A card like the one offered by Amazon.com gives $50 (a check mailed to you) for every $5000 you charge. I know it’s a pathetic rate, but if you use it for things you would pay for anyway, it’s FREE MONEY. Mortgage, car payments, groceries, etc. can all be charged and paid off monthly, and you rack up the points, and freebies. The biggest issue is, as I said, willpower. You have to commit to not charge stuff you wouldn’t pay cash for, so that you can pay it off every month. The side benefit of this is that the bulk of your cash can sit in your bank account all month, earning interest until you write the big monthly payment, rather than trickling out for individual bills.

Credit cards aren’t a bad thing – you just have to make them work for you, rather than against your budget.

I am fortunate enough to work in an air conditioned office. It takes me a while to get acclimated to my non-air conditioned house. I close all the windows in the morning and pull the blinds/curtains and turn on the ceiling fans. It is surprisingly cool most days….of course when it doesn’t cool down overnight, it’s just plain hot!
Your jam is gorgeous…and it will taste sooooo good this winter. A little bit of summer in a jar.

I’m also sorry to hear you like beets. That’s awful as well.

my little patch of veggies is waterlogged but coming along nicely. I have potatoe plants that are thigh high and lots of banana peppers on the tiniest plants ever. I’ve harvested radishes, onions, leaf lettuce and spinach. I love LOVE to garden.