Archive for January, 2009

Monday is Martin Luther King Day – a day that was initiated by congress in 1994 as a Day of Service. It is therefore a day when we have an opportunity give back to our communities, to volunteer and create neighborhood projects that help others.

Mercifully this is not a day when we are barraged with cheesy commercials encouraging us to shop at deep discounts. Rather this is a special day that honors Dr. King into a “national day of community service grounded in his teachings of nonviolence and social justice”.

Most likely your kids are going to be doing something next week (either on Monday or sometime later that week) that will be helping people in their community through an organization. It would be fun to join in with your family and perform some sort of act of kindness by giving back to others.

If you are not sure how to participate you can visit several sites that focus on this day – Martin Luther King’s government site; the Corporation for National and Community Service and the USA Service organization, established by the President-elect, are just three sites that provide a wealth of information.

The “Renew America Together” initiative asks all Americans to make an ongoing commitment to serve their communities – its remarkable, invigorating and inspirational to see so many volunteer events being set up for January 19th and beyond.

We hope you enjoy your community volunteer event.

When my husband lost his job we took a hard look at our expenses. Eating out had to go. Now we keep ingredients on hand to make inexpensive and easy-to-make meals. You’ll probably recognize some of these from your childhood:

Grilled cheese sandwiches with tomato soup:
American cheese, canned soup, and bread. Add mustard, a slice of tomato, or bacon to the sandwich for something different.

Franks ‘n beans:
Hot dogs and baked beans. Keep the hot dogs in the freezer and this is one quick meal you’ll always have on hand.

Pizza:
Pre-made pizza crust, mozzarella cheese, and tomato sauce. Throw some cooked meat and/or veggies on top if you have them - a great way to use up leftovers.

Huevos rancheros:  Eggs with salsa on top, rice on the side
Eggs, salsa, and rice. Nice to haves: shredded cheese, refried beans, and tortillas.

Pasta with spaghetti sauce:
Pasta and spaghetti sauce. Another way to use up leftover veggies.

Breakfast for dinner:
Eggs, pancakes, sausage, waffles - whatever you have on hand.

We’re saving money, throwing out less food, and spending more time at home together. Too bad we didn’t try this sooner.

With the news displaying negative results for most retailers over the dismal holiday season, one wonders how the little local retailer is doing. December forecasts were dire: Gap was down 14%; Neiman Marcus down 28% and even Wal-Mart which appeared to be drawing in more and more price conscious shoppers was only up 1.7%. 

So what about your local retailer – the ones that know you and give you that extra customer service? Yes it comes at a premium but it feels so special – so community, so village. Losing that personal touch would be such a shame.

We have lost much of our quirkiness in Main Street USA – the mom-and-pop stores have all but disappeared. Now every main street sort of feels the same – we have the chain retailers such as Macy’s, Banana Republic, Pottery Barn and so on. These are great stores but they lack the personality of our local retailers.

There is no reason not to support your local stores in addition to being a savvy, cost conscious shopper. We can all combine our purchases – big items at the Targets and Wal-Marts and the smaller, more frequent purchases at the local retailers. Retailers can learn how to address the competition from these larger stores by attending seminars local, along the lines of how to compete with Wal-Mart. The large stores bring much to our lives in terms of choice, price and convenience, however there are many items a local store owner can expand into that provides the shopper with a local flavor and uniqueness not found at the larger chain stores.

I find these local stores are a treasure trove when looking for those special gifts for friends and family: these purchases convey a higher level of thought has been put into selecting that special gift.

So don’t forget your local retailer – we’d hate to lose those small merchants in these difficult times.

If you look up the word resolution in the dictionary here are some of the definitions:
- a resolve or determination: to make a firm resolution to do something
- the act of resolving or determining upon an action or course of action, method, procedure, etc.
- the mental state or quality of being resolved or resolute; firmness of purpose.
- a solution, accommodation, or settling of a problem, controversy, etc.

It is a time to reflect upon the last year and consider what one has achieved, missed, forgotten to do, and what one thinks one should do in the upcoming year. The most frequently noted resolution, according to recent polls, is to spend more time with family and friends. A good, inexpensive and achievable resolution, hopefully, for most of us.

Not surprisingly, the second and third most frequently cited were around the subject of increase in fitness and fat reduction. And the next one was to stop smoking. A smart decision. Be sure to encourage those around you with their resolutions. Along a similar vein is the quitting drinking resolution.

Another resolution that scored highly was to get more out of life. One could say that this is related to spending more time with friends and family and getting healthier and getting in shape. It all translates into feeling better about oneself and spending more quality time with whom we choose. Finding that balance between work and home life can be extremely challenging. If your job allows, you may find that working one day a week at home or even one day a month at home gives you a feeling of balance and achievement. You may find, as many do, that your day at home is just as productive, if not more so, than when you are in the office.

Lastly and again, not surprisingly, getting out of debt was high on the resolution lists. 2008 was a horrible year for so many – watching their 401(k)’s diminish, stocks plunge, property values plummet and unfortunately thousands losing their jobs. Getting out of debt never seemed so essential. But with a recession being talked about as lasting throughout 2009, getting yourself out of debt is an essential goal. Saving for a rainy day took on a whole new level of importance.

Making a New Year’s resolution is good to do. Sticking to it and executing upon it is even better. Good luck.