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Many people have decided to suspend spending for one month - except for their essentials of rent, utilities, food and transportation for work. If you can’t do this for a month, try a week. Find activities that don’t involve buying coffee, clothing or stuff at the mall. Why? You’ll find ways to enjoy yourself that don’t cost anything: take a walk, finish a project around the house, read a book from the library, test out a recipe.
You might be surprised how much you’re left with at the end of the month if you’re not always using your credit cards or debit cards for non-essentials. I found that when I moved from the city to the country, I found I’d have the same amount of cash in my wallet at the end of the week. I wasn’t tempted by coffee chains and other instant gratification splurges.
Take a spending fast.
Every one of us has wasted money. You’ve bought the wrong car, spent money eating out when you can’t afford it, paid too much for insurance, paid big time on credit cards, thrown out food and have a closet with items that you never wear. Being frugal is making the best of the resources you have now and in the future.
You’ll probably goof in the future. Learn from those mistakes and move on.
♫ “Out on the road today, I saw a ‘Deadhead’ sticker on a Cadillac.
A little voice inside my head said, “Don’t look back. You can never look back.” ♫
~ Don Henley
I drove to Toronto yesterday to visit a friend. It was trash day so I scoped out the discards left by the curbside. I found a twig chair minus its seat and tossed it in my car. It’s sturdy otherwise and I’ll find a piece of wood and make something to sit on. It will create some country ambiance in front of one of the cabins here at the campground.
A few years ago, a friend introduced me to someone. Later, the friend took me aside and conspiratorially told me, “She irons sheets.” I hate to admit it but we smugly laughed.
This got me thinking. My mother used to iron sheets in the sixties. They were those crispy cotton, like-wadded-up-paper-if-they-weren’t-ironed type sheets.
Recently, I did an experiment. I ironed the guestroom pillowcases. I used some starch on them. They looked so much better - almost like an upscale hotel. It was a less frequently used bed and I left it that way for months.
There might be something to this ironing business.
from wikiHow - The How to Manual That You Can Edit
In the DIY world of home health and beauty products, deodorant seems to be the most feared replacement. Stinking is not okay in some cultures, right? This deodorant uses a natural moisture absorber (cornstarch), a natural deodorizer (baking soda), and a natural anti-bacteria/fungal oil (tea tree oil) to keep any stink from developing in the first place. If you’re really paranoid, make this stuff ahead and use it on a day off, or a sick day, or any day you aren’t going to see anyone special, so you’ll feel secure and not look like a nut obsessively sniffing your underarms all day. Once you get over the stink phobia and let your body get used to it, you’ll never go back.
Ingredients
- 1/4 cup baking soda
- 1/4 cup cornstarch
- 10+ drops tea tree oil
- 2+ TBSP shortening
- The deodorant in this example uses LouAna coconut oil
Steps
- Put baking soda and cornstarch (see Warnings) in a bowl with tea tree oil. The deodorant in this example was made with 20 drops due to an enthusiasm for tea tree oil. Lavender oil will work as well.
- Stir enough shortening in until it’s a consistency you like.
- Smash into empty deodorant container. It will be a bit sturdier once it sets a day or so.
Tips
- When applying this deodorant, use a lighter hand than you would with normal stick deodorant, especially the first couple of days or it’ll drop little balls on your bathroom rug.
- Used correctly, this stuff is invisible and lasts for ages, as it works with a very light layer. You should not be able to SEE it once applied.
- If you don’t want a stick, exclude the shortening and use the deodorant as a powder.
Warnings
- If you have especially sensitive skin, increase the amount of cornstarch to 6T and decrease the baking soda to 2T.
- Be sure to store in a cool place. LouAna coconut oil starts to melt at 76 degrees. There are coconut oils you can purchase that won’t melt until it’s 92 degrees.
Sources and Citations
Article provided by wikiHow, a wiki how-to manual. Please edit this article and find author credits at the original wikiHow article on How to Make Stick Deodorant. All content on wikiHow can be shared under a Creative Commons license.
Remember that anything you buy online may have a coupon available for a discount. You can save a lot of money, especially on high ticket items if you have a coupon. That 10 minutes of searching might save you $50 or more.
There are more than 50 coupon sites out there, as well as many product sites having their own coupons.
Here’s a list of 52 coupon sites:
www.retailmenot.com
www.couponit.com
www.gogoshopper.com
www.stealdeals.net
www.dealigg.com
www.zalongo.com
www.deallocker.com
www.myretailcodes.com
www.couponchief.com
www.dealio.com
www.couponhut.com
www.icetab.com
www.dealspl.us
www.hotcouponworld.com
www.topbargains.com.au
www.directoryofcoupons.com
www.couponmeup.com
www.dealhunting.com
www.couponmountain.com
www.dailyedeals.com
www.couponheaven.com
www.ultimatecoupons.com
www.cheapstingybargains.com
www.anycoupons.com
www.dealsofamerica.com
www.gottadeal.com
www.slickdeals.net/coupons.php
www.a2zdeals.com
www.spoofee.com
www.jumpondeals.com
www.fullfreestuff.com
www.fatwallet.com
www.mycoupons.com
www.couponcraze.com
http://smartcanucks.ca
www.dealhunting.com
www.naughtycodes.com
www.jackscouponcodes.com
www.discountcampingnews.com
www.epicproductsinc.com
www.valufinder.com
www.plateaulife.com
www.wellnessexpoptbo.com
www.couponshare.com
www.gotodaily.com
couponsnapshot.com
www.promotionalcodes.com
www.buycomcoupons.com
www.visitportland.com
www.getmetomaui.com
www.clevermoms.com
www.couponalbum.com
www.cleverbabies.com
www.cleverdads.com
www.ediscountcodes.com
www.offerwatcher.com
Best of luck,
-Phil
If you’re lucky your children will grow up to be rich and never have to worry about money. And if you’re really lucky they’ll support you in your old age.
For the rest of us it’s worth passing on some sense of how to handle money to our kids. I remember when I was young it was thought that you should work hard and learn the value of a dollar. I did. Recently I found out that the dollar is now worth about 35 cents.
We’re faced with a situation where the value of our currency is going down and incomes for the most part are a bit stagnant. For this reason we need to be even more clever with the money we earn. And this should be passed on to our kids.
We always had paper routes or some such part time job when we were kids. Our allowance was 25 cents a week, or not at all. Our mother was a single mom with 4 kids so not always a lot of extra money to go around. We earned our own spending money.
Every dollar your kids earn as their own spending money is one extra dollar you can use to pay down a bill, or save for a better car, or whatever is needed to maintain a decent standard of living.
Teach your kids to earn their own spending money, and to handle it well, and everyone wins.
-Phil
I was in the vitamin store a few days ago. There are a few things I like to take regularly to stay on top of things health wise. It’s pretty well known that insurance in this country (USA) is a bit dicey so I like to stay as healthy as I can to avoid using the system for the most part (except for necessary checkups).
There was a very helpful clerk who I had asked about the quality of the various brands of the same type of product. He pointed out a few of the better ones and mentioned that one of them was on sale for half price. He also pointed out that what was on the shelf was all they had left at the sale price, and that they’d likely be sold out that day.
I grabbed a few bottles, double what I was going to get, and put them in the basket. Then, grabbed another, then another, until I had five of the six remaining bottles. (I felt a little guilty about depriving the next guy)
I basically spent more than twice the money I had planned on spending, but in the long run I knew I’d save big on something I used regularly.
I often talk to store clerks and just chat them up. Lots of times they’ve directed me to the best deals in the house.
-Phil
Some cities have “Junk Day”, kind of like a national holiday for frugal types. Items are left on the curbside for a day or through the course of a week. People can drive around and pick up what they see. I knew someone who got an art easel in perfect condition standing by the road. I have snagged bookcases, a desk, shelving and picture frames.
You can restore trash-picked items. Another friend found a discarded - but a bit rusty - wrought iron headboard. She sanded it and painted it. It now looks like an expensive antique. Another gal was picking up some items and saw the homeowner and she asked if he had any old trunks he wanted to get rid of. He practically gave her one from the garage. She sanded it down, refinished it and it stores items in her living room.
Write a letter to your city to get a Junk Day going. It’s the ultimate in recycling.
I’m zipping off to go hiking at Long Point on Lake Erie today. Hubby’s birthday request.
I found some great money and other quotes to share today. The last one is a bit tongue-in-cheek.
Have nothing in your house that you don’t know to be useful or believe to be beautiful.
– Author Unknown
Beware of little expenses; a small leak will sink a great ship.
– Benjamin Franklin
With a few flowers in my garden, half dozen pictures and some books, I live without envy.
– Lope de Vega
The things you own end up owning you.
– Tyler Durden, movie Fight Club
If you’re smart, you don’t need debt. If you’re dumb, it’s poisonous.
– Warren Buffett
The easiest way for your children to learn about money is for you not to have any.
– Katharine Whitehorn
The trick is to stop thinking of it as ‘your’ money.
– IRS auditor
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