March 11, 2009 at 2:15 pm (good things, money savings)
Tags: cheap, family, free, life, money, saving money
This should be every bodies new favorite game, how many free or cheap things can you name?
Any category, the field is wide open.
I’ll get you started with some of my favorites.
Drying clothes on a clothes line. Not only free, but a childhood memory.
Vinegar instead of laundry rinse. A cheap solution with a bonus, it actually helps clean the washing machine and water lines.
The Dollar Movie Theater. Yes they are still out there.
Free city services. Many cities offer free services at least one day a year. They range from the dump to parking to the rec center to the zoo.
And the mother load of free and cheap is the library. They have way more to offer than just books. How about the latest issue of major magazines. Or newspapers. Not just local either. Internet access and other computer applications like Word and Excel. And DVD movies. And the customer service is usually excellent.
Now that I got you started, how many free and cheap things can you name???
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February 13, 2009 at 12:09 am (money savings)
Tags: energy, food, green, money, recession, waste, water
For all of us green geeks there is a green lining to the recession. It’s not that we would wish anyone bad fortune, but for many years we have been trying to convince others that this country wastes a lot of stuff. Finally, mostly because of the current recession we are being heard and even listened to.
So why now? It’s pretty simple, wasted stuff equals wasted money.
And people in the country waste an incredible amount of resources and stuff every day. Don’t believe me, just check your trash can, closets and cabinets.
It is estimated that 35 to 50 percent of all the food bought is later thrown out. Spoiled food before it was used and uneaten left overs are the two biggest categories of waste.
Look in your closet and drawers, do you wear everything on a regular basis? I know women that buy clothes and never wear them. They give things away with the tags still on them.
What about water and energy. If your home isn’t air tight your wasting energy. How much stuff is plugged in right now that’s not in actual use? You’ve got to know by now that your wasting energy. Water is wasted in alarming amounts. Do you brush your teeth with the water running? If you do your wasting water. And don’t even get me started on lawns, they are one of the biggest wastes suburban America ever came up with.
So yes, green geeks are finally happy that others are at least listening to us and even joining our band wagon. Were not real happy that it took a recession to do it, but sometimes you have to take the good with the bad.
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November 16, 2008 at 7:48 pm (general, money savings)
Tags: advise, economy, government, money, parents, saving
I must admit, I am more than a little confused. Growing up my parents always told me that saving money was a good thing. Now my government is saying I’m not spending enough and that’s why the economy is a mess and people are losing their jobs and homes.
I think I’ll continue to take the advise of my parents. I mean my dad retired at 56 (now he’s almost 70) from a blue collar union job that we worked at for a 70 hours each week. My mom never really worked outside the home. They own (yes own as in no payments) a house in Arizona, land in New Mexico and are looking to buy a house in Colorado. They figure why not since they can get it cheap and thier money isn’t making much interest anyway (thank you federal reserve.) They also own (again no payments) a car, a truck and a fifthwheel trailer. Not bad for a guy with an 8th grade education. My Dad has two rules, save your money for the unexpected and always pay cash. Oh yeah, and where are all my dad’s hundreds of thousands of dollars? Not in the stock market. That seemed like too big a risk. They are tucked away and fully insured in several banks.
On the other hand it seems like our government is being run by a bunch of people that think they are using monopoly money. How many zeros are there in a trillion? Is it nine? This is insane. Since “we the people” now own most of AIG does that mean we all get free insurance. It should. If “we the people” bail out a car company do we all get free cars? We should. I am not in the habit of giving my money away for nothing in return, but apparently our government doesn’t think the same as me or my father. The government doesn’t know the meaning of saving and paying cash. If they run out of money the print more. If we try that it’s called counterfeiting. Why is it different for the government?
So yes, I’ll stick with my fathers advice, thank you anyway. I will continue to save the rainy days. I will also spend money, but only on the things I need or REALLY want and then I’ll spend cash, not credit. And if I get another stimulus check it will go right where three quarters of the first one went, in the bank. I’m not stupid enough to spend money just because some guy with free housing and utilities in Washington says I should.
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October 8, 2008 at 11:08 pm (money savings)
Tags: cash, custom, Halloween, money, repurpose, reuse
Who can make the best Hallowen custom for $5.00 or less? I was at my local over sized store this morning and noticed that the Halloween customs started at $13 and went up to about $25. Are they crazy? Being the re-purpose and reuse person I am I have never bought a Halloween custom for myself or for my daughter.
When my daughter was little she was a bunny (pink sleeper PJ) a cat (almost any colored pants and shirt) a pirate (black and white pants and shirt) a robot (cardboard box and tin foil). Add a little of your own makeup to your child’s face, a stuffed tail or eye patch and ears on a headband and you have a great custom. A couple of years ago my husband, daughter and myself went to a party as a herd of cows. Total cost, zero. I used things that we had around the house, a needle and thread and less than two hours of my time.
My point is, you can do this. There is no need to spend money on a custom for one night of the year. My custom this year, frumpy PJ lady. Halloween is on a Friday and I’m wearing my PJ’s to work. I’ll stick a couple of curlers in my hair and put some thick eyeliner under my eyes and I’m done. No cash spent.
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October 6, 2008 at 10:55 pm (money savings)
Tags: financial industry, insurance companies, junk mail, money, Wall Street, wasteful
I don’t like anything in general that is wasteful. Junk mail is nothing but wasteful. It wastes the paper that it was printed on, it wastes postage to send it, it wastes labor and energy along with about at least half a dozen other things I didn’t mention.
Most of my junk mail comes from the financial industry. Our household gets an average of a credit card application each day of the week. We get just a little less junk mail from the insurance companies and we still get a couple of pieces a week about refinancing our house.
So considering the state of Wall Street, I am wondering if all the junk mail is going to come to a stop, or at least a sharp decline. Besides all of the wasteful items I listed above how much actual money do you the financial industry spends to send out this junk mail?
Stopping junk mail and turning off the lights isn’t going to fix the mess they are in. But both are at least a place to stop wasting money and energy.
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October 5, 2008 at 11:09 pm (money savings)
Tags: Internet, magazines, money, save
I’ve talked a lot about ways to be green and save money. Here is another way. Read your favorite magazines on line.
I admit that I still have two traditional magazine subscriptions, but when it’s time to renew them I probably won’t. Both of them have on line versions, www.MotherEarthNews.com and www.wholeliving.com that are easy to read and expanded from the paper versions.
Take a tour around the Internet and I’ll bet you find your favorite magazine also.
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October 2, 2008 at 8:55 pm (money savings)
Tags: barter, free, money, trade
When was the last time you used the barter system? I use it a couple of times a month. It’s a great way to get something you want or need without paying money for it. That doesn’t mean it is free. The definition of bartering is to trade.
A couple of weeks ago we traded zucchini for peppers. We have alot of zucchini, but almost no peppers. A friend has just the opposite, lots of peppers but no zucchini. We traded and both of us got what we needed. I have a good friend that makes jewelry. We own a business that can make bumper stickers. So we trade. In our business we trade with a couple of vendors on a regular basis. My daughters group of friends does the same thing with clothes. You get the idea, and almost anything can be bartered.
The barter system has been used in this country since before it was a country. It is a system that works and is embraced by people that try to live a sustainable lifestyle. You don’t need to make for yourself everything that your family needs. Find someone that creates what you can’t and trade with them. Then, no money is no problem.
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September 30, 2008 at 1:30 am (money savings)
Tags: Capitol, CFL, economic, energy, frugal, green lifestyle, lights, money, news, re-purpose, recycle, reduce, resue, wasted
As a rule, living a green lifestyle takes a little thought each day. It means you have to change some habits that you’ve probably had for a long time and didn’t realize.
As I think about it we can apply this same way of looking at things to the present economic situations that the country is in. In general a green lifestyle is a frugal lifestyle. We reuse, recycle, re-purpose and reduce. We turn off the CFL when we leave the room.
For the last two weeks I’ve watched the news almost every night live from New York City or Washington DC. As the days have started to get shorter I’ve noticed one thing, all the buildings where business’ are going bankrupt along with the Capitol have all the lights on. Why?
If they are out of money or even need to save money or just want to be responsible why don’t they turn the lights out? All of those lights on all of those floors in all of those buildings has got to add up to a lot of money and a lot more wasted energy.
I don’t think this will solve the problem, but it’s a start. And I really don’t want to give my hard earned money to people that don’t even turn the lights out at night.
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September 9, 2008 at 12:33 am (money savings)
Tags: library, money, paper, savings, trees
I love to read. I always have a book or magazine close by. I’ll read the toothpaste tube if nothing else is around. We would be very poor if I bought everything I read. That is why I love the library. I can read all types of books and magazines, explore new subjects and authors and it never costs me a cent (I pay taxes regardless if I use the library or not.)
Using the library is also green. For every book I read from the libary instead of buying I am saving trees. I read about 20 to 25 books a year and each one averages 350 pages. Thats a lot of paper. I still get to read all I want, I don’t spend money and trees are saved. Sounds like a good deal to me.
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