I am a TERRIBLE consumer!

I'm a part of a survey panel company.  They send me emails and I take their surveys.  I was doing them with this company a long time ago and quit because it was so frustrating how often they didn't want to have me finish the survey because I wasn't who they were looking for... reminded yet again what a terrible consumer I am.  but that isn't a bad thing.  so I still do the surveys and eventually I earn enough points to get stuff from them...so yay there!

Today I was canning beef broth and thinking because, you have plenty of time to think while you're waiting for the canner to get to pressure.  and I thought about why I am such a terrible consumer...

and basically it is because I'm not buying the carp the advertisers are feeding us.

Do you remember how back in the old days when you bought something it was actually worth what you had paid for it?  How companies fought to make good products to earn your hard earned money and to earn your trust so that you would continue to buy their brand?

They stopped doing that.  I think it was around the time that credit cards became more popular with businesses to accept.  I can still remember having to write checks at places because they didn't take credit...yeah, I'm dating myself here.  But I'm pretty sure that quality products went out the window around the same time that everyone had copious amounts of money...even if it was borrowed.  No longer did you have to save up the money to go and buy a new microwave...just charge it!  Want a new album by your favorite artist but don't get paid for two weeks and the rent is due?  charge it!

And that brings me back to canning of broth.  Why on earth would anyone in their right mind be canning food in this day and age?  I mean except for the preppers out there...they have a reason.  For me there are a few reasons... 1) why am I throwing out perfectly good bones when I can make broth from them?  I mean most everyone makes a turkey soup after Thanksgiving.  Why not with the chicken bones?  2) do I even know WHAT they're putting in the stuff at the store?  I mean I can read the ingredients, but WHAT IS NATURAL FLAVORING?  3) this way I don't suffer the ever shrinking can.  It seems that every time something is NEW AND IMPROVED it is also smaller.  Do you know how many recipes were made from the old size?  sigh!  4) bone broth has collagen, glucosamine and chondroitin sulfate...good for you stuff!  (sorry for the font change, had to cut & paste because I can't spell any of that...hummm I thought I read somewhere you shouldn't eat it if you can't spell it?  alrighty then) 

I really wish that I could convince hubby that we need a compost bin.  If I had a compost bin then I could put the bones after I make the broth into that and let them rot and become compost for the garden...now if I put them in our compost pile, my dog will dig them up and eat them...and she shouldn't have cooked bones.

Now I have in my pantry 4 jars of chicken bone stock (I just used one yesterday, so I had 5) and 6 jars of beef bone stock.  Chicken is on sale, so I'm gonna stock up!

So now, I've been studying prepper youtube videos and getting loads of tips on how to can stuff.  I'm probably gonna can some potatoes here next because I'm tired of the bag going bad before we can eat them.  worst case, we have mashed potatoes.