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Newsletter to Your Friends (Use this link only if you receive this newsletter by email) Week of July 26, 2010This is an OPT-IN list ONLY! If you feel that you have received this message in error, please follow the directions at the bottom of this email to unsubscribe. Thank you.Click Here to view this newsletter online. Navigate This ColumnGrandpa Terry's Update
Getting your kids ready to start another year of school can be very costly. Each year I devote a newsletter or two on how to save quite a bit of money and some tips and tricks. In next week's newsletter I will be listing tips, tricks and links on saving money on school clothes and supplies. I would really appreciate it if you would take the time to submit your tips on Back-to-School savings. You can use the form at your Subscriber Benefits page or just send me an email to tre2000@midwest.net. I just found a free trivia site that allows me to place a simple trivia game on my home page. If you enjoy trivia you won't want to miss this. All you have to do is visit my home page, look in the right column check the answer to question the question by highlighting the space between the brackets (i.e. [ ]). I will place a link to my home page in the newsletter each week in the left column so that you can play trivia without hunting for the link. Click Here to visit my home page. I think most of us have enough hot summer days to warrent showing these tips from the readers at Yo Free Samples.com. They have listed 46 of them that might help... 46 Hot Summer Budget Tips To Stay Cool! Gas in Anderson, SC on 7/17 was $2.31 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 tre2000@midwest.net If you know someone that may be interested in subscribing to our newsletter just copy and paste the below link into an email to them and have them subscribe: http://www.homemoneyhelp.com/confirmsubs.html Have a great week, Grandpa Terry Sponsor AdvertisementAre 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? Click Here to check out My Budget Planner Today Grandpa Terry's Tip of the WeekHowever, many times the reason to refinance your home is to pay off loans you made since you did it the last time. That's not a good idea. The key is to learn how to manage your money Before you refinance your mortgage, consolidate or settle your debt, obtain a home equity loan, file bankruptcy or any other action that is designed to fix your money problems. Before you make one of the financial moves listed above make sure you have a plan to never let it happen again. If you don't have that plan you are simply spinning your wheels. Sponsor AdvertisementPaying highest-interest debt first is the SLOWEST way out ... You can laugh at money worries - if you follow our simple plan. Discover savvy consumer money secrets your friends don't know and banks won't tell you. Limited time only. ACT NOW: ///////////////////////////////////////// Grandpa Terry's EmailGrandpa Terry!I hope you and your family are doing well in this summer heat. I have a question for you. Ten loooong years ago I filed for bankruptcy. It is supposed to finally come off my credit report later this year. I'm wondering how much this will improve my credit score? Is there any way to find this out? Of course I'll know in a few weeks, but I'd like to find out sooner if possible. Thanks! Catherine My Response: Hi Catherine, It's next to impossible to give you a number of how many points your credit score will raise when your bankruptcy clears. I have seen scores raise anywhere from 30 points to over 100 when a bankruptcy falls off. Also, sometimes it takes a month or two past the 10 year point for a bankruptcy to be removed from your credit report. I would guess that if all of your other debts and accounts are current and you have less that 40% of your credit card available credit used, your score should go up significantly. Here is an ebook published by FICO that tells you everything you need to know about your credit report and score. Understanding Your FICO Score http://www.myfico.com/Downloads/Files/myFICO_UYFS_Booklet.pdf Good Morning, Terry! I'm wondering if going to one of those "print your own" grocery coupon sites is really a good idea. I'm tempted to do so, but won't that create a lot of spam for me? Will they ask me a lot of personal questions? Do businesses readily accept them? Thanks for your input! I noticed someone suggested using a mouse pad as a paint pallet. Another idea is using the styrofoam meat trays that everyone gets when they buy meat. Just wash, dry, and use! My artist friend uses them all the time, and would be great, too, for children wanting to paint a craft instead of using from the bottle. Bobbie My Response: Hi Bobbie I can tell you about my own experience with print your own grocery coupons. I have never had a problem with spam coming from these sites and the only info I had to provide was my zip code. Here is a good example of the sites I use: http://groceryguide.com/ I haven't heard of a store turning down printed coupons lately. I think they realize now that online coupons is here to stay. Thanks for the tip. All the best, Grandpa Terry Hello, I am a member of budget stretcher premium. My name is Valerie DeFee Black. I recently paid off all our debt except the house. We are now looking at investing . We have two 401K's and contribute monthly. We are not planning on doing anything other than contribute to our 401K's until retirement. We are looking for outside investment opportunities and have been considering this one: Options Power Trader Breakfast Club My question is, have you heard anything about them and do you have any other investment suggestions? Thanks in advance, Sincerely, Valerie My Response: Hi Valerie, A big congratulations to you for paying off your debt. I haven't heard of the Options Power Trader Breakfast Club. I checked out their web site and couldn't really tell if they were legit or not. If you haven't already you may want to subscribe to their newsletter for a while to determine whether you are comfortable investing with them or relying on their advice. I personally like real estate investing. Nothing to big, just a few fix up properties to rent. Lately it is a buyers market and I've taken advantage of that. But real estate investing isn't for everyone. I wish I could recommend a company or even a type of investing that would be safe and also give you high returns. Quite frankly, I'm not qualified to make investment recommendations. If you talk to 10 investment consultants you will get 10 totally different recommendations. Each individual has to determine how much risk they are willing to take to get the returns they want. I would recommend surfing the net and talking to friends and family. There are a lot articles and web sites devoted to investments. I wish I could help more. All the best, Terry Featured Articleby Nikki Willhite It can be tricky to make a good homemade pizza. However, if you can learn to make a good pizza at home that will satisfy the pizza craving, you will save money. Here are some tips that may help. The Crust The crust is the most intimidating part of the pizza for most people. One quick alternative is to use a purchased crust or French bread. The crust itself is not hard to make. What is hard is baking it correctly. The most common problem is the crust coming out doughy. One of the reasons for this is that our ovens do not get hot enough to bake a pizza quickly. The ingredients start to burn before the crust is done. One way to handle this is to cook the crust first for a short time, and then add the sauce and ingredients and finish cooking the pizza. Preheat your oven to 350 degrees. Bake the crust for 7-10 minutes. Keep the pizza in the middle of the oven, so the crust won't burn. Then take out the crust, and turn the oven up to 400 degrees. While the oven is getting hotter, add the sauce and ingredients to the crust. Then return the pizza to the oven and continue baking until done. There are many recipes for pizza dough. I won't list any here. Some people like to add a little whole wheat to their dough, or other ingredients like sesame seeds. Pizza dough is very easy to make in a bread machine. Almost all bread machines come with recipe books. Use one of the recipes designed specifically for your machine. Later you can tweak it. The yeast in your bread dough recipe is what makes the crust rise and gives it those little bubbles and keeps it light. When you are making your crust, be sure all the ingredients that come into contact with the yeast are at room temperature. Too hot and you kill the yeast; too cold and the yeast won't work. Be sure your yeast is active before you use it. Always test it by putting it in a little water with a dab of sugar. If it is good, it will start making little bubbles in 10-15 minutes. (Adjust your recipe accordingly - as to the water used) Yeast likes warmth and moisture. To speed up the rising process, (if you are not using a bread machine) place your pizza dough in a greased bowl in the oven next to a bowl of hot water (make sure the oven is off); or set it on the counter on top of a bowl of hot water. Be sure and cover the dough with a cloth. Usually you let your dough rise until double in size (about one hour) and then punch it down and roll or spread it out. You can pat out your crust in a round pan, or use an oblong cookie sheet. Go around the perimeter of the crust and fold it up to make an edge to hold the sauce and ingredients on the pizza. Let the crust rise on the pizza pan about 15 minutes before you start the baking process. If you like thick crust pizza, let it sit longer so that it will have more time to rise. The Sauce Sauces is easy to make. It's just a matter of finding a recipe that you like. You can use sauce out of a can, or you can start with fresh tomatoes and make it from scratch. Most people do something in the middle. You can start with any canned tomato product. Just add water and spices, and boil down to the right consistency. If you like your sauce sweet, add sugar. Some of the herbs most commonly added to pizza sauce are oregano, basil, sage, thyme, chili powder and cumin- as well as some kind of onion flavoring, salt and pepper. Simmer your mixture at least 10 minutes to blend, and taste for flavor. When it is done, remove from the stove. The toppings You can't go wrong with the toppings. Add chopped vegetables and cooked meats, and sprinkle over the top. Do the same with the cheese. I like to add the cheese first, and then put on the rest, but there are no rules. You can experiment with different kinds of cheese. Mozzarella is my favorite. Mexican pizzas use cheddar. It will take 15-20 minutes at 400 degrees to finish up the pizza. Keep an eye on it, so the cheese and crust do not burn. Every oven is different. The crust should be golden brown, and there should be small areas of very cooked cheese on top (almost burnt). Don't be discouraged if it takes a few tries. Making homemade pizza is a skill worth mastering. About the Author: Nikki Willhite, mother of 3 and an interior design graduate, has been writing and publishing articles on the topic of frugal living for over a decade. Visit her at www.frugalhappyfamilies.com - where you will find hundreds of frugal living tips and articles. Frugal Happy Families- more than just money! Article first published at www.allthingsfrugal.com |
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