Economizing: Part I

Economizing has hit our kids hardest.  The myth of retirement does not have room for two high school aged kids still living at home.  This is a bit of an oversight because many kids are being raised by grand parents, older aunts and uncles, older step-parents, or as in our case, by late bloomers.

Our gross is approximately 1/3 of our peak gross.  By necessity it has changed how we do things.

Lunches

Lunches are a good example of the cost of convenience.

Pre-peeled carrots are considered an economy addition to many lunch at about a dollar per pound.

The picture shown above consists of bags of "deer" carrots at 40 pounds for five, US dollars.  Yup, you guessed it.  I bought two bags.  In my opinion they are sweeter and more fully flavored than the anemic, pre-peeled carrots at the super market.  It is the difference between dating a 14 year old and, say, Condoleezza Rice.

Mean people suck

Unfortunately, teenagers can be exceptionally mean to each other.  In some cases the sales pitch involves disinformation to baffle the critics.  The goal is to turn the joke around and make the snooty people the butt of the joke.

You don't need a crystal ball to see where this is going.

Helpful hint, cut the label at the bar code.  Anybody who inspects for tampering will look at the lap joint of the label.  A little bit of glue and a deft hand....

It is wise to mark the can to prevent nauseating accidents.  If you look closely you might see a small "T" printed inside the pull-tab with a Sharpie.

Dessert

Waste not, want not.

Four very ripe bananas.  Two eggs.  A box of Spice Cake mix.  A scant handful of mini chocolate chips and some chopped walnuts.*

We buy many bananas.  They are a nearly perfect food.  They come in their own wrapper.  They have no seeds or bones.  Their only fault is that they have a modest shelf life and sometimes they get a little riper than we want to eat.

Mrs ERJ and I decided to have a plan for when that happens.  We will either peel and freeze them or turn them into muffins.

*Jean Burk's recipe.  She arrived at this recipe out of necessity.  She had a goat with urinary calcii and had to feed it a "whacking big dose" of ammonium nitrate every day.  This is the only way she could con the goat into eating his medicine.  I left out the ammonium nitrate for the human recipe. This recipe makes two dozen.