Get smart about saving money, while also making your health feel the love. Here are some tips:
1. Don’t go shopping on an empty belly
Hunger pangs can stir impulsive shopping. Have a healthy meal or snack before you hit the aisles, so you stick to what you need, rather than what your tastebuds dictate there and then. Also, take a list so you don't over-stock or miss essential purchases.
2. Be reward-program savvy
Take advantage of shopping incentives. Your local supermarket may offer a frequent shopper program, and even give you advance notice of specials. For example your local supermarket may have an ‘e-community’ which you can subscribe to online and receive ‘member offers’. Keep an eye on local newspapers, too – these often feature flyers for specials.
3. Keep a price journal
Take note of prices on items you buy regularly so you can better gauge when they’re on sale. With easily stored things such as canned foods and toothpaste, this approach can help you bulk buy when the price is right!
4. Stay seasonal
In-season produce is thought by some to better retain its nutritional value. It also has to travel less distance, meaning it’s typically cheaper.
The Victorian Government’s online health initiative, Better Health, and Tassie's "East Well" has great info on what’s in season etc. Better Health also lets you select fruit and veg, then click through to a recipe incorporating those ingredients. (links below)
5. Visit farmers’ markets
Most cities and towns host farmers’ markets. Because it often comes from local growers, this produce may be a little cheaper and a lot fresher than in supermarkets. Farmers markets may also be a good source of less-expensive organic produce. Also developing a relationship with vendors can help you stay abreast of what’s in season, when. (link below)
6. Berries below freezing
As well as being a great source of essential nutrients, berries amp up your antioxidant levels. That said, they can be pretty pricey. Save your coin by buying several berry punnets on special and freezing them. Alternately, buy bulk berries from the frozen food section – these are delicious blended with milk, honey, low-fat yoghurt and LSA mix (linseed, sunflower seeds, almonds) for a healthy morning smoothie.
7. What’s the plan, Stan?
Keeping a weekly meal plan may save you from over-stocking your fridge and cupboards with items that ‘smile at you from the supermarket shelve’, but don’t neatly complement a meal you’ll make any time soon. This approach is also a good way of ensuring you weave variety into your meals.
8. Mind the expiry date
Pay concerted attention to the expiry dates when shopping so you’re not buying something you can’t use within time – sounds obvious, but a lot of food (and cash) is needlessly wasted this way. Also buy fresh veg frequently, rather than during your "big" shop - this helps you get the freshest available.
9. Check check, one two…
Is your docket correct? Double-check it to make sure nothing has been accidentally scanned twice. This especially applies at restaurants when treating yourself to an "eat out" night.
10. Lean and bean
Lentils, chickpeas and other pulses are a top way to make meals go further for less. Add lentils to rice, or toss a cup of chickpeas through your favourite salad. Their canned varieties keep for a long time, they are low-GI, a good source of protein and give you sustained energy.
Author: Jennifer Pinkerton
First published 05/03/09 at
www.blackmores.com.au/News/Detail.aspx?ArticleId=9485
Better Health: http://www.betterhealth.vic.gov.au/bhcv2/bhcrecipes.nsf/InSeasonView/InSeason?OpenDocument
EatWell: http://www.eatwelltas.org.au/seasonpage.php
Australian Farmers’ Market Association: www.farmersmarkets.org.au
Tuesday, March 17, 2009
Wednesday, March 11, 2009
Happiness ...
"What is happiness?
The feeling that power is growing, that resistance is overcome.” So wrote Friedrich Nietzsche in 1895.
I’m guessing that many would feel uncomfortable embracing this definition of happiness, maybe in part it’s because we’ve nodded in agreement with Lord Acton’s catchy caveat, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And who would want to risk corruption?
But what if we were to dig to the root, Latin meaning of power, “to be able”? Suddenly the word’s hard edge dissolves; power simply means efficacy — our capacity, as philosopher Erich Fromm put it, to “make a dent.”
Over the last decade the happiness quest has spawned bestselling books, courses, retreats, and even a “happiness conference.” Most seem to offer similar advice: Once our basic physical needs are covered, more stuff does little to boost our happiness. Friendships, family, self-acceptance, and meaning in our lives are the core determinants of our happiness.
I’m happy we’re talking about happiness, but disturbed, too, because I’ve noticed that most happiness gurus fail to mention power. And why is that a big mistake? Because most human beings are not couch potatoes and whiners. We are doers and creators. In fact, the human need to “make a dent” is so great that Fromm argued we should toss out René Descartes’ “I think therefore I am” and replace it with “I am, because I effect.”
Even much of what we call “materialism” is, I think, not about “things” at all. It is a distorted, ultimately unsatisfying attempt to feel powerful, with status through possessions forced to stand in for power (retail therapy). If true, then addressing powerlessness is a direct way both to foster happiness and to overcome planet-destroying materialism.
... addressing powerlessness is a direct way both to foster happiness and to overcome planet-destroying materialism.
There’s just one pathway to happiness in which this deep, human need for power is given pride of place: democracy. By this I mean democracy as a living practice that enables us to have a real say in every dimension of our public lives, from school to workplace and beyond.
Standing on a railroad platform in rural India with desperately poor people lying only a few steps away on grimy concrete, I turned to Jafri, a young Indian researcher traveling with us — he was helping some of his country’s poorest farmers escape the debt-and-toxins trap of chemical agriculture—and I asked: “How do you keep going?”
“I have to feel I am doing something to address the roots of suffering,” he replied, “or I couldn’t be happy.”
Including power in our definition of happiness changes everything.
But, if we add power to the happiness equation, our agenda shifts.
If happiness lies in covering basic needs plus satisfying personal ties and finding meaning, society’s role is limited. It need only ensure that essential needs are met and provide opportunities to pursue personal relationships and meaning. Even a largely totalitarian government could do that.
But, if we add power to the happiness equation, our agenda shifts. Maximizing happiness then requires engaging citizens in changing the rules and norms so that more and more of us are empowered participants. And, of course, joining with others in this exhilarating pursuit we achieve a double whammy: Such activity furthers the widely appreciated relational and meaning aspects of the happiness puzzle.
If we have treated freedom and happiness as virtually synonymous, my point is a really old one. We might do well to replace the maxims of Acton and even Nietzsche with one uttered by Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero 2000 years ago:
“Freedom is participation in power.”
Resource:
Author Frances Moore Lappé wrote this article as part of Sustainable Happiness, the Winter 2009 issue of YES! Magazine, where she is Contributing Editor.
The feeling that power is growing, that resistance is overcome.” So wrote Friedrich Nietzsche in 1895.
I’m guessing that many would feel uncomfortable embracing this definition of happiness, maybe in part it’s because we’ve nodded in agreement with Lord Acton’s catchy caveat, “Power tends to corrupt and absolute power corrupts absolutely.” And who would want to risk corruption?
But what if we were to dig to the root, Latin meaning of power, “to be able”? Suddenly the word’s hard edge dissolves; power simply means efficacy — our capacity, as philosopher Erich Fromm put it, to “make a dent.”
Over the last decade the happiness quest has spawned bestselling books, courses, retreats, and even a “happiness conference.” Most seem to offer similar advice: Once our basic physical needs are covered, more stuff does little to boost our happiness. Friendships, family, self-acceptance, and meaning in our lives are the core determinants of our happiness.
I’m happy we’re talking about happiness, but disturbed, too, because I’ve noticed that most happiness gurus fail to mention power. And why is that a big mistake? Because most human beings are not couch potatoes and whiners. We are doers and creators. In fact, the human need to “make a dent” is so great that Fromm argued we should toss out René Descartes’ “I think therefore I am” and replace it with “I am, because I effect.”
Even much of what we call “materialism” is, I think, not about “things” at all. It is a distorted, ultimately unsatisfying attempt to feel powerful, with status through possessions forced to stand in for power (retail therapy). If true, then addressing powerlessness is a direct way both to foster happiness and to overcome planet-destroying materialism.
... addressing powerlessness is a direct way both to foster happiness and to overcome planet-destroying materialism.
There’s just one pathway to happiness in which this deep, human need for power is given pride of place: democracy. By this I mean democracy as a living practice that enables us to have a real say in every dimension of our public lives, from school to workplace and beyond.
Standing on a railroad platform in rural India with desperately poor people lying only a few steps away on grimy concrete, I turned to Jafri, a young Indian researcher traveling with us — he was helping some of his country’s poorest farmers escape the debt-and-toxins trap of chemical agriculture—and I asked: “How do you keep going?”
“I have to feel I am doing something to address the roots of suffering,” he replied, “or I couldn’t be happy.”
Including power in our definition of happiness changes everything.
But, if we add power to the happiness equation, our agenda shifts.
If happiness lies in covering basic needs plus satisfying personal ties and finding meaning, society’s role is limited. It need only ensure that essential needs are met and provide opportunities to pursue personal relationships and meaning. Even a largely totalitarian government could do that.
But, if we add power to the happiness equation, our agenda shifts. Maximizing happiness then requires engaging citizens in changing the rules and norms so that more and more of us are empowered participants. And, of course, joining with others in this exhilarating pursuit we achieve a double whammy: Such activity furthers the widely appreciated relational and meaning aspects of the happiness puzzle.
If we have treated freedom and happiness as virtually synonymous, my point is a really old one. We might do well to replace the maxims of Acton and even Nietzsche with one uttered by Roman statesman Marcus Tullius Cicero 2000 years ago:
“Freedom is participation in power.”
Resource:
Author Frances Moore Lappé wrote this article as part of Sustainable Happiness, the Winter 2009 issue of YES! Magazine, where she is Contributing Editor.
Tuesday, March 10, 2009
Don't let yourself be dragged down by the economic meltdown
We are bludgeoned every day by the numbers: stock market declines, plummeting home values, swelling ranks of the unemployed, shrinking retirement portfolios (and the list goes on).
This is the essence of stress: Circumstances that intimately affect us but over which we seemingly have no control. But, there are some things that we can do -
We are not hopeless victims. We are not corks bobbing on an endless sea. So don't mortgage your serenity over these economic events, nor squander your peace of mind.
Know where the money goes.
Using just one credit card offers easy handling of expenses. (pay off the charges each month so there's no interest.) At the end of the month, review the statement and ask if we made good choices: "Did we really need that extra dinner out?" "Did I really need a new suit?". Apply what you learn.
Have a clear and realistic picture of income.
What happens if that hot horse does not win? What happens if the "can't miss stock" does not produce a big dividend? If we work on commission or have a cyclical income, what is the minimum average that we can honestly expect?
Be vigilant about cyber thieves.
With the increasing sophistication of would-be thieves and the amount of personal financial data accessible online, take precautions and proper safeguards are in place.
Keep tabs on all accounts.
Check regularly that there are no glaring inconsistencies, not just when the statement arrives.
Have an exit strategy.
Have a plan B. If I lose my regular income, how will I take care of myself and my family? It is far better to address these contingencies during the light and warmth of the day rather than in the darkness of the 11th hour.
Protect your ability to earn.
The most powerful equity we have is our ability to work/earn. Ill health affects both your productivity (value) and capacity to work. So take best care of yourself — by exercising, getting enough rest, watching your weight, fixing 'niggles' before they become pain or, worse, incapacitating.
Yes, we need to take care of our financial health and not hand over the reigns to some expert. We need to be proactive; we need to be preemptive.
We also need to safeguard our physical and mental health. We need to protect and invest in our greatest assets — ourselves.
Author: Edward T. Creagan, M.D
First posted on February 13, 2009 at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-blog/MY00562
This is the essence of stress: Circumstances that intimately affect us but over which we seemingly have no control. But, there are some things that we can do -
We are not hopeless victims. We are not corks bobbing on an endless sea. So don't mortgage your serenity over these economic events, nor squander your peace of mind.
Know where the money goes.
Using just one credit card offers easy handling of expenses. (pay off the charges each month so there's no interest.) At the end of the month, review the statement and ask if we made good choices: "Did we really need that extra dinner out?" "Did I really need a new suit?". Apply what you learn.
Have a clear and realistic picture of income.
What happens if that hot horse does not win? What happens if the "can't miss stock" does not produce a big dividend? If we work on commission or have a cyclical income, what is the minimum average that we can honestly expect?
Be vigilant about cyber thieves.
With the increasing sophistication of would-be thieves and the amount of personal financial data accessible online, take precautions and proper safeguards are in place.
Keep tabs on all accounts.
Check regularly that there are no glaring inconsistencies, not just when the statement arrives.
Have an exit strategy.
Have a plan B. If I lose my regular income, how will I take care of myself and my family? It is far better to address these contingencies during the light and warmth of the day rather than in the darkness of the 11th hour.
Protect your ability to earn.
The most powerful equity we have is our ability to work/earn. Ill health affects both your productivity (value) and capacity to work. So take best care of yourself — by exercising, getting enough rest, watching your weight, fixing 'niggles' before they become pain or, worse, incapacitating.
Yes, we need to take care of our financial health and not hand over the reigns to some expert. We need to be proactive; we need to be preemptive.
We also need to safeguard our physical and mental health. We need to protect and invest in our greatest assets — ourselves.
Author: Edward T. Creagan, M.D
First posted on February 13, 2009 at http://www.mayoclinic.com/health/stress-blog/MY00562
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