Honeyville Farms give away

I received an email from Honeyville Farms telling me about their Cookin Cousins blog. I've bought from them before because I am setting up my food storage. I'm now in the process of begining an experiment on living on food storage that I hope will last about 3 months. I'm not planning on only using the food storage since it's winter and I can't grow enough vegetables to sustain me for the entire winter. I did bring in 4 hot pepper plants which are still producing. Once I figure out how to upload photos I will be doing so. I'm also growing Taro (known to gardeners as elephant ear) which is eaten in most tropical countries in the world and which do ok indoors although they don't get as big as outdoors. Plus, I keep my house at 63 degrees and they like it warmer. I have more tropicals edibles but they do need more sun to produce. Back to the Cooking Cousins blog. They are giving away 3 combo packs of their great food. I have my fingers crossed for the fruits. (You can always dream.) I'm still trying to figure out how to add their buttom but since I'm a newbie I'm getting no where. Have a nice day. This is their link since I can't figure out how to add it to my blog.  http://honeyvillefarms.blogspot.com/2010/12/give-away.html

I'm back

   So far I have not gone over my very limited budget. To be honest I have 71 cents left until the 20th which is fine since I have all I need until then (actually to last me at least a year if you don't count perishables). I have a confession. I used most of what I had left (not much to begin with) to buy one of those free food with purchase deal. I paid for the sandwich smoked ham and got a pound and a half loaf of bread, a can of tomato soup and a large bag of potato chips. Not bad. BUT I really bought it because of one thing only: the potato chips. I'm addicted to potato chips (tortilla chips last me for months) and I will eat a bag in two days. That's the number one reason I'm over weight.
   I ate half the bag the first day. Then yesterday I began to eat the second half. It then dawned on me that I was hurting my chances of ever meeting my goal to pay off the house and of staying out of credit card debt. How? If I can't beat my addiction to chips, how can I even hope to beat my spending addiction. Also, since I began the budget, which doesn't allow for buying chips, I have lost 10 lbs without even trying. Nothing short of a miracle when it come to me. I don't want to lose track of my goal and I don't want to gain that weight back. I did what I needed to do, I threw out the potato chips. I felt good.
   Maybe I'm exagerating the effect of eating a bag of chips but I'm not going to risk it. I'll just continue making fries once in a while. It's not as bad as it sounds as I only allow myself to use a very small potato (about 1oz) and I cut them very thin so they seems like a lot. I'm figuring out all sorts of tricks to fool myself into being "good".
   Today I planted my garlic for next year. I like garlic but not the price. I finished cleaning my herb garden and preparing new beds for peppers and eggplant for next year. I'm glad I enjoy gardening because that was very hard work. I had to remove a huge amount of oregano that I first planted 4 years ago. It's not supposed to be hardy in this area, not true. The roots were so deep and strong that it felt like I was digging trees. Good exercise. (Look at the positive side, Carmen.) Today was also the third day of over 80 degrees weather. Not exactly what you would expect in central Minnesota during October. At least the tomatoes are still ripening on the vines that are left. I'm still picking beans and raspberries.

Getting help from the universe

   I didn't post yesterday because I didn't have much to say except that I worked in the yards and inside the house. I did much the same today. Did I mentioned the old me was rather lazy? When you go through life feeling somewhat depressed even when you're not really unhappy some things give. That may sound contradictory but in my case it's not. When I'm depressed I like to be alone, I've been doing that. Yet at the same time I finally reached a point in my life where I no longer feel unhappy. (For me that's nothing short of a miracle.)
   My daughter came over and took me to lunch to a really great Chinese restaurant here in town. (One of the best in both our opinions and we have eatten in many.) I really wanted to order the choice with shrimp but it was more expensive than the versions with chicken or beef. I have this thing about ordering mid-price. I told the server I wanted it with beef, she wrote down the number for beef and then showed up with shrimp. They charged my daughter the lower price. (Great) My daughter then told me she was negotiating a lower price with the cell company so I no longer needed to pay my share (she gets three phone under her plan, so I've been using one of them because it was cheaper than my previous plan). That's $25 extra a month, which doesn't sound like much unless you have my budget. It's going to savings.
   I calculated that I can pay off my house by December 2016 based on the budget for repayment. I bought it December 2005. This morning I asked the Universe to help me pay it earlier These two incidents are not big deals but I took them as signs that it will take me less time. If you've read the book "The Secret" you will understand what I mean. That book has nothing new. I've known about it for a long time and it has worked for me on a number of occasions but, as I mentioned above, I deal with depression (never taken medications) and things working out well sort of put a damper on feeling depressed. When you have been in that mode since you were a very young child, depression can be a security blanket.
   I'm done with that also. No more hiding from life for me.

I feel good

   Paying off my credit cards was liberating. I was reading something that I wrote a few years back about being in debt. I always had big plans but never implemented any of them. It was all 'when I get this money I'll pay this and I'll pay that'. But I never did. I just wasted more money. I can't do that now because the money is not there and I'm not expecting any to fall from the sky. In other words, I'm on my own. This time I don't have a choice, it's make it or make it.
    I finally tackled a project that I've been thinking of doing for more than a year. I had the supplies, I just never got around to doing it until today. I have a fireplace in the basement with a small area of concrete in front and carpet just beyond. (Light color carpet in a walkout basement is insane but it was there when I bought the house.) I had sample tiles: four large slate, and two types of ceramic mosaic. I figured out a pattern that fit the area almost perfectly (it wasn't quite square) with what I had and it looks beautiful and expensive. Since I had all I needed, I didn't have to spend a cent. Staying home forces me to have to find things to do. Another project I have to tackle is installing mosaic size slate in my kitchen backsplash. I have those also. I bought all those tiles at Stone Tile Depot. I'm mentioning them because the tiles for the kitchen cost me just a bit over $100 (on sale) and they are identical to the ones a local business gave me a quote for over $1,000 dollars. The shipping would have been expensive but the nice woman that talked to me suggested I order them as sample with the sample shipping rate. I had to divide them into two order so I wouldn't go over the sample shipping price. That saved me hundreds. If I ever need more tiles I will order from them.
   Something rather amusing happened with my male cat. He has two blankets that he likes to pull out from where I keep them to make himself a napping bed. Today I decided to wash them. He wasn't happy about it so we ended up with a tug of war because he wouldn't let go of one of them. He reminded me of when my daughter was small, washing her blankie was also a struggle. It amazing how much like people they are.

Yes!

   I am officially out of credit card debt. And, I have my fingers crossed that this is it. Of course, now I'm broke but that's ok. October 20th will be the first day of my financial recovery.
   I'm going to pretend for now that I'm totally out of debt and that there is nothing known as equity line that needs to be paid back. I've lived in this house almost five years, which is about as long as it will take me to pay off the equity line but at least there is hope. Maybe time will go by as fast.
   One great thing about my "extreme poverty" budget is that I can not afford to buy potato chips. That is my biggest weakness after the shop-a-holic issue. I fall under the category of obese. (5 feet tall and 183 lbs a month ago.) I am now 174 pounds. Yes! Yes! and another Yes! I surprised myself. I'm not the type that eats huge meals. I actually eat healthy during meals. It's the snacks in between meals that are my problem. I would buy a large bag of chips and eat it in two days. I also ate a lot of sweets. (Can't afford those either unless I make them, but I'm also rather lazy so making is even less likely than buying.) What this means is that I'm losing weight without trying because I no longer have snacks.
  I was going to drop off some aluminum cans at the Boys and Girls Club, which they then sell for cash, and decided to walk instead of drive. I took the long way back. I actually stopped to talk to a woman that I don't like all that much. I figured that now that I'm trying to change my life, I should also try to be nice to people I dislike. We actually had a normal conversation without attacking each other (people here are polite when offending each other but this time we did not offend).
   I spent some time working in my micro-farm (also known as my backyard) pulling dead plants. The temperature was below freezing the last two nights. The day was nice and warm. (People from Florida and California would not agree.) I'll be posting photos eventually so anyone can see why I refer to my yard as a micro-farm. It's also a Certified Wildlife Habitat by the Wildlife Federation.
   It's hard to believe that I can be amusing and at times funny by reading this blog but right now, it's more like a brief journal. I'm trying to get in the habit of writing every day.
   My female cat has been by twice to get me to get off the computer. She does that if she feels I been sitting too long. She then has me walk back and forth behind her. She'll look back to make sure I'm following. She is quite annoying.    

Extreme Poverty Plan to Financial Responsibility

   I spent a couple of hours trying to find a name for what I'm planning to do. The title says it all. I have tried many times to get myself under control with no success. This time I'm going for extreme and illogical measures. Nothing else has worked so why not. I was also trying to decide if I should get a part-time job. I decided not to because I have tried that many times and then end up spending more because I have more. It may sound crazy but perhaps the less I have the less I'll need. I'll do a reassessment later.
  I decided on "extreme poverty" as part of the title because that's where my monthly budget leaves me. Water and Electricity $103; heating $80; landline, internet and cell $93 (my luxury items); car and life insurance $45; pets $40; food $50; gasoline $10; Misc $37; gifts $25; yearly expenses $135 and debt repayment $565. Debt repayment is close to 48% of my income. The yearly includes, property taxes, property insurance and the rest of the things I pay once a year. The budget may sound impossibly low but I've been trying it for a while.
   Another illogical thing was using every single cent I had saved to pay off my credit cards: $4260. Yes, I know savings for emergencies. If I have a huge emergency, I have plenty of credit (lol), meanwhile I save the interest I was paying. I don't even consider my mini-van breaking down an emergency. I'll just stay home. My daughter can take me to the grocery store in the middle of winter. Otherwise, I do need to walk more.
   The other illogical things are: 1. the $10 for gasoline. I figured out finally that when I go out I spend 99% of the time even if I don't have to or want to. (shop-a-holic)  I'm planning on doing lots of home projects instead. 2. $80.00 for heating in an area where we get 20 degrees below on a regular basis and 40 below a few times during the winter. I actually save during the warm months to then supplement the really cold months. That amount includes a plan of repairs for any of my appliances including the furnace so it's even less than it sounds. I keep the house at 62 degrees during the cold months. I'm used to it. I've been keeping track for a while, the furnace only come on if the temperature outside drops below 26 degrees. I've been doing projects to make the house energy efficient even though it's around 80 years old.
   The electric company sent a man (for free) to access the house's efficiency. He gave me a few pointers but in general he was impress with what I've done and how low my utilities use is. I'm not a handy person but there are quite a few things that can be done by anyone. I will talk about that in the future.
   I know this stuff can put anyone to sleep but I want people (assuming that someone ever reads this) to know it's possible to do a lot with a little money. My plan is to repay the money that I will need to payout in the no so distant future and then use the entire amount allocated for debt to pay off the house. Good night.

A very brief introduction

This is my second day eating out of my food storage. Yesterday I went with rice, dried peas, squash and Spam. Yes, Spam. I actually like it. I was born not long after World War II. During the war, Spam was one of the few meat products available where my parents lived so they got used to eating it, as did I as a young child. I didn't really need to eat it because I have plenty of meat in my freezers but I decided, why not? Today I went with left-overs, and for dinner fried chicken thigh (on it's own fat) with potatoes, corn and rice. I also had vegetables, such as lettuce and fresh tomatoes, both days. I have to use those in a relatively short time before they go bad. I brought a couple of hot pepper plants indoors since they don't grow too big and I have a large kitchen window. (And a big cat that likes to sit on the largest shelf.) I'm not planning on keeping track of all I eat since I don't want to bore myself to death or anyone who may some day read this blog.
   I went to the farmer's market to get a couple of onions while they were still available and to say hi to the people there. I sell berries and soaps but I'm done for the year. I got a few other things but they are all in my very short list of food items I can buy with my tiny food budget ($50.00 a month). My cats' is $40.00. I still have 18 days until Social Security and $10.00 left in the food budget. That sounds a lot worse than it is as I'll only need to buy milk between now and then.
   I don't want to make this long so I'll just introduce myself. I've been divorced 30 years (I learned my lesson). I have a married daughter who lives about 20 miles from here, a son who's going to college in Utah and a 4 year old grandson. My son has joint custody. They managed to set their issues aside and so far so good. They were both in the Air Force but after my grandson was born it became a problem since they were supposed to deploy to Iraq at the same time. She wanted to career with the Air Force so my son decided he would leave and use his Veterans Administration benefits for college. He's also doing an internship in the same Air Force base so it works out.