Installment 1:  The Meat Slicer

In 2006, my sister sent me a gift-card for my birthday. I didn’t really know what I wanted personally so my husband and I decided to go buy a meat/cheese slicer. After using it a few times, we emailed her and said “Best Present Ever, Thanks!” and I still can say that.

Almost 6 years later, it’s still getting used and proving more valuable than ever.  Lately, sliced deli meat has been around $8.00 a pound (or higher). Occasionally I can get it for $6, but generally it’s a lot more; especially for decent stuff.

A couple weeks ago I went to SamsClub with my friend Lisa and realized that they had the huge hams and turkeys ready for slicing there. Mind you, these were the same ones that my grocery store slices up and sells to me at a premium.

The price breakdown ends up between 1.79-2.99 a pound depending on if it’s on sale or not.  (I bought my ham and my turkey at 23 each, but they had them at 17-19 each a few weeks before, I just missed the sale.)

We go through a lot of deli meat for lunches so this little slicer makes all the difference. I wouldn’t have thought to bring it up but I was talking about cutting up meats the other day and someone else mentioned they do theirs too and our friend was wondering where in the world did we just randomly find meat slicers?

Honestly I got mine online I think through walmart or target. They don’t have the above one anymore but they have one from magic chef that looks pretty wicked.

So if you happen to make sandwiches for lunches and find yourself gawking at the price of sliced deli meats, this might be a way to go. Just thought I’d share!

and PS…. yes, bologna is cheap… but then again does anyone really know what it’s made of?

Later today, I’ll be taking the Phoenix Metro bus and using the light rail train for the first time. I’m kinda excited (I’m sure it’ll wear off). As a kid, I used the city buses all the time and I’m no stranger to bus-hopping (it took me 4 city buses to get to school and 4 back) but it’s been a really long time.

My decision is based on the fact that over an 18 week time-period, I will be saving myself about $600.00.
That’s a lot of cash! That’s a lot of cash I don’t really have!

So here are the factors that played into my decision:

Pros:

1. Not dealing with rush-hour traffic, the bus driver can deal with that for me.
2. Not having to pay parking fees (12.00 a day)
3. Cuts my gas costs in half
4. Only adds 1/2 an hour to my time per day, an hour per week, which surprised me.
5. I’m a student so my bus pass is cheap.
6. A little less pollution in the air

Cons:

1. There are  no nearby buses cuz I live in the outskirts of town so I still have to huff it into Mesa.
2. It’s a pain to figure out the system online. (Phoenix’s lightrail/bus/metro system online map is awful!)
3. If you miss the bus, you’re still going to have to drive farther to get to the next park-in-ride or risk missing class, or end up parking on campus and paying for parking… so it takes being diligent and prepared.

Okay, so here’s the breakdown on cost based on $2.99 per gallon (on a jeep which gets 15 mpg, my husband has the Ford that gets better mileage because he has to drive way farther than me:)

Driving to ASU Tempe and parking there, 2 days a week:

• Miles per week: 132.8, cost =$26.47 per week x 18 weeks per semester = $476.49
• Parking fees per week: $24.00 x 18 weeks per semester = $432.00
• Total per semester: $908.49
• Total Time Spent driving: 117 hours per semester

Driving to Power Rd Park-n-Ride

• Miles per week: 66, cost=$13.16 per week x 18 weeks per semester = $236.81
• Parking Costs: $0.00
• Bus/Lightrail Pass (for the semester)= $75.00
• Total Per Semester = $311.81
• Total Time Spent on the bus/train: 135 hours per semester.

I’ll be saving $596.00 over the course of 18 weeks so I think it’s pretty much a no brainer.

Now on the “time” spent— people might perceive the difference of 18 hours over the course of 18 weeks as a lot of time wasted. However those 18 hours will be spent reading whatever I want, catching up on my texts, studying extra for an exam, etc, because I won’t be driving.

I also don’t have to deal with the road-rage and aggressive rush-hour traffic because most of rush-hour dies off at Power Road which is where my park-n-ride is.

The reason I’m not losing much time is because of trying to get out of ASU’s parking ramps at 4:15, which is when everyone else is leaving and I don’t get out of the ramp till 4:45 and then I have to battle the insanity known as Mill and University Ave and try to make it to the highway. I’m not losing much time there, and I’m saving a lot of sanity.

So now the real question is how long would it take me to get out to visit friends in North Phoenix via bus and lightrail? Makes me wonder!