Frugal Money Management

Is a Pool worth the Money and Trouble?

2008-06-14T12:44:00.006-04:00

It's summertime again. (We may as well call it summer with temperatures soaring into 3 digits in early June this year.) And when it gets hot, what do the kids usually want? A swimming pool.

I've resisted the requests for a pool up till now because I know the chores that come along with having a pool will fall to - you guessed it - me!

But, this year my 15 year old daughter swore she would keep it clean, covered, chlorinated, pumped, and use it faithfully all summer long.

And, it would save me the money that I would normally give her to go to the local pool, she says. She knows that saving me money is a big plus when she is trying to talk me into something.

So, I gave in. I bought a 10 foot pool, and that's when the fun ended.

The things to keep in mind when buying a pool - besides money of course - are the chores that come along with maintaining a pool. But, let's talk about money first.

First, filling a pool of any size (other than a kiddy pool) requires a lot of water. This is not something that usually occurs to you when you are looking at pool sizes.

Usually you just consider the "fun factor" of how deep it will be. But, believe me, 1000 gallons (or more) of water will not be cheap. So, the pool must be kept clean, treated, and covered to keep from having to dump and refill it.

Second, there are chemicals, chlorine tablets, filters, ph test kits, and algaecides that are needed to keep the pool clean. These things aren't cheap.

Third, leaf/debris nets, foot rinse/bath, towels, and of course new swim suits will be needed as well.

Now, onto the maintenance issues. The pool (if it has a pump) must be located within 10 feet of a GFCI receptacle. That's going to make it difficult to place the pool far enough away from the house to keep the noise outside.

The second and most difficult issue with the maintenance of the pool is finding a completely level area in your yard to set the pool up. Eye-balling it wont work.

I dumped and moved the pool 3 times trying to find a level spot. I've come to the conclusion that there are no completely level areas in my yard.

That means that if the pool has soft walls (not rigid) like mine does, you will never be able to fill it up completely. If the ground has a slope to it, the pool will collapse once it is filled about halfway.

I ended up having to brace one side of the pool against (8) 18 gallon totes that I keep gardening amendments in. My teenager is not happy with how it looks.

So, she has the pool she has been requesting for 2 years.

She has used it 4 times.

It is now full of leaves and other debris. She did cover the pool the last time she used it, but it has sunken to the bottom since it rained last week.

And, she asked me for money to go to the local pool already.

My opinion? Save your money for a yard swing, or table and chairs. That way, you save yourself a lot of extra work and money over the summer - and these items might actually be used.

Valentine's Day - Frugal or Free Gifts

2007-02-09T09:42:00.000-05:00

It's often the small - unexpectedly - kind things that we do for one another that are the most memorable. There is no need to spend a bunch of money, or even any money, on a meaningful gift for someone you love.

Here are some of my favorite frugal ideas for Valentine's Day:

Buy a Single Red Rose - in full bloom, a single red rose means "I Love You."
Make or Buy his favorite Cookies from the grocery bakery.
Buy an "I Love You" balloon and put it in the bathroom or in her car before she gets up.
Take the time to find a romantic card, and add your own words to the card - Don't just sign it!!
Write "Will You be My Valentine" on a piece of paper and slip it into his lunch box or her purse.
Cut a heart shape from blank paper. Write "Will You Be Mine" on it and color around the words with crayons. Place it where she will see it when she gets home.
Write "Lucky Me - I have You" across the top of the mirror (with bar soap or lipstick) before you go to bed at night. Make sure the words don't cover the whole mirror and it's still usuable.
Have "Your Song" playing when she gets home, and sing along.
Write out All the things you love about your mate on little slips of paper and place them in a jar. These things don't have to sound romantic. "I love you because you cleaned up after the dog when I was too tired to do it," is a real expression of love and appreciation. Don't underestimate the power of honest appreciation.
Rent his or her favorite movie and plan on watching it with him or her. This is especially meaningful if you don't like the movie and usually won't watch it.
Tell your partner you want to go for a drive, and take her to the place where you first met, had a great time there, or something special happened. Talk about the memory and how it made you fall in love with her.
Show up at your mate's job with a home-cooked (by you) meal for lunch.
Write "I (draw a heart) U" on your forehead and pretend you don't know it's there.

Make the person you love feel truly loved on Valentine's day. That doesn't cost a thing.

Who Lives in these Rooms Anyway

2007-02-07T07:32:00.000-05:00

I was watching Decorating Cents last night, and as usual they had a segment on interior redesign. In that segment, interior redesigners move the furniture in the room around, then scout throughout the house looking for accessories to bring the room together.

To accessorize they bring in lamps, tables, throws, pillows, plants, candles, art, knic knacs, etc. Once the room is accessorized it looks good. Well, it looks like it's ready for a magazine shoot.

The problem with these rooms is that once they are accessorized, they aren't really comfortable to use. I mean, the room looks great but how are your guests going to sit down when the sofa is covered with pillows and throws?

How do you manage to see the person you are talking to with tall candles or a bunch of flowers on the coffee table? Someone please tell me - what's the point of a coffee table that is so full of accessories (things you don't use) there is no room for your cup of coffee?

Don't people intend to use these rooms? Are the rooms just for looking at? Do the people who live there constantly straighten the throw on the sofa or rearrange the pillows once someone leaves the room?

Are our "living" rooms really supposed to look like magazine ads? Aren't we supposed to live in these rooms? That's what the den is for, you say. Then your intention is to pay for a living room that you can't use, you can only look at, obsess over, and worry about, right?

I don't get it. I mean, I understand that everyone wants their home to look nice. But, who decides what looks nice? Is it up to the designers, or the TV shows, or the mother-in-law...or us?

If you ask me, a room is meant to be used. If you can't use the room without having to worry about everything being straight, centered, fluffed, and unwrinkled, then you have a showcase - not a room for your family to use.

Cranium Board Game - Frugal Fun

2007-02-05T07:02:00.000-05:00

We spent part of our Entertainment budget this month on a board game called Cranium. Although this game was one of the higher priced games in the store ($18.22), it was a good investment in our Entertainment needs.

Compared to the little value we would have gotten had we spent that money on a movie, a fast food run, or an hour of bowling - this game will give us months, if not years, of fun.

Cranium offers something for everyone. Depending on where you land on the board, you may have to draw with your eyes closed, shape clay into a recognizable form, act out a charades word, unscramble a group of letters, or answer a trivia question.

This game is fun because there is always something different to do. You aren't locked into just trivia (don't you hate it when you can't answer 3 or 4 0r 5 questions in a row), or just charades, or just word scrambles.

If you are good at some activities, but not so good at others, you will still have fun with Cranium, because it's just a matter of time till the fun activities come 'round again.

Cranium is set up for teams, but you can play it with singles. There are three people in our family so we just act out the hints for each other. For example, If a player had to guess a song title while a teammate hummed the song, one (or both) of the other players would hum the song.

Having a teammate wasn't really necessary, and helping each other kept us all interested in the game. We laughed at each other's attempts to hum or whistle a song that we could only remember the chorus to.

Cranium has a family edition of the game that is made for families with younger children (8 and up). We bought their regular version for adults and teens, and my 14 year old daughter enjoyed the game.

I recommend Cranium. The value you receive from this board game is much greater than just about anything else you could spend $20 on.

Homeowners Insurance - Watch Your Escrow

2007-02-01T07:20:00.000-05:00

Our Homeowner's Insurance Company is wacked. They don't seem to know what they are doing. And, my mortgage company (escrow account) can't keep up with their changes.

We contracted with an insurance company in June of 2004 for a homeowner's insurance policy. It was, of course, a requirement of our mortgage company that we make payments into an escrow account to pay the insurance premiums.

OK. That's fine. The mortgage company is making the insurance payments - accurately and on time - right?

Well, not exactly.

In July of 2005, we get a bill from the homeowner's insurance company for $29. Thinking this was a mistake since our mortgage company pays our homeowners insurance, we call the mortgage company.

They say they don't know what the bill is for, and their records show a payment made to the insurance company in May of 2005. It was paid in full (not a quarterly payment), so it shouldn't be due again until May of 2006.

So, we call the insurance company. They say it's an increase.

OK. We call the mortgage company again and tell them the insurance went up. The mortgage company says they will pay it. Just send the bill to them.

They make the additional $29 payment in July.

A few months later the mortgage company does an escrow analysis and raises our mortgage payment to reflect the increase in the insurance policy. That's fine; we were expecting the increase.

Since I'm a meticulous record keeper, I went to the mortgage company website to get a printout of the escrow analysis for my records and noticed that the $29 payment that was made in July 2005 was added back to escrow in August 2005.

What? Why did they do that, I wonder. The extra insurance bill/payment must have been a mistake, I think. Maybe our insurance shouldn't have gone up, so the insurance company issued a credit back to the mortgage company. Why else would we have a credit to our escrow account?

Now I'm watching the escrow account more closely. I see that the mortgage company makes the homeowner's insurance payment in May 2006. It's for the same amount that was contracted for originally. So, I figure (the bill and) the extra payment that was made was a mistake.

At the end of 2006, the mortgage company does its annual escrow analysis and issues a refund. According to the analysis, their projected payments from our escrow account were too high. They didn't actually have to pay as much as they thought (projected) they would, and they are refunding the overage.

So, I figure that extra $29 payment must have been a mistake. I fall back into trusted complacency again.

Oops. It was a mistake to trust that they know what they are doing. This year we get a bill from some insurance company that we have never even heard of. Upon calling our insurance agent we learn that not only has the insurance company changed its name (over a year ago), but our homeowner's insurance has gone up again.

Again? Yes. It seems that bill we received in 2005 was for an accurate increase. It has increased again for 2007.

So, I'm looking forward to another round of phone calls between the insurance company and the mortgage company. They can't get anything right.

My advice to you? Keep a close watch on your escrow account, and notify your mortgage company of any changes in your homeowner's policy. Don't, not for a second, rest assured that those two companies are keeping up to date with one another.

Ultimately, it's Your Responsibility to make sure everything is paid - accurately and on time. Don't trust your mortgage company to handle it correctly.

Veterinarians are Salespeople - Be Aware

2007-01-31T08:01:00.000-05:00

We've changed vets. To my disgust, I learned the hard way that veterinarians are salespeople, too.

The first vets we chose were chosen for convenience. A husband and wife veterinarian team's office is less than 2 miles from our house.

In the beginning, we always saw the husband and he was great. Our first appointment was made because we had found a 7 week old kitten, covered in fleas, with obvious eye infections, outside in the rain.

At that time we were still renting and pets were not allowed at that property, but we just couldn't let the little thing suffer out in the rain. We explained to the vet that we were not supposed to have animals, and we had very little money to spare on a kitten that we would probably have to get rid of (if the landlord demanded it).

That vet reduced his office fee and didn't charge us for one of the tests, and we were grateful. So, when we bought our own house and adopted a dog from the Humane Society we took our dog (and that once-ill cat) back to him for their health-care needs.

That was when we started seeing the wife in that team. She was entirely different from her husband. Where he had been happy to discuss the costs of high-end pet foods and their more affordable alternatives, dog shampoos and which worked fine while costing less, and flea treatments and over-the-counter alternatives, she pushed every line of every high-end product they sold.

Now, I'm not saying this woman shouldn't sell products that make them money. After all, every business is in the business of making a profit, but when this woman began pushing puppy shots every two weeks I started getting irritated.

I didn't have a problem with the first three shots. I understood that it was difficult to be sure that the immunization had "taken" and was not neutralized by immunity received from the mother. But on the third visit I asked if this or the next one would be the last and this vet proceeded to tell me that my puppy may need more than five puppy immunizations.

Now, that is rediculous. I knew from doing research on this issue that too many immunizations were worse than too few. And, the timing was equally important in determining whether the shots would "take" (every two weeks is too close together, but she insisted on that interval).

Combining this pushiness about giving shots indefinitely with the fact that this woman didn't even want to discuss cheaper alternatives for basic dog care (brushing dog's teeth rather than paying for a cleaning, etc), led me to believe that she was simply trying to make money and had no interest in the health of my pet.

So, we found another vet. This doc doesn't push his sales products on us and is willing to discuss cheaper alternatives for basic pet care.

If you want to stay in control of your money, do your own research. Don't take your vet's word for everything. Some of them are just as hooked into consumerism and greed as any other salesman you might encounter in a store or on TV.

Best Exercise Most Frugal

2007-01-28T12:59:00.000-05:00

According to a study from the Duke University Medical Center, a brisk walk each day (a total of 2 - 3 hours each week) will significantly cut your risk of cardiovascular disease. Walking is also the best way for middle-aged people to lose weight.

This is good news for those of us who find that we are gaining weight as we get older, even though our eating and exercise habits stay the same. According to the Duke University study we gain about 4 pounds a year as we age. So, if you are exercising but not losing any weight you are still ahead of the game.

It's nice to know that the most frugal exercise - walking - is also the best. Walking doesn't cost anything. I'd call that frugal.

If the weather is too bad to walk outside, just go to your local Walmart supercenter or the mall and walk up and down the aisles for 30 or 45 minutes. That's not hard to do, and if you combine your exercise with your normal shopping trips you won't even have to add the cost of gas to your workout.

So, there is no need to run out and buy all of those exercise machines and gadgets. These gadgets usually end up in the thrift stores anyway. If you shop at thrift stores you know what I mean. I've seen entire rooms at the thrift store filled with nothing but exercise equipment.

Don't waste your money. Just walk. It's good for your heart, your waist, and your wallet.

The Problem with the Car

2007-01-27T12:35:00.000-05:00

I got my car back from the shop. It runs great so far, but I'm skeptical. Since I've had the car in the shop for the same problem 4 times, I want to wait a while before I deem the car truly fixed.

But, I'd say it's probably fixed. It runs better than it has for over a year. I've taken it to two different mechanics and neither of them (nor any of the other mechanics at those businesses) could figure out what was wrong with it.

The problem with the car was that it wouldn't start some times, and when it did start it would run rough in 1st gear and 3rd gear. The battery was been tested 3 times and found good. The alternator was checked twice and found good.

The starter had been checked. The voltage regulator had been checked. The fuel pump had been checked. They were all found to be good.

In my quest to fix this pain-in-the-butt car, I've had the gear shift cable replaced, the ignition cylinder replaced, the fuel filter replaced, the spark plugs and wires replaced, the ignition wires replaced (I think these are the same as spark plug wires but I have a separate charge for them), and the crossover pipe replaced (suspected vacuum leak).

This time I had the coil packs replaced and I think they were the problem all along. Before I took the car to the shop this time, I looked over all the receipts from previous repairs and noticed that on two invoices (from different shops) there was a mention that one of the coil packs was weak.

But, on both invoices, changing the coil pack was "not recommended at this time." I brought this to the mechanic's attention when I took the car to him, and suggested that he check the coil packs again.

Lo and behold, he said the coil pack was the problem. He also said that the battery (which had been tested 3 times and said to be good) had a dead cell and this accounted for the starting problem.

The mechanic gave me the choice with the coil pack. He said we could replace just the bad one or replace them all. Since one had gone bad, he said it was more likely that the other two were not in good shape and may go bad soon. He also had coil packs with either a 1 year warranty or a lifetime warranty.

After all the hassle I've had with this problem, I opted to replace all of the coil packs, and chose the lifetime warranty even though they were significantly more expensive. But, I did go buy a battery myself and bring it to him to put in. I saved $20 by doing that.

The repairs still totalled $420, but if this fixes the problem it's more than worth the price. A new (used) car would have put us in debt again, and I will avoid that if at all possible.

Why am I sharing all this mechanical stuff with you all? In case anyone has the same sort of problem, I would like to save them the hassles I went through. Always be sure to read the invoices. This might just save you the expense and aggravation that I went through.

Most Reliable Used Cars

2007-01-24T09:20:00.000-05:00

I've put my car in the shop again. They weren't very happy to see me there since I told them, "If you can't fix it right this time - just tell me that and I will take the car back home."

Anyway, while I am waiting to hear from them I have been dreaming about buying another car. I did some research and thought you all might like to know which used cars are considered the Most Reliable.

Edmunds Best Bets

Economy Car: 1999-2004 Honda Civic
Midsize Car: 1999-2004 Toyota Camry
Large Car: 1999-2004 Ford Crown Victoria / Mercury Grand Marquis
Luxury Car: 2003-2004 Infiniti G35
Sporty Car: 1999-2004 Mazda Miata
Mini-SUV: 1999-2004 Honda CR-V
SUV: 2002-2004 Ford Explorer
Minivan: 1999-2004 Honda Odyssey
Small Pickup: 1999-2004 Toyota Tacoma
Large Pickup: 1999-2004 Ford F-150

Warranty Direct's Top 100

Honda Accord
Subaru Forester
Mazda MX-5
Mitsubishi Carisma
Toyota Yaris
Honda Civic
Nissan Almera
Honda CR-V
Toyota RAV4
Nissan Micra

Buy Another Car or Fix the Old one AGAIN

2007-01-23T09:39:00.000-05:00

Since my daughter is turning 14 this weekend, she is eager to put in applications around town. In our area, grocery stores begin hiring at age 14 and she has been counting down the months until she was old enough to apply.

The problem? My car is not running properly. I parked the car while I worked on paying off our credit card debt. Since my kid takes the bus to school and I work from home, the 2nd car wasn't a necessity.

But, she wants to work and I don't want to do anything that interferes with her desire to start making her own way in the world. Additionally, I want her to have a clear understanding of how much work is required to make the money needed to purchase wants like cell phones, high-end clothing, and cars and insurance.

But the delimma of whether to sink more money into a car that I've had in the shop 3 times for the same problem is not an easy one to resolve. If it was a simple issue of so-and-so needs replaced, and it costs $xxx to replace it, I would happily put it in the shop and have it fixed.

With this car the issue isn't that simple. It's what I get for buying a Pontiac Grand Prix, I guess. I've had 3 different mechanics try to fix the car, and although they've all replaced something, that something was not the problem. So, I continue to have the same problem after shelling out hundreds of dollars.

After reading several articles online, I'm thinking I'm going to put old Duchess in the shop again. It still works out far cheaper to keep trying to fix this car than to go in debt to buy another one. Here are the best of the articles I read, tell me what you think.

Keep Your Old Clunker or Buy a New One MSN Money
Fix Old Car or Buy New One - Dave Ramsey's Advice

Teen Parties - be Cool and Save Money

2007-01-22T07:22:00.000-05:00

My daughter's 14th birthday is this weekend, and we've put our heads together to come up with party ideas that won't break the bank (Mom's wallet).

Not only is this a good opportunity to teach your kid some money management skills, it's also a good way to save some money while still satisfying a teenager's appetite for all things cool.

I've learned some interesting things about the way teenagers think in this process. Did you know that having a pizza delivered is cooler than picking one up, even if you could get more AND better pizza by getting it yourself?

It's true. It doesn't really matter what kind of pizza it is as long as it delivered. Delivery is cool.

Deli snack trays are also cool. But, you can make them yourself and save a chunk of cash. As long as it looks good and offers a variety of bite-sized food with toothpicks stuck into them - it's cool.

Teenagers are slightly concerned with nutrition. So, you can include celery on the snack tray if you fill it with peanut butter. Mostly they want cold cuts - rolled and stuck with a toothpick, cheese (stuck with a toothpick), cucumbers (stuck with a toothpick), carrots (that's going to be hard to stick with a toothpick), and dip or ranch dressing in the center of the tray. I'm thinking toothpicks must be cool.

If yours is a slumber party, renting movies is a cool way to have fun, and a must-have. The movies don't even have to be New Releases. Older teenage classics like The Notebook, Titanic, Grease, Bring it On, and I Know What You Did Last Summer are usually a hit.

Teenagers also like the animated Disney movies like Cars, Ice Age, and Over the Hedge. Check into the 5-for-5 (5 older movies for $5) deals that most movie rental stores have.

Music is another cool must-have at a teen party. If you don't have enough music or need some more recent, popular singles you can download them from Walmart.com for 88 cents a piece. Just click on Music once you get to the Walmart site.

Walmart also has some music downloads for only 48 cents each. Maybe you will get lucky and your teen will find something they like in that category.

Twister is making a comeback. It's one game that most teenagers will still play with their peers. It's cool and cheap too. It's only $14.99 at Amazon.com.

It's not hard to create a cool party and still save some money. Just set a dollar limit for the party, give your teen a pencil and paper with the budget written at the top, and brainstorm until you fill the party with cool and frugal activities that satisfy you both.

If Your Teen Can't Save - Do it for Her

2007-01-20T12:06:00.000-05:00

I highly recommend requiring that your teen save a percentage of all money he or she gets. Once a kid becomes a teenager, there are going to be savings goals. It's a built-in fact of life.

All teenagers are going to be looking forward to something expensive. Whether it's that big end-of-school-year trip, a car, or prom clothes, you can bet something big is on the horizon.

If your teen gets money, he or she should be responsible for, at least, some part of those expenses. This is a prime opportunity to teach them money management skills.

Saving for a goal is a major part of money management. So, don't let the opportunity pass by.

But, saving money can be tough for a teen. If it's hard for adults to save money, imagine how much more difficult it is for someone who has very little experience curtailing that temptation to spend.

So, if you find that some portion of your teen's money is not being saved, you may have to save it for them.

I take 5% - 10% from all money my daughter receives (gift checks, odd jobs, etc.) and transfer it into her ING account, then give her the rest. I even deduct 5% of what I plan to spend on her for birthdays and Christmas and put it in her savings account.

This way she is not tempted to spend it because she never has the money in her hand.

My teenager gets a tremendous feeling of satisfaction from watching her savings grow, even though I'm making her save.

Your teen may balk at a requirement to save at first, but once he or she sees the money growing I don't think you will have any more problems. You might even be surprised by having your teen bring her last bit of change to you and asking you to put it in her savings account. How sweet is that!

Time to Increase 401(k) for Retirement

2007-01-17T07:31:00.000-05:00

It's time. I've been thinking about increasing my 401(k) contributions, but I've been putting it off.

I have other goals - goals that I want to accomplish as quickly as possible - so it's been easy to ignore retirement savings since we are decades from retiring.

Everyone wants to think about the "now" not the "later". It's human nature, and I'm no different than anyone else when it comes to that.

But, when I think of the lost opportunity of NOT taking advantage of saving Pre-Tax dollars, my frugal heart skips a beat. That's a lot of money we are letting slip through our fingers, folks.

For example, let's say you make $20,000 a year before taxes. *That puts you in the 15% tax bracket. You want to save 10% of your income for retirement. In pre-tax dollars you will save $2000 each year.

But, if you don't put that money in a tax deferred account like a 401(k), you will only save $1700.

You've just lost $300 - plus all the interest it would have generated.

It's gone forever.

It belongs to the government now.

Are you happy with that? Three hundred dollars is a lot of money to just give away, don't you think? Especially when it's going to the government. They already have enough of our money.

So, I am going to just bite the bullet and increase my 401(k) deductions. In take home pay, it will only decrease our income by a few dollars a week.

How about you? Are you ready to stop letting the government take such a big mouthful, and keep more of your own hard-earned money?

*These tax calculations have been simplified. For a more detailed explanation of your tax bracket, I recommend Moneychimp

Bowling Update

2007-01-15T07:59:00.000-05:00

We went bowling Saturday evening. It was fairly fun, but I thought it was a bit expensive. Only two of us bowled, so it cost $17 to bowl two games. Well, one dollar was for a can of diet Pepsi, so it really cost $16 for those two games.

Since only two of us bowled, the games went quickly. The first game lasted close to an hour. I think that was because it had been so long since anyone had bowled. We had also forgotten how to keep score and had to go ask the employees of the bowling alley. The second game only lasted about 20 minutes.

The cost broke down like this: $2 per person to rent shoes, $3 per person per game. So, the first game cost $10 for two people. The second game was $6 (since the shoes had already been paid for, the second game was cheaper).

So, for $17 we got approximately an hour and a half of entertainment. I guess if you really like to bowl, that's not too bad. But, if you are a real Tightwad like me you probably think that was too much.

We will probably go bowling again. Kim really liked it, and it was a good place to take the kids. Although they sold beer by the can ($2.25 each), I don't think anyone was drinking much. I certainly wasn't about to pay a markup of 300% just to have a beer.

If you haven't been bowling in a while, be prepared to be a little sore the next day. Those bowling balls are heavy and it works your arms, shoulders, and legs to toss them down the alley.

Cheap Family Fun - Bowling?

2007-01-12T10:49:00.000-05:00

When did bowling get so expensive? Granted, the last time I went bowling was in the dark ages (the late 70s) but it seems to me that it was a really cheap way to have some fun.

I decided that my family should go out this weekend and do something fun since we've done such a good job at paying off our debt and saving money. So, I'm sitting there trying to think of something that's cheap but might be fun for the family, and I remember going bowling as a teenager.

My memory is foggy (that happens once you pass 40), but I know we never had much spending money as teenagers, so it couldn't have cost more than a few dollars for an evening of bowling.

So, my partner calls the bowling alley to find out what times they have open bowling, and what the prices are. I couldn't believe it when she told me that it was going to cost us $15 to bowl one game!

How long does it take to bowl one game? An hour? Sheesh, $15 for one hour seems awfully high to me.

Well, we are going to try it, anyway. Hopefully it will be really fun and worth the money. I will let you all know how it turns out. (Maybe we will just bowl really slowly and make that one game last :-)

Voluntary Simplicity - My Definition

2007-01-11T10:28:00.000-05:00

I’ve been reading about Voluntary Simplicity (VS) for a while now. I like the idea of living a simple life – a life with reduced stress, a life without all the “hurry-up-and-go”, a life where making a ton of money is not the goal, a life where the people matter more than the things.

But after reading scores of web sites, I’ve realized that what I am looking for isn’t a typical VS life. My goal is not to live off the grid, or learn to grow all of my own food, or learn to cook on a wood stove.

All of those goals are wonderful, and they can certainly lead to a reduction in needed money, but in my opinion, they do NOT lead to a simpler life. I’m looking to make my life easier, not more complicated. I have no interest in going backward when it comes to technological progress. I like having water, electricity, heat, A/C, and automatic appliances at my fingertips.

I’m not trying to be political or save the planet (although that is certainly a noble goal). I'm trying to make life better – for me and my family – while making as small an impact on the planet as I can.

So, what do I mean by living a simple life? A simple life to me means an unpretentious life – a life in which a façade is unnecessary. I want to go back to the “good old days” when simple living meant frugality and non-consumerism were the norm, not something to be ashamed of because you were poor and couldn't do any better.

I want to have a simple house, and not be looked down upon because of it. I want to buy furniture that is good enough for us, whether new or used, and not feel anxious when I have company. I want to clothe and feed my family as decently as possible, based on what I think is important rather than on what advertisers tell me I must have.

I want to feel good about turning the heat down in the winter, and turning the air conditioning up in the summer. I want my old – but functional – appliances to be a testament to how well I am managing our money, rather than an embarrassment that we hope no one will comment on.

I want to be proud that I don’t have to work outside our home, and not have to feel that I am judged as lazy, nonproductive, and a drain on society’s resources. I want my lifestyle to be considered an acceptable alternative to consumerism, rather than a pitiable way to live.

Voluntary Simplicity has as many definitions as there are web sites about VS. I thought I’d add mine to the mix.

Frugal Gardening - in the Winter?

2007-01-09T09:42:00.001-05:00

Ok, I'm not really gardening in the winter. But, I am still enjoying the tomatoes I grew in the summer. I've learned that tomatoes freeze just fine if you plan on cooking them.

Last year was the first year that I seriously grew a vegetable garden. I had planted a few vegetables before and even tried indoor sowing, but it wasn't a planned effort and none of it turned out very well.

But, last year I went at it full force. I planned, plotted, winter sowed (more on that in another article), staked, and watered and ended up with a large crop of Roma tomatoes to show for my efforts.

We ate our fill of tomatoes all summer then froze the rest. The great thing about freezing tomatoes is you don't need to do anything to prepare them for the freezer. Just rinse them in water, pop them into a freezer bag, and leave them till you need tomatoes in a recipe.

Frozen tomatoes are much easier to skin than fresh tomatoes. Just soak them in warm water for a few minutes, cut an opening in the top of the tomatoes, then just push them out of the skin. They usually pop right out.

I made Cabbage and Kielbasa with some of my frozen Roma's last night (instead of the can of tomatoes the recipe called for), and it was great. The tomatoes broke down quickly and tasted good in the soup. The meal was all the more satisfying knowing that I had grown those tomatoes myself.

In case you'd like to try the recipe, I'll add it here.

KIELBASA and CABBAGE

1 large Onion, chopped
1 T butter or Margarine
1 lb Kielbasa sliced into 1/4" rounds
1 head Cabbage, chopped
1 - 28 oz can whole Tomatoes (or 4 cups frozen whole tomatoes, skinned)
4 cups Chicken Broth

In a large stock pot, saute onion and Kielbasa in margarine until onions are transparent (OPTIONAL - you can just toss everything in the pot and simmer). Add cabbage, tomatoes, and chicken broth. Cover and simmer until cabbage is tender (1/2 to 1 hour), stirring occasionally.

This can be made in the crock pot, but the amount of cabbage will have to be reduced. Only half a head of cabbage will fit into my crock pot, so halve the recipe if your crock is a standard size.

Begin your garden dreaming now, so that you will have plenty of home-grown, freshly-frozen veggies for next winter.

Festival of Frugality

2007-01-09T09:25:00.000-05:00

I have neglected to post a link to the sites that have hosted the Festival of Frugality carnivals and Carnival of Shopping in which one of my articles was included. I would like to take the time now to link back to those sites. Please forgive my oversight in not posting these links sooner.

Make a Rug from Old T Shirts

2007-01-06T11:16:00.000-05:00

I love being able to re-use material from old clothes. It makes my frugal heart happy. One of my favorite re-dos is using old T shirts to crochet rag rugs.

I think everyone wears T shirts sometimes. So, most of us have old T shirts that either developed a mysterious stain, shrunk, or came out of the wash with a hole (I guess that's a sign that the T shirt has been worn out).

If you don't have any old T shirts, check your local thrift store. They usually sell them really cheap. We have a Habitat for Humanity store nearby and that is where I shop (for all kinds of things). Habitat's prices are much more reasonable than Goodwill, and I can get T shirts there for $1.19 each.

Anyway, this is how I make rag rugs from T shirts:

Make sure the T shirts you are using do Not have side seams.
Cut off the top of the T shirt containing the armholes (sleeves) and neck.
Cut off the hem.
Begin cutting around the T shirt, allowing a width of at least 1/2 inch.
Continue cutting around and around, creating a long "yarn" to crochet.
Roll the T shirt yarn into a ball.

You don't want side seams in the T shirts because once you cut across the seams they will come apart. This means you will have to sew them all together again. Sewn seams can be used in crocheting rag rugs (you will be sewing ends of several T shirts together to make the rug big enough), but it is much less time consuming if you have one continuous piece of "yarn" from each T shirt.

You can use the material from the top of the T shirt, but you will have to cut back and forth once you remove the sleeves and neckline. Cutting back and forth creates an extra flap of material at each end that will have to be rolled around itself as you are crocheting.

This flap may cause a "bump" in your finished rug, and it is not always possible to get the flap rolled tightly so it sticks out. If you don't mind it, then cut out the sleeves and neckline, then cut back and forth to use all of the material in the chest and upper back area of the T shirt, as well.

You will need approximately 10 large T shirts to make a 28" X 20" rug. If you buy the T shirts (from the thrift store) to make your rug, you can plan the design and colors to compliment your decor. If you just use what you have, take a little time to think about which colors look best together, and crochet in that order.

Once you have the T shirt material cut and rolled into balls you can begin crocheting.

Chain 20 stitches
Single crochet in each chain
Single crochet twice in last chain stitch
Work down the opposite side of the chain and single crochet in the bottom of each chain stitch
Single crochet twice in the end stitch
By the second or third round you will inc twice at each end to keep the rug from curling up
Continue sc around the rug, increasing twice on each end
As you finish a roll of T shirt yarn, sew or tie a new roll to the end and continue crocheting
To finish, slip stitch into 2-3 sc then pull the strip to the back of the rug
Sew the end under a stitch in the back to hide it

These rugs are great to use in the bathroom because you can throw them in the wash each week without having to worry about a rubber backing like you do with store-bought rugs.

A few Tips about crocheting with T shirt material:

If your T shirts have those rubber designs, pictures, or logos, this will create an added non-slip texture to the rug. If you don't want the rubber to show you can fold the strip as you crochet it so that the rubber is on the inside.

Decagon shaped rug illustrates rubber designs incorporated into rug

The wider you cut the T shirt "yarn" the thicker your rug will be. I wouldn't recommend cutting it wider than 1 inch, though. The wider it is, the more difficult it is to crochet unless you fold it before rolling into balls.

You can cut the ends on a diagonal before sewing them together if you want to make a near-invisible seam. Overlap the end of the last roll with the beginning of the next one and cut diagonally. Line up the diagonal cuts (this will create a 90 degree angle when the ends are held together) and sew them with matching thread. Roll this seam inward when you crochet it.

Budget Styles - Create a Hybrid

2007-01-04T10:38:00.000-05:00

Two of the most interesting budgets I've come across are the Balanced Money Formula (BMF) and the 60% Solution. Both of these budgeting styles break your income down into fewer categories than traditional budgets and offer a quicker and easier method of staying on track.

In the BMF, the goal is to separate your bills into into just 3 categories: Must-Haves, Savings, and Wants. Each category gets a percentage of your income. Must-Haves gets 50%, Savings gets 20%, and Wants gets 30%.

Must-Haves are the things that you must pay for in order to ensure your survival. Bills like rent (or mortgage), utilities, insurance, food (just the basics), and auto expenses are Must-Haves. In other words, you must have them in order to survive and continue making money.

Savings is pretty much self-explanatory, except that additional debt payments are also considered savings. This is because making more than the minimum payment on your debts frees up your money in the future.

Wants are those thing that make your life fun, or more pleasant, but you could live without them. Bills like cable TV, additional phone lines or cell phones, long distance calling plans, entertainment, yearly clothing allowances, dining (eating out), and internet service are Wants. You could live without them if you had to (you might not like it but you could).

The 60% Solution is similar except it doesn't separate Must-Haves from Wants. In the 60% budget, you separate your Committed Expenses (both necessary expenses and fun/entertainment expenses) from your other expenses and commit no more than 60% of your income to this category.

The remaining 40% of your income is doled out in 10% chunks each: (1) Retirement, (2) Long-Term Savings, (3) Short-Term Savings, and (4) Fun Money.

I've tried both of these budgeting styles and found that although they both work, neither of them suits my lifestyle completely. So, I just created a hybrid.

I use only 3 categories of spending: Expenses (a hybrid of Must-Haves and Committed Expenses) , Freedom Accounts (a hybrid of Short-Term Savings and Wants), and Savings (a hybrid of BMF Savings and Long-Term Savings).

Check out these budgeting styles and see if they work better for you than traditional budgets. You may find them easier and more effective for your lifestyle.

Free Credit Report - Get Yours!

2007-01-03T09:46:00.000-05:00

Has everyone taken advantage of the Free Annual Credit Report? I hope so. Not only does this report give you a good indication of how your credit shapes up, it also gives you the opportunity to have errors removed.

When I checked my credit report last year I found a $79 bad debt that didn't belong to me. I had no idea who this company was nor what they sold, much less had a debt with them.

The cool thing about checking your credit online is that some of the reporting bureaus (I know TransUnion will) allow you to contest a charge right there online while you are looking at your credit report.

It comes in handy. I just clicked the "Request Investigation" or whatever it was called and filled out the form that followed. Within about 2 months the debt had been removed. Evidently the company had no evidence that it was my debt.

I'm sure it's not always this easy to fix errors on your credit report, but TransUnion does at least require the company reporting the debt to have supporting documentation to prove the debt is yours.

How cool is that! Someone who makes an effort to protect you (instead of the big companies) is rare now-a-days.

I recommend that you stagger your requests for your credit report with each agency. First, request a report from TransUnion, wait 3 months and request a report from Experian, then wait 3 more months to request the report from Equifax.

This way you will be checking your credit 3 times a year, which makes it less likely that an error will stay on your report long enough to do much damage. And, you won't be paying a credit monitoring company to keep track for you.

Home Ownership - is it Really Less Expensive

2007-01-02T09:48:00.000-05:00

There is so much to do and so little money to do it with. Yes, I'm whining. Yesterday, I saw that my Home Repair savings has risen by $100, so I took out my "To-Do" list to see if there was enough money to make one of the most pressing repairs.

There still isn't enough to do a major overhaul on the porch (the most pressing repair), but that's not why I'm whining. I'm whining because that "To-Do" list is never ending.

After doing some calculations, I realized that by the time I save enough money to make the most pressing repairs, regular maintenance for everything else will be due.

This got me to thinking about how expensive it really is to own your home. Conventional Wisdom says that you will save money and build wealth by owning a home and building equity, not by renting and giving someone else your money.

But, I'm beginning to doubt so-called conventional wisdom.

Now, certainly, renting is giving your money to someone else in exchange for housing, with no end in sight. And it is logical to assume that owning your home - not having housing payments - during your retirement years puts you in a much better financial situation. But, does it really?

Well, I guess that depends on the maintenance costs of your home, and on how high your property tax might rise during your retirement years.

And - here is the kicker for me - how will you be able pay someone else to do that maintenance once you're old and not making money any longer? Are you assuming that you will still be able to do your own maintenance even into your 60s and 70s?

I'm assuming that you are somewhat like me ( meaning you aren't going to have a million dollars to spend during your retirement). So, how are you going to pay for the roof that needs to be replaced, the new hot water heater, porch repair/replacement, vinyl floor repair, carpet replacement, resurfacing grungy cabinets, leaking/rusting faucets, new elements for the stove?

And, how are you going to keep up with yard maintenance?

Some of us may be able and willing to push that mower around when we are 60-70 years old, but I'd say that it would be a real toll on most of us.

Pat Veretto, at Frugal Living found that she could do much better by selling her home, investing that money, and using it to pay rent. She not only came out ahead financially, she no longer had to worry about making home repairs, keeping up with maintenance, or dealing with the cost and physical toll of lawncare.

It makes you think. Are we really in a better position financially when we take on the cost of ownership of a house and yard? Is the cost of property taxes, appliance maintenance and repair, home maintenance and repair, and landscaping really less expensive than renting?

Cold-EEZE vs generic - Real Relief

2006-12-30T11:53:00.000-05:00

It's the cold and flu season again. Guess who is sick first? Yep, it's me. But, I since I found out about using zinc lozenges for colds I won't suffer nearly as much.

My cold is not too bad, but I do have a cough and irritated throat. I'm sure my throat would hurt more if I still had my tonsils. I had a tonsillectomy as a child and haven't had a really painful sore throat since.

Anyway, a friend told me about using zinc lozenges for a cold years ago. I was skeptical at first. I knew there was no cure for the cold since it was a viral infection rather than bacterial. And, I had used most over-the-counter (OTC) medications meant to treat the symptoms of a cold.

Most OTC meds offered limited relief, but they were all that was available as far as I knew (other than vitamin C). Then I tried the zinc lozenges, and I was sold.

The most commonly known brand of zinc lozenges is Cold-EEZE, but there are generics. I usually buy generic zinc lozenges from Dollar General. They are more a tablet than a lozenge, but are meant to be dissolved slowly in the mouth just like a lozenge.

All brands of zinc lozenges leave a funny taste in your mouth that seems to coat your tongue. This means the zinc is doing it's job. The taste is not pleasant but the relief of cold symptoms coupled with a shorter duration is definitely worth the unpleasant taste.

The generic zinc, in my opinion, has a stronger taste than Cold-EEZE but it's about half the price and works just as well.

If you begin taking the zinc lozenges at the first sign of a cold you can sometimes stop it in it's tracks. Taking it after your symptoms are full-blown will still reduce the longevity by almost half. And, the zinc actually relieves your symptoms for about 2 hours.

I have bought the brand name of zinc when I had a bad cold. After a few days of taking the generics, the taste can be off-putting, and Cold-EEZE does taste better.

Other than taste there is another potential side effect. Some people experience an upset stomach if the lozenges are taken on an empty stomach. That's an easy cure though. Just eat before taking it.

Overall, I would recommend the generic zinc lozenges mainly based on cost. If you have kids, you will want to keep zinc on hand, and if everyone is taking it 4 times a day it can get expensive to buy the brand name lozenges.

If the taste is more important to you, buy Cold-EEZE. Whichever brand you choose, I would definitely recommend using zinc lozenges to reduce the symptoms and duration of your family's colds. This stuff really works!

Stock Up On Food Sales - Maybe

2006-12-29T12:19:00.000-05:00

Buying in bulk to get a good price or because something is on sale is a great way to save money - but only if you don't end up using more than you normally would.

When my partner and I make up the grocery shopping list every two weeks, we check the sale papers. Often there are sales on items that we normally buy anyway. These sales help us to keep our food budget low, and if the sale is good enough we will stock up.

We are careful about what we stock up on, though, because in the past we've found that sometimes we ended up spending more money rather than less. Why? Because with some items we tend to eat more when we have more.

The way to prevent this is to ask yourself a question before you buy more than you need. "Will we eat more of this if we have more in the house?"

An example of something we will eat more of if there is an abundance is cheddar cheese. Everyone in my family loves cheddar cheese. Cheese is a good source of calcium, and since we don't drink much milk the calcium we get from cheese is an important part of our nutrition.

The problem is if we see a large amount of cheese in the fridge, we tend to eat more. Besides the fact that cheese is high in fat, we don't want to eat more than we need because of the cost of cheese (if you don't know the price of cheddar cheese, I'll tell you. It ain't cheap.)

So, if we stock up on cheese and everybody knows we have an abundance, everyone tends to eat it more often. This ends up costing us more money than it would have if we only bought what we needed.

We found a way around this when it concerns cheese. We just hide it deep in the freezer and once a week we move 1 pound of cheese to the fridge. Out of sight, out of mind works for us in this regard.

I think every family probably has something that tends to be consumed as quickly as it's brought home. With these foods, be careful about how much you buy, or hide the excess from your family (or yourself). Allot a certain amount per week and only have that amount available for consumption.

Make sure those sales actually save you money.

Unexpected Expenses - Are they Really Unexpected?

2006-12-28T10:08:00.000-05:00

You know how it seems that as soon as you get close to accomplishing a goal something always comes along to set you back? That happens often in my life, especially with my financial goals.

It seems like every time I free up money - by paying off a debt, getting a raise, or a money gift - something comes along to eat up that money. And, that "something" always shows up AFTER I've made plans to spend the extra money or have actually already spent it.

So, I've paid off my credit card debt and freed up $185 a month. I planned to put that money toward paying down the mortgage, saving to buy a house in the country, and adding a little extra to my food budget.

And that "something" showed up. That "something" is Major car repair. OK, it wasn't really unexpected. I knew it was coming, eventually. Both of our cars are OLD, and my car has been sitting in the driveway - not working - for several months now.

I've had my car in the shop 3 times in the last year to fix the same problem. It seems there is not one mechanic in this town that can figure out what is wrong with it, so I just keep paying to fix something else "that might be the problem," but isn't.

So, we just parked the car and decided we could get by with just one car. We've been told that the transmission in this car is on it's way out. The "brilliant" mechanics in our area told us that the transmission could last another 6 months or another 6 years. That was 3 years ago. So, I guess it's close now.

The car still works, but it's something that we just can't keep ignoring. There are little sounds and symptoms that warn us of imminent doom. So, why haven't we been saving and preparing for this major expense?

When you've lived poor as long as I have you learn to just push the specter of major expenses out of your mind, because you know you don't have the means to really prepare for them.

But, that has to change now. I have money freed up that can be saved for this expense.

So, I've re-written my goals again, including the car repair.

New Goal #1: Pay Off Credit Card Debt

SHORT-TERM GOAL: 3 more months till all credit card debt is paid.ACCOMPLISHED

LONG-TERM GOAL: Stop using credit cards unless total can be paid each month ACCOMPLISHED

New Goal #2: Save for Transmission Repair/rebuild

New Goal #3: Save just for Home Improvements needed to Sell the House

New Goal #4: Save for Down Payment and Closing Costs on a Home in the Country.

They say that Life is what Happens When You've Made Other Plans. I guess they were right.

Buy Contact Lenses Online - Save Big

2006-12-27T07:58:00.000-05:00

I have found another reason to keep one of those credit cards after you've paid off your debt. Buying contact lenses online.

I had no idea how much money you could save buying contacts online until my partner was advised to switch from rigid gas permeable (RGP) lenses to soft lenses (replacement/disposable).

Switching from gas permeables to soft lenses meant an increase in cost of almost 100% since gas permeables can last for years and soft contacts last, at most, 2 months per pair (soft lenses are recommended for 1 month's use, but most eye docs will ok their use for 2 months or until there is a noticeable difference in vision or comfort).

After being quoted a price of $30 for a box of 6 soft contacts lenses at the docs office, I decided it was time to do some research. I knew there was big online market for contacts, I'd just not looked into it since my partner hadn't needed contacts for the last 3 years.

After reading up on contacts and learning what I needed to know (OD, OS, Base Curve, etc.) at AllaboutVision.com, I did a Google search to compare prices. And, boy was I surprised.

It seems the eye docs really mark-up the contacts they sell. The highest price I found online for the contacts my partner needs is $25 a box, but the lowest price was only $15.

Even after you add in shipping (most online companies won't charge shipping if you spend $99 or more) you still come out saving about 40%.

So, how do you take advantage of this great savings? You order online and pay with a credit card, of course.

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm certainly in favor of buying ONLY what you have the money for, but paying with cash is sometimes NOT the best way of being frugal.

So, hold on to at least one of those credit cards. You might find that with a little discipline, it actually helps you SAVE money.

Credit Cards for Online Shopping

2006-12-26T13:25:00.000-05:00

Who used a credit card for Christmas shopping? Raise your hand.

I not only used a credit card for some Christmas shopping, I also applied for a new one. I know what you are going to say. It's not a great idea to get a new credit card when I have worked my hieny off to pay my credit card debt in full.

And, if you subscribe to Dave Ramsey's way of thinking, you would be right. But, I've found that cutting up all my credit cards and using cash for everything just does not fit my lifestyle.

Since I'm frugal, first and foremost, I must find the best deal on the things I buy. And often, the things I've decided to buy are a better bargain online.

For example, I decided that I was going to buy a better air purifier this Christmas. I have been using a Holmes air purifier, and although it is a good price at my local Wal-Mart, it doesn't do a great job cleaning the air. Also, the filter has to be replaced often and the price of the filter is almost as much as the machine itself.

So, I decided I was going to do some research. I wanted to find an air purifier with a better customer rating, and one that has a washable/permanent filter. The first place I look when I want customer ratings is Amazon.com.

Amazon.com has just about everything I'm looking for, and most things at Amazon have customer ratings (if there is no rating, I wouldn't buy it unless I have recommendations from friends or family).

So, anyway, I went to Amazon.com to find ratings on an air purifier and found one with 4.5 stars that I liked the look of. This air purifier (Honeywell HFD-120Q Tower) has a permanent (washable) filter and the manufacturer offers a $20 rebate.

Also, Amazon had a promotional discount for purchases over $125. This discount deducts $25 from your order when you enter the promo code at checkout.

See the savings adding up?

Now here is the clincher. Amazon.com has partnered with Chase to offer a branded Amazon.com Visa credit card. If you apply for this card through Amazon's site, you will receive a $30 credit after your first Amazon purchase.

How could I pass this up? I was going to buy an air purifier anyway. But, buying it through Amazon.com with the Amazon credit card would save me $30. Once I deduct the $25 promotional code and the $20 rebate, I end up paying $75 for a $150 air purifier.

Now, how can you be frugal and NOT take advantage of this deal? Since I make purchases from Amazon several times a year, this credit card will continue to earn credits for me everytime I use it.

Using credit cards saves me money, especially when I shop online. So, I won't be cutting up all of my cards.

Do You Have a Rag Bag?

2006-12-23T11:02:00.000-05:00

You have a rag bag, right? You know what a rag bag is - a bag, box, or storage container where you keep all of your old, torn, stained, or unwearable clothing and linens.

I knew you did. Who would throw all of that great material away?

A rag bag isn't just a frugal way of re-making your cast-offs into something useful, it's also a fun place to let your imagination go wild. I love my rag bag, because there is always something in there that I can use to fire my imagination.

I have found that there are some things that are just impractical to save, though. I can't come up with any useful ways of re-purposing bras and underwear. Although I have tried to re-use the elastic from them, they are usually too worn or stretched out by the time they make it to the rag bag.

Other things that I have found too impractical to save as material:

coats or clothing with many decorative seams - the useable material between the seams is too small to be of use
socks - these are good as dusting cloths though, so save them for that
slick, slinky polyester or nylon - I find this material too hard to handle and difficult to sew

The best things to keep in the rag bag:

cotton or blend sheets - remake into pillows, throws, window quilt backs, crocheted rugs
towels - remake into wash cloths, rugs, cleaning rags
curtains - remake into pillows, quilts, window quilt backs, crocheted rugs
tablecloths - remake into any of the above
cotton or blend dresses - remake into pillows, quilts, shirts
flannel, cotton, or blend shirts - remake into napkins, pillows, quilts
fleece or sweat pants and shirts - remake into reusable cloths for the Swiffer or Wet Jet mop, cleaning cloths when you need a material that holds water, throws
sturdy polyester or nylon - remake into pet beds, pillow covers for outdoor furniture
denim - remake into floor pillows, sit-upons, bed pillows, throws, purses or totes, rugs

A rag bag can be a treasure trove for those of us who like to sew or make crafts. Don't throw all that great material away unless it just can not be used for something else.

Make Your Own Cloth Napkins

2006-12-23T10:13:00.000-05:00

About.com has a great "How-To" on making napkins from used cloth like old tablecloths or shirt backs. This is where I got the idea to make our napkins.

I didn't make our napkins that big, though. Pat Veretto, your guide to Frugal Living at About.com, suggest making the napkins 16" square.

I suggest thinking about where you will keep your napkins and design them for that space. A 12" or 16" napkin takes up too much room on the small shelf in the kitchen cabinet where we keep our napkins.

At a minimum, napkins need to be as big as your hand. After some trial and error, I found that the best size - based on use, comfort, and the space we had to store the napkins - was twice the size of my hand.

So, I cut the material into 8" x 13" rectangles. I used old flannel shirts because my family perfers the softness and absorbency of flannel. Also, the plaid design and colors mask any stains that might not come out in the wash.

Once you decide how big you want the napkings to be, it's a quick and simple job to cut and hem them. Just cut out rectangles, fold 1/2" seam, then fold 1/2" again to hide the raw edges, and machine sew.

That's all there is to it. After you have them hemmed, just fold the napkins in half cross-wise, then again horizontally, and your napkins will take up a very small space in your cabinets.

Let Your Kids Trade Clothes with Their Friends

2006-12-21T08:35:00.000-05:00

Do your kids give their clothes away? My teenage daughter does. This drove me crazy until I realized that new-to-her clothes were appearing in the laundry.

Now, trading clothes with friends might seem like an odd way to get clothing on the cheap, but hey, if my picky, fashion-conscious teenager thinks it's cool, then I'm all for it.

When she first started giving her clothing away I decided it was time to have a talk. I explained to her that I was not in a financial position to buy new clothes to replace the ones she was giving away.

Her argument in favor of the practice was that she didn't like the clothes anymore and she wasn't wearing them anyway, but her friend did like them. So, she wanted to pass them on.

How could I argue with that? If the clothing was just hanging in her closet, it was much better to give them to someone who would get some use out of them.

Completing the trade may not occur with the same friend. But, it usually evens out, because there is always another friend who doesn't like some of her clothes. So, periodically I find new-to-her clothes in the laundry.

Trading is not limited to clothing. My daughter has traded purses, backbacks, shoes, and even jewelry. These things are often traded back again, though, so maybe it's more like borrowing. (Who can follow a teenager's thought processes, anyway?)

I can't say that I am always happy with the trade. If I've spent more than $30 for an item and she gives it away, I feel a frugal pinch in my pocketbook. (When you are Living Poor, spending $30 for one item is a chunk of cash, and it doesn't happen often.) But, as long as my kid has enough clothing to last the season, and she is happy with what she has, I'm not going to complain.

So, I recommend the practice. Let them trade, or borrow clothes from each other. It's a viable way to get new-to-them clothing - on the cheap. And, truth to tell, you probably couldn't stop it if you tried.

Replace a Dryer Element

2006-12-20T10:18:00.000-05:00

Have you ever tried to replace the heating element in a Dryer? If you haven't, I wouldn't recommend it.

When our clothes dryer stopped heating, I did research to find out whether it was something we could repair ourselves. It looked easy online, but it was a tough one in real life.

After ordering the element for our dryer, taking the dryer apart (not an easy task), and carefully re-stringing the darn thing, it worked for one day and started blowing cold air again.

The clerk that worked at the dryer-part store where we bought the element warned us not to pull the heating element too hard because it could break. So, it was strung very carefully.

There were no visible breaks when we finished, but it still didn't work. Evidently we did something wrong. We ended up having to buy a new dryer.

If you encounter this problem, I would recommed that you either let a professional replace the element, or just bite the bullet and buy another dryer. It's too delicate to be one of those DIY jobs, in my opinion.

Easy Cash Budget - Envelope System

2006-12-19T09:30:00.001-05:00

Some people simply do not like to budget (go figure). It's understandable, though. Budgeting can take quite a bit of time in the beginning, especially if you create a spreadsheet yourself, from scratch.

There is a simpler alternative to saving all of your receipts and keeping track of every dollar spent. It's the Envelope system. With this method of budgeting, everything is done with cash.

Here is how it works. Cash your paycheck and divide it up for each spending category you have. Put the amount needed for each category in an envelope and write the category names on the envelopes. Put all the envelopes in a safe place until money is needed for an expense.

Let's try an example. You get your paycheck for the week and cash it. You know you will need money for rent, gas for the car, groceries, the electric bill, the phone bill, the bill for cable TV, some money towards Jr's school clothes in the summer (school starts in 6 months), money towards insurance for the car (due in 6 months), and something for entertainment.

OK, that's 9 envelopes. Label each envelope and write the amount needed for the month on them. Divide the amount needed for the month by how many paychecks you get that month. For example, if you get paid weekly you will divide the monthly bills by 4.

Rent - $350/4 = $87.50
Gas - $50/4 = $12.50
Groceries - $250/4 = $62.50
Electric - $100/4 = $25
Phone - $35/4 = $8.75
Cable - $50/4 = $12.50
School Clothes (needed in 6 months)- $100/6 (months) = $16.67 (a month)/4 = $4.17
Auto Insurance (due in 6 months) - $350/6 (months) = $58.34 (a month)/4 = $14.59
Entertainment - $20/4 = $5

Technically, there are an average of 4.3 weeks per month, but I always use 4 because most months have 4 weeks. This adds in an automatic cushion that should carry over each month.

This cushion should be put into an envelope labeled "Unexpected Expenses." It will be used when the car needs a new tire, or everyone gets sick and you need to buy a zillion dollars worth of vitamin C and cold medicine.

Place the calculated weekly amount into each labeled envelope and put all of the envelopes in a safe place. When you are ready to go food shopping or a bill is due, take the money from that envelope and pay that expense.

Once the envelope is empty, there is no money left for that category of spending. If you find that you run out of money before your needs are met in certain categories, you will need to re-work your budget, or find a way to cut back spending in that category.

The Envelope system works fine for a family with basic budgeting needs, as long as they have the needed discipline to stay out of the other envelopes when one is empty. This method of budgeting removes the need for listing each dollar spent, and offers the ability to see how much money is left in each category by simply opening the envelope.

Just remember, Do not spend the cushion money (Unexpected Expenses) unless a real emergency occurs. (Eating out is NOT an emergency)

Budget for Entertainment - Give Yourself a Break

2006-12-18T15:26:00.000-05:00

It's really important to have an Entertainment category in your budget. Even if you can allocate only $5 a week for entertainment, set aside that $5 to spend for fun. This creates a positive feeling about your budget, and gives you a break from working on all the debt you are trying to pay down.

If you are Living Poor, like me, you will have to make your entertainment dollars stretch, but that isn't too hard to do. Here are a few Ideas that we use to entertain ourselves on a slim budget.

rent movies - some movie rental stores have deals like 5-for-5 where you can rent 5 (not new release) movies for 5 nights for $5. There are some great movies out there that you probably haven't seen yet.

save until you have enough for a board game - my family enjoys playing Trouble, Monopoly, Trivial Pursuit, and Yahtzee. Our next game will be Scrabble.

go to the library for movies, and spend the money on popcorn and candy as though you were at the theatre.

buy an extra $5 gas and go for a ride in the country, to a park, or just to some place in your neighborhood you haven't been before.

buy ingredients to make a big batch of cookies and bring your entire family in to help make them.

save until you have enough to take the family out for breakfast. You needn't go to a fancy restaurant. You can have fun going to Shoneys or even to McDonald's if you make an event.

However you decide to allocate your Entertainment money, have some fun with it. With all the hard work you are doing to get your spending under control and pay off debt, you should have some easy jobs like blowing a little pocket change.

The Fun of Budgeting

2006-12-18T11:09:00.000-05:00

I just love working on my budget. There is something so satisfying about closing out your monthly budget when everything has stayed within your budget goals (or come under budget).

It's even more fun now that I've paid off my credit card debt, because I can increase the budget a bit in some areas. Since I've freed up $185 a month, I can allocate that money to other categories in my budget, like Groceries, Savings, and Mortgage Paydown (which is a subcategory in my Savings category).

I'm always within budget in all spending categories now, but it took a while to get it down pat. In the beginning, I would overbudget and end up with money just sitting in a category.

Now, that might seem like a good thing, but when that money could have been in my savings account earning interest, I consider it a lost opportunity. (You might want to have a category to make sure you don't overdraw your account, call it Cushion or Overdraft protection, and make sure you keep $10 or $20 in it.)

Another thing that I think is fun about working with my budget is being able to watch my savings grow. Since I have a separate spreadsheet within my budget for each spending category, I can keep track of both my spending and my savings totals. And, with weekly deposits going into my savings categories, there's that immediate gratification of watching the numbers go up each week.

Budgeting is fun for me, and it will be for you too, once you get the hang of it. If you have a weekly or monthly deposit going into your savings account, you will feel deeply satisfied as you watch it grow.

Urban Legends and Affiliate Programs

2006-12-17T12:13:00.000-05:00

While reading at MyLot.com I found a post that indicated that Wal-mart was donating 5% of online sales to the Washington DC Community Center for Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual, and Transgender folks (The Center).

According to this news article, this 5% donation was seen as proof that Wal-mart had a "gay agenda," and The American Family Association (AFA) was encouraging it's members to boycott Wal-Mart during Black Friday (the Friday after Thanksgiving) because of it's supposed support for same-sex marriage.

Upon further research I found this report to be inaccurate. It seems that The Center (Home for GLBT in Metro DC) joined an affiliate program that Wal-Mart offers to web site and blog owners through LinkShare (the company that runs affiliate programs for many online stores).

About.com has designated this confusing and misleading campaign an Urban Legend, and states that it is not clear why the AFA found it necessary to mislead it's followers in this regard.

In short, Wal-Mart does not have a "gay agenda." They simply have an affiliate program as do most online stores. Many web site and blog owners (both homosexual and heterosexual) have joined this affiliate program to make a bit of extra money by posting links to Wal-Mart and other online shopping sites.

For those of us who support the GLBT community there is some good news to report. During my research of this Urban Legend, I discovered that Wal-Mart joined the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce earlier this year. And they have pledged to sponsor some of its programs.

This is just one more reason to like Wal-Mart.

For more information about joining Wal-Mart's affiliate program, click on this image to join LinkShare.

Need Food for Christmas - Ask at Church

2006-12-16T15:02:00.000-05:00

Most churches do much to help the poor throughout the year, but during Christmas they really work hard to provide a good Christmas dinner for needy people in their community.

I know of at least 2 churches in my community that give away boxes of food to families every month (I'm sure there are more, but I personally know of these two). These boxes contain cans of vegetables, boxes of pasta, canned fruit, dried fruit, frozen dinners, desserts, dried milk, beans, and sometimes personal hygiene products like toothpaste, mouthwash, feminine products, and soap.

During November and December these food boxes are supplemented with special purchases like frozen hams, cakes, pies, stuffing mix, frozen cooked chickens, canned concentrated juice, and condiments.

Supporting the community is one of the missions of most churches. So, if you need a little help during the holidays don't hesitate to ask for help at a church. And, if you don't need any help, consider donating to a local church, especially during the holidays.

5 Year Balloons - Losing Your Home

2006-12-15T11:07:00.000-05:00

My partner's co-worker is losing her home.

No, she didn't miss too many payments. No, she didn't fail to pay her real estate taxes. She just picked the wrong mortgage when she bought her home. She chose a 5 year Balloon.

A Balloon Loan is somewhat like a 30-year mortgage. Both loans have payments that are amortized for 30 years. The difference is that with a Balloon, after the specified time period is up (5 years for a 5 year Balloon, 7 years for a 7 year Balloon, etc) the remainder of the loan becomes due in full (What is a Balloon Loan).

That means that after 5 or 7 years of faithfully making your payments, you have to come up with the entire amount that is still owed on your loan. The amount that is still owed is usually a very large sum of money, because not much of the principal has been paid off in only 5 or 7 years.

Many people choose these types of loans because the interest rate is a little bit lower. They figure they will want to sell the house within 5 years, or they think it will be easy to refinance the loan if they decide not to sell the house. All too often, neither is the case, and they end up needing a huge hunk of cash.

It's not uncommon for the bank or Credit Union that holds the Balloon to decide NOT to refinance the loan. In this case, if you haven't prepared yourself you will be rushing around desperately trying to find a bank that will refinance your loan in a short period of time.

If you fail to find a bank in time, you must either pay the loan in full, or lose your home.

This is what happened to my partner's co-worker. She had no clear idea of how the Balloon worked, so she didn't research and pursue a new loan. She waited till the last minute and was shocked to find that she was not only going to lose her home, but her credit rating was going to be decimated as well - by defaulting on the loan.

My advice is to stay away from Balloon loans. With a 30 year fixed-rate loan, if you decide you want to sell the house after 5 or 7 years, you will have time to do it without the spector of doom hanging over your shoulder. And, you won't be homeless on Christmas.

How to pay for Christmas

2006-12-14T10:04:00.000-05:00

How are you going to pay for Christmas this year? Did you save money throughout the year? Surely you knew Christmas was coming, right?

I saved a little bit of money each payday, and had it automatically sent to my Freedom (Smart Money) account at INGDirect. So, when I was ready to go Christmas shopping all I had to do was log in to ING and have the money transferred to my checking account. It only took 2 days for the money to get there, and I was all set to shop.

You don't have to make much money to do this. Five dollars a week adds up to $260 a year, and you won't even notice it coming out of your paycheck. Five dollars is easy to forget about.

If you are thinking that $260 is not even close to what you need for Christmas, then by-all-means save more. Whatever you do, do not touch those credit cards. STEP AWAY FROM THE CREDIT CARDS!

If you didn't save money for Christmas, now is the time to start saving for next year.

Refinance to pay off Credit Card Debt - No Way!

2006-12-13T07:35:00.000-05:00

There's always been so much talk about using a cash-out refinance to pay off credit card debt. I've always believed that this was a Bad Idea. But with Christmas right around the corner the temptation to do this is even stronger, and refinancing to pay off credit card debt after Christmas is an even Bigger Bad Idea.

Why? Because...

you will charge more for Christmas knowing that the debt will be consolidated (you tell yourself that with a cash-out refinance the credit card debt is paid off. But it's still there - added to your mortgage)

you will actually pay just as much, if not more, for the credit card debt - even if you refinance at a lower interest rate - because you will take longer to pay it off (Home Equity is your nest egg...)

credit card debt is unsecured. If you default on your credit cards (don't pay them) creditors can hound you, but they can't foreclose on your home. If you move that debt into your mortgage you are securing the debt, and if you default the mortgage company will take your home (cash-out refinancing).

a cash-out refinance costs money (loan origination, closing costs, etc). If you can come up with cash to refinance, why not use that toward your debt? If you can't come up with cash, are you going to add the closing costs to the loan? If so, you are adding debt onto your debt to pay off your debt. (Sounds rediculous, doesn't it.)

home equity is your nest egg. It's your security during a time - your retirement - when you have little or no ability to create income. Find other ways to pay for the things you want now (like Christmas gifts), while you are young and strong and able to make money.

if you cash out more than 80% of your homes value, you will pay PMI (private mortgage insurance). PMI will offset the savings you hoped to gain by refinancing (Understanding cash-out...).

if you have substantial credit card debt, you are more than likely NOT managing your money well. Do you really think that paying off your credit card debt will stop you from charging again? If you are considering a cash-out refinance because you want to spend more than you have for Christmas, you will more than likely end up with new credit card debt - and be in far worse shape than you are right now!

Using a cash-out refinance is Bad Idea. Using a cash-out refinance to pay for Christmas is an even Bigger Bad Idea. Don't you agree.

Easy Gift Cards with MyPoints

2006-12-12T07:13:00.000-05:00

There are tons of ways to earn gift cards, music downloads, and long distance calling cards online. Although this is not, technically, earning money, if these are things you would buy anyway, it amounts to the same thing.

My favorite method of earning money (gift cards) online is with MyPoints.com. Once you sign up, MyPoints will send you email containing advertising offers. You read the email, click on the "Get Points" button in the email, visit the site that opens (for as little as a few seconds), and your account is credited 5 points.

Five points for each email doesn't sound like much when you need 500 points or more to get a Gift Card. But it really is fast and easy to earn a $10 Gift Card. And the stores you can get Gift Cards for are probably stores that you shop at now.

Wal-Mart, Target, Sharper Image, Pier 1, Old Navy, Linens'n Things, Bath & Body Works, Kmart, JCPenny, Home Depot, Gap, CVS, Blockbuster, and Barns and Noble all offer a $5 or $10 Gift Card for 1500 points or less.

Fifteen hundred points is three hundred clicks on that "Get Points" button, but that isn't hard to do. I have MyPoints send the email to my yahoo mail account (not my primary email account) and I go there when I have free time or I'm just surfing the internet.

I open the email, click on the "Get Points" button, let the site load, then close it. It only takes a couple of minutes to earn that 5 points, and sometimes I earn much more than 5 points.

One day I was comparing prices for printer ink online, and doing the MyPoints clicking at the same time. I opened one of the MyPoints emails and found an advertiser offering a decent discount on the printer ink I had been looking for. I surfed the advertisers site, satisfied myself that they offered a good value and bought my ink from them.

I earned extra points on the purchase, plus the 5 points just for visiting the site, and found the printer ink I was going to buy anyway. How easy was that!

I've also earned 10 points per dollar spent at Overstock where I go to buy sheets, anyway. I bought a set of 400 thread count, King size sheets for $40 at Overstock and earned an extra 400 points. Forty dollars for King Size sheets! You can't find 180 thread count sheets in King size for $40. (shipping at Overstock is $2.95, no matter what you buy.) Now, you can't beat that with a stick.

Anyway, so far I've earned three $10 Gift Cards from MyPoints. I redeemed them all at Wal-Mart, because I shop at Wal-Mart every week, anyway. Earning that $30 was easy, and I actually found some great deals along the way.

Give MyPoints a try. If you surf the internet, read online, or just like to comparison shop on the web, it's not too much trouble to click on some email while you're doing it.

Easy Microwave Cleaning

2006-12-11T09:07:00.000-05:00

Our microwave gets tons of use. It's easily used 6 - 12 times every day. But, I never think of cleaning it until I am just about to put something in there. Right at that moment, I don't want to stop what I am doing and get a scrubber to clean it.

So, here's what I do (it only takes 1 minute to clean):

put a cloth or sponge wet with water, windex, disinfectant, etc into the microwave
turn the microwave on high for 1 minute
be careful of the HOT cloth! - wipe the softened food off the microwave with the cloth

Whatever you use to wet the cloth with will leave its scent in the microwave, so be sure the cloth is clean and you like the scent you are using.

Has anyone Heard of myLot?

2006-12-10T14:13:00.000-05:00

I found out about myLot on a thread that was offering tips on making money on the web. Has anyone made any money using it?

I've only been reading there for 2 days, but I have already found some interesting conversations going on. They have a Living Frugal area at the site, and it's fun to respond to some of the questions that are posed. Reading there also gives you ideas for posts you might want to write about in your own blog.

I don't expect to make much, if any, money using myLot, but it can be an entertaining way to spend some spare time.

Don't use Credit Cards - or should I?

2006-12-10T12:45:00.000-05:00

I have a dilemma.

For over a year, I scrimped, sacrificed, and did without in order to pay off my credit card debt. I am now debt free.

The next logical step is to cut up all my credit cards (I've already cut up most of them), and stop using credit, right?

Well, this is where I have the dilemma. I have 2 credit cards that give cash back, and I'm torn about whether I should continue to use them for everyday purchases.

On the one hand it seems silly to NOT get the cash back on items I am going to buy anyway. Why not get a discount on necessities, if you can? Isn't that the frugal mantra?

Isn't the definition of frugal money management paying as little money as possible to meet your needs?

When I used these cards, I deducted the charges in my check register and always paid the balance off by (or before) it's due date. So, it's not like I was charging purchases, just making the minimum payment, and incurring interest. I spent quite a bit of time making sure the charges were accurate, and paid on time.

On the other hand, my brain repeats the mantra "credit cards are dangerous, don't use them." "Use cash," my brain (and Dave Ramsey) insists.

Now, this is a bit narrow-minded, I admit. I do tend to have a one-track mind once I make a decision about something. But, there is a valid point here.

If you never use a credit card, you can never get into credit card debt. If you don't use credit cards, there is no need to worry about a mistake or oversight, no trying to jump through hoops to meet the criteria for the cash back (only certain stores qualify), no concerns about the due date changing from month to month, no temptation to charge something you don't have the money for (but it's a really great deal and you can save a lot money buying it now).

In short, if you don't charge it, you don't have to fight an entire industry that is working it's hardest to get interest and fees from you. And, you don't have to fight you-as-your-worst-enemy syndrome.

So, I'm stuck. I actually called a credit card company to re-issue cards (I had cut them up) for my account. Now, I'm wondering if I made the correct decision.

What do you think? Is the hassle and risk of using a credit card worth the cash back offer?

Keep Saving after Credit Card Debt is paid

2006-12-09T13:41:00.000-05:00

I've paid off all of our Credit Card debt. So now, what do I do with that extra $185 (plus the $200+ from Kim's part-time job) that I was sending the credit card companies every month?

Yep, you guessed it, I'm going to save it. Or, most of it anyway.

The money from Kim's part-time job is nice hunk of change, but it's not something I am counting on. Part of the agreement Kim and I made about her getting another job was that it was temporary and she would quit at the first sign of feeling over-worked. (While the job lasts, it will all be saved in the New House fund.)

But, the extra $185 a month that went to pay off our credit card debt gets to be redistributed in the budget. And, that's going to be fun!

A small portion will go back into our food budget to add a little variety, and provide us with occasional treats.

Things like herbal tea, Ruffles potato chips (a rare treat, but the best brand of chips out there), roasts, lasagna (high cost for the cheese and sausage), and steak were cut from our food budget. They can come back in now - on an occasional basis.

Another small portion of money will go back toward paying down our mortgage. Paying just a small additional principal payment can shave years off your mortgage, and save you money in interest payments.

By paying an extra $30 a month for 2 years, I've cut the mortgage back 3 years and 1 month. That saved me $3720 in interest payments.

The biggest chunk will go into our New House fund and be saved for a down payment and closing costs on a new home in the sticks. (I enjoy other people, their guests, friends, music, and pets the most when it's from a distance :-).

So, most of the money I freed up by not having debt gets saved.

Saving money is a permanent goal for me, and will always be a part of my budget. It's a truly satisfying feeling knowing I will have that money tucked away - ready for what we decided is most important to us.

Credit Card Debt Paid Off - was it worth the sacrifice?

2006-12-09T11:12:00.000-05:00

I did it! I paid off all of our credit card debt. Hooray for us! (We did the happy dance yesterday, when I sent that last payment to Bank of America.)

If you read Tweak Your Financial Goals - 1 Year Mark, you know that as of November 7 (2006), I still owed $560 on the last credit card. I figured I would have it paid off in 3 months.

I was sending approximately $185 a month to that last credit card company. Now, that might not seem like a lot of money to some folks, but when you're supporting a family of 3 on less than $20,000 ($16,700 take home) a year it's a hunk of cash to come up with every month.

If you've done the math, you can see that sending $185 a month for 3 months pays off that $560, and that was my plan. But, when I made the November payment, I was so excited about being so close to my goal that I dug even deeper to pay it off early.

I made the November payment on the 17th, and by the 27th I came up with enough money to send an additional payment. Then yesterday (December 8th) I had December's payment a week early, so I made 3 payments in about 21 days..

How did I manage to come up with $560 in less than a month? I did two things.

One, I pared our living expenses down to the bone. That meant:

a cold house (turned the heat way down-this meant I could use some of the money I had saved for propane, because we would have more left for next year)
no treats or snacks in the food budget (we rarely eat junk food so that part wasn't too hard, but entres of ground beef, eggs, beans, soups, or pastas was boring at times)
no eating out (we don't do this often, but I even eliminated our once-in-a-blue-moon fast-food run)
no extra principal payments on the mortgage (I usually send in additional payments to accelerate our 30 year mortgage, instead I sent that money to the credit card company)

Two, my partner got a part-time job at a nearby grocery store. Now, this method of coming up with extra money obviously made the biggest difference in the short run, but it was the most challenging for me.

Kim had been talking about getting a part-time job for a while, but I was against it. I felt that she was already contributing enough by working 40 hours a week at her regular job. Also, I didn't think she would find a job that would allow her to set her own hours (she wanted to work one day during each week and Saturdays).

But, she persisted. She really liked the people at the grocery store where she does our shopping, and she believed that the manager there would let her work on the two days she had available. So, I figured it was worth a try. She was right. He hired her on the spot.

The hourly wage is low, and some weeks she is only scheduled for one day, but the $50 she makes on that one day made a huge difference in our saving ability. (And, she really likes working there.)

The job doesn't cost us much. It's only 5 blocks from home, so the gas use is negligible. She packs a lunch, or comes home to eat. And, she didn't have to buy any special clothing; it's a grocery store so jeans and tennis shoes are fine.

So, that's how we did it. Lots of sacrifice and some extra work. Was it worth it? You betcha! We are Free from debt (except the mortgage), and that feels really fine!

Organize your Kitchen

2006-12-06T10:05:00.000-05:00

Cleaning out your kitchen cabinets and drawers might not be the most fun you’ve ever had, but it offers some real benefits.

An Organized kitchen
Less clutter; more space for everything; less breakage when rooting in the cabinets
Time savings – no more searching through a drawer full of utensils for the potato peeler
Money savings - you won’t waste money on duplicates or things you don’t need

Are you with me? Then let’s get started.

First decide how many dishes your family needs. If you have a family of 3 like I do, a service for 4 is enough. If you have a family of 6, a service for 8 will give you 2 extra place settings. If you have guests often, then you will want a few extra, but don’t have (buy) more than you need.

Why? Because the more dishes you have, the stronger the temptation to let them pile up. If you have just enough dishes for everyone, they will be washed quickly because they are needed. They won’t be piling up in your sink.

Now, open the cabinets that hold your dinnerware. This is where you will start. Once you get your plates, bowls, and glasses pared down based on your family size, other decisions come easier.

Take out any dishes that your family doesn’t (or rarely) uses. Do you actually use those small glasses? What about coffee mugs; how many of those do you actually use?

Do your plates all match? Do you want them to match? Pull out what you don’t use.

Second, move to the silverware drawer. You might want to keep extra forks or spoons. If your family is like mine, you have a problem with disappearing forks or spoons. So, pare down based on your family size (2 of each utensil per person), but keep extra disappearing utensils (we keep extra forks).

Third, tackle the preparation and cooking utensils. Take your time here and really think about whether these are actually used. Most of us have too many cooking and preparation utensils, and we don’t use most of them.

The cook in the family usually has a favorite spatula, slotted spoon, ladle, potato peeler, paring knife, and carving knife - and she/he doesn’t use anything else. But, count how many spatulas, spoons, peelers, and knives you have. Wayyy more than you use, I bet.

If you don’t use it, get rid of it. It’s just taking up space and making it difficult to find what you need.

Fourth - on to the mixing bowls. Unless you mix and bake several things at the same time, you only need 3: small, medium, and large. If you have several sets of mixing bowls, keep the glass bowls and get rid of the rest. Glass is best because it won’t react with anything you put in it, unlike aluminum (which doesn’t get along with acids).

Last, take a good look at your cookware. How much of it do you use? Does anyone actually use that little saucepan that comes in the set of pots and pans? I think my daughter has used ours for hot dogs a couple of times, but mostly it just takes up space.

If you get stumped along the way, or just have a difficult time letting something go, put it into a box and set it aside (in the garage or shed). If you find you need it, it gets to come back inside. If you don’t go looking for it, you don’t need it. Pass it on to someone who will use it (donate it).

There, now you have an organized kitchen. You can reach your mugs without knocking the glasses over. You're saving time because you know where everything is. And, you won't be wasting money to buy duplicates of things you can't find.

Christmas Gifts Coming in - old stuff has to go Out

2006-12-05T08:59:00.000-05:00

Christmas is a great time to weed through all your "stuff." With everyone in your family getting gifts, a bunch of new things will be brought into your house, and you will have to make room for it all. This is also a good way to discover what you really need for Christmas.

Remember, if you want to be organized and clutter-free, old things have to go Out when new things come In (unless you don't have enough for the basics).

I'm starting with the linen closet. So grab some boxes and let's get started. You're doing this with me, right?

It might amaze you to see how many duplicate linens you have. It surprised me, and I usually keep my belongings to a minimum. But, when I opened my linen closet, I had to ask myself, "How did I get so many "extras," and how many do I really need?"

For example, how many sets of sheets do I really need for 3 beds? I had 8 sets of sheets, plus 3 unmatched sheets. Two of those unmatched sheets were for a twin bed! We haven't had a twin bed in years.

I pared these down to 2 sets of sheets for each bed. One set for the bed, and one set for the laundry (this way you won't feel pressured to wash your sheets immediately).

I pulled the two oldest sets (they were pretty worn) and the unmatched pieces. These went into my sewing storage for future projects (I crochet rag rugs, and sheets make excellent material for this). This left me with 6 sets, just enough.

If you find that you don't have enough sheet sets, put them on your Christmas list. Maybe someone will give you a gift certificate and you can pick out the sheets that match your bedroom decor (you could drop a hint). (Overstock.com is the best place to buy quality sheets at a real discount.)

How about pillows? How many bed pillows do we need? Four pillows for each bed is too many if you ask me, but everyone wants four pillows on their bed, so 4 for each bed it will be. Eight pillows is what we needed, 11 pillows is what I had.

The extra 3 pillows went into the trash. (They were too lumpy to be used, even as pet beds.) Need pillows? Put them on the Christmas list.

I figured we needed 2 blankets and 2 comforters per bed. One light-weight blanket and comforter for summer, and a heavier weight blanket and comforter for winter. We had an extra comforter that I pulled. This went into sewing material storage. It will make a great window quilt.

Winter throws; I had 2. I am making the third as a Christmas gift. (shhhh don't tell.)

Now, how about towels? Two towels per person is enough. One towel in use; one towel for the laundry. Six towels is what I had. The old towels had already been delegated to wet dog duty.

I had 10 washcloths, and only needed 6 (2 per person, one set for the laundry and one set in use), so the older, thinner washcloths will be used as cleaning rags.

That's it for my linen closet (how did you do). I've pared down to basics, and cleared out space for Christmas gifts. Next, the kitchen cabinets.

Money Tips for Teens

2006-12-04T07:35:00.000-05:00

Save 5% of All the money you get - Gifts, too.
Saving 5% isn't hard, it's only a nickel out of every dollar. But the earlier you start saving it, the faster it will grow. So, when you need a hunk of cash to buy a car, clothes for the prom, or an expensive trip with your classmates, it will be there for you.

Have a Savings Goal.
Are you saving for a car? The prom? A trip? Whatever your goal is, figure out how much money you will need, and start saving. Having a goal focuses your brain power, and makes it easier to save (It's cool, too. Watch your friend's reaction when you tell them you are saving for a car).

Open a Savings Account.
You can open a savings account online or at a local bank. You will earn a higher interest rate with an online savings account. Either way, you will need to have your parents open the account for you if you are under 18. If you want to be the only one who can access your cash, then save it in your room somewhere. Just make a commitment to save, and don't touch that money until you've reached your savings goal.

Spend your money with a Plan.
Take a minute to write down what you want to buy and how much it costs, before you go to the store. At the top of a piece of paper, write how much money you have. Subtract the cost of what you want to buy. Is there enough left for your 5% Savings (leave 5% at home so you can't spend it)? Do you have enough for the tax? It only takes a minute to write it down, but it keeps you on track once you get to the store.

Go online to find the Best Price.
Always compare prices at different stores to find the best price for what you want to buy. You will be surprised how much you can save just by shopping at a different store. Try Froogle.com or pricegrabber.com for online shopping, or go to local store web sites like Walmart.com or Sears.com to find local prices. You don't have to buy it online, you are just checking prices.

Think of what you buy as an Investment.
An investment is something you spend money on that you expect to last for a while. So, ask yourself how long this thing (that you are buying) is going to last. If it isn't going to last very long, like a pizza, don't spend much money for it. If it will give you value for a long time, like a CD player, then it is a good investment and spending more money on it is a good idea.

Don't Borrow Money without a Plan to Pay it back.
Avoiding debt (owing someone money) is best, but if you do borrow have a plan to pay it back. Write it out on paper (writing always helps to focus your brain to work on your plan, even when you aren't consciously thinking about it). Can you work it off? Can you earn extra money recycling aluminum, cutting grass, doing laundry for someone? If you can't come up with a plan, don't borrow money.

Save all your Receipts.
You just never know when something you bought is going to break, stop working, or just not work right. If you have the receipt, it's easy to take it back (most stores will give you your money back on defective merchandise for up to 30 days after you buy it). And, receipts are your record of what you spent your money on. With a record of your spending habits, you can go back and see if you are making good investments or bad ones.

#1 Money Tip for Teens

2006-12-01T09:43:00.000-05:00

You've got your own money now. How cool is that! So, what are you gonna do with it? Do you spend it all on that 6 CD changer stereo that is "off the chain," or on the newest, slimmest flip cell phone, so you can impress your friends?

Between the two, the stereo is the best investment. Why? Because a cell phone is a financial commitment; that means that you have to keep paying for it. The stereo is a done deal. It's paid for and you can use it over and over again without spending any more money.

You want to avoid financial commitments if you can. Once you are committed, like when you sign a contract for a cell phone plan, you have to keep paying a set amount of money every month.

So, what happens when you don't have any money next month (cause you spent it all on pizza for your friends, and a new CD)? You lose the cell phone service, and the money you spent to get the phone is wasted.

Well sure, you still have the phone but you can't call anyone with it, so what's the use? (Those games get boring after you've played them 300 times.)

So, the #1 tip for spending your money is to think of what you buy as an investment.

I know, I know, investment is a boring word. You're probably thinking that "investment" is some old-person word, and you aren't even listening, right? Well, that makes sense. But, bear with me.

Using the word "investment" in this sense just means that you expect what you buy to last for some period of time. You wouldn't buy a stereo or CD player and only expect it to last long enough to play one CD, or one song from the radio, would you? Of course not.

So, when you think of that 6 CD changer as an investment, you're just saying that you expect it to entertain you with music for years and years.

The good investments are the ones that you don't have to spend any more money on; they will work even if you don't spend one more penny on them.

An example of a good investment is that CD player you are thinking about buying. You might want to buy new CDs to listen to on the CD player, but you don't have to buy any more CDs for the CD player to work, right?

What about the cell phone? Will it work even if you don't spend any more money on it? Well the games will work, but you can't call anyone with it if you don't pay your bill month after month after month.

See what I mean? A cell phone is a bad investment, because it just keeps costing you money. And if you don't have the money one month, they turn off your service, and the phone is useless.

So, you decide. Do you want a good investment (something that lasts without spending more on it), or a bad investment (something that keeps holding its hand out for mo' money and mo' money and mo' money)?

Brand Names I'll pay Extra for

2006-11-30T07:02:00.000-05:00

Most of us Frugal Aficionados praise generics, and attempt to prod you into trying the no-brand equivalent of the items you buy. And, in most cases, buying a generic will not only save you money, it will do the job just as well as a higher-priced Brand Name. However, there some generics that just won't do the job or fill the need as well as Brand Name products.

Now, I can squeeze a penny till Lincoln squeals, and I enjoy doing it. But, saving money is just not satisfying when the product you bought doesn't fill the need. And, it doesn't save you money if you end up buying it twice (once for the generic, and then a second time to buy the brand that fills the need or does the job right).

So, here is a list (HA you knew it was going to be a list, didn't you) of Brand Name items that, in my opinion, are worth the extra money.

Colgate Total toothpaste.
For the last few years, I've noticed that my teeth seem to be shifting. Once this became obvious and I realized it wasn't my imagination, I did some research and discovered that more than 75% of Americans over 35 have gingivitis or periodontal disease (which can cause loosening or shifting of the teeth). Colgate Total is the only toothpaste approved by the FDA for helping to prevent gingivitis. It also contains triclosan, a mild antimicrobial that has been clinically proven to reduce plaque and gingivitis. I've been using Colgate Total for about a year now and my teeth have stopped shifting.

Crest Pro-Health Oral Rinse.
This mouthwash effectively kills the bacteria that causes gingivitis and periodontal disease (and bad breath). Because it contains no alcohol (alcohol containing mouthwash can actually make bad breath worse), it is much easier to keep in your mouth for 30-60 seconds as recommended.

Pantene or Tresemme shampoo.
If you've read Frugal Extremes you know that I prefer these products because they do a better job with my fine, limp hair than the generic shampoos. And, because these products are thicker, you use less so it ends up costing about the same as a generic.

Caress bath soap.
Generic (and many brand name) bath soaps dry my skin out. That means that when I use a generic soap, I must also buy a moisturizing lotion. Caress ends up costing about the same as a generic soap + lotion, so I skip the extra step and just buy the Caress.

Swiffer Sweep and Vac.

make my own

Dawn dishwashing liquid.
It takes less to do a better job. It's also a great stain lifter in the laundry.

Awesome or Greased Lightening cleaners.
I don't know if these are big brands any more, but they both still work very well. When you have a really grungy cleaning job, they do the job.

Mr. Clean Magic Eraser.
I don't buy this product often, maybe once a year. But nothing works better on textured surfaces (like the refrigerator), or to get out stains that would otherwise need such hard scrubbing that you risk damaging the surface.
Hunts or Del Monte ketchup.
I don't really care which brand I buy as long as it's a name brand. Generic ketchup does not taste very good to me, and I do like my ketchup.

Dukes mayonnaise.
Another food that I am picky about is mayonnaise. It has to be tangy and it has to taste rich, and Dukes is both. My family will just not eat the generic.

Prego, Hunts, or Del Monte spaghetti sauce.
Like with ketchup, I will eat several brands, but I won't eat generic pasta sauce. I just don't like the taste. (With the can sauces I have to add a teaspoon of sugar, I like my pasta sauce a touch sweet).

Purina dog and cat food.
Now, I know that Purina is not one of the top brands of pet foods, but it is one of the lower priced brands that is actually good for your animals. I had a vet tell me that Purina foods are just fine for your pets, and they cost significantly less than the fancier brand names. The generic pet foods are so full of fillers that to give your animals the needed nutrients you have to feed them much more food (that's not saving money), and they make your pets poop more often.

10 Tips for Cheap Clothes

2006-11-29T08:56:00.000-05:00

OK, it's another list. I know a list isn't as fun to read, but I'm a big fan of lists because the main points (or suggestions) are easier to find. So, here goes.

Look for clothes on auction sites like Ebay, Yahoo auctions, Overstock auctions, and Bidville. But be careful. If you are really picky or hard to fit, only buy brands that you know fit you right. I bought some Aeropostale tops, at a great price, for my daughter on Ebay. Once we got them we discovered that they had a square rather than tapered cut to the body and my daughter wouldn't wear them. Remember to add the shipping and handling into the cost of the item. If the price (including S & H) is not cheaper than the store, and you are not sure of the cut, don't buy it.
Only buy clothes when they are on Sale. Stores discount their clothing just before the seasons change. So, if you wait until fall to buy your summer clothes they will always be on sale.
Look for rebates, ebates, and coupons BEFORE shopping. You can find sales, rebates, and coupons for items you were going to buy anyway.
Don't buy high-priced clothing when you know they are going to be stained. Why pay "quality" prices for play clothes, gardening apparel, fishing/hunting camouflage, etc. Ask yourself, Are you trying to clothe yourself, or just show off (keep up with the Jonses)? Shop accordingly.
If you are a Jr or small size, check out the boy's department. Children's clothing is usually cheaper, and for items like T-shirts, sportswear, shorts, etc., the styles are often similar. Always try clothes on before buying.
Don't buy clothes that won't match what you already have. I don't care that it's on sale. If you have to buy something to match in order to wear it, it's not saving you money.
Make small repairs before they become big problems. If you notice a hem or belt loop loosening, repair or reinforce it now, before it becomes a big hole that can't be fixed.
Check Freecycle, and Craigslist for free or low cost clothing.
If you find a great sale buy more than one. Make sure it matches what you already have, and it's something you know you will wear. If you are buying for a child, buy one in her current size and one in a larger size for next year. Last fall, I found the style and color shorts that I prefer at WalMart - marked way down. I bought 2 pair of each color. Now I have enough shorts for years to come and paid less than I would for one summer.
Shop Thrift Stores. That old standby that everybody knows about can get you some new clothes that still have the store tags, or something cool, retro, or funky that fits your style.

Winterize Your Home

2006-11-27T11:05:00.000-05:00

Keep the Heat inside this year:

Seal up cracks in walls, around door frames, and around windows with caulk. You can reduce your energy bills by as much as 10% by sealing the air leaks in your home.
Buy new door sweeps (check them yearly for cracks or splits), or make draft dodgers.
Use expanding foam to seal around your dryer vent, pipes, or drains with openings to the outside.
Make window quilts or hang heavy drapes to keep cold air from coming through the window.
Use foam weatherstripping around outside doors, and inside doors to rooms that you aren't heating.
Add Insulation to your attic. It is one of the most cost-effective ways of moderating the temperature in your home.
Keep the curtains or blinds on south-facing windows open on sunny days (close them at night). Use the sun to warm your rooms.
Insulate heating ducts that run through unheated spaces like the attic or basement. You can lose up to 60% of your heated air if your ducts aren't insulated.
Insulate the first 6 feet of the hot and cold water pipes connected to the water heater.

Many of these insulation methods cost very little, but can make a big difference in your heating costs, and the comfort level of your home. We just made a Walmart run and bought insulating foam for the outside doors ($2.72), a door sweep ($2.54), and expanding foam for the dryer vent ($3.97).

Ground Beef in Recipes

2006-11-27T09:51:00.000-05:00

You can use 3/4 lb ground beef in a recipe that calls for 1 lb. We always do this and never notice a difference. It's an easy way to save a little bit of money with every meal that uses ground beef.

Always buy packages of ground beef that are 3 lbs or more. Most grocery stores start their meat discounts at 3 lb.

Divide ground beef into 3/4 lb sections, put them into freezer bags, squash them flat, seal, and freeze. Flat packages stack easier in the freezer and thaw out faster.

If your ground beef is frozen and you want to use it right away, boil it in water instead of browning in a frying pan. It not only cooks faster, the meat has a softer texture, and you don't have to scrap it as it cooks. We boil all ground beef when it is to be crumbled, and never have to remember to take it out of the freezer to thaw. (use a potato masher or fork to break it up after cooking)

A good rule of thumb for meatloaf, meatballs, etc., is 1 (3/4) lb ground meat, 1/3 Cup bread crumbs, and 1 egg. If you remember this ratio, you can make the basis for an entre of any size that you want to stretch. 1:1/3:1

Beef Stroganoff

2006-11-27T09:40:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

3/4 lb ground beef
8 oz sour cream
1 can cream of mushroom soup (make your own)
1/2 tsp garlic salt
pepper
Egg noodles (or other type of pasta)

Brown ground beef. Drain. Boil egg noodles. Drain egg noodles, put them back into the pot and add all other ingredients. Stir to blend. Heat through; approx 10 minutes.

You can change up this recipe by:

adding peas
using onion powder instead of garlic salt
mix with cooked rice or mashed potatoes instead of egg noodles

Crockpot Beanie Weenies

2006-11-27T09:34:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

4 cans pork n beans
1/4 Cup ketchup
1-2 large onions - chopped (optional)
1/2 Cup brown sugar
1/2 Cup mustard
1/4 Cup BBQ sauce
1 lb hot dogs - sliced into bite-sized pieces

Add all ingredients to crock pot and stir to blend. Cook on Low 3 - 4 hours.

BBQ Beans

2006-11-27T07:31:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

1 lb bacon - cut or broken into pieces
1 & 1/2 bell peppers- chopped
1 & 1/2 large onions - chopped
1/4 Cup brown sugar
18 oz BBQ sauce
6 TBS white vinegar (optional, only if you like it tangy)
6 cans pork n beans

Cook bacon and save drippings; cut or break into pieces when cool. Saute bell pepper and onion in bacon drippings.

Add all ingredients to large pot, stir to blend, cover, and simmer for 1 hour or more (longer it cooks, more the flavors blend), or crock for 3 hours on Low.

Spanish Rice

2006-11-27T07:19:00.000-05:00

2 Cups rice
15 oz can tomato sauce
19 oz water
1 tsp chopped jalipeno peppers (optional)
2 TBS taco seasoning (make your own)

Add all ingredients, except rice, to sauce pan and stir to blend. Bring to a boil. Add rice, stir, cover, and lower temperature to a simmer. Simmer for 20-30 minutes.

Crockpot Baked Potatoes

2006-11-27T07:13:00.000-05:00

These potatoes come out tasting more steamed than baked. They are firm, sweet, and delicious. I always fill the crock as high as I can because everyone wants to eat them the next day.

12 (or more) small to medium potatoes
foil to wrap potatoes

Wash potatoes and pat dry. Wrap each potato in foil and place in dry crockpot. Cover and cook on Low for 6 hours.

Crockpot Green Beans and Kielbasa

2006-11-27T07:04:00.000-05:00

Ingredients:

8 oz Kielbasa - sliced
14.5 oz (or similar) can stewed tomatoes
1 (4 oz) can mushrooms (optional)
1/2 tsp onion powder
1/4 tsp garlic powder
1/4 tsp basil
3 cans Green Beans (2 of them drained)

Add all ingredients to crockpot and mix thoroughly. Cook on low for 3 hours.

*Hint: Buy your spices at Big Lots for 50 cents each.

Fixer Upper - Leaking Hot Water Heater

2006-11-26T12:12:00.000-05:00

My hot water heater is in the bathroom. One of the previous owners had built a box to cover the hot water heater by covering a wooden frame with beadboard paneling. I use this box as a table and keep books, lotion, blow dryer, etc on it.

Anyway, I moved the box to clean under it and noticed that the coupling on the hot water outlet was covered in rust, and a pool of water had collected in the depression. Needless to say, there was a leak in the fitting.

Image is to show the depression where water pooled. This is not my water heater.

(This was one of the times that I was glad that I'm picky about cleaning under things, otherwise we wouldn't have known about the leak until it was pouring out onto the floor).

After watching it for a couple of minutes I was able to determine that the water was coming up over the compression nut and running down to the depression and pooling. So, I figured that the compression ring has deteriorated and failed.

The rust looked bad and I was concerned that it may have eaten into the water outlet fitting. I was worried that we would have to buy another hot water heater. So, I wasted a week doing research, and asking my maintenance friends a bunch of questions.

Finally I worked up the nerve to actually try to remove the compression coupling and see how far the rust went. It turns out the rust was only on the surface and I was able to repair the leak by cutting the copper pipe back a few inches, and replacing the compression ring and nut.

O% Credit Cards and Signature Loans

2006-11-25T13:33:00.000-05:00

A few days ago, a friend came to me and explained a financial scenario that he was considering. He wanted to know if I thought the scenario was a good idea. Now, I'm no expert in all things financial, but I do have opinions and some knowledge in this area.

(I'm also known as a person who can squeeze a penny till Lincoln squeals, but that's another story.)

Anyway, this person, we'll call him Ron, said that he needed money to move, but didn't have any saved. He said that he had a plan to get the money and wanted my opinion of his plan.

Ron had been mailed one of those "0% APR for 6 months" credit card offers and thought that he would take out a signature (or personal) loan from a local finance company to pay for his move, then use the "0% APR for 6 months" credit card to pay off the signature loan.

The local finance company was charging 28% APR for a signature loan, but Ron figured he could pay it off as soon as he got the "0% APR for 6 months" credit card in the mail. His thinking was that he would end up paying no or very little interest on the whole deal.

He wanted to know if this would hurt his credit and if I thought it was a good idea. I didn't think it was a good idea.

Here's why:

My first thought was, "I don't think your credit card application will be approved once they run your credit history and find a new signature loan in your credit report." Signature loans are often considered "high risk loans" because of their high interest rates and high frequency of default (Top 7 Ways to Improve Your Credit Score-Play by the Rules).
Hard credit inquiries hurt (lower) your overall credit score and he was going to add two hard inquiries in less than a month (How Credit Scores are Calculated-Interest in obtaining new credit).
The Credit Card company may not offer a way to pay off the signature loan other than a Cash Advance, which may not be included in the 0% introductory offer. And, a cash advance may incur interest as high as 30% APR.
If Ron makes just one payment late, that 0% APR skyrockets to the Default interest rate, which can be much higher than the normal (non-default) APR.
Using a Credit Card to pay off a Signature Loan is a dangerous juggling act that will fall apart with one mis-step. If Ron takes out a Signature Loan first, then finds that he can't get the"0% APR for 6 months" credit card, he will be paying 28% in interest throughout the life of the loan.

I'm assuming that Ron needs a loan because either his take-home pay is not sufficient to enable him to save money, or he is managing his money very poorly (or both). In either case, I don't think that adding new debt to an already precarious financial situation will improve his money management skills.

So, lowering his credit score by adding two hard inquiries, taking a chance that one of the credit applications may be turned down, risking the possiblity of having to pay a cash advance rate on the credit card, and the risk of making a mistake or making one late payment, means that if one thing goes wrong, Ron will go from struggling to save money to drowning in debt.

In my opinion, the risks in this plan are just too high.

Make Your Own Gift Bag from recycled clothing

2006-11-25T12:28:00.000-05:00

I am a big fan of recycling, re-using, and re-purposing clothes. It bugs me to throw out a shirt that has a small damaged or stained area, while it still contains good material. So, one of the ways I re-use shirts is to cut them up and make Gift Bags. Depending on how much "good" material you get from the shirt, you can make small, medium, or large Gift Bags.

Making a Gift Bag can be as simple as sewing three sides of a square (or rectangle), hemming the top, and using a ribbon to tie the bag closed.

Or, as elaborate as making mitered corners, a casing to hold the ribbon that will tie the bag, and a buttonhole opening for the ribbon.

You can even line the bags if you want to be fancy.

If you have a large flat-bottomed gift to wrap, you can add a bottom to the bag. If you want to add a bottom you will need four sides for the gift bag, rather than two.

Measure the bottom of the gift
Add 1/2" all around for the seams, and cut out your fabric bottom
Cut and sew together the four sides of the bag, leaving 1/2" unsewn (seam allowance)
Sew bottom piece to the (sewn) sides, using the 1/2" seam allowance

Make Your Own Cream of whatever Soup

2006-11-23T11:02:00.000-05:00

This recipe makes the equivalent of 9 cans of soup, at a cost of pennies per recipe.

2 Cups powdered mild
3/4 Cup cornstarch
1/4 Cup instant Chicken bullion
2 TBS dried onion flakes, or minced onion
1 tsp basil
1/2 tsp pepper

Combine ingredients, stirring until distributed.

To substitute for 1 can of cream of whatever soup, combine 1/3 Cup dry mix with 1 + 1/4 Cups cold water. Heat and stir until it thickens. Then use as you would the canned soup.

When a recipe I'm making calls for a can of Cream of "Whatever" soup, I don't bother with the Whatever part. I just make the soup (above) and add it to my recipe. But , if you'd like to add the "Whatever" to your creamed soup, here are some suggestions:

Mushroom: add ½ cup finely chopped mushrooms.
Celery: add ½ cup minced celery.
Potato: add 1 cup cooked diced potatoes.
Chicken: add ½ cup cooked chicken.
Vegetable: add 3/4 cup cooked vegetables.
Broccoli: add 1 cup cooked chopped broccoli.

Make Your Own Taco Seasoning Mix

2006-11-23T10:15:00.000-05:00

Taco Seasoning Mix
Two TBS (tablespoons) of this mix is equal to one envelope of store-bought Taco Seasoning.

1 tsp constarch
1 TBS minced onion
1 tsp onion powder
1 tsp garlic powder
2 tsp chili powder
1/4 tsp red pepper flakes (optional, only if you like it hot)
1/8 tsp cayenne pepper (optional, only if you like it hot)
1 TBS cumin
1 TBS paprika
1/2 tsp oregano
1 tsp salt

*Hint: I buy most of my spices at Big Lots, where I can get the Encore brand of spices for 50 cents (3.17 oz bottle).

Taco Meat
Use this recipe for Nachos, soft Tacos, etc. Cooked chicken slices/pieces can be substituted for ground beef.

Brown or boil (boiling creates softer texture and is easier to drain off grease) 1 lb ground beef, drain
Add 1/2 Cup water
Add 2 TBS Taco Seasoning Mix, stir
Simmer 5-10 mins

Cheap Side Dishes

2006-11-23T09:16:00.000-05:00

Make your own Fried Rice
Stir and turn this recipe frequently while cooking

Heat 2 TBS oil in a frying pan.
Add tiny bits of leftover meat and vegetables.
Add one raw egg, mixed for scrambling.
Turn and stir frequently till egg pieces cook (approx 5 mins).
Add soy sauce and heat through (approx 10 mins).

Pickled Veggies
These are a great snack or side dish, and kids love them. If your pickles are whole, slice them and add them back to the jar.

When pickles are almost gone, save remaining pickles and juice for this recipe.
Add to pickle jar: thinly sliced carrots, celery, onions, cabbage, etc.
Allow to "soak" overnight.
The longer it soaks, the stronger the flavor.

Microwaved Carrots and Onions
These vegetables come out sweet, tender, and moist. Not what you would expect from the microwave.

Slice carrots and onions (the thinner they are, the quicker they cook)
Add veggies to a glass baking pan (make sure it fits in your microwave)
Add pats of margerine on top or in layers with veggies
Cover and Microwave on High approx 6 minutes
Stir, cover and cook 6 minutes longer

Tangy Green Beans
Italian dressing makes canned Green Beans flavorful and interesting. This recipe is good hot or cold.

Drain 1 can Green Beans
Add 1/2 Cup Italian Dressing (any brand)
Heat (approx 10 mins on stove, or 3 minutes on Med. in Microwave)

Make Your Own Onion Soup Mix

2006-11-23T08:55:00.000-05:00

Lipton Onion Soup Mix is a great seasoning to have in the pantry. But it can get expensive buying those little envelopes. Try this copycat recipe instead.

I use this recipe on roasts, baked chicken, crock pot stews, and soups. This stuff improves the flavor of just about anything you cook.

Onion Soup Mix

1/4 Cup dried minced onion
2 TBS instant beef bullion (or chicken bullion)
1/2 tsp opnion powder

Combine all ingredients. This makes the equivalent of 1 package soup mix. Just sprinkle on meat or add to soups or stews and cook as usual

*Hint: I buy most of my spices at Big Lots, where a 3.17 oz bottle of the Encore brand of spices is only 50 cents.

Make Your Own Ear Drops

2006-11-21T15:54:00.000-05:00

I use these ear drops after a shower or taking a swim. Anytime I get water in my ears they seem to get infected or just ache. I've not had any ear infections or ear aches since I began using these drops about 2 years ago.

Swimmer's Ear Drops

1/3 rubbing ALCOHOL
1/3 white VINEGAR

1/3 WATER (boiled for 10 minutes, then cooled)

You can make any volume of these ear drops as long as you keep the ratio of 1/3 each (actually you can use full strength vinegar in your ears, but more alcohol may burn, so I use thirds).

I didn't list amounts of each ingredient to add, because it depends on the container you are using. I use an empty ear drop container, which holds about 1 teaspoon of each ingredient. You can use any container that has a lid, but you might want to buy a rubber-tipped eyedropper to dispense the drops.

Alcohol kills bacteria and drys the inside of the ear.
Vinegar kills bacteria and fungus.

Just use 1-3 drops in each ear after swimming or showering. Let it stay in each ear for at least one minute before letting it drain out. You can use these ear drops on your pets, too.

Make Your Own Egg McMuffin

2006-11-21T15:11:00.000-05:00

This makes a great breakfast or lunch. Hey, you could have it for dinner too, if you like. A side dish of Applesauce goes well with the McMuffins.

Stock up on english muffins, eggs, breakfast sausage, and American cheese when it's on sale.

Either fry 8 eggs (this works better if you cook them individually, or in a large frying pan to keep them from all running together) ...
Or cook eggs like an omelette [crack 3 at a time and mix like you are going to scramble them; add them to a frying pan and allow it to fill the bottom of the pan; once the eggs are firm (don't stir them) use a spatula to cut into four pieces; turn them over for a few seconds to finish cooking]
Slice the sausage while it is still frozen (it's easier to cut if frozen) and fry
Split and Toast the muffins

Add an egg or omelette piece, slice of sausage, and slice of American cheese to a toasted muffin. Microwave for a second to melt the cheese, and serve.

You can make a batch of these, put them in freezer bags, and freeze them for individual breakfast sandwiches.

Microwave or bake at 350 for 15 min. to reheat.

Make Your Own Fabric Softener or Air Freshener

2006-11-21T14:51:00.000-05:00

This is a cheap way to make fabric softener stretch. It's all I use anymore. An additional bonus is that you don't have to remember to catch the rinse cycle.
It can also be used as an Air or Fabric Freshener, like Fabreeze.

Fabric Softener Spray or Air Freshener

1 capful of fabric softener (any brand)
Fill the rest of a 32 or 36 oz spray bottle with (boiled, then cooled) water.

Use 8-10 Sprays per load, or just spray the clothes that you know will wrinkle before putting them in the dryer.

This Spray can also be used as an air freshener or fabric freshener, like Fabreeze. Just spray into the air or directly on curtains or fabric covered furniture.

For a stronger scented Air Freshener, you can use 2 capful of softener (it doesn't work any better as a fabric softener with 2 capfuls).

Keeping up with the Jonses

2006-11-20T08:20:00.000-05:00

Yesterday, I wrote How Big does your House need to be. There is another issue in that story that I didn't mention. That issue is Showing Off; more commonly known as Keeping up with the Joneses.

As I watched that episode of House Hunters, it dawned on me that the reason this couple wanted to move was not just because they had alot of "stuff," but also because they felt compelled to Show Off. This came clear to me as I answered the questions that kept running through my head.

What conclusions do you come to when you ask yourself these questions:

Why would someone need a house with a formal dining room when they had an eat-in kitchen?
Why would you need a formal living room when you have a family room or den?
Why aren't members of a family "allowed" to use certain rooms in their houses?
Why is it "bad" to have the TV as a focal point in a room?
Why must we pay to heat and cool rooms that we aren't allowed to use unless company is in the house?
Why do we spend the most money to furnish and decorate rooms that aren't meant for the people we love the most?
Why do we feel that making an impression on a friend, co-worker, or relative is more important than our own immediate family?
Have we bought so far into advertiser's propaganda that we now believe that our image truly is an indicator of our value?
Have we really assimilated that message into our belief systems, and now accept that spending money to impress others is a quest that is worthy of our time, money, and limited energies?

The answer, for me, is easy.

I will not use any of my limited resources in an effort to impress anyone. My value lies, simply and automatically, in being alive.

How Big does your House need to be?

2006-11-19T10:32:00.000-05:00

I was watching an episode of House Hunters on HGTV the other day. In that show, HGTV featured a couple who had 3700 square feet of space and were looking for another house because they needed more room.

"More room," I thought? "How can they need more than 3700 square feet of space?"

They had two small children, so they were a family of four. That means they need 3 bedrooms, right? Well, they needed four bedrooms. They wanted a guest room. No, maybe it was five. I think they wanted a separate home office, too.

Where does it end?

Obviously not there. They also wanted a "formal" dining room and living room. That means they need a separate "informal" eating space, and a den or family room so that they can actually sit somewhere and watch TV. God forbid they watch TV in the formal living room!

Oh, and I forgot to mention that one of the criteria for their new house was that it have a 4 car garage. They had a boat, a jet ski, and two cars.

OK, it was becoming clear to me. They needed more room because they had alot of stuff.

Now, obviously, it's not up to me to tell people how many "things" they should buy. If they have the money to buy and maintain boats and jet skis and cars, that's their choice.

But, when you think about it, you begin to see just how expensive these things become. Think about it - These people had to buy a bigger house because of their things. I would say that significantly increases the cost of these things.

How much are you willing to pay for a boat, and a jet ski, and two cars? Is an additional $50,000 for a bigger house with a 4-car garage too much? If we divide $50,000 by 4 we get $12,500 added to the cost and maintenance of each item.

I don't know how much this couple paid for their boat, jet ski, and two cars, but that extra $12,500 puts them in the way-too-high category, in my opinion.

This show illustrates a question that I think we all have to ask ourselves. How many "things" do we really need to buy?

When do we finally have enough?

Saving Money Tips - 2

2006-11-18T15:14:00.000-05:00

Rent Movies instead of going to the movie theatre.
Or better yet, borrow movies from the library.

Buy the cheapest Laundry detergent you can find.
They all clean the same; they just smell different. I can get 100 loads of Vista for $4.48. You can't make detergent that cheap.

Use Dawn dishwashing detergent to pre-treat stains. Dawn works on most protein and grease stains if you treat before the stain is set (check for stains before drying). Use peroxide on blood stains.

If you use disposable cleaning products, like Swiffer, make your own cloths and wash them.
Used dryer sheets sewn to rectangles of flannel or fleece work on both the Swiffer sweeper and mop (sew velcro or elastic on the cloths for the mop).

Stock up on meat when it's on Sale, and reduce the amount used by a small amount in each meal.
You'll never notice the difference.

Buy your clothes when they are marked down.
Stores usually mark down their clothing when the seasons change. So, If you wait until spring to buy your winter clothes, they will always be on sale.

Read Miserly Moms - Miserly Tips.
She has hundreds of useful tips on her web site.

Keep the Heat inside this Winter.
Use foam weather-stripping to insulate around doors. Caulk gaps or small holes in walls, around door frames, and around windows. Use door sweeps or make draft dodgers. Make window quilts to keep cold air from coming through your windows.

Use fluorescent light bulbs instead of incandescent.
Although they cost more initially, compact fluorescents save money in the long run. They don't have to be changed nearly as often (sometimes lasting 10 times longer than incandescent bulbs). The fluorescents in my home have been working for over 1 year, and still going strong. When was the last time you had to change a lightbulb?

Add Insulation to your Attic.
It is one of the most cost-effective ways of making your home more comfortable, and the benefits last year round. Insulation also keeps your house cooler in the summer.

Buy Energy Star appliances, if you can.
You will be paying for the energy they use for a long time, so think of the cost of the appliance as just the down payment. Refrigerators last an average of 13 years; room air conditioners and clothes washers last about 11 years each; and dishwashers about 9 years. That's a lot of electric bills you can reduce.

Don't use a dishwasher.
Or if you do, let the dishes air dry. Most of the energy a dishwasher uses is to heat water, but using a heat cycle to dry the dishes wastes energy. If you don't have an "air dry" cycle, prop the door open after the rinse cycle to help them dry faster.

Top-Freezer model refrigerators are more energy efficient than side-by-side models.
And, features like water dispensers and ice makers use more energy.

Wash your dark clothes in cold water.
Most detergents work well in cold water, now-a-days.

Wash your whites in warm water and use 1/2 the recommended bleach.
It works just as well for us, and doesn't wear the clothing out as fast.

Clean the lint filter after every dryer load.
Reduced air circulation caused by a full lint filter makes the dryer work harder and run longer. If you clean the filter after each load, you won't forget to do it.

Use the cool down cycle on the dryer.
The clothes will finish drying with the residual heat inside the dryer. Over-drying clothes not only uses more energy (raises your electric bill), it also wears your clothes out faster (where do you think the lint comes from), and causes wrinkles.

Buy the cheapest dryer you can find.
Energy Star does not rate clothes dryers because there is very little difference in energy use between models.

Whatever you do to save money, SEND THAT MONEY TO YOUR SAVINGS ACCOUNT!

Your money savings strategies will do you no good if you are spending the savings. Set up a recurring Savings deposit right now, even if it's only $5 a month!

Chili

2006-11-17T17:23:00.000-05:00

Obviously, I am not a "gor-may" cook, but these meals will fill your belly and go down easily.

Chili
Cornbread
Apple slices

1/2 lb ground beef
1 - 2 cans beans (Great Nothern, Pinto, Chili, whatever kind you like)
2 cans tomato sauce
chili powder to taste

Boil ground beef in water for about 10 mins or until done. Drain. Break apart using a potato masher or fork. Add ground beef and all other ingredients to a large pot. Simmer. The longer this cooks, the more the spices blend, but this can be eaten once it has heated through (approx. 10 minutes).

Jiffy conbread mix (the kind you can get in small boxes at 3 for $1) is slightly sweet, easy to make, and goes great with chili. Follow direction on box.

If you like less beans, use 1 can.
If you like tomatoes, add 1 can - sliced, chopped, or whole - tomatoes.

Marzetti

2006-11-17T16:52:00.000-05:00

Everyone wants Cheap Easy Meal recipes, so I thought I would throw out some ideas.

Marzetti
buttered Toast
Orange sections

1/2 - 1 lb ground beef
1/2 - 1 lb elbow macaroni
1 can Hunts or Del Monte Pasta Sauce

Boil ground beef in water until done (boiling the ground beef makes the texture softer and cooks it faster, especially if it's still frozen), approx 10 mins. Drain. Break apart with a potato masher or fork. Add pasta Sauce and put back on Low heat to simmer.

Boil elbow macaroni till tender. Drain. Add elbows to pasta and ground beef. Stir and heat through (10 mins).

Spreadsheets for Budgeting

2006-11-17T12:06:00.000-05:00

I use spreadsheets to budget. I find spreadsheets to be easier and less time consuming than budgeting software.

I’ve tried both Microsoft Money and Quicken standard editions, and I didn’t like either one. For me, they were redundant and tedious to use.

I have to post daily in my check register to record debit card purchases, credit card payments, and checks. I don’t want to have to record all of these transaction all over again in Money or Quicken.

With a spreadsheet all I have to do is add up the categories of expenses and record them into into the spreadsheet.

Now, both software programs do have a feature that downloads your bank and credit card statements, but I always seem to have problems with these downloads. Either the bank or the software programs want a fee to download the statements, or the day I request a download, my statement hasn’t been cut yet and isn’t available.

Another issue I have with the budgeting software is that I want to record the transactions when they occur (how else are you going to remember to record them) not at the end of the month when my statements are available.

For example, when I use a credit card to pay my phone bill I need to deduct the payment from my check register and post the payment in my budget on that day, not at the end of the statement cycle (I use this card to pay my phone bill because I get 5% cash back on utility bills).

So, I would record the payment into my budget software so I wouldn’t forget it. Then when I downloaded my statement into the software, I would end up with double entries. Budgeting software is just not user friendly for me.

So, I use spreadsheets.

I have Microsoft Excel and I know how to code (or program) it to do mathematical formulas, but I don’t want to take the time to do it (are we seeing a pattern of laziness here?). This problem was solved for me when I found Moneyspot.org.

I was searching for a good budgeting, saving, debt reduction web site when I came across Moneyspot.org. This web site is a gem! Not only does Michael (owner, writer, editor, and all-round webmaster at Moneyspot.org) offer tons of excellent articles on all things financial; he also gives away FREE spreadsheets.

Michael’s spreadsheets are easy to use and you can modify them to suit your needs. Now, don’t go messing with the formula cells in the spreadsheets if you don’t know what you are doing, or you will end up with incorrect calculations. But, you can change the category names, tab names, dates, and of course the names of your bills.

Moneyspot.org offers several budgeting spreadsheets but I like the BMF (Balanced Money Formula) Spending Plan Spreadsheet the best. I prefer it because with the BMF Spreadsheet I can keep track of all of my finances in the same place.

The BMF Spreadsheet has separate tabs to record Income, Needs, Wants, and Savings. But, after using it for a few months, I modified it. I changed Needs to Expenses and Wants to Freedom Accounts. I left Savings as it was.

It suits me better this way because I have all my financial matters in one file, I have separate tabs for each section of my budget (Expenses, Freedom Accounts, and Savings), and I don't have to scroll to see anything (all working areas are above the page fold).

With these minor changes (I just changed the names and labels of some things, I didn’t change any of the mathematical formulas), I had a Customized Spreadsheet that tracks all of my spending, savings, and debts, and I didn’t have to code a bit of it (Thanks again, Michael.)

Create a Budget

2006-11-16T11:25:00.000-05:00

The #1 Best way to pay off debt, increase your savings, and make your money work for you is to Create a Budget. You can't do anything with your money until you know how much money you have to work with. You can't know how much money there is to work with until you see where your money is going.

A budget is really not that hard. All you have to do is come up with some general categories that you spend money on and start listing how much money you spend on each one during each period. A period could be a day, a week, a month, even a year. It all depends on how often you spend money and how tight you want the reins to be on your money.

So, let's come up with some categories. Everyone buys Food, so that is one category. You can call it Groceries, Dining, Food, etc. Use whatever category titles you feel comfortable with. This is a list of common categories. You can use these or make up your own.

Food
Rent
Electricity
Water
Heat
Phone
Cable TV
Household
Entertainment
Gasoline
Freedom Accounts
Savings
Debt Reduction

You can use budgeting software, spreadsheets, or just a pencil and paper to keep track of your budget. It doesn't matter what you use. The point isn't to be fancy. Just make it user friendly.

I started out using Money, then I switched to Quicken. But, both of them were just too much trouble for me. I didn't want to deal with all the details. I wanted to just enter figures and be done with it.

Now, I use a budget spreadsheet. I didn't even have to code the spreadsheet because I found a great one for FREE at MoneySpot.org. It's called a Spending Plan Spreadsheet and it's coded for Microsoft Excel.

If you don't have Excel and don't want to buy it (who would?), there is a FREE software suite called OpenOffice. It works great (I use it even though I have Excel) and it's compatible with Excel. That means it works just fine with the spreadsheet from Moneyspot.org, and most other spreadsheets you might have.

OK, you have your budget. Now, all you need to do is save all your receipts. I know, I know, it's a pain, but it's just a habit to get into. It's not hard. It's just something you need to get used to doing. Just stuff the receipts into a bag each day (be sure you don't accidently throw this bag away!)

Once you have all your receipts for the budget period (a day, a week, a month, a year), sit down and separate them into categories. Remember your categories? Food, Rent, etc. After you've separated them, add up each category and write it (or type it) into your budget.

Now, look into your checkbook register for any expense you didn't have a receipt for and add these to your budget (like the electric or water bill). Don't forget any credit card charges you didn't get a receipt for, record those too.

After keeping track of where your money is going for a few periods, you will probably decide that too much of your money is going to some of the categories (maybe food or entertainment).

This is when you get to tell your money where you want it to go. Write another column in your budget or use the spreadsheet columns to fill in where and how much money you want to go into each category.

That's it!

That's as hard as it gets. It's not so bad, huh?! The great thing is that once you see where your money is going, you can decide if that's really where you want it to go.

Make Your Own Baby Wipes

2006-11-16T10:09:00.000-05:00

If you buy Baby diaper wipes, you can save money by making your own.

Homemade Diaper Wipes Recipe

1 roll of high-quality paper towels, washcloths, or homemade rags
2 Cups water (boiled for 10 mins then cooled)
1 TBS baby shampoo
2 TBS baby oil

Pour liquid ingredients into a measuring cup or a bowl, and stir.

Pour over homemade rags that were placed in an empty diaper wipe container or tupperware-type container (old, hemmed t-shirt material works great for this).

If you use paper towels, cut the roll in half to make them smaller and pull the cardboard center out. Pull the paper towels out from the center.

Rags or washcloths are much better for this (and cheaper if you use what you already have), but they either have to be washed or you will need a large stash of rags to replace what you throw away.

I had trouble with the paper towels tearing after awhile, and unless you already have one of the cylindrical containers, it's difficult to find something that the paper towels will fit into. But some people prefer paper towels.

Make Your Own Face Cleansing Pads

2006-11-16T09:47:00.000-05:00

Do you buy those Face cleansing pads? If you do, you can save money by making your own.

Homemade Facial Wipes Recipe

cotton rounds
2 Cups water (boiled for 10 mins then cooled)
1 TBS shampoo
1 TBS white Vinegar
1 TBS rubbing Alcohol

Add liquid ingedients to bowl or measuring cup and stir.

I buy 200 cotton rounds at the Dollar store for $1.

Boiling the water first keeps bacteria from growing, so it won't "turn" or go bad.

You can use whatever kind of shampoo that you use to wash your hair. I've not used the 2 in 1 shampoos with added conditioner for this recipe. I think it might make your face oily. If you have dry skin, this might be a benefit.

Use the empty face pads container you already have or use a rubbermaid-type container with a lid to store these.

Just add the cotton rounds to the container and pour liquid ingredients over cotton rounds (you may have some left over depending on the size container you are using. Just save it for next time).

I'm Cheap

2006-11-15T08:32:00.000-05:00

That's right, I'm cheap. I could try to dress it up. I could try to make it sound better, more appealing, softer. I could call myself economical, thrifty, canny, prudent, careful, wise, commonsensical, levelheaded, balanced, prudent, circumspect or any of a number of other words. But why bother? Cheap fits me just as well.

First, let me define what I mean when I say I'm cheap. Cheap, for me, means I won't spend a pile of money for "quality" items that I don't expect to last very long. I won't spend more money for pretty packaging. I won't spend more for something that has a particular label on it. I won't spend any money for things that advertisers try to convince me I need in order to be more popular, cool, or more loved (those are just lies anyway).

I won't go to Sears to buy something that I can get at Walmart. I won't use coupons to buy a brand name something that I can buy cheaper in a store brand. Of the few brand name items that I do buy, I get them at the Dollar store where they are cheaper, not at a grocery or drug store.

I won't go to a restaurant to eat. I think eating at restaurants is one of the worst ways of spending your money. You have nothing to show for it. Nothing. The satisfaction of a full belly doesn't even last 1 day. You have to eat again within a few hours of dropping $40, $60 or $100 on one meal. How crazy is that?

For clarity's sake, I will say that I don't expect much of anything to last very long. Food is an extreme example of this, but most of the things that we buy fall into the category of money spent on items that won't last long.

Don't agree with me? Then tell me how long you expect these things to last:

Clothes - 1 year or less? Even if you buy good quality clothes that could survive the washer and dryer for more than 1 year, what are the chances that you will get a stain of some sort on them? What about the fashion or style, will this dictate how long you will wear something?

How about your kids clothes - 6 months or less? Isn't that why we have to buy new summer and winter clothes every year? They either grow out of them, ruin them, or peer pressure says they are out of style.
Furniture - 5 years or less? Now, 5 years sounds like a long time. It sounds like a good investment, right? Not when you've paid $1500 or more just for a sofa. That's $300 a year I'd have to add to my budget just to replace a sofa after 5 years. I don't know about you, but I'd rather save that $300 for something that adds more value to my life than a sofa.

If you've got kids, or just like to eat or drink while you're sitting on the furniture, it won't last 5 years. Some stains just won't come out.
Home Decor - 2 years or less? If you care about decorating your home, you are being influenced by advertisers. Now, that's not a slam. All of us have some area that we are interested in, and we follow the trends just to see what's out there. But, if you are being influenced by advertisers, you will feel more pressure to change your decor with the trends.

I could go on and on, but you get the point. You can listen to the advertisers and plunk down a big chunk of money to buy "quality" products that "last."

Or, you can be cheap like me, and realize that most of what you buy isn't going to last long enough to make it worth paying that "quality" price tag to get it.

Frugal Extremes - What are Your Priorities?

2006-11-14T08:51:00.000-05:00

I have Goals. Because I have goals, I have priorities. Some things are more important to me than others. For example, I'd rather save money for a down payment on a house in the country than be warm in my current house.

Now, that might seem extreme to some of you, but to me it's a simple choice. There are only a few categories in the budget that I have any real control over, and propane is one of mine.

I allot a certain amount of money in the budget for propane each year and that's all I buy. And, I still challenge myself not to use it all. The fact that my fingers are cold as I write this doesn't matter to me. I have my Goal in mind.

Personal Expenses is another category that I have some control over. I can't decide not to buy soap and shampoo, but I can decide how much to spend on these necessities. So, instead of buying cheap, watery shampoo I buy Tresemme or Pantene.

That last sentence may have surprised you. It would have surprised me had I read it on another site last year. Back then all I bought was store brands of shampoo. But, I've since learned that we use much more cheap shampoo than we do Tresemme or Pantene and it doesn't work nearly as well.

With shampoo it isn't the cleansing aspect that is different, they all clean your hair just as well. It's the conditioning and body aspects that make a difference. For example, I have fine, thin hair. When I use a store brand shampoo my hair flies all over the place like it's been attacked with a blown-up balloon. But, when I use Tresemme my hair has body without static.

Would I spend more just to have more body or an absence of static in my hair? No, like I said, I have plans for my money. But, when the cost-analysis showed me that it comes out just as cheap (or close to it) as the store brand shampoo, I changed brands. And shampoo is on the shopping list much less frequently.

For bath soap, I use Caress. I've found that I spend more money on cheap soap plus body lotion (trying to put some moisture back into my dry, itchy 40+ year old skin) than I do when I buy Caress. So, I save time, money, and my itchy skin when I buy a better bath soap.

Hair cutting is another item in the Personal Expense category that I have control over. I haven't paid to have my hair cut in over 2 years. I cut my own hair. It's not that hard to learn, especially if you have long hair and just really need your hair trimmed every few months.

I cut my daughter's hair too. She wasn't happy about it, at first. She wanted to go to a "Hair Salon" and watch in a big mirror as some person gossiped with their work-mates while snipping away at her hair (and charged us to wash her already clean hair just to add to the bill). They usually cut it too short, too.

But she has long hair and just needs a trim. Once she understood that I wasn't going to pay $15 - $20 every 8 weeks just to have her hair trimmed, she got used to the idea. Now, she asks me to cut it, and I cut it a little at a time to make sure it isn't too short.

Other ways I save money that might seem extreme are:

I wash snap bags and re-use them
I save aluminum foil if it hasn't actually touched food, just the bowl
I wash our cars at home - with a bucket - I don't use the hose except to wet and rinse
I use bath water to wash the dogs or water my plants and garden
I use less detergent per load of clothes than is recommended - washes just as well
I add one capful of fabric softener to a 32 oz spray bottle, add (boiled, then cooled) water, and spray just the wrinkle-prone clothes - works great
I make my own hot chocolate mix and use less than is recommeded per serving
I don't buy paper napkins or paper towels, I make them from old flannel shirts (just cut into rectangles or squares and hem)

Some of these methods of saving money may seem extreme to you, but to me, they are simple choices. When you have Goals, you set Priorities, and that just means you make choices based on what is most important to you.

I'd much rather be extremely frugal in the small details of my life than do without the things that are most important to me.

What are Your Priorities? Do you use Frugal Extremes to reach your Goals?

Frugal vs Organized

2006-11-13T14:21:00.000-05:00

I am frugal by nature. I like to save money more than I like to spend it. I live by the mantra: Use it Up, Wear it Out, Make do, or Do without. I don't like to throw out anything I might be able to use. I'd rather recycle or repurpose than spend money to buy something new.

I also despise clutter. Cutter makes me feel clogged up and bogged down. I can't seem to think clearly when there are piles of things laying around. I can't stand having the junk drawer, spare bedroom, and shed full of things that "I might be able to use someday." I like to be organized, and keeping everything organized is nearly impossible when there are mounds of "someday useful" things everywhere.

Is it possible to be both frugal AND clutter-free? I used to hear this issue argued in the back of my head all the time (It's like listening to children bicker). Since I'm frugal, my natural inclination is to save things that haven't been worn out, but being a clutter-hater I want to throw out, or give away, anything I'm not currently using.

So, what do I do? I decided to throw out or give away anything that is inexpensive and easy to replace, or that I don't really like anyway.

This list includes things like (this is an actual list of things that I had stored):

Old lamps that I don't like the style of
An old BBQ grill that is usable only if I use wire or a metal tab to hold one corner of the grill up
Cookware that has lost part of it's teflon or has a loose handle
Very old sunblock
Books, books, and more books (they weren't sellable and I can't re-read books)
Old clothes that didn't fit and I couldn't cut into rags (slips, bras, underwear, dress lining, etc)
Stereo/CD player that was nearly new but didn't work (water damage)
Crafts that I made that didn't sell (orange rag rug, letter pillow A, crocheted wash cloths)
An old Grab It swiffer-type dust mop that has a wobbly handle

After removing these things from my spaces, I felt much better. I could think again, and I didn't feel bogged down in details. I still save things that I'm sure I will use, but I use a rule to determine what will be saved. If I know I will use it within a year I store it. If I don't like the item or I can replace it inexpensively (when I actually need it), it goes away.

Now my clutter has been pared down to a minimum and I'm still true to my frugal nature. Looks like you can be both frugal and clutter-free.

Fixer Upper - Joint Tape & Drywall Compound

2006-11-11T08:10:00.000-05:00

The house we bought nearly 3 years ago is a Fixer-Upper. I've been taking my time fixing it up because I figured we'd be in this house a long time. But now that I've decided to sell the house and move to the country, it's time to get the DIY skills in high gear (if you're frugal, you are dedicated to learning Do It Yourself techniques).

Most of the ceilings in this house were not taped when they were repaired. I'm assuming this untaped drywall (aka sheetrock, wallboard, gypsum board) job was a repair, because I can't imagine the ceilings in this 50+ year old house are original.

Anyway, after reading a zillion web sites and buying the recommended Black and Decker Home Repair and Improvement books (these books are a great investment if you are a DIYer), I decided I could improve the repair. So, after a run to Lowes to buy joint tape and joint compound, I was ready to begin.

I spread a thin layer of mud (aka joint compound) along a 5 foot section of the ceiling where two sheets of drywall came together (the untaped joint). Then I put the joint tape on and smoothed it out, working from the center out to get excess mud out from under the tape.

After 2 more days of putting thin layers of mud over the tape, feathering it out to blend with the surrounding ceiling, and waiting overnight for each layer to dry, the joint looked pretty good.

But then, I had an "bright" idea. I'd read about a drywall repair online in which the DIYer had cut the tape in half horizontally, effectively reducing the amount of mud needed and time spent feathering the mud.

So, I figured that if I cut the tape in half before I laid it on the joint, it would take less time and less mud to feather it out.

Boy was that a bad idea. In the first place, trying to keep the 2" wide tape straight was hard enough, but when I cut it down to 1" it was nearly impossible to tell where the joint was and keep it straight.

That didn't stop me though. I kept cutting the tape in half and eventually finished the first room. Once again, I applied (what I thought was) thin layers of mud over the tape and waited overnight for them to dry.

After buying the Kilz primer, I inspected the ceiling. I wanted to make sure it was an actual improvement before I painted it. The ceiling looked a little humpy where I'd applied the cut tape, but I thought (hoped) it would blend in once it was primed. (HA!)

With the primer on, the "humpiness" is even more noticeable. So, now I have to mud and feather over all the areas where I'd cut the tape in half.

The 5 foot section I did with the 2" tape blends in just fine.

Lesson Learned: Feathering the mud is actually harder to do on a more narrow path (1" taped joints) than it is on a wider (2" taped) path.

Anti-Consumerism – a class distinction

2006-11-10T19:49:00.000-05:00

I’ve been searching for articles on “anti-consumerism” and I’ve come across an interesting article in This Magazine, called The Rebel Sell, by Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter. I agree with this article but I disagree with it as well. Let me explain.

Heath and Potter write,

We find ourselves in an untenable situation. 0n the one hand, we criticize conformity and encourage individuality and rebellion. On the other hand, we lament the fact that our ever-increasing standard of material consumption is failing to generate any lasting increase in happiness. This is because it is rebellion, not conformity, that generates the competitive structure that drives the wedge between consumption and happiness. As long as we continue to prize individuality, and as long as we express that individuality through what we own and where we live, we can expect to live in a consumerist society.

I agree that, “As long as we continue to prize individuality, and as long as we express that individuality through what we own and where we live, we can expect to live in a consumerist society.” I also agree that there is a class of people in the US (and Canada?) who express their individuality through what they own and where they live (and what they drive and what/where they eat, etc., etc.). This class of people is referred to as the “middle” class or the “upper” class.

I am not a member of either of those classes. I am a member of the “lower” class, therefore I disagree with the following part of Heath and Potter’s statement.

On the other hand, we lament the fact that our ever-increasing standard of material consumption is failing to generate any lasting increase in happiness. This is because it is rebellion, not conformity, that generates the competitive structure that drives the wedge between consumption and happiness. (emphasis mine)

This statement seems to beg the question that conformity would generate an increase in lasting happiness, as it relates to our ever-increasing standard of material consumption, if conformity was indeed the issue.

In other words, according to Heath and Potter, giving in to the pressure to conform and buy what “everyone” has, would bring us lasting happiness … if only we resisted the urge to take the next step and rebel against the masses who copy us. That rebellion causes us to search for something else to buy that no one else has.

This spiral of having to buy something new and even more unique (or costly?) is what causes our loss of lasting happiness (according to our authors), not conformity.

Not only is this statement ludicrous, it entirely misses the point of anti-consumerism, at least for those of us in the “lower” class.

Anti-consumerism is about rescuing our hard-earned dollars and our self-esteem from the greed driven motives of giant corporations who want us to believe that the only way we can be accepted (loved) is by purchasing their products.

To those of us in the “lower” class, anti-consumerism has nothing to do with being cool, or unique, or “better than” the Jonses. It has to do with being “good enough.”

We don’t hear comments like, “[My] place is the real deal, a genuine factory loft, steeped in working-class authenticity, yet throbbing with urban street culture and a “rock-video aesthetic.”” (We are the authentic working-class, fergawdsake!)

We hear comments like, “You don’t have a TV in your bedroom?” “Your car is old, don’t you think it’s time for a new one?” “You bought that old house? I would’ve thought they’d have torn that house down by now.”

The message the anti-consumerist “lower” class hears is, you are not “good enough” (you should feel shame) if you don’t buy what we have bought.

It doesn’t seem to matter that they (our peers) can’t afford a TV in every bedroom, or a new car, or an expensive house, either. What matters is that they bought it (on credit- because advertisers told them they wouldn’t be loved if they didn’t). They “own” it (along with the bank), and if we don’t have the same things we should feel Ashamed and Embarrassed.

The burden of the “lower” class anti-consumerist is to resist this pressure to conform, to spend, to buy what we don't need. This isn’t an easy thing to do. Even for the most stalwart of us, this type of peer pressure can be overwhelmingly difficult to swallow without tasting some of the shame and embarrassment that is being dished out.

Therein lies the pain of non-conformity. However, to conform is to lose sight of our goals, to put our self-esteem in someone else’s hands, and to lose all hope for the future.

Conforming will not generate happiness, much less lasting happiness. It generates only a feeling of confusion, and at some point, it comes clear to us that we’ve surrendered our lives to line the pockets of the greed-mongers.

Joseph Heath and Andrew Potter write an interesting article that I believe offers some insight to the “middle” or “upper” class. But for us poor folk, it misses the boat entirely.

Make Your Own Window Quilts

2006-11-09T16:00:00.000-05:00

Did you know that windows are the cause of the greatest heat loss in your home?

Hanging Window quilts can reduce this heat loss by as much as 80%. Making Your Own Window Quilts is a very frugal way of saving money on your heating costs, doubly so if you can use materials that you already have.

These are some basic directions for making your own window quilts. More specific directions, as well as other ideas on what materials can be used are linked below.

Measure the window you want to cover.
Add one inch on all sides for the hem.
Use fabric that you already have or Go to a thrift store to buy the fabric:

Find sheets or curtains for the back and front (light colors let in the most light)
Find blankets, mattress pads, or cotton for the batting
Find old comforters for batting or as the entire window quilt itself (since it has three layers to it already - minus a vapor barrier)
Look in the Thrift Store for a tension rod to hang the window quilt.

Cut the front and back, batting, and vapor barrier (can be a sheet of plastic, sheet of bubble wrap, or just a cut open trash bag) to size.
Layer the fabrics beginning with the Top, the Bottom, then Vapor Barrier, then Batting.
Sew around three sides, then turn right side out.
Hand or Machine sew the last side closed.
Add a folded 2" strip of material to the top of the window quilt. Leave the ends open for the tension rod to run through (You can use a pully system or Velcro if you don't want to use a tension rod).

Many Tracks Window Quilt
Mother Earth News Thermal Shade
Solar Components Corp

Make Your Own Simple All Purpose Disinfectant

2006-11-09T15:05:00.000-05:00

I use this disinfectant everywhere in my home. I mop with it, clean out sinks with it, disinfect doorknobs and faucet handles with it, use it on countertops, and sometimes spritz a dusting cloth with it. Rinsing is not needed, nor is it recommended when using it to disinfect.

This home-made disinfectant is both environmentally safe and very frugal (inexpensive). You can increase the cleaning strength or the disinfectant strength easily.

1 cup white vinegar
1 cup rubbing alcohol
1 TBS scented cleanser
1 gallon water (boiled for 10 minutes then cooled)
1/4 - 1/2 cup high powered cleanser like Awesome, Greased Lightening etc. (optional)

Using a kitchen funnel, add all ingredients except water to a one gallon jug (I re-use the gallon jug my drinking water comes in). Fill gallon jug the rest of the way with cooled, boiled water. Fill spray bottles, using a kitchen funnel, to keep in as many rooms in your house as you find a need for.

Vinegar is both a disinfectant and a mold/mildew cleaner. To increase disinfectant strength, add more vinegar or more alcohol.

Rubbing alcohol is both a disinfectant and a quick drying agent. This is what those high-priced floor cleaners use to make the floor dry faster. To increase disinfectant strength or reduce drying time, add more alcohol.

Scented cleanser is used primarily for its scent. It can be anything from Tide with Fabreeze (I get free samples and save them for this cleanser) to a pine scented cleaner. The scent is up to you.

I boil the water for at least 10 minutes. Once it is sterilized this disinfectant cleanser will last indefinitely without discoloring.

I add 1/4 cup Awesome to this cleanser when I am using it on something really grimy. I keep one spray bottle filled with this disinfectant cleanser in my bathroom and another one in my kitchen. The spray bottle in the bathroom has extra vinegar. The spray bottle in the kitchen has Awesome in it (in addition to the usual ingredients).

I also have an empty dish detergent bottle filled with this disinfectant that I use to mop the floor. I just squirt out a line and mop. No rinsing and the floor dries in about 5 minutes.

Just spray and wipe.

How Much Clothing do You Really Need?

2006-11-09T11:16:00.000-05:00

Do you want to save money, be more organized, and know exactly how much clothing you have? Then print this list, grab a pencil, and dig into your closet and dresser.

Let's take it down to the basics. How many outfits do you need, and how many do you now have?

Fall or Spring

Five lightweight pants. ___ pants

3 - 5 lightweight sweaters. ___ sweaters

One jacket. ___ jacket

Winter

Five pants or skirts or a combination of both. ___ pants ___ skirts
Five long-sleeve tops or blouses. ___
One pair of dress shoes. ___
Two or three sets of pajamas. ___
One coat. ___

Summer

Five dresses, skirts, or shorts. ___ dresses ___skirts ___shorts
Five short-sleeve tops or blouses. ___
One pair of dress shoes. ___
Two or three sets of pajamas. ___

For both Winter and Summer

Five sets of underwear. ___ ___
Five pairs of socks, knee-highs, or stockings. ___
Two - three pairs of dress socks or stockings. ___
One pair of comfortable shoes. ___
One bathrobe. ___

All of these clothes should easily fit into an averaged sized closet and one dresser or chest of drawers. I would suggest that you only buy more clothing when you've worn out something to the point that you are ready to throw it away.

Something in? Then something has to go out. Both your wallet and your closet will thank you.

How many clothes do you have?

Selling Your House - What to Do First cont.

2006-11-08T06:56:00.000-05:00

With your budget in mind and plenty of inside time in the winter, repair the things a buyer will see on the inside of your house.

1. First De-Cutter. If your house is full of furniture or knick-knacks, has piles of toys, magazines, papers, or a zillion candles, it's going to look too small. Whether your rooms are small or not, if they are cluttered they will look small.

So, pack up, donate, give away, or trash all of that clutter. De-cluttering now will make it much easier when you're ready to paint the walls, and it'll be easier to keep your house clean if there are fewer things to move around.

2. Repair holes in the walls and ceiling. Sheetrock (wallboard), paper joint tape, and joint compound are cheap, and fairly easy to learn. You can find many web sites online that will show you, step by step, how to repair sheetrock walls. Just take the plunge and try it. It's not rocket science.

3. Replace rusty, leaky bathroom and kitchen faucets. You don't have to spend $600 on a faucet. Lowes and WalMart have some nice looking faucets for under $75. I found a bathroom sink faucet with porcelain handles at Walmart for $28.

Sink faucets are pretty easy to install. The hardest part is hooking up the stopper thingy, and that just involves turning a screw and making adjustments.

4. Re-caulk the tub and scrub it well. If the tile surround or tub is in really bad shape, consider a new fiberglass tub and surround. These are fairly inexpensive to have installed. I paid around $900 to have a handyman/contractor buy, deliver, remove the old tub, and install the new one about 3 years ago.

5. Clean the carpet. If deep/steam cleaning won't make the carpeting look presentable, you may have to replace the flooring. Install Linoleum or Vinyl tiles, and use area rugs instead of wall-to-wall carpeting. Linoleum and Vinyl tiles are usually less expensive than wall-to-wall carpeting, and much easier to keep clean.

Hardwood floors are all the rage now, but if you have even a slight problem with moisture or your subfloors are concrete, hardwood floors will be ruined quickly (concrete or cinder block tends to wick moisture up from the ground, and a plywood subfloor would have to be installed).

Hardwoods are also quite expensive to buy, and the floors must be perfectly level to install them. Unless hardwood floors are the norm in your neighborhood, I'd pass on it. It's just more trouble and expense than it's worth.

6. Paint, stain, or clean the cabinets in your home. Paint is cheap and covers a lot of sins, even on laminates.

I have laminate kitchen cabinets, so I scrubbed them well then used 3 coats of high gloss paint. They look much better and wipe clean easily now.

7. Paint the walls and ceilings. A fresh coat of paint always brightens up a house, and also serves to neutralize the decor. But remember, now is not the time to choose bright, splashy colors. Stick with light, muted colors.

If your rooms are small, choose white for the walls and the ceilings. I know, white is boring, but most people aren't going to hate white walls and ceilings. They may feel that way about red or teal walls, however.

If your rooms are large, go with light tans, khakis, or muted greens for the walls, and white for the ceilings. Let your flooring colors guide you. If you have dark or multicolored carpeting or vinyl, choose a very light shade that matches, not contrasts, the floor color.

This list of First Things to Do ought to get you started. If you have any money left, I'll be back later to suggest what you might do next.

Selling Your House - What to Do First

2006-11-07T10:17:00.000-05:00

How many times have you longed to do something and told yourself: someday I'll....? I've done that since my first child was born 24 years ago. My most frequent fantasy? Moving to the Country.

Well, I've decided that "someday" has arrived. I'm going to sell my house and buy another one in the surrounding rural area. I'm going to move to the Country!

Some of you may be thinking, "Now? You're going to sell your house in the winter? Oh, you'll make a ton of money selling your house in a buyer's market, in the wintertime! Sure you will."

Actually, wintertime is the best time to start getting your house ready to sell. Since spring and fall are the best times to sell, the pressure is off during the winter. So, you'll have plenty of time to assess the house and begin making repairs and improvements before putting it on the market.

O.K. the decision to sell has been made. Now, what to do first? I have spent quite a bit of time doing research in this area, and it's easy to get confused.

Do I start with the outside first, the inside first, upgrade the infrastructure (plumbing and electrical) first, or should I fix what the inspector will, more than likely, ding me on first?

This decision is enough to make your head spin! But, my Frugal brain has managed to narrow it down. Where do you start? You Start with your Budget. How much money do you have to make repairs/improvements? How much money can you save/come up with before you put the house on the market?

You don't need to know the exact amount, just a ballpark figure. If your budget for home repairs is small/moderate, you may as well forget trying to do major projects and upgrades like replacing a roof. The national average for a new roof in 2002 was $11,399).

As for the infrastructure, if you have an older house like I do (built in 1950) there is sure to be old pipes and wiring in place. But, if normal maintenance has been done, you've more than likely upgraded parts of the electrical and plumbing systems already, (and hopefully been told by these tradesmen if there was a serious issue in these areas).

To attempt an overhaul in either area, just for the sake of an upgrade, would be extremely cost-prohibitive. However, if you have any doubts as to the safety of your electrical or plumbing systems, call and ask for a safety inspection.

Once you have an idea of your budget, take that money and start on the inside. Why? People are searching for a house to buy, not a yard. Sure, the yard is important and it makes a first impression on homebuyers, but it's fairly easy to get it presentable. Come spring, just grab some trash bags, pick up any debris, trim the bushes/shrubs, and mow the lawn. You don't even have to rake the leaves, just mow over them and leave in place for a natural mulch that your grass will love.

Want some ideas of what to Repair First? Read on...

Tweak Your Financial Goals - 1 Year Mark

2006-11-07T07:41:00.000-05:00

After a year of working on my goals, it dawned on me that my goals had changed. Some had been accomplished, others had changed. Let's see how far I've come.

Goal #1: Create Freedom/Smart Accounts ACCOMPLISHED

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Save the minimum amount needed to pay irregular bills ACCOMPLISHED

LONG-TERM GOAL: Increase savings to upgrade coverage and provide a cushion This Goal has been suspended until after I move. At that time I will re-visit it and determine if it still fits my needs.

My Freedom (Smart Money) Accounts are at INGDirect. I keep just one account and divide them into categories in a Spreadsheet. My Categories are:

AUTO - for Auto Insurance and Tags

PROPANE - for heating gas (I have a note on the spreadsheet to remind me to fill the tank in the summer when prices are usually lower, and that tank rent is due in Oct)

SEASONAL - for seasonal clothes and gifts like Christmas

LIFE INSURANCE - obviously for life insurance premiums

I had several more categories in my Freedom Accounts, but found I didn't need them there. These 4 are the basic necessities.

Goal #2 Create an Emergency Fund

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Save $1000 ACCOMPLISHED

INTERMEDIATE-TERM GOAL: Save 3 months expenses PLUS a typical car repair, a typical home repair, and the medical insurance deductible (I added this one. I find it more reasonable than a 6 month goal when so many things in the house need to be done) ACCOMPLISHED

LONG-TERM GOAL: Save 6 months expenses PLUS enough to cover a typical car repair, a typical home repair, and the medical insurance deductible. This Goal has been suspended until after I move (see above)

I have my Emergency Fund in a Capital One Money Market Account. This account pays a little bit more than INGDirect (Cap One 4.8%, ING 4.4%) but more importantly it has check writing priviledges.

If an emergency occurs (as it did when the washer sprung a leak), I want access to the money immediately. I am more likely to need a checkbook for an emergency or a car repair than need cash, and the checks are free. This is why I chose Capital One for my Emergency Fund.

*The only down side to this account was that it was not EFT enabled (Electronic Funds Transfer). Capital One has now encorporated these accounts into their Direct Banking system, so you can withdraw funds to your checking account online, or write a check.

Goal #3 Pay Off Credit Card Debt

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Pay off smallest credit card bill ACCOMPLISHED

LONG-TERM GOAL: Pay off all credit card debt and stop using credit cards unless total can be paid each month (I have paid all but $560 credit card debt. This will be paid off in 3 months) 83% ACCOMPLISHED

Once the next to last cc debt was paid, I rolled that payment into this one. No backing off was allowed. I didn't even think of having money freed up, I just started sending it all to this last debt. It feels GREAT knowing I will have paid off $3289 in 1 year and 3 months time!

Goal #4 Contribute to Retirement Account

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Contribute at least 1% to retirement.ACCOMPLISHED

INTERMEDIATE-TERM GOAL: Increase contributions to reach employer match ACCOMPLISHED

LONG-TERM GOAL: Increase contributions to 10% - 20% This Goal has been suspended until after I move. Half-Way ACCOMPLISHED

Start with at least 1%, do more if you can and make it a goal to increase your contribution at least once a year. Roll your annual pay increase into your 401k and you won't even notice it. You will be accomplishing this goal without feeling even a pinch.

If your employer offers a match (most employers will match some portion of your 401k contribution) contribute at least enough to get the match. If you don't have a retirement account through your employer, open a Roth IRA account and contribute at least 1% of your take-home pay.

I contribute 5% to the 401k because the match cutoff is 5% (employer matches 50% of contributions, up to 5%).

Goal #5 Save for Home Improvements

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Decide on most pressing area for improvement and begin saving

LONG-TERM GOAL: Create savings sub-accounts for all improvements

If you own a house you're going to have to make improvements and repairs. All houses will need a new roof, new flooring, fresh paint, new appliances, and maintenance at some point. Saving for these things just makes sense.

Now that I've re-visited my Goals and realized they need a tweak, I've rewritten them, as follows:

New Goal #1: Pay Off Credit Card Debt

SHORT-TERM GOAL: 3 more months till all credit card debt is paid.

LONG-TERM GOAL: Stop using credit cards unless total can be paid each month ACCOMPLISHED

New Goal #2: Save just for Home Improvements needed to Sell the House

New Goal #3: Save for Down Payment and Closing Costs on a Home in the Country.

Remember: studies have shown that happiness comes from making progress on a Goal, Not on reaching that goal. So, always re-visit your goals and create new ones when you've accomplished (or suspended) the old ones. Keep a Goal of happiness and contentment a permanent part of your life.

Mortgage Loans & Sub Prime Mortgage Lenders

2006-11-06T15:30:00.000-05:00

Maybe it's just me. Maybe I'm just dense but I can't find a list of Prime Mortgage Lenders, anywhere.

I see plenty of information on Sub Prime Mortgage Lenders, but I can't find a bank, mortgage company, article, or website that will tell me who the Prime Mortgage Lenders are!

And I'm confused because I thought that "Prime" and "Sub Prime" were terms that referred to loans, not Lenders. For example, if you qualified for a "Prime" loan, then your credit, income, debt ratio, size of down payment, etc., were in good shape. But, if you couldn't qualify for a "Prime" loan, it was because of a low or "bad" rating in (usually) more than one of the areas I mentioned above (bad credit, low income, small down payment, etc.). And that meant you were reduced to getting a "Sub Prime" loan, and you would pay more for the loan.

But, lately I've been seeing many articles on "Sub Prime Lenders." These articles don't name these Sub Prime Lenders. Most just state that there are many Prime Lenders who have affiliates that are Sub Prime. They don't say who the Prime Lenders are either. Shouldn't someone have a list of Prime and Sub Prime Lenders? (Well, that's what I was hoping for anyway.)

Why do I care? Didn't I mention that I want to sell my house and buy another one in the country? That bit of information probably would have helped you understand my frustration, wouldn't it? And, I care because I want to make sure I'm not applying for a mortgage through a Sub Prime Lender. It's not like they'll tell you that you'll qualify for a better rate if you apply at a different Mortgage Company.

In this article the Mortgage Professor hints that two of the Prime Lenders are Countrywide(.com) and Indymac(.com). But, I think the other sites that he suggests for checking your eligibility for mainstream financing are mortgage brokers (mortgage brokers add their fee to the cost of your loan).

If anyone knows more about Prime and Sub Prime Lenders than I do (which obviously wouldn't be hard), and would like to educate me, please feel free to do so, cause I must be missing something.

Freedom/Smart Money Accounts

2005-12-05T07:15:00.000-05:00

I just love Freedom Accounts. I like to refer to them as Smart Money Accounts, because it's just smart to save a little bit each payday to pay big bills that you know are coming.

I don't know why I've never thought of this before. I consider myself fairly smart when it comes to money. I've always saved money. I've always paid more than the minimum on my debts, and always on time, but for some reason, it never occured to me to set up accounts that are designed to pay large, irregular bills.

Now honestly, I consider the "money-will-just-show-up" way of paying your bills to be pretty silly - well actually, it's down-right immature - but I've used that method to pay my irregular bills for years. If you aren't familiar with the "money-will-just-show-up" method I will give you an example.

A few weeks or a month before an irregular bill (let's say it's your auto insurance) is due, you start wondering where the money will come from to pay this bill. As time grows shorter, you begin to look around for ways to pay the bill. Do I have enough in savings? Am I getting a birthday check this month (yeah right - you still get money on your birthday even though you're 45)? Will my Income tax refund show up in time?

If none of these ideas pan out, you begin looking at your credit card, and telling yourself it won't be so bad to charge it because the interest rate is pretty low on this card, or you promise yourself that you will pay it off in 2 months, TOPS.

So, either the money just 'shows up' (gifts, refunds, savings) or you charge it to your credit card and end up with interest to pay, sometimes for months. More debt and more debt!

Then I read about Freedom Accounts online and ordered the book, Cheapskate Monthly Money Makeover. Although I can't say I like Mary Hunt (in my opinion, she comes across as a money snob in her books), I have to give her credit for a good idea regarding Freedom Accounts.

Setting aside money to pay irregular bills like Auto Insurance, Car Tags and Registration, Heating oil, Seasonal Clothing, Gifts (birthdays & holidays), Life Insurance, and even Haircuts is just Smart Money Management.

To create Smart Money Accounts, you figure out how much money you need to save each pay period in order to pay these irregular bills, and send it, or have it sent, to some type of savings account. This way, the money is there when the bills come due.

To figure out how much you need to save, just divide the amount of the bill by how many paychecks you will receive in each prepayment period.

For example, let's say that your auto insurance is $320 (bill), every 6 months (prepayment period), and you get paid twice a month. So, you would divide $320 by 12 (2 paydays each month for 6 months equals 12). This comes out to $26.67 each payday (I rounded up).

Move on to the next irregular bill you have and figure out how much you will need to save from each paycheck to pay that one. Let's say this one is Heating oil. You usually spend $300 for the year and again, you get paid twice a month. Divide $300 by 24 (2 paychecks a month for 12 months equals 24). This one comes to $12.50 each payday.

Once you do this for each irregular bill you have, add up the totals. For our examples, add $26.67 plus $12.50 and you will need to save $39.17 every pay period to pay these bills.

To keep yourself from (accidently?) spending this money, it's best to have it deducted from your checking account every payday, and sent to a savings account of some type.

The internet has made it so easy to save now-a-days! You don't have to change banks, you don't have to use your lunch hour to drive to your bank to set this up. It can all be done easily and securely online.

I keep my Smart Money Accounts at ING Direct. ING makes it easy to open an account and I feel completely secure having my money there. They also pay a very decent 4.4% (APY) interest on your savings. That's way more than my regular savings account pays (which is a measly 0.5% at Bank of America right now).

You can just use your regular savings account for your Smart Money Accounts if you aren't really concerned about earning interest. And with most banks you can set up your transfers online, so you won't have to actually go to the bank to set it up.

Just set up the transfers somewhere and soon you will be worry-free when these bills show up again.

I'll Start Budgeting .... after the Holidays

2005-11-24T07:52:00.000-05:00

We do like to procrastinate, don't we? That diet can wait till tomorrow. The exercise program will begin when it gets warmer outside. Those clothes will be mended later. And, the budget will start after the holidays.

After all, it's the HOLIDAYS! We can't be expected to discipline ourselves during the HOLIDAYS, now can we?

I understand the need to take a break. I think rewarding yourself for a job well-done is a good idea. And, I certainly agree that we must not venture too far outside our comfort zones when it comes to money ...

But ... (you knew that was coming, didn't you)

Discarding discipline during the holidays is the WORST possible time to get lax. The holidays are probably the #1 time when budgets are decimated, overspending is rampant, and money is wasted.

People are running around like chickens with their heads cut off - trying to find things to waste their money on. These spendthrifts are buying (pardon me for saying) stupid things like knick knacks, figurines, stuffed animals, cut flower arrangements, goofy ties, and fruit cakes ... things that are just going to gather dust, be given away next Christmas, or die and be thrown into the trash.

It makes me cringe when I think of all the money that is wasted during the holidays. I think of all the credit card debts that could be paid down, the mortgage payments that could be accelerated, and the savings accounts that could be fattened.

Creating a budget BEFORE and sticking with it THROUGH the holidays is probably the best thing you can do for your finances.

Have a spending plan.

Allot a certain amount of money for gifts and don't go over it.

Don't buy a turkey AND a ham, cakes, AND pies, AND candy, AND nuts, AND rolls for holiday meals (your wallet and your waistline will thank you later).

I know it's hard, but as exercise guru Tony Little used to say, "You can do itttt!"

I'll Keep the Change

2005-11-22T08:01:00.000-05:00

Many people save their change in jars, coffee cans, etc. Carrying around a lot of coins gets heavy and bulky after a while. Personally, I rarely have change because I rarely pay with cash. I find that carrying around cash creates too much of a temptation to buy little things, like spending $1.79 for a soda at a convenience store, or $.85 for a candy bar, or $1.29 for a sausage and egg biscuit at McDonald's.

I do, however, get frustrated by trying to reconcile my bank statement to the penny. It seems like there is ALWAYS a discrepancy of 8 cents or 21 cents or some such piddlin' amount. I guess we just have poor math skills, even though we use a calculator most of the time.

So, I was pretty happy to find that our new bank has a program that will enable you to round up the things you purchase on your debit card. Bank of America has a new savings program called Keep the Change. I think it's pretty nifty.

When you sign up for Keep the Change, purchases paid for with your debit card are rounded up and the difference (the change) is sent to your savings account. And, here's the really cool part... Bank of America will match the change sent to your savings account!

For example, let's say that you need gas. So, you go to the gas station, swipe your debit card, then proceed to put $10 in your tank. You get distracted because you hear motorcycles approaching and turn to watch two Harleys pull into the station. Oops! You've put $10.03 in your tank (this is a true story). With Keep the Change this is now a good thing because you've just added to your savings account and gotten some FREE money.

Just note that the gas was $10.03 in your debit register, but deduct $11.00 from the balance in the register. It's a snap to subtract whole numbers. You are much less likely to make a mistake this way.

At the end of each day, Bank of America adds all of your change from purchases made with your debit card and transfers the total into your savings account. And Bank of America will match 5% of your total 'change' transfers.

So, suppose that after a year, you have $137.10 in change transferred to your savings account. Bank of America will add an additional $6.85 to your savings account, FREE.

For the first 3 months after you sign up for 'Keep the Change', Bank of America will match 100% of your change. So, if you've had $100.10 in change (for the first 3 months) transferred to savings, Bank of America will add another $100.10, FREE!

Now, that's my idea of a good interest rate! After the first 3 months, the match goes to 5%, but that is still a pretty good interest rate too. You can't find 5% anywhere else, even with online savings accounts.

Of course, your regular savings are not earning that 5%. Bank of America offers a piddlin' 0.5% regular interest on regular savings account deposits, but if you want the 5% it's easy to get. Just use your debit card for as many purchases as possible and you will get a 5% match.

Matched amounts are added to your savings account once a year.

My Financial Goals

2005-11-18T11:12:00.000-05:00

After reading a dozen Financial websites and blogs, and reading four financial books, The Total Money Makeover, Financial Peace Revisited, The Automatic Millionaire, and Cheapskate Monthly Money Makeover, I've got my goals in order. I follow these goals in order, completing one before I move on to the next one (at least, that's the plan).

Goal #1: Create Freedom/Smart Accounts

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Save the minimum amount needed to pay irregular bills

LONG-TERM GOAL: Increase savings to upgrade coverage and provide a cushion

Mary Hunt suggests what she calls "Freedom Accounts". These are savings accounts you set up for bills you know are coming, they just aren't due on a monthly basis. For example, auto insurance is usually due every 6 months, life insurance: once a year, heating oil: once a year, auto registration and tags: once a year ... and so on.

I think these accounts make sense and since we aren't using credit cards anymore (right!?) this is the only way the money will be available to pay these bills. What I do is add up all the bills I know are coming and divide the totals by 6 or 12 (auto insurance divide by 6, car tags, divide by 12) to give me the monthly amount I need to save each month. This way, when they come due I have the money saved and wont need to use my credit card to pay them.

I don't like the term 'Freedom Account' because when I see it I always wonder, "freedom to do what?" It's just one of my quirks. I prefer the term 'Smart Account" because it's just smart to save the money when you know the bill has to be paid at some point.

Goal #2 Create an Emergency Fund

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Save $1000

LONG-TERM GOAL: Save 6 months expenses PLUS enough to cover a typical car repair, a typical home repair, and the medical insurance deductible

Dave Ramsey suggest having at least $1000 for emergencies before attacking your debt. I think this is a good place to start.

Goal #3 Pay Off Credit Card Debt

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Pay off smallest credit card bill

LONG-TERM GOAL: Pay off all credit card debt and stop using credit cards unless total can be paid each month

I use a combination of Dave Ramsey's debt snowball and a common-sense directed, pay down the highest interest rate first approach.

I also listen to my own emotional/psychological comfort zone to accomplish this goal. If it doesn't feel good to me, I back off on what I pay down until it does. Ignoring your comfort zone when it comes to money is a sure-fire way of getting discouraged or scared, then giving up.

PAY ATTENTION TO HOW YOU FEEL ABOUT WHAT YOU ARE DOING and adjust accordingly. Paying every spare penny toward your debt may make sense, but it wont get you anywhere if you quit because you feel too deprived or scared.

Goal #4 Contribute to Retirement Account

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Contribute at least 1% to retirement.

INTERMEDIATE-TERM GOAL: Increase contributions to reach employer match

LONG-TERM GOAL: Increase contributions to 10% - 20%

Start with at least 1%, do more if you can and make it a goal to increase your contribution at least once a year.

If your employer offers a match (most employers will match some portion of your 401k contribution) contribute at least enough to get the match. If you don't have a retirement account through your employer, open a Roth IRA account and contribute at least 1% of your take-home pay.

I contribute 5% to the 401k because the match cutoff is 5% (employer matches 50% of contributions, up to 5%).

Goal #5 Save for Home Improvements

SHORT-TERM GOAL: Decide on most pressing area for improvement and begin saving

LONG-TERM GOAL: Create savings sub-accounts for all improvements

If you own a house you're going to have to make improvements and repairs. All houses will need a new roof, new flooring, fresh paint, new appliances, and maintenance at some point. Saving for these things just makes sense.

How I got $160 FREE - part 2

2005-11-11T08:15:00.000-05:00

So, I received $125 from Bank of America for opening a new checking and savings account. Where did I get the remaining $35? ING.

I've had an ING savings account for about a year, but I didn't notice that ING offered referral bonus' until I read this at My MoneyBlog.

The article linked above is great information for anyone thinking about opening an online high-yield savings account. Instead of trying to remember what is offered at each bank, Jonathan lays it all out for you in one place. Thank you, Jonathan!

Anyway, back to my free $35. When I was investigating what was required for the referral bonus at ING, I read - in the small print at the bottom of the page - that ING accepts joint accounts for their referrals as long as the primary account holder is a new customer.

This meant that I could open another account myself and receive both the referrer's bonus and the referred's bonus, as long as the primary onwer of the account was a new customer.

So, I opened a new account with my partner's name as primary owner and my name as joint owner, and we received the $25 for the new customer account and the $10 for the referral. $35 Free! Easy as pie!

If you are interested in opening a new ING savings account (currently 3.5% apy) and receiving a free $25 bonus, please contact me with your first and last name and email address. You could open an account in your name and receive the $25 bonus with this referral, then open a second account with your partner/spouse/friend as new customer and you as joint owner and receive another $35 Free. Potential of $60 in FREE money just for opening a great savings account earning interest far above what local banks offer!

How I got $160 FREE - part 1

2005-11-11T06:33:00.000-05:00

I mentioned in the Debt Snowball Article that I had found some easy ways to make $160 (that I used to pay down my credit card balance). Here's how I did it.

The banks in my area are in a competition war. Well, it seems like a war, because every day something else arrives in the mail to tempt you to change banks. So far, the local county bank has offered to give away free digital cameras, free cordless screwdriver sets, and free online billpay. They also offer to buy your left over checks and debit cards from other banks (up to $25).

I was seriously considering changing to this bank, even though it was going to be a hassle. Having to order new checks, change direct deposit destination (which can take up to 3 weeks), and leaving a good relationship with the local credit union wasn't my idea of fun, but it was beginning to look like a good deal.

As much as I like the credit union, I can't say much for their website or their hours, and the branches were a bit inconvenient to get to. I also wanted the billpay feature that the county bank was offering free. There was a $4.95 a month charge for online billpay at the credit union.

So, I was nearly convinced to change banks for the convenience of better banking hours, free online billpay, and a free screwdriver set when I received a promotional offer from Bank of America in the mail.

Bank of America was offering $100 for opening a checking account and $25 for opening a savings account. Now this was a deal! My eyeballs bulged as I read the fine print searching for restrictions or bait and switch tricks. There didn't seem to be any, but I'm suspicious of banks giving away free money, so I went to their website to sleuth out any fees or catches.

Aha! they do have fees, and none of the banks in this area have fees anymore. This wasn't looking too good until I saw that there were ways to avoid the fees. Monthly direct deposit (which we use anyway) waived the fee for the checking account and a monthly transfer to savings (or a balance of $300) waived the fee for the savings account.

Now I can't say that Bank of America has much better hours than the credit union, but they are open on Saturday for half a day, and they do offer free online billpay plus a very good website. So, I would be getting most of what I wanted plus $125. I can't turn down free money, so we now have new accounts with Bank of America and we're $125 richer!

Bank of America has a referral program in which both the referrer and the referred receive $25 if a new account is opened on a referral. If you are interested in opening a new account with Bank of America and want $25 free please contact me with your name and email address.

Debt Snowball ... You want me to do What?!

2005-11-09T11:45:00.000-05:00

Here's my dilemma. We had some money saved, about $6000, and I knew from reading Dave Ramsey's Total Money Makeover that all but $1000 should go to our credit card debt ... but I just couldn't bring myself to do it!

I knew that we were upside down financially. I knew that we were paying much more in interest to the credit card company than we were receiving in interest from the credit union savings account, but I had an emotional/psychological block to sending most of that money to the credit card company.

That money was our safety buffer. It wasn't just money for emergencies, it was an emotional safety net. It felt like much more than it actually was. Intellectually, I knew it was just money for emergencies, but emotionally, it felt like Freedom, Safety, and Security.

Dave Ramsey's concept of debt reduction made sense to me. (Loosely paraphrased)

Put your debts in order of smallest to largest. Pay the minimums on every debt except the smallest. Pay every spare penny, excluding $1000 for an emergency fund (which meant $5000 of the $6000 we had saved) toward the smallest debt. Once that was paid off, take the payment from that one (plus every spare penny) and add it to the next smallest debt. And so on...

(end of paraphrase)

The 'Debt Snowball' was fast, effective, and designed to quickly put you back on the right track financially. It had a built-in psychological reward. Paying off the smallest debt first was quickly done, in most cases, and sure to reward you emotionally. But my emotional security zone was sending up red flags when I just thought of sending that money to the credit card company.

The emotional part of me was saying things like, "I know our debt has to be paid, but once that money is gone, it's gone. It'll take forever for us to save that much again!"

Well, I stewed about it, talked about it with my partner, searched the internet for help, and read everything I could find to help me get past the emotion of doing what was probably the right thing to do, financially. But I just couldn't.

So, what did I do? I found some easy ways to make $160 (more on how I did that here) and sent it, along with $550 of that $6000, to the credit card company.

Yeah, I cheated on the Snowball Debt reduction plan. I only took 9% of a baby step (Dave Ramsey's Baby Steps), but I am knocking out my credit card debt and keeping my emotional safety net all at the same time. No Regrets and Contentment with my decisions ... are my first priorities.

2005-11-09T09:50:00.000-05:00

David Bach: Hype or Bait and Switch?!

I'm reading David Bach's The Automatic Millionaire. I think this book is a fun and easy read, and although I'm only about half-way through it, I had to stop and blog because I also think it's sneaky and closer to what I would call a bait and switch than it should be.

Let me explain.

The Automatic Millionaire does a really good job at pumping you up. It shows you ways to find those bits of money you are wasting and makes you feel like you can really save! This book gets you motivated and excited about 'paying yourself first', and then tells you how to save those bits of money tax-free so that you can watch it grow into a million dollars with compound interest.

Sounds great doesn't it!

OK so he's got you. That's the bait part. He has you baited on the hook ready to dive into the water and save all those bits of money tax free. Then comes the switch part of this hyped up book ... you are saving for your retirement and can't touch that money until you're 65.

NEW FLASH: The only way to save tax free is to save in a government sanctioned retirement account.

So, what's wrong with that? Well, nothings wrong with saving for retirement, but if our debt and savings problems were only about having money for retirement, don't you think people would have already been contributing to a retirement account.

Problems with debt and lack of savings are so widespread because, in most cases, people are trying to appear wealthier than they really are ... not because they just haven't thought about how much money that $3.50 daily latte can grow into if it's saved tax-free in a retirement account.

I mean, cmon, people know they need to save for retirement. But that isn't the problem (and saving for retirement isn't what was on your mind when you bought this book either).

The real problem is that people are so inundated with marketing messages that tell them they must appear as though they are affluent ... even if they aren't ... that they feel shameful, poor, and pitiful if they don't spend the money to keep up with everyone else. So they spend and spend and when their money is gone they charge and charge. Making their lives miserable with no relief in sight.

Bach does mention that many people who appear wealthy are really in debt up to their eyeballs, but he slides past this pretty quickly and goes on with his hype about how you can be a millionaire no matter how much money you are making. And you don't even need a budget to do it (more on this later).

I assume he will go on to tell you how to become debt-free, and pay off your mortgage, and save for a rainy day ... but where will you find the money for that? Since, according to Bach, budgets don't work, and you've already used all your latte and cigarette money to fund your retirement, where will the money come from?

Don't bother trying to explain (or even think) that you just can't find anymore money to save, because as Bach writes in reply to just such an assertion, "Oh, come on. Hit yourself in the head (gently) and just keep reading. What you're saying is just not true."

My point in this blog is that David Bach sells hype and misleads people with The Automatic Millionaire. He makes you think that by following his ideas, you make your life better today, and that just ain't so.

2005-11-08T16:31:00.000-05:00

I don't want to be a Millionaire.

OK, I wouldn't mind being a millionaire, but that's not my goal. This is the point of my blog. Goals must be realistic or they will not be achieved.

How many times have you read or heard something that got you so excited and motivated that you quickly scribbled out a lofty plan and set right to work on changing your financial life ... only to realize a few weeks or months later that not only have you not reached your goal, but now you are so discouraged that you give up completely?

I think this happens fairly often, and I believe it occurs because we set our sights too high.

I know, I know. I've heard it too. "Think bigger!" "The sky is the limit." "Keep your dreams alive!" "The Universe is Abundant and you can have everything you want!"

Well, all those motivating phrases may be true, but I've found that I do much better reaching my financial goals by keeping my feet on the ground and my head out of the clouds.

Now, don't get me wrong. I enjoy reading books, websites, and articles that encourage me and lift my spirits. These are wonderful resources and I wouldn't have gotten as far as I have without them.

But, sometimes, I get discouraged when I read that the Smiths have a combined net income of $84,300 a year. Based on most of the examples used in these resources, one might get the impression that there is no hope for someone who makes under $50,000 a year.

I mean, if someone making that kind of money is having trouble paying off credit card debt and can't save money, what sort of head-way can I make when I bring home less than $25,000 a year.

At least that's what I used to think. But not anymore.

Since I've made my goals more realistic, based on my income (not some income I think I should be making) and decided on a plan to reach those goals, I see real progress.