Comments for Save Money And Get Out Of Debt - Living on a Dime

Comment on Credit Card Fees and Other Late Fees by kim

kim — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 22:54:33 +0000

I’m sorry about homeschooling not being easy:) Still better than school and homework though(my opinion). Hang in there- it gets better as you go. The first year is the roughest, especially with chronic fatigue, and them being use to going to school. The end is very worth it. My oldest is getting ready for high school and I have one in each middle,elementary, and preschool. Some days are really good and some are just hard. But, I know that my kids are getting everything they need.

Comment on Homemade Gourmet Ice Cream Cones by Curtis

Curtis — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 21:12:18 +0000

I take my family to an ice cream store and buy the carton. Then we get some cups and spoons which are readily available and enjoy. If we have any left over we take it home. Paying $4-$5 for a carton beats paying $2.00 to $3.50 for each individual. We do buy some cups of coffee, but we can get refills with them. No complaints yet.

Comment on Homemade Gourmet Ice Cream Cones by Jill

Jill — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:57:18 +0000

Thanks for the tip Maria. My granddaughter didn’t have any cookies crumbs for her milk shake so she tossed a couple of cookies in the blender and mixed them up first then added her ice cream etc. They were cookies that weren’t getting quickly eaten on their own so I was glad she found a way to use them.

Comment on Homemade Gourmet Ice Cream Cones by maria

maria — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:37:57 +0000

Hi,
I never thought to mix in cookie crumbs. Great idea for the weekend. When my kids want ice cream for a weekday snack I either get them a homemade fr
popsicle, or something I found out by chance one night when I intended to make banana chocolate milkshake. I always slice and freeze those bananas thatthat are overly ripe. I have many uses for them, milkshakes, bananabread and now overran. Put per serving about the equivalent of one frozen banana (sliced) in your mixer with cocoa powder (my kids like a strong chocolate flavour so I use 1 or 2 teaspoons)and if you wish add a sweetener sugar syrup our honey.also a teaspoon or so of smooth peanutbutter and pulse until it has nice creamy texture. My kids loved this, I tonight it was a little rich, and that a small serving was enough, but the texture was just like creamy quality ice. cream. Amazing. Chocolate ice cream almost for free, since Boone in our house would east a sweet brown banana like that, plain.:-)
Just a tip

Comment on How To Shine Shoes by JAMES R.

JAMES R. — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:27:49 +0000

I keep a steady supply of latex gloves in my shoebox, along with 3 cans of polish(black, brown & natural), 4 different brushes, 3 daubers(1 for each color), and 3 toothbrushes for the tiny nooks & crannies that are on some shoes…

Wing tips are the worse as far as getting a great shine, and not leaving clumps of polish behind.

U.S.Army taught me how to shine shoes. 8 – )

Comment on Credit Card Fees and Other Late Fees by Mary Jane Barton

Mary Jane Barton — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 20:26:01 +0000

Just wanted to make a comment about homeschooling and Tawra getting through her first year of it. I appreciate your comment that it is ok, but you don’t love it. I homeschooled my four children for a total of 18 years from beginning to end. It was a huge, but day by day job. For me, I felt called to do it, and felt like quitting many times, but didn’t. I would tell people that I didn’t love it, too, because it was real work. Whenever someone romanticized what it would be like to do homeschooling, I asked them if they remember the kind of change it was to their life when they brought home their first baby. Homeschooling was that kind of a change. I want to encourage Tawra to take it a day at a time, a year at a time. Now that they are all grown and gone, I can see that there were real benefits for all the hard work and sacrifice, but when people said that homeschooling was all fun and games, I thought they were either lying or hadn’t actually done it. I know. I have been in the trenches. Be encouraged. We homeschooled for what sounds like the same reasons Tawra and her family do. Do it as long as you feel led to. Like anything worthwhile doing, there is a cost and a discipline involved, but there is a good pay off as well.

Comment on Are You a Slave to Debt? by Jill

Jill — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:29:51 +0000

I cover in detail how I keep my utilities so low in http://www.livingonadime.com/store/penny-pinching-mama/ as a matter of fact I cover everything of how I can live on so little. I really hate pitching my books but when we have a sale most people find the info in them saves them many times over what the cost of the book was and then some. It is just takes up to much to space to write everything I do in a comment like this but here are a couple of the the things I do and mention in the book.
I of course take very short showers – about 5 mins. sometimes 7 if I shave my legs. I shower 2-3 times a week in the winter but more often in the summer if I get hot or sweaty. Dermatologists say we shouldn’t shower everyday that it is bad for our skin. I have never been able to figure this out – people wouldn’t dream of not wearing sun screen to protect their skin but bulk at the idea of not showering everyday to protect their skin. Not to mention they then have to buy extra creams and lotions because their skin is then too dry.

I would never dream of starting the water in the shower and letting it run before I get in.

I don’t run the water when I brush my teeth. Sometimes I will wash my hair in the sink. If I do I wet it, turn the water off, soap down and then turn the water back on to rinse.

If I don’t have the money I won’t water my yard. If it dies it dies but oddly enough my yard seems to survive anyway.

If I am sitting for awhile say in the evening watching tv I don’t turn on the a/c but have a fan blowing on me. I have been in so many homes where it would start getting warm and everyone runs to turn on the a/c where if they just turned on a couple of fans it would help. In the winter I wear layers and other things to help with the heat.

These are just the tip of the ice berg but I hope that helps get you started.

Comment on Garlic Salad by Jill

Jill — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 19:12:16 +0000

You can also can add a tablespoonful or so of milk to many mayo based salads. That way you help with the dryness without adding as much of the “offending” ingredient. Although now they are doing studies and finding many of the things they said were “offending” ingredients aren’t as bad if bad at all as they once lead us to believe. I say add all the mayo you want but just eat in moderation.

Comment on Credit Card Fees and Other Late Fees by Veronica

Veronica — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 18:05:12 +0000

One thing you did not mention Jill was using Credit Unions. They are usually not for profit and the money stays in your community. Fees are also much smaller. If you take a mortgage with a CU it won’t get sold off to mega money makers (sorry Investors) If a bill does inadvertently get overlooked, if you have a bank account and some poor people don’t you can of course pay by phone, if it hasn’t been cut off or on the Internet but as a last resort send your payment by overnight mail. It costs about $15.00 which is far less than the fees the credit card company will charge and the automatic rise in your interest rate and probably a lower credit limit. You may also find that an increased rise in interest rate on one card will be followed by the same increase on all of your cards even if you have never been late or missed a payment on those
I do disagree with the poster who said that children should be kept in the dark about family finances. yes if they are little but if old enough to do the math, they should be fully involved and under stand just how much money is available and do their bit to keep costs down and find creative ways to continue favorite hobbies. For example if you want to ride a horse many stable owners will be glad to exchange lessons for cleaning stalls or grooming and tacking up for a trainer. In our City we are fined if the sidewalk in front of the house is not kept clear of snow and you see young people going door to door with their shovels. Older kids can help tutor younger ones. The kids can help with household expenses and/or pay for other things they may need for school. If the children see the budget clearly laid out they will be far less afraid and more ready to co-operate. As readers of the web site have found out sitting home and feeling sorry for yourself is no help at all

Comment on Land’s End Backpacks by grizzly bear mom

grizzly bear mom — Tue, 18 Jun 2013 17:42:41 +0000

In 1985 I bought two $5 backpacks from a merchant in Korea. The gray one died about 7 years ago and was burried with honors in the backyard. Of course the camoflougue one survived his brother, and I use it daily as a 53 year old exectutive. In it I carry my wallet, book, phone and snack on my two long commute on the train and subway. (My mom objected. She said that I was a director and it was not appropriate to carry a camo backpack as a director when I had 3 briefcases in the closet) However, backpacks are essential when one has to grab bars to get on and off trains or hang from straps on the subway. Mine has a luggage tag with my name, phone and office address so it can be returned from where I vacation without thieves knowing where I live. The luggage tag can be updated if I hand it down to my little brother! It’s still my favorite backpack for travel. That’s 38 cents a year for backpacks that are still going strong!