Living like Royalty

Growing up, my Mom always claimed that Prince Charles had a device in his bathroom that he used to squeeze out the last bit of toothpaste in the tube. She described it as something that looks like a pasta roller.

Why she thought Prince Charles was so particularly frugal is beyond me. I shall have to ask her. Anyway, she didn't like throwing away a nearly empty tube and more than once had cut open the end to find at least two brushings' worth of toothpaste in there.

Look what I found at the local supermarket. It's not worth $3.99 to me. I'm just very careful to roll and re-roll the end to get the rest out. Perhaps I'll start employing a pair of scissors as well.

unmentionables

I thought only Jamaicans knew this trick.

Jackie Chan must be a Jamaican.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=G_0pHBV0788

Growing up I never put my underwear into the laundry. It wasn't until I got to college that I lost that habit. This caused me to buy much more underwear. Hmmm...This is not a bad discipline to have as you will never be out of a clean pair of underwear and you don't have to own that many pairs. Plus, not putting them through the dryer means they will last a little bit longer.

frugal fatigue

Whenever I feel a little down about money, and feel as if we are saving too much or have too many restrictions on our pocket money, I can count on one or two bloggers to give me a good reality check.

I've been feeling fatigued lately and when I feel that way it is just too easy to run out and buy something. Whether it is purchasing prepared food because I haven't cooked, or buying something silly and unnecessary because I feel like it, somehow, money seems to leave my pocket.

I've found one small antidote to that habit:

There are a few bloggers I read who make do with less whether by choice or by necessity. Whenever I check out a post, I realize I'm hardly trying!

Whether it is making things for oneself rather than buying them, or planning carefully so groceries are purchased infrequently, there's a lot out there to learn.

Then of course there are the people who make amazing works of art with bottle caps and bits of string; or the quiet unassuming person who leaves millions for their favorite charity While never having earned anything more than 30,000 a year. I think those people are an inspiration to us all.

Every dollar we come across is a choice. While we're alive, we'll have to look after our needs. But much of what we spend is negotiable.

Bastone French Toast

I took before pictures but we were too busy chowing down on the after to take a photo.

A little while back I bought a whole wheat bastone to serve with dinner. It was probably lentil soup or black bean soup. I like to do soup on a Friday. It’s easy after a long week.

Well, we didn’t eat very much of the bread that day or the next couple of days. I saw that in the cupboard it would probably go bad so I put it in the fridge and there it remained. Usually this bastone would have wound up in the trash because it got so hard you could probably use it to hammer a nail. But I found a great recipe that saved the bread and gave us something fun to do Sunday morning. French toast!

Here’s the recipe: http://www.natecooks.net/2009/05/making-french-toast/

This French toast recipe was delicious and it tasted very accurate. The only advice I would offer is that you should probably be sure to slice as evenly as possible. Any crags or boulders on the slices will ensure that the slice doesn’t soak or cook evenly. So make sure you keep it smooth.

Since there were already two eggs in the recipe, we just added some turkey bacon. I wish I had put a bit of powdered sugar on the French toast, but then again it was sweet enough, and we added syrup on top anyway.

Next time I will just slice up the whole loaf while it is still soft in anticipation of a Sunday Morning French Toast Brunch!

 

Is this a frugal meal? Hmm… maybe not so frugal if eggs are pricey for you. Still, I like recipes that prevent me from throwing food away.

the delicious apple

I'm not a fan of American apples because of these. But I try to buy and eat apples because they are hardy, deliver lots of fiber, and are grown in my state (which reduces the impact on the environment for them to travel to my supermarket).

The trick I've found with buying apples is to buy smaller ones. They are usually more bursting with flavor than larger ones. There is a scientific reason behind it. I forget the exact terminology but let's just say the smaller apples have the same number of flavor particles as the big ones but the size of the small apple concentrates more flavor in every bite!

So at the supermarket nowadays I look for smaller apples and take a good long smell to make sure they have a flavor I will enjoy eating.

Now, the apples are bought. How do I get the most out of them?

1. Here's a link about how to eat apples in a way that wastes less food:

http://www.mnn.com/food/healthy-eating/blogs/amazing-way-to-eat-an-apple-makes-core-disappear

2. And what if your apple is a bit wrinkly or just too soft for you to enjoy? Make banana apple bread!

Just grab any banana bread recipe and replace some of the banana with a peeled and diced apple. If they want a cup of banana make sure you have a cup of combined fruit. Then as you are mixing, if you find your recipe a tad too dry, just add a tablespoon of (almond) milk or apple juice.

Here's a nice one:
http://www.cooks.com/recipe/zb5qv0gn/easy-banana-bread.html

It'll be delicious, I promise! I used this recipe over the weekend to use up some fruit and make a dessert instead of buying one.

No bananas? How about apple cake?
http://www.cooks.com/recipe/dr8gv4k0/apple-cake.html

Taking a closer look

I've been busy throughout most of January up until yesterday. My attention was consumed with our hunt for new accommodation. We are interested in purchasing a home; preferably in the area where we live now. We've been looking casually for just under a year now.

In  early January we found out about a house just two blocks from where we live and went to look at it. After that things happened pretty quickly. Before we knew it we had a lawyer, a mortgage banker, and an engineer!

The home, by all appearances was perfect for us and we were delighted that our counter offer was accepted. Our lawyer gave us the names of two good engineers and we set up the date for the inspection. That is when things began to fall apart.

The Engineer's inspection can be a seller's worst nightmare. Perhaps a buyer's also. Maybe there are some things we didn't want to know about that house. However, it was in our best interest to find out. Some of the items the Engineer flagged were simply remedied. Things like a nonworking doorbell, or a loose bannister were things even I felt comfortable with doing after a short video tutorial. However, the big things were much too big for first-timers to take on. They involved hazardous materials that don't belong in any home. In addition there were some items that were not up to code.

The preceding paragraph may make this home sound like it was barely habitable but that is not true. It looked homey and inviting. It had beautiful hardwood floors. It only seemed to need updating in the bathroom and kitchen. It was a starter-home dream. But what lay beneath the surface killed the deal.

We spent about $350 for the initial consultation with our attorney. The insepction cost $440.

For $790 we spared ourselves heartache, pain, and debt. It was money well spent. I would recommend having an Engineer's inspection for anyone who has an accepted offer on a property. Don't do a deal without it!

2014

Orchard Beach 01-01-2014

The Mister and I welcomed the New Year at the beach (see photo). We didn't jump into the water. We didn't even see a single 'polar bear'. I guess it was too late in the day for that. But I'd love to do that next year. The idea had never occurred to me until recently, at out holiday lunch, my manager mentioned she planned to do it. I was thrilled by the thought. I also heard the water was warmer than the air! Look for me to be doing this in 2015.

I have made resolutions. I have even done them!
One, I got a head start on. . . I began on Monday because I knew it would be a hard one. Another, I have to play catch up with. I got distracted by my cousin's posts of fancy outfits on Facebook. Tomorrow I'll know better. My cousin and her outfits can wait.

Something I'm toying with, but that I'm not sure if I really want to do is to track my spending. Maybe for the month of January. That might be more than enough to keep me busy and give perspective. Perhaps I'll post weekly what the spending has been. Some things I can't track because the Mister and I give ourselves pocket money each week. Maybe I'll exclude that as it is a fixed amount.

2014 still has that shiny look, that new year smell. It's so full of possibility.

Wow, it's November

Wow, I guess I didn't post anything in October. I had almost too much to say. It's been a whirlwind fall season. I've had a family member in and out of the hospital. Right now he's out and improving by degrees.

I've started a quilting and hand-piecing class. The one thing I've gained from taking this class is the confidence that I can probably sew most simple things if only i had a machine. It's such painstaking work to sew fiddly things by hand. So putting a button back onto a coat is a piece of cake. Why was I afraid to do this in the past?

We've paid off one of our student loans. We just took the plunge and wiped out 60% of our savings doing that. The interest we were earning was nothing compared to the interest we were paying and we're not in a position to buy a house anyway.

My husband also paid Murphy to go away. There was a thing. I can't get into it. Anyway, it's gone now.

And meanwhile I've been shoppping like a crazy person. Oy! But rest assured, I'm not buying frivolous little stupid things. These are definitely needed.

I think that is all that has happened. Oh, and I had a birthday. We'll be celebrating this month. Had to put everything off what with hanging out in the Emergency room and hospital wards for so much of October. But that is alright. It'll be soon enough.

Five reasons we won't buy a house until we're ready

1.      Tens of thousands of tiny reasons in the form of dollars that we owe to banks that so generously helped us pay up front for educations we couldn't afford at the time.

2.      Budding, but location-dependent careers that could make life intensely difficult if we tied ourselves down geographically. Imagine you've bought the house of your dreams and suddenly a better job materializes over 50 miles away. Sometimes when opportunity knocks, you need to be able to pack your bags and simply move.

3.      We have barely enough space right now. We're champing at the bit to get out, and have two cats who seem to be constantly underfoot. I can't tell you how many times I've almost pulled a hamstring or twisted an ankle in efforts to right myself again after tripping over a cat. One even bit me on the ankle after I stepped on her tail, which she placed right behind me as I stood at the stove. Yet, it's still enough space for us. We haven't turned to a self-storage and decluttering and donating seems to be doing the trick for the time being.

4.      20%.  Call that 100%. We don't really have a 20% down payment on the type of house the bank thinks we can afford. And we don't have 100% either. And the bank thinks we can afford a whole LOT of house. They think we should buy a 3 bed, 2 bath monstrosity with a garage, a front and back yard, and perhaps a gazebo. Honest. Well, we don't have the first dollar for that. Not if you don't count our emergency fund and our baby emergency fund (in case someone dies and leaves us a baby or the stork brings one). We wouldn't want to put our emergency fund toward a house and then find ourselves in an emergency without a penny to our names, now, would we?

5.      We're too picky. We want a house we can live in until retirement. Not that we plan on it. We, like many reluctant West Indian transplants, dream of sunnier climes for our golden years. Every year it gets a little bit harder to deal with the utter destruction cold weather can wreak. But if it turns out we don't wind up in sunny Orlando, or mild Virginia, perhaps we need a house we think is valuable, meets our needs, and we can grow into. The realtor we contracted with told us that most people's dream house is the second or third house they buy. What dreams eh?!You know what that means. . . someone's getting a big fact commission every time. I'd rather do what my parents' generation did , or should have done. Save until you can afford a house, then buy the best house you can afford without assuming you'll always be in a position to trade up.

 

And there we have it, all the reasons I can think of right now why buying a house is not in the cards for us. I know what everyone is saying. Think of the interest rates! Think of the low low prices! That is alright. I stand firm. We know our budget better than they do, and it's just not in the picture.

 

money leaks

Brunch with friends: $18

 







Knock off "Cronut": $3.50

Drinkable wine: $6.00

Though not all purchased at the same time.

disconnected

A few months back I had an interesting experience happen to me. I walked out of my office building and left my phone behind. I was halfway across the busy street before I realized what I had done. And I couldn't go back and get it! I was rushing to a doctors' appointment and I hated the idea of being late. I had to take a train, a bus, and walk a few blocks so any false moves would have put me off schedule! What to do?! I didn't suspect anyone would steal my phone. I was certain it would be safe at the office overnight. So I kept walking. And I was right, the next morning it was right by the coat rack, where I had set it as I put on my coat.

But that evening was almost torture. I felt like a fish in a puddle;  not really gasping for air but definitely tense. I was bored on the train and had only a newspaper for entertainment. Gone was my music, the complete works of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, puzzles and games, the internet. All gone!

As I exited the train station, I decided to make a phone call to my husband so he wouldn't worry if he had been trying to contact me. I had enough change, but lo and behold! The price was double what I recall it being just a few short years ago. I wasn't about to pay 50 cents to make a phone call and I ended up asking the receptionist at the doctors' office to allow me to use the phone.

The next day when I went to work and found my phone, I hadn't missed any calls, and there were no text messages.

There are people in America who live without cell phones. In fact I am acquainted with two or three of them. But it isn't something I thought I could do. I'm sure it takes some careful planning when everyone around you is accustomed to nearly constant contact. But it must also be somewhat freeing not to always be reachable.

Do it Yourself!

One of the great money-saving principles in personal finance is DIY, i.e. do it yourself. This isn’t just a way of saving money, it also expands your horizons and can lead you to an interesting hobby. Depending on what we do for ourselves, we may even improve our health, increase our net worth, make new friends, and learn marketable skills.

A forum I occasionally read lurk on asked what we do for ourselves. It was asked in the form of a sentence you could complete. I am my own. . . .

Some people completed the statement with what they were. Others found it easier to saw what they weren’t and those included tasks that one might be better off paying someone else to do such as legal representation (not much cramps your style worse than losing out in a court of law).

So I got myself thinking as to what it is that I do for myself that I could easily pay others or buy a machine to do.

1.      Stylist/hair dresser

2.      Cook (most days)

3.      Dishwasher (when hubby isn’t washing up)

4.      Pet groomer

5.      Pet food supplier (we make it from scratch with ingredients we buy)

6.      House cleaner

7.      Accountant (we do our own taxes with the help of software)

8.      Personal trainer (though not much is happening recently in this arena)

9.      Manicurist (I notice some of the wealthiest people just have neat, unpainted nails so I rarely do mine anyway).

10.  Eyebrow shaper (They don’t have to be model-thin, just neat).

That being said, Dave Ramsey Dave Ramsey’s FB team recently posted the following, “When your budget is tight, don’t spend money on things you could easily do yourself”.

Now that word “Easily” is a tricky one. Suppose I’m a wimp and I think that washing dishes myself will ruin my gel manicure that I had to pay someone to do because I don’t have the equipment at home? Or suppose I am an excuse-maker. Suppose I say that pet nutrition is too complicated and I should trust a large company that can claim that vets trust their brand for the best pet health? [Side note: National brands made my cats seriously overweight to the point one was unable to clean himself. The whole point of cat ownership is the low maintenance, right? So I feed my cats chopped meat mixed with this and they lost the weight and no longer have to ask me to wipe their butts].

I think a dose of ¡Si se puede! is necessary for some people, including myself. One of the forum participants mentioned some work she did in her bathroom after a strong pep talk and a few youtube videos. So far, success! Another blogger recently renovated her kitchen cabinets and with a little help from family reinstalled them. Neither of those tasks were easy (though I admit the mental part of the game was likely tougher than the skill part) but they weren't all that hard either.

Soooo what is there I’m not doing that I could be doing for myself to get mad skillz, save money, and have interesting stories to tell about how I got that scar? A few ideas come to mind:

·         Car repair

·         Baking

·         Investing

·         . . .

Pricey habit

At my workplace we have a couple of coffee makers. One is a fancy brand named monstrosity with a hopper on top that makes freshly ground and brewed coffee while you wait (it's only half bad). The other is a regular old coffee pot that we use for average cups of decaf. The decaf is my choice of drink, but sometimes I make the mistake of stopping at a store on my way to work for iced coffee.

First off, I've got to stop that because nobody sells decaf iced coffee so I get weird feelings and thoughts of paranoia.

Second off, iced coffee is easy enough to make.

I simply take the last bit of coffee from the pot that nobody wants to drink. Pour it into my cup, let it cool, covered on my desk. Then place it in the freezer in the break-room. Later on when it is half frozen, add milk (I keep soy in the fridge and nobody touches it), sugar, stir. It's icy, but when the ice melts, it won't water down my coffee. Sometimes this is good, and sometimes this is bad.

Now I just have to start bringing my own lidded cup with a straw to work so I can stop throwing plastic cups into the landfill (in my city they don't recycle number 5 plastic and I'm too lazy to collect them and take them to the one place that does).

I'm partway through a book that has reminded me of David Bach's "latte factor" so pardon me while I do a little math.

If I avoid buying iced or hot coffee for $2.99 at New York's more affordable donut chain a couple times a week, I'm saving myself over $300 per year, and as much as $3,000 over the next 10 years. I can already think of what I'd rather spend that money on.

1. a cruise for hubby and myself to the Caribbean with all the fixins

2. 3 trips with hubby to the local men's suit shop for 3 suits on sale. Yes, that is 9 suits over the next 10 years.

3. 2 LV handbags and 1 clutch at retail (I would never buy luxury bags brand new. . . they are just like cars with depreciation so I could probably get 6 LV bags secondhand never mind how many C0ach).

4. Stocks that could appreciate to $14,000 over an additional 20 years.
5. Or if I just start investing about $25/month I could have $52,000 after 35 years. 

Some of those alternatives for the money I could be spending on coffee are not that motivating. The ones that require even more saving are not that attractive. I guess because the tangible, the status symbols, and the just plain fun are still somewhat my focus.

Murphy got me

There's a guy we all know and don't like and his name is Murphy. He has a bunch of laws. One of the most memorable for me is that if anything can go wrong, it will go wrong. And boy, didn't it.

A few months ago I had an appointment for my regular check-up at the dentist. Sadly I couldn't make it in time and had to cancel. My new job is very far away from my dentist. I rescheduled for late last month and showed up a week too early. Sigh. Big misunderstanding. Anyway, I had some time off coming up and I rescheduled again.

The assistant did my x-rays, and the dentist came in and did my cleaning and exam. I was proud of myself as it seemed I was flying through this dental appointment without a hitch. Then, at the end, came the news. I had cavities! Why didn't he tell me that at the beginning? He asked if I was flossing my teeth (well, not as much as I know I should). He also asked if I had been rinsing with mouthwash. Honest answer, not at all. I hate the mouthwash my husband likes because when I use it my mouth burns so much that I see stars! But we had talked about that last time and I didn't do anything much about it. After fighting my way through a bottle of alcohol-free stuff, I gave up.

Well, I should have. It's going to cost over $200 to repair the damage that was largely preventable. It's not that I can't afford it. It's just I hadn't budgeted for that and it didn't have to be this way!

I'm kind of embarrassed and definitely mad at myself. And I'm stamping my feet and saying "it's not fair". My husband brushes for half the time I do and seems to only remember to floss when he sees me flossing and yet he never has cavities!

However, I learned from this experience. The dentist suggested some techniques:

1. use a mouthwash that claims to prevent cavities and restore enamel. Even though the enamel restoration hasn't been proven long-term, for the short term it might help.

2. don't rinse with water after brushing. Allow the toothpaste to remain on  your teeth so they can absorb the fluoride.

3. brush for upwards of 3 minutes to give the teeth more exposure to the fluoride (I'm still working on this).

And next time, hopefully I can walk out of there with my wallet and my pride intact.

Death and Taxes

One of the things I've become interested in lately is local real estate.  While perusing RE listings for areas near me I've increasingly wondered why taxes are so high outside of New York City; especially in towns where there is obvious urban blight and the schools are easily as bad as or worse than some just south of the Westchester border. Here is an excellent, if dated discussion:

Why Are Our Taxes So #%*! High? - Westchester Magazine - June 2010 - Westchester, NY

Reading List

I recently borrowed these books from the public library and read them (well, all of one and most of the other two). These notes are for my future reference.

Psych Yourself Rich

Get the Mindset and Discipline You Need to Build your Financial Life

By Farnoosh Torabi

This book was pretty good but I couldn't quite finish reading it. Honestly, the writing style wasn't quite for me. However, the anecdotes the author provided from her stint on a financial makeover-style show were quite interesting. Yet I felt like this book is for someone who is just beginning their financial life. 

The Smart Cookies' Guide to Making More Dough

How Five Young Women Got Smart, Formed A Money Club, and Took Control of Their Finances

With Jennifer Barrett

Although the cover of this book turned me off, I decided to try and read it. It was very good. Because the book was written from the perspective of five different women, there was someone most women can relate to. One person was a divorcee, another had ended a long-term relationship, while yet another was embarking upon marriage. They were all women who had made some blunders and wanted to get clean up the mess and create success. I confess I skipped over one of the chapters but I felt I got some really good stuff from this book. One good thing I took away was the idea that you should invest in yourself. One individual increased her salary by 20K just by beginning a MSW degree. I'm not in that field but it encouraged me to think about ways I can increase my value.

The Five Lessons A Millionaire Taught Me for Women

By Paul Richard Evans

Most unique idea: buying silver coins instead of bags and shoes as a way of satisfying the hunger to shop, yet still purchasing something that can be considered an investment. (caveat: As investments go, I guess this is alright provided our world economy doesn't collapse or we don't have a large-scale natural disaster. In that case, as Dave Ramsey would say, a pair of clean blue jeans, a gallon of gas, or clean drinking water will get you more in trade.)

I would read this book again. I felt the lessons were well-illustrated with examples. I also liked the author's philosophy and writing style. This book got me to pause and take stock again of what I'm doing and where I want to go. It also encouraged me to think about the types of investments I would like to have in my portfolio (not just my stock portfolio).

pop

New York City Mayor Bloomberg's so-called soda ban has made headlines over the last year or so, and came to a head this week when a judge dropped the kibosh on the new law.

In reality the legislation is not actually a ban on soda, it is a ban on the size of the beverage container. Certain stores and restaurants may not sell a sugary beverage that is 16 ounces or larger. The issue is really about how much sugar is in each ounce of the beverage. When you look at what is recommended for our diets, vs. what is in an 8 ounce soda, it is a wonder people can drink 16 ounces of soda and still live. The average soda in the average deli has 40 grams of sugar in one serving. That is already double the recommended daily amount of added sugar, per day for an adult female (20 grams or 5 teaspoons). For men it is slightly more (9 teaspoons, or 36 grams) . So if an 8 ounce can of soda puts you over your limit for two days, a 16 ounce soda is enough added sugar to last you most of the week. Drink one of these a few times a week and you're already on your way to moving the needle on the scale.

A lot of opinions have been given on whether this ban is good for New Yorkers, ineffective for controlling obesity, bad for businesses, or just plain overstepping boundaries. News outlets have looked at this issue from different perspectives. I've even seen beverage delivery trucks with signs painted on suggesting that our freedom is being encroached upon.

However, for me, this is a none-issue. As someone who is trying to be frugal, I generally make an effort not to buy beverages at all! With my lunch, if I'm thirsty I drink water. At home we do purchase bottled juice from the supermarket but try to stick with the cheapest ones. And then I water them down for myself as they are bit too sweet for me. At restaurants, mostly we stick to water. This is good for my wallet, and good for my waistline. Oh yes, and my kidneys too!

 

Yes Takeout!

Well, actually, still no takeout. But now we can eat out! And we did. . .and it wasn't that great.

Last weekend I finished a 28 day challenge of no prepared foods from outside our home. It was difficult and I was often frustrated. However, now that it's over, I don't really want to stop. We would like to go out to eat for special occasions or for a date night. However, we will not be just ordering food because we don't feel like cooking.

On Saturday night we had the pleasure of attending an amateur production of a mystery play at a really progressive church in Manhattan. We had an awesome time. Afterward we went to J0e's Shanghai on 56th street. The food was reasonable. The price was not. I understand it is the city and rents are high. However, the food was no better than (maybe not even as good as) the food from the takeout place around our neighborhood with just two tables and four chairs and a flypaper hanging from the ceiling! Maybe it's our fault and we should have tried something we never had before. I had chow mei fun and my husband had sweet and sour chicken. Both tasted okay. But just okay. Okay like I could have made this if I bothered to buy all the ingredients and worked at it while listening to the Knicks game on the radio. No offense Joe. It wasn't bad. It was okay.

Last night we resisted ordering Chinese. Instead I made pancakes, turkey bacon, and eggs. We put it away in front of a movie from the library. Such a delicious penny pinching moment!

No Takeout--3 weeks

Three weeks into no takeout I have discovered some things about myself, my life, my eating habits, and my home. I would definitely recommend this exercise to anyone, and definitely during the month of February.

I feel I have saved a good chunk of money. I've also discovered some "recipes" for lunch that I might not ordinarily have tried. The fact my husband and I are trying to stay away from "lunchmeat" has something to do with some of the new foods we are coming up with. Suffice it to say, there are definitely pros and cons to not eating out or ordering in.

Something I've discovered is that I'm a decent cook. I've perfected my chili. I've also made a mean turkey b/l/t and a not half half-bad egg salad. Incidentally we thought my husband hated tuna salad. Turns out he hates restaurant tuna salad that's been left to get weird and soggy. My tuna salad is a big hit!

Something I've taken away from this exercise is that food is very expensive. If you can somehow manage to find coupons and discounts, you're ahead of the game. If you cook your own meals, you're also saving. But overall, you will spend if you want to eat tasty, somewhat varied food. If you don't mind repetition it can be easy and cheap. I don't mean to say that inexpensive, easily prepared foods are categorically boring. It's just the ones that I make so happen to be.

Another thing I've discovered is that having to buy groceries cook nearly all the meals is a full-time job. If you don't want to open containers and dump things in a pot; if you want to marinate, season, chop, and blend; if you want your meals to be at least as good as the local diner, then you'll have to work at it.

harder than it looks

Even though the month of February is the shortest month, if you are not doing something which you are in the habit of doing, then it will be the longest month in your entire life.

Some observations from my fast from takeout and dine-in:

• Coffee in a paper cup from the deli looks like it tastes better than free top-brand coffee from your employer's hot beverage machine
• Chinese takeout sounds like the healthiest thing in the world at 6:02 PM
  
• Old habits don't die. . . they weaken and crawl under a rock to rest up so they can attack you when you are defenseless
• Only the deli man really knows how to toast a bagel (even though he has always gotten your order wrong!)
  

We did go out to eat last night, for my husband's birthday. It only happens once a year. We ate modestly and still spent $42. That is slightly over half what we have spent on groceries for the month thus far. It really doesn't pay to pay someone else to cook my flippin food. They did a good job with the burger but I could have done it just as well. Luckily my birthday won't roll around for eight more months.

Now for the extra 1K, I did sign up to work for the upcoming holiday. I won't make anything near 1K. Ha! But, it's a step in the right direction.