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Valentine’s Day On A Dime

11 Tips for Frugal Living

by Tawra Kellam
http://www.LivingOnADime.com

Frugal living is all about making the most with what you already have. Here are 11 tips from LivingOnADime.com to help you get started:

1. Barter for services when possible. For example, we exchanged lawn mower repair from our neighbor for a table (garage sale find) that he was looking for.
2. Learn to fix things for yourself. These days, with the Internet making information so easily available, you can fix most things yourself. We do 95% of the repairs around our house and we aren’t that handy. We just keep looking for the information about how to do it and keep working until we get it fixed!
3. Stop eating out. I know you hear it all the time but STOP!!! The “average” family spends $300-$500 a month just eating out! Eating out truly is one of the biggest causes of debt! I am always amazed how someone can be “totally broke” and can’t pay their bills but are still able to go to the drive-thru of their favorite restaurant.
4. Study nutrition information and find out what you need to eat to have a healthy and balanced diet. Then stop eating the junk and eat healthy inexpensive meals at home. We have a lot of menu ideas here at LivingOnADime.com that can help you get started.
5. If something breaks and you don’t have the money to fix or if you are out of something and you don’t have the money to buy more, figure out a way to live without it. If the lawn mower breaks, can you borrow a friend’s lawn mower? If your washer breaks, go to the laundromat. If you break your tea kettle, use a saucepan to heat water. In most instances, you can find a way to make do or do without something until you have the cash saved up.
6. Do things for free. Go to the library, have a picnic or read a book. Kids are just as happy playing with mom and dad in the backyard as they are going to the zoo. If you can’t pay cash for the “fun stuff” you can always have fun at home.
7. Buy items used. We buy 90% of the items for ourselves used. Going to yard sales and thrift stores does not take any longer than going to a retail store but you can save 90% off the retail price!
8. Just say no…to your kids. Let kids buy their own toys and extras! Our kids pay for all their own soda, candy, treats like nail polish, their own computers and extras. You are not the Bank of Mom so just say no!
9. Find a cheaper way to do things. Go to a beauty school to get your hair colored (or don’t have your hair colored at all it isn’t something you need to survive). Go to a mechanic school to get your car fixed. Hire a kid instead of a lawn service to mow your yard (only if you can’t do it yourself for medical reasons. Paint your own house instead of hiring someone, cut the cable and the cell phone (gasp!), and have birthday parties at your house. There is almost always a cheaper way to do things so try to find the cheapest way and save some money!
10. Cut kids’ activities. Most kids are in way too many activities and they’re often expensive. I know families who pay $175 a month for gymnastics lessons but can’t pay the mortgage. There is a problem with this kind of thinking! Kids won’t die if you don’t give them all the lessons and activities you can’t afford.
11. Get it for free. When the landscapers were laying sod in our new neighborhood, I asked for the scraps and we were almost able to put in our entire backyard for free. When they were building houses, I asked for the 2×4′s that were going into the dumpster and got enough wood for our shed. When they were pouring concrete patios, I asked for the leftover concrete and they just poured our entire cement pad for our shed for free!! If friends have kids older than your kids, ask if you can have their hand me downs when they are done.

Get as much as you can for free and you can save thousands of dollars!

-Tawra

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Which Alternative Energy Source Is Best

Which alternative energy source is best, is a question that is often asked when the subject of alternative energy is being discussed. In my opinion, all sources provide much promise. Each source of alternative energy has it’s positive and negative sides. Here I present four sources that hold a lot of promise now as well as in the future.

Which Alternative Energy Source Is Best-Wind Power Or Solar Power

Wind energy is becoming the most-invested-in alternative energy source. The fantastic arrays of triple-bladed windmills are now being positioned all over to catch the action of the wind. In-turn, its kinetic energy is converted to mechanical or electrical energy. Obviously, there is certainly nothing fresh about the idea of a windmill with regard to capturing power. Present day wind turbines are basically much more innovative variants as compared to the older versions. Is wind energy cost effective? Naturally, the downside to wind energy is calm days produce no wind therefore no energy is captured. Of course, when there is no wind, the electricity provider backs up with conventional power sources. Therefore, wind energy is not completely self-sufficient. The cost effectiveness of wind energy seems to be much more promising on large scale operations as compared to residential applications. So, when answering the question, which alternative energy source is best, as far as wind power is concerned it doesn’t seem to hold a lot of promise for residential applications at this time.

How does solar energy produce electricity? Solar power is actually driven by means of photovoltaic cells. These cells tend to be steadily becoming much less costly and even more superior. Solar power may be utilized for electricity, heating, and creating hot water. Solar energy generates zero pollution, because the source arrives totally through the sun’s rays. Nevertheless, additional research still needs to be carried out in order for us to cheaply utilize the sun’s power. For the moment, the sun’s energy is too conditional. Storage batteries are essential so you can have power at night and on cloudy days.

Which Alternative Energy Source Is Best-Tapping Into Geothermal Energy

Possibly the most underrated and under-appreciated type of alternative energy is geothermal energy. This is another promising resource when asking the question, “which alternative energy source is best”. It is basically the naturally-occurring energy created by the heating of artesian waters which are merely under the earth’s crust. This particular heat is transferred directly into the water from the earth’s inner molten core. This water is pulled up through different methods. The objective of pulling up the hot water is actually for the collecting of the steam which is utilized to produce energy.

Hydroelectric alternative energy is actually an alternative energy source. It holds a lot of promise as far as which alternative energy source is best. Hydroelectric energy can easily produce a considerable quantity of electrical power. To put it simply, hydroelectric energy utilizes the movement of water. The water’s flow downhill turns the turbines which will produce electrical energy. Obviously, water is everywhere, therefore, it’s not much of a problem to find. On the other hand, hydroelectricity as a resource of alternative energy can be difficult and costly to generate. Dams are frequently constructed so as to be able to manage the flow of the water adequately to produce the required electricity. Constructing a dam to hold and manage water’s potential and kinetic energy requires fairly a lot of work Additionally, managing one is complicated too. Needless to say, a dam is not constantly essential if one is not attempting to provide the electrical requirements of a metropolis. You will find small run-of-river hydroelectric converters that are great for providing electrical needs to neighborhoods or an individual office or home.

There you have, four alternative energy sources, all of which provide much promise for the future of energy production. If you are still asking yourself, which alternative energy source is best, there is a great source of information at Alternative Energy Resource.