Preparing For The Worst – Hoping For The Best

Well lets see what has taken place economically:

$700 billion dollar bail-out of Wall Street ( not working)

$900 billion dollar bail-out by the Feds (not working)

United States government taking equity interests in banks (again, uuuhhhh not working)

All the government leaders saying, we are not in a recession….maybe you are payed too much Mr. Senator. Anyway I digress.  Whether you think we are in a recession or not, it is time to carefully and frugally guard the income you have coming in versus what you have to spend. It’s going to be a rough roller coaster ride for some time. Some of us are already feeling the pinch and making accommodations where necessary. Others have been fortunate that they have not HAD to cut corners yet. For those that are still keeping your heads above water, here are some smart steps to take now to avoid being shocked into frugal living.

If you are still employed, pretend that today you have lost your job. If you are married, pretend thatone of you is now unemployed. Begin to seriously consider what expenses you what have to cut in that situation and do it gradually now. Take the money that you would use for those expenses and start an emergency savings fund for yourselves. Seriously start spending money only on the essentials. Take a realistic look at what you would have to do without in the unfortunate circumstance of losing an income, and cut those expenses today.

Start paying off your credit cards quickly. Credit card companys’ are always changing the rules on you according to the economy and have been raising interest rates astronomically. Even though Wall Street is getting a bail-out, you can be sure that there is no “citizen bail-out” coming. Pay off those credit cards and stop paying those incredible rates for the privilege of buying something now and paying for it later.

When you have your cards paid off keep the accounts open. But only use the cards in an abosolute emergency situation. If you want to purchase something, pay for it in cash. If you can’t pay for it now, you don’t need it yet.

Cut off the digital cable. Sorry football fans, but regular television channels have football too. Seriously, consider cutting out the cable and high speed internet. The costs are high and really you are only paying for a little faster speed and hundreds of channels that show the same thing. Some people think that I am out of my mind with this, but hey it saves you money. Money that you will NEED later on should this economic condition get worse.

Now is the time to take all the money you have normally put out on unessential things and start saving it. How you decide to do that is your call. The point is…SAVE IT! Piling up the cash now will greatly improve your situation should you really have a loss of income. Taking the steps outlined will keep you from going into unemployment stress and shock needlessly. I sincerely hope that nobody would lose their job, but reality is reality.

For more great information on frugal living and frugal recipes as well as other money saving and living cheap ideas see the line of Living On A Dime series.

Eco Friendly Grocery Shopping

Many folks are looking at ways to save money and be friendly to the environment at the same time. Eco friendly grocery shopping shouldn’t be a burdensome process. Keep in mind that it is not always about purchasing the latest eco product but rather purchasing to produce that has less impact on the environment as a whole. Hopefully this article will explain this idea in a practical way.

The biggest trend on the market today are eco friendly products and all natural this and that. The concern over the environment and ….

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Tips For Stretching Your Grocery Dollars

With gas prices going through the roof and the economy going down the tubes, it is becoming more difficult for families to spend money frivolously. Folks are really starting to look at how much prices have risen on everything nowadays. It’s no different at the grocery store either. Between rising transportation costs to get the groceries to the store and the mark-ups store owners are having to place on products. Many folks are having to find unique ways too stretch their dollar. People who normally go out to eat for dinner or grab something quick at the fast food restaurants are now having to look at creating meals at home as well. Here are some tips for stretching your grocery dollars and still have restaurant quality meals.

I am assuming that some people reading this are relatively new to home cooking. If you’re one of those people chances are you don’t have the on hand item that are staples for any home kitchen. This little tidbit is especially for you. …….

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Saving Gas: Improve Our Driving

Gas prices are increasing everyday and for those of us who drive that’s not good news. Since most of us have accepted that fact, as if we had a choice, we must find ways to use less of it. We must increase our fuel economy, though sometimes that seems like a daunting task. But it really isn’t as difficult as you would think. In fact, the most effective ways to save gas are free or inexpensive and most of them are easy to do. The two main areas that must be improved upon is changing the way we drive and improving vehicle performance.

Changing the way we drive has to with planning our trips,

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Cheap Dinner Recipes

What kind of frugal, cheap living blog would this be without some good CHEAP dinner recipes. I hope to add a couple of recipes each day to give a variety and help you out some quick frugal meal ideas. So here are two that I will be using this weekend:

Quick Beef And Rice

This one is real easy and cheap

1 pound of ground beef or turkey

2 cups of rice

1 package of onion soup mix (Generic)

4 cups of water

1 15ounce can of Cream Of Mushroom Soup ( Generic)

In a skillet, brown the ground meat and drain.  Add the onion soup mix, water, rice, and cream of mushroom soup and bring to a boil. Cover and simmer for 20 minutes until the rice is done. 

 

PORK CHOPS AND COUNTRY CREAM GRAVY

1/4 cup flour

1/4 tsp of salt, pepper, sage, thyme, and marjoram

4 pork chops about 3/4″ thick (if you use thin chops shorten your cook time accordingly)

1 tbsp butter

1 1/2 cups of milk

Mix all the dry ingredients into a shallow dish or bowl.  Melt the butter in a large skillet over medium heat. Dredge both sides of the pork chops in the flour mixture. Save whatever is left of the flour mixture because you will use it to make the gravy later.

Brown the pork chops about 2 – 3 minutes on each side, then reduce the heat and cook another 5-6 minutes on each side. (Remember if you use thin chops reduce your cook time by half). Remove the chops from the pan and keep them warm.

Combine the leftover flour mix with the milk and whisk together, then add to the pan. Cook on medium high, stirring frquently, until it comes to a boil. Reduce the heat to low and simmer for about 2 minutes or until thickened.

Spoon gravy over chops. A good cheap side dish for this would be instant mashed potato, again use the gravy in the potatos…yum!

So there you have it. Two great cheap dinner recipes to try this weekend or anytime.

 

For More Great Money Saving Ideas Check Out Living On A Dime

Energy Recycling: an Excellent Way to Reduce Energy Costs, Reduce Pollution and Reuse Wasted Energy

Energy recycling is becoming more popular as global warming and rising energy costs force people to try to find ways to reduce energy costs. Most large scale efforts in energy recycling focus on converting wasted heat (combined heat and power co-generation) or mechanical energy (renewable braking technologies) into electrical energy and overlook the larger potential to recycle wasted electricity.

Big utilities generate electricity to service large populations of customers who are often many miles away. This distance, and the variety of customers serviced have very serious implications for their efficiency. They must over-generate to;

1. compensate for the significant amount of wasted energy drained by transmitting the energy over large distances.
2. create a buffer that ensures a stable energy supply despite frequent fluctuations in actual energy needs. Called anticipatory generation, the only possible optimization is to adjust generation to match historical use trends… then add a margin for stability of the distribution grid. The added margin is a good thing otherwise we’d be more familiar with the catastrophic power failures that occur when generation fails to meet actual need.

Over-generation is a fact of life when using centralized power generation to meet energy needs but it also has significant implications for consumers and the environment;

1. The excess is wasted energy, a privilege that increases the energy prices we pay.
2. conventional energy co-generates pollution, so we’re actually producing more pollution than necessary to meet actual energy needs on a daily basis.

Here’s how to turn this fact of life into an opportunity to combat rising energy costs and global warming:

For safety’s sake, the margin in anticipatory generation is often bigger than necessary, thanks to the biggest energy consumers. To harness the excess margin we can use battery chargers to recycle electrical energy and stash it in the chemical storage of rechargeable batteries. This energy recycling method puts so little strain on the power grid that it won’t cause energy producers to crank up energy production to compensate, allowing us to gain more useful energy without incurring a pollution penalty, and this is how we can start to use energy recycling to reduce energy costs.

Electrical energy recycling as a viable tool against pollution and rising energy costs:

Many households have battery powered toys, flashlights and other gadgets and are often suckered in by the low cost of disposable batteries so they waste hard-earned money running their gadgets with them. On the other hand, the high burn rate and hassle of frequently replacing disposable batteries make many people dread giving their kids, or seeing their kids get, battery powered toys (they don’t seem to mind giving them to other people’s kids!).

Case in point: My 3 young children each got flashlights as gifts and they’ve used them every night for the past three years. They fall asleep with them on (afraid of the dark) and they stay on until morning. I switched to rechargeables within a month after realizing how much money I spent on disposables. I noticed almost no change in my monthly electricity bill and those rechargeable batteries are still going strong. The kids have received many more battery powered toys since then and I don’t dread it any more. A few more rechargeable batteries lets me avoid the hassle of buying an endless stream of disposable replacements.

Whether buying 1 or 100s of disposable batteries, we spend too much money and produce too much garbage when compared to using rechargeable batteries:

• Purchase price for a rechargeable battery is 8 times as much as that for disposables, and
• recharging a battery cost 20 times less than replacing a disposable and charging can be repeated 1000 times, same cost as 50 disposables over the life on 1 rechargeable… but
• despite being rechargeable up to 1000 times, a rechargeable battery lasts about ½ as long as a disposable, same as using nearly 500 disposables.

This means that over its lifetime a single rechargeable battery saves you the hassle of buying 500 replacement batteries, cost you 88% (1-(50+8)/500) less, and reduce pollution of landfills by 500 disposable batteries. But it doesn’t stop there with using rechargeable batteries for energy recycling…

Viability of electrical energy recycling as a weapon against global warming:

Recycling electricity using rechargeable batteries is an integral part of some power generation systems, particularly home based solar and wind power. It’s interesting to note that it is not an option exercised by centralized power utilities for two reasons;

1. the waste due to transmission lines makes it ineffective and
2. the size of batteries needed to service such high needs is neither feasible nor cost-effective.

Electrical energy recycling is best for smaller decentralized power systems and this means that the average individual can use it to combat global warming. Here’s how:

• Use it for small (100W or less) but important needs such as portable tools and rechargeable gadgets.
• Whenever possible, buy products that use standardize battery types such as 12V car batteries, AA-cell, C-cell, etc. Standardized batteries are more versatile, they can often share chargers and every item that uses one serves as a potential emergency backup battery source for another that has run out of charge.
• Recycle and store the excess generated energy when the use rate is fairly stable (late evenings to early mornings) to avoid causing the generators to increase production (recharging small devices rarely load the grid enough to trigger the increase) and prevent an increase in co-generated pollution… more usable energy + 0 pollution increase = less pollution/energy unit.
• Reuse the recycled energy at your convenience.

With this method everyone has the power to increase the efficiency of centralized power plants by increasing the amount of useful energy without increasing co-generated pollution. For their efforts individuals get to reduce energy cost (recharge at 20 times less cost than buying disposable batteries) and everyone benefits from zero pollution increase.

So until we can rid the earth of highly polluting energy production, keep electrical energy recycling in your arsenal of tools for fighting against rising energy costs and global warming. Harness the lowly rechargeable batteries and battery chargers to reduce energy cost and reduce pollution.

EcoPoweredTech.com carries energy recycling products at discount prices. Subscribe to the free Eco Powered Newsletter to learn more advanced strategies and techniques to fight rising energy costs.

copyright 2008 EcoPoweredTech.com

 

About the Author

I’m a trained tree-hugger with a degree in conservation and forestry management. Like most people, I love gadgets but I’ve come to realize that they are directly implicated for contributing hugely to pollution and global warming. Now I’m dedicating myself to finding gadgets that are easy on the environment and using EcoPoweredTech.com to help people to make the switch.

_________________________________________________________________________________________________-

For More Info About Alternative Energy For Your Home, Also Check Out Living Off The Grid

Tips for Getting Cheap Auto Insurance Rates

Getting a quote for auto insurance online is easy… but finding cheap insurance can be more of a challenge. It takes diligence and knowledge.Here are a few tips to help you find the cheapest auto insurance available.

Safety Features
Make sure your vehicle is well built and “safety” feature rich. You should get cheaper premiums for adding anti-theft devices, car alarms or a good tracking system since these items reduce the risk of your car being stolen.

Defensive Driving
Take a defensive driving class. Certification will help you in your quest to locate cheap auto insurance and can reduce your premium for up to three years.

Comparing Rates
The automobile industry is fiercely competitive. Premiums can vary by as much as 300% for the same coverage. Be sure you are comparing apples to apples on the features you need the most when searching for cheap auto insurance.

Complete Application
If you don’t complete the application in full, the insurance companies are not going to give you a quote for their cheapest auto insurance and you won’t find out about any of the discounts you may be eligible for. You’ll simply get a higher rate quote by default. Be sure to enter your marital status, how many licensed drivers are in your home, your car’s safety features, your zip code, the miles you drive, etc.

Increase Your Deductible
You can also reduce your rates by selecting a higher deductible. Generally the higher the deductible, the lower the premium. Your savings can be as much as hundreds of dollars by increasing your deductible from $250 to $500.

Cut Back on Your Miles
If you travel less than an average of 40 miles a day, you’ll more than likely qualify for a low mileage discount. If you must travel more, car pool or use the public transportation one or two days a week to reduce the miles you drive.

Color of Your Car
Statistics tell us that red cars are involved in more accidents than any other color. If you want to find the cheapest auto insurance, avoid buying a red vehicle.

Who Drives What Car the Most?
Compare quotes with the man as the main driver and the woman as the second driver and vice versa on each of your vehicles. Always, place your younger drivers (teenagers) on the safest vehicle you own, such as the family station wagon or the family car. You’ll never find cheap auto insurance by putting your teenager on a sporty little two door vehicle.

Catalogue: Finance | Insurance
Title: Tips for Getting Cheap Auto Insurance Rates By: Heather Colman

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For more ideas on stretching your dollar check out Living On A Dime

Tips On Saving Money At The Gas Pump

With gas prices going up everyday and the uncertainty of when it will stop, we all need to find ways of using less gas. Unfortunately most of us have jobs that require a substantial amount of drive time itself. Hopefully though some of these tips on saving money at the gas pump will help reduce your fuel costs by getting you better gas mileage.

First of all make sure your car has been tuned up. I know that this can cost a little bit but the long term benefits are well worth it. If you have had a tune-up recently, periodically check hoses and belts for signs of wear and soft spots. Better to replace something that is starting to go, rather than paying an expensive bill for roadside service. Also make sure your tires are inflated properly as well.

Begin getting into the habit of emptying your car out. Golfers especially have a tendency to leave our clubs in the trunk. Taking the time to put our clubs up as well as keeping things out of the trunk can reduce our gas consumption. All that added weight means more fuel to get you around. During the winter time be sure to remove snow and ice that has built up on your car as well.

Start planning out your daily trips and save mileage. If you have a full weekend of going to the grocery store, picking up stuff at the hardware store, and visiting Grandma it makes sense to plan. Take care of everything in one day in one trip out. I know it sounds simple but there are people that would not think of doing this. You potentially could save 2 gallon of gas just by not starting and shutting off the car so many times.

Leave for work fifteen minutes early. Avoiding rush hour stop and go traffic will go far in stretching your fuel mileage. By the same token, leaving later and avoiding the evening rush is just as effective. If you cannot do both at least do one or the other.

The key to stretching our fuel dollar is changing our driving habits and maintaining our vehicles. Gas is not coming down anytime soon. By simple changes though we can pay fewer visits to the local pump. Start applying these tips on saving money on gas.

 

For more information on stretching your dollar check out Living On A Dime

Start Saving With Grocery Shopping

As with anything you start you have to have a place to begin. If you are going to start to live simply, you need to begin by controlling the amount of money spent at the grocery store and still feed your family good nutritious meals. It will be easier come next spring as you will find a way to plant a garden, but for now we have to start from scratch.

Plan out a menu for the week. That’s right, you are planning what is going to be cooked for dinner for the next seven days. It is difficult at first but you will get better with this in time. I usually will plan out dinners and occasional breakfast for the following week. To help save money, lunches are almost always leftovers from the night before. In future posts I will post a sample grocery list with menu and recipes to help where I can.

Now you will need to do is to start using a grocery list if you are not already doing so. First thing is to go through the house for the basic stuff and see what is needed. Things like paper towels, toilet paper, toothpaste, and other things that you don’t necessarily think about until you get to the grocery store. Then looking back at your menu, write down the ingredients that you will need for the week. Go through your cabinets and refrigerator to make sure you don’t already have things on hand. Also remember to put a couple of staples on your list like coffee, creamer, milk, and such. Now go shopping but stick to the list.

By sticking to your grocery list you will find that you’ll save $10 – $20 on the trip. If you do it right, you won’t have to go back to the grocery store until next week. So folks, there’s your starting point. We will develop this further in the coming days. Here’s to living a simple, independent life!

 

For more ideas on saving money on food check out Living On A Dime

Saving Money Everyday

We see it every morning when we wake up, more bad news in the economy. It used to be that the average man didn’t really feel the rumblings of Wall Street. Those days are over it seems because everybody is feeling the sting. People are either trying to earn extra money or trying to find ways of saving money everyday. We all have to do our part to keep our heads above water. Sometimes though simple logistics keep some of us from being able to go out and get second jobs. Our alternative then is to save money everywhere we can.

We need to look at our everyday spending habits and find ways to control unnecessary spending. Something our government has never come to grips with. Could you imagine how frustrated our leaders would be if they actually pulled down a meager salary like the rest of us? It is possible though to change our way of spending without necessarily changing our lifestyle.

To start with lets start taking a look at simple things at the grocery store. If you are a person that likes bananas you will usually buy a bundle at a time. Usually there are 6 -9 on a bundle. But you are only going to eat maybe 3-4 and the rest will end up going bad. The store is charging you by the pound, so why pay for something you won’t eat. Just pull off 3-4 bananas and go. Same thing with eggs, they actually come in half dozen boxes. There is no need in paying for food that you won’t eat. Food is not the only thing to save on at the grocery store either.

Going down the personal needs aisle we come across razor blades. The really inexpensive ones don’t do a good job and the regular ones are over $10.00 for 3 razors. Invest your money in an electric razor and forget purchasing disposables every week. Something else to consider is that most of the non-food product you can probably purchase for a lot less at the dollar store rather than the grocery store. Point here is don’t purchase anything you won’t consume and find ways to spend less.

Another idea for saving money everyday is to cancel your weekly newspaper subscription. With everything being on the internet, there really is no need to have money taken out of your pocket for information you can get online. Chance are real good that your local paper has a website. Making purchases online is much easier and safer now too. You can buy just about anything online now and really you probably should. The prices are sometimes less expensive and by doing some research you may find you don’t want something after all. On top of that you save a lot of fuel costs by not going out and just shopping.

There are still other everyday things you can do to save money. Start buying rechargeable batteries for the kids’ toys. You know you spend too much on batteries that died because the toy was left on. Start planning trips to the ATM and get cash out you need for the week. Going to off bank ATM’s cost you $1 or more so just plan your week a little better. If you are a pay-per view fanatic by all means cut back. While thinking about pay-per views what about going to the movies. Saturday matinees are less expensive and less crowded.

So you see there are plenty of ways to save money everyday without sacrificing your current lifestyle. These things combined with the usual turn out the lights, turn down the thermostat, and conserving gas will add up to big savings over the next thirty days. By cutting costs you are in effect paying yourself a part-time income. See how many everyday things you can cut back on and be amazed at how much you’ll save.

 

For more on ideas on saving money check out Living On A Dime