Alarm Systems

www.stretcher.com

Check out my latest Dollar Stretcher article (published under my pen name Lee Doppelt

Should you be Alarmed?

I welcome your comments

Seven Habits of Highly Frugal People

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11dec05h.cfm

Check out my latest Dollar Stretcher article

Seven Habits of Highly Frugal People

Dr. Stephen Covey would be proud!

Opting for Co-ops

Opting for Co-ops is my latest article in the print copy of

The Dollar Stretcher Magazine, November 2011.

Published under the pen name, Lee Doppelt, I welcome your comments, readers.

Non-Traditional Housing

Subscribers of the print copy of The Dollar Stretcher Magazine

can read my article in the new November 2011 issue

A Non-Traditional Roof over your Head.

I welcome your comments, readers.

Gutter Cleaning Made Simple

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11nov07e.cfm

check out my latest Dollar Stretcher article

Gutter Cleaning Made Simple

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Work at Home

Check out my latest article at

www.stretcher.com

The Dollar Stretcher

about Legitimate work at home opportunities.

I welcome your comments

The Skinny on Buffets

The Skinny on Buffet Dining
To eat or not to eat, that is the question


By Debra L. Karplus

It’s Friday evening after a grueling week at work. The kids are whining; they’re famished, and you are, too. Plus, you’re exhausted and emotionally drained. You open the refrigerator, the freezer, and the cupboards, and realize that a trip to the supermarket is badly needed, but who has time to shop for groceries during such a demanding week! What to do?

Friends and neighbors have raved about the all-you-can-eat buffet near the mall. A hungry family of four can eat unlimited quantities of food, prepared for all tastes, for under thirty dollars; “kids eat free” is a sign you often see posted on the window outside the buffet. And attire is a not an issue when dining at the buffet; whatever you’re wearing at this moment is probably acceptable dress for the buffet dining venue. So, gather everyone into the mini-van quickly, and head to the buffet; it’s a no-brainer.

Smorgasbords, meaning “tables of sandwiches”, became popular in Sweden, as early as the 1500s. Over the years, this custom of dining spread through Europe. In the 1950s the buffet concept gained momentum in the United States. The post-war baby boom created bigger families, hungry families, trying to save a buck whenever possible to achieve the American Dream. Buffet-style eating caters to feeding large quantities of people with ease, quickly and affordably.

To eat

There’s something for everyone at your typical buffet. Whatever your food preference is, you’ll likely find it at the buffet. Whether it’s a specialized buffet, serving Chinese food, pasta, or vegetarian delights, for example, you can load up on high-protein main courses, sample seasoned cooked veggies, take advantage of raw foods at the salad bar, enjoy the fancy breads and muffins, be creative at the make-your-own ice cream sundae island, or most likely, all of the above. Serving unlimited quantities of food at low prices is what’s kept buffets thriving in this country for decades.

In addition the great monetary value, buffets offer the opportunity to try a variety of new foods that you might not normally serve at home, or that you may want to experiment with from the menu at a sit-down restaurant. You might actually succeed in getting your child to appreciate spinach, if you mix one of their favorite foods with it. If the buffet is part of a full-service restaurant, it’s a great way to sample their menu foods at a fraction of the cost.

…or not to eat

So why wouldn’t you want to be a regular buffet patron? Unless you are lucky enough to have located a buffet that allows you to go through the line only once, and charges you per pound of food on your platter, you’re probably going to be like most people and eat way too much, to get the most food for your dollar. It sounds like a solid financial strategy. But next time you’re at the buffet, look around. You might notice bigger than average-sized frequent buffet customers.

At a sit-down restaurant, many people deliberately order a larger portion with the idea that’s they will take home the leftovers. That makes dining out more affordable, or at least, less expensive per meal. But, at the buffet, “doggie bags” are not an option. Loading your plate with too much food with the idea that you will take the surplus home is just considered tacky, in poor taste. And no matter how much you want to stretch the dollar, you want to always use exemplary manners, especially when out in public.

Your typical buffet seldom offers the healthiest food. Buffet food tends to be too salty, creamy, and fatty, with too many buttery sauces. Not only is it food that is not recommended for optimal health, but people tend to eat too much of it. Frequent trips to the buffet might lead to frequent trips to the doctor, pharmacy, or weight control program. Remember that keeping yourself and your family healthy may be the number one overall way to saving money.

So how do you maximize the value of buffet dining without sacrificing your health? Start by perusing the choices while your plate is still empty. Decide exactly what you will choose to eat a balanced meal. Then, select small quantities of a variety of foods from each food group, meat for protein, dairy for calcium, grains for fiber, and fruits and vegetables for vitamins and minerals. Take it easy on the free soda pop refills, lots of calories, no nutrition. Be disciplined. Assist your children with their buffet food selection. And, don’t make a steady diet of buffet dining. Once in a while, buffets are a treat, but the buffet experience done frequently could become be too much of a good thing.

Home Security Systems

Subscribers of the PRINT version on The Dollar Stretcher

can read my latest article in the October 2011 issue

Should You Be Alarmed?

Written under my pen name, Lee Doppelt.

I welcome your comments/

Cutting Back on Tree Trimming costs

Subscribers of the Dollar Stretcher Magazine:


The September 2011 issue of the hard copy magazine has my latest article, Cutting Back on Tree Trimming Costs.

Non-subscribers can watch online at www.stretcher.com. The article should be there soon.

Invisible?

I have been writing many items. In fact, writing more than ever.

A couple reasons why you haven't noticed it on this blog.

1. Since 2004, I have been actively working as a ghostwriter. That means, I have had many things published, but not with my name affixed to them.

2. I have been writing some articles, that will soon be published, under my pseudonym, a pen name that I sometimes use. I will keep you posted as those become published.

Stay connected!

Vegetarian Diet

Check out my latest article at The Dollar Stretcher, www.stretcher.com

Vegetarian Diet

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11aug22d.cfm

I welcome yur comments.

Red Herring Fiction Workshop

For over twenty-five years, the Red Herring Fiction Workshop has been a forum for Champaign-Urbana area writers to critique one another's work in fiction, creative nonfiction, and play/screenwriting. The workshop is community-based and open to the public. Meetings are help Tuesday evenings at 7:30 at the Channing-Murray Foundation in Urbana. Whether beginner or been-around, seeking publication or just plain fun, all writers are welcome.

1209 West Oregon Street
Urbana, IL 61801
217-344-1176

Managing your Banking

Dollar Stretcher Newsletter subscribers

I hope you will enjoy my article in the August 2011 edition

Managing your Banking

I welcome your comments

Olive Oil

Overture to Olive Oil in the Kitchen
By Debra L. Karplus

A cartoon favorite since the 1930s, Popeye popped spinach by the can into his mouth as he wooed his love interest, Olive Oyl. Olive was energetic with a slim build. Perhaps her stamina, vitality, and good health were the result of incorporating olive oil, her namesake, into her diet. She may have even kept her skin and hair looking beautiful by using homemade cosmetics containing olive oil. Popeye and Olive might have been way ahead of their time. Possibly they knew some dietary secrets well before the health food craze gained impetus in the 1960s and grew in the decades that followed.

Though the olives you eat don’t really feel oily, olive oil is the oil that comes from the olives that are grown near the Mediterranean Sea, and mainly in Spain, Italy and Greece. There are several different grades of olive oil. But, frugal as you pride yourself in being, you don’t want to simply select the cheapest variety.

Your temptation is probably to buy the cheaper refined olive oils, but since this grade of the oil is processed with chemicals, it’s therefore not as healthy for you. So spend the extra little bit of money to buy virgin or extra virgin olive oil which are physically made without chemicals; these grades of olive oil also have the reputation of a superior flavor. If the label says ‘pure olive oil’, it’s likely to be a blend of refined and virgin oil, thus it’s best to avoid it.

Olive oil has health benefits for you.

Olive oil is high in monounsaturated fats, unlike most other oils that you can buy at the grocery. Your body needs those fats as they can help lower cholesterol and decrease your chances of having heart disease. Olive oil is also known to balance the omega fats in your diet. Additionally, antioxidants, which boost your immune system, are plentiful in olive oil. If you’re watching your weight, take note that a teaspoon of the oil contains approximately forty calories. But a little bit is often all you really need when preparing and serving foods with olive oil.

Replace butter, margarine, and other oil with olive oil in your recipes.

Your cookbooks and websites have numerous ideas of how to incorporate olive oil into your diet. For example, snack on plain, not buttered or salted, popcorn topped with olive oil and parmesan cheese. Or dip slices of whole grain bread in olive oil seasoned with oregano or basil. Some specialty breads such as focaccia bread are actually made with olive oil and fresh rosemary.

Stop buying bottled salad dressing. It’s expensive, comes in wasteful containers, and is generally not healthy for you; store-bought salad dressing is typically loaded with salt and fats from oils that don’t have the health benefits of olive oil. Salad dressing also usually contains a list of unfamiliar ingredients, whose names you can’t even pronounce! Instead, dress salads with apple cider vinegar and a bit of olive oil, then add dill weed or seed or some other herb such as fresh or dried parsley. When preparing stir fry dishes and entrees, use olive oil instead safflower or vegetable oil. Tomato sauce and tomato paste from a jar or can are loaded with much more sodium than your body needs. Instead of tomato sauce, add pesto to macaroni and pasta dishes. Pesto is made with olive oil, parmesan cheese, basil, garlic and pine nuts, all blended together.

More expensive than other oils, olive oil is definitely worth the extra expense.

Oftentimes, items that at first glance seem pricey are true dollar stretchers once you’ve weighed their overall benefits. Thus is the case with olive oil. Indeed, it does cost more than vegetable oil and generic cooking oils, but it’s one of those foods that is notably healthier than similar products adjacent to it on the supermarket shelf.

You can buy olive oil in one of the many specialty stores nationwide that sell only olive oil, and yes, there are enough varieties to fill an entire olive oil shop. But unless you are a gourmet, you are smart to buy olive oil in a supermarket, health food store or even online. For approximately $2.50 you can purchase an 8.5 fluid ounce bottle containing 250 ML.

Olive oil typically comes in ornate glass bottles, and is best stored away from heat, light and air. Its shelf life is approximately six months. So be prudent in purchasing only the quantity you think you’ll use in that amount of time. Unlike much other food shopping, buying in bulk may not be sensible when bargain hunting for olive oil.

If you don’t already have olive oil in your kitchen, next time you’re shopping for groceries, put a small bottle of store-brand virgin olive oil in your cart and experiment with some of its many cooking uses. You’ll be surprised at the many ways to incorporate olive oil into your recipes. And you’ll be pleased to be on the road to healthier eating.

The Financial Side of Adoption

The Cost of Adopting a Child
The Financial Side of Adoption
By Debra L. Karplus

Read any of the statistics that are frequently published in popular financial and news publications and you’ll quickly infer that the most obvious way to stretch the dollar is to not have children. Data shows that it costs several hundreds of thousands of dollars to raise and educate just one child. For most families, the expenses don’t end there; remember to add in those cute little grandchildren that you want to dote on. On and on it goes.

But this is where quantity of life and quality of life collide, as most people desire to have children. Simply stated, life seems fuller and richer and more satisfying for those who choose to parent, even during challenging times, which occur in virtually all families. Indeed, raising children isn’t cheap, but for most couples, being childless leaves a void.

Life is not always fair and for some couples, having a child doesn’t always happen when they are ready. Ironically, for some people, pregnancy comes easily, often too easily. Consequently, there are a huge number of babies and young children who need the benefit of being wanted and raised by a loving and caring family. Adopting a child is the perfect way to become a family when nature doesn’t cooperate with you.

Using the foster care system is the least expensive way to adopt a child.

A great way to determine if raising a child, who is not biologically yours, is what you want and can manage, then try foster parenting first. This is regulated and managed at the state level. Some of the children who are part of this system are minority children, children in need of special education at school or other services because of some physical or mental disability, older children, or children who have been separated from their biological siblings. Many of these children have been removed from their families of origin because they were victims of neglect or abuse.

The Department of Children and Family Services or similar state agency will screen you first and do a home study before a child under their guardianship is allowed to live in your home, even if for a short stay. The agency typically provides training and support and mentoring to foster families. Many adoptions begin as a result of favorable foster child placements. These children need to be raised in a loving safe and secure home like yours.

Private adoption agencies provide more choices but are costlier.

Those who choose to adopt a child using a private adoption agency will typically have more choices. If you desire a younger child or an infant, then paying for a private adoption versus using a state agency may be your best choice. Additionally, you have the option of selecting a child of a specific ethnicity or religion. Open adoption, knowing the identity of the birth parents, is important to some adopting families. Many private adoption agencies offer this service, also.
A private adoption agency is a business not unlike your doctor’s office or child care center. Therefore it has expenses such as overhead, advertising, legal fees and other costs not unlike other enterprises. To remain profitable, it must pass the costs along to the consumer, namely you. Expect to pay between five thousand and forty thousand dollars if you adopt a child using a private adoption agency.

International adoption may be easier than you think.

Integrating a child of a very different cultural background has its obvious advantages and disadvantages. You don’t have to be a high profile celebrity like Angelina Jolie or Madonna to expand your family by going abroad. Often the children are healthy, but are simply unwanted. International or inter-country adoptions have gained popularity in the past couple decades. Many Americans adopt from China, Ethiopia, Guatemala, Korea, and Russia, the Ukraine or other courtiers for numerous reasons. The adoption process becomes final in the country of origin and places such as China have created an adoption system that is relatively simple.

Each country handles adoption very differently. But, expect to pay at least seven thousand dollars and as much as thirty thousand dollars for an international adoption. Many of the expenses unique to these adoptions are related to travel and visa costs. Like domestic adoptions you will still have some legal and other adoption-related expenses.

Families are families because of their offspring, whether biological or adopted. If you plan to adopt a child, explore the different methods for doing so. Talk to other families who have adopted and decide which option best suits your family.

Household Pests

What’s Eating your House?
Detecting and Deterring Destructive Household Pests
By Debra L. Karplus

You’ve been away on vacation and are headed home. You drive onto your street only to find that your house is gone. Wake up; it’s just a bad dream. But allowing household pests to nibble away at your home is a slower route to a disappearing house.

It’s more likely that something like this might happen. You’re painting the wooden siding on your garage and, paintbrush in hand; you discover a soft section in the wood. Upon closer scrutiny, you notice that the wood is very thin. As you peel some of it back you find hollow tunnels. Looks like you may have a termite problem, or possibly carpenter ants, which resemble large ants but can do serious damage outside and inside your home.

Or maybe you’re reading the newspaper and enjoying your morning cup of coffee, sitting out on the backyard deck and out of the corner of your eye; you spot a tidy little pile of sawdust on the porch floor. It takes a moment to register in your mind. “Hmmm”, you ponder, “no one has been drilling or sawing anywhere near my deck, where did all this sawdust come from?” Carpenter bees may be making a home in the underside of your porch railings where you can’t immediately detect any damage.

Pets are fine, pests are not.

While dogs and cats make wonderful, loving pets, destructive household insects are nothing but trouble, so get rid of them, quickly. If you see evidence of an insect problem, never ignore it. Carpenter bees resemble other types of large flying insects, and from afar, it’s difficult to identify which type of bee they are. These bees won’t sting you. They’re far more interested in your house than they are in you! If you see bees regularly flying around the wooden soffits near your gutters or by the railings, especially the underside, of your porch or deck, it’s best to check it out. They’re especially active in the spring.

Carpenter bees drill holes overnight with the precision of a power drill in the hands of an expert handyman. They’re attracted to bare wood and untreated deck boards. So the way to deter carpenter bees is obvious; if you already have some holes created by these pests, fill them in with steel wool and then wood putty , then do some touch-up painting on areas of your house that need it so that there’s no bare wood exposed. Use a deck protection or polyurethane finish to keep your deck and railings looking fresh and insect-free. There are sprays specifically for repelling bees and flying insects that can be purchased for less than ten dollars. Periodically, spray areas outside your house that seem to attract these pests. Your probably don’t need the help of an exterminator for carpenter bees.

Termites are tricky to spot.

Since termites don’t do their damage out in the open, pay serious attention to clues that you might have them; you’re not likely to actually see these small white ant-like crawling pests that build narrow tracks or tunnels in your exterior or interior wood, making the wood hollow. These bugs are attracted to moisture and also love picnicking on rotten or dry wood, so store firewood up on racks far away from the house, garage or wooden tool shed on your property. Termites also enjoy snacking on wood in dead trees. One family cut down a small cherry tree in their yard and found the trunk to be hollow and filled with sawdust, and could see the little white critters scurrying away to safety.

If your neighbor’s house has been treated for termites, you’re likely to eventually have a problem with them, as they’ll be looking for a new place to eat. If your house has already been professionally treated for termites, it’s highly likely that the treatment, which is never inexpensive, came with a warranty, possibly a lifetime warranty, and maybe even provide free yearly inspections. If not and you think your home may be vulnerable to potential termite trouble, schedule a yearly inspection.
Though there are potent products that you can purchase at the hardware store or home improvement center to treat for termites, this is a case where spending the extra money and hiring a professional pest control expert is money well spent. They know which methods and chemicals are best for different types of termite infestations, such as a problem outdoors versus indoors.

Insect infestations never go away without intervention, and if left untreated, can virtually destroy your home. Your job is to know what the damage looks like, be able to identify the insect, and take action immediately. Never procrastinate which you suspect you have termites, carpenter ants, or carpenter bees. If ignored, your house becomes a sumptuous buffet for these critters.

Mealtime Magic with Molasses

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11jul11c.cfm

Check out my latest article at www.stretcher.com

Dollar Stretcher

Mealtime Magic with Molasses

Water Problems

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11jul04d.cfm#

Check out my latest Dollar Stretcher article,

Water Problems, One Drop at a Time

www.stretcher.com

I welcome your comments.

Online Banking

Check out my latest article on the Dollar Stretcher

Managing your Banking

at: www.stretcher.com

I welcome your comments

Non-Traditional Housing

Check out my latest Dollar Stretcher article at

www.stretcher.com.

Non-Tradional Housing

I welcome your comments.

Choosing a Roadside Assistance Plan

Subscribers to the hard copy Dollar Stretcher newsletter, will find my Roadside Assistance Plan article in the June 2011 issue.

Check it out!

Evergreen - a great book to read

Looking for a good read?

Check out Evergreen by Belva Plain. It is a long saga, but a real page turner!

Free books forever!

Reading is my passion, but I’m too frugal to purchase new books, and sometimes short of time to use the local library. But, I discovered that our public library has a sale each weekend where one can purchase a sealed bag of books for only two dollars. The bag, containing about twenty paperback books, is stapled shut, so you truly don’t know what you’re buying. I took a chance, and found most of the books to be worth reading. Then, I located several places around town, including my workplace, where one can swap books. Now when I finish reading one of the books, I can trade in for another. This provides me an unlimited supply of books to read.

Prepaid Cell Phones

Choosing a Prepaid Cell Phone may be your Best Call:
Why You many want to Dump your Current Cell Phone Plan

By Debra L. Karplus, MS, OTR/L

Think back to the last millennium, perhaps ten or so years ago, if you can remember that far into the past. The terms “apps” and “texting” and even “24/7” hadn’t yet crept into the vernacular. Cameras and telephones were two completely separate devices. Internet and email could be used only while seated at a computer somewhere, usually at your desk at work or at home. “Friends” were actually people you had met, and had gotten to know and cherish over time. And games were played face-to-face with other human beings. Amazingly, some people didn’t even own a cell phone back then. Can you believe it!

It’s difficult to imagine such a world. But much to one’s surprise, people were able to interact with each other, sometimes even in complete sentences and using appropriate body language and visual cues, and the world, at least in terms of communication, seemed to function just fine. That scenario may make you want to reconsider your cell phone plan, with all its gadgets and services, and the monthly cost affixed to it.

A prepaid cell phone may provide you the best compromise between having a cell phone that does everything, and not having a phone at all.

Shop online, at your local phone store, and at the big box and discount stores to see what prepaid cell phones are available, and compare prices. With a prepaid cell phone, you are not locked into any type of contract, one of the many advantages of these phones. The phone itself may cost as little as about twenty dollars which includes a battery that should last for several years.

Refill the minutes every three months for twenty-five dollars plus tax and you’re good to go. That provides you about nine dollars a month to talk. If you use your phone discriminately, you will end up accruing unused minutes that are good forever.

At approximately twenty-five cents a minute, or ten cents a minute during evenings and weekends, you won’t want to linger on the phone to catch up with an old college friend, share sports scores, or discuss details of the upcoming sale at the mall department store. But prepaid cell phones are perfect for relatively short, quick calls such as getting roadside assistance, conferring on travel or meeting plans, calling home to check on the kids, and for various emergencies. You’ll just need to modify your cell phone using habits.

Before dumping your current cell phone plan, try one busy day without using your cell phone. It’s easier than you think. When your contract ends, don’t renew it. Treat yourself to a prepaid cell phone. You’ll notice the savings immediately, and will be pleased with yourself for utilizing this dollar stretching idea.

Afternoon at the DMV

Wow, what an experience. Could it be that I'm the only person without a tatoo or piercings?

You take your life in your hands in their parking lot.

And how scary, that all the bad drivers on the road all began in that very building!

The cashier told me that many of the people who show up for their DUI hearings, arrive drunk.

As a writer, it occurred to me, that there was some good "material' right in that waiting room, for my next adventure into fiction writing.

**

At least my driver's license photo, which will be with me for at least the next four years, looks reasonable.

Seven Essential Appliances

Check out my latest Dollar Stretcher article

7 Essential Appliances

www.stretcher.com

I welcome your comments

Roadside Assistance plans

Check out my latest article on the Dollar Stretcher,

www.stretcher.com

It is about Choosing a Roadside Assistance Plan.

I welcome your comments

Champaign Illinois this weekend!

This is the place to be!

Ebertfest has been wonderful and comes to a close tomorrow.

Additionally, approximately 18,000 runners participated in the Illinois Marathon.

Getting Paid for Research

If you are lucky enough to subscribe to the hard copy of The Dollar Stretcher, which comes in your mail monthly, then you can enjoy my article in the May 2011 edition.

Getting Paid for Research.

Resale Shops

Subscribers of The Dollar Stretcher Magazine.

I hope you will enjoy my article, Resale Store Shopping Secrets, in the April edition.

Become a Smarter Patient

http://www.stretcher.com/stories/11/11apr11d.cfm

Check out my latest article on The Dollar Stretcher

Become a Smarter Patient

www.stretcher.com

I welcome your comments!

Kudos to Computer Deli in Champaign

The "doctors" at Computer Deli did their magic on my sick computer.

Thanks, guys!

IRAs and Roths

If you are a subscriber to the hard copy newsletter, The Dollar Stretcher, my article about Roth conversions can be found in the April 2011 edition that just came in the mail today.

I welcome your comments.

Cindy Combs

A life cut way too short.

Cindy lived life to the fullest.

You will be greatly missed, Cindy.

IRA or Roth: How to Choose

Check out my latest article Dollar Stretcher about IRAs at

www.stretcher.com

Karen Sokolof Javitch

Karen Sokolof Javitch from Omaha Nebraska, has recently written a musical "From Generation to Generation", debuting in Chicago March 26 through April 3.

Purchase tickets online or at 773-327-5252

Her work is fabulous!

The Lord was not on Trial

Dannel McCollum, local historian and friend, has written many fascinating books. One that has gotten national attention is, The Lord was not on Trial.

Learn more on Dan's blog:

http://thelordwasnotontrial.blogspot.com

Check it out!

Get Paid to be a Research Subject

Check out my latest article on the Dollar Stretcher website about Getting Paid to be a Research Subject.

www.stretcher.com

Those who can, Teach...

Subscribers of the Dollar Stretcher newsletter

The January 2011 issue has my latest article, Those Who Can,Teach.

Check it out!