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Why I stopped Blogging

Back in October of 2017 I went to 2 blogging conferences. One was in Ohio and the other in Texas. I was convinced that the reason why I wasn’t successful in blogging was because successful bloggers went to conferences and made connections. I hadn’t gone before because conferences are expensive and I’m terrified to travel alone. I get lost easily, am afraid of crowds, and enjoy being at home.

I thought it would help my family so I went to these conferences anyway. I met a lot of lovely people and really stretched my comfort zone. I learned a lot. Mostly what I learned is that making a full time living blogging requires more than full time hours. It requires hiring staff and creating a real company that feeds a lot more people than just us. Blogging was more than writing encouraging or educational articles. It was professional photography, script writing, filming, editing, scheduling social media posts, running chat groups, a constant presence on social media, SEO optimization, production calendars, scripts, affiliate marketing, recruiting sponsors, buying and selling advertising and a whole lot more.

I met lots of people who were successful, but they all had something in common: sacrifice. Some of them lost marriages, some of them lost themselves to drugs or alcoholism, some of them lost their kids to the world, some lost their friends. Their brand depended on Looking happy and successful on the outside while life was crumbling around all about them. They talked about the people they lost like you would talk about a cancer that was removed. Oof….I wasn’t down for any of that. I also met some people who truly kept it together but the blog became a family affair. Husbands became photographers, video editors, computer programmers, or social media experts. It was hard to determine when the work day began and ended. It was never ending. My husband emotionally supported all my goals, but didn’t have an interest in personally getting involved.

I was trying to build my blog business to save my husband from his accounting career that he chose for reasons that no longer applied to us and didn’t really enjoy. But when I really looked at our situation it became clear to me that he didn’t WANT or NEED me to save him. In fact, he was much happier going to work and having clear production and end of work day boundaries then he ever could working from home as my assistant.  When or if he decides he’s ready for a career change, he is more than capable of making that change himself. I will be right behind him cheering him on in whatever his goals become.

Going to the conferences was supposed to help me to build a successful business  in blogging, but instead it convinced me that I didn’t want to do it at all. I tried to hang on for another year for the sake of my meal planning service. I even enrolled in personal training school thinking the certification would help me grow my recipe service. But then something really scary happened.

I was fixing dinner one evening in December just before Christmas 2018 and called my kids to the table. My 2nd son was in 7th grade and usually came home from school and went straight to his room for a nap. When he didn’t come to the table, I went up to his bedroom in the attic to wake him. He wasn’t there. He wasn’t anywhere. I PANICKED. I asked everyone in the house if he had come home from school and no one knew. I called every friend he had to see if he had gone to their house. I called his bus driver, his school principal…everyone I could think of. I sent my oldest son up to school to look for clues while I waited at home in case he showed up.  I posted on my personal facebook page asking for community help to look for him. Eventually we exhausted all our own resources and called 911.

The 911 dispatcher asked me if my son would hurt himself. “NO!” I insisted. But then I realized every parent must feel that way. What if I didn’t really know my son? What if he was hurting and I was too busy chasing my dreams to notice? What if he was dead? I leaned over the side of my front porch and said, “I’m going to throw up.”

The dispatcher said, “Ma’am, Ma’am…stay calm. Stay with me.” He told me to stay home and he would send a police car over to take my report. Except he didn’t. He never called it in. I stayed at home waiting for a police officer that would never come wasting precious hours that I could have spent looking for my child. I find that part hard to forgive, but through the grace of God I have forgiven him.

Soon, friends were on my porch organizing a search party. Another friend called a police officer that attended church with me and knew our son. He happened to be on duty near my neighborhood, so even though he wasn’t officially dispatched he used his skills to begin searching. I didn’t know he was on the job and was still home waiting for a officer.

The police friend started at the main road and drove back and forth across every neighborhood street between there and our house. In the darkness, a block from my house, he spotted my son. He pulled his patrol car up beside him and rolled down his window. In his stern voice he said, “Dub, where are you supposed to be right now?” Dub looked up and burst into tears. Dub got into his car and the officer called my cellphone. “I have your son; I’m bringing him home.” Those are the sweetest words I will ever hear. I still cry when I think about that moment. It is forever seared on my heart. I am aware that not every son comes home, that he was at high risk, and that it was my fault.

Dub had stayed after school for Christian Club. He woke me up that morning to remind me, because the club doesn’t meet every week. I wasn’t quite awake and even though I responded to him, I didn’t register what he said. After club, I didn’t come. I was taking another son Christmas shopping without a thought that I was supposed to be there for him. Everyone left school, even the staff went home, leaving my son there alone. He didn’t have a phone and we lived 6 miles from school. He waited 2 hours for me. It got dark. He had a full backpack, his clarinet and a heavy coat under his arm and he started walking home.

He crossed the HIGHWAY on foot and walked down main roads. He passed gas stations, fast food restaurants, lots of businesses, but never went in to ask to use the phone. He said it was “too scary.” Many of my friends saw him on the road but didn’t recognize who he was. It took 3 hours of physical walking to make it to the place where the officer found him and all the while I can imagine he was thinking that we forgot him, didn’t love him, didn’t care.

The next month, we did the end of the year books for my meal plan business. There was good money potential in it I knew, but I had trouble with the advertising side of things and would need to hire more help to make it profitable. Darren showed me that I was earning less than $1 an hour after expenses and explained the sacrifice the family was making so I could chase that dream. I instantly let it go. I refunded every subscriber their remaining balance and closed the service.  Without the meal plan business there was no income to pay for the blog tools, email services etc…so I canceled them too. For the first time in years, I felt free.

Strawberry Sugar Cookie Cut Outs: No Spread, No Chill, All Natural

Whelp, it has been 3 years. I can explain, but later. I made up this recipe today as a Valentine’s gift to my family and wanted to share. I honestly don’t know if anyone is still out there to find this recipe, but if you do IT’S YUMMY. I canceled all my email services and lead capture software when I took a long blogging break and don’t have a good way to notify you I’m back. So If you find this post, leave a comment so I know you’re here.

2 sticks (1 cup) unsalted butter, softened

1 cup sugar

2 eggs

1 tsp vanilla extract

1.2 oz freeze dried strawberries, divided

2 tsp cream of tartar

1 tsp baking soda

1/2 tsp salt

2 3/4 cups unbleached all purpose flour

Granulated sugar for rolling

additional for frosting

1 cup powdered sugar

2 Tbs liquid egg whites (optional)

1 Tbs heavy cream (optional)

1-2 Tbs water

Preheat oven to 350 degrees.

Using a food processor or coffee grinder, pulverize freeze dried strawberries into a powder. Use a fine sieve to strain out the chunks.  Set aside.

Cream together the butter and sugar until light and fluffy.  Beat in eggs and vanilla, scraping the bowl as necessary. 

Beat in 3/4 of the strawberry powder, reserving the remaining 1/4 for the frosting. 

Beat in cream of tartar, baking soda, salt and flour. 

Roll out on a sugared surface to 1/4 or 3/8 inch thick.  Cut into desired shapes and place on a greased baking sheet.  Bake for 10 minutes or until set but not brown.  Cool on the pan for 5 minutes, then transfer to a wire rack. 

For frosting, mix powdered sugar and remaining strawberry powder. Stir in egg whites, cream and water until desired spreading consistency. Spread frosting on cookies with a knife and set out to dry. Frosting will self level somewhat.  If you want to leave out the egg whites and cream, just water can be used to thin the frosting to desired consistency. 

Chat with a Trainer: Fat Loss

Monday April 1, 2019 8:00 PM CDT
 

Live events are held via Zoom. Download the free Zoom app for access. A recording will be sent to you after the chat ends. Please submit your questions to be answered during the chat via the note form below or by email to angela@groceryshrink.com.  Additional questions and comments can also be asked live during the chat.

Don’t forget about your event! Use the calendar buttons above to add this event to your calendar and set up a reminder.

Your phone number will only be used in the case of technical difficulty. For example, if you are unable to hear the broadcast, I will text you further connection instructions.

To reserve your spot, please select 1 reservation. Meal plans and workouts are optional additions and will be emailed to you if selected. They are not custom to you, but will coordinate with the principles outlined in the chat.  Please only select 1 of each. Your password to the event will be sent after payment is received.

RSVP deadline is past

Live: Chat with a Trainer: Fat Loss

The event starts Monday April 1, 2019 8:00 PM CDT

https://zoom.us/j/656133161?pwd=RXB1Zy9NYjN6ZDhNSUx1UTNWbFpodz09

The required zoom passcode was sent with your payment confirmation. Please email angela@groceryshrink.com if you didn’t get it.

Let’s talk about NEAT: The Key to Affective Weight Loss

Neat isn’t about how organized your house is, but cleaning definitely counts as NEAT.  NEAT stands for

Non

Exercise

Activity

Thermogenesis

It’s basically your amount of activity during the day apart from formal workouts.  It is the largest contributor to your daily calorie burn, even IF you workout. For that reason neat is the biggest indicator of  your body composition and overall weight.  Walking, laundry, cleaning, gardening, painting, carpentry, playing with the kids, riding bikes for fun, roller skating, hiking, walking the dog, bathing the dog, hula hooping….it all counts.  Any movement on your feet adds to your overall calorie burn for the day.

This is important because the amount of fat stored on your body is a direct result of the amount of calories you eat, vs the amount of calories you burn.  Fat is just stored energy and you can change the amount you have stored by using it for energy when the  calories you consume aren’t enough to satisfy the demands of your activities.

It’s important to track NEAT and the best way to do it is with a step counter.   This is the one I have.  Without tracking, most people don’t move around nearly as much as they think they do. Studies have shown that people who do formal workouts get much less NEAT than those who don’t.  It’s human nature to feel like you’ve done your workout for the day, so it’s ok to sit and rest.  It can mean burning fewer calories overall than someone who doesn’t work out at all.

Does that mean you shouldn’t work out?  Not at all.  Working out at a level that increases your heart rate into your target zone (aerobic) also increases the number of mitochondria in the cells.  Mitochondria are the power houses of the cells that govern how many calories they use.  The more mitochondria you have the more calories you burn and the more energetic you feel.  Wish you had as much energy as your child? Move more, move fast, move loads, and challenge yourself.

The other part of energy usage and calorie burn is the number of muscle cells you have in your body.  Muscles are the only cells that burn calories at rest.  Lifting heavy weight is KEY to increasing your metabolism.  While aerobic exercise uses fat for energy during the workout, once you stop working out, you stop burning calories at an accelerated pace.  When you lift weights, the calorie burn isn’t as high as aerobic exercise during the workout itself, BUT you burn at an accelerated pace for the rest of the day.  This results in an overall daily calorie burn that is HIGHER than aerobic exercise.  Plus you build new muscle cells that keep on burning even while you sleep.

You need all 3: aerobic exercise (for increased mitochondria), weight training (for increased muscle cells) and NEAT (for increased overall daily burn) for affective weight loss.

My personal goal is no less than 10,000 steps a day and YES that step count can include my formal workout.  NEAT plus workout > 10,000 steps.

Hope this helps!

Love,

Your Personal Trainer

Angela

The Secret to Homemade Flaky Layers Biscuits

A few weeks ago our church put on an event called Homespun University.  Volunteers taught classes on a topic they enjoyed and we could choose from a large variety of things to learn about including organization, home decor, self defense, cake decorating, herbs, essential oils, and scripture study. One of our members is a retired professional baker who owned his own bakery for years. He offered a class on biscuits and I jumped at the chance to learn from him.

Before I got married I baked a lot of biscuits, but they weren’t the best.  Sometimes they were hockey pucks.  It worried my husband so much that he begged his Aunt to have me over for a biscuit baking lesson.  Then I entered the fitness phase of my life and biscuits became a thing of the past.

Recently I started balancing real baked goods, with actual wheat flour into our rotation. Sometimes I’d rather have a tiny bit of a real treat than a full serving of a sugar free, grain free blech. It’s all about portion control and activity level to make it balance out in the end.
I bought the Magnolia Home cookbook (How does Joanna cook like this and stay so thin?) and excitedly tried her biscuit recipe.  It had way tooooooo much butter and they were just ok.

The recipe I’m about to share with you is better.  A lot better.  I tried it first with all-purpose white flour, but I’m going to try it again with my home ground fresh hard white whole wheat flour.

First here are the secrets:

  1. Use COLD butter.  Keep it in the fridge until just before using it.
  2. Don’t overwork your butter.  Cut it in until it’s the size of peas not fine crumbs.
  3. Don’t overwork your dough.  Kneading is for yeast breads, not biscuits. It’s ok to have some flour that isn’t worked in at the first.  As you lightly roll it into layers it will work in.
  4. Don’t roll the biscuits too flat.  There isn’t yeast in these so keep them tall, so don’t’ press out all the air that’s forming from the baking powder reaction.  I leave mine about 3/4 inch thick before cutting.
  5. Don’t twist the cutter.  Twisting the cutter seals the edges and keeps the biscuit from rising into layers.
  6. Brushing the tops with milk before baking, makes sure there won’t be a dry flour dust on your biscuits from the rolling flour.
  7. Use a HOT oven temperature.  This quickly seals the outside crust, trapping air inside and forcing a higher rise.

Flakey Layers Biscuits

3 cups All Purpose Flour

4 tsp baking powder

1/2 tsp salt

10 Tbs Cold Butter

1 1/3 cups Cultured Buttermilk

2 Tbs Honey

Preheat your oven to 450 degrees. Makes 12 biscuits.

In a large bowl whisk together the flour, baking powder and salt. Cut the butter into slices then add to the flour mixture and use a pastry cutter to work into the flour until the butter is the size of small peas.

In a glass measuring cup, beat together the buttermilk and honey.  Then pour into the flour mixture.  Stir just until it has mostly come together, then dump out onto a lightly floured counter.  Gather dough into a ball.

Dust a rolling pin with flour and with a light touch, roll the dough out about 1/2 inch thick. Fold the dough into thirds, then roll again and fold into thirds again.  Repeat one more time.  Lightly roll the dough about 3/4 inch thick, then cut with a biscuit cutter.  Instead of bunching up the scraps into a new ball to roll out again (which would destroy your layers and overwork the dough) slide them together on the counter and push bath together, keeping your layers intact to cut again.

Brush the tops with milk and bake for 8 minutes or until golden on top.

12 biscuits; 220 calories each, 10g fat, 26g net carbs, and 4g protein

Made with Hard White Whole Wheat Flour 218 calories, 10g fat, 24g net carbs, 5g protein

If you try it, let me know how it goes!  If you want to see it in action, let me know and I can do a facebook live video.

 

My top 10 favorite Ikea kitchen items

Before our Ikea opened in the Kansas City area, I borrowed a trailer, drove it empty 20 hours to Washington DC, filled it full at Ikea, then drove it home.  The Chicago Ikea was closer, but we were going to DC to visit friends anyway and it seemed like the perfect combo.  My first visit to the store was overwhelming and I was thankful to have my friend with me to help me navigate the displays, know what proper Ikea manners were, and figure out how to steer the cart.

For Ikea newbies, my first tip is to go with a friend who has been there before.  Ikea is not a shopping trip, like a trip to Target. It’s more of a destination, like a trip to the zoo or a museum.  The top floor is set up in little model apartments and display areas showing how to use the products.  There is very little to actually take with you and buy on this level.  It’s just for inspiration and it’s so much fun! Plan on at least 2 hours your first few times.  After that, if you are in a hurry you can create a shopping list with the online app, stay off the 2nd floor displays and just go grab your stuff.  When I plan to do that, it never fails that they have changed all the displays and I walk around just to see everything anyway.  Now that Ikea is in Kansas City, sometimes I just go to walk around for inspiration and log steps in my tracker.

My house  is full of Ikea products.   If I were a true home decor blogger I might be embarrassed about how much comes from one store, but it’s affordable and works well. At first I was going to do a basic post on my favorite Ikea items, but there are TOO many.   I decided to break it up into categories to help keep the post an appropriate length.  So without further ado, here are my top 10 kitchen favorites.  I often buy some of these and put them together for a wedding shower gift along with some toxin free cleaning products.

Gubbrora Silicone scraper spatulas.  It seems so basic, but I find myself wanting this scraper over all the other brands in my kitchen.  It doesn’t stain, goes right in the dishwasher and does a perfect job.  At only $.99 each it’s a perfect addition to a wedding shower gift as well.  They could improve it with better color combos.  For now, I always grab the black and white.

Rort Beachwood Spoons in regular and flat tip.  These are sturdy and smooth and season well with food grade mineral oil.  I got rid of all my other wooden spoons after trying these.

 

Pabjuda whisk set.  My favorite whisk is the tiny one!  It’s so great for making a 2 egg omelet or other small mixes like salad dressing.  The large size is just right for gravies. The only other whisk I have now is a silicone one for my special non-stick pans.  I much prefer these when I’m cooking with stainless steel.

Produkt Milk Frother. This is my most recent Ikea purchase and I LOVE it.  I use it to mix hot cocoa or protein powder into hot drinks.   Be sure it’s near the bottom of the cup before turning it on or the powder on the surface will fly everywhere.  It creates this mini-vortex in your cup that will completely mix everything together.  I don’t use heavy cream in my drinks, so I’ve never had foam rise to the top or had the drink actually whip.

Proppmat Beech Cutting Board.  This is my favorite board hands down. I grab it for everything except raw meat.

Upphetta French Press.  This simple steeper can make a quart of coffee or loose tea and strain it without bits in your cup.  It’s easy to clean and dishwasher safe.  I love that it is light and fits in my cupboard and doesn’t have to sit on the counter.

Efterfragad Stainless Steel Vacuum Food Container.  I bought one of these for each of my kids for packing soup and other hot foods for lunch.  It has a nice wide mouth, is a nice size for easy cleaning, dishwasher safe, keeps food hot until lunch, and has never rusted. It’s easy not to get the lid tightened all the way, and then it will leak.  Just make sure theres no gap between the black and silver portions and you’ll be ok.  Previously I paid more money for stainless steel thermoses off Amazon and they rusted after the first washing. I’m much happier with these.

Smula Tray. I use these trays to help clear off the table after a meal, to take food outside for campfire cooking or grilling, and as general project corrals to clean the table off in the middle of crafting for a meal.

Direkt Nylon Utensil Set. I love them so much I have 2 sets and got rid of all my other similar items.  Perfect for non-stick cookware.

Sotvatten drinking straws.  These are the wider straws for thick smoothies.  One pack lasts us forever because these straws go through the dishwasher in the utensil holder.  They wash and reuse over and over again.  Ikea also has smaller bendy straws that I keep on hand for when one of my kids is sick and must drink lying down. They don’t wash as well as the fat straws and have more of an environmental impact.  We definitely use them less, but they have their purpose.

That’s my current line up of favorites.  They aren’t new earth shattering technology, just hard working basics that I use every day. Do you have some favorites that aren’t on my list?  Tell me about them in the comments.  I’d love to try something new!

10 Ways to Stick to a Fitness Routine

Avocado Ranch Fajita salad

If you’ve been reading for awhile, you already know I had a 4 year struggle with my health that got better enough for me to care for my family, but still left me in unexplained states of exhaustion for days and an extra 30 lbs of stubborn belly weight. Doctors kept telling me I was fine, when I was obviously not fine. Last January I finally got so frustrated with the situation that I signed up for Personal Training school. I hoped along the journey to finally figure out why I was exercise intolerant and fix it forever.

School is the main reason my blog has been so hit or miss lately.  Juggling the 3 side hustles while keeping up with my studies was a challenge for sure. 

I passed my exam last Thursday and am an official personal trainer! While I don’t have all the answers I was hoping for, I worked closely with doctors through the process and have enough to safely pursue my own fitness while supporting others in their goals.  I am finally able to exercise without crashing.

Part of me feels ashamed to admit that I’m a personal trainer, because I don’t look like a fitness model. The other part of me recognizes that we all have our journeys in fitness. Just because I don’t look like a fitness model, doesn’t me I don’t know my stuff. A national certification board just gave me their stamp of approval and that’s something to celebrate no matter what my waist measurement is at this exact moment. I’m much further in my health than I was just a year ago and for that I’m grateful!

The hardest part for anyone on a fitness journey is consistency.  Showing up day in and day out with proper nutrition and physical activity is not easy.  Here are 10 things I’ve learned in my own journey that have helped me stay consistent.

  1. Have a plan.  Know what your workout is going to be ahead of time.  It’s hard to get started if you don’t know what to do.

2. Set out your workout clothes and pack your gym bag the night before.  Make it easy for the alarm to go off, dress, grab your water bottle and get busy.

3. Have a fitness buddy.  This is easier said than done, I know.  But people who have someone else in their life to work out with and share nutrition goals with are far more likely to stick to them.  It’s even more helpful if your workout buddy lives in the same house.

4. Keep progress reports. Take those before photos and measurements and repeat them every 2-4 weeks.  Collage them side-by-side so you can prove to yourself it’s working.  It’s no fun to take those before pictures.  I get it!  But one day you’ll be so happy you did.

5. Know yourself.  Are you an all or nothing person?  Perfectionists have the hardest time sticking to a fitness routine, because one slip up makes us want to quit altogether.  Let it be ok to make mistakes and get right back on track. On the other hand this type of personality also struggles with one taste of brownie leading to scarfing the whole pan.  In those cases, learn to be ok with not having a taste.  Then find treat recipes that are still supportive of your goals.

6. Schedule your workouts. Figure out the routine that works best with your schedule and personality.  While it’s totally ok to work out every other day by fitting both weight training and cardio into the same session, some people have to workout every day to stay consistent.  The first missed day, even when it’s scheduled will most likely become 2 missed days and pretty soon we aren’t going at all.  Others prefer every other day off to fit in their responsibilities. They are both perfectly fine ways to get fit, but make a decision about what’s best for you and then schedule it in.

7. Reward your hard work with rewards that support your goals.  It might be a new outfit , a pair of earrings, or an outing with your family. Whatever you decide write it down as a “When I…..I can…..” statement.  One of my favorite reward systems is participating in DietBet. I love that I can earn a little bit of cash by making healthy choices.

8. Focus on what you can control. You can control if you do a workout and how much effort you give.  You can control what you put in your mouth. You cannot control the scale.  It’s so freeing to stop worrying about the things we can’t control and taking action on what we can control. When everything else is in place, the scale will take care of itself.

9. Don’t self sabotage. Our will-power has limits.  We might be able to turn down a sugary treat once, but if it’s offered a 2nd or 3rd time chances are we’ll take a taste and then scarf the whole tray.  Don’t keep foods in the house that don’t support your goals. I get it that most of us live with people…and children….and there’s going to be stuff in the house we can’t always control. I ask my older kids to keep their fun foods hidden in their bedrooms and my husband locks his in the hunting safe. Find something that works for you.

10.  Meal Prep. People who plan their healthy food in advance and make it easy to grab instead of a unhealthy convenience item are way more successful in reaching their goals.  This is so true for me that I spend a lot of time each week putting together prep ahead meal plans and shopping lists for my own use and let members of Groceryshrinkplus have a copy to adapt or use as they see fit .

Please, leave a comment and let me know what you think. Which of these tips is the most important to you? Where are you on your health journey? How can I help?

4 Hidden Expenses that Can Destroy Your Budget Plan

 

Several factors can affect the way you budget your household. This is why we wrote the article ‘How to Get Your Husband to Budget With You’. When it comes to narrowing down household expenses, two heads are better than one. Now, let’s take a closer look at another potential budget plan destroyer: hidden expenses.

Acquiring the Latest Technology

This may seem glaringly obvious, but you don’t really need that new smartphone. Unless you need to acquire the latest version of a phone, computer processor, digital camera, or graphics card for your job or career, there’s really no real reason for you to get it. Don’t get caught in the hype and social pressure of always having the latest gadget. It’s likely to be an expense that you don’t really need, and there will be cheaper versions on the market.

Succumbing to “Good Deals”

It’s good to take advantage of discounts, but don’t let mall and outlet store sale events fool you. Mall department stores are notorious for marking up items and then selling them at “discounted” prices. Again, avoiding the hidden expense here is important. Bustle state that there’s no need to buy items that you normally wouldn’t buy just because they’re “on sale.”

Overpriced Coffee

It’s no secret that franchise and boutique coffee shops overcharge for coffee. If your office or workplace has a kitchen or similar facilities, just brew your own. The money that you spend on quality brews at coffee shops translate to more than twice the amount of a home or office-brewed coffee of similar quality. Additionally, the more you brew your own, the better you’ll eventually be at picking the right beans and brewing them correctly. The only thing better than saving money is acquiring a new skill while you’re at it.

Hidden Bills and Taxes

Hidden bills and taxes are some of the most frustrating ways to spend money, and this is more of a problem than most people realize. For example, if you buy a property in a city like New York, you might be surprised to find that the title costs are unexpectedly high. Check the paperwork and you’ll likely see that the most expensive item on your title bill is something that’s called mortgage recording tax.

Here’s what you need to know about this semi-hidden bill that can cause frustration to homeowners trying to budget their expenses. It’s a percentage of the new mortgage debt amount and is generally paid by whoever buys the property. The city-imposed tax applies to all new mortgages, and is due when the mortgage is recorded. Unless you’re buying a co-op unit, you’ll need to factor in the cost of your mortgage recording tax early on. Otherwise, you might fall short of your original budget and find yourself having to dig deeper into your savings. The lesson here is to always read the small print.

Another notorious source of hidden bills are hotels that list hidden charges on your final bill. This is commonly done via “drip pricing,” which the Federal Trade Commission explains is when hotels only reveal prices as the buying process proceeds. This means being charged for things like valet parking, pool maintenance, exercise facilities, or other privileges even though you haven’t technically benefited from them. So before you book any hostel, motel, resort, or hotel, be absolutely clear about what you need to pay. And if they still charge you erroneously, feel free to contest the bill.

Avoiding any and all hidden expenses is a matter of being informed and assertive about your own financial rights. Always do your homework whenever you’re planning to spend a significant amount of money or even just a little.