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The Budget Stretcher
Week Of: January 22, 2007
AOL Users Please Visit Online
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Grandpa Terry's Quips
Tip #25 - You can't keep managing your money the same way and
expect different results.
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***What's Inside***
Money Saving Tip
Subscriber's Tip of the Week
Coupon Savings
Grandpa Terry's Update
Credit Card Information
Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Site of the Week
Grandpa Terry's Email
This Week's Articles
Special Recipe - Garlic-Cheese Biscuits
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Subscriber Tip
The suggestion was given to me to keep a dryer sheet in your
pocket to remove static from you hair or your children's hair
during the winter.
The dryer sheets really work on baked on food or stove top
rings to take the caked up grease and grime off. I just soak the
pan or stovetop rings over night and everything comes off really
easy.
I line my oven and rings on my stove with aluminum foil that
way spills can be cleaned up fast.
The dryer sheets really do a great job when it is dusting time
and for picking up cat hair off furniture. Just don't use them
on glass tables when you dust. It is really hard to get the film
off once you have rubbed the table with the dryer sheet.
I have started putting my bell peppers and onions in my food
processor and cutting them up. Then I drop them off in a Ziploc
freezer bag and just take out what I need.
I keep a separate file (taxes, donations, utilities, insurance,
doctor bills, prescription bills....etc)for each area I need for
my income tax then at the end of they year I just check each
file and write my total down. This will really come in handy
this year because my wallet was stolen in November and my check
register was in in there. If I would not have kept these files I
would have nothing to go on.
Sandra
All you have to do is submit a "Subscriber Tip" and if it
appears in The Budget Stretcher you will get your choice of
either The Complete Budget and Bill Organizer Download or 10 of
my Budget and Credit Card Calculating Forms.
Please use the form available at:
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Coupon Savings
by Michelle Jones
While Michelle is busy taking care of her Mom, please visit
the below
link to find some great Coupon Tips:
http://www.grocerysavingtips.com/tips/grocerycoupons.htm
Save hundreds of dollars on your groceries each month, with or
without using coupons! Read more of Michelle's FREE grocery
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Grandpa Terry's Update
(Quote - "Do It Now Before Your Future Becomes Your Past")
I want to personally welcome you to this week's newsletter. If
you are a new subscriber all you have to do is just sit back,
read and enjoy.
Ken, a good friend of mine, sent a web site that you music lovers
might enjoy. Here is the link:
For you stateside folks that will be filing your taxes soon
please pay attention to "Grandpa Terry's Email". You will
learn how you can get more of your money back with a tax credit
for the federal excise taxes you have paid on your phone bill
over the years.
Believe it or not, I just got in to Online Banking. I guess
sitting down and writing out the checks became such a habit that
it took a while for me to feel comfortable doing it online.
I have several of my bills set up so that I can just enter the
amount and click. These are usually deducted from my checking
account within 24 hours. I also like being able to see my
statement anytime instead of waiting for the paper version.
If you are a little slow at tackling this new technology like
I am, I would highly recommend that you check into online
banking. I feel it gives you the ability to track your
account more closely and possibly avoid bounced checks or late
payments. (Yes, I know online banking has been around for years
but I'm old and it still seems new to me!)
I'm going to be changing the Budget Stretcher web site over the
next few months. I'm hoping that I can make it more "user
friendly" and hopefully more popular.
I've been looking for a Slogan for Budget Stretcher that fits
the site but everything I come up with just doesn't sound right.
So, very soon I am going to be running a contest where you folks
can submit your suggested slogans and win a prize. I'll
announce the contest within the next few weeks.
That's all for now. Remember, I really enjoy hearing from you
folks. If you have any comments, complaints, suggestions or just
want to say Hi, please send me an email to
If you know someone that may be interested in subscribing to
our newsletter just have them visit:
All the best,
Grandpa Terry
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Are You An Impulse Buyer?
By Terry Rigg
Impulse buying is simply defined as making an unplanned
purchase. This can be an extra pack of cookies when grocery
shopping or buying a car on a whim. Most of us are guilty of
this at one time or another. Even though the term is simple, it
probably accounts for the majority of money problems family's
have.
Planning a purchase of any kind is absolutely necessary if you
intend to use your money wisely. That extra pack of cookies I
mentioned isn't going to break your budget, but with the prices
of groceries today, it doesn't take too many items to put a dent
in your grocery allowance. However, buying a car without prior
planning can get very expensive. Besides the obvious things like
finding the best purchase price and interest rate, down payment,
money for taxes and license, etc., you need time to decide which
car is right for your family.
The below list of tips may help prevent impulse buying:
If you see something you like, leave the store without it. Go
home and look at your budget. Then if you feel you can afford
it, go back. In addition, this will give you time to think about
whether you really need it.
Always go to the grocery store or dollar store with a list. Buy
just what is on your list. If you see items you would like to
have, make a note to put them on your list for your next trip.
Always consider the entire price of an item before buying. In
my state, if you buy a car that costs $20, 000, you have to pay
about 7% in sales taxes within 30 days of the purchase. That
$1400 may not be that easy to come up with.
I know that the above ideas takes all the fun out of spending
your money. Planning and budgeting are about as dull as watching
grass grow. However, a family that budgets their money and plans
purchases, will no doubt be able to make more purchases and feel
much better about it.
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Site of the Week
Compute Your Payroll Taxes
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Regarding the posting from Nan in Pgh about her cat loving the
smell of Ben Gay. I can sympathize because my previous dog
started out loving to eat mint candy but mainly gum. I didn't
see any harm in occasionally giving her 1/4 stick of gum which
she'd chew then swallow. No ill effects that I found. BUT, she
really went nuts if I was sucking on a Halls Mentholiptus cough
drop. She'd jump on my chest and scratch my mouth to get me to
release it to her -- many times I had to or get clawed to death.
Again, she ate them with no ill effects. Strange but true, as
you know from your own experience.
Val in Illinois
--------
Hi Terry,
This is concerning the article about Wal-Marts 4-dollar
prescriptions.
I am a medical transcriptionist and often use websites
concerning drugs. Of course consumers can just put in the name
of the name brand drug in "Google" and that drug website will
come up with all the information you would need on that
particular drug. Such as typing in Levaquin in goodle would
which in turn would tell you everything including the generic
name -- although have to say that even though they have generic
names does not mean that generics are being made of a particular
drug as of yet -- so your best bet would be to call a pharmacist
for that information.
This next site is one that I use more than any other:
it in the search and you can get informed about what you are
taking. Also this site offers a way to look for a drug even if
you don't actually know the complete spelling. Say you only know
it starts with Lev -- you would type in Lev* and the star symbol
and click go list and it will bring up with a list of drugs that
begin with Lev. By the same token, if you only know the ending
of the drug -- you would type *quin and it will bring up drugs
that contain "quin." This site is invaluable to me in my work as
a transcriptionist.
bring up many, many different resources investigating the
different kinds of drugs.
Hope this helps the readers.
Ava
--------
Hello ,Terry
You may already know about this but I wanted to make sure,
would not want to miss out on this easy tax credit.
Thanks
Jacob
Editor's Note: This information is very long so I have added
the links that were provided. Thanks Jacob!
--------
Hi,
My name is Amber and I live in Cincinnati Ohio.
I just wanted to drop a little bug in your ear. Sometimes other
pharmacies will match competitors pricing... even this 4 dollar
promotion!. If you have a good relationship with your pharmacist
and or the pharmacy has a matching competitors pricing policy
you can get this same deal at pharmacies other than Wal Mart. A
friend of mine has already done this with 10 of her families
prescriptions at one of our local CVS stores.
Moral of the story? It never hurts to ask! All they can say is
no or YES.
Blessings to you.
Amber
Cincinnati, Ohio
--------
Hi Grandpa Terry,
Here's a tip that is saving me oodles of money on cleaning
products!! White Vinegar!! That's right, this stuff is great!
Use it full strength on the kitchen counter, windows, sinks,
facet in the kitchen or bathroom. If the fragrance is too much
for you, you can also dilute it. We also use it to clean our eye
glasses. It's great on hard water spots too!! You can also add
1/4 cup to your wash to make them brighter and the whites
whiter!!! It's a great 'all purpose' cleaner and costs so
little, is non toxic, and harmless if swallowed by a little
person!!!!! Safe, easy to use, and costs so little!!!! How can
you go wrong?????
Eilish
--------
Another good time is the one time federal excise tax credit in
2006 rebates tax overpayment on phone bills.
Many people do not know about this.
There is an excellent article on this at:
Thanks. MC
--------
Hi Grandpa Terry:
I enjoy the newsletter and always receive helpful tips and
advice from you. Thanks.
Here is my question....
If you received an unexpected windfall of money, like $5000.00
what is the best thing to do given the following scenario?
You have a mortgage, car payment, credit card debt, and very
little in a savings - such as bank account, RRSP or investment.
You are up to date with your payments and are paying more than
the minimum payment on your Credit cards so you are slowly
getting ahead. Your savings has very little available if a
crisis arises, however, your credit rating is the best. What is
best way to use the $$$ received?
1 - Save it (in either bank account, term investment or RRSP)?
2 - Pay mortgage?
3 - Pay car loan?
4 - Pay credit card debt?
5 - Other?
I look forward to your response. Thanks a lot.
Indigoblu
My Response:
Hi Indigoblu,
My recommendation is always to pay off your debt and eliminate
the interest you are paying.
Given the below scenario I would deposit an amount you are
comfortable with into an interest bearing checking or savings
account for your crisis fund. If you deposit around $2, 000,
that would cover most unexpected expenses.
Second, discontinue using your credit cards unless you intend
to pay them off at the end of the month. Paying more than the
minimum payment on more than one credit card at a time will drag
our your debt elimination.
Next, employ the "Snowballing" method to payoff your credit
cards. You can learn more about this method in an article I
wrote. Here is the link:
Once you have determined which credit card you want to pay off
first, I would apply the remaining $3000 to that credit card
balance.
I hope this helps,
Grandpa Terry
--------
The following site has paycheck calculators:
It's a great tool to help you develop "what if" in planning on
increasing or decreasing the 401k and how that will affect your
paycheck as well as how much you can sock away for the future!
The site also covers the state taxes; works for my state of AZ
pretty good!
Sincerely,
Kelly
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Subscriber Tip
Terry,
I quite often see notes from people about not knowing how to
save money. I have two ways that I do it:
(1) my weekly paycheck is direct deposited to my checking
account, and I have my bank automatically transfer $100 to
savings each week. It's been an easy way to save $400 per
month. It is surprising how you can learn to live without that
money readily available.
(2) I have a second checking account and I transfer enough each
week to save for my car payment and my house payment.
Hope this helps some of your readers.
Kathy
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Subscriber Tip
Hi,
I just wanted to put a bug in your ear. Sometimes you can get
these great Wal Mart prescription prices at other pharmacies.
Many stores have a matching competitors pricing policy. Just
bring your Wal Mart list of qualifying prescriptions and your
doctors prescriptions to your local pharmacy. Sometimes they
will honor it especially if you have a good relationship with
the pharmacist. My friend here in Cincinnati has a lot of
prescriptions to fill each month for her family. She didn't
want to switch stores and had a good relationship with her
pharmacist. She asked her pharmacist if she would honor the
pricing policy even on Wal Marts awesome deal. The pharmacist
said "Sure". Moral of this story? It never hurts to
ask. All they can do is say no or YES.
Sincerely
Amber
Cincinnati, Ohio
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the article
Secrets of superstar grocery shoppers
By Melinda Fulmer
Managing Your Debts - How to Regain Financial Health
Center 4 Debt Management
6 maxed-out credit cards. Help!
The Debt Adviser by Steve Bucci • Bankrate.com
To read more articles visit:
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Special Recipe
Garlic-Cheese Biscuits
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. chives (optional)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, finely grated (more or
less to taste)
4 Tbsp. shortening
1 cup milk or sour milk
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, chives and
cheddar cheese in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry
blender or fork until it resembles cornmeal. Add milk, stirring
just enough to combine ingredients. Do not over stir. Drop by
tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 450
degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.
This recipe compliments of The Best Cookbook Anywhere Not Just
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Everyday Savings
These Tips provided by The Frugal Shopper
Please show your appreciation for these great tips by visiting
this site.
~~To aid in washing dishes, add a tablespoon of baking soda to
your soapy water--it softens hands while cutting through grease.
~~Save your store-bought-bread bags and ties--they make perfect
storage bags for homemade bread. (Don't turn them inside out.
The labels are painted on the out sides of the bags with
lead-based paint.)
~~If you have problem opening jars: Try using latex dishwashing
gloves. They give a non-slip grip that makes opening jars easy.
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Contact Information:
Budget Stretcher
1203 Madison 228
Fredericktown, MO 63645
FAX: 573-783-5982
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Disclaimer: This newsletter is only intended to provide
information on proper money management. Budget Stretcher or
Terry Rigg can not accept responsibility for any injury or
damage that may be caused to yourself, others, or property when
following any advice given.
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