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The Budget Stretcher
"Saving you money...One Dime at a Time!"
Week Of: September 24, 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
to open the ebook and is on most computers.
Delicious Puddings - Collection of 167 Pudding Recipes
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Support Our Sponsor
Frustrated with Debt?
Automatic Debt E-Racer® has a simple plan that may allow you to
use the money you're already paying on your debts and the
take-home income you already earn to pay your debts off
automatically. To find out more about their service, you can
fill out the free analysis form here:
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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 - Garlic-Cheese Biscuits
Watch for next week's newsletter featuring:
Tips for responsible use of debit cards
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Subscriber Tip
End of season sales - I enjoy going to thrift and consignment
stores at the end of the year because they usually have 25 to 99
cent sales on clothes. I will buy the next season for my kids.
If for some reason they can't wear them when next season comes,
I have a yard sale and usually can sell whatever it is for
double to triple that. I buy all their clothing from yard sales
and consignment sales that I can and when they are done with
them I will either reconsign or have a yard sale and make more
than what I originally paid. My kids end up being dressed
everyday for free. Very rarely do I have to get that special
item for regular sale price at a retail store and I NEVER pay
full retail price for anything for the kids. This also works for
toys, craft stuff and many other items.
Brandy
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
In my early years of bargain shopping with coupons (which was
many, many years ago) I remember letting myself get upset
whenever I missed the best price on an item, even if it was just
a 10 cents difference. That may seem a little crazy to most
people (and it certainly was to my husband at the time), but I
have a feeling there are other coupon shoppers out there doing
the exact same thing. And this message is for them. Please DO
NOT get upset when you miss the best price on anything, it's
just going to happen no matter how hard you work to avoid it,
and no matter how smart a bargain shopper you are. For one
thing, life is much too short to waste time on being upset over
10 cents, or a dollar, or even 10! And, just think of the
HUNDREDS of dollars you are saving each month on everything
else... you are doing great!!!!!!!
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!
Here are the results of the poll from last week's newsletter:
Does Walmart save you money?
1 Yes 62.8 % 93 votes
2 No 22.9 % 34 votes
3 Don't Know 4.7 % 7 votes
4 Don't Shop At Walmart 9.4 % 14 votes
Here are a couple of web sites for our active duty military
subscribers that are very important. Please take a couple of
minutes to read these articles:
Service members Civil Relief Act, Simplified
Military Employment/Reemployment Rights
Did you know that you can get detailed local weather information
right on your desktop free from The Weather Channel? I use this
everyday. This was just made available to Windows Vista users.
You can download your copy at:
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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Support Our Sponsor
Finally Organized, Finally Free
An amazing collection of 1,300 organizing tips, ideas and
techniques to help you organize your home, your office and your
life!
Clutter-control tips for every room in the house. Time
management systems to help you gain extra hours in your day.
Super ways to organize the paper monsters in your life. Ideas
and systems to keep you motivated, and so much more!
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Credit Card Information
Too Many Credit Card Balance Transfers Can Be a Bad Idea
By Jeremy Simon
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
This is a repeat of a tip I ran in August 2005. I thought it
may help answer some of your questions about how long to keep
your files:
Dear Terry,
I am in the process of moving my bills into my bill organizer
and have been coming across several things that I've saved,
but don't know where to place. I'm trying to cut down on the
volume of paper that I save, but I'm unsure what to do with
these things. My question is:
Where to keep these things and how long do I need to keep them?
1) paycheck stubs (we have direct deposit)
2) checking account statements
3) past medical bills (not from current year)
4) online purchase receipts
5) regular store receipts
Also, I thought that you had to keep back taxes for seven years.
Why do you say only the immediate past year plus three others?
Does the IRS really only go back 3 years?
Thank you in advance,
A.
My Response:
Hi A,
I'm glad you are finding the organizer helpful.
In order to keep your organizer from becoming full I would keep
the files you mentioned in either manila folders or preferably a
small accordion binder.
How long to keep these files:
1) I would keep your paycheck stubs until you receive your W2
form for that year. Since you use direct deposit, you may want
to make sure that the deposit has appeared on your bank
statement before discarding.
2) Checking account statements should be kept for 2 years.
Example: in January 2006 you can throw away the 2003 receipts.
You will have 2004 and 2005 on file.
3) Past medical bills is a little harder to determine. If you
or your insurance company have paid the bills I would keep them
for a minimum of 2 years. If you have had problems with either
your insurance company not paying or erroneous charges
you may want to keep them longer.
4) Online purchase receipts should be kept at least for the
length of the warranty of the item.
5) Regular store receipts are the same as for online purchases.
As for your tax records I'm going to quote what the IRS says
about this:
How Long Should Records Be Kept?
Keep a copy of your tax return, worksheets you used and records
of all items appearing on it (such as Forms W-2 and 1099) until
the statute of limitations runs out for that return. Usually,
this is 3 years from the date the return was due or filed, or 2
years from the date the tax was paid, whichever is later. You
should keep some records longer. For example, keep property
records (including those on your home) as long as they are needed
to figure the basis of the original or replacement property.
For more details, see Pub. 552.
Here is a link for you to download Pub. 552:
If you have any other questions please don't hesitate to ask.
All the best,
Terry
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Site of the Week
Mommysavers
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Hi Grandpa Terry,
I just voted on the Wal-Mart poll site. I voted Wal-Mart saves
me money.
I think the reason your poll is showing more of your readers re
saving is a testament to you. The members of your online
budgeting family know practice things many others only talk
about.
We go to Wal-Mart with our budget set, list of needs with sale
items checked, coupons, sales papers from other stores for price
comping, and most important a goal of staying within the set
limit.
If I had taken that poll before becoming so very budget
conscience I would have vote very differently.
Thank you Grandpa Terry, for helping me survive in the Wal-Mart
jungle...
Jan in NC,
----------
Ok Terry, In my never ending search to fill up a full day with
nonsense that benefits no one, and does nothing.......I have a
nifty tip to pass along, and should have done so, a long time
ago since I've been a daily to their site for about six months
now. Two reasons.....I had waited.....
1. I don't just download and install 'just anything' because of
virus' or spyware issues that I proudly claim to be over three
years virus and malware FREE. !! ( ok, ok I'll stop breaking my
arm to pat myself on the back !! LOL) But these guys have proven
to me that they are free of all the crappy stuff ya don't want
downloading with your software packages !!!
2. Just to fully evaluate the 'worth' of the offerings they
had. At first I was sure it was a 'too good to be true ' item.
Well, smack me cuz I was way wrong !! It is true, and it is 60%
useful ( in my humble opinion). And they seem to cover the full
range of software out there, including some that is for the new
stuff that you walk around with in purse or pocket (cell phones,
ipods, mp3's , etc even cameras). Not just catering to desktops
and laptops.
Give Away of the Day (dot) com
Take care. Be happy.
Nanci in Pgh.
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Subscriber Tip
Hey Terry.
I understand you're short on tips. Here's one to save money on
electricity:
Install a timer on your light switch. I picked one up for $5
(Reg. $16) at our local home improvement store. I'm not an
electrician but the instructions are simple and the power is
always off before I work. Even with three forgetful boys, the
timer ensures that the light always goes off after their visits
to the bathroom.
TW
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Support Our Sponsor
A VA Loan can keep High Interest Rates Away
In today's housing market there are a record number of
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growing number of Americans staring foreclosure in the face and
obtain a loan insured by the federal government.
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country and are looking to purchase their first home. A
for veterans who are first time home purchasers with little
credit to poor credit to obtain a competitive interest rate. If
you currently have a VA Loan you may also look into a
that loan to help save you money with your mortgage to receive
the best rate.
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Budget Stretcher Partners
SavingAdvice.com
Thrifty Fun
Smart Money Tips
TheFrugalShopper.com
4 Moms at Home.com
Debt Smart
Maxxsave.co.uk
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Subscriber Tip
I am on ssd and a very strict budget so I understand how tight
money can be. I belong to several "free sample" sites. I order
everything that I can get for free and what I don't use I donate
to one of the local food missions (it's a local church). since I
cant afford to give money the samples maybe just what someone
needs to tide them over until payday. also I use coupons for
items that I don't use myself that I find in the sale bins--
usually they end up being free and I give that too, but I think
the mission likes best is the fresh fruit from my orange, lemon
and grapefruit trees that just produce way too much..
Ellen
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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
Does saving gas really save money?
By Terry Jackson " Bankrate.com
Overseas servicemen have special rights
By Steve Bucci • Bankrate.com
Paying off debt is hard work
by Scott Bilker
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
Samples for free - over 1500 to choose from
Free 1500 samples
Samples of candy, food and other items
Free candy samples, pet samples, + others
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Special Recipe
Garlic-Cheese Biscuits
2 cups flour
3 tsp. baking powder
1 tsp. salt
1 tsp. garlic powder
2 Tbsp. chives (optional)
3/4 cup cheddar cheese, finely grated (more or
less to taste)
4 Tbsp. shortening
1 cup milk or sour milk
Mix flour, baking powder, salt, garlic powder, chives and
cheddar cheese in a bowl. Cut in shortening with a pastry
blender or fork until it resembles cornmeal. Add milk, stirring
just enough to combine ingredients. Do not over stir. Drop by
tablespoonfuls onto an ungreased cookie sheet and bake 450
degrees for 15 - 20 minutes or until golden brown.
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.
~~Visit your hairdresser during the week, as sometimes they
offer haircuts cheaper than on busier Saturdays.
~~Know what your health insurance pays for.
~~Coupons for health and beauty products that say good on "One
Any Size" can be used on trial sizes. If you have a 1.00 coupon
off of your favorite shampoo, and the trial size is only .99
cents, you will get it free!
~~For the truly frugal - when you can no longer squeeze any
more toothpaste out of the tube, cut the tube open, and scrape
the remainder into a bowl. Add baking soda and some water, and
you can double the amount of the toothpaste.
~~To stretch your shampoo pour half of bottle into empty
bottle, and add water to fill both. You have twice as much now,
and it will work just the same.
~~Free fingernail brush - When washing your hair, before you
rinse off the shampoo run your fingernails through your hair a
few times. Then rinse.
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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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