5 More Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste

O the price of food has gone up about 8% in the past year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Stop your complaining! As my mother always told me, "I like my whine in a glass, but not at the dinner table."

I'd have more sympathy for a lot of Americans who are upset about soaring food costs if it weren't for the fact that most of them can reduce what they spend on food by about 25% if they'd only do as my mother also told me: "Shut your yap and clean your plate!" (Now you know where I get my gifts for both language and tact.). 

Prepare for shock and awe (and national embarrassment): According to government sources, roughly 25% of the food Americans buy goes to waste. That's about one pound of food, per American, per day -- thrown in the trash. Sadly we've crossed the line from Land of Plenty, to Land of Waste.

Click Here for the full article and ways to cut down waste and save money.

Instead of buying small mountains of books check them out of your neighborhood library. Over time, you can save a ton of cash. 

You can save money and the environment by bringing refillable water bottles along for the ride.  Besides the sheer number of plastic bottles produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottles to your grocery store severely drains already limited fossil fuels.  

Breathing spiritual life into money woes is one financial guru's specialty

By Leilani Clark

My first realization that our family was not of the moneyed class came after a trip to the Los Angeles County Museum of Art. On the way home, my mom drove us through Hancock Park, where we admired massive brick houses with swooping driveways, emerald grass and sparkling windows. On the approach to my hometown, the houses shrunk and liquor stores proliferated. On arriving home, the neighborhood seemed claustrophobic, the houses dirty and cramped. At 10 years old, I felt ashamed of my class status. Obviously, we did not have enough.

Click here for the whole article.

"Decluttering and organizing your space inevitably makes you look at how you spend your time. How much of it has been spent acquiring belongings you never use? Recreational shopping-shopping for fun- is a national habit. It makes us feel productive ("We're buying things we need to live life"), successful ("We can afford this-we're doing well"), and in control of our destinies ("If I buy this, my home will be prettier, my wardrobe will be more stylish, I'll finally be happy"). Shopping can easily become a substitute for all kinds of emotional satisfaction. "Retail therapy" may seem like it will ward off loneliness, fear, and dissatisfaction, but it usually leads to credit card bills and more stuff than you have room for. Retail therapy = clutter. There's so much to do beyond spending your life at the mall. Instead of acquiring possessions, we can accumulate life experiences-experiences that breed love and affection." Peter Walsh in It's All Too Much

Instead of getting sliced and/or shredded cheeses opt for the large loaf and then slice and/or shred it yourself. 

"If we shift and think about abundance, not as material possessions but in what we already have—nature and time—then all of a sudden it does feel unlimited. That's the shift we need to make in our lives to get to a point of equilibrium, so the world actually becomes a peaceful place to live."  Mark Zaifman

 

 

I am very fond of a great quote and I found this one very timely.  Roosevelt hits the concept of presence into a time of economic turmoil. 

This article has some good tips for using coupons though the internet.  Spending the time to find the deals can save you big $ in the end.  The key to coupons is two fold.  You first have to ask yourself, "would I buy this product if there was not a coupon?".  Secondly, you have to make sure that the sale price on a branded product is not more than a regular price on a store brand product.  For exaple, I go to Costco and they have $3 off Huggies diapers all the time in their coupon book. When you look at the price of the Kirkland brand diapers (even with the the coupon discount) it is still cheaper to go with the Kirkland. 

Click Here for the full article.

For those of you who were involuntarily terminated between Sept. 1, 2008 and Dec. 1, 2009.  There may be government assistance to help offset Cobra fees.  Click here for more details.