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Stop Paying Late Fees On Credit Cards And Other Bills

Here’s something to think about: Did you know that late fees on people’s credit cards account for 1/3 of the bank’s income?

Paying your bills on time is one of the easiest ways to save money. You don’t have to give up anything or do anything that takes a lot of work. You just write a check, put it in an envelope (which is usually provided for you) and mail it. Many people pay bills online now, which is just as quick.

Putting off paying a bill doesn’t mean it will somehow go away. It just means that you’re going to have a BIGGER bill to pay. For some reason, many of us tend to be like ostriches when it comes to our bills.

Our pastor was talking last Sunday about how ostriches aren’t too bright. It started me thinking about how much like ostriches we are sometimes when it comes to our bills.

• There is an old saying that an ostrich buries its head in the sand and is usually used to say if we can’t see our enemy, the enemy can’t see us and the enemy will go away. Never mind that the ostrich’s huge body is sticking out in plain view.

  In the same way, many of us think if we bury our bills under a pile of papers and we can’t see them, they will just go away.

• Ostriches have little wings that they flap all the time, thinking they can fly and are going somewhere, but the reality is that their wings don’t work and they aren’t going anywhere at all.

  In the same way, we often flap our wings doing non-productive things with our finances, like spending money on things that we think make us feel good. We think we are flying high and living the good life when we are really going nowhere.

  Some of us think we are saving money by using energy efficient light bulbs and turning off lights, but then we turn around and pay hundreds of dollars a year to operate a large freezer that is mostly empty or is full of food we never use.

• There is one thing an ostrich is really good at and that is running– running very, very fast away from things. How often are we like that?

  Instead of standing firm and facing our problems, we think it is easier to turn tail and run as fast as we can to get away from our problems.

  Please don’t get angry about what I just said. Instead, consider my words and be honest with yourself about your situation.

If you find my statement about late fees hard to believe, here are some numbers. These numbers are ballpark figures, but I tried to get as close as I could to average. Take a look at your own numbers and check to see what is happening in your life. Don’t bury your head in the sand.

Assuming that late fees average $35 each:

• 5 credit card bills paid late =   $175 a month     –     $2,100 a year
• 10 credit card bills paid late =   $350 a month  –     $4,200 a year

But it gets worse. If you have a nice low interest rate, paying your bill late usually causes the interest rate to jump up to 30% after the first time you are late. That means if you borrow $1,000 you will be paying $300 interest every year.

If you have $1,000 balance on credit cards that have been reset to 30% interest, your interest on:

• 5 cards =     $1,500 a year
• 10 cards =   $3,000 a year

Even though this post has mostly addressed late fees, there are other fees you can eliminate, including monthly maintenance fees for bank accounts, annual fees for credit cards, ATM fees, etc. Most people don’t even notice that they’re being charged these fees, but they can really add up. Look closely at your statements and do your best to eliminate all of the fees. We generally don’t pay fees for banking or credit cards for any reason and we have occasionally changed accounts when one company insisted on charging a fee.

I think you are getting the idea. So often, I hear moms say, “I wish I could stay home”, or “There is no way we could live on one income,” but it IS possible. In some cases, one person’s entire income is mostly going to paying late fees and interest on credit cards and other bills. This is why I get so passionate about controlling your debt. Once you learn to control it, you can radically change your whole life and lifestyle for the better.

      -Jill

For more easy and practical ways to save money and get out of debt, check out Dig out Of Debt and learn more about how to keep more of your money.

 

Photo By: wsssst

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Homemade Herb Vinegar

2 cup white vinegar
1 cup fresh herbs: basil, mint, dill, rosemary, chives or oregano (choose one)

Decide which herb you’d like to flavor your vinegar. Place the vinegar in a glass jar or bottle. Add herbs, seal and let steep for 2-4 weeks. The longer you let it steep, the stronger the vinegar. Remove herbs and put in 2 or 3 sprigs of the herb for decoration. Seal bottle with cork and then pour melted paraffin around the top and tie with a ribbon for gift giving. Makes 2 cups.

For more easy homemade gift recipes and scratch cooking recipes like this herb vinegar recipe, check out our Dining On A Dime Cookbook.

Photo By:B.D.’s world

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1. Always eat your popsicle on a hot summer day
2. Popsicles must be eaten sitting on front steps or soft green grass.
3. You must lick drips faster then sun can melt them.
4. Always let some drips fall on bare toes for the dog to lick off.
5. When you get down to the popsicle stick – even if it looks clean be sure and give 2-3 extra licks to make sure you get it all.
6. Remember – no one is ever too old to eat a popsicle properly.

Jill

 

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Several readers have asked about our church. Our church is Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale. When we lived in Kansas, we joked around that we were the Andover, KS branch because we watched it home with mom and my brother and his family and some other friends.

We’ve decided to post a teaching from Pastor Bob here each Sunday for those of you would like to enjoy it also.

If you don’t have a church home and can’t attend then you can watch their services live here.

Eastern Standard Time:

Saturdays – 6pm

Sundays – 8am, 10:15am, 12:30pm

Wednesdays – 6:30pm

 

If you can’t watch it live, here is a message you might like:

From Pastor Fidel Gomez

“Standing Firm While You Wait”

What should we do when we are waiting on God to answer our prayers? Mark chapter 5 tells the story of Jairus, a man who asks Jesus to come to his home to heal his daughter. Along the way, Jesus is delayed and Jairus gets the news that his daughter has died. Rather than giving up, Jairus chooses to trust God, and then he sees Jesus miraculously raise the young girl from the dead.

      Enjoy!

      -Jill, Tawra and Mike

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Sunshine Salad

Jello is always a favorite, whether you serve it in pretty long stem glasses, a beautiful mold or just a plain paper cup at a picnic.

This is a great recipe to keep for those hot summer days and it goes well with spicy things like barbecue.

1 pkg. (3 oz.) lemon Jello
1 cup boiling water
1 can (8 oz.) crushed pineapple
1/3 cup orange juice concentrate
1 can (11 oz.) mandarin oranges

Dissolve Jello in boiling water. Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Set pineapple aside. Add enough water to reserved juice to make 1 cup and stir into Jello. Add orange juice. Chill until partially set. Then add pineapple and oranges.

      -Jill

photo by: schmollmolch

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Angel Food Delight – Pineapple And Coconut Cake Recipes

Tips:

When it comes to cooking, there are certain things that are on my list of “not too fun things to do.” I try to avoid these things when possible or find faster and easier ways to do them.

Here are a few things you may not like doing and some easier ways to do them:

• Chopping pickles (for egg salad, tuna, potato salad, etc.)

  I would normally just cut a pickle or two with my knife because the amount of time it takes to drag out a chopper, rinse it, let it dry and have to put it away for one little pickle seems like overkill to me. Here is an even easier method that Tawra often uses:

  Take several pickles, chop them with a chopper, place in a jar or container and cover with a little juice. Then, when you need a spoonful or two, just scoop them out of the jar, pressing the spoon against the side of the jar to remove the juice. These are almost like chunky pickle relish. Now you have chopped pickles handy all the time.

• Cracker Crumbs

  For years, I have tossed crackers into a bag and crushed them with a rolling pin. The bag would usually get a hole in it and I would end up with a big mess. (Believe it or not, I don’t own a food processor or chopper.)

  Instead, try placing your crackers into a wide mouth mug or small bowl. Use a narrower tumbler that fits inside the first mug to crush your crackers or cereal for crumbs.

  You could also crush a large amount of crackers into crumbs in a food processor all at once. Store in a large airtight container with a scoop and you’ll have them handy and ready whenever you need them. This works especially well for graham cracker crumbs if you make a lot of pie crusts or to use in other recipes.

• Cutting Meat

  For years, I used a knife to cube all kinds of my meat, until I discovered kitchen shears. Even a nice pair of strong scissors works well. Now I cut my meat with the kitchen shears. It only takes half the time and I don’t have to clean a cutting board afterward.

  If you are cutting something like steak into cubes, cut it when it’s slightly frozen, because it is easier to cut.

Menu:

Chef Salad
Assorted Crackers
Cantaloupe and Watermelon Slices
Iced Tea
Angel Food Delight*
Easy Pineapple/Coconut Cake*

 

Recipes:

Angel Food Delight

1 angel food cake, cubed
1 can pie filling (cherry, peach or blueberry)
1 small pkg. instant vanilla pudding
1 1/2 cups milk
1 cup sour cream
Whipped topping

Place half of the angel food cake cubes into a pan or dish. Top with pie filling. Place remaining angel food cake on top. In a separate bowl, combine pudding, milk and sour cream, beating well. Pour over cake. Chill for 5 hours or more and served topped with whipped topping.

Easy Pineapple And Coconut Cake

1 can (20 oz.) crushed pineapple, undrained
1 (2 layer) yellow cake mix
1pkg. (4 servings) lemon instant pudding
2 cups whipped topping
1/2 cup flake coconut, toasted
1/2 cup chopped pecans or nuts

Drain pineapple, reserving juice. Mix cake batter according to package directions, but substitute 1 cup pineapple juice for 1 cup of water called for in the cake batter. Pour into a 15x10x1 inch greased baking pan.

Bake at 350 degrees for 15-18 minutes, until toothpick inserted in the center comes out clean. Cool.

Mix milk and pudding, beating 2 minutes with a wire whisk. Stir in pineapple. Spread over cake, cover with whipped topping and sprinkle with coconut and nuts. Store in refrigerator.

 

Photo By: Mr. T in DC

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You can do much more with jams and jellies than just spreading them on toast. Here is a list of a few of great ways to use jams and jellies:

 

• Roll a peeled banana in strawberry jam. Then sprinkle it with nuts or granola. Freeze for a quick cool dessert or snack anytime.
• Add some peach, apricot or pineapple preserves to cooked carrots.
• Don’t have fruit for smoothies? Add some preserves or jam to them.
• In place of sugar for your hot tea, add 1-2 tsp. of peach or apricot jam.
• Add some raspberry jam to apple juice or applesauce.
• Spread any ho-hum coffee cake with jam to kick it up a notch.
• Stir orange marmalade or apricot, strawberry, peach or raspberry jelly into a fruit salad for a glaze.
• Put a few dollops of jam or jelly on a bar of softened cream cheese to serve with crackers.

      -Jill

photo by: bokchoi-snowpea

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Save Money Organizing Your Refrigerator!

Here is an excerpt from our Groceries On A Dime ebooks about organizing your refrigerator:

Organize your fridge.

There is a difference between cleaning and organizing. When you clean, you get rid of the “nasties” and wipe down the shelves. When you organize you place things in a certain order to make it easier to use them.

For example, I always keep my milk, my cheese and lunch meats in the same spots in the refrigerator. The eggs go on one side.The fruits go in the fruit bin and the vegetables go in the veggie bin. If I have room, I try to keep all the leftovers on the same shelf or in the same area in the refrigerator.

Why is any of this important and how can it save me money? Because we can save huge amounts of money by not wasting food. Food is wasted because we didn’t know we had it and it spoiled or we didn’t know we had it so we bought more of it and then it spoiled.

By having things organized, I can see at a glance if I need milk or cheese.If someone comes home for a quick lunch and I’m not there, they can look on the leftover shelf and know they can eat any of those leftovers for lunch instead of having to paw through the fridge to find something to eat. Keeping my refrigerator organized also helps me know if I need to have an extra “leftover” dinner that week because leftovers are piling up.

All of these same principles apply to your freezer, but you also want to be sure to label, label and label items in your freezer.

This all looks good on paper but what do you do when you have four kids and a husband digging through the fridge all the time?

Once a refrigerator is cleaned, most families try to keep it that way. When something gets moved out of place it is usually so obvious most people automatically put it back where it belongs. If that doesn’t happen, keep a small bank by the fridge and start fining everyone if something isn’t put back in the right place.

When money is involved, people change their habits quickly and will learn fast. Instead of fines, you could require that the person does a chore or something extra for mom as a “fine”.

Things will get messy no matter how careful you are but that is why you need to straighten your refrigerator each week before you go get groceries. I automatically straighten it throughout the week when I get in the fridge. It only takes five seconds or so to do this if you keep up with it.

Think on the positive side. Is there a “cooler” way to spend your summer!! HA! HA!

      -Jill

 

photo by: mr_t_in_dc

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Easy Homemade Baby Food

I have to say, when I see a mom whose cart is just full of baby food at the store, I just cringe. Homemade baby food is one of the quickest, easiest and most inexpensive things you can make so why spend hundreds of dollars buying the little jars? I’ve had four kids and bought a total of about 20 jars of baby food. Most of those jars of baby food were for trips.

 

Here are a couple quick and easy ways to make baby food:

Steam vegetables or fruits in a small amount of water. You can start with peas, green beans, apples, peaches, pears or sweet potatoes.

For meats: boil in some water until tender. Chicken is a good meat to start with.

Cool. Puree with water or breast milk in a blender or food processor until smooth. I just use a hand blender and I have baby food in about 30 seconds. Just rinse off the blender and you’re done!

Freeze the baby food puree in ice cube trays.

 When frozen, place your homemade baby food cubes in a freezer bag.  Take as many cubes as you need for a meal. Simply defrost and serve.

 

The Fast and Easy Homemade Baby Food Method

When I’m in a hurry, I just open a can of vegetables or fruit and puree it right in the can with my hand blender. It’s quick and easy. I drain off some of the juice but not all of it. 

Of course, you can always just open a jar of applesauce and give it to them.

If you are on the go: You can store homemade baby food in small half cup containers that are easy to grab and run.

Using Food From You Dinner

You can always use leftovers from your dinner to make baby food, too.  Just puree and freeze it as above.

If the leftovers have seasonings on them, I just rinse them off before pureeing.  Tawra

 

photo by: lovelihood,   shell_belle, chronic-shock

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Today’s Quote Of The Day:

"No man is rich who spends more than he earns and no man is poor who earns more then he spends."

      -Jill

 

photo by: xtheowl

The post Words to the Wise appeared first on Save Money And Get Out Of Debt - Living on a Dime.

 

Several readers have asked about our church. Our church is Calvary Chapel Ft. Lauderdale. When we lived in Kansas, we joked around that we were the Andover, KS branch because we watched it home with mom and my brother and his family and some other friends.

We’ve decided to post a teaching from Pastor Bob here each Sunday for those of you would like to enjoy it also.

If you don’t have a church home and can’t attend then you can watch their services live here.

Eastern Standard Time:

Saturdays – 6pm

Sundays – 8am, 10:15am, 12:30pm

Wednesdays – 6:30pm

 

If you can’t watch it live, here is a message you might like:

From Pastor Bob

“Daniel, The Book: When?”

When it comes to the end of the world, it’s not a matter of “if” but “when.” In this concluding message from the Book of Daniel, Pastor Bob shares how while we don’t know when the end the of the world will come, we know what it will be like and what we as Christians should do in the mean time to live for Christ daily.

      Enjoy!

      -Jill, Tawra and Mike

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Mini Hamburgers Recipe – Mushroom Spinach Salad

Menu:

Mini Hamburgers
Baked Onion Rings
Mushroom Spinach Salad
Tater Tots
Rocky Road Brownies

 

Recipes

Mini Hamburgers (like white castles)

1 lb. ground beef
1 (8 oz.) pkg. cheddar cheese, shredded
1 Tbsp. mayonnaise
1 (1 oz.) pkg. dry onion soup mix
24 (2 inch square) dinner rolls, split

Preheat oven to 350°. Mix everything but rolls. Spread even amounts of ground beef mix on bottom half of rolls. Place top halves on top of the meat mix, making sandwiches. If your rolls came in a foil pan then replace them on the pan if not then place on a baking sheet and cover tightly with foil. Bake for 30-35 minutes until meat is cooked through.

Baked Onion Rings

2 large sweet onions
2 eggs, beaten
1 1/2 cup crushed corn flakes
2 tsp. sugar
1 tsp. paprika
1/4 tsp. garlic salt
1/4 tsp seasoned salt*

Cut onions into half inch slices and separate into rings. Place eggs in shallow dish. Mix everything else together in another dish. Dip onion rings into eggs first, then in corn flake mix and lay on a greased baking sheet. Bake at 375° for 20-25 minutes until tender.

 

Seasoned Salt

Here is our homemade seasoned salt recipe from our Dining on a Dime Cookbook. You can make this homemade seasoned salt and use it on many other things like meats and stews.

8 Tbsp. Salt
3 Tbsp. Pepper
2 Tbsp. paprika
1/2 Tbsp. onion powder
1/2 Tbsp. garlic powder

Mix and store.

 

Mushroom Spinach Salad

8 cups fresh spinach
1/2 lb. fresh mushrooms, sliced
4 green onions, chopped
6 bacon strips
2 Tbsp. lemon juice
2 Tbsp. water
1/2 tsp. ground mustard
1/4 tsp. pepper
3 hard cooked eggs cut in large chunks

Combine spinach, mushrooms and onions. Fry bacon and remove from pan. Add everything else but eggs to the bacon drippings in the pan and heat through. Drizzle over spinach, sprinkle with eggs and crumble bacon on top.

 

Rocky Road Brownies

Bake your favorite brownie recipe. While still hot, sprinkle with mini marshmallows, coarsely chopped peanuts or nuts. Melt together 1 cup chocolate chips, 3 Tbsp. margarine and spread or drizzle over marshmallows.

 

Photo By: Marshall Astor

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Moving Idea – Make Moving Easier For The New People

With Tawra moving to Colorado, “moving” has been on our minds in a big way. Here are some more moving ideas from Jodee, one of our readers:

When we were putting together our “kits”  for moving we also made one to leave in our old house.

• We put toilet tissue, paper towels, hand soap, paper plates and cups, plastic utensils, and some band-aids in it.
• We also put in some simple, “kid friendly” snacks like peanut butter crackers and fruit roll-ups.
• In a separate box, we included all of the owners manuals and warranties for various appliances, faucets and other items in the house.

• We also included a list that identified the various plants and fruit trees around the property, the locations of faucets, the locations of the shut-offs for gas, electric, and water, and other similar information about the property.
• We also left a local phone book on the counter and wrote a list with the names and numbers of the local electric, gas, phone, and cable companies on the front, as well as the phone numbers of a few good restaurants that delivered and the names of nearby neighbors.

The entire project took less than 30 minutes and cost very little. We did it just because it seemed like a good idea and because we thought it would have been nice for someone to have done that for us. Several weeks later, we received a gracious card from the new owners thanking us profusely. They appreciated it so much that we have decided that when we move again we will do the same thing again.

      -Jodee

Along this same line, when Tawra moved into a new house a couple of moves ago, her new neighbor didn’t just bring a plate of brownies. She brought a basket with a few inexpensive things for the kids like bubbles, coloring books and small games to help entertain them while mom and dad were busy trying to get settled in. I thought this was such a nice and different idea!

      -Jill

 

photo by: artotemsco

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