Stop Wasting Your Money

Johannah8 Comments

As I said yesterday, wasting money bothers me.   But truthfully, any waste bothers me.  Wasting natural resourses, money, time, anything — because I view waste as unnecessary to living happily and healthily on this earth.  It always saddens me when I see waste ~~~ any type of waste.

Since we all view waste differently we will each approach ” doing  away with it” in our own way ~~ but in this economy not doing it ….  just doesn’t make sense.  So today I am sharing some ways that you might stop wasting your money, get off the spending roller coaster and get your expenses to more reasonable level .  A level that  might allow you not only to live better overall but also might put you on the right path to accomplishing your financial goals.

First, make up you mind to cut your costs.    That’s step one towards ending the waste.  It’s going to benefit you. You can’t do it unless you make up your mind that it’s something you really want.  In this economy with rising prices, bleak job prospects and the reality of inflation – you need to stop wasting your money now!

Second, decide what is most important to YOU.  That’s right, figure out what you really want out of your life, what you want for your children, and where you want your life to end up.  For some it might mean a home, college savings, or a new car, for others the reality is that life without debt and with a healthy emergency account would be a Godsend. Each of us is in a different place, and our goals are different. You need to know yours!

Third, start cutting.  There are usually things in every life that can be cut or shaved down to cost less.  Here are some of the things that come to mind.

  • Paid Subscriptions – Can you get that same information online and cut out the cost of those magazine subscriptions?  If you cannot cut all of them, can you cut most of them?  Just write cancel on your next invoice and be done with it.
  • Cable Subscriptions/Special Channels/Movie Packages – Do you have one or more of the ones that you pay extra dollars each month for that you really aren’t using to its full advantage.  If you find you don’t need or use it, eliminate it.
  • Trash Collection – If you pay for it, can you find a less expensive hauler?
  • Newspaper – Can you get the same information online for free?
  • Utility Bills – Can you figure out a way to save hot water, water in general, or electricity?  Look around your house yourself, or get a free energy audit.  Many utility companies offer free energy audits to homeowners.  Everyone can save some energy and therefore some dollars with utilities.  Maybe it just means filling your dishwasher full before running it, turning down your hot water heater a few degrees, or getting it an insulation cover.   Look into resealing your window or doors, using a programmable thermostat to save energy by lowering the heat or air conditioning while no one is home or hanging out your clothes instead of using the dryer.  Maybe you could plan on making 2 meals at one time, so you only have to reheat the second (in the microwave!), or baking twice the amount and freezing the items to have on hand.  Read more “Stop Wasting Your Money”

The Government Wastes Your Tax Dollars!

Johannah16 Comments

Wasting Money bothers me.  I am appalled when I see others doing it.  I am of the opinion that one can avoid this if they take the time and effort needed to search out an alternative.   But I am actually a bit angered by it when I see my taxes paying for ridiculous things.  Our government budget never seems to cut out any waste, they just seem to keep adding on crazy expenditures that are a waste of money.

And while I have a short list of a few of the wasteful  ways  below, I also think there are lots of valuable things our government does with their money —  I just can’t think of one right now.

Last time I checked the US Debt Clock,  we were over 15.7 trillion in debt.  Their continuously updating site shows debt of each citizen at $50,090.  So why don’t  we cut some of the waste!  My belief is that each representative wants as many dollars in his district/state as possible any way he can get them?  Let’s face it – it creates jobs, keeps the economy going and  the voters on his side….but ladies and gents, enough is enough!

These are some of the more ridiculous things our government wasted money on (in my opinion) in the past few years.

1) An Internet Dating Study – really?  Somehow they needed to know how Americans use the internet to find love.   I could have told them,  Americans aren’t searching  for actual “LOVE” , they use it for something else ….ahem.  This is where I think they should mind their own business and just butt out. Cost $250,000.

2) Super Bowl Commercial no one really understood.  The Census Bureau sponsored a Super Bowl Ad to the tune of $2.5 million that tanked because it was too ironic to actually be understood by most who watched it.  Duh?

3) Replacing 36 Toilets in Alaska’s Denali National Park – 1.49 million dollars.  They might have needed toilets, I know I’d like one in the if I had to go while at the National Park, but an outhouse with a roll o f TP would have filled my needs.

4) A pedestrian bridge 20 steps from an existing pedestrian bridge in Puget Sound $260,000.  And next year they may build another, after all there might be more pedestrians who want to cross.  I wonder who’s brother in law owns the company that builds those?

5) National Institute of Health spent $55,000 dollars to promote awareness of a vaccine that doesn’t exist.

6) Funding the creation of a video game to the tune of $600,000 – to be called WolfQuest.

7) They funded $120 million for federal retirement benefits to retirees — seems Ok on the surface, until you find out that those retirees are already dead.   AND one retirees’ son collected his father check for 37 years until he also died.   My fix… Spend 1 million to fund new employees to find these kind of system abusers and put the $119 million towards the debt.

8)How about the $3.4 million to create an underground turtle tunnel, or eco-passage, in Lake Jackson, Florida – Really!  Were they endangered turtles or regular ones?  This is money that could have been better spent feeding the hungry in America, but don’t get me started on that.

Is there never going to be an end to this.  I remember when they used to call it pork belly spending.  Spending by any name is spending.  And we need to rein in government spending  NOW!

Other Articles in the Waste Series:
Stopping Waste in Our Home Part 1 ~ Click here
Stopping Waste in Our Home Part 2 ~ Click here‎
Stop Wasting Your Money ~ Click here

All opinions in this post are 100% mine and have not been influenced by anyone.

Allergies

Johannah13 Comments

Speaking from experience – this is one category that has been a source of annoyance for me for a long time.  Recently, it seems there has become a new awareness of just how devistating allergies can actually be to those who have them.

I am thinking specifically when talking about new awareness to the peanut and gluten allergies.  I cannot fathom the stress that might accompany having a child with a peanut allergy and hoping no child in his school brings in a peanut butter and jelly sandwich.  And while most aren’t as severe as that, I can tell you that just existing without coming in contact with peanuts has got to be mind-boggling.  Not only do you have to read ingredient labels, and avoid the obvious, but you also have to be aware of items that may have been cross contaminated in factories that produce non-peanut items. 

I have a medium size “list” of allergies, but my food allergies are to both fructose and corn.  I guess they go hand in hand really. Fructose is fruit sugar and it’s just about everywhere and in just about everything called fruit (even lemons).   High Fructose Corn Syrup is made from corn.  With this type of allergy,  I really can come close to  a peach,  or an ear of corn ~ I just can’t eat it.  If someone sneaks some into my food ~ I know it pretty quickly.  The first thing that happens is my sinuses swell and that’s a pretty obvious outward sign because you will hear me trying to breathe.   I then usually go into an asthma attack, the severity of which is determined by the amount I ingested. Sometimes my face swells or I break out in a rash, or just itch all over or get really nasty.  I have identified several of the ones that cause “really nasty” and let me just say I absolutely and totally avoid them.

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Sometime Friends ~ Short

Johannah4 Comments

Friends are nice to have – most of the time.  They are there for you and you are there for them.  It’s something that helps makes the things that happen to all of us in this world easier to accept.   Someone to call when you have good news or bad.  Someone to spend your leisure time with having fun. Someone who is there and cares for you no matter what!

Occasionally a friendship goes a little wrong, and they become a “sometime” friends.  That’s right, sometimes they are your friends and sometimes they are not.  All of us probably have  had this happen to us, especially if we have any years under our belts.  There are reasons and seasons to life where friends are more important and play more key roles in our lives — and other times when our family takes priority and we must limit our time with our friends.

But then again sometimes things just go awlfully wrong.   In the video on YouTube here:  VIDEO ~  there is an example of what we believe was once friendship, ending just so wrong.

This is our gas station and this incident just happened Sunday night.  It seems that the man paid for the gasoline in the vehicle the girl eventually leaves in.  The man had been in the rest room… then he kind of wobbles out towards the car and  falls to the ground.  The girl gets out of the vehicle, not once, not twice but three times, emptying his pockets of everything he has… she even turned him over to make sure she had everything.  And then sadly, she leaves him there “unconscious” on the ground.  She doesn’t alert anyone, she doesn’t call 911 and she sure doesn’t stick around.

When the ambulence got there, he told them he was robbed.  He had had prescription medications on him as well as other things.  She took everything… he didn’t even have his ID any longer.  It was all long gone with the “girl”.  She robbed him, and she didn’t call for help,  and she left him there.  I cannot imagine totally why – I could guess, but it would only be a guess.  So, I can just say one thing… please people if you have a friend, acquaintance, neighbor or just see someone who needs help  — be kinder to them this woman was!

Missing Blog Prizes?

Johannah7 Comments

What can be more annoying than to win something, but never receive it?   How easily something just that simple turns from a win-win-win to a lose-lose-lose.  I have read countless reasons why a prize is not delivered as promised, and each time I have to wonder what the real reason might be.

Have you had this happen to you?  There are more of you than you think!  I thought maybe I was just one of the few people who didn’t receive a blog prize I had won.  But being around the blogosphere, I have found out that there are hundreds and the list of problems with receiving these prizes run from the mundane to the unbelieveable.   In fact, if I didn’t know better I would think there is a eBook you can purchase that will give you 1001 reasons to give a prize winner why their prize isn’t likely ever to be received.  

Bloggers are real people, and real people have lives that take priority over anything they may blog about, including giveaways – but there is only so many times you can hear these excuses before you realize they just simply do not care about you, their reader. So who is harmed the most when something goes awry,  the winner, the blog owner, or perhaps the sponsor?  I say all three.  

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