Frugality In Practice: Only Buy What You Can Afford, Please!

July 29, 2008 · Filed Under , · 25 Comments 

Disclaimer: I am ticked off!

The United States has officially lost it’s marbles. Our “leaders” recently signed off on a big ol’ bailout for those that bought houses they couldn’t afford. Yesterday, I heard different folks interviewed at something called a ’foreclosure rescue event’.

At one of these events, I actually heard a lady say something like this, “We feel like we should be able to afford a home of our own. We want to start a family, we are married, and we should be able to afford a home of our own. It should be easier than it is, hopefully we can lower our mortgage today, and be able to keep our current standard of living.”  Her and her husband wanted their mortgage rate dropped from 7%, to 3% fixed.

Say what???? So let me get this straight, if you can’t afford a house, or the payment, then you think that everybody else should pitch in with their tax money so you can afford to stay in the house? Say what???? She says she “should” be able to afford a house. Should? Based on what? How about you lower your standard of living and get by on less before you want others to bail you out!  This sense of entitlement that many Americans have drives me crazy! I have some questions for this person before saying if she CAN, not should, be able to afford a house:

  • Where do you live?
  • What kind of vacations do you take?
  • Do you save? If so, how long have you been saving?
  • What kind of automobile do you drive?
  • What do you do for a living?
  • What brand of clothes do you wear?
  • How expensive are the restaurants you eat at?

These are some of the things I would want to know before deciding whether or not you “should” be able to afford a home. Thoughts? Am I missing something here?

OK, feel free to kick me off my soap box! Bang,Crash,Thump. Ouch, that hurt….

~Related ”Affordable to Use” Coupons:

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Great Consumer Resources + FREE Stuff

July 24, 2008 · Filed Under · 1 Comment 

I have 4 websites that I need to tell you about today! They are all great consumer tools that should be added to your cyber tool belt. If you are into freebies and great consumer and product information they will be right up your alley. I hope you will find them as useful as I do. So, with that said, drum roll please…..

  • Just Free Stuff – This site is run by my buddy James, he manages the website and newsletter full-time, bringing you links to free stuff and free samples from all over the Net. He has over 200,000 subscribers to his daily free stuff newsletter, very impressive. Go check it out and score some freebies for yourself.
  • The Bargain Hunter – This blog is fairly new to me but I am really enjoying her posts. The Bargain Hunter is run by Julia Scott of the L.A. Daily News and offers great savings advice for not only shopping but in everyday life. Things like how to save money when planning meals as well as consumer related issues like product recalls, scams, and of course, my favorite, online coupons.
  • Consumer Queen - Melissa Garcia founded Consumer Queen as a way to pass along information to saavy shoppers on not only coupons, but also product recalls and consumer tips. She also offers free coupon classes so you can learn her secrets when it comes to clipping coupons for groceries and household items. I first discovered her on a TV show interview and she really does have some great advice. This is a excellent resource for those new to clipping coupons and looking for the most time efficient way to start. Go take a peak.
  • EdealsEtc.com - A good source for online deals, coupons, and bargains. No sense paying full price!

Please feel free to pass along your favorite site for free stuff or bargain hunting!

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Keep Your Blog From Getting Hacked!

July 18, 2008 · Filed Under · 2 Comments 

As I mentioned a few weeks ago, this WordPress blog got hacked! I was looking at my Google Webmaster tools when I noticed something was wrong when I saw in the “What Googlebot Sees” section that my site had the words of a bunch of prescription and illegal drugs and credit card scams in it’s content! SAY WHAT!! I darn near fell off my chair, this is what happens to other people, not to me! I then researched the problem and noticed that a malicious script was being added to my blog pages and adding hundreds of these drug and credit card links at the bottom of most of my blog pages. Yikes!!

What I Did Wrong (So you won’t make the same mistakes!)

  1. Upgrade Today! – I did NOT keep my version of WordPress updated to the newest version. I fell way behind and the hackers look for older versions because they lack a lot of the security measures that the new versions have. Here are the details on how to upgrade WordPress. Don’t procrastinate, do it today!!
  2. Re-Do Your Passwords! – I am talking about the passwords that you use to access your blog admin section and the password for your database if you have your domain hosted. If those passwords are something simple like a common word, followed by 2 numbers, and you are using an old version of your blogging software, you will get hacked, guaranteed! It is just a question of when, not if. A good password is T5f?2y3Pd4!, and a bad password is jimmy12 or lovetoblog7. I found this really cool website by Microsoft that will test your passwords for you and tell you if they are strong or terrible.
  3. Back-Up You Blog. – Finally, it is really important to back-up your blog often so if you do get hacked, you may have a clean version of your blog to fall back on.

So have you ever been hacked? Or do you have a great piece of advice to add to this post on how to avoid being hacked? Please leave a comment so we can keep it from happening to others. Thanks!

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Product Review: New Milk Jugs at Coscto

July 8, 2008 · Filed Under , · 11 Comments 

I am a big fan of change if that change sparks more efficient products. So when I heard of the new 1 gallon Milk jugs at Costco and how they are helping to keep costs down, I was intrigued. As I see it now, here are the pros and cons of the new design:

Pros

  1. Cheaper Milk. Apparently the new square design allows the jugs to be stacked which in turn allows more milk to be shipped per truck load. Which means less transportation/gas costs and that savings is passed along to us. You can currently get 2 one gallon jugs for $7.25 (or $3.60 per gallon). Not bad.
  2. Better Fit. The new 1 gallon jugs will now fit on the side door of most refrigerators.
  3. Better For The Environment. I have heard that the new jugs, if not recycled, are more biodegradable in the landfill. Has anyone else heard this?

Cons

  1. Hard To Pour. With the big opening way up on top it is very hard to pour these bad boys without trickling it down the side, and on to the floor, where the cat then licks it up. When you get about half way into the jug, pouring gets much easier.
  2. More Work For Parents. Forget about kids being able to pour these unwieldy things. Unless, of course, your cat needs to add a few pounds.

Have you used the new square milk jugs? What was your experience? Good, bad, or indifferent.

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Are We Running Low On Cows?

July 1, 2008 · Filed Under , · 6 Comments 

Ice cream is shrinking! Anybody notice how many Ice Cream containers that were always half gallon in size are now smaller, yet they sell for the same price?  What the heck is going on? First, we have to deal with Celebrity Circus on NBC, now this? The apocalypse must be near.

The new sizes are half a quart smaller. It made me ponder what ice cream makers are thinking. Hide the cats and cover the kids ears, yes, I was pondering again. Here are my 4 best guesses as to why Ice Cream containers are getting smaller:

  1. In an effort to drive up demand, all cows are being held hostage at the farm of Jerry. Ben was seen playing it cool on a beach in the Bahamas. Half eaten container of Cherry Garcia in hand.
  2. Tests have proven that the hands of Americans are getting smaller. So ice cream makers figured we just wouldn’t notice!
  3. As Americans keep getting fatter, ice cream makers plan on marketing the new containers as ’Fun Size’.
  4. Rumor has it that Baskins and Robbins are taking all their financial advice from OPEC.

Do you have any guesses?

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