VP Health & Fitness

One of the most important things you need to learn when trying to change your eating habits to a healthier lifestyle is how to grocery shop.

Here are a couple of tips to help you get started:

Tip #1: Clean out your refrigerator and pantry.
Tip#2 Create a budget, make a list and stick to it!
Tip #3 Organic vs. Conventional Products
Tip #4 Read Labels
Tip #5 Remember the 3 S’s

CLICK HERE to read the entire article

And here are a couple of my own money saving ideas that you can use while still eating healthy:

Grocery Shopping Strategies & Money saving tips:

• Eggs, eggs, eggs!  They are cheap & have good quality protein in them. Whole eggs are way cheaper than egg beaters– just throw out the yolk.
• Make it yourself!!  Instead of buying protein bars, make your own!  It’s a lot cheaper and better for you.  You have more control over the ingredients and you can choose what type of ingredients you want.  This also applies to everything - pre-packaged food costs more and has a lot of unnecessary stuff, such as sodium.   
• Dried beans instead of canned beans.  Again, you get much better value without all the preservatives - you just gotta cook them!
• Only buy canned goods when they are on sale & buy the store brand ones instead of the name brand ones.
• Oatmeal is super cheap.  The Walmart brand oatmeal is JUST AS GOOD as the Quaker kind

• Fresh veggies getting a little too soft? MAKE SOUP. Use a bouillon cube instead of canned broth - much cheaper.

• Potatoes in bulk - they are very versatile & are a great source of carbohydrates. 

• Work with what the season has to offer & only buy fruits & veggies that are in season.

• Frozen veggies are cheap.  I buy them by the bulk. Green beans, broccoli, stir fry veggies.

• Plan your meals ahead of time so you will know EXACTLY what you need when you go grocery shopping.

• If you do go out to eat at restaurants you can use the following strategies to eat a healthy & non-expensive meal:

  • Sign up for online for newsletters for the restaurant - they often send you coupons in the email that you can print out and take to the restaurant.
  • Invest in a good coupon book such as the Entertainment Book or other discount cards.
  • And finally, see if you can find the restaurant at Healthy Dining Finder  which is a FREE useful resource for restaurants that offer healthy entree choices.

 ** Remember: The cleaner you eat, the less it cost. Seriously. You are not paying for all the packaging, advertising, etc, that are on all the processed foods.

Here are other ideas that you can use:

Maggie Wang’s list of healthy & frugal food & grocery shopping ideas

Finding healthy foods at the grocery store

Healthy Grocery Shopping List

Bodybuilding.com - a healthy Grocery shopping List

~ Vilma

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Well, it’s been a while since I wrote an update on me.  I’m still under the weather - believe it or not… it’s been a pretty crazy & bizzare month.  I am feeling a whole lot better though and I hope to be good as new by my birthday next Wednesday (December 12th).

I’ve also been getting a lot of Christmas shopping done and I have a personal goal of finishing by next week to avoid all crazy last minute shoppers.  Thanks to my frugal & cheap butt self… i’ve been finding some awesome deals online (Ebay, BlackFriday.net, Amazon, etc…) and not I’m not surprised that we’ve managed to stay within our $350 budget this year (all CA$H). Off the top of my head these are the steals that we’ve purchased so far:

Via BlackFriday.net

• New Dell Inspiron 531 Desktop Computer w/ a 24? Dell Widescreen LCD
  Monitor for only $659 w/ a Free $100 Gift Card and Free Shipping! (does not fall into our Christmas budget)(Retail Value: $1200) 
  • Savings: about $541

Via Ebay.com

• New Logitech S510 Cordless Desktop Wireless Keyboard for $18 (does not fall into our Christmas budget) (Retail Value: $79.99)
  • Savings: $61.99
• New Babyliss Hair Setter 20 Roller for $34.77 (Retail Value: $57)
  • Savings: $22.23

Via shopping the stores after Thanksgiving between the hours of 12AM and 6AM:

• Old Navy Mens Wool Jacket for $29 (Retail Value: $60)
  • Savings: $31
• Old Navy Womans Cropped Toggle Peacoat for $40 ( Retail Value: $75)
  • Savings: $34
• Old Navy Jeans for $14.99 (Retail Value: $30)
  • Savings: $15.01

So…. as you can see, i’ve saved A LOT! Just with these items i’ve saved over $700!!!!

I was reading an article the other day by Christian financial advisor, Dave Ramsey and I found this interesting: he said that “Over 50% of Christmas shoppers will spend well over what they planned to and will go further into debt.” Ramsey also mentions that “more than $70 billion, over half of what was charged last year, ended up as revolving debt and the interest on last year’s gifts are still being paid today.” On average, “two-thirds (65%) of shoppers overspent their budget by $100-$500 and 75% overspent by $50 - $100.”

This was a HUGE eye opener for me because it was how I used to pay for my gifts. But not anymore…. My advice to you, open up a savings account at your local bank and start adding some money through out the year.  When the next holiday season comes around, you will have enough cash saved up to go shopping.  Before shopping, do your research, shop around & sacrifice a few hours of sleep to get to the BIG after thanksgiving sales.  It’s well worth it! 

Here are a couple of tips from Mr. Ramsey:

• Make a list of everyone you are buying a gift for and put a dollar amount by every name. Total it at the bottom. This is your Christmas budget. The people in the mall have a plan to get your money – get a game plan for your shopping so you can keep some money. There is no excuse for financing Christmas.
• PAY CASH – put the total from your budget in an envelope and when the cash is gone, stop spending. This will help keep you on budget because if you overspend on Aunt Sue, Uncle Harry won’t get a gift.
• 69% of Americans bought a gift for themselves last year. DON’T BUY YOURSELF A GIFT! This is the season to give not to receive…from yourself.

Most importantly take the time to stop what you are doing and remember the TRUE meaning of what this season is about - God’s gracious and abundant gifts to the world; the gift of life, family and friends, good food, music, worship, and the greatest and most important gift of all: God’s Son, Jesus CHRIST.

These are the real and meaningful things that make life satisfying. So this Christmas may we all be reminded to enjoy God’s gracious gifts, to cherish the beauty and wonder of life and this season—these will leave you feeling much more satisfied and debt free!

Merry Christmas everyone!!!

~ Vilma

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Hubby & I have been thinking about buying a new computer for while and we have been keeping our eyeballs open for a really good deal. Well… BFAds.net has just found a beauty of a deal! Although i’m still not sure if we are going to take advantage of this deal, here are the details for those that have the $$$ and want to:

It’s a Dell Inspiron 531 Desktop Computer w/ a 24″ Dell Widescreen LCD
Monitor for only $659 w/ a Free $100 Gift Card and Free Shipping!

According to BFAds, there are cheaper computers available on Black Friday however, they are all significantly inferior to this configured Dell Inspiron 531 and none of them have a 24″ Widescreen LCD Monitor included. This will be the cheapest you will be able to get a computer and a 24″ monitor for awhile. The 24″ Dell LCD monitor retails, by itself, for nearly $470, which is like getting the entire computer for only $190. And on top of that, you get free Ground Shipping and a $100 Gift Card! Heck, my current PC cost me about $400 alone without the monitor about 5 years ago, so this is a STEAL!!!!!!!

To get this deal, just follow these simple steps:

- Click here to Start Configuring your Dell Dimension 531 Desktop Computer: http://bfads.net/Link/267

- On the Select My Processor page, choose the option: AMD Athlon=99 64X2 Dual-Core 5000+ [add $70]

- On the Select My Monitor page, choose the option: 24 inch E248WFP Entry Widescreen Digital Flat Panel Monitor [add $290]

- On the Select My Video Card page, choose the option: 128MB NVIDIAGeForce 8300GS [add $50]

- Continue configuring your Dell Inspiron 531 as you please. When you are finished, click on Buy Now and then Add to Shopping Cart

- On the My Cart page, where it says, “Enter coupon number,” enter the coupon code: 4J1M7748R2RRV6 and then hit Apply Coupon

Your cart total should be $659.00 (if you didn’t add any extras) and the following discounts should appear in your cart, “Save $350 on all Inspiron Desktop purchases over $999″ and “Get a $100 Gift Card on systems $999 - $1248 (cards to
arrive in 6-8 weeks)”

* Remember: This coupon expires after 4000 uses, so it will go by fast.

To see the post about this deal, click here:
http://bfads.net/Dell-Dimension-531-w-24-Widescreen-LCD-for-659-w-100-GC

Here is a thourough Cnet.com review from the experts!

http://reviews.cnet.com/desktops/dell-inspiron-531/4505-3118_7-32486097.html

Happy shopping!!!!

~ Vilma

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My body is tired today and I think I might be coming down with a cold.  I have taken some Vitamin C & Bee Pollen to try and kill it before it hits full swing.  I wonder what it was…. maybe working out again.  Yesterdays workout was tough and I usually end up getting sick when I start a new exercise routine…. hopefully this time will not happen that way.

Well… as some of you know, I’ve been raving about the Turbulence Training workouts and how fast and effective they are.  Just wanted to give my readers a heads up that through October 15, you can check out the Turbulence Training Members site with a 14-day basic level membership for just $1.  The TT 4 week workout manuals available for you to download this month are:

• TT 500 Bodyweight 4-Week Workout (A dumbbell/bodyweight fusion workout with bonus 500 rep fitness challenges to test your progress)
• TT for Abs 4-Week Workout (A classic TT fat loss workout manual using free weights with additional abdominal circuits)
• TT Original Bodyweight 4-Week Workout (The original, no-equipment needed TT bodyweight fat loss workout program)
• TT Nutrition Guidelines by Dr. Chris Mohr (Nutrition guidelines/food planning manual that teaches you how to eat for optimum results.  Very much like Precision Nutrition without the fluff and the $99 price tag.)

Remember, if you don’t want to keep the membership after your 14-day trial, make sure to cancel before the regular charge of $19.95/month kicks in!

Sign up for the $1 two-week trial here

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UPDATES & AGENDA
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• 7.5 hours of sleep last night
• Exercise planned for the day:
  • REST!
• Water (aiming for ATLEAST 128 oz.) - done! 160 oz.
• EATS: You can check out my Food Log HERE:
  • B - Bacon/Spinach Scrambled Eggs
  • S - EAS Advantage Carb Control Shake
  • L - Sundried Tomato Chicken Burger w/ Spinach Salad, Creamsicle
  • S - 1 minute muffin w/ cream cheese
  • D - 2 Omega 3 Eggs, 2 oz of Mozz Cheese, 1/2 avocado & onions, Creamsicle
  • BTS - 3 TBSP Cream Cheese
  • Cheats #1 & #2 (before 9:00 pm) - 2 servings of Baked cheetos & 1 cup of vanilla ice cream w/ Reece’s Shell topping.  Yikes! 
• Supps: Fruta Vida, Multi, 6 g Fish Oil

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