Thursday, January 12, 2012
Fabulous & Frugal: Laundry Soap
Fabulous & Frugal: Laundry Soap: Okay... Here it is!!! Everyone has been asking me to post my laundry soap recipe so... here you all have it 2 cups Borax 2 cups Super...
Tuesday, January 10, 2012
Extreme Cheapskates
TLC has done it again.... I watched this show last night. Extreme Cheapskates looked at the lives of 4 families, The first guy was a dumpster diver who found wilted roses, and a tea kettle for his wife for their 25th wedding anniversary.... yes he found these "treasure's" in the dumpster. While he was at a cafe for dinner he would go around to other people's tables and ask them for their left over food. He embarrassed his wife a couple of different times.
The second family features a creative way to save on toilet paper. She makes her own toilet paper out of cloth, her clean cloth's hang right next to the toilet (in her bathroom) and her used cloth's go in a bucket right next to the toilet... she claims she never has to touch them, just picks up the bucket and dumps them in the wash machine. This lady has 6 kids and shops at a grocery outlet that deals with expired food, and that is what she feeds her kids along with salad that she picks or forages at the park.
The third story featured a couple that I am actually familiar with... Jeff Yeager has actually written a couple of books. The Cheapskate Next Door (and I cannot remember the other one right now.) At various times during the year he goes on a fiscal fast, where he spends absolutely no money for the entire week. At least not his money... he does scrounge around for loose change in couch cushions, phone booths, and laundry mats. Jeff did some bargaining with a butcher for a couple of goat heads that he cooked for he and his wife for dinner. Jeff was very funny and entertaining... I enjoyed his take on frugality.
The last story featured a young man who bartered for different things... he recited poetry at a donut shop for a donut and coffee, and helped out his friend with bartering who was putting together an engagement party. He also worked by taking out trash and sweeping at a barber shop so that he could get his hair cut. Very creative ways to work for things that you need.
This show was completely entertaining and gives a whole new meaning for the definition of Cheapskate.... It was an extreme look at outrageous ways to save a dollar....AND after watching this show, my kids no longer think of me as a cheapskate....
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!
The second family features a creative way to save on toilet paper. She makes her own toilet paper out of cloth, her clean cloth's hang right next to the toilet (in her bathroom) and her used cloth's go in a bucket right next to the toilet... she claims she never has to touch them, just picks up the bucket and dumps them in the wash machine. This lady has 6 kids and shops at a grocery outlet that deals with expired food, and that is what she feeds her kids along with salad that she picks or forages at the park.
The third story featured a couple that I am actually familiar with... Jeff Yeager has actually written a couple of books. The Cheapskate Next Door (and I cannot remember the other one right now.) At various times during the year he goes on a fiscal fast, where he spends absolutely no money for the entire week. At least not his money... he does scrounge around for loose change in couch cushions, phone booths, and laundry mats. Jeff did some bargaining with a butcher for a couple of goat heads that he cooked for he and his wife for dinner. Jeff was very funny and entertaining... I enjoyed his take on frugality.
The last story featured a young man who bartered for different things... he recited poetry at a donut shop for a donut and coffee, and helped out his friend with bartering who was putting together an engagement party. He also worked by taking out trash and sweeping at a barber shop so that he could get his hair cut. Very creative ways to work for things that you need.
This show was completely entertaining and gives a whole new meaning for the definition of Cheapskate.... It was an extreme look at outrageous ways to save a dollar....AND after watching this show, my kids no longer think of me as a cheapskate....
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!
Saturday, January 7, 2012
Get Out Of Debt Using Snowball Method
This is exactly the snowball method I am using... It seems to be working, yes, at times it seems like it is taking forever... but I am just going to hang on in there and keep my nose to the grindstone.. Debt Free Baby!!!!
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!!!
http://christianpf.com/?utm_source=ChristianPF+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d4a3a294bf-DAILY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
Get Out Of Debt With The Debt Snowball Method – GS4
Jan 05, 2012 08:00 am
Bob
Debt Snowball: The Preferred Method for getting out of debt
Creating a debt snowball is my preferred method of getting out of debt. The strength of using this method is that it focuses on the behavioral side of personal finance rather than the mathematical. Since we are not robots that always do exactly what we know we should, I recommend this method for most people.
These are the simple steps to snowball your debt
Create a list of all of your debts: credit cards, car loans, student loans, mortgages, etc…
Next to each one write down the total balance owed.
Re-order these from smallest to largest debts (use Excel or Google Docs to make this simpler.)
Pay the minimum payment on all of the debts – except the smallest one.
Put every extra dollar you can find towards paying off that smallest debt.
Celebrate like crazy when you get that first debt paid off.
Take the amount you were paying towards the first debt and put towards the next smallest debt. Do this until this one is paid off.
Celebrate again!
Continue this process until each one is paid off.
What you will find is that each time you pay off a debt, the “snowball” gets larger. Since you are taking the amount you used to pay off the first debt and putting it all + the minimum payment that you were already paying to the second together, you are making more of an impact towards that debt. Each time you pay off a debt, the snowball gets larger and more powerful – which is great, because it just increases the speed that each debt gets paid off.
The numbers don’t lie
If you are like most logical people out there (like me ) you are probably saying, “you could save more money by paying the highest interest rate cards off first.” You are right – calculators do not lie and they will give you the correct logical answer. Paying your credits cards off starting with the highest interest rate to the lowest is “mathematically” the best idea. But, let’s look it at from another angle:
If we DID what we knew we SHOULD do 100% of the time, using the mathematical approach would be best. But, we are emotional beings and even the most disciplined among us still have emotions and are affected by them.
Computers use logic 100% of the time. Humans do not. We were not created to. We make decisions based on our emotions. We get let down, we get encouraged, we feel motivated, we get scared, we feel hopeful, we feel like quitting. These are all emotional states that each one of us could feel on any given day!!
Knowing that we are emotional beings, the key is to use our emotions to our advantage. Just like jogging with the wind at your back, it is a nice little boost to use our emotions to give us a little edge. So, rather than tackling the debt like a math problem, we can tackle it in a way that will give us emotional boosts! After all, isn’t it better to get out of debt and spend an extra $100 in interest than to give up half way to our goal because we were discouraged?
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!!!
http://christianpf.com/?utm_source=ChristianPF+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=d4a3a294bf-DAILY_EMAIL_CAMPAIGN&utm_medium=email
Get Out Of Debt With The Debt Snowball Method – GS4
Jan 05, 2012 08:00 am
Bob
Debt Snowball: The Preferred Method for getting out of debt
Creating a debt snowball is my preferred method of getting out of debt. The strength of using this method is that it focuses on the behavioral side of personal finance rather than the mathematical. Since we are not robots that always do exactly what we know we should, I recommend this method for most people.
These are the simple steps to snowball your debt
Create a list of all of your debts: credit cards, car loans, student loans, mortgages, etc…
Next to each one write down the total balance owed.
Re-order these from smallest to largest debts (use Excel or Google Docs to make this simpler.)
Pay the minimum payment on all of the debts – except the smallest one.
Put every extra dollar you can find towards paying off that smallest debt.
Celebrate like crazy when you get that first debt paid off.
Take the amount you were paying towards the first debt and put towards the next smallest debt. Do this until this one is paid off.
Celebrate again!
Continue this process until each one is paid off.
What you will find is that each time you pay off a debt, the “snowball” gets larger. Since you are taking the amount you used to pay off the first debt and putting it all + the minimum payment that you were already paying to the second together, you are making more of an impact towards that debt. Each time you pay off a debt, the snowball gets larger and more powerful – which is great, because it just increases the speed that each debt gets paid off.
The numbers don’t lie
If you are like most logical people out there (like me ) you are probably saying, “you could save more money by paying the highest interest rate cards off first.” You are right – calculators do not lie and they will give you the correct logical answer. Paying your credits cards off starting with the highest interest rate to the lowest is “mathematically” the best idea. But, let’s look it at from another angle:
If we DID what we knew we SHOULD do 100% of the time, using the mathematical approach would be best. But, we are emotional beings and even the most disciplined among us still have emotions and are affected by them.
Computers use logic 100% of the time. Humans do not. We were not created to. We make decisions based on our emotions. We get let down, we get encouraged, we feel motivated, we get scared, we feel hopeful, we feel like quitting. These are all emotional states that each one of us could feel on any given day!!
Knowing that we are emotional beings, the key is to use our emotions to our advantage. Just like jogging with the wind at your back, it is a nice little boost to use our emotions to give us a little edge. So, rather than tackling the debt like a math problem, we can tackle it in a way that will give us emotional boosts! After all, isn’t it better to get out of debt and spend an extra $100 in interest than to give up half way to our goal because we were discouraged?
Monday, January 2, 2012
Homemade Dishwasher Soap
Happy New Year!!! My goals are to pay off debt and live as frugally as possible. I am also going to add to my Emergency fund this year. What are your goals or resolutions for this year?
Here is a recipe I found for Dishwasher soap... I will be making up a batch of this and giving it a try.
Homemade Dishwasher Soap
I make my own soap by using 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax 20 Mule Team. I use about 2 tablespoons in the dishwasher compartment. I've also added Citric Acid (from either canning products or tang) if needed. To tell if Citric Acid is needed, look at your silverware. If it seem to be a little gray then check your dishwasher book and it will tell you what to add and how much. My silverware has actually been sparklier with this than the expensive dishwasher tabs.
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!!!
Here is a recipe I found for Dishwasher soap... I will be making up a batch of this and giving it a try.
Homemade Dishwasher Soap
I make my own soap by using 1/2 cup Arm & Hammer Super Washing Soda and 1/2 cup Borax 20 Mule Team. I use about 2 tablespoons in the dishwasher compartment. I've also added Citric Acid (from either canning products or tang) if needed. To tell if Citric Acid is needed, look at your silverware. If it seem to be a little gray then check your dishwasher book and it will tell you what to add and how much. My silverware has actually been sparklier with this than the expensive dishwasher tabs.
Have a Fabulous & Frugal Day!!!!!
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