Cure poisen ivy, repel insects-and clean you house....all with vodka!

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I have actually used some of these and they work.  I can't wait (with the exception of poisen ivy) to try the others.  

"When a family member wants to give our children a gift, we suggest they buy them dance or swim lessons.  We also request gift cards to such places as pottery-making stores or Build-A-Bear Workshop, which we can use any time of the year.  Our children do receive some regular presents for holidays and birthdays, but getting a few lesssons and gift cards means they aren't overwhelmed with stuff at the holidays.  Plus, they get to reap the benefits all year long."  Jessica Brown (from an article in Family Fun Magazine)

"One of our favorite outings is to the zoo, but for our family of eight, it's cost-prohibitive.  That's why when Christmastime comes around, and relatives ask us what to get the kids, we ask for annual passes to the zoo.  For several years, two uncles have in together to get us a deluxe pass.  It saves us a lot of money, and, for the uncles, buying just one big present is much cheaper and less stressful than buying for six nieces and nephews!" Debbe Carson (From an article in Family Fun Magazine)

"Financial Intelligence is knowing that if you spend your life energy on stuff that brings only passing fullfillment and doesn't support your values, you end up with less life."

From Your Money or Your Life by Robin and Dominguez

5 More Easy Ways to Reduce Food Waste

O the price of food has gone up about 8% in the past year, according to the federal Bureau of Labor Statistics. Stop your complaining! As my mother always told me, "I like my whine in a glass, but not at the dinner table."

I'd have more sympathy for a lot of Americans who are upset about soaring food costs if it weren't for the fact that most of them can reduce what they spend on food by about 25% if they'd only do as my mother also told me: "Shut your yap and clean your plate!" (Now you know where I get my gifts for both language and tact.). 

Prepare for shock and awe (and national embarrassment): According to government sources, roughly 25% of the food Americans buy goes to waste. That's about one pound of food, per American, per day -- thrown in the trash. Sadly we've crossed the line from Land of Plenty, to Land of Waste.

Click Here for the full article and ways to cut down waste and save money.

Instead of buying small mountains of books check them out of your neighborhood library. Over time, you can save a ton of cash. 

You can save money and the environment by bringing refillable water bottles along for the ride.  Besides the sheer number of plastic bottles produced each year, the energy required to manufacture and transport these bottles to your grocery store severely drains already limited fossil fuels.  

I find financial inspiration in many books I read.  This quote comes from It's All Too Much by Peter Walsh. Such a great read and there are tips for even the most organized person.

"How did we get here?

We live in one of the most prosperous nations on earth, and we measure our success by material accumulation.  Everywhere we look we are encouraged to buy more.  Love your kids? Prove it by giving them the best clothes, games, sports paraphernalia, or the latest video game system.  Just got a raise or a better job?  Time to show it off with a bigger TV or a flashy new car or more (and expensive) clothes.  In two-income families where there's barely time to relax, we try to find happiness by buying more stuff. Everywhere we turn, we're told that more is better.  We supersize our food.  We buy two for the price of one instead of buying one at half price. But for many, it has become clear that instead of bringing happiness and peace of mind, all this stuff is stressing us out and alienating us from our families, our partners, our dreams.  Sure, some stuff does improve your life.  Of course it does.  Who can argue with a comfortable home and a nice car? But where do you draw the line?  Did you know that the size of the average new house in this country has grown almost 50 percent in the last thirty years?  And all this while the average family size has declined. 

With more space has come the urge to fill it with more stuff.  Unfortunately, more stuff doesn't guarantee greater happiness.  And when happiness doesn't come, you buy more, thinking that's the answer.  Instead of bringing you closer to the life you want to live, your stuff starts getting in the way.

Disposable Income

What is all this stuff we keep acquiring?  A lot of it comes down to discretionary spending-those things we choose to buy with the money we have sitting in our purses, pockets, or wallets.  You might be surprised to learn where most Americans spend their disposable income.

In any year, more than two-thirds of households in this country spend a sizable portion of their disposable income on videos and DVDs, music and CDs, books and magazines, specialized personal care products, and candles.  More than one-third of households buy collectibles, craft supplies, and sporting goods.  Not surprisingly, the way we spend our money breaks down along gender lines. Men buy more technology (videos, TV's) and sporting goods, while women buy more books magazines, personal care products, and crafting supplies.

There is nothing wrong or bad about these purchases-some of them are educational or entertaining-but how many of them have lasting value? What do you have to show at the end of any one year for the money you have spent? Is it a home equipped with valuable and useful items or just more clutter? No matter how you break it down, there's no getting around the truth of the matter: This is the stuff that causes many people's clutter issues.  Stuff we don't need.  Stuff we buy for our own pleasure, often on impulse, that has little long-term usefulness and adds little to our long-term quality of life.

The new town square

Who can blame us for all this consumerism?  All accross the country the mall has become the new town square.  We spend our leisure and recreation time at the mall. Walking clubs go to the mall for excercise. You can even have an overnight campout at the Mall of America! As we grow up, for many, the mall brings our first taste of freedom-the first place our parents might send us off on our own, telling us to meet up with them in an hour.  This is how we-to our children-come to associate social freedom with a retail environment.  No wonder we're drawn back there as adults.

It's not just childhood experiences that draw us to malls. Hands down, shopping is the most accessible form of stimulation. When you're bored and looking for something to do on a Saturday afternoon, shopping is a whole lot easier than planning a picnic. And it's not weather dependent. Plus, there's so much to look at. In the 1950's, a typical corner store stocked one thousand items. Now a Wal-Mart superstore holds about 130,000 items, offering hours of exploration and potential purchasing for the whole family.  And retail therapy is no joke. Having new things is exciting  and makes you feel like you're changing your life for the better.  Your skin will be softer, ore you'll have something better to watch on TV, or a new coat will impress your colleagues. Ever left a superstore or a mall without making a single purchase? It's very, very hard to do.

Saying goodbye....forever

I've already told you you're not alone. America has a problem with overaccumulation. It's abundantly clear if you spend one minute noticing how many self-storage facilities have sprung up in your neighborhood.

Now what's so bad about renting storage space, you ask? It's a way of not dealing with your clutter. You're saving things you don't need or want by dumping them in a black hole you'll probably never unpack, and you're spending extra money every month to store them.

Think about it from a money standpoint.  You're increasing your housing costs without increasing your standard of living. Is it worth it? Think about it from a psychological perspective. You're hiding away stuff you really should deal with, postponing the issue to some undetermined future date. Is that how you deal with all your problems? I sure hope not. Look, if you have a sudden change of situation, okay, I'll definitely cut you some slack. But as soon as you've rented the space for longer than a year, you have to accept that your situation isn't temporary. Your life has actually changed. You need to deal with the change head-on."