Frugal Living: Aug 24, 2007

Friday, August 24, 2007

25 new messages in 10 topics - digest

misc.consumers.frugal-living
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living?hl=en

misc.consumers.frugal-living@googlegroups.com

Today's topics:

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TOPIC: Which steak is better?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/ac5b6687e1edb16e?hl=en
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== 1 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 5:58 pm
From: Shawn Hirn

In article <1187896922.852593.241750@l22g2000prc.googlegroups.com>,
James <j0069bond@hotmail.com> wrote:

> Is it a good idea to freeze fresh steak when they are on sale?

Yes, but wrap them tightly in plastic wrap prior to freezing.

> Usually already frozen steaks are cheaper than fresh.

Probably lower quality beef.

== 2 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:31 pm
From: "John Weiss"

<Usenet2007@THE-DOMAIN-IN.SIG> wrote...
>
> This place does online ordering, and apparently has a few
> physical locations:
>
> http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?DSP=114

VERY overpriced!

You can probably do almost as well in quality, and definitely in price, at
Costco.

OTOH, buying fresh steaks at your local supermarket or meat market, then
freezing them yourself, will likely be as good as omahasteaks at a MUCH cheaper
price!

== 3 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:48 pm
From: Reg

John Weiss wrote:

> <Usenet2007@THE-DOMAIN-IN.SIG> wrote...
>
>>This place does online ordering, and apparently has a few
>>physical locations:
>>
>>http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?DSP=114
>
>
> VERY overpriced!

Not a very good value compared to a supermarket, no. But that's
what it costs to have something overnight shipped in a dry ice
container.

It's an apples and oranges comparison to a supermarket.

--
Reg

== 4 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:50 pm
From: "Pete C."

James wrote:
>
> On Aug 23, 3:58 pm, Omelet <omp_ome...@gmail.com> wrote:
> > In article <1187896922.852593.241...@l22g2000prc.googlegroups.com>,
> >
> > James <j0069b...@hotmail.com> wrote:
> > > Is it a good idea to freeze fresh steak when they are on sale?
> > > Usually already frozen steaks are cheaper than fresh.
> >
> > I've never seen frozen steaks for sale.
> >
> > Yes, I freeze steaks when I get them on sale.
> >
> > Double bagged or vacuum sealed.
> > --
> > Peace, Om
> >
> > Remove _ to validate e-mails.
> >
> > "My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson
>
> I've seen a couple of places that sell large packages of individually
> portioned steaks frozen steaks at good prices. When I looked closely
> they are from Australia. Not sure if thats good or bad or indifferent.
>
> Growing up as a kid we used to buy beef in bulk and wrap ourselves for
> the freezer. Never had a problem with steaks.
>
> James
> James

I've got a meat market a couple miles from me that does the half a cow
processed however you want for your freezer thing. Problem is the cost
of power for a chest freezer would exceed any savings on the meat vs.
just getting it "fresh" as I need it from another market, based on how
long it would take a single guy to use up half a cow.

Pete C.

== 5 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 7:10 pm
From: "Nancy Young"

"Pete C." <aux3.DOH.4@snet.net> wrote

> I've got a meat market a couple miles from me that does the half a cow
> processed however you want for your freezer thing. Problem is the cost
> of power for a chest freezer would exceed any savings on the meat vs.
> just getting it "fresh" as I need it from another market, based on how
> long it would take a single guy to use up half a cow.

Even the price of a freezer alone, you would have to save a hell
of a lot on your purchases to make up that money. Then you
add the cost of running it, as you say.

Like the guy giving an estimate to replace my windows, his spiel
included How much is your heating bill. I told him, forget that
part of the presentation, I could have free heat till I'm dead and
buried and these windows will never pay for themselves that way.

Not sure he appreciated that. Oh, well.

nancy

== 6 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 7:34 pm
From: Omelet

In article <46cdfd27$0$4045$4c368faf@roadrunner.com>,
"Melissa" <nospam@neo.rr.com> wrote:

> Just don't freeze them in the wrapping they are in from the store. Re-wrap
> in something that allows you to get as much air out as possible. Then use
> them within 6 months at the most.
>
> Melissa

I do.
--
Peace, Om

Remove _ to validate e-mails.

"My mother never saw the irony in calling me a Son of a bitch" -- Jack Nicholson

== 7 of 7 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 8:16 pm
From: Logan Shaw

Usenet2007@THE-DOMAIN-IN.SIG wrote:
> This place does online ordering, and apparently has a few
> physical locations:
>
> http://www.omahasteaks.com/servlet/OnlineShopping?DSP=114

And they've also been sending me spam the last few weeks.

And no, I haven't bought anything from them, ever, so I don't
have an existing business relationship with them.

- Logan

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TOPIC: CountryWide Savings Account
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/cc4be14f27afb390?hl=en
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== 1 of 4 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 5:59 pm
From: Jack Ricci

I received a small inheritance and instead of adding it to my present
small savings account which is just earning less that 4% I put it in a
7-month CD in CountryWide which pays 5.40% And now I wonder if I did the
right thing. They are in the news lately, and although it is supposedly
FDIC insured, I wonder if it will still be there in December when the CD
matures, and if I should leave it there, or add it to the other, a
better known institution. I am not rich by any means and wanted to have
the money as a ready available cushion in my old age. Any ideas? Thanks.

== 2 of 4 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:02 pm
From: "AllEmailDeletedImmediately"

"Jack Ricci" <jritch53@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:jritch53-A22135.17591523082007@news.phx.highwinds-media.com...
>I received a small inheritance and instead of adding it to my present
> small savings account which is just earning less that 4% I put it in a
> 7-month CD in CountryWide which pays 5.40% And now I wonder if I did the
> right thing. They are in the news lately, and although it is supposedly
> FDIC insured, I wonder if it will still be there in December when the CD
> matures, and if I should leave it there, or add it to the other, a
> better known institution. I am not rich by any means and wanted to have
> the money as a ready available cushion in my old age. Any ideas? Thanks.

they claim their banking side is solvent. withdraw it and take the
penalty?

== 3 of 4 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:32 pm
From: clams casino

Jack Ricci wrote:

>I received a small inheritance and instead of adding it to my present
>small savings account which is just earning less that 4% I put it in a
>7-month CD in CountryWide which pays 5.40% And now I wonder if I did the
>right thing. They are in the news lately, and although it is supposedly
>FDIC insured, I wonder if it will still be there in December when the CD
>matures, and if I should leave it there, or add it to the other, a
>better known institution. I am not rich by any means and wanted to have
>the money as a ready available cushion in my old age. Any ideas? Thanks.
>
>

It was announced today that Bank of America has taken a $2B stake in
countrywide. Countrywide's stock jumped 19% after the market closed
today - on that news. In a few words, BA bought convertible preferred
stock giving BA a potential 16-17% share of Countrywide. Talk in the
business world is that BA is making out smartly at CW's loss.

That said, I'd move the money elsewhere (in December). CW will survive,
but they are going to take some significant losses - both in the short
run and as a price for having BA essentially bail them out.
It's unlikely that CW will be allowed to prevent withdrawals as that
would likely set off panic. Personally, I don't find a few tenths of
percent yield worth the longer term risk in CW.

My credit union union currently has 5-5.4% CD yields, so I'm sure they
are available elsewhere with a whole lot less long term risk vs. CW.

Then again, CDs don't really make money. After taxes, they essentially
offset inflation. Depending on your age, a good mutual fund is likely a
better option (something like a Fidelity Freedom fund can be a good
conservative, but positive investment).

== 4 of 4 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:28 pm
From: "John Weiss"

"Jack Ricci" <jritch53@hotmail.com> wrote...
>I received a small inheritance and instead of adding it to my present
> small savings account which is just earning less that 4% I put it in a
> 7-month CD in CountryWide which pays 5.40% And now I wonder if I did the
> right thing. They are in the news lately, and although it is supposedly
> FDIC insured, I wonder if it will still be there in December when the CD
> matures, and if I should leave it there, or add it to the other, a
> better known institution.

Use the 7 months you have to find an equivalent or better rate with a more
reputable institution. Since the current investment is FDIC insured, leave it
there until it matures; then move it to the next place you've selected.

==============================================================================
TOPIC: can buttermilk be frozen
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/e5ab6c6123dfe559?hl=en
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== 1 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:18 pm
From: Wooly

Ward Abbott wrote:
> On Thu, 23 Aug 2007 09:15:53 -0500, Wooly <nobody@nunya> wrote:
>
>> Works just as well
>> as buttermilk in most recipes.
>
> But it is "soured" milk, not buttermilk.

Which detracts not in the least that it works in most recipes.
Buttermilk is called for in recipes in which the leavening is chemical
in nature - biscuits, for example, that use baking powder. The acid in
the buttermilk reacts with the cream of tartar and the bit of sodium
bicarb in the baking powder to *poof* the uncooked dough mass; heat of
the oven expands the gas pockets resulting from the chemical rise.

So, acidified milk works perfectly well to increase the leavening power
of baking powder. It won't impart buttermilk flavor but how many people
really know what honest-to-god buttermilk tastes like these days anyhow?
(I do, because I make my own butter occasionally and I drink the
buttermilk that's left.)

== 2 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 8:08 pm
From: Logan Shaw

Wooly wrote:
> So, acidified milk works perfectly well to increase the leavening power
> of baking powder. It won't impart buttermilk flavor but how many people
> really know what honest-to-god buttermilk tastes like these days anyhow?

I only know because when I was kid, my grandparents would often have a
small glass of buttermilk and a graham cracker or two as a snack before
bedtime, so when we stayed over there, we'd have that too sometimes.

I don't imagine this is a very popular snack combination these days, though...

- Logan

== 3 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 8:13 pm
From: Logan Shaw

Boothbay wrote:
> I seldom use this, but there are occasions when its needed for baking.
> I could only find a quart size and that in itself is more expensive
> than reglular milk, especially these days. I was thinking about
> freezing the leftover.

I used to freeze regular milk, because I stopped drinking it as a
regular drink (and I don't eat breakfast cereal), so I would only
use it in recipes. Consequently, even the one quart size or smaller
was usually way bigger than I needed.

When I thawed it, it had separated out a whole lot. The best
solution I found was to wait until it was mostly thawed (just a
bit of soft ice left) and then put it in the blender. That mixed
it pretty well again, but not perfectly. The result wasn't the
same as fresh milk (it would tend to separate out again), but
the taste was similar and it would probably be OK for cooking.

- Logan

== 4 of 5 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 8:56 pm
From: Wooly

Logan Shaw wrote:

> I only know because when I was kid, my grandparents would often have a
> small glass of buttermilk and a graham cracker or two as a snack before
> bedtime, so when we stayed over there, we'd have that too sometimes.

Cultured buttermilk really has no relationship to actual buttermilk (the
liquid left after churning butter out of cream). I'll drink honest
buttermilk, that shit in the container with the green label that says
"buttermilk" is good for baking and that's about it.

== 5 of 5 ==
Date: Fri, Aug 24 2007 12:14 am
From: Logan Shaw

Wooly wrote:
> Logan Shaw wrote:
>
>> I only know because when I was kid, my grandparents would often have a
>> small glass of buttermilk and a graham cracker or two as a snack before
>> bedtime, so when we stayed over there, we'd have that too sometimes.

> Cultured buttermilk really has no relationship to actual buttermilk (the
> liquid left after churning butter out of cream). I'll drink honest
> buttermilk, that shit in the container with the green label that says
> "buttermilk" is good for baking and that's about it.

My grandparents may have felt the same way about the difference between
one type of buttermilk and the other. On the other hand, having heard
my grandmother complain about having to spend endless hours churning
butter when she was a kid, I think she was happy to stick with the
fake stuff. ;-)

- Logan

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TOPIC: OT Looking For A New Job
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/12de660682716035?hl=en
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== 1 of 3 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 7:23 pm
From: Derald

oh, shit, I really *did* send a followup by email. That's
embarrassing.... Guess I'm just not drinking enough nowadays.

at any rate: tanstaafl, I paraphrased.

== 2 of 3 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 7:04 pm
From: The Real Bev

Millhaven wrote:

> I want a job where I can listen to music while working. Any ideas?

Street musician.

--
Cheers,
Bev
------------------------------------------------------------
VISE GRIPS (VYS'-gripz) [n] A tool used to transfer intense
welding heat to the palm of the welder's hand. -- DS

== 3 of 3 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 7:06 pm
From: The Real Bev

Don K wrote:

> "Millhaven" <millhaven@intergate.com> wrote in message
> news:1187814866.019146.107950@j4g2000prf.googlegroups.com...
>>I want a job where I can listen to music while working. Any ideas?
>
> 1. An usher at a symphony hall.
> 2. The "It's a Small World" exhibit at Disney World.

That's not music. It's some kind of subliminal thing that makes you want to
blow their little heads off with a shotgun.

--
Cheers,
Bev
------------------------------------------------------------
VISE GRIPS (VYS'-gripz) [n] A tool used to transfer intense
welding heat to the palm of the welder's hand. -- DS

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TOPIC: cheap guuci prada jordan kobe LV psp polo d&g
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/9cc715738f4c7dee?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 6:37 pm
From: 001

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TOPIC: BOFA Grace Period Changed; Poor Disclosure
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/773c33472743807c?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 7:29 pm
From: John Baker

Bank of America changed the grace period from 25 days to 20 days on my
previously branded MBNA credit card. However, the only notice of the
change was the following disclosure on my monthly statement.

Please Note: Your due date has changed. Please ensure your
payment is received by the payment due date to avoid late fees
or other impacts to your account.

Pretty slimy way to disclose important changes in the terms of agreement
and certainly not clear language. Did the due date change for this
month only? Is the grace period now an average of 20 days or a minimum
of 20 days?

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TOPIC: School Fundraiser Entertainment Guide
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/4affbfb73685f07b?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 8:29 pm
From: AgnesK1977@gmail.com

My sons school is having a fundraiser and they are selling the
Entertainment Guide Coupon Books. There are over 500 coupons/discount
offers including in store purchases and Ordering On-Line. THis is a
new school open its second year (still enrolling) and the funds go for
the kids activities, field trips, classroom supplies, etc. The books
are available for every area in the US. Email me for the link and you
can purchase a book for your residential area. The phoenix books are
selling on line for $30....we are selling them for $25 and the school
gets $15 per book. THanks. We have to have our order by 08/31 you can
order and pay online.

If you are interested in enrolling your child email me for school
info. Locations throughout the valley.

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TOPIC: Paper towels in rest-rooms?
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/0311d5c09a0dfa57?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 8:44 pm
From: A Veteran

If you use them, use it to open the door on the way out.
esp. if you're eating out. Hint. not everyone washes their hands in the
public toilets and why touch the handle?

--
when you believe the only tool you have is a hammer.
All problems look like nails.

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TOPIC: Antique 1912-1949 Porcelain teapot 528 chinaware 400 Website extreme
security invitation visit
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/94fb66a2c6d3b952?hl=en
==============================================================================

== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 10:38 pm
From: 568

Chinese antique, wonderful treasure big collection invitation visit

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E-mail:xjx_588@tom.com

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TOPIC: SEO FRIENDLY SERVICE FOR WEBMASTER
http://groups.google.com/group/misc.consumers.frugal-living/browse_thread/thread/c5ada953699025c5?hl=en
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== 1 of 1 ==
Date: Thurs, Aug 23 2007 11:10 pm
From: duke

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Friday, August 24, 2007

25 new messages in 10 topics - digest