The FREE Budget Stretcher Newsletter
July 9, 2007



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    The Budget Stretcher
    "Saving you money...One Dime at a Time!"
    Week Of: July 9, 2007
    AOL Users Please Visit Online

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    Free Ebook Download

    For the next few weeks I'm going to give away an ebook each
    week.  All you have to do is click on the below link and the
    download will start.  The Adobe Acrobat Reader is required
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    Pamper Your Dog - 130 Recipes For Your Canine Friend

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    ***What's Inside***

    Free Ebook Download
    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 - Hash
    Everyday Savings from http://www.thefrugalshopper.com

    Watch for next week's newsletter featuring:
    Cleaning up after an identity theft

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    Subscriber Tip

    Use bar soap on the bottom of drawers and on the bottom track of
    your sliding glass door to keep them from sticking.

    Felicia

    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

    Some people like to save the coupon inserts from the Sunday
    paper each week and then go through them later when matching
    sales, but I promise you it's less time consuming to just clip
    the coupons out that you want to use and USE THEM! Matching your
    coupons with the sales each week is easy when you follow my tips
    and keep your coupons organized in any of the methods we have
    covered.

    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!

    I would like to remind you that there is still time to subscribe
    to Budget Stretcher Premium and get all of the benefits at 30%
    off the regular price.  The deadline is July 31, 2007.  Here's
    the link:


    Our Coupon lady that submits the tip each week is also a wizard
    on budgeting.  She is the webmaster of
    http://www.betterbudgeting.com and knows her stuff.

    Michelle is starting a class "Basic Budget Planning... for Those
    Who Hate to Budget" on Monday, July 9, 2007.  This 5 week course
    covers it all.  The cost is only $15 and well worth every penny.
    I highly recommend you check it out at the below link:

    You can get more information about the class here...

    Or register now at...

    I found a great resource from FICO that explains every detail
    about credit scores. I would like to make this a reading
    assignment because I believe it's vitally important that you
    understand your credit. Please download this guide using the
    below link:

    Understanding Your FICO Score

    Here is another free program that I just downloaded and it
    seems to be helping speed up my computer. It was easy to
    download and install. Please use the below link to check it out:


    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:


    Have a great week,
    Grandpa Terry

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    Credit Card Information

    6 steps to credit card serenity
    By Walecia Konrad " Bankrate.com

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    Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week

    We have a lot of new subscribers and I am getting the emails
    again that ask me to "direct their email to the appropriate
    department" or "have your staff get back to me"! I'm also
    getting those emails that refer to me as "Mr. Rigg".

    I would like to put a picture in your mind about what Budget
    Stretcher offices look like. There is 1 bald headed guy sitting
    at a computer with papers and files (neatly) placed around that
    computer. This computer is located in a room in my house.

    I start my workday at about 4:30 in the morning by checking and
    answering my email. I do this several times a day. Then it's
    time to update my web sites with stuff I've accumulated the
    previous day.

    On Saturday morning I start putting together our newsletter. I
    use web sites I visited the previous week, tips submitted by you
    folks and other email that I've received with articles and other
    info that I think you will be interested in.

    Basically what I'm saying is that there are no departments or
    staff to run them. Budget Stretcher is a one man operation where
    there is no doubt who to blame if something is wrong!

    I don't mind being called Mr. Rigg by someone that is trying to
    sell me something, but for you folks I prefer either Terry or
    Grandpa Terry (your choice).

    It may also be important for you to know that I'm not some
    financial guru with a bunch of letters after my name. Any
    insight I have into solving financial problems either comes from
    my personal experiences (I've been where most of you are, or
    worse) or what I've learned since starting Budget Stretcher
    almost 8 years ago.

    If you want to know a little more about me and Budget Stretcher
    you can visit my About page at:


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    Site of the Week

    Dave Ramsey

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    Grandpa Terry's Email

    Can You Help This Subscriber?

    Dear Grandpa Terry,

    I have a question you probably won't know the answer to. I'm a
    little bit desperate at this point and asking everyone I can
    think of. With all the serious problems other people are facing
    this will most likely seem trivial, but it means a lot to me:

    When I was going through the tough period where I lost almost
    everything, (investments, savings, credit rating, car and home)
    my cat helped me keep my sanity. She is a rescuee who has been
    with me for years. She is now in trouble, and I am at a loss as
    to how to help her. She came down with "something" even the vet
    couldn't identify back in the Spring. She lost a huge amount of
    weight and muscle very quickly, developed green, horrid smelling
    liquid diarrhea, heavy congestion in her lungs with a nasal
    discharge, sneezing and dehydration. We worked with her with
    antibiotics, and she has slowly come back. At one point the vet
    put eight or nine different medicines in an IV to give her, plus
    liquid antibiotic drops and another medicine by mouth. The
    diarrhea cleared up, she gained back a lot of the weight, but
    still cannot shake the sneezing, lung congestion, nasal
    discharge and dehydration. The techs at the vet actually wanted
    to put her to sleep yesterday! She tested negative for kitty
    leukemia/aids, and they say the can't figure out what else to
    do to knock what ever she still has. I love this cat, and if she
    was suffering I would put her to sleep for her sake, but I don't
    think she is. She has fought her way back this far, and is still
    eating ravenously and seems to be trying to make it. The vet has
    given up on her. Do you know of anyone I could talk to online or
    by phone who might know something I could try? I don't want to
    start running from vet to vet, which will cost a fortune I don't
    have and will probably not achieve a thing, but I would like to
    try. It seems crazy to have come so far and not be able to get
    her the rest of the way to completely restore her good health.
    Any suggestions you could make would be appreciated. If you
    don't know anyone, that's ok.

    Catherine

    -------

    Hi Grandpa Terry,

    I recently started using a new site to do all my internet
    shopping and I'm recommending it to everyone I know! Shoppers
    earn a small commission on their own purchases and on those of
    everyone they refer. You can still use any coupons or discounts
    and are shopping directly from stores such as Home Depot,
    Target, Circuit City, GiftCertificates.com and over 1000 others.
    You can buy merchandise or gift certificates for all of these
    stores. It costs nothing to use and can lead to a great stream
    of income. Check out http://www.freestoremall.com and let me
    know what you think.

    Thanks, Tina

    -------

    Dear Grandpa Terry,

    as always, I enjoy reading your tips and having relocated from
    Europe to Iowa, I can use your tips even more. Today's article
    on understanding your credit score came at the right time.

    When moving to the US, I opted to rent in a college town 30
    miles from my work. The higher rent prices plus gas are adding
    up and since all my friends live where we work, I'm considering
    moving again and also buying a home closer to where I work.

    After a meeting with my bank, they would help me in this
    process, however, the credit amount would only be mentioned
    after the pre-approval. Since I'm only in the country for a few
    months, I don't seem to get a high credit score (I'm currently
    in the upper "medium risk") and I feel that's going to impact
    the mortgage loan. I do own property in Europe which is rented
    out (however, it's not considered relevant for my American bank)
    and payments are made on time. In fact, I don't make any late
    payments and would have some money (about 10% of the home price)
    set aside already. Therefore, I wouldn't need the 100% finance
    my bank even mentioned. As my income is comfortable,
    unfortunately, I don't seem qualify for any state assistance.

    Do you have any suggestions how to improve the credit score?
    Would you know how other foreign nationals have dealt with the
    home buying experience after only having been here for a short
    time?

    Any suggestions or recommendations would be hugely appreciated!

    Thank you in advance and keep up the good work,

    Agni

    My Response:

    Hi Agni,

    Welcome to the States!

    It's a shame that your good credit couldn't follow you.  I really
    haven't had any experience with someone moving here from another
    country trying to establish credit.  I would imagine it would be
    similar to someone just starting out.

    I have a couple of links from the Federal Trade Commission that
    I believe will help you get started:


    Fair Credit Reporting Act

    Let me know if you need anything else.

    All the best,
    Grandpa Terry

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    Subscriber Tip

    Hey Grandpa Terry!

    This is a tip that I've borrowed from someone else, but I
    wanted to share it with you in the hopes that it might help
    someone else who's struggling financially. Over the past couple
    of years, I've made it a point to pay cash all the time. When I
    say cash, I mean paper money only. I never use change. At the
    end of the day, I put all of my change in an empty wine bottle.
    When the bottle is full, I take it to the bank and cash it in.
    I've managed to come out with at least $100 every time, if not
    more. And to some, $100 dollars may not be that much. But when
    you're struggling to make ends meet, every quarter, dime,
    nickel, and penny counts.

    Shawna

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    Subscriber Tip

    For those "ring around the collar" dark necklines, for
    either men shirts or women blouses, just go ahead and pour
    regular, any old kind of shampoo on, rub and watch it
    disappear in the wash!  All the discoloration is just
    body oils, the same kind that one shampoos away.
    That's it...B

    Barbara

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    This Week's Article Links

    Just click the links to view the article

    5 Surprising Cleaning Products from Your Pantry
    By Christina Spence

    Budgeting Food for Families - Save Money on Grocery Costs
    Sandra Williams

    You're nothing without credit?
    By Dave Ramsey

    To read more articles visit:

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    Join This Groups

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    Special Recipe

    Hash

    1/2 lb. ground beef
    1 large onion, chopped
    1 large green pepper, chopped
    1 (16 oz.) can tomatoes, chopped
    1/2 cup white rice, uncooked
    2 tsp. chili powder
    2 tsp. salt
    1/8 tsp. pepper

    In a large skillet, brown beef, onion, and green pepper. Drain
    fat. Add tomatoes, rice, chili powder, salt and pepper. Heat
    through. Pour into 2-quart casserole. Cover and bake 1 hour at
    350 degrees.

    This recipe compliments of The Best Cookbook Anywhere

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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.

    ~~Sharpen your own scissors by using them to cut fine grade
    sandpaper. About a half dozen cuts should do it!

    ~~Bobbins, thread, and other sewing notions can be hung on a
    bulletin board with straight pins near your machine.

    ~~Use iron-on rug binding on men's trousers to prevent
    "waist-band curing" of trouser tops.

    ~~Use nylon net to brush lint off dark clothing.

    ~~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.