Shopping the Sales

If you are operating on a shoestring budget, it's important to spend money wisely.  One of the best ways to save money is to buy items when they are on sale.

Last Friday, I heard a radio ad that Target was having a "buy one, get one free sale" over the weekend on cookies and crackers.  It was an awesome chance to stock up on snacks before football season.  We saved over $17 on cookies and crackers.

 If we had been really smart, we would have had a stockpile of coupons to use.  Then, we would have walked out with tons of cookies and crackers for nearly free.

Seven Reasons to Consider a Micro Home

Or Get a Minihouse, Tiny Cottage, Little Cabin, Miniature Log Home or Studio Condo 

The economy is getting tough. It might be time to head for a shack out in the woods. If so, here are some great reasons to consider a tiny house, microhome, small cottage, or mini cabin. If the size of your dream home has been shrinking with your portfolio, it might be time to consider a dwelling the size of a Thoreau House or Unibomber Shack. A teeny, tiny, cottage, cabin, minihouse, or microhome is an extreme measure, but it might be an affordable housing solution. A few Americans have traded traditional homes for microhouses as small as 150 square feet. Here are seven reasons to consider tiny home.

Thoreau Cabin Replica. Photo by RhythmicQuietude at en.wikipedia [CC-BY-SA-3.0 (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/3.0) or GFDL (http://www.gnu.org/copyleft/fdl.html)], via Wikimedia Commons

First, microhouse designs are economical. According to CNN.com, Bill and Sharon Kastrinos live in a tiny 154-square foot house the size of a garden shed which cost them $15,000 and has utility costs of only $15 per month.

Second, to fit into a microhome, a lot of material items have to go. Typically, micro house dwellers sell excess clothing and possessions or donate them to charity. Then micro house owners have to get creative with space-saving techniques and be fanatical about getting rid of an old items when new items are brought into the home. There's simply no room to mindlessly consume.

Third, if you are an ecologically minded, a microhome has a minimal impact on the environment, a small carbon footprint, and can be designed to be super energy efficient. If you want to power a home with an alternative energy source, the low energy demand of a microhome makes it far easier. It would be very easy to design a solar powered microhome.

Mississippi Cottage - Photo By Jennifer Smits (This image is from the FEMA Photo Library.) [Public domain], via Wikimedia Commons

Fourth, microhomes may help the poor rebuild in America after disasters. Many small, old, homes occupied by the poor and elderly were wiped out by Hurricane Katrina. The big box housing chain, Lowes, offered the Katrina Cottage series of small home designs as an affordable way for people to rebuild. In Mississippi, small cottages provided a way out of trailer life for hurricane survivors.   Even smaller microhomes may make home ownership viable for the poor without exposing them to dangerous and dishonest mortgage situations.

Fifth, many microhomes are mobile. To dodge zoning laws, many microhomes are built on a trailer chassis and are classified as campers or mobile homes. If your job moves, your home can move with you.

Sixth, microhomes make great vacation spots. The cost of prime vacation real estate is climbing as oceanfront, lakefront, and mountainside lots are snatched up. Building an economical structure makes a vacation home much more attainable.

Seventh, in the most crowded cities, some people are squeezing into ultra-small condominiums of only 300 to 400 square feet. In high priced real estate markets, tiny condominiums allow people to live closer to urban centers where they can avoid long commutes and enjoy amenities like parks, museums, and restaurants.

It's getting tough to sustain the American Dream in an era of economic instability and recession. Affording a 30-year mortgage in a time of 2 and 3-year job tenures can be daunting. For some Americans, the answer might just be to think small. If you can't think outside the box, at least, you can shrink the box.

Sources:

"Downsizing to 100 square feet of bliss," Thelma Gutierrez and Traci Tamura, CNN American Morning, 10/22/2008, http://www.cnn.com/2008/LIVING/wayoflife/10/22/tiny.houses/
"The 298-square-foot condo," Melinda Fulmer, MSN Real Estate, http://realestate.msn.com/buying/article2.aspx?cp-documentid=6285435
"Move Over, McMansions: Microhouses Are on the Rise," Annelena Lobb, Wall Street Journal Online, June 14, 2006, http://www.realestatejournal.com/buildimprove/20060614-lobb.html
http://www.lowes.com/lowes/lkn?action=pg&p=2006_landing/Katrina_Cottage/KatrinaCottage.html

Eight Ways to Take A Shorter Shower

How To Save Money Buy Taking Shorter Showers

[I first published this article October 22, 2007 on Yahoo Contributors Network.  Today, the advice still sound.  You can still save a lot of money on water and electricity or natural gas buy taking shorter showers.]

Due to the severe drought conditions in much of the Southeastern United States, Georgia's Governor Sonny Perdue has declared that October 2007 is "take a Shorter Shower" month. But, many of us morning zombies don't wake up until we've actually been in the shower for a full ten minutes.

We often find that we have wasted plenty of precious water before we are even fully conscious. Clearly taking a shorter shower is an acquired skill. But, as Atlanta's reservoirs drain precipitously below 120 days of water, the skill of short shower taking is clearly worth acquiring. Here are eight easy ways to take a shorter shower:

1) Don't Perform Any Extra Rituals in the Shower. Some people shave in the shower. Some people brush their teeth. There are many things to do in the shower other than wash, shampoo, rinse, and get out. If you drop the extra rituals and stick to the essential business of getting clean, you are bound to save time and water.

2) Pretend You Are in the Navy. On Navy ships, water has traditionally been a precious commodity. To conserve it, sailors were advised to turn on the water, get wet, turn off the water, soap up, shampoo, and then turn on the water again to rinse off. The entire operation should only take five minutes. At least this is what my dad, a Navy veteran, always told my brother and me when we were growing up. Since I've never served in the Navy, it's entirely possible that my dad was just trying to save money on the water bill.

3) Watch the Clock. If you have a wall clock, place it where you can see it from the shower. You may have to replace your current shower curtain with one of the transparent variety. If your bathroom gets so steamy that you can no longer see your clock, it's long past time to get out of the shower.

4) Race the Timer. If a wall clock isn't motivation enough, get an inexpensive kitchen timer. Give yourself seven minutes and try to complete your shower before the egg timer bell goes off. If you are successful, try shaving a minute or two off of your time each week. Eventually, your shower should take no more than 15 seconds. However, if you get soap suds in your eyes on the way to work, you may have to give yourself more time.



5) Dance to the Music. Play a single track on an MP3 player in the bathroom. When the song is over, so is your shower. But, remember it's not fair to play Golden Earring's "Radar Love."


6) Shower with the Dog. You could always try locking your dog in the bathroom with you. If your dog has been sleeping all night and has to go out, he'll let you know. You can probably count on him barking at you within two or three minutes. The thought of your dog using your bathroom as a bathroom should provide extra motivation to get out of the shower and let him out quickly. Make sure you wear a bathrobe when you let your dog out. Otherwise, the PETA protestors outside your door may see you naked.

7) Have Your Spouse Make it Cold. If you have been cheating with these other methods and giving yourself a little too much extra time, you obviously need someone to stage an intervention. Have your spouse sneak in and turn the water to cold after five minutes. Fear can be a powerful motivation to take a quick shower.

8) Keep it Cold. Nothing makes you move quicker in the shower than running out of hot water. If you start your shower cold and keep it cold for the entire shower, you will find yourself showering at a frenetic pace. By using the polar bear alternative, you will be in and out in no time and you'll be sure to take the shortest possible shower.

According to the Environmental Protection Agency, showering accounts for about 17 percent of all indoor residential water use. So, if these tips don't work for you, go out and find a low-flow showerhead!

The Importance of Having A Piggy Bank

Almost every child is given a piggy bank for saving change and allowance money.  It helps kids get into the habit of saving money.  However, having a piggy bank is not a bad idea for adults either.  If you throw all of your coin change into a change pot, piggy bank, or coin jar automatically at the end of a day, you will soon accumulate enough money to come in handy.

I find that in just a couple of month, I will accumulate $20 to $40 in change.  That change can come in handy if there is an unforeseen emergency or if you fall a little short in a pay period due to an unexpected expense.  Sometimes a piggy bank can provide enough money to pick up a few groceries and make it to the end of a pay period.   On a more positive note, it can also provide a little extra money for something nice:  a gift or a meal at a restaurant.

Many grocery stores offer change counting machines like CoinStar.  These machines make it convenient to turn your change into dollars.  However, there is a 9 or 10 percent transaction fee.

Managing Credit Cards - Budgeting Your Credit

If you have credit card debt, it can be hard to scrounge up the money you need for an emergency fund.  Financial advisors want you to have enough cash in savings to cover three to six months of expenses.  I want that too.  We all want that kind of financial reserve.  But, in the real world, we all have bills to pay.

One thing that is helpful is to dedicate your credit cards to specified emergency expenses only.  For example, you could pledge to only use your Sears card for car repairs and tires.  Your Visa could be reserved for veterinary bills only.  Then, as you pay down your balances, more and more credit becomes available for emergency use only.

Once you've paid a card way down, you can shift money into savings for that fabled cash reserve.  But, by pledging that your card will only be used for a few purchases, you'll avoid running it up unnecessarily.

Treasure in Junk Mail

Not everything in your junk mail pile is junk.  You can get some good deals.  For example, you can get coupons.

My junk mail regular provides buy one, get one, milkshake deals at Steak and Shake.  You can also get coupons for automotive service and repair.  I usually can find a good discount on an oil change or twenty percent off of any car repair.  These are always good to have in case of a car problem.

I usually ignore the rest of my junk mail, but sometimes neighborhood coupon mailings have good deals at restaurants.  If you have a special occasion coming up, they can be worth saving.

Fuel Yourself: Buy Groceries and Gas First

When you are in a tight pay period, make sure that you buy the fuel you need.  You have to fuel yourself with decent food and you have to fuel your car with gasoline to make t back and forth to work.  Buy these things early in the pay period so that you have enough to get through the week.