This week I found this great new app called Digsby. It links all of your chats and social networks together into one little desktop box. I thought to myself "What a great thing! Now I don't have to sign in to a hundred different pages every time I get on my computer."

But, being the cautious person I am, I decided I would research this app a little more. How do I feel about giving ALL of my usernames and passwords to one program? Is this really a good idea? Every bone in my body is telling me that this kind of thing could compromise my privacy. Yet there was not even a hint of such a concern on the Internet (that I could find in a few minutes of searching). Usually if something like this is a concern to others it will appear in at least 1 blog somewhere. But, as far as I could tell, there were no such concerns about Digsby. Apparently the app goes no further than your desktop; the passwords are not stored on any server and no administrator of the app has access to your information.

Although this concern has proven to be not so big a deal (I now have Digsby), I still think we need to be on the lookout for people OR programs that could infringe on our rights to privacy!

Privacy

Since I have ZERO followers on my blog, I don't feel at all guilty about changing subjects. No more budgeting stuff. Instead, I am going to speak of privacy issues in this post.

I have noticed lately a trend in all things electronic that possibly compromise the privacy of the user. Let's begin with an email confrontation I recently had with an internet service provider (who shall not be named). Said provider had, apparently, been tracking the volume of emails that leave my computer. It's important to note here that they did not track the email from a certain account, but instead tracked the emails leaving this physical address. And, because I send out a newsletter to about 80 people every week, this provider decided that I had sent out too many emails. They then proceeded to block all emails leaving Microsoft Outlook until I either downloaded some quick fix or called for a change.

This brings up several issues for me. First: Who gives this body the right to monitor my email output? Second: Who gives this body the right to say how much email is appropriate for me to be sending? Third: Who is the controlling power her that makes these rules and why were they not made known to me upon agreement of service?

Call me paranoid, but I feel these are valid questions. Unfortunately, I have no answers. I was only able to speak to the local guys on the phone and they said only that they do it for the protection of the customers, to limit SPAM. So, ok, I can see that customers might need protection from that. Nobody likes SPAM and, unfortunately, not everyone keeps their security up-to-date as I do. But that still leaves me wondering who gives these people the right to determine that my email output is SPAM?

Just something to think about.

Chicken Pot Pie

Ok, so, I promissed you some of those recipes I spoke of that could save you money. Here is one:

Chicken Pot Pie

4 chicken breasts
1 can mixed vegetables
1 can cream of chicken soup
2 frozen pie crusts

Thaw the pie crusts. Cube chicken and cook in skillet. Combine chicken, veggies, and soup in pie crust. Use the second pie crust to cover the pie. Bake at 350 for 30 minutes.

This pie has about 4-6 servings (depending on how much you eat) and only costs about $9! I think that that is about as cheap as you can get for meals. And it's good eatin' too!

Cheers!

Budgeting

I recently had a discussion with a friend about the best ways to budget money. I thought that my advice was just helpful enough that I should blog about it. You know, share the info with others as well! (and, yes, I know that sounded just a bit conceited!)

My first real advice is simply planning. If you want to stay in a specified budget, you must plan ahead. Sometimes very far ahead. In my first 2 years of college I was able to live off of a 10 dollar a week grocery budget. I know, it sounds like I might have starved myself, but I can assure you that I did not. Instead, I would plan out my meals, sometimes weeks in advance. At the beginning of the semester I would spend a one-time fee of about 50 dollars on standard kitchen items that you try to keep in stock (some soups, pasta, peanut butter, etc) and then I would buy certain ingredients that I needed for recipes each week. It usually worked out pretty well. But you have to cook large quantities sometimes and eat off of it for several days a week. Maybe I will post some of the recipes I used at a later date.

Also, if you want to save some money on food, but don't want to go so far as the 10 dollar a week budget, check out Angel Food Ministries. For 30 dollars a month you can purchase a whole box of meats, vegetables, and some dry goods. It is mostly frozen food, and it won't provide the parishable foods like milk and bread, but could be an excellent money solution in the grocery department! (It feeds a single person for a whole month, a family of four for about 2-3weeks)