I know the holidays are long gone, but if you’re young and just went through your first holiday season without school as an excuse, you probably racked up the charges on your card. It’s okay. I wouldn’t recommend doing it again, but it’s understandable. You’re not alone! Millions of others do the same thing. The only thing is, millions of others are in credit card debt and don’t save any money. Don’t be like that! Nurture the sugar daddy within. And please, follow my advice, which follows below.

One of my goals for 2010 is to try at least one new recipe each week. So far, I’ve been exceeding my goals. I’m so excited about trying new recipes that I’ve been making 2-3 new things each week. I’m still in the honeymoon phase of my New Year’s resolutions, but I think this one’s going to stick.

I think that one of the biggest hurdles that people face when they start cooking for themselves is the overwhelming fear that you’re going to fail. Don’t worry if a recipe doesn’t come out great – you don’t have to be perfect. Even experienced cooks make mistakes. Last week I made bowtie pasta with pesto and peas. Not the best thing I’ve ever eaten, but at least I tried something new. If you make a dish that doesn’t turn out the way you anticipated, just move on – it’s not the end of the world!

Some of the other new recipes I have tried include vegan mac and cheese, cranberry and walnut cookies, and chocolate chocolate chip cookies with bacon (don’t knock it until you try it). I have been sitting down once a week to look through my cookbooks, pick out recipes, write out a meal plan for the week, then make my shopping list. I literally write the meal plan on my kitchen calendar so that I don’t forget what’s happening, and it really helps me stay on course.

Tonight’s new recipe is called “neat loaf.” It’s a vegan substitute for meatloaf that has mushrooms and walnuts instead of meat. I modified this recipe from The Peaceful Palate, by Jennifer Raymond. It’s gluten free, and if you omit the soy sauce, it’s also soy allergy friendly. I served it with mashed potatoes and lima beans, and boy, was it tasty!

Neat Loaf
Makes 8-10 servings

2 cups cooked brown rice
1 cup walnuts, finely chopped
1 cup mushrooms, finely chopped
1 onion, finely chopped
1/2 red bell pepper, finely chopped
2 carrots, shredded or finely chopped
1 cup quick rolled oats
1/2 tsp each: thyme, marjoram, sage
2 Tbsp soy sauce
2 Tbsp mustard
BBQ sauce or ketchup

Preheat the oven to 350 F. Combine all of the ingredients except the BBQ sauce/ketchup. Mix until well combined. Pat into a lightly-greased loaf pan. Top with BBQ sauce/ketchup. Bake for 60 minutes. Let stand for 10 minutes before serving.

This recipe was so easy to make. I just put my ingredients in the food processor to chop them all up, and the rice was leftover from a previous meal. If you don’t have leftovers that you need to use, why not throw this in the rice cooker while you prep all the other ingredients? And speaking of leftovers, you could use leftovers to make a tasty neat loaf sandwich to take in your lunch the next day. Double bonus!

Enjoy!

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For the past two years, the headlines have been dominated about housing foreclosures. One of the aspects of the foreclosure crisis that has received very little attention, however, is the role that rental properties have played in the housing slump. Many landlords have seen their properties go into foreclosure, and as a result, many tenants have found themselves in very dire straights. In Minneapolis alone, 65% of foreclosures have been on rental properties. Nationwide, it is estimated that 40% of people to lose their homes to foreclosure are renters. And according to a report by the Center for Responsible Lending, the number of rental properties going into foreclosure is expected to rise.

Fortunately, renters have very specific rights when it comes to the foreclosure process, thanks to a bill passed in April.

Protecting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009
According to the Protesting Tenants at Foreclosure Act of 2009, banks or owners who obtain a property through the foreclosure process do not have the right to evict a tenant if a lease is still in effect. The exception is if the new owner wants to live in the property. In this case, tenants have to be served 90 days notice – which is much longer than the typical eviction process. In summary:

• Leases would survive a foreclosure — meaning the tenant could stay at least until the end of the lease.  The lease survives and ends as it would had there been no foreclosure.
• Month-to-month tenants would be entitled to 90 days’ notice before having to move out
• Any state legislation that is more generous to tenants will not be preempted by the federal law
• These protections apply to Section 8 tenants, too

Relocation Assistance
If Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac owns the mortgage on a foreclosed property, renters should consider themselves lucky. Both agencies have vowed to assist renters with the relocation process by providing money to help renters pay security deposits and first months’ rent on a new place to live. The only way that a tenant would know the details of their landlords’ mortgage is to wait for Fannie Mae or Freddie Mac to contact them. That can be a bit unsettling, because you may not have an exact time frame for that knock on the door. One real estate appraiser I talked to said that their office is so backlogged with foreclosed properties that it can often take 9-12 months before Fannie Mae takes action on a foreclosed property. However, the standard is that Fannie Mae will contact the tenant within 30 days of the property going into foreclosure.

To find out if you are eligible for rental or relocation assistance from Fannie Me, click here. Although Fannie Mae will allow you to sign a new month-to-month lease in order to keep people on the property, you should be aware that the property will be on the market, and that you would have to be willing to allow real estate agents to show the home.

If you’re living in a rental property that has undergone foreclosure, here’s wishing you the best as you and your family relocate.

Additional Resources:
NOLO
Legal Assistance Resource Center

One of the first things to consider when you are learning how to cook is making a meal plan. A healthy meal has three components: protein, starch (aka “carbs”), and fruits/vegetables. If you think of your dinner plate as a map, half of your plate should consist of fruits/vegetables, and the other half is equally divided between protein and starch.

I know that many of us are avoiding carbs like the plague, but complex carbohydrates really are the cornerstone of a healthy diet. The key to carbs in picking whole grains. For instance, brown rice is healthy than white rice. Sweet potatoes are better for you than white potatoes. And wheat bread is healthier than white bread.

Protein is a really important component of healthy eating, because your body processes proteins slower than it processes carbohydrates. Fruits, vegetables, and grains are processed really efficiently by the body, and if you don’t consume any protein with your meal, you’re going to be hungry again in a short amount of time. Protein serving sizes vary depending on the type of protein being consumed, but if you are eating meat, an appropriate serving is typically about 4 ounces, which is about the size of a deck of cards. Nuts, cheese, tofu, and other soy products all count as protein, too.

There are many excellent resources out there to help you find cheap and easy meals. I highly recommend the Better Homes and Gardens Cookbook, because it is a very basic cookbook that will serve you well for years to come. Although I loathe her personality, Rachel Ray is also a tremendous resource. Her monthly magazine provides shopping lists and meal planners for the entire month, and most of her cookbooks have recipes that can be made in under thirty minutes.

If you’ve been a longtime follower of the Stretch Your Food Dollar series, you’ve probably already seen most of the recipes that I’ve shared. If you’re new to Queercents, go through the Stretch Your Food Dollar archives, because there’s lots of helpful tips and easy recipes there. Bon appetit!

• Track all my expenses
• Spend $350 a month or less on food
• Put $200 a month in savings
• Try one new recipe each week
• Write every day
• Read every day
• Meet my goal weight of 165
• Practice daily spirituality

The goal of putting more money into savings is going to be a challenge, but it’s a challenge that I am excited to meet.  It will mean slashing our entertainment expenses and keeping our utility costs in check, but I would much rather see our money going into savings than into the coffers of the electric company.

The first book that I am reading for the new year is Dan Brown’s The Lost Symbol. The book has a lot of information in it about the belief that your thoughts can literally effect the outcome of events. Although the book is fictional, it has a basis in reality. A few years ago the film “The Secret” enjoyed a wave of popularity, and many people, Oprah included, were turned onto the idea of sending positive intentions out in to the universe in order to attract abundance into their lives.

The basic premise is that our thoughts are like magnets that have the ability to attract actual matter. It’s simply a question of switching your mindset and the way that you think about your life. For example, if you constantly think about all the debt that you have, you are going to be attracting more debt, because that is the energy that you are sending out into the universe. However, if you flip the script and start expressing gratitude for your ability to meet your needs, you will start attracting more prosperity.

I know . . . it sounds a little hippie dippy. I was skeptical when I saw “The Secret,” too. But I started to read more about the idea of mind over matter, and there’s a lot of evidence to support this claim. In fact, Lana wrote a whole series for Queercents last year about building personal wealth consciousness by applying many of the same principles that are discussed in “The Secret,” as well as The Lost Symbol.

Set Specific Goals
To get started, write down your goals for the year and then post them in a place where you will see them every day. You could make just a simple list, or you could do a vision board/treasure map where you put up pictures that represent your goals. Another way to do this is to write your intentions on a piece of paper, then put the paper in a flower pot. Plant some seeds, and as your plant grows, so grows your intention. Be sure to put a small piece of bread in the bottom of the pot as a gift for the plant.

Good News is Worth Repeating
Begin each day by affirming your intentions for the year. For example, I will meet my goal weight this year, and I will save $200 each month. When you pay your bills each month, do it with a attitude of abundance. For example, I am grateful that I have more than enough money to meet my needs.

Out With the Old, In With the New
Is there something negative in your life that might prevent you from meeting your goals in 2010? Why not have a purging party, like these New Yorkers did? You could write down what you want to purge, then put it through the shredder. Another way to do it is to write it down and then burn the paper in a bowl. You could put a small amount of patchouli or witches’ hazel in the bowl if you want, because both of them have cleansing properties.

Visit msnbc.com for breaking news, world news, and news about the economy

What’s your opinion? Do your thoughts really have the power to effect your financial outcomes? If you think about wide open freeways, will you really avoid the traffic? I’d love to get your take on it. What are your goals for 2010?

Photo credit: stock.exchng

Setting a food budget is an important part of your overall budget. Unlike your rent, insurance, or cell phone bill, your food budget is unlikely to be a fixed amount each month. You have more flexibility with this spending category, but that can be both a pro, and a con. How do you decide what a realistic number is for your household’s food budget?

Each year the USDA compiles statistics about the average cost of food in the US, and it offers guidelines for families to help them set a realistic food budget. In 2009, the average household of two probably spent $350 – $450 a month if they were on a thrifty or low-cost eating plan.

My partner and I set a goal of spending $350 a month on food, and we did pretty good until October. Then life got pretty hectic. I got a job working outside of the house, and my partner had classes two nights a week. Eating a home-cooked meal every night was a big challenge. Even with the best of intentions, we went over budget several times due to eating out once a week. I’m looking forward to regrouping and recommitting in January. When I actually take time to plan the week’s meals, taking the week’s schedule into account, it makes it much easier to plan for late nights.

If you’re in the same boat as me, how about recommitting to track your expenses? Using an Excel spreadsheet is a simple and free way to track all of your expenses – you just need to remember to get a receipt for everything you buy. If a receipt isn’t available – because you bought something from the vending machine, or from the taco vendor off of the street – then keep a little notebook in your purse so that you can make a receipt for yourself. Enter all your receipts into the spreadsheet on a regular basis – like on Sundays over coffee and the Sunday paper – and it’s easy to see if you’re staying on track with your spending goals.

Here are a few simple tips from previous Queercents articles to help you stretch your food dollar and stay on target with your family’s food budget.

1. Never grocery shop when you’re hungry – you end up buying more.
2. Always shop with a list, and stick to the list.
3. Scout the weekly food ads to find out which store has the best deals.
4. Pay attention to coupons and see if your grocery store offers double coupon days or will honor competitors’ coupons.
5. Avoid buying products on the end caps, as well as pre-prepared convenience foods. The best deals are going to be found in the produce, meat, and dairy sections. Cooking whole foods isn’t just cheaper – it’s healthier, too.

Here’s to your financial health in 2010!

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A recent issue of Consumer Reports rates the four major cell phone providers in the US in terms of cost, service coverage, and overall customer satisfaction. Verizon rates the highest in terms of customer satisfaction and cost. AT&T is the best in terms of smart phones and internet accessibility. Sprint and T Mobile are at the bottom of the barrel in every category. The article also compared the major service providers against pre-paid cell phone services and found that for customers who simply want phone service without any of the bells and whistles, pre-paid service is a very suitable option.

The article did not, however, factor in the question of politics. Queercents readers have often been asked if they would boycott a company if it supported anti-gay causes, regardless of whether or not they were cheaper than a gay-friendly company. The feedback has been mixed, but pretty heavily in favor of boycotting anti-gay companies.

The HRC Corporate Equality Index has pretty detailed feedback about the major cell phone providers, although T Mobile is not listed in the Corporate Equality Index. Verizon has a 70% rating. They provide domestic partner benefits for their employees, and sexual orientation is included in the company’s nondiscrimination policy, but gender identity is not. They also don’t provide any sort of training for managers about LGBT employment issues. And they are not listed as an LGBT philanthropic group.

AT&T has a 100% ranking. They include both sexual orientation, and gender identity in their nondiscrimination policy. AT&T provides domestic partner benefits for their employees, and transgender health care is fully covered under the company’s plan. AT&T also provides training for managers on LGBT employment issues, and they are a financial supporter of LGBT causes. I would be pretty shocked if they weren’t, though, seeing as AT&T is the only provider that supports the iPhone, and gays seem love anything that comes from Steve Jobs.

Sprint also has a 100% ranking. In my experience, though, Sprint has terrible customer service. I don’t care how many rainbow ad campaigns they might have, I would never sign another contract with them.

What about you? Are you concerned about how your cell phone company is spending the money you give it? Or would you be willing to go with Verizon simply because they have the best rates and higher customer satisfaction? I’d love to hear your opinion.

Photo credit: stock.xchng

Here’s a recipe for grown up fudge. Just a few tips before you get started. For starters, use a larger saucepan than you think you will actually need. Think twice as big. The first time I made fudge, I ended up with hot chocolate lava all over the stove, counter, and kitchen floor because I didn’t use a big enough pan.

Second, you’re going to need a kitchen thermometer that reads up to 236°. (This is not the same kind of thermometer that you use to take your temperature.) You should really consider keeping one in your kitchen, anyway, so that you can ensure that you’re cooking meat to the proper temperature. Maybe you already have one with your BBQ grill. If you’re got a digital thermometer, you won’t need to calibrate the thermometer before you get started. The easiest way to calibrate your thermometer is to stick it into a glass of ice water and set the needle to 32° when the needle stops moving on its own. And always make sure you sanitize your thermometer before and after each use.

OK, now for the good part: the fudge! Oh, did I mention that this recipe is vegan?

Grown Up Fudge
2 cups sugar
1/4 cup liquor
1/2 cup soy milk
2 ounces unsweetened chocolate, cut up
1 tsp light corn syrup
1/8 tsp salt
2 Tbsp soy butter

1. Line a 9″x5″x3″ loaf pan with foil or wax paper, extending it over the edges of the pan. Spray with nonstick pan spray and set aside.

2. Spray the sides of a 2-quart (or larger) heavy saucepan. In the saucepan, combine the sugar, soy milk, liquor, chocolate, corn syrup, and salt. Cook and stir over medium heat until the mixture starts to boil. Reduce the heat to medium-low and continue to stir while cooking.

3. Place your thermometer in the chocolate mixture and keep cooking until the mixture reaches 236°, stirring constantly.

4. Remove the saucepan from the heat. Add the soy butter, but do not stir. Cool, without stirring, to 110°.

5. Beat the mixture vigorously until the chocolate begins to thicken, and the chocolate begins to lose its gloss.

6. Immediately spread fudge evenly in the prepared loaf pan. Score into squares while the chocolate is still warm. When the fudge is firm, use the foil/wax paper to lift it out of the pan. Cut the fudge into squares following your score lines.

You can use any liquor that you think would mix well with chocolate. Kahlua or coffee-flavored brandy is an obvious choice. Butterscotch or strawberry schnaps, raspberry-flavored vodka, and Grand Marnier also mingle well with chocolate. If you really wanted to splurge, you could go for some Chambord, but that would really be going overboard on the holiday spending. Maybe it’s best to wait for that until Valentine’s Day.

Try garnishing each piece of fudge with something that clues the recipient into your secret ingredient. You could use a whole coffee bean for the Kahlua fudge. For Grand Marnier, a few shavings of orange zest would do. It’s best to garnish the fudge before the chocolate is totally cooled, because then the garnish sticks to the candy.

This recipe will make 24 pieces of fudge. You can package it up several ways. One cute idea is to put it in a coffee mug, but you could also put it in little tins that are available in the dollar bin at your local craft store. Another simple idea is to put it in a sandwich bag (not the zipping kind – the kind you fold over), then tie it shut with curling ribbon or some raffia.

I hope you enjoy your grown up fudge, and that the special someone you give it to does, too. Happy holidays!

I’ve never been one to go on a huge spending spree during the holidays.  Don’t get me wrong – I love to give and receive gifts.  However, I just don’t see the point of wracking up credit card debt to do it.  If I don’t have the cash to pay for something, it doesn’t go in my shopping cart.

Nevertheless, last year my partner and I went a little overboard buying presents for each other because it was our first Christmas together.  This year my partner and I agreed to a very low spending limit for buying holiday presents.  We agreed to limit the number of people that we bought gifts for, and we only spent $10 per person.  For gifts for each other, we agreed to stay under $75 total, including stocking stuffers.

It’s been both a challenge, and a little bit exciting to stick to our spending goals.  Lots of homemade presents are making their way to family and friends this year in order to meet our goals.  We’ve baked a lot of cookies, and this weekend was a fudge-packing extravaganza (pun intended).

Here’s how we were able to stick to our budget: 

1.    We made a list of everyone we wanted to send a holiday card, then decided if we wanted to include a photo from our wedding.  Since we kept the number of people we invited to the wedding to a minimum, we only needed to order a few prints to send out with holiday cards.

2.    Just like Santa, we made a list of gifts that we were going to give, (checked it twice), then marked items off of the list as we bought or made them.  It’s funny, but without keeping track of the gifts you’ve bought, it’s really easy to buy more gifts than necessary.  For example, I forgot that I had bought a present for my aunty, so I made her some Christmas tree ornaments.  In the end, it only adds up to a few extra dollars spent on crafting supplies, but just imagine how much money I would unintentionally be spending if I didn’t keep track of everything.

3. The dollar bins at Michael’s and Target are a great place for holiday shoppers on a budget. I got really adorable holiday cards, wrapping paper, and stocking stuffers in the dollar bins. I typically stockpile dollar bin items all year, then sort them out during the holiday season. You just never know what you’re going to find if you check the dollar bins on a regular basis.

4. Limiting holiday travel. We also made a conscious decision not to travel this year in order to build our savings accounts back up to where they were at the beginning of the year (before the wedding, reception, and honeymoon).  I have to be honest – I’m pretty excited to stay at home in Tucson, enjoy a few days away from the office, and not have to deal with any snow.

These are just a few ideas that have helped me and my partner stick to our holiday budget. What about you all? How are you doing on your end of the year financial goals? And what tips do you have for sticking to a holiday budget?

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While the environmental benefits of reusable shopping bags is clear, you may be surprised to consider some of the other benefits. Large reusable shopping bags can be more comfortable to carry, making it easier to bring that load of groceries in the house. Square or rectangular bottomed shopping bags line up neatly in the trunk or cargo area of your vehicle, allowing you to make the most of the available space and avoid having your purchases spill.

Depending upon the store, discounts range from 3 cents per bag to as much as 10 cents per bag. While the cost difference on a small one bag purchase is minimal, if you routinely purchase 15 to 20 bags worth of groceries, the discount can be much more substantial. Even the minimal amount saved per bag adds up over time. Saving $2.00 a week with bag credits will add up to $104.00 per year (and as anyone shopping for a family knows, 20 bags a week would not be uncommon).

Many health food stores, locally owned groceries and some major discount chains offer bag credits. At CVS drugstores, every 4 purchases without a plastic bag results in a $1.00 store credit. Whole Foods stores offer between a 5 cent and 10 cent credit per bag. In November, Target stores around the country will begin offering a 5 cent discount for every reusable bag. Stores like Sam’s Wholesale Club and Costco have never offered bags, but are phasing out boxes in lieu of affordable large reusable shopping bags. Other stores, including IKEA, have taken another tactic. Disposable plastic bags come at a 5 cent charge, while a reusable bag is available for $.59.

Encourage your local stores to offer bag credit programs and consider spending your money at stores that do. Some retailers, including Wal-mart are behind on this smart trend. While Wal-mart does offer inexpensive reusable bags at the register, there is no incentive to skip the plastic.