Buying vs. cooking

One of the items we received in our CSA Box this week was basil. So it was mandatory that we make pesto. We already had olive oil and basil and some garlic, so I went to the store for some pinenuts and parmesan cheese. While I was there, I got some more garlic, too, just in case.

At the store, I noticed them selling already-made pesto. For about $6. "I bet it doesn't have pinenuts in it, though,"was my justification. It did. But we already had the basil, plus I'm trying not to have so much processed food (and there were definitely additives in the store-bought pesto). So I bought pinenutes. For about $6. And parmesan cheese. For $6. Now I didn't use them all, so I have some still for another recipe, but it made me think about the whole situation. I enjoyed making the pesto, and the extra few bucks won't break us, but I guess this is why planning menus in advance to really use everything you buy is a good idea.

Work

I had a job interview this week. It wasn't actually a job I had been seeking, because I've been pretty happy with the jobs I have. But I was so surprised to get the call that I said I would go interview and then it seemed like it wouldn't hurt.

I'm still up in the air about how I feel about it. My husband has been very supportive of me sticking with my part-time jobs, even now that full-time jobs are opening up, because I really like where I work now. But he was really excited about the possibility of me having a full-time position. It got me thinking about the difference between having jobs for money and having them because you love what you do.

I've been really lucky to always have positions where I do love what I do, even though lately it's been difficult to make ends meet. I know a lot of people who work for the money and tolerate their job, but it's important to me that I'm doing something that is really satisfying to me. So, even though it would be nice having a full-time position again, I might just stick with positions that are actually satisfying.

Gift cards

When we got married, my husband and I received tons of giftcards, especially to Target. Now, we use them to cheat sometimes on our budget. When my husband started really worrying about money at the beginning of this month, but our freezer supply of meat was all used up, I took a gift card someone gave us to a grocery store and stocked up. And we've been using Target gift cards on all sorts of stuff (one night I thought we needed a treat, so I bought frozen pizza). I know in the long term, we'll run out of gift cards, and will have to come to terms with a new budget, but for now it feels a little better to use gift cards when things feel bleak. Does anyone else ever do this?

Food!!!

It often feels like food is the biggest variable in the quest to be smart with my money. It's so easy to eat out all the time and spend mounds of money. It's also easy to go to the store and buy steak and shrimp and chips and pre-made stuff...and that costs a lot, too. This week I've been doing a lot of cooking and "making it work" with the ingredients we have at home. Usually it's kind of a treat for me to walk to the grocery store for just a few ingredients, but I've been holding off.

It's been difficult, but I've enjoyed making dinner from what I can find. The only problem is that I've been using up our stores of food--our freezer is looking a lot more roomy and there are almost no cans in our pantry anymore. Does anyone out there in internet land have any healthy, easy, yummy dinner recipes?

Perception

My husband seems to have suddenly gotten the point that we need to be careful with our money. Which is good, except that it sent him spiraling for a while worrying about "being poor".

We do need to be careful and very deliberate about how we spend our money, but I think it's important for us to remember how lucky we are, too. I love our home, for one. It's a big part of the reason why we have to be so careful with our money, but we're really lucky that there was a point when it did make sense for me to buy it. Plus, even when we're being careful, we always have something to eat. Sometimes we get sick of pasta or beans, or not having steak every night, but that's better for us anyway. And it's nice to discover all the free things there are to do for recreation. We went on a little hike the other day. So I know it's easy to complain, but it's also important to be thankful.

CSA

I've been reading about CSAs for a while now, and thinking about how nice it would be to be to take part, once we had some money to spare.

My husband has coworkers who share a CSA box each week. We decided to try going in on it with them now. That means $10 per week for our share of the box. This week he brought home two yellow squashes, a cucumber, four oranges, a tomato, two little eggplants, and fresh rosemary. I'm excited about all the fresh, local produce, but still trying to figure out if it's a good deal for us. Has anyone else ever taken part? Any thoughts?

Being taken advantage of?

So one of the jobs I'm supposed to be working in the fall finally got their paperwork together for me to fill out. They decided, however, that I'll be working as an independent contractor, rather than as an employee. My first reaction was that it was fine. But then I got home and researched what that meant. It looks like it means that all the stuff like taxes that they would normally help with is on my head. And my job does NOT fit the criteria for being an independent contractor. Plus, why would a school want to have their students alone with someone they aren't responsible for?

It's really discouraging for them to treat me like this, and I'm not sure what to do. I could really use this job. I emailed them asking why they thought my job fell under being and independent contractor, but I haven't gotten an answer yet. This is soo frustrating. I really want to take the job--it's exactly what I've been training to do, and it would be a really exciting challenge. But I would like to be treated fairly. I really wish I knew more about employment law, and what to do here.