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Inexpensive Ways to Countdown to Christmas

My 8-year-old adores her Snoopy countdown to Christmas calendar… and her wooden Advent calendar… and her chocolate-filled Advent calendar… and well, you get the idea.  My kid is obsessed with counting down to December 25th. While I enjoy seeing her excitement as she tears open the doors to her various candy-filled chronicles, Advent calendars don’t come cheap.  Neither do secular versions featuring syndicated cartoon characters. Fortunately, there are ways you can celebrate the coming of Christmas without going broke.  For example: Paper Chains:  Kids can craft a countdown to Christmas chain to help them visualize how many days until Santa’s … Continue reading →

5 Steps to Getting Your Car Paid Off Early

Paying off your car loan early will save you hundreds of dollars in interest charges, eliminate a monthly expense, and increase your credit score as your rate of debt to income goes down. Plus, you’ll get a real sense of accomplishment knowing that your car is completely yours, free and clear. 1. First do your homework Review your loan paperwork before you start. Most car loans are simple interest loans. That is, the interest accrues during the life of the loan, so paying it off early will save you a lot of money. In a precomputed interest loan, on the … Continue reading →

Easy Ways to Clean Your Kitchen Floor

Over the years, I’ve tried a number of things to keep our kitchen floor clean. For a while there, it seemed like the best results and convenience were had by the most expensive systems. Fortunately, there are ways around the expense. Try one of the following ideas. The Cheapest An old fashioned floor scrub will be the cheapest. It only requires a bucket (or just a sink), some soap and something to apply the soap, from a brush to an old towel. You have to get down on your hands and knees and scrub and then rinse the floors with … Continue reading →

Easy Thanksgiving Crafts You Can’t Mess Up

Thanksgiving is just two weeks away. Are you hosting the Turkey Day celebration this year? Preparing a massive meal for your extended clan is no picnic. Add to that the task of decorating your home for the holiday and you may be wondering if you bit off more than you can chew. With time ticking down to the big day, now is the time to recruit the troops. Get your kids involved in the making simple decorations to embellish your Turkey Day buffet. The following Thanksgiving-themed projects are so easy you can have a houseful made in no time: PAPER … Continue reading →

Keeping Costs Down

Scrapbooking is not a cheap hobby. However, there are ways you can reduce the price of creating elaborate memory albums. The key to keeping costs down is to round up as many free items as possible. These days that task is becoming increasingly easy, as more and more scrapbook supply manufacturers are offering freebies online. While many die hard scrappers shy away from digital elements, it’s possible to save hundreds of dollars turning online supplies into hard copy materials that can be used in traditional albums. For example, I am not a huge digital scrapbooking enthusiastic, but I will frequent … Continue reading →

Cleaning Your Microwave

I don’t like cleaning my stove or refrigerator. But there is another appliance in my home that I dislike cleaning even more…the microwave. I guess that’s because I don’t have to clean the stove or fridge on a regular basis. However, the microwave gets a lot of use out of it so cleaning is much more frequent. What I especially don’t like is the awful smell of popcorn inside (even though I love popcorn). But what’s worse is when my children have warmed up cans of Spaghetti O’s. Not only do I want to gag at the smell but the … Continue reading →

Zeroing Down the Entertainment Budget

When money is tight in my household, paying for entertainment is one of the first areas of the budget to go. Convincing my family, on the other hand, can be a little tough, so while we do make some allowances (we still haven’t completely gotten rid of cable), it takes a lot of creativity to keep everyone entertained for as close to zero as possible. Finding fun alternatives to eating out Part of the pleasure of eating out is the entertainment factor, so we try to include that even with home cooked meals. For example, I might make a salad, … Continue reading →

Freeing Yourself From Clutter

I am not a hoarder although at times I do have way too much fabric. I don’t like the look of clutter or how it makes my house feel. I don’t understand hoarders, and there are many benefits of not being surrounded by clutter. People who help others declutter for a living say that clutter creates stress because the human mind is not meant to deal with so much constant stimulation. When you clear out the clutter it’s almost like a sigh of relief. It visually opens up the space and makes it restful to look at instead of stressful. … Continue reading →

How to Cut Down on Junk Mail Clutter

I wonder how much time that we spend on a monthly basis dealing with junk mail clutter? Kitchen counters or desks piled high with the stuff, late fees on bills that got lost in the piles, time spent sorting through it all.Think about how the minutes can add up to hours or even days in the course of the year. Junk mail can be a big source of clutter. No one really wants to deal with it, especially if we are collecting it right before we walk in the door after a long day of work or dealing with the … Continue reading →

When a Cut Needs a Doctor’s Attention

Let’s face it, cuts happen all of the time. Whether you get a paper cut, a cut from chopping up vegetables or a cut from falling down, these minor wounds are a fact of life. Usually, we can just treat these cuts or even ignore them and go on their merry way. That is why when my son complained that his finger really hurt one night, I didn’t give it a second thought, until I saw that the wound was puffy and infected. Fortunately for us all, I was able to treat the infection at home, but if it didn’t … Continue reading →