feel like my head was going to explode at times.  But at a time when milk for the cereal has  sometimes been a luxury lately, I feel pretty stupid that I didn’t do it sooner.  Not many of us have money to throw away these days and every dollar counts so I wanted to let you know that I uncovered almost a hundred dollars per month just reviewing my basic monthly bills and expenditures, and encourage you to do the same.

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Everyone has an agenda. Everybody is trying to accomplish something. Most everybody is trying to sell you something. Even people who wish the very best for you, still have their own best interests at heart, so their advice to you might not truly be your “best” advice. With all the mixed messages and tainted counsel floating around, how do you really know what’s BEST for you?

We are the products of a lifetime of being programmed that the best is… well, THE BEST! Strive for the best! Accept nothing but the best! You deserve the best! But what is “the best?” Especially in tough economic times like these, we might want to reconsider the whole concept. Otherwise we are likely to find ourselves feeling of failure because we were unable to achieve those misguided ideas of what is “best” for us.

Price and quality. Keeping the kitchen stocked is a challenge right now for even the most stable families. Is there any bigger failure than not being able to provide food for your family? I remember there used to be a commercial for JIF peanut butter on TV when I was a kid. There was a mom saying that her kids are too precious to scrimp on and they only get the best, that’s why she only gives them JIF. They programmed that into me at that early age so that all through my life I thought I was neglecting my body to buy a different peanut butter. As a new mom it never crossed my mind to do so. As finances became tighter, it DID cross my mind, but for reasons unrealized to me at the time, I would not let myself buy anything other than JIF. I was experimenting with generic brands and changing our menus, but I was hell bent on sticking with JIF peanut butter. Then one day I was at Gordon’s bulk foods and they had this monster big jar of peanut butter for the same price as a regular jar of JIF. So we weren’t just talking about the few cents difference I’ve seen at the grocery store. It was like a cool splash of water in my face. I woke up from Jif’s genius marketing brainwash and I bought the Gordon’s peanut butter. Everyone loves it. Fraction of the price and I have to buy less frequently. It is a no brainer to me that THAT is the BEST choice for me.

Cheaper is not always better . JIF is just my example. It might not be YOUR best peanut butter. But it is worth checking out. It is worth the time to try some new brands and products. A few cents or a few dollars might not be worth a change to you if you feel you are sacrificing taste or quality. But SEVERAL dollars off a grocery bill would be welcome, I’m sure. FYI Kroger lets you return Kroger brand products if you try them and don’t like them. So there is no financial risk.

THE BEST by definition. THE BEST DIET PILLS are only the best diet pills if you can access it. Adipex might kill your appetite the best of all, but good luck getting it. You can get Stackers over the counter at a lower cost without the headache of a doctor’s appointment. You might not lost weight as fast, but you will see results. As opposed to “no results” from Adipex because you can’t get it. A COLLEGE EDUCATION is not necessarily your “best” course of action for the future if you can’t afford one. College tuition is skyrocketing despite the fact that families are struggling. THE BEST SCHOOL DISTRICT is not the best district for you if politics and cliques over shadow your child’s education. THE BEST is only the best if provides optimum results FOR YOU in YOUR situation, under YOUR circumstances.

The point is, we are all different. Our tastes, desires, passions, opportunities, talents, skills, goals, preferences, and so on… all unique. So for a choice, a brand, a store, a restaurant…. for ANYTHING to claim title of “the best” is ridiculous. What’s more ridiculous is for us to believe it. No body or no thing can claim to be “the best” for me. Only through trial and error, experience, and effort can I make that decision. That’s the best advice I can give.

You know what one of the biggest distractions for me is when I am out showing houses? Baby gates!  Isn’t that funny?  I skipped the whole baby and toddler stage with my kids so when I am in a kid proofed house I get completely distracted.  For one thing because I am amazed by how clever some things are, and for another because I get frustrated by inability to work the work the dang gadgets!

I have been embarrassed on more than one occasion when I couldn’t get upstairs to the next part of the tour of a house and had to ask the potential buyer to get the stairway gate open.

There is a website called KidSafeInc.com that offers everything you need to keep your kids and even your pets safe and where they need to be.  If you’re into social media like me you can follow them on Facebook, Twitter, You Tube, and the KidSafe Blog

I like this time of the year when the sun is still warm but the breeze is cold.  It is toasty during the day and chilly late at night and early in the morning.  It’s the time when you stop wishing you had central air and find yourself thinking about heated floors. 

Heated tile floors is one of those things on my mind for my “dream house” one day.  I always thought they were a difficult expensive home feature.  Maybe not.  New, more affordable products are being developed so that anyone can have the luxury of warm floors, even on a budget. You can even save money by installing the radiant heat tubing yourself which comes with a how to install heated floors manual.

I know slippers are cheaper and fun to pick out.  But they are hard to keep up with.  And the cutest ones keep falling off my feet anyway!  Wouldn’t it be nice to tip toe out into the kitchen onto heated tile floors first thing in the morning for a hot cup of coffee?  <sigh>  One day.

Okay.  There is really no topic today.  Just sharing some excitement about Coconut Oil and football.  If you follow me on Facebook or Twitter you know I received a bottleof coconut oil for review and am experiencing high energy today after spreading some on my toast.  Actually, to say that I have increased energy doesn’t describe it accurately.  I have diet pill energy.  ROCK STAR energy, even!  Run out and by Metallica tickets and rock out all night ENERGY!  :-)  You have probably also heard me complain the last two weeks about feeling extra lethargic and eating everything in sight. So this is a real change for me!  And speaking of eating…  It is 2pm and I haven’t thought about lunch or had any appetite at all until now.  Been satisfied!  And I don’t really feel excited about eating right now. I just will have something small because I know my body needs nutrition.  You know what else is on my mind today? FOOTBALL!

Crazy right?  I’m not the sports girl at all but I do love University of Michigan football.  Tiger baseball too.  I can see perfectly clear pictures of sitting with my Dad when I was a kid watching the Tigers or the Wolverines play.  If I close my eyes, I can even hear the crack of the ball against the bat as it for a second crowds out the sound of the crickets through the screen of the patio door behind us during night time games in the summer.  And speaking of sounds, I don’t even have to try hard to hear the Michigan Marching Band playing the fight song as clear as if they were in the kitchen with me right now.  One of my favorite school memories is playing flute in the band and every year marching through the school playing HAIL TO THE VICTORS to antagonize the Ohio State fans in anticipation of that big game. 

Although Dad and I went to see some Lions games when I was growing up I have never been to a Michigan game.  Tickets are hard to come by.  I know where you can get Penn State Football tickets or Philadelphia Eagles tickets. (Heehee.  That’s a little jab to my sport loving friend Al in Philly) But I am pretty sure the Michigan Tickets are all sold out.

Anyway, this weather has me all excited for the first Michigan game this weekend.  I am sad to see summer go but I like these hot days with the autumn breeze blowing through.  And just to button up this whole post and tie things together I will share that in my so far brief research into coconut oil I learned athletes prefer it to other oils because it has less calories and converts to energy more quickly. 

Have you tried coconut oil? Excited for college football?  Have anything random to say at all?  I’d love to hear