Debt Help Ideas

Woohoo! Remember the post I wrote, Sam’s Club Chicken Saves the Day? As you can tell from that article, I have a high opinion of Sams wholesale club which is well deserved, as shopping there is always one of my favorite ways to save money.

After I wrote that article, I found an interesting post by Paula Ebbin with some great tips to save money at all three of the various Warehouse Clubs – Sams wholesale club, BJs wholesale club, and Costco. 6 Ways To Save Money At Warehouse Clubs had several excellent tips and ideas that were new to me, and I thought you would find them useful as well.

I knew that one of the best ways to save money is to buy in bulk, but did you know that one warehouse club even accepts coupons? Or that each wholesale club marks their price tags in such a way as to let you know if it’s at its lowest price? I didn’t either!

So pop over and read this fascinating article. Then I’d love it if you’d pop back here and let us know which idea you liked best.

When I decided it was time for me to start making money from home again, in order to have a flexible schedule around aging parents and young grandkids, I did a lot of research into internet business opportunities, and decided to give blogging and writing online a try. I’ve been working towards that goal for a few years and really got serious about it two years ago. I’ve learned a lot, made a lot of mistakes, been encouraged, discouraged, and overall, have had a lot of fun. Haven’t made much money yet, but I’ve gotten a great education for very little spent, so it’s definitely been worthwhile.

If an internet home business is an interest of yours as well, stay tuned. I’m going to be sharing lessons learned and resources discovered on a regular basis. I’ve read a ton of books in the process and I thought I’d share some of my favorites – old and new, hard copy and ebooks.

Tonight, I’m starting with one of my favorite bloggers and writers. Problogger is the name of the book AND the name of a great resource site for new and old bloggers. The book gives a great overview of making money from home as a blogger and is excellent for beginners. Written by Darren Rowse and Chris Garrett, it’s both interesting and informative!  This is a hard copy book that you can find at most bookstores, including Alibris.

In addition to all the great info at the site, Darren also does a specialty series, 31 Days to Build a Better Blog, periodically. I discovered one he had done previously through the book, and read through most of the posts, learning a ton as I did so.

This past year, 2009, he did another 31 Days to Build a Better Blog. I signed up and did many of the assignments. I was quite excited to see how much I’d already learned since the last one, but I also learned plenty of new things as well, in addition to being reminded of lessons I’d previously learned but hadn’t yet started doing. After he completed this series, he wrote an Ebook with all the lessons we learned online, plus additional information.

As he explained it,

· it contains new tips and reflections for each of the 31 days (6000 extra words of content)

· it puts all of the 31 days of tasks and teaching into one document that you can dip into and out of for all time

· the tasks have all received a refresh with a professional edit and design/layout including notes areas so you can record what you’re learning and planning.

It’s definitely a great resource for beginners who already have their blogs. Technically it’s not for people just starting out – prebloggers as he refers to them. Personally, I would start with his first book, Problogger, along with some other good books for new bloggers (which I’ll write about in future posts), but I would read this, as well, before starting.

I printed my copy out and put it in a three-ring notebook. But I also keep a copy of it on both of my computers, as it has clickable links in it. That makes it easy to then go back and work through it step by step as we get going on our sites.

It’s a terrific resource for a reasonable price, complete with a money-back guarantee, and he is also offering a free one-hour audio interview with answers to frequently asked questions. Click here to view more details

My only regret about it is that he didn’t write it a year earlier. It is a lot easier to read this than the 200+ miscellaneous pages I printed from his website last year! Then again, those are useful too. With Problogger, I don’t think you can go wrong with any of his interesting materials.

Despite what many people like to say, there are very few, if any, ways to make easy money online. It takes a lot of learning, a lot of hard work, and a lot of persistence. These two books from Problogger are a HUGE help for all of us  as we work through that process!

When my kids were young, I was interesting in making money from home so I started a desktop publishing business. I didn’t get rich, but it did help with the bills and I was thrilled to be able to earn from home and have a flexible schedule since I had to take one daughter to therapy due to an injury to her wrist.

I focused on resumes and college papers and stayed fairly busy. I still remember walking all over the college campus putting up flyers (make sure you get permission from the school office first). As a 30-something, I felt a little weird hanging up posters at the school, but it really paid off. I had a steady flow of students and one teacher who used me fairly regularly until we moved out of state.

My favorite resource book at the time, which I still have in my collection, was Resume Pro by Yana Parker. I loved her resumes and so did the people who hired my clients, not to mention my kids’ business teacher in college. She gave them an A for the resumes I helped them prepare, using Yana Parker’s book.

I no longer do resumes from home as a business, but I am occasionally on call for my kids and their friends and that’s still the first book I turn to. It’s available as a used book from Amazon, among other places, and is a terrific resource for those interested in computer work at home.

Up till now, I’ve mostly focused on ways to save money as we work towards our goal to eliminate debt. Another way to to work towards that goal, however, is to add money to the budget. When my kids were little, I was always on the look out for stay at home jobs. It was never easy, although I did find a few. That was all before the internet though.

Nowadays, thanks to the internet, work from home ideas abound. Some are good, some not so much. I’m going to start a new column, Work From Home Ideas. I’ll be sharing what I’ve done in the past, along with what I’ve been learning over the past few years about whether you can really make easy money online.

I’d love to hear from you as well. Have you succeeded at making money from home? If so, we’d love to hear your comments. If you’ve tried unsuccessfully, that would be good to know as well.

So pull up a chair, grab some coffee and a donut, and join me in this ongoing journey to find ways to save money, including work from home ideas, and together we can have fun as we work to eliminate debt.

I had been out on errands and babysitting all day. Headed home, I was tired and hungry! Original fried chicken from one of my favorite fast food restaurants, KFC, was calling my name. I pulled in and was delighted to see only one person in line in the drive through.

Pulling right up to the microphone, I ordered my usual, three pieces of chicken – dark, mashed potatos and gravy, corn, biscuits and honey, and an extra side of coleslaw. I have to admit, I choked a bit at the price – over $9! But my starving stomach told me to keep going, so I did.

The truck ahead of me left and I drove up. The cashier apologized profusely and explained that they had run out of the original chicken and there would be a 15 minute wait. Thinking of all the work waiting for me at home, I turned down her offer of a different type of chicken (Original flavor is the only one I like), and sadly headed home.

Walking in the door I headed straight for my fridge. I pulled out some yummy Sam’s Club chicken. One of my tastier ways to save money and time is to buy a roasted chicken at Sams wholesale club, cut it and bag it into four or five servings and pop them all in the freezer. Perfect for moments like this and it’s only about $1 – $1.25 per serving!

Next I popped a russet potato into the microwave (15 cents per serving). While it cooked, I pulled out a can of Bush’s Baked Beans (45 cents per serving) and a can of kernel corn (40 cents per serving).

In lieu of the carb and calorie-laden biscuit, I had some tangy cranberry sauce (50 cents per serving). I finished it all off with a refreshing Diet Cherry Dr. Pepper (25 cents per serving).

Within 15 minutes I had a delicious dinner that was probably lower in calories, sodium and fat and only cost about $3! WOW! $6 cheaper AND probably healthier to boot! Fast too!

Now I’m not going to lie and tell you I’ll never eat at KFC again! Of course I will. I love their chicken. BUT it definitely needs to be a once in a while treat. In the meantime, mostly home-cooked meals like this are definitely great examples of yummy ways to save money, save time, and keep heading towards the goal to eliminate debt!

Coughs and colds wait for no man, woman, or child. They don’t wait for seasons either! It’s the middle of summer, but according to the treatment nurse my friend talked to today, there’s several irritating viruses going around. Nope, I’m not talking swine flu. Just your normal, garden variety coughs, colds, and other assorted bugs!

I was reminded today, as I picked up some cough syrup for her, of some great ways to save money that we had missed out on. She paid more, but you won’t have to.

1. Always keep a good supply of your favorite cough syrup, pain reliever, and decongestant in the house. Keep a close eye on the stock. If you notice the expiration dates are getting too close, give the medicine away to someone who can use it now. You might even want to set up a trading system with a friend so they do the same. Also, each time you go the grocery store, check your supply to see what needs replenishing. That way, if a bug catches you off guard, you won’t have to drag yourself out feeling miserable, only to grab the first available medicine at the most expensive store, just because you feel so awful. You can purchase the medicines on sale or at your local Target or Walmart and pay less for them.
2. Make sure to clean your vaporizer or humidifier after each cold/virus ends, and store it carefully. If you notice it isn’t working well, and cleaning it doesn’t resolve the problem, it’s time to find a new one. Start watching for sales and pick up just the one you want for a great price BEFORE you need it, instead of being stuck buying whatever is in stock at the store you run to.
3. Keep a good supply of comfort foods on hand. My favorites include Lipton’s Noodle Soup and Chicken Pot Pies. Then, when you don’t feel good, you don’t have to try to make something. You can easily pull those together to feed yourself fairly healthily, in order to help fight off the virus.

These simple pre-preparation steps can save you time, money, and energy when the nasty bug strikes. They are all great ways to save money and that always helps make us feel better, doesn’t it. Not to mention that it also helps us work towards our goal to eliminate debt! 

Do you like to go the movies? We sure do. It makes a fun date. My husband and I always tried to go out on a date once a week. Sometimes we only made it two times a month, but four was the best. We knew it was important for our relationship, which then benefited our children as well. We also liked to take our kids to the movies, sometimes as a one-on-one or two-on-one date. Sometimes all of us went. It was pricey then. Now I’m a widow, going to the movies with my grown-up kids and grandkids. It’s even more expensive now! Fortunately, we’ve found some great ways to save money that do help.

Matinees have always been a money saver help. They’re not as wonderfully priced as they used to be, but they’re still cheaper. They used to run about half the normal ticket, but they traditionally only went til mid-afternoon. Now they are about 2/3 of a ticket price, BUT many theaters do go later in the day. My favorite theater offers matinee prices til 6 pm on weekdays! That’s late enough for an early dinner and movie.

I love popcorn and soda at the theater but my waistline and my pocket book both hate it. For those days when I just can’t resist, two of my favorite theaters do have a money saver help for me. They offer a kid’s snack. For about half (or less) of the normal cost of a small popcorn and small soda, I get a smaller popcorn, smaller soda, and a candy. I usually skip the candy but thoroughly enjoy the rest.

Two of the three theaters in our area offer customer rewards cards. Just like with a grocery store customer rewards card, you show this for each purchase and you get rewarded periodically with special discount days, free snacks (like popcorn ), and even free movie tickets. We don’t go that often, so it does take awhile for the free tickets, but the free popcorn seems to pop up fairly often, which is one of the fun ways to save money. You can find these by checking online at your movie theater website, or call your local theater to see if they do offer these.

While you’re on the phone, call each of the theaters in the area. Many areas have at least one discount theater, where the price is half the cost of the main movie theaters, and where they are showing good movies, just not quite as soon. And of course, if you still have a drive-in in your area, those can save a ton with all the grandkids. Mine just went with their folks to their first drive-in and loved it! They got to play outside, sit in chairs on a lawn, and even get up a move a bit if they wanted to. It was great.

Well, there you have it, my four best tips to save money at the movies. It’s great to be able to have a special date with the special people in our lives, save money, and keep working towards our goal to eliminate debt.

It’s just as important to be careful with our church’s money as it is for us to be careful with our own money. We can help contribute more to our church by looking for the best ways to save money at home, and we can put the same good habits to work if we have to shop for a church ministry.

At the same time, it’s important not to be “penny-wise and pound foolish!” If we are involved with a food ministry at church, such as serving coffee before or after services, it’s important for us to have plenty of coffee, sugar, and cream available for everyone. I would also suggest tea bags and hot water. I prefer too much over too little, and I think we have an excellent example of that in the Bible. When Jesus multiplied the little boy’s fish and loaves, they wound up with 12 BASKETS LEFT OVER!

If we are so over cautious with these relatively inexpensive items, we could wind up having to turn people away or making them feel unwanted. That can leave a bad taste in a person’s mouth (pun unintended but definitely appropriate). I realize that not getting a cup of coffee is not a good reason for a person to quit coming to church. On the other hand, losing a chance to share God’s extravagant love with a non-Christian over the cost of a cup of coffee would really be sad.

This is a great time to make sure we have plenty of goodies to share with all, and that we are giving joyously to our Lord and Savior through the church. And isn’t if fun to get to be used by Him as a wondrous part of His extravagant ministry.

I love how the Message Bible puts Ephesians 5:2:

Mostly what God does is love you. Keep company with Him and learn a life of love. Observe how Christ loved us. His love was not cautious but extravagant. He didn’t love in order to get something from us but to give everything of Himself to us. Love like that.

The New American Standard Bible says it wonderfully as well:

Walk in love, just as Christ also loved you and gave Himself up for us, an offering and a sacrifice to God as a fragrant aroma

Here’s one of my easier tips to save money. When we are planning a fun night out with friends, we need to be honest about our finances. If we are invited out to a restaurant, we could say, “I’d love to, but we’re working hard towards a goal to eliminate debt, so my budget doesn’t have eating out in it this week. Would it be OK if we join you for dessert instead?” Or, “How about if we meet for coffee or sodas instead? I’m on an “eliminate debt”money diet so I’m working hard to find ways to save money.”

I know I’m always pleasantly surprised to discover how many friends feel the same way saying, “I thought I was the only one!”

I shared this tip with a 20-something friend of mine recently and she was so relieved. She commented, “I love to go out with friends, but so often they pick a more expensive restaurant than I can afford.” I suggested she just order dessert, with or without the explanation and she was thrilled. “They have the best desserts!” she said. “That and the great company will make it a terrific night out without messing up my budget for the week.”

In this economy, we’re sure to find plenty of company in our search for ways to save money. Even if we don’t, not to worry. Odds are, in ten years, many of our friends will be WISHING they’d joined us in our “eliminate debt” money diet.

Twenty years ago, my next-door neighbors had a Pit Bull, which they had raised from a pup. They were always telling me how sweet he was, how gentle, and how much they loved him. I was a bit leery because I’d heard a tale or two about Pit Bulls. Then again, I loved the English Bull dog another neighbor used to have, so I just ignored the occasional growls that sometimes came my way.

One day, they asked if I could come over to help them with their computer. Of course I said yes, and we headed into their house – my neighbor, her husband, their sweet dog, and me. Since they kept the computer in their bedroom, they gave me the chair, while the two of them and the pooch plopped onto the bed to watch me. All was fairly quiet for five minutes as I worked on the computer. I kept explaining what I was doing, and they’d ask questions, and that was about it. Then, out of the blue, with NOTHING having changed, their sweet dog turned into a terrifying dog, barking at me like he hated my guts and trying to lunge at me, as the owners held him back. They escorted him out of the room, as he kept barking furiously. They came back in, apologized profusely, and again told me what a sweet dog he was. I’ve read of dog attacks before but never come so close to experiencing one!All I could do was pray hard silently for the new little grandbaby that was due any day and who would be over often.

You may wonder what all this has to do with ways to save money and our goal to eliminate debt. Some of you who love Pit Bulls may have decided to never read my blog again. I understand, but I encourage you to please finish reading before you quit, for your own sake.

I learned, through researching information for a rental I owned, that many insurance companies specifically exclude certain breeds of dogs, including Pit Bulls. If we don’t ask, they might not mention it. It might be in one of the huge, long documents they send us after we get our insurance. I’m sure you read that cover to cover, right? Yup, same here.  Whether we knew it or not, though, we are still going to be in for a rude shock if we own one of the excluded breed of dogs and they hurt someone! Whether that someone is a meter reader, a next-door neighbor, or even our own child, if our dog is excluded, they will not pay for the damages, nor for any lawsuit awards!

I can’t begin to imagine spending years working to eliminate debt, putting into practice all the ways to save money we can find, and then having our dog bite someone! Then to think about that someone suing us and winning a large settlement! Not only will we not be able to eliminate debt any time soon, we could actually be paying off that judgment for the rest of our life!

Now that I’ve gloomed and doomed us, and scared us to pieces, what can we do? I would start by calling our insurance company ASAP and ask what their specific policy is. If our dog is excluded, we’ll need to find out what our options are. We also would need to find a third party insurance company that can cover us and our dog. From what I’ve seen, there is dog insurance for all breeds available, though I doubt it is the cheapest pet insurance! If we haven’t yet bought a dog, it would be best to call our insurance company and find out what are excluded breeds. My company has a list of about 5-6. Then we could go look for a dog we liked that wasn’t on that list.

In addition, one of the best tips to save money in this situation may be to spend money by shoring up the fencing. We can make sure it is solid, and that a dog can’t get over it, under it, or through it. We can also check to be sure the gates are locked so that someone can’t inadvertently let our dog out. We can also talk to the utility company about options if the meter is inside the yard. They should be able to give us a schedule of visits so we can keep our dog inside on those days.

My grandparents had the sweetest German Shepherd. He really was sweet! When I had to stay with my aging grandma, while my parents went out of town, my mom warned me to put the dog in the house if the meter reader came. I laughed, thinking George would never hurt a fly. Let me tell you, a week later I heard massive barking coming from a dog I barely recognized. George, along with my neighbor’s Pit Bull, took his job of protecting his owners so seriously, he didn’t want to let anyone but family into the yard. I took my parents’ dog advice more seriously after that!

Many dogs have the capacity to be very sweet, yet too protective of their families. That’s a wonderful thing if a burglar is trying to break in. That can be a very expensive thing if our dog thinks a neighbor is the burglar. Simple and wise precautions are some of the best ways to save money. We just need to plan ahead, do our homework, make sure we have good dog insurance and good fencing, and then we can keep working towards our goal to eliminate debt and still enjoy our family pet.