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The Budget Stretcher
"Saving you money...One Dime at a Time!"
Week Of: March 10, 2008
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You have got to check this out. You won't find so many resources
to change your financial future in one place anywhere on the web.
See what all the fuss is about:
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Grandpa Terry's Free Ebook
Free Ebook
Delicious Puddings
Collection of 167 Pudding Recipes
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"Have You Taken the Kids Financial Future Index Yet?"
By analyzing your answers to 12 simple yes/no questions I can
forecast the financial future of your children with amazing
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Interestingly, the likelihood that your kids will be
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yearly income or tax bracket.
Take 60 seconds to discover your child's Financial Future Score
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***What's Inside***
Grandpa Terry's Free Ebook
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 - Parmesan Chicken
Watch for next week's newsletter featuring:
Courtesy overdraft: bad for customers
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Subscriber Tip #1
This only has to do with saving money if you don't want your
purse stolen! My mother had her purse stolen from the grocery
cart when she was putting on her coat. Since that happened, I
twist the strap on the cart (that is used to buckle in children)
around my purse handle, and I don't have to worry about
someone walking right off with my purse. I'm not sure if this
will work when you strap a child in the belt, but it gives me
peace of mind.
Carol/P/031008
Subscriber Tip Of The Week
Vote For Carol'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
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! She has a brand new offer you need to check out!!
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Grandpa Terry's Update
Welcome to The Budget Stretcher!
Our friend and coupon lady, Michelle Jones will be starting her
"Better Budgeting Class Update - March Session" on March 10th.
This is a great course and I would strongly recommend that you
enroll now. Michelle will accept enrollment up to the first
day of class.
You can get more information about the class here...
Or register now at...
Congratulations to Jeannine for winning February's Subscriber
Tip Contest. She has received an invitation to become a Budget
Stretcher Premium Member for one full year absolutely free.
Here is Jeannine's Tip:
I keep a dish with a lid in the freezer. In it I put canned
vegetable juice, leftovers, or small amounts too small for
another meal or might otherwise end up in the trash.
When I'm ready, I use this to complete a soup or casserole. I
don't feel anything is wasted.
Jeannine/021108
Don't forget to submit those tips. You not only receive a
valuable gift if it's used you also become eligible to win a
free 1 year subscription to Budget Stretcher Premium.
I have some mandatory reading for you. One of the most important
things you could do for your finances is know as much as possible
about your credit report and score. Here is a site that
explains it very well:
Credit Education Center
Would you like to help get the Fair Tax passed. There is a
petition started by Citizens for Fair Taxation that you can
sign online and even send a note. Of course, you will be asked
for a donation when you submit the form so watch out for that.
Here is a link to the petition:
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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Support Our Sponsor
My Budget Planner
Are you frustrated trying to get by on the money you
make?
Would you like to get a good view to where all your
money is going?
Would you like to start saving your money, or save
even more?
Looking for something easier then software like Quicken
or Money?
Would you like to teach your children about finance?
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Credit Card Information
Cash-out to pay off cards or keep debt?
by Scott Bilker
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
I always like to run this article from time to time because it
spells out what we need to know about our finances. Sadly,
the author, Doris Dobkins, no longer has a web site on the
internet. She wrote several articles that I have used over
the last few years.
Step One To Smart Finances
By Doris Dobkins
What are your financial goals? Quick, everyone reading this
should be able to state them clearly and precisely within the
next 60 seconds. If you can't do that then you've missed the
whole boat.
So do you want to be rich? How do you define rich? Do you want
a secure retirement? What amount of money equals "secure"? Do
you want to enjoy your money now and deal with the future when
it gets here or do you want to spend some time now, planning for
the future?
Before you can even think about investing, budgeting or
personal finance, you must determine your personal financial
goals. Why? Because a goal sets the tone for your financial
direction and gives you a foundation from which to base your
financial decisions.
If your goal is to have NO DEBT (which I define as true
"financial freedom") then your plan would focus on paying off
your mortgage and all other debts even at the expense of saving
for retirement.
If your goal is to be wealthy and have a lot of money at
retirement, then you'll probably want to focus on getting rid of
unsecured debt, maximizing your retirement contributions and
possibly leveraging your assets to increase your net worth.
Where are your values? What are you doing with what you make?
What should you be doing now to get where you want to be?
There's no reason to delay starting any longer. If you only
have $10 extra a month, that's a start. Whether you invest it or
use it towards paying off a bill, that's up to you. There's no
rights or wrongs as long as you have a plan and are following
it.
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Site of the Week
Financial Dignity
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Grandpa Terry's Email
L'Bri Pure & Natural skincare uses Aloe Vera as it's main
ingredient. We all know the healing properties of Aloe Vera.
Order the samples and see for yourself. You will be amazed at
how soft & glowing your skin becomes. Don't just take my work
for it --- try it!!
----------
strongly recommend you visit it too. This is a well organized site to
buy and sell items easily. Please take a look!
Hello Grandpa Terry,
Your newsletter has been a fantastic resource for my husband
and I, thank you! We have referred and forwarded many of them in
the recent past.
Now, I'm wondering...would you check out a new website for us?
We need YOUR feedback. It's a relatively new place for Mom's to
meet, (while buying and selling their maternity, baby, and
the owner is Samantha Stack.
Of course the main reason I'm mentioning this to you is because
of the recent changes over at Ebay. I know you are a successful
ebayer and that's why I'm seeking YOUR specific feedback in
regards to MOMMYAUCTIONS.
It's a Seattle, WA based business. I sincerely hope to hear
from you soon. I think you will love this website and want to
share it with your clients!
Warm regards,
Rena Drabant
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Hi Terry, I live in Northeast Pennsylvania and I am currently
under a low income housing program called HUD where I pay 30% of
my income in rent. They have a formula that they count all the
household bills I have to pay to come up with an amount of their
portion and mine to be paid. They also have a first time home
buyers program that I have been giving thought to lately that
works the same. I am on SSI and I guess there are some
exceptions they make to the disabled. The documentation I have
also talks about those who work 30 hours or less a week. It
states that a person needs to allow 50% of their income for
payments. I also have credit card debt but have never owned a
house or been a co-owner of one in the last 3 years. I want to
ask the right questions in the event I would get it but I don't
know what answers I should be hearing before I sign anything. I
don't want to get in over my head and lose it. Would you please
give me some advice on this matter before I go any further?
Thank You in advance.
Jennie
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Dear Grandpa Terry--
I just found an interesting webpage you might want to look at
to see if there is anything you might want to pass along to your
subscribers. It contains information about many free utilities
for computers, many of which I have no idea what he's talking
about!!
Not sure about the oil pulling concept, but just thought I
would pass along the website so you can check out some of the
free resources.
Here is the URL:
In Him,
Pat. Dayton, OH
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Grandpa Terry,
I am stuck with a dilemma. I am a subscriber to your newsletter
and I must say it is EXCELLENT. I have used it in so many ways.
Fortunately, unlike many who I am sure read your Newsletter, I
am not in debt and/or financial trouble. I am and always have
been VERY frugal and enjoy spending my money wisely.
Here is my dilemma.... I have cut my living cost to the bare
minimum. I have no unnecessary expenses at all. Here is where
the GUILT hits me. I live in a very rural area and we have one
high-speed internet provider. Being the only provider, they
charge $70 plus dollars per month. I feel so guilty paying this
amount of money for internet when I could be paying $9.95 for a
basic dialup service. I suppose my question to you is: Am I
stupid for paying such a ridiculous price for internet???
Remember, I can afford it, but I could also be putting an
additional $60 of this money into savings. HELP!!
Regards, and keep up the great work,
Ms. Lynn
--------
I have a quick question; please take your time responding back
if you are able to provide an answer. I just recently qualified
for Cracker Barrel's 401k plan through New York Life. I signed
up for it a couple of weeks ago, but upon looking at my past two
weekly pay stubs, I noticed that nothing was taken out for it.
Does it take time before the pretax dollars are deducted to go
into the fund? Also, I chose the conservative route because of
the volatility of the market. It's way too crazy. Looks like
this will be the perfect opportunity to once again invest in
Series I Bonds. Also, for the 401k, it's 6% with a 50% match
from CB. Any tips you can provide will be greatly appreciated,
but at your convenience.
Jo
My Response:
Hi Jo,
If your 401k deduction isn't shown on your next pay stub I
would check with your payroll department. It shouldn't normally
take over a couple of weeks to get it started.
In my opinion a 401k is the best savings program available. In
your case you are going to earn at least 50% on your money. It
would be hard to find any investment that would pay that much
without a lot of risk involved. I recommend you put as much as
you can into your 401k. Even in a bad market it's a good
investment. It only seems like common sense to stay conservative
until the market turns. And it will, it always does.
Have a great week,
Terry
--------
Good Morning~
Here in ND we have a gale force wind this morning. I heard you
got some more snow or ice shortly after our last correspondence,
but spring is coming.
Just wondering I haven't gotten my Budget Stretcher for the
last couple of weeks and have had to find your site to read the
newsletter. Should I re-subscribe, or can you just put me back
on the list? I am thinking of getting the Premium, just have to
get around to subscribing. After I last wrote you, we got a
windfall (to us) of money. I had mentioned I got put on the
bonus program at work, and my bonus was huge. Also finally got
paid from my husband's AFLAC insurance following his riding
accident. I used it to pay off some small bills, so all we
really owe now is the house, the car and the credit cards. Also
used it to catch up the electric bill, which I accidentally over
paid, which means that I have extra to start my emergency
fundyes, I am going to do it!and apply any extra from now on
to the credit cards. I am following your advice, to set an
amount to pay on my cards, except for the one I want to pay off
firstI will put everything I can toward paying that thing. So,
thanks for the good advice. After reading your article and while
writing this, I have to agree. People need encouragement. They
do have the desire to manage their money, but they need someone
to tell them over and over, and in different ways, until they
can see it for themselves. I know, because I am that way. It is
such a great feeling right now to think I can pay down, and
possibly pay off the smallest credit card. It's only $2000, and
if my bonus stays where it was last time, I should be able to
pay $500 each month. It would be paid off by this fall! The
element went out of my dryer (life happening again!) and I may
have to use my first emergency fund money to fix that, but I'm
just going to keep trying!!
Have a great week!
Brenda
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Grampa Terry,
I see the discussion about how many credit cards a person needs
in order to maintain good credit standing is in this week's
issue again. Just wanted to let you know that I have never had a
credit card. I'm 51 yrs old, married, and have excellent credit.
This wasn't always so as my first marriage had lots of financial
problems which had resulted in filing bankruptcy in 1981 and
many small claims court judgments. When that marriage fell apart
in 1989 and I started out all over as a single mom with 6
children on welfare, I had no credit. I was able to borrow a
$500 loan from the bank in order to buy a used car. Then the
LORD made it possible for me to buy our home on an
owner-financed land contract. I never missed a payment.
Eventually, I refinanced the home mortgage with my bank at a
lower interest rate. Later on, I borrowed to get a better
vehicle. I have no trouble getting credit any more and have done
it all without a single credit card to my name! We do have a
Visa-backed check card (debit card) through our bank which we
use like a credit card but the money is always in our checking
account first--no overdraft provisions. I have been working
fulltime for 8 years now; my husband is on SSD. Our only debt is
our mortgage, our vehicle, and a small signature loan. We will
have the vehicle paid off by the end of this year, then will pay
more on the other two, though our home mortgage has fairly low
interest and is less than $23, 000. We do also have a
no-interest, no-payment $18, 000 loan through our county housing
authority which was obtained to do necessary repairs to our
home, including a well and septic system, amongst other things.
My husband and I have been married 12+ yrs now and have managed
just fine without a credit card, even when it comes to
"emergencies." Just thought I would share my experience in case
it might encourage someone else to live without credit cards.
Take care and may the grace of our Lord Yeshua the Messiah be
with you!
Love in our Messiah,
Cindy in Wisconsin
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Subscriber Tip #2
I'm big on couponing and cut out coupons for restaurants or
fast food places that I usually eat at anyway - or those that
I'd like to try. The coupons in the Sunday newspaper are pretty
regular, so I gather the ones I want together in a binder clip,
flatten the clip down, then store the packet in my car in the
driver's door caddy. Now if I want to make a stop at a
restaurant while I'm out - the coupons are always with me. I do
the same thing for car rental coupons and for quick car lube
places.
Valerie/003008
Subscriber Tip Of The Week
* Vote For Valerie'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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Support Our Sponsors
Mvelopes Personal Free Online Budgeting
Mvelopes Personal is an online budgeting system that makes it
easy to create an effective personal budget and track every
aspect of your spending as it happens. It will help you to
always know exactly how much you have left to spend, instantly
know the impact of every spending decision, effectively manage
credit card spending, and quickly create an easy to use
household budgeting plan.
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Budget Stretcher Partners
Thrifty Fun
Smart Money Tips
TheFrugalShopper.com
Debt Smart
Free Credit Card Reviews
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Subscriber Tip #3
Cheap Hair Conditioner
I bought many quarts of Hellman's Light Mayonnaise at a Bent &
Dent grocery store in SC, minus the labels, $.29 a quart.
Mayonnaise is a wonderful hair conditioner, just slather on, rub
it all over your head, shampoo out. When I went to the
Cosmetology School to have my hair cut, she mentioned how
manageable my hair was. I'd done the mayonnaise conditioner the
night before!
Betty/031008
Subscriber Tip Of The Week
Vote For Betty'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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Support Our Sponsors
Debt Consolidation can:
H - Help avoid filing bankruptcy
E - Eliminate creditor harassment
L - Lower debt payments up to 50%
P - Provide one monthly payment
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the article
6-step debt-elimination program
By Cheryl Allebrand • Bankrate.com
Shopping Without Dropping:
Strategies for Shopping with Kids
By Nancy Twigg
5 Keys to Balance for the Work-at-Home Mom
By Kim Christopherson
To read more articles visit:
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Take Advantage of your Budget Stretcher Subscriber
Benefits Visit:
Visit Our Forum
Budget Stretcher Subscriber Benefits Page
Join This Groups
A_Simple_Life
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Support Our Sponsors
Debt Consolidation can:
H - Help avoid filing bankruptcy
E - Eliminate creditor harassment
L - Lower debt payments up to 50%
P - Provide one monthly payment
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Special Recipe
Parmesan Chicken
1/2 cup instant potato flakes (garlic ones are great)
1/2 cup grated Parmesan cheese
1/4 cup margarine, melted
6 pieces of chicken - thighs, drumsticks or breasts
Salt and pepper to taste
Melt margarine in a baking pan, 9x13 or jelly roll. Place potato
flakes and Parmesan cheese on sheet of wax paper. Roll chicken
in melted margarine, then into potato flake mix. Lay the coated
chicken back into the pan that you used to melt the margarine.
Season and bake at 350° 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.
~~Put a metal spoon into a glass before pouring
in any hot liquid - this will prevent the glass
from cracking.
~~Soak a cloth in carbonated water and wrap around
a rusty bolt and leave for a few minutes. The bolt
should loosen right up.
~~Tip for stamp collectors: Place the envelope in
the freezer for a few hours. You'll then be able to
easily lift the stamps off with a pair of tweezers.
~~Save your change. Empty your wallet, purse, and
pockets on a regular basis into a "piggy bank".
Occasionally roll the change and take to the bank.
It will add up faster than you think.
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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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