Negotiating new credit card rules

The Credit Card Act of 2009 went into effect February 22, 2010, and is supposed to regulate the industry to protect the consumer. The Act is 33 pages long and full of legalese that can give the average person headaches. We will be covering, in our Frugal Blog for the next few weeks, different aspects of the Act and what you need to know if you use credit cards.

The number one “to-do” for anyone who has a credit card: Read every single piece of mail you receive from your credit card company about these new changes. The days of ignoring those complicated missives from your credit card company (which we will refer to as CCC) are long gone; they contain important information about the many changes that will occur in CCC transactions. Here are a few you need to know:

Your CCC must now notify you 45 days in advance before changing your interest rate, changing or adding fees or making any significant changes to your terms. It does not, however, have to send a 45-day notice if you have a variable interest rate tied to an index, if your introductory rate expires or if your rate increases because you did not pay on time.

Your statements will now include how long it will take you to pay off your balance if you’re making only minimum payments and a warning that your annual percentage rate may increase if your payments are late.

The CCC cannot increase your APR for the first 12 months after you open your account unless your rate is tied to an index, your introductory rate expires or you made a payment that was more than 60 days late. Increased rates will apply only to new charges, and there will be restrictions on transactions that take your account over your credit limit.

A note about over-the-limit transactions: The CCC used to automatically approve transactions that would take you over your credit limit because then they could charge you a fee. Now, the CCC cannot charge a fee if it lets you go over your credit limit, but it can charge a fee if you ask them to let you go over your credit limit.

If your credit is less than pristine, there are now caps on the amount of fees a CCC can assess. And, if you are younger than 21, you will have to prove you have an income or you will need a cosigner to receive a credit card.

Your payment date will now be the same date every month, and you must be given at least 21 days to pay. If that day falls on a weekend or holiday, you will have until 5 p.m. on the next business day to pay.

Check out the Federal Reserve Web site for more Credit Card Rules. The Federal Reserve also has some interactive applications to help you understand your statements, payment strategies and suggestions on how to get the most from your credit card. More next week.—Alice Rose Kieft

Angel Food, indeed

St. Francis of Assisi said actions speak faith louder than words. We think Angel Food Ministries is a perfect example.

Angel Food Ministries is a nonprofit, nondenominational, Christian organization dedicated to providing food relief throughout the United States. Its mission is to provide inexpensive food to anyone who needs or wants it—no questions asked. Generally, $30 to $52 of Angel Food can feed a family of four for about one week or a senior citizen for almost a month. There are no qualifications, minimums, income restrictions or applications.

How do they do it? By buying food from first-rate suppliers at substantial volume discounts, Angel Food Ministries is able to provide families with approximately $65 worth of quality, nutritious food for $30. Angel Food Ministries does not use out-of-date food or inferior products and feeds more than 500,000 families a month in 35 states.

Orders and distribution are handled by local church host sites (You also can order online, see below.), but you don’t have to be a Christian or a member of any particular faith or church. You may find a brochure about the Christian faith in your food box when you get it home, but that is the extent of its evangelism.

I decided to try them out. In January, I ordered the “signature box” for $30 and the fresh fruit and vegetable package for $22. By typing in “Angel Food Ministries coupon” in my search engine, I got a 5 percent-off coupon, which almost covered the $2 handling fee (well worth it). I could hardly believe my eyes when I opened my food packages. The signature box consisted of:

• 1.5-pound beef roast
• 2.5 pounds boneless chicken breasts
• 8 breaded chicken patties
• 1 pound brats with cheese
• 2 pounds macaroni and beef dinner
• 1 pound frozen carrots
• 1 pound frozen sweet corn
• 8 pancakes (frozen)
• 1 sweet potato pie
• 3 pounds russet potatoes
• 1 quart shelf-stable milk
• 10 whole wheat rolls
• 1 dozen eggs

The fruit and vegetable package contained:

• 3 pounds oranges, apples and tangerines
• 1 large fresh pineapple
• 2 ruby red grapefruits
• 1 large avocado
• 1 head of cabbage
• 3 pounds red potatoes
• 3 pounds sweet potatoes
• 8 ounces shelled pecans
• 2 pounds yellow onions

My Angel Food cost about half of what it would have cost at my local Walmart. The quality of the food is amazing: The ground beef was lean, the fruit was fresh and delicious, and the potatoes have lasted almost the whole month. The folks at the Congregational Church (the distribution point in my town) were pleasant, organized, and had volunteers to help carry things to my car.

Angel Food’s Web site is user friendly. At the site, you can find the nearest distribution point, and you can place the order over the Internet. At my location, people who can afford it buy two of everything and donate one back to the church for others who can’t afford to pay for the food. If you really can’t afford to buy, it is worth asking. Angel Food is an inexpensive way to keep your family fed and healthy, and we think they truly understand that actions speak faith louder than words.—Alice Rose Kieft

Dinner for 61 cents

Saving money on food does not mean you’re doomed to eating beans every day (not that there’s anything wrong with that; they’re extremely nutritious and cheap). Eating frugally yet eating well—healthfully and without depriving yourself of the foods you love—is not difficult if you follow a few simple rules:

Study the supermarket food ads religiously. Compare the ads from all the supermarkets in your area. Take note of the foods that are on sale, and plan your meals and your shopping list accordingly. Use food coupons. Take advantage of in-store specials. (One national chain has a deal called “Fav 4”—four packages of meat for $20. Each package contains enough meat for four servings, so you get 16 servings for $1.25 per serving.) Buy store brands, a huge money-saver. Buy only what you need, and avoid those impulse purchases.

Meat loaf has always been considered a frugal main dish because it stretches inexpensive ground meat to feed a crowd. It’s a diverse one as well; you can add just about any seasonings you want, and leftovers make fabulous sandwiches. Here’s a recipe for individual meat loaves, with a Mexican spin, for only $0.61 a serving:

Mini Mexican Meat Loaves
©2009 Carol Wiley Lorente, from Real Food, Real Cheap: How to Save Money on Your Food Bill and Still Eat Well (2009, Frugal Living Press)

2 teaspoons olive or canola oil
1 small onion, finely chopped
1 to 2 cloves garlic, minced, or to taste
1 egg
1 pound meat loaf mix (ground beef and ground pork)
1/2 cup oats (quick or old-fashioned, not instant)
3/4 cup medium-spicy to spicy salsa, divided
Salt (optional)
Freshly ground black pepper to taste
1 ounce shredded Mexican cheese blend or shredded Cheddar cheese

1. Preheat oven to 350°F. In a small skillet over medium heat, add oil and onion. Sauté
onion until soft and translucent, about 4 minutes. Add garlic, turn off heat, and sauté 1
minute more. Let mixture cool slightly.

2. In a large mixing bowl, beat egg slightly with fork. Add meat loaf mix, oats, 1/2 cup
salsa, and cooled onion-garlic mixture. Season with salt, if desired, and black pepper to
taste. Mix well with your hands.

3. Place muffin pan on a baking sheet. With your hands, form 6 (4-ounce) meatballs. Place 1 meatball in each muffin cup. Spoon equal amounts of remaining salsa onto tops of each meatball. Bake 35 minutes or just until no longer pink in the centers. Top each with 1 or 2 teaspoons cheese. Place back in oven just until cheese melts, about 2 minutes. Makes 6 (3 1/2-ounce) servings.

Per serving: 285 calories; 20g protein; 18g total fat; 7g sat fat; 8g carbohydrates; 280mg sodium; 103mg cholesterol; 2g fiber

Note: The price of ground beef-ground pork meat loaf mix varies widely from store to store. My local independent market was selling it for $1.89 a pound. A local chain supermarket was selling it for $2.36 a pound, and the national chain had it for $3.29 a pound.

Total cost of recipe: $3.62
Cost per serving: $0.61
Cheese: $0.21
Egg: $0.07
Meat loaf mix: $1.89
Oats: $0.30
Onion: $0.16
Salsa: $0.99
Staples: garlic, oil, pepper, salt

—Carol Wiley Lorente

Is Frugal a bad word?

"Let me ask you, is ‘miser’ a bad word? What about ‘cheapskate’? Or ‘stingy’? How about ‘thrifty’? ‘Frugal’?” Some folks shook their heads no to all, some giggled, and many gave all-knowing grins. We had been invited to speak to the Welcome-Newcomer Club of Galesburg, Illinois at its monthly meeting.

This was our first live speaking engagement as Frugal Living Press. (Yes, we did the “Paula Sands Live” TV show in Davenport, Iowa, but that was TV, and this was in-person!) I was pretty sure I could handle this on my own, and standing before this group of about 30 women, I felt very comfortable—they certainly lived up to their name. Each one had been given a handout with information about our company, three of our favorite blog entries and two of Carol’s wonderful recipes (printed on both sides of the paper to save trees and money).

I spoke for about a half hour, giving background to our business and how Carol and I met (high school science fair) and why we believe we are filling a niche that needs to be filled in these tough economic times. Then I asked if they had any frugal ideas to share.

One woman’s husband came up with the idea of lining the garbage can with a garbage bag, then lining that bag with a plastic bag from the grocery store. If the store bag doesn’t leak, the expensive bag stays in; if it leaks, the whole thing is replaced. No messy pail and a big savings on trash bags.

Others talked about doing things like keeping unused napkins from fast food restaurants to bring to meetings to save money. Members participate in a fund-raising raffle at every meeting. I had brought two of our books for door prizes, so they had their usual fund-raising raffle for the baked goods first (for those who paid for the tickets) then put the tickets back in the drawing and gave those who were not in the raffle a ticket, and drew from that. (This saved raffle tickets.) We were all surprised when the winners were sitting next to each other!

We want to thank Vickie Dowers for inviting us to participate in this group’s monthly meeting. I have to say, I was impressed with the two missions of the group: They make it a point to contribute to the community in some way every month (food bank, etc.) and also have ongoing social events (like bridge) to keep active and have fun. Below are pictures that were taken that day. You can see we were all having a great time!