The Key to Effective Budgeting – Master The Yes/No Factor

Since money is a limited resource (in the sense that a dollar can only be used once before you must earn another one), each dollar represents the number of yeses we have available to use.  A man who makes $3,500 can say yes to 3,500 things that cost $1.  Beyond that number, he must say no.

The problem with North American culture is that credit cards and loans have made people believe that they have an unlimited number of yeses.  If they run out of money, they just go borrow more.

Read it all at Frugal Dad.

Tons of every day uses for salt!

How many ways can you use salt? According to the Salt Institute, about 14,000! The salt website has tons of handy tips for using salt around the house, and the best of the bunch — plus several additions — are listed in the article linked below.

It’s an amazingly versatile mineral.  Salt is the most common and readily available nonmetallic mineral in the world. In fact, the supply of salt is inexhaustible.

Read all about it here.

Tara Kuczykowski is a married mom of three boys and two girls, ages 2 to 8 years, living in Columbus, OH.

As a former career-oriented professional turned stay-at-home mom, reconciling champagne tastes with a tap-water budget was a challenge, especially with a large family. By learning how to cut costs on her family’s basic needs, she has found the key to having more disposable income for the things in life that make it worth living.

Tara is introducing the basics of couponing to a new generation of coupon clippers through her money-saving blog, Deal Seeking Mom, teaching readers across the U.S. how to stretch their budgets in order to make room for occasional splurges. Living the good life while spending less is possible with just a little effort.

Click here to save!

Check out the amazing $5 Dinner Mom!

The $5 Dollar Dinner Mom feeds a family of four every night. She has a great cookbook, updates her blog frequently with new recipes and offers some great links and information. You can even contribute your own recipes! Thanks $5 Dollar Dinner Mom!

7.27.10.5.Thrifty Tuesday $5 Dinner Mom

Finances are Fun: 5 Ways to Encourage Your Child to Embrace the Spirit of Enterprise

We live in a capitalistic society. Many say this with a sigh and a shake of the head, but there are some upsides that shouldn’t be overlooked. If you start early enough, it is possible to rise to unfathomable heights of success. Unfortunately, it’s also possible to destroy your credit and your life quite early in the game by not having a clear conception of how to manage your finances.

American young adults and children are notorious for their lack of financial know-how. In a society that practically forces you to get a credit card when you turn 18, this ignorance can be deadly. Here are five ways to teach your children how to excel in a competitive economy and to avoid the pitfalls along the way.

Click here to read the whole article.

For the cost of postage, you can trade what you have for what you want!

How Swaptree works

Save Money by Dining Where Kids Eat Free

12 Things You Can Do With Used Dryer Sheets

Anti-static dust wipes: The anti-cling chemicals in dryer sheets make them perfect for dusting television and computer screens and other electronic dust-magnets.

Lint brush in a pinch: Used fabric softener sheets can be used to remove pet hair and lint from clothing and upholstery.

Pot scrubbers: The softening chemicals in dryer sheets help loosen food particles stuck on pots and baking dishes; place a used sheet in the dish, cover with hot water, and let soak overnight. Rinse thoroughly after cleaning. (Editor’s Note: this one may not be for the chemically squeamish.)

Soap grime-fighter: The same softening chemicals make used dryer sheets good wipes to use in removing soap scum from bath tubs, showers and tiles.

Sweet feet: Stuff dryer sheets in your shoes overnight to keep them smelling fresh. They’ll also freshen closets, dresser drawers and cabinets.

Dust-free blinds: Not only do spent dryer sheets make a handy wipe for metal and plastic blinds, but the chemicals in them help to repel dust.

Click here to read more!

6.29.10.2.Thrifty Tuesday

Courtesy of The Confident Mom, advice for saving time & money!

Give yourself a time and money raise using Alice.com and Drugstore.com, as well as other great sites for shopping online, to save time and money.

6.22.10.1.Thrifty Tuesday – Give Yourself a Time & Money Raise

Starting a Household Ledger – With Pen and Paper

 From Frugal Dad, one of our favorite blogs, we found this fabulous idea!

Many businesses close the books on their fiscal year June 30th, and July 1st begins a new fiscal period. That’s the approach we are taking in our house as well. So what’s the big idea? We plan to write down all income and expenses in a ledger book…with a pen.That’s right; every single transaction, from the monthly electrical bill to the Sunday afternoon run for an ice cream cone, everything goes down in writing. We got the idea from fellow blog reader, and frequent Frugal Dad commenter, Mrs. White, who blogs at The Legacy of Home.

Why A Household Ledger Account?

Here lately, we’ve recognized that we are a little detached from our household spending. We have all utilities and recurring bills going directly to our credit card. Occasionally, we use the credit card for other types of spending if we are low on “walking around money” – my description of cash.

This makes things pretty convenient. We get one credit card bill at the end of the month and pay it off. The problem is, we rarely know exactly what that bill represents. I’m not prepared to go to an all-cash basis because to be quite honest, it is a bit of a headache scheduling all the various household bills (electric, water, cable, etc, etc) online and/or writing checks.

Read the entire post here.

6.15.10.1.Thrifty Tuesday – Keep a Household Ledger