Tough Times - making the most of what you have

Long title, no doubt.

Anyway, as I alluded to in the previous post, it's the small stuff that really gets you, even when times aren't so tough. Developing good habits about what you have on hand helps you later, if the times get even tougher.

• Invest in a rubber spatula that will fit down into jars. Use it to scoop out every last bit of mayo, peanut butter, jelly or any other food that's stored in a jar. I have found that I can usually get two more sandwiches out of a seemingly empty jar this way.
• Add a little water to the last bit of shampoo, conditioner, liquid laundry detergent, or dish detergent to get every last drop out. Why throw it away just because it won't easily dispense?
• Add a little water to the last bit of ketchup to get it all out of the bottle. Use it in a recipe when you need a tomato product.
• Buying the most expensive toilet paper may make you feel special, but it all goes into the sewer anyway. Use a less expensive, thinner brand. I'm not talking the put-your-fingers-through-it thin. Generally, the thinner brands are friendlier to your sewer system since they break down much faster than the thick, heavy ones. That could save you a plumber bill later!
• Use mid-priced paper towels, and even then use them sparingly. Invest in a few more kitchen or hand towels for most purposes. Save paper towels for cleaning up things where you want to avoid cross-contamination, such as raw meat residue on the counter or cutting board, or cleaning your hands after handling raw meat.  Avoid cheap paper towels because they just aren't absorbent enough.
• Keep your household cleaners limited to a few old-fashioned standards - bleach mixed with water, baking soda, vinegar. You can find ways to make your own cleaners from a few ingredients online at places like YouTube or Green sites. They are cost-effective and work just as well as name brands, but without the perfumes and dyes.
• Air fresheners are a waste unless you've just cooked fish for dinner. Even then, burning an incense stick is less expensive and works wonderfully to eliminate indoor odors. Your house doesn't have to smell like a breeze off the ocean or the great piney woods as long as it smells clean.
• Invest in inexpensive plastic containers in a variety of sizes to store leftovers. Even if you don't plan to use them right away, you can freeze them for later. Reusable containers are better than zip bags because you can wash them and get them clean. Also, they will stack and store better in your fridge or freezer. Hint: Make sure they are square and not round. Round wastes space.
• I never buy small trash bags. Discount and grocery stores give them to you for free every time you shop!

I'm certain I'll think of more ways to make the most of what you have on hand in later posts. But for now, consider these tips and see if you can incorporate them into your own life and lifestyle. The rich didn't get rich by wasteful spending!

Technorati Tags: tough times

Do sweat the small stuff

Where I work, we go through a lot of pickles. A particular number of them are designated for certain sandwiches. To the people who work there, it's just pickles. So what if they put on more? So what if they throw away 5 or 6 of them left in the bottom of a container? So what?

Well, here's what...

Say the pickles only cost us .005 each. That's half a cent. Piddly amount, it seems. But over the course of a day, if we make 500 sandwiches and each sandwich just has one pickle too many, that calculates out to about $912 a year. (And that's just pickles. Imagine all the other stuff that goes into making a sandwich incorrectly, that's money thrown down the drain!)

It's entirely in the realm of possibility to make that many, or more, sandwiches each day having pickles.

That monetary amount doesn't even include the number that may be thrown away in the bottom of a container, the number that may be dropped on the floor, or the number that sneaky crew people may eat while on their shift. It's only the number if there is one too many pickles on the sandwiches.

Now, look at your own life. Are you wasting money on the piddly stuff? Are you saying that it's only $5 for a latte a couple times a week, or it's only another $3 in gas to go there twice a week, or how much electricity can one little incandescent bulb burn anyway, if it's left on 24/7? Are you throwing money away by throwing away leftovers, not using every bit of the peanut butter or mayo left in the jar, or tossing out an almost depleted roll of toilet paper or paper towels?

The next few posts will again address the Tough Times issues, covering wastefulness and spending.

Technorati Tags: tough times,waste,spending,finances

Wholesale suppliers

Sometimes I search the Web for places where I can buy wholesale products to resell. I have actually found quite a few, with some having better wholesale prices than others. Some even offer drop-shipping for a reasonable price. I can pass that cost along to the buyer, of course.

What kinds of things have I found? I've found kitchen gadgets, movies, video games, vitamins, best calcium supplements, OTC medicines, craft supplies, scrapbooking supplies, electronics, home decor...well, the list just goes on and on.

So, I'm going to see which ones I think would really sell the best, at the best prices, and start my eBay store again. Maybe I can earn a little off of it. The eBay store is very inexpensive to set up and run month to month. If it doesn't work out, I can always take it down again.

Technorati Tags: ebay,wholesale,selling

Tough times - products

There comes a time when we have to assess the products we buy. We should ask ourselves questions about them.

• Are they living up to the advertising?
• Are we buying them because Sally Jones down the street buys them?
• Is the shampoo for thinning hair for women working? (If it is, then continue to use it, by all means!)
• Is the expensive laundry soap really cleaning better, or does it just have more perfume residue when the laundry is done?
• Are the $1 dryer sheets just as effective as the $3 ones?
• Are we using 15 different products for cleaning, or will just one or two actually do the job?
• Can we save by making our own cleaning products and are they effective?
• While generics are generally less expensive than name brands, make sure they have similar quality. They usually do, so feel free to purchase them.
Technorati Tags: shopping

Tough times - watch your spending

As I promised, here is another installment of the Tough Times series. I know the subtitle of this one is pretty obvious, but I wanted to encourage you to do just that - watch your spending.

• Keep track of every penny. From a 15 cent pack of gum to the largest purchases. Do this for at least a month so you'll know where your money is going.
• Use online banking and download to your computer daily. That way you don't miss any checks written or debit card purchases. Overdraft fees are just wasteful spending.
• Pay your bills on time. Late fees add up over a year's time and it's money you can use other places.
• Shop sales and clearances instead of full price. Don't stock up on things like toilet paper. Instead, use that money to stock up on things like canned goods that are on sale. Toilet paper is always there, and it's cheap already.
• Use coupons whenever it's an item you already use. If you don't use canned mushrooms, all the savings in the world won't make them a bargain.
• Use less gasoline by making fewer trips. Choose a day and time when traffic is light, run all your errands at once, then go home.
• Pay bills online. This saves mileage on your vehicle, late fees, and gasoline.
• Shop online. If you can get free shipping, then why should you use your time and gas to go pick things up? This is especially true now that it's the shopping season for Christmas. Many online places offer incentives for using their e-stores.
• Cook at home. I don't mean prepackaged or convenience foods. I mean real foods. It actually is cheaper to cook from scratch than to purchase ready-to-eat meals. If time is an issue, then double batch so you'll have another meal you can put in the freezer for another day.
• Keep a casual inventory of what's on hand. This reduces your feeling that you have to pick up 10 cans of vegetables if you know that you already have 10 cans in the pantry. This doesn't have to be a highly detailed inventory -- just something that lets you know if you're running low on a staple item.
• Keep a basic shopping list. You don't have to use much imagination to do this. Keep it in your purse or wallet and include things like coffee, tea, flour, sugar, milk, bread, etc. The things you get on just about every grocery shopping trip. Look at the supermarket ads to see if you need to restock something that's on sale. (You'll know because of your inventory.)

Technorati Tags: shopping,groceries,money

Tough times - be a sampler

If you need to earn a few extra dollars while you are waiting for a regular, full-time job, you might want to see about working part time in a grocery or department store as a sampler. I don't mean taking samples, I mean giving sample products to folks.

I'm sure you've seen these people, asking if you want to try out the newest perfume or take a sample package of some acne products, or even a taste test of a new cookie or sandwich meat. Those folks get paid and they aren't part of the regular crew at the establishment. That's the reason why you'll often see retirees doing these jobs. They are just a few hours a week, they don't take a terrible toll on the body, and they give the person a chance to get out and earn a little supplemental income.

Along those same lines are door greeters. The biggest discount store in the world uses door greeters. They say hello and they say goodbye, if they are doing their jobs right. If they've been there long enough, regular customers know them by name and they recognize regular customers in return, which makes folks feel good about shopping there. Door greeter can be a full time job, but it's usually not. This job is shared by a number of people who are only working part time.

Technorati Tags: job,work

Getting through tough times

There's no doubt we are in the midst of a recession. Prices keep going up, especially at the gas pumps, and more people seem to be looking for work. The people looking for jobs are generally looking for a second job, at least in our area, although there are those who are unemployed and putting in applications.

So, what is a person to do? You need money to live. You have to have it to pay bills, buy the necessities. We live in a society where we can't just go live in the woods anymore, especially if we have children at home, or we are likely to have the authorities after us. (Although there have been times I've seriously thought of that as an option!)

If you have a few dollars, don't squander them on non-essentials. Make sure you have a few groceries to get by on. You don't have to prepare 5 course meals -- just keep it simple and basic for now. You'd be amazed what 5 pounds of flour, 3 pounds of shortening, and a small box of powdered milk can produce! I can remember a time when all we had was either biscuits and gravy or dumplings made with a tiny bit of canned chicken. We also got by, in the winter, on loads of chowder made with canned corn and other cheap canned vegetables.

The next few posts will have tips for making it through tough times and retaining your dignity in the process.

Technorati Tags: shopping,economy

Gift giving ideas for 2010

Again, I'd like to share some gift giving ideas with you.

• DVDs, microwave popcorn, and 2 liter soda for movie lovers, packed in a crate that can double as DVD storage
• Eat. Sleep. Golf. T-shirts, package of golf balls, and a hand towel for golf lovers, packed in a soft insulated cooler
• Assorted artificial baits, hand cleaning towelettes, and a multipurpose tool packed in a minnow bucket for fishermen
• Emergency road kit, flashlight, hand cleaner, and Fix-a-flat packed in a small tub for travelers
• Dry erase board, calendar with large blocks, pocket calculator, and magnetic note pad packed in a cleaning tote for someone in a new household
• Colored pencils, pretty acid free papers, and fancy cut scissors packed in a pretty tote bag for someone beginning scrapbooking
• Watercolor paints, a couple of good brushes, and watercolor paper packed in a messenger bag for the budding artist

I'm sure you can think of other things that can be put in gift packs for someone special.

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List of my to-dos

Here's a list of what I want to get done in my house tonight and tomorrow. I'll put strike-throughs on them when I'm finished.

• Clear kitchen table
• Clear coffee table
• Get all clothes put away
• Take trash out
• Deal with dishes
• Clean fridge
• Sweep and mop
• Clean bathroom
• Get rid of more "stuff"
• Take "stuff" away or FreeCycle it
• Gather coats for donations

Ok...time to get busy!

Technorati Tags: work

Gift season

I know, I know...It's only just now Halloween and we haven't even thought much about Thanksgiving yet. Still, I imagine many of you are already thinking about Christmas stocking stuffers for kids, aren't you?

Well, this is surely the time to be shopping for that and for other gifts. Purchasing things on sale now and stowing them away for later makes good money sense. In a few short weeks, if not already, you'll be seeing the shelves of stores lined with gift packs, games, toys, and other things vying for your purchasing dollars. If you buy things at full price, you are doing yourself a disservice, budget-wise, and not really getting anything more valuable for the recipients.

Take some time to think and plan your Christmas purchases. Look for things that fit the person -- jewelry findings for the jewelry crafter in your life, art supplies for the artist, sports paraphernalia for the athlete. You get the picture. These things don't have to be festively packaged. You can do that yourself, with a little thought ahead of time.

Technorati Tags: gift,shopping,Christmas

Back at work

It's the end of October and Christmas just isn't that far away, is it? I can't believe this month has gone by so quickly! And a lot has happened.

For one thing, my Supervisor talked me into not quitting my job. She said they need me there (how about a raise?) and my GM told her I was the best manager there (how about a raise?). She promised things would get better, so we'll see. I'll try it again for awhile and if there aren't improvements in the work environment, then I'm gone for sure. In the meantime, I'll continue to do the best job I know how, as I always do.

I never did hate my job...I just hated some of the things that were happening there. Things that needed to change. I'll still continue to seek other revenue so I'm not so dependent on that job, of course, because if I do wind up quitting for sure, I want to be able to pay my bills.

Technorati Tags: job,work

School football

Football season is certainly here, as we who work in the fast food industry can tell you. School football games always end with a winner, of course, and that means celebrating with a burger and fries. At least, that's how it is in our town.

We get all sizes of athletes, from peewee to the big high school guys that tower over me. Their school is right behind our restaurant so quite often I see them out on the field, running laps, doing pushups, dancing through old tires, and scrimmaging. With all that activity, they probably don't even think about fat burners for men. They are working hard on their game and on their physical fitness.

I just wish...

• they'd knock the mud off the cleats before they come in
• they'd be more patient when 25 of them are ordering food and regular customers would like to eat, too
• they'd learn where the trash bins are
• they'd watch their language (the high schoolers, I mean)
• they'd not have food fights

Ok, I'm over it.

Technorati Tags: football,sports

Social networking tip

I am part of a popular social networking site where I "meet up" with friends and family just about every day. It's a good way to keep up with what's going on in people's lives. It's also a good way to find old friends and classmates you haven't seen in a very long time. In fact, most of my high school reunion details were given out on the site and through email.

But, this very beneficial site can also lead to problems. For instance, if you don't set your account settings yourself, they will default to some things that you might not find desirable. If you say you are home, your address becomes a link to a map where bad guys might find you. If you say you aren't home, the same thing appears and someone could invade your home and rob you.

This is pretty unnerving, but you can adjust your account so that nothing like that shows up. As long as you don't blatantly tell people online just where you live, this is one step in staying secure.

Have fun with social networking sites, but be sure to add some security!

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Unemployed?

Is there ever a good time to be unemployed? I don't think so. And I don't plan to be in that condition for long. I'm still at my job till my 2 week notice runs out, which is just a few more days. That means getting on the ball to find a part time job to replace it.

If I only work 20 hours a week at minimum wage, I earn enough to pay my rent only. That means scrambling to earn enough in some way to pay my utilities, buy groceries, buy gas for my truck, insurance, and sundry other little things that are needful.

So, whether I engage in  acne treatment reviews, online auctions, or other methods of generating income, I'll have to plan those activities carefully so that I can make the most of my time.

Technorati Tags: job,employment

Home business options

I'm getting my thoughts together about generating income from home that will build into a more steady flow, thereby eliminating the need for any outside job.

My thought is that I'll need to pursue several areas of home enterprise to really make this work.

• Raising worms - I'm actually in a perfect location to set up bins and beds for raising worms. These are the kind of worms used for fishing and for composting. It's not expensive to start up and requires little space at the beginning. More beds can be added as you go along.
• Selling photographs - I'm still researching this, but I do have some fairly nice photographs I've taken while on vacation and also right around my own house. I keep my digital camera with me at all times, just in case there's something interesting I want to take a picture of. It's not the most expensive camera in the world, but it's also not a cheap one by any means and takes good pictures.
• Jewelry supplies - While I love making jewelry, I also love scouting out interesting beads and supplies that are more organic in nature. Sometimes, I'd rather just sell these finds than make more jewelry out of them.

These are just three of the options I'm considering. The first one could actually be done all year long and while I'm doing other things. It's not like a worm herd needs a lot of tending! Just feeding every couple of days, making sure the bed is moist but not too wet, and occasionally harvesting them out to sell.

Technorati Tags: entrepreneurism

Getting geared up

When my late husband first got sick and had to stop working, I used to sell a lot of books on eBay. I averaged $300 to $400 a month just on homeschool, children's and Amazon books. That's not enough to pay all the bills, but at that time it really helped us out a lot.

It kept us afloat financially. Even though he immediately qualified for Social Security (terminal cancer), the amount they sent for the interim, until full SS kicked in, was so small we couldn't have made it without some other income.

I'm hoping to be able to get back into book selling, but this time I won't be keeping so many on hand. When I moved into this house, I had enough books in storage to half fill a pretty large unit. They weren't easily accessible to me in that unit and there were way too many of them. So, my plan is to select only the best volumes and list them right away, not getting any other books until those are sold.

In the meantime, I need boxes!!!

Technorati Tags: ebay,books

Part time job hunting

I think I'll take my camera along while I'm job hunting. As long as I'll be out and about, I might as well take pictures of the fall foliage! I've got several things to do in town, and several places to go so I'm going to also make a little side trip or two. Maybe out to the river and also maybe north of town for some good photo ops.

In order to fill out applications more expediently, I'll have notes about work history, phone numbers, references names, etc. with me. I don't want to waste time by trying to drag that stuff out of my memory banks each and every time.

A part time job will help me fill in financially until I get more home business money coming in. I think it's a step in the right direction.

Technorati Tags: entrepreneurism,job

Home job progress

I've been putting in applications online for part time work. Tomorrow, I'll be heading into town to spend the day applying at local retail stores, hoping for a part time job. In the meantime, I'm writing more and I'm trying to get more organized at home for selling things on eBay or CraigsList.

I won't be passing out cigars in honor of my new unemployed status anytime soon. I still have regular bills to pay which means at least some regular income. However, there was a time when I earned enough online to pretty well support myself. Add that to a part time job that doesn't sap so much energy from me, and I think I'll be doing ok.

Technorati Tags: entrepreneurism

New technology

Well, maybe it's really not that new, but it's new to me anyway. Son bought an ipod nano a short time back and is really liking it a lot. With it, he can listen to his favorite radio station using the ipod FM radio selection. While he's doing that, he can pause it, the start it again.

He can also download music via iTunes and create a playlist that's uniquely his own.

I even thought about getting one for myself since there are ipod apps for the Nano that include healthy ways to take it with you. It doubles as a pedometer, which would be nice since I do a lot of walking on my job. (I'd love to know how many steps I really take in a day!)

I might drop some hints to the kids to go together and get me one of these for Christmas or my birthday. What do you think? Do you have one? How do you like it?

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The big step of faith

Well, I've taken a big step of faith. I put in my two weeks' notice at work. This means I'll really have to get busy doing other things to make money enough to keep the bills paid.

There was getting to be so much stress, drama, and politics at work that I just couldn't stay there anymore. Besides, I started thinking that unless and until I took this step, I'd never really work in earnest on my own and would never take my own dreams seriously.

I may apply for part-time work somewhere to tide me over for a bit. The holiday season is closing in and places generally hire temporary and part-timers to work until after Christmas. In the meantime, I'll keep writing as I've done for the past few years, along with digging into eBay more and doing some more surveys.

All this should be a lot easier to fulfill since I won't be working the wacky hours I usually have to work. But, it also means setting myself up with a schedule to operate at home just as though I were clocking in somewhere. I'm pretty industrious usually, so I think I can do this.

It may be tight, financially speaking, for awhile. I'll be watching every penny even closer than before. And, I'll keep you posted on my progress as I go along -- the ups and the downs of not depending on an employer for a paycheck may act on me like certain detox centers do to addicts. I'm addicted to a regular paycheck and may have withdrawals!

Come along for the ride, though it may be a rocky one from time to time!

Technorati Tags: entrepreneurism