Eating Well

Eating Well - In & Out

My Dad says there are 2 kinds of people:  those who eat to live and those who live to eat!  Guess which one I am!   I told you I'm Italian, right?  

So food is much more than sustenance for me.  It's comfort, decadence, seduction, nutrition, joy...this is descending into an eating disorder, so let's get to the saving money part, shall we?

Eating at home, of course, will save you the most, but we all deserve a treat now and then.  It is possible to enjoy dining out - occasionally - and still send your kids to college.  

There are tons of online restaurant deals.  My favorites are on Groupon and Travelzoo.  I've purchased quite a number of delicious restaurant meals this way.  It doesn't even take planning w/ Groupon.  It has a "Now" deals section with discounts available right away.  Consult your computer or smart phone and go.  Everyone does this, and in my humble opinion we all need to get over feeling weird about it.  The restaurants do this to get your business, so if you're there, it's a win win!

groupon.com

travelzoo.com

 

Another of my favorites is "Restaurant Week" which in reality should be called restaurant Season or restaurant Month (not that I'm complaining)!  Twice a year in Manhattan, usually at the end of January/beginning of February (my birthday - yeah) and again at the end of July/beginning of August, some of the best restaurants in New York offer a limited prix fix 3 course menu.  This year it is $25 lunch and $38 dinner.  Frequently they offer wine specials, too.  

Now, these are not restaurants we budget watchers would normally visit, but whenever I can dine at Le Cirque, or Nobu or Bar Boulud for a $38 dinner tab I'm in.  I had lunch today at Lincoln and it was divine!

When the schedule is first announced, I visit Open Table and make 3 or 4 Friday night dinner reservations.  My boyfriend lives in New Jersey and comes into the city most weekends.  Restaurant week menus are usually not available on Saturday night (but it never hurts to ask).  Then I make a birthday dinner reservation for my daughter and/or son to take Mom out.  Then I call traditional working friends to see if they are available for dinner during the week.  And finally, I make a few lunch reservations and check in w/ my ladies who lunch.

Open Table makes it incredibly easy.  You can change or cancel a reservation and then revue the meal when you're done.  You earn points for this and earn a check good at any Open Table restaurant.  Last Friday evening, I took my daughter our to a wonderful new restaurant that was participating in Restaurant Week.  I used my $20 Open Table check when the bill came and without drinks two 3 course meals were less than $60!    

opentable.com

In previous years, Restaurant Week has been held in Brooklyn, Long Island and Westchester.  If you live there, you might want to put a "Restaurant Week" alert on your computer or smart phone so you won't
miss it.

Once you've dined, remember to review the restaurant to build up those reward points.  If you are also willing to write something for Zagat, you will get a free one of this fantastic restaurant guide, too.  

www.zagat.com

During non-Restaurant Weeks, look for prix fix and stick to the menu!  The beverages and coffee add up quickly.  I'm addicted to seltzer, but when I eat out, it's usually tap water, please.  I ask for a wedge of lemon and I'm a happy girl!  Lunch is always less expensive than dinner, and many restaurants have lunch specials to lure you in at this generally less crowded time of day.  So meet a friend for lunch!

At dinner, for savings and health reasons, you can frequently take half of the meal home and have it the next day for lunch.  Or there is nothing wrong with ordering 2 appetizers instead of a higher priced entree. 

Finally, don't forget about Restaurant Trucks.  You can get a very satisfying lunch at trucks serving yogurt, Jerk chicken, Halal delicacies, etc.  Find your favorite cuisine here:

findnycfoodtrucks.com

Next time, we'll talk about how to save food dollars at home.  Bon appetite!

Keep calm & carry on...Lori

Pet Perks!

Pet Perks!

Good To The Last Drop

A few months ago, I almost threw out what I thought was an empty tube of Estee Lauder's Day Wear Plus, a fabulous product that subtly tints your skin while moisturizing. It has an SPF of 15 and was once an essential part of my daily under make-up routine.

The packaging is soft plastic so, just on a lark, I cut open the container and was stunned! The product still clinging to the inside of the 1.7 ounce (50ml) container was almost a third of the initial purchase.

I scraped the inside of the Day Wear tube w/ a thin wooden stick - the kind you use to stir your coffee - and filled an empty .5 ounce (15ml) jar. Now I have either a travel size container or several more days of this terrific cosmetic...and it's a good thing because Estee Lauder doesn't make it anymore!

Think of how many products you can get more of at no cost by simply employing this technique: lotions, creams, lip gloss, suncreens, virtually any product that comes in a soft plastic container. It helps to save small jars, like the ones that come w/ make-up promotional gifts.

Grab your scissors and coffee stick and get to work!

Next week:Pet Perks!

Keep calm & carry on...Lori

To Your Credit

Frankly, the use of credit is an explosive subject.

Used wisely, it can expand a business, provide home ownership, lend you a car and send students to college.

Misused, it can ruin your financial future - and present.

Despite a very costly divorce, I have never been drowning in debt, but I have learned from watching Oprah obsessively that it is possible to reduce debt and get back on one's feet with a combination of strategies:

1) acknowledge the problem and seek help from a credit counseling service.
2) Call the credit card companies, tell them you are working to reduce your debt and ask if they can give you a lower interest rate.
3) list your debts and the interest you are paying on each one. Cut up the card w/ the highest interest rate and begin paying as much as you can to pay that one off.  Or transfer that debt to another card with the lowest interest rate and begin paying as much as you can on the next highest interest card.  Pay the minimums on the low interest cards and put as much as you can toward the highest rate card.
3) return whatever you can that was bought w/ a credit card.
4) sell whatever you can on EBay.
5) use cash - if you don't have it, you can't buy it.

Reducing your debt requires time and discipline, but you can do it.

Congratulations if you've kept your debt under control.  I have a number of credit cards but I have 2 rules to live by:
1) never pay for the use of a credit card, and
2) don't use a card unless you are getting something back.

My Target credit card gives me 5% off all purchases @ Target.  My American Express card gives me an annual check to spend at Costco. My Old Navy Visa gives me credit to use not only at Old Navy, but at the Gap, Banana Republic and my new favorite Athleta.

Most of my credit cards give a 1%, 3% or 5% credit on purchases, which I use as credit on my monthly statement.  Many of the cards changed categories or percentages quarterly and it can be difficult to remember who's offering what.

Masking tape solves the problem.  A small piece of tape on the corner of the card on which you've noted the categories w/ a thin Sharpie does the trick!   This works w/ gift cards, too.  Just note the amount left on the card.  I did this today w/ $3.40 left on a New York Times gift card.  I told the cashier the exact amount left on the card and paid the rest in cash.  No problem!

Next week, we'll talk about how to get up to a third more out of your every day products.

Keep calm & carry on...Lori   

The New You

Welcome to the new you! 

If 2013 is the year you finally are going to get your finances on the right path, you've come to the right place.

I consider myself a student of thrift.  I'll happily share my tips, does and don'ts with fellow economists - and I invite you to join the party.  Money, of course, is serious business, but no matter how deep you are in the hole, it is a solvable problem...and I love solvable problems.  They're a challenge.

But first things first.  Before we begin, I'd like you to make a list of 10 things that you consider inexpensive - or better yet,  free - treats.  Why?  There will be times when sticking to a budget is going to feel like deprivation.  To stop the pity party in its tracks, you need to be able to reward yourself quickly.  My trainer friend calls it the work-reward-work-reward cycle.  We are all human and occasionally we need to give ourselves an atta-boy or atta-girl.

Everyone's list will be different, but here's mine:  

1)  a slice of really good pizza (for me it's Mimi's @ 84th & Lex - good enough for Paul McCartney...)  
2)  an Italian ice
3)  a spritz of perfume at the department store counter
4)  a vigorous power walk
5)  a 20 minute nap
6)  a really good cup of coffee - hot or iced depending on the weather - from your local deli (for me Ottomanelli's on 82nd & York)
7)  belting out a favorite song (extra points for using the hairbrush microphone)
8)  crazy dancing to a deeply funky song
9)  an eggroll
10)an attitude of gratitude - saying thank you to someone for something you already have

Looking at this list, I realize that nearly half of it involves food, but hey, I'm Italian, so deal with it!  The point is to think of treats that won't blow the budget but still feel like a pat on the back. 

Next week, we'll look at using and misusing credit...

Keep calm & carry on...Lori