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The Budget Stretcher
Week Of: August 14, 2006
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Grandpa Terry's Quips
Tip #28 - Make sure that you save some money each week. Remember, it
will be just as much fun to blow it in the future.
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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 - Peanut Caramel Popcorn
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Subscriber Tip
I have found that volunteering has its perks beyond community
service (which is the primary reason I volunteer). I
participate in various "Walks" for national and
local organizations and I usually receive a free T-shirt for
a certain level of donations that I gather. Saves me a
minimal amount on casual clothing. I also receive a gift
for different levels of donations I procure, so I have
received a clock radio, a nice outdoor blanket, a silver
key chain, and this year I raised the most online donations
in a fundraising challenge and received a 6Mg MP3 Player
and a watch for the level of donations I received. I
don't usually spend a lot of money on these kinds of
things, but when I volunteer, it is nice to reward myself
with items that I wouldn't ordinarily purchase, and
when I use them, I have a great sense of pride that I am
giving to the community as well as continuing to be a
shrewd money manager.
Hobby
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:
*************************************************
Coupon Savings
by Michelle Jones
Did you know there is often $100 worth of grocery coupons in
your weekly Sunday paper? However, if you were to clip those
coupons and just go to the store and purchase all those products,
it would probably cost you around $500 to be able to use them.
But, if you use my Coupon Savings tips you can clip just a
handful of those coupons each week and get more food while
lowering your total grocery bill!
Save hundreds of dollars on your groceries each month, with
or without using coupons! Read more of Michelle's FREE
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Grandpa Terry's Update
Welcome to this week's issue of our newsletter. I
hope this finds everyone doing well.
I hope last week's newsletter help you save on your back-to-school
stuff.
I'm considering starting a ebook club. I figure if it's good
enough for Oprah, it's good enough for me.:)
I have a chance to purchase the resale rights to several ebooks
on a variety of topics, some of which I believe you will enjoy.
I'll keep you posted on my progress.
I have already purchased the rights to one ebook. It's called
"Kids Fun Recipes - 120 Fun and Delicious Recipes". There's
some neat stuff in this ebook that can make your kid's eyes
light up. Here are just a couple of the recipes:
Funny Face Carrot Salad
Octopus Dogs
Sailboats and Canoes
Rudolph the Reindeer
I want to make sure that everyone can afford these ebooks, so
I'm pricing them right. It normally sells for $14.97 and I'm
offering it to you for only $3.95. I have to sell quite a
few of these at this price to cover my costs. Just visit the
below page to order your copy now:
So many of you purchased "Mining Gold From Ebay". I would like
to get your comments on this ebook. I've already heard from
some and it's good to know that you are already starting to
sell your stuff on Ebay. Just send your comments to me at
One more comment about ebooks and I'll drop it for now. I
have put together an assortment of ebooks (27 in all) that
you can get for one low price. This would be great for
you webmasters out there. You can learn more about my "Ebay
Bundle" by visiting:
I have a new Budget Stretcher Partner I would like to introduce
articles and a whole lot more at her site. Please take a few
minutes to browse.
I received a link to free stuff at WalMart.com from an unnamed
subscriber. Here's the link:
My buddy Ken forwarded an email to me that I would like to
pass along. We aren't sure it actually happened but it's
still funny to read. Here's the link:
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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and view over 10,000 tips and articles to save you money
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Credit Card Information
22 ways to foil credit card thieves
By Liz Pulliam Weston
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Here is a reprint of my article on how much you
could save by adding a few dollars to your
mortgage payment. To view the article online
and see a chart showing more information click
on this link:
Add A Few Dollars To Your Mortgage Payment
Many of us don't believe that a few dollars can make
a big difference. In a lot of cases that is true. But
when it comes to mortgages or any other type of loan,
a few extra dollars can save you Big Bucks.
The chart below gives examples of three different
loan terms and what paying between $75 to $100 more
a month would do to the mortgage. It is based on a
$100,000.00 loan at 7% interest.
By adding $84.70 to your 30 year loan you can save
$45,513.14 and pay the loan off in 21 1/2 years.
By adding $74.70 to your 20 year loan you can save
$16,662.42 and pay the loan off in 16 1/2 years.
By adding $101.07 to your 15 year loan you can save
$11,271.73 and pay the loan off in 12 1/2 years.
There are a couple of things that you need to check.
First is that your loan agreement doesn't allow the
loan company to charge penalties for early payment.
Secondly, if you itemize your federal income taxes
and deduct mortgage interest, paying less interest
will mean a lower deduction. I believe it is safe to
say that the interest savings will far outweigh the
tax savings.
Even if you don't have $75 to $100 a month to add to
your mortgage payment, even $25 would save a lot.
If you would like to have your own Loan Calculator,
Loan*Calculator! Plus. This is a free version and has
everything the average family can use. It is also the
Loan Calculator I have used for several months.
Highly Recommended.
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Site of the Week
Bella Online.com The Voice of Women
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Topic of Discussion
Dear Grandpa Terry,
I enjoy your newsletter so much and have really gotten some
good advice. I have started to pay down my debt and it feels
good, even though I am still in a serious crunch with my funds.
But I am writing today to see if maybe some of the other
readers (if not you) my have some advice on how to redeem some
stock that was left to me by my Grandfather years ago. I was
unaware of this stock and have not been able to find anyone to
help me find the companies or holding agents due to the amount.
They are currently worth around 1500.00 which is a lot to me and
would straighten my finances out. If any one has a idea I would
be very grateful.
Thanks Ann
Second Email
Hi Grandpa Terry,
Thank you for your reply and your help. I have tried the
local brokers and the broker that my Grandfather purchased the
stock from. I was given the impression that they were not willing
to help me. The response I was given was to go online and search.
Which I have with no luck. Thanks again.
Ann
----------
Hi Terry, This is Juanita. or maybe I wrote using my nick name
Nonie. It's still me.
First of all I had written to find out more frugal was to live
alone as I do.
Second of all I dearly love your newsletter. I feel like I'm
listening to an ol' friend.
Terry, I'm glad you can't see me right now,,, or be with me as
I'm starting to cry. I read your budget ideas & those in thrifty
fun & the Dollar stretcher. I used the envelope method starting
in 1951. I used to make a gallon of milk with powdered milk at
nite & mix it with reg. milk to make it last longer. By morning
it was cold & the kids didn't know the difference. I'm sure
everyone knew that one.
The reason I'm crying is all during my mothering years,,, I knew
how to save & survive. I co-signed my grandson's college
loans about 4 yrs. ago. He has not kept up the payments & to
make a long story short, Wells Fargo came after me for the money.
About $27,000. My fin. adv. convinced them to accept 70%.
that was $24,000. Now I have no money to live off of except my
husbands RRpension. $1103. a month. I have about $12,000
put away for my burial. That's it except the $900. I have left
from the $27,000. How can people not think about not using
credit cards? I never did use them. I don't even know what
my point is Terry. It just bugs the hell out of me when I read
how people can be so stupid about money. It was stupid of me
to trust my grandson but who wouldn't. I guess I'm trying to
say that I hurt so bad for being a loving grandma. His parents
don't have 2 nickels to rub together. Thanks for listening
Terry. I'm sure you've heard it before.
God Bless, Juanita
My Response:
Hi Juanita,
Your statement about listening to an ol' friend made my day.
It's really great to be thought of that way!!
Yes, I've heard stories like yours before but it still doesn't
get any easier to read. It's really amazing what we will do for
our kids and a little crazy what we will do for our grand kids.
I'm as guilty as the next guy. If your grandson hasn't already,
I sincerely hope that he grows up enough to at least apologize
one day for putting you in a bind.
All the best,
Terry
----------
Hi Grandpa Terry:
Regarding Judy's reply to my tip on keeping bottled water in
my car, I don't like the taste of the tap water in my house, so
I don't refill my bottles. When I do refill them I go to the
local mineral spring, clean water that flows constantly. In my
tap water at home, I get it from a local paid water source, I
can smell the bleach (or chlorine) they add, knowing they do
that to kill the bacteria.
No Name Given
----------
Subject: Cheerleader fundraiser/dog walking
I wouldn't recommend this. I have looked into it myself, and
found that having insurance is a MUST. First, many dog owners
aren't going to trust their dogs with a child. I know I
wouldn't. Second, what if something happens? What if the dog
bites someone (all dogs have teeth, and even a gentle dog can
bite given the right circumstances). What if a stray dog (a
huge problem in many areas) attacks the dog she's walking? Aside
from the trauma, many people WOULD try to sue. Stupid, I know,
but it's how people are. What if the dog gets away from her?
Gets hit by a car? While I would never sue someone for something
like this, many would. But for my own peace of mind, and for the
child's safety, and my dog's safety, I wouldn’t allow her to
walk my dog. I'd probably donate a few dollars to a child at my
door asking to walk my dogs, but the dogs would stay home.
There's just too many risks.
For what it's worth, nobody aside from a bonded and insured pet
sitter cares for my animals or walks my dogs for me.
Amber C
----------
Grandpa Terry's Quips
Tip #37 - Paying cash instead of using a credit card is like
getting a huge discount. Most places do take cash.
How is that so? Very few places give discounts for cash these
days, at least, nowhere I go shopping does. I pay off cc
statements in full every month-- do not carry any balances, so
using cc's is not costing me anything, and they SAVE me money
in that I'm not using gas to drive to the credit union ATM (no
fee there) for cash, and one of my cards actually rebates 1-3%
of purchases made with it (CostCo AMEX).
Kaytee
My Response:
Hi Kaytee,
You are one of only about 20% of the people that pay your
credit card balances off each month. In your case this tip
doesn't apply. However, for the other 80% paying cash can save
them a lot of money.
As for rewards cards for those that carry balances, the rewards
are more than eat up by the interest charges.
Have a great week,
Grandpa Terry
----------
Grandpa Terry,
I just had to let you know. A friend of mine who works at
Wal-Mart let me in on a little known tidbit of information
today (so tomorrow, I will go) We are having the tax free
weekend this weekend here in Tennessee, and whatever you put
in lay-away now in the clothing or school supply or even
computer category will be "tax free" even when you get it out
when it is supposed to come out in October. So I am going to
get extra school supplies, and winter clothes for Christmas
gifts and whatever else I can find, and put them in the
lay-away. I will be getting a better deal, tax free AND if the
item goes on sale between now and when I get it out of the
lay-away, they will automatically reduce the price when I
get it out too!
Just thought I would share.
Rebecca Atoka, TN
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Subscriber Tip
I have a great little FREE organizer that has helped me keep
track of my daily spending, my daily to-do list and other little
tech organizer today!
Lori
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Budget Stretcher Partners
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Subscriber Tip
About Catherine's comment on FreeCycle Clubs...
I love the FreeCycle concept! I have given and received
several really nice items, and met lots of really nice
people. There are all kinds of items on there...flower
bulbs, books, baby items, coupons, musical instruments,
furniture, pets, even cars. You can ask for something too.
I just asked for one of those big old glass pickle jars,
and four people responded! One person's junk is indeed
another person's treasure! Here's a link for you...
Suzy
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the articles
Weekly or monthly payments?
by Scott Bilker
Raising Teens on a Tight Budget
By Nigel Lane
Be careful shifting into automatic bill pay
By Dana Dratch • Bankrate.com
To read more articles visit:
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Special Recipe
Peanut Caramel Popcorn
(just like Cracker Jacks)
1 cup margarine
2 cups brown sugar
1/2 cup light or dark corn syrup
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. baking soda
1 tsp. vanilla
6 qts. popped corn
Melt margarine in large saucepan. Stir in brown sugar, corn
syrup and salt. Bring to a boil, stirring constantly. Boil
without stirring for 5 minutes. Remove from heat. Stir in
baking soda and vanilla. Gradually pour over popped corn.
This recipe compliments of The Best Cookbook Anywhere
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Everyday Savings
These Tips provided by The Frugal Shopper
~~To keep the corners of your windowsills free of dust
and moisture, rub a white candle into each corner of
the sill.
~~If your polished furniture has small scratches: Try
rubbing them with a shelled walnut. You'll see the
scratches just disappear!
~~Keeping silver jewelry in a zip lock or air tight
container will keep it from oxidizing.
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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.
Budget Stretcher
Disclaimer: This information 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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