President Bush Drunker Than Wall Street.

Here's that video everyone is talking about. It's the secret clip that finally reveals the truth about what our President Bush thinks about our economy and the pain we folks are feeling. Email subscribers click on this link to watch the video clip:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hrzFyeHSRJI

"Wall Street got drunk", Bush smirks, "and now it's got a hangover." Bush also goes on to state he understands all about the housing mess because his own wife, Laura, is out trying to buy a home in Texas.

Everybody in the room is laughing, howling and thinking it's all just rip-roaring funny. While we folk are back home struggling with our jobs, foreclosures, shrinking property values, bank failures, car repossessions, rising food and energy costs and telling our children mommy and daddy just can't afford their lives anymore.

Wall Street, as President Nero Bush puts it, is nothing more than a bunch of alcoholics, drug dealers, addicts, thieves, crooks, scum bags. And you, the American public are no better than these inebriated thugs as long as you keep your money invested with them. We all were led to believe that if we invested our hard earned money in Wall Street investments, we'd have retirement portfolios, college funds, savings accounts. Remember when President Scumbag wanted to privatize social security and transfer all that wealth over to Wall Street? It would have been the greatest intoxicated party of all time.

Our own government is laughing at us, people! Our own President Nero is playing the fiddle while America burns. Wall Street has brought the American economy to it's knees and has created more misery and unhappiness since The Great Depression of 1929.

And all these people are laughing and telling jokes.

Get your money out of Wall Street. Move it to an FDIC bank accounts. The ones that a truly great president established, FDR, Franklin Delano Roosevelt. Retirement accounts in an FDIC bank are insured up to $250,000. It will NEVER go down and your money will NEVER be lost.

This whole mess just makes me sick to my stomach.


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When The Client Changes The Rules.

As the economy continues to falter, more and more businesses are finding ways to cut costs. Being self-employed doesn't spare you from your clients' cutbacks. One of our largest accounts informed us that they will no longer pre-pay our traveling expenses. That means we will now have to pay for our airfare and car rental fees, bill the client and wait 30+ days for the reimbursement. With accounts as far away as California and possible airfare costs in the thousands, this is going to put a slight dent in our cash flow, to say the least.

Our client is expecting us to pre-carry their expenses. It doesn't stop with the airline tickets. They have also commented that we must limit our own telephone calls to their staff cell phones. They don't want to pay for the extra minutes. That would be fine if the staff were within visual sight. We could either send smoke signals, Morse code or better yet, flag signals to get our message across.

Our first reaction was to find other clients. Easier said than done. This account, as I have noted, is our largest one. Since we don't use credit cards, I thought I would check out the new offers American Express is touting. Am Ex bills have to be paid in full each month and do not offer revolving credit terms, so I felt an Am Ex card would fit in with our own corporate debt-free structure. Wrong.

Am Ex is offering a business account with a 50,000 sign up bonus of airline points. That's equal to 2 free airline tickets if you fly off-peak. Sounds good, right? Not until I read the fine print. You have to spend $1000 on the card during a set time period to qualify for the 50K bonus miles. You also have to sign up with an airlines frequent-flyer program. Am Ex charges a fee of $75 per airline ticket when you redeem and use your bonus points on your free airline ticket. Oh, and yes, Am Ex charges a $450 annual membership fee for all of the above. In other words, I have to spend $1600 BEFORE I get my 2 free airline tickets. That's calculating 25,000 points per ticket on American Airlines (as an example) provided I fly off-peak (which sometimes is not very business accommodating) in the continental U.S.A. and there are actually seats available in this category.

Considering if I book on say, Southwest Airlines in advance, I can fly to CA for only $395 per ticket (includes ALL fees), so my out-of-pocket expenses, for the 2 of us would only be $790, I think I am going to pass on American Depress and their free offer. We've decided to stay on our pay cash-as-you-go business plan.

The good news is that we have to be in San Francisco at the end of August/beginning of September. This gives us ample time to prepare. Our hotel will still be pre-paid, thank God, and our daily meal allowance will also. So we can eat and sleep in peace. We've decided to stay a few extra days and get in a small mini vacation. Since our Italian trip is still in limbo, we thought we would take advantage of this opportunity. Sort of making lemonade out of lemons. We've been to San Fran a few times before but we've never been to Napa Valley. Napa is only an hour's drive north of San Fran. We can hop a day long tour bus ($95 per person) and visit 5 top wineries, drink to our hearts content and not worry about driving a car. There is also an alfresco picnic lunch included as well as a boat cruise back to San Fran (avoids the traffic over the Golden Gate Bridge).

Sounds like a fantastic day to me.

And so it goes.

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Saving Money On Food: Use It Twice.

Most items in my household lead a double life. By that, I mean, I use the products twice. Once, for their main purpose and second, as a side kick.

Let's take the products I have pictured in this photo on the left. I make my own Limoncello. It's an Italian drink which is made from soaking vodka in abundant lemons for 2 weeks in a covered container, then mixing it with a sugar syrup and storing the concoction in the freezer. It makes a fantastic summer drink. You can see the full recipe by clicking on this link here. BTW, I've been using that same glass Knapp limoncello bottle for years.

Normally, once the limoncello is complete, recipes call for you to toss away the lemons. I can't do that. Instead, I store the rinds in a glass container (left over jelly jar) and keep them for future use in the freezer. Whenever I make a pitcher of plain tap water (of which DH has installed a reverse osmosis filtering system) I toss in a few of my saved, frozen lemon peels. It makes the water taste fantastic. Gives it that extra kick, if you know what I mean. No alcohol included. They're also good in a strong cup of espresso!

I also have a double use recipe for my chicken cutlets. Whenever the cutlets go on sale ($1.89 a pound vs. $4.39) at my local grocery store (every 6 weeks) I buy enough to last the time and store them in my freezer. When I take out a pack, it usually has 6 whole, de-boned chicken breasts. I take 3 of the whole breasts and slice them horizontally which nets me 6 thin chicken cutlets. I either season and broil them or I saute' them in my home made breadcrumbs. I always save my bread ends (in the freezer) and when I have accumulated enough, I whirl them in the blender and use them for bread crumbs. I pre-season the crumbs and yes, I store them in a zip lock, in my freezer. Any left over crumbs used in preparing the cutlets are stored in a separate, labeled zip lock for future use. Yes, I use the bread crumbs again. There is nothing wrong with them. I do not throw food away.

The other 3 whole breasts, I place in a pot of water, just to cover. I toss in some tops of either celery, a left over fresh onion or some cut up fresh carrots. I boil the whole lot for 20 minutes or until done. I save the broth, when done, in glass containers and either use it later in risotto, pesto or a quick bowl of soup (just throw in a handful of rice or pasta) or I freeze it for a future use. When the chicken breasts are cooled, I cut them into bite sized pieces and toss them with mayo, fresh chopped celery, sliced almonds, a touch of raisins, parsley, salt and pepper. It can either be eaten alone or on a bed of lettuce or as a sandwich on bread. I usually get 2-3 meals out of the cold chicken salad.

My little dog also gets some of the chicken action. I trim all the visible fat off the cutlets, microwave it and add it to her dog food (a little bit a day). Everybody eats well in my home!

I have other double usage food tips which I will share with you as the summer progresses. I tend to cook more in the summer, freeze more in the summer and live a bit better in the summer. Stay tuned.

And so it goes.

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Classic Frugal Day.

Every six months, I sojourn to my local Shop Rite Supermarket for their semi-annual Can-Can sale. Twice a year, July and January, all the canned goods in the food store go on a massive sale. I usually stock up on olive oil, canned fruits and vegetables, tuna fish, assorted beans, olives, evaporated milk, pasta and rice. I buy enough to last me till their next semi-annual sale. The prices are fantastic. I've been doing this for almost 10 years now.

This July was no exception. I bought 1lb. boxes of Barilla Italian pasta for only .87 each, four cans of beans @$2.00, imported Italian olive oil for half price, olives @.99 a can. Well, you get the idea. I either keep the cans in my basement, up on some shelves DH built specifically for this sale or in my day-to-day pantry. I also stock up on toilet paper, laundry detergent, garbage bags and sandwich baggies. I don't buy any frozen foods or prepared, packaged foods. I try to stick to the basics (like canned tomato products) that I use all year long when I prepare my own home cooked meals such as pasta sauce, chili, soups or stews.

I did my Shop Rite run early in the morning. After lunch (at home) I headed out to my local beauty school and got my summer hair cut for only $4. Normally, it's $5 but since I had it cut very short, there was no need for the $1 blow out. The beauty school is right next door to a discount wine and liquor store. I bought a case of this great Italian red wine from Tuscany that the discount store sells at only $3.99. It's quality is as good as those $25 bottles from the Tuscan vineyards. They had a new discounted white table wine from France and I picked up 2 of those to try. Yes, they were $3.99 also. I store the wine down my basement, where it is a constant 55 degrees.

Other cost cutting/savings I've done these past few weeks: I've stopped buying artisan bread. My local grocery store now bakes their own breads for 1/3 the cost. When friends come over for coffee, I've mastered the art of key lime pie. I buy a prepared graham cracker crust, use fat free evaporated condensed milk, 2 whole eggs and a 1/2 cup each of bottled lime and lemon juice, bake for 20 minutes or so, top with cool whip (or light whipped creme) and my guests go crazy! I've also gotten back to making jell-o. It's cool, refreshing and inexpensive. I've been using less detergent when I either wash my clothes or dishes. I haven' t noticed a difference. I've been using towels longer and changing my sheets less often.

And so it goes.

PS: I've also started doing the business quarterly reports which saves $120 off our accounting fees. I've also started shaving our dog for the summer which saves around another $60 off each groomer visit.
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Debt Will Always Suck.

The NY Times has a scathing series today entitled: The Debt Trap, A series about the surge in consumer debt and the lenders who made it possible written by Gretchen Morgenson. In both the video and written article, The Times chronicles three distinct people and their downward spiral into the abyss of consumer debt. I'm not going to go into great depth about these people but I implore you to read the full article (click here) to fully understand what I am about to say.

The story is about three types of people. The first is a young couple, Amy & Robert Ahleman who bought their first home with 2 mortgages totaling $250,000 in 2006. The keyword here is TWO MORTGAGES. Shortly after they purchased their home, the husbands' job slowed down. Less hours meant less pay, thus they started to miss their mortgage payments. The story recounts how the sheriff showed up at their doorstep one day and served them with foreclosure papers.

The second story is about Diane McLeod, a middle aged woman with a shopping problem. A $280,000 shopping problem. Watch the video about her and notice her massively cluttered home filled with Home Shopping Network crap almost touching the ceiling. As Diane explains, "I'm not good with money. If you have room on a credit card and you want to buy something, you can buy it." A divorce in 1996 sent Diane on an endless shopping spree and into bankruptcy. Keyword in this story is CHRONIC SHOPPER.

The third story is about a 62 year old elderly woman, Norma Patino-Reyes, who refinanced her home three times in three years and borrowed all the equity out of her home to pay her bills. When her annual interest payments were totaled up for the year, Norma was paying $20,000 on an annual salary of only $43,000. Keyword: 3 REFINANCING IN 3 YEARS. At 62, Norma had a stroke, could no longer work nor pay her bills. Norma is facing foreclosure.

When you first read their stories or watch their videos, your first reaction will be to blame these people for their stupidity. Or, as the NY Times wants you to blame, the lenders. Neither one is correct. The real culprit in these stories or in any story you may hear today, yesterday or tomorrow is DEBT. Carrying debt of any kind is a losing proposition. Hear out my theory first before you start sending me emails telling me how you pay your bills on time, pay your credit card in full, indulge in rewards or became a doctor through the wonders of student loans.

Every single person alive will face the following scenarios at some point in either their lives or the lives of their immediate family: job loss, job slowdown, faltering economy, medical health problems and/or divorce. Period. When you take on debt, debt of any kind whether it is credit card, car loan, mortgage, home equity or student loan you are betting against yourself that you will be able to pay your debt over a set amount of years. You are betting against your future that you will NEVER lose your job, get sick, divorce or stub your toe at the supermarket. The odds of that happening to either you or I is ZERO. Carrying debt is arranged in such a manner that you, or I, will always fail. ALWAYS.

It took me a while to figure this out, but it's true nonetheless. As banks and lending institutions devise more ways to part you and your money more, as in fees (over-the-limit fees, late fees) and constantly changing interest rates (always higher, never lower) your ability to save money and prepare for the worst case scenario lessens over time. None of the above case studies had savings, emergency funds or asked themselves the 'what if' questions. What if I lose my job? What if I or my partner gets sick? What if my marriage ends? What if for any reason I can't pay my bills, what will I do? Americans are a pack of people who spend more than they earn and never prepare for job loss, economic downturns (as in 1987, 1990's, 2001 and now 2008. It ALWAYS happens) or illness.

We can blame whomever we want, but truth is, debt is still a losing game. The only generation who got it right, was The Greatest Generation: the folks who survived The Great Depression. They bought one home their whole lifetime, they put down the required 10-20% that they had saved most of their young life for a conventional 30 year mortgage, they never borrowed against their home nor ever pulled out any of their precious equity, they stayed in that home for the 30 years so that in their old age they had a paid-for roof over their head, they saved their money, they paid cash for the things they needed, they bought appliances or a car and they used them till they were unusable, they graduated high school and went on to a community or state trade school and learned a job or career that would sustain them for life, they believed in God and taught their children the 10 commandments (because they knew their was no security in a bank account, job, government agency or Wall Street investment. The only security in life, they reasoned, is God.)

Boring stuff, right? Where are the fancy vacations, European kitchens and baths, fast cars with the fancy gadgets, the closetful of clothes, the front loading washers and dryers, plasma screen TV, cell phone for 8 year old Jane, 3000 square foot McMansion or any of that Home Shopping Network crap?

You can find all of that excess on Ebay. Say hello to Diane McLeod when you get there.

And so it goes.

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Best Date Night Challenge

Kimberly Palmer, senior editor for U.S. News & World Report and author of Alpha Consumer is running a contest for the best entry on how to have the best, yet frugal, date night. You can enter the contest by clicking on this link here.

Here's a quote:

The third edition of the Alpha Consumer Challenge asks you to describe your most creative, money-saving strategy for date night. Do you shun $20 movie tickets for some Netflix action? Or overlook the newest hot restaurant for your favorite recipe at home? Some indulgence is OK—there's no need to spend $0—but submissions will be judged based on their originality and frugality. While $50 might be a lot for dinner, I'll be impressed if you can plan a weekend getaway on that amount.

The winner will get Break Down Your Money: How to Get Beyond the Noise to Profit in the Markets by Fox Business Network reporter Tracy Byrnes.

Good Luck!

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Sand Castles In The Clouds.

DH and I have been kicking it back these past few days. We've been spending some quality time with just the two of us. No kids. No quests. No more sailboat repairs. Everything is done.

Today we got up early, had a quick breakfast and were on the beach by 10:30AM. We packed our frugal lunch: thermos of ice water, PB&J on organic white bread and a bag of chips. We placed our 2 beach chairs as close to the water's edge as possible. I love to sit at the oceans' shoreline and have the surf tickle my toes. The waves were great and we spent half of out time jumping the surf. By 4Pm we were totally spent. We came back home, took a quick shower and are sitting under the trees drinking a fine glass of summer white wine that we got as a present last week from one of our guests.

We picked up a 1 and a 1/2 pounds of wild, fresh salmon and later on DH will be grilling it on the barbie. We'll be having a side order of brown rice and red beans, fresh romaine lettuce and tomato salad. Probably after dinner, we'll go for our customary walk along the shoreline and watch the sun set.

Sorry, dudes. It's just one of those days when everything is in balance. Everything is working out and everything is fine. I just want to enjoy the feeling and count my blessings.

And so it goes.

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