Springboard Winter 2009 - Credit.org · Springboard recommends the following resolutions for those who are serious about becoming ˜scally ˜t in 2009: (1) Consider the di˜erence

Volume 4 - Issue 1 Winter 2009

You can contact SPRINGBOARD® by mail, phone, fax or email; we are always here to help.

Mail: SPRINGBOARD®Non-Pro�t Consumer Credit ManagementP.O. Box 5438Riverside, CA 92517-5438

Phone: 1-877-Wise-Plan (1.877.947.3752)E-mail: [email protected]: 1.951.781.8027Website: www.credit.org

13-20

A Financial Workout Regimen for the New Year

This is the time of year that many people re-evaluate themselves and adopt resolutionsfor self-improvement. While improved physical �tness usually tops the list, one of themost important resolutions that an individual can undertake is �scal �tness. It’s estimatedthat the average American adult is carrying $4,208 in revolving debt (mainly credit carddebt) and the average American household is carrying $8,188 in such debt. If you’verelied on credit cards in the past, don’t despair. It’s never too late to start developing good�nancial habits, and even simple steps can lead to big improvements. SpringboardNonpro�t Consumer Credit Management has been helping people get into better �nan-cial shape for more than 30 years. Springboard recommends the following resolutions forthose who are serious about becoming �scally �t in 2009:

(1) Consider the di�erence between your needs and wants. Don’t base your buyingdecisions on emotions. Spend money only on things you need as opposed to thingsthat you want.

(2) Create a spending plan to map your income and expenses. Setting up a household budget will help guide you down the path of �nancial freedom. Implementing a budget can help you avoid dependence on credit cards that canover extend your household budget.

(3) Commit to personal education about �nancial health, budgeting, credit and personal debt. The more you understand about your �nances, the more you’ll beable to manage them e�ectively. Springboard o�ers free educational seminars, tools,and materials to help you better manage your personal �nances. Please visit the“Resources” section of our website at www.credit.org or for those without internetaccess please call 1-800-947-3752 for printed copies of our educational materials.

The quest to become �scally �t can be compared to that of a world-class athlete prepar-ing for competition. Dedication and discipline will be required to reach your goal. Takeone day at a time. Focus on the bigger picture and don’t quit.

Todd Emerson, President and Chief Executive O�cer

Nonprofit Consumer Credit Management, Inc.

Springboardwww.credit.org

®

The Dollar Stretcher Page 2

From the Editor’s Desk:Falling Gas Pricesby Gary Foreman, editor

Iguess everyone has noticed how muchgas prices have fallen. Seems onlyyesterday that the media was scream-

ing about $4 a gallon gas. Now that gas isback in the $2 a gallon range you don'thear much about it. And, that's a shame.Because lower gas prices create anopportunity for consumers.

When prices were high, we all madeadjustments to our lifestyle to handle theextra money that was going to the oil com-panies. We drove fewer miles and paidattention to auto maintenance. We cutback on other expenses. We did whateverwe needed to do to solve the problem.

But, now the problem is gone. We can goback to our old ways of doing things or we

can take the money that's not going intoour gas tank and put it to better use.

If you go back to your old ways there's agood chance that you'll waste the money.On the other hand, you could continuewith the changes that you made when gasprices were higher. If you're the averagedriver you'll be saving about $880 peryear. What to do with that extra $70 amonth? Here are some options.

You could apply it to your credit card debt.Not only would you reduce your balanceby $70, but you'd also reduce the amountof interest that you owed for this month.

Or you could add it to your mortgage pay-ment. More of every future mortgage pay-ment will go to reducing principal so you'llhave more equity. If things get really toughand house prices continue to slide you'llbe in better shape.

You could invest it in your future. Takesome classes that will make you morevaluable in the job market. If unemploy-ment increases you'll be happy to havemore skills to offer potential employers.

How about accumulating an emergencyfund? We all know that we're going tohave 'unexpected' expenses. We justdon't know when they'll occur. Without anemergency fund they end up on your cred-it card.

Or perhaps you have an even better wayto use the money that's been freed upwhen gas prices fell. If so, we'd love tohear your ideas. After all the pain thathigher gas prices caused, it only seemsfitting that we turn lower prices intosomething good!

13-20, 04-20

The Dollar StretcherP.O. Box 14160 • Bradenton, FL 34280-4160

Phone: (941) 761-7805 • Fax: (941) 761-8301

Publisher: Dollar Stretcher, Inc.

Editor-In-Chief: Gary Foreman

The Dollar Stretcher is published monthly

Annual subscriptions $36.00 (US$)

Group rates available on request

Reprints for non-profit classes also available

Please call for informationCopyright 2009 Dollar Stretcher, Inc. All Rights Reserved.

The Dollar Stretcher does not assumeresponsibility for advice given. All adviceshould be weighed against your ownabilities and circumstances and appliedaccordingly. It is up to the reader todetermine if advice is safe and suitable forhis own situation.

As we seek new and innovative ways to cutour energy costs, many folks are turning tocompact fluorescent lights (CF) as an alter-

native to traditional incandescent bulbs. And, to apoint, this is a good idea. A CF uses about 1/4 theelectricity required to power an equivalent tungstenfilament bulb and they last about five times longer.That’s great, but there are several problems associ-ated with CFs, namely that they contain mercury,are extremely fragile, perform poorly in cold loca-tions, and are nearly impossible to recycle. Asmarter choice is the LED.

LEDs (light emitting diodes) are really not “bulbs” atall. Rather they are semiconductors that glow whenelectricity passes through them. Best of all, LEDsconsume roughly 1/4 the electricity needed to fireup a CF. And unlike a CF, an LED doesn’t require awarm-up period before reaching full illumination.When you switch one on, it produces 100% of itsrated output from the get go. Additionally, LEDs areresistant to breakage, generate no heat, contain nomercury, and have a lifespan as high as 60,000hours. That’s about five to six times the lifespan of atypical CF! Newer LED styles are even availablewith standard (Edison) bases, which will fit conven-tional light sockets. Unfortunately, most retailerspresently stock very few LEDs. But, if youGoogle(tm) “LED lights”, you’ll generate dozens ofhits from sites selling them over the web.

All CF bulbs generate some heat, which impactsyour air conditioning costs. During the hot summermonths, you’ll spend additional money cooling downyour home that you’ve warmed up with the heat fromyour CF bulbs. Some might argue that the heat sig-nature of a CF is significantly lower than incandes-cent lights and they’d be correct. However, LEDs

cont. on pg. 4...

l iving better...for less Page 3

The light at the end of the tunnel isn’t fluorescent

CFs vs. LEDsby Rich Finzer

CFs vs. LEDs cont...

generate no heat whatsoever, and it’s pretty hard togenerate less heat than no heat.

Additionally, unlike most CFs, LED lights are avail-able in a rainbow of colors ranging from pure coolwhite to pink and even purple. Newer designs caneven mimic the yellow-white light generated by anincandescent bulb.

If you drop a CF bulb, most likely it will shatter onimpact, scattering shards of mercury coated glassall over the place. Cleaning up this mess can beproblematic. Safety experts warn that you shouldnot even attempt sweeping up the pieces, as thismay expose you to the mercury. Instead, they rec-ommend picking up the bits with sticky tape. Soundslike fun, doesn’t it? Conversely, if you drop an LED,most likely it won’t break, but even if it does, thefragments are benign.

Recycling LEDs is easier, too. They can be accept-ed at virtually every landfill. On the other hand, CFbulbs can only be recycled at a handful of locationsacross the entire country. The shipping costs to getthem there will easily exceed the cost of the CF.And, because LEDs last five to six times longer thanCFs, using them instead will reduce your landfillwaste by up to 80%.

If there is a downside to LEDs, it is that their light isdirectional. But, for any ceiling fixture or wheninstalled under cabinets to illuminate the counterbelow, they can’t be beat. Finally, there is some evi-dence that the ultraviolet free light of an LED does-n’t attract night flying insects making them a greatchoice for the post light in your front yard.

LEDs cost more initially than CFs, but they lastlonger and can be installed where CF bulbs are


cont. on pg. 5...

either inappropriate or will be inconvenient toreplace (like in a recessed fixture in a room with avaulted ceiling). With a lifespan of 60,000 hours, anLED may never wear out during your lifetime.Remember that 60,000 hours equates to leaving theLED on continuously for nearly 7 years. Nobody isgoing to do that in his/her home. But that’s not whyan LED outshines the competition.

Face it. Because of escalating fuel costs and pend-ing environmental regulations, the cost of electricitywill continue to rise for at least the foreseeablefuture. LEDs use roughly 1/4 the power needed tolight up a CF. That’s where the real savings lie.Once LED production ramps up, the economies ofscale will drive their prices down much as it did withCFs. As an example, I purchased my first CF bulbsin 1991 at a cost of $14 each. These days that sameCF bulb sells for just $3 to $4.

The LED is the wave of the future. They’re environ-mentally benign, stingy in power consumption,durable and safe, meaning that the light at the endof the tunnel is not fluorescent.

CFs vs. LEDs cont...


Could their family go an entire month without spending money?

My Story: No Spend Monthcontributed by SMT

In our household of two adults andtwo teenagers, we are gettingready for February or, as it is being

called in our home, “No Spend Month.”In other words, other than paying ourutility bills, we are not going to spendany cash or add anything to our creditcards during the month. We havedone this before and the lessonslearned were immense. We choseFebruary as (for us) it is relativelyquiet time socially, the January bills(and sales) have come and gone, andit is a time of the year where we needthe excitement of a challenge. Believeme, it can be challenging. This meansno purchased lunches at school andwork, no suppers out, no impulsivepurchases, and basically living onwhat we currently have.

I have to admit that we do have a cou-ple of exceptions. We learned previ-ously that two tanks of gas (we havetwo cars) is not enough to get us toand from work and to all the kids’activities, and that some people in ourhouse love fresh milk. However, weare fortunate in that our gas stationgives cash value coupons to use intheir store, so we do exchange thesefor milk. Another important exceptionthat we have built in (but did not haveto use) was, of course, an emergencysituation (car accident, illness ordeath, etc.) where we would obviouslygive up the plan to take care of theemergency.

Because it is a “No Spend Month,” wefound that we tend to be creative inusing what we currently have, but gen-erally take for granted. For example, wemake meals from scratch and do usethe stuff at the bottom of the freezer orback of the cupboards that often getoverlooked. The kids make do with whatthey already have and are more likely touse the library, their bartering skills, andrediscover previously enjoyed activities(snow shoeing, board games, etc.).They can use gift cards or “previouslypaid for” coupons that, too, often getoverlooked. Also, in preparing for amonth like this, we tend to look inadvance at things we might need, butwould normally just go out to purchase ifwe ran out, such as light bulbs, fuses,cleansers, computer paper, etc. We planahead for this by stocking up on staples,but in our previous experience, we didnot spend more at the end of January orin early March stocking up than we usu-ally would. In fact, our financial expendi-tures dropped drastically overall. Anadditional challenge that we have doneis to try to add to our income by sellingunneeded items, taking our recyclablesin, and doing additional work projects.

What have we learned from this? Wehave learned more creative recipes andmore careful meal, activity and resourceplanning. We learned the differencebetween frivolous expenditures andnecessities, and now we tend to consid-er our purchases in this context. During


cont. on pg. 7...

My Story cont... Enjoy warm and satisfying meals

Souper-Saver Winter Soupsby Linda Shapero

this month, we do not accumulate acredit card bill (except for gas), havereduced packaging and waste produc-tion, and tend to eat more nutritiousfoods. We also have increased familycommunication and problem solving aswe attempt to manage this challenge.Most importantly, we learn gratitude forwhat we have. (As a nurse, I know peo-ple living in poverty often live this exis-tence every month.)

I am looking forward to this next month.The last time we did this was threeyears ago. Our children were muchyounger then (one now a teenager).Because they know it is hard, my chil-dren have already been grumblingabout the upcoming month, but the les-sons learned in resource and financialplanning and usage, ecology aware-ness, and gratitude are tremendous. Tryit out!

My Story is a regular feature of The DollarStretcher. If you have information that canhelp others save time or money, please sendit to: My Story c/o The Dollar Stretcher, POBox 14160, Bradenton FL 34280.


There’s a serious chill in the air,which means it’s time to startthinking about cold weather meals

that you and your family can look for-ward to at the end of a cold blustery day.

One idea that comes to mind is deli-cious, hearty soup. It’s warming and sat-isfying; it’s the perfect one-dish comfortmeal. The possibilities are endless withall kinds of vegetables, beans, pastasand meats from which to choose. Andit’s fun to let your imagination run wildand use your creativity in the kitchen.

Here are a few tips on how your soupentrée can save you money while alsousing what’s already in your refrigeratorand pantry.

First, look in your vegetable bin. Youprobably have the usual assortment offresh vegetables, such as celery, car-rots, tomatoes, mushrooms, etc. Youmay even have some that are no longerin pristine condition. As a soup ingredi-ent, that’s not an issue. If your celery islimp or carrots starting to look dry, just

cont. on pg. 8...

Winter Soups cont...

wash, peel, chop and throw them intothe pot. No one will know the differencewhen the soup is done. They will becooked and not expected to be crisp.

Next, what do you have in the way ofbroth? Is there leftover chicken brothfrom another recipe sitting on a refriger-ator shelf or in the freezer? Or do youhave chicken, beef, or vegetable bouilloncubes in your pantryf? Good. Make useof those in your soup. Why buy the cansof broth when just two large ones willcost approximately $5? Another goodchoice for broth is the water in which youcook vegetables. You can even freeze itand leftover vegetables and pull it outwhen it’s time to make soup. And waterused to cook potatoes should never bethrown away; it has the added benefit ofbeing a thickener for your soup.

As for beans, we all know they are excel-lent sources of protein and fiber, and youcan use either canned or dried. There isa huge variety from kidney to butter togarbanzo and more. Just remember, ifusing dried, which are less expensive,you must allow sufficient time for them tosoak before they cook. Overnight is theeasiest way to get them started.

And don’t overlook pastas. Many of thesmaller variety, even elbow macaroni orfarfel, are perfect. You can add themuncooked while the soup is simmering,or if they are left over from another meal,throw them in closer to the end of thecooking time to heat through.


Meanwhile, check and see what leftovermeat or poultry is lurking in your refriger-ator. Leftover beef roast, chicken, pork orturkey can be chopped up and added forbody and flavor. You can even use fish orseafood if you’re planning on making achowder or bouillabaisse.

When it comes to herbs, experiment.You just may come up with somethingnew that becomes a family favorite.Either fresh or dried herbs will do. (Thinkbasil and oregano for tomato-basedsoups and dill and parsley for chicken-based, but there are really no rules.)Adjust amounts to suit your taste, butremember dried herbs are more potentthan fresh so taste as you season.

To have soup star as a main course, allyou need to do is add a salad, warm upa crusty loaf of bread or some biscuits,and maybe include a fruit cobbler fordessert. And if you cook the soup theday before, it will be even better as allthe flavors will have blended together.

Now that you’re inspired, see what youcan do to delight your family while clean-ing out your refrigerator and cabinets.And since you’re so smart now, you’lldouble the recipe and freeze some soyou can pull it out on a hectic day whenyou have no time to think about dinner.

Best of all, your soup won’t break thebank. So put your imagination to work,then sit back and wait for your ravereviews.

Consider this scenario: your familyis cuddled around the Christmastree. Your Aunt Molly, who visits

every year, picks up a present from you.The paper and bow are tattered, andone end looks like it has been hastilymended with about two rolls of tape.She gets it open, and gasps fill theroom. It is the scarf with the anorexicpenguins she knitted for you last year!

If you haven’t heard of re-gifting, you areeither a saint or you live in the NorthPole and get your presents hand deliv-ered by the jolly old elf himself. Re-gift-ing is the process of giving one of yourunwanted gifts to someone else. Do itwrong, and you could be humiliated forlife. When you get it right, however, re-gifting can benefit you and the newrecipient.

Why re-gift at all? Here are some goodreasons to ponder:

~ You can’t use it. Remember thatChristmas where you received anelectric shaver? And you were onlyeight? Or that time someone gaveyou a bottle of expensive wine, butyou are a teetotaler?

~ You dislike it. Okay, there may not beanything wrong with i t , but you simply don’t care for i t . Garishsweaters, strange decorative itemsor funny ha ts a l l fa l l i n to th iscategory.

~ Someone else on your list wouldlove it. Say you received a very nicefishing pole, but the last time youwent f ishing was in 1978. Yoursports-enthusiast uncle would love it.

~ You just can’t face the return lines atthe store. This could be construed aslaziness, but I like to think of it asconstructive thinking. Time equalsmoney, after all.

~ You get to cross another gift off nextyear’s list. One less present to worryabout. Hooray! Your wallet will cheer.

~ You are being eco-friendly. Reuseand recycle applies here.

~ It saves you money. We could all usea l i t t le more of the green stuff, especially during the holidays.

~ Re-gifting saves time. You won’thave to think of the perfect gift, shopfor it, pay for it or wrap it.

Now that we’ve thoroughly justified thepractice of responsible re-gifting, thereare some do’s and don’t we shouldaddress:

cont. on pg. 10...


Maybe you don't want to exchange it

The Rules of Re-giftingby Shaunna Privratsky

~ Know who you plan on saving the giftfor. Now is the time to put the giftaway f o r a f u t u re b i r t hday o rChristmas in a way that will preserveits new appearance.

~ I t e m m u s t b e i n n e w o r m i n tcondition. Anything that is obviouslyworn or damaged is out o f thequestion.

~ This one is a biggie. The originalgiver will not miss the item. Familyheirlooms and anything handmade(like the knitted scarf) or extremelyunique are no-nos.

~ W h e n e v e r y o u r e c e i v e g i f t sthroughout the year look for regiftingopportunities. Whenever you receivesomething that's not quite your tasteor style, think of regifting.

~ The new recipient should live a gooddistance away. Anything you have toship to another state should be safe.

~ Consider re-gifting to someone onthe other side of the family tree. Forexample, don’t give a re-gift to yourbrother’s wife, since you frequentlyget together. Instead, find someoneon your spouse’s side of the familyso that the original giver won’t be aslikely to run across the gift.

~ The gift should be something thenew recipient wil l real ly enjoy.


Re-gifting cont...

Wouldn’t it be tragic if they decidedto re-gift the item? It makes you thinkof the six-year-old fruitcake thatkeeps getting bequeathed to variousunfortunate friends and family.

~ Make sure you re-wrap the gift andput on new tags. There is nothingmore disconcerting than to find theold tag under your name. Thisactually happened to me once. Mymother-in-law gave me a purse that Ihad given her about two years previously! She had merely inked outher name and wrote mine in.

Keep the thought of re-gifting in theback of your mind. By following thesedo’s and don’ts, you could take thathumdrum gift and re-gift it to someonewho would love it. It all boils down toresponsible re-gifting.

Shaunna Privratsky is a financially savvyMom and fulltime caregiver for her disabledhusband. They live in North Dakota with theirtwo teens and three spoiled cats. Shaunna isalso a full-time author with many dollar-stretching e-books at The Discount Diva.Please visit and sign up for the free newslet-ter.

When there’s more month than money

I’m Out of Moneyby Gary Foreman

living better...for less Page 11

bought a house or car, it’s hard toreduce that expense. Often, the onlyoption available is to sell the home orcar. That’s a major decision for any of

us, and probably an uncomfortableone.

The third major expense in anybudget is food and groceries.

Obviously, a growing familywill spend more than a single

adult will spend. Everyfamily is different, but

about 20% of take-homepay is a reasonable bound-

ary.

Fortunately, if Frustratedspends too much on food, it’s

more easily fixed. The reason is simple.Instead of making one big paymenteach month (like your mortgage), youmake many smaller decisions everyday. So you have many opportunities tocut spending. Granted, they’re smallopportunities, but they do add up.

In our busy world, it should be no sur-prise that we often don’t have time tocook for ourselves. According to theU.S. Statistical Abstract, about 40% of

Like so many of us, Frustrated watcheshow he spends money. He even makessacrifices. Yet, at the end of the month,there still doesn’t seem to be enoughmoney.

How can he decide what to do aboutit? He won’t know until he determineswhat is causing the problem.And, the best way to do that isto get an idea of where hismoney is going. We’ll startby looking at two areasthat can unbalance anybudget: housing and autos.

Housing should not consumemore than 35% of yourtake-home pay, automobilesless than 20%. That includes not onlyyour mortgage and car payment, butalso other related expenses like utilitiesor gasoline, insurance, maintenance,taxes and registration.

It’s easy to spend more on these areas,especially with car dealers and realestate agents telling you that you canhandle it. But, if you spend more, you’llhave less available for other areas. And,to complicate matters, once you’ve

cont. on pg. 12...

Ialready buy items on sale. I don’t make extra trips in the car. I do two or moreerrands during the same trip. I don’t eat out, go to movies, rent movies, travel, etc.I can barely pay my current bills and have medical expenses as well. What help is

there for folks like me?Frustrated

Out of Money cont...

paid out of the 25%. Debt repaymentsthat take up more than 5% of your take-home pay will require cutting things likehousing and autos.

Frustrated might find that talking withthe lender would help. If you show themthat you’re spending cautiously, theymight be willing to reduce your pay-ments. Most would rather seeFrustrated on a more lenient paymentplan than declaring bankruptcy. In somecases, a credit counseling firm can help,especially when the debts are primarilydue to credit cards.

Finally, Frustrated might really be doingall he can to reduce spending. If that’sthe case, he’ll probably need to consid-er making a significant lifestyle change.That might mean moving back in withparents, sharing an apartment or mov-ing to a less expensive part of the coun-try. He might need to consider addition-al training or even a change in career toobtain higher paying work.

The good news is that Frustrated canfigure this out on his own. All he needsis his pay stub, checkbook, credit cardbills and a calculator. He doesn’t evenneed to do a full budget. Just compare afew simple expenses to his take-homepay. Hopefully, he’ll find the problemarea and a workable solution.

Gary Foreman is a former financial plannerwho currently edits The Dollar Stretcher.


our grocery budget goes for food pre-pared outside of our home. That adds toits cost. Frustrated will want to check outthings like freezer meals, planned left-overs and price books to reduce his gro-cery bill. Information is readily availableon the net.

Between housing, automobile and food,Frustrated should not spend more than75% of take-home pay. That leaves 25%for everything else including clothing,medical, entertainment, vacations, debtand savings.

These areas tend to get out of whackthrough either one major expense (like amedical emergency or big vacation) orthrough regular small, routine spending.A weekly trip to the mall doesn’t seemdangerous, especially when you onlycome back with one item. And, it was on“sale” besides. But $50 a weekbecomes $2,600 in a year. And, if thosepurchases go on a credit card, the inter-est makes it that much worse.

You don’t even need to go to the mall toget in trouble. You might be ruining yourbudget without leaving your home.Home shopping channels or onlineshopping has made it easy to spendmoney without going anywhere near aretail store.

Frustrated might have pointed to hisproblem. Past bills (think credit cards,student loans and medical) must also be

Finding a style that actually works for you

How Realistic Are You About Your Hair?by Victor Sabino

The reason why salon customersbecome dissatisfied with their styl-ist usually falls into two cate-

gories:

1. T h e c l i e n t h a s u n r e a l i s t i c expectations about what their hairwill and won’t do.

2. The styl ist has l imited abil i ty or training or doesn’t educate the clientabout their hair.

It never ceases to amaze me howclients will chose a style that does notreflect what their hair will actually do.The first step in making sure that expec-tations do not lead to disappointment isto take a close look in the mirror. Hereare some steps to take when doing so:

~ Look into your eyes. Don’t look at thes k i n t e x t u r e o r a n y s l i g h t disappointing facial features orshapes. Look deep into the eye andnote the co lor. That co lor is a spectrum of what balances your skintones. Maybe you’ll see golds, reds,yellows, or blues. Whatever thespectrum, variations of those colorsneed to be in your ha i r e i thernaturally or applied. The choices ofthose colors will brighten your skinand facial features to work together.

~ Now pull your visual back a bit andnote the reality of your hair texture. Isit coarse, fine, thick, thin, curly, frizzy,straight or a combination? Does itwork with your personality? Is it over

stressed by your trying to make itwhat it isn’t or is it compatible withyour attitude and the way that youcarry yourself?

Being honest with the way that you lookis essential for avoiding frustration. Ifyour color or texture is not working foryou, then you have probably chosensomeone else’s hairstyle that does notfit your personality or lifestyle.

There are many stylists to chose fromthat can either help you to see the reali-ty of your hair and how it enhances yourlifestyle, or how it has created a monsterthat has to be controlled everyday oryou won’t walk outside your door.

A stylist’s ability is either forced or natu-ral. A forced ability in a stylist is some-one who has not learned the structure orbasics with hair. Therefore, they may nothave the confidence to guide you. This


cont. on pg. 14...

Hair cont...

means that they may not have a fullcomprehension of one or all of the fol-lowing: balance, growth patterns, tex-ture, density and color. Please note thatI did not mention facial shape. That is anantiquated approach of determining theshape of a style. I always try to bringattention to the eyes because they arethe windows of one’s true beauty.Missing any of these important compo-nents can take a hairstyle from expecta-tion to disappointment.

Maybe you found a stylist that you heardis great. You decide to set up a consul-tation. This is the time for the stylist toshine. Put them to the test by askingthem to explain how they see all fiveaspects of your hair. This is to say thatyou have a realistic summation of yourattributes and challenges. If any ofthose components do not calculate intoreality, then most likely neither will thehairstyle.

Now that you see the reality of your hair,you can choose the best style and styl-ist. Whether your new look requires 10or 15 minutes in the morning or is ablow’n go, make sure that the balance,growth pattern, texture or density andcolor will all work together to make yourstyle complete. And remember, ultimate-ly your outer beauty is a reflection ofwho you are inside.

For more information about your hair, writeto [email protected] and visit ourwebsite at www.sabinohair.com.

Crossover cooking, born of neces-sity, continued in practicality.Making this practice a part of

your life will stretch your money, meals,and minutes. When I was a kid, moneywas tight and my mother had no choicebut to find inventive ways to stretch adollar and a meal. Like most people, wehad mashed potatoes for dinner at leastonce a week, which inevitably producedleftovers. In many homes, those left-overs would land in the dog bowl. In ourhouse, the potatoes were destined forsomething better, namely Saturdaymorning breakfast! No kidding. While wewatched cartoons, Mom would get outthose potatoes, put a little bacon greasein a pan, rip up some white bread, chopsome onion and fry it all up until goldenbrown. Do not look at this negatively.When mom put those fried potatoes andan egg on a plate, smiles grew.

When I started cooking, the time cameto make a fried potato breakfast, not outof necessity, but out of the happy mem-ories it triggered. As an adult, it stillmade smiles grow. Those potatoes thatlay before me were part of a great meala few nights before and had alreadyserved the purpose for which they werepurchased. The bread was on its way tobeing dry enough to be bird food, but itwas perfect for this use, and the bacongrease had been retained from Sundaybreakfast a few weeks ago. What doesall this mean? It meant we had thatfancy Saturday breakfast for the cost of


What we learned in hard times

Crossover Cookingby Scott A Caughel

cont. on pg 15...


Who would guess this “baked ziti” wasnot the unique meal it appears to be? Aspromised, you stretch your money. Onepound of pasta costs about $1.29, 16ounces of ricotta is about $2.69, and 16ounces mozzarella costs about $4.78. Inthis meal, the hamburger, tomato sauce,stewed tomato, assorted spices andonion don’t cost anything as the saucecrossed over from a previous meal. Thisdish makes four servings, equaling$2.19 per serving, plus four free bonusleftover servings. You stretch yourmeals by creating two dinners out of onegreat sauce. Last, you stretch your min-utes. The bulk of time in any tomato-sauce-based meal is spent on thesauce. The time spent making thespaghetti sauce would normally havebeen repeated to make the ziti sauce.For our “crossover” ziti, the prep time isliterally minutes.

Here is another idea for your menu. Thefirst meal includes hamburgers, mashedpotatoes, and a vegetable. For thecrossover meal, in a casserole dish, mixbroken up hamburgers, vegetables, anda can of cream of mushroom soup.Cover this mixture with extra potatoesand top with frozen Tater Tots. Finally,bake at 350 degrees for 45 minutes.

Remember, it is not simply warming upextra food after the fact. It is planningthe crossover uses of the foods you likewhen preparing your weekly menu andshopping accordingly.

Cooking cont...

an egg and our share of a mediumonion, or about eight cents a plate. Istarted to think, “How can I plan a mealthat will produce leftovers, which willcrossover as a substantial part of anoth-er?” It started simple. Ham for dinnerproduced sandwiches for lunch andchopped up ham for omelets. This trainof thought resulted in two categories forexcess food: leftovers and crossovers.Why plan just a single meal when put-ting together your weekly menu andshopping list?

Everyone with a mother understandsthe use of leftovers so let’s focus oncrossover thinking. No matter how I try,a pan of spaghetti sauce will never feedless than two large families. Once pro-duced, it is first used for the purpose itwas created, “spaghetti night.”Afterward, the extra sauce is dividedinto the two categories; a couple por-tions are put into containers for lunchesor “leftovers,” and the rest is saved to beused in a “crossover” meal. Later, hav-ing planned this crossover meal into mymenu and shopping, I pull out the ingre-dients including the main ingredient, theextra sauce. I first cook up a pound ofziti noodles, rinse, and put half in acasserole dish. Then I pour half of theextra sauce over the noodles. Next I mixthe ricotta and mozzarella cheeses, andspread half over the noodles and sauce.After repeating this process one moretime, I put it in the oven at 375 degreesfor about 45 minutes.


Ilive in a college town and see manyuniversity students splitting rent onapartments and houses. Five or six

students will get together and go in ona one- or two-year lease. This getsthem out of the dorm without breakingthe bank.

My husband and I, tired of paying hun-dreds of dollars every month on hous-ing that lacked even a backyard for ourdaughter to play in, decided that if itwas good enough for grad students, itwas good enough for us. We foundanother couple and went house hunt-ing together. The result? A large housewith a big backyard and a two-cargarage in a good neighborhood, forless than the price of a two-bedroomapartment lacking these amenities.Now we live in a place we like and havemoney left over to stick in a savingsaccount labeled “Down-PaymentFund.”

How can this work for you? Havingdone it for a few years now, with morethan one couple, I have these sugges-tions:

~ Choose the right housemates.These are the people who you willhave to trust to lock the door whenthey leave, not steal your stuff and tocome up with rent money eachmonth. After f inding trustworthy people, make sure you find peopleyou can live with. If they like horror

When housing is too expensive

Sharing a Houseby Jessica Snell

movies and the faintest noise of achainsaw makes you sweat, findsomeone else.

~ Choose the right house. We wereblessed to find a house that splitseasily into two domiciles, with thekitchen in the middle. If all the bedrooms are in one wing, privacy willbe harder to come by. Try also to finda house that has a den and a livingroom, so that both families have theirown space to spread out and relax.

~ Let your new landlord know whatyou are doing. If your landlord is notokay with two families in one house,don’t even bother looking at thelease papers.

~ Be clear about the rules. One couple we lived with didn’t mindovernight guests. The other coupledid. Was this okay? Sure, becausethey let us know their preferencesbefore they moved in. Make sure youtalk through all the different thingsyour house will be used for. Are youplanning on having lots of parties?Who will do the yardwork? How willyou split the utilities?

~ Have one person in charge of thefinances. It goes without saying thatif you’re that person, you should letyour housemates know about anychanges in utility or rent costs in atimely manner, and always have the

cont. on pg. 17...


bills themselves available if yourhousemates want to look them over.

~ Remember that you’re housemates,not family. Friendliness is importantto ease day-to-day contact, butprivacy is even more important. Youneed to be ab le to ignore your housemates and live your life theway you would if they weren’t there.Expect them to do the same. It’s onehouse, but it’s two households.

~ And finally, think positively aboutsharing a house. At times I’ve beentempted to be depressed about having to share a house with anothercouple. But then I look out mywindow at my lawn and vegetablegarden, and remember that dinky little one-bedroom apartment with itsprime view of the dumpster, andrealize what a smart idea house-sharing was and what a lucky personI am. This isn’t a housing situation.It’s a housing solution.

Jessica Snell a college-educated stay-at-home mom, creatively making ends meet inhigh-cost Southern California. She blogs atchurchyear.blogspot.com.

cont. on pg. 18...

Sharing cont... Slash movie ticket prices

Cheap Movie Thrillsby Joanne Coley

We all love the big screen.There’s nothing like a goodscare, a good laugh, a tear

jerker or a chilling mystery. What wedon’t love are the big ticket prices.

Although a night at the movies remainsone of the most affordable forms ofentertainment, there are ways to reducethe ticket prices. The NationalAssociation of Theater Owners reportsin their recent survey that the “averageticket price for movies increased 48.6%over the past 10 years.” But there maybe nine overlooked discounts to slashmovie ticket prices and stretch yourentertainment dollars.

Time Related: Most theaters have dailymatinees the first few hours after open-ing when tickets are discounted.

Age Related: Students and seniors pre-senting ID can get discounted rates onmost show times.

Movie Club Cards: Major movie chainsoffer free movie club cards. Membersaccumulate reward points toward dis-

counted and free movie tickets,as well as concession standsnacks, each time thecard is presented.

EntertainmentCards: Moviegoers can pur-chase gift cards indollar amountsbetween $10 to $100for movie tickets andconcession stand snacks.Consider purchasing cards foryourself when cash is tight andyou want to enjoy a flick.

Ticket Packages: Corporate bulk tick-ets can be purchased at major moviechains. Often bought by businesses andsold to employees at a discount, mostare also offered to consumers in bulk.

Concession Stands: Snacking whilewatching a flick can be expensive. Ifpossible, skip the concession stand.But, if you must snack, buy a packagedeal and share with your date or buy thekid-size snack pack if you are alone.The largest sizes usually come with ahuge popcorn, huge drink and candy.The kids’ pack consists of a child-sizepopcorn, drink and candy. Both pack-ages are cheaper, but the kids’ packmay help you exercise portion control.

Free Kids’ Summer Movies: Who saysnothing is free? When school’s out for

the summer, parents are driven crazytrying to find inexpensive activitiesfor their kids. Many of the major

movie chains offer severalweeks of previously-released kids’ flicks usu-

ally during a week-day morning.

Drive-Ins: Fewchildren of today

have experiencedthe nostalgia of thedrive-in movieswith a carload full of

movie watchers gazing at thegiant outdoor screen. While

many are gone, there seems to be aresurgence. Most drive-ins charge bythe carload. The kids get cozy in theback seat while wearing their pajamaswhere they usually fall asleep after thesecond feature. For a drive-in near you,check your local newspaper or www.dri-veintheater.com.

Videos: As a final option, wait for thevideo. Hit the video store or useNetflix.com mail-to-your-door. Next,make homemade popcorn, curl up onyour couch and watch the movie fromthe comfort of your home.

Joanne Coley is a writer, public relations andmarketing consultant serving thePhiladelphia and surrounding communities.She loves a good flick but doesn’t alwayslove the prices.

Movie cont...


Creative uses for a pocket shoe organizer

Organizing on the Cheapby Mary Moss


O rganizing using a pocket shoeorganizer is a great way tocreate storage space behind a

closet door or bedroom door in apantry, laundry room, child’s rooms,utility or mud room and even by thefront door in the foyer.

Pocket Shoe Organizer in thePantry or Kitchen

A pocket shoe organizer mountedinside the kitchen or pantry doormakes it easy to see what you haveand keeps small items from gettingstrewn all over the cabinets. Clearpocket shoe organizers are perfect forholding envelopes of seasoning andgravy mixes. Gelatin boxes, pastaand rice envelope mixes are alsoeasy to see and readily availablewhen they’re stored in a shoe organ-izer with clear pockets.

Organizing other kitchen items likeplastic bags, pot holders, extra chipclips, utensils and foil and plasticwrap boxes is easy when they’restored in a pocket shoe organizer.This is a great storage option if youhave limited cabinet space or want to“create” a pantry, and you don’t evenneed to redecorate or add on!

Pocket Shoe Organizer in theLaundry Room/Utility Room

A pocket shoe organizer is a low-costway of organizing all of your laundry

supplies. Mount a clear pocket shoeorganizer in the laundry room. Dryersheets can be stored in one pocketand stain sticks in another. You canalso store bleach pens, clothespins,and even lingerie bags for handwashables. A pair of the new dryerballs also fit perfectly into one of thepockets.

If you have a combined laundry/utilityroom, you may want to hang twopocket shoe organizers. Have one foryour laundry items and one for house-hold cleaning supplies. A pocket shoeorganizer is ideal for organizing andstoring cleaning rags, dust cloths, fur-niture polish, sponges, rubber glovesand scrub brushes. You can evenstore bathroom cleaners and airfreshener refills in the pockets of ashoe organizer. Using a pocket shoeorganizer to store your laundry andhousehold cleaning supplies is a cost-effective, space-saving way to keepyour laundry room/utility room organ-ized.

Pocket Shoe Organizer in theMudroom/Utility Room

In your mudroom/utility room, hang ashoe organizer on the back of thedoor or next to the door for conven-ience. Stash your garden clogs oryard work shoes and work gloves inthe shoe organizer when you come infrom yard work. While you’re at it, you

cont. on pg. 20...

Organizing cont...

can keep your dog leash in one of thepockets, and keep dog toys out of theway and handy by storing them in theshoe organizer as well.

Organizing and planning those trips tothe pool will be less chaotic whenswim goggles and water shoes arestored neatly in the shoe organizer.When the cooler weather sets in,replace the summer outdoor wearwith mittens, gloves, and stockingcaps. No matter the season, a pocketshoe organizer is a must have for thefamily on the go!

Pocket Shoe Organizer in a Child’sRoom

A pocket shoe organizer mounted onthe back of the bedroom door or theinside of a closet door can be a greatorganization tool for a child’s room.Children can store small toys in thepocket shoe organizer. Hand-heldelectronic games and other electronicdevices fit perfectly in the pockets,too. Organizing and storing crayons,markers and other art supplies is has-sle-free when they’re stored in apocket shoe organizer.

Older children can store school sup-plies in them. Adults can establish acompact, organized home office bystoring items such as rulers, pens andpencils, paper clips, staplers andhole-punchers in the pockets.

Pocket Shoe Organizer as“Organization Central”

To keep everything that everyone willneed to start their day convenientlylocated and organized, mount a deco-rative, heavy-duty pocket shoe organ-izer on the wall in the foyer or on theinside door of the coat closet. Theshoe organizer can hold bills to bemailed, stamps and return addresslabels, extra sets of keys, a checkbook, coupon holder, cell phones andanything else your family will need tograb on their way out the door.

Permission slips for school field tripsor other papers to be signed andreturned to school won’t be misplacedif they are slipped into one of thepockets of the shoe organizer.Organizing your family can be accom-plished easily when each family mem-ber is assigned a pocket (or row) soeveryone knows what they need thatday and where to find it.

Yes, a pocket shoe organizer can beused simply to store shoes, but think-ing outside the box and using yourimagination is much more fun.Besides, you’ve got way too manyshoes to fit into one of those shoeorganizers!



Ialways heard ways to save money,but I never listened to them. After all,the people telling me these ideas

were my parents, those older peoplewho do not know how things are intoday’s world, how people my age wantto live. Cue up an economic crisis andcosts that are rising as we speak, andnow I have a different perspective. I justopened up my electric bill, and decidedthat something has to change. I cannothand over my family’s hard-earnedmoney for a simple utility.

I called my mother to ask, very politely,what were those things that she andDad did to save money on their heat andelectricity? I am very sorry I scoffed atthe idea last year, since saving $300 fora small change in convenience seemslike a wondrous thing. As luck wouldhave it, my mother is a very understand-ing person, and she quickly reeled offideas that have been put into practiceand work.

Don’t just turn off your technology.Unplug. Those little lights that stay onwhile we are asleep, or simply not usingthe VCR, DVD player, cable box, coffeemaker, etc. do use electricity while theyare not in use. Go around your homeand find how many things you have thatare inactive but are sucking away at acurrent. You will be amazed.

Shut your computer and printer com-pletely down. I had always been under

the impression that this was not agood thing. I thought that it actuallytook more electricity to boot up yourPC, Mac, laptop, and printer than it didjust leaving it on all of the time. Nottrue. I called a computer manufacturerand asked. It does not take any moreto boot up your system than it does toturn on any other appliance. Keepingthese off when not in use can save alot, especially in today’s householdwhen there are often multiple comput-ers going. When you leave for a vaca-tion or are spending time away fromhome, you can also shut down yourInternet cable box and your wirelesshubs, connectors, etc. Why spendmoney to have a signal come into yourhome when no one is around to useit?

Only keep lights on in rooms that areoccupied. This sounds simple, buthow many of us think that we will bereturning to the upstairs, basement, oranother room only to get sidetrackedand never get there? Also, shut off allgarage lights and outside lights whenthey are not needed. If you like tokeep some light on outside overnight,invest in a few solar lights that use afree resource to keep any space orwalkway lit up.

Shut the door of any room or bedroomthat does not have to be used duringthe winter months. Place towels ordoor cozies around the bottom of the

Establish good conservation habits for now and the future

Heat and Electricity 101by Amy L. Thomas

cont. on pg. 22...


door, and shut the registers to thatroom. The heat will be redistributed toother areas of the house, and you willsave big time. Why heat somethingthat is not being used or is used verylittle?

Taking a bath is a definite luxury forsome, but the amount of water usedand the energy spent heating it makesit a pricey indulgence. Limit baths toan occasional treat. Shower smart byusing the coolest water temperaturenecessary, and only turning the wateron as needed for rinsing. Do not let itrun continuously as you soap, sham-poo or shave. While kids love to takelong showers, you may need to limittheir time by using a kitchen timer toremind them to only use the length oftime that is necessary.

Kids can use lots of energy and utili-ties if they are not kept in check. Yousure do not want to sound like a drillsergeant, but as my mother delicatelyput it, you cannot afford to raise themto be wasteful and unaware of the costof living. I once came home to findthree people in my house with almostevery light on, two televisions runningbut not being watched by anyone,three air conditioners blasting inrooms that were not occupied, and ashower being taken that lasted forover fifteen minutes. No more. I havebecome the utility manager in myhouse, and have sat down and

Heat cont...

explained that while I want to keep theluxuries we have, if things do notimprove, we will have to give up somecreature comforts. This did the trick.No one wanted to give up the televi-sions, computers, air conditioners,etc., so they all decided to be smarterabout their use of these things. Itworked. I also told them they wouldappreciate my “guidance” when theywere on their own and had to pay theirown bills.

Clothes should only be washed in coldwater and rinsed in cold water. Withtoday’s laundry detergents, there is noneed to use warm or hot water.

Your thermostat should stay at a con-stant temperature. Pick the lowesttemperature that works for your familywhen everyone is at home, and leaveit on that. If your house will be emptyfor a long weekend or a vacation, youcan drop the temperature for that timeperiod, but keep it consistent on aday-to-day basis, rather than droppingit during the day when no one is homeand then raising it at night.

Saving money and saving energy isimportant for any family. Taking a fewtips from your elders and those whoare frugal can help you and those inyour household establish good con-servation habits for now and thefuture.


Turn a trip to the grocery store into an educational outing

Molding the Savvy Young Shopperby Kathleen D. Frassrand

An everyday trip to the grocerystore can become an education-al outing. Getting children

involved in the process from start to fin-ish will teach not only the value ofmoney, but also improve their organiza-tional skills and problem solving abili-ties. Here are seven great ideas for thefamily grocery trip:

1. Clipping coupons - When theSunday paper hits the driveway, armyour children with a pair of safetyscissors and turn them loose on thecoupon section. Young children cancut coupons and stack them up,while older children can sort byexpiration date and scan the salesflyers for great combo deals. Did wemention that mom and dad get anext ra few moments of qu ie t toactually read the paper?

2. Meal planning - Meal planningshould be a family affair. Childrenlearn valuable lessons on creatinghealthy meals and are much morelikely to eat what is being served

when they have helped plan themenu. Young children may only beable to pick from options you provide(Pork or ch icken? Broccol i orasparagus?). Older children shouldbe encouraged to rummage throughthe recipe box or flip through cookingmagazines to create tasty andaffordable menus.

3. Creating a shopping list - Once themeal plan is complete, a shoppinglist is needed. Children can act as“runners,” checking the fridge orpantry for called for staples. Theycan also help scan the recipes toidentify products you will need. Havechildren help visualize the grocerystore and where items are located,t hen g roup t he shopp ing l i s t accordingly. An organized shoppinglist speeds the trip along.

4. Careful shopping - Invariably, assoon as you walk through the slidingdoors of the grocery store, the children begin to beg for high-priced,character-themed, brand-name junk.This is the perfect time for a frankdiscussion on the benefits of store-brand products , coupons, and

cont. on pg. 24...


Grocery Shopper cont...

sticking to the grocery list. Teacht h e m t o s h o p c a r e f u l l y a n d thoughtfully. Create a running list ofhow much money is saved on eachitem. At the end of the trip, tally thenumbers, amaze your children, andrevel in your frugality.

5. Quality versus price - No lesson infrugal living is complete without adiscussion on quality. Children needto know that some items are worththe higher price tag. A low price cannever make up for inferior quality.

6. Cash is king - Children see checksand credit cards as magic money. Nomatter how many t imes parentsexplain that they pay off each chargeat the end of the month, children stillfail to completely grasp the concept.The remedy? Use cash. Standing inthe checkout line watching momcount ou t the b i l l s p rov ides a concrete correlation between fillingup the shopping cart and emptyingout the wallet. Try to use smallerdenominations. You may look a littlestrange paying for groceries withfive- and ten-dollar bills, but yourchi ldren wi l l be horr i f ied at theamount of money you just spent.

7. Packing, stacking, and puttingaway - A f t e r t he educa t i ona l stimulation of the family grocery trip,children need a little manual labor.Emptying the car, unpacking thegroceries, putting things away, andcleaning out the fridge are all greatjobs for chi ldren to do. Add theincent ive of payment and your chi ldren wil l happily toi l away.Instead of a flat weekly allowance,offer payments “by the job” toreinforce the idea of actually earningthe money you give them. By helpingout more around the house, childrenhave the ability to earn more money.Their earning potential is only limitedby their desire.

The family grocery trip is a great way forparents to show their children what life isreally about. It takes work, organization,and planning to keep good food on thetable. The cart full of groceries comes ata cost, and spending time with mom ispriceless.

My husband and I recently boughta new car after deciding that wedidn’t trust ourselves to buy a

reliable used car. We are both financial-ly savvy, and we took several steps tomake sure we got a great car at a greatprice. And the best part was that it wasrelatively easy and painless. Here’s howyou can have a similar experience:

1. Narrow down your choices by gettingrecommendations from friends,keeping an eye out for cars you likeon the road, and reading reviewsfrom sites like Consumer Reports(www.consumerreports.org) andEdmunds.com (www.edmunds.com).Test-drive your short list and thenleave the dealership. (Go just before

lunchtime so that you can do thetest-drive and then say you need toget lunch before you can think aboutbuying the car.)

2. Once you’ve decided what car youwan t t o buy, go t o a s i t e l i keEdmunds.com and figure out theinvoice price.

3. I f y o u a r e a m e m b e r o f a n organization that offers a car-buyingservice, give it a try. A car-buyingservice has pre-negotiated pricepoints with dealerships and sometimes they are stunningly good. AAAand Costco both have car-buyingservices. I used USAA’s service andfound that a dealership close bywould sell me the car for $100 overi n v o i c e . H o w e v e r , a n o t h e r dealership further away would sellme the car for $500 under invoice.

4. Negotiate via email. If you use a car-buying service, the service will putthe dealerships in touch with you. Ifyou ’ re not us ing a car-buy ingservice, go to the dealership’s website and find the email address of theInternet sales manager. Negotiatingvia email puts you in charge andsaves you time. One particular tiphere is to ask your preferred dealerto match a bet ter p r ice found elsewhere. In my case, the closerdealer agreed to the $500 underinvoice price.

Buying a new car can be easy and hassle-free

Finding a New Carby Cathy Tanaka


cont. on pg. 26...

5. Decide how you will finance the carbefore you go in to purchase it. Findout what the dealer’s incentives are.I bought a new Nissan Altima whenNissan was offering a $1,000 cashrebate with 3.99% financing, but theywere also offering a $1,250 cashrebate if you didn’t f inance withthem. I obtained financing elsewhereat 4.99%, and since I’ll be paying offmy loan early, it made sense for meto take the extra $250. If you won’tbe financing with the dealer, get pre-approved from another lender beforeyou head to the dealership. Comparerates at your var ious f inanc ia linstitutions, get pre-approved by thelender with the lowest rate, and thentake their paperwork in to the dealerwith you when you buy the car.USAA gave me an electronic checkto give to the dealer, which madethings very easy.

6. Make sure the dealership has the caron the lot. My husband and I had abad experience once where wecompleted the paperwork, and thenwere told by the dealer that theycould not f ind the car that we wanted, even though their computersystem said it was available. Theyoffered us a different car that cost$800 more. We refused, obviously(and will never do business with thatdealership). We learned to makesure that the salesman we areworking with has confirmed that they

are in physical possession of the carwe are buying and that he knowsexactly where it is.

7. If you are going to trade in a vehicle,don’t mention i t unti l you haveagreed on a purchase price for thenew vehicle. That way, the salesmancan’t try to get back the trade-invalue on the purchase price. Tofigure out the trade-in value of yourvehic le , v is i t Kel ly B lue Book(www.kbb.com) or Edmunds.com.Expect the dealer to offer you the lowend of the trade-in value, particularlyif your car is over five years old. Youcan negotiate the trade-in value, butbe prepared to walk away if you feelthe dealer is being unfair.

Be prepared to walk away if you’reunhappy with the deal. But if you followthese steps, you should be well on yourway to an easy and hassle-free new carpurchase.

New Car cont...



A Gift Full of Memories

Create a wonderful birthday gift by put-ting together photographs of your hus-band’s life. Some of the photos wouldbe of his early years. If you can getthose, mount them in chronologicalorder, either in a multiple photographpicture frame with a bow on the corner,or in a small journal type book. Also besure to include a photo from your wed-ding! You could also include clippings ofevents that he has participated in!TCG

Make a Memory Jar

Make him a memory jar. Fill a jar withpieces of paper on which you writememories you have of the two of you.The memories can be small ones andbig. The key is to be specific. He willthen pull one out a day and read it. Youcan do this to be opened once a day fora month, a year, or any timeframe youwant. Use nice paper and a nice con-tainer. This gift will let him know howmuch you love him. It only costs asmuch as the paper and will last all year.Londa in Peoria, IL

Throw a Card Shower

Contact all of your husband’s friendsand relatives and tell them you arethrowing him a “card shower.” Ask themall to make his birthday special by mail-ing a card to arrive on that day.D

Start Your Own Traditions

Make it just the two of you. You canmake his favorite dinner, play softmusic, and eat by candlelight. Justbecause his parents made a huge dealout of his birthday, do not go overboard.It is time the two of you start your owntraditions. Sharon

Make that day really special for less

Special Adult Birthday

We are a pretty frugal family of two. However, this winter we are looking at verylittle income and uncertain funding for my husband’s program. I already worktwo jobs to support us, and my husband is a graduate student in a Ph.D. pro-

gram. His birthday is coming up in February, and his family typically does birthdays asthe “big thing” more so than Christmas. This is our first year as husband and wife andI want to make his birthday extra special. Please help me with some frugal and unfor-gettable ideas. Thank you!Stephanie

When you haul out your cool-weather clothes every year,chances are that you’re greet-

ed by fashion disasters of days gone by.For nearly ten years, my personal mon-strosity was an enormous teal sweaterknitted up in a style that would make BillCosby weep with happiness. Over andover again, I’d unpack the sweater,never wear it throughout the cold sea-son, and repack it. I refused to say good-bye to it because the color was so per-fectly aquamarine.

An avid knitter, I finally hit on the ultimateway to recycle. I got up the nerve tounravel that blue whale of a sweater anddiscovered that after a good soak in gen-tle-wash detergent and a thorough dry-ing-out, my thriftiness had yieldedenough skeins of beautiful “new” yarn fora new sweater without me ever steppingfoot inside a pricey yarn store.

For crafters, creative thinking can yieldsupplies to furnish just about any kind ofproject without the expense of a trip tothe craft supply store. After all, forcrafters, the desire to create is oftenmore regular than the spare changegenerally required to finance projects. Alittle imagination can keep your handsbusy through long winter months.

Worn-out clothes with sentimental valueare prime candidates to be reworked intoquilts that may only need a few squareinches of usable fabric to create eachpiece. Baby clothes in particular are per-

fect for fashioning into baby quilts. If thebabies those clothes used to fit havegrown up into big kids with rooms full ofstuffed animals and dolls, scraps of oldclothes are the perfect way to create avariety of costumes to keep teddy bearsand dolls warm on those cold winternights, too. If you’re feeling adventurous,you can hand odds and ends of materialand double-knotted thread and needlesto your children and let them play fash-ion designer, too.

For amateur painters, unwanted paintedcanvases are a coat of paint away froma blank space on which to create. Youcan use a white base coat to cover upthe previous art or whatever backgroundcolor you choose. The only rule of thumbis to stick to the same kind of paint thatis already on the canvas. In the case ofthickly-applied paint that has too muchtexture to be covered, gently sandingdown with sandpaper can bring a bumpysurface to readiness.

While the prospect of hanging on to oldstuff to create new might be secondnature to any mother who has looked atan empty cardboard paper towel roll andseen a craft project perfect for her three-year-old, many of us crafty types forgetthat grownups can use these items, too.From the functionality of re-knitting anold sweater to the aesthetic charms of anew painting in your living room, craftingon a budget can enhance your imagina-tion and artistic life without breakingyour bank.

Creating new projects out of what you already have

Crafting Without Spending Moneyby Margaret Marquis


Finding a Radio Code Number

Hi Bob,My mother bought a 2004 HondaAccord brand new. Recently, she hadthe car brought from Florida up to NYCby an auto mover. The guy who took thecar from her down in Florida had anaccident and needed a jumpstart. Well,my mom’s car radio had an anti-theftdevice on the radio, which kicked inwhen the battery was removed.

She can not find the card that gives theserial number for the radio. You needthe card to enter the 5-digit code tounlock the theft device on the radio. Isthere a way to get the code without tear-ing up the dashboard and pulling theradio out to get the serial number? Tim

Tim,That information will not be found on theradio for obvious reasons. She might beable to get it from the Honda dealer. Itmay be easier to simply replace theradio. Have her check in the booklet thathas the owner’s manual. The dealerusually puts that card in there.Good Luck!Drive Safely!Bob, The Auto Answer Man

If you have a question for Bob, send it [email protected]. He’s able to answermany of them personally and we’ll includethe best questions in future issues of TheDollar Stretcher.

Ask Bob: The Auto Answer Man


Inexpensive Flavored Oatmeal

I like to have oatmeal for breakfast dur-ing the cold winter months, but the plaincanisters of quick oats don’t have anyflavor, and the packets of flavored oat-meal are so expensive. I also tend touse a lot of canned, juice-packed fruit inthe winter months. So now, whenever Iuse canned fruit, I save the juice insteadof pouring it down the drain. Then, whenI want oatmeal, I just prepare the inex-pensive bulk quick oats with the leftoverjuice, making low sugar, fruit-flavored,inexpensive oatmeal! Plus, there areoften little pieces of fruit left in the juice,so I get real fruit bits in my oatmeal too.Jamie K

Weekend Hotel Stays

I was visiting family in another statewhen something unexpected came upand I had to find a hotel for the week-end. There were conventions in town sonothing was available. On a lark, Iphoned a place that offers housing tobusiness people in an apartment build-ing. There were many apartments avail-able because the business peopleneeded them during the week. The priceper night was the same as the hotels’prices but the apartment offered beauti-ful furnishings, a washer and dryer, afully-equipped kitchen plus dishwashingdetergent, laundry detergent and a wel-come basket of little goodies. LRR

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Readers’ Tips

“Free” Groceries

Take the time to inventory your pantryand freezer and use the items in“planned meals.” We were able to comeup with over a month’s worth of meals.We saved several hundred dollars thismonth by just cleaning out the odds andends. The best part is that you use up allthe loose ends before they expire! Shane

Finders Keepers Education

When my children were younger, I usedto dread laundry day. Having boys it wasalways an adventure sorting laundry. Asmany times as I told them to empty theirpants pockets before putting their jeansin the hamper, they didn’t often comply. Iwas amazed at the assortment of junkthey stored in them and never seemed tomiss when I tossed it out!

I realized that among the toys, rocks andtissues, there was a substantial amountof loose change and dollar bills makingtheir way to my laundry room. In order toteach them a lesson, I put a piggy bankon my dryer and told them that any loosechange that came down went into thebank as my laundry fee. At first, I wasaveraging about $20 per month! As soonas they realized that the change wentinto the family till, they figured out that itwas better for them if they emptied theirpockets first!Carol R.


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Readers’ Tips cont...

Before You Rent

My husband and I wanted to move intoanother home. We rent, and of course,there is the first month’s rent and adeposit required. I looked at this homebefore they’d cleaned and painted it. Italked with the agent who also managesthe property and asked her if I couldpaint the walls for her and knock a littleoff of the deposit. I know how to spack-le and paint professionally so this was asmall job for me. She was ecstatic andasked me if I’d accept half off of the rentand she’d provide the paint. We had adeal. This is a wonderful way to helpyourself and your new landlord. LynAnne M.

Homemade Birthdays

Making my own birthday cake hassaved me money. Buying a pre-madebirthday cake can cost $30 or more!My daughter’s favorite birthday cakewas when I made a princess ballerinacake with a tube cake and placed aninexpensive Barbie in the center. Ithen iced a long flowing gown for herdress. It was perfect. I even made theicing myself and saved money there.

This year, I will make a pinata for mydaughter’s birthday. Buying one newcan cost $20 or more. I will definitelysave money by making it myself, andit will be fun, too.Shannon

What I Learned at Thrift Stores

One really great reason to shop at thethrift store is to learn which brands ofclothing (and other items) hold up wellover time. If/when I have to buy some-thing brand new, I feel far more confi-dent spending money if I know I’mbuying a brand that will still lookgreat, wear well, or be durableenough to pay for itself. On the fewoccasions when I’ve needed to payretail prices for any of these items, Istick to the brands I know are worththe expense.JD

Tonight’s Featured Dish Is...

I use a little psychology when I servefrugal meals. I give each dish acatchy, appetizing name. When Iadded leftover, cooked green peppersand garlic to leftover beef stew withsome soy sauce, I presented it as“pepper steak stew.” My dining com-panions complimented me for days. Ifthe meal has an expensive ingredientthat I bought on sale, I might empha-size that ingredient in the name of thedish. I also have fun in naming what Iserve, especially when it’s a dishmade of leftovers. “Back By PopularDemand Stew” gets a chuckle frommy companions, and the good humorseems to launch a pleasant time.LRR

Inexpensive Acne Care

After spending a lot of money on acneskin products for my teenagers’ acneproblems, I learned something thatworks well and for a lot less money.The same “antibacterial” hand soap Ibuy for $4 to $5 for a half gallon worksreally well as a face wash to preventoutbreaks. Use it twice a day and seethe difference. It’s as good if not betterthan all those fancy acne face washesand bar soaps. Donna

Beyond Eating Out

I realized that all the social events wewere invited to revolved around food.We’re trying to stay healthy, so now welet our friends know other activities we’denjoy when they say, “Let’s get togeth-er.” We’ve gone to the local museum(free admission), gone for walks aroundthe parks, watched local sports teamsplay and met for dollar night at the icecream parlor. Nothing we do is costly,and we have more fun than if we didnothing but eat.M.

Send your time- or money-saving tips toDollar Stretcher Tips, P.O. Box 14160,Bradenton, FL 34280-4160 or by emailto [email protected].


Readers’ Tips cont...

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Springboard Winter 2009 - Credit.org · Springboard recommends the following resolutions for those who are serious about becoming ˜scally ˜t in 2009: (1) Consider the di˜erence