5 Things Every Single Gal (on a budget) Needs

I live alone (with 3 cats). This is a state I never expected to find myself in and was/am ill-equipped for. However, I am increasingly comfortable with it and I have a few tips that I've learned in my almost 2 years of flying solo. After 27 years of living with assorted someones and very little break in between them, it has been a lot of trial and error. Here, in no particular order, are my 5 MUST HAVE's. (#6 is not listed. My father and son read this blog).

1. A George Foreman grill with removable plates. Don't skimp! The removable grill plates are the difference between loving and hating this indispensable tool. One of the biggest issues with living alone is food. I cooked for kids and family for a lotta years. I don't want to do it anymore. Unlike a lot of single folks, I undereat when alone. Laziness trumps hunger. Still, sometimes I gotta. I always grill 2 pieces of meat, unless it's fish, on the Foreman so I can reheat one later. OR I grill meat and veggies (peppers, onions, mushrooms, asparagus).

2. A wide selection of cereal. Milk is a struggle. Despite having many cereal-only meals I can rarely use even a 1/2 gallon of 1-2% without it going bad. I checked into alternatives. It is still cheaper to throw the remainder away. There are TWO TYPES OF CEREAL: entree and dessert. Entree favs for me are Multi-Grain Cheerios, regular Total with banana (you can pretend you are a healthy eater), raisin bran and Life. Dessert cereal includes Lucky Charms (the Quaker Oat brand in a bag is just as good and cheaper) and Corn Pops (yum! I haven't had those in awhile).

There is one switch-hitter: Post Blueberry Morning. It has blueberries in it (they always end up at the bottom though) so it qualifies as an entree cereal. BUT it is so sweet and yummy, it often ends up as dessert.

3. Furniture moving sliders. Why, why, why did I wait so long to buy these? I moved a very large bookshelf and desk from one room to another with these and it was easier than with another person. I think non-singles should have these too.

4. The library. Actually this is for everyone. And I won't belabor it here. You know how I feel (but, that said, you can watch every episode of nearly every TV show known to man when you cannot find real company to hang with-and it's free!).

5. A best friend who is single as well. One must must must have someone with whom to

• bitch about being single and the dearth of available, smart, funny, sexy men or women
• fall apart on the phone
• pick apart every sexual nuance of an encounter
• spend the night when you think you can't take one more night alone
• hit "singles" events so you can trash them later
• there's more but Stephanie Spanja-here's to you! Mary had Rhoda. I have you...