Jana Says

Living life from cover to cover

It takes one

by Jana 7 Comments

Rob Base was wrong. It does not take two to make a thing go right. It only takes one.

What the heck am I talking about? In order to clear that up, I’ll have to start with a personal philosophy that I have:

    

  “Changing the entirely too daunting. So I aim to impact one person. Because if I’ve impacted one person, I’ve done my job.”

To illustrate my philosophy, let’s talk about my cat. For as long as I can remember, I’ve been concerned for homeless animals. It makes me sad that they have no shelter, no regular food source, no love and a lot of times, no name. So when my homeowner’s associate send around a newsletter urging people to use their trash can lids because “We’ve noticed some stray cats in the neighborhood and we don’t want them”, my internal middle finger was lifted and I decided to do something about it. Like feeding the feral cat that’s been living in the neighborhood for the last 2 years.
Not only did I start feeding this cat daily, I built her a shelter and arranged to have her neutered; no more feral cats were going to be conceived on my watch! As time’s gone by, this cat–Boots–has become our pet. The neighborhood knows she belongs to us.  Boots responds to her name. She doesn’t really leave the vicinity of our house because she knows that its her home, too. My daughter adores her and cries every night because Boots isn’t allowed to sleep in our house. And although she still won’t let us pet her (she’s been feral for about 3 years), she has to make sure that we are within her sight whenever we are outside. She is now our cat. She has been given a foundation. Even though I can’t help all of them, I have made a difference for this one cat.
That’s what I’m trying to do with this blog. My financial stories and advice may not be useful for everyone (though I do hope that everyone finds them entertaining) but if I can impact one person, then I’ve made an impact. If one person finds a foundation from my story, then I’ve reached my goal. Am I a financial expert? Hell, no! But I hope I’ve made enough mistakes and course corrected enough that someone else can relate to my story and course correct herself (or himself). Because if one can inspire one who can inspire another one, well, there’s no stopping us.
Oh, and the cat? Here she is:

Money Tune Tuesday: Absolutely Still

by Jana 3 Comments

This week’s installment of Money Tune Tuesday is a bit different. Rather than a song about money, it’s a song that represents perhaps one of the best concerts I have ever seen. Ever. Oh, and it was free.

Last Friday, I saw Better Than Ezra for free at Baltimore’s Power Plant Live. Sure, it was hotter than the sun and I had to pay for a hotel room and my Jeremiah Weed crush got warm before I could finish it but it didn’t matter because I got to see BTE. I had been wanting to see them for more years than I can count and when I saw that they were playing for free in my favorite city, there was no way I was not going. I called my parents, got them to babysit and off I went.

I wish there was a word for how infinitely amazing this show was. It was perfect. And I can’t believe it was free. A show that good should not be free. I am over the moon that it was, in fact, free but I would have gladly paid money to go. It was so good I forgot that I was melting into my flip flops (I only remembered that later, back at the hotel).

So, in honor of this unbelievable show, and it’s homage to the frugal, today’s money tune is Better Than Ezra’s “Absolutely Still”. I chose this instead of their more well known songs like “Good”, “Desperately Wanting” or “Breathless” (apparently this one has been covered by Taylor Swift) because, well, it’s incredible and lots of people need to hear it:

Roseanne: Domestic goddess, financial mentor.

by Jana 17 Comments

I’ll start with a confession: I watch a lot of television.  It’s a flaw that I’ve come to accept and embrace.

I tend to gravitate towards shows that feature “regular” people—Friday Night Lights, The Office, Parks and Recreation. Not only are these shows just awesome, they often depict people in realistic financial situations.  But for me, no show has painted a greater picture of financial reality than Roseanne.

Watching the show in reruns as an adult has given me a whole new perspective. It was pioneering in the way it portrayed a working family. From the cleanliness of her house to her relationship with her family to her struggles with her weight, there was nothing about Roseanne that I cannot relate to now. Most importantly, the show depicted money in a way that has never been duplicated.
photo from carseywerner.net

Here’s what Roseanne taught me about money:

1.     It’s OK, and often necessary, to be working mom. The reality for a lot of women, me included, is that having a full-time job is necessary. Roseanne worked at numerous jobs in order to help provide for her family. She never once expressed guilt or remorse for having to do it; she knew her family needed the money to take care of their kids and their expenses. So she did it. And sometimes she got in trouble for needing to put her family first. But she accepted the consequences because family comes first.
2.     Discussing finances with your spouse is a must. Many episodes focused on Roseanne and Dan discussing their financial difficulties, including how they were going to pay their bills. These dialogues showed that it was perfectly acceptable for a married couple to sit down at their kitchen table and discuss money (pre-lottery winning season. Let’s just forget about that).  They showed that even if you argue sometimes, even if you splurge on little items, it’s still important to do be open and honest about your household budget.
3.     Being a savvy grocery shopper is a way of life. Who could forget the trip to the supermarket with Darlene’s home economics class? Her pantry was often stocked with generics, she paid cash, clipped coupons and her meals were never anything fancy. But the Conners had dinner together every night and everyone was fed. She also valued the specialness of a dishwasher and eating in a restaurant. There are a lot of lessons in that.
4.     Don’t quit on your dreams. From Dan’s drywall business to the motorcycle shop to flipping houses to Roseanne’s restaurant, they were never afraid to pursue their dreams in order to make a living. They borrowed money, employed family and friends. They put in long hours, hard work and often struggled and failed. Eventually, they were able to profit from The Lunch Box, proving that with hard work comes success. It also shows that if you have a dream, go for it. Because you’ll regret it if you don’t try.
5.     Fix what you have before you run out and buy something new. They spent a lot of time fixing what they owned, performing general housework as well as doing their own construction and home repair. If something is broken, you try to fix it before you spend your money on something new. Sure, Dan was a contractor and a general handyman, which made it easier for them to DIY but the point is that you take care of what you own.
While some of the story lines were not at all plausible, many of them were. Roseanne demonstrated the values of work ethic, family, and humor but the realistic portrayal of one family’s finances really hits home.
Are there any TV shows that you feel portray finances in a realistic manner?

Frugal recipe: Baked beans

by Jana 5 Comments

On Sunday night, we had grilled hot dogs for dinner. We did this mainly because my in-laws sent us home with tofu dogs for me and all-beef hot dogs for my husband and daughter. Normally, I don’t buy hot dogs but since they were free, I sure wasn’t going to turn them down (especially with the SNAP Challenge going on). We had rolls at home as well as some carrots so we were looking at a very simple meal. But we all felt like something was missing.

Then we realized what it was. Beans! Hot dogs are not complete without baked beans on the side. The problem was we had just spent a great deal of time in traffic and neither myself nor my husband was willing to get back in the car to go to the supermarket to get some. So I improvised. I remembered that I had a recipe for homemade baked beans in one of my Weight Watchers cookbooks. I checked the recipe, checked my pantry/fridge and learned that we had all of the required ingredients. Since I had made this recipe before, I knew they were good and I was not worried about trying something new.

To make enough for my family, I doubled the original recipe. Here’s what I did:

Homemade Baked Beans (adapted from Weight Watchers 5 Ingredients, 15 Minutes cookbook)

Ingredients

  • 1 29 oz can pinto beans or 2 15 oz cans, drained and rinsed
  • 1/2 cup barbecue sauce (I used honey flavored but any kind works)
  • 6 tbsp brown sugar
  • 1 tbsp onion powder

Directions

  1. Combine all ingredients in medium sized saucepan
  2. Bring to a boil, reduce heat and simmer for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Makes approximately 4 1/2 cup servings.

This recipe hits the trifecta of meal planning: quick, simple and free.

Money Tune Tuesday: If I Had $1,000,000

by Jana Leave a Comment

Last week, Sandy at Yes, I Am Cheap posed the question “What would you do if you received $1,000,000?” I gave my answer and so did lots of other great bloggers including the Single Saver, Bucksome Boomer, No Debt MBA, and Baking the Budget.

But what would the Barenaked Ladies do? Here’s their musically inspired answer (though this is totally not how I’d spend my money. To each his own):

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