Welcome to Bossy’s Poverty Party, an online support group for reining in spending, getting your finances in order, and climbing out of debt. Everyone basically knows what steps to take, but it is nearly impossible to climb that mountain alone.
So every day nearly every day, Bossy will use this space to report her spending and missteps, along with cheap recipes, savings tips, and suggested tricks and goals.
Bossy knows she’s been conspicuously absent from this clever little feature — so absent, her poverty party council and supporters have lost all will to live. But the truth is, Bossy’s doesn’t have very much to report in terms of her money-saving habits these days.
It’s not that Bossy isn’t still saving money — it’s just her methods are the very same methods employed last year, and on the majority of days it goes a little like this:
Bossy doesn’t buy. Because she stays home.
Yeah, that would be the ticket. Staying home, and she means home home home sister mercy these four walls again? home.
But Bossy was tired of looking at the wretched photo of her Christmas tree ornaments in the Poverty Party thumbnail in the left column, so she thought she would tell you about a maybe new money saving tip.
But first, is Bossy’s son here? No? Good! Then quick, let Bossy confess before he shows up: Bossy believes in the nuclear family eating dinner together. In fact Bossy was able to pull this feat off nearly every night of her son’s existence, which is why he is now akin to the Military Police when it comes to demanding everyone sit together at the same table and break bread whenever he’s home.
But the truth is, Bossy has slacked off in this habit since her son went off to college. There are many reasons. Reasons like Project Runway and Top Chef and other series that lie recorded and waiting for the family to watch in the family room while scarfing down some grub, plates teetering on their laps.
A lot of this has to do with Bossy’s daughter and her schedule.
For instance, the past two weeks. And is anyone wondering what that bizarre bowl of kale is doing sitting at the top of this post? Give Bossy a minute. Anyway, take the past couple of weeks, please. Bossy’s daughter is in the final rehearsals for Bye Bye Birdie, a local production at the neighborhood playhouse which is all kinds of exciting, but meanwhile, Bossy’s daughter’s rehearsal schedule has kept her all but a brief shadow in the Bossy family.
And dinners have suffered the most. Bossy’s daughter gets home from school late and rehearsals are early and Bossy’s husband blah blah boring, and so everyone has fractured for their own individual dinner concerns.
And it’s in this way that Bossy has found herself scrounging around for the most bizarre things to call supper. Understand: Bossy is hardwired for a three-course dinner lord just ask Bossy’s mom — but lately Bossy has been thinking, Every night doesn’t have to be a Mardi Gras! Tonight February 16th, does, heh, but not every night!
And so Bossy has been grabbing inexpensive things that are rich in nutritional value and cooking them up for herself — and it’s really quite grand, in the end, to know your dinner cost something approximating $0.75.
So, yeah, that would be tonight. With the bowl of Kale. The best part is Kale produces so much air in the belly, you’ll feel more full than if you had enjoyed a pricey mignon topped with Béarnaise sauce! Oh sister mercy, Bossy will be right back after she raids the refrigerator.
Pamela says
February 16, 2010 at 10:30 pmAnd this is exactly why Bossy has been named Great Queen Ambassadoress of Kale.
smalltown mom says
February 16, 2010 at 10:32 pmI’ve never tried kale. Should I?
The Great Getzby says
February 16, 2010 at 11:14 pmDamn right I’m militant.
Janice says
February 16, 2010 at 11:19 pmThe problem with Kale is that the air it produces in your stomach to make you feel full has to get out somehow.
Do you use a slow cooker? I think slow cookers are the bomb.
sevedra says
February 16, 2010 at 11:25 pmOh, thank goodness! I thought I was losing the Poverty Party altogether.
Read about my cheap Valentine weekend!
http://wimbittworld.wordpress.com/2010/02/16/valentines-weekend/
the 7msn ranch says
February 17, 2010 at 9:39 amMy affection for kale runs very deep, ever since I learned how to make kale chips. Better than potato chips. No joke.
Break up pieces of kale. Spread on baking sheet. Spray liberally with olive oil-flavored Pam. Sprinkle with salt. Bake at 350 or so for 15 minutes. To. Die. For.
dgm says
February 17, 2010 at 9:45 amKale chips, YES!
km says
February 17, 2010 at 11:24 amgather round for something. Breakfast, all three in the car, it doesn’t matter where. It’s the together, not the meal.
Judging by your previous posts, I think you guys do fine.
Bossy’s Son, hug your mom, and leave the dictatorial in the dorm. mmmmmmwah!
MariaV says
February 17, 2010 at 12:11 pmThis is dinner for me every night because I’m usually to tired to cook when I get home.
Meg says
February 17, 2010 at 12:45 pmI can’t stand kale, but am dying to know what part Bossy’s Daughter is playing because I could spend hours boring her with my glory-days tales of Bye Bye Birdie my junior year.
Dorothy says
February 17, 2010 at 1:43 pmI love kale and spinach. This becomes a meal for me.OMG, we have something in common. Love your blog.
La Suzette says
February 17, 2010 at 5:15 pmThanks for bringing it back Bossy! Take THAT Rachel Zoe, who probably also has ideas about what and where we should eat.
Bri says
February 17, 2010 at 8:07 pm@La Suzette..Rachel Zoes ideas would be to eat nothing except diet pills and mineral water. The parellel universe for pills, (if you cant find a Dr who will give you the Rx) is crack and tap water.
Reeb says
February 17, 2010 at 9:13 pmAnother kale option:
1.saute onion til it’s brown. What’s that called? Oh yeah, caramelized.
2.shove onion into another dish.
3.Cook kale with a little liquid at bottom of pan but not too long!!! Bossy’s kale is the perfect beautiful color up there.
4.Add in walnuts, caramelized onions, and a dash of balsalmic vinegar. All that sorta cuts the bitterness that some might object to.
Are those huge chunks of garlic I see in your dish Bossy? yum.
Never heard of kale chips but will try it. Anything liberally sprayed with olive oil and salted has to be good.
BossysMom says
February 18, 2010 at 12:10 pmwow…..Kale chips ..love that idea…off to market…
CS says
February 18, 2010 at 3:24 pmWarning: go look in the mirror at your teeth after you eat the kale chips, BEFORE you answer the door or see anyone other than preschoolers.
Deborah says
February 18, 2010 at 9:30 pmI’m sorry, all I heard was Bye Bye Birdie!
Rewind to *gulp* 1977 and I was Rosie in my High school production. *sniff* Good times.
Sing along.
“We love you Conrad, Oh yes we do…
We love you Conrad….and we’ll be true….”
Accidents says
February 18, 2010 at 10:16 pmI love bitter greens. And bitter things in general. Which is why it’s weird that I gave up my daily store-bought coffee habit, but hey: it’s not a party without savings…er…something.
http://bigpreg.wordpress.com/category/poverty/
foolery says
February 19, 2010 at 6:00 pmOh, thank GAHHHHH — kale! I thought that, in keeping with the Christmas-stuff-after-Christmas theme, you had cooked your Christmas tree.
I will try kale, I really will, even though I am suspicious of things you have to cajole people to eat.
AmberStar says
February 28, 2010 at 12:45 amI don’t know anything about kale, but greens…yep. We loves them in the South with the capital S. A pan of cornbread to go with your greens and you are set for a week and it is yummy. Martha White…ack..nearly typed Stewart… cornbread mix is about the only one I know that isn’t sweet…yuck…but the others are good if you particularly like sweet cornbread. All you need now is some ham hock..or fat back and yer set. Mange! In Italian that means Enjoy! Eat up! but in the South it means some bad skin condition on your dog. Sort of puts you off the greens and cornbread though. Soo, Bon Apetite.
#19 above is so funny I nearly fell off the sofa!
foolery says
March 3, 2010 at 3:05 pmMust be very hungry; BOSSY’s kale stuff looking delicious.
Lisa Ann says
March 7, 2010 at 2:52 pmya ya – kale chips – try ’em.
btw – you ok? Not so many posts recently and I’ve pithed away a Sunday morning laughing and reading allllllll of the poverty posts.
I will now clean the snorked homemade latte off of the ‘puter screen. Hope you will keep up w/ this as I’m kinda new here.
bossy's friend martha says
March 8, 2010 at 12:43 pmI made that baked kale snack…TOTALLY DELICIOUS! I was shocked.