Juicy Couture Up To 70% Off + $10 Off

For a limited time — a little over two days as of this posting — you can get Juicy Couture for up to 70% off from Secret Style.  If you enter my e-mail address (lily@brokeinamerica.com)  in the Sponsor field you get $10 off of your order.  The $10 is the referral fee which I would have gotten if you ordered something.  Instead, I’ll let YOU have it. 

I took a look at what they have.  They had dresses and tops only.

I personally am not a designer-label kind of person but I thought someone who would love to have some designer duds on the cheap might appreciate the link.

Photo:  blingyourself.com

Lesson from The Great Depression: Eat Spam

Spam, a canned meat product (or some may cheekily say ”meat-like product” or “meat by-product”), was the staple in American kitchens during the Great Depression.  Parents back then, desperate to save money but still serve their families some protein would “butcher” a can of Spam. 

With everyone trying to cut back on spending, it looks like Hormel’s Spam is once again helping Americans feed families.  The New York Times reported that since July, production of Spam at the Hormel plant in Austin, MN has been relentless:  two shifts, seven days a week at 149,000+ cans of Spam per shift.

What is Spam?  People know Spam as “junk e-mail”, but Jay Hormel, the son of the company founder, says that Spam is a combination of ham, pork, sugar, salt, water, potato starch and a “hint” of sodium nitrite “to help Spam keep its gorgeous pink color.”  Spam is available in regular, Low Sodium, Spam with Cheese, and Spam Hot & Spicy.

Find Spam recipes here.

Saved $26.50 and Lost 2 Lbs

In my post A Quick Way to Save Money and Lose Weight I mentioned that I wanted to save money and lose weight at the same time.  That post also mentioned that by planning my workday lunches and snacks in advance I was able to save $27.50 last week.

I can also happily report that I have lost 2 lbs last week!  I have not been taking any diet pills or started any exercise regimen at all, so I am very excited.

I must confess that a couple of times last week, I went to the vending machine and got some crunchy Cheetos (so that makes it $1 less than what I originally saved).  The snacks I had prepared for the week were all sweet (fresh cherries, fruit cups, chocolate animal crackers) .  I should have known that, from past experiences, eating something sweet triggers my craving for something salty, and vice versa.

This week I am doing the same thing.  I had already shopped for my lunches and snacks for the coming work week.  I have frozen entrees again, then yogurt and Cheetos for snacks.  I have already pre-packaged the Cheetos into snack baggies and I am only bringing one baggie a day to avoid eating all of the Cheetos in one day.  I believe in moderation, not self-denial.

The weather should help this week.  It is supposed to be really cold all week so that really kills the desire to go out for a quick drive (and drive-thru) at lunch time.

No Longer Broke in America in 2009

Today is the beginning of the rest of my life, and I choose to no longer be broke in America.    Worrying about my finances is taking a toll on my life, so much so that it sucks up all my creativity and my passion for life.

Instead of being reactive, I choose to be proactive, and here is the plan:

First, I have to stop the bleeding.  The late fees and insufficient fund fees I paid in 2008 have been shamefully staggering.  This tells me that not only was I broke, but that I need to keep track of my money better.  I need to plan my expenses accordingly, and work from a budget.  This is going to be tricky.  I do not do well with paper, so it will have to be some finance software that is easy to use.  The goal is to have a workable budget so that I will no longer pay any late fees on my utilities by the end of Q1.

Second, I need to raise my income.  With the economy and job market the way they are, this will be hard to do.  In order to be more competitive, I will need to raise my qualifications.  I plan to get a certification in the technical field that interests me, and this will help me get a better position — and better pay, I hope — than what I have now.  The goal is to have passed the certification exam by the end of Q1.

I am keeping it simple enough so that it is achievable.  How about you, what are your financial goals or resolutions for the new year?