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The Budget Stretcher
"Saving you money...One Dime at a Time!"
Week Of: October 15, 2007
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Free Ebook Download
I will be ending the free ebook downloads within the next couple
of weeks so I thought I would give away a little bit better
ebook this week:
101 Ways To Stop The Money Leak
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Free Online Calculating Budget Form
Budget Stretcher now offers a free calculating Budget
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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 - Easy Chicken Pot Pie
Watch for next week's newsletter featuring:
Feds cut down-payment assistance programs
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Subscriber Tip
With the rising cost of prescriptions I noticed in letters that
you give advise on discount prescriptions but was wondering how
many of your readers know that they can contact the manufacture
of medications directly to receive assistance such as Merck and
Glaxo Smith Kline. I work in the prescription industry and many
individuals who need this kind of assistance don't know who to
turn to.
This web site gives several listings for other manufactures
I hope some of your readers can use this information.
Thanks for doing a great job!
Anna
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
Anyone who wants to save more money on groceries can make good
use of coupons, it's just a matter of doing it. Try to think of
them as cash and you might be a little more motivated to use
them on a regular basis. When you purchase an item that you
regularly buy and could have used a coupon for (but didn't), it
really is just like throwing money away. Do this over and over
again and we're talking hundreds of dollars each year. As soon
as you start looking at coupons as cash it should be a lot
easier to make time for them, and we'll talk more about that
next week!
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!
The Free Trial for Budget Stretcher Premium is back by popular
demand. So many people emailed me that they missed the first
free trial that I started working on a new one. You can look
at what BSP has to offer and then decide if it is right for
you. Some links have been deactivated because they represent
hundreds of dollars in resources only available to paid members.
To start your 7 day free trial visit the below link and enter
your first name and email address in the form provided:
Thanks to all of you that submitted your tips. I received about
35 tips last week. Naturally, I could always use more. Here is
the link:
Here is a reader's tip that was first published in April 2004
that I feel is important enough to print again.
Grandpa Terry,
I noticed your article about living wills. I am a nurse who
lives in Florida, and I am encouraging everyone to get Advance
Directives. However, you do not have to pay for these forms. If
Advance Directive forms to print for free. Also, any Hospice
site will direct you to printable Health Care Surrogate and
Living Will. Just use the search engine and go to any Hospice
site.
Thanks for bringing this to other people's attention. I wish
more people would take this seriously.
Beck
If anyone knows of other Living Will sites please send them to
me so that I can include them in the newsletter.
I've been asked several times how I keep all of my email
organized. It certainly isn't by using one of the online email
programs like Yahoo or hotmail. Bouncing between web pages
takes entirely too much time.
I use Eudora. It's one of the best email programs I have found.
When I go online I simply open Eudora and it automatically
downloads my email from my Internet Service Provider. Once it's
loaded I don't have to be online to view it.
I also use the filters to direct specific email to automatically
go to a mailbox I already have setup. This cuts down on a lot
of email going to my inbox.
It takes a little effort to setup Eudora and you may have to
contact your ISP for help but I believe it's worth it. If you
are interested you can download it free at the below 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 have them visit:
Have a great week,
Grandpa Terry
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Support Our Sponsor
Save Thousands Grocery Shopping
An Average Family Of Four Can Save $180 to $240 a
Month On Groceries Just By Following A Simple
Buying Strategy!
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Credit Card Information
Smart ways to use credit cards
By Walecia Konrad • Bankrate.com
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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Would You Spend $500 To Solve Your Money Problems?
What if I told you that I had a secret way for you to pay your
bills on time every month and eliminate your debt in less than
one year no matter how much you owe, Guaranteed?
What if I also said that it works every time it's tried?
What if it didn't require that you take out a loan?
What if I told you that you qualify no matter how bad your
credit is?
What if I told you that you could have a credit score of 750 in
less than one year?
There is only one draw back. This secret would cost you $500
and you would only have 1 week to pay it or lose this
opportunity.
One other little glitch. You can't borrow the money. You have
to come up with the cash.
Think about it! Could you come up with the $500 to pay for this
Secret? This is a once in a lifetime opportunity and you don't
want to miss it. Where will the money come from?
If you haven't figured it out by now, there is no Secret way
for you to solve your money problems for $500 or any other
amount. If there was I would have sold it to you long ago.
The point of this tip is that all of the magic ways you see on
the web, on TV, or in the newspaper that promise to solve your
money problems instantly can't deliver on that promise.
Even if you qualify for a loan consolidation you are going to
be paying for years. And, what's to say that you won't
accumulate more debt on top of that loan.
Paying off your debt and paying your bills on time is a
step-by-step process.
Step 1. Identification
This is where you identify what your goals are for you and your
family's future. It also includes discovering what problem areas
you have with the way you are currently managing your money.
Once you have this step conquered you are well on your way to
understanding what to do next.
Step 2. Organization
By accomplishing this step you will completely eliminate the
confusion about how to manage your money.
Step 3. Elimination
No matter what your current financial situation you would be
better off if you didn't have your debt robbing you every month
with interest charges and in some cases late fees and penalties.
We would all like for someone to offer us an instant solution to
our money problems, but it doesn't work like that. It takes time
and discipline to get the job done. How much time is up to you.
If you get started right now you could realistically be out of
debt in as little as 10 years if you include a mortgage, much
less if you don't have a mortgage.
Take the time to use the resources offered by Budget Stretcher
and other money management web sites that can make the task much
easier.
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Site of the Week
Cyn Roberts.com
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Email Me At tre2000@midwest.net If You Can You Help These
Subscribers?
Hi,
Have been enjoying your newsletters. I was wondering about
something and wondered if you or your readers could help. I have
been hearing a lot about the Eden Pure heaters. With winter fast
approaching and the price of fuel continuing to climb, this
sounds like it could be a help. I have read a lot of negative
reviews and some positive ones. I discussed this with my son
tonight and he thinks any electric space heater would do
especially with the $300. price tag on the Eden Pure. Your
thoughts?
Dennis
----------
Is there any way to get the plastic 'UP' and then "off" without
doing stuff to the paint again.??
I've already thought of just plain wide tape, and also masking
tape - but I keep it good and warm in winter and the masking
tape will Not hold up to the (often) 'steaming' that occurs when
I've done an all day 'cook', or laundry, etc. and the ordinary
wide tape use to be just as bad as the double-face and also
sometimes 'lifted' when it had had enough of the temp & humidity
changes indoors !! And I've already written an email to Scotch -
they make that "command" stick stuff they do the TV commercial.
about the Hook on the wood wall that comes right off, etc. and
they do not make a 'roll' of that adhesive item as a stand alone
product.....it's mainly just on those purchased hooks.
Nanci
----------
I also wanted to ask you to pray about a situation that my
family is going through. My daughter met an illegal Mexican
about 5 years ago, they fell in love and have been married
almost 4 years. They have a precious daughter who is going to be
3 years old this month. We advised our daughter not to marry
because it would be a lot of heartache, but she went against our
wishes. Well, through the years we have grown to love him
dearly. He is a great husband, loving father and a hard worker.
He realized what he did was wrong when he came across the border
illegally, so he wanted to make things right. So he filed all
the paper work and paid all the fees and had an appointment to
go back to Mexico on Oct 2, to the consulate. Guess what, that
won't let him come back to America. He has to fill out a I-601
and pay another fee of $545.00 and my daughter is going to have
to prove hardship without him. She needs as many letters as she
can to beg them to let him come back because of hardship. He has
another appointment Oct. 18, and at this time she has to fly
back to Mexico to give him the letters and file the I-601. We
are all so upset about this, but our grand-daughter is having a
hard time without her daddy. We sure would appreciate your
prayers. If you have any advice about this matter I would
appreciate that also.
Thank you,
Cheryl
----------
Terry,
Thought you might know the answer to this. My daughter has just
graduated college and is trying to build a credit rating. Her
only debt is her student loan which she has not started paying
on as of yet. She has a credit card that she is using only to
build credit by charging small amounts and paying it off.
My question is will her credit rating be improved by paying the
balance in full every month or by paying the minimum balance.
Thank you!
Liz
My Response:
Hi Liz,
It actually doesn't make any difference whether she pays her card
in full or makes minimum payments. The credit card company will
report that she is paying as agreed in either case. Of course,
I would recommend paying the balance every month to avoid finance
charges.
Hope this helps,
Terry
----------
Hi Grandpa Terry,
This is Tammy in Bolivar, MO writing to ya...
I just wanted to send out a warning.. I use a debit card from
Regions Bank... Long story short-my card number was compromised
and a ring of thieves bought five $200 gift cards in a Cape
Coral, FL Wal-Mart.
Regions alerted me by phone, cancelled my card, issued me a new
one, had me sign an affidavit of fraud and replaced my money
within 72 hours... but it was still a frustrating ordeal.
Apparently several banks have had issues.. it has nothing to do
with your bank branch or Wal-Mart it is just the price of
technology. In fact, one day last summer I received a new debit
card in the mail from my local credit union with a letter
stating that I had made a purchase from a national retailer (TJ
Maxx) using my debit card and a specific date... there had been
some sort of breech in security with the retailer and they
issued an alert to financial institutions...my credit union took
the proactive approach and simply replace everyone's card that
made a purchase on that particular date... I am guess that it
would be too expensive for a large bank like Regions to do
something like that... When I questioned whether I should
continue using a debit card, the gal at the bank said, in her
opinion, a debit card was more secure because as soon as the
card is cancelled their (the thieves') party was over... if it
had been an actual check, my account info, routing number, name
and address and phone number would have been stolen as well.
What is your opinion?
Just thought you might want to pass along to your readers... (I
wrote this in a hurry so please excuse the errors)
Thanks,
Love your newsletter,
Tammy
----------
This site poses as a free Ecard Web site. No exploit is on the
site itself. However, when users click any of the URLs, they are
prompted to download and run a file called "SuperLaugh.exe."
This file contains the Storm payload code. (Storm worm is given
name of infection.)
Sample email text:
View your Kitty Card now! (URL REMOVED)
For additional details and information on how to detect and
prevent this type of attack:
Nanci
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Subscriber Tip
My biggest money saver was the purchase of a small chest
freezer 2 years ago. I bought it on clearance for $100. I have
been able to save money in 2 ways. First, I can stock up on
specials (meat, veggies, fruits, dairy, etc.). But, most
importantly, I can cook for the week on Sunday afternoons,
freeze the meals, and not buy take-out foods on Monday thru
Friday when I am too tired to cook. I use small amounts of
leftovers for lunch instead of buying something at work. The
freezer has saved me over $3000 each year.
Diane
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Recipe Secrets Exposed
Get Inside The Hidden Cookbooks Of America's Favorite
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Wanted Recipes. These are the Secret Recipes You Won't Find
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Tidbits from the Pantry
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Free Credit Card Reviews
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Subscriber Tip
I cannot live without a bottle of "Goo Gone" in my house. "Goo
Gone" has saved sweaters, hard wood floors and leather shoes. I
have been able to get out salad oil stains off shirts,
'white-out' off of a sweater and paint off my hardwood flooring
and a pair of clogs. It's a relatively cheap product and has a
nice orange scent. I've seen it everywhere even in the craft
stores. There's nothing worse than an oil stain on a new shirt
or sweater. It's also very handy removing price stickers that
are placed on the glass of picture frames that don't want to
peel off easily. Just soak a little "Goo Gone" on the area and
literally wipe off the sticker. There's no stopping it!
Becky
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Frustrated with Debt?
Automatic Debt E-Racer® has a simple plan that may allow you to
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the article
Each inquiry hurts credit score
By Don Taylor, Ph.D., CFA, CFP " Bankrate.com
401K Loans for Emergencies
By Daniel Lamaute
Are you Shopping on eBay Yet?
By Matia Bryson
To read more articles visit:
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Benefits Visit:
Visit Our Forum
Budget Stretcher Subscriber Benefits Page
Join This Groups
A_Simple_Life
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Debt Consolidation can Instantly Reduce Your Debt up to 60%!
Discover why our debt consolidation service is the most
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Special Recipe
Easy Chicken Pot Pie
2 c. cooked chicken soup
1 bag frozen mixed veggies, drained and thawed
1 jar cream-of-chicken soup
1 can water
1 box Stove Top stuffing
Preheat oven to 400 degrees. Mix chicken, veggies, and
cream-of-chicken soup together; put in casserole dish. Make
stuffing using boiling water (you don't have to cook it on the
stove). Spread over the chicken mixture and bake for about 45
minutes or until how and bubbly. You can use 2 boxes of stuffing
putting one box on the bottom.
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.
1. Nearly everything can be cut in half -- use only half a
dryer softener sheet, half the recommended amount of detergent,
half a cotton ball, etc. Try it on anything you can think of -
if it works, you save money, if it doesn't, what do you lose?
The same idea goes for quick dinners. If you're putting
together, for example, Hamburger Helper (or another "instant"
meal), consider using a 1/2 pound of meat per box (or just make
up 2 boxes at a time, with a full pound of meat). Most of us
actually get far more protein in a day than we need, so cutting
back to a 1/2 pound of meat doesn't hurt any of us.
How about instant drink mixes? If you're buying mixes that
don't have the sugar added (which, by the way, is cheaper than
buying the mixes with sugar already in them), think seriously
about how much sugar you mix in. Do you REALLY need to use a
full cup of sugar with that small packet of flavoring? Or could
you cut it back to 1/3 or 1/2 cup and decrease the amount of
sugar your children are getting in each serving?
The next time you're simply following directions on any grocery
item, take a moment to evaluate the claim before you do as it
says. You may save yourself some money!
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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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