Frugal Homesteading Blog

We are pleased to host the August 2008 edition of the Carnival of Family Life. Enjoy!

Family Pets

Matt M. presents Growth of Healthy Food Industry posted at The Pet Haven.

Jason Rusch presents Choosing a Boxer for Sale posted at boxerdogessentials.com.

Education

Becky presents It’s Just Not About Me posted at Life Without School.

Stephanie presents My Little Teacher posted at Adventures in the 100 Acre Wood.

Tom Tessin presents Parents: How to Keep in Contact with your Student posted at FCC Student Blog, saying, “Learn how your family can keep in touch with a student going away to college for the first time.”

Alvaro Fernandez presents Brain Teasers: Spot the Difference posted at SharpBrains, saying, “Want some summer brain exercise?”

Alex Smith presents Vacations and Home Security posted at TBO-Tech.

Family Cooking & Recipes

Sahara Reins presents Fresh Eggs or Not? posted at Fowl Visions.

ISPF presents 10 Tips to Get Anyone into the Habit of Cooking at Home (Even if You Have Never Stepped into the Kitchen Before) posted at Daddy Financials.

Family Crafts and Activities

muse presents Fly A Kite! posted at me-ander.

Jennifer presents When sleeping on the living room floor felt like camping posted at Diary of 1.

Terry Candee presents Kids and Tweens Love Robots posted at Bonding Moms & Daughters To Navigate Our Crazy World . . .Oh Yeah and Crafts!, saying, “Easy craft and some humor!”

HowToMe presents How To Make a Washing Stick to Pamper Ones’ Hands posted at HowToMe, saying, “To save my hands from immersion in bleach and fabric dye, my husband made a washing stick for me. My mother’s washing stick, which seems to have been a simplification of the Victorian ‘poss stick,’ was his inspiration.”

Family Fiction

Jenn presents The Birth Announcement, a fictional story inspired by a writing prompt at A Thousand Words, posted at Mixed Metaphor.net.

Riley presents The Dangerous Days of Daniel X by James Patterson posted at All Rileyed Up, saying, “A book review of James Patterson’s latest YA novel, targeted at boys.”

Family Finance

Raymond presents 0% Balance Transfer Credit Cards posted at Money Blue Book.

Silicon Valley Blogger presents The Household CFO: Home Financial Taskmaster posted at The Digerati Life, saying, “How we run our family’s finances!”

Family Health and Wellness

P.L. Frederick presents The Thing About A Sting posted at Small and Big, saying, “You can learn a lot from a talking honeybee.”

Laura Scarborough presents breathing in and out posted at Adventures in Juggling, saying, “with hubs’ recent diagnosis of a chronic health condition that only gets progressively worse, I am struggling with guilt over my acceptance and silence over the years and the very real prospect of raising and caring for my five children alone.”

Heather Johnson presents Caregiving Tips for Families with Special Needs? posted at The Virtual P.T.A. at PS 373R.

Family Humor

Madeleine Begun Kane presents Vacation Verse posted at Mad Kane’s Humor Blog.

Tracee Sioux presents No Children in Workout Area posted at Blog Fabulous, saying, “This is what happens when they close the gym nursery for summer.”

Gabriel Almada presents Florencia, international coiffeur posted at Live from Waterloo.

Family Relationships and Self-Improvement

jen_lew_79 presents His Wife posted at A Continuously Praying Wife.

Lin Burress presents Toxic Relationships - Toxic Family Members posted at Telling It Like It Is.

Kristy presents Fireworks posted at the bonny mess.

Parenting Tips and Advice

Cathy Ley presents Walking and Baby Proofing Our Home posted at Tips for Moms & Baby Websites.

Tracee Sioux presents 10 Antidotes to Self-Objectification & Sexualization of Girls posted at So Sioux Me, saying, “How to help your daughter see herself as more than an object for male entertainment. Ways to encourage her to explore herself as a whole 3 dimensional human being and combat media messages that it’s all about being pretty.”

Autumn Beck presents How To Start Cloth Diapering on a Budget posted at All About Cloth Diapers, saying, “Autumn Beck posts about how to get started with cloth diapers for less than $125.”

Thank you all for participating in the Carnival this week!

Submit a blog article for the August 25, 2008, Back to School Edition of the Carnival, hosted at Write from Karen, by clicking here!

The Carnival archive can be viewed here.

Interested in hosting a future edition? Review the schedule here and then drop a line letting JHS know the week you would like to have the Carnival visit your site!

I found these lovely tiger lilies growing wild along the road and brought them home. Tiger lilies grow abundantly around here, but I don’t have any on our property. I thought they really brightened the counter, and they stayed lovely for several days.

These bright white lilies were salvaged from a days-old flower arrangement that was mostly wilted or browning. I thinned it out, keeping a few of the greens and the lilies. The bouquet was a centerpiece at our table at a wedding we attended and it was sent home with us at the end. I removed the brown petals from several roses and gave them their own spot on another part of the counter:

Since we have been living on this property for only a few months (we purchased it almost two years ago and were renovating the home for months!) I don’t have a flower garden or bulbs in yet, but landscaping is on my list of projects … the never-ending to-do list!

In the meantime, I’ll keep an eye out for frugal spring flowers and make inexpensive summer floral arrangements from whatever I can gather. What budget decorations brighten your home?

Welcome to the July 1, 2008 edition of the Frugal Homesteading Carnival. I was pleased to receive some great blog posts for this edition.

Frugal Home Tips

Tiffany Washko presents 10 Ways to Reuse a Glass Jar posted at Natural Family Living Blog. Be sure to check out this post .. I was already a fan of her blog!
Damaris presents Solving your kitchen problems one giveaway at a time! posted at WITHIN THE CORNERS OF MY KITCHEN, saying, “check out my weekly giveaways on my blog www.kitchencorners.blogspot.com”
John presents How to Save Money on Diapers and Formula #1 posted at The Modern Parent: baby product reviews, parenting advice, and tips, saying, “I wrote a series of three articles filled with tips on how to save money on baby formula and diapers. Useful for parents trying to save money on these expensive staples.”
Jenny presents The Green Life posted at the so called me, and although she doesn’t see herself as a fan of organic foods, she’s interested in frugal living.

Food & Health

Shaheen Lakhan presents Food Additives, Hyperactivity, and Common Sense posted at GNIF Brain Blogger, saying, “A BMJ editorial recently covered how the EFSA did studied how some food additives lead to childhood hyperactivity. It was questioned later that there wasn’t enough evidence to back this up; the studies were re-evaluated. The editorial mentioned that there is strong evidence backing up two therapies for this problem: drugs and dietary modification.”
Amy S Quinn presents 33 Health Benefits of Drinking Tea posted at NursingDegree.net.

Frugal Food

Sarah presents How to dine at fancy-schmancy restaurants on the CHEAP posted at SARAHSPY.

Frugal Personal Finance

The Shark Investor presents Do It Yourself Projects As a Source of Alternative Income posted at The Shark Investor, saying, “Do it yourself is actually a way to earn money.”
Raymond presents Work From Home With Paid Online Surveys posted at Money Blue Book. Check out his article to avoid internet scams and learn about real opportunities for paid surveys.
imarketing4s presents Top 10 Money Mistakes In Buying A Car | LoanHunt.com posted at LoanHunt.com.

David B. Bohl presents Subprime Lifestyles posted at Slow Down Fast Today!, saying, “The subprime crisis is directly related to the skewed way we as Americans look at money, debt and personal wealth, and how we act on these views.”

That concludes this edition of our Frugal Homesteading Blog Carnival! If your post was included, please post a timely link back to the blog and Stumble and Digg the carnival to help promote everyone’s work. Submit your blog article to the next edition of frugal homesteading carnival using our carnival submission form. I’m hoping to have more gardening and animal husbandry submissions as time goes on, so please submit posts in these topics if you have one. Past posts and future hosts can be found on our blog carnival index page.

Technorati tags: frugal homesteading carnival, blog carnival.

Have you ever wished you had more ideas for frugal living? Have you looked at your budget and wished there was something else you could trim, but don’t know where to start? Not excited about saving a few pennies by reusing plastic baggies? Me neither. I’ve found that some of the best ideas for frugal living are lucrative and don’t have to be painful.

Dial for dollars. You can often save money – even hundreds of dollars – in one simple phone call to your Internet provider, cable company or credit card account. Ask your cable to give you the low introductory rate your new neighbor has, or you saw advertised. I recently got another introductory rate with my Internet provider, only two months after my first introductory period ended. That call saved me $150 over six months. When my cable was down for three days after a storm, I had another $15 taken off my month’s bill.

Ask for a refund of late charges or fees, especially if you normally pay on time. Be polite and ask for a “one-time courtesy”; more often than not, you’ll get the fees waived.

When hoping for a lower rate on your credit card, use this strategy: ask the company representative where to send the payment to pay off your credit card bill so you can close the account. Mention closing the account several times; when I did this, the rep transferred me to “Account Retainment” and my interest rate was slashed in half to keep me a loyal customer.

Stop borrowing money. This might seem obvious, but many still use credit cards and finance their cars even as they struggle to live on a budget. Live without debt, and you will save more money than you can imagine over your lifetime. Not only will you save thousands of dollars in interest payments, you’ll buy less when you pay with cash, check or your debit card.

Bargain. Most Americans are used to simply paying the sticker price wherever they go, but the secret is that many larger-ticket items are negotiable when it comes to price. Financial guru Dave Ramsey suggests researching the best prices before you go out to buy your appliance, sports equipment, or other big-ticket item. Then, bring cash and ask for a lower price than what’s being asked. Talk to a manager if necessary, and look for refurbished or returned items with warranties to get an even better deal.

Sell stuff. Offer your used items on Craig’s List, in the local classifieds or at consignment sales instead of just donating or disposing the things you don’t need. Think outside the box – even spare car parts from a dead vehicle have resale value. Children’s clothes and toys have great resale value at seasonal consignment sales as well as stores that share the sale price with consignors.

Grow some food. Whether you have a few acres in the country, or a south-facing townhouse with a deck, you can cultivate some vegetables and herbs to help lessen your food budget. Recycle containers for potted plants and tomatoes if you can’t plant directly into soil. Save your non-hybrid seeds form one year to the next to save on planting costs. If you have space and time, plant a large garden and include fall crops like pumpkins, cabbage and winter squash to extend your harvest season.

I know I barely scratched the surface, so please share your ideas and resources for frugal living below.

Photo by Arturo Benjumeda

Blog Posts I Liked

• Tips to keep your chickens cool in the summer heat can be found at Success with Poultry.
• Frugal Babe included a simple, chemical-free diaper laundering method in her post about Cloth Diapering, and tips on making baby slings from flannel sheets in another post. Frugal and fun!
• Check out this recipe for soaked grain berry muffins. (It’s mine.) Yum!

Blog Carnival Roundup

• My post “The Economy: Recession or not?” was part of the Carnival of Personal Finance #158 : Vampire Slaying Edition hosted by Mrs. Micah. This was full of great posts.
• The All Things Eco Blog Carnival Volume Five hosted at Focus Organic highlighted my “Local Food: The Key to Surviving Record Gas Prices” post, which made my day. The post on Gardening For A Sustainable Planet is a great read, too, and highlights what can be accomplished for the greater good of the community by small steps toward self-sufficiency.
• Carnival of Family Life: “Welcome, Summer!” Edition kindly included “Frugal Fun Summer Activities for Kids” in their carnival. I usually highlight a post I really liked, but this time I’m doing the opposite. A post I disagreed with completely was “Vaccinations: Good or Bad? ” and I noticed that the author made a lot of general statements without backing up anything she said with research, facts, or experience. From the extensive personal research I have done, many vaccinations pose a greater risk to my child than the relatively benign childhood illnesses they are designed to prevent.
• DIYHomeTips’ Carnival of Everything Home was home to my Backyard Gardening post. This was a fun carnival–be sure to check it out.
• Budget Wedding Gifts is part of the Finance Fiesta 4: Cerveza Edition over at Pinching Copper.
• All For Hair June Beauty Carnival contains the Trader Joe’s Shampoo Review I wrote.
• I’m accepting submissions for the Frugal Homesteading Blog Carnival; please submit your best blog posts.

Enjoy your reading … and happy Saturday!

When you’re getting out of debt, it can feel like a slow, often discouraging process. When you first start the journey, you might feel energized and enthusiastic, excited about your new plan. And I imagine that when the end is in sight, you’ll have renewed energy to sprint to the finish line. But for those of us in the middle of the journey, finding motivation is harder.

On the Dave Ramsey forums, I stumbled across the idea of “snowflakes.” If you’re familiar with Dave Ramsey’s Dumping Debt lesson, or have read his books, you’ll be familiar with his debt snowball idea.

The idea of Snowflakes is that anything extra you can add to your debt snowball each month gets you that much closer to becoming debt free. Participants in the My Total Money Makeover forums join in a monthly Snowflake challenge and post updates throughout the month as they work toward their personal goals.

Snowflakes are totally extra, above and beyond the extra already being put toward debt. It’s a way of making debt freedom come even more quickly. Say your monthly debt payment minimums total $600, and you have an extra $200 a month budgeted for your lowest balance. But you really want to get out of debt. Snowflakes are the ways you save or earn more money to put toward the snowball.

For June, I challenged myself to find an extra $100 to put toward my debt reduction. So far I’m at $75. I saved $25 by getting my cable provider to drop my internet bill from $50 to $25 a month for the next six months. I earned $25 through an extra online writing job I hadn’t expected, and got $25 for signing up for an online bank account.

I’m $75 closer to being debt free!

Getting out of debt can almost be fun with the Debt Snowball and Snowflake approach. How much extra could you put toward your debt snowball this month? I’d love to hear your comments below!

My husband and I are following the Debt Snowball approach on our journey toward debt freedom. We’re attempting to rid ourselves of college loans, credit card debt and a home equity line of credit used for buying our second home.

Here’s how the debt snowball works. It’s actually quite simple. When you’re getting out of debt:

• List your debts in order of smallest to largest. Don’t worry about the interest rates, as the important thing is to get your debt reduction rolling as fast as possible. It’s very motivating to pay off a debt and allow that momentum to carry into your next debts.
• Put everything extra toward your first (smallest) debt. Pay minimums on all but your smallest debt and put as much extra toward your first debt as possible each month.
• Once a debt is paid off, put everything you were paying on that debt each month toward your next smallest debt.

Critics of this approach say it makes much more fiscal sense to pay off the highest-interest debts first, and that you’ll save more money this way. However, those who prefer the smallest-debt-first method say the satisfaction of paying off each debt is so motivating they are inspired to pay off their debt more quickly.

Over at plonkee money, the blog editor has come up with a way to supercharge the debt snowball. It’s a great way to get the best of both worlds–the psychological satisfaction of making quick progress and the financial accomplishment of paying the least amount of interest possible.

So far, following the basic smallest debt first is working for us. We just had the satisfaction of paying off the final $200 of a $1,200 debt last week. My kids were so excited to see our debt ticker move one more spot. And I can’t wait till it moves again.

Have you started a debt snowball plan? Do you focus on the smallest debts or those with the highest interest rates?

As food prices rise at an alarming rate during this current recession, frugal grocery shopping becomes even more important. No matter your family’s tastes and preferences, there is likely room for improvement when it comes to your grocery shopping habits. Here’s how I make frugal grocery shopping work for my family:

*Cook with whole foods. Get as basic as you can in order to save money. Yes, white bread might be cheaper than making bread with whole wheat flour, real butter and honey, but what if you took it a step further and started with whole grain berries, bought in bulk? Your cost per loaf drops considerably.

*Buy nonperishables in bulk. Whole grain rice, natural peanut butter and dry pinto beans are far cheaper through my local natural foods co-op than at the grocery store, and they last indefinitely when stored properly.

*Avoid waste. Frugal grocery shopping is a bust if you wind up throwing out spoiled food. When it comes to buying perishables, be realistic about how much your family can consume before the items go bad. Buying a huge bag of lettuce only works if your family can eat it all. If the food is preservable, such as strawberries that can be frozen, process half right away and leave the other half for fresh use.

*Make nutrition a priority. Instead of finding the cheapest way to eat, find the most frugal way to eat well. A healthy body is priceless and will even save you money with lower medical costs.

*Buy in season. Purchasing pick-your-own strawberries at a nearby berry farm saves me the high grocery store prices and I get a much better product for my money. I pick enough to preserve some as jam and freeze some for winter use, extending my savings.

*Look for local sources. I make several trips to the nearby orchard throughout the fall, saving about 50 cents a pound on apples. I buy a large amount each trip, making each trip well worth the cost of gas. I make apple sauce and can it for winter use, making my savings last all year.

*Keep track of prices. Stay organized with your own Price Book and you’ll know whether a sale is a good deal or not. Here’s how:

“This is the most useful tool in making sure that every food dollar you spend is spent well. The basic idea of the price book is to have a system for tracking prices so that when you see something on sale, you will know whether it is really a good buy or not. I use a three ring binder and looseleaf paper. At the top of each page, I put several column headings: Date, Store, Item, Size, Price, Unit Price, Sale. At the top right hand corner of the paper, I put the name of the item (such as “bread”, “milk”, “cereal”, etc). When I see a sale or even a regular price, I write it down in the price book. It is easier to do this at home with store receipts or sale ads, instead of in the store, where some employees may mistake you for a competitor’s spy — it does happen! After a few months of tracking prices, you will know what is a good deal and what is not. The most important section of the price book is the unit price, because that tells you, no matter what size the item, how much you are actually paying per pound or ounce or other unit of measure.” — FrugalShopping.com

Whether you’re a pro or a novice at frugal grocery shopping, I’d love to hear from you! How are rising grocery prices affecting your budget? Comment below …

Numerous New Economic Crash Warnings

Survival Blog reported that there are several new economic crash warnings, coming from the banking sector and economists alike. Because of tightening credit and reduced access to money, banks are reducing existing credit card limits and credit lines by $2 trillion. This will have a ripple effect on consumers and the economy, as those who use their credit cards for daily expenses and even gasoline are cut off from their cash flow crutches.

The People for a Perfect Economy site puts the chance of an economic crash at 100 percent, and the numbers they’ve crunched say that at current rates, our economy can limp along to about 2010 or 2015. Economist Mike Montagne has been working with this information since before Reagan’s administration and, unfortunately, seems to know exactly what he’s talking about.

Our monetary system, based on debt and with loans lent at interest, is unsustainable. The economic squeeze we’re feeling would be completely preventable in an interest-free economy. However, more and more money in our economy (as a nation and as individuals) is going to service debt and is not being spent on production, invention and agriculture, which would contribute to prosperity.

Learning how to survive economic collapse is imperative. Best case scenario, there is a mild recession or prolonged economic downturn, and we all weather the storm as best we can. In the worst case scenario, banks close, people can’t get their money, the stock market collapses and we have a disaster of unprecedented proportions. Either way, learning how to best protect your family and survive through challenging economic times is critical.

The following resources are meant to be a starting point for your own research and planning.

• Survival Blog is an incredible hub of information on surviving any imaginable disaster and preparing for the unknown. Author James Wesley Rawles advises getting your finances and homestead or retreat in order for the coming economic crash.
• The Second Great Depression 2007-2020, a book by Warren Brussee, includes investment advice for a prolonged economic downturn, with predictions backed up by facts. However, he stops short of forecasting a worldwide economic collapse.
• America’s Financial Apocalypse: How to Profit from the Next Great Depression, by Stathis, discusses the current economic climate and what has brought us here. He shows how America’s middle class has become eroded and we will soon be left with the very rich and the working poor. America’s second great depression is a foregone conclusion for this author.
• Homesteading Today Forums have thousands of threads on every imaginable homesteading topic, from raising chickens and livestock to canning food at home. This is a great resource for those interested in more self-reliant living, which will become ever more important in the coming months and years.

Are you expecting a mild recession, prolonged depression or total economic collapse? What preparations are you making, and do you have any resources to share?

Curious about good work from home jobs, and whether there’s a good fit for you? In this technological age, we’re lucky to have countless work from home job opportunities and online money makers for many entrepreneurs, writers and design experts. On the other hand, “old-fashioned” ways of earning extra money, such as tending an orchard and raising poultry for sale, have a timeless appeal and wouldn’t be lost if the grid goes down.

Think about your passions, your interests and your experience, and get creative as you discover ways to work from home. Here are several work from home jobs tried by myself or someone I know:

Freelance Writer
There is a huge market for freelance writers, both for online content and magazine writing. Competition is stiff for the higher-paying circuits, so build up your portfolio and skills as you go. Check out these bidding sites: Elance, Rent-a-Coder and Guru.com. You can also write directly for content site with revenue-sharing writers programs, including eHow, Hub Pages, Xomba, Helium, Associated Content and Squidoo. I have experience with the first three, and recommend those, especially eHow, as a great place to start. (My ebook on maximizing eHow earnings may help!)

Customer Service Representative
Check out LiveOps and West Call Center Management and find out if they’re hiring in your area. I’ve never gone this route (my home is just a little too noisy an environment for taking calls) but have chatted online with people who have and are pleased. You’ll take calls ranging from pizza orders to product complaints, and the better you do, the more calls you’re assigned.

Homework Tutor
Do you enjoy teaching others? You can help students with their homework through online forums and applications. Tutor.com and Just Answer hire educational tutors with teaching or tutoring experience, and pay increases with experience. I managed to pass the screening process at both sites, and while vigorous, your Internet research skills will help you get through it. You can also advertise locally and schedule individual tutoring sessions with nearby students.

Website Design and Support
Experienced web designers, web host companies and graphic designers make a good fit for home-based operations. If you’re skilled in this area, check out Guru.com, GetAFreelancer.com and WebDesigners123.com for possible matches with people needing your work.

Crafter
Many small business models are well suited to the home environment, including that of crafter. Handmade goods are popular at craft shows, boutiques, Christmas Fairs, and Main Street style shops, especially in tourist locations. Soy candles are a popular niche right now, as are jewelry, matching children’s clothes, and natural beauty products.

Fruit Growers, with an orchard of peaches, apples and cherries or a garden plot full of cantaloupes, tomatoes and watermelons, can do very well in any economy. My dad has planted a large orchard with pears, figs, persimmons, apples, peaches and cherries and expects to make a nearly full-time income once the trees mature. My younger brothers run the family garden and fall crops, selling the excess and hundreds of pumpkins a year at the family farm stand.

Small-Scale Poultry farming for sale of eggs, meat,  chicks (or all three) is very lucrative for many enterprising families. My sister and her husband produce free range chicken meat, selling whole butchered birds to those who prefer local, natural food.

Do you have a work from home job? What do you do, or where does your passion lie? Share with our readers, below.