Giving to others and money........

Got a letter in the mail this week from the church.  Why they had to mail it I do not know, as the vicar probably goes past our house a couple days a week..........OR he could have given me it this week when I attend church.  Anyhow there was a newsletter that was pretty long winded and didn't make too much sense to me.  A "fancy" envelope for the Thanksgiving service...........I am guessing they want you to give more during that service???  I give the same small amount every week, it's what I am comfortable giving, and I know it won't be as much as a lot of people, but it's better than nothing.

Also there was mention that they are collecting for the local women's and children's shelter.  So when I went grocery shopping on Friday I picked up a few boxes of pasta and some toiletries (shampoo, conditioner, soap and toothpaste) to put in the collection box.  I'll pick up some more things next week when I go shopping again.

Is it something you do, give to shelters etc?   I feel I should volunteer my time somewhere as well, but can't figure out where the best place to volunteer would be.  I have been asked to volunteer at the local museum, but as yet haven't commited to anything.

Next week we're going to meet with a financial planner to go over where we are at, and where we are going money wise.  We have always basically done our own financial planning, but decided we should maybe get a professionals point of view.  We're under no obligation to do anything, so thought why not take advantage of the service.

Money with a bit of a whine now..............our bank requires us to keep $3,000 in our chequing account, so that we don't pay service charges of $12.95 per month.  Isn't that a rip off?    If we only kept $2,000 in there we would only get 25 transactions a month free.  If we kept $1,000 in it, we would only get 10 transactions a month free.  I can't make $12.95 per month in interest anywhere else on that $3,000, so we have no choice but to keep that money in that account.  I need to research other banks with the view of moving our accounts to another bank.

What's stopping us moving everything at the moment, is the work involved, changing our direct debits etc.  Still it's annoying how much money these banks are making every year.

Busy day on Saturday as the kids are coming over and we are going to do some jobs around the house.

Have you noticed........

the nights are getting lighter?  I am typing this on Friday night at 5.45pm and it is still light outside.  That is a good sign right?  We have been having a little warmer weather as well, not hot but not in the minus 20's.

Yesterday Kadeeae left this comment on my blog:

Ha! Reminds me of the movie The Money Pit!

What she was referring to was our house, and I have to agree at the moment it does feel like the money pit again.  What with the house and now Molly not sure what we're going to do, as there is only so much money in the pot.

I am planning on putting in a large garden this year and selling off the surplus on a roadside stand I plan on setting up at the end of the driveway.  I was hoping to sell the raspberries this year, along with jam that I make.  Plus I was thinking of selling some quilting/sewing items.  I know my dad was saying that I could add some of his birdboxes on the stand as well.  Hopefully that will all make the roadside stand successful.

We live on a road that is a popular route to cottage country, so on a Friday night through Sunday night in the summer is can be quite busy which helps.

I have been applying for jobs, but have had no luck yet.  Plus come summer I will be busy in the garden.  We manage on a day to day basis, just doing all the big jobs requires us to have a bit more money.

If you can think of any other ideas that would be great.

Did you see this performance by Pink on the Grammys the other night?



Did you remember to put your money in your pot today for the Daily Savings Club?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

1) The frugal gardener needs to be flexible, as in no master landscape plan set in concrete. The frugal gardener lets the plants be the guide and the garden sort of "happens by happy accident." For example, if you respond to a “free plants" ad on CraigsList, you will have no idea what you’re really getting. Being flexible lets you look at the new plants and say “Wow, they’re just what I needed!” no matter what they are.

2) Physical flexibility helps too. Keep this in mind when the ad on CraigsList says “You dig!”

3) Patience by the wheelbarrow load is also necessary if you’re keeping your gardening budget down. Small plants, cuttings or starting your garden from seeds is not the instant way to garden. Gardeners need to learn to wait -- and then wait some more, especially if you’re aiming for frugal. It can take years to create a garden this way.

4) Terms such as "meek" and "mild" don’t usually describe the frugal gardener. Toss the shy, quiet and unassuming traits out the window and practice being outgoing and assertive. The more you ask for free or reduced prices on items, the easier it gets and getting told “no” just pushes you on to the next possibility.

5) Creativity and an open mind will help the frugal gardener use what IS available rather than having a set shopping list of items that "need" to be purchased.

All these tips came from this site

Dollars for gold.......and other stuff!

In Canada and the States, there are a lot of adverts on the tv for selling your old broken gold jewelery for cash. I have watched these with interest for a while now; then on another site I go on there was a thread all about this and how a member had done this with great results. Infact she had taken hers to a jewelery store in Canada and they had offered say $200 and when she sent it to this company in New York she got $400.

So I decided to clean out my jewelery box and see what I had laying around and here is what I found. The two larger chains I had, had been repaired before and they were just not worth while repairing again. The two smaller chains were just cheapies and not worth repairing.

All these earrings were either broken or missing their mate; and as I am not one to go around wearing odd earrings, they were no good to me.

I sent these by airmail via Canada Post on January 4th, at a cost of around $8, and that included the cost of the bubblewrap envelope. I put on the customs paper, costume jewellry for repair, as putting gold jewelery to sell wouldn't have been a good idea..........right!!!

I got a call from the company on January 11th and they told me it was worth just over $300 USD and was I happy. I was very happy as it was worth nothing sitting in my jewelery box. I got the cheque on Friday 15th of January and put it in the bank on Saturday. We put a hold on it until Friday 22nd of Janaury just to make sure it will clear. There should be no problem, but thought we had better make sure just in case. Other people who have used this company have had no problem.

Blogger turned my photo for some reason?

So if you have old jewellry laying around and want some money this may be worth your while. Now with everything in life, you do it at your own risk. This has worked for me, but may not for you, so do your own research first. All I can say I am happy with the results and this is the company I used.

I ordered some bulbs and flowers online on Sunday at Vesey's  I have ordered from them before and have had good luck with them.  On the north side of the house, I wanted to make a hosta garden, and so I ordered these  I bought the 8 pack.  I also bought four different varieties of Gladiolus, as I have never grown them before, and thought if they did well I may be able to sell some as well.  I got this one, this one, this one and this one.   Finalkly I got these Dahlia's, again it's a flower I have never grown before.  From now until March 10, 2010 if you order $50 from the catalog, you get an additional $25 off, the coupon code is: SA251  Now not sure if it applies to all the things online as well, but you could try?

Did you remember to put your money in your Daily Savings Pot today?

Today's Money Saving Tip:

Start a garden. Gardening is an inexpensive hobby if you have a yard. Just rent a tiller, till up a patch, plant some plants, keep it weeded, and you’ll have a very inexpensive hobby that produces a huge amount of vegetables for you to eat at the end of the season. I like planting a bunch of tomato plants, keeping them cared for, then enjoying a huge flood of tomatoes at the end of the summer. We like to eat them fresh, can them, and make tomato juice, sauce, paste, ketchup, pasta sauce, and pizza sauce. Delicious (and very inexpensive)!

(Not sure if you have clicked yet, but I didn't write all these tips that I keep posting, and this is one I didn't write, as the regulars will know I don't grow many tomatoes myself, as I am the only one that eats them!!)