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Week Of: February 18, 2008
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***What's Inside***
Grandpa Terry's Free & Paid Ebooks
Subscriber's Tip of the Week 1
Coupon Savings
Grandpa Terry's Update
Credit Card Information
Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Site of the Week
Grandpa Terry's Email
Subscriber's Tip of the Week 2
Subscriber's Tip of the Week 3
This Week's Articles
Special Recipe - Applesauce Cake
Watch for next week's newsletter featuring:
Refi: Weighing fees and rates
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Subscriber Tip #1
One of the things that have helped us greatly this winter is
venting our dryer into our house. We have a very large home, and
it is very hard to heat. So this winter I have tried something
new. We have an electric dryer and are a family of five, so we do
laundry every day. So I took our vent and put a stocking on the
end of it, and just let the heat go into our home. It not only
puts moisture in the air (due to wet clothes) but it helps warm
the downstairs as well. It has saved us some money in fuel oil
:)
Giney/P/021808
Subscriber Tip Of The Week
Vote For Giney's Tip and Get A Free Gift!
Use the form at the link below to vote for this tip:
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, 10 of
my Budget and Credit Card Calculating Forms or my Bill Pay
Management System to keep track of your bills and checking
account.
Please use the form available at to submit your tips:
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Coupon Savings
by Michelle Jones
In my early years of bargain shopping with coupons (which is
many, many years ago) I remember letting myself get upset
whenever I missed the best price on an item, even if it was just
a 10 cents difference. That may seem a little crazy to most
people (and it certainly was to my husband at the time), but I
have a feeling there are other coupon shoppers out there doing
the exact same thing. And this message is for them. DO NOT get
upset when you miss the best price on anything, it's just going
to happen no matter how hard you work to avoid it, and no matter
how smart a bargain shopper you are. For one thing, life is much
too short to waste time on being upset over 10 cents, or a
dollar, or even 10! And, just think of the HUNDREDS of dollars
you are saving each month on everything else... you are doing
great!!!!!!!
If you would like to learn how to save more money with coupons,
including how to use them WISELY, how NOT to use them, and how
to FINALLY get them organized so you CAN use them, order your
copy today!
031306
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Grandpa Terry's Update
Welcome to The Budget Stretcher!
What a fun week this has been. Last Monday we were hit by an ice
storm that gave us about 1/4 inch of ice and 3 inches of sleet.
While I didn't lose power, 1000s were in the dark for a couple
of days.
The worst part for us was that we live on a county road, one way
in and one way out. There is a hill that becomes impassible
when it's covered with ice or snow. The day after the storm
our county road crew sprayed cinders on the road. That was
great until that evening a grader came along and graded the
cinders away and left about an inch of solid ice. We couldn't
get out for 2 days. (No, I don't have a 4WD. We only need one
about 2 or 3 times and year and it's just not worth it.) I
still feel lucky compared to some parts of the country.
I sent this link out a few months ago but I thought with so
many new subscribers it was about time to do it again. You can
get a free desktop calendar just by clicking the below link.
This calendar is nothing fancy but it does a good job.
Here is a really neat site. You simply list the items you have
in your fridge and cupboard and it gives you recipes that you
can make with what you have on hand.
You've seen the ads that end saying "Order this consumer
information at ***, Pueblo, Colorado! Here is a link where you
can get all kinds of free consumer information:
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 have them visit:
Have a great week,
Grandpa Terry
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Credit Card Information
Credit Card Debt The Revolving Door
Credit Cards.com
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
"Life Just Keeps Happening"
This week I'm printing an email I received from Brenda that
represents what is happening to all of us everyday. Things
break and need replacing, we get sick and need medical
treatment and all the other things that break our budget. By
the way, if you have any ideas to help with her cat problem
please send them to me at tre2000@midwest.net
Hi Grandpa Terry~
I'm writing from North Dakota. We had a blizzard yesterday.
This morning it's -25 degrees with a brisk wind—I don't want to
think about the wind chill. My husband is the road
superintendent, so this Saturday morning he got up early to
"drive roads", checking for snow banks. Depending on what he
finds, the road crew may be plowing snow this week end.
Like a good wife, I got up too, and made coffee to fill his
thermos before he left, and then decided to check my emails. You
really must start work at 4:30 A.M.! My Budget Stretcher was
here by 6:30.
I was intrigued by all the people who responded about the cat.
Our pets are very important to us. I have a six month old kitten
which I tried to give away last fall. He was so naughty he was
returned to me, but by that time the weather here had turned
cold and the cat was used to being indoors, so, I had no choice
but to let him stay inside (refer to previous paragraph). For a
young cat he is very good in every way except that he is a
terrible biter. "Ole" (aka. "Ole the Terrible") does not
scratch, but he does bite. He is serious about it, too, and
bites hard enough to draw blood. When he tears into my leg or
foot I've tried spraying him with water, giving him a time out
in the basement, and holding him down and washing his face (No!
With a Kleenex!!). The only thing that helps slightly is the
newspaper treatment, and that is not entirely effective. I
wonder if any of your animal expert readers have a solution. I
have been told he could have been taken away from his mother too
soon, but whatever caused it, that is done, and I need a
solution to this biting.
I really enjoy your newsletter—I go through it every Sunday
morning, and check out all the links and articles. I've gotten
some great ideas. The problem is….life. Admittedly, I am not
even at the place where I have started an emergency fund, but
life just keeps happening, and it's expensive. Last year I
changed jobs so I could be closer to home. I was driving 100
miles a day, round trip. At my new job, I still do that one day
a week, but three days a week I work only 10 miles from home.
Obviously, the savings on gas is significant.
I started out at the same wages I was getting at my former job
but at fewer hours, so until the bonus program kicked in, I was
still short on funds. I'm not complaining, this job is the
greatest. I hope to be here until I retire, and their bonus
program is now starting to pay off for me. The thing is,
again……life. The first week I was at my new job, my husband (57
years old) got dumped from his horse. He narrowly escaped having
a broken neck. As it was, he broke ribs in 10 places and had a
compression fracture of a vertebra.
Even with insurance, the medical bills were horrible. We
scrimped to be able to make the payments to our medical center
without having to take out a loan, and I was proud that we could
do that and still maintain higher than minimum payments on our
credit cards. That was in September. Then came Christmas
shopping and more expenses (translate credit card charges—we
have two granddaughters). After Christmas I got an unexpected
check from my former employer which I used to pay off some
bills. I got a little carried away, and made us "short" for this
month and had to use the credit card for gas. No problem, I can
pay that much extra when I make my payment next month. However,
I will not be able to pay enough extra to cover the cost of the
water softener we had to buy yesterday (to replace our 20 year
old relic that died unexpectedly).
Again, I'm not complaining. I am thankful we were able to
replace it at all, instead of having to wait while our clothes
and hair turned orange from our rusty water. We are not big
spenders, but there are times when you have waited so long,
something finally has to be done. In November we decided to
replace our 42 year old (I'm not lying) and peeling-off-
the-floor linoleum. We had to use the credit card to pay for
self stick tiles which we installed ourselves. We had one chair
in the living room. It was the same age as our daughter----30.
(I seem to have a thing about age today.) We decided to replace
that, since it no longer reclined and the seat was ripped, and
used the card. We spent a little more and got an area rug to
cover the icky green carpet in the living room. I think we did
the right thing in making our house nicer. I make our home sound
like a pit. It isn't. I have some decent furniture, including
some beautiful antiques, which only look better with age and
which are lovely with the new floor and rug.
While writing this, I am starting to wonder if I should be
paying a little less on the cards and putting away something for
an emergency fund. What do you recommend?
Well, enough of this. Like I said, just rambling. Have a great
week.
Brenda
My Response to her question about Credit Cards:
Hi Brenda,
While I was reading your email it dawned on me that this is the
sort of thing that makes it so difficult to make ends meet.
(i.e., life keeps happening!). You just told me a story that
probably fits most people today. The actual circumstances may be
a little different but when you break it down, there is always
something coming up.
I think I would like to use your email as my Tip of the Week
next week. I will put my 2 cents in about this and then copy
your email. Believe me I can relate to this and I know that most
of my 20, 000+ subscribers can too. I know it will sound all too
familiar. I will also ask them to respond about your cat. We've
had two biting cats and couldn't do anything about either one of
them.
On your credit cards try this. Pick one credit card (I like to
recommend the one with the lowest balance) and set a payment
above the minimum. Then pay the minimum on all of your other
cards. Do this until that card is paid off and start working on
the next one an so on. Apply the minimum payment you were making
on the first card plus the extra and then the minimum payment on
the second card.
When deciding how much to pay extra on your credit cards leave
enough money so that you can put away about $50 to $100 a month
for an emergency fund. What makes an emergency fund work is that
you only use it to pay for items that you would normally have
used a credit card. There are ways to speed up your emergency
fund. First, if you receive a tax refund apply that or any other
windfall for that matter. Also, start saving your change. In
many cases you can save $25 to $50 or more just by doing this.
Thanks for a great idea and something I can use in the
newsletter to help others.
Have a great week,
Grandpa Terry
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Site of the Week
Abbys Good Stuff for Free
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Hi Terry
This message is in response to the lady with the condo mortgage
and fees. I recently did some research on this due to some debt
issues we're having as a result of the really poor job market
here where we live. One of the options I was asked to explore
was to walk away from it, let the bank have it, and rent for a
while -- basically to cut our losses. This wouldn't have worked
for us as the local rents are as much or more than our mortgage,
but it might be an option for Jan. ?
Brightest Blessings,
Debi
----------
Hi Terry,
Regarding Jan in Ohio, I recently did some research for a
neighbor of mine and I would recommend that Jan contact the
nonprofit Homeownership Preservation Foundation -
they might be able to offer some options that regular homeowners
are unaware of.
As to not paying her HOA fees…bad idea. She needs to keep
paying. If she has to stop, she needs to call first and make
payment arrangements before it moves to a lien. The legal fees
they could stick her with on top of that could bankrupt her.
Leslie
--------
Terry,
I've never seen this site mentioned in your newsletter, but a
friend told me about it.
It's a read-only site, so you can't actually DO your banking
here, but once you enter your bank and credit card information,
it will automatically download your transactions every night so
that you'll have a good idea of where you're spending your
money.
They don't have access to any of your account numbers and it
looks like it's endorsed by some reputable groups. Take a look!
Joyce Pierce
----------
Hello,
I have looked at your web site a couple times now. I am in
financial trouble. I have $35, 000 in debt on credit cards and
bank loans. I owe $103, 000 on 1st mortgage and $36, 00 on
second mortgage. I have sign on with a debt consolidation
company, but have heard good and bad things about them in
general. I owe $1, 200 in property taxes on February 14th. Car
payment of $172.00 each month along with other medical bills and
I am afraid I will have to declare bankruptcy. I don’t want to
do this. I am divorced with two children and he will take the
kids, if he thinks I can not financially support them. I am very
very scared...Do you think you can help me.
Shelly
My Response:
Hi Shelly,
I'm sorry to hear about your situation.
The most important thing for you to do now is to set your
priorities. Make sure that your mortgage (1st & 2nd), utilities,
groceries and necessary health items are paid before you even
consider paying your credit cards of other loans. Call the
creditors that you can't pay and explain the situation and that
you are working on a solution.
Please, if you don't do this you could lose your home and wind
up in worse shape financially.
There are thousands of debt consolidation companies out there.
Some good and some not. You have to protect yourself. Make sure
you fully understand every detail of your agreement before you
obligate to anything.
Now, I'm sure you've already though of this but sit down and
find every way you can to cut your bills and expenses. At this
point if you don't absolutely need it, get rid of it. That
includes all of the fancy stuff on your phone, cell phone,
satellite or cable, etc. Try to think of anything you can sell
or do to bring in extra money.
I know this doesn't help much but I receive emails from people
that are in much worse shape than you are in. You can do it but
you have to cut your expenses down to the bare bones.
If you have any other questions along the way please let me
know.
All the best,
Terry
----------
Your the best, I have been a subscriber for a few years and you
really have worked hard and long to get the newsletter in tip
top shape by critiquing it when need be. Keep up the good work
and thanks for all you do. So glad I joined years ago, I have
learned a lot from your newsletter. Thanks for a job well done
with each newsletter, your appreciated more than you know.
Diane
----------
Terry,
I have a line of credit on my house and make monthly payments
toward this. We are doing some home improvements and I was able
to purchase carpet ($3, 000.00) with a 0 % no payment for 1 year
agreement. I started putting equal payments into an interest
bearing account with the intention of having all the needed
money to pay for this next year, but wonder if I should be
putting this toward the money owed on the credit line. I'll be
$3, 000 closer to paying this off at this time next year, but
will probably have to put the money owed for the carpet onto a
credit card, etc.
Can you give me some advice for this situation? By the way, the
credit line is a fixed 7% interest rate and the interest bearing
account went from about a 5% earning to a 3.5% due to the recent
changes in the economy.
Thanks,
Dena
My Response:
Hi Dena,
My recommendation would be to stay away from transferring your
carpet purchase to a credit card. Even though the interest rate
is only a little more than your LOC there is a big difference in
the way these interest rates are computed. I believe you would
be much better off transferring that $3000 to your LOC at the
end of the year.
Here is a free piece of software that will show you exactly how
different loan and credit card interest computations are:
Credit Card Math
If you have any other questions just let me know.
All the best,
Terry
----------
Dear Grandpa Terry,
My husband and I are in a real financial catch 22. We had
bought a new home some time ago, and after all papers were
signed and finalized, the sale of our old house fell through.
For two years we paid two of everything (mortgages, taxes,
electric, water, etc.) to keep our credit from ruin, finally the
old house sold. During that time we were forced to use our
credit cards just to get by. I still can not believe we kept up
with all of it. The problem now is our credit cards are now
eating up all of our paychecks. We literally have nothing left
for groceries, propane for heating, nothing! (We recently went
three weeks with no heat). I am so tired of working hard just to
go to the grocery store and buy the bare minimum. We just don't
know what to do, or where to start. We don't even have a few
dollars to consult a financial adviser to help us out of this,
PLEASE point me in the right direction! What would happen if we
just stopped paying the credit card companies, so we could eat
real food?
Faithful Subscriber,
Jeannie
My Response:
Hi Jeannie,
I have three articles I wrote that I would like for you to read
and then get back to me with any questions you have:
Setting Your Financial Priorities
Your Consumer Rights
What To Pay When You Can't Pay Everything
You may also find some of my other articles helpful. Here is a
link to my Article Archive page:
What ever you do please heed the priorities in the first
article. This is one of the biggest reasons people wind up in
bankruptcy court. You have to pay the basics first, period.
I look forward to hearing from you.
All the best,
Grandpa Terry
----------
Whenever I purchase a box of pre-soaped scrubbing pads, like
"Brillo", I use scissors and cut each pad in half. The pads last
me twice as long, and as a bonus, the scissors get sharpened by
doing this, too! I also keep the unused pads in a large Ziploc
bag, to keep air and moisture from getting to them.
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Subscriber Tip #2
Instead of ordering all three credit reports at once, stagger
them every four months. This way you can keep track of your
rating and the possibility of mistakes more often.
Nancy/P/021808
Subscriber Tip Of The Week
Vote For Nancy's Tip and Get A Free Gift!
Brand New: Use the form at the link below to vote for this tip:
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Subscriber Tip #3
About once a week, I use my comb to clean the hair out of my
brush, then throw both into my washer with a load of clothes.
They always come out clean and oil free. I have never had any
problems with them ruining my clothes, but if you're worried
about that, just wash them with a load of jeans or towels.
Simple!
Julie/021808
Subscriber Tip Of The Week
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the article
15 money moves for tough times
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com
More Money Common Sense
By Michael Killian
6 Steps to Make Cleaning the Bathroom Easier
By O Quinn
To read more articles visit:
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Special Recipe
Applesauce Cake
1/2 cup shortening
1 1/2 cups sugar
2 eggs, beaten
1/2 tsp. salt
1 tsp. cinnamon
1/2 tsp. cloves
2 1/2 cups flour
1 1/2 cups applesauce
1 tsp. baking soda in 2 Tbsp. hot water
1 cup raisins
1/2 cups nuts (optional)
Cream together shortening and sugar until fluffy. Add eggs,
salt, cinnamon and cloves. Mix well. Add alternately flour and
applesauce. Dissolve baking soda in hot water and pour into
mixture. Stir. Fold in nuts and raisins. Bake in a well- greased
loaf pan at 350 degrees for 1 hour.
This recipe compliments of Living On A Dime. Get more of the
recipes you can actually use:
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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.
1. Fruit and flowers may be preserved from decay and fading by
immersing them in a solution of gum arabic and water two or
three times, waiting a sufficient time between each immersion to
allow the gum to dry. This process covers the surface of the
fruit with a thin coat of gum, which is entirely impervious to
the air, thus preventing the decay of the fruit or flower. Or
spray them with hairspray.
2. Sharpen your own scissors by using them to cut fine grade
sandpaper. About a half dozen cuts should do it!
3. Bobbins, thread, and other sewing notions can be hung on a
bulletin board with straight pins near your machine.
4. Use iron-on rug binding on men's trousers to prevent
"waist-band curing" of trouser tops.
5. Use nylon net to brush lint off dark clothing.
6. To achieve fresher air in the house without paying a fortune
for canned spray, squeeze a few drops of a fresh lemon into the
dust bag of your vacuum.
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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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