Frugal Simplicity

Who doesn’t want to save money on water? Conserving water isn’t only good for your budget, it’s something we should all to to help the environment.

A leaky toilet that won’t stop running can cost you a lot of money. Even if you are in a rural area and on well water, like me, a water leak can cost you money by keeping your pump running, which runs up your power bill, and can even burn your pump up, resulting in hundreds of dollars worth of damage.

One way that we can save money is by making sure our toilets are in good working order. It’s the one area of the home most used and the one that, if it’s leaking, can cost us a lot of money. There’s one way to be sure your toilets are not costing you money.

H2O Guard’s Fill-O-Meter valve meters a pre-determined amount of water, 1.6 or 3.5 (depending on the model), and then positively shuts off. No more water can enter the tank until the handle is depressed again, regardless of any internal leaks thus minimizing waste from leaks. Outdated valves measure the level of water in the tank and will keep pumping anytime the level drops which could result in catastrophic leaks.

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==>>Saves on average over 5,000 gallons per toilet, per year.

==>>Signals the first time you have a flapper leak.

==>>Eliminates costly damage from overflowing or broken tanks.

==>>Reduce maintenance cost with a quick and easy installation.

==>>Conserve Water and Save Money

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Frugal Simplicity is offering free, for a limited time only, our money saving tips ebook, 15 Top Ways to Save Money. It’s loaded with helpful frugal tips to better budget your money.

Click here for the ebook to read the ebook or right click and select Save Target As to save the ebook to your computer.

The ebook is free to give away and share with others.

The heat of the summer can cause your power bill to skyrocket. Trying to keep your home cool while trying to keep your power bill down isn’t always easy, but it can be done. Using these tips can help you to keep your home cooler and keep your power bill down at the same time.

Avoid using appliances during the hottest part of the day that heat the home, such as the stove, oven, and dryer. The air units have to run even more to try and cool down areas those appliances are heating up. Use heat generating appliances when it’s cooler like early in the morning or later in the evening.

When baking, refrain from opening the oven door repeatedly while you are cooking. It lets the heat out, thereby making the air unit run harder to cool off the heat from the oven. Set a timer for how long the oven needs to bake what you are cooking and then check on it. Keep the heat in the oven and out of the kitchen.

Invest in a slowcooker or crockpot. These put off a lot less heat than the stove and oven, and can be set on low to cook even while you sleep or shop. They don’t heat the kitchen up and using them gives you time to do something else while the food cooks.

Use fans to help circulate the air. Ceiling fans and regular fans on a stand help to move the air. If you have window units, using fans will move the air from room to room more efficiently. If you have window units but not in every room, placing a fan in the door of the room without the air units will help keep the room cooler.

Computers heat up rooms. Fans are especially helpful in the room where you keep your computer. Using a fan to keep the air circulating will help keep the room cooler and keep your computer from getting too warm in the hottest part of the summer.

Close off rooms that are not in use or used often. Don’t try to cool rooms that you don’t use. This is most helpful if you have window air units. Keeping doors closed to rooms not in use leaves less area to be cooled, so it will be easier to cool it and keep it at a decent temperature.

Keep kids from going in and out repeatedly during the heat of the day. Each time the door opens, it lets the heat in and the cool out. Have them be either in or out, but not back and forth.

Clean the filter or change the filter on your air unit every two months. Dust from the air collects on the filter and it needs to be cleaned or changed on a regular basis. Clean filters help the air unit to cool the home more efficiently.

Place weather stripping on doors and windows that have cracks. Weather stripping keeps the cool air in and the heat out. It comes with a stick on side and can easily be applied to entrance doors and windows, and won’t harm the facing or woodwork. Weather stripping is available at hardware stores and discount stores such as Wal-Mart.

Keep curtains and blinds closed during the hottest part of the day. Opening curtains and letting the hot summer sun in during the hottest time of the year only heats up your home and causes your air unit to work harder to cool. Turn on the light and keep the curtains closed during the day. Using the light will burn less electricity than the air unit trying to cool what the sun is heating up.

Invest in insulating drapes for your windows. Insulated drapes have a rubber like backing that insulates, keeping the heat out and the cool in. These work opposite in the winter, keeping the heat in and the cold out. Using these with blinds gives a nice decorative look while helping to save money on power costs.

There are more ways to save money on the costs of cooling your home. These are just a few tips that can help keep your home cooler and your savings happier.

Credit cards are everywhere. Turn on the TV and you will find advertising for the most popular credit cards. Sign onto the internet and you will find ads wanting you to apply online for a credit card. The temptation to apply for and acquire as many credit cards as possible can be great. After all, we can charge just about anything and pay for it later. And since the web has become the most popular way to shop, the use of credit cards has multiplied greatly.

As convenient as it is to just pull out a card and charge a purchase, it’s also one of the fastest way to get deep into debt. Learning to resist the urge to use a credit card often and controlling credit card spending is a must if we are to remain out of major debt.

The holiday season is peak season for credit card companies. They want us to use our credit cards and use them often. After all, just think of the amount of interest just one person is paying for just one card. Now multiply that by the millions of cards that are used on a daily basis, especially during the Christmas shopping season. They are raking in the dough at our expense! And let’s face it, most of us are paying the charges on these bills for years.

The easiest way to avoid going deep into debt from these charges is to avoid making the charges to begin with. While it’s a good idea to have at least one major charge card for emergencies, having a pocketful of them is just asking for a debt consolidation solution. To save yourself from having to worry about seeking help to consolidate debt, resist the urge to charge items, especially during the holiday shopping season.

One of the best alternatives to using credit cards is to use a debit card. One of the most popular debit cards is through PayPal.com, who offers a debit card that works just like a credit card. There are many benefits of using a debit card instead of charging your purchases. By using a debit card, the convenience of using a credit is still available, but there are no finance charges, and no bills to pay. Using a debit card in place of a regular charge card can save thousands of dollars in finance charges alone, depending on the amount of debt owed.

Resisting the urge to pull out the credit card and charging purchases isn’t always easy. Solve this problem by simply leaving the cards at home and taking the checkbook, debit card, or cash when shopping. If it’s not with you, you can’t use it, so just leave it at home.

Not using the card for online purchases isn’t as easy to control. Having the cards within immediate reach offers the opportunity to shop and charge with entirely too much ease. While this is great for convenience, it’s not great for the pocketbook when you overcharge and overspend.

How can we stop ourselves from going over the deep end with web purchases? A lot of it has to do with simple willpower. If we allow ourselves to spend without reserve, we will end up with a mounting debt that with no end to it in sight. The trick is to use a debit card such as PayPal.com’s. If a regular charge card must be used, use one only and set a limit on the amount that will be charged before using it. If the same item about to be charged can be purchased at a local store, go to the store and buy it rather than charging it. Make a list of what is to be charged and stick to the list.

Taking control of credit card use and spending can save a lot of money. It’s worth the extra effort to avoid charging and using other methods to make purchases. The extra effort can pay off in a nice nest egg with all the money you will save by not giving it to the credit card companies.

Advertisements are everywhere. No matter where you go, it’s almost impossible to escape advertising. There are billboards on the highways, magazine ads, newspaper ads, advertisements on TV, internet ads, even ads on clothing.

Companies know how to tempt people into parting with their money, and often for things the person doesn’t even really need. In buying things we don’t really need, we spend money needlessly. This can wreak havoc on our budget. There are ways to fight the temptation and not spend money.

At the top of the list is the grocery store. Unless you live on a farm and grow your own food, you have to shop for groceries. Once you walk into a store, the temptations are all over the place to buy this and buy that. First, never go shopping hungry. Eating beforehand helps us to not fall and buy more than we planned on purchasing. Make a shopping list and stick to it.

If you go to a mall to shop for something, buy only what you planned on buying. Malls are loaded with stores wanting you go shop and spend your money. If you have a hard time controlling your spending, take only enough money to buy what you went for. Window shopping is fun, but it’s also very tempting.

Leave the credit card at home. Taking a credit card is great if you have the item you are charging planned, but it’s not great to fall to the temptation to buy things that you can’t really afford and don’t need to begin with. If you must take a credit card shopping, resolve to use it only for what you intended to use it for.

Shop at home TV shows are horribly tempting. They show awesome products and they can convince the worst skeptic that they absolutely need so and so product. The problem is that these shows work only when the person watches falls to temptation and orders products. The shows are fun to watch, but they can cause you to spend money shopping for products repeatedly. Either resolve not to spend any money if you watch or simply turn the channel.

The holiday season is the absolute hardest time when it comes to avoiding the temptation to spend money. Saving money at Christmas can be difficult if we don’t practice self control and not allow advertising to sway us form our budget. This is the time to be more vigilant in sticking to a list and a budget.

Having a budget and making a shopping list are the two main ways to fight the temptation to spend money. There will always be something to buy, something that we want, something that the advertising companies will try to sell us. Shopping can be an enjoyable experience and we can save money if we don’t let the advertising companies sell us things we don’t need and keep our money in our pockets and not in the pockets of the advertisers.

You’ve met this absolutely fantastic person that you are crazy about. You want to ask them on a date. The only problem is that money is tight. You wonder two things: What can you do that won’t send you to the poor house but that both you and your date will enjoy, and what will your date think about you if you plan something frugal to do?

Unfortunately there are a lot of people whose idea of a fun and romantic date is to spend money, a lot of money. Some women have the idea that if a man doesn’t spend a great deal of money on her on a date, that he isn’t good enough for her. Leave those women in the dust! They aren’t good enough for you! A fun and romantic date is not about money at all, but about just being with the person you care about.

There are a number of things a couple can do together that costs nothing or very little. Just some ideas that your special someone is sure to enjoy with you are:

Order pizza (or better yet, make your own), rent a movie, and just stay home. Nothing speaks romance as much as two people snuggled on a sofa watching a movie and eating pizza together. And if you are watching by chance a scary movie, so much the better for cuddle time.

Pack a picnic basket and a couple of fishing poles and head for the lake for a few hours. Fishing is fun, as long as you don’t freak out at having to bait the line or taking the fish off. For the ladies, if you are prone to freak out, you have this big strong manly man there to help with things. And how much more romantic can it be than for your date to save you from the fish on the line?

Something that any man is sure to enjoy is a slow massage. A massage helps to relieve stress and tension and it feels good. While he watches a movie, get the massage oil and give his shoulders and back a nice slow rub down. Take your time and give him a lot of attention. He might just enjoy the massage so much that he forgets he’s watching a movie. If he starts to fall asleep, you are doing a great job.

There are a number of other things a couple can do together to have a fun and romantic date on a budget. The main thing to remember is that the date is about the two of you, not about money. The fact is that if a person is only interested in you for the money you can spend on them, they simply are not worth your time. Anyone that truly cares for you is not interested in what you will spend on them now or in the future, they are only interested in being with you.

Shopping for gifts can wreak havoc on the best planned budget. Gift giving can run into an outrageous sum of money. There are ways to save money on the cost of gifts and still give a thoughtful gift that the recipient is sure to love and enjoy.

There is an old saying, “It’s the thought that counts”. This saying still holds true today. The most thoughtful gifts aren’t the ones that cost a lot of money, but rather the gifts that have the most thought and care put into them.

One of the most thoughtful gifts is a gift made especially for one person or family. The time and effort put into designing and making a special gift leaves the recipient a gift to not only enjoy, but to be treasured because it was made especially for them.

Get creative! Making a gift instead of gift shopping gives that extra special touch. Some ideas for handcrafted gifts are: personalized photo albums or scrapbooks, framed collages of favorite photos or events, or gift baskets.

Another thoughtful gift is giving a gift that isn’t about money. A bouquet of fresh handpicked flowers or a framed photo of you and your loved one make wonderful gifts to someone special. If you have a pet name for a friend, a gift that is about the pet name can bring a smile.

Added embellishments on gifts can be things such as colorful ribbons and personalizing a gift with the recipient’s name. A nice special twist in giving a gift could be something as simple as wrapping the gift in a fabric rather than traditional wrapping paper.

One of the greatest joys in giving and receiving a gift is when the gift is truly for the person that receives it. Going to a department store and shopping for a gift just to be getting a gift, any gift, results usually in nothing but money spent and gift often just set back someplace by the recipient. Shopping for or making a gift that truly has the recipient in mind results in a gift that cannot be measured.

To save money shopping for gifts, first make a list of everyone on your gift giving list. Next to their names, write what they enjoy or like, favorite colors, etc. Keep a copy of the list with you. When you are shopping and find a sale or clearance, check your gift giving list to see if there is anything that would appeal to anyone on your list. Don’t buy something on sale or clearance just to be buying it as gift for someone. If it won’t make a thoughtful gift, even if it is on sale, why buy it?

The idea is that gift giving doesn’t have to cost a lot of money, if any money at all. One doesn’t even have to be on a budget to take advantage of these thoughtful gift giving ideas. Gifts that come from the heart are the ones that will be treasured for years to come, no matter how much or little money is spent.

It’s a good idea to have a budget set up for yourself. A budget is simply an outline or plan or what to do with your money. Budgeting allows you to set aside necessary funds for particular purposes, such as rent, food allowance, clothing, savings, car note, monthly bills, etc. Budgeting is basically estimating monthly expenses based on bills and the cost of living from previous months, and allowing for the unexpected.

The main purpose of budgeting your money is to be aside or save money for expected costs as well as unexpected situations, such as new vehicle tires or doctor visits that health insurance might not cover. Maintaining a budget helps you to achieve your financial goals and to make decisions ahead of time of where money is to allocated.

The first step to setting up your budget is to determine your monthly income and outgoing expenses. Then determine bills or expenses that occur throughout the year but not on a monthly basis, such as car insurance that might be paid twice a year rather than monthly. Afterwards, determine situations that you might need to save money for, such as clothing, furniture, new tires, possible future doctor bills that health insurance might not cover, or a new home.

As you begin to set up your budget using the above, you will begin to see where your money is going each month. Some things you can cut back on and do without, and some thing are necessary. Determine what you need to live on verses the extras. Always be sure to have a place to live, food to eat, be warm, and be able to pay your bills, in that order. Prioritize your expenses, on a monthly basis. By keeping receipts and writing down what you spend, where you spend, and what you spend money on, you will be able to make a workable budget and be able to budget better. Knowing where your money is going is a top priority in better budgeting.

If your monthly take home income is $4,000 you would want to subtract all of your monthly bills and expenses from that amount. Then you would want to subtract money for situations that you are saving for, such as birthdays or holidays, a vacation, etc. Remember to always allow for the unexpected!

Some tips for better budgeting:

1. Plan for your lifestyle and situation. What works for another person might not be for you or work for you. Plan for your needs and the way you live.

2. Pay attention to your spending habits. When you first make your budget, you might have to adjust it and tweak it. Once you get it set, stick to it. There’s no point in having a budget if you don’t use it.

3. Remember that some things are necessities but some things are luxuries. Know the difference! Always spend on what you need or must have ahead of what you want. Wants can wait!

4. Be frugal. Frugal means living within your means. Don’t spend money that you don’t have. There are many ways to have fun and not go broke doing it.

Managing your money better will give you greater control of your finances. Budgeting is something that just about anyone can do and stick with. Setting up a budget is one of the best money saving things you can do. Saving money by budgeting better and implementing a budget into your daily life is something that will greatly benefit your finances.