Crockpot Chicken and Lentil Stew
6 boneless skinless chicken thighs
2 medium onions chopped
2 medium zucchinis sliced
4 medium carrots, sliced
2 cups dried lentils
4.5 cups chicken or vegetable broth
1 can diced tomatoes
salt n pepper to taste
1. Place the chicken thighs in the bottom of the crockpot.
2. Place the chopped/sliced veggies on top of the chicken.
3. Add the lentils.
4. Pour over all the broth.
5. Cover and cook on low for 8 hours.
6. Mix in the can of diced tomatoes 15 mins before serving. Everything will blend really well and the chicken will break apart.
I serve this with mashed potatoes, rotini or brown rice, or it can be served as a soup with garlic bread or crackers.
My family are not too big on "mixed" flavors - they like basic and simple fare which is a good thing considering restaurants are off limits for the time being.
This dish works well for us on the nights we know we're going to be coming home later than usual and it's easy to fix first thing in the morning.
Wednesday, March 12, 2008
Tuesday, March 11, 2008
Net Worth
The California Poppy is beginning to show itself along the hillsides of Southern California. It makes such a beautiful change from the drab landscape I usually have to look at on my way home.
After a hard day at work, it was inspiring to read an interesting post regarding net worth at getrichslowly.org
When I see the accomplishments that someone else has made over the years by being Smart Money Handlers, it inspires me to stay on the wagon and try it myself.
I may not have been such a SMH but, fortunately, I invested money I earned in real estate here in Los Angeles. That is my only saving grace despite the fact that our local housing market is in the toilet. As with all boom-n-bust cycles, I am banking on the fact that real estate will boom again. That will definitely help me out a lot if the timing is right.
My number one goal is to refinance my mortgages. My credit scores are nicht gut and I have to spend the next 1-2 years digging myself out of the hole I put myself in. Basically, I have to pay my mortgages on time for a change. Once I have done that for a minimum of a year, my credit scores SHOULD allow me to refinance. Who knows though? Some lenders I've talked to have told me that they are looking 2 years down the line (as opposed to just one) regarding payment records. Due to the subprime mess. And the credit crunch.
I have learned a very valuable lesson regarding my finances that won't be forgotten in a hurry:
Money should be treated like food to nourish, like blood to survive and like love to nurture. Money should not be treated like crap to be gotten rid of.
I plan to start posting my own net worth monthly from now on to keep myself on track.
Monday, March 10, 2008
Weekly Food Shopping and SCE Refund
OK, so I have been spending the past few months figuring out where the cheapest place is to shop for grocery items. Usually, I would go to Vons and drop hundreds of dollars without really thinking but that activity has to stop now. I have been shopping at Walmart and Target for food and the prices are a lot more agreeable to my budget.
That was until I set foot in WinCo today for the first time. Despite being around a general hoopla when WinCo opened, stubborn as always, it took me 6 months to go check out the store and prices. Boy, was I EVER pleased when I realized I had probably saved $30-$40 over and above even Walmart's prices.
I was able to do most of the shopping for a family of 6 - sticking to a list and the recipes for home cooking for the week - for (insert trumpet fanfare here) under $100. I am amazed. To think that WinCo was down the street all the time to help me meet my budget limits. The store was clean, well stocked, the produce was excellent and the dry pasta and spice bins were a cook's delight. Very impressed indeed. Notably, I didn't run into one rude person the entire time I was in the store. Everyone I ran across was very low key - different from Walmart right there. Just entering our Walmart through the front entrance requires running the gamut of people who think that it's cool to stop and gab on the way in, thus preventing anyone else from entering. So sick of that.
Walmart has the best prices I've personally found for pet food. Also, when the chicken gets reduced the price is unbeatable.
The grocery budget will be allotted thus: 90% Winco, 10% split between Walmart and Target. If you haven't already checked out Winco and if you have a store near you, check it out. You might be just as impressed as me. Especially seeing as now it looks as though I'll be able to stick to my budget goal of $400 a month for 6 people after all.
Another GREAT piece of news is that I can expect a refund of $825 from Southern California Edison. I started keeping record of household utilities about a year ago when I transferred all paperwork online to save on paper trash ..... anyway, one benefit of being somewhat organized via my PC means that my utility bills have been paid on time for a year. A first for me! I had to pay a $675 deposit a year ago due to my disorganization and overall tardiness in paying bills and so, a year later, SCE are merely giving me my money back with interest. Awesome. I had totally forgotten that I had even paid a deposit. I will put that refund into my savings account when I receive it. The benefits of being organized!
That was until I set foot in WinCo today for the first time. Despite being around a general hoopla when WinCo opened, stubborn as always, it took me 6 months to go check out the store and prices. Boy, was I EVER pleased when I realized I had probably saved $30-$40 over and above even Walmart's prices.
I was able to do most of the shopping for a family of 6 - sticking to a list and the recipes for home cooking for the week - for (insert trumpet fanfare here) under $100. I am amazed. To think that WinCo was down the street all the time to help me meet my budget limits. The store was clean, well stocked, the produce was excellent and the dry pasta and spice bins were a cook's delight. Very impressed indeed. Notably, I didn't run into one rude person the entire time I was in the store. Everyone I ran across was very low key - different from Walmart right there. Just entering our Walmart through the front entrance requires running the gamut of people who think that it's cool to stop and gab on the way in, thus preventing anyone else from entering. So sick of that.
Walmart has the best prices I've personally found for pet food. Also, when the chicken gets reduced the price is unbeatable.
The grocery budget will be allotted thus: 90% Winco, 10% split between Walmart and Target. If you haven't already checked out Winco and if you have a store near you, check it out. You might be just as impressed as me. Especially seeing as now it looks as though I'll be able to stick to my budget goal of $400 a month for 6 people after all.
Another GREAT piece of news is that I can expect a refund of $825 from Southern California Edison. I started keeping record of household utilities about a year ago when I transferred all paperwork online to save on paper trash ..... anyway, one benefit of being somewhat organized via my PC means that my utility bills have been paid on time for a year. A first for me! I had to pay a $675 deposit a year ago due to my disorganization and overall tardiness in paying bills and so, a year later, SCE are merely giving me my money back with interest. Awesome. I had totally forgotten that I had even paid a deposit. I will put that refund into my savings account when I receive it. The benefits of being organized!
Groceries
After spending the past 2 weeks digging deep in an attempt to understand the poor foundation I have with financial matters, I made two simple discoveries:
1. There was plenty of fat to trim from our overall food tab.
Even in making a half hearted attempt to cut costs, our food bill for January 08 was over $1000. Given my new mindset, that's just not going to work. We eliminated all eating out in sit-down restaurants and, so far this month, the total spend on fast food only is $50. Still not good. I really wanted that number to be a big fat ZERO.
Speaking of "big" and "fat", I can see that I am physically wearing the results of our forays into some of the nicest sit down restaurants in LA. I have some serious poundage to shed.
Going back to the food budget, the overall spend for February was $682. Going down, but not down enough. So far in March, food spend has been $247 - I really want to stay around $400 per month for 6 people.
2. We eat too much.
Plain and simple, the plates are piled with too much food. I think I can get away with preparing half the usual amount and thus restricting everyone (myself included) to just ONE serving. That means no seconds or thirds .....
There is a relatively new WinCo Foods in town. I've never scoped it out but, this morning, I'm going to. I really want to see the food bill shrink along with waistlines.
1. There was plenty of fat to trim from our overall food tab.
Even in making a half hearted attempt to cut costs, our food bill for January 08 was over $1000. Given my new mindset, that's just not going to work. We eliminated all eating out in sit-down restaurants and, so far this month, the total spend on fast food only is $50. Still not good. I really wanted that number to be a big fat ZERO.
Speaking of "big" and "fat", I can see that I am physically wearing the results of our forays into some of the nicest sit down restaurants in LA. I have some serious poundage to shed.
Going back to the food budget, the overall spend for February was $682. Going down, but not down enough. So far in March, food spend has been $247 - I really want to stay around $400 per month for 6 people.
2. We eat too much.
Plain and simple, the plates are piled with too much food. I think I can get away with preparing half the usual amount and thus restricting everyone (myself included) to just ONE serving. That means no seconds or thirds .....
There is a relatively new WinCo Foods in town. I've never scoped it out but, this morning, I'm going to. I really want to see the food bill shrink along with waistlines.
Sunday, March 9, 2008
New Beginning Part 2
I decided to delete the new blog I have been writing over the past two weeks.
While cathartic, I deleted it because I felt its discovery by family members would do far more harm than good. It felt good to write about things that had been bottled up inside me for so long but, at the same time, I didn't feel it was fair for me to "whitewash" my conscience at the expense of others. For that reason, I deleted that blog to start another one. I really don't want my family to discover my deepest, darkest secrets about our finances after all. Seen in such a harsh light, the revelations would bring nothing but recrimination and hurt. It is my job now to fix the damage and to do it as quickly as possible. I take full responsibility for our financial situation because I am the root cause of it.
I really enjoyed writing the blog though. It definitely helped me to put my thoughts down in relative anonymity and to see my "Big Picture" so much more clearer - I believe I actually made some good initial mental progress. I feel now that I do have some control over the income that we earn and that I need to start treating our family's finances like a business of sorts.
I went from having a 401K, the workings of which I knew nothing about, to a plan to repay the loans taken out against it and to learn more about investments and diversification in general.
I went from having no savings plan at all to actually opening a savings account with ING.
This blog is a continuation of the dialogue I was having with myself. With the warts camouflaged somewhat under heavy makeup.
While cathartic, I deleted it because I felt its discovery by family members would do far more harm than good. It felt good to write about things that had been bottled up inside me for so long but, at the same time, I didn't feel it was fair for me to "whitewash" my conscience at the expense of others. For that reason, I deleted that blog to start another one. I really don't want my family to discover my deepest, darkest secrets about our finances after all. Seen in such a harsh light, the revelations would bring nothing but recrimination and hurt. It is my job now to fix the damage and to do it as quickly as possible. I take full responsibility for our financial situation because I am the root cause of it.
I really enjoyed writing the blog though. It definitely helped me to put my thoughts down in relative anonymity and to see my "Big Picture" so much more clearer - I believe I actually made some good initial mental progress. I feel now that I do have some control over the income that we earn and that I need to start treating our family's finances like a business of sorts.
I went from having a 401K, the workings of which I knew nothing about, to a plan to repay the loans taken out against it and to learn more about investments and diversification in general.
I went from having no savings plan at all to actually opening a savings account with ING.
This blog is a continuation of the dialogue I was having with myself. With the warts camouflaged somewhat under heavy makeup.
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