Annual Turkey bag Rant

It’s time again for my annual Turkey bag complaint.

Quick recap if you’re new here

 (which is everyone who accidentally clicks on this)

Almost 10 years ago I brought up a very important subject that no one is talking about.

Why are Turkey bags so expensive??

They are polyethylene and Nylon bags! Not expensive material at all!

One good thing is that within the last 10 years, Turkey bags have not increased in price. Why should they? They shouldn’t have been expensive 10 years ago! 

The big player here is Reynolds. Reynolds is my enemy when it comes to Turkey bags.

Without adding pictures to justify my argument, right now you can get Reynolds Turkey bags (which probably cost them 5 cents to make) at.

2.79 Target

3.29 Kroger

4.99 Ace Hardware 

Or if you want it shipped you can go as high as 12.99!

Thankfully I have beat the Turkey bag companies through the dollar tree (formerly the dollar store which they completely lost that title when they raised their prices.)

For a $1.25 you can get 2 bags and not support the overpriced Reynolds brand. This is actually cheaper then the$1.38 price I mentioned in my first Turkey bag Rant. I will be buying one package every single year until I’m good for 20 years. Then I can finally say, I beat you  Reynolds! I won’t be buying your turkey bags ever again! Hahahahaha.

Choice hotels, You just done pissed me off.

 So I’m into travel hacking as my hobby lately. Not that I’m traveling as much as I want or will be in the near future. Traveling on the cheap just fascinates me. I mean honestly I would be the guy who puts a bed in the back of my mini van and would do an entire road-trip using our van as our sleeping quarters. Unfortunately my wife would not be on board at all so I have to go to plan B which is to get reasonable clean, good reviews, lodging at a decent price. Thus comes in travel hacking where you use credit card points and miles to get hotels at a decent price.

I mean for example, I’m used to paying about 135 for a hotel. Well for that same hotel using points you can get it at and equivalent exchange rate at around 80 bucks a night. At times it can even be lower at around 65 bucks a night. At the extreme if you want a no frills experience you can get a hotel at equivalent 40 bucks a night

THEN

I find out about choice hotels. I am just fascinated that for 40 dollar equivalent in points I can get a decent room. In fact! I can get a room at a raddison that has multiple floors and a full kitchenette for 40 bucks equivalent!

Ok if you are confused I’ll break it down for you

Citi credit card pays me 2% cash back.

I earn 40 dollars in cash back. 

Still with me?

I can transfer 40 dollars from citi to choice and receive 8000 points.

8000 points used to pay for a decent hotel room.

But now choice has just done pissed me off!

They have devalued their points so much they are beginning to look like pesos! Actually I thinks pesos are more valuable!

 

What used to be 8000 for a decent hotel night went up to 10000 and now is up to 12 or even 16K!

What’s worst is those same rooms are priced lower on the cash end!

12000 point rooms are priced at 42 dollars!

Let’s take this example.

This room is priced at 12000 points.

The cash price is 40 bucks (45.65 with taxes and fees)

So let’s say I have 60 dollars cash back through my citi card. Why would I pay 60 bucks for 12000 points to purchase this room when I can cash out that 60 bucks, use my citi custom cash to book the room and receive and additional 5% cash back?! I mean it doesn’t make sense.

Let’s do another example.

This hotel just 2 months ago was advertised at 8000 points. It’s now DOUBLE!

Unfortunately this hotel is not allowing bookings through points at this time so I wasn’t able to prove my point. And actually the points would have been cheaper than the cash price. 

The main point being. Check both but still the question remains. Why are choice points being so devalued?

My last example is the Radisson I mentioned above. Again just a few months ago you could get a room here with 2 floors at 8000 points.

Now it’s 25000 points! Now the room price is 143 so if your doing the math like I am buying points to book this room would be a better option. But then again I’m still asking. Why are the points so devalued?

Take this room at the same Radisson

Ok, 25000 points or $125 dollars worth of points.

Check out the cash price.

Great job Choice hotels. If your mission was to devalue choice points, you have done well. 

I regret using my citi points to purchase points. I did that when the illusion was I could get a decent hotel at 8000 points.

Then choice devalued them.

Last example. Idaho falls Idaho. 

I have been eying this particular place for a while and again just 3 months ago it was 8000 points.

1 month ago it was 10000

Now it’s 12000

Now I will say. The points price is still lower than the cash price at 93.06 (cash to points price being 60)

But still they are really devaluing there point program which hurts loyal point earners

Lastly I want to mention there is one reason the points program really helps. I have never had to buy a hotel due to demand going up last minute but there are areas that experience demand and demand causes prices to inflate to unreasonable levels. For example there was this Stupid pumpkin festival in my town. The first ever! That weekend the hotel prices shot up 300 percent! A clarion inn which normally goes for 98 bucks wanted over $325. One of the worst rated hotels wanted that same price! But the points to book the hotel remained the same. A quality inn was 16000 and a clarion was 20000 so buying points would have been between 80-100 bucks while others were paying 3 times the price.

So Clarion gets a an F RATING in my book. For devaluing there points so quickly.

Last thoughts: I would always check the cash price vs the points price and choose the cheaper one. I’m seeing it go both ways.

To Choice hotels, add more options for 8000 point nights. Hell even Hyatt still has hotels for 3500 points. 

You can’t add a clarion or a quality inn here and there for 8000 points?

Come on!

It's time to start Christmas.

 

It is time!

To start thinking about Christmas! I know I know. It's not even October and of course there are those who don't even let Christmas thoughts enter into their minds until the Turkey goes cold. 

Think about it though,

Have you ever wished you had more time before Christmas?

Was there activities or places you wish you could have done or visited but they were booked up?

What about a particular gift that was out of stock?

Items such as sleds or tubes?

What about gifts that take a long time to make such as a blanket, quilt or even furniture?

There are so many reasons to start thinking about Christmas! Gifts are not sold out right now, hotels and flights are not fully booked!

It is my argument that society today is overindulging and not thinking about the near future. They wait till the last moment to continue to satisfy their quick fixes of dopamine or to fill their social media pages with adventures that are overpriced and racked up on credit cards. Those that are reading this know the secret. Now's the time!

The other reason to start now is because there may be items you want now that can be Christmas gifts if you can hold off. For those who don't have a huge budget for Christmas, like myself holding off can provide more presents to open on Christmas. For example. I want a bar of shave soap and an under seat bag that will pass frontier and spirit airlines. Can I wait 3 months to get that? Yes. 

There's also gifts from Chinese companies that may take a while to get here. Sure I am a shop local kind of guy but here's the problem. A local shops sell Chinese goods and B I need at least another 20 k salary a year to say I can even afford local! So sorry. I'm cutting out the middle man to save a few bucks! (Plus my town is too populated)

So what's on my agenda this year? Well I've talked about the Tabernacle Christmas concert. I will be booking a hotel near the Tabernacle. Yeah tickets haven't even posted yet but I'm being prepared!

My second idea I may put into action. A Quilt for my wife. We have wanted one for years. Maybe this year is the year!

Last thoughts, Remember that Christmas is about giving and enjoying the holidays. I will tell you flat out as long as I have my family, a good meal, and Christmas goodies, I could care less how nany presents I got or where they came from. I have written a lot about a dollar store Christmas. If that's all you can afford, keep your head high. Focus on the experience and memories made. Don't envy what others have.

Why it may make sense to go Electric.

When I was a teenager, I liked to go hunting and hiking. One day after a very long hike and no luck bagging any Deer, i was very tired and just wanted to get to my Grandma's house and rest. Unfortunately I had a good 3 mile hike back to her house. I was not looking forward to that. On my way back I noticed a 4 wheeler coming up the road. It was my cousin coming up to find me. Man was I glad to see him. In stead of taking another hour to get back I was able to get a ride and be back in 10 minutes. He didn't come with his big diesel truck. He came up with a small Yamaha Blaster that had enough power to carry both of us down the hill. Even though at points we had to get off the machine to push it through snow, we got home and I was grateful for being able to use what resources we had to get there.

I tell that story because I feel like as Americans we do consume way to much energy to get us from point a to point b. I am not a green energy guy either. I really do think that climate change is a scam and the earth is self healing. Gods in control, we are not. That being said let's get back to my reasoning I am switching to electric on some of my gas powered machines.

I can't afford an electric car but I need a weed eater for my lawn. Last month I went out and bought a combo kit that included a leaf blower for 80 bucks and I love it.

It's not super powerful. It's not commercial grade and it's made out of plastic but yet It's going to save me money and its so convenient to use. Let me share all the reasons why this is a better choice than the gas powered option.

1st is fuel. Gas is overpriced! It's overpriced because we consume way too much of it! There are so many gas gussling trucks and SUVS carrying one or two people not giving much in return. Gas demand causes prices to increase. Fuel also tends to spill. I can't tell you how many times I have went out to shed to find half my gas gone from my tank leaking. With an electric battery powered unit, there is no fuel leaks!

2. Fuel delivery and availability. 

I did a calculation what it would cost to go to the gas station and back to get fuel for my old weed eater. My car gets an average of 22.8 miles right now because I do alot of city driving. Gas where I am at is 4.15 a gallon that means a mile cost 18 cents. My gas station is 1.8 miles round trip. The cost to go get and bring the gas home is 32 cents. Oh but wait there's more. Assuming I have 2 cycle oil at home, at a 50 to 1 ratio that small gas engines will need 2 cycle oil bringing that gas up to 4.74 a gallon. Again this can be more expensive depending on your ability to find a decent price on 2 cycle oil. Then the weed eater takes 18 oz of fluid. At .074 an oz the gas machine cost a 1.33 to fill up plus that 32 cents to go get the gas had to be factored in.

Now here is where the numbers get a little hectic. I've never ran a weed eater non stop on gas but for this experiment I am going to pretend that a gas powered unit can run 3 times as long as my battery powered unit heck we'll go 5 times as long because it is more powerful. The cost to charge my batteries, from my house, not having to go to the gas station is less than 3 cent's. Yep. Fuel for my crappy weed Wacker that gets the job done is 3 cent's. At 5 times the cost that is 15 cents!

3rd and final. Durability and run time.

So far the gas has the battery powered beat. In power it does too but I point you to my story above. Really, how much power do you need? I do have two batteries to my unit due to buying a chainsaw 2 years ago. My weed Wacker did die about 20 minutes into its run time. But here's the thing. I had other things to do. It was simple for me to plug it in, finish my other yardwork, and return to finish the job. Plus I had double the run time because I was charging two batteries. The money alone and not giving money to the oil companies is more than enough to convince me I made the right decision.

So there it is guys there's my argument for why you should at least consider adding electric to your everyday tools.

Progress update (not good)

 So here's an update.

I'll write this as if someone cares.

2022 has been one of the hardest years I have ever experienced. Here is a part of a journal entrie that explain what has happened.

"Sunday June 12 2022

Ugh. Where do I start. I've been thinking of a first line to this journal entry. There's many so I'm going to use a few that came to my mind and you can use whatever you would like.

1.Well we were suppose to be in Washington today for ◼️◼️◼️ homecoming but gas prices and finances have killed those plans

2.What a week, there's a lot to do in the yard because of the ◼️◼️◼️ breaking later this month. I'm trying my  best to balance my time between the two projects.

3. Man it sucks not having money.

4. So both cars broke down this week."

This is not the hardest trial I have had this year but it does affect alot. Money not coming in causes a lot of stress. We were off of food stamps. We were making it! Then gas prices increase, car problems occur and your out of a job when your job requires your car. I even bought a second car and BOTH cars broke down within a month of each other!

The first car that broke was my wife's. The transmission wouldn't engage. Unfortunately with everything increasing in prices, used car parts have gone up to 4 times the price they were 2 years ago. 

 

While doing my best to fix that car, I tried working only to cause more issues with my other car! It continually kept overheating. Not knowing it then my head gasket had a leak which caused more heat and more pressure into my coolant system. My radiator, plastic housing, plastic pipes, and several gallons of coolant was waisted. Not to mention the battery and other parts that needed to be replaced all the while not earning the income to replace them.

A while back I've posted several times about tithing. Last year I sent nearly 3000 dollars in one check at the end of the year over paying what I actually owed. This year I am not even kidding when I say this. I haven't paid a dime and I am so far a full tithe payer. Now to put this in perspective, I can earn 18,500 dollars before even having to pay tithing. Why? 

I consider my house an investment. All payments, upgrades, fixes are tithing exempt UNTIL I either sell it or pay it off. At that time tithing will be paid.

The other major thing that happened was my daughter required surgery AT THE BEGINNING OF SUMMER. With no money, 2 vehicles broken, summer was completely ruined. We did do some camping but honestly it's been bad

And my dad died. I'd rather not talk about that.

Worst year ever. That's for sure.

Oh and before posting this I have had major dental work too. One tooth costing almost 2 grand to fix!

No wonder I'm poor.

I joke with my wife, my prayers have been answered with a "NO" stamp lately.

I wonder if a reverse prayer will throw off my guardian angels.

Me-"God. I don't want to win the lottery this weekend."

God-"No"

I win.

Oops….

Protect those dollars! Savings tips on beverages.

I forget to post this. A little outdated due to Joe Bidens Inflation crises but still some good info.

Protect those dollars!

Here's another fine tune your finances tip.

Today I went out and bought a couple of 20 oz soda's and grabbed a couple of lottos. Haven't done that in a while but after a week of making over a grand in gross revenue , my biggest pay in a while, I decided to treat myself and my wife.

Someone reading this will probably be like "I buy 20oz sodas all the time. What's the big deal?"

Well you're driving up food cost for one and 2 your not thinking 4th dimensionally.

First of all my drinks rang up higher than they should have costing me nearly 5 bucks for 2 sodas, (should have been 3.33 before taxes) an issue I should of spoken up about but didn't, and 2 this when issue could have been avoided had I simply planned ahead.

Guys I'm sorry but we are freaking paying way to much for instant unplanned gratification. Not to mention being overtaxed for these same gratifications, Drinks are one of many things that is eating away at our paychecks! It's something most of us don't even think about. When we are at a drive thru we order a combo for 9 bucks when with a coupon and some planning could be half that price or lower. When something rings up wrong at the register, we ignore it saying we won't buy it again next time. You're at a sit down restaurant, you order a drink not even caring about the cost. Be more attentive protect those dollars! When you think fourth dimensionally you realize if you don't shut off your spending habits, your future dollars, are being wasted. Those vendors are stealing your future holdings.

Heres a few suggestions that will save you a ton on those drinks.

#1 be more attentive to what you are paying. Don't ignore it. If you don't agree with the price your paying be prepared to find a different price, find a different product, or simply cut back and go without.

#2 Pack a cooler! Today's current prices for my favorite drink, coke, is this. (Or Pepsi)

McDonald's 1 dollar

Taco Bell 2.29

Cafe Rio 2.69

Jimmy John's 1.99

Wendy's 2.79

Burger King 2.89

Subway 2.49

Texas Roadhouse 1.99

Walmart 12 oz 39 cents a can!

Sam's club 12 oz 38 cents a can!

Walmart 16.9 oz 64 cents each!

Sam's club 16.9 oz 54 cents each!

How long does it take for a cooler with ice to produce an ice cold beverage? A half hour.

Over time this truly does add up to hundreds of dollars saved and less taxes paid!

Every trip small or large my wife and I pack a personal cooler with our favorite drinks. Whenever we are ordering from a drive thru we hardly ever order drinks.

3.Try different brands! I for one love to explore other flavors. In Arizona we had Bashas quarter pops. Up here in Utah it's Shasta. I still occasionally get a 12 pack of Sam's Choice. At the dollar store it's Stars n stripes (not available in a can)  some of my best and not so good memories are with non brand sodas. When I was dating my wife I spent a week with her when we were dating long distance, and Sams is all I could afford. I remember a particular week when money was so tight we couldn't spend a dime. I still bought a 52 cent 2 liter from Walmart. I swear that lasted till our next payday. I would seriously just take a shot of it every meal. 

Right now as of writing this a can of Sam's is as low as 22 cents

#4 BONUS. For The penny pincher.

This is one of those suggestions I am heavily considering myself. It takes a little more determination and goal in mind. What sacrifice are you willing to make to obtain your financial goals? For example lets say you have a goal of taking a vacation to Hawaii. What is holding you back? Time off and finances right? Look every dollar counts. It's amazing when you start budgeting and cutting back what you can accomplish. So for the penny pincher here's my suggestion. Buy the cheapest off brand soda you like. My personal choice. Big K Cola Oh.

The closest soda to coke zero. Cheapest option, 2 liter bottles at a whopping 69 cents. This makes a 12 oz can equivalent 12 freaking cents. I personally would save my glass store bought jars that once held pickles or spaghetti sauce, clean it out real well and pour a few glasses very carefully when the glass and soda are cold to minimize carbon loss.  Put a straw in it your golden. The cheapest satisfaction money can buy.

And that is it guys. 

Dollar store Christmas

 Im kinda torn this Christmas. I'm excited for it yet I'm not. I'm all good as far as financial and food but mentally and somewhat physically , I'm just not feeling good. (Update: let's be honest I need a job. I've tried locally and no one wants to hire me. I honestly think this has been my Christmas funk lately)

In previous years I've been more pumped. We've had our fair share of Hallmark movies to criticize. Activities as well as other Christmas traditions that fill up the holiday and make it fun.

So what's missing?

I'm not sure if I can pinpoint just one thing. I mean I am a bit stressed about money. Joe Biden is a disaster who is causing higher gas prices and higher food prices. I don't have a job. I'm not all there spiritually. I don't know.

I have motivation to work hard I just need a simple push in the right direction. Every time I say a prayer I ask for that push yet I'm not getting anything.

There's a quote by one of the apostles it goes something like this. "The lord is more willing to help those who get off the wagon and push rather than the person who sits still no matter how fervant or well the prayer is said."

I just don't know where to begin. Plus my Grandma died this year along with traditions and I may lose another member next year. The future is not so bright.

Anyways, in other news.

Last year I talked about a family down in southern Utah who were asking for help with Christmas. They had two kids and the dad was missing a paycheck. I wrote about it here.

http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2020/12/its-ok-to-have-poor-christmas.html?m=1

Well they are back again. They were asking for some more Christmas help. Their add had been deleted so I suspect they got what they wanted but I find it interesting for 2 years they still need Christmas help.

Let me also make this statement. Over time and while writing this blog I have realize it's actually ok to ask for help when you need help. I have overtime even realized people who teach you that you need to be self reliant at one time or another received help. Sometimes the rule makers are not following the rules.

I wrote more about that here.

http://viscarjones.blogspot.com/2020/08/thats-why.html?m=1

Now let's get to why I even wrote this.

What to buy at the Dollar store if that's your only option for Christmas.

If you are super tight on cash what do you buy?

I'm not only going to add suggestions. Guess what. I actually went out and bought a gift for my wife.

So if I were this family what would I buy.

For The two year old. 

This one is the easiest. Toy cars and tracks. Puzzles. Coloring books with crayons blocks.

For the 6 year old. Puzzles again! A paint set. Colored clay, coloring books and an art set. Her own cup and plate. I would even grab a small pan and a cookie mix for her to make cookies.

For the Parents you have to think as in a theme. For example. For the wife a relaxation kit. Bath bombs a candle relaxing lavender bath soap. Massage oil. Bath salts.

If husband is into camping and survival give him.a survival kit. Rope a lighter duck tape a tarp or plastic cover. Flashlights and batteries

 They even sell pocket knives. Combine that with a bag of food.

How about a travel kit for when finances get better. Toothbrush and toothpaste snacks shampoo soap deodorant. Notepad crossword puzzles. Put in an itenerary of where you would like to go and make it a goal to go!

Shaving kits. Assured razers are not too bad. I just used one the other day.

A tool box. Pliers razer knives screw drivers wire cleaners

Cell phone chargers car chargers electronic cleaners.

Car cleaning kit. Armor all, sponges, wheel cleaners soaps wrags.

Car oil change kit. Oil, oil pan.

Seriously it really is an option. Think of it as a blessing before the bigger blessings come.