It always amazes me at how long I go without blogging. It's August 13, and I haven't blogged since 7/5. Ah, the life of a working mother of teenage boys.
I'm moving my blog, effective today. Please visit me at nataliesmusings.wordpress.com.
Friday, August 13, 2010
Monday, July 5, 2010
Every Grocery Dollar Counts
Halfway through last week, I realized that the 4th of July actually was going to occur on the 4th of July this year and that I had not planned for nor budgeted for our annual bbq. Nothing new really. In fact, had I planned for or budgeted for it, now that would have been something new! Proof you can't turn around 25 years of bad behavior in just 13 weeks.
So, it was back to my budget to see if I could scrape or finagle the numbers around so I wouldn't have 5 disappointed people living in my house and about 15-20 others who don't. I did by the way, scrape and finagle enough. So yesterday morning off I went to Walmart, sending the men in my house out for fireworks.
Walmart's produce section produced an epiphany for me. Retailers don't want me to save money, nor do they want me on a budget. I heard a hearty snort from you there, dear reader. As though you were saying, "Seriously, Natalie, that's an epiphany?"
Well it was! See until yesterday, I hadn't realized how subtle their war was against my budget.
I needed some tomatoes for what I was planning on serving. Normally, I would get them at Aldi and it would be a single price for a package of Romas. At Walmart, all the Romas looked decidedly Norwegian (read that as a very weak shade of red) and not like they had been raised in Rome. So I looked for juicier ones and found them in the beauties on the vine. Now tomatoes on the vine were priced per pound, but do you think I could find a scale to weigh them at? At $2.15 a pound, I couldn't tell how much I was actually going to spend on them.
I was a bit miffed, but thought I was being silly. Then I passed a whole line of Frito/Lay chips in boxes set conveniently in the middle of the aisle by the produce section. The trouble was, one side of the sign said $1.98/bag, that side, of course, being the sign you saw as you walked in the door, and the other said $2.48/bag. The sign was perched right on the crack formed by two sets of boxes. Now, the average consumer (read that as Natalie prior to Financial Peace University) would have picked up the Lays potato chips and the Tostitos white corn tortilla chips and the Nacho Cheese Doritos and not given it another thought. And I almost didn't. If I hadn't turned around at the end to go back and get another bag, I would have thought I was paying about $2 a bag for all 8 bags of chips. The truth was, only the Doritos were $1.98 a bag. Everything else was $2.48.
I won't bore you to death with the rest of my Walmart trip. (I heard that sigh of relief...)
The whole trip reminded me of my childhood. I remember my mom weighing things in the produce department. I remember shopping with my mom at Prairie Mark-it as a child and having to mark all the prices on everything. My mom was a very frugal shopper then. She doesn't have to be now.
I think that's my problem, and perhaps our problem as a nation. We've forgotten that our parents scraped and saved during our childhoods and see them only as they are now, reaping the rewards of that behavior.
I am reaping the rewards of my past behavior too. That's why I am now anxious to find a scale, buying store brand chips to save money, and cutting last year's fireworks budget by 60%.
So back to the epiphany, Walmart doesn't want me to weigh my produce because if I do, I won't buy as much. That's why there is only one scale in the produce department, tucked in the front of the produce section facing the doors and down low enough that you can't see it easily. Walmart can afford to cut the price on Doritos by 50 cents a bag, because they know those aren't the only chips you'll want. And if they put them right next to all the other chips you do want and make sure that the sign showing their higher price is placed so you have to look for it, then they'll make a nice hefty profit on your extra 50 cents a bag on all those other chips.
It all boils down to who has control over my wallet--me or Walmart. Yesterday I won.
By the way, it was a great 4th! Hope yours was too!
So, it was back to my budget to see if I could scrape or finagle the numbers around so I wouldn't have 5 disappointed people living in my house and about 15-20 others who don't. I did by the way, scrape and finagle enough. So yesterday morning off I went to Walmart, sending the men in my house out for fireworks.
Walmart's produce section produced an epiphany for me. Retailers don't want me to save money, nor do they want me on a budget. I heard a hearty snort from you there, dear reader. As though you were saying, "Seriously, Natalie, that's an epiphany?"
Well it was! See until yesterday, I hadn't realized how subtle their war was against my budget.
I needed some tomatoes for what I was planning on serving. Normally, I would get them at Aldi and it would be a single price for a package of Romas. At Walmart, all the Romas looked decidedly Norwegian (read that as a very weak shade of red) and not like they had been raised in Rome. So I looked for juicier ones and found them in the beauties on the vine. Now tomatoes on the vine were priced per pound, but do you think I could find a scale to weigh them at? At $2.15 a pound, I couldn't tell how much I was actually going to spend on them.
I was a bit miffed, but thought I was being silly. Then I passed a whole line of Frito/Lay chips in boxes set conveniently in the middle of the aisle by the produce section. The trouble was, one side of the sign said $1.98/bag, that side, of course, being the sign you saw as you walked in the door, and the other said $2.48/bag. The sign was perched right on the crack formed by two sets of boxes. Now, the average consumer (read that as Natalie prior to Financial Peace University) would have picked up the Lays potato chips and the Tostitos white corn tortilla chips and the Nacho Cheese Doritos and not given it another thought. And I almost didn't. If I hadn't turned around at the end to go back and get another bag, I would have thought I was paying about $2 a bag for all 8 bags of chips. The truth was, only the Doritos were $1.98 a bag. Everything else was $2.48.
I won't bore you to death with the rest of my Walmart trip. (I heard that sigh of relief...)
The whole trip reminded me of my childhood. I remember my mom weighing things in the produce department. I remember shopping with my mom at Prairie Mark-it as a child and having to mark all the prices on everything. My mom was a very frugal shopper then. She doesn't have to be now.
I think that's my problem, and perhaps our problem as a nation. We've forgotten that our parents scraped and saved during our childhoods and see them only as they are now, reaping the rewards of that behavior.
I am reaping the rewards of my past behavior too. That's why I am now anxious to find a scale, buying store brand chips to save money, and cutting last year's fireworks budget by 60%.
So back to the epiphany, Walmart doesn't want me to weigh my produce because if I do, I won't buy as much. That's why there is only one scale in the produce department, tucked in the front of the produce section facing the doors and down low enough that you can't see it easily. Walmart can afford to cut the price on Doritos by 50 cents a bag, because they know those aren't the only chips you'll want. And if they put them right next to all the other chips you do want and make sure that the sign showing their higher price is placed so you have to look for it, then they'll make a nice hefty profit on your extra 50 cents a bag on all those other chips.
It all boils down to who has control over my wallet--me or Walmart. Yesterday I won.
By the way, it was a great 4th! Hope yours was too!
Tuesday, June 29, 2010
Proud!!
I was watching Losing it with Jillian tonight. She was talking to a mom about her son and mom was saying how proud she was of her son. Jillian replied she should be proud of herself for raising him.
This struck a chord in my heart. I always tell my kids how proud of them I am, but I never tell myself how proud I am of me for being a great mom! My kids haven't turned out the way they have on their own. I had a part to play.
I have raised two wonderful biological children who are getting their lives together. They have such strength and they deeply love the families they are making.
And yet my internal conversation is rarely that I'm a great mom. Instead, I pick apart my performance and most times, I judge myself lacking. I rarely give myself grace. I wound myself with my own criticism and then refuse to let those wounds heal.
Recently I was reminded that I have a Heavenly Father who sees me differently. He loves me perfectly, accepts me perfectly and despite how I tend to view my motherhood prowess, He gave me two more children to raise.
Today, I'm choosing to rest in His view of my motherhood. I'm telling myself what a great mom I am and I'm leaning into Him for my strength.
This struck a chord in my heart. I always tell my kids how proud of them I am, but I never tell myself how proud I am of me for being a great mom! My kids haven't turned out the way they have on their own. I had a part to play.
I have raised two wonderful biological children who are getting their lives together. They have such strength and they deeply love the families they are making.
And yet my internal conversation is rarely that I'm a great mom. Instead, I pick apart my performance and most times, I judge myself lacking. I rarely give myself grace. I wound myself with my own criticism and then refuse to let those wounds heal.
Recently I was reminded that I have a Heavenly Father who sees me differently. He loves me perfectly, accepts me perfectly and despite how I tend to view my motherhood prowess, He gave me two more children to raise.
Today, I'm choosing to rest in His view of my motherhood. I'm telling myself what a great mom I am and I'm leaning into Him for my strength.
Nothing better than ....
being a grandma!! My beautiful granddaughter was born yesterday at 6:59 pm.
So very proud of my son and daughter-in-law and oh so grateful to my Heavenly Father for granting our family this miracle baby.
I found out on Sunday afternoon that she truly is a miracle baby....
My daughter-in-law had been told she would never have children when she was a junior in high school.
She was in the ICU at six months with severe asthma and pneumonia...so severe the question had been asked by the docs, "Who do we save?"
So Marley Marie's arrival is truly a precious, miraculous gift. And we are so very, very grateful.
So very proud of my son and daughter-in-law and oh so grateful to my Heavenly Father for granting our family this miracle baby.
I found out on Sunday afternoon that she truly is a miracle baby....
My daughter-in-law had been told she would never have children when she was a junior in high school.
She was in the ICU at six months with severe asthma and pneumonia...so severe the question had been asked by the docs, "Who do we save?"
So Marley Marie's arrival is truly a precious, miraculous gift. And we are so very, very grateful.
Friday, June 25, 2010
Seth Godin, Jack Canfield and me
I've recently subscribed at the recommendation of a friend to Seth Godin's blog and he posted something today that struck a chord with me.
You're already self-employed
It reminded me of Jack Canfield's Success Principle #1. Take 100% Responsibility.
If you're not where you want to be professionally, then you need to own that. Take 100% of the responsibility for it.
Once you do, then you'll see that no one but you is responsible for your career track...
No one but you is responsible for how your co-workers perceive you.....
No one but you is holding you back.....
No one but you.......
Hate your job? Go do something about it! You're self-employed! You don't have to stay where you are! Create a new job for yourself!
Yes you can.......
No one but you.....
You're already self-employed
It reminded me of Jack Canfield's Success Principle #1. Take 100% Responsibility.
If you're not where you want to be professionally, then you need to own that. Take 100% of the responsibility for it.
Once you do, then you'll see that no one but you is responsible for your career track...
No one but you is responsible for how your co-workers perceive you.....
No one but you is holding you back.....
No one but you.......
Hate your job? Go do something about it! You're self-employed! You don't have to stay where you are! Create a new job for yourself!
Yes you can.......
No one but you.....
Saturday, June 19, 2010
Musing today about America's young families
My bedside table is stacked high with books for me to get to, but lately those that are holding my interest have a lot to do with money. Not the love of it, mind you, but how we as a country have gotten to the point where families are staggering under a mountain of credit card debt, student loans, car payments and so on.
We're beginning a new ministry at Calvary called the Money Mentors. This team of eight will be available soon to help people get back on track financially in private sessions. So in preparation for this new ministry, I have been doing a lot of outside reading. Two books which have moved off the tables and into my hands and brain are Linda Kelley's Two Incomes and Still Broke? It's Not How Much You Make, It's How Much You Keep and Tamara Draut's well-researched tome', Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-somethings Can't Get Ahead.
Strapped, while I am still reading it, has already provided some food for thought. My older children face the issues she addresses. According to her book, The average college student borrows $20,000 for a bachelors degree, while the average graduate student accumulates $46,000. And low-income students and students of color take on even more. Federal grants for student aid have rapidly declined since the 1980's and now federal help for college comes mainly in the form of loans.
In addition, according to a Nellie Mae study (one of the Sallie Mae student loan companies), the average college senior had six credit cards and an average balance of just over $3,200 in 2002. College students are heavily marketed to by the various credit card companies. The top 300 state schools in the country received $1 billion from the credit card companies in marketing arrangements.
It's a depressing financial picture, isn't it? You are starting your new life as an adult already deeply in debt. Putting those two debts together, debt load for new college graduates could easily reach $25,000 eating away 40 - 60% of the income from the new job. Add on to that the new car, the furniture for the new apartment and you're drowning in debt within no time!
Draut also points out that Gen Xers and Milennials have mostly retreated from the political arena so there is no one pushing for economic reform for this age group. Instead, congress is being lobbied by the credit card companies who made almost $8,000,000 in political contributions in the 2004 election cycle.
More to come.....
We're beginning a new ministry at Calvary called the Money Mentors. This team of eight will be available soon to help people get back on track financially in private sessions. So in preparation for this new ministry, I have been doing a lot of outside reading. Two books which have moved off the tables and into my hands and brain are Linda Kelley's Two Incomes and Still Broke? It's Not How Much You Make, It's How Much You Keep and Tamara Draut's well-researched tome', Strapped: Why America's 20- and 30-somethings Can't Get Ahead.
Strapped, while I am still reading it, has already provided some food for thought. My older children face the issues she addresses. According to her book, The average college student borrows $20,000 for a bachelors degree, while the average graduate student accumulates $46,000. And low-income students and students of color take on even more. Federal grants for student aid have rapidly declined since the 1980's and now federal help for college comes mainly in the form of loans.
In addition, according to a Nellie Mae study (one of the Sallie Mae student loan companies), the average college senior had six credit cards and an average balance of just over $3,200 in 2002. College students are heavily marketed to by the various credit card companies. The top 300 state schools in the country received $1 billion from the credit card companies in marketing arrangements.
It's a depressing financial picture, isn't it? You are starting your new life as an adult already deeply in debt. Putting those two debts together, debt load for new college graduates could easily reach $25,000 eating away 40 - 60% of the income from the new job. Add on to that the new car, the furniture for the new apartment and you're drowning in debt within no time!
Draut also points out that Gen Xers and Milennials have mostly retreated from the political arena so there is no one pushing for economic reform for this age group. Instead, congress is being lobbied by the credit card companies who made almost $8,000,000 in political contributions in the 2004 election cycle.
More to come.....
Sunday, February 21, 2010
Starting Over With a Clean Piece of Paper
I'm sitting this morning watching "Meet the Press", listening to a republican and a democratic congressman arguing over the gridlock in Washington. They've been talking about health care, deficits, the stimulus package and arguing over which party has the answer. The republican had a bright idea, "starting over with a clean piece of paper". I'm sorry that I don't recall the context, it was the phrase that led me here to my blog.
Doesn't that sound like a great idea? Starting over with a clean piece of paper.... There are a few parts of my life that I'd like to start over clean and at least one that I already have. Unfortunately starting over with a completely clean piece of paper isn't entirely possible. I can't completely start over my finances, for instance, I have to start where I am and make changes going forward. I can't start over raising my adult children, or start with a clean piece of paper with our adopted boys either.
Each of the pages of the book of our lives up until this point are filled, but each page going forward is a clean fresh page. I can change what will be written; I must forgive myself for the contents of each previous page.
There is a way to replace my entire book, though! The day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour I was given a clean book! God replaced my worn out, torn, tear-stained and dirty pages with clean pieces of paper and still does each time I ask him for forgiveness.
Do you want a new book? All you have to do is ask!
Doesn't that sound like a great idea? Starting over with a clean piece of paper.... There are a few parts of my life that I'd like to start over clean and at least one that I already have. Unfortunately starting over with a completely clean piece of paper isn't entirely possible. I can't completely start over my finances, for instance, I have to start where I am and make changes going forward. I can't start over raising my adult children, or start with a clean piece of paper with our adopted boys either.
Each of the pages of the book of our lives up until this point are filled, but each page going forward is a clean fresh page. I can change what will be written; I must forgive myself for the contents of each previous page.
There is a way to replace my entire book, though! The day I accepted Jesus as my Lord and Saviour I was given a clean book! God replaced my worn out, torn, tear-stained and dirty pages with clean pieces of paper and still does each time I ask him for forgiveness.
Do you want a new book? All you have to do is ask!
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