"My time is worth more than that."

So, I was reading a blog the other day by a gentleman who, among other things, says that it's all right that he spends at least $3 per serving per meal on his family, because his time is worth more than what it would require to cook from scratch.

I've come across that statement before, even in supposedly frugal books/articles. And I think, honestly, people aren't quite looking at it the right way. Yes, I get the concept they're putting forth. For instance, let's say it takes me 5 hours to make a scarf and hat for a gift and the yarn cost me 50 cents from a garage sale. Now, I could go to Target and buy a hat and scarf for $15 and the total trip time is 1 hour. The argument goes that my remaining time is worth more than whatever I saved in making it myself, because I only saved the equivalent of $3.63 an hour. This seems to be used especially by people who explain, "because I make $12 (or whatever) an hour at work" as why something less than minimum wage is beneath their dignity.

The problems I see with this thinking are twofold. First, the assumption is you are actually working instead of making the scarf and hat. Or, conversely, that you are somehow missing work in order to do it. Otherwise, this doesn't exactly stand up. After all, unless you have some really cool, unusual job, it's very unlikely that anyone is actually paying you to do whatever you did on your off hours instead of make the gift - watch TV, go to a mall, see a movie... and so on. The $3.63 saved is actually more than the $0 earned in this case. (More in full post.)

The second half of this problem is well, even more problematic. Please bear with me while I build a totally hypothetical story to make my point.

Bob and Joe are both single and 30 years old. They have the same salary, work the same hours, live in identical houses with the same mortgage note, and drive the same automobiles. Bob lives very frugally. He shops sales, makes his meals from scratch, gets his entertainment for free or as cheaply as possible. Joe, on the other hand, tends to eat out a lot and likes to "party" on the weekends. Neither man lives beyond his means. However, while Bob is banking a full $800 a month of his paycheck by living simply, Joe only saves $300. Joe doesn't like to bargain hunt, wouldn't dream of "wasting" his time on garage sales and figures it's okay to treat himself to nice meals because, after all, he can afford it. It is "not worth his time" to live like Bob does and save a penny here or a dollar there.

Flash-forward 30 years. Both men are now 60 and they've just paid off their mortgages. Bob looks at his savings and realizes that the interest alone will pay him more than he needs to continue living as he has, since he no longer has a house note to contend with. He can retire, re-invest some of his interest earnings to put away for his later years, and relax and enjoy himself. Joe, on the other hand, hasn't saved near the amount Bob did and needs more money month-to-month to maintain the lifestyle he's told himself he's worth these past 30 years. Joe looks at his savings and realizes he'll either need to sell his home, move somewhere smaller, and scale way back, something he's not accustomed to doing at all, or, he's going to have to keep on working, probably for many years.

And this is the big trap of the "my time is worth more than that" thinking when it comes to measuring how to do something. That attitude might carry someone through years of his working life, but it has the very real potential to hurt him in his golden years if it frequently leads to spending more for something than necessary, just because the frugal version would've required more work.

THIS ARTICLE FROM FRONTLINE talks about the rising costs of retirement and how many of us aren't prepared for it. In particular:

"According to the 401(k) plan records analyzed by the Employee Benefits Research Institute (EBRI), Americans approaching retirement have, on average, three times their annual salaries in their accounts. Without any other form of savings, these retirees will burn through their 401(k)s in just seven or eight years, leaving them facing 10 or 11 years, based on life expectancy, with nothing but Social Security."

The article then goes on to say people should have 10 - 15 times their annual salary saved. Now, granted, for people like Bob, the amount needed is likely lower, maybe even much lower, considering he already knows how to live on a smaller amount of money than other people in his income bracket. However, for all the (*ahem*) average Joes out there, they're in danger of finding themselves in this very situation, and it could've been prevented by not being so sure that it wasn't even worth their time to save $3.63 an hour on a gift. Or $2 per serving on a meal. Or $16 by not going to the first-run movie and buying a $5 bag of popcorn and $4 cola on top of the $7 ticket, instead of waiting to borrow it from the library when it comes out on DVD.

A penny saved really is penny earned. Being frugal is more than just a way to live within your means. It's also a ticket to how the rest of your life pans out. I know I'd rather save that money now, while I can, then be looking at needing supervised care when I'm 85 and not having the money to cover it, all because I was "worth more" when I was young. My future is worth more than that.

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Friday Five for Free (7)

I mentioned somewhere that I have an enormous collection of cookbooks I inherited. This week was "super clean the kitchen" week and that included dusting/wiping down the books. (They're on a shelf in the breakfast nook.) So, in honor of that, here are 5 free 50s recipes - all from cookbooks from the 50s, but with minor adaptations for today's cooking. :) (More in full post.)


Chocolate Fudge:

1 cup sugar
1/3 cup cocoa
1/4 cup butter (margarine doesn't work so well here, sadly)
1/4 cup milk
1 tablespoon light corn syrup
3 cups sifted confectioners' sugar
1 teaspoon vanilla
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

1. Mix sugar and cocoa together in a saucepan. Add in butter, milk and corn syrup. Bring to a boil and boil for 3 minutes stirring constantly. You might need to reduce the heat a little - as long as the mixture keeps boiling for the 3 minutes.

2. Remove from heat and set in a pan of cold water. The recipe says, "When you can hold your hand on the bottom of the pan, the syrup is cool enough." This usually only takes a few minutes, but don't burn yourself!

3. Stir in the remaining ingredients and spread in a lightly greased 8-inch square pan. Chill and cut into squares.

My kids like to make this one and we've given it as part of gifts before. It's very sweet, so I always cut the squares pretty small.



Potato Pancakes:

(requires a blender)
3 eggs
5 or 6 medium sized potatoes, pared
3 slices onion (I often just put in 3/4 cup of my pre-chopped and frozen onion)
1 tablespoon parsley
1/3 cup flour
1/4 teaspoon baking powder
1 teaspoon salt. (Original recipe says 1 1/2 teaspoon.)

1. Put eggs in blender. Cut potatoes in wedges and add a handful at a time, pulsing to shred. Add onion. Blend until all vegetables are cut fine.

2. Add parsley, flour, baking powder, and salt. Blend just to mix.

3. Fry in a hot skillet. I put a scant tablespoon of oil in the pan. The original recipe called for bacon drippings.

These are really good with a traditional side of applesauce. Makes about 10 - 12 pancakes.



Oven Stewed Corn:

4 cups corn (cut from cob, or thawed from frozen)
1 cup milk
1/8 teaspoon pepper
1 teaspoon salt
3 tablespoons butter

1. Cut the corn from cob and put into lightly buttered baking dish. Add the milk and salt and pepper.

2. Cover and bake at 400 degrees for 50 minutes. Remove from oven and add the butter.

Note: If you have any left-over bell pepper to use up, you can chop it and add to the corn before baking.

Makes about 6 servings.



Baked Macaroni and Cheese:

8 oz elbow macaroni
3 tablespoons butter
3 tablespoons flour
2 cups milk (I've used powdered and results are fine)
1/2 lb. grated American cheese
1 cup bread crumbs (1 to 2 slices of bread whirled in the blender)
Salt and pepper to taste

1. Cook macaroni in boiling water until just tender. Don't overcook. Drain and pour into greased baking dish.

2. While the pasta cooks, make a white sauce of butter, flour, milk and seasonings by cooking over medium heat until smooth and just starting to bubble. Add 2/3 of the cheese and stir until melted.

3. Pour cheese sauce over noodles and sprinkle with remaining grated cheese. Dust with bread crumbs.

4. Bake at 325 degrees for 30 minutes.

Note: 1 1/2 cups canned, diced tomatoes can be added if desired. Makes about 6 servings.



Hawaiian Ham:

1 large fully cooked ham steak, 1 inch thick
4 pineapple rings, from can, reserve juice
2 cooked or canned sweet potatoes, sliced
1/8 cup brown sugar
Prepared mustard

1. Cut ham into 4 servings. Spread each piece with a scant amount of mustard and place in a greased baking dish.

2. Top each piece with a pineapple slice and 1/4 of the sweet potatoes. Pour pineapple juice over all and sprinkle with brown sugar.

3. Bake uncovered at 325 degrees for 30- 35 minutes, or until heated through.

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Why I'll never be a "fashionista".

Here's one for the "Yuh, huh???" pile. DESIGNER BAG HYSTERIA AT WHOLE FOODS.

Okay, so the concept - use canvas bags instead of plastic while shopping - good idea. I'm on board with that.

But this bag? Is horribly ugly. I mean really, really, really ugly. Yet apparently crowds of people couldn't wait to get one. Some even stood in line in the rain for 'em. I guess my fashion taste is just as sadly plebeian as I always figured it was, because - meh. Ugly!

And as far as I'm concerned, this bag sure as heck is not worth the $15 asking price much less: "As of 1 pm ET, the U.S. and U.K. versions of the bags were being bid up into the mid-$200 range on eBay. On Craigslist the bag was being offered for $250."

Whoa.

If you have $250 to blow on one ugly bag, you could just as easily go to ORIENTAL TRADING COMPANY and purchase 12 large canvas bags for about $20. It's not like that bottle of expensive salad dressing cares what it rides home in and then you could take that $230 you just saved, buy a whole lot of food, and donate it to a food bank. Now THAT would be making a difference not just for the environment, but for people less fortunate as well.

Hee. How much now do I want to go over to Cafe Press and design a similar tote bag that says, "I paid way too much for this bag to show-off how environmentally conscious I am!" Betcha I could find a similar font for free.... ;)

(Eek. Is that too mean? Sometimes my snarky side really gets rolling. But honestly, if the idea is to spread awareness - plain bags at an affordable price would do just as well. The more people see other people bringing their own canvas bags to the store, the more people will consider doing it themselves. It doesn't require a bag that actually says, "I'm not a plastic bag." Er... and I hope that's just some sad attempt at some kind of cosmopolitan ironic chic thing there, because otherwise - duh!)

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Some more free crochet patterns.

If you have a daughter who likes head scarves (or know a little girl who does) THIS PATTERN is simple enough that you could whip one up yourself or teach her how to make her own.

And here's a SIMPLE BELT PATTERN - your daughter could make a head scarf and matching belt, or you could make a set as a gift for a special little lady. :)

This one's interesting not so much in what it is, but for the explanation on how to determine the size of a project: CROCHET CURTAINS

Finally, here's a pattern for EASY SLIPPERS FOR BEGINNERS - something else that might make a nice gift.

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Wednesday Quick Tip (5)

Make a cookbook for your kids and teach them to cook from it. First, assemble recipes you know your children like. Type or write them out and put them into an inexpensive binder - one for each child. Once a week or a few times a month, have your children in the kitchen with you actively participating in the cooking of one of these recipes. You may cook the same recipe with them on more than one occasion, until you reach the point where your children can make each dish completely on their own without your assistance. (This might literally take years, depending on how young your children are when you start.) You can keep adding to the cookbook as you and your kids find new favorites or make changes/adjustments to recipes you already have.

Try to cover a wide spectrum here - main dishes, vegetables and sides, soups, baking, and so on. By the time your children are ready to leave the nest, they should not only be comfortable in the kitchen, but also have a "custom" cookbook of all their favorite dishes to take along with them so that as young people just starting out, they don't fall into a trap of eating too much fast-food or canned soup only because they don't know how to prepare the good meals you've always been cooking for them.

PS - Along these same lines: This past Spring we decided to make the "Hope Chest" concept part of our garage sale and thrift store shopping. My husband put some shelves up in one of our closets as storage and we've been every so often buying things we know our kids will need/use when they're on their own for the first time. So far we have one set of pots/pans, a set of plain white dishes, two sets of casserole dishes, plus some odds and ends like a cutting board and toaster. Our goal is to have as many kitchen items as possible for them so that they don't face that initial expense.

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Super (Expensive) Suppers.

Have places like SUPER SUPPERS made it to your area yet? I was utterly dumbfounded when a fellow homeschool mom raved to me about it then said she got 12 meals for just under $220. She invited me to try it with her sometime and as I was still trying desperately to wrap my mind around the concept, I only managed to stammer a reply along the lines of, "We usually don't spend that much on food." (And I'm hoping my mouth wasn't hanging open in stupefied shock for too long before I answered.)

In a nutshell, these places take the concept behind ONCE A MONTH COOKING and have "work stations" set up for you where all the food is prepped and you just need to assemble it. You make up your various dishes based on their menu and bring it home for freezing.

I have to give credit to whomever came up with this idea and sold people on it, because - wow. I never would've guessed anyone would go for it, yet it seems to be doing well. I should say seems to be doing well in certain areas. Someone tried to open one very near my neighborhood and it was only there for a few months before closing. I think the owners didn't do enough demographic research first. Upper-class suburbia may be embracing the idea, but working class neighborhoods? Not so much.

All that said... you can do the same thing at home, for a fraction of the cost. As I listened to my friend talk about it, I realized, in many ways, I already do, since we do all our baking at once and frequently cook our meat all on the same day. In other words, just because it's often called "once-a-month-cooking" doesn't mean you have to cook for a full month. You can cook for an entire week or just a few nights. Set up your kitchen in the same way Super Suppers does, by assembling all the ingredients first,(If your kids are past the toddler stage, they can help.) and then start your cooking.

Here are some links you might like, if the cooking-several-meals-at-once idea appeals to you:

SHEKNOWS.COM

ORGANIZED HOME -FREEZER COOKING - (Also, this site has tons of printable forms for building a "home organizer" notebook. Honestly, for a lot of the things - like the price book page - I just use plain notebook paper because it's cheaper than printing, but you still might find some forms here you like.)

MOMSBUDGET.COM

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Spybot mal-ware program.

Since I'm having computer woes, I thought this might be a good time to point you in the direction of this: SPYBOT SEARCH AND DESTROY. I downloaded this software several years ago and it still works great. It's free, because the creator believes it should be, but he does ask for a donation if you can afford it. If you decide to use the program, please consider making a donation if you can. He and his team of volunteers work hard on this program, constantly having to upgrade it to tackle the latest spyware/malware creations. (But that doesn't mean you have to constantly download upgraded versions. The program is built so that when you run it, it connectes with their database to find everything it needs to know what to search out and destroy.)

The first time I used the software, I was stunned by the number of things that had been installed on my computer without my knowledge or permission. I'm not just talking about malicious programs, either. I'm refering to all the cookies and records that were there. Very scary.

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Computer update.

So, I'm on day - what is it? 5? of Groundhog Day. Each morning, my computer acts as if it's never been turned on before. My husband hasn't been able to fix it, but we have determined this isn't a virus-related problem as far as we can tell. It just seems to be a corrupted file of some sort. This weekend a friend of ours who's *really* into computers is coming over to check on it for me.

Meanwhile, I've given up on accessing my e-mails until then. I keep re-loading them and losing them. *RME* Feel free to leave a comment here about anything until then.

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Test Prep.

If you have an older student who will soon be facing college entrance exams, there are some free sources he/she can utilize for practice.

SparkNotes - the site I linked to in the High School Lit posts - offers more than just classic literature guides. THIS PAGE has links to free online copies of test prep books for the SAT & ACT.

CliffsNotes also offers a PREP SECTION.

The STUDY GUIDE ZONE has test prep help for many different standardized exams. (Note to Florida parents: THIS PAGE covers FCAT test prep. As homeschoolers, taking the FCAT is a legitimate, legal way to meet accountability standards; however, our children are not allowed access to the FCAT Explorer on-line test prep program made available to public school children. I have contacted the state & DOE about this several times and will continue to do so. Perhaps someday this could be changed. Meanwhile, you might want to keep the Study Guide Zone in mind, though their guide is specifically targeted toward the high-school level FCAT.)

TEST PREP PREVIEW has a series of free practice tests - including graduate and vocational exams.

MAJOR TESTS offers free SAT, GRE and GMAT practice exams and help.

Finally, 4 TESTS has a wide range of free pratice tests for educational, professional, and computer exams.

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Free budgeting worksheets.

Better Budgeting offers THESE FREE BUDGETING WORKSHEETS to help you get your personal finances organized. (Also included is a link to some frugal recipes.)

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