How to Build a Wardrobe on a Budget

Those of you who have known me a while know that I lost a lot of weight over the past few years. I weigh about 60 pounds less than I did most of my adult life.

This photo is from my driver's license and was taken about 15 years ago.

I lost the majority of my weight by late 2010 through portion control and exercise and then I had some health issues that sidetracked me from working out from April 2011-January 2012. I maintained the weight I had lost but still wanted to lose more. 

In the spring of 2012, I began exercising again and found a program on television that started me on the path to additional weight loss and increased physical fitness. Within a month of beginning to do essentrics (http://www.essentrics.com/ and  http://www.classicalstretch.com/), I had lost a clothing size! I also lost 6 more pounds and am still working on about ten more to finish my weight loss goal from four years ago. 

I now weigh within two pounds of my high school weight and I feel great!

All this recent weight loss and improved shaping of my body has caused me to need all new clothes. I know, it is hard to sympathize with my problem! I have almost no budget for clothing so I did what I always do when confronted with a challenge. I prayed for wisdom and then formulated a plan of action. 

I decided to hit up the thrift stores but to focus on only buying from their daily sale promotions. At my local thrift store, a certain colored tag is chosen each day to receive a 50% discount if purchased.

I recently bought a pair of khaki Dockers, a pair of black crop pants, a Crazy Horse purse (division of Liz Claiborne), an exercise top, a top for work, and a casual top for fall for $13.00! I also received a sweater for free because it has a tiny pinhole in it and the store won't sell items with holes so they gave it to me! 

My recent purchases minus the khaki Dockers. 

I still need more clothing to round out a full wardrobe but I have a good start. I have made an concentrated effort to go to the thrift store at least once a week. I go to the racks and look for items in my size with the discounted tag and march off to the dressing room to try on everything I found that meets a need in my wardrobe. Sometimes I only purchase a single item. 

Just about every thrift store I have frequented has a daily sale of some sort. If you need clothing or household items I encourage you to give your local thrift store a shot at helping you fill your need without breaking your budget. 

Let me know of your deals, steals, and tips for building your wardrobe on a budget. 

I am off to the thrift store...talk to you soon!

Five Ways to Get Money Fast!

Recently I have been sharing ways to keep more of the money you earn. Sometimes being able to manage the money coming in is all you need to improve your life. Making your meals from scratch instead of eating out is a big enough savings that it can help you to free up money to use elsewhere. Changes like that put money back into your budget pretty rapidly. 


But then there are those other times when what you really need is to get some more money into your hands and fast! Perhaps you or your spouse has just lost a job. Even if you applied for assistance until a new job is found, that takes time to get processed and you still need to eat and keep the the electricity on. So, what is a stressed out, worried person to do?


I speak from all too much experience on this topic, so I will tell you some things we have done during job losses.



1. Hold a yard sale.  Some folks reading this know they have stuff to sell because they have a shopping habit. Some of us just have things that have piled up and are not currently needed. I had some car parts in my trunk that my mechanic and I had intended for him to use in making a repair to my car. It was not a pressing need...I had the parts in my trunk for a year! When I had another car issue that was a pressing need, I took those car parts back, bought what I needed, had enough left over to pay my mechanic, and had additional money to put towards some bills. 

Many years ago when my husband lost a job we had a succession of yard sales that netted us nearly $1,000.00, which was enough to keep us afloat while he looked for and landed a new job. Of course it would be much better to have an emergency fund ready and waiting. Due to the economic events of the past few years, many of us have not been able to stock an emergency fund so we need to explore other options.

2. Find and fill a need. Perhaps you have noticed that yards in your neighborhood are looking shabby. You  can approach your neighbors with an affordable offer to mow their yards. My husband has one regular mowing job for a neighbor down the street and an occasional mowing job for the neighbor next door. He wants to get several more in our neighborhood to help beef up our bottom line. Or, you notice the neighbor kids are home alone after school because they are hanging out at your house every afternoon playing with your kids. Approach your neighbors with an affordable offer to watch their kids after school. There are some local rules and regulations on child care so check into it first, but it is right now money right where you are. These are just two examples we have done in our family. Your skill set will determine what you can do.

3. Redeem aluminum, metals, and glass. Depending on where you live, aluminum cans and glass may have deposits assessed on them and you can redeem them for right now money. I just read recently about a woman whose 9 year-old son wanted some expensive shoes. She lived in one of these areas where cans have a deposit. Her son contacted neighbors, friends, and relatives who were only too happy to donate to his cause. He earned $161.00 in one month. Even in locales where all you can do is to sell aluminum cans, you can earn money that can put gas in your car. Aluminum cans are everywhere. I grab them whenever I see them. Every store parking lot has at least two near where I park no matter when I go. Copper is another metal that is worth a nice chunk of change right now. If you have any copper tubing lying around, you can sell it to a recycler and make a tidy profit.

4. Teach lessons in an area where you are proficient. One summer, I taught a week long morning craft class for kids in my home. I had lots of crafts I wanted to do with my five children and had to purchase a lot of materials. I defrayed the cost of materials, gave some moms five mornings of time to themselves, and taught some kids some fun activities, while putting some cash into my wallet. Do you speak a foreign language fluently? Do you know how to knit, sew, or crochet? Are you a whiz at cooking a special cuisine? People will gladly pay you to learn what you know. You can create a flyer and post it at your local library, on your church's bulletin board, or on Craig's List and be teaching and earning within a week or two or even sooner!

5. Rent things you own to others for short-term use. Do you have some tools or other items that folks are always asking to use? Perhaps you can make some money by listing them for rental to local folks. Do you have room in your garage, basement, or attic you can rent out? Renting a storage room can be quite expensive so you could offer someone a storage space for less and still earn decent money for yourself.
Check out this company (RelayRides) that helps you to rent out your car to others to earn money-https://relayrides.com/earn?utm_source=google&utm_medium=cpc&utm_campaign=ownernat. There are all kinds of websites set up to help folks rent their homes, vehicles, and more.

Will any of these ventures replace regular income? Not likely. What they will do is put cash in your wallet pretty rapidly and allow you a little breathing room while you regroup and get a plan of action in place.

Have you faced loss of income and needed money quickly? What did you do to meet this need? I love hearing from you, so please take a moment to leave a comment and let's help each other by sharing what we have learned.

More Ways to Earn by Not Spending

Yesterday I posted ten ways to earn money by not spending it. My savvy friend Melody also posted ten ways she earns money by not spending it. She and I are very similar in many ways and are constantly sharing ideas for saving and earning money with each other.

After publishing yesterday's post, some additional things I do to keep money in my budget came to mind so I thought I would share those before I get too busy.

My grandmother used to quote the following saying to me, "Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without." This has been a guiding philosophy for me pretty much my whole life.

7 More Ways to Earn by Not Spending

1. Don't replace anything before it is necessary. Don't be a compulsive up grader. If your computer, couch, shoes, etc. are still in good, usable condition then continue using them. Keeping up with the Joneses is expensive! They are most likely broke and living on credit cards anyway!

2. Give careful consideration to where you decide to live. My husband and I purchased 3/4 of an acre and set up a large mobile home on it outside of the city limits of our small town. Our property taxes are under $1,000.00 per year. Our utilities are much lower than those of my friends who live in the city limits of our town. My home isn't increasing in value but I also don't have the large house payment many folks I know do and I can improve my basic home to be whatever I would like it to be as time goes on.

3. Find a beauty school in your area and use its services. Beauty schools offer hair cuts, colors, permanents, highlights, facials, manicures, and other services for a fraction of regular beauty salons. The students are supervised by qualified instructors. I have been very satisfied by the services I have received at the beauty school nearest to me.

4. Learn to bake and decorate birthday cakes for your family. Many craft supply stores host cake decorating classes for a nominal fee which often includes cake decorating supplies and discounts for the purchase of additional cake decorating supplies. My children loved the theme cakes I made for them when they were young and I loved the savings over bakery purchased cakes.

5. Buy a haircut kit and learn to cut your family's hair. Developing hair cutting skills saved us hundreds of dollars over the years I was raising my five children.

6. Learn to groom your pets. We acquired a darling little Shih Tzu a year ago who requires regular trims. I didn't realize until we got him how expensive having a dog groomed can be so I am learning to groom him myself.

Watson taking a break from being groomed. You may notice his name tag doesn't say Watson. He needs a new name tag because the one he is wearing has his previous name on it. 

7. Get your pets vaccinated at local vaccination drives held by various organizations. Pet vaccines from your vet are much more expensive than those at these vaccine clinics. Our local grocery store hosts a pet vaccine clinic at least every other month.



I hadn't realized that these ideas and the ones I shared in yesterday's post are not commonly done until my youngest son relayed a conversation he had with someone awhile ago. In the conversation, my son shared how we exist on a very low income. The person with whom he was speaking was incredulous at hearing that our family lived on under $25,000/year for quite a while. People have lost the ability to do many things for themselves and don't even realize that they CAN do the things they pay others to do.

People have been conditioned by the media and the government to think that a certain income means a certain lifestyle. While it is true that the problem for some folks is that they have a low income, for many others the problem is that they need to learn to use their income more wisely. I would rather enjoy my life on a lower income than to work all the time to earn more money and not have time to enjoy my life.

I would love to hear your thoughts on this and related topics!

Ten Ways to Earn Money by Not Spending

So many times I read an article that tells me how to "save" money by doing this activity or that activity. Unless I actually save that money somewhere, what I did was to earn it back by not spending. When my budget is tight, every dollar I don't spend in one area is freed up for me to spend in another.

Here are my top ten ways to "earn" money to spend elsewhere-

1. Plan meals from what I have on hand instead of going to the store. Most of us have plenty of food in our homes that we can use to create meals but we get too tired or lazy to make an effort to use what is on hand and we run to the store for something easy to feed our families. Need help with meal planning? There are lots of places online where you can put in the ingredients you have and get meal suggestions. I like this one quite a bit from Kraft Foods http://www.kraftrecipes.com/home.aspx.

2. Check out movies from the library instead of renting from Netflix, Blockbuster, or Redbox. I recently terminated my Netflix account that was costing me $12.00 a month. Instead of renting movies for a monthly fee, I take advantage of the large collection of DVDs my library stocks for FREE. I now have $60.00 per year more in my budget to use elsewhere.

3. Trade no longer needed items with a friend. I have a wonderful friend who wears the same size clothing as I do. We often pass on our no longer needed items to each other. I have quite a few articles of clothing in my closet that she gave to me. The money I didn't have to spend on clothes was able to be used in other areas of my budget, like utility bills.

4. Go to sleep earlier. There are many studies that show the later we stay up, the more likely we are to overeat and have a myriad of health problems. Being overweight can lead to expensive doctor visits. Money not spent overeating and/or visiting the doctor is money that can be used more enjoyably and profitably.

5. Learn hobbies that can generate or save money. Some people have hobbies that take money out of the family budget like going for manicures or collecting expensive trinkets. My family cannot afford those kind of hobbies. My husband likes to garden, a hobby that has fed us with healthful, tasty food. This past spring, he got paid to install raised bed gardens for other people so his hobby has now generated money for our family. I enjoy writing and have sold articles to various publications; another example of a hobby that generates money.

6. Learn to launder and iron your clothing. One of the first skills I taught my children (daughters and sons alike!) was how to wash, dry, and iron their clothing. Folks who take their clothes to the dry cleaners just for simple washing and ironing amaze me! I also avoid purchasing or acquiring clothing that requires dry cleaning. I just don't have money in my budget to expend in this way. Most washing machines tell you how to sort clothing and wash it so even if your mom didn't teach you this skill, you have no excuse for not learning.

7. Take proper care of your possessions. Everything we own lasts longer if we take good care of it. Clothes last longer if stains and sweat are not allowed to linger on the fabric. Furniture lasts longer if not misused. Cars last longer if we maintain them regularly. We can often get extra months and years out of our possessions just by being good stewards over them.

8. Terminate your gym membership and work out at home. I found several exercise programs on one of my local PBS stations and began doing them instead of going to the gym. Not only do I save (earn!) money by not having to pay a gym membership, I also save money by not having an additional driving trip. My favorite workouts are Classical Stretch (http://www.classicalstretch.com/) and Wai Lana Yoga (http://www.wailana.com/), and Functional Fitness (http://healthwiseexercise.com/). I have worked out consistently for a year with these shows and I feel great!

9. Use your library regularly. Being a regular library patron has improved my financial life in many ways. My library offers free wi-fi, which gives me all the advantages of going to Starbucks without the expense. Our library even allows us to consume food and drink in the lobby area. There are lots of tables and chairs where we can sit with our laptop computers and work. My library offers many classes for free: fitness classes, computer classes, foreign language classes, and more. The library has a summer reading program for children and adults that allows participants to enter to win prizes for turning in reading logs. One year, my youngest son won a 4 pack of tickets to a local water park! I have already mentioned borrowing DVDs from the library which is a savings, but how about reading the latest books, borrowing music CDs, and getting free downloads?

10. Scrap your magazine subscriptions and read blogs! Especially mine and my friend Melody's blog. Melody's blog is called Quirky Cottage and it is informative, delightful, and inspiring. Check her out at http://myquirkycottage.blogspot.com/.

I hope you find these ideas useful and helpful in making your money stretch in these challenging economic times. What do you do to "earn" money back from your budget?

Are You Ready for Christmas?

Christmas is coming, ready or not!

As of today, August 23, 2013, there are 120 days until Christmas (http://www.xmasclock.com/). Yeah, I hear some of you sighing. I understand. The gift giving holidays can cause a lot of stress, especially if you have a tight budget.

Take heart though, because I am here to help. Don't you feel better already?

I just received an email from Amazon.com informing me that my textbook trade-in was accepted (woo-hoo!) and that I now had $10.44 in my gift card balance. This is pretty sweet because I bought the textbook for my son two semesters ago for about $18.00 somewhere on Amazon. This is a way better return than selling to a bookstore on campus.

Now, don't get me wrong. I know I am not going to be buying all the gifts I need to buy for my kids, son-in-law, almost son-in-law, "adopted" son, son's girlfriend, grandsons, etc. with a $10.44 gift card balance at Amazon.com. But, I am empowered to look a little more closely at textbooks I see at the thrift stores I frequent to see if Amazon wants them for their trade-in program.

There is my first suggestion for getting some funds together to use on Christmas gift purchases. Keep reading...

Here is another idea- join Listia. It is a very cool site that allows you to give and get free stuff. Go to my link to get started-https://www.listia.com/signup/4087751 (just fyi, I do earn credits when you sign up under me and you earn credits for signing up too!). Last year, my husband earned enough credits to allow us to Christmas shop for some very nice items for our children. So, go ahead and give it a try, it doesn't cost you anything but giving away some stuff you need to get out of your house anyway!

Recycle or redeem cans and bottles- this idea is an oldie but a goodie, especially if you live in a state where certain cans and bottles have a deposit. I just read a blog post on Money Saving Mom where a reader's son earned $161.00 collecting and redeeming cans and bottles. I don't live in a state where these items have a deposit but aluminum is paying well so I am collecting and selling  aluminum cans. Two 13-gallon trash bags full of crushed cans netted me $7.00 recently. Again, I am not going to retire on soda can money but $7.00 here and there is very helpful when saved over the course of a year.

Save change-if you clean out the change that accumulates in your purse or off the top of your dresser, you will be surprised at how much you end up with at the end of a month.

What if you ended up with $50.00 each month through all your ventures? Would $500.00 be helpful for Christmas? We are such frugal shoppers that $500.00 goes pretty far for us.

It is a really good feeling to be able to buy our gifts without putting them on a credit card. We don't cringe when January approaches because we fear the arrival of the credit card bills incurred for holiday gift giving.

How do you pay for Christmas gift giving? What money raising ideas do you have?

Do You Feel Achy and Tired?

Life got really busy last week for me. For reasons I can't seem to remember right now, I didn't get to work out for five days. I woke up on Monday feeling achy and tired.

I have been doing lots of cleaning and organizing lately. 

My right shoulder ached from a job I did on Thursday (oh, yeah, that is one day I didn't work out because I was working, which is not the same as working out). My feet are sore from wearing some sandals that have seen better days. My lower back aches from sleeping on the couch (hubby has restless legs, a gigantic fan going 365 days a year, wears a noisy C-PAP at night, and is a bed hog, so if I actually want to sleep, the couch is where I go). So, the poor 50 year-old body was griping and complaining.

I finally got in a workout this morning and my body was so thankful. People are always telling me that they don't have time to work out. I reply that they don't have time not to work out. It seems that I need to take my own advice!

I will be resuming my practice of rising around 6 a.m. in order to exercise before I leave for my various jobs. I have felt the results of neglecting to exercise on a regular basis.

If you are tired, achy, and wonder what you can do to feel better, I would encourage you to find some exercise to do that you enjoy and start doing it. I highly recommend Classical Stretch (www.classicalstretch.com) which is also called Essentrics (www.essentrics.com) and yoga. These are great exercises for people of any age but are especially good for those of us in the forties, fifties, or older age brackets. Flexibility, balance, and strengthening are very important in avoiding many of the ailments that are considered to be age related.

I never thought I would be a yoga person but I love yoga! 

Let me know what you do for regular exercise or what you start doing if you are just getting started. I love hearing from you!

Home Management- Saving Money Everyday

I recently decided that I needed to do better at making good use of all the various drugstore sales in my area. I have been a pretty consistent Walgreen's shopper and have done pretty well shopping there. But, CVS runs some great sales too and I need to make my precious dollars work as hard as possible. I am always trying to do better at managing my home and money. I work at this on a daily basis. 

Even those pennies add up when you save them consistently!

So, I went to CVS today with vitamin coupons in hand. I stopped at the CVS coupon kiosk as is my custom. I got a coupon that gave me $3 off a $12 vitamin purchase. I decided to buy some acidolphilus as we are out. Sundown vitamins were buy one get one free. I had two $2 off coupons and at CVS shoppers are allowed to use a coupon on each item, even if one is free, and to combine the CVS coupon with the manufacturer's coupons. The acidolphilus was $12.49 and I got two bottles, saved $7 and ended up only paying $5.49! That is $2.25 per bottle! Can you tell I am really excited? 

Because one of my main contracts is tied to the school year and my husband's work slows in winter, we don't earn as much during the major holiday season, which is also when three of our five children have birthdays, so I need to do all I can to be prepared. I stock up like a squirrel storing nuts for the winter on everything: non-perishable foods, toiletries, pet needs, gifts, and more. 

I am not one of those Extreme Couponing types-my stock doesn't have a room of its own, nor do I have enough pasta for the next ten years. What I do try to accomplish is to have about 3-6 months worth of goods on hand. I try to get items at the most rock bottom prices possible. This frees up money for items where it is harder to save, like the house payment. 

Another way I work my savings into a daily occurrence is by only stopping at stores that are along routes I already travel. Today, I had to pick up one son from the bus stop so I went to the CVS where he would be getting off the bus. Another time I might stop at a store in another area of town. An advantage of going to different stores is that I have access to more stock. My local store might run out of a certain item, but another store could still have it. I don't have to wait for the item to be restocked and hope that I don't lose my rain check while waiting. 

An additional motivation I have to stay stocked up is to manage my home the best I can. As a Christian I follow the teachings of the Bible. I have been inspired by this passage in Proverbs 31:10-31.

Epilogue: The Wife of Noble Character

10 [b]A wife of noble character who can find?
    She is worth far more than rubies.
11 Her husband has full confidence in her
    and lacks nothing of value.
12 She brings him good, not harm,
    all the days of her life.
13 She selects wool and flax
    and works with eager hands.
14 She is like the merchant ships,
    bringing her food from afar.
15 She gets up while it is still night;
    she provides food for her family
    and portions for her female servants.
16 She considers a field and buys it;
    out of her earnings she plants a vineyard.
17 She sets about her work vigorously;
    her arms are strong for her tasks.
18 She sees that her trading is profitable,
    and her lamp does not go out at night.
19 In her hand she holds the distaff
    and grasps the spindle with her fingers.
20 She opens her arms to the poor
    and extends her hands to the needy.
21 When it snows, she has no fear for her household;
    for all of them are clothed in scarlet.
22 She makes coverings for her bed;
    she is clothed in fine linen and purple.
23 Her husband is respected at the city gate,
    where he takes his seat among the elders of the land.
24 She makes linen garments and sells them,
    and supplies the merchants with sashes.
25 She is clothed with strength and dignity;
    she can laugh at the days to come.
26 She speaks with wisdom,
    and faithful instruction is on her tongue.
27 She watches over the affairs of her household
    and does not eat the bread of idleness.
28 Her children arise and call her blessed;
    her husband also, and he praises her:
29 “Many women do noble things,
    but you surpass them all.”
30 Charm is deceptive, and beauty is fleeting;
    but a woman who fears the Lord is to be praised.
31 Honor her for all that her hands have done,
    and let her works bring her praise at the city gate.

I will keep you posted on how I am doing on my restocking and home management and I hope to hear from you readers on what you are doing. I am always interested to learn new ideas!