All posts by mindfieldonline

Slash Your Grocery Bill!

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Tip #17: Instead of Hundreds, try eating only Fives and Tens!
Savings Tip #17: Instead of Hundreds, try eating only Fives and Tens!

A while back we talked about stretching your food budget by eliminating food waste. And of course, it’s common sense that cutting back on dining out can save you plenty.

But, what if you have already made these cuts, and you’re still feeling the pinch? Take a closer look at your grocery habits!

There’s a pretty interesting article at Money Talks News called “16 Ways to Cut Your Grocery Bill in Half.”

Here are some highlights:

  • Buy Discounted Meat: If you’re like me, you plan to eat pork chops, and then go buy them. Instead, see what’s on sale, and then plan your menu around that. This might not work if (like me) you can only cook 4 things!
  • Meatless Monday: Not as a moral or political statement, because YAWN. Just to save money! At my house, we have a big salad at least once a week.
  • Only Buy Food: At a Publix or Kroger or whatever, things like laundry detergent can be crazy expensive. Save that for Walmart!
  • Buy Generic: Store brands, yo! You can save up to 30% on things like pasta, salt, etc.
  • Embrace Inconvenience: If it comes in snack size, you don’t want it. Buy the big box of pretzels and some baggies. Cut your own fruit salad. Spend your life combing through circulars for coupons. Convenience is pricey!

There are 11 more tips of varying awesomeness at the original article, so check it out!

Tax Time 2013!

no-stress-tax-tips-600Standby for our annual, obligatory “Last Minute Tax Tips” post!

You might be thinking: How can it be tax time? There’s still snow on the ground! Well, you better hitch up the sleigh, because Uncle Sam waits for no man, snowman!

Anyway, the web is full of hundreds of articles on last minute tax advice, all of which I will share now and here are a few to ponder.

And FYI, in recent years, Tax Day has been postponed for the weekend, or due to some holiday. But this year, Tax Day goes Old School, i.e., April 15. Yay, tradition!

So, as a humble public service from your humble public servant (me) here are the links to everything you need to know. Have a good weekend!

Forbes     •     CBS News     •     Investopedia     •     US News Money

Fox News     •     TurboTax     •     Money Talks News

Wall Street Journal     •     Yahoo Finance     •     Detroit Free Press

Death of the Family Portrait

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so METAL!
so METAL!

“Treasured” memories like the above will soon be a thing of the past. Out of the blue, the company (CPI) that runs thousands of portrait studios inside big retail stores such as Sears and WalMart is closing its doors.

In fact, go to Searsportrait.com, and this is ALL you see:

After many years of providing family portrait photography, we are sad to announce our Sears Portrait Studios are now closed. We appreciate your patronage and allowing us to capture your precious memories. If you currently have an album or have had a recent portrait session, you can order products at searsphotos.com thru April 18, 2013. If you have had a recent session, your portraits may be available at your local studio.

Now, before you blast Sears or Walmart, remember that CPI, in business for 60 years, is just a vendor for the retailers. They are deeply in debt, and their time has come.  CPI says that much of the blame goes to the proliferation of camera phones.

Their employees are shocked, to say the least, and more than a little worried that CPI might not make good on their current orders. Some are taking matters into their own hands. One employee “hastily burned as many undelivered portrait packages as she could onto compact discs on Thursday. By Friday, she tried to spread the word to those customers that she’d be at a nearby pet store’s parking lot Saturday with those CDs.”

So, if you have a pending portrait order with a local CPI, you might want to pick up the phone. To CALL them, not to take pictures!

So, what do you think? Will you miss the old portrait studio? Hey, I never used one, but it is kind of sad to lose a minor American tradition such as this.

On a brighter note, here are some bad family portraits from around the web!  Awkward Family Photos, More Awkward Family Photos

State(s) of Happiness, 2013

The darker green ye see, the happier ye be! Arrr!
The darker green ye see, the happier ye be! Arrr!

Well, the 2012 results have just been released, anyway. Today, we revisit and update a topic from June of last year.

Who are the happiest Americans? And how would be know? Well, you interview a BUNCH of people all across the United States – DAILY, for a WHOLE YEAR – and you draw some conclusions!

Gallup rated each state on the following: life evaluation, emotional health, physical health, work environment, healthy behaviors and basic access to services and amenities.  Drum roll please…

Happiest States 2012 (with 2011 score)

10 Massachusetts (14)…09 Iowa (16) …08 New Hampshire (9)…

07 Nebraska (8)… 06 Montana (10)…05 Vermont (12)…

04 Utah (5)…03 Minnesota (3)…02 Colorado (6)… 01 Hawaii (1)

Dropping out of top 10 from last year:  Kansas, Alaska and North Dakota

Unhappiest States 2012 (with 2011 score)

41 Oklahoma (39) …42 Indiana (38) …43 Louisiana (36)…

44 Ohio (46) …45 Alabama (45)…46 Arkansas(44) …

47 Tennessee (41) …48 Mississippi (48)…49 Kentucky (49)…

50 West Virginia (50)

Climbing out of the bottom 10 (yay…?) Delaware, Missouri, Florida and Nevada

So that’s the rundown. What do you think? Are you in a “happy” state? An “unhappy” state? Do you agree or disagree with this assessment? Let us know! Check out the whole report, and have a great weekend!

Acts of Random Suspended Kindness

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coffee2I think people want to do good. They mean well. As the Wizard of Oz said there at the end, “Back home we call these people well-meaning do-gooders!” or something.

But this one has me skeptical. You be the judge…

There is a movement afoot (translation: a Facebook page) to “Pay it Forward” at your local coffee shop. It goes like this…

When you order your morning (coffee), you also order additional items, but ask for them to be “suspended.” When a person who can’t afford their own beverage comes in, they can ask for a “suspended” coffee or food, and receive one for free. The Consumerist

Poverty solved! I am AWESOME! (Sorry, I said I would let YOU judge.)

Now, with a headline like “Why Ordering ‘Suspended’ Coffees For The Needy Is Stupid And Inefficient,” it’s as if The Consumerist is giving us a vague hint as to its opinion of this practice. You can read their criticisms in the original article. Meanwhile, Starbucks Melody, an “unofficial blog of the Starbucks brand,” has some suggestions to help people more efficiently.

But what do YOU think? Is this an efficient way to help people? Is a little kindness better than nothing? Is this just an example of (well-meaning) people finding the easiest, cleanest way to feel like they are helping? Have you done it? Would you? Let us know!

JC Penney Turns Over an Old Leaf

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At JC Penney, it’s “so long, Everyday Low Prices” and “welcome back, Big Saturday Sale!”

We last visited this topic back in May 2012 (see The Return of the Saturday Sale.) By that time, it had been decided that JCP’s experiment with ditching sales in favor of their “Fair and Square,” i.e. Everyday Low Prices, wasn’t exactly working out.

In fact, business is down 20%, a loss of $160 million. Of course, JCPenney’s CEO says, no, this is still the right idea. You just haven’t caught on yet. It’s YOUR fault, dummies! (I may have added that last bit.) …Me, MindFieldLive 5/18/12

Apparently, JCP boss Ron Johnson was determined not to panic, so he “let it ride” until they had lost a cool billion dollars.

Now, it’s Back to the Future, and JCPenney has thrown in the towel. That is, they are taking that towel and boosting its price by up to EIGHTY PERCENT…then immediately putting it on sale and slapping a “30% OFF” sticker on it!

A pair of Nike swimming trunks priced at $25, for example, has been raised to $45, according to data reviewed by The Post. A bikini top under the retailer’s Arizona label was hiked to $24 from $15, while an Arizona men’s polo shirt is now $14, up from $9, the data show. New York Post

So, it’s back to the way things once’ta was. The question is, will the customers return? I recall a lot of EMOTION surrounding the death of the Saturday sale… are you happy now? Will you go back to JCP or have you moved on? Let us know, and have a great weekend!

Cheap, Frugal or Both?

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Get it?
Get it?

It’s kind of a slow consumer news day, other than the persistent economic gloom. So I thought we would surf the web for money saving ideas! See if any of these make sense for you and your family. Follow the links to savings! or something…

As a counterpoint: 5 Household Items Worth the Splurge

Also, a question: has the downturn “educated” us to the point that we no longer need coupons?Read: Coupon clipping declines as shoppers get savvier

What do you think? Any good tips here? Do you have any to share from your personal experience? Let us know!

Fighting Fitness Myths

Yesterday my new, seemingly 14-year-old doctor said to me in a comforting tone (or so she thought,) “If being in shape were easy, then everybody would be in shape.”

Uh, thanks, Bones. Can we be done now?

Anyway, with news like we highlighted yesterday (“Get healthy or pay more for your employer’s health insurance,”) and with the continuing mystery of what our health care system is going to look like in the coming years…

Like this, I fear...
Like this, I fear…

…people are starting to see “getting in shape” as a sort of hedge against the unknown, instead of a goal in and of itself. Hey, health is health, but using the wrong motivation can lead to mistakes like using ancient, outdated diet advice (you know, more than 3 months old!)

So, the good housekeepers at Good Housekeeping have rounded up some dieting myths for us to ponder…

  1. Carbs bad. CARBS BAAAD!!! Carbs are fuel. While the white grains can be trouble, the browns are less so.
  2. Fresh fruits and veggies are always more nutritious than frozen. Unless you pull them out of the ground yourself, there’s no real difference.
  3. Egg cholesterol BAD! It’s not great, for sure. But you can probably still eat 1 or 2 a week. Or switch to egg whites, and have as much as you want.
  4. Skipping breakfast? Don’t do it, man!!
  5. It’s all in your GENES. Actually, they say that weight is 25% genes, 75% behavior.
  6. Creative combinations. I did this once. Something with cottage cheese and beet juice. You see, the CHEMISTRY of the foods in certain combinations means that your body reacts by burning more… yeah, it was all nonsense.

There’s your top 5. For further explanations, as well as a list of Exercise myths, check out the original article. And have a great weekend!

The Death of the Price Tag?

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price-tag

They say the price tag is dead.

Price tags have become an endangered species in the 21st century American economy. Can you say how much you spent on your cellphone bill last month? Or pay television? I’m sure you can’t say how much you paid in fees on your investments. NBC Redtape Blog

The thing is, you see price tags everywhere. What they really mean, I believe, is that the stated price has no MEANING anymore. Car loans, mortgages, cable TV offers, data plans, etc. Sometimes, spotting the offenders is easy. You see “Just $99 a month!” followed by an asterisk, and 500 words in tiny print. You know something’s up, even if you have no idea what it is.

What sorts of things are lying in wait behind that (*) ? According to Yahoo Finance:

  • Free-to-Paid: Free trials that become paid after a length of time
  • Unknown Subscriptions: Watch for boxes that are already checked, forcing you to UNCHECK to avoid extra charges!
  • Unwanted Auto Renewals: Unless you state otherwise, you will be automatically billed at renewal time.
  • Zombie Subscriptions: You cancel and the charges stop. You stop paying attention, and the charges start again.
  • Cost Creep: “Prices subject to change without notice.” Grr!

So, what’s the real damage?

This (confusion) hurts consumers, but it hurts industry too — with clear pricing, the best companies with the best products and the best value are rewarded over time. Without clear prices, companies that create the most confusion win, and honest companies slowly fade away. NBC Redtape Blog

What do you think? Have you noticed the death of the price tag? Are you confused and distrusting? What’s the answer? Read the original pieces, and let us know!

Kiss Me, I’m Irish

This-cat-like-Guinness-too-228x300

St. Patrick’s Day by the Numbers!

  • Nearly 35 million Americans claim some Irish heritage. That’s seven times the population of Ireland, around 4.58 million.
  • Americans, Irish- and otherwise, will spend around $4.5 billion for various St Patrick’s day food, and festivities, at around $35 per person. Where does it all go?
  • In the all-important food and beverage category, St. Pat’s celebrants will buy 26 billion pounds of corned beef and over 2 billion pounds of cabbage. Then, they will combine those, boil them to death and EAT them!
  • Meanwhile, they will spend $435 million on beer alone, not all of it green.

Other popular expenditures?

  • Irish-Americans will spend $24 million on lime-green dyed potted  mums for Ma and Gran.
  • We will send 7 million St. Patrick’s Day greeting cards, presumably with leprechauns on the front.
  • And we will spend around a billion dollars on trips to Ireland.

Sounds like a blast. The good news is that you don’t have to be Irish, at least according to the stats. While Irish-Americans make up about 11% of the population, fully half of all Americans say that they will be partaking in the St. Pat’s festivities. So tilt a pint of the green stuff, but please do it responsibly! Thanks, and have a great St. Pat’s weekend!

Cool links: Here, here, and a really fun graphic here.