Fwd: Simple Times - 04/10/09 - Conquering debt; Easter eggs

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dsimpleTo: CyndikrallSent: 4/11/2009 10:05:16 P.M. Pacific Daylight TimeSubj: Simple Times - 04/10/09 - Conquering debt; Easter eggs

Simple Times________________________________Vol. 11, No. 7 -- April 10th, 20090http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/ DSimpleCopyright 2009 Deborah Taylor-HoughISSN: 1527-1269 ________________________________Subscribe: join-simple-timesUnsubscribe: leave-simple-times________________________________Celebrating more than a decade of saving your time, money and sanity!________________________________IN THIS ISSUE:-- "Dear Readers": -- Simple Living Quote-- 10 Simple Steps to Conquer Problem Debt-- Easter Egg-stravaganza!-- Letters to the Editor / Reader Tips-- Assorted Information (archives, etc.)________________________________< < < O.U.R S.P.O.N.S.O.R > > > Copycat Cookbook . comCook your favorite dishes from your favorite restaurantsright in your own kitchen!You will save thousands of dollars per year by cooking justone of these recipes each week rather than going out to eat!Learn to cook the highly guarded secrets behind dishes from Red Lobster Applebee's Chili's Olive Garden TGI Friday's Outback Steakhouse Starbuckshttp://stimes.drecipes.hop.clickbank.net/________________________________Dear Readers, I'll keep this short since I have about a gazillion things to do

today. ;-)If you live in the Auburn, Washington area and are looking for

something to do to celebrate Easter this weekend, my church

is holding a special screening of Mel Gibson's movie, The Passion,

on Saturday evening at 6pm. And then on Sunday morning, the

choir is going to be presenting a special Easter Cantata (I've over-

heard them practicing the past few weeks and it sounds beautiful!).

The Easter service begins at 10am on Sunday morning.

 

For directions to the church, go to:

http://whiteriverpres.synodnw.org/

 

Have a happy and blessed Easter, everyone!

 

Simply Yours,Debi(Deborah Taylor-Hough)Editor, Simple Times Email Newsletter--Author of the popular Frozen Assets series; A Simple Choice: Apractical guide for saving your time, money & sanity; and FrugalLiving for Dummies®--Editor, Simple Times and Bright-Kids email newsletters________________________________Visit my simple living blog!http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/________________________________SIMPLE LIVING QUOTE"As you simplify your life, the laws of the universe will besimpler; solitude will not be solitude, poverty will not bepoverty, nor weakness weakness.â€--Henry David Thoreau

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10 SIMPLE STEPS TO CONQUER PROBLEM DEBTCopyright Deborah Taylor-HoughUsed with permission. All rights reserved.http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com/If you’ve identified a problem in the area of personal debt,you’ll need to set about remedying the situation. Here areeasy steps to regaining financial control:1) Seek help.If you’re not sure how to proceed, or you’re feeling toooverwhelmed to act for yourself, call a non-profit creditcounseling program for advice and assistance in workingwith your creditors to set up a repayment plan. ConsumerCredit Counseling Service has offices throughout the US.Call 1-800-388-CCCS, 24 hours a day, for an office nearyou. You can also find information about debt problemsfrom your local church, library or bank. Look for informationon-line as well.2) Contact your creditors.As soon as you’re aware you won’t be able to make apayment, contact your creditors. Creditors are more likelyto work with you if they’re contacted before the paymentis actually overdue. Debt collectors are trained to solvepayment problems, so don’t be afraid to be honest withthem about your financial situation. Stay calm. If youcommit to paying the bill by a certain date, be sure youfollow through on that commitment. The creditor won’tbe likely to work with you again if you don’t keep yourpayment promises. If you can’t make your minimummonthly payments, write to each creditor individuallyand see if you can work out smaller regular monthly bills.Be sure to explain to them why you fell behind in yourbills, your current income, your other financial obligations nd the exact amount you can pay them each month.3) Cut up all credit cards and send them back to theissuing companies immediately.Officially close all credit accounts. The temptation whenyou start seeing lower balances on your accounts couldlead you to charge the credit limits right back up againif the accounts remain open. Don’t take out anymore loansor open any new credit accounts until back bills are paidin full.4) Set a frugal budget and live within it.It’s usually easier to decrease spending than increaseincome. Don’t make any purchases above and beyondthe absolute basics until you’ve made some headway incatching up on your back bills. Consider selling assetsto find more money for your debt repayment. Even justholding a large garage sale can sometimes generateenough money to help pay an immediate bill or two.5) Prioritize debts.Mortgages, child support and any debt that has gone toa collection agency is a priority. After you’ve identified thefirst priority debts, look for the credit companies that arecharging you the most interest.6) Pay each creditor something.No matter how small the amount you’re able to pay, itwill show good faith on your part as you try to negotiatepayment arrangements.7) Track personal spending.It’s important to identify any holes where your money isdraining out. Keep a detailed record for one month ofevery expenditure, no matter how insignificant. Littleexpenses on a regular basis add up quickly. Carry asmall notebook with you and write down every singlepurchase. Now you’ll know where your money’s going.8) Plug up any holes discovered from the spending record.9) Plan ahead for annual expenses (i.e.: insurance, carlicenses, medical deductibles, etc.).10) Set long term financial goals.After setting concrete, definite goals for future financial health,make all current financial decisions with your future well-beingin mind. Keep the end result in mind -- debt-free living!ABOUT THE AUTHOR:--Deborah Taylor-Hough is the author of several popular bookson saving money including, Frugal Living For Dummies® andA Simple Choice: A practical guide for saving your time,money and sanity. Visit Debi online for more articles and toorder her books at: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.com________________________________O.U.R S.P.O.N.S.O.RGet Rid of Paper Clutter ~ With EasyFile Home Filing System!EasyFile makes it quick & easy to organize important personalfinancial, & household papers so you can find what you want ...when you want it. You'll love the colorful labels and tabs, easy-to-follow guidebook & bonus ~ "Simple Tips" booklet!* Stop Shuffling Papers - Reduce Stress and Simplify Your Day* Improve Budget Decisions - Increase Your Financial SuccessEasyFile Home Filing System - & - Homeschool Filing Kits!www.easyfilesolutions.com/AIDLink.php?BID=11321 & AID=36265

*Simplify your next garage sale with our NEW Garage Sale Kit!www.easyfilesolutions.com/AIDLink.php?BID=12677 & AID=36264________________________________EASTER EGG-STRAVAGANZA!Copyright Tawra KellamUsed with permission. All rights reserved.http://www.LivingOnADime.com/ Okay, so the kids noticed on the calendar that Easter isapproaching and they want to make a huge production ofdying eggs. In the past, the little stickers you bought atthe store sufficed, but now they want the real thing. Here re some old standards with a few new ideas for you. One important note: When the kids get really excited aboutegg dying, don’t feel sorry for them and pour the left over eggdye in their bath water so they can have more fun (no matterhow much they beg and plead! Especially if it’s food coloring).Someone might panic and declare a citywide medical quarantineif they see your kids dyed all sorts of strange colors in theirEaster finery. Before you decorate Easter eggs, cover the entire table withnewspaper. Keep a huge roll of paper towels or rags handy formesses. Have each kid wear one of dad’s old (now disposable)tee shirts. Making Easter Egg Stands Cut toilet paper roll cores into one inch cylinders and use foregg stands. Decorate with stickers or paint. DECORATING EGGS Traditional Method: Hard boil eggs. Fill several mugs with boiling water and add1-2 tsp. vinegar. Place a few drops of desired food coloring ineach mug. Place eggs in mugs for several minutes until eggsreach desired shades. Remove with a spoon. Place on paper towel to dry. When dry,polish with a small amount of shortening on a paper towel.Buff until glossy. You can draw or write on the eggs with a light colored or whitecrayon before dipping. The drawing will remain white after theegg is dipped. To clean out mugs, put a little bleach water in the cups andsoak for a few minutes. Natural Easter Egg Dyes: If you'd like to try dying eggs naturally, try the following: Yellow -- yellow onion skins, turmeric (½ tsp. per cup water) celery leavesOrange -- any yellow dye plus beet juiceRed -- beets, paprika, red onion skinsPink -- cranberry juiceBlue -- blackberries, grape juice concentrate, red cabbageBrown -- black tea, white oak, juniper berry, coffee, barberryLight purple -- blackberries, grapes, violetsGreen -- alfalfa, spinach, kale, violet blossom plus 1/4 tsp. baking soda, tansy, nettle, chervil, sorrel, parsley, carrot tops, beet tops or dip yellow egg in blue dye Hard boil eggs with 1 tsp. vinegar in the water. Place dyingingredients in non-aluminum pans, cover with water and boil5 minutes to 1 hour until desired color is achieved. Useenough material to make at least 1 cup dye. Crush ingredientsas they boil to extract as much dye as possible. Strain thedye. Most dyes should be used hot. Let each egg sit in thedye until it reaches the desired color. Some dyes will takelonger than others to make the desired colored on the egg.Remove the egg and let dry. Glitter EggsPlace 1 tablespoon each of glue and water in a cup. Stir themixture and then paint the eggs with it. Sprinkle with glitter.This can also add sparkle to already dyed eggs! Crepe Paper EggsWet a white or dyed egg. Dab torn pieces of colored tissuepaper or pieces of pretty colored napkins on the eggs. Whenthe paper dries, the paper falls off and leaves the color behindon the egg. Decoupaged EggsTear small pieces of wrapping paper, napkins, stickers, orclip art. Mix equal amounts of glue and water. Paint egg withglue mixture. Place paper on top and then cover with moreglue mixture. Let dry. Spotted EggsPlace 1 tsp. of cooking oil in dye. Dip the egg. The oil willcause the dye to make an irregular pattern on the egg. Waxed EggsDip a portion of the eggs in melted paraffin or candle wax.Then dip them in the dye. Remove from dye. Dry and peeloff the wax. The egg will be white on one half and coloredon the other half. You can also dip in dye before waxing toget two colors. Hollow EggsPoke a hole in one end of an egg with a very small needle.Poke another slightly larger hole in the other end. Thenblow on the small end and the egg will come out the otherside. Decorate as desired. ABOUT THE AUTHOR:--Tawra Kellam is the author of the frugal cookbook, Diningon a Dime: Eat Better, Spend Less. For more free tips andrecipes, visit Tawra at: http://www.LivingOnADime.com/________________________________Feel free to forward this newsletter to your family and friends. :-)________________________________LETTERS TO THE EDITOR / READER TIPSWe'd love to hear YOUR tips and ideas for simplifying daily life.Send your simple living comments and tips to: DSimple Re: Simple family fun & learningSeveral years ago when my girls were younger, we had a book andmovie tie-in summer. We'd read books like The Wizard of Oz, Jamesand the Giant Peach, Lassie Come Home and others and then we'dsee the movie. It set my girls up to think that you need to read thebook before you see the movie, which isn't a bad deal! You couldreally carry this idea through the years. Now that my girls are older,we could read aloud or listen to book tapes of all things Jane Austenand then see the movies. Enjoy!--LindaRe: Water heater sourceDo you have a Habitat for Humanity recovery store in your area.If so you might be able to find a water heater there. Our Habitatfor Humanity recovery store has a lot of items brought in thatbuilders and homeowners just can't use on a project so it isdonated. --Janet in Twin Falls, IdahoRe: Water heater installation instructions onlinehttp://www.ehow.com/how_2309472_install-water-heater.html--D. Wagner Re: Simple living quoteAnother good saying (don't know who it came from originallybut my grandmother used to say it) is "Watch the pennies --the dollars will take care of themselves". We squander lotsof money in seemingly small amounts but they do add up.--Anita________________________________SIMPLE TIMES RECOMMENDED BOOKSBook list for frugality and simple livingGo to: http://snurl.com/simplebooks_______________________________< < B E . O U R . S P O N S O R > >Would you like to place an ad in this newsletter? ContactLaura at marketing Subject line: simple-timesDiscover the modest rates for reaching this targeted market.________________________________As always, a special "Thank you!" goes out to Gary Foremanand the friendly folks at The Dollar Stretcher for making thismailing list possible!== http://www.stretcher.com/ ==________________________________EDITOR'S BOOKS AND RESOURCES:Books and resources by Deborah Taylor-HoughEditor, Simple Times Email Newsletterhttp://snurl.com/debisbooks________________________________DEBI'S ON-LINE RESOURCES:Personal Blog: http://dsimple.wordpress.com/Frugality/Simplicity: http://thesimplemom.wordpress.comCooking Ahead: http://frozenassets.wordpress.com/Bright-Kids: http://brightkids.wordpress.comTupperware®: http://snurl.com/DebiTupperwareKids' Books: http://snurl.com/books4kids________________________________NEWSLETTER INFORMATIONSubscribe: join-simple-timesUnsubscribe: leave-simple-timesPlease feel free to forward this newsletter to anyone you think might be interested. This is a private mailing list which isn't sold or shared with anyone else. Tips and articles are printed for entertainment purposes only. This free service is brought to you by www.SimpleMom.comCopyright 2009 Deborah Taylor-Hough. .3930 A Street SE, Ste 305-119, Auburn WA 98002Contact us at: DSimple

 

 

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