Affording You Kids Halloween
Sunday, September 27, 2009 | By Tanya39
Avon Rep like me I go to my brochures to afford Halloween for my kids that are young enough to afford the $19.99 costumes like wizards, Snow White, princess and Pirates, because I get them at a discount being a rep for Avon. My older kids go to their friends for Halloween parties, and use make up to look scary, that is their costumes. I never have to worry about money now that my business is started. I hope to sell, so we can get off welfare and disability. Did you guys hear about what is going on in Social Security. That is scary in itself. Well my birthday is next month too. I will be 41 yrs. old. Cool! I think I will celebrate frugally, and financially sound too.
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Swap Meet/Recycling
Friday, September 25, 2009 | By pamphyila
We are going to share a space with a buddy up at the boat for a "boater's" swap meet. Dragging up the cardtable and display items - like shallow containers for jewelry and miscellany. Also going to try to sell my handknit scarves - and plan to drape them over a piece of cardboard. Hubby assures me that folks will like them enough to buy them, we will see. I just want some more $ for my yarn stash, as I am running out of nice colors! (The rest will be Xmas presents - everyone is getting a scarf this Xmas!)
It works that way with my old books, too - I try to recycle them to pay for my book habit. Recently found an outlet that will take them - oh, goody! I am good at gleaning books, even nice hardbacks,from thrift stores, etc. - so I can almost profit from taking them to a used bookstore.
Checked with a local vintage clothing store - and found out that they are taking in winter merchandise after Halloween. (I did buy a vintage huipil which I mended nicely....I do love those things & have several in my "collection". They have gotten expensive, so I grabbed this one when I saw it for about $20 bucks.) I have a few vintage wool things to take in them. There are also two designer dresses I should take to a high-end resale shop.
Trying to go through the little tsochtkas (odds & ends) I have around the house for the sale - Have filled a box with all that stuff. It's amazing what ends up selling.
So - wish me luck! A recounting of how it went next week -
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Grocery Shopping
Thursday, September 24, 2009 | By candacedtsn
Tomorrow I will go shopping for groceries. I shop 2 times a month. Kinda surprised-I purchased enough meat for 2 weeks and of course I had a few items already in the freezer with some venison my parents gave me. I just can't believe that I have alott of meat left. These past 2 weeks I cooked 4 chicken breasts and made 2 meals: Brunswick Stew (mom gave me venison BBQ, and she gave me some soup that she canned) so with a few more simple ingred. my meal was complete. Then I took the remainder of the chicken left and made Giblet gravy with the stock, onion, celery flake (as I didn't have celery), boiled eggs, seasonings, cream of chicken and celery soup (1/2 can each) thickened with cornstarch-served over cornbread stove top stuffing-kids loved it. And I also made Spagetti Sauce with mild italian sausage on sale-(I took the casings off)-I froze 1/2 the meat and let this all cook for 3 hours, I mixed it with macaroni noodles and mozzarella cheese-in a casserole dish and baked it. At least a few nights we had left overs for dinner and had some lunch for me and hubby. We had a few non-meat meals this time around.
Boy can we use these savings!
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Starting point
Wednesday, August 05, 2009 | By Mooloo
I seem to be jettisoned into a different world. Three months ago I was living in a huge "executive house", with en-suite bathroom, 4 bedrooms, an office and a dining, as well as the kitchen diner, and all the mod cons that go along with it. My four children, and two grandchildren were living with me, and my home was full of teenagers, young adults all the time.
Now I am living in a small cottage, with two bedrooms upstairs, and downstairs the sitting room, dining room, kitchen and a bathroom off of the kitchen. There is no gas, and no central heating. I am sharing the house with my youngest, 16 year old lad. I lost my job due to ill health and so we have had to downsize, the girls have gone thier own way, and the babies with them. My son, (DS= for dear son), has a moped and is off out more than he is in. So here I sit, re inventing my life. Living on less then 1/4 of the money I had before.
The challenge is to try to live within the means of this new income, but to live as well as I can.
I believe in recycling where I can, and I try to live to a menu plan to keep the groceries down.
I am planning to make as many of my gifts for birthdays and Christmas as I can. With what I have, or what I can find in Charity shops etc.
So wish me luck and I will try to document how things go.
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Paying off your morgage.
Thursday, July 23, 2009 | By suremajic
When you are getting close to paying your morgage off, be sure to keep an eye on the balance. Look at your escrow balance that is sent during income tax time or you can call the lender periodicly and get a current payoff balance. The reason why is that when I thought I owed the lender a payoff balance of about $2000.00 and received my new payment book, the payment had went up about $40.00 to cover the costs of property taxes and insurance that had went up for the comming year. When I went into the lender to pay this balance off, I actually only owed $67 and some odd cents. I asked why they sent me a new book with higher monthly payments instead of just sending a notice that I owed less than $100.00 could pay it off and could have saved them money on printing up a new payment book. They could not answer me, but I figured they would make as much money as they could if I would not have noticed this and just kept making payments until I had gotten down to the last one. So check your balance periodicly.
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5 WAYS I CUT BACK WITHOUT SUFFERING
Thursday, July 16, 2009 | By Country Boomer
Like everyone on a fixed retirement income, I've looked for ways to cut back on basic expenses. Here's what I've done so far that seems to be working for me:
1. Satellite TV
Since I don't watch TV that much, I cut down to the most basic package available. If you're not a big TV watcher, you'd be surprised to find how much you're paying for what you don't watch.
2. Telephone
Right now, I'm paying more than $150 a month for my landline and cell phone. After cutting back to the minimum on my cell phone bill, I still pay $49.99 for 200 minutes out of which less than 30 are daytime minutes. I'm thinking it would probably make sense to get rid of my landline and get a good prepaid cell phone plan that includes long distance. I saw recently that Straight Talk, a new prepaid plan on the market, offers unlimited calls and texting for just $45 a month. It's tempting to give up my landline because for less than a third of what I'm paying now, I’d have a phone on which I can make long distance calls anywhere in the U.S. and I can take it anywhere with me. If anybody has gone this route and found a reasonably priced prepaid cell plan, please share.
3. Water Heater
Turn your water heater off or put it on a timer! You don't need that much hot water in summer. Turning my water heater on for only three hours every other day, I find my electricity bill has gone down by about $30 a month compared to this time last year, despite the record-breaking heat in Florida.
4. Planned Meals
The last time I threw out almost an entire bag of lettuce along with some carrots that had had it, I decided that was it. I find when I plan meals instead of food shopping randomly, I only buy what I need. My refrigerator looks a bit empty in comparison to what it used to look like, but I have meals for every day of the week, and I'm saving. As food prices continue to soar, we're going to have to find every way we can to save on food. Not wasting is a good start.
5. Planned Driving
I plan my weeks so I don't have to run out every time I need something. I have to do this unless I plan to burn more gas than I can afford. I live eight miles from the nearest food store and 25 miles from the nearest good supermarket. Say I need to go to the post office, I make sure I run at least two other errands at the same time.
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fall out survival
Tuesday, June 02, 2009 | By yard_sale_annie
survival
what is survival?
being able to live in the current economy
you can live well in the current problems with the economy if your creative with how you spend your money..my situation for instance i live on social security i recieve about a thousand a month..not alot but plenty to survive on..i have a comfortable two bedroom mobile home in a nice area..i stay because the lot rent has remained the same since i first moved in 6 years ago. three years ago i had 2 cars insurance for the cars cost of gas and repairs. i made the decision that the cars had to go if i were to survive on my current budget. i now have 2 bicycles and a 50 cent smart bus pass for my transportation needs..i can ride all over the state on 50 cents and free transfer tickets..this is a savings over $400.00 a month..i have medicare part A i opted out of medicare part B as the premiums were well over a hundred a month.. i ride a bike and walk as my health has improved any dental and vision and health care expenses are added to my income tax form at the end of the year and most cost are refunded to me. so mostly my health care is free.. i have diabetes the cost of my food and clothing and exercising expense and medicine are all deductible at tax time. i shop at yard sales for all my needs any thing can be found at a yard sale for the fraction of the cost..when i go i ride my bike no wasted gas expense..when i need help with the cost of food i go to my local food pantry and churches who are glad to help..i stock up on canned foods which have a shelf life of 5 years..when the economy finally collapses and our government is under siege your money will have no value.what will have value will be your knowledge what you can repair or what you can trade..that is what the world is coming to you can see it everyday when you go to the store to buy food and when you go to the gas station to buy gas..the most valuable idea you can do for yourself today is to learn survival tactics that will help you..the internet is here and a vast tool of information..i am preparing myself for the hard times to come....are you ? will you be able to survive with out electricity, heat, shelter, food...you won't if you are not prepared...
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Jobs That Make $20 or More Per Hour
Wednesday, April 22, 2009 | By lewis_admin
Here's a list of jobs that make $20 or more an hour. I thought people might find it interesting, some jobs you may not think pay quite that much on the list.
http://www.cnn.com/2009/LIVING/worklife/04/22/cb.20.jobs.20.dollars/index.html
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Proud of my son
Thursday, March 12, 2009 | By auntkay
I have a 14 year old son and am trying to teach him about saving and living a thrifty lifestyle. Living in a somewhat affluent area it's often a challenge.
We're able to live where we do because we've always been frugal.. We bought a fixer-upper a few years ago; I drive a car that is 11 years old; and I can't remember the last time I shopped for clothes any where but a thrift store. We are certainly not the norm for our neighborhood - an area where most people own boats, drive SUVs and give their kids cars before they even turn 16.
Knowing that times are tougher than they've ever been, my son has really been making an effort. He had a summer job last year and put 20% of every check into his "saving for a car" account. He's been using his own money for his entertainment and clothes.
Two things happened this week that made me think J is beginning to think more like a frugal person and less like a "I want it now" teenager. After some warmer weather we had a little cold snap this week. On Tuesday evening J asked if he could make a cup of hot chocolate. He said he thought the cost of running the microwave would be less than bumping the heat up or burning the last of our firewood for the season.
Then last night J was supposed to have dinner with a friend. As often happens with teens, that didn't work out and I ended having to unexpectedly feed them instead. Tomorrow is pay day so the cupboards are fairly bare, but I knew I could make a healthy meal. I made a scrambled egg mix with vegetarian sausage, mushrooms and onions with toast and butter on the side. The boys loved it and there were no leftovers. What impressed me most was my son. Just a few short months ago he would have asked us to order a pizza. But he understands now there is a big cost difference between pizza delivery and what you can make at home.
I love being a Mom and being a Mom who is teaching her son how to plan, budget and be thrifty. What suggestions do you have for raising a thrifty teen?
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Time to save & make money
Thursday, March 05, 2009 | By freya1970
Now that my travels are over till at least May (yes, I am planning another long weekend trip already!!), it's time to start saving and making a little money.
I went on my Etsy.com shop and posted a few new things...a frugal zine I had made for friends as a gift, which I saved electronically and selling for 50cents. I posted it twice within 12 hours and already sold two. Even if I just sell 10 of them, it's a few dollars in my pocket for work that I had already done. They charge 20 cents for the listing and probably another 5 cents or so when I sell it so I only end up with half of the money but that's ok! I also posted some handmade vegan soaps because I have tons right now!
Another way I will save money is start my penny jar. I have been meaning to do this for awhile now. I am starting a penny jar and will save pennies for a year, then buy a gift card with what I have accumulated! My sweetie started something like this too back in January but using all his change and already has $155 saved up in less than two months! Change really adds up!
We're going to the bank next week to talk about our mortgage and how to better pay off some debt. Right now is a good time to do this and we're confident our payments will go down afterwards :) People tend to be afraid of banks (I know I am!) and all that financial mumbo jumbo. Personally I think we're doing pretty good, as our credit cards should be all paid off within a couple of months, even with my big spending habits when I travelled last week :)
Went out to dinner last night. We hadn't done that in awhile...I tend to go out to dinner with friends sometimes but not often with my partner. We went to the new bistro we like because on Wednesdays they have pizza/pasta night for $10. VERY good quality food. I had a pad thai with tofu & I splurged and got sorbet for dessert but we both shared it and drank water. Tonight is tofu scramble & Sweet potato fries night..I can't wait!
I looked over the sales flyers today as they come out every Thursday in the paper at work. Sadly, no good sales. I don't buy a lot of processed foods or any animal products so unfortunately I won't be doing a whole lot of grocery shopping this week. There seems to be a lot of meat on sale right now...yikes. We'll just eat what we have and I will replenish the produce at our favourite produce market.
I received a late birthday parcel from an online friend. Wow, does she ever know me! Anyone who knows me, knows that my guilty pleasures are dark chocolate and coffee. I received some Ethiopian Fair Trade Coffee beans and Fair Trade organic dark chocolate! Now I have coffee beans for another two weeks which will save me money! yay! My chocolate supply was running out too, i always have dark chocolate on hand. I got two bars from another friend and one is almost done (I eat a square every few days). I also received some lovely Protea and Dwarf Sunflower seeds! Am I spoiled or what?
I will be testing out the warm honey body wrap i made this weekend and if it is successful (my partner will be my guinea pig), i will post the recipe and instructions....stay tuned!
Peace.
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