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The Budget Stretcher
Week Of: October 30, 2006
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Grandpa Terry's Quips
Tip #33 - Worrying about money is an emotion. It takes action
and a clear head, not emotions, to stay on top of your finances.
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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 - Applesauce Sugar Muffins
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Subscriber Tip
Money really IS a family affair!
I must agree with this statement. I used to send all of our
bills, on time, every month...and no one in my family knew or
much cared. My husband would listen when we were short on money,
or I was stressed about a certain due date...that was about it.
I was doing the minimum amounts required, it seemed that was
all I could do at the time really. Then I got involved in a once
a month class called Your Money or Your Life...or FI (Financial
Independence). What an eye opener! My husband still sat back and
watched...
After 6 months or so, and me talking about how well it was
working almost daily, he decided to come to class and see for
himself. He had gotten frustrated in the past because we had no
retirement fund, our 7 kids are all over 18 and starting lives
and young families of their own. I think he found this all quite
refreshing, here was a solution, right in front of us.
Now he is very aware of heating/cooling bills, and has
suggested his next bonus from work go to reinsulating the house
for winter. He saves for dental bills before the appointments,
watches what he spends, and even goes to the Good Will store for
clothes! The changes in his money behavior are enormous, as are
mine. We have rid ourselves of a huge amount of debt, and
avoided interest as well. It really helps when families are on
the same page, have the same goals...even if they don't
understand what you're doing at first.
Thank you Terry once again! I adore this newsletter.
Roseanne
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
Always be on the lookout for coupons that are attached directly
on items at the grocery store, as we discussed a few weeks back.
For single items this can be a really good time to stock up with
2-3 extras, especially on products that do not normally offer
coupons in the Sunday paper. If there are some packages that
have an attached coupon and some that don't simply move the
items around on the shelf until you find the amount you need!
:o)
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
(Quote - "Do It Now Before Your Future Becomes Your Past")
I want to personally welcome you to this week's newsletter. If
you are a new subscriber all you have to do is just sit back,
read and enjoy.
Budget Stretcher Premium (BSP) is growing, and for good reason.
I recently added so much to the web site that it is worth many
times the cost of an annual subscription.
Just to give you an example, I include my $2 online books free
with a subscription. Within the last 4 weeks over 500 of these
ebooks have been downloaded by Premium members. This is over
$1000 that these members saved.
The most attractive aspect of BSP is that there is no
advertising of any kind in the newsletter or on the web site.
My members tell me that this is the main reason they decided
to subscribe. You get so much more with the Premium site and
don't have to weed through the ads to find it.
Why not take the next step to help you meet your financial
goals and at least check out the Premium side of Budget
Stretcher:
I found a link on Halloween Safety that I would like to pass
along. Most of this is common sense but it doesn't hurt to be
reminded:
I'm going to try something a little different. Nanci has been
a subscriber for a long time and contributed to our newsletter
many times. She has a computer for sale at a great price so
I'm going to list it for her. If this saves a subscriber some
money, I may continue to list these items occasionally. Contact
Nanci directly at the below email address if you are interested.
Computer For Sale
Fully refurbished and upgraded-
Dell Optiplex GX100, PIII, 500Mhz, 20GB Hard drive, 128mbRAM
(avail. slots to add 2 more memory sticks),
Add 128mb memory = Add $20
WinXP sp2 and all Updates, Avast (free home edition)
Anti-virus, Ad-Aware Anti-spyware protection, and Windows
Firewall in place.
ASUS CDRW CD-RW drive CDR CD ROM 52x32x52x 5.25" IDE
Dell 17" Monitor, Keyboard, Mouse, Speakers
$200 (shipping $25).
Please contact Nanci at: nancigiuffre@earthlink.net
Ships within 48 hours of payment, with tracking (can't ship
Sat./Sun./or Holidays). Telephone, email & remote assistance
information will be included in shipment & instructions.
Machine will be Internet-Ready on arrival. Must have Internet
service available.
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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Grandpa Terry's Tip of the Week
Money Discipline
You can have all the money in the world, but, if you don't
manage it properly it will be gone in short order.
We've all heard the stories about some celebrity that has made
millions being forced to file for bankruptcy. How can that
happen? It's easier than you might think.
With all of their money they didn't realize that there is a
limit to what they could spend. It never occurred to them that
there might be a bottom to that money pit.
The same is true with your family's finances. Of course, most
of the time we aren't dealing with nearly that much money.
You can prepare a budget, set your spending limits and have
everything just the way you think it should be but that is only
a small part of managing your money. You have to make it
happen.
In too many cases that budget and all the work you did to
develop your money plan ends up in a drawer or filing cabinet
within a couple of weeks and it's back to running your budget
out of your wallet.
The key element that was missing is the discipline to follow
your plan.
In nearly all other aspects of our lives we discipline ourselves
to get up in the morning and go to work or take care of our home
and family, sometimes both. So why is it so hard to apply this
same discipline to our finances?
The fact is that it shouldn't be. The same principles apply.
You can learn how to discipline managing your money the same
way you discipline yourself to do other things. Make it a
routine just like getting up and going to work or tackling
that stack of dishes in the sink.
Here are a few ideas that might help:
After you have developed a workable budget set a regular time
to manage it.
Budget all of your income to a spending category
Set up strict spending limits for each family member
Set a dollar amount that you agree to discuss with your spouse
if you find an item you want that exceeds that amount
Get the entire family involved
Use cash instead of writing checks or using credit/debit cards
for your household expenses
Only take the cash you will need with you each day
Set a goal that makes it to your advantage to follow your plan.
If you keep this goal in mind everyday it will be much easier
to watch your spending.
Set milestones to monitor your progress. It is extremely
rewarding to pay off a credit card that you thought would become
a permanent part of your family or finally getting $1000 in a
savings account when you have never been able to save before.
This will also help you stay on track.
Money is just a tool you use to accomplish the things in your
life that you need and want. This is much easier to do when
you are in control of your money instead of your money being
in control of you.
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Site of the Week
DebtSmart
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Grandpa Terry's Email
Topic of Discussion
This subscriber needs your help!
I have a handful of nieces and nephews all of whom are spoiled
rotten and have more clothes, toys and books than they will some
third world countries. Generally I give them savings bonds. Does
anyone have a better idea than bonds? I have heard of giving
stock, but I don't know if that requires as much work as
managing my own portfolio? Is there some other thing that would
have a better return than the savings bond?
Michele from Denver
-------
For the man who has lost his job after being out on WC, tell
him to call a lawyer. There are usually some listed in the phone
book who specialize in WC cases. He can tell them his
circumstances without being charged and if he has a case, they
will take it and only get paid if they win. I don't know what
part of NC he lives in, but in Greenville, Taft, Taft and
Haigler are good. There is also someone in Raleigh.
Nancy
-------
Terry
Just a health note- I saw in the newsletter that a woman
re-used a plastic bottle for her olive oil. For health reasons-
any bottle with a triangle on it with a number lower that a "5"
should NOT be refilled and reused. It is meant to be used once.
Over time it can emit harmful levels of chemicals from the
plastic into whatever you have in there.
Thanks for a great newsletter and thanks for your time!
Crystal
-------
In answer to the man who is receiving work comp and unemployed.
In the State of Illinois you cannot collect both work comp and
unemployment benefits. If the unemployment office finds out it
must be repaid to them as well as a possible penalty. I've
worked in Illinois Workers' Compensation Law for 12 years as a
legal assistant. He will definitely need to advise unemployment
of this. I'm fairly sure that the state he lives in has the same
law.
Lisa So. IL
-------
Terry-
My advice to the reader with the workers' comp & unemployment
issue is to call an attorney IMMEDIATELY. Contact your state's
bar association if you do not know any attorneys. You should
contact someone who specializes in workers' compensation and
someone who specializes in employment law. Laws for these types
of cases vary from state to state, so you need someone local to
advise you about your situation. DON'T take advice from anyone
who is not an attorney. Lay people never seem to understand that
every case is different, and what happened to them may not apply
to you.
Cheryl
Paralegal in Colorado
-------
Hi Grandpa Terry!
My name is Patti and I live in Barnhart, Mo. I just love your
newsletter and look forward to receiving it! I wanted to thank
It is so great, saves so much time and it's FREE! I tried a
similar site and got a free 30 day trial..but it did not have
all the local stores like this site does. I applaud you for what
you do. Your advice has helped myself and my family in many
ways. Keep up the great work!!
Sincerely,
Patti
Domestic Engineer/Wife/proud Mom
-------
Dear Grandpa Terry,
Tell the person from North Carolina to speak with an attorney
who specializes in worker's compensation. I do not live in North
Carolina, but most states have laws governing what employers can
do when a person is injured on the job and receiving worker's
comp. What North Carolina's former employer did may very well be
illegal. An initial consultation with an attorney is often free.
They understand that if you are unemployed and dealing with a
work comp issue there isn't a lot of money to spend on lawyers.
Call the local bar association (number in the phone book) and
ask for the name of the attorney who heads the workers comp
division. Do NOT tell them you need a lawyer, or you will get
sent to the general referral list, which will give you a
competent lawyer, but not the industry leader. If you get the
head of the division you will get the best, and if you have to
go to court you definitely want the best shark you can find.
Good luck!
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Subscriber Tip
Don't forget the used clothing stores when looking for
fabric because you can buy a garment, take it apart, and use the
fabric to cut out your pattern pieces. This also works for
specialty buttons and you save a lot of money. (Some sewing
skills are necessary).
Elba
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Subscriber Tip
Keep a notebook with all your bills arranged in alphabetical
order and a ledger form behind the bill so you can keep
everything organized. I also keep a portable file holder for
storing in the notebook as well as file folders of incoming
mail/bills and other files. This keeps things handy and
organized for bill paying each month.
Barbara
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This Week's Article Links
Just click the links to view the articles
Jump off the medium income, high debt treadmill
The Debt Adviser by Steve Bucci • Bankrate.com
Cut Your Holiday Bills In Half
By Gregory Thomas
How to Make 100% or More on Your Money
by David Berky
To read more articles visit:
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Special Recipe
If you like this recipe you can find it and 299 more in the
online ebook "300 Muffins and Quick Breads" by visiting this
page:
Applesauce Sugar Muffins
1-1/2 cups sifted flour
1-3/4 tsp. baking powder
1/2 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. nutmeg
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup shortening
1 egg, beaten
1/4 cup milk
1/2 cup applesauce
Sift together the dry ingredients. Mix in the rest of the
ingredients and blend well.
Fill greased muffin pans 2/3 full and bake at 350 for 20-25
minutes or until golden brown. Remove muffins from the pans and
roll immediately in melted butter and then in a cinnamon and
sugar topping.
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Everyday Savings
These Tips provided by The Frugal Shopper
You can find a large selection of free printables at the
below web page:
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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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