Today has not been a no spend day.

It hasn't been a bargain day either.

It has been one of those days you save up for.

Today is my birthday. DH took me shopping at a clothing store that had sent me a 15% off card for my birthday. I found some items that were 40% off and using the 15% and then using my credit card, also received 5% off. That was nice, but it still cost money. But, I did find some new clothes.

We went to a pricey restaurant for my meal. No balloons, no singing waiters, just an excellent dinner with fabulous service. It was nice and relaxing and wonderful.

I didn't worry about the cost or saving money or feeling guilty. All those days I scrimped and saved...all those overworked leftovers...all those coupons clipped and sales studied...it enabled me to be like a queen today.

Now tomorrow...I go back to being ordinary penny pinching me!

Yes, indeedy, it sparkles and shines, and cools and freezes. Since the fridge was starting to look bare, I took the time to pull everything out and clean everything. It wasn't bad, but it made me feel like I had accomplished something. While I was doing this, sent DH to Aldi for our weekly run so when he got home, I had things organized and it looked tidy.

I used some of our left over ham and made ham and beans. I had left over cornbread so it made a nice supper.

Since I'm still recovering from whatever it was (or is) I didn't leave the house. I really had no desire to fight the crowds for the returning or the sales. I took down a bunch of the decorations, did some breathing treatments, and rested in between. I have some books and magazines that are due tomorrow at the library, so I wanted to finish those so I can return them. It would have been a no spend day if we hadn't had the Aldi run, but that's OK. It was a planned expenditure.

Had an interesting phone call yesterday from a relative. Seems they wanted to bake an apple pie, but had no apples and wanted to know if the local grocery was open. Really? On Christmas Day? All I can say is everything is done last minute and then mews when things don't work out. We are sort of put on the spot because they claim to have little savings, lots of bills, and we have so much. I will agree, we are blessed. But I am a planner. I plan meals. I plan shopping. I plan savings for Christmas. So, I know this makes me sound like Scrooge, but I have trouble feeling a lot of sorrow for their predicament.

Hope you had a good day after Christmas and Boxing Day for those of you who celebrate it.

Christmas break began for me yesterday. Yay! Fortunately I can actually relax.

Throughout the year we put money in a Christmas Club account and saved what we thought we would spend. I also shopped sales for presents throughout the year and stowed things back. As for baking, I bought things on sale so I would have it in my pantry. And last week, one of the grocery stores had a special on flour (78 cents for 5 lbs), sugar (88 cents for 4 pounds) and powdered sugar and brown sugar (88 cents a package) so I bought one of each to replace what I used.

Last summer as we went to thrift stores, flea markets, and garage sales, we found wrapping paper very cheap so I bought that. We also found Christmas cards reasonable. Yes, I'm one of those old fashioned fools who still sends Christmas cards. I like sending them as well as receiving them and although the postage is expensive, I think writing cards and letters has become a lost art.

We shipped our two presents to friends earlier this month, mailed our Christmas cards at the beginning of the month, and I baked and gave out baskets of goodies. I wrapped presents and other than one present we need to deliver, that is taken care of.

I have my Christmas Eve and Christmas day menu planned and items purchased.

I am not dreading the after Christmas bills because everything is paid for. It is a good feeling. I am very blessed.

What I have to say may not be popular, but I'm going to speak my mind anyway. I have some Facebook friends who often complain about not having money...and a couple of these folks put it right out there that they are broke.

I understand that things come up and it can hurt one's financial situation. We have all had unexpected expenses. That is not what I'm irritated about.

These same folks are the ones who spend tons of money on cigarettes, booze, and tattoos.

One person talks about how their SSI just isn't enough and then mentions the new tattoo that is wanted.

Really?

Don't complain you can't make your benefit check or your paycheck stretch when you are getting what I would term luxuries such as tattoos, cigarettes, and booze. Especially if that check is coming from tax payers who work hard, save money, and pay for things as they come.

You want cigarettes? Then make sure you other bills are paid before getting them. Want to have some body art? Be sure you have food in your house and gas in your car before getting inked. Don't spend the money ahead of time and then moan and whine how you don't have money for groceries or you don't know how you are going to drive to work.

OK, rant over. Thanks for letting me vent. I'm sure the folks who this really pertains to would either deny it was them or wouldn't bother to read it.

The phone rang just a few minutes ago...some acquaintance hitting us up for a donation for her organization. Usually it is in the spring, but she said they moved it to the fall. Bet they have one in the spring too. We never hear from this person except when she calls to ask for a donation.

Last week we had two small visitors. Both were neighborhood kids, one selling popcorn for Cub Scouts and the other with a school fundraiser. Overpriced stuff. Yikes. We of course bought an item from each of them. I told DH that was it for the year. This one family sends kids over every single time there is some sort of school fundraiser. I work at a different school and I get hit up at school and have the policy of I buy something from the first child who asks me to support my own school. I understand schools need money, but this is getting ridiculous.

Two weeks ago our school's foundation asked all of us for monetary donations.

And, the two buildings I work in wanted money for the "Sunshine Committee" dues.

This is even pinpointing the mail we received the past two weeks requesting donations.

I can't keep up at this rate. If we give to everyone, it will totally blow my budget. Yet, how and when do we decline? We have three places we give regularly in addition to all these fundraisers. I don't want to take money from them. Yet, I don't need any gift wrap or overpriced candy and popcorn. Enough already!

For the record, I don't collect bricks.

My husband would disagree. He swore I put bricks in the garbage bag in the kitchen. I tried to tell him I was helping him stay healthy by doing some weight lifting, but he didn't buy it.

Actually, I'm not sure what was in the bag. I don't remember putting a lot of stuff in there. We recycle as much as we can and I don't use a large amount of stuff with wrapping. I think he just likes to gripe about something.

We had another meeting with our financial adviser today. After our discussion last week, we decided to move some of our money out of money markets and ladder CD's so it is still basically liquid, but makes a little more than the pittance we are getting now. We have our money in a bank and a credit union. The credit union was great, but the bank, well, they were a pain when we tried to make a withdrawal. They wanted us to work with their financial adviser whom they called over and he said he could put our money in an annuity. We explained we didn't want it tied up like that and he said it was our best bet. We asked if it was linked to an insurance company and he said yes and how wonderful it was.

Sorry, we aren't interested! It shouldn't be that difficult to withdraw your own money. We weren't taking it all out, just part of it and the hard sell didn't endear them to us.

I've worked with our financial adviser for 28 years. He was decent to me when I had little and is still nice...it isn't the money or investments. He's just a trustworthy, kind man.

DH was telling him how we shop at Aldi, hit loss leaders at the grocery store, and how I rework leftovers. Last week we had a pork tenderloin roast for one meal, then I cut it up and with the broth from the roast, cooked it with onions, carrots, zucchini, and celery to make a stew with crushed tomatoes. After the stew, I let it cook down a little more so it was thicker and served it over rice. Three different meals from one piece of meat.

I roasted squash tonight as well as potatoes. Since they were not all eaten, I put them with stew meat and other vegetables and some leftover green beans and we will have beef vegetable soup tomorrow night. I have been freezing the leftover soup so I can thaw and heat it up on those days when I get home too late to fix something. Fortunately DH loves soup.

Our squash plant is doing quite well and I look forward to making soup from it. Anyone have a good recipe they are willing to share?

Last week when we went to the library, I ran across a book in the new section entitled, "Bargain Fever" by Mark Ellwood. It stated that paying full price is so "passe'" It was an interesting read and as I told DH about it, he wanted to read it as well. It was a pretty easy ready and pointed out some interesting facts, so I would suggest it if you are going to the library. The author explained how some high end stores have secret sales and how Americans no long want to pay full price.

As far as bargains, I think I found one the other day. A friend was having a garage sale and we went. She had two new packages of sheer curtains and they were a dollar each. Just what I wanted for my husband's den. I had bought some curtains on sale a few months back and put them up, but didn't want to pay for sheers since they weren't on sale. So glad I waited.

We picked our first zucchini and our tomatoes are starting to come on as well.

We met with our financial advisor as he did a review and a projection. He felt we were in a good place and our frugality pays off. It was nice talking to someone who "gets" it. He understands about saving money, even the little stuff. It is always nice to be validated.

School is out and it is nice to know I can sort of take it easy for awhile.

Of course, Thursday was my first day off and we ran like crazy people. Not because we wanted to, but things came up at the last minute. My husband's high school principal died and he really wanted to attend the visitation. The man had a long, healthy life and died at 97...it was a good way for DH to remember him and the good memories of his high school days. Plus, he saw some of his classmates at the visitation.

I think one of the best things about being off is getting to do things around the house at a much more relaxed pace. It is nice shopping for different foods knowing I don't have to rush home and fix them after work. And I don't have to have a cleaning marathon every weekend.

DH had his yearly physical Friday morning so I went to Aldi while he was out. I found turkey tenderloins which are seasonal. I grilled them Saturday night as well as grilling potatoes and zucchini so I didn't heat up the house. I was as excited about this meal than if we had gone out to eat at a fancy restaurant. They were good -- I grilled them and then added barbecue sauce right before I took them off. Moist and flavorful and enough for at least another meal.

I was teasing DH we spent big money today. Actually, we did. Our property taxes are due. But, it is nice to know I could just take the money out of savings and pay them and it was taken care of. We also put money in our different savings accounts. We have a lot of different accounts...one is our basic emergency account, we have one we are using for home improvements and we call it our new roof account at this point. We have a vacation account and a Christmas club account and then there is a basic savings account we sometimes put money in just to keep it active. Someone told us we were crazy to have so many accounts, but I explained it helped us plan for things. We know we have a certain amount of money for vacation so if we didn't save enough, it means our spending stops and we don't do as much or go as far. We have a Christmas club so we have a set limit to spend and aren't tempted to spend more. Actually, DH uses half of it for Christmas and half of it for my birthday since my birthday is less than 12 days after Christmas. Of course the same friend who was telling us we didn't need all these accounts is the person who eats out at least once a day and puts everything on a credit card. Think I'll keep my multiple accounts and pay cash.

I live in Central Illinois. We had a snowstorm yesterday and like much of the country, we have extremely cold temperatures. Wind chills are in double digit negative numbers. Brrrr!

Friday night and Saturday were interesting in our city; people posted photos of the run at grocery stores. I guess many of them ran out of things on the shelves.

Yesterday was my birthday and we originally had planned on going out for pizza with some friends. We changed our plans with the blowing snow, cold temps, and terrible conditions. Since I had anticipated going out, I didn't purchase buns at Aldi for our normal Sunday night sloppy chicks. We had them, but I had no buns, so I baked bread yesterday. I baked small round loaves that after cooling, we sliced for buns. Not too bad and certainly pretty reasonable money wise. I did not plan on hitting the stores Friday night or Saturday just for a package of buns! We had been watching the weather and did our grocery shopping Thursday since I'm off from school.

I imagine most of you have stuff in reserve in your pantry and freezer. I know we do. We eventually would need to replenish some things, but DH was talking last night about how we didn't have to brave the craziness at the grocery stores. I like to find things on sale and stock up.

We are going to pay someone to plow out our driveway. I'm sorry, with over 8 inches of snow received, and then drifting, I am not going to shovel in weather with wind chills of -35. The hospital bill will be more than what we pay the guy to plow our driveway. Maybe that's a weird way of looking at it, but I know it will make me sick if I get out there with my asthma. DH has a little heart condition that we don't want to make worse so I don't want him out in it either plus he froze his lungs a couple of years ago and can't handle extreme cold like he used to.

Hope everyone is warm and safe.

There's an article about paying with cash costing Americans money.

Not the surface kind of answer, but the fact people are paying fees to pay with cash. I can't figure out if the gist of the article is to go cashless or just reporting. I don't trust media anymore because gone are the days when they just reported the facts...so many stories are so biased.

Here is the URL:

http://www.today.com/money/paying-cash-costs-americans-200-billion-year-8C11363366

This has been a nice weekend, but I have spent money. We walked around our downtown area yesterday. We have lots of small locally owned shops. I like the idea of supporting local small businesses. One place had 20% off things and I did buy quite a few things, but they were things I would have purchased anyway. Two things were presents so saving the 20% was nice. We also went to a local wine store. We aren't wine drinkers, but we were looking around for a nice bottle to give as a present and found one, I think, this person will like. We made our way to the grocery store and came home so I could begin supper.

Today we hit a flea market and an antique mall. We didn't spend much, but we had a nice time looking. We came home to get to work.

DH picked cherry tomatoes. I dried parsley and put it in a jar for this winter. After DH brought in the tomatoes, I washed them and went out and picked some of the onions we have left, some basil, and DH picked a bell pepper. I made two quarts of tomato sauce...that is a lot of cherry tomatoes for that much sauce!

We had sloppy chicks for supper (sloppy joes made with ground chicken) and I used half of a quart of sauce. The leftovers will be lunches for this week. But, I will now have 11 quarts of tomato sauce in the freezer. Not bad for those little tomatoes!

I just finished a biography of Hetty Green, the richest woman in America during the Gilded Age.

I found the book at the library and I had not heard of her. DH said she was considered crazy and nasty. Half way through the book I did look her up and it seems that almost all the online sites have the same info...wonder if they got their research from the same place.

The author of this book was more kind than the stuff on the online sites.

In a nutshell, Hetty was born to a rich family, but her family said it was the family's responsibility to make more money for future generations. Hetty was considered a miser. She was considered a cheapskate. Yet, as the author pointed out, if she had been a male, she would have been considered smart. She lived in small places, ate at simple restaurants, and didn't spend big bucks on personal fashion. She raised her kids to be careful with money.

It's funny how we like to compare ourselves to people we read about. I was just thinking that although I'm not wealthy and wasn't born wealthy, I try to find ways to save money. And some of the people I work with consider me a cheapskate.

According to the author, Hetty is like Warren Buffet...the thrill isn't in having great riches, but growing those riches. Maybe that is what those of us on SA like as well.

Well, we did it. DH and I have discussing this for a few months and we have been buying items very reasonably and ... we put down rent for a booth in a local antique mall.

I am both excited and frightened. My folks always did something for extra money. When I was a kid they had a furniture store and when we moved they had a small antique shop. I am, by no means, an expert on anything, but I am hoping we can make some money as well as have some fun buying and selling.

Our booth is very small and therefore fairly reasonable. I have a variety of items, priced differently. DH has argued with me over this one item...it is a very large candle with a primitive beaded ring around it sitting on a glass plate. He says it is too ugly and I say for $2.00, someone might buy it just for the candle and the plate. We shall see.

We set it up this afternoon. The place is supposed to have a flea market on the grounds this weekend so hopefully it will bring in more customers. I hope we have a nice weekend for it.

Any suggestions for a successful booth?

Wish us luck!

Each week I fix a fruit salad. Same fruit. During the winter it is pricey, but we pay for it anyway because we believe it has helped us stay healthier. Our fruit salad consists of grapes, strawberries, blueberries, raspberries, and blackberries and sometimes I get wild and add an apple at the last minute or kiwi. Each night I slice a banana and then put the fruit salad over it. It's pretty and yummy, and we like it. That being said, this week DH found strawberries on sale so we had leftover salad. I took the remainder of it in my lunch. The ladies I eat with were amazed that we have fruit every night. Cleaning the fruit and cutting up strawberries doesn't take that long. I know folks are busy, but THAT busy?

I've blogged about the bread making and so far, the kids have loved it. I do have some left at the end of each day and I hate for it to go to waste so I offer it to staff. One lady who I know cooks quite a bit was shocked that it was a recipe and not a box mix for the bread machine. I told her those box mixes about $4 each and why spend so much when with 6 ingredients, you can make basic white bread? So, she asked for the recipe.

We hit a true thrift shop today and found some great bargains. I found two small American flags, made in America, a small Howard Miller clock with a picture frame, some linen napkins, a small blue and white candle holder, and an unused candle...total cost: $6 for all. I did not need any of this stuff, but the candle will go in my stash when I need a quick gift. The candle holder is for me...I like blue and white stuff. We will use the napkins, and the flags are going in our yard. The clock is going to go next to my chair in the family room because I take off my watch when I get home and we don't have a wall clock. It had been a gift to someone who works for a large milling company here in Decatur...there is a small (less than an inch wide) logo on it, but it looks news. Fine with me. Howard Miller is a famous clock maker so hopefully the clock will run for a long time...it had a battery in it and it was working.

About a month and a half ago a university offered an online course to any teachers in our district on financial matters and retirement. You are to sign up, agree to take the coursework, and they pay you $25 for signing up and $25 when you finish. I signed up not only for the money, but also, I hoped to learn some things. I have taken three modules and I can say I have learned a few things about vocabulary and such. Some of the things are common sense like emergency fund and savings accounts. But, it never hurts to learn new things and get paid to do it besides. I don't think many signed up. Oh, well.

It was a beautiful day here in Central Illinois. After hitting the library and the thrift shop, we went to Lowe's and bought some plants. DH has been busily planting tomato plants, bell pepper plants, and herbs. We sure hope for a good harvest!

On the news tonight part of the midsection of the country is forecasting tornadoes. Hope they don't get them and hope they don't come here either.

Hope you had a great Saturday as well.

I am a public school teacher in Illinois. Unfortunately, our state legislators have not made sure our pension funds have been funded like the law says and have, in fact, raided them to pay for pet projects. As a result, our state is having major issues with finances. One topic is to do away with the cost of living raises, or not have them take effect right away. With the teacher pension, one had to reach a certain age before they would kick in. I am not sure about the other pension funds.

A friend if ours is retired and he is worried. I am not sure if worried is actually a strong enough word.

When he worked, he had a position where he made good money for many years. He bought a big house, traded cars often, and traveled extensively. He and his wife did not do without.

He counts on those yearly raises...he said he isn't sure what to do if they don't come...he admitted they owe on their home, cars, have a personal loan and credit card debt.

He was truly grousing and going on and on. But one thing we did notice is they aren't cutting back. They are planning two trips and eating out almost every day. The spending continues.

His finances scare me.

The sad thing is he made good money. I really wonder where they are going to end up. It would be different if he made little and health made him retire. But, there isn't any use to try and talk to him...he feels he deserves to have all the nice things he has purchased on credit.

A calm Tuesday in the Midwest. My kind of day, that's for sure.

Well, calm for me anyway. Seems the boys at my school were riled up and no one knew why. So many were making such poor choices and I don't even think they could verbalize why.

I wonder if that is the problem with so many folks who are unwise with money. Can they verbalize why?

It is interesting hearing this one couple justify buying a new vehicle last week. Both felt they had to buy a new vehicle because the youngest will be driving next year. She said that they got a great deal and $3,000 cash back which just about made up for what they owed on the other one?!?

Their family isn't the only one I knew who trades vehicles while still owing money. It's one thing if you have an accident and you owed money and had to replace the car, but to go out and buy another when you didn't have the original one paid off.

I'm not nosy enough to ask, but I wonder how many cars these folks never paid off and rolled over. Maybe I really don't want to know.

Perusing the paper today, there were two stories next to each other on the same page. One was outlining how so many more folks are having to use the local foodbanks because they can't make their money stretch after paying bills and then how many folks ordered the new iPhone and what a record it was.

Wow...some folks are spending big bucks on technology while others are struggling to eat. Wonder what's in between?

OK, maybe ghastly is a bit strong. But, they were sad.

Each spring our subdivision does sales on a Friday and Saturday in April. DH got up early, showered, and hit them early with a list of things we were looking for as well as a list of things a friend was looking for.

He came home empty handed. He said the pickin's were slim.

I wonder if the economy is showing it's hoary head.

I suggested this to DH -- perhaps folks don't have the money to buy new stuff, so they aren't letting go of anything we are interested in, just trying to sell those things that aren't necessary.

I know the local thrift shops are booming around here. I certainly hope things start looking up for the families in my community as well as the rest of the country. Not because I feel the desire for better garage sales, but it's difficult for so many families to keep their heads above water.

Before heading off to work, I try to peruse the paper for a few local stories and glance at some headlines.

However, one story caught my eye that claimed that the recovering economy can withstand the rising gas prices.

I'm wondering where they got that information. Maybe some cities won't have a problem, but locally, we have had two businesses with major layoffs, and many of our folks who are employed are underemployed. I'm sure having to choose between gas in the tank and food on the table and medicine for health, many will not buy fuel and try to find alternatives or stay at home.

I'm sure our tourism will be hurt this summer too.

I remember when news stories were supposed to be factual and based on true stuff. It seems that news is often skewed by sensationalism to tell the story or the personal views of the editor. I'm a realist. If it is a news story, I want the facts, good or bad. If I want to read an opinion, I'll look on the editorial page. I really wonder where the reporter got those facts on the economy and gas prices. A generalized story on the wire doesn't mean everyone has the same situation. So, I am thinking we might have a situation where the economy might not be able to weather these gas prices...at least near me.

Just call me a skeptic!

It's been an odd few days. We received our home insurance bill and it went up almost $100. I guess it is because of so many claims all over the country. In the almost 22 years we have had homeowner's insurance, we had one claim and it was to replace a small area of guttering when the ice storm had a tree hit our house.

Gas prices skyrocketed. I know that was everywhere in the U.S. What we find interesting is although the local service stations have already bought some of the gas, as soon as they catch wind of oil prices going up, they raise the price, although they haven't bought any of the new gas.

Our governor is trying to cut things everywhere. He's trying to figure out how he can cut teacher pensions. I understand that our state is in trouble, but Illinois teachers pay a huge amount of their paychecks for their pension. Unfortunately the legislature hasn't kept up their end of the bargain for years and has raised the pension plan to pay for projects they wanted. Now the governor wants to cut the health insurance. Teachers pay for their health insurance so it isn't like they get it free.

It is getting scary since I'm getting closer to retirement. I'm hoping there will be a pension plan and insurance plan when my time comes. Illinois teachers are not eligible for Social Security.

Our city has been hit with layoffs at two places this week. I know the national news says the recession is over, but our unemployment has remained high. Now with these two major employers laying more off, it is getting downright frightening.

Hope things are better where you are!

A couple of the restaurants we like have Facebook pages and often they post their specials for the night. As a joke, I have been posting what I've fixed for supper. I get some interesting comments, usually folks asking to come over!

One gal asked if I ever took a night off. I said I do because I do, but I also responded that I cook things ahead. Tonight we had lasagna. I had planned it because I wanted a filling supper as well as stuff for lunches. I had already bought the lasagna noodles on sale, had a coupon and a sale on the cheese, and hubby found a good deal on ground chicken. I used the tomato sauce I made last summer with our tomatoes, onions and basil, so it wasn't the most expensive meal either.

One couple we sometimes do things with never plan anything ahead. They have called and asked us to go out to eat and I have often had to say that I had already started supper. They act like I'm crazy. DH says they fly by the seat of their pants. I admit we do eat out, but I do cook a lot too. And, I usually plan my weekly menus to use what we have as well as utilize those items on sale. Maybe I'm anal, but it is reassuring to know I have our meals planned and some fixed and ready to heat.

I think planning goes farther than just food. We plan for vacation by saving up and reading up. We save up for most things and then check Consumer Reports to see if it is a good value. I have been trying to put a bit of money away for the past 20+ years for retirement. I can't say I'll be rich, but hopefully I won't live in poverty, either.

Is it safe to assume that if you are on Saving Advice you are a planner too?

As I catch up on my reading, Time had a story about what people think about the "American dream." It asked if people think it is attainable for today's youth, or has it become impossible?

How thought provoking! I've been talking about this with a lot of people and it is interesting to listen to their comments. Some people say they feel it is not attainable like it has been in the past because the economy is hindering the upward movement.

Yet others say it is still in one's reach, but people have to be willing to work hard and look for ways to reach it.

I'm going to agree with the latter. The reason I believe this is I think people can still move up and better themselves. I think it can be difficult and challenging. However, I also think people need to prioritize what their dream might be. Plus, they need to work for it, not figure it will be handed to them.

For example, I have a friend who works two jobs. Neither job is super high paying, but could be adequate. She still runs out of money. She rents, drives a beater, and complains about her situation. I have encouraged her to budget, open up a savings account, and not rely on credit cards. A few years ago she wanted to buy a house and went to the bank to be pre-approved. When she told me how much she was pre-approved for, I told her not to spend that much because it would keep her from having any disposable income. She looked at houses and since they weren't what she wanted, she never bought one. A friend of mine had a stroke and her daughters sold her house -- very reasonable and far less than what my friend had been pre-approved for. But, since it wasn't "perfect" she didn't want it.

Another friend of mine works one full time job. It's not anything that is going to make her rich -- in fact she makes less than the aforementioned friend. But, she owns her home, bought a used car where she can afford the payments, and saves up for things. When she bought her house, she bought it at a reasonable price and fixed up what she needed to fix up to move in and has been working on it since. She will probably never be wealthy, but she feels she has done very well and is satisified with her life.

I think in a lot of cases, the person needs to figure out what their dream is and then work towards it. Yet, I think it is that four letter word that is hindering many: work. There are those who feel "entitled" to a fancy house, big car, and large salary.

If watching some of the house hunting shows are any indication, many people are not willing to buy a house and fix it up -- they want a house with all the bells and whistles like what their parents have, the parents who have worked over 40 years to achieve what they want.

I think today's economy reflects this mindset. Another friend laughs at me when I tell them we have a regular savings, a Christmas club, a vacation savings, and then another account that we put money in for whatever thing we are saving for, be it a fridge, dishwasher, or now, a new furnace. I guess immediate gratification brought about by credit cards has made saving and anticpating a thing of the past for many.

So, I wonder what others think. Is the American dream attainable, or is the youth of tomorrow doomed?

One of the "joys" of being a homeowner means replacing or repairing things when they break or wear out.

Earlier this fall we had to replace our 13 year old water heater.

We figure we better start a furnace fund. The furnace was here when we bought the house -- it is over 14 years old and knowing the previous owners who replaced it, it probably wasn't top of the line. We have it checked every year and I replace the filters each month. It had quite a workout last summer with the extreme heat and so I we are hoping it will last through the winter.

So, I've been looking for ways to contribute to this savings. I found a broken gold chain and dh took it in today we received $24 for it. Not too bad for something that was sitting in the drawer.

I had to drive some for work last month and received a mileage check...it's going in the fund too.

I think I'm going to ask the credit card for a check for our cashback bonus and put that in. Plus, I'm trying to put a set amount in each month.

Now, if the furnace will be good and not break before we can afford a new one!

A gal I work with recently was demoted. Not only has her job drastically changed, her salary went down almost half. This was not a sign of the economic times, but apparently, from the rumors, a result of some poor decisions made professionally.

She is now working on a regular teacher's salary and complains nonstop about paying union dues, and how hard it is to make it on this salary.

The other day she was asking me how come I don't complain about the salary. I told her because I feel like I'm getting paid a fair amount and that I feel blessed to have a job.

She said it must because I don't have kids. I told her I don't think that was it at all, but that I have a different set of priorities than she does.

This gal has always had to purchase name brand everything. She has to have the expensive purses like Coach. And one is not enough. She has to have a different one for each outfit.

She has jewelry and we aren't talking about the reasonable stuff.

And her clothes have all been top of the line, name brand items. Each week it was a pursuit to buy the latest and greatest.

I know she has looked down her nose at my shoes (which are not only reasonable, but comfortable), to my clothes, and especially my purses. OK, I'll admit it, I buy cheap purses. I have two criteria -- they have to have a comfortable shoulder strap and I need to have room for my iPad.

I told her my priorities are far different than hers and I discovered that being satisified with the things I own has made me far happier than always trying to buy the latest and greatest.

She told me she has changed and that her priorities have changed and she didn't buy a purse last weekend, even though she wanted to.

As she said that, she finished paperclipping some papers and the pile she had left, she gathered into her hand and threw them into the garbage.

They may only be paperclips, but I think it shows her character...and I am not buying the priority change. Would you?

We were watching Suze Orman last night and some gal called in in the "Can I Afford It" segment. This segment is where you tell Suze what you want to buy and she looks at your debts and investments and money and tells you if it is a good idea. Anyway, this gal wanted to buy something and she listed her income and then her sweetheart allowance. Suze asked what that was and she said it was her boyfriend's gift to each month. I looked at dh and asked him how come he hadn't given me a sweetheart allowance when we were dating. We laughed about that. I hadn't ever heard of it. Have you?

Remember when retailers would ask you, cash, check, or charge?

For awhile around here, checks were considered lethal. A lot of places wouldn't consider taking them because they had been burnt with folks writing bad ones. I guess with technology, many are more comfortable because the money can be taken out almost immediately. Which is a good thing for retailers.

My husband has always paid cash for things. It was an issue when we married 21 years ago because he didn't have a credit rating. It made getting a home loan a challenge and we paid a larger interest rate since he had no credit rating although I had a good one. He didn't have a checking account and hated writing checks. He's not thrilled with it now, but since he's retired and does a lot of the shopping, he does write a few more. He did not have a credit card and when we married, I added him to one of mine. He rarely used it, but he's getting a little more comfortable now.

But, that's not to say he or we are spending like fools. If we charge something, it's for the convenience of using the card and then we pay it off when the bill comes.

Since the US' credit rating has been downgraded, lots of business folks are on news programs talking about what it means. One gal said "Cash is king." I know that mantra has been said by many in the past couple of years.

In my own simple thinking, until people realize that they can't buy things if they don't have the cash on hand, our economy is going to struggle. The whole housing fiasco where banks gave loans to folks who really couldn't afford home and no interest and no down payments...why would they think they are responsible for paying if it was so easy?

I know the economic woes extend to more things that this...jobs being a big issue. But, until many folks live within their means and have the cash to cover the checks and charges, we will continue to have problems and we all pay for it in the long run.

My dh was watching the stock market numbers for the last half hour before it closed...dropping almost 513 points...newscasters claimed it was the biggest drop since 2008.

Tomorrow the unemployment numbers come out...I'm wondering if we need to fasten our seatbelt for yet another drop. I hope not, but things are looking grim. We were watching the news and they said veterans who have returned from oversees are coming back and having problems getting jobs. One gal said she has applied for 300 jobs -- she wants to be a chef, but said she'd be happy at a fast food restaurant, just to get a job and her foot in the door.

I hope tomorrow is a better day.

A week or so ago I posted about certain grocery prices on the rise and many responded you are seeing the same thing.

Last night as we watched Suze Orman, she predicted in 2012 that things might get worse. She said if gas prices continue to rise, groceries will as well, as much as 14-40%! She said that not only does the transporting of food go up, but petroleum products are used for make plastic containers for things that we buy. I never thought of that, but she is right.

As I'm fixing stuff, I'm thinking, am I going to be doing this because I want to save money or because I have to save money?

Suze Orman suggested that people stay conservative for 2012 because she thinks things could get tight. I read in the paper yesterday that the experts are now saying the recession was far worse than they originally thought. No kidding. One of our local food pantries is giving out 100-120 boxes of food each day.

So, do you think Suze is right on grocery prices going up as much as 40%? If she is, it is going to hurt the economy even more because housing and food are necessary items and people will be using their money to buy the necessities.

Last summer about this time I blogged that I wanted to new stove. Well, this summer it is a new dishwasher. Our dishwasher still works, so there isn't any hurry. Yet I have found that having a savings goal helps me plan plus lets me anticipate.

My husband is a rare breed -- he carries cash and he likes to pay in exact change. As a result he often has lots of change around the house. I noticed the other day when I was dusting, that his change bowl was overflowing and there seemed to be a lot of pennies. I asked him if I could have the pennies and he said sure. Since there were far more pennies than other coins, I thought this could help both of us out.

Last night I sorted through the change and pulled out the pennies -- over $2.30 worth of pennies. I did find two wheat pennies that I saved. They probably aren't worth anything, but they aren't as plentiful so I thought it would be nice to have two of them before they no longer are in circulation. My husband is a Lincoln buff and I found three pennies that had different Lincoln scenes on the back -- minted in 2009 for his 100th birthday, so I saved those three too.

I checked my wallet and had a few pennies and some extra coins so I threw that in the bag to take to the credit union. Our credit union has one of those change things, but you have to have an account for them to use it. I also had a few extra ones. So my dishwasher account is up to $141.73 (I have added to it previously too).

I know the gurus claim we prices haven't been going up, but I have noticed an increase in many items at the grocery store, plus Illinois increased income tax this spring. It is getting harder to save for nonessentials, so it will probably take me longer to save the money for the dishwasher I want.

Yet, that is OK. It gives me more time to think about and wish for it and appreciate it when I do get it.

I just typed the headline and chuckled to myself because if I were at work, someone would say, do you meant state tests or local assessments. But, no, I'm talking about testing recipes.

I like to read murder mysteries. One of my favorite authors is Joanne Fluke because I like her character, Hannah, but also because she has cookie recipes throughout.

I tested a cookie recipe today and I'm very pleased. It is for chocolate covered raisin cookies and they are pretty tasty. My husband liked cookies, but not raisins. I wanted to bake some cookies as a treat for my bosses for a meeting we have this week so I didn't feel guilty making these cookies and not leaving them for my hubby to enjoy. He's trying to cut back on the sweets a bit, so he's not tempted. I'm sharing it because I think you might like to try it:

Chocolate Covered Raisin Cookies
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F.
1 cup butter (2 sticks) at room temperature
1 small package (makes 4 half cups) butterscotch instant pudding mix – not sugar free
½ cup white sugar (granulated)
½ cup brown sugar
1 egg, beaten
1 teaspoon vanilla extract
¼ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon baking soda
½ teaspoon ground cinnamon
1 ½ cups all purpose flour
1 ½ cups quick rolled oats (not instant)
1 cup chocolate covered raisins (I used Nestle Raisinets, an 11 ounce bag. There was ¼ cup left)
1 cup butterscotch chips (6 oz package)
This makes a very heavy, stiff dough. If you have a mixer, you might want to use it!
Mix the softened butter, dry pudding mix, white sugar, and brown sugar. Beat until creamed. Add the egg and vanilla extract. Add the baking soda, salt and cinnamon.
Add the flour in half cup increments, mixing after each addition. Do the same with the oats.

By hand, add the chocolate covered raisins and butterscotch chips.
Drop the cookie dough by rounded Tablespoons onto cookie sheets. Works best if you have parchment paper on the cookie sheets.

Bake 15 to 17 minutes. Let cool two minutes on cookie sheets and then move to wire racks to cool.


The author in her acknowledgement page thanked one of her in-house story editors who tasted everyone one of the recipes. Now, isn't that a sacrifice?!?

On Sundays our local paper prints a syndicated column by Steve Batie of Houseworks. Usually his columns are about home improvement projects or woodworking. I'm not very handy around the house and woodworking -- let's say I'd prefer not to increase my insurance premiums, but I enjoy his writing style and his well measured sarcastic remarks.

Today he wrote about people saving up for things. He said he thought most folks don't. I would have to agree. Saving has almost become a dirty word to many -- why save when you can have it right now???

I emailed him to thank him for his column, but also to say we are considered odd in our circle of friends -- we save money in a Christmas Club to buy presents come Christmas time. We have a vacation fund where we save up for a trip or two. Last year I used a small savings account to save up for a new stove. When we say we do these things, people look at us like we've sprouted antennae and we are aliens. Why not buy now and pay later? Or, put it on a credit card?

Other than big purchases than a house or a car, we like to save up for things. We did have money for downpayments on both, but that's another story.

Part of it has to do with the anticipation of actually buying something and truly owning it. It isn't an impulse buy and often something we regret. I really enjoy my new stove. I thought about it, researched it, looked at different stoves, and when I finally had the moolah to purchase it outright, decided I deserved the pleasure of owning it. It's mine and I use it and enjoy it. I'm not worrying about it being repossessed. I'm not doing without something else because I purchased it.

The same thing on a vacation. A friend of ours borrowed against his house so he could afford a vacation. I'm thinking to myself, let's see, you don't have the money outright for this trip, so you are going to borrow against the equity of your home to take a trip that when you get back, you will have to worry about paying the extra bills. Somehow, I would have trouble enjoying the vacation.

Granted, there are certain purchases you have to buy because of safety reasons. If I needed a new furnace and it was freezing outside with no thaw in sight, I'd say do what you need to do. But, to purchase an item that you want and then worry about having to pay for it later?

I think in very simplistic terms, the whole idea of not saving is what has gotten our economy in the mess it is in. In general, the Great Depression of the dirty thirties was brought in part by people buying things on credit where they didn't have the money to pay for it. They overextended themselves and eventually it hurt everyone. I think this last recession was a repeat (remember the slogan about those who don't remember the past are doomed to repeat it?) of that same story. People were buying more house than they can afford and suddenly when it came to crunch time, they couldn't make the payments. No money was being paid and suddenly lots of people were losing money. Excuse me, since when has it become a right for everyone to get exactly what they want immediately?

A friend of ours thought I was nuts when I suggested they make sure they had 20% to put down as a downpayment on their house. I received this comment that it would mean they couldn't buy or couldn't buy the size of house they wanted.

I guess I'm old fashioned -- I think that people are more responsible if they have a stake in whatever they are purchasing.

Although most of the folks on this site are committed to saving, I think we are select few. I say we need to make saving money a goal for everyone.