Fabulous Financial Solutions

Do you find that you are perpetually short on cash? One of the most effective ways to add several hundred dollars to your monthly income is to rent out a room. This is something that I did when I lived in Austin, and had an extra one to rent out. I charged $300, all bills paid. We had a total of three boarders, one of whom turned out to be a dud. The other two were great however, and it was wonderful having that extra money! It was also a good deal on the roomies’ part. I found my renters on Craigslist. Be sure to check references!

Four years ago, I used to have a ball selling vintage clothes on eBay. Of course, that part of eBay has really went by the wayside. I’ve been looking at the things you can sell on etsy.com and have discovered that I can not only sell vintage clothing, but that there is a market for all of these cool “found” items that I collect. Things like wooden spools and odd metal parts are in demand for making dolls, jewelry, whatever! Going to garage sales will be both fun AND profitable again!

As if I needed an excuse to go…

Our family likes to eat out. Fortunately, it’s in our budget to do so. That is, if we do it right. The thing is, if we go out to eat at a local taco restaurant, we can get a great deal and walk out of there for fifteen dollars. Unless we order drinks. Then the fifteen dollars we’ve spent has turned into twenty-three. I’m assuming that three people are eating, and that drinks are 2-3 dollars apiece, which seems to be the going rate.

So order water with lemon, and you’ll save more than you may have realized.

I went to the flea market the other day, and bought some gorgeous plants in just as gorgeous pots. Turns out the people had made them out of concrete. Here’s what they did:

They took items that were appropriate for molds like old plastic pots and glass jars and smeared concrete around inside them. Then, once the concrete was dry, they broke the glass or plastic off of the pot. The result is a really rustic look that I like better than any pot I’ve ever purchased. Concrete is cheap, and if you’re stocked up on those cheap plastic pots, you can make a whole bunch!

Some people mix things in the concrete to create a different mixture–unfortunately, I don’t have the specifics on that. One thing I noticed about one of my pots is that it has stones mixed in. This project is definitely on my “to do” list.

One thing that almost all successful dieters have in common is the food diary. A food diary is a journal where you write down every single thing you eat in a given day, including that potato chip you stole off your coworker’s plate. By doing so, you become aware of exactly how many calories you are eating.

So if you want to cut financial expenses, put yourself on a financial diet. Start by keeping track of everything you spend. Excel works fine for this, since you probably don’t want to spend money on a financial program. Or perhaps you do–just be sure to write it down!

Track your expenses for a week, a month, and you’ll see exactly how much you’re spending on lotto tickets, mints and magazines. Or whatever your particular weaknesses are. It really adds up! You may find that this tool gives the the ability to create a workable budget where you can trade all of those mints for a vacation in Cozumel. You never know.

Recently, I stopped buying sodas at the store. Here are five reasons why.

1. They are horrible for your teeth. Sugar aside, it turns out that soda has acids that will eat away at the enamel on your teeth. The dentist blamed it for my last cavity, even though I was drinking Diet Coke.

2. They are expensive. Recently, 12-packs of my favorite soda went up in price to over four dollars. Considering that not only are my sodas sugar-free, but are also caffeine-free, what exactly am I paying for?

3. Drinking soda in front of my son is setting a bad example. We all know soda is rotten for kids. Why be a hypocrite?

4. They stain your teeth. I am a big fan of Crest Whitestrips. Why have to bleach my teeth more often than necessary because they are turning yellow from caramel coloring?

5. They give you gas. Enough said.

As an alternative, my family has been drinking iced tea. It is much less expensive, and is even healthy! The downside is that it still stains teeth, but it’s nice to do away with the other negatives and save some money!

Most of the time, it seems like you have to PAY money to lose weight. You know, gym memberships, fancy diet food, personal trainers… Well I’ve found a way to lose weight while saving money! Here are the two key components of my plan.

Walk Everywhere

No, not literally. If you have to go visit your aunt in Alaska, definitely take a plane. But walking to all errands within a mile or two of your house works. If you can consolidate the errands, that’s even better. Currently, I walk to work, the farmer’s market and the convenience store. Walking to work saves me a bit on gas. Since I don’t have the car five days a week, I tend not to use it after work. Who wants to get home from work and then go run errands?? The result is that I save up all the big errands for Saturday, and then go do them all at once. So I only use my car once or twice a week. The high gas prices are not affecting me very much–at least not when it comes to fill-ups.

Go on a Slow Carb Diet

The cool thing about this diet is that unless you buy a lot of packaged low-carb junk food, you’ll save a ton of money on groceries. Well, unless you have an affinity for ribeye. I find that I am filling my cart up with lots of beans and frozen veggies. That, supplemented by vegetables bought reasonably at the farmer’s market, has definitely cut my grocery bill down. Not to mention the number on the scale.

I love efficiency. This approach definitely kills two birds with one stone.

I just love that bikes are more in style than ever. It makes sense for so many reasons. Here are three of mine.

1. You can save lots of money on gas. Once you’ve gotten in shape, it is a piece of cake to cycle five or ten miles to work. Over a weeks time, you may save $20 on gas, which in turn will relieve stress.

2. It’s a great stress reliever. (See above.) My town has zillions of little bike trails, as well as a couple of larger ones that can take you quite efficiently across town. The trails are beautiful and wooded, and several run along a stream. Being in nature is relaxing. Exercise gets rid of stress. So does saving money.

3. You’ll get in shape. It is impossible to ride a bike 50 to 100 miles each week and not get in shape. You’ll probably lose weight, and even if you don’t, you’ll feel better, and be giving your body some badly needed exercise. Also, if you’re like me, you may enjoy exercise more if it has a point, like getting to work on time.

I’m too close to work to bother biking–I’d rather spend the time walking. But I certainly do feel fortunate to have all of the trails to explore, and it’s a great thing to do with kids!

Years ago, when I didn’t have insurance, I used an online Canadian pharmacy. It all turned out fine, and I didn’t get poisoned or anything like that. It was affordable, and I made sure to use one of the ones that required a prescription from my local doctor.

Now I’m thinking about using one again. I went to my local pharmacy to fill my new prescription for Retin A, and I had an unpleasant surprise. One cream of this cream costs $118! I couldn’t believe it. The reason was that my insurance would not pay for it. I suppose that’s fair, since getting a wrinkle never killed anyone. Still, I don’t want wrinkles, so I’m planning on using this for, forever.

I looked online and it was thirty bucks. Here’s hoping that I have the same good luck that I did last time!

I am an enthusiastic user of the public library. Also, since I work at an alternative school that doesn’t have its own library, I frequently check out books that I know my students will like. Sometimes, my students like the books a bit too much. In other words, I never see them again.

My local librarians are incredibly understanding. When this happens, they let me replace the book. They don’t even require that I buy a new copy. In fact, THEY recommended half.com. It is so incredibly inexpensive to replace books this way, especially since I select the media mail option, which really isn’t as slow as it’s made out to be.

I’ve bought many other books on half.com, many of which are out of print and unavailable via other venues, online or off. Also, as an added bonus, I’ve learned that you can make money on half.com. More on that another time!