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The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Selling Your Arts and Crafts
Maybe you read my blog last week and remember me talking about ways you can spend the tax rebate that’s coming your way very soon. I suggested one way to use the money was to start your own mini business. Perhaps you could start a business while you’re still working at your day job? Or maybe you already have a small business but are looking for ways to grow it. One thing you might like to try is making your own arts and crafts and selling them. Starting Out You can make the most profit if you buy items at wholesale prices and to do that you’ll need a business…
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The Budget Smart Cook Has a Nutritional Make Over
If you made a New Year’s resolution to eat more healthful foods but have fallen by the wayside, here’s your second chance. March is National Nutrition month, and it’s a great time to start evaluating what’s sitting in your fridge or pantry. Eat More Fruits and Vegetables Check out this Web site, www.5aday.com. Five servings of fruit and vegetables a day is the recommended amount, and it’s not that difficult to squeeze them in. I try to eat at least one at each meal, including snacks. For example, I’ll eat fruit on cereal or waffles for breakfast, an apple or orange for a mid morning or afternoon snack. A salad…
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The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Car Maintenance
Besides your house, your car is probably the biggest financial investment you make, so it’s worth looking after. Keeping up with regular maintenance and spotting problems before they start can save you money and extend the life of the car. Read the Manual If you’ve just bought a car, or even if you’ve owned it for many years, take an hour or so and read through your car manual. Think of it as your best friend who knows all about your car and can advise you on what to do. It’s also the best place to start when you start hearing something strange in the car. The manual also gives…
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The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Easter
The economic outlook might seem dismal right now, but that shouldn’t stop the Budget Smart Girl from enjoying this week’s Easter festivities. Being on a budget doesn’t mean having less fun… it just means you have to be a little more creative. Table Settings Easter, whether it falls in March or April, is the perfect time of the year to head outside and go searching around the yard for some free table decorations. Small twigs can be turned into bird’s nests to sit on each guest’s plate. Fill them with mini chocolate eggs and a nametag. Larger twigs can be placed in a vase and decorate with hanging Easter Eggs.…
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Why The Budget Smart Cook Loves Eggs
This Easter don’t just think about chocolate eggs because the real ones are one of the best deals for a budget savvy cook. I’m taking a guess that this coming week supermarkets are going to slash egg prices. So why not buy a box and start discovering all the great meals you can make with them. Those Little Nutrition Powerhouses On the nutrition scale, eggs are close to being a perfect ten. In fact, eggs just about have it all…protein, B vitamins…especially B12 and B2, vitamins A and D, iron, choline and phosphorus. And let’s not forget, they’re low in calories too. They’re Not So Bad It wasn’t that long…
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The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Knitting
I first discovered knitting about a decade ago. For me, it’s not just about making some of your own clothes, but it’s also a great way for me to unwind and relax after a day at the keyboard. I went through a knitting dry spell for about three years, but decided to get back to it two years ago when I wrote a story about a knitting store for the local newspaper. It seemed that stepping inside this store …and seeing all the different yarns and colors, got my creative juices flowing again. However, things had changed. Ten years ago before the knitting boom hit, prices seemed reasonable. In fact,…
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The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Green Cleaning
While buying ‘green’ cleaning products probably won’t put a big dent in your budget, it still pays to compare prices. It’s also a smart idea to check on ingredients because some cleaning products aren’t as green as they claim. Here are some tips on ‘green cleaning’ the Budget Smart Girl way. Make Your Own One way you can save some pennies (and know exactly what’s in your cleaner), is to make your own. No science degree required and no putting formulas together. I turned to homemade cleaners when I got one too many headaches from using a well-known bathroom cleaner. That got tossed in the bin and I came up…
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The Budget Smart Cook’s Guide to Cooking Oils
If you’re the grocery shopper in the family, I probably don’t have to tell you that food prices have skyrocketed in the last 12-18 months. A report just in from the USDA says that US retail food prices jumped 4% in 2007…the biggest gain in 17 years. An economist for the USDA thinks that we’re likely to see another 3.5 – 4% climb in prices again this year. And something that really surprised me in this report was that oils and fats are expected to have the largest price hikes. So let’s use those oils and fats wisely and make the most of our money. How Much Fat Do We…
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The Budget Smart Girl’s Guide to Stress Relieving Products
Looking for products to relieve stress at a Budget Smart Girl’s price isn’t always that easy. In fact, the price of some items is enough to send your stress level skyrocketing. However, as being a Budget Smart Girl is all about living the good life without breaking the bank, I went searching to see what I could find. I also sat down and thought about the inexpensive ways I relieve some of the stress in my life. Web Site Resources My search for sites relating to relaxation and stress relief mostly yielded ones selling products that sounded questionable at best, but I did stumble upon this one that I really…