Container Garden

The container garden is going very well. I am surprised at how well the beans and peas are doing.

The up Topsy Turvy tomato planter is working great. The tomatoes are growing a little strangely, but there are plenty of blooms and I love not having to strap them to tomato baskets. The peas and green beans also have plenty of blooms on them.

I found that I really like container gardening. There are no weeds to pull and it is much easier to maintain. I won't have enough vegetables to can or freeze, but I will have enough to eat for a couple of meals. This year I won't have enough strawberries to do much either, but next year I hope to have plenty to make some jelly.

If you don't have a lot of room or time, but want fresh fruits and vegetables; try container gardening. It may just be your kind of gardening.

Web sites from Aunt Paula

Aunt Paula has done it again. Here is a list of web sites you may be interested in:

http://www.CouponCabin.com http://www.RetailMeNot.com When shopping online if you find a code for say 5% off and another for free shipping try using both codes some online stores will let you use both. http://www.JungleCrazy.com this site will list hundreds of products on Amazon that are discounted 70% and up. this site is for discounted scrapbooking supplies http://www.Scrapbooking-Warehouse.com this site is for knitting supplies http://www.Knitpicks.com this site is for quilting supplies http://www.Quilting-Warehouse.com this site is for painting supplies http://www.FactoryDirectCraft.com this site is for jewelery making http://www.HouseofGems.com this site is for making your photos look better by adding makeup http://www.Makeup.pho.to.com

these websites have clothing, housewares, etc...

http://www.sierratradingpost.com

http://www.smartbargains.com

http://www.6pm.com

Finding Money To Save

I have gathered some interesting information to help you think differently about money. For instance:

If you save $50.00 a month with 5% interest in one year you can save $614.00. In 5 years you can save $3,400, in 10 years $7,764, in 25 years $29,775 and in 40 years you will have $76,301. Just think how much you can have is you save more than $50.00 a month.

Now you are asking how to save that $50.00 a month. Here are some suggestions:

Save 50 cents a day in lose change will put $15.00 a month in savings. Cut the amount of soda you drink by one liter a week will save you $6.00 a month. Substitute one coffee for one cappuccino will save $40.00 a month. Taking lunch to work saving an estimated $3.00 a day will put $60.00 a month into your savings account. Making dinner at home 2 time more than usual will save $30.00 or more. Buy store brand foods instead of name brand will save $10.00 a month. Eliminate premium cable channels will save $20.00. Cut down on phone features saves $10.00. Using the library or swapping books at least one book a month will save $15.00. Paying bills on time and paying the full amount owed can save you $32.00 a month.

Be creative, using coupons and store sales, I save at least $30.00 on average a month. So far this year between using coupons, store sales, and high interest accounts, I have save and earned in interest over $1,000. That doesn't count how much money I have put into savings accounts in the last 5 month. I have done this even though I was out of work for 3 months.

Other articles you may want to read:

Book Swap
Public Library
How To Spend Less and Enjoy More
Ways to Save Money

What are some other ways you save money?

Become a Saver

One thing that the Illinois Treasurers office stressed at the Smart Money Smart Women was to pay off debt and save money. So much so that at the end of the conference they encouraged participants to sign up for a debt reduction plan.

There are many debt reduction plans and many ways to work that plan. All experts say to list all your debts:

Credit Card or Loan Company - payment Amount - total amount owed - interest rates

After you have all your information it is time to set up a plan to pay down the debt. There are a couple of ways to do this. You can either choose the highest interest rate and pay that off first then use the money for that payment and add it to the next highest interest rate account.

Or you can go by the amount of money owed. Start with the account with the least amount owed and pay it off first. Then use the payment on that account and add it to the next account with the lowest amount owed. Some say that this payment plan gives you more incentive because you see progress a little faster.

You need to decide which way to pay down debt. Either way you need to keep focused so that you don't lose ground on your goals.

Other articles you may want to read are:

Money Crisis 101
What to do with Extra Money
Chase's Plan To Help You Save Money

Time, Information, and Money

I went to the Smart Women Smart Money conference a couple of weeks ago. In my opinion, this year was even better than last. The theme this year was "From Surviving To Thriving". There were some AWESOME speakers and award winners. One of the pamphlets that was handed out was The Tree Biggest Obstacles to Saving and Investing for Women: Time, Information and Money.

I know from experience that if one person is paying the bills, the other should be informed of what is going on with the money. To many time the wife or husband is in charge of paying bills and the other has no clue what is going on. One day the person who is not informed of the couples financial situation finds out that they are $90,000 in credit card debt and 3 months late on the house payment. Make sure you know what bills you have and what is being paid and where your money is going. You should have a monthly meeting to go over finances.

Most women have low financial confidence in their ability to handle the household finances. Education is the best way to boost your confidence. There are plenty of 1 day seminars at the local college. There are also plenty of books that you can check out at the library. Of course there is seminars like the Smart Women Smart Money conference and web sites that will help you learn how to set up a budget. Plus blogs like this one to help you save money.

I have to admit that I am a little intimidated by the Stock Market. I just don't know enough to feel comfortable in investing. That is why I really like Fidelity. I has a lot of information and tools to help you make the decision on what to invest in. It only takes about an hour to use the tools to see if I am making the best investments for my money. Once a year I go and look at where my stocks are and how well they are doing. I then use the tools to compare the available stocks and make any adjustments.

Other than not having confidence in making financial decisions, time is anther big factor. Most people just don't want to take the time to keep track of bills and investments. I use Quicken, but there are plenty of free online programs available. You just need to find the program that works best for you. We have posted plenty of articles on this subject: Tracking Your Spending and Start With The Basics. This morning it took me about 1 hour to pay my bills online through my bank and update Quicken. It will take me about anther 30 minutes to input the receipts into an Excel spreadsheet (only because I have not done it in about 3 weeks). Automate as much as possible by using tools from local banks and investment web sites.

Here are some web sites to help you make better financial choices and keep track of your finances.

www.illinois.tomorrowsmoney.org
Tomorrow's Money

It will take some time to set everything up, but once you do, it will only take a couple of hours a month at the most to keep track of everything.

So Much for Posting Everyday

I finally have a day off from work. I have been working 10 and 11 hours a day and already wondering how long it will take me to have enough hours for vacation. I am working a help desk for a program that the military uses and it is a 24/7 help desk. Let me tell you, I have new found insight on people who work hot lines.

Today I will try to get caught up on house cleaning and yard work. I also need to get caught up on financial paperwork.

I did take time last weekend to start my container garden. We planted strawberries, peas, and green beans. We also planted tomatoes in the upside down baskets. I checked on the garden last night after the storms we had this week and the tomatoes and strawberries are doing well. Peas are starting to come up, but nothing yet on the green beans.

I have set a date for a yard sale next month. This week and next weekend I will be getting things gathered up and price it. It will be nice to get some things out of the house and storage.

Things are busy, but it will get better once I have a routine down. At least I have a week of no school to get things done. Well I need to get some things done today. Stay tuned for more this week.

My Favorite Frugal Things

Since Oprah does a show on her favorite things, I thought I would do a post on my favorite frugal things. So here are some of my favorite frugal things by category:

Websites:

www.couponmom.com - This site has links to online coupons, printable coupons, and sales. They also go through sale ads for Walgreens, CVS, Wal-Mart, Target, and Rite-Aid and show you the sale price, coupon to use and percent saved for each item.

www.mypoints.com - This site allows you to rack up points that you can redeem for gift cards to various retailers.

www.amazon.com - No explanation needed. Amazon is just an awesome place to get deals. Especially their 4 for 3 book deal.

www.moneyblognetwork.com - This site lists the articles and article summaries for several different personal finance blogs.

www.passwird.com - This site lists several daily online bargains with links and most of the time includes a coupon code that can be used with the purchase.

Podcasts:
Lately, I have really been into podcasts because I can listen to them at work and they make the day go by a little faster. Also, you don't need an iPod to listen to them, you can also listen online. Plus these podcasts are all free to subscribe.

Frugal Coast2Coast - This is a weekly podcast featuring two bloggers (Lynnae & Jen) discussing different frugal interests. Click the link for more details.

Personal Finance Hour - This is a weekly online show that is hosted by JD Roth from getrichslowly.org and Jim Wang from Bargaineering.com. They discuss different aspects of personal finance. Click the link for more details.

The Suze Orman Show on podcast - I like to watch the Suze Orman Show on my iPod because there are no commercials and I can listen to it at work. The podcast is just her regular Saturday night show. Just do a search for Suze Orman on iTunes.

Frugal Recipes:
Homemade pizza - dough - dissolve 1 packet of yeast in 1 cup of warm water, add 2 tbsp of olive oil, 1 tsp of pizza seasoning, sugar, salt, and crushed garlic. Mix and add in 3 cups of flour. Knead 10 times and let it rise 2-3 hours. Spread in a pizza pan and bake 5 min at 400 degrees then take out of oven and add toppings then bake another 15 minutes.

Chicken & Broccoli with rice - Better than take-out Chinese. 2 chicken breast (cubed), a bag of frozen broccoli, can of mushrooms, saute until chicken is white. Add the sauce, which is just 1 tsp of soy sauce, corn starch, sugar, 3 tbsp of water, 1/8 tsp of garlic powder and a crushed chicken bouillon cube. Stir fry until sauce thickens. I put this over brown rice and top with crunchy chow mein noodles.

Crock pot chicken - put a whole fryer in a crock pot all day on low and use the leftovers for potpie and pasta or casserole dishes.

Meatloaf - Click the link. My DH and I are not fans of meatloaf, but we both love this simple recipe, which I sometimes make with ground turkey. I usually do not add the tomatoes with juice or the topping because my DH does not like tomato products.

What are some of your favorite frugal things?

Free stuff and coupons!!!!

For the Frugal Mother: Tropicana has an e-card that you can send to your mother with a $1.00 off coupon. You also get to print a coupon. If you want you can send yourself a Mother's Day Greeting and get 2 coupons. (For some reason I was not able to get the coupons. Maybe to many people are trying to print at the same time. I will try again later.)

Also, Margaret sent me an email with an offer for the DiGiorno Flatbreads for free.

Don't forget, if you have a Shop-N-Save close by, today is $10.00 off coupon day.

A Great Day to save money!!!!

KFC

Get your 2 piece Kentucky Grilled Chicken meal and two available sides and a biscuit. You are limited 4 printed coupons.

Print Coupon

The Coupon is good until May 19, but cannot be used on Mothers Day.

My friend Lynette sent me the information from Oprah. Here is the Oprah link.

Go get your free chicken!!!

Change and Getting Back To Basics

This seems to be the theme of the year and maybe the theme for the decade. Many people are making changes in their lifestyle to survive. Every time I turn on the news they talk about how people are making different financial choices than they were just a year ago.

To save money, vegetable gardens are popping up in back yards more today than during World War I and World War II. Victory Gardens are back in vogue.

Craft shops are seeing a boom in sales from those who are learning to make their own clothes and house hold items. I know that I have gone back crocheting afghans again. If I can get some time I may even get my sewing machine back out and relearn how to use it.

Even quilting is back. I can't believe how many people I know have started quilting again or are learning to quilt.

Many are changing the way they live and how they spend their money by getting back to the basics of learning to grow their own food, sewing clothes, and creating household items.

Last month I challenged everyone, including myself, to learn a new skill a month. This month I think that I will try my hand at container gardening. I already have one of those baskets from Walgreen's that grows tomatoes upside down. I think that I will plant some peas and green beans in a couple of large pots that I already have.

Are you making similar changes to help stretch a dollar? What are you going to learn this month?

It's About Time....

The last couple of years I have been involved with the Illinois State Treasurers program called Smart Women Smart Money. I just received an email with some really interesting information. It seems that Illinois' Treasurers office is challenging us to reduce our debt by $25.00 or a month.

You can sign up for the challenge and receive emails with tips and encouragement to save money and pay off your debt. The Biggest Debt Loser will be honored at next years Smart Women Smart Money conference in Chicago. They suggest that you work with a buddy to help you stick to your debt diet similar to having a weight loss buddy or and exercise buddy.

This years theme for the conference is "From Surviving to Thriving". For more information, check the Treasurer’s website – http://www.treasurer.il.gov/ – and download your Debt Reduction Challenge starter kit.

I know that other states have similar programs. You can do a search in Google for Smart Money Smart Women to find programs in your own state.