I watched Oprah’s Debt Diet from when we were on vacation. I have to say I am so impressed! The families are really starting to get it and seem like they are really working hard.

I like the fact that they added it all up. 25 bras at $20 each! Wow! That’s a new bed! That’s how much we spent to furnish our entire house excluding our bed.

If you want to change your thinking about how you spend then just start adding things up like the eating out, excess clothes etc. Then see how many hours you have to work to pay for it. My husband would have to work a week to pay for 25 bras. If he knew that he would flip! Especially if they weren’t for me. LOL

I have to say that the credit card game was interesting especially since that is how we paid off our debt. We lowered our rates and paid 0% interest for most of the years we were paying it off. I am going to write a booklet on how to get your rates lowered and what to watch out for. It’s so easy as long as you just read the terms.

I think that it’s wonderful that the families are facing their problems head on and dealing with it!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Thanks for the article, Tawra and Jill.

I hope you had a WONDERFUL time vacationing. Family time is memory time, especially when it is grandparents! (My VERY favorite memories from my childhood!)

I wanted to share with you that it also pays to carry along a box (or boxes) with paper for wrapping if you like to buy glassware or delicate items. We did estate sale purchasing (and some garage sale shopping) for vintage items for our country store. Taking the time to wrap the delicate items and put them into boxes, well paid for the time (as we quickly learned when somethings didn’t make it home unbroken!). By going shopping together one could drive on to the next sale while the other wrapped those special items! It was great team work. And speaking of children going, our oldest daughter does Ebay selling and all of the 6 children are trained into what to look for for value and they each scout out possibilities in different areas while Mom looks also! The children also take some of their finds and have made very good money on them on Ebay–sometimes $50-$100 profit! The grandkids run from 4 to 16. The 4 year old is pretty much an expert into Pooh and Bob the Builder, though! If the sale has any of those products he isn’t much help with the other items! The family of 8 is able to stay completely wardrobed from garage sales (and a few thrift stores) solely–from church clothes to farm clothes!

Thanks for the articles you both write.

–Linda

www.LivingOnADime.com

I am looking for some good kids websites. We don’t really get around much on the net and I could use some recommendations.

My daughter went to barbie.com and was really enjoying it. Then she clicked on some “American Idol” songs and I about died! They were completely inappropriate for a 7 year old.

My daughter loved the sound of the songs and likes the sound of “older” songs not the Twinkle Star kid type songs.

Can anyone give me any suggestions of music clips for kids or any other good kid websites.

She was really disappointed when we wouldn’t let her listen to it and I told I would ask “all my friends” on the net.

She loves music and these were cute videos but I don’t really want my daughter going around singing “I’m not that innocent”.

Thanks for any suggestions!!

Tawra Jean

My lips were really dried out when we got back from Colorado. I really enjoyed using a sample of lip exfoliator that someone had given me. I was desperate and I thought I would try and make my own.

I took a small amount of chapstick, and dipped it in some sugar, rubbed (more like scrubbed) it on my lips and wiped off.

Wow! They were like new! All the dry skin was gone and my lips were really soft.

Just a quick tip to combat dry lips.

Tawra

We are going “home” to Colorado tomorrow. We will be gone until the 24th so I will be back then and tell about having a frugal road trip with 3 kids and Grandma.

Tawra (singing the National Lampoons Vacation theme song)
www.LivingOnADime.com

Cabbage is .15lb here this week for St. Patricks Day. Here are some recipes from Dining On A Dime to help make the most of this great deal!

***********************************************************************
Dining On A Dime: 1,000 Money Saving Recipes and Tips. (formerly Not
Just Beans) Dining On A Dime will help you shop smarter, by cooking
simpler meals and by making your own basic cleaning products and
beauty aids.
http://www.livingonadime.com/ordering.htm
***********************************************************************

Cole Slaw

½ cup mayonnaise or salad dressing ,
¼ cup sugar
3 carrots, shredded
1 small head cabbage, shredded

Mix mayonnaise or salad dressing in a bowl with the sugar. Mix cabbage and carrots
together. Add sauce to cabbage and carrots just before serving. The dressing can be
made in advance and stored in a separate container in the refrigerator. Serves 8.

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Check out our discount bin! Save over 55% on Not Just Beans today!
http://www.livingonadime.com/ordering.htm
——————————————————————

Egg Rolls

½ lb. beef, pork or chicken, cooked and diced small
2 cups cabbage, chopped
½ cup carrots, shredded
3 green onions or ¼ cup onion, chopped or 1 tsp. onion powder
½ tsp. ginger
½ tsp. salt
2 Tbsp. soy sauce
1 pkg. egg roll wrappers
vegetable oil
mustard, catsup or sweet and sour sauce

Add 1 Tbsp. oil in a frying pan. Heat pan very hot and add meat. Cook 1-2 minutes until
lightly browned. Add cabbage, carrots and onions and cook 2 minutes. Stir in ginger, salt
and soy sauce. Let cool 5 minutes. Follow the directions on the back of the egg roll
wrappers for wrapping. Use 2 Tbsp. filling for each egg roll. Deep-fry 2-4 egg rolls at a
time at 350 degrees, turning occasionally for 2-3 minutes. Drain on paper towels. Serve
warm with choice of sauces. Makes 20 egg rolls.
Egg roll wrappers can usually be found in the produce department.

Reading your blog page you advise getting cleaning supplies at a janitorial supply store. Great idea, but also at Sam’s club there is a product sold there called OdoBan. You can get a gallon for $8.96 (last time it got it) and it comes with a ‘free’ spray bottle of cleaner too. You dilute this product so it makes 64 gallons of cleaner. It kills 99.99% of germs and is made with eucalyptus and wild flowers..so it is safe to use in my daycare area. It kills strong smells from diapers too. I have not seen it in Walmart. I have used this many years on all surfaces. I have even added some to my wash and it works there too. Roxie

www.LivingOnADime.com

Storm Preparation
This tip is for readers living in “hurricane country.” Last year, after Hurricane Wilma came through, we dealt with grocery stores not having any food for up to three weeks after the storm. I decided to stock up early this year. Yes, hurricane season doesn’t get into full swing until August.

Each week, I check the sale flyers for all the grocery stores in the area. If I see they are having a sale on soup, peanut butter, granola bars, bottled water, etc., I stock up. If there’s a coupon, that’s even better. I’m not going overboard. I’m just making sure I have enough hurricane food to last at least a month. We use these items even when it’s not hurricane season, so I know they are not going to go to waste.

By stocking up slowly, I do not worry about running to the store when there is an approaching storm. And I also don’t have to worry about having to “come up with” extra money to cover all of this last minute because I have been including it in my current grocery budget.
Debra in Ft. Lauderdale

Debbie

www.LivingOnADime.com

I got the nicest thank you note today! I sent a book to all the couples on the debt diet that Oprah is doing and Sally Eggleston sent me a thank you note saying how much she liked it!! I am so glad she will find it useful. For some reason I was thinking she would be the one who would use the most too!

I really do hope all those couples get the help they need and can find freedom in their finances. There’s not a lot worse than having that burden hanging over your head.

Good luck! Sally!!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com

Yesterday it rained so it was slightly chilly. It was about time it rained after about half the prairie around here burned up! Ok, not quite half the prairie but it was pretty hairy in a small town close to Wichita. They had to evacuate many areas of town including the school!

Anyway back to my tip! It was chilly enough that I wanted to go put on a sweater but then I remembered that I was going to clean my oven with the self cleaning setting. So I thought I would kill two birds with one stone and get it done yesterday. I turned on the oven and started it cleaning. It warmed the house and me and I even got dinner defrosted partially while it was sitting on top! That’s the good news. The bad news was then I was to sick to cook the dinner! Oh well, it’s done for tonight! Yeah!!

Tawra
www.LivingOnADime.com