Frugality

Frugality — 2 Comments
3
Apr 09

So you wanna learn Latin for free? How ’bout Spanish? Or..even.. Chinese?!

(Let me tell you how I’m doing it for free! Read on…)

I’ve mentioned before about my insatiable devouring of all things historic over the past 2 years. I lovelovelove history, and was quite disappointed in the discovery that my historical education during my school years was (to put it gently) extremely devoid of anything with substance.

Anyway, so I’ve been slowly working my way through studies of ancient history – especially that of ancient Greece and Rome. We’re going to be homeschooling Jack-Evan some day, and the classical education / liberal arts method appeals to me more and more as I gain a better grasp on what it all means.

Recently, I’ve begun listening to history courses from the Teaching Company (www.Teach12.com) that are available at my local library and from that, I developed an interest in reading through the classics (such as writings from Homer, Plato, Aristotle, Sophocles, etc.).

Now, while I’m not ready to tackle Greek, I am highly motivated to learn Latin. I think it would be incredibly enriching to delve into the original works from the Roman Empire since so much of the subtle meaning of phrases can be lost in translated-to-English books. Plus, it would be a lot of fun too. I really enjoyed learning Spanish in high school, and can still read it, and took French in college – thus Latin should (I’m theorizing!) be fairly simple since it is the root of the Romance languages.

So with that in mind, this past week I gathered up some latin books (i.e. “Latin for Dummies”, “Teach Yourself Latin”), an Audio CD latin course, and  a PC CD-Rom language courses (“Learn Latin Now!”) from my local library, along with a 2005 middle school beginning Latin textbook I found for 10 cent at the Goodwill, and began my quest. Shoot…Why would I pay for something I can do for (practically) free, right? :)  I even found a Latin podcast and Latin Poetry to listen to online.

Along with beginning Latin, I also decided to brush up on Spanish so I can begin teaching Jack-Evan. I would love for Jack-Evan to be fluent in Spanish by the time he is a teenager. My husband’s birth mom speaks fluent Spanish, and lives in an all Spanish community, so he would have someone to practice conversing with as he grows too. To help me review my Spanish (with the thought that it’s been 9 years now since I studied it), I checked out a beginner’s Spanish course at the library called “Muzzy”.

You may remember the cartoon Muzzy language courses that were extremely popular (well, on commercials!) back in the mid-90′s.  They showed happy kids laying around the TV laughing at the big green furry monster and learning French and Spanish.  I remember wanting my parents to purchase one for me way back then, but it cost too much. So of course I was thrilled to find the DVD course for free! I’ve already viewed the 1st DVD 5 times, and it’s really helped with refreshing what I learned in high school.  Your local library may have language courses too – mine has all of the Muzzy series in many languages as well as adult language programs.

Also, as with my typical can’t-help-but-immerse-myself learning style, I also began searching for free online learning materials – and boy, there are tons.  

Here are my top 4 favorite free resources online.

1.  One great free tool you can use is LiveMocha.com where you converse with a community of people in your target language, and get feedback on how you are doing.  

2.  Signing up for free podcasts and listening to free radio stations in your target language is terrific too.  I found an excellent english / spanish podcast called “Voices in Espanol” at Spanish-podcast.com.  I put it in my google feed reader and have already enjoyed a couple of episodes (even though I only understood 30% of it! haha).  

3.  Youtube is also a great resource for learning another language.  Just do a searh for “yourchosenlanguage” Lessons (insterting the language name of your choice).  There are no less than 11,000 results for “Spanish Lessons” alone.  From there, you can learn verb conjugation, correct pronunciation, new nouns, common words, and more.  For those of you interested in Greek, I know of many introductory Greek lessons on there as well.  Last year I memorized the correct pronunciation for the greek alphabet through Youtube.

4.  And then, finally, the best free resource I’ve found by far is the FSI Language Courses.  They’re US government built public domain language courses for a wide variety of languages.  The method used is mainly rote memorization in those courses, but it is quite thorough and gives you an excellent base to start memorizing a new language.  Each language course has dozens of downloadable language units and corresponding workbooks.  Languages include Spanish, French, Chinese, Arabic, Greek, German, Hebrew, and Italian among many others.

For curiosity’s sake, I worked my way through the first unit in Chinese.  How extremely fascinating it was to finally understand how that language works.  You know they say you learn something new every day, right?  Well I know absolutely nothing about Chinese.  But after listening to the unit, I now understand how the intonation and voice inflection affects Chinese speech – and how one syllable can mean many, many different things based on the voice inflection (steady pitch, rising pitch, low pitch, etc).    It’s really interesting.

The best thing about learning a new language from CD courses or from FSI is that you can download audio files and sync them to your MP3 player (which is what I do) – and listen to them while you are busy with something else or just before going to sleep at night.  It’s amazing at how much you can learn (on any topic!) by listening for 20 minutes here and 30 minutes there.

So don’t be scared.   Try it and see for yourself.   Forget Rosetta Stone….Learning is fun and doesn’t have to cost a ton.  :)

Frugality / Thoughts from Mom — 4 Comments
28
Mar 09

More Hard-Earned Lessons from Selling on Ebay

Last month I had the seemingly bright idea to sell my clothes on Ebay in 2 huge lots – one for my “career” clothing, and one for my “casual” clothing. Both lots contained around 35 pieces each and weighed a TON  (well, ok, only about 20lbs each, but it felt like a ton!).

Now, I only hop on Ebay a once or twice a month, and this was my first venture in selling clothing. I’ve been a happy Ebayer (typically I just buy, but sometimes I sell random things) for the past 7 years on the same account and have always had a 100% feedback score (hey! I’m a decent, honest person!).

That is…
until now.

I logged into my ebay last night and saw ::::::gasp:::::: a negative review. My heart about stopped!

The negative review claimed that all of my clothing was shrunken, stained, and couldn’t fit a 10 year old.

Uhmm.. considering I’m 26, 125 lbs, 5’4″ and all the clothes fit me fine…I found that rather harsh.

It went on to say I refused to answer their emails. (“What emails!!??” was my thought train at that point).  I almost thought they had given feedback on the wrong auction because they couldn’t be talking about my auction!

After reading that review, I checked ebay’s message system and sure enough, there was a lonely little message with their complaint dated March 6…… a few weeks ago.  *sigh*  

I have sent her a response now, but there is no way I can redeem myself in Ebay’s eyes.

So where did I go wrong??

Each piece of clothing was meticulously photographed, and I detailed the exact size as stated on the label, color, and flaw with each piece…even stating pieces that I thought fit snug on me. Only one piece had a stain that I could tell – the rest was simply typical gently used clothing (many of which I had only worn 2-3 times!). I didn’t consider any of them “shrunken” so of course I wouldn’t have stated that in my ad. I even had the clothing freshly washed, folded extremely neatly, tied in bundles with colorful ribbon, and wrapped in plastic.  

It didn’t even occur to me that someone would take issue with any of them as they were all great clothes, in my opinion.  The email even stated that she had thrown some of them in the trash!  That makes me sad in itself.  I can’t even imagine which articles she deemed trash worthy.  Sheesh.

And considering that the lot in question included 37 articles of casual shirts & brandname jeans for a whopping total of 35 bucks, including shipping? What do people expect from used clothing?   Pristine Gucci??!  

I have never ever given any negative feedback on Ebay (and I’ve been disappointed with a variety of my own purchases).  It’s USED things we’re purchasing on Ebay, no?  And it’s the general public.  We take a chance, and take a risk.  Too high expectations on Ebay never served anyone well.

But now.. now my Ebay feedback is 85%.  I myself wouldn’t even buy from someone with an 85%.  I also would hesitate to even sell to someone with that low of a score.   Yet here I am – stuck with an 85% because of ONE single negative feedback in 7 years.  ONE single negative feedback out of over 45 transactions.  And it annoys me.  Especially after all the work I put into selling those stinkin’ clothes - photographing in detail, designing the auction listing, taking the time to examine and describe each piece in detail, washing, folding, bundling, packing and shipping it all.  After all was said and done (ebay fees, paypal fees, and very high shipping) I ended up making absolutely no money whatsoever off of either auction.  Actually, I think I lost a little.  (Don’t laugh!) *sigh*

The only good thing that came out of it was that the person who purchased the “career” clothing gave me a positive feed back that said “Awesome lot! Thanks for the nice packing and great items!”.  Yay.  At least I feel redeemed on that part.

So, anyway…to make a short story long…

I must say, my days of selling clothing on Ebay are over.  Done.  Poof.  Gone.  It’s simply not worth it to me.  I just want to scream in frustration!   I know some of you out there have succeeded in turning a profit on Ebay, but I have never been able to – and this experience only hammers in the lesson that Ebay’ing is just not worth my time or efforts. 

From now on, all of my clothing will be going to the curbside for the local kidney foundation truck to pick up on donation day.

Frugality — 1 Comment
16
Feb 09

I’m Selling Off Half My Closet on Ebay!

Do you ever get one of wild hairs that makes you itch to do something crazy?

Well, being the wild, crazy, hip chick that I am, I am selling off half of my closet.

Am I daring, or what?

Ok, perhaps not, especially since I will still have a whole slew of clothes that I really don’t need. But I’m working on it people!

You see, this past month, I’ve had an epiphany of sorts. I realized that stuff is just that. STUFF. And it clutters up our lives far too much. I even laughed aloud at myself when the fact that I was nursing emotional attachments to far too much STUFF slapped me hard in the face.

For instance, is it really necessary that I keep my prom shoes from 10 years ago?  Or those three nifty black shirts simply because I remember the moment I purchased them (and the shopping high that came with it)?  How about all 18 pairs of jeans in various shades?  

Before, I would have answered “YES!” and gasped my heart ala Fred Sandford style.  But now, I find that I no longer hold the same attachment to things that I use to.  Perhaps it’s part of growing up, perhaps it’s due to becoming a mother and forming an even stronger “attachment” to a living being, or perhaps (just perhaps) I’ve wisened up to the fact that too much clutter makes it hard to keep a clean house. Doh!

So here are 2 of my listings so far.  One of the auctions is for a 31 pc. set of career clothes (button down shirts, slacks) and another is for a 37 pc. casual clothes (jeans, cargos, pullovers). The career set includes a pair of brand new Banana Republic fully lined pants with all tags still attached ($88 price tag).  Both auctions start off at just .99 cent and I have no reserve price.  Shipping on one is just $6.95 and $8.95 on the other.

31 pc. CAREER SET


Not sure if it’s a real Furstenburg? Picked it up at a thift shop.

American Eagle

Clorox stain on inside collar, not visible when wearing.



Tag torn out (was itchy). Think it is from Express.

Buttons are diamond shaped.

I loved wearing these. All except for one on right are slim cut / trendy.





New white pants, with tags, from Banana Republic.

NWT, Banana Republic, fully lined pants

NWT, White Pants, Banana Republic, $88 Retail


Shirt is sheer / see through! Needs a tank.

Skirt on left has pockets. Flowers on right skirt are velvet.

 


37 pc. CASUAL SET
McDonalds Tee, made to look “beat up” and stained.

Yellow tshirt has dipped neck in back with criss cross straps.

Says “I (heart) Nerds” referring to the candy.

USC (University of South Carolina) Collegiate Tshirt

Humpty Dumpty (Orange), Pink tshirt says “Cute but Psycho: Things Even Out”.

Clemson University collegiate tshirt

Calvin Klein

Cargo pants – one on left is a faded brown thin cordoroy.

Two Old Navy boot cut jeans, one Sonoma jean




Four casual capris – 2 dnim, 2 khaki




These capris can roll up and button to make shorter.

Jean capris, tan shorts, red shorts, cargo shorts.





The back of this slinky black shirt dips very low.

Frugality — No Comments
3
Nov 08

Great Deals on Thrift Store Toys

100_3181 by you.

We had a great time scooping up all of these great toys from the Goodwill
the other day.  Wooden toys are our favorite!

100_3176 by you.

The cash register works great, and doubles as a kiddie calculator.

100_3171 by you.

This toy still had a $13.99 retail store price sticker on it. 
On the side opposite of the abascus, there’s a tic tac toe board.

100_3180 by you.

What an awesome wooden ABC toy spinner.

100_3173 by you.

This retro phone is Jack’s favorite toy right now!

100_3175 by you.

This little ride on toy has all sorts of sounds and music that plays,
and a hidden compartment under the seat.

100_3177 by you.

100_3178 by you.

100_3179 by you.

This little clacker duck retails new for $19.99 at Melissa and Doug Online.

All of the toys above cost just under $20 total!

Can’t beat a good thriftin’ day.

Frugality — No Comments
28
Jul 08

Staycations: Saving Money on Family Trips

Everywhere people are crying because of pain at the pump.  Vacations to other states are being cancelled.  Afternoon “Sunday Drives” are a thing of the past.  Even every day errands are becoming unecessary as people desparately attempt to save money on what has now become liquid gold.

Usually every summer, Kevin and I make 3-4 day trips to Folly Beach in Charleston, SC.  It’s about 110 miles from here.  Even though most of it’s highway miles, we still use up nearly a half a tank of gas one way.  With the price of gas at $4.00, a round trip means nearly $50 in gas expenditure – and that’s just to get there!  As a one-income family with a new baby, we really can’t afford the luxury of hightailing it to the beach on a whim any more. 

Then there’s the wedding of Kevin’s cousin that we unfortunately had to miss 2 weeks ago due to the fact that the current cost of gas to drive to upstate New York (where Kevin’s family lives) would have been far too enormous. 

We’re penny pinching on gas so tightly right now that even the thought of driving across town gives us the heebiejeebies!

Have you cancelled your vacation this year due to high gas prices? 

There’s no need for sadness!  “Staycations” can be just as fun as their traveling counterpart.  Why spend hours driving to the beach when there are community swimming pools around the corner? Why plan a remote getaway when you can relax in the beauty and serenity near you? You don’t need to travel to the city for excitement when you can create your own at home.

Gasoline prices are edging toward five dollars a gallon and the hassle and expense of air travel is also increasing.  Families, overburdened with the high costs of caring for growing children and aging parents are saving money by vacationing at home this year. But how to make it into a real vacation, and not just a list of to-do’s and ta-da’s? When you follow these tips, you’ll “return” from your staycation refreshed, recharged and reconnected to your family:

1. Make planning top priority. Set aside time to have a family meeting and encourage everyone to talk about what activities they want to include. This preparation will give your family a better understanding and appreciation of each other.  This will also reduce the tension and arguments that might ensue later about what you were going to do together.

2. When your staycation begins, take a complete break from all work. Don’t check your emails (personal or business).  Don’t call work for updates about projects.  Let extended family members know you are “away”.  This is your free time so resist home-related chores as well. Leave the beds unmade or arrange for someone to come in and clean so that you won’t be temped to work around the house.  Turn off the phones.  Do set aside time for any home activities you enjoy for relaxation – gardening or scrap booking, for example.

3. Act as you would on a vacation away from home. Go to bed and get up when you want – don’t set your alarm clock. Let the kids stay up past their bedtime if you are doing something out of the ordinary. Enjoy a special breakfast out one day.  Relax in the sun and read a page-turner or amusing beach book. Exercise in ways that aren’t easy while you are working – a morning tennis or golf game, a midday horseback ride through the countryside, a leisurely hike at sunset. Splurge on a night out at a fancy restaurant or for tickets to an entertaining event.

4. Consider this time as a week of weekends. Have fun with your family – play board games together, make popcorn and rent classic movies, go to the park for a pick-up basketball game, take in a concert under the stars, get bleacher tickets for a baseball game, go for family bike rides or long walks in the neighborhood, splash each other in the community pool. Have a barbeque and let each family member cook or prepare a different part of the menu. Plan your own Olympics competition with events appropriate for your children’s ages.  Put on a play.  Stage a family drama or fashion show.  Put up an old slip and slide and act crazy out in the backyard!

5. Explore your immediate surroundings and discover something new.  Envision your city as a tourist would.  Pick up local travel magazines.  Visit your city’s chamber of commerce for literature and planning ideas.  Seek out websites for your town that showcase hidden treasures.  Take a city bus tour and see the sights that you’ve never noticed before. Expand your horizons and those of your family members. Visit a museum near you – often they offer entrance fee free days or discounts for local patrons. Participate together in a creative activity like ceramic painting or a mini-course in photography at the community center. Visit the campus of a local college and wander through the library. You may uncover an interest you never realized you had.

6. Remember to include the universal vacation ritual – take lots of photos and videos to share with your friends. Looking at the pictures of your family’s smiling faces will enhance your memories of the special times you spent together. Continue the feelings of togetherness by creating an album commemorating your first family staycation.

The decision to spend your vacation at home together this summer can deepen the bonds and transform your family.   Without the tension that travel creates or the stress of high gas costs in this uncertain economy, you will find that the time socializing with family this summer is more relaxing than ever.

Frugality — No Comments
7
Jul 08

I am now a “Work at Home” Mom!

Well, ok…I’ve actually been doing business at home for 7 years (with my collie educational portal and collie gift merchandise site), but I’ve just begun a new career that I am so extremely excited about! 

As most of you may know, from reading my posts, I absolutely LOVE books.  There is honestly nothing better than curling up with a good book, a cup of peppermint tea and a chenille blanket – although listening to someone else read comes in a close second!  As a child, my mother read 3…4..10 books to me every night and as a result, I was reading before age 3 and have retained a lifelong obsession with reading.  That’s a tradition I am carrying on with Jack-Evan now and I love encouraging the love for reading in other children.

Anyway, as you can imagine, as a bookworm I own hundreds of books – and TWO (count them…2..) memberships to 2 different local library systems which I use I the time.  Before marriage, when I would plan my future “dream home”, a huge home library, complete with rolling ladder was always included.  I’ve had to modify that somewhat since marriage (as Kevin isn’t as book happy as I am!), but I still hold a fondness for rooms lined with tall shelves, musty books, comfy chairs, and fireplaces.


    

About a year ago, I began researching South Carolina homeschooling options and homeshooling methods since we plan on homeschooling our children right from the beginning.  In studying the many curriculums available (Sonlight, The Well Trained Mind, etc.) and “suggested readings”, I began noticing that these books…these Usborne books…began popping up everywhere.  Almost every review I read about them was amazingly positive as well.  So what did I do?  I knew I just had to get my hands on some – and I did – through a huge used lot sale on Ebay. 


Once I had some actual Usborne books in my hands, I fell absolutely in love.  They were so colorful, interesting, and engrossing.  One of the first books I got, First Book of Nature Combined Volume, stole away 5 hours from me one day (I was literally that engrossed in it…not to mention I learned a lot).

So anyway, about a month ago I stumbled, quite haphazardly, upon the fact that Usborne provides career positions in their direct sales division, enabling women and men to establish an independent Usborne sales and consulting business.

Now, I’ve been involved in numerous legitimate work at home businesses over the years – many of them I started myself (selling pet gift baskets, creating Santa letters for christmas, retail merchandise design and selling, candle making, local grocery delivery, web design), 2 of them succeeded wildly (my collie sites), and one of them I quit after a few months due to how phony I felt pushing a product I didn’t truly care to use (Mary Kay Makeup).  I even enjoy friendships with some wonderful entreprenues, whom I watched start and succeed – such as my friend Rob, with his pet sitting business (www.ColaPets.com) and my sister-in-law, Michelle, with her invention, the Binky Basket.  And some of the best “AH-HA!” moments I’ve had came out of my learning experiences – and failures – with home based businesses.

And one of the biggest things I’ve learned is that you never go into any business situation blindly.  There are so many scams out there and “get rich quick” schemes that you can easily go bankrupt trying to become rich!  Any home-based business opportunity worth a ‘toot will have easily accessible information to study BEFORE you make a decision to join in the fun.

So that’s what I’ve been doing for the past month – studying on what all is involved in being an Usborne Independent Consultant…or, more specifically, an Usborne Educational Consultant (those trained to work in School and Library sales).  And now I have fallen in love with not just their books, but their business plan as well!  The opportunity for success is one of the best I’ve found, and the in-depth training is outstanding (not to mention free!).

At the end of last week, after a month’s worth of study and consideration, I decided to take the plunge – I signed up for a new career in direct sales with Usborne Books at Home.  It’s only been a few days and the amount of support and training tools I’ve already received from my Supervisor has been enormous. 

So what does being an “Educational Consultant” entail?  I’ll be able to share these wonderful books with folks through the following venues:

  • Website Catalog (Mine is www.Usborne-SC.com)
  • Direct Sales
  • Home Parties
  • K-12 School Systems
  • Public Libraries
  • Preschools, Daycares
  • Flea Markets
  • Fairs / Conventions / Expos

Not only that, but I now have the most amazing opportunity to encourage reading and literacy by providing ways for families, moms, children, schools, teachers, churches and other organizations to earn massive amounts of free books through:

I can’t say how excited I am to start this.  I have a home kick off open house scheduled for July 19th at my house already.  :)   My longterm goals are to build a nice team of women who appreciate books and want the opportunity to succeed in their own home based business!

Wish me luck…and take a peek at my new website and all of our wonderful titles available:

www.Usborne-SC.com

 

Frugality / Mom's Recipes — No Comments
25
Jun 08

What’s for Dinner? Homemade Chicken Nuggets

Tonight’s Menu at Our House:

Homemade Chicken Nuggets
Little Green Peas
Mashed Potatoes and Gravy
Ketchup / Mustard for Dipping
Water to Drink

HOMEMADE CHICKEN NUGGETS

Cut chicken breasts into nugget size portions.  In a bowl, break 1-2 eggs and stir to break up the yolk.  If you are out of eggs, oil can also be used.

Using a gallon sized plastic bag, pour in 2-3 cups of bread crumbs of choice.  You can also use cracker crumbs or even crushed nut crumbs.  Season crumbs with seasons of choice (we like italian, salt and lots of pepper.

Place cut up chicken nuggets, a few portions at a time, in the egg and cover well.  Then place the egg covered chicken pieces into the gallon bag with the bread crumbs and shake for a few seconds.  Remove nuggets one at a time from the bag, ensuring they are coated with crumbs and place on a tin foil lined (for easy clean up) or greased cookie sheet.  Pieces can be packed close together, but should not be over lapping each other and not layered on top of each other.

For a final yummy addition, sprinkle on your choice of flavored toppings such as onion powder, garlic powder, lemon pepper, salt, parmesean cheese…or whatever you like!   I like to shake a different flavor over each section of the pan so we can have a variety. :)

Cook nuggets at 400 F for about 30-45 minutes, until browned.  Keep an eye on them so they don’t burn! (The timer is my best friend because I always forget when I’m cooking!). 

Enjoy fresh out of the oven, or put in a freezer bag for storage.  After they’re froze, just remove a few from the baggie, pop in a toaster oven (but not the microwave! they’ll turn rubbery) for about 20 minutes.

 



    

 

Frugality / Works For Me! — No Comments
24
Jun 08

WFMW – Cheap Kids Closet Organizer

WfmwbannerWelcome to this week’s Works for Me Wednesday tip at Little Jack’s Corner! 

I grew up with small closets… you know, the kind that is about 6 feet wide, 2 feet deep, with one lonely bar hanging about 3/4ths of the way up?

I hated them then, and I still hate them now.  Once upon a time, I declared that when I “got my own place” my closets would be the huge walk in type.

That was before marriage, interest rates, and money management kicked in.

Now I not only have “my own place”, but I have 3 nice smalllll closets to go with it.  So what did I do?  I set about figuring how to maximize my space.  Not only have I effectively organized the (small) closet my husband and I share (and we have a tushy load of clothes), but I have also organized my baby’s closet.  The way I maximize my space allows me not to have to “change out” clothes seasonally – there’s plenty of room to store all of our clothes.

How I Did It

Now, for anyone who has ever had one of these small, wide closets, you should realize that clothes hanging side to side, in the normal fashion, is not the best use of space.  Furthermore, using only one bar when much of our clothing on hang down a few feet is wasting even more space.

The Solution?

Instead of running the long generic bar from one side to the other, install a short bar and run it from front to back.  For most small closets you can do this 4 times.  Two bars will be placed on the right – the first one just below the generic long bar (enough to give hangers clearance) and then another about halfway down.  Then repeat on the left side.

This effectively quadruples the available space for hanging shirts!  Plus you then still have the middle section to hang long dresses on the generic side to side bar.  And since you will now be viewing your shirts from the front (instead of the shoulder edge), you can hang them closer together and just “thumb” through them when you need one.  Needless to say, hanging clothes closer together gives you more room as well.

Bonus – if you don’t need the top shelves of your closet and would rather have hanging space, remove the shelves, install one more long generic side to side bar near the top of the closet and add two more front-to-back bars on each side.  That’s how we have our master closet.

Doing it Cheaply and Prettily

I am a firm believer that organization doesn’t have to cost much if you are able to think outside the box.  I also believe though that in order to keep up the habits of good organization, your storage and closets need to be aesthetically pleasing.

Formerly, I would have my dad, a contract fence installer, install one of his left over fence poles (cut down to size) in the closets for me.  And bam…free storage made easy. 

But it was ugly!  And every time I would peek in my closet, the look of the thick pole would annoy me.  Even painting it didn’t help in my eyes.

I needed a better, more aesthetically way to do it myself – from easy sizing to easy installation.  Finally I discovered the solution!

Shower rods.

Yep.  Shower rods.   And I don’t mean the long rods-that-go-over-the-tub-shower-combo.  At Walmart (and I’m sure at many other places too) you can find short little 20-46 inch expandable / retractable shower tension mounted rods designed to hang curtains over actual shower stalls.  The ones I found come in cream or bright white.  And they only cost $4.96 each.

Perfect!  

I now have 5 shower-turned-closet rods in different areas of my home.  They worked wonders for my son’s closet, especially with all of his cute baby clothes that needed storage.  Plus, when he gets older he’ll be able to reach the lower rods easily!

 

And if you’re wondering if they can really hold weight, I have one rod in my uber :) organized front living room closet with all of our heavy winter coats hanging on it.  Just be sure the tension mount is tight enough (it’s just a simple twist and lock type of mechanism).

So there you have it… cheap, easy, and aesthetically pleasing closet organization for kids rooms, parents rooms or any room in the house! :)

For more great Works for Me Wednesday tips from the blogosphere, head over to Rocks in My Dryer.

Frugality / Works For Me! — No Comments
23
Apr 08

WFMW – Cute, Easy Vinegar Storage

I have been sooo off this week!  For one, I thought yesterday morning I had missed this week’s Works for Me Wednesday so I didn’t plan on doing one.  Then last night I spent 30 minutes getting our garbage ready for collection.  And to think, I was so proud of myself for “remembering”!

The bad thing is – yesterday was Tuesday.  Not Wednesday, like I thought…. All. Day. Long.

I got up this morning and noticed Kevin hadn’t taken the garbage out before he left for work (something that never happens).  Then I laughed when I realized my error.   Yep.  The garbage man doesn’t come until Thursday morning. :(   Poor me.

So anyway. 

In my no-longer-confuzzled state, I realized that I still could participate in WFMW (yay!), and began rummaging for some miraculous tip that I could share.

Now, I don’t know about miraculous, but here’s a household tip I “inherited” from my mom.  And, well, it works for me really well.

 There is a type of honey here in the south called “Sue Bee” honey and it comes in the cutest little squeezable plastic bear container.  After the honey is gone, we’ve always kept the little honey bear, washed it out good, and then stored our vinegar in it!  The squeezable bear, with its easy snap top, makes vinegar use very practical!  Just open the little top, dribble some vinegar on your salad or cucumbers, close the top, and WAHLAH! 

Easy, cute, vinegar storage.

The only thing you have to watch out for is that apple cider vinegar is the same color as honey, so you have to pay attention to which bear you grab if you still have another honey-filled bear sitting around.  That’s easily taken care of though if you remove the honey lable and write vinegar on the other bear with a sharpie. 

(We’ve just always been too lazy to do that.)  :)

For more WFMW household tips, head over to Rocks in My Dryer!

 

Frugality — No Comments
11
Apr 08

25 Financial Lessons I’ve Learned in Life

As I mentioned in my last post about our investment portfolio, Friday is the day I do our household financial account balancing.  Consequently, my mind tends to have little dollar signs floating around in it all day, messin’ up my thinking.   And, with only one more bill to pay today, my mind has wondered to the lessons I’ve learned over the years about finances. 

In today’s society, the cultural brainwashing includes such facets as “it takes 2 incomes to survive”, “life takes visa”, “you deserve it”, “buy now, pay later!”, and even “come on in, you can afford it!”.  And don’t even get me started on the katrillion pay day loans / title loans / rentacenters in our area!  I get ill thinking of all of the people trapped behind such statements and false thinking.  The heavy credit laden consumerism of today is not an American trait that I admire.  And it’s sad to know that our country has one of the lowest personal saving rates in the world!

And I’m speaking from experience more than anything!  I remember at age 18, the biggest excitement in my life (besides graduation) was my first credit card.  Seeing my name on that piece of plastic said something.  Although back then, I didn’t realize the “something” that it said was “You’re an idiot, now give me your money at 29% interest!”.  Whew.  If only I could go back to that time and snatch a knot in my silly young clothes-obsessed head.  Living at home with mom & dad from age 18 to 23, I had no obligations or no bills of any kind (besides the car I purchased when I was 21).  I had a good job, and I had money.  So why on earth did I even use credit cards?!   The turning point in my life came in November, 2006.  Kevin and I had been married for less than 6 months, and in less than one year we’d managed to rack up $11,000 in unsecured credit card debt.   HOW?  I don’t know.  We weren’t dripping in bling, Gucci, or plasma TV’s.  We’d just foolishly bought & consumed faster than even our two full-time professional incomes allowed.  What was worse, my poor husband had never even touched a credit card before I introduced them to him.  He had been a cash only person his whole life.  So with the realization that something had to be done, we tore up the cards, pledged ourselves to never use credit again – and within a year we turned that $11,000 debt into a remaining $3,000.  We also cut our car loans in half.  (Determination will get you very far in life).

As I think back over the past 11 years of my working life (I got my first job at age 14), I realize just how stupid I really was.  Why didn’t I learn these lessons earlier?  The $17,000 I earned working as a teen in high school – where is that?  Gone.  Wasted on clothes that I’ve long since gotten rid of and electronics that are broken or out of date.  I saved nothing.  I didn’t even think of saving that money.   The little bit I contributed to my 403b retirement before marriage even pales in comparison to how much I was making in my early 20s!  It bugs me that I could have saved so much more – but didn’t.  The financially wasted years before I took on the responsibility of marriage haunts me when I consider how much further ahead in life I could have been now if I’d only known. 

It haunts me even more when I consider the wisdom of my depression era Granny, who always said “If you aren’t saving 50% of your income, you’re spending too much” – words she actually lived by till she died.  Why didn’t I listen to her back then?   I hope Little Jack will learn financial wisdom long before I did.  I plan on teaching him about money & investing from the start! 

And these are the lessons I want to convey. 

Lessons I’ve personally learned along the way…

———————————————–

25.  Invest when you’re young, even if it’s a small amount.  Then look for ways to increase – you won’t miss it!

24.  Don’t buy individual stocks on a whim.  Study them thoroughly!  Learn to read the prospectus, or at least look them up on Morningstar or Yahoo Finance first.

23.  Start a ROTH when you’re young.  Distributions from a ROTH during retirement are tax free.

22.  If you’re not contibuting to your work’s retirement plan – and they offer matching – you’re giving up free money!!

21.  You should always save a minimum of 10% in some way (retirement, savings, money market). 

20.  There is no reason why a teenager (or young adult living at their parents) shouldn’t be able to save 50% of their income.

19.  Don’t buy into the ARM mortgage.  If you can’t afford a fixed rate mortgage payment, you can’t afford the home.  ARMS will eventually bite you in the patooty.

18.  Anything that doesn’t return more than 100% of the purchase price when you resell is not an investment. 

17.  A new car depreciates 50% of it’s original value within the first 3 years.  It is not an investment.

16.  New clothes are not an investment.  Paying $100 for a shirt is simply rediculous. (Unless you’re Donald Trump).  Brand name clothes bought at thrift stores or yard sells – then resold for a higher price on Ebay – IS an investment. (As long as they don’t hang in your closet, forgotten about).

15. Cooking at home is far cheaper than eating out.

14.  It is completely possible to live on one income.

13.  If you want to stop spending money, stay out of the stores!

12.  Track your money (income and outgo), and track it daily.

11.  Credit cards will turn you into a slave.  There is no true need to use them.  Ever.  Unless you’re dying and need to pay medical bills.

10.  It is completely possible to live without credit cards (we have for 17 months now).

9.  Paying interest – on anything - is like throwing your hard-earned money out your new car window.

8.  Everyone needs an emergency savings account. 

7.  Toddlers don’t need $500+ birthday parties.  A cake and a nice cardboard box will make them just as happy.

6.  Buying DVDs is a waste when you can rent so cheaply from Netflix.

5.  A 65 year old without a retirement or savings account can not live off of the current average $646 per month social security alone…

4.  …don’t mistakenly think that you’ll never be 65!

3.  Be content with what you have.  There is absolutely nothing wrong with that old couch, 26 inch tube television, bed frame, or 8 year old dining room table.  You don’t need another one and the happiness a new one will supposedly bring will not last. 

2.  Saving money is not just about socking dollars into an account.  You should cut back on spending as well.

1.  You’ll never be ahead financially if your outgo is constantly more than your income.