Eggs: I love eggs any way I can get them. I eat breakfast for dinner, or for lunch or for an actual breakfast! I hope that my heart is not minding that I find eggs (especially organic or free range) just delightful to eat and delightful to look at! Weird I know! I actually found this picture on my friend Holly’s Pinterest page and I had to have it! It’s almost midnight in Chicago and I know I have to go to bed but this picture makes me want to run downstairs and fry some eggs! Call me crazy. The next time you come to my house for breakfast this is what we are making.  All I can think about …

This recipe is not only simple, but who doesn’t love sugar cookies?  You can decorate them however you like.  Color your favorite teams, or the teams in the Super Bowl. Either way these will surely be a hit at any party! I love cooking with a theme! What can be better than football cookies for Super Bowl? Makes three dozen or 18 (2 cookie) servings. Prep Time: 10 minutes Cook Time: 9 to 10 minutes per batch Ingredients: 1 package (17 1/2 ounces) sugar cookie mix Colorful Sugar Cookie Icing: 1 cup confectioners’ sugar 3 to 4 teaspoons milk 1/4 teaspoon vanilla extract 10 to 15 drops food …

Although many of us live in our desk and even can consider it a home away from home, we really need to take into consideration all of our bad habits that need to be broken that come from our lovely work desk.  I am guilty of so many of these things!  I cross my legs at my desk and even at the dinner table.  Trying hard to quit that.  I don’t take a lot of breaks and I do eat at my desk.  Seriously, I am so guilty and my daughter are both chiropractors! Pretty much now or never, it’s a new year so why not start now breaking all bad habits. Starting with our work station. Since we do spend so …

So $uper $avers, did I tell you that I was the victim of identify theft last year?  When I got a call in my office (Chicago) that asked me if I was getting on a plane to Buenos Aires using my Amex card?  Well, I will elaborate later, but no one is exepmt from this so take this to heart: It may seem like everything is conducted on the Internet these days. From watching movies to shopping for new shoes, if you’ve got a computer with an internet connection, you can do it right from the comfort of your own home. The internet has provided many conveniences for us as a society, but just like all …

Chicago is known for their great museums and what’s even better – getting in for free! Admission normally isn’t cheap, so get out of the cold and spend a day (or three) wandering through the many museums along Chicago’s beautiful (but cold, this time of year) lakefront! Always make sure to call ahead (purchase advance tickets) and double-check the “free days” I have listed here, as discounted days are subject to change and/or the museum may be closed due to a holiday or other reason. Also, do your homework ahead of time. Get the best rates on parking garages, restaurants and transportation to…

You don’t want a $50 haircut on a 50-cent head!” – Garrison Keilor I didn’t call him, but Garrison Keilor seems adverse to putting an expensive haircut on a brainless head? That’s my interpretation anyway, however, a good haircut, whether it costs you $5 or $50 is worth it’s weight in gold. Especially in our economy, looking good and feeling good are two important weapons against feeling depressed because of job loss and feeling financially helpless as the economy spins out of control. When it comes right down to it, sometimes there is little that we have control over except our attitude and …

                         

When is it officially the “Last Minute??”  I always like to get my holiday gift shopping done early, but no matter how hard I try I always seem to be picking up a forgotten gift, signing a card or sticking on a bow (even if it’s for the dog) just a few minutes before we leave for our annual Chinese Christmas Eve dinner.  I have friends who seem to get all of their gifts purchased, wrapped and labeled in July and then gloat. (I usually have the last laugh though, because last-minute shoppers usually snag the best deals.)  Last Friday after dinner with friends I was driving home at 11 p.m. and …

Honestly, for most of my life the “Art of Receipt Saving” was lost on me. However, having torn out many a hair on a quest for receipts, I have learned over time.  Holiday shopping sometimes can get the best of even the hardiest shoppers! Make sure you keep careful records in case you have to make returns. Whether shopping in person, online, on the phone or by mail, make sure that you keep good records and keep all receipts. Identify the receipts on the back for easy reference and always get gift receipts. Something always has to be returned because it was the wrong size, has a piece missing …

Christmas Clubbin’ It 2011! “Many banks have a new kind of Christmas club operation. The new club helps you save money to pay for last year’s gifts” – anonymous Dear $uper $aver: When I was a very young child, about 6 or 7 years old, I can remember making holiday gifts for my family at school. We really had very little education about holiday budgeting, and at that age, most of us thought Santa had a bottomless bag. There was no thought to who paid for the holiday gifts. The first recorded “Christmas Club Account” was started by Dime Savings Bank of Toledo, Ohio, which issued a 25 cent token …

I personally don’t suffer from allergies (mainly just dust!), but a lot of people in my life do. If you have severe allergies, it can really drain your energy and lower your immune system, leading to colds, flu and other illnesses, which can increase visits to the doctors, medications, over the counter aids and expensive solutions. The best advice is to hit allergies at their source. One hotspot is your home. Carpets/rugs, bedding, blinds/draperies, even your air ducts could be making you sick! The very place you call your own, should be a place to relax, not make you sick! It doesn’t have to…

When you close your eyes and envision your Thanksgiving table, of course in most homes the golden-brown roasted bird is in the center, and the creative and colorful side dishes are sprinkled around.  I try to plan the side dishes in advance, not just for easier preparation but because I am a sucker for leftovers and I want to make sure I LOVE what I have in the fridge the next day! After about 30 years of making Thanksgiving dinner and counting, here are my favorites. What are yours?  Here are a few links for my favorites. They are all delicious and easy — these are holiday comfort foods, …

So what is a bigger pain in the ass than your cable bill?  I’m not a huge TV watcher, but I work really hard so when I get a little time there might be something that I like to watch like The Good Wife or Dexter or most recently Unforgetable? So every single month when I pay bills I feel physical pain when I write the check or press the electronic button when I pay electronically (which feels oddly to me like flushing money down the toilet) and (yes I do still write checks) for the cable bill.  I think I actually INHALE when I look at it and I think;  “Ok, I don’t need a land line any more …

I have to admit that all through October I mentally plan for Thanksgiving, what will I make, who I will invite, how I will set the table?  In my mind my holiday celebration is always elaborate. Then Wham! It is mid-November and I have two thoughts: 1. “You know I REALLY like Boston Market turkey and that creamed spinach is to die for!” and 2. What Restaurant.com restaurants are open on Thanksgiving? I don’t always knuckle under to a catered Thanksgiving dinner, (Ok, once) or flee to a restaurant (sometimes). I thought I could improve for everyone if I was better organized. Whether you’re …

Halloween is one of my favorite times of year! When else can kids and adults alike let loose, wear strange and scary costumes and decorate their homes with giant spiders? Any other time of year, you would be considered “that family” in the neighborhood! But how much do you really know about this spooky holiday? Here are some fun facts with which to delight your friends: Halloween dates back more than 2,000 years! Nov. 1st was Samhain (SAH-win), which was the day Celtic people celebrated New Year’s Day! The night before Samhain (now Halloween), spirits and demons were said to walk the earth. …

Having a child can be a wonderful life-changing moment, but there is no getting around it, children are expensive! In 2010, the Department of Agriculture estimated that it costs $476,000 to raise one child — until age 18. That does not even include college expenses. Yikes! That number may seem alarming but there are small changes you can make to help reduce the drain on your wallet. One huge expense right off the bat is, you guessed it, diapers. Americans spend approximately $7 billion on diapers each year. Diapers (the disposable kind), on average, can cost upward of $2,500. That is not …

It’s a new school year!  Time to decide if your children: a. Get an allowance? b. Get a raise in their allowance? c. Have to earn their allowance? I’m a biggie on earning the allowance. Especially in the times we have today, setting up a “money because you are breathing” isn’t necessarily the best precedent. Giving your children an allowance is one of the best ways to help teach them money-management at an early age. My dad actually started “letting” me earn an allowance when I was about 4 years old. I even remember the incident that started it.  My mom took me shopping to a discount store …

Millennium kids of all ages, yes six to 60, are wasting too much physical energy and maybe some mental acuity by hanging out in front of the television and computer. Let’s get off the couch and sharpen our minds and bodies together! Instead of hibernating, let’s generate! Save money, have fun! 1) Pumpkin patches and local farms are always a great source of colorful, inexpensive, green fun! Activities start in August and often run through December offering holiday craft activities for the kids, recipes with locally grown foods for teens and adults. Pumpkin patch pictures are among my favorites…

Take Charge of Your Credit Score! “If you don’t keep track of your own credit score, someone else might!” – Jan Leasure Dear $uper $aver: I have been fretting over my credit for more than two years! My husband and I are trying to purchase the home we are living in. Our problem is that our credit scores are a disaster.  We were trying to meet a deadline for a home purchase. When the deadline was extended because the contract was for a short sale property we were ecstatic, but in 60 days our scores have not improved. We are just completing a Chapter 13 bankruptcy and are totally confused. Our …

“Just like a ghost, you’ve been a hauntin’ my dreams, so I’ll propose on Halloween.  Love is kinda crazy with a spooky little girl like you!” – Dennis Yost I feel like we never even got a good taste of summer, at least here in Chicago – and Halloween, one of my very favorite holidays is already almost upon us!  One of my favorite Halloween memories comes from my days as a junior high school English teacher.  (If you taught Jr. high for any length of time you would understand the delight I get out of scaring kids back–just a little).  We used to read the Ray Bradbury classic, “Something Wicked…