Another Wallet Buddy!

Ok so New American Dream has another wallet buddy like I one I had put in here before, but here's the newest one.

This one is considered the Thrifty Wallet Buddy, but it has the same ideals as the last one.
Here's to that spending fast people!!!

http://www.newdream.org/live/walletbuddy.pdf

Merry Christmas!

Merry Christmas to all my buddies out there in Greenie Land!
I hope you and your family have a safe and wonderful Christmas! Keeping in mind that Christmas is NOT about how many gifts you get or give, but that its a celebration of Jesus's birthday!
Happy Birthday Jesus!!! And to think Jesus doesn't even need presents because we are his presents!!!

Speaking of presents....this has been a hard year for us financially. We are really scraping by to keep our son in Private school because it means so much to us. However, Christmas is very tight this year and although we have been preparing Noah for the fact he's not going to be getting a lot for Christmas this year -- I still don't think his little 9 yr old brain is able to comprehend that thought.
I wish I could say I had taught my son at a young age that its not about presents and "getting stuff" but I didn't. Looking back I wish I had to prepare him for the possible lean years we might have.
Shopping this year was hard. I just couldn't bring myself to buy stuff with so much packaging and honestly I think like most moms I worry about the lead content in my kids toys. Never thought I would reach a point in my life where I worried about that! Sure he's 9 yrs old, but sometimes I do still find him chewing on toys while staring off into space. I guess its no different then chewing on a pencil! STILL!
I have decided that my son is completely commercialized and it makes me sad. When commercials come onto TV he's all about saying, "I want that!" "Can I get that??" And no matter how much I remind him to be thankful for what he has instead of wanting more more MORE--alas, it falls on deaf ears.

I hope that one day he'll appreciate the sacrifices his parents made for his education. For now, we realize that isn't the case because he is young. We are really hoping that he becomes less and less interested in getting "stuff" and more and more interested in helping people.

Blessings to you for 2008!
Who knows what this next year may bring, but I'm excited for what is to come!

"I've Come to Suck your ENERGY!"

Ok I know I've talked before about energy consumption, but I found a picture today on Treehugger that really shows in detail what appliances 'suck' your engery the most.

We have been really careful about switching off our electricity that is not in use or turning off power at the surger protector.

This visual gave me a much better idea though.
I tried to copy the picture, but I couldn't get it big enough. Click here to see the Energy Vampires!

Homemade Products

So James and I have been trying really hard to save our money a lot more then usual.
Yesterday James took it upon himself to make a homemade window washer fluid since he was out in his truck.
It wasn't hard and we had everything in the house already.
We used my Talking Dirty with the Queen of Clean book. I have found so many great tips from her book and of course she has a website. (link is above)

Today I cleaned my fake wood floors with tea. (fake wood floors meaning my laminate flooring)
Apparently cleaning with tea on wood is really common. I found it on DIY and various other sites.
It was easy to do, although you have to clean like Cinderella, but I like to think I burned some calories at the same time by scrubbing my floors like her. Cinderella was pretty thin you know.

Sure maybe I only saved about $5 in making homemade washer fluid and cleaning with Tea, but it saved me a trip to the store, saved me $5 and all the products were made from things that won't poison me or my family.
Consider doing it at your house too! You'd be amazed at how clean your house can be cleaning naturally.

**Please note that if you drive a vehicle that is leased, its probably best to stay away from homemade products. Keep in mind that in some cities homemade washer fluid might freeze since anti-freeze isn't included in homemade recipes.**

Another Penny Pinching Idea

So I found this idea on Treehugger which is always a great site to check out for green ideas and green stuff.

So what do you do with those cereal box liners? Obviously they can't be recycled, but you can always use them like you would wax paper.

Don't' cook with them or use them in a microwave, but maybe you need wax paper to smash down something sticky you are cooking with.
Either way, use it like you would wax paper. Just be sure to dump out those cereal crumbs.

For the actual article click here.

Count the Costs

For me, doing this whole "green lifestyle" thingy probably the hardest part is the cost. Its not cheap.
I guess you have to have a 'lotta green to go green--LOL!
Yeah, but I'm not really laughing.

Sure I might save a few bucks here and there on my electric bill ( still waiting for that to happen btw), but as a whole I'm shelling out more then I'm saving more.

Does it strike anyone as sad that cheaply made products that are harmful for the environment and for the people who probably made them, are cheaper then organic or eco-friendly items??
Its like a horrible irony really.

Take the other day for example. I purchased eco-happy shampoo from the natural food section at my Fred Meyer ( the only store w/ a large organic/natural section) and it cost me $7.99. For me that is A LOT when I spend about $2.50 on shampoo in a Huge bottle. Ok its pretty obvious from the price tag that I buy cheap shampoo. All you hair dressers Stay BACK!

If I was into my hair and got it done all the time at a professional salon and then spent a fortune on my haircare products, maybe the $7.99 wouldn't come as such a shock to me.

But it does and will continue....sigh....

Its not all so bad. I have found that buying things expensive I'm less inclined to use it up and go crazy with it. So that $7.99 shampoo (did I mention that was the cheapest bottle there??) will last me FOREVER.

That is backwards thinking though isn't' it? That if I spend more I'm less likely to use more? If it works it works.

Using natural shampoo has become important to me though. The more I read about what the products really are in my shampoo bottle, the less I even want to shampoo my hair.

JUST KIDDING! Not going to turn into one of those people who allow their hair to form into dreads and I start wearing patchouli.

But seriously if you want more information about what those funny sounding words are on your shampoo bottle and more info on beauty products click here.

The Tightwad Gazette

In my other blog I had written about Amy Dacyczyn who used to write a little newsletter called the Tightwad Gazette. She no longer runs that anymore and honestly I'm not sure what shes up to these days, but I have all her newsletters now that were complied into 3 books.

The books I originally got from the library, but I decided I liked the books enough to buy them--used of course!!

(BTW, one of my used books I bought was actually signed by Amy herself! Score!)

Anyway The Tightwad Gazette basically promotes thrift as a viable alternative lifestyle. Amy is one of those people who somehow managed to raise 6 kids on $250 a month in groceries, $50 yearly for clothing and various other things that make your head spin wondering how the heck does she do it!!??? (Mind you the last book was published in 1996 so I'm sure those price tags have changed quite a bit)

AND she hardly EVER threw anything away. She reused everything she bought.

Thrift is obviously a great way to be GREEN and save your wallet in the process!

Now I thought I was thrifty until I read all 3 of her books and then realized I hadn't even gotten close to being thrifty.

She's not one of those scary thrifty people that steal sugar packets from restaurants (she doesn't eat out hardly anyway) she's just your normal penny pinching lady.

I encourage you to check out her books from the library. Some of the ideas are dated (I don't know HOW she lived w/out the Internet!!!) and some ideas are not feasible for your area probably (she lived on a huge farm w/ a very large garden), but the basics she has in there are priceless.
I find myself picking up her books from time to time to find gift ideas or recipes. She has everything under the sun. Truly she has saved so much money over the years due to her thrifty lifestyle.

If you'd rather sit @ your computer and read about Frugal Living check out some of these blogs:

BeingFrugal, Money Rules Debt Stinks, Money Musings or for a more Newsworthy Money section check out The Red Tape Chronicles at CNN.

Book Exchange Site

I love to read! It is one of my favorite relaxing times and what I enjoy doing most. I spend a lot of time at the library getting books, putting books on hold; I love it to say the least. So I came across an article in my Green Living Tips Newsletter that had a link to a website called Book Mooch.
Here is how it works...

1. Type in books you want to give away
2. Receive Requests from people who want your books
3. Mail your books and receive points
4. Ask for books from others with your points

Simple enough. I haven't tried it yet considering I don't have any books I want to give away right now, but that doesn't mean I won't come across some in the very near future.

See how you like it and let me know if it works for you....

Making it Count

So the New American Dream site I have written about before & I encouraged you all to print out their little wallet buddy, but alas, I don't think any of you did. So I thought I would list what is stated on their wallet buddy and just how NEAT it is.

So here it goes...
Sample Questions to ask yourself before Buying...

• Is this something I need?
• Do I already own something that could serve the same purpose?
• Can I borrow on, find one used, or make one instead of buying new?
• Was it made locally?
• Was it made with environmentally preferable materials?
• Was it made with fair labor practices?
• Will it serve more then one purpose?
• Is it made well enough to last a useful length of time?
• Will it be easy and cost-effective to maintain?
• Will used it require excessive energy?
• Does it come in excessive packaging?
• Can I recycle it or compost it when I'm done with it?
• If I'm still not sure, can I wait a month before deciding to buy it?

So there you go. Just some impressive questions to ask yourself when you are shopping.

Just gotta love it....Try it!