Queercents

One of the areas I am consciously trying to change is my need to have all of it. Not in the form of materialism, but in the way I use items, like the amount of food I eat, the amount of toothpaste I use and the amount of water I shower in.

A frugal life consists not always in sacrifice but in the small steps that help make the larger decisions much easier. It is about training the brain to see the world a bit differently and also training the brain to see that cutting back isn’t harmful. Instead, these small seemingly inconsequential steps will fit so easily into your lifestyle that they will be almost invisible and, you may even think that they aren’t that important.

So, two things are happening here. First, you are saving money by using less. For example, if you have sugar on your cereal every morning and you dump two spoonfuls into that cereal each morning but for a year you decide to only use one spoonful, this will extend your sugar by a whole year more. In that way you are saving money, but also working on the second part of this, training your brain that you don’t need as much. Read the rest of this entry »

I have read a few sites that show the benefits of having a gym membership and I have my own personal experience on the benefits of exercising for free.

I think there are a few questions to ask before deciding:

What do you like to do? If you like to be outdoors and the thought of being cooped up in a building is un-appealing then free exercise might be for you. If you prefer tennis or swimming then a gym membership would make it a better value for you.

What do you have access to now? Perhaps you live in an apartment complex that provides a weight-room and swimming pool or you live near an area that allows you to get out and walk. Find out what you can do around you that you like for free first.

What is more convenient? If you are more apt to work out on your way to or from work, find a gym that would be around your route to work to stop off at. Many people have been able to acquire exercise equipment from craigslist, freecycle or ReUsIt groups for almost free or also free, and set up a work out area in a room. Read the rest of this entry »

I see a lot of carpet remnants here in my complex - I always want to grab a few leftovers and use them, so here are a few ideas.

1. Cut down on noise - Put under a typewriter, kitchen appliance or baby bed on hardwood floor to limit excess noise

2. Lay on under the car - Carpet scraps slide pretty easy on concrete floors and they can keep you a bit warmer in a cold garage while you fix stuff on the car.

3. Catch Oil leaks - Cardboard is good, but carpet is heavier and won’t tear up as easily when driven over

4. Exercise Mat - Shag carpeting is a great exercise mat. As you stretch yourself to brink of exhaustion you have something to grab onto when you cry in agony after it’s over. {smile}

5. Shoe insert - Great for slippers and keeping your feet warm, decent for keeping your feet dry as well. May be a good idea to air out regularly as well. Read the rest of this entry »

I am going to make a public service announcement to all those whose TV bills are past due.

In my line of work, I regularly get contacted about the high price of TV programming and how expensive everything is. True, it does cost a lot. And if I didn’t get it free, I wouldn’t have anything beyond an over-the-air signal. Anyway, if you take a look at your bill and you see that you are past due or you are having to figure out payment arrangement to get it paid, then I strongly advise you to reduce the tv package that you have, if not for a while, at least until you get caught up.

I think I am one of the few company employees that talks people down to lower priced packages in order to save them money. Sure, ‘Promotions’ are good, for a time. But like everything, there are rules to how many you can get or limitations to the length of the promo. Read the rest of this entry »

Just so you know frugality doesn’t happen for me in a single day, week or year. It is a lifetime journey that teaches me what I am doing right and what I am doing wrong. Some frugal ideas save money and time, others don’t. Other times it isn’t about saving money and time but peace of mind. It is the guiding hand of someone more experienced or the teaching that comes from life’s mistakes that helps me understand what aspects of frugal living will work for me. Based on all this I want to share what I have learned…

Online Bill Paying: I admit, I used about 5-8 stamps a month to mail off bills, I felt this way was better, faster and more secure. But it uses a lot of paper and I’m sick and tired of it. Slowly, I have changed over my billing to online only, but not without frustration.

• I found out that if you want don’t want to pay monthly fees, you may have to use multiple places to pay your bills.
• Some credit cards companies like to charge you for EVERYTHING, even to pay a bill. This is where I had to find the best way to pay, either via the mail still or check with my bank.
• I have all my bills going to one email address that is separate from all my other email address (bills only). The downside was getting used to checking email for new statements… I was late for a couple of bills. A hard lesson to learn.
• I figured out too late that when you set up accounts, make sure you use the same email address, because getting some accounts changed can be a pain in the neck. Read the rest of this entry »

In order for us to live a more frugal life and live below our means it requires that we re-use items instead of going out to buy something new. However, does that mean that our frugalness causes us to live in a cluttered house?

There are many uses for bread bags, shower curtains, plastic containers, glass jars and so on. But does that mean that we have to keep it all. Will the guilt be to much to bear if we throw away one or five? What is a good number of items to keep for re-use? Is it three, five or one?

It is true that before you toss something you want to pause and ask yourself…

• Can this item be fixed?
• Can this item be re-used in a new way?
• Can this item be donated to someone else?

But still the question arises, how long do we need to hold onto things? Do we apply the 6-12 month rule of non-use to determine that we throw it or give it away? Read the rest of this entry »

There are a few signs that you will want to look for when you are in a dangerous situation and it is time to get out or get help to get away. Fighting back a credit card that is foaming at the mouth and starving for your attention and your money is not a good place to be in. In most situations you already know you are in danger because you feel it in your gut or you have trouble sleeping. If you are unsure about your 6th sense, here’s what to look out for:

1. You are only able to make the minimum payment – This is a bad thing, if you make only the minimum on a 1,000 dollar credit limit it will take you almost 4 years to pay it off.
2. If your balance is going up while your income is decreasing – Unemployment is a tough life and credit cards can be a saving grace. BUT, should only be a last resort. Belt tightening and sell off whatever isn’t nailed down is where I would start.
3. Charge more than the payment you make – this goes along with the two above, it is going to take longer to pay off. Read the rest of this entry »

I have to say that for me, what determines the buying of store or name brand are two fold:

1. I consider price - this would include any coupons that I may have that may bring the name brand down lower than the store brand based on unit size. If I don’t have a coupon, I go with the cheaper price per unit, unless number 2 factors in.

2. I consider value - If I have tried the store brand and I didn’t much like it, than I will try name brands. For instance, Bush’s baked beans are a better value than the Campbell’s cheaper baked beans, I like the taste better of bush’s beans as opposed to the cheaper brand. To me that is where there is value. However, I don’t buy Kleenex brand tissues, I prefer the Kroger store brand, they are cheaper, but they are also thicker and I go through them slower as I am not pulling out 2-3 to blow my nose like I do with the name brand.

Consumer Reports did on a study on name brand and store brand back in the summer of 2005, and found that national brands cost an average of about 25 to 50 percent more than similar-quality store brands. Read the rest of this entry »

Have you ever gotten those mailings that have two tickets in them for you to come to a hotel and sit through a seminar on how to make money, reduce your debt, buy real estate or the like? It appears one person had a question about them.

Q: I’m wondering what you think about those debt reduction courses that are offered through seminars or online, and claim that you can be debt free in under 7 years, including your mortgage?

A: I would say that you can find the same information through books in the library and searching online for things that you need answers to.

It may be appealing to plunk down some money and think you are getting all the answers in one shot, but I think you will find that searching online, not only saves you money that can go toward your debt, but you will also learn at a pace that allows everything to sink in.

I think you will find that most “gurus” end up advocating the following steps in varying order: Read the rest of this entry »

I think I watch this Frontline series online about once a year, it is that good. Whether you think credit card debt is ok or not, or if you have 8 thousand dollars or zero dollars in credit card debt; this is a good series to watch no matter what.

The series originally aired on the Frontline tv series right around Thanksgiving of 2004. It seems like it has been a lot longer than that, but I think that is only because this series has a lot of impact.

I was recently going over the site again and thought I would highlight their eight things a credit card user should know:

1= Even if you make your credit card payments on time, the credit card bank can raise your interest rate automatically if you’re late on payments elsewhere — such as on another credit card or on a phone, car, or house payment — or simply because the bank feels you have taken on too much debt. Read the rest of this entry »