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November 30, 2011, at 6:00 am If you're new to BFS, please subscribe to my RSS feed. It shows me a vote of support and keeps me motivated to keep your attention. If you have any questions or comments for me, please contact me and I'll get back to you asap. Thanks for visiting! I mentioned our first hosted Thanksgiving dinner last week and promised that I’d share the recipe to Aunt Barbara’s Sausage Cornbread dressing. It can also be sausage cornbread stuffing if you decide to put it in your bird. We did both. Here’s my rundown of my personal crack.
Aunt Barbara’s Sausage Cornbread Dressing
- ½ Loaf of day old Bread, torn into pieces (50 cents)
- 4 boxes of Jiffy Cornbread Mix ($2.00 on sale)
- 3 Eggs (50 cents)
- 1 Onion (25 cents)
- 2 Cups Celery, diced ($1.00)
- 2 Sticks Butter ($1.50)
- 5 Cans Cream of Celery Soup ($6.00)
- 1-2 Pounds Jimmy Dean Sausage (we went with 2 for $8.00)
- 8 Ounces White Mushrooms, diced ($3.50)
- 48 Ounces Chicken Broth ($2.00)
- 2 teaspoons Sage (25 cents)
- 1 Tablespoon Poultry Seasoning (25 cents)
- ½ teaspoon Salt ($negligible)
- 1 teaspoon Pepper ($negligible)
- Total Cost – $21.75-$25.75 for two 9″x13″ pans
1. Preheat Oven to 350° F and TAKE OFF RINGS and WATCHES – trust me.
2. Cook Cornbread per directions on box. Let Cool.
3. Brown Sausage, drain, let cool.
4. Crumble Bread and Cornbread into a large mixing bowl. Mix together well with the dry seasonings.
5. Saute Onion, Celery, and Mushrooms in Butter until Onions are translucent.
6. Mix Chicken Broth, Eggs, and the Onion mixture above together in a different large bowl.
7. Combine Breads, Liquids, and Sausage together and stir until evenly mixed. You will need to use the biggest pot you have, lol.
8. Pour into two 9×13 aluminum pans.
9. Bake in oven for 60 – 90 min until the edges are browing and it isn’t sloppy anymore. We actually left it in for about 10 minutes too long as you can see from the pic below, but it was still very yummy.
10. Let cool for 10 min before serving.
Hope you all like it as much as I do!
November 29, 2011, at 6:00 am
The following is a guest post from Ellen at Fun With English, where she explores the origin of English words and expressions. In her spare time, she is on her own journey to improve her financial knowledge! She’s also been a great reader and commenter here at BFS, and I am proud to be featuring her first ever guest post!!!
I recently took a trip to Canada’s capital, Ottawa. It’s about a 5 ½ hour trip to Ottawa from my house. I have both friends and family living there, so I try to get up at least once a year. This article contains information on what I think I did well, where I could have improved, and some general tips on how to save money on a road trip.
Transportation
We spent about 75 dollars on gas (I hear rumors it’s cheaper in the U.S. than it is in Canada) for the 2 tanks of gas we bought, plus I’d guesstimate we spent about 15 dollars more for the gas we used before we filled up.
We also took the bus downtown to a Remembrance Day ceremony (it’s our version of Veterans Day). We saved a bit there by using bus tickets (approximately 2.60 per person) instead of cash fare (approximately 3.25 per person). I’m not sure what parking was, so it’s tough to know if we came out ahead on this one. For practical purposes though, the bus was definitely the way to go.
I’d give myself a B+ on this one. I think we were moderately frugal, but if I’d really wanted to save a bit of cash, I could have walked the 4 kilometers (about 2 ½ miles) to the ceremony.
Lodging
Normally we get a hotel room, and I’ve saved some money by taking advantage of a “Stay 2 nights, get the 3rd one free” deal. This time, a friend offered to put us up and I accepted. I splurged a ridiculous amount for a hotel during a recent trip to Chicago, and was still feeling the sting of it, so it was nice to have a free place to stay.
I’d give myself an A on this one. Can’t do much better than free for lodging – including free parking!
Food
We bought food on the way up and the way down, and went out to dinner a few nights. We did scrounge breakfast off our friends, and lunch off a relative. Oh – and spent 4 bucks on a hot chocolate from Starbucks.
We could have saved some by packing food for the way up, and eating with friends we visited on the way back. We did split the hot chocolate instead of each getting our own though!
I’d give myself a B on this.
General Tips for Saving Money on a Road Trip
- Stay with someone you know! Some cheap options are hostels and university campuses (may only be available in the summer). At bare minimum – check for deals and discounts, and make sure your place has free parking if you’re driving.
- Pack food for the road, and also for your destination. It’s easy to bring a cooler of sandwiches, and some breakfast food (yay Poptarts!) that doesn’t spoil
- Take the most direct route, and keep an eye out for locations gas tends to be cheaper (e.g. city vs. country.)
How about you? How do you save on a road trip?
Crystal’s Comments: I also stay with friends or family when possible to save on hotel fees. Otherwise, the majority of my savings is whatever deal hunting I do online before a trip…
November 28, 2011, at 6:00 am
As I’ve blogged about before, I am a member of Weight Watchers Online, but I’ve been very, very bad for about 2 months. I have been walking 2-3 times a week for 45 minutes, but I completely threw away any semblance of willpower when it came to food. 
I Gained Back 10 Pounds
With that in mind, I wasn’t too surprised that I have gained back a total of 10 pounds since July 2011. So I started out the year at 176, worked my way down to 146 by July, and weighed in at 155.6 pounds yesterday, November 27th. That’s crappy, but it was the kick in the pants I needed to make some changes.
My husband hasn’t been happy with his gain back either. He’s still down 25 pounds for the year, but also gained back 10-15 pounds. That said, we logged back into Weight Watchers, restarted our memberships, and started tracking our points yesterday morning. He also suggested we join the gym down the street that has racquetball courts, a heated swimming pool, and fitness classes. We took a tour, haggled a bit to get the best offer we could (which I will blog about separately), signed up, and played 2 games of racquetball yesterday. We also picked up a schedule of the fitness classes and are making plans based on what we can pull off realistically.
The Cost of Physical Fitness
Weight Watchers Online is $18.95 a month. My husband is also a member, so there’s about $40 a month total for our diet plans. The gym ended up being $30 a month for one of us and $25 for the second person, so $55 a month plus tax. There’s another $60 a month. In the end, we will be paying $100 a month, or $1200 a year, to get and stay physically fit.
That seems insane since there are a thousand ways to stay healthy and eat well without paying a cent, BUT my husband and I need the extra help. We have so little willpower on our own. So, yes, we are paying $40 a month for an online program to keep us accountable and on track. And we are paying another $60 a month in the hopes that raquetball, swimming, and fitness machines will call us out of our lazy stupors.
Keep Me Accountable
Plus, I will now be using you – my very awesome readers and commenters – to keep me accountable. I refuse to waste $1200 a year. So I will be checking in with all of you twice a month with an update on my Weight Watchers points usage, a rundown of how I’ve used the gym, and a specific update on my progress to the goals I am setting below. You all are more than welcome, even encouraged, to update us all on your progress as well in the comments on these posts as well. Consider this a call out for a peer pressure group!
My Goals
I am making my goals realistically. Christmas is around the corner and I love holiday food. I also rather not burn out on the gym in the first 2 weeks. With all of that in mind, here are my short-term and long-term goals:
- Stay within my weekly allowed 252 Weight Watchers food points – I get 29 to use each day and 49 to spend as I wish each week. I will try to completely ignore the activity points I will be earning.
- Use the gym at least 3 times per week.
- Weigh 155 pounds by December 31st, 2011.
- Weigh 135 pounds by December 31st, 2012.
If you’d like to be involved, please place your goals below. I look forward to seeing your updates.  I plan to post my own updates around the 15th and last day of each month – whatever weekday that is closest since I have way fewer readers on the weekends. If you rather not participate, please just throw me some supportive words or offer to kick my butt if I don’t follow through! Thanks!
November 28, 2011, at 5:00 am
Welcome to the Best of Money Carnival – 10 Funny Gift Ideas. In honor of all of the online shopping I did over the weekend, I am including 10 gag gift ideas for the holidays I found on eZine Articles. Enjoy!
Editor’s Pick
1. Have Some Dough. What you will need to do is find out the person’s favorite type of cookie. Make the dough and store a majority of it in a Tupperware container you can give them after you give them their gag gift! In a card place a dab of the dough, and write in the card “Here’s some dough for your Birthday!” Once the joke is over, give them the fresh dough so you can kick back and make some cookies together.
2. For the friend of yours that has a fear of bugs you can give them the Bug Killer Kit. In this kit get some plastic roaches and two blocks. Have one block be an A block and the second block be a B block. Include a handwritten note that says, “Sophisticated bug killer, smash bug with block A and follow up with Block B”.
3. Redneck earrings are another great idea for funny gifts. With these you will have to find the perfect scent of air freshener shaped like a pinecone. Put a fish hook and nicely wrap them. When they open their gift have a note that reads “Bubba’s Quality Earrings. Look Great and Smell Better.”
4. For the single gal in your life you can give her the perfect man! This is a fun one that you can make in your own kitchen! Make several gingerbread men cookies and decorate them with various candies and make them look real sharp. Attach a note to the cookies that reads, “The perfect man. Quiet and sweet and guaranteed to never give you any trouble.”
5. For the those with a short fuse give them “Happy Pills” for a present. Make sure you get a clean empty jar. Produce your own happy pills brand by wrapping it in paper. Inside the jar fill it with M&M’s or the person’s favorite candies. Every time they feel the short fuse coming they can then make use of their happy pill.
6. Cowboy Bubble bath is another great homemade solution to the person you need to get laughing. If you have a friend who is big in the cowboy culture they will laugh at this one. Get a package of dry beans and pour them into a bag. On the bag make a label that reads “Cowboy Bubble Bath”. Tell them that’s the way they did it in the old days to save water. You could eat your meal while you took a hot bath.
7. For the business professional they need something they can take to the office. Be sure they have the latest Redneck Briefcase to help them make it through the day. This is the perfect gift for your co workers. Grab a pair of men’s briefs (brand new) and sew the legs shut. Attach a holder to the side of the briefs so they can be carried. As one of the funny gifts it needs accessories as well. Place a nail in it for a toothpick, an old key to be used for earwax removal, newspaper strips for toilet paper, matches for a belly button cleaner and stick pens inside the fly. For good measure have them dig the items out, with fake poop at the bottom of the pile.
8. Dustpan cookies are another great idea for funny gifts. Place cookies you baked into a clean dustpan and break them in half. Attach a note that reads. “The cookies I prepared fell onto the ground. Didn’t have anything else to give you….hope the crumbs are good enough.”
9. Certificates also make great funny gifts. Think about the person you are making the certificate for and reward them on something they are embarrassed about. Let is say something like “Biggest Procrastinator” or “Biggest Slacker Award”. They are in fun and jest and can give people a great laugh.
10. Finally the last idea for funny gifts is the “Cool the Spender” gag gift. For the person who blows money quickly, give them a twenty dollar bill frozen in ice. Have it in a cup that you pull from the freezer and let them wait for the ice to melt before they can spend it.
Remember to submit your post for next week, which will be hosted by Retire by 40.
November 27, 2011, at 6:00 am
Mortgage Payoff Update
As I proclaimed, lol, my husband and I are attempting to pay off our mortgage within 6 years or less – specifically, by the end of 2013. My personal goal is to shave another year off of that – so the end of 2012. In order to stay on track, I’ll be posting updates here as we make progress. Here’s what we have accomplished so far:
Payoff Amount on our goal start date (10/26/2011) – $62,634
Payoff Amount as of 11/27/2011 – $49,443.11
I was able to throw on another $5500 principal payment on 11/22/11, woot! But, this month has been much slower than last month with advertising, so I don’t see such a big hit coming in December. We’ll see…
Newsletter Update
Remember, if you haven’t yet, you can subscribe to my weekly newsletter with exclusive, subscriber-only giveaways by using the subscription form in the right sidebar! ———>
My current goal is to reach 150 subscribers by November 30th, so please spread the word as you see fit! I appreciate it.
Just for kicks, here are the current newsletter stats from last week’s subscriptions:
- Number of Subscribers: 114 (Thank you!!!)
- Open rate (how many subscribers ended up opening the third newsletter): 46 of 114 (40.7%), which is 24.8% higher than industry standard, woot!
- Clicks (how many people have clicked a link inside the last newsletter): 8 (7.1%)
- Countries Reached: United States, Canada, Netherlands, and the United Kingdom
Thank you so much to my subscribers!!! I appreciate the vote of confidence and Jesse and I will make sure they don’t get boring!
Additonal Info
I will continue posting monthly and yearly blog statistics and income updates, so stay tuned at the beginning of every month!
In case you didn’t know, Alexa traffic rankings are determined by the numbers of hits a site gets by people with the Alexa toolbar. If you want to be part of this ranking community, you can download the Alexa toolbar here.
If you don’t already, you can follow me via RSS, Twitter, or like my Facebook page by following those links.
To learn more about the Yakezie, the blogging group that has helped me in SO many ways, check out my Yakezie page! Feel free to email me if you are a Yakezie member or challenger and don’t see yourself on the list!
If you are interested in seeing how I went from an 8 million plus Alexa rank and 3 readers to where I am today, you can see My Blogging Checklists, which breaks down everything I do related to blogging. If you want to see how I have started bringing in more than $10,000 a month in less than 2 years, you can check out How I Make Money Blogging.
I have also started a new site, http://howimakemoneyblogging.com/, which will cover how I currently make money blogging and my transition to a work-from-home blogger!
THANK YOU ALL FOR BEING THE BEST READERS EVER!!!
November 26, 2011, at 6:00 am
Weekly Updates
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I ate way too much! We ate with friends on Wednesday, ate with family on Thursday, and ate some more last night with friends again. I will have to hit Weight Watchers hard. Yuck. Oh well – totally worth it.
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My Favorite Posts this Week
Guest Posts at BFS
Thank you!
I Staff Write at…
Giveaways
Blog Carnivals
If you are hosting a carnival that includes Budgeting in the Fun Stuff, please email me so I can include it in my roundup. Thanks!
Top 5 Referring Sites to BFS from Last Week:
- Free Money Finance
- Get Rich Slowly
- Yakezie
- Mom’s Plans
- Debt Free By Thirty and Retire By 40 (tie)
Feel free to contact me if you have any suggestions. I’d love to add a few more blogs to my regular reading list or at least give a shout-out for great posts or contests.
As always, thanks to all the bloggers that teach me something new every day. Thanks to all my commenters for making this blog the community I want it to be. Thanks to all my lurkers too. 
I hope everybody is enjoying this as much as me!
Please subscribe to my new newsletter to receive weekly updates and links to exclusive, subscriber-only monthly giveaways!
There’s a $25 Amazon Gift Card up for grabs right now and a survey to get your opinion.
I am aiming for 150 subscribers by November 30th since I did not hit my September or October goal!
The newsletter subscription box is at the top of the right sidebar —————>
My Other Sites
I have started a new site, How I Make Money Blogging!
Let me know what you think!
November 25, 2011, at 6:00 am
The following is a guest post by YFS from yourfinancessimplified.com. If you want relevant, witty and easy to follow financial guidance subscribe to his newsletter by clicking here! I thought this post would be perfect for us as we all recover from our post-Thanksgiving food comas.
Crystal asked me to create this guest post based off a comment on another blog about how I only eat for pure nutritional purposes. The reason why I eat for nutritional purposes only and not based off of cravings is simple…it’s faster, cheaper and healthier!
You may not realize it yet. But, eating the YFS way will not only make you healthier but also save you tons of money and time. Now, who wouldn’t want that?!
Breakfast
I eat this breakfast every morning! It takes me literally 1 minute to prepare and is one of the most vitamin packed and healthy meals you can eat.
- Optimum Nutrition Whey Gold Meal followed by a 16oz glass of water.
Yes you heard right! My breakfast is a meal replacement shake and water.
Before you start throwing tomatoes at me, realize this. Meal replacement shakes have been given a bad rap over the years but, I promise you, this particular meal replacement shake tastes amazing!
My favorite part is that you can mix this with any liquid.
Fruit juice? No problem! Milk? No problem! Orange Juice? No Problem! Vodka? No Problem!
You get the point.
Lunch
- Two 16 ounce glasses of water, baked chicken breast and 5 minute microwaved steamed rice or vegetables.
This is my most creative meal. I marinate 7 days worth of chicken breast in my favorite marinade from the store.
FYI, I only buy what is on sale. So, I should say my favorite on-sale marinade from the store.
I also only buy the steam veggies or rice that are on sale at the store. When it is lunch time I pop my veggies or rice in the microwave for 5 minutes and I’m ready to go.
To save time, I cook my chicken breast on Sunday for the week.
Dinner
Same as lunch. Boring, isn’t it?
Why do I eat so boring?
1. To be healthy
BREAKING NEWS!!!!
To be healthy is to be boring. Just like working out. People tend to get too fancy when trying to lose weight. They get gym equipment they will never use, eat only salads, stop eating meat, drink only juice, or use some other weird method. Basically, they try a bunch of things that don’t usually work.
Remember just because you’re busy making your meals and researching gym clothes and gadgets, doesn’t mean you’re making progress. You don’t need all that crap.
Being healthy is about discipline! If you eat right, perform cardio (run/walk), and lift weights, you will be healthy.
Want a six pack? Lose the body fat. Want to lose the body fat? Stop eating things that contain high fat content and incorporate high intensity training workouts. Do this over a few months and you will see results.
The most simple things are the hardest for people to implement for some reason. Unless you have a medical condition, being fit is about discipline.
2. I’m lazy
I don’t know about you. But, I just hate cooking and preparation. Thinking of the different recipes, sides dishes. and desserts…Ughhhh…no!
I need something so easy a cave man can do it. What is easier than cooking once a week and turning on the microwave for 5 minutes a day?
Answer: Having a chef.
So until I get a chef, as long as I’m cooking, I will do it my way. Of course, if Mrs. YFS decides to cook I will not object to her changing things up.
3. I don’t care about food
I sincerely believe you should spend lavishly on things you love and be a cheap skate on the things you don’t care about. So I get the best bang for my buck! Let me break down the cost per meal:
Breakfast cost me $1.18 per shake at 45 servings
Lunch cost me roughly $7 a week (on sale items and in bulk)
Dinner cost me roughly $7 a week (on sale items and in bulk)
I can eat for $15.18 a week and get 3 square meals a day! I don’t know about you, but if you can feed yourself for $2.16 a day while eating as healthy with the same time/effort involved, you’re winning the game!
If you want to save money, time, and lose weight, maybe you should adopt my plan for a few months. I promise you will feel better and look better at the end of the 3 months. Are you up for the YFS food challenge?
Crystal’s Comments: Before you get really defensive, please know that I asked for YFS to write about his diet since it fascinates me. I am a woman who definitely lives to eat, so meeting someone who eats to live is new to me. Overall, the diet above is simple and boring, but I bet it works! I can’t imagine not having at least 15 flavors a day, but I also struggle to maintain a healthy weight and will never have 6 pack abs. So it is a trade off. Weight Watchers has been the only diet that ever helped me find a balance with my eating, but the diet above probably would work faster. So please keep in mind that this post was written by request before you comment, and I hope it was as interesting to you as it was to me!
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DISCLAIMER I am not a professional or a financial advisor. BFS posts are informational opinions only. Please make your own financial decisions based on personal research or see a financial advisor.
Also, there are paid links on this site. There is no obligation on your part to purchase any products advertised on this website.
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