Staying inside, keeping warm and don't have
any intentions of going anywhere.
Kids have been playing PS2 most of the day.
For 8 and 10 year olds they are pretty
smart to get online and find cheats
for the game they are playing.
----------------------------
Whenever I research something for whatever reason
I will post the results here.
This morning I see an infomercial for the
Heat Surge "Fireplace".
Made by the Amish in Ohio it claims.
Well these folks in the commercial
didn't look like Amish to me unless
they turned to the traditional
American lifestyle.
I never trust infomercials so started looking
at online reviews about it.
Amish people don't like their photos taken
let alone they are being shown on tv in this
commercial???
Amish don't use electric but are making
electric heaters???
It claims it is fully assembled by the Amish.
But the heater portion is possibly made
by China or another source.
It also claims to use as much electric
as a coffee pot.
The Heat Surge uses 750 to 1500 watts
depending on the setting.
You could get an electric space heater that has
the same amount of wattage starting around
$19.99!!
from your local store with no shipping!
The Heat Surge only has a 30 day money back
warranty. From reviews I have read, their
customer service sucks! If it breaks
they make no parts for it!
This unit does not heat your whole home, only
the small room it is in, if that.
I don't see where you are saving electricity.
Some people claim they actually saw their
electric bill triple!!
The commercial claimed it would only cost
as little as .09 cents an hour.
So let's do some figuring...
.09 cents x's 24 hours is $2.16 a day
x's 30 days is $64.80.
Is that really saving you money???
You still need to run your furnace to warm
other areas of your home. You wouldn't
dare to turn your furnace off to run this thing.
Your pipes would freeze and burst and cause
more chaos if temps were freezing.
My husband is a maintenance man for a complex
of around 800-900 units. We see this all the time
when people leave and turn their heat off to save
money.
My heating bill average for the last
couple of month's has been $106
for a 930 sq ft home.
I have the thermostat set at 72-73 degrees.
The temps outside the past month have been
freezing or below. It has snowed the last
12 days straight.
So you can see where I am going with this.
$64.80 to run this Heat Surge Fireplace in
1 room does not seem practical.
My electric bill is around $75 for a family of 5.
And that includes running an electric blanket
at night, and sometimes a few heating pads.
My opinion...
Would you be saving money buying this product?
Probably not.
Maybe a slight slight decrease in your
gas bill if that.
But your electric bill will go up at least $65.00
a month.
So to me that is not practical!!!
In all reality I would recommend cuddling
up with an electric blanket.
I researched that also and found they run
about 40-50 watts per hour on low.
That's what setting I use mine on.
Now compare that to 750 to 1500 watts per hour!
http://electricblanketinstitute.com/energy-savings.html
Or
getting yourself a Snuggie or a couple
extra pairs of thermal underwear.
Save that $300 to $600 in one or two of these
electric fireplaces and invest in:
electric blankets,
caulk, plastic window film,
door seals and/or insulation to winterize your home.
Close curtains at night, use draft stoppers on doors,
hang blankets up over windows or doors,
Close doors to basements and closets.
Use a ceiling fan to blow warm air that
rises up, back down. Use vaporizers for humidity.
Wear layers of clothing. Leave oven door
open after baking, arrange furniture so they are
not blocking any vents.
To cut back on gas, turn your thermostat down
3 degrees.
--------------------------
Here is another infomercial that is a joke to me...
Draft Guards
$20 plus another $8 shipping for a total of $28!!
Make your own!!
And I'll get your started with a web site
that has directions to make them.
For starters I did more research to price
some items needed for this project.
At Lowes they have a 1" thick foam pipe wraps
in 6 foot lengths for $1.26.
I wanna say an average door width is
3 feet wide. So one of these 6ft
pieces of foam wrap would be enough
for one door.
Windows would be another story
as those would vary in size.
You can use anything for fabric.
What about the legs of an old pair of jeans?
Even if you don't know how to sew you
could hot glue the fabric together and
around the foam pipe wraps.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/notmartha/sets/72057594068949613/
-------------------------------
Well looks like we need to cut back just a tad bit
more around here. While hubby still makes the same pay
they upped his health insurance and increased other
things. Great!
Looks like his paycheck will be $100 to $200
less each month than what we are used to.
He does get overtime about every 4-6 weeks due
to being on call at work. This time of year
there's lots of overtime to be made with the
freezing temps and snow. But what about the
rest of the year???
Some people don't want
to look at the overall picture and plan for
the future. They live day to day or week
to week. If they have money
now, they spend it now! Why wait to til
the money runs out to realize, hey I need food,
gas money to get to work or need my medicine
refilled. Plan ahead
now so you have a cushion to fall back upon.
Anything can happen!! Be prepared for something
to need fixed in your home, your car to break
down, someone to get sick and so on.
I sometimes get call Gloomy Gus because
I always worry about not having
enough money for things that could happen.
I'd rather save up money rather than
spend it on myself or luxury items.
Once in awhile is ok as long as I feel
we have enough of a savings to still get
by on. And even then I won't feel good
for awhile wondering if it was a good
decision to make that purchase.
That's me, that's reality.
There was times I would go to garage
sales and thrift stores and buy things
just because it was a good price or
looked interesting.
I have changed my way of thinking with
buying things.
Now if I go to the thrift stores and
start grabbing things I'll walk
around the store for awhile
with them in my cart
thinking about what I have in there.
Right before checking out I'll take
inventory of what I have and ask myself...
Does it have a practical purpose?
Is it something I will really use?
Will it end up sitting in a corner somewhere?
Do I really need it or is it a compulsive
purchase because it was a good deal?
By the time I check out I have put back about
half, if not most, of my cart!
There are so many people that are compulsive
buyers!! TV, radio and advertisements has that
affect on them. They don't need half the stuff
they buy but get it anyway because it's the
in thing.
Here is an example of someone I know:
They bought a truck, then added rolls bars,
huge mud tires, big lights on top
and a winch on the bumper.
Was it really neccessary? NO!
and probably cost a lot!
Why do we need all this in the CITY!!
In the country on a farm, yes.
So to me this is considered a waste of money
to have something just for looks and no purpose.
----------------------------
Time to get my coupons rounded up even more
in the near future!!
For a family of 5 with 2 pets for a normal week
(this does not include holidays)
I try to spend no more than $35 for
total groceries and non groceries!!
I shop at Meijer, Kroger and Walgreens at times
in one week if the sales are good.
Luckily they are all within minutes from home
so it's not like I am wasting gas to get those
savings.
So as I get back into the coupon habit I will
be posting sales items matched with coupons.
------------------------------------
Snow is still falling.
You know there are still some good hearted people
in this world! Not long ago I kept hearing this loud
noise and went to the window to see a neighbor from
across the street, snow blowing peoples walks, including
up to their doors. He was doing our walkway as I looked
out our window and came clear up to the door with the
snow blower. From what I can see he has done almost
the whole block we live on. It's freezing cold and then
some out and there has to be at least 20-30 houses
from one cross street to the next!
Snow pics from this morning about 8:40AM.
Truck's grill is starting to cover up with snow.
How much snow has collected on top of bird feeder.
--------------------------------
It's now 2:15pm and the snow is getting
a little heavier.
Tony's been plowing about half the day.
Most everyone at his work called off.
It's pretty much him and his supervisor
running the show with emergencies,
plowing and work orders.
Sounds like it's gonna be another long
night. He didn't get home last night
til after 10pm.
He went in an hour early this morning
to start another round of plowing.
Ok this snow can stop anytime now!
Snow is drifting outside.
See it accumulating around the trucks tires.
Wind chill is 7 degrees in our area.
We have a winter weather advisory until 4pm.
We did have a level 1 snow emergency last night
and this morning.
Here are what each snow emergency levels mean:
Level 1- roads are hazardous and people should drive with caution.
Level 2- driving is discouraged and you should call before heading to work.
Level 3- only emergency vehicles should be on the roads. People could be arrested if they decide to drive on local roads.
----------------------------------
Pillsbury has just released it's 100 finalist in
their Pillsbury Bake Off.
http://www.pillsbury.com/bakeoff/finalists.aspx?WT.dcsvid=MjA5OTIzMDE2MwS2&rvrin=08D2AE72-8994-DC11-920E-00110A5B41E6&WT.mc_id=Newsletter_PB_01_08_2009&rvrin=08D2AE72-8994-DC11-920E-00110A5B41E6
-----------------------------------
Tonight we all went with Tony who got paged
out on an emergency maintenance call.
Me and the kids hadn't been out of the house
all day so figured it was time to get some
fresh air.
We drive from NE Cols to NW Cols on a
call where a lady claimed her fridge quit working.
And get this, we get there to discover the
fridge didn't quit working, the light bulb
in it burnt out!!!
Could she not hear the fridge running or
feel that her food was still frozen????
Sometimes I wonder about people!!!
While out and about I decided to stop by Kroger
in Upper Arlington, our old neck of the woods.
I ran out of cat food today and needed
to get some more.
I can go in Kroger for one thing but
have to run around the store checking
for manager specials.
Tonight I found:
Cereal for .79 cents a box (got all 5 boxes)
Regular $1.69 each.
Saved .90 cents more than half off!
package of 2.82 lbs. pork loin assorted chops $3.86
Regular price was $9.56!!!
Saved $5.72 more than half off!
Probably about 2-3 meals per pork chop package.
package of 3.14 lbs pork loin assorted chops $4.30
Regular price $10.64!!!
Saved $6.34 more than half off!
11 ounce package of dates $1.29
don't know before price but needed them for cookies.
Ranch flavored Kroger Tortilla Chips $1.39
Regular $2.69
Saved $1.30
---------------------------
Tonight's supper was under $3 for 4 people.
Family sized salisbury steak entree.
Put the meat on bread with a piece of cheese.
Poured gravy on top.
Put each plate in microwave to melt the cheese.
Served leftover mashed potatoes and potato soup
from last night as a side.
Sprinkled crumbled up ranch Kroger doritos on top.
It was a rib sticker of a supper. I'm still sitting
here in agony, lol.
-------------------------------
Anyone ever seen the show HOARDERS on Discovery Health?
I have watched it several times.
I have even known someone who had it this bad!
After watching this show it'll make you
want to go through and clean things
out of your home!
Tonight's show at 9pm is about a family in Columbus Ohio!
If you miss the show here is a short preview
of what it was about...It's the first video.
health.discovery.com/search/results.html?Ntt=hoarders&N=8121&search=search&query=hoarders&site=DHC&Ntk=All&Nty=1&search.y=0&Ntx=mode+matchany&search.x=0
I also found an article from the Columbus Dispatch
that came out November 29, 09 about Hoarders.
http://www.dispatch.com/live/content/home_garden/stories/2009/11/29/HOARD.ART_ART_11-29-09_H1_22FPT4C.html
I posted the above because I feel sometimes
people with limited or low income could
fall into the hoarding category.
If you don't have much money
you tend to hold onto items afraid
to get rid of them for fear of not
being able to afford or acquire
another one.
So they hold onto things just to be
safe. And after awhile the start
to accumulate. Items could start
out simple such as plastic bowls,
and canning jars like what was shown
on the show tonight.
Some people have a hard time
throwing away good things.
If that is the case do what I do
and donate items to a charity
that will come to your house and pick
them up or take them to many drop
boxes located throughout Columbus.
Thrift stores will even allow you
to drop off unwanted items.
Or you could even Freecycle them.
You can even claim your dontaions
on your taxes if you keep tract of them.
----------------------
I'm one who likes to watch a variety of shows
on tv to learn things.
We'll let's see tonight I have watched:
Hoarders,
Ghost Adventure,
Smithsonian Hidden Treasures &
Man vs Food
-------------
Today I finished watching Super Size Me.
It's about a guy who started out healthy
and to make a point about how unhealthy
fast foods are, decided to eat McDonalds,
3 meals a day, for 30 days straight.
He had three different doctors
keeping tract of any health issues along the way.
Let's just say his results weren't good and
the doctors even recommended that he stop
trying to prove his point at around day 23.
He went on and made it to day 30.
He had to eat at least one of everything
off the menu.
If McDonald's asked him if he wanted to super
size his order then he had to do it.
Doctor's said his liver was going downhill
about like an alcoholic. They don't think
some of the health problems he developed along
the way with this experiment will ever be
reversible. He gained weight, had heart
palpitations, depression, sexual problems,
lost energy and so on.
Did you know there is 80 something
McDonalds located on New York's,
Long Island??
They also show you in the movie how
McDonald's is geared towards luring
kids into eating bad food by offering
happy meals, a clown (Ronald), playgrounds,
parties, toys and dvd's.
Those so called healthy items McDonald's has
to offer on their menus aren't so healthy after
all. They said some of those items has more
calories and fat than a Big Mac.
It was a very informative movie!
I'm still trying to get hold of Food, Inc
to watch.
