Search Results for: blog preparing your home for sale

Seven Ways to Save $1,000 for Your Emergency Fund

Dave Ramsey, financial guru who has helped so many families get out of debt, recommends that most of us start on the path to financial solvency by first saving up $1,000 toward an emergency fund. By having a solid emergency fund, we are less likely to go into debt, should the unexpected happen, such as the home furnace needing to be replaced, the car needing to be repaired, or the experience of a medical crisis. Saving that $1,000 is the first step of Ramsey’s overall get-out-of-debt plan. How can you save that much when there doesn’t seem to be any … Continue reading →

Three Home Businesses that Can Get You Out of Debt

To speed up your debt recover, consider starting a home business. It can help you earn extra income that can be applied directly to paying off your debt. Best of all? Most home businesses can be done at home, on your terms, and take as much time as you want to spend. This makes home businesses ideal for retirees, stay at home moms, stay at home dads, and even students. In fact, any one can start a home business to get out of debt. When selecting a home business to pursue for the goal of getting out of debt, it … Continue reading →

Cut Your Food Bill By Eating at Home

If you are trying to save money this year, you may be looking for ways to cut your household expenses. If you have not done so already, you may want to think about cutting back on dining out. Dining out is often viewed as an enjoyable thing and a convenient option for those of us that are short on time and would prefer not to use our time cooking or cleaning up the kitchen. The good news is that with a little advance preparation and planning, you can spend relatively little time in the kitchen and enjoy nutritious and tasty … Continue reading →

Reasons Why Garage Sale Items Are Overpriced

You may remember a previous blog I posted that talked about how pricing at outgrown sales and thrift stores has been on the high side for me, lately. It seems that things are just so overpriced, even compared to retail (when on sale). Well, I have been noticing some of this same thing in garage sales. Not by any means the majority of garage sales. Most that I visited last weekend were quite reasonable. But there were a few sellers who wanted to hold out on high prices and tough to negotiate with. The response I kept hearing at these … Continue reading →

How to Control Your Spending

Saving money is easy, the experts will tell you. It is just a matter of spending less than you make. But this simple explanation doesn’t take into account real life. Controlling your spending can be hard work. Here are some tips. Track your “no spending” days Challenge yourself, your relatives, your friends on Facebook, your friends here in the Families.com forums to no spending days. Basically, you see how far you can go without spending anything. Sometimes the days will be easy, such as when the weather is bad and you stay home. Other days will be harder, such as … Continue reading →

Preparing for Worse Times Ahead 3

If you lost your income tomorrow or found that food prices went up again by another 50-100 percent, could you provide for your family? I have been discussing ways of using frugal living techniques to be prepared for worse economic times ahead. If you missed the first two posts, you can catch up here. Preparing for Worse Times Ahead and Preparing for Worse Times Ahead 2. Now let’s talk about adding to that emergency fund. You can also find little ways to make money even if you are at home or need to work around your kid’s schedules. Sell items … Continue reading →

Preparing for Worse Times Ahead 2

Leading experts tell us that the economy will continue to get worse before it can recover. Are you prepared? Check out the first article in this series and then read below for some ways to prepare for worse times ahead. To get that emergency fund going, sock away any extra money you have, whether it is one dollar or a hundred. Any unexpected income should go straight to savings. Skip eating out and put that money straight into an account before you spend it elsewhere. Reduce your driving to one day a week if you can and put the gas … Continue reading →

Home Blog Month in Review: October

As I sit here looking out my window at the backyard, the birds are hovering in the pine tree against a strong wind and steady rain. The temperature is chilly today, and the calendar reminds me that we have left October behind. October 1st Buy a Home for $1.75 It seems that the housing crisis has made some interesting news lately. Home Month in Review: September 2008 Has the weather turned cooler now that September has passed? Pretty soon, it will be time to get that heat turned back on! Meanwhile, check out all of the articles that were posted … Continue reading →

Are You Contemplating Selling Your SUV?

If you are, you certainly aren’t alone. In a country where the average price of a gallon of unleaded fuel is $4.05, many gas guzzling SUVs are getting kicked to the curb by their owners. The only problem is once they get to the curb they often sit there for a while. Last week the General Motors plant located not far from my home announced it would be closing because of soft sales on SUVs and large trucks. Many workers there said they could see the writing on the wall, especially with the price of gas skyrocketing to record levels. … Continue reading →

Homeschool Week in Review March 31-April 5

05 Apr 2008 Second Grade Homeschool Basics by Andrea Hermitt Previous homeschool bloggers have given curriculum guides for the second grade according to subject. The purpose of this guide is to put all of the suggestions in one place allowing homeschoolers to build their own curriculum around the basics. Are Homeschooling Children School Phobic? by Andrea Hermitt According to a UK website for anxiety care, school phobia can and should be treated. According to this website (which is attempting to sell counseling services) school phobia or school refusal affects 5% of students and is most common among boys. The onset … Continue reading →