Sometimes life just seems to get ahead of us all. Maybe it’s due to vacation, kids at summer camp, or a summer cold that puts you in bed for a few days. It seems like some days you just wake up and everything in the produce bin or the garden has gone a little soft. But rather than throw out those valuable veggies and fruits, why not put them to use?
Here are a few ideas to reuse less-than-perfect fruits and veggies. While most of us know about using overripe bananas in banana nut bread or mushy grapes to make grape juice (or wine if you’re so inclined) there are a few lesser known (yet still great) recipes out there to help you make use of your past-prime produce. Here are two of my favorite.
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The summer can often lead to more activities. If you have children, you know this first hand. While I discussed options for getting your kids outside last week, sometimes you will need another option. Movies can be great way to spend time with family and friends, and there are so many options to choose from. Where do you see your movies?
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When we go out with friends and family, the question of how to split the bill often comes up. In some cases, you might even notice that someone isn’t contributing very much. While you might want to overlook it, it’s hard to avoid feeling a little uncomfortable and annoyed when it appears as though someone is acting a bit like a mooch.
But what do you do when someone habitually avoids paying the bill?
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Steam swirls through the air, billowing from beneath the hood of a 65 Ford convertible. An exotic woman slowly steps out of the car. Sweltering in the summer heat, she waits on the side of the road for the next weary traveler to offer her a chivalrous hand.
Only the guy never shows, and she ends up getting a toothless tow-guy instead.
Rather than being swept off her feet, she’s shipped to a local car lot, only to find she’s going to owe more money than she has on her would-be awesome vacation.
Not Being Prepared
Not preparing for emergencies when you travel is the easiest way to end up paying more than you need when accidents inevitably happen. “Emergencies” are more than stopping at the 7/11 for a slushy, only to discover that the machine isn’t in order. We’re talking triple digit payouts. Blown gaskets, cracked radiators, flat tires; they can’t be predicted, but if you know how to handle them, you can save tons of money in repair bills. But only if you’ve done your homework before leaving the city limits.
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No matter your opinion on the recent Supreme Court ruling on the Affordable Care Act, changes mandated by that act might affect your finances in the future. Unfortunately, between the talking heads and angry individuals on both sides of the health care debate, it can be rather difficult to figure out exactly how your finances will be affected. Here is a basic breakdown of what the ACA will do for the average American:
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When you sign up for a new banking account or loan, you’re likely to come home with an entire envelope of paperwork. But have you ever stopped to actually read all that fine print mumbo jumbo? In the case of financial accounts, what you don’t know can lead to financial hardship. Here are a few examples of what I mean.
Mortgage Fine Print and Insurance Checks
Several months ago, one of my favorite restaurants housed in a 1900s two-story home burnt to the ground. It was a tremendous loss to our community, and former patrons regularly inquired as to if and when the restaurant would reopen. The owners planed to rebuild, just as soon as the insurance check came through.
When that check finally arrived, the owner took it to the local bank, which also owned the mortgage on the ruined building. When attempting to cash the insurance check so repairs could be scheduled, the owner was informed that he would receive $0 in return. The bank would be applying the amount of the insurance check toward the mortgage balance. Furious, the owner tore up the check at the counter and stormed out, vowing to return with legal representation. Unfortunately, once the fine print of the mortgage was examined, the restaurant owner found the bank held legal rights to confiscate the check, as well as the balance of any of the owner’s personal or business accounts in order to pay off the mortgage. The restaurant remains closed. The owner moved all of his personal accounts to a different, national bank, and spread the word about the incident to warn others.
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