Jill Russo Foster

How To Save Money AND Get Dinner On The Table Fast!!

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From guest contributor www.VickiHeise.com

I’m often asked how I put together quick meals and save money on food. I cook at home and prep ingredients early in the week, so that meals go together super fast. At the end of the week, I use the bits and pieces of leftover veggies, meat and grains to make a quick frittata or soup.

By taking a little bit of time to do some home cooking, you can save money and feed you and your family delicious meals that go together quickly. Check out these 4 tips that you can start using today!

KEY ~ Feed Your Body
How To Save Money AND Get Dinner On The Table Fast!!

Did you know that not only can you save money by cooking at home, but it doesn’t have to be complicated? If you think you don’t have time to add another thing to your to-do list, with a little planning you can not only save money, but feed your family great tasting nutritious food and not spend lots of time in the kitchen.

Here are 4 tips to get you started:

Use whole foods. Buy whole foods, the ones you find around the outer edge of the grocery store. That’s where you’ll find the fresh herbs, fruits, vegetables, meat, chicken, fish and dairy. Add some things from the bulk bins like grains, beans and nuts (a huge money saver) and if you’re really pressed for time get some canned beans and frozen vegetables.
Prepare them simply. You don’t need lots of recipes with long lists of ingredients. Save the complex, full of ingredient recipes for when you have the time to enjoy the whole cooking experience.
Make large batches ahead of time of the things that take a while to cook like beans, grains and rice. Yes they do take time, but it’s on the stove cooking time, not you actively being involved time. By making these ahead of time, you’ll have ingredients ready when you get home so you can quickly put all the pieces for dinner together. If you’re making soup, make extra to so you’ll have leftovers for lunch or dinner the next day or later in the week.
Prep and freeze ingredients to save time later. What do you use often in your meals? Onions, peppers and other veggies? Chop these and put them in meal sized portion freezer bags. You could even cook bacon and freeze it to use as a garnish in recipes. When you’re ready to cook soup in the crock pot, just take out what you need and you’re ready to go! Also consider freezing meat, poultry and fish in meal size portions. My husband and I have different tastes, so I’ll freeze individual portions of beef and pork for him and fish for me. It makes for a drama free meal!

10 Minute Scrambled Eggs

I love making budget friendly 10 Minute Scrambled Eggs for dinner, using one pan and some freezer ingredients. There’s no chopping or prep time!

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~ Saute frozen peppers and onions, in a bit of coconut oil.

~ Add frozen, already cooked, chopped bacon, then fresh or frozen spinach until it’s wilted.

~ Finally add the eggs with a bit of cheese if you want, and scramble it all together.

~ Serve with a favorite fruit and a piece of toast.

This is a dish that you can easily add in bits and pieces of leftovers from the fridge too.

Take a little time to plan ahead to save yourself time and money starting this week!

If you’d like other recipes ideas, you can check out over 1000 of them on my Live Your Healthy Life’s Pinterest page.

If you’re looking for weekly ideas to Live Your Healthy Life, you can sign up to receive my weekly email newsletter.

www.VickiHeise.com

Prep Your Home for Winter

It’s time to get your home ready for the upcoming winter months. The Farmer’s Almanac predicts another snowy winter here in the northeast.

Here are some things that we do at our house:

1. Get all the patio furniture cleaned and put inside if possible. We have a lot – and most comes inside – but there are a few pieces that are too big and heavy. For the pieces that stay out, we put those orange cones atop the table and cover with patio furniture covers. This prevents the water from puddling up. Make sure to secure the covers tightly.

2. Turn off the outside water and drain the lines. You don’t want to have to call a plumber in the middle of winter to fix a frozen line. Remember to bring in the outside garden hoses once you have drained them.

3. Clean those gutters before you have problems. Scoop out the debris from inside (even if you have gutter guards), so that the water can flow easily. Remember to clean out the down spouts too.

4. While you are on your roof… Check for leaks that might need fixing, cracks, and moss growing in the roof (not a good thing as moss holds moisture and that can mean rot). Don’t forget to look around the chimney. All these could become a major problem as we get into winter. As I have told you, it’s easier to fix a small issue now rather than a major issue later. You can either do this yourself or call a professional for help.

5. Get your heating systems tuned up and serviced before winter to make sure it’s in working order. There is nothing worse than waking up to no heat on a cold winter morning.

6. Caulk around the windows to seal up any drafts. You don’t want leaky, drafty windows sucking the heat outdoors. You should caulk every few years as preventative maintenance.

7. Because winter storms can mean loss of electricity… You will want to check up on your emergency supplies – lanterns, batteries, flashlights, battery powered radio, warm blankets, non-perishable food with a manual can opener, bottled water, and matches if you want to cook on the barbecue grill.

It’s much better to prepare ahead of time and do little projects now while the weather is nice. You don’t want to deal with emergency repairs in the winter.

The Power of Vacation

Thought you might find this interesting: These are the Top 10 Dream Trips according to Trip Advisor. We’ve only done 2.5 of these, so the rest will have to go on our bucket list. I can’t wait.

The power of vacation. Yes, there is such a thing.

According to Fox news, 1 in 4 Americans don’t get paid time off. By contrast, France and Italy top the list with employees getting 31 days off each year and Canada giving 19 days. Even of the people in the US who get paid time off, 75% don’t use it.

We are lacking, and all of our hard work is actually hurting our bottom line.

According to Business Insider, the vacationing worker is:

More productive when they return
Relaxed upon their return – I would agree with this one.
Refreshed and rejuvenated – possibly better able to solve problems and come up with answers / ideas. This has happened to me several times. When I step away from something and turn my thoughts to something else a solution or new idea pops into my mind.
Have better relationships with their partners – time away will do this.
Live longer lives

You don’t have to travel far to get the benefits. Time away from work (think stay-cation) will work wonders.

Remember: taking a vacation does not mean working remotely from your laptop or phone. You need to disconnect from email and technology to relax. If I can do this being self-employed, so can you.

It’s Time to Order Your Last Report for 2015

This month use TransUnion

Hello, it’s Jill again, reminding you to get your finances in order so you can enjoy the holiday season.

How to Order Your Credit Report

The only authorized source for your report is AnnualCreditReport.com. You won’t be charged and they won’t force you to sign up for “credit monitoring”. It’s yours to review by law. Learn more.

Visit www.AnnualCreditReport.com:

Select your state, then click Request Report.
Fill out your information, then click Continue.
When it asks you to select a service, select TransUnion.

Not comfortable ordering online? There are other ways to order your report:

Mail your postal order by downloading the form at AnnualCreditReport.com
Call in your order at 1-877-322-8228

What should you do with your report?

Review it for accuracy!
Follow the instructions to correct any errors.
And, always remember to keep copies for your records.

Were you hoping for your credit score instead? Try CreditKarma.com. It doesn’t give you a FICO score, but it comes close by providing scores from TransUnion and VantageScore. And, there’s no charge for you. CreditKarma funds their service through website advertising.

May you have a fun and meaningful holiday season from Halloween through to New Year’s Eve and everything in between.

P.S. I’ll send you another reminder in January so you can start 2016 off right.

Identity Thieves Don’t Stop with the Living

You know that I go to great lengths to protect myself from identity theft. I do what I can from my end even though I have no control over corporate breaches. Ugh!

But, there are others in my family who may be at risk.

Have you ever had a close family member pass away? You probably said ‘yes’ to that question. If so, you know that the family writes an obituary for the newspaper that includes a number personal details. When I was the Executor for my father’s estate, I did that. I even looked at the newspaper to see what information other families included to make sure I didn’t leave anything of importance out.

Well, that was mistake number #1.

I (like many others) handed a potential identity thief the information on a silver platter. I included his date of birth, where he grew up, the names of my mother and siblings, his past places of employment, and the organizations he was a part of. I included everything everything but his social security number.

According to AARP, 2.5 million deceased people have their identity stolen postmortem each year. This is wide spread and the victims can’t speak up, so it’s a win for the thief.

So what can you do about it?

Send death certificates to the three credit reporting agencies and request that a death alert be posted to the deceased credit report – I did this.

Contact the banks and investment companies with death certificates. See if you can get the accounts out of the deceased’s name. In some states you can do this if the account was joint – I took care of this, too.

Notify the Social Security Administration, the IRS and Motor Vehicles – this is where I could have done more (partial mistake #2 – I did social security and the IRS but not motor vehicle).

Then, preventatively, check the deceased’s credit reports to monitor for any suspicious activity so you can catch it early on. For more options, please go to my previous newsletter on reports available to consumers.

Hopefully, I won’t lose anyone close to me anytime soon, but from now on I will do ALL the steps – not just most. I was somewhat lucky, as my father was collecting social security and had a government pension, so I notified both. It didn’t even occur to me to notify the DMV. Learn from what I have done (and not done) to protect your loved ones.

Stay away from these types of loans

Are you familiar with these types of loans? These are the ones, I would strongly encourage you to stay away from:

1. Payday loans aka payday advances rely on your employment / payroll history. You borrow short term money to be paid back at your next pay date. These are unsecured in the sense that there is no collateral. Depending on how the interest is calculated by individual state regulations (in the states that allow them), your interest rate can be upwards in the hundred percentage range. Not a very cost effective way to borrow money.

2. Balloon loans / mortgages: These types of loans are NOT fully amortized. With most “good” loans you make an agreed upon payment, and at the end of the term the loan is paid in full. But that is not the case with a balloon loan. Your payments are not high enough to pay off the loan at the end of the term. Once you think you are finished, you end up with a very large final payment which may be 50%, 60% or even 100% of your principal (hence the name ‘balloon’).

3. Rent-to-own loans: You make rental / lease payments towards the ownership of an item (furniture, TV, computer, etc.). You can terminate the rental / lease at any point and return the item, though there may be a penalty. Once the agreed upon payments are made, the item is yours. This looks like an affordable way to get what you want right away, but it isn’t. Typically, you pay substantially more for the item than if you just used a credit card.

In each of these cases, borrower beware. Read and understand any legal agreements prior to signing. You need to understand what you are getting into and for how long, so that you can make an informed choice that is right for you and your situation. If you don’t understand the contract or feel pressured, that would be your signal to walk away.

How to plan for a dog before buying a puppy

I am passionate about travel, but it doesn’t compare to how I feel about my dogs. Brownie has been a member of the family for seven years now. We rescued her at about 8 weeks when she was only 12 pounds, a far cry for her 70 pounds now. We love her just as much as any of our other dogs.

But owning a pet can be a budget breaker. Pets are expensive. You need to consider their day to day costs – food, supplements and services – which can range in price from affordable to “how am I supposed to pay for that?”

The Initial Costs

According to peteducation.com, the first year can cost between $500-$6,600 depending on how much you’re willing to spend.

You have the simple comforts and necessities: bed, leash, collar, food bowls, toys – these aren’t too expensive individually, but can add up when you’re buying them all at once.

Then there are your legal requirements, like puppy shots, license and tags.

You may also want to consider having your puppy neutered and micro-chipped. Thank goodness where we rescue the cost of puppy neutering is included, so it’s not an extra cost for us. If you rescue, ask to see if you can save too.

Finally, depending on the dog’s personality or medical issues, you may have other expenses. Brownie went through the teething stage, as puppies do, but she wasn’t interested in inexpensive items like shoes or pillows. She chewed the molding around the door so that we needed a carpenter to make the repairs. That was expensive.

The Costs Going Forward

According to the Pet Education, the annual costs can be anywhere between $300-$2,500.

Brownie’s annual vet check-up and shots cost about as much as a car payment and are due every summer along with her license. That’s not including any extra trips to the vet for illness, injuries, etc. All these need to be planned for.

Your homeowners / renter insurance can increase depending on your dog’s breed.

Lastly there is caring after your dog’s emotional and physical well-being. Do you need to have a dog walker while you’re at work or to board your dogs when you’re traveling? More costs.

Lots to think about. Besides just selecting the right pet for your family, make sure to plan the financial part, too.

How to painlessly cut the cost of necessary expenses

Do you feel like you’ve cut your expenses to the bone – that there’s literally nothing else to cut? I want to challenge your thinking on that. Have you looked into what I call the necessary expenses (things that you need or are required to have) to try to get a discount or find a cheaper supplier?

This is what I did for our household:

I contacted our electric company and went from 15¢ to .08¢ per kilowatt. This saved us $40 the first month alone. Now I have reminders on my calendar to check before the next possible rate change in 6 months.

I was contacting our credit card company about a dispute issue and they asked if there is anything else they could do for me. I responded, “I would love a lower interest rate.” They immediately reduced it by 2%. Yes, sometimes it can be as easy as that.

I called our cell phone provider to pay a bill (normally I pay online, but my computer had crashed) and they said they could lower our bill by $20 per month because of our loyalty – without me even asking! Another $20 back in our budget.

If you want to try lowering the cost of your necessary expenses, always be polite and ask simple questions, like….

Why did my bill go up?
What are my options for reducing my bill?
My budget doesn’t allow for me to pay this, what can we do to reduce the cost?

All these little savings add up to more money in your pocket. If you can’t reduce your bill, shop around and see what’s out there. Then, bring your findings back to your current providers to see what they can do.

Let me know how you do.

To succeed in college, you must back up

So, you’ve prepared your child for college, which includes buying him a decent laptop. That’s where he’ll store all his homework, access his assignments and turn in his papers. Should be good to go, right?

Wrong. Imagine this: Your child just finished writing this really great paper and it’s due in two hours. Suddenly, the computer crashes. Maybe it’s a virus. Maybe it was because of the soda he spilled on it last night. The ‘why’ doesn’t matter right now – all that matters is that a full semester’s work was lost in a few seconds.

What’s your kid going to do?

Hopefully, he’ll…

1. Borrow another computer from a friend or the school to…
2. Access his files from the external hard drive in his room or from his cloud backup service, and…
3. Send his paper on time.

If you don’t understand anything in Step 2, read on:

External Hard Drive

This is an external storage device separate from your computer. It’s portable – from the size of a wallet to a small box. You plug it into the computer with a USB cable.

Pros: You don’t need the internet to access your files. It’s portable and you can plug it into any other computer as needed. You pay one-time for the device and not a service.

Cons: It can be lost, stolen or damaged and you need to remember to back up your files.

Cloud Backup Service

In simple terms, this is a service that stores a copy of your files on the internet. It backs up continuously and automatically as long as there’s an active internet connection.

Pros: Backs up for you and you can access your files anywhere on any computer.

Cons: Need to keep paying for the service to access your files. Must have a functional internet connection to access files.

Now that you know the different types, why not both?

Backing up frequently is critical, but so is access. You can get a 1 terabyte external hard drive for around $60 and you can use a cloud backup service for $5 per month.

That’s cheap security considering you’ll be covered for both hardware and internet related disasters.

This all sounds scary, but what are the chances?

Using a computer for school or work opens you up to some major security risks that I think need to be addressed.

1. The actual item can be lost or stolen. (You should have a locate app installed to increase your chances of finding what’s been lost.)

2. Your computer can be infected by a virus or hacked.

3. It can be damaged by liquids, a power outage, or a simple accident.

4. User error. This is where you accidentally delete or overwrite your file.

With so many security issues, the chances of something happening are pretty big. Dorm rooms are crowded work/living spaces occupied by distracted teens. Things happen… a lot.

And, it’s happened to me – a grown up with my own spacious home. Back in June, I crashed my computer. I was saved by backups and the pros to get me up and running again – but it took at least a week. I can’t thank them enough. Now, not only do I have an external hard drive and cloud back up, I have added an automatic backup systems to be double safe.

It’s July – get ready for college living now

If you’re getting ready to send your child off to college for the first time, here is a list of things you need to do, or have them do, before school starts.

Research what it’s like to live on campus. What are the rules and regulations? Where is the best place to do laundry or buy food? What student groups are available? What’s the game schedule? When and where are the plays, the concerts and movies? What stores, restaurants and services are in walking distance? Visit the school’s website and Google Maps to start. From there you may find forums or groups that will help you plan for the place you’ll be living for the next year.

Buy or rent your text books online if possible. Text books are expensive. As soon as your class syllabus is available, start comparison shopping. What options are available to you? Downloadable? Hardcover-used but with shipping fees? The school book store may be the most expensive source, but if you wait until the last minute it will be your only choice. (Always use the ISBN to verify that you have the correct edition.)

Get to know your roommate. You’ll be sharing a very small space with someone you’ve never met. Summertime is the best time to reach out. Find out about them (likes and dislikes), set up of dorm room (who is bringing what) and discuss any issues you are concerned about ahead of time. If you need a roommate off campus (one that’s not assigned by the school), try roomsurf.com.

Doctors and dentists close to campus. It’s time to think about your child’s medical. Set up a physical before they head off to school. Renew prescriptions now so they can take it with them. Check with your insurance carrier to find doctors close to campus in network because emergencies happen. Out of network costs can be a drain on your budget.

Put Orientation on your calendar and go. This is your chance to get to know the school, campus, services and class information. This is a must for anyone going to college or going to a different school.

Technology. In the summer, you can get great deals on laptops, tablets, software, printers, etc. Find out what you need, and get it while the sales are hot.

Don’t wait until fall. Your child will be busy enough trying to handle living on their own for the first time. While the college dorm may seem like a cozy, self-contained environment, it can be surprisingly challenging for the unprepared.

KEY ~ Feed Your Body How To Save Money AND Get Dinner On The Table Fast!!

10 Minute Scrambled Eggs

This month use TransUnion

KEY ~ Feed Your Body
How To Save Money AND Get Dinner On The Table Fast!!