Sunday, October 16, 2011

Shop on the Internet

If at all possible, when making purchases, try shopping on the internet. 

Shopping on the internet will not only save you money on gas, but many times is less expensive than shopping in the retail store.

Parts for appliances are often found to be half the price, because you are buying from someone who has a worldwide customer base instead of just the people in their town.

If there are stores in which you purchase items frequently, consider signing up for their newsletters.  Typically you will receive emails with coupons, percentage discounts and sale fliers.  Well worth getting a few extra emails if you are going to be shopping from the same store on a regular basis.

Stock up if you find a great deal.  On items that you purchase on a regular basis, be sure to buy a few extra when making your shopping purchase.  You'll only pay the shipping and handling fee one time, plus you'll be saving money in the long run.

Saturday, September 24, 2011

Halloween Costume

Don't forget to look up articles on the internet to see if you have the items in your home to make a really cool Halloween costume.

A couple of years ago, I made a Headless Woman Halloween Costume.  It was probably one of the best costumes I have ever had... and I made it homemade, out items from around the house. 

The dress was an old one someone left in a rental property.  The blood was made from corn starch and a couple of other items.  Read the article to get a better idea.

Sunday, July 24, 2011

Shopping Habits

It is easy to get into the habit of going shopping every weekend, or every pay day.

If you would really like to cut down on your lifestyle, try shopping on Tuesday or Wednesday. This is better, for one because there are less people in the store. However, just try not to make going grocery shopping part of your weekend entertainment.

Sometimes, it is fun to look, although when we make shopping and spending money a habit, we can very easily get into the habit of living week to week, or pay day to pay day.

If you go during the week, you are more likely to get in and out of the store quicker, because you want to get home and relax a little bit, before you have to go to bed since you have to get up for work the next day.

Better yet, see how long you can go without going to Wal-Mart, Costco, or your local superstore. This can become a game in itself, which will in turn, help you to save money!

Saturday, June 11, 2011

Auction For Alabama

Over 40 musicians and artists have donated items for tornado victims in Alabama. This is a great opportunity for you to not only donate but also get a great deal. Most of the goods are autographed and items are selling for as cheap as $1 with free shipping.

On the same note, a number of Nashville artists have started a site called Songs for Joplin. Donate a little and get a little music.

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

One more Generic Tissue Paper

While we are on the subject of generic tissue papers, I have one more to review for you.

This one is a generic toilet paper that you can purchase exclusively at K-Mart.

The brand is Smart Sense, and to the best of my knowledge it is a generic K-Mart brand.

This paper is equivalent to Charmin and pretty close to Cottonelle. I would definitely suggest this brand, to anyone who is considering trying it.

Happy shopping and saving everyone!

Saturday, April 9, 2011

How to Perform a Magic Trick with Pennies

Ever think of being a performer for your child's birthday party instead of the host.

This is a great way to have a great time at the party, and to make your kids enjoy it even more. Especially when they are still young enough to think of their parents as 'heroes'.

Have one of the child's aunts, uncles, or a grandparent fill in as the host for you at the party, and be a clown, magician or perform some other type of act. For older kids, perhaps a dj.

Here is a magic trick to get you started How to Perform a Magic Trick with Pennies.

Generic Brand - Magic Tissue

Magic Tissue is a generic brand of tissue paper that a number of companies use. This tissue takes about twice as much than a name brand tissue such as Northern, Cottonelle or Charmin. It is a good idea to stay away from this brand.

A lot of companies purchase the brand in order to save money. If they would only consider the fact that the consumer is going to use twice as much if not more, they would realize they are throwing money out the window and being perceived as tightwads in the progress.

This tissue gives a very poor public appearance.

Saturday, April 2, 2011

Generic Brand Review

If you are shopping for store brand products that do the trick of brand name products, try Great Value (the Wal-Mart store brand) paper towels.

These paper towels are better than a lot of name brand paper towels. They are comparable to Bounty. As a matter of fact, if you didn't know it, you would probably think they were Bounty.

Check them out, great towels for the price!

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Generic Products

Take caution when buying generic products. The price is usually lower, of course....however is the price more?

Here's what I mean. If you purchase a store brand bath tissue with 1000 sheets for $5, the cost is .005 cents per sheet, instead of purchasing a quality tissue at 1000 sheets for $8, you may be spending more by purchasing the store brand. This depends on the quality.

In this example, imagine when you use the store brand, it takes twice as much tissue to do the job. So, in reality it is costing twice as much because you have to purchase twice as much to get the job done. Spend the $8 and buy the quality good.

I have found a couple of generics that work well, and will try to remember to post my reviews here when I think about it.

Saturday, March 5, 2011

Keep Your Sense of Humor

Keep your sense of humor. Whenever times get tough around you, just try to stay positive and look at the bright side of life.

This will help you bare the hard times, and appreciate the good times.

Think about the old saying, "I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet". Looking at things from this perspective will keep things from getting you down and out.

When you are really feeling sorry for yourself, go see someone who has it a little harder than you do. Your visit will most likely put them in better spirits, and give you a whole new outlook.

Here's a funny little article that puts me in better spirits from time to time, How to Speak Southern.

Wednesday, March 2, 2011

Recondition an Old Dresser

If you are looking for a new dresser, why not consider fixing up that old dresser instead of buying a new one. Especially if it is a good hardwood dresser, those are hard to come by these days.

Do you have a couple of drawers that need a little bit of work done on them. Here is an article that will help. It is titled How to Fix a Sticking Dresser Drawer.

How about renewing the dresser by sanding, refinishing, and staining the dresser all over again. Then you can top it off with a coat of polyurethane, or something similar to make it look brand new again.

Maybe your dresser needs a new look, which can be established by just adding a nice set of new knobs. Here is an article titled How to Change the Knobs on a Dresser. It's simple enough for an afternoon project of picking out the knobs and changing them with the kids.

Thursday, February 24, 2011

Blog and Blog Some More

For those of you who are looking to earn some extra cash online, I must quote the words of one of the books that I read years ago..."Blog and Blog some more".

This is so true. I have been working online, for years, over 12 years to be exact. Trying to make a living, not just extra money, but trying to make a living working from home in my pajamas on my computer.

I have tried paid surveys, paid to click, paid to read emails, writing articles....you name it, I have probably tried it.

Finally, I figured it out. Only after eHow changed their guidelines (switched to Demand Studios)last year. Since then, I haven't been writing articles, so it has been over a year.....but I do receive a paycheck from them every month. And a year later, my monthly income from eHow is more than it has every been.

Here's how I started earning more. I started blogging at least once a week, on 4 different blog sites.

Most of the time, I add a link to one of my eHow articles.

I also add a link to my articles on Facebook and Twitter time and again.

These backlinks cause your articles to appear higher in search engines. As long as you have good articles, the articles will get hits and make money.

Lately, I have started writing for other web sites and adding backlinks to those articles as well.

Good luck to you in making money online, if that is part of your goal. And please share this article with anyone that you know who is trying to make ends meet and needs to earn more money.

Monday, February 21, 2011

Free Things to do on Vacation

Living an inexpensive way of life is great, but everyone needs a vacation sometime. Just because you go on vacation, doesn't mean that everything has to be expensive.

I remember when we were kids, we would take a loaf of bread, some lettuce, tomatoe and cold cuts along with us for the road. We would stop at a roadside park or mountain overlook, and make some sandwiches. Of course we always took a cooler full of juice or soda, so that we didn't have to pay convenient store prices. That's even easier in today's world, because you can pay for your gas at the pump, so you don't even have to go inside to be enticed with their flavored coffee and snack cakes.

Try researching museums and parks in the area where you plan to travel. It's great to take the kids to Disney or an amusement park, but the rest of the time, try to enjoy something that is a little educational and a lot less expensive.

Here's an article with a lot of great tips titled How to Find Free Things to do on Your Vacation.

May all your travels be....Lots of fun and mostly free!!!

Sunday, February 13, 2011

Save Money on Auto Repair

In order to save a few bucks, why not consider doing your own auto repair. If you plan on owning your vehicle for a long period of time, you can change your oil in only a few minutes after a little practice.

Web sites, like AutoZone.com and eHow.com, give great detail on how to do a lot of smaller auto repairs like water pumps, alternators and starters. By either investing in a few tools, or borrowing some from your older brother, you can do most small repairs yourself and save anywhere from $60 to $120 an hour that big garages would charge.

Wednesday, February 2, 2011

Save on Trash Bags

For some reason, I just cannot get into the hang of remembering my reusable shopping bags when I go to the supermarket. I also get tired of taking the plastic bags from the grocery store back to put in their little recycle bin. And in our county, you aren't supposed to put them in with the rest of the recycled rubbish.

This month while I was trying to think of a way to save money, I decided, why buy garbage bags. Of course, I know I will need them from time to time for the bigger messes.

However, for the small stuff in my garbage can, a new idea arose.....why not use the grocery bags and department store bags.

I hope this money saving tip will help you enjoy An Inexpensive Way of Life!

Thursday, January 20, 2011

File Your Taxes Online

One way to save a ton of money this tax season, is to file your taxes this year on your own. A lot of people think they have to go to one of the tax services to electronically file and get their tax refund right away.

Nowadays, with the internet, anyone can electronically file their own taxes. Many services even provide free filing for your Federal Return with a small fee for filing your State taxes.

Check out this article How to File Your Taxes Online, for more information.