Inflation Busting #1 – Bulk Buying & Cooking

Beat Inflation at the Dinner Table: Buying & Cooking in Bulk.

Whether you live alone and only cook occasionally for one, or you have a tribe of kids, this method of watching the sales, buying in bulk, cooking in bulk, and storing in individual meals works for anyone or everyone.

In retirement, this method helps me cooks once a month! I'm not kidding. Plus, it's ALWAYS worth my while to go where the sales are. I don't get a sale on one chicken dinner -- it winds up being a sale on all of my chicken dinners!

I'm going to talk specifically about cooking chicken below, but this can be done with pork, sausage, beef, fish, pizzas, and more. All the strategies are contained in this one graphic -- that I included in my newsletter.

SEVERAL STRATEGIES IN ONE:

I've compiled several strategies that I call Inflation Busting that have to do with saving money, saving shopping time, saving cooking time, and all the thinking and worrying that goes along with it.

Starting in 2025 and continuing into 2026, I believe everyone is looking for ways to stretch their budget right now. With grocery prices soaring, it can feel like your favorite family meals are becoming a luxury. But with a bit of planning and a few clever techniques, you can enjoy delicious, healthy, and satisfying dinners every night for a fraction of the cost.

My first "Inflation Buster" strategy is incredibly effective, but I want to dive deeper and share the simple, step-by-step process I use to consistently provide my family with amazing meals for well under $5 per serving.

How to Beat Inflation: Step-by-Step

This approach is all about strategic buying and bulk preparation, creating a "convenience store in your freezer." Here’s exactly how to make it work for you:

The Strategic Buy: The entire process begins at the grocery store. This method leverages economies of scale.
- Buy in Bulk: Head to your local club stores like Sams Club or Costco, or watch the weekly circulars for Walmart, Aldi, and other grocers. A huge, multi-pound package of chicken breasts will always cost significantly less per pound than the smaller, pre-trayed options.
The Master Prep: This is the magic step that sets you up for weeks of success. Dedicate an afternoon (maybe a Saturday or late in the day on Sunday) to get your protein ready.
- Slice and Pound: Take your massive chicken haul and portion it. Slice thick breasts horizontally and pound them with a mallet into uniform 4oz to 6oz pieces. This has two key benefits: it ensures fast, even cooking and creates perfectly sized individual servings.
- The Big Marinate: The secret to restaurant-quality flavor is simple: time. Overnight. Prepare a huge batch of your family’s favorite marinade (Italian, teriyaki, BBQ, garlic-herb, etc.). Divide your pounded chicken pieces into a few gallon-sized zip lock bags. Pour a different marinade sauce over each group. Massage the sauce easily by massaging the chicken inside the bag and let it marinate overnight.
The Efficient Cook: This step was and is the game-changer for batch cooking.
- Invest in a Large Electric Grill: Forget juggling multiple small pans on your stovetop. A large, inexpensive electric griddle can cook 10–12 chicken breasts at once! This method is faster, ensures consistent temperature, and results in gorgeous char marks and juicy flavor. Cook all of your marinated chicken in one big, satisfying batch.
The Freezer-for-Convenience Pack: This is where you create true "fast food" at home.
- Double-Wrapped for Freshness: After your cooked chicken has cooled, individually wrap each breast in a smaller sandwich bag. This prevents the pieces from sticking together. Then, cluster 4–6 individually wrapped breasts into a large gallon-sized freezer bag for an extra layer of protection against freezer burn. This is crucial for maintaining flavor and texture for weeks.
The Effortless Dinner: The strategy is complete, and now you reap the daily rewards.
- Pull-and-Go: In the morning, simply take an individual chicken breast from your freezer-store and let it thaw in the refrigerator. At dinnertime, your protein is already cooked, flavored, and thawed.
- This even works if you forget to take the meat out in the morning. One or two chicken breasts can be laid in warm water and thaw at light speed.
- 3-Minute Prep: Pop your pre-cooked chicken breast in the microwave for 90–120 seconds to heat. In the same time it takes to heat the chicken, whip up a simple side dish: some microwave rice, a quick pasta, or a fresh side salad. Your entire dinner is ready to serve in less than 5 minutes!
- And I'll be talking soon about bulk buying and cooking side dishes, so the entire meal takes less than 5 minutes to prepare and with little effort, it has high-end taste.

The Bonus Benefits Beyond Your Wallet

This system is about more than just a low price tag. Here is why you will fall in love with it:

Saving Time and Effort Every Day: The most incredible benefit is that you have eliminated the question, "What’s for dinner?" Your primary protein is ready. Your "cooking" time is reduced from an hour to 5 minutes. No more scrambling to prep dinner on a tired weeknight.
Maximum Freshness and Less Waste: Pounding the chicken ensures it cooks perfectly and evenly, preventing it from drying out. More importantly, this entire process locks in freshness. When you pull a chicken breast months later, it will taste as flavorful and juicy as the day you cooked it. You’ll never again throw away a spoiled piece of chicken that you forgot about in the fridge.
A "Fresh-Not-Frozen" Experience: Because you handle the entire cooking and flavoring process, your "convenience food" is made from high-quality, whole ingredients. You know exactly what is in your marinade, avoiding the hidden sodium and preservatives found in pre-cooked, store-bought freezer meals.

This "Inflation Buster" is a true life-hack that puts money back in your pocket and gives you back your valuable time. Give it a try, and let me know how much you save!

Inflation Busting #6 – Use the Flipp App to Plot Your Route

Level Up Your Meal Planning Game with the Best Local Deals

Hey everyone! You know how much I love finding the best deals, especially on books. But my passion for savings doesn't stop there. Lately, I've been refining my meal planning process, and I've found a way to significantly cut my grocery bill.

I used to start by deciding what I wanted to eat for the week and then I'd build my shopping list around those ingredients. That approach works, but I always felt like I was spending more than I needed to.

Then, I tried reversing the process, and everything changed!

The Game-Changer: The "Flyer-First" Method

Here’s how it works in my household:

Start with the Deals: Before I even think about recipes, I take a few minutes to look at the store flyers and digital circulars for the grocery stores nearby. You can always find the biggest and best sales, often on the very front page!
Plan Around the Sales: This is the fun part! I let the deals dictate the menu.
- If a great cut of pork is on sale, looks like we are having a succulent pork tenderloin for our Sunday dinner.
- Find a great deal on shrimp? That's a perfect excuse for a delicious and healthy weeknight stir-fry.
- When I spot a favorite snack or a non-perishable on deep discount, I stock up!
Create Your List: With my main meals and some great deals mapped out, I fill in the gaps with other needed items and create my final shopping list.

For many of us who considered ourselves too busy to bother with sales and coupons, the extreme rise in prices of groceries and everything else is challenging every budget. Even people with money are experiencing sticker shock. For me, it's more about the principle of the matter. I can afford the high prices, thank the Lord -- at least at this writing -- but I think of younger women with teenages who eat like machines! How can they manage? Being retired, I've decided to use some of my time to explore what some solutions can be!

By letting the local deals inspire my weekly menu, I’m able to create exciting, varied, and, most importantly, cost-effective meals. The best part is that I don't feel like I'm sacrificing quality for savings; I'm just being more strategic.

I hope this helps inspire you to try a slightly different approach to your meal planning. Happy cooking and happy saving!

Audiobooks Course – Learning to Narrate, Edit, & Launch an Audiobook

Course Curriculum: "Audiobooks Unlocked"

I recently finished recording my two audiobooks. One was a short store entitled Writer's Block, which was easy and went about as smoothly as it could have gone for a complete newbie!

Next, I took on the narration of my first full-length novel, Murder in the Sanctuary. I'm an asthmatic and the hardest part of doing the long novel was my breathing. It is exhausting for me to talk a long time, especially when I can't flub a word here or there! However, if I did not have breathing issues, it would have been just as easy as the short story.

I worked back and forth with Google Gemini, as well as watching videos on YouTube about mastering the Audacity software, and I took notes the entire time. I have organized those notes, curricularized them, and am writing this course to help those who would like to do their own narration.

PLEASANT SURPRISE: One pleasant surprise I learned was that when you need to read every word without flubbing, you catch all the mistakes. Even when my books are edited by a wonderful editor, small typos and name swaps, etc. can get through. But when you need to narrate it and listen back as you edit, those errors are all caught.

So as a writer, I envision doing the audiobook right before I publish any book so that I know I have combed the book in the best way to check for every last error.

THE GOAL OF THIS COURSE

I hope to guide all self-published authors step-by-step, through setting up, recording, editing, mastering, and publishing a professional audiobook using free software (Audacity) and home recording techniques.

There is a learning curve to learning how to use Audacity, but this course will focus specifically on everything you need to know to conquer any confusion in the process.

Module 1: Planning & ACX Technical Standards

Before pressing record, authors must understand the rules of the road for retail platforms. All of the Audiobooks will need to pass muster on ACX.com. So from the moment you set up your recording area, you are arranging things to pass ACX standards, rules and regulations.

Lesson 1.1: The Audiobook Anatomy & File Requirements
- Core ACX Specifications:
  - File format: MP3 (Constant Bitrate of 192 kbps, Sample Rate 44,100 Hz, 32-bit Float).
  - Individual file size limits: Under 120 minutes per file and under 170 MB.

When recording in Audacity, the audio will be saved as a 'project'. This will save it as a .aup3 file. This is the raw audio that is saved as a file that only Audacity recognizes. ACX requires .mp3 uploads. So the pathway is to save the project as an .aup3 file when you are working on it in audacity. When it is edited and finished, you will need to export it as an .mp3 file.

NOTES FROM MY WORKFLOW: Once I opened audacity, I recorded the chapter and saved it in a folder entitled BOOK-TITLE-Audacity-raw-files. I used the same naming standards as are required on ACX. For example: Intro, Chapter1, Chapter2, etc., Outro.

Once I edited the audio file, I tested it with a plugin to see if it would pass with ACX. Then I exported the final audio into a new folder entitled "BOOK TITLE-Final-Files. These files are exported in the .mp3 format which is a requirement on ACX.com.

- Required Track Sequencing:
  1. Opening Credits: Title, Author, Narrator.
  2. Front Matter (Optional): Introduction, Prologue, or Dedication.
  3. Body Chapters: Each chapter uploaded as a separate MP3 file.
  4. Back Matter (Optional): Epilogue or Author's Note.
  5. Closing Credits: Wrap-up and Copyright log (© for text, ℗ for sound recording).
  6. Retail Sample: A 5-minute standalone snippet for potential buyers.

Lesson 1.2: Crafting Your Audio Scripts

Opening Credits Script: Using my short story as an example, an opening credit script sounds like this: "Writer's Block, written by [Author Name], narrated by [Narrator Name]."
Closing Credits Script: "This has been Writer's Block, written by [Author Name], narrated by [Narrator Name]. Copyright [Year] by [Author], Production copyright [Year] by [Publisher/Author]. All rights reserved."
Chapters: At the beginning of each chapter, you will enumerate what chapter it is. For example: Chapter 1, leave a few seconds, and then begin to narrate the chapter. Only allow up to 3 seconds of silence before you state the chapter number. At the end of the chapter, only leave about 5 to 8 seconds of silence.
Outro Calls-to-Action: Directing listeners to your author website.

Elevate Your Book Marketing: Professional Banners & Trailers by Stephanie Danielle

As an author, I tend to default to the DIY route for almost everything—from formatting to tracking down my design elements. But recently, a talented digital designer named Stephanie Danielle reached out to me on social media, and I immediately thought of newbie authors who needed a little help right after launching their books.

To show me what she could do, she put together this stunning 3D promotional banner for my book, Forewarned But Unheeded:

She put this together with just looking at the book cover and a description. She added the 75th birthday elements, and a few other things that I think are details that I don't see too often in book marketing graphics.

The attention to detail, the cinematic lighting, and the way it brings the mystery of the story to life is absolutely incredible. After chatting with her, I suggested she package her skills into official service tiers so other authors could easily level up their marketing.

If you are looking to give your book launch or promotional push a highly professional edge without breaking the bank, I highly recommend checking out her brand-new packages below!

Package Tiers	Package Details & Features
Basic Banner Package Price: $50	• 1 Premium 3D Book Promotional Banner • High-resolution image (1080 × 1080) • Commercial use • 2 Revisions • Delivery within 24 hours
Standard Banner Package Price: $100	• 2 Premium 3D Book Promotional Banners • Social media optimized • High-resolution files • Unlimited Revisions • Delivery within 24–48 hours
Premium Banner Package Price: $150	• 4 Premium 3D Promotional Banners • Amazon & Social Media Ready • Multiple design concepts • High-resolution files • Unlimited Revisions • Priority Delivery

How to Write a First Draft of a Novel Without Losting the Magic

Writing a Suspense or Mystery Novel? How to Organize Your First Draft Without Losing the Magic

When I first started writing, I used to sit down at the keyboard and try to fix every single grammar mistake, spelling error, and clunky sentence structure as I went. Big mistake! Gigantic mistake!

I learned the long and hard way that first drafts are their own animal. A first draft isn't about being perfect; it’s about getting the story down on paper. You are "blurting out the story" in broad strokes, and you can always massage the plot or deepen the characters on your second go-round.

But if you are writing a mystery novel—or any fiction with a strong thread of suspense running through it—"just blurting it out" can sometimes lead to a tangled mess of forgotten clues and broken timelines.

To keep from getting discouraged, you need a different kind of freedom. You don't need a polished manuscript right away, but you do need to get organized and I'm sharing my Eight Layer approach to novel writing that helped me remove all the stress, confusion, and restarts from the process.

Start with the Bare Bones

The secret to drafting suspense without losing your mind is to write out the bare bones of the crime or suspenseful event first. Don't worry about anything else yet. Forget the deep backstory, the descriptive settings, or the witty dialogue. Focus purely on the mystery or crime itself, and build a strict chronology of how the clues or revelations are dropped.

Think of it as building a Story Skeleton. When you strip away the extra noise, every great mystery or suspense thread needs these core anchor points:

The Story Hook: The moment you capture the reader's attention and curiosity right out of the gate.
The Inciting Incident: This is where the mystery officially begins (a body is found, the first mysterious clue arrives, etc.).
First Clues: The immediate evidence left behind at the scene of the crime.
The Suspects: Who they are, and exactly who fingers them.
Motives & Gains: What drives each suspect, and what they stand to gain from the mystery.
The Last Clue: The ultimate piece of evidence or realization that points directly to the real culprit.
The Climax: How the mystery ends—whether it's an ironclad clue, a dramatic confession, or catching them red-handed in the act.
The Resolution: How the main story wraps up and how your subplots finally end.

Once you have this skeleton locked in place, you can let your creativity flow during the daily writing sessions without the fear of hitting a structural dead end.

Get organized before you type page one! Grab my free tip sheet to help you map out your book layer by layer so you can write a stronger first draft with absolute confidence.

Tips to Keep You Moving Forward

Even with a strong mystery skeleton, writing that first draft requires the right mindset. Here are a few timeless rules to keep you on track while you flesh out those bones:

Don't stop to edit or revise. It is a complete waste of time to polish a scene that might get tossed later. You can fix the draft after you know the whole story fits together.
Leave notes to yourself. When you finish a writing session, make a quick note of where your mind is at and what needs to happen next. It makes finding your place the next day so much easier.
Take breaks and have fun. Don't sit and stare at the screen for hours. Get up every 20–30 minutes, stretch, and clear your head. Writing should be enjoyable, and if you're relaxed, your creativity will flow naturally.

If you want a deeper look at the general habits that will save your sanity during this phase, check out my older post, 10 Best Tips on Writing a Good First Draft, for more advice on setting up your writing space and pushing past the urge to edit too early.

Peek Behind the Novel – Writing in Layers – Initial Steps

WHY OUTLINING SAVES YOU FROM THE REWRITE PILE

When you sit down to outline your story before you write a single scene, something shifts. You stop thinking like a writer and start thinking like a builder. That's the whole point.

Most new writers want to jump straight into scenes and dialogue. They've got a great opening line in their head, and they just want to get on with it. But here's the problem: when you write first and figure out the story second, you end up rewriting. A lot. You'll discover halfway through chapter five that your killer couldn't have been at the scene, or that your protagonist's motivation doesn't hold up, and now you're tearing apart pages you already fell in love with.

Outlining lets you put on a few different hats before you ever put on your writer hat. Each one has a job to do, and if you do those jobs first, the writer hat gets to show up later and just write — no backtracking, no throwing chapters in the trash.

Here are the professional hats you'll need to wear:

The Brainstorming Hat — This is the first hat, and it's the loose one. You wear it when you're sketching out a few possible storylines, just to see which one has legs. This is quick work — short, messy ideas, not finished plots. The goal isn't to pick "the" story yet. The goal is to make sure whatever story you commit to actually has enough potential for twists, turns, and a full novel's worth of trouble. Don't skip this hat. Committing too early is how writers end up 40,000 words into a story that runs out of gas.

The Story Engineer Hat — Once you've picked your storyline, this hat goes on. This is where you lay out the bones of the story — what happens, in what order, and why. You can do this with short paragraphs, a bulleted list, index cards, whatever gets the structure out of your head and onto something you can look at. It won't be pretty. It's not supposed to be. This is the layer where you make sure the story actually holds together before you build anything on top of it.

The Location Scout Hat — This one comes after your story has taken shape in the engineering stage. Now you go looking for the places where all of this is going to happen. Where does the crime scene sit? What's down the street? What does the neighborhood look like? Putting in a little effort here pays off twice — it makes your story feel grounded and real, and if you've ever thought about your book being adapted for film or streaming, having real, scoutable locations gives you a head start.

Wear these three hats well, and by the time you put on the Writer hat, the heavy lifting is already done. We'll talk about the other hats you wear before the Author's Hat in our next article.

Below is a video I made for YouTube explaining the initial stages and layers of writing. I go over some of these points but others tips and tricks as well. For your convenience, I have time stamps below in case you want to just jump to the section you want to look at:

01:27 - Open Scrivener and open one document
01:45 - Other suspects, their motivation, red herring, etc.
02:15 - How it will End section
03:20 - Determining the framework of the script which will prevent writing for the trash can.
05:30 - Review of the layer elements
05:43 - Sneak peek into the next videos