The Chronic Consumer

With the NFL season set to open on Thursday night, I spent some time getting my living room ready for game day. That meant moving my recliner into a more prominent position, bringing two end tables up from the basement to accommodate all the snacks and drinks I plan on consuming, and just generally arranging the tv furniture so that my friends and I can get a better view of the game from every seat in the room.

I was thinking of putting up some Bears flags and banners as well, but decided against it at the last minute. After all, it’s not the Super Bowl and it’s not as though Chicago actually has a chance of making it to the post-season with Kyle Orton running the offense!

I also went out and bought a mini-fridge to hold drinks and dip, and can’t wait to set that up right next to my recliner.

Can you tell that I love football?!

I was at the drug store picking up a few things today when I watched some young woman get busted for shoplifting by store security. The guy who nabbed her was dressed in plain clothes, and I think what happened was he was watching her on the security monitors in the office area, saw her trying to steal stuff, and then came tearing out to confront her in the store.

I’m not sure what the woman stole, but she was in the acne treatment aisle when she was busted. The security guard asked to look in her bag, and then brought her back to the office area so I didn’t see what happened next.

The whole thing was pretty wild because it happened right in front of me. I never would have pegged that woman as a shoplifter. She was neatly dressed, didn’t look shifty or anything, and just seemed like a regular shopper. I guess you never can tell about people!

This is just a reminder to all of you that Grandparents Day is next Sunday, September 7, so if you’re planning on purchasing a present for the occasion, you’ve only got one week left to shop.

I don’t think I’ve ever remembered this “holiday” before, but this time I might go ahead and get something for my mom to celebrate the fact that she’s a grandmother. A greeting card for sure, and then perhaps a fun photo product with my son’s picture on it.

Or maybe I can get a free day for myself by dropping my son off with enough money to take grandma to the zoo. They would both enjoy that and I could get a lot of work done with the boy gone all day. Now that sounds like a great plan!

I haven’t been shopping nearly as much as I usually do, and even after all the back-to-school and new wardrobe purchases I’ve made recently, I noticed that our savings accounts are still at a very good level. That means we’ve got a bit of breathing room and can afford to treat ourselves to something fun.

Jerry wants an rc helicopter to play around with in the industrial park behind our house, while I want some a few new DVD box sets — including Season 4 of House, which is currently on sale. Neither of those items is very expensive and we both deserve to let loose a bit after working so hard all summer, so why not?

I previously mentioned that I need to replace a significant part of my wardrobe because of some recent weight loss. I dropped nine pounds thanks to a good workout routine and some help from a few top diet pills, and while that may not seem like a lot of weight, it’s definitely enough to require new clothes.

So today I went out and bought two new business suits today. I found one at Banana Republic, which is a store I rarely shop at anymore since I don’t often like their styles (or prices). But I loved the “microstripe” suit pictured above, thought it looked good when I tried it on, and decided to get it.

I bought my other suit from J. Crew. That’s where I usually go for my work outfits since their clothes usually fit me very well.

Anyway, I’m scheduled to go into the office on Tuesday and Wednesday of next week, so I’ll be able to wear my new suits then. I can’t wait!

Although I’ve been trying to cut down on the amount of processed and/or frozen foods that I eat, one product that I simply cannot give up is Ore Ida’s Bagel Bites.

These are tiny bagels covered with pizza sauce and toppings such as cheese, sausage, and pepperoni. They are definitely one of my favorite snacks all year round, but especially when summer gives way to fall and warmer foods are called for.

Bagel Bites are currently available in the following flavor varieties:

• Three Cheese
• Cheese & Pepperoni
• Cheese, Sausage & Pepperoni
• Supreme
• Mozzarella

Though all of the flavors are great, my favorite ones are Three Cheese and Cheese & Pepperoni. I absolutely love these things and could probably live on them if I had to!

The only downside to Bagel Bites is that they contain a lot of calories — 210 for one serving of Three Cheese Bagel Bites. A serving is just four pieces which is not enough for me, so I usually double up and go with 8 (or 9 depending on which package I’ve purchased).

Overall, however, these things are great! If you’ve never tried Bagel Bites, you are totally missing out. They’re cheap, easy to make, and taste delicious, so pick some up today!

Last week I wrote a post about how NFL Game Pass from Yahoo! Sports is now accepting sign-ups for the 2008 season. What I neglected to mention, but which several readers have pointed out, is that you need to make sure you’ve got one of the latest video cards installed in your computer in order to be able to enjoy the broadcasts.

There’s a demo video available on the Yahoo! site where you can test your connection and picture quality. I highly recommend that you do this before plunking down $209 for Game Pass. A good video card isn’t all that expensive these days, so be sure you have one capable of handling all the streaming NFL games that you want to watch this year!

We’re going on a bit of a road trip tomorrow (just to La Crosse, WI to visit some friends), so I’m starting to pack a bag for the journey. After all, we need our entertainment!

Anyway, this is what I’ve got in my backpack so far: three MP3 players, three cell phones, two Nintendo DS Lites, a digital camera, a PDA, and a book reader. All for a 4 1/2 hour car ride!

I guess I never really thought of us as being tech junkies before. I mean, of course we love gadgets and toys, but I didn’t realize we had all this stuff — and that we’d “need” it just for a day trip!

Since I use Clinique makeup almost exclusively, it makes sense that I would also use one of their cleansers as a makeup remover. I received a sample bottle of the Clinique Foaming Mousse Cleanser with a purchase several years ago, and have been hooked on it ever since.

The Clinique Foaming Mousse Cleanser is very light and gentle on my face, yet is extremely effective at removing foundation, eyeshadow, eyeliner, and lipstick in one fell swoop. All it takes is a pea-sized drop of the cleanser from its pump bottle to take care of your entire face. Because it foams so well and because I don’t wear makeup every single day, I find that a standard 4.2 oz bottle lasts a good, long time — like over a year. Since the product costs $19.50 at discount beauty supply stores, I’d say that’s a pretty good deal.

I should post a couple of warnings about this product, even though I’ve experienced no problems with it myself. First, I’ve heard that the Foaming Mousse Cleanser can leave your face extremely dry and flaky, to the point where you definitely wouldn’t want to use it anymore. Since I have oily skin, I haven’t encountered this particular issue, but I want to put it out there for you just in case.

In addition, even though the product is called a “cleanser”, it’s actually meant to be a pre-cleanser. In other words, you’ll probably want to follow it with other products, including toners and moisturizers, instead of just leaving your face be after using it.

Overall, I have been very happy with the way Clinique’s Foaming Mousse Cleanser works as a makeup remover. I can’t imagine relying on anything else at this point!

With the real estate market currently in a big mess, I know the conventional wisdom that buying is better than renting has been turned on its head. These days, a lot of so-called experts are telling us that renting may actually be the smarter financial decision, mostly because it will take many years for the housing market to rebound and for homeowners to recoup their cash.

But even though the experts are touting renting, it’s hard for me to get behind that philosophy. I’ve always been taught that renting is simply throwing away money because once the lease is up, you’ve got nothing to show for the dough you’ve spent. I mean, I can understand wanting to rent an apartment instead of buying a house if you don’t have enough cash for a down payment or whatever, but I don’t understand why you should rent if you can buy instead.

The same holds true for transportation. Leasing a car is one of the biggest money traps that you can get yourself into, so I wouldn’t recommend doing it. Instead of insisting on driving the newest vehicle on the lot, why not buy a used car to save money? Better yet, check out used Harleys to get an even better deal and save money on gas expenses to boot.

Personally, I would always choose to buy, but then again, I’m not much of a financial expert, so what do I know?!