Fwd: Simple Times - 03/05/09 - Frugal living tips and attitudes

[Guest guest]

 

Simple Times <dsimple

Cyndikrall

Mon, 9 Mar 2009 12:57 pm

Simple Times - 03/05/09 - Frugal living tips and attitudes

 

 

 

 

Simple Times

________________________________

 

Vol. 11, No. 5 -- March 5th, 2009

http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/

DSimple

Copyright 2009 Deborah Taylor-Hough

ISSN: 1527-1269

________________________________

 

Subscribe: join-simple-times

Un: leave-simple-times

________________________________

 

Celebrating more than a decade of saving your time, money and sanity!

________________________________

 

IN THIS ISSUE:

-- " Dear Readers "

-- Simple Living Quote

-- Frugal Living:  Ways to Live Cheaper

-- Frugal Living is All in the Attitude

-- Letters to the Editor / Reader Tips

-- Assorted Information (archives, etc.)

________________________________

 

< < < O.U.R  S.P.O.N.S.O.R > > >

 

 

       " What the heck... I'll give it a try! "

 

" I have to say I'm so glad I purchased your DebtIntoWealth

System! I was skeptical at first, so I went to the website.

It sounded good, so I figured " what the heck, " I'll give it

a try. My goal was to pay off $5000 in credit card debt and

a car loan so I could buy a new home, and get me and my 4

girls out of our 2-bedroom apartment. It worked! It's now 9

months later and ALL of my debt

is paid off, and I just

signed a contract on a new 5-bedroom house! There is no

better feeling than to have NO debts, and a savings account

too! Thanks to your system, my family is going to have a

better life by not being enslaved to debt. "

--Katrina S. in Houston, TX

 

What the heck ... Give DebtIntoWealth a try, today!

 

Click:

http://www.debtintowealth.com/simpletimes.html

 

________________________________

 

Dear Readers,

 

Wow, what a week this has been.  Sorry this issue of Simple Times

is a few days late, but it just sort of took a backseat to other things

in my life (like my water heater dying).  Icy cold showers are NOT a

particularly fun way to start the day, believe me.

 

With life so difficult financially since my husband's illness, I've been

finding that things I always considered almost basic essentials in my

life are really nothing but luxuries.  Things like having a working

garbage

disposal, a dishwasher, and even personal transportation (thank heavens

for city buses!).

 

Essentially when something breaks down now, we just live without it..

 

I hope we can get the water heater replaced soon.  But I discovered

that to purchase a new one and have it installed professionally, it

will cost me around $1,000(!), even for the cheapest model.  I've been

asking around to see if anyone I know has experience with replacing

water heaters, themselves, so I can save on the installation fees

, but

so far, no luck.  :-(

 

I've been feeling like I've become " Pioneer Woman Debi " this week.

Heating our water on the stovetop for washing dishes, washing hair,

and taking sponge baths, etc.

 

And to top it all off, my husband found out that they're going to be

laying people off from his department at work ... and they'll be

starting with the folks with the most seniority because they make

the most per hour.  And since my husband has been there the

longest, guess who'll be the first to go?

 

Ugh.  So very soon I'll be losing the child support he pays which

is nearly half of my monthly income.  I'm trying to not worry too

much about the future, but the reality is that I knew this day would

be coming sooner or later.  I just thought he'd end up being laid off

because of his inability to do his job anymore because of his

neurological problems rather than laid off because of the company's

financial difficulties.

 

For those who aren't aware of the problems he's been facing and

the difficulties it's caused our family, you can find information

online here:

 

http://dsimple.wordpress.com/where-things-stand-today/

 

 

The only reason he's been able to keep working as long as he has

is because the job is routine to him and is something he can do

almost in his sleep.  It won't be possible for him to learn new job

skills or adjust to a new working environment, so when his

current

job ends, that will essentially be the end of his working career.  He

may be able to find a new job, but the chances of him being able

to successfully learn it and perform well are pretty much non-

existent.

 

Prayers and good thoughts being sent our way are definitely

appreciated right now.

 

Simply Yours,

 

Debi

(Deborah Taylor-Hough)

Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter

--Author of the popular Frozen Assets series; A Simple Choice: A

practical guide for saving your time, money & sanity; and Frugal

Living for Dummies®

--Editor, Simple Times and Bright-Kids email newsletters

________________________________

 

Visit my simple living blog!

http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/

________________________________

 

SIMPLE LIVING QUOTE

 

" Simplicity is an acquired taste. Mankind, left free, instinctively

complicates life. "

 

~Katherine F. Gerould

 

________________________________

 

FRUGAL LIVING:  WAYS TO LIVE CHEAPER

Copyright M. Kaye Hash

Used with permission from EzineArticles.com.

All rights reserved.

 

 

Learn to save some of your hard earned cash with these frugal

living tips. You do not have to use them all but picking even one

will save you some money!

 

 

1) Bills: Do we need everything we pay for?

 

Do we need every movie channel that our cable or satellite

company provides? Do we pay for five movies at a time from

Netflix when we only watch three? Are we getting the best deal

on auto or h

ome insurance that we can? Do we really need

such a large home or three cars?

 

It is important to evaluate every bill you pay and make sure you

really need it. Can you cut your cable bill in half? Call around

and get estimates on auto and home insurance to see if you

could save some cash. If only two of you drive in the household

do you really need three cars? Can you get by on one?

 

Ask yourself these questions and more to figure out what you

really need and not what just makes you feel better.

 

 

2) Buy used and sell used

 

Don't throw away that lamp you don't like. Try and sell it on ebay

or craigslist, and if that doesn't work then donate it to a charitable

organization like the Salvation Army or Goodwill or your local

church.

 

Instead of running to the showroom floor when you need new

furniture or home decor, scour the flea markets and garage sales

instead. Not only may you find an expensive sofa for half the price

of new and only six months old but you are also saving an item

from ending up in a landfill!

 

 

3) Pay it off!

 

Plan a budget and stick to it. You will feel better than you can

ever imagine when you have no credit card debt. And when you

pay off that credit card debt you can move on to bigger things.

What if you have not auto debt or home debt anymore? How

much stress would that reduce in your life?

 

Pay off the smallest bills first then use that20money to pay off

larger debt and so on (while making your minimum monthly

payments) and see how fast you can pay off what you owe!

 

The best feeling in the world comes from buying a big ticket

item for cash and knowing you will not have to pay anyone

interest.

 

 

4) Go meatless!

 

Another of the easiest frugal living tips is to cut meat out of

your diet for at least one meal a week. While this may sound

like it is not that fun, especially for the meat and potato group,

you may be surprised at the meatless meals you can come

up with!

 

Some excellent meal ideas for eating meatless are beans and

cornbread, baked potato dinner, cheese quesadillas, or vegetable

soup. Think about the meals your family enjoys and you may

be surprised to find more than one meatless meal in your recipe

file already!

 

 

Remember, as Benjamin Franklin said, " A penny saved is a

penny earned! "

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

--M. Kaye Hash, is co-owner and photographer of the nature

photography and eco-friendly gifts and family living articles

website http://www.naturesthumbprint.com  She is also a

contributing editor at http://www.mccallsfloormart.com

Melissa has a degree in Art History from the University of

Missouri-Columbia. She has been writing and taking pictures

since she was young. Melissa is also an avid animal lover

and she raises four dogs of her own while being creative in

as many ways as possible.

 

Article Source: http://Ezine

Articles.com/?expert=Melissa_Hash

 

________________________________

 

O.U.R  S.P.O.N.S.O.R

 

Make A Fresh Start Today ~ with EasyFile Home Filing System!

 

Lack of organization is perhaps the biggest obstacle in taking

control of your finances. So how you manage receipts, records

and household paperwork can make a big difference in your

personal and financial life. EasyFile simplifies the task,

making it quick & easy to organize those important papers!

" Most people spend more time organizing their iPods

than their financial records. "   --Sandra Block, USA TODAY

 

EasyFile Home & Homeschool Filing Systems & Garage Sale Kit

www.easyfilesolutions.com/AIDLink.php?BID=11911 & AID=36265

Also from Simplified Solutions * * FishTales Fishing Logs* *

www.fishtaleslog.com/AIDLink.php?BID=11319 & AID=36645

 

________________________________

 

FRUGAL LIVING IS ALL IN THE ATTITUDE

Copyright Martin Lukac

Used with permission from EzineArticles.com.

All rights reserved.

 

 

Being frugal simply becomes a way of life. When you have

the desire, the knowledge and the attitude, you are motivated

to be frugal in your living. Consider it a challenge to cut costs

but maintain your quality of living. You simply have to look at

things in the right way.

 

Being frugal doesn't always mean taking the long way to what

you want or working extra hard for something. While grinding

your own whole wheat flour saves you a lot of money, not

everyone has the time for=2

0that. Instead, look at the ways you

can be frugal in your life, not someone else's.

 

You can be frugal and buy convenience foods, like frozen

lasagna and pre-cut veggies. While it is cheaper to make

them from scratch, they are still cheaper than eating out.

And if you are trying to cut your eating-out bill, you are doing

a frugal thing by eating in. It is your own version of fast food.

 

The idea behind frugal living isn't to do without. It is living

without the things you don't need. It is getting rid of the

clutter. It is using your money on things that really matter

to you and your family. It empowers you to really appreciate

the little things.

 

But if you look at it as a sacrifice, it probably won't work

for you. And you can't go out and copy someone else's

frugal lifestyle and expect it to work. All the fun is in looking

at where you can find the things to cut out yourself. Being

frugal is a challenge. A fun and rewarding one.

 

Take the time to look around your home and see what you

can do more frugally. Can you use dishtowels instead of

paper towels? Can you use a clothesline instead of a dryer?

Can you only vacuum twice a week instead of four times?

Can you make some things yourself?

 

There are some unexpected things that come along with

the frugal lifestyle. There is the sense of accomplishment.

There is pride. There is learning that you can do a lot more

than yo

u thought you could. There is learning to manage

your finances wisely. And by doing so, there are savings

for retirement, college tuition, and vacations.

 

Frugal living is rewarding. Start out with the right attitude

and goals, and you will find that it is a challenge that is

easily met.

 

 

ABOUT THE AUTHOR:

--Martin Lukac represents http://www.RateEmpire.com and

http://www.1AmericanFinancial.com a finance web-company

specializing in real estate and mortgage rates. They specialize

in daily updates, mortgage news, rate predictions, mortgage

rates and more. Find low home loan mortgage interest rates

from hundreds of mortgage companies.

 

Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Martin_Lukac

 

________________________________

 

Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)

________________________________

 

LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / READER TIPS

We'd love to hear YOUR tips and ideas for simplifying daily life.

Send your simple living comments and tips to: DSimple

 

 

Re: Easter baskets

I ran across your article on Frugal Easter Baskets and decided to

submit the link as my " tip " for other Simple Times' readers since

the holiday's coming up. Here's the link to your article.

http://snurl.com/easterbaskets  [thesimplemom_wordpress_com]

--Lynne T., Seattle

 

________________________________

 

SIMPLE TIMES RECOMMENDED BOOKS

Book list for frugality and simple living

Go to: http://snurl.com/simplebooks

____________________

___________

 

< < B E . O U R . S P O N S O R > >

 

Would you like to place an ad in this newsletter? Contact

Laura at marketing Subject line: simple-times

Discover the modest rates for reaching this targeted market.

________________________________

 

As always, a special " Thank you! " goes out to Gary Foreman

and the friendly folks at The Dollar Stretcher for making this

mailing list possible!

 

== http://www.stretcher.com/ ==

________________________________

 

EDITOR'S BOOKS AND RESOURCES:

Books and resources by Deborah Taylor-Hough

Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter

http://snurl.com/debisbooks

________________________________

 

DEBI'S ON-LINE RESOURCES:

Personal Blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com/

Frugality/Simplicity: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com

Cooking Ahead: http://frozenassets.wordpress.com/

Bright-Kids: http://brightkids.wordpress.com

 

Tupperware®: http://snurl.com/DebiTupperware

Kids' Books: http://snurl.com/books4kids

________________________________

 

NEWSLETTER INFORMATION

Subscribe: join-simple-times

Un: leave-simple-times

 

Please feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think

might be interested. This is a private mailing list which isn't sold

or shared with anyone else. Tips and articles are printed for

entertainment purposes only.

 

This free service is brought to you by www.SimpleMom.com

 

Copyright 2009 Deborah Taylor-Hough. .

3930 A Street SE, Ste 305-119, Auburn WA 98

002

Contact us at:  DSimple

 

 

---

 

You are currently d to simple-times as: Cyndikrall

 

To

http://hub.thedollarstretcher.com/u?id=3503451.60696484ec9b77a0c50800fa74be268d & \

n=T & l=simple-times & o=3405077

 

(It may be necessary to cut and paste the above URL if the line is

broken)

 

or send a blank email to

leave-3405077-3503451.60696484ec9b77a0c50800fa74be268d

cher.com