Shopbrazos January 2013

JANUARY 2013

19 tips to get your kids eating healthy all year long January is National Blood Donor Month Rockcrete Foam insulation keeps bills down across the Brazos Valley

WHAT’S INSIDE

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

Kyrstie Cox (979) 731-4665

Internet Sales Director

Internet Marketing Consultant

jenny.downing@theeagle.com

kyrstie.cox@theeagle.com

Shauna Lewis Editorial shauna.lewis@theeagle.com Eric Aguirre Layout & Design eric.aguirre@eveningpostinteractive.com ON THE WEB

/shopbrazos Reproduction in whole or in part without prior written permission is strictly prohibited. Opinions expressed in the publication are those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of the management of the publication. ©2012 GATEHOUSE MEDIA ALL RIGHTS RESERVED

page six

Nowadays, No owad lasagna can include hazelnuts, nut squash, zucchini and more. mor butternut

page eight

A 2,744 square foot home, for example, will have a heating and cooling bill of less than $45 a month with foam insulation.

2

Jenny Downing (979) 731-4660

“

page thirteen

People can donate blood about ev every 56 days, or six times per year.

Are you tired of high electric bills?

You can do something about it!

Got propane for Heat?

Many customers have higher bills in the winter than summer!

We can help you by stopping your heat from going to the attic and out to the yard. It is called the chimney effect. Spray foam stops it and saves you money on your winter bills. Keep your heat and hard earned dollars at home. Warm in the winter/Cool in the summer! Make this the last time you insulate your home.

We insulate mobile home underbellies and homes up off the ground!

You will be amazed at the comfort and savings!

When you INSULATE with Rock-Crete Foam Insulators it is the last time.

Rock-Crete foam reduces your temps, and your bills, typical savings is from 30-70%

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

how you ow s t t i u r P g e Let me, Gr 0 happy customers naugh 200 rs l how. Overctricity. My customeer and use less elety bills during summ. at utili ter. You can too win

Your product Rocks!

That is what a recent customer of Rock-Crete Foam Insulators had to say. He said his bill went from $380.00 to $145.00. That’s over 62%. Hi, I‘m Greg Pruitt, with spray foam we can reduce your utility bills from around 30% to 70%. With our spray foam in your attic, we reduce the summer attic temp by around 55 degrees. Cool in the summer and Warm in the winter, Rock-Crete Foam Insulators, insulation that pays you back!-888 FOAM HOME

ROCK-CRETE Foam Insulators

www.rock-cretefoam.com

1-888-FOAM-HOMe Like Us On Facebook!

(362-6466) Office: 936-399-4674 Greg: 979-229-3493

3

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

KIDS EATING RIGHT

Nutritious

19 nineteen ways to get kids eating

Special to The Eagle

Here are a mish-mash of ideas to get your family eating better. The one thing they have in common?

They get kids involved. Sometimes the simplest of ideas will get kids excited. and kids will eat it. This works at home, too.

3. Cool trick

MorguEFIlE

1. Noodle fun Kids love noodles. Skip the Ramen, and pack sesame noodles for lunch. They’re just as good cold as they are room temperature: Combine 3 cups cooked spaghetti, 1 cup shredded cabbage, 2 chopped green onions, 1/4 cup soy sauce and 2 tablespoons each of peanut butter, rice vinegar and oil.

4

By Jill Melton

SToCK.XCHNg

2. Who moved my fruit?

When fruit was put in a colorful bowl in school lunchrooms, sales increased by 104 percent.

The message — make fruit visible and attractive,

Place 3 tablespoons sugar, 1 cup half and half and 1 teaspoon vanilla in a quartsize zip-top plastic bag. Seal.

Place that bag in a gallonsize zip-top bag. Layer ice and rock salt in the gallon bag and seal. Toss back and forth until it’s ice cream.

4. Eat your colors

Add these colorful and super-nutritious fruits and vegetables to your diet: Red for lycopene: To-

matoes, cherries, cranberries, watermelon and raspberries.

Orange and yellow for beta-carotene: Sweet

potatoes, pumpkin, carrots, bell peppers and cantaloupe.

Green for vitamin C, lutein and indoles:

Broccoli, spinach, green beans, kiwi and green apples.

Blue and purple for anthocyanins: Blueber-

ries, blackberries, purple grapes and prunes.

5. Kids’ tools

Create a kids’ utensil drawer or basket with easy-to-use and kid-friendly cookware.

6. Cool lunch bags

Get a fun insulated lunch bag that allows you to pack cold foods. We love the bags from Built and Kid-Konserve.

7. Draw it

Get a chalkboard and let your kids write the menu on it each night. They’ll learn about food and meal planning and get a little spelling and writing practice, too.

8. Remember milk

Consumption of milk decreased by 35 percent when flavored milk was eliminated from school lunches, according to the Milk Processor Education Program, resulting in a decrease in calcium, vitamins D and A, and protein — key nutrients for kids. A little sugar may be a small price to pay for nutrients kids don’t get elsewhere. Plus milk, even when it’s flavored, is caffeine-free.

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

KIDS EATING RIGHT

For an easy breakfast, make a waffle sandwich.

Layer two frozen toasted waffles with cheese and ham for a high-protein breakfast that will last longer than the waffles alone. Better yet, add milk.

SToCK.XCHNg

SToCK.XCHNg

9. Try sushi

For a quick dinner better than the drive-through, try sushi. Try the California rolls or crunchy shrimp rolls, where everything is cooked.

Sushi is made fresh daily at most supermarkets and is low in fat and nutritious.

10. Better than soda

Make fruit ice cubes and serve with club soda or in a cup on their own. Puréed watermelon, blackberries or any other juicy fruit will work well.

MorguEFIlE

11. Low-fat healthy granita

Make some nutritious frozen treats and get the kids involved, too. Freeze juice in a shallow pan. Let kids scrape it with a fork into a slushy, icy treat. Voila, you have granita!

8-ounce glass.

15. Use chopsticks

WIKIMEDIA CoMMoNS

13. After-school snack

Keep nutritious afterschool snacks easy and accessible. Hummus is a great one; pair with carrot sticks and pita bread.

14. Almond milk

If your kids have a problem with dairy products, give almond milk a try.

It has a mild, nutty flavor that works great with cereal or on its own. It’s made from ground almonds and contains no cholesterol or lactose. It comes in a variety of flavors, is low in calories and fat and high in vitamin D, E and B12. It also contains 45 percent of the daily values for calcium in one

Kids love a challenge, and chopsticks are definitely it.

In addition to teaching coordination, it slows kids down, forcing them to eat mindfully and savor their food. Remember, it takes the stomach 20 minutes to signal to the brain that you’re full.

17. Pod luck

Serve edamame, the green soybeans that come in a pod and are served in Asian restaurants. Kids will love getting the beans out of the pod, which will occupy

them. Plus, they’re very healthy.

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

12. Add protein

16. Seal it with a kiss

If your kids would rather have sugary cereal than oatmeal, try topping the oats with a Hershey’s Kiss.

They’ll still get the benefits of the whole grain oats.

SToCK.XCHNg

18. Breakfast rule No. 1

Make breakfast a fiber opportunity. Buy whole grain breads with at least 3 grams of fiber per slice, or cereals with at least 4 grams per serving.

19. Straws, straws, straws

Give a kid a fun straw and anything will be more fun to eat. Let them use

straws to slurp soup and even ice cream.

5

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

RECIPES

Breaking tradition

How to make the lasagna we love even better Special to The Eagle

We all grew up eating pretty much the same lasagna — ground beef, red sauce, cheese and noodles.

As delicious as it is, that lasagna is so last century.

With a little inspiration, today’s cook takes the basic idea of lasagna and changes, adds and subtracts to create something new. Nowadays, lasagna can include hazelnuts, butternut squash, zucchini and more. Some lasagnas don’t even require noodles, while lasagna rolls are made without the traditional rectangular baking dish.

Just about everyone loves lasagna, which is one reason it shows up so often in casual entertaining menus. Another is that it lets the host cook just purée one large item. Bread and salad from the store round out the For the béchamel sauce: meal.

1 Bring your crew together around 1/4 cup butter a favorite that’s the same, but differ- 1/4 cup all purpose flour /2 t salt ent. With more recipes for lasagna, 1/4 t pepper there’s more to love.

1 /4 t ground nutmeg

Lasagna with Cheddar Cheese

6

Yield: 10 to 12 servings Prep: 25 mins Cook: 105 mins For the meat sauce: 1 pound lean ground beef 1 /2 pound Italian sausage 1 cup chopped onion 1 T minced garlic 1 cup dry white wine 2 T tomato paste 2 T chopped fresh parsley 1 /2 t crushed red pepper 1 can (15-ounce) crushed tomatoes in

3 cups 2 percent reduced-fat milk 12 sheets no-boil lasagna noodles 3 cups shredded aged Cheddar cheese

To prepare meat sauce, brown beef and sausage in a large skillet over medium-high heat about 10 minutes, breaking into small pieces. Spoon out most of the fat. Reduce heat to medium. Add onion and garlic; saute 5 minutes. Add wine; bring to a boil. Reduce heat and cook, stirring occasionally, until wine is nearly evaporated. Stir in tomato paste, parsley and crushed red

pepper. Stir in crushed tomatoes.

Bring to a simmer; reduce heat.

Simmer until sauce thickens, 10 to 15 minutes.

To prepare béchamel sauce, melt butter in a medium saucepan over medium heat. Whisk in flour, salt, pepper and nutmeg. Cook and stir for 1 minute. Gradually whisk in milk. Cook and stir with whisk until thick and bubbly, about 10 minutes.

Cool 10 minutes.

Preheat oven to 400 degrees F. Spread 3/4 cup meat sauce in bottom of a 13-by-9-inch baking pan.

Place 4 sheets of lasagna crosswise in pan over sauce, overlapping slightly. (The sheets will not reach all the way across the pan, but they will expand as they bake.) Top with one-third of the meat sauce (spreading evenly to cover noodles) and then one-third of the bechamel

sauce. Top with one-third of the cheese. Repeat layers (starting with noodles) twice.

Bake, uncovered, 35 to 40 minutes, covering loosely with foil during the last 10 minutes if top browns too much. Let stand 15 minutes before cutting.

VARIATIONS Italian-Style Lasagna: Substitute

Parmigiano-Reggiano for the Cheddar cheese. Substitute 2 teaspoons dried basil and 2 teaspoons dried oregano for the parsley.

French-Style Lasagna: Substitute Comté (French Gruyère) cheese for the Parmigiano-Reggiano. Substitute 1 tablespoon crushed dried rosemary for the parsley. Use ground pork instead of the Italian sausage.

— Recipes by Wini Moranville

RECIPES

Vegetarian Lasagna

To assemble: 4 cups vegetarian marinara sauce 9 to 12 whole-wheat lasagna noodles, cooked until al dente and drained 1/ cup grated Parmesan cheese 2

Preheat oven to 350 degress F. To prepare filling, heat olive oil in a large skillet. Add mushrooms, garlic and onion and sauté until soft. Add nutmeg, oregano, salt and pepper. Remove from heat and stir in spinach, broccoli and

cheeses.

To assemble, spread 1 cup marinara sauce on bottom of a rectangular baking pan. Add 3 or 4 lasagna noodles, overlapping if needed. Top noodles with one-third of filling. Pour 1 cup marinara sauce over filling and sprinkle with one-third of Parmesan cheese. Repeat layering twice — noodles, filling, sauce and Parmesan cheese.

Cover lightly with foil and bake 45 minutes or until center is hot.

— Recipe by Diana Randolph, Drummond, Wis.

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

Yield: 8 servings For the filling: 2 T olive oil 8 ounces mushrooms 1 garlic clove, crushed 2/ cup diced onion 3 1/ t nutmeg 8 1/ t salt 4 1 t dried oregano 1/ t black pepper 4 10 ounces frozen, chopped spinach, thawed and drained 1 lb. frozen chopped broccoli, thawed and drained 1 pound low-fat ricotta cheese 2 cups shredded part-skim mozzarella cheese 1/ cup Parmesan cheese, grated 4

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

Get Daily Specials in Your Inbox Visit

to sign up!

Specials from restaurants including: Good Time Charley’s • C&J Barbeque Boston’s • Fowl Digits • Wings ‘N More Chuy’s • BJ’s Restaurant & Brewhouse Harvey Washbangers • Tony Roma’s and more... facebook.com/shopbrazos

twitter.com/shopbrazos

foursquare.com/shopbrazos

7

8

ROCKCRETE FOAM INSULATORS

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

ROCKCRETE FOAM INSULATORS

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

Foam insulation saves money on your heating and cooling bills during the year

By Shauna Lewis

insulation could reduce a heating and cooling bill by about 70 percent for a new home and Rock-Crete Foam Insulators, 30 percent or more on an existInc., in North Zulch can save sa ing home. A 2,744 square foot homeowners or businesses home, for example, will have ha a money on their heating and air heating and cooling bill of less conditioning bills while blockthan $45 a month with foam ing out airborne pollutants, the insulation. owner said.

Rock-Crete works closely Greg Pruitt, who owns Rock- with an air conditioning Crete with his wife Dianne source, and can help customers Pruitt, said they first brought get set up with the right type of foam insulation to the Brazos air conditioning, he said.

Valley area eight years ago “Any time you are uncomwhen they opened Rock-Crete, fortable or paying for your at 28555 Pleasant Grove Road. comf t, Rock-Crete can solve comfor Rock-Crete can install foam your problems,” Pruitt said. insulation on new and existing Pruitt was formerly er a homeerly homes, barns, shops, garages, builder for almost 20 years, so restaurants and other buildhe is knowledgeable of the enings. tire building process of a home.

“W e considered the pre“We’r Pruitt encouraged people to mier home foam insulation and visit with him befor bef e constructhe go-to people for hard or odd tion begins on their home applications,” Pruitt said. because he could help them Pruitt said with a proper air sa money. The savings save sa on an conditioning system, foam energy bill, along with building The Eagl Ea e

materials not used when foam insulation is used, often means the cost of upgrading to foam insulation is a “break even” or nominal charge, he said. Pruitt can also provide infor inf mation on a $2,000 builder’s rebate program for homes built above code in 2012 and 2013.

Rock-Crete’s prices are competiti and often less than competitive other foam insulation providers, he said, and unlike some companies, Rock-Crete has a quality control program to ensure that customers get the amount of foam that they pay for. All foam insulation installers are Rock-Crete employees, and are insured.

How foam insulation works Pruitt said the problem with most homes is the “chimney effect,” in which warm or cool air goes into the attic and outside the house. Foam, when applied, seals off of every nook and cranny while fiberglass cannot. ny, “Once you seal the attic, you lose that chimney effect,” ef he said. “It’s the No. 1 problem with homes, and we fix it.”

In the summer, summer when an attic without foam insulation would

be 140 degrees, it would be 77 to 85 degrees with foam, he said. In the winter, winter an attic that would be 30 degrees without foam insulation would be about 65 degrees with it.

Foam insulation also seals the building against airborne pollutants, including dust, allergens, odors and other pollutants, according to Rock-Crete.

Foam insulation allows air management to be designed so that the indoor air quality is healthier than outside air.

Foam insulation is also environmentally friendly. It contains no ozone-destroying chemicals and its high effief ciency allows buildings to be heated or cooled with the least possible consumption of the natural resources required to produce energy.

Education and more infor inf mation Pruitt is available to speak for free at luncheons and events about foam insulation and the chimney effect ef on homes. For more infor inf mation on Rock-Crete, visit www.rockcretefoam.com etef etefoam.com or call 1-888-2699949 or 979-229-3493.

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________ 2013____________shopbrazos.com shopbrazos.com____________The ____________The Eagle

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________ 2013____________shopbrazos.com shopbrazos.com____________The ____________The Eagle

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

9

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

PACK A BETTER LUNCH

Lunch box love 8

ways to pack a better meal

Special to The Eagle

Ready to think outside the PB&J? From wraps to homemade chips, lunchtime possibilities can go far beyond the expected servings. Here are our favorite ways to liven up lunch:

Wrap it

Wraps travel well, can be made the night before and aren’t messy. Here’s the perfect wrap formula — something creamy (mayo, cheese spread, hummus, ripe avocado), something crunchy (lettuce, carrots, red bell peppers) and some protein (ham, turkey, beans).

Stuff it

Stuff pita bread with chicken salad; cashew butter and bananas; hummus and vegetables; or ham and spreads like artichoke and spinach or baba ghanoush.

Carry it

MorguEFIlE

Dip it High-protein hummus and bean dips are perfect for scooping up with pita bread, carrot sticks, broccoli or asparagus.

Combine 1 can garbanzo beans (drained), 1 garlic clove, 2 tablespoons lemon juice and 1/4 cup tahini in a food processor and pulse until smooth and creamy.

Cup it

Invest in 2- to 3-ounce plastic soufflé cups with lids to pack peanut butter, salsa and other dips and dressings for kids. For a great sandwich side, make a simple cucumber or carrot salad and pack it in a cup. Don’t forget to include a plastic fork.

Crunch it

Something salty and crunchy Invest in a reuseable lunch is a must, and it doesn’t have to tote. They’re insulated to keep lunches cool and cut down on be fried. Baked pita bread, tortillas, wontons, poppadoms and waste. sweet potato chips are healthier options.

Prep it

Make everything except the sandwich the night before.

10

Freeze it

Freeze water or juice overnight, and the next morning place the frozen drink in the lunchbox to keep the rest of the food cool.

STAY HEALTHY

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

Keep sick days at bay Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

A pediatrician’s top tips on winter health

snowmen, dragging a sled up a hill, skiing and ice-skating. You should also sign your children up for a fitGetting through a winter with kids ness class such as gymnastics, basusually means endless hours of cud- ketball or dance. dle time while they nurse their colds, flu and other illnesses. But while cud- Eat healthy This goes without saying yeardle time is nice, it’s even better when your child isn’t accompanied by vom- round, but a balanced, healthy diet will keep kids’ immune systems funcit, snot and other not-so-fun stuff.

Scott Goldstein, MD, a pediatri- tioning at their peak level. cian with the Northwestern Children’s Practice in Chicago and father 5-4-3-2-1 rule Each day, you should eat five servof three children between the ages of 2 and 8, shares his top 10 secrets ings of fruits and vegetables, drink to keeping his kids and his patients four servings of water, eat three servings of low-fat dairy, watch two hours healthy. or less of TV or movies, enjoy one Wash your hands hour or more of physical activity.

This is the best way to prevent the spread of germs. Wash your hands Healthy sleep habits How much sleep does your child with soap or hand sanitizer as often as possible – especially before and af- need? As much as it takes for him ter meals, after using the bathroom not to seem tired. If you have trouble getting your child out of bed in and after being around children. the morning, or if your child is havGet a flu shot ing meltdowns after school and in This is the only proven way to pro- the evening, he may not be getting tect yourself against the flu. You and enough sleep. your family should get flu vaccines every year because the strains in the Encourage vaccine often change annually. reading

By Danielle Braff

Special to The Eagle

Cold days are a good time for you to read to your child or for you to encourage her to read to you. Reading It helps boost your immune sys- is much healthier for the brain than tem. There are lots of fun ways for watching TV or playing video games. your and your children to exercise in the snow: shoveling, building Stay home

Exercise, exercise, exercise

If your child is really feeling sick, keep him home. Sick kids in schools or activities spread their germs to others. Plus, if your child isn’t feeling well, he should be home resting. A well-rested child will get better faster than one who is running around all day at school.

Get a check-up

Sometimes, the well-child visits get lost in the sea of sick visits. But wellchild visits are an important time for your pediatrician to make sure your child is growing and developing well – and also to vaccinate against some of the major causes of pneumonia and meningitis, which are more common in the winter.

Get outside

There is no reason not to take your kids outside, even when the temperature drops to the teens or 20s. Try to have some outside time every day.

This will naturally lead to more exercise and less screen time.

Experience the best of College Station massage therapy!

11

547 William D. Fitch Pkwy., Ste. 106 (979) 431-1211

mineralbodyworks.com

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

NATIONAL BLOOD DONOR MONTH

Electron microscope image showing human blood, This image shows red blood cells, several white blood cells, lymphocytes, a monocyte, a neutrophil and many small disc-shaped platelets.

How to save a life January is National Blood Donor Month

is National Blood Donor Special to The Eagle Month.

According to redcrossThere’s a way for people blood.org, January is typto save lives without spend- ically a difficult month to ing any money or even collect blood donations bemuch time. If helping oth- cause of winter weather and ers was on your list of res- busy post-holiday schedolutions for this year, con- ules. But the need for blood sider giving blood. January is always there. There is no

By Erika Enigk

12

artificial source of blood; it must come from humans, according to Harvey Schaffler, executive director of donor marketing at the New York Blood Center. In addition, blood doesn’t last forever, and it’s needed every day in hospitals across the country.

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

NATIONAL BLOOD DONOR MONTH

Requirements

The process Donating blood takes about 15 minutes from start to finish, Schaffler said. Donors fill out a registration form and are given a short Q&A about their medical history. Their temperature and blood pressure are taken, iron levels are checked, and then they give their pint of blood.

For each donor, there are new, sterile materials, and blood is quickly replenished by the body, so the risks are minimal, Schaffler said.

“The only thing you can get from donating blood is a great feeling that you’re helping somebody,” he said.

Platelet donation takes a few hours and has a different process.

Where to go

Many people donate at blood drives organized by their workplaces, houses of worship, or the sites of organizations they belong to. others visit special donation sites, at which donors can Don’t wait stop in anyunfortunately, blood cells time. To have a limited shelf life. De- find a blood donation pending on the component, site in your that shelf life varies from 42 commudays for red blood cells to nity, visfive days for platelets. Many it ameritimes, after a disaster such casblood. as 9/11 or Hurricane Kaorg or do trina, well-meaning people an Internet will rush to give blood, creatsearch. ing a supply too large to use. organizations like the New

FRENCH DOOR

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

Blood donors must be at least 110 pounds and in general good health, Schaffler said. Age limits vary by state but are generally around 16 and older. People can donate blood about every 56 days, or six times per year. Those donating platelets can do so more often.

York Blood Center have to manage their supply carefully, making sure to collect enough but not collect so much that some of the supply has to be thrown away.

Schaffler encourages people to donate at their leisure.

Hospitals need a supply of blood every day for all types of patients, and regular donations will give them a better chance of doing more good.

“You don’t have to wait until there’s some public tragedy, because every day, there’s a private tragedy,” he said. “You shouldn’t just wait for a newscaster to tell you there’s a need for blood.”

Relaxing Winter Spa Specials 13

(979) 696-8992 Monday-Saturday 9 am - 7 pm

3206 Longmire College Station frenchdoorspa.com

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

MONEY TIPS

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

Make frugal resolutions

Tips for managing your money better in 2013

By Wynne Everett Special to The Eagle

14

Along with health-related resolutions, most Americans resolve to manage money better in the new year. This means spending less, saving more and getting the most out of your household finances.

To make that resolution a reality, you’re going to need a plan you can work throughout the year. Check out these strategies suggested by the University of Wisconsin Cooperative Extension office:

Step one

Figure out your net worth. Make a list of everything you own and its value. That’s the amount of money you’d get if you sold it now, not what you paid for it. The list should

include your home, car, retirement plan and other investments. Then make a list of everything you owe, which includes the balance on your mortgage, car loans, student loans and other debts. Subtract your debts from your assets to figure out your worth.

on each item and category on your monthly expense list. The idea here is to limit yourself as realistically as you can. Once you get a look at what you are spending, you’ll probably see the places where cutting is possible.

Be sure to write this plan down and keep it somewhere where you can see it as you spend money each month, but write it in pencil. You will probaStep two bly want to make adjustments as the Figure out your monthly expenses. months go by and you see where you Add up how much you spend each overestimated and underestimatmonth. Along with your monthly ed what you manage. Be sure to add bills for housing, utilities, food and a category for savings to your plan. other bills, don’t forget to include Make paying yourself part of your expenses like entertainment, coffee, monthly expenses. hobbies and other little items that add up fast.

Step three

Make a monthly expense plan.

Write down what you plan to spend

to set some money aside for these items.

Step five

Prioritize paying your debt. Make paying down what you owe — particularly any credit card debt — a top priority of your spending plan.

Step six

Use your plan every month. Remember to balance your checkbook every month and refer to the spending plan when you’re paying bills or making purchases. Keeping up with the details will become habit after a few months, making it easier for you to stay on top of your finances. AlStep four so, once you begin to see your plan Plan ahead. Some expenses won’t working and your savings growshow up on your monthly spending ing while your debt is shrinking, the plan, such as vacations or gifts. Plan satisfaction will inspire you to keep going.

GET DAILY SPECIALS IN YOUR INBOX, VISIT SHOPBRAZOS.COM

SHOP BRAZOS .COM

Stay connected with specials across the Brazos Valley

Sully’s Sports Bar & Grill 1037 Texas Ave. College Station Tuesdays & Thursdays, 3 pm - 12 am 69¢ wings & tenders

Los Molcajetes Mexican Food 725 E. Villa Maria Rd., Ste. 100 Mondays, 4 - 9 pm Two enchiladas any style with rice and beans for $5.99

Good Time Charley’s 201 S. Main Bryan Mondays, 3 - 9 pm $4 half order quesadillas

KIDS EAT FREE

Casa Rodriguez 300 N. Bryan Ave. Bryan Tuesdays, 5 - 9 pm Kids eat free from kids menu with purchase of adult meal

Harvey Washbangers 1802 Texas Ave. S. College Station Weekdays, 3 - 6 pm Happy hour

C&J Barbeque All three Bryan and College Station locations Wednesdays, 5 - 9 pm 1 kids meal from kids menu, with purchase of adult meal of $6.99 or more

Carney’s Pub & Grill 3410 S. College Ave. Bryan Wednesdays, All Day $1.50 wells

Ninfa’s Mexican Restaurant 1007 Earl Rudder Frwy.

College Station Tuesdays, All Day Kids 12 and under eat free with purchase of adult entrée

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

FOOD

DRINKS Koppe Bridge Bar & Grill Both College Station locations Wednesdays, All Day $1.75 pints

15

Add your favorite special to ShopBrazos. Submit a daily special for your business or restaurant by finding it on ShopBrazos.com and clicking “Add Special.”

All specials subject to change, see business/restaurant for details. facebook.com/shopbrazos twitter.com/shopbrazos foursquare.com/shopbrazos instagram.com/shopbrazos

Thursday, January 17, 2013____________shopbrazos.com____________The Eagle

our favorite things

16

Gifts | Clothing | Accessories | Home Decor | Jewelry Come Visit Us, and discover your new favorite things!

202A W. 26th Street | Downtown Bryan | 979.823.8000