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The Budget Stretcher
"Saving you money...One Dime at a Time!"
Week Of: March 26, 2007
AOL Users Please Visit Online
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Grandpa Terry's Quips
Tip #7 - Tax refunds, bonuses and money gifts are a good way to
get some of that stuff you've been wanting. They can also
reduce your debt interest free!
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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 - Quick & Easy Egg Casserole
Watch for next week's newsletter featuring:
"Credit Cards: Ask for a Lower Credit Card Interest Rate"
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Subscriber Tip
Grandpa Terry,
In response to Sbartman - I had a large hospital bill to pay
and as soon as I received the bill, I called the hospital to
work out a payment plan. Once the hospital knew I was willing to
pay it off, they were quick to suggest a monthly fee of $25.00
and let me pick which day of the month I wanted to pay. Although
I could actually afford more than the $25.00, I took that amount
because then if I wanted to pay more I could, or stay with the
smaller amount.
The only glitch I had was the due day of the invoice kept
changing - and the hospital explained that the bill was due
every 30 days, so that did not necessarily mean the same date
each month. I pushed back and said I agreed on the 17th and that
was the day they would get their money, regardless of their
"thirty day" cycle. I now notice the invoices are marked due on
the 17th each month.
I have learned that whenever you are faced with a bill that you
can't handle, if you call the payee immediately (before the
account goes to collections) and explain your situation, they
are usually very willing to work with you. My children ran up my
Cingular Wireless bill one month ($1200.00). When I spoke to
Cingular before collections got involved, they not only allowed
me to break up my payments, they discounted the bill $100
because I called them to work out the payments. Although $100
doesn't seem like much - it sure helped me.
Feel free to use any of this in your newsletter - it may help
some of your readers.
Kathy
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
We have Michelle back with more great Tips!!
Hi everyone, I have missed working with Terry over the last few
months and sharing my coupon tips with y'all, it has been a very
difficult time for me and I thank you for your patience and
understanding. I know my mom would want me to continue sharing
my tips with you and get back to my work, she was always very
supportive of everything I do. One thing I have realized over
the last few weeks is that of all the things I do in my life the
most important is that I give my own children the same
unconditional love and unending support that she gave me. I
don't know how I'm going to do that with four children (even she
always said she did have it much easier since she only had me ;
o) -- but I am sure going to try my best. I hope to start
writing my coupon tips for you again next week, I just wanted to
let you all know that your prayers, cards, love and support for
me and my family during my mother's illness and passing has
meant the world to us. Thank you so much, God bless you!!!
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
Welcome to The Budget Stretcher!
We have a winner of the Budget Stretcher Slogan Contest. Trish,
from Kansas submitted "Saving you money...One Dime at a Time!"
and received the most subscriber votes. I just mailed Trish her
$50 prize. Here's what Trish had to say when I notified her:
WOW!!! THANK YOU!! What a wonderful surprise!
I'd prefer a personal check please.
I'm one of those single moms in the world trying to raise
responsible kids, working as a waitress and going to college so
50 dollars definitely comes in handy!!!! Actually, I'll use it
to pay for my son's park and rec soccer and baseball, so any aid
they might have offered can be used for someone else! God is
soooo good isn't he Uncle Terry?
May God continue to bless you and you bless all of us with your
wisdom and help!
Sincerely
Trish
Ken Middlemiss, a good friend of mine submitted a tip on the
uses of WD40. I think you will be surprised as some of them.
Here is a link to view the tips:
When I can find computer tips I like to pass them along to you.
Here is a link to several computer tips that may be just the
solution you have been looking for:
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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Over 10,000 Frugal Tips and Articles
Are you looking for ways to economize? ThriftyFun.com
publishes tips in a variety of categories, from food to
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participation. Come join the discussion at ThriftyFun.com
and view over 10,000 tips and articles to save you money
and time!
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Credit Card Information
Tactics Credit Card Companies Use to Get You to Pay More
By BSC Alliance.com
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
The Debt Elimination Dilemma
By Terry Rigg
The total American consumer debt reached $2.4 trillion in 2006.
There are literally hundreds of ways to eliminate your debt.
You can't turn on the TV, listen to the radio, open a newspaper
or click on a web page link without hearing or seeing the latest
miracle method to get you out of debt.
Some of these methods can actually be very effective. For
example, a debt consolidation loan using the equity in your home
can significantly reduce the interest you pay each month.
Others like debt settlement or debt negotiations can have a
negative impact on your credit rating. Some companies promise to
help you rebuild your credit rating after settlement but this is
a slow process no matter whether they do it or you do it
yourself. This method, along with bankruptcy should only be
considered if all other options fail.
Before you consider any option to eliminate your debt you need
to find out why you are considering this in the first place.
Simply obtaining a loan or settling your debt is not going to
solve the problem for most people.
The odds are good that once you have your debt under control
you will start piling it on again. This is because most people
take these actions without a plan to prevent this from happening
again.
Another important point that you should consider is that for
some there is no need to go through a 3rd party for help with
your debt. It's very possible that you have all the money you
need to pay your debts and other expenses and have the ability
to impact the interest rates you pay.
I'm not just talking about a budget but a real plan for what
you want your money to do for you. A budget is just part of the
process. A real financial plan starts with setting your long and
short term goals and working backwards from there. Every
financial decision you make should be directed toward achieving
your goals.
Your budget will simply be a tool to show you what you have and
what your obligations are. Most importantly, it will put you in
control of your finances so that you can make educated decisions
regarding your spending and savings.
There is absolutely nothing wrong with consolidating your debt
to get out from under those high interest rate credit cards. But
if you are not careful you may end up with the consolidation
loan payment and even more credit card debt.
If you are dead set on using one of the debt elimination
methods to reduce your payments, take the time to consider what
you are going to do differently in the future to make sure you
don't wind up in the same situation, or worse in a year or so.
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Site of the Week
Emerson Publications
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Hi Grandpa Terry!
Awhile back, I wrote to you warning your readers about buying
timeshares -- basically, DON'T! Yes, I'm sure there are some
good deals out there on resales, but to buy directly from the
resort is an extremely unwise financial decision. We had
purchased ours for a little over $20, 000 and when we tried to
sell it, found out it was only worth, at the most, $5000 -
$7000. The resort was no help when we wanted to downgrade to a
less expensive season -- of course, they would lose money. So I
put it aside in hopes of pursuing it further someday. Low and
behold, I got a call from another office/division of the resort
-- this lady had been given my letter and wanted to see how she
could help me. After explaining our situation again, she talked
to some people and said, although we couldn't do a downgrade,
they would offer us a "deed in lieu". I had never heard of this
and basically what happens is that you deed your unit back over
to the resort, they forgive the loan, and you no longer have any
financial obligation to them. Yes, we're going to lose the few
thousand dollars that we invested so far, but in the long run,
we have been relieved of over $30, 000 debt
-- with no negative effect on our credit. And if you add in the
yearly maintenance fees and exchange fees, it would be a lot
more than that. I know this is rather long, but I thought it
might help others who are stuck with timeshares and have come up
against a brick wall when trying to sell it. Contact your resort
and see if they offer such a program to their owners. Some
charge a fee for this , but thankfully, our resort decided to do
it for no fee since they couldn't help us with our request for a
downgrade. You have no idea how "free" we now feel
-- to have this huge burden lifted is just amazing. Needless to
say, we will never do something like this again - we learned our
lesson once and for all!
Thank you. M Jackson, SC
--------
Hi Grandpa Terry!
My husband has recently learned he will be receiving a pay cut
in a couple of months. The pay cut will be 25%. I know we will
get by. It will take time to adjust, but here's my question for
you.
Since we will not have the flexibility we do now, regarding our
debt, do we take our savings and put them toward the debt, thus,
reducing those monthly payments, OR do we put more money in
savings so we won't have to add to credit card debt in the
future? Long question, but a very important one.
I anxiously await your reply!
Thanks so much!
Kristin
My Response:
Hi Kristin,
I'm really sorry to hear about this.
The first thing I would recommend is to make a budget using the
lower pay as your income and the expenses you currently have.
This will give you an idea of what areas you will need to cut to
fit the new pay.
To answer your specific question, I would balance paying off
your debt and putting money in savings based on your budget.
With the lower pay I would avoid using your credit cards at all.
This will only make the situation worse.
The most important thing you can do is plan now so the impact
of the pay cut won't be quite as bad when it happens. You may
have to make some hard choices.
For what it's worth, I've heard experts say that most of us
could live on 20% less pay and not have a serious impact on our
lifestyle if we used our money wisely.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions don't
hesitate to ask.
All the best,
Grandpa Terry
--------
Hi Grandpa Terry!
My husband and I have years of not-so-great credit. When we
first got married, we were given two credit cards and of course,
being young, we had purchased vehicles and furniture on credit.
Then, we found ourselves with not enough money to pay
everything, yet, we did pay what we could.
Now, after this years tax check, we have FINALLY found
ourselves free of those debts!! PRAISE THE LORD!! It is a weird
feeling because after juggling for so many years, I keep feeling
like there is something somewhere...but I am positive that
everything is taken care of.
One of the ways we needed to pay off the rest of our debt was
that we worked out a settlement with the creditors. I know this
isn't the most positive way to pay off the debts but we felt
that the debts had been carried on to long and needed to just be
done with them once and for all. The main one that we didn't
settle on (our credit card) we paid completely off.
My question now is what do we do to continue to repair our
credit? We don't want credit cards and we are cautious (after
many years of wisdom) about any other loans. If we do nothing
other than continue to pay our mortgage and van payment on time,
will this be enough to bring our rating back up in a timely
manner?
I appreciate your help. I do just want to say to everyone out
there who find themselves swimming in to much debt that it can
be paid off. It is stressful to not know where the money will
come from but it will all work out if you are dedicated to
getting it all paid off.
...I also might add...this newsletter offers AWESOME ideas and
HOPE!! (shameless plug, I know but I have been blessed with your
wisdom and will continue to stay subscribed!)
Many thanks!!
~TerriLynn
My Response:
Hi TerriLynn,
Congratulations, what an accomplishment. It doesn't matter how
you did it, it's done. Yes, for a while you will be looking over
your shoulder wondering why the bill collectors aren't there
anymore!!
If you haven't already, I would request your free annual credit
report from all 3 reporting agencies right away to see where you
stand. Here is the web site:
Check each of the reports very closely and see if there are any
mistakes or errors in reporting. There will be a procedure to
make corrections with the report.
Also, check out what the Federal Trade Commission has to say
about Credit Scores at the below link:
I believe it's a good idea for you not to take on any more
loans or credit cards to try to raise your credit rating. I
would recommend that you make your car payment and mortgage
about 10 days early each month if at all possible. Also, leave
the credit card account that you paid off open, but don't use
it. These steps will start increasing your credit score almost
immediately.
Creditors look for consistency and responsibility when they
considering loaning money. These are the main factors you should
concentrate on.
I hope this info helps,
Grandpa Terry
--------
Grandpa Terry:
I have been a member for 2 years and read your newsletter every
week. I have been very good in trying to pay off my debt. We had
an emergency a couple of weeks ago and could not pay on a few of
my credit cards, I called the company (Chase) and they informed
me they would not work with me and to contact a credit
counselor. What do I do about the payment? I cannot make it this
month. Help. I am really working to pay off all of my bills,
which are quite a few.
Thank you
Cindy
My Response:
Hi Cindy,
Chase is quickly becoming one of the credit card villains. I am
hearing more and more horror stories about them everyday.
Here is what's going to happen if you miss this month's
payment. You will be charged a late fee around $39 and possibly
have to make up the payment next month. They are not going to
take any legal action against you. However, if you are already
behind on your payments with them, seeking credit counseling
may be your best option.
The bottom line is that if you don't have the money, you can't
make the payment. Just do everything in your power to bring it
up to date as soon as you can.
This may also be a good time to take a look at your budget and
your spending. Maybe there are things that can be cut or at
least reduced.
I hope this helps. If you have any other questions please let
me know.
All the best,
Grandpa Terry
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Subscriber Tip
Grandpa Terry,
I have a tip for paying hospital bills. We lost our 16-year old
son due to a heart attack, and we were left with a $5, 000 bill
at the hospital (an no insurance coverage). When I called to
arrange payments, I was offered the opportunity to take a 50%
cut in the cost if we could pay in full, which we did. I suggest
that you always ask "what the cash price is, " you might be
pleasantly surprised, as we were.
Cheryl
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Subscriber Tip
I do not have long hair but still every time I wash my hair I
get a lot of hair in the drain. I was using the drain cleaners
every so often and that got to be a pain. I bought some plastic
zip strips from Home Depot and that works well. Its a one time
use product. No chemicals. Then I found an even better way, I
bought hair traps at WalMart. Less than $2.00 and each time I
shower it catches the hair. Before my next shower I use a small
paper towel and clean the hair from the last shower. Its great.
Cathy in Jacksonville FL
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the article
Debt Consolidation - Good or Bad Idea?
By LoansPlanet.com
10 Quick and Inexpensive Ways to Brighten your Home for Spring!
By Kathy Wilson
Free payday loans- the New Era Loan
By National PayDay
To read more articles visit:
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Debt Consolidation can:
H - Help avoid filing bankruptcy
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L - Lower debt payments up to 50%
P - Provide one monthly payment
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Special Recipe
Quick & Easy Egg Casserole
Prep: 10 min.
6 slices white bread, coarsely torn
1 lb. bulk sausage, cooked, drained
1 cup Kraft Shredded Sharp Cheddar Cheese
6 medium eggs
2 cups milk
1 tsp. salt
1/4 tsp. pepper
Preheat oven to 350 degrees F. Lightly grease 13 x 9
in. baking pan or oven-proof casserole. Place bread in
bottom of pan; sprinkle with sausage and cheese.
Beat eggs, milk, salt and pepper in medium bowl with
wire whisk. Pour over bread mixture in pan.
Bake 40 to 45 min. or until mixture is set in center
and lightly browned.
Makes 8 servings.
Compliments of: Kraft Food & Family Magazine
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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.
~~Spray the inside of a mayonnaise jar white. Store it in the
refrigerator as a hiding place for money or valuables.
~~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.
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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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