Living on $500 a Month or Less

Is Anyone Here?

2011-11-02T06:04:00.003-05:00

Hello,

I'm not sure if anyone still reads this blog anymore. I've been posting on my main blog for quite a while and let it slip.

I'm going to be living on a bit of a budget over the next few months. The money I have to live on is a bit more than $500 a month but my goal is to keep my expenses under that amount.

If anyone is still here and would like me to post on the subject, let me know in the comments below.

Peace,
Annie

2011-11-01T13:35:00.002-05:00

Hello everyone!

Just wanted to drop you a quick note to let you know that I'm still alive and blogging over at Annienygma. I have moved to Central Kentucky to eliminate a long, draining drive. We have settled into a rented house and are doing rather well.

I took a job at WalMart over the summer but left it to continue my dream of writing and being a stay at home mother. One of my recent creations is a book entitled The Shoestring Girl: How I Live on Practically Nothing and You Can Too. This book contains the tips and tricks that I use to live on less than $500 a month. I've got it priced low right now on Smashwords but I'm not sure how long I will keep it at that price. I just wanted to get the word out and hopefully help some who can't afford higher prices right now.

In this economy we all need to live on less. We have to. I just wish we could teach the government to do the same!

Anyhow, if you get a chance come visit me over at Annienygma and let me know how you are doing.

Peace,
Annie

Comcast Blocks MagicJack!

2011-02-24T16:53:00.001-06:00

Note to my fellow MagicJack users: Comcast has blocked you according to MagicJack customer support.

I went to use my MagicJack this morning and discovered that it would not connect to the internet, and I could not even access the MagicJack webpage!

My Google Voice phone worked so I used it to call my sister, another MagicJack user who is fortunately NOT on Comcast. She contacted Customer Service and was informed that Comcast is indeed BLOCKING access to the website and use of the device!

They have a workaround however. In order to reach as many people as I can I have placed the link and info here. Please share this link with your friends!

The solution works; I have placed and received several test calls on my MagicJack after installing the software.

Peace,
Annie

How to Change a Tire

2011-02-21T10:00:00.000-06:00

A few weeks ago I had a flat alongside the Bluegrass Parkway. Instead of calling and hiring someone to fix it I changed it myself.

Saved a lot of time and money in the process!

My dad taught me how to change a tire when I was a kid, but when I told other ladies that I had changed it most had no clue where to begin if they had a flat. As a result I created this tutorial. It covers everything you need to have and do if you ever have a flat on the road.. and little preventative measures that will make life easier if you are ever in this situation.

I hope it never happens to you, but if it does I hope that you will have prepared. Practicing on your car before you ever need to change a tire will help your confidence a lot when you are alone and wet and afraid in the dark.

Seriously ladies, do you actually think Prince Charming exists anymore? With those outfits he used to wear, he’s probably dating some gay guy by now and afraid to break his nails! Just forget about him and do it yourself. It’s quicker that way.

Peace,
Annie

Sheesh!

2011-02-19T02:08:00.001-06:00

I created my official blog with the intention of letting this and my other freebie blogs fade away, but what am I doing?

Yup—I’m still posting on these blogs!

Maybe not as much as I used to, but for some reason I’m keeping them alive. Not quite ready to give all of them up yet.

Anyhow, Life has tossed me some lemons so I will be moving soon. I will have to stay with family for a bit till I find a place and get settled officially.

To answer your questions, yes it stinks and yes I’ve cried. But I must admit I will enjoy getting rid of this darn drive, and am counting the money I will save in the process.

Wish me luck!

How to Make Homemade Liquid Soap

2011-02-10T01:59:00.001-06:00

For those that are interested, here is a link to a recipe about making a gallon of liquid soap. This recipe allows you to have the luxury of liquid soap for pennies instead of the dollars those bottles cost you in the store.

How to Make Homemade Liquid Soap - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

Have a nice night!
Annie

How to Make Dishwashing Liquid

2011-02-08T21:02:00.001-06:00

Here is a video showing how I make dishwashing liquid at home for about 50 cents a gallon! It only takes 2 ingredients (other than water) and can be made in minutes! Enjoy!

Bean Burritos

2011-01-29T11:48:00.001-06:00

This is something that I eat routinely with the kid..some form of bean tacos and burritos. I’ve considered doing a post in the past but The Simple Dollar Beat me to it.

The Simple Dollar » Dinner With My Family #4: Bean Burritos#comment-937153#comment-937153#comment-937153#comment-937153

Normally I use dried Pinto beans seasoned with some taco seasoning and add veggies, cheese and chopped up hard boiled eggs before wrapping or rolling in a tortilla. The kid and I both love meals like this so it is an inexpensive staple in our diet.

Take care,
Annie

Life After the First Great Depression

2011-01-28T23:46:00.001-06:00

My parents grew up during the Great Depression of the 1930’s. While Mother’s parents owned a grocery store, Father was in the mountains of Eastern Kentucky, hoeing corn on a hillside for ten cents a day while his father worked the Railroad.

Life was tough during the depression and my parents never forgot. I learned a lot from them, tips and tricks both little and big. I collected some of them together a while ago and placed them at the link you see below:

Life After the First Great Depression - Associated Content from Yahoo! - associatedcontent.com

I honestly never thought about that article until tonight when I realized that you may be interested in those little tips and tricks.

Take care!
~Annie

How to Make a Gallon of Liquid Laundry Soap

2011-01-10T19:43:00.001-06:00

Hello all!

I have finally done it: today I made my very first video tutorial. This video gives step by step instructions how to make a single gallon of liquid laundry soap.

The reason I chose this subject is that while there are several recipes for enormous batches of liquid laundry soap, you rarely find any for smaller batches.

This recipe makes a single gallon of cleaner, perfect for those who don’t have space for a larger batch, or for minimalists who do not wish to make up more than they can use in a reasonable amount of time.

If you enjoy the video and would like more frugally minimalist recipes, please download a free sample of my ebook The Minimalist Cleaning Method available on Smashwords.

Update: There is a 25% off coupon on that book good until the end of January 2011: Just use the code MV35U at the checkout.

Happy New Year!

2011-01-01T15:55:00.001-06:00

I wanted to take a moment to thank each and every one of you for hanging in there and keeping up with this blog.

While I no longer add to this blog regularly, I wanted to update you on what has been going on with my life since I opened Annienygma.com.

Today I splurged on a small bottle of Pine Sol and mopped my house with it. I haven’t bought that stuff in years, but today I saw it and thought of Grandmother, and the nostalgia was too strong to resist. It gave the carpet a really nice homey smell, so it was worth it!

Life is about more than money; sometimes you have to do what feels right. Healthy frugality is about reducing the expenses of the things that aren’t important so that you can splurge on the things that are.

Some things I still do, like use family cloths; others like using baking soda instead of shampoo have went by the wayside. It is all one giant experiment, and some things just aren’t for me.

For a detailed summary of 2010, please visit this post on my main site. I tried to cover everything that I could think of in there.

Well, I’m off to explore more of 2011. I hope each and every one of you has a wonderful year in store!

Peace,
Annie

3 Day Minimalist Book Sale

2010-10-04T10:41:00.000-05:00

The 3-day Minimalist Book Sale has officially launched! Over $200 worth of work for $27, with some of the proceeds going to benefit Kiva.org.

I am honored to be a part of this by including my book The Minimalist Cleaning Method in the bundle.

For more information, click here.

Minimalist Book Sale to Help Kiva

2010-09-28T12:10:00.001-05:00

Hello all!

Karol Gajda has brought a bunch of us minimalists together to raise money for Kiva by selling a huge bundle of Minimalist books. There are numerous titles available, including my work "The Minimalist Cleaning Method."Also included are works by Meg Wolfe, Josh Becker, Everett Bogue, Tammy Strobel, and others.

This whole bundle will be selling for $27, and Karol is donating the first 24 hours of profit directly to Kiva.
For more information about the sale, including a list of contributors and titles, please visit this link.

Designer Box on a beer budget

2010-09-09T16:56:00.000-05:00

For this project yo
24 oz aluminum can (soda, tea, beer can)

sturdy scissors
white glue
1 medium nail
1 small nail
Ball point pen
ruler
masking tape
Sand paper
hammer
print out template
CLICK FOR TEMPLATE
Loctite Stik'n Seal adhesive { priced around $3.47 at Walmart}
Old magazine, old chip bag that has a shinny Finish to the inside

Take car in punching a hole near
the top of the can with
scissors and cut around the can eliminating the top
Cut down the side straight to the bottom once there cut around the can to cut off the bottom
{ if you are afraid of cutting your hands please wear gloves} I made several of these and did not cut myself once.

After you have both top and bottom cut off use a heavy glass, glass jar or rolling pin to flatten out your piece. Trim off any snags or jagged edges.

Tape your piece of aluminum at the corners to a piece of cardboard or your work surface
Remember to turn it painted side up, *
I have it shiny side up
so that the marks I make on it will
show for the photos*

Print out template for large cone box and cut out.
Lay your template on your piece and trace carefully to mark the fold line {dotted line}
The lid of the box is too large to fit on this single
can, don't worry after you cut out your cone use the scrap to make the lid, I found it necessary to cut the extra tab at the top from the lid off, so fold the lid part of the template under and trace the top of the cone with out the lid

Be sure to make 4 tabs for your lid
Do this by turning your template around using one of the longer side tabs as your pattern.
Take your small nail and make a hole in the center of the lid

Use your ruler to line up each fold line,
make each line by using pressure from the ball point pen

Next cut out your piece.
use a piece of sandpaper to smooth the edges

At this point you are ready to think about base embellishments The idea we are going for is old tin punch design.

You also can do embossing painted side up use your ink pen with pressure to emboss your design, to make the lines you create thicker try using the end of a paint brush or a Popsicle stick.

Once you are happy with you base embellishments we will address the edges by covering them with either fabric, paper, foil or an old potato chip bag.
Thumb through your magazine for colors or small designs you would like for a trim, cut your potato chip bag, fabric or paper from the magazine into a small strip.Fold the strip in half {The smaller your fold the finer your trim is}

Slide the folded "trim" over the edges that will be exposed :around the top, down the straight side of the cone

The side of the cone with the curve at the bottom is the tab to be folded inside.

At this point we will address the inside of our box.
Now this depends on
Your ideal use of this trinket
Will this be a keepsake box, to embellish and adorn with fringe, lace and sequence?
Could this be for potpourri?
I have made one for a trinket box and one for potpourri.
For a trinket box I have lined it with velvet, cut from some old prom dress.

Trace the template on to your desired lining
For potpourri use pages from a magazine, wallpaper or even paint the inside

Use white glue to hold your lining in place. Keep in mind where the back flap of the lid will be attached {refer to your template} leave this spot unglued so you can slide the flap of the lid inside the lining and glue it later

Do not forget to line your lid and trim 3 tabs leaving one to attach to the cone with adhesive

Carefully fold your box into its lovely cone shape try to keep your fold lines crisp.

Once you have your box folded
Glue your lid to the inside of the cone under the lining
Small tab to the front of the box
Hold or tape your cone closed at this point and shape your lid to fit
Folding the tads on the sides inward and letting the small tab in front remain on the outside of the cone
Run a string or cording through the hole in the center of the lid and tie
Now you are ready to glue the box closed you may find the need to use your pen to stick down in your cone as you press the sides together.
If you have a small tassel you could tie a medium size knot in its cord and fold your cone up around the knot leaving the tassel to hang from the end
Once you have your cone together you can further embellish with sequins, beads and ribbon

I would love to see your finished box. Please post your photosu need:

Crafts Ahead

2010-09-06T12:08:00.007-05:00

I am working very hard to bring 2 low cost big bang crafts to you.
One is no cost hand made paper boxes. Several templates to choose from.
The other is a beautiful keepsake box made from 24 oz soda can.
These are my own creations thus much thought is being applied to the step by step instructions, assembly and other possible embellishments.
I do have a question for you the readers.
Dose anyone have advice on how to bond/ glue aluminum to aluminum?
I have tried liquid nails ( my favorite glue all) but it will not bond.
As I said I am working very hard to get these crafts up on site along with the templates your patients is greatly valued.

Many Blessings to you all!

More Time Than Money, Want to donate?

2010-09-01T17:10:00.003-05:00

Living on a small income is fine for living. But there are many charities I would love to give money to, IF ONLY I had the money to give. One of the first things I was happiest to discover when I first started surfing the net are "Click to Donate" buttons.

Now I know it takes a load of clicking to amount to any real money. Most are only half cent increments or even less. Yet there are a faithful few like myself who have been clicking away for years. I have both the internet browser home pages that I use most often set for a Click To Donate site. First thing each and every day that I do it take the 3 minutes to click.

Sponsors its seems need the encouragement of our clicks to let loose of some of their cash. Knowing all the while that when tax time rolls around they have extra moneys to shed to various charities for the coveted tax credits.

I say cheer them on! Give your monea where it is needed!

Please CLICK TO DONATE to help these causes.

Click here to stop Child Abuse

Click here to end Homelessness

Hobo Wine in 7 Easy Steps

2010-08-31T19:52:00.000-05:00

My homemade hobo-wine recipe (cheap good wine)
This wine is in comparison to Manischewitz or "sweet" wines. This looks harder than it is! Can take only 15 minutes if you buy the water.
The following quantities make a gallon of wine.

Ingredients:

4 cans of juice concentrate (room temp). You can use any type of concentrate like Welch's concord grape, strawberry, kiwi-whatever, etc., as long as it doesn't contain any preservatives
1 1/2 cups of sugar
1 packet Active Dry yeast ~Bread yeast~ (more will not increase alcohol content but will impart a bad "yeasty" flavor)
1 gallon of distilled water or reverse osmosis the water you buy from a machine at the grocery ~Boil tap water for 5 minutes if you don't want to buy water. the chlorine will kill the yeast

Step 1
pour out half of the water from the jug, keep aside you will need most of it later.Heat 2 cups of this water to a slow boil and turn off heat, dissolve 1 1/2 cups of sugar in to water let cool to lukewarm
Step 2
Add the room temperature juice concentrate to half of distilled water remaining in the jug Never underestimate the importance of sanitizing! Sanitize everything you’re going to use to hold the fermenting wine, to keep bacteria from growing. The easy way to sanitize everything at once is to use your dishwasher at the high heat setting, with appropriate detergent If you do not have an automatic dishwasher, wash with detergent, then bleach the funnel and anything else you may use. You do not need to clean the jug, as it has only had pure water in it. Air dry.

Step 3
In a small bowl add 1/4 cup of the lukewarm sugar water and 1 package of yeast. Let sit for 10 minutes. The yeast should become very frothy.

Step 4
Pour the dissolved sugar-water into the jug filled with the juice concentrate. If it is too warm, cool it by placing the jug into a sink filled with cool water; add ice cubes to rapidly cool the mixture and limit the time the open container is exposed to bacterial contamination.

step 5
Touch to make sure the mixture is cool, then add the yeast. Cap the jug and shake thoroughly to completely mix all the ingredients .
Step 6
Add enough of remaining water to nearly fill the jug less 1 1/2 cups to ensure your wine doesn't over flow while in the fermenting process Cap and shake Remove the cap of the jug
Step 7
Place a balloon over the top. Secure it by putting a rubber band or tape around it. The yeast produces CO2 and the balloon will expand.

Very important: Poke a hole in the balloon with a pin. This will always keep the pressure positive in the jug and balloon to let CO2 out and at the same time does not let air in. (Air cannot be introduced to the mix or it will become vinegar.)

Keep the jug at room temperature and do not expose it to direct sunlight!
After a few days, if it does not start to bubble, throw it away and try again being more careful to use sanitary equipment.

{you should see bubbles rise} notice the jug on the left bubbles are not as dramatic as jug on the right, however it is still in the fermentation stage and will be just fine. Not every jug ferments at the same rate, sugar content plays a role here.

wait 10-14 days, when the mixture will suddenly go from cloudy to a clearer color and you can see the yeast settle to the bottom.

*** Wine will be ready to drink 4 weeks after this step
After transfer store your wine in the refrigeratorTransfer into another bottle or smaller bottles, by using a siphon hose or large turkey baster, careful leaving the sediment on the bottom of the first bottle,

** Note** The longer you store it the better the taste gets, I've had some that was 5 months old and the taste was much better than "new" wine

Hello From Kelli

2010-08-31T17:22:00.000-05:00

Hello from my home!

I am Kelli, Annie's sister. I am the crafter, makey-do queen of the two of us.
I enjoy sewing, making quilts, clothes and other craft projects on the cheap.
As well as being the cook.

I would like to share some of the projects, patterns and recipes that I enjoy in my home.
From time to time I may post other web sites where you too can have it ( what ever the site offers) for free or cheap.

Passing the Torch (or trying to)

2010-08-31T17:05:00.000-05:00

My sister Kelli has been coming to me with patterns and ideas she would like to share with you. Since I am devoting most of my time to my new site I am trying to persuade her to take over as primary poster here.

I think she has a lot of good things to teach if I can only convince her of that truth. She is even bigger into frugality than I am, and I know that you would love her!

Hey, maybe if you guys leave a lot of comments she will agree to come on board!

How to Write and Publish an Ebook

2010-08-26T23:29:00.000-05:00

Okay, I really want to be in bed right now, but the Muse wouldn't leave me alone. She drove me nuts when I went to lay down with the idea for this ebook. She decided she wasn't leaving me alone until I wrote it, so I have been playing unwilling secretary to a happy muse.

It is a good book. It takes you step by step through the ebook creation process, from choosing your subject, to writing it down (even if you don't have a computer), to marketing it, promoting it and getting others to sell if for you!

For more information click here to visit my store. Price of the book is $9.95 and delivery is instant.

There, the muse is finally happy now, so I'm going back to bed. Nite all!

Slowly But Surely

2010-08-23T10:29:00.000-05:00

I know that if I keep slogging at this I will get it all set up and accomplished. I know I can do this!

That said, I'm beat! I worked about 17 hours on that page yesterday and STILL woke up early today!

I have moved in some of my other blogs and am in the process of importing the rest. There are a LOT of posts, so it's gonna take awhile.

Please have a drink during the Intermission and visit my latest post on Annienygma.com. Once I get everything migrated I won't nag you, but my future posts will be to that site. I will link to them from here in the meantime to give you the option of following me.

In other words, I really hope to see you there, so please please PLEASE come to visit!

I Did It

2010-08-22T22:24:00.000-05:00

After banging my head against that wall you see all day I actually accomplished something. I started my very first commercial website. I even managed to get my desired domain name, annienygma.com!

This site is going to be the eventual home for all of my blogs, but these original pages aren't going anywhere for a time. That said, most of my new posts will be to the new site and I will make sure to post links here to keep you guys updated.

I had to do this. It was either s*&t or get off of the pot. I have been talking about getting my own site for years now and it has really been bugging me. This morning I just woke up and did it.

I don't know what is going to happen, only that I am going to try, and keep trying until I reach my online income goal. I'm doing pretty good title editing and stuff, but I want more, and this is how you get it.

So out of the $80 I saved on the battery, almost $50 went to pay for this website. I sell just five books and that site will be paid for this year--I can do that!

We can all just sit and chat about how we are going to achieve our dreams, or we can go out and start making them happen. I can sit here on this free blog and dream of making it work, or I can get off of my duff and do it!

I'm not going to stop blogging. The primary focus of the new site is blogging, actually. Not quite sure what else to make it do yet, but I'm kinda brain dead.

Anyhow, I hope that you will wish me luck and visit the other website. I am not going to stop posting frugal stuff, so don't worry, I'm just trying to make things better for all of us (and pay the bills a bit better). Just think: now instead of having to remember this complicated url all you have to do is remember my name Annienygma!

I Saved $80 Last Night!

2010-08-20T17:52:00.000-05:00

One of the reasons that I am frugal is so that I can spend money on the things that I really enjoy. I use my laptop constantly and rarely have enough battery life when I'm out and about, so I have been shopping for a large capacity battery for my system.

Toshiba had the battery I wanted for over $180 after taxes and shipping. I cringed at spending that amount but knew I needed to every time I ran out of power on this thing.

Last night I stumbled upon a deal at Buy.com where the exact same battery that Toshiba was selling was listed for $106 after taxes and shipping. I bought that thing so fast you would have laughed at me! I look forward to it's arrival and my liberation from dead batteries. The two batteries together (the one I have plus the new one) should provide me with a maximum of 10 hours of battery life--a far cry from the 2-3 hours I get now!

Computers, especially my laptop, are very important to me. I use them constantly for work and communication. While I don't care much about toilet paper and sanitary pads, or even about televisions or phones I do care about my computer. Thus some of the money I have saved is going toward what will truly make my life easier.

So while I may not buy a lot of things that most consider "normal purchases," I do spend money on what is important to me, though it may not be as important to other people. Thus is the primary difference between being cheap and frugal. Frugalistas spend money, just not on stuff that isn't important to them. Cheapskates don't like spending money at all...

What is the Most Extremely Frugal Thing You Have Done?

2010-08-19T20:53:00.000-05:00

Hello!

Over the years I have done some extremely frugal things. I started using Family cloths and menstrual cloths, baked my own bread and made clothes for myself and the kids.

I've eliminated the television, rode a bike to work and did some other things as well.

I must admit, I consider the most frugal thing I have ever done was pooling cleaners like shampoo, conditioner, and stuff. And cutting the bottom off of a toothpaste tube to get the last bits out (I'm still working on that tube BTW).

What is the most frugal thing YOU have done? Do you separate the 2-ply bathroom tissue, or steam off stamps and reuse them? Take the ketchup packets home from restaurants instead of buying some at the store? What do YOU do?

Confession time: I'm looking for some new ideas for extreme frugality. Any tips you can come up with will be appreciated, and if you know anyone who is frugal, can you send them a link to this post and ask them to share THEIR tips? Thanks!

Waffling

2010-08-19T12:11:00.000-05:00

Picture by my daughter Katie of Teddy Red.

Okay, the guinea pig likes the cloth. I don't really mind washing it. I was going to put him back on the wood chips yesterday but instead I put him in the cloth once again. It does increase my laundry, changing the cloth everyday. It is quicker to change it all out and shake out the droppings than it is to sweep that stuff up.

So I am still debating on the subject of the guinea pig's final bedding. I don't have any fleece, so instead I am just using a muslin top layer. I figure it won't get too wet with a thick cloth layer and daily changing.

I have figured out that he is limiting his urination to two corners in the cage now. By placing extra thicknesses there I can absorb the liquid and avoid changing all of the cloths on the bottom, which would save on laundry. Today I folded up a cloth on each end in hopes that most of the liquid would be confined to those two cloths. We shall see what happens.

I dislike waffling on something. Part of me wants to go back to the old way (wood chips) and part of me knows that the cloth, while more work, keeps him cleaner and is easier and less messy to change, not including better than buying wood chips.

I will figure it out.

Living on $500 a Month or Less

Is Anyone Here?

Comcast Blocks MagicJack!

How to Change a Tire

Sheesh!

How to Make Homemade Liquid Soap

How to Make Dishwashing Liquid

Bean Burritos

Life After the First Great Depression

How to Make a Gallon of Liquid Laundry Soap

Happy New Year!

3 Day Minimalist Book Sale

Minimalist Book Sale to Help Kiva

Designer Box on a beer budget

*Crafts Ahead*

More Time Than Money, Want to donate?

Hobo Wine in 7 Easy Steps

Hello From Kelli

Passing the Torch (or trying to)

How to Write and Publish an Ebook

Slowly But Surely

I Did It

I Saved $80 Last Night!

What is the Most Extremely Frugal Thing You Have Done?

Waffling

Crafts Ahead