Here we are at the end of January 2012. Texas is getting heavy rains. Snow and Cold is covering most all of the northern hemisphere. I close my eyes and think of a hot summer day with the sun beating down on may face. Then in an instant, I jump into a nice cool swimming pool. Yes, what better time to plan a summer vacation than when the chilling cold is biting your bones, and the sky is all gloomy.

One option for a real nice summer get away is on board a cruse ship. Still in light of recent event off the coast of Italy. Maybe taking a taking a vacation on a cruse ship is not all that safe. When I did a quick Google search for “cruise ship safety statistics” the second link I found was to RANN.org. They made it appear cruise ships out to be a breading ground for rape and violence. Then I went to CruiseVacaitonGuide.com and got the total opposite story.

After doing some further research, I have come to conclusion cruise ships are safe, but it is no paradise. Whenever you get over a million people a year on board a floating city, there is going to be bad coming on board along with the good. Self protection and common sense still needs to be used.

I a generally stay away from the whole cutting of coupons. The putting them into an organized folder, and taking this big folder to the grocery store. In addition I get frustrated when I have to look for the brand and size of soda matches my coupon. The few time I did take coupons, I found myself spending about the same amount of money, while getting stuff I would not normally get.

It is one thing to worked and make a fair wage. It is another thing to work hard and break even. It is quite another thing to work even harder to save money.

I know there are quite a few ladies out there who will disagree with me. I have seen the blogs, read the articles, and seen them on TV. Thank God for those few ladies out there who can save real money by clipping and redeeming coupons.

Over the past few years there has been a big change in coupons. A few people came up with the idea of offering coupons over the internet. Yes, there are places like Coupons.com where you can get 50 cents to a dollar off for a box of Raisin Brand. However, there is bigger money to be saved.

From the end of January to April 15th is the traditional season for getting our taxes done.  Some of us procrastinate so much we have to file an extension with the IRS. Accountants, bookkeepers, and those who do tax preparation are busy. In the grand scheme of things we need to pay taxes to we can get services from our government like fire, police, and military. Still we do not need to pay more than what is our fair share.

On the television I have been seeing commercials from H&R Block. When I did a simple Google search for free tax preparation, I found quite a list of other tax preparers. The list starts with TaxAct.com, Turbo Tax,  Tax Slayer, and our US Government. The offers for free tax preparation is just for the 1040EZ form. All the rest of us we have to pay.

The cost ranges for tax preparation account to the complexity of the return. Just the average Joe with wife and two children who rents their home is fairly simple. Self-employed, head of household, with a mortgage is time to sit down with a professional. If you own  several properties, self-employed, then you should of have already have an accountant on retainer.

It was a beautiful cold crisp Saturday morning. We just had breakfast. We all climbed into the family car to restock our kitchen with some food for the upcoming week.

This Saturday we decided to do something different. So we swung by the local food coop. It had been a long time since we had been there. We all we were long over due.

I think the main reason we had not been to the coop for so long was that we lived on the other side of town and well, their prices are rather high. This Saturday we had a little extra money for groceries so we headed over to the Boise Coop, just for the experience.

It was about 11 am. We pulled into a parking space in the second row. We got the space just as a Volvo pulled out. I felt lucky. The parking lot was so crowded I was afraid we were going to have to park on the street.

When looking at a signal car by itself, that call may look great. However, when you put two cars side by side one will stand out. The weakness of each are more easily seen.

A white car against a white background is blends in to the background. When you put a red car or a black car against that white background it is easy to see the cars.

This week we are going to look at two of the top gas/electric hybrids; the 2011 Chevy Volt and the 2011 Toyota Prius. In a effort to compare apples to apples and oranges to oranges we will be looking at the Chevy Volt’s base 4 door Hatchback and Toyota’s 4 door Hatchback.

Chevy launch the Volt in the later half of 2010. Since then it has quickly attracted shoppers. It wasn’t long before, in the public’s eye the Chevy Volt and the Toyota Prius were equals.

These two gas/electric hybrid cars are marketed to people who are concerned about their environment and want to save money on gas. So we are going to make a side by side comparison of the two.

Christmas time means a lot of food and a lot of parties. There will be people having parties at work, at clubs, around the neighborhood, and along with the usual family gatherings. One of the main attractions to a party is the food and drink. Without food, drink and the right Christmas music, some people will show up. Others will just walk in the door, say Merry Christmas and leave. It is human nature.

The easy way to serve food at a party is just sitting it on a table in a tray. A good variety of food on party trays can please a multitude of likes and dislikes. A good party tray will have a variety of fruits, vegetables and meats. Hopefully not all on the same tray.

One of the most successful party trays I have found has been bread with spinach dip. It can be bought at Winco  for $4.95. I can make the same one for just under $3.00. Besides saving money, people are impressed with making some over running out and grabbing some pre-made.

We are just days away for the biggest food stuffing football playing day of the year. At my Toastmasters’ meeting, this week, there were two holiday recipes printed on the back of the agenda. My email has been getting filled with Thanksgiving Day recipes. One friend even suggested and after Thanksgiving dinner coffee and desert tasting time. Food, family, food, football, and more food.

Smelling all those inviting aromas from the kitchen the day before and Thanksgiving morning are so tempting. I know we still have a few more days before the big day, but my mouth is already watering. My mind’s eye is filled with pictures of the orange, browns, reds, and all the other colors that make up holiday desserts. My nostrils are flaring out ready to absorb all those wonderful smell of Thanksgiving Day.

A lot of money can be spent on just this one meal. Many people opt for pre package, pre made meals as well as deserts. Money can be saved by making these Thanksgiving dinner and desserts from scratch. If you ask me, I believe the homemade dessert do taste better.

Today is Blog Action Day for 2011. This is when bloggers everywhere raise their voices as one voice. So many times bloggers express their opinions in different directions. Today, we all want express our voice in one specific direction. That direction is about to talk about food. I want to address the issue of hunger, and famine. Why?

In the world we live today there is no reason for an one child to elderly adult to go hungry. We have the scientific advance to grow food just about any where we want. The real reason of hunger comes from greedy, mean men and women who do not want to share the resources they have.

I am reminded of a Sunday School lesson where the Children of Israel where wondering in the wilderness. They could go out a gather the food they needed for that day. Everyone had plenty. Some of the people went out and gathered more than their share. The tried to store up the extra food. By the next morning that extra food was rotten.

There are times where I like to sit back at the mall or some street fair and watch people walk past. Other times I like to sit down with people and listen to what they have to say. I want to know who they are and what they are thinking.

One of the observations I have made about people who have a lot of money is they as a rule don’t like to spend it. People who have very little money like to spend any extra money they get. That is why I have observed the vast majority of wealthy people walking around wearing clothes off the rack at Sears, JC Penny’s or the local thrift store. These people hang on to their money. When they are willing to spend a little extra as long as they can get extra quality.

These same people are very cautious about not wasting food. Food does cost money. Wasting food goes far beyond not eating everything on their plate at dinner time. It encompasses managing the food bought to what is eaten. The amount of food that is thrown out because of spoilage can add up to hundreds or thousands of dollars.

My efforts to not to throw out food and waste money has gotten me into trouble a few time. I would look in the refrigerator for leftovers. Then I would choose my lunch or dinner by the leftovers in the refrigerator. Many a time I didn’t pay close enough attention to how long the chicken or some pasta dish was in the refrigerator. 

It is FOOTBALL SEASON!!! The first local, college, and pro football games have been played. It is time for the tailgate cookouts, and weekend football parties. It is time to have friends over to watch and cheer our favorite teams, while we snack on finger food.

This the time where energy runs high as player battle on the gridiron. Fans are loyal to their favorite football teams. Colors are displayed proudly as we cheer our teams to hopeful victory.

We make each and every game even more special than it is. It almost becomes an infection where people to let football mania take over there lives. In doing so money is spent on t-shirts, hats, banners, and other items without thinking of family budget. Being a football fan can get expensive real quick real easy.

My wife and I are not huge football fans. We watch the game on TV when our favorite team is playing. If we are given free tickets to a game we go.

We have been talking about attending in one of the local college games. (That is BSU. Go Broncos!) The cost of tickets  around between the 30 yard lines on each side of the fifty, along with all the extras would run us about $200 person.