Jimmy’s Pharm Facts : Jimmy’s “Eat Cheap” Tools

jimmy blog picture eat cheapAs I sat down to write the blog this month I already knew exactly what I was going to write.  Being that I am, what I refer to as, “Half-Retired”, I am not always involved with the minute by minute and hour by hour goings on at the store.  I would say I am more concerned with day to day, week to week and month to month issues.  So, while discussing our June plans many ideas were thrown around.  We talked about rearranging the store, the upcoming Hay season, upgrading our point of sale system and our yearly baby chick sales.  We had a record year for baby chick sales so one of the topics we discussed was having a “Summer Special” for our new chicken owners. (which you can read about a little farther down in the newsletter).  That is when I had the idea!

Everyone has that one hobby they focus on.  It could be a myriad of things from shoe shopping to knife collecting or from tinkering with cars to horses.  My hobby is food.  I think the topic has been discussed in blog’s past, about my being a “foodie” but I have learned that there are many more “foodies” in the world that I thought and some of them are hard core.  Since I have become “Half-Retired” and with just my wife and I, in the house, it seems our hobby has now become an obsession. The reason being, I like to eat and she does NOT like to cook.  We have learned that it is hard to shop and cook for just two people so we have become experts on how to go out and “Eat Cheap”.  So in honor of our upcoming Chicken Food Summer Special, I would like to give you some tips for People Food Specials.  Now I know you are thinking that he is going to say split a meal and yes while that is a very noble start and one tool in our “Eat Cheap” toolbox it is not our favorite because to be perfectly honest volume plays a large role in our foodie obsession.  Another common tool although I don’t think my wife has ever used a coupon in the grocery store is coupons!  My wife has redeemed many a coupon for eating out.  Several years ago, one of the local FFA groups was selling this giant coupon book as a fundraiser.  We bought it simply to make a donation but in reality it had some great deals like buy one get one free, which satisfies our volume requirement, so we keep buying them year after year!  One of our favorite “Eat Cheap” tools, which might actually be a Lindale Phenomenon, which we love by the way, is dinner fundraisers.  With so many organizations and groups in our Lindale you could eat weekly if not more.  There are Church Fundraisers, Sports fundraisers, Boys scouts, school events, fundraisers for individuals and on and on.  I mean really, dinner fundraisers are a win-win!  For those of you who are thinking you never get to eat what you want or what about places that don’t have coupons, I have also found a way to “Eat Cheap” without using a coupon or sharing a meal.  This trick is only for those who have the right kind of dedication and who are “sticklers” when it comes to managing money, but it can be done.  A few years back, when cash back credit cards got popular a friend shared with me they put all their monthly expenses on a credit card, paid the TOTAL bill at the end of the month and in return they got “cash back”!  Well… the light bulb went off in my head and a bright light shone on free plates of food!  So my last “Eat Cheap” tool is to get gift cards of your favorite restaurants from your credit card company or have the “cash back” placed on the company’s gift card like Visa, Mastercard, or American Express.  This option can give you a little flexibility and satisfy any specific craving your pallet might have.

To those of you who think, I’m just cheap, I’d like to refer you to the April 2014 blog. To my family, I apologize. But in sincerity, all the chickens are going to be eating cheap this summer so I just thought I could help their owners eat cheap too!

Have a Happy June!

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