Christmas and New Year’s are excellent occasions for Popping the Question.  Every year about this time, our phone begins ring with newly engaged couples seeking our services.  As professionals, it is our  duty and responsibility to know the ins and outs of planning weddings.  That is, what’s “IN” and what’s not.  Some bridal couples want just the latest, and some are looking for long standing traditions.  We help them realize their wants, wishes and dreams.

Budgets are very much a trend for brides these days.  Finding ways to create special days especially frugally is important to many couples.  Please visit our early post entitled Planning a Wedding on a Tight Budget for some tips and ideas.  This post highlights trending ideas for the reception, buffet and cakes.

RECEPTION: As more and more wedding pavillions and venues are popping up, some brides are opting for money saving ideas such as backyard receptions and public parks with covered structures.  Depending up the size and scope of the reception, these may be good options for saving money.

When choosing a venue, consider the timing of your reception, along with weather, seasonal busyness and guest accessibility.  Most caterers will not cater events without running water, electricity and shelter, so this is an important detail to discuss with your hired professionals.  Often, public park pavillions are reservable and this really is something to manage if you intend to hold the reception in a public place.  Be aware that public does mean public, and you may have people wander through which can be very undesireable. Consider holding the reception on a private lake, scenic ranch estate or church rectory as an alternative.  For outdoor weddings, tenting can often be rented and set up by the rental company.  Feel free to call us for some contact information.

BUFFET: A catered buffet is a major expense for the reception.  However, depending on the menu selection, there are ways to feed your guests well, without busting your budget.  Certain foods are less expensive to prepare than others.  Consider before you decide on a menu what you would like your guests to think about the food you serve them.  What are the most important factors, beauty, taste or economics.  A menu with beautiful bite-sized appetizers may be very delicious, however perhaps not so filling for your guests.  A delicious, simple menu may be quite yummy, and filling, but not very original or elegant.  Which of these menu options is going to fit best in your catering budget?  Consult your caterer, or gives us a call for some excellent menu suggestions.  This is a service we provide to our clients which helps them select the right menu and food options specifically for them.

CAKES: Bridal couples are more commonly choosing smaller ceremonial cakes with the balance of servings in sheet cakes.  They are also opting for cakes iced with smooth butter cream icing, instead of rolled fondant.  Butter cream offers a better flavor than fondant, and experienced cake decorators can achieve a similar smooth finish effect.

Cakes will be decorated with colors found in the bridal ceremony.  Some brides are asking their bridesmaids to wear monochromatic dresses, of slightly different styling, with a common color running throught.  These same colors are finding their way on to the cakes, and as accents on the guest tables. 

Expect trending cake flavors such as pistachio, red velvet, pumpkin spice and German’s sweet chocolate.  However, as ever, traditional white cake with white cream filling still remains popular.  Icing will be piped in dress colors, black and chocolate brown in polkadots, damaske prints and a bit whimsical patterns.  Fresh flowers are still a popular choice for cake toppers, as are metalic monograms.  Birds, butterflies and dragonflies continue to land on cakes too.

The fact that budgets are “IN” is a very good thing.  We like to help bridal couples experience a special, life-memory for them and those who are important to them.  In doing so, we strive to help them stay within a reasonable budget.  After the lights have dimmed, and the party is over, the last thing anyone wants is a big bill that they weren’t counting on.  You can rest assured in working with us, we operate with full disclosure of all expenses upfront, and no hidden anything.  We think you’ll find our approach refreshing and our services exceptional.

I’ve been dreaming about finances….

That’s what happens when you are unemployed for nearly 10 months. Eventually the money starts getting tighter and tighter. To-date I’ve stayed out of debt and kept ahead of the bills… but it looks like that time is coming to an end.

So – where to cut?

I’ve already started doing most of my shopping at WinCo rather than New Seasons. I’ve given up the idea of any new clothes. I only go out a couple times a month and I haven’t purchased a DVD or bought anything on iTunes in forever.

It wasn’t like I was a spend-a-holic before.

That is a bit of a problem for me, not because I can’t cut things out, but because I’m rather frugal so to decrease my spending now means that I will have to get rid of things that I don’t like living without.

Single Malt Scotch – for instance.

Yes – I may have to cut back on my scotch in order to afford to have my house cleaned. Not having my house cleaned is necessary for my existence. Well if not existence – then my health. And health is one of the reasons why the budget has constricted.

Because the government’s assistance with COBRA has run out and my ~$150 a month COBRA has now jumped to ~$500 a month. Not exactly something that I can afford. I’m currently waiting to hear back about the private healthcare that I applied for last week. If that works then I won’t be plowing through my savings quite as fast.

Now it is time to look at every expenditure.

And I mean every penny – from how much I am spending on food to if I can get coffee I like for cheaper. Can I cut back on my Netflix? I don’t have cable TV but I do need the internet. I could stop going out altogether – but that seems drastic – and I’ve already switched from scotch to wine when I go out – a rather amazing savings but harder on me since the wine can trigger a migraine.

Where else can one cut? Or is there really a point when you can’t go any farther?

Okay – you can always go farther. But at what point do you start to lose the things that have become a part of you? When to you say… “STOP I want my life back?” I don’t really want my old life back. I miss the paycheck – but not much else. I’ve discovered I really am a recluse who likes to spend all day working by herself. And it isn’t like there is a lot of jobs out there – my state still has 10.7% unemployment.  

I’m going to have to look at what I can cut – but in January. For now I’m just going to hope I can finish the Christmas shopping without breaking the budget or killing too much of my savings.

I know there are a lot of us out there – without jobs or dealing with the season with less pay – how are you doing it? What are you funding vs. what are you giving up? I’d love to know…

~ Tess

With state budgets in the United States as strained as ever, increasing revenue is a top priority of state governments. One way states fund programs is revenue derived from licensing professional practices.

About one-half of states license auctioneers on a state-wide basis. Some states require only a fee be paid, while others require schooling, an apprenticeship, and/or an exam. There is increasing talk about licensing auctioneers in non-license states.

Too, there is some talk about eliminating state-wide licensing in a few states — and for the same reason — to increase revenue. These states have accumulated recovery fund accounts with sizable balances, and by eliminating the licensing agencies in those states, those funds could be redirected for other projects.

Nevertheless, our question here is, “Are eBay sellers auctioneers?” It may be reasonable to define basically two types of eBay sellers:

• The eBay seller who sells their own merchandise
• The eBay seller who sells other people’s merchandise

If licensing of individuals is prudent in order to protect the public, then it would seem that the latter type of eBay seller would require licensing more-so than the former, since the latter involves an individual or business entity taking in property from others, selling it for them, and then being responsible for a full accounting and proper settlement.

And, it may also be prudent to note that many states say that if a person acting as an auctioneer only acquires merchandise for the purpose of resale, licensing is still required, no matter.

It seems to me that if an individual takes in consignments from owners, sells those items for them, no matter if at auction or not, and then holds that money for the seller in escrow, etc., that such individuals or businesses should be licensed no less than any others in that same state who provide essentially the same service — such as auctioneers.

However, if a state doesn’t license auctioneers, or similar businesses (tag sale companies, estate sale companies, etc.) then the eBay seller who sells items for others is really no different, and mandatory licensing would be a difficult argument.

Ebay argues differently, and contents that the eBay auction format is fundamentally different than traditional auctioneering, so those sellers — no matter where the product comes from — should not be required to be licensed.

Ebay’s position paper is here: http://www.ebaymainstreet.com/policy-papers/auctioneering-regulations

Too, the question here may be generalized further, to ask if anyone, using any method including electronic platforms, and selling property belonging to others, should be licensed? Maybe so, if that same state stands firm that traditional auctioneers require licensing. This might, at some point, involve other companies such as Proxibid, ArtFact, LiveAuctioneers, iCollector, and others.

We’ll explore the merits of licensing auctioneers — at all — in our next post. However, it’s up to our governments to ultimately decide this issue. It seems to me we are still applying 1980’s laws and theory to 2009 business practices, for better or worse. It will be important for all auctioneers to keep an eye on these types of issues in the coming years.

There are too many people in this world that are out for an easy buck.  Some are the predators and some are the prey.  I do not believe there is an easy sure fire way to get rich quick as a person hears about on the radio and television.  I was recently contacted about my supposed interest in selling a product known as Reliv.  I say supposed interest because I do not ever remember completing any kind of form whatsoever but yet here the person named Vera O. had my contact information.  I ran with it to see what I could find out.  My wife had told me the experiences her mom and her co-workers had with the product and it was a positive experience so I definitely wanted to hear this person out.

So Ms. Vera was adamant about calling and she was precise when she said she was going to call she called.  I wasn’t necessarily buying into the entire “pyramid- but it’s not a pyramid” scheme so she enlisted the help of a Senior Rep. by the name of Pete V.  After the conversation with Mr. V the positive impression that I had of the product was quickly dwindling down.

Good ole Pete was trying to “close” hard on me and I guess his previous 20 years in the Insurance business taught him to try and manipulate the “customer” into buying into the system.  While I was on that phone call the price started out at $25 to join and by the end of the conversation I would need to buy supplies running the total to $600 to start up this “opportunity”.  I didn’t bite and he became more aggressive.

I agreed to attend a local seminar they were having on the product and truly I had every intention of attending unfortunately something came up at the last minute and I was unable to attend.  My email inbox began getting overflowed with answers to objections I had previously had.  I thought wow communication is great with these people.

Well I thought it was great until I sent the following email:

Vera,

I wanted to write you and let you know that I appreciate all of the information.  At this time I have decided to halt my forward progression with Reliv.  I appreciate you taking the time to give me every opportunity to learn about your company but again at this time I do not feel it would be a good fit as I cannot personally dedicate the necessary time required for Reliv to be successful in my life.  Thank you for all of your hard work.  It has greatly been appreciated.

Sincerely,

Mr. Slinkard

I guess I was a little offended in that I took the time to send an email that said thanks but no thanks rather than let the individual blow up my phone or flood my inbox with useless information.  I thought I was doing the right thing and it’s been 3 days since that email and no response.  Makes me wonder what would have happened if I would have joined?  Would they have courted me pretty hard to get me to sign and then be absent in the new process?  Was it a put on?  I believe it was and now I’m glad I didn’t join.

After much debate, deliberation and gnashing of dentures, the North West committee had decided to change the format of our Newsletter – moving up from the A5 booklet design, used for many years, to an A4 version.  We had also agreed to revamp the Concert List into an A5 booklet (as enclosed) and expand the email distribution of both publications.  However, in beginning to compile this issue (in the new format) it came to light that, at a Budgets meeting in October, the Board of Directors of Making Music had taken two important decisions (in light of the effects of a significant drop in interest rates over the past year).  They noted that the economic climate had made it more difficult to fund-raise.  They examined what they consider to be the most effective use of spend in 2010 and, as a result, made two recommendations, which were unanimously accepted (both related to communications), the rationale behind which is detailed below.

“1) Newsletters:  a number of Committees have either already moved, or are in the process of moving to electronic distribution of their newsletters.  Given the cost of printing paper copies and the increase in postal costs, since the large letter rate came in, there is no denying that this makes financial sense, especially since the large amount spent on paper newsletters is offset by very little income.

It is also a ‘greener’ option and provides the potential for the newsletters to be read by a far larger proportion of members.  The Board has therefore agreed that all Committees should be asked to move to electronic distribution of newsletters following this issue.

2) Websites:  the Board has also approved a major development which will hopefully see the launch of a brand new website for the organisation in September 2010.  Part of the vision is that each Committee will have its own sub-domain within the national site, still with its own identity, content and webmaster but without the expense to individual Committees of hosting, domain name and maintenance costs.  Each Committee will have its own domain name and its site will be directly accessible, but also easily navigable, from the main site.”

As a result of the decisions, we have decided to stay with our old format for this last paper issue.  Our planned launch of an expanded email distribution of these publications will still go ahead but without a paper copy. Please send us the email addresses of people in your organisation who would like to be notified when there is a new newsletter and concert list on the web.

Send these to: circulations@makingmusicnorthwest.org.uk

Andy Humphreys – Editor

I spoke to some colleagues the other day who were concerned about the costs associated with migrating their organization’s e-marketing efforts to today’s Web 2.0 standards. They work for a large national non-profit organization which is now doing 90 percent of its client transactions on the web. However, funding levels for this organization have fallen dramatically during the past year, so they were mostly concerned with whether or not they could afford to upgrade their technology to keep moving forward.

For some organizations – nonprofits, especially — the ailing economy has brought on-line advances to a screeching halt or at least to a snail’s pace. Personally, I don’t think an organization’s commitment to the future and staying competitive should ever stop.

Here are some ways an organization could keep developing its web technology and e-marketing tools while its budget is constrained:

1. First and foremost, make your organization’s presence and effectiveness on the web an organizational priority regardless of limited funds. Everyone, especially your senior team, should feel compelled to contribute to the success of the organization’s web and e-marketing initiatives. Avoid putting all the responsibility for this success one person’s shoulders. Unless you believe your organization’s future does not rely on the web, an integrated web strategy should be priority number-one because it drives so many aspects of a successful business: market development, building brand loyalty, customer transactions, product/service promotion, information distribution, etc.

2. Make certain you have someone leading the charge who truly understands the strategic aspects of advanced web technology and digital marketing. These are people who don’t only write code and hang content, but they are well-versed in the latest trends and applications of web technology. If nobody on your team has the skill — or the ability to acquire the skill – it may be time to hire someone else. You don’t probably don’t need a traditional webmaster, but you do require a web strategist – someone who knows how to shape your organization’s web site and e-marketing efforts into effective business tools.

3. Find the people within your organization who may not be directly responsible for your web technology, but who have an interest and skill level which may help to move things along. More and more people have their own personal and professional web sites and so they have learned, from first-hand experience, to “do their own thing” on the web. Find these employees, determine their specific area of expertise and put them to work. You may have to compensate them in some way, however, but not necessarily by increasing their salaries. Many times, just giving them recognition on the web is all they require. Some people do it because they want to learn more. I provided one of my staff members with a day off every once in a while so they would monitor our involvement in social networks during the evenings. They were doing it, anyway.

4 Shop around for cheap labor. For example, I recently compared prices of companies offering SEO services and was astonished at the broad range of price quotes I received. Apparently, there are some starving consultants out there who want our business – at any price. Obviously, cheap isn’t necessarily good, but with the right references and testimonials it may be good enough.

6. Join an association of like-minded professionals, such as the e-Marketing Association Network, and tap into one of their many discussion threads. There are lots of so-called authorities who have blogged, written articles and discussed their knowledge with the world. Some of them are trying to position themselves as authorities, but so what. If you take the time to become involved in these discussions, you may not only learn something, but you may also get free tech support, 24/7.

7. For resourceful marketers, there are lots of free web sites offering a variety of services which don’t cost a thing. For example, the vast majority of social networking sites and many of the associated applications are free. In addition, there are numerous on-line tools to measure, evaluate and recommend ways to improve your web site’s effectiveness. Some on-line technical associations and support groups also provide support to non-members.

A number of companies and nonprofit organizations do realize the importance of keeping their momentum moving forward within the virtual marketplace. And I feel sorry for those who have gone to the sidelines and are now waiting for the economic storm to pass. In this game, however, there’s no rain delay and the winners shouldn’t mind getting a little wet.

I think the best website I’ve seen this week is http://www.givesmehope.com/. I don’t know about everyone else, but for me it can be hard to remember to be hopeful. All those little daily struggles and frustrations can really bring me down. And certainly the news and friends, they don’t often share these little hopeful stories. (Except Gimundo — they had a great story yesterday about restaurant diners paying it forward all day.)

Today, the little thing in my life that I’m focusing on that GMH is that I finally paid off one credit card. My American Express Optima, which many years ago I’d used to consolidate debt at a lower interest rate (3.9), is finally paid off. I only wish I’d managed to have that be the last time I consolidated debt thinking I’d never do it again! Still, it’s something. Lowest interest rate but the lowest balance, and it’s done. And I can see my other debts going slowly down as well, and I hope it’s going to go down ever faster.

This month has certainly had a strong learning curve on budgets, though. I underestimated how much we’d need to spend for Christmas, even though we’ve severely limited how much we’re spending and who we’re buying for. I think because this is the first year I’ve had a real budget, I really hadn’t paid attention to all the costs (cards, stamps, school and teacher gifts, cookie tins to share our homemade cookies in lieu of gifts). I’m not charging anything… but I’d hoped to have a little left over to push at debt.

So, the wrap up for the month… $383,291.31, down $2,673.94 since last month and $20,146.83 since April when I started this quest. I think I did figure out why it was so high in November, I did the calculation before (vile) credit cards had added finance charges. My fault for having them!!!

Anyway, this give *me* hope. And I’m happy to be hopeful. And I hope that part of my budget in the new year can be a secular tithe. As a truly non-religious person, I’m unlikely to give to a church, but there are certainly causes that I believe in and would like to do a better job supporting… Heifer International, Habitat for Humanity and my local NPR station to name just a few.

I have had a lot of email asking about exactly how to start a storage pantry and exactly what are good things to keep in it. Most know that since April our family has relied almost exclusively on our pantry.

This sure is a hard question to answer. Every one is different. I would start by saying fill it with things your family will eat. Fill it with enough to last your family a reasonable amount of time. What that means for your family you will need to decide. For us that means about 6 months if not more.

Natural and Basic:

A good place to start. Basic flour, sugar, salt, butter and a few spices can be made into many dishes. They in the long run will take up less space than several types of boxed cookie, brownie, muffin & cake mixes. And basic ingredients are always less expensive and better quality than prepackaged foods.

A few simple spices and herbs can be made into many of your favorite premade mixes. Italian dressing mix, Ranch dip mix, bread crumbs, brown sugar are a few that come to mind and a good place to start.

Start a few basic cooking recipes, try them then change and adapt them to your liking. Keeping the recipes all in one place will save you time hunting them down. I tape to the outside of my mixes jars the rest of the recipe, this way I don’t need to look it up, and if someone else need to mix up some they will have a clue. But you will find in time you will come to know them off the top of your head, just as my grandmother and probably your’s did too. How satisfying is that?

Basic natural ingredients also allows you to control exactly what is in the food you and your family are eating. Artificial color and preservatives are not something I choose to add to our food. So why purchase boxed food with that stuff in it? 

Around here I really watch the amount of sugar in all forms my family eats. I can control the kind and amount of any thing added to our food. Want more fiber? choose whole grains instead of white flour.

So who has the time?

That’s a question I get all the time. Thinking you don’t have time is the first step to not getting it done. You will find a few minutes here and there while you are doing other things. Waiting for the potatoes to cook, mix up a jar of your favorite rub to add to them next time you bake them. Make enough (once you know you like it) to last for several uses.

No time to pull everything out to make pancakes? How about next time you make them cook extra and freeze them. They reheat well in the toaster. Daisy loves them rolled up with peanut butter, and they are better for her than pop-tarts.

To get yourself started you could set aside a Saturday morning to do a bunch of cooking and mixing, enough for the week.

Consider size and space:

Where are you going to store your food and supplies? I have several storage spaces throughout my house. In the cellar, our’s is dry and cool in the summer and heated to about 60°f in the winter. There you will find my large storage pantry it’s actually two, floor to ceiling cupboards, a metal storage rack and our large freezer.

Up stairs I have two cupboards in the kitchen that is baking supplies, herbs and spices. A third to hold bulk items such as flours & oats held in manageable sized containers. And a fourth that holds the items we are currently using and a few can goods so I don’t have to run down cellar all the time.

Finding space:

Finding space to store you food can be tricky at times. You will want a cool dry space that you can get to fairly easily. You will be adding to and using from it frequently. This is why my frequently used items are in close easy reach. While the bulk of the pantry are out of the way yet still easy to get to and manage at least weekly if not daily.

 A cupboard, storage shelves or even boxes will work. Look around and be creative.

I have a friend who when redoing her house dedicated an entire room to food storage. She like me keeps lots of food and supplies. Yet another friend has just as much and she hides it well. Lift up one of her beautiful side table skirts in her living room and you will find wooden boxes full of her canned goods. Look in her closet and there are packages of paper goods stacked amongst her shoes. Under her bed are boxes full of even more food all carefully hidden away, yet she knows in a moment where to go to get what she needs. Another friend doesn’t keep much other than 1 or 2 extra of anything and a single shelf above her washer and dryer works for her. She is a traveling girl with her job and her family, so she is not home much.

Start small and as time goes by you will discover space to fit your supplies, food and needs. Right now if all you can do is dedicate one shelf of a cupboard that’s the place to start and work from there.

How to pay for it all:

Some choose to take a bit from savings or save a bit each week and when enough is saved make a big purchase to start off. Others choose to purchase a little each week as their budget allows. You will need to decide how you want to do it. I wouldn’t suggest going in to debt or borrowing money to do it. I also personally wouldn’t take money from my savings either.

It also will depend on how you do your shopping. Do you go every day, once a week or once a month? If you have your pantry running well daily trips will become a thing of the past.:)

I personally do my shopping once a once a month, but I miss many of the sales this way. I watch the sale fliers and only make purchases for my family around the sales.  I keep a list of things we are running low on and I also know how much of something our family uses until that item goes on sale again. I keep a list of what we use, where it was bought and how much it was.

Should I happen to find a GREAT sale (this doesn’t happen so much any more) I will buy a few extra that my budget will allow. Don’t buy something just because it’s on sale, make sure you will use it before it goes bad,  and that your family will like the food. You don’t want to throw away food you didn’t eat.

Rotate:

Rotating your food supplies is pretty simple. The oldest to be used first is in the front. When I add something new I will take all of the same off the shelf, check the expiration dates and put the ones expiring soonest to the front to be used first. 

Some times this is tricky to find the information and you have to learn how to read the codes. Some packages or cans list a best by date. Some have a code printed on the can lid or bottom.  Most times it’s in a MM/DD/YY format. Sometimes it’s so small it’s hard to read, a quick note on the top with a marker solves this problem.

How I organize it all:

Large pantry: The large pantry is actually two cupboards in the cellar. They hold the bulk of things we are not currently using such as canned and dehydrated goods, extra spices and herbs. Things we will use that haven’t been opened yet.

Bulk storage: Is divided into 2 areas. One that is food and these shelves are in the cellar. In this area are the large buckets of things we use a lot of such as flours, sugar, oats, rice, gallons of vinegar, dehydrated foods. Also there are things like bottled water in gallons, bottled juice for long term storage.

In the second area these are stored in the out shed. Non food things like emergency supplies, lamp oil, lamp parts, candles, matches, first-aid supplies, duct tape, stored seeds, cans of gas, propane, rolls of plastic, batteries, paper goods. Things we do use but also well stocked up on. Things that are ok if they freeze, the shed is not heated.

Spice cupboard: Is in the kitchen and holds all the spices and herbs, flour, sugar, salt, home made mixes. When one of these smaller containers needs filling I go to the large pantry and fill them.

Large freezer: This stores all the frozen meats, breads, cheeses, veggies and fruits. Anything that won’t be eaten soon and in large quantities.

Small freezer: Is in the kitchen and stores small packages of things I am currently using. If I open a jar of sauce and don’t use it all here is where I store it until gone. Canning jars work well for freezing although they can waste space if not full. Some times I use plastic freezer bags. Here is where I store all the opened frozen packages and small portions, and meals I have premade, they are handy for a quick meal. This is my working from freezer. I have written about it here.

I will choose to can or dehydrate items before freezing them. If the freezer breaks or we lose power the canned and dehydrated items will still be safe. Also our freezer isn’t a big, big one, I would say medium size. This was done by choice.

How to store things:

Bulk items such as flour, sugar, oats, rice, beans are put into large food safe plastic containers and stored in the bulk food section. Most of these items I can’t buy loose in bulk so they come in paper. I keep the food in the paper and use the buckets to keep out things like moisture, light, bugs…The paper keeps my food from contacting the plastic. They are food safe I just don’t like the idea of it and the buckets stack nicely. A quick look at the label and I know whats in it and when it was put in there.

Home canned jars, I remove the rings and can stack them two high with a piece of cardboard between them.  This was a consideration I thought of and planned for when the cupboard was built. The cardboard adds stability and keeps the glass from being banged when the jars are picked up and set down.

Bulk herbs and spices either from the health food store or my own garden are stored in quart canning jars. The jars are lined with brown paper to keep out the light. Again a label and a date and I’m happy.

I do store some paper goods, I know ghasp! These are in long term storage, paper plates, towels, aluminum foil and even plastic wrap. These are part of our emergency supplies. If the power is out and I don’t want to start the generator I use these, it makes clean up much easier. Also I think in my mind that in a long term emergency these will be valuable and traded for things I may want. (hey, I can’t help it I think about these things.) I also store bathroom paper and tissues, for the same reasons and I play with poop all day I just can’t bring myself to force my family to use cloth. Although it’s a great idea, I don’t need the extra work. They are all stacked on the shelves and I know quickly if any thing needs replacing.

So where do I find all these glass and plastic storage buckets?

Well many of the glass gallon jars, the kind pickles or relish comes in bulk from our local country store. They were just this relish, mustard and pickle jars. They saved them for me. The food safe containers came from the same store, they get premade muffin and cookie mixes in them for their bakery section. (and people think they are homemade) A local donut shop is another good source as well as the grocery deli. Their salads and things come in large buckets. Ask them to save them for you, lately though the grocery has started selling the buckets for $2. each, it’s worth it when I need more.

I also bring home glass jars from our town’s recycle center. This is a great place to find them, they are clean and the labels are already taken off. I have my friend’s and family save them for me. Here in the US glass jars are fast becoming a thing of the past, more and more products are now put into plastic containers. I can’t tell you the last time I saw a glass mayo jar on the store shelf. Even the organic mayo is in plastic. geesh!

Look in yard sales, thrift stores for canning jars. You can buy replacement tops and rings. Although this year the canning jars I see in the yard sales aren’t cheep any more. People realize they are in demand this year.

Keep track of it all:

One other thing I do is keep lists of everything in the different storage areas. When something is running low I will add it to my shopping list and replace it within the next few trips. I use clip boards with a pencil tied to it, and use the √ off system. One check for each item. 7 checks is 7 containers.

I used to try and keep this info in my home binder but found that I never took the time to go to it to update my lists. Now there is a list at every storage area. And the shopping list hung on the fridge.

Some weeks every thing on my shopping list isn’t crossed off, so I simply keep it on the list until I can cross it off.

Would you share with me some of your tips and storage solutions?

It can be surprisingly expensive to work full time.

Of course, the income itself  usually more than makes up for the expense. And I’m certainly referring to a two-income situation since a household will always need income from at least one wage earner. But let’s imagine a two-income scenario where having two full time wage earners requires the following extra monthly expenses that would otherwise be unnecessary:

• Child care. In Portland, full time child care for a baby ranges from $800-$1,200 a month. More for a nanny. (Being a couple of DINKY’s–dual income no kids yet–my husband and I haven’t had to face this expense yet.)
• Work clothing for two people. I estimate that this expense is $75 more than it would be in a one-income family.
• Gas. I estimate an extra $50 for this, but it could easily be more.
• Second car. A car payment, insurance, and maintenance on a second car could add anywhere from $200 – $500 a month, depending on the car. Of course you don’t need a second car (we only have one) but many people do depending on where they live.
• Conveniences. Such as take-out, prepared foods, car washes, trips to the dog groomer, and maybe even a cleaning service, lawn maintenance, or dog walker. I think I can safely estimate $100 for this category, although for many people it might be much higher.
• Work lunches. If you don’t pack leftovers or inexpensive meals, this is a daily expense. Even if it’s only occasional, it can add up. I’ll guess $30 in this category, more if you buy lunch every day.
• Gifts for co-workers. Definitely varies, but averaged over a year it might be $10-$15 a month, more or less depending on specifics.
• Dry cleaning. This could easily be $20 a month.

Those estimates add up to $1,285 – $1,990 a month. Obviously every situation is different and those numbers are only estimates. Perhaps you have family to watch your kiddos for free, or you don’t need the second car either way.

On top of those expenses, a household with two incomes pays more taxes. Oftentimes, the difference is significant and places a family in an entirely different tax bracket. This is too difficult to provide a general estimate for because it varies so much based on the particulars.

In addition to estimating the costs of working, it’s also a good exercise to add up the hidden income, or total compensation, your job provides in the form of benefits. In many cases these added benefits may completely make up for the added costs of working. How much would you have to pay for health, dental, and life insurance without your job? What about retirement funds? If your company provides retirement funds, or matches your contributions, that may negate the added expense of working.

On the other hand, if your employer doesn’t contribute significantly to either insurance or retirement, your cost of working may not be offset by these other benefits.

Of course, there are numerous intangible benefits of working that may be difficult to place a dollar value on such as a sense of fulfillment and purpose, interactions with others, intellectual challenges, and enjoyment. Then again, maybe you get those benefits from places other than your job like your family, friends, and hobbies.

Sometimes I like to play with these calculators to help determine the actual real costs and benefits of working:

• Pay Check City. On this site you can see how various allowances and non-taxable deductions affect your take-home pay. You can estimate what you’ll make if you add another dependent (have a baby, for example) or have to pay more for health insurance. Just make sure you enter the correct state at the top of the form.
• MSN Money Calculator. This estimates the value of a second income. In some cases the results of this are very startling.

Have you calculated the full associated costs and total compensation of your job? Are there other costs and benefits of working that I missed?

At this moment I’m sitting next to an outsourced consultant who is helping me with my marketing plans. At the same time I can’t help thinking that many of you out there will be wrestling with your bookkeeping or other areas of your financial management. If so, take a look at our website to see how we can help you, just as Emma is helping me! She is betting that she will get more visits to her website than we do….. please prove her wrong!

Seriously though, If you do need some support with managing the finances of your business, we have the expertise for your new business or your growing business. We would also love to support you whether you need a part time bookkeeper or someone to help you with your budgets and forecasts.

Kindly find below our updated price list for your consideration …

The Internet has provided us with the platform of information sharing – however, it was not completely free. Companies where using the web as a tool to push their product/services onto customers – very similar to other traditional media, like TV. But that is the old Internet – before the Web 2.0 era – before Social Media. If you are still charging for information, you might want to reconsider your pricing strategy. If you don’t, I can assure you that you’ll be out of business very soon! It’s out there for grabs and it’s all FREE!!!

As a marketing professor, I am sometimes asked by my students how come I don’t teach from a book, and my answer is more often than not “I am no thief!” In my opinion, the university textbooks have become obsolete – Seth Godin said it beautifully in his blog entitled “Textbook Rant” and I quote “Any professor of intro marketing who is assigning a basic old-school textbook is guilty of theft or laziness”. This is FREE info, you cannot charge for it and claim ownership.

This is only one example – think of Head Hunters – if they are still charging you as an employer or as a job seeker for their mere services of match making that you are being ripped off. I would recommend you setup a LinkedIn account and save yourself the unnecessary cost.

Interested in finding out what everybody is talking about, what the latest buzz word is, what the latest trends are … just create an account on Twitter – if used properly, this tool can become one of your primary sources of information – it’s viral!

Are you still charging for these services? Maybe it’s time to change, everybody else is providing them for FREE – Think About It

I came across this post screaming the injustices of people having to pay their student loans back and I couldn’t help but laugh out loud. Scratch that, I started laughing maniacally when I read these excuses. I couldn’t help but respond to these morons and give some simple common sense suggestions:

-”If I didn’t have to pay my student loan debt, I would spend money I don’t have now visiting my elderly parents more often. So I’d be spending the money with Southwest Airlines. Not even having a job I don’t know when I can see them again and they’re in their 80s. People don’t last forever and you never know when ‘never’ will come.”

You’re exactly right and if you didn’t have to pay for your mortgage/rent you wouldn’t have to worry about having a place to stay. Spending money with Southwest Airlines, eh? Seriously? More than likely the person would find a new “expenditure” other than flying to see their parents. We all say we’re going to do something but primarily fail to do so. Beg to differ? Need I say New Year’s Resolutions? Anyone? Anyone? My other piece of advice for this individual would be to suggest they move to a closer location to their parents. Being unemployed what’s holding them back? Meaning there is no job that is keeping them there.  If they’re married what about appealing to the spouse, I mean as the person said people don’t last forever and you never know when ‘never’ will come.

- “I’d spend at least $75.00 a month at Race Trac gas station so I could visit out of town friends. These are items I don’t get to purchase on account of owing so much to my lenders.”

They could spend $75 a month so this person could see out of town friends. Chances are they are connected to the World Wide Web and I would suggest video conferences, instant messages, or even email. Heck check out the applications on MySpace and Facebook and two friends or an entire group can enjoy a single martini and the cost is nothing. $75 per month, get over yourself.

- “I would shop at Target more often, for curtains and items I am really in need of but simply can no longer afford. Since the loan will take forever to repay, I will be curtailing spending for the [next] 20 years.”

My response to this person is that Target is not the only place to buy curtains and items that you “really” need. There are dollar stores, fabric stores, all over and worse case scenario if you cannot find what you’re looking for at a retail store do like in the olden days and make it yourself. Instant self gratification for you and you didn’t have to wait in line for it.

-” [It would nice to buy] action figures and baby dolls at Toys R Us.”

Yeah it would be but what about the days before Toys ‘R Us? I mean what did the pioneers before us do? Ah, then there’s Wal-Mart, Dollar Tree, etc. for toys that are cheaper. An even better idea would be to use something that money cannot buy and that is imagination. Amazingly it will go a long way.

Speaking of imagination I have to laugh every time I hear these people get their panties in a wad. They’re complaining about paying back the debt but instead of making excuses how about be a problem solver? I mean do something with your life. If these people would spend more time focusing on how to pay back their debt compared to the time they spend complaining they would be debt free and would be able to fly Southwest, be able to visit out of town friends, be able to shop at Target and be able to buy from Toys ‘R Us. What’s next are they going to start going after these companies for their prices being too high?

Many people are really watching their budgets these days due to the economy. This is causing many families to trim the fat” out of their budgets as well. There are so many different ways to go about doing this

pubdate: 11 Dec 2009 14:41:26 -0600
Original Link:http://ezinearticles.com/?Receive-a-Car-Insurance-Quote-From-Multiple-Companies-in-Minutes!&id=3412027″

Ahhh.  The end of the quarter.  Better yet, the end of the year.  This is when the deals get stacked up on the whiteboard and discounts are negotiated between sales and purchasing like professional shoppers looking for parking spaces at the mall on December 24th.

The normal end of quarter purchasing cycle....

You have to hit the number.  Or you have to spend to your budget to justify next year’s budget that just had the finishing tweaks put on it in the last week after being approved by the board.  Heavens knows you don’t want to lose any capex dollars for next year.  Buy it.  Capitilize it if you can.  If the capex budget is strapped, buy it in pieces and expense them all, including the cost of assembly.

I’ve seen it all.  Back in the days before Sarbanes-Oxley there were the companies that didn’t have enough inventory or time to assemble their products, so they’d throw all the pieces in the trailer in the parking lot and call it shipped in the name of hitting the number.  Heck.  It was off the dock.  And that’s all that mattered.

I’ve personally stuffed distribution channels full of product.  It’s called ‘bringing it forward’.  Really what it does is rob the innocent and quiet Q1 to appease the four-headed ugly monster of Q4.  I hate it, but I’ve done it.  Done it for the company, in spite of the negative that comes with it, including personal compensation hiccups.  And the finance guys have instantaneous memory loss concerning what you might have pulled in for the preceding fiscal period.

And people wonder why there is regulation?

If you’re in sales, get going.  It’s time to close every deal on the sheet.  If you’re in purchasing, I beg of you, don’t toy with the sales people.  Just cut the purchase order before 11:59 pm on the December 31st.

It will give them time to get all the pieces in the trailer….

Todays the Boston Globe reports that Massachusetts faces an additonal $600 million midyear budget deficit,after deep cuts in human services were made earlier this year. A recent statewide mandate requires that elders needing home care services would be put on waiting lists, except for those who are in need of medical care.

One non-profit home care agency that provides services to low income elders reports about 125 elders on their waiting list. This is troubling to Al Norman, executive director of Mass Home Care, an umbrella organization for elder-services agencies across the state. “It’s sort of been the year of living dangerously for seniors,’’ Norman said. “We expect that by June of 2010 we can be looking at a list of about 5,000 elders. This could be the worst year since 1974, when the home-care program was created.’’

Norman said that so far this fiscal year, basic home care services were cut by $10.7 million, about 7 percent, Norman estimated, adding that he anticipates more cuts to follow. Seniors who are denied home-care assistance could needlessly end up in institutional facilities, such as rehabilitation, rest, or nursing homes, which would end up costing the taxpayers more money, Norman said.

Click here to read the full article.

SC Magazine News wire reported this morning an increase in technology spending based on a survey of CIOs.  Server technology tops the list, with security right behind it.  The problem is, competition is likely to be fierce as some companies actually do begin moving forward on delayed projects, while others remain cautious.  How will you differentiate?  Imagine selling your server technology with an emphasis on security!  But don’t be fooled into leading with the product…business justification and risk mitigation will be your differentiators.  You can read the actual news wire here (It’s brief):

http://www.scmagazineus.com/security-spend-to-rise/article/159319/?DCMP=EMC-SCUS_Newswire

Like many Americans, the scary economy has caused me to pause a bit before I spend. As someone who is mostly retired, I think long term (relatively speaking of course). My income is fixed and given my property taxes just went up by 50%; I cannot help but wonder what lies ahead for other increases in my expenses.  I take no comfort in the fact that the greatest risk for retirees is longevity, not money woes or is that the same thing. Frankly, I find it curious to consider longevity a bad thing. I say bring it on.

As many Americans and I try to trim spending and boost savings, I ask myself are we making any progress.  Does it really do any good if we save while the folks in Washington spend what amounts to our money like sand through a kid’s beach sifter? Isn’t it all coming from the same pot in the final analysis?  You bet your bippy it is. Someday all the saving we are doing will go out the window in higher taxes and higher inflation.  Someday our ability to spend even if we want to will be curtailed because what we get to keep from what we earn will leave little beyond the necessities.  Welcome to a new American standard of living.

Look, I’m no economist, just an average guy who has been around for 66 years, is basically cheap and worries about the future.  Sure, we are going through some rough times, some are having it rougher than others, but is the way out of this to keep propping things up or is it better to take our medicine, get it over with and move on with a few coins left in our pockets instead of the pockets of half of Asia?  Hey, I’m just asking.

When I wake up I expect a job, a house, a new car, free health insurance and a new credit card with zero interest

We’re sick, need to barf over the bowel, climb into bed for a day and sweat it off.  On second thought, a more apt analogy may be that we have a whopping hangover from a ten-year binge and someone is trying to convince us that more of the same is good for us only now we are not the ones on the binge.

We fix our roads just to spend money, reform health care, but really do nothing, my savings account earned $0.22 last month and it cost me $1.50 to take $20.00 from an ATM, we pay people to buy a car from companies that are owned by the government, now we are going to pay people to caulk their homes which they bought because the government gave them $8,000 toward the down payment. The President of the United States is telling banks to loan money, but worst of all, the one person who came closest to me ever having a sports idol turns out to be a sleazebag, which on the plus side may qualify him to go into politics, who knows a governor or even president.

Please don’t put one of those damn 80 foot windmills in my backyard, I already have a headache.

Tom Jefferson and the boys who started all this must be spinning in their graves, have we ever screwed things up.

blogsurfer.us