Trades = The New Payment System

Remember in the olden days when you paid with potatoes?  Or your specific services?  Well, those times can come again! Hear me out.... 

In the last 4 months I've "gotten" the following things for free trading for my talents, skills, or time:

-haircut
-babysitting
-lawn service
-food
-clothes sewn (i can't sew)
-furniture
-toys

Now, it may seem rudimentary.  But, think about it... there MUST be a talent you possess or service you can offer that would be beneficial.  Currently, I am enrolled in an online course which requires me to study at least 15 hours a week.  That doesn't sound like much, but throw in being a stay-at-home Mom with kids who don't nap and I'm hard pressed to find 3 hours a day to do it.  I try to do it at night, but I'm generally so tired that the material doesn't stick.  So, I've traded my services of providing piano lessons in exchange for babysitting time once a week - rather than making money I'm making time.  (ha, I guess it's an example of my neighbor saving money then....).

Another example: my friends had a bunch of furniture they were getting rid of.  We needed furniture but didn't have any money to pay them.  So we came to an agreement of babysitting and other needs to "pay" for them.

Other talents or services that could be beneficial:

-sewing
-crafting
-any sort of musical lesson
-wood shopping
-cooking
-babysitting
-tutoring

Might be an "out there" idea, but definitely a creative way to save some dough!

Financial Happiness

My husband and I have always struggled with sticking to our budget.  We aren't the crazy overboarders who don't budget, but it seems like more often than not by the end of the month we're $40 over here, $5 over there.... and over the course of a year an extra $50-$100 off your monthly budget really adds up!  We've tried SO MANY different ways to try and make sure we stick to our budget.  Some of the ways have been:

-texting each other every single time we spend money.  then inputting it that evening into a spreadsheet.
-saving our receipts and handing them in at the end of the week
-only using a credit card so we can see exactly what/where we've spend our money and pay it off at the end of the month

all of these were good ideas but they each had their own pros and cons that we fell victim too.  Now that we're in grad school and on an even tighter budget, the A-game has been upped a little.  our goal for 2010 was to find ways to cut our budget (more posts will come later about cost-cutting ideas) AND to stay within our realistic budget and possibly even save money while in grad school.  Outlandish idea?  I think not.

We started using a program called Mint.com.  You may have seen if you put together your taxes through Turbo Tax.  It's an excellent program that takes every single financial account you have an merges it into one financial game plan.  This includes:

-life insurance
-mutual funds
-stock funds
-credit cards
-loans (auto, equity, school)
-checking/savings
-CD's

you can also personalize it by adding your cars value, the cash you have elsewhere, anything that would help them see your "bottom line."  It's very easy to use, secure and the best part?  it's FREE.

Why use this program?  Well, see, you can set up your monthly goals.  Say, for example, your goal is to only spend $100 a month on entertainment/dining.  You can go into your "goal section" and set that as your limit.  You can also set an "alert" email any time your goal is being inched towards.  So, say you went on a date and spent $75 between dinner and a movie.

The next day, or even that night, when your transaction is posted it will be directly imported to Mint (without you having to do anything) and you will get an email stating "be aware you have almost hit your goal of $100 for entertainment expenses..."  now, you know.. it's February 15th... which means you have $25 for the rest of the month.  It may seem rudimentary, but it is helpful.  Imagine you're grocery shopping and you aren't sure how much you have left.  You can look it up on your phone and see "oh I only have $80 left for the month."  How handy is that?

It's good to know the whole picture.  Keeps you more honest in your budgeting.

The best feature, aside from the email alerts, for me.. is the fact that it breaks down your spending habits and shows you trends... and THEN it gives you advice on how you can save money based on your trends.  Awesome.  Awesome.

Now, if you are like me, my main financial institution is a local credit union.  Unfortunately, they aren't linked into Mint.com yet (most major banks, and major credit unions are, however).  Luckily, my credit union has a similar program.  So I import the information from my credit union by hand to Mint.com.  It's perfect.

Here is a sample list of institutions that are supported by Mint:

Advanta Bank Corp Community Bank Delavan FNB of Georgia FOP Credit Union Home State Bank K-State FCU (Federal Credit Union) MassMutual FCU (Federal Credit Union) Premier Bank (FL) Private Bank (St. Louis) Public Savings Bank Rappahannock National Bank Signal Financial FCU (Federal Credit Union) Sun FCU (Federal Credit Union) Terasen Gas (CA FTD Test Dest) The People''s Buidling Loan and Savings Company TrustBank Valero FCU (Federal Credit Union) Western Springs National Bank and Trust

If your financial institution is not listed you can request it on Mint.com or go to your providers website many of them have their own program (in Utah: Mountain West Credit Union, Alliance Credit Union, and Zions Bank all have their own, for example).

So, to wrap this LONG post up.  If you have a hard time sticking to your budget, or if budgeting has always seemed overwhelming, or you've just never really taken the time to sit down and work through all your accounts to find your bottom line... MINT.COM is totally worth trying.  It's  FREE, it'll take you less than 30 minutes to set everything up,and it might save some serious bucks in the long run.  What do you have to lose? 

*Imfrugal.blogspot.com is not affiliated with or paid for an endorsement of mint.com.  

It is a personal review intended as advice and not solicitation*

How To...Do Something Yourself

Because you are reading this website, I assume you are trying to be frugal and careful with your money. You are probably also familiar with the old addage from the Great Depression:

Use it up,
Wear it Out,
Make it Do or
Do Without.

Fortunately we live in a time when you can figure out how to do this, and most of you probably do. However, sometimes we think if we don't have a basic skill (such as plumbing, sewing), then we need to hire someone or just replace the item. 

However, you can save a lot of money if you are willing to try to figure it out. During the Great Depression, people often traded skills with each other, or simply couldn't repair things if they didn't know how.  Lucky for us, we live in the internet age where if you don't know how to do something, there's probably a website where someone will show you how. Don't forget to try searching it on http://www.youtube.com/.  There is a video for pretty much everything you can think of.  So, if you don't know how to do something, such as sew on a button, darn a sock, make your own lip balm, change the oil in your car, start there and see if you can figure it out for yourself before you toss the item, buy a new one, or pay someone to repair it for you.

A few ideas for things you could do yourself.  I also included some other topics in a few videos down below.
Repair a toilet
Make a quilt
How to sew a cloth grocery bag
Repair a refrigerator
Repair a remote control car
How to make baby food
Insulate your home
Make a rag rug
Sewing Lessons for Beginners
Repair a washing machine
Computer repair
How to patch a hole in dress pants
How to repair a bicycle tire

How to Sew Your Own Cloth Diapers


How to Sew on a Button



How to Darn a Sock


How to Change Your Own Oil at Home


How to Repair a Leaky Faucet


Homemade Cleaner Recipes


How to Patch a Hole in Drywall


How to Fix Chainsaw and Weedeater Pullstarters


Do It Yourself Repair for Torn or Cut Leather


How to Change a Car Tire


Obviously, the list could go on and on. These are just some ideas. You are paying for internet access (most likely.) Use it. Make it work for you and save some money on something that you maybe would have paid for otherwise.  Teach yourself something new. If you come across a great how-to video or website, post the link in the comments so that everyone can benefit.  So....your challenge is to see if you can stretch your budget by learning to do something you haven't tried before. If it works for you, post a comment on what you did and how much it saved your family.

Your grandparents would be so proud. :)

How to Make Your Own Iron-on Patches Using Wonder Under

Here's a pair of pants that belong to my daughter. These heart patches were on the pants when they were purchased from the store. However, the other leg was plain and this is what the knee looks like:

You can make your own iron-on patches using any fabric you like. You need to puchase "Pellon" or "Wonder Under" (or other brand) that is a paper-backed adhesive. You can follow the instructions on the Wonder Under. Basically, you put your fabric on the rough side of the Wonder Under. The wrong side of the fabric should face the rough side of the Wonder  Under. Iron it with a dry iron for about 60 seconds. 

Then you turn it over to the paper-backed side and draw your desired shape (in my case, a heart).  Cut out the heart and then remove the paper backing from the fabric.

Turn the fabric over and place it wrong-side down on the right side of your project (the outside of my jeans, in my case).  Cover it with a damp pressing cloth (or a thin piece of muslin, napkin, etc.)  Press with a dry iron for 10 to 15 seconds. Allow to cool for one minute.

This is what it looked like after I ironed it on.  Because the other hearts had a blanket stitch around the edge, I added that to the edge of my heart so that it would match. 

I did mess up though, in one spot, so ignore that, and we can still be friends. :)

You're done! Total cost? For me, it was free because I already had the items I needed, but you could easily do this for under a dollar and still have stuff left over for another project.  The Wonder Under is fairly inexpensive and is sold by the yard. I did buy a piece of it in the remnant section at Walmart. The remnant measures 45" x 8" and cost me a whopping 25 cents. That's enough to make a lot of patches! Then you just need some scraps of fabric to create your design.  Look in the remnant section for those, or you could even use pieces from another clothing item that has holes in it.  A patterned fabric would look very cute in circles, hearts, flowers, etc. You can layer your patches using the Wonder Under for the different pieces.

 Use your imagination, get creative, and stretch your clothing budget by repairing your kids' clothes.  It's really easy and doesn't take more than 10 minutes of your time. 

If you want to add blanket stitching, then you need some embroidery floss and an embroidery needle. Here's a great tutorial on how to blanket-stitch. I just should have looked at it before I messed up that one part. It really isn't noticeable on the finished garment, but in a close-up picture, it is. Sorry!!

Iron-on Patches: Tutorial for Turning Boys Pants into Girls Pants

This was a large tear in the knee of a pair of size 6 boys jeans. Other than that, they are in excellent condition. They no longer fit my son, so I decided to adapt them for my daughter.

Because the hole was large, I decided to patch it from the inside as well as the outside.

 (You wouldn't normally need to patch the inside of the leg, but this was a large hole.)

 This is an iron-on patch that I bought at Wal-mart. It came in a package of 2 for around $1 or so. This is the shiny or "adhesive" side.  (I had already cut a piece from it for a different project, so sorry about that).

I cut a piece that was slightly larger than the hole in the jeans and then ironed it to the inside of the leg. Just press with your iron for about 30 to 60 seconds on a wool setting with a dry heat.  Then allow it to cool for 1 minute.

(Finished iron on patch on inside).

I was able to find some iron-on patches at my local fabric store. They were $3.99 a package and had been marked down to 25 cents each. YES!  There were 3 patches in the package.

The large pink one was the right size to cover up the hole in the knee.  Again, just press with a dry, hot iron for 30 to 60 seconds. Then wait 1 minute for the patch to cool before you move the garment.

The other 2 patches I just added for design. It is very easy to find girls' pants that have rhinestones or patches decorating one or both legs, so I tried to duplicate that same sort of idea by using the other two patches, so it wouldn't be quite so obvious that I had patched the knee.

Voila! One happy 5 year old with her new "decorations" on her pants. :)  Her 8 year old sister was so jealous that she started desperately trying to find pants with a hole in them so she could have "decorated" pants, too.  lol

Summary: One pair of pants fixed. One happy kid. Price: 25 cents and about 10 minutes.

(Ok....maybe 50 cents if you count the blue iron-on patch for the inside of the leg-- but even then, I only used a small piece of it and have some leftover......)

Recipe for Scalloped Potatoes

Recipe for Scalloped Potatoes
3 to 4 cups peeled, thinly sliced raw potatoes
1 tablespoon minced onion
2 to 4 tablespoons butter
1 1/4 cups hot milk

Heat oven to 350 degrees F. In a 1.5 quart baking dish arrange potatoes and onions in two layers. Sprinkle each layer with salt and dot with small bits of butter. Pour milk over all. Bake uncovered for about 1 hour and 15 minutes. Makes 4 servings.

This recipe comes from page 167 of Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls (published sometime before 1957).

Recipe for Spanish Rice

This recipe comes from page 151 of  Betty Crocker's Cookbook for Boys and Girls (published sometime before 1957).

You can use this as a way to spice up leftover rice, or you can cook rice in order to make this recipe.

Recipe for Spanish Rice
3 cups cooked rice  (about 1.5 cups uncooked)
4 slices crisp cooked bacon, cut up or crumbled
1/4 cup minced onion
1/4 cup chopped green pepper
2 cups canned tomatoes
1 1/2 teaspoons salt
1/4 cup grated cheese

Heat oven to 400 degrees F. Fry bacon in a frying pan and then cut into small pieces. Place cooked bacon in 1.5 quart baking dish and toss it around to grease the dish. 

In frying pan, add onion and green pepper to bacon. Cook until onion is yellow. Add 3 cups cooked rice, 2 cups canned tomatoes, and 1 1/2 tsp. salt. Turn into baking dish. Sprinkle grated cheese over the top. Bake 25-30 minutes at 400 degrees F.  Makes 4 to 6 servings.