There is absolutely nothing wrong with staying at home with the kids. After all, kids are a 24/7 job. On the other hand, if you want to stay at home, there are many people who still would like to have their own money for personal reasons.
Some people may want it so they feel like less of a burden. Others would like to buy things that their spouse doesn't disapprove of, but it is not in the budget or may have to make another sacrifice.
Then, there the need for extra income while you are unemployed, paying off credit card debt, saving for a down payment on a home, or saving to start a business. Whatever your reason is, there are a LOT of ways to make money on the internet or while your children are around.
I am able to care for my children, cook, clean, AND bring in some extra income between it all. We get free dinners, gift cards, and all sorts of other free things! PLUS I easily pull in a couple hundred bucks a month extra. I don't even have to go anywhere I don't normally go! I NEVER paid a fee for any of the stuff I do. In fact, I am evaluating my first investment into an online business right now, and will update you on that shortly (and I will recommend it or not only at that time).
How do I do this? Well, there is not just one way I do this, and there are a few things I must say before I go any further:
1. The income potential is MUCH higher than I am giving you. The main reason: this doesn't count referrals. Until now, I never went public with what I do.
2. You do NOT HAVE to pay anything to make money online, but it is hard work. It doesn't come overnight, but the rewards can be life changing.
3. I did not add anything to this list you need any special skills for. I left these out intentionally. So there is no blogging, web page design, etc. required for these programs.
I am working hard to get a list together to help anyone make some money online in their spare time. Imagine a $50 check each month for just doing some computer work while you are cooking dinner. If you are like me, fifty bucks is an extra 600 per year.
You can find this list HERE
Friday, August 12, 2011
Sunday, July 24, 2011
washing soda , white vinegar , and boric acid as cleaners
I spent the day on Friday researching homemade cleaning recipes. I did this for several reasons. The first one is due to the amount of cleaning supplies we currently use. I am purely guessing, but I am going to try to average what we use for a month in cleaning supplies:
1 lg bottle laundry detergent- $14.00
1/2 dishwasher detergent- $1.50
1 bottle dish soap- $1.00
fabric softener- $2.50
carpet refresher- $3.00
1/3 furniture polish- $1.00
all purpose cleaners and wipes- $3.00
upholstery cleaner- $3.00
We use a few other things, but they are in such small amounts that it is not worth adding in the cents of it we use every month. So we use roughly $30 a month or so in high end cleaners.
I decided for my Spring cleaning in July to go au natural, that is, not using the stuff I normally do. Because I wanted to try out cleaning as naturally as possible with as little money as possible, I researched different cleaners, gambled with how they would work, and am here to share my experience with the natural solutions I used. I learned a lot today! Now, just for the record, I used normal laundry detergent because I just bought a HUGE container of the cheap stuff, and want to use the container when it is gone for my homemade trial. So I used regular laundry detergent.
What did I clean, what did I use, how did it work?
I did a thorough cleaning of our bedroom today. Our bedroom for now is a bedroom for 4. Our 23 mo. old and 11 mo. old are in cribs in our room.
The wood-
Lemon juice and olive oil seems to be the norm for furniture polish. I varied this to what I had on hand, which was lime juice (from making salsa) and I have all sorts of oil, but canola oil is SOOOO much cheaper than olive oil, so I tried that.
My results? It didn't smell like much at all, but the mixture cleaned the furniture and gave it a great shine. The part I was shocked about though is that some of the scratches that were previously there just "disappeared". Instantly. I have never seen this with the store bought stuff, although it has a great lemon scent. That is the trade off (unless of course I ever decide to invest in some essential oils).
The carpets and upholstery-
We have a carpet cleaner, but I refuse to pay 20 bucks for carpet cleaner (our recommended brand for our carpet cleaner). So I tried using vinegar. 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water. I tried this with both our couch and our carpets. The carpets were only dirty from shoes, but the vinegar water solution did really well removing the stains. The "miracle" was with the couch. Our lil ones fall asleep with milk bottles and cups on the couch constantly, which leaves huge outlines of stains. We have tried to remove the milk stains with upholstery cleaner, and they did OK. But the couch removal was INCREDIBLE... It looked NEW!!!!! White vinegar worked wonders for this.
I mixed 1/6 borax, 1/6 washing soda, and 1/6 white vinegar with 1/2 water. It is not rocket science, so just eyeball them. This is what I used as a multipurpose, and it worked just as well as my normal cleaner. However, what I did notice is that is you leave it on rather than just wipe it off, it takes marks off immediately.
My conclusion? Getting started on "natural" cleaning is worth it. 100%. It cost me around 7 bucks to buy the borax, white vinegar, and washing soda, and the rest we had around the house. But I believe firmly that these 3 products are worth the minimal investment. I am going to do some research on other uses for these products, and post even more uses.
As always, thanks for reading!
1 lg bottle laundry detergent- $14.00
1/2 dishwasher detergent- $1.50
1 bottle dish soap- $1.00
fabric softener- $2.50
carpet refresher- $3.00
1/3 furniture polish- $1.00
all purpose cleaners and wipes- $3.00
upholstery cleaner- $3.00
We use a few other things, but they are in such small amounts that it is not worth adding in the cents of it we use every month. So we use roughly $30 a month or so in high end cleaners.
I decided for my Spring cleaning in July to go au natural, that is, not using the stuff I normally do. Because I wanted to try out cleaning as naturally as possible with as little money as possible, I researched different cleaners, gambled with how they would work, and am here to share my experience with the natural solutions I used. I learned a lot today! Now, just for the record, I used normal laundry detergent because I just bought a HUGE container of the cheap stuff, and want to use the container when it is gone for my homemade trial. So I used regular laundry detergent.
What did I clean, what did I use, how did it work?
I did a thorough cleaning of our bedroom today. Our bedroom for now is a bedroom for 4. Our 23 mo. old and 11 mo. old are in cribs in our room.
The wood-
Lemon juice and olive oil seems to be the norm for furniture polish. I varied this to what I had on hand, which was lime juice (from making salsa) and I have all sorts of oil, but canola oil is SOOOO much cheaper than olive oil, so I tried that.
My results? It didn't smell like much at all, but the mixture cleaned the furniture and gave it a great shine. The part I was shocked about though is that some of the scratches that were previously there just "disappeared". Instantly. I have never seen this with the store bought stuff, although it has a great lemon scent. That is the trade off (unless of course I ever decide to invest in some essential oils).
The carpets and upholstery-
We have a carpet cleaner, but I refuse to pay 20 bucks for carpet cleaner (our recommended brand for our carpet cleaner). So I tried using vinegar. 1/2 vinegar and 1/2 water. I tried this with both our couch and our carpets. The carpets were only dirty from shoes, but the vinegar water solution did really well removing the stains. The "miracle" was with the couch. Our lil ones fall asleep with milk bottles and cups on the couch constantly, which leaves huge outlines of stains. We have tried to remove the milk stains with upholstery cleaner, and they did OK. But the couch removal was INCREDIBLE... It looked NEW!!!!! White vinegar worked wonders for this.
I mixed 1/6 borax, 1/6 washing soda, and 1/6 white vinegar with 1/2 water. It is not rocket science, so just eyeball them. This is what I used as a multipurpose, and it worked just as well as my normal cleaner. However, what I did notice is that is you leave it on rather than just wipe it off, it takes marks off immediately.
My conclusion? Getting started on "natural" cleaning is worth it. 100%. It cost me around 7 bucks to buy the borax, white vinegar, and washing soda, and the rest we had around the house. But I believe firmly that these 3 products are worth the minimal investment. I am going to do some research on other uses for these products, and post even more uses.
As always, thanks for reading!
Thursday, July 21, 2011
Start An orchard!
An orchard is probably one of the best investments you can ever make. If you don't have $40 a pop for trees, or don't have your dream home yet. That is ok. As your family goes through store bought fruit, start planting the seeds. All it takes to get these little guys started is 3-4 bags of soil, and a few dozen planting bags like the ones below. These bags are the exact ones I got, same seller, and they are doing great. They were ready to go when they got here. If the trees do not produce good fruit, you have some wood for other uses. I plan on planting EVERY single fruit seed and pit that comes into this house over the next year or two is getting planted. These bags worked so well for me, I am going to grab a bunch of 5 gallon bags, and 50 more 1 gallon bags to grow out our fruit trees in. I expect our total cost to be under $80 for the fruit trees (not counting water!).
So for the cost of 2 fruit trees, you can have 100! If you take good care of them, and half of those survive and produce fruit, you can have all the fruit trees you need to get your orchard started. Wait until they fruit for the first time. If the fruit is terrible, or it never fruits, give it away or use it for any of the other ways wood can be used. On the other hand, if you have 10 apple trees that produce great fruit, I am sure you have a few neighbors who will take it off your hands for a couple bucks. So starting an orchard this way may take a little longer, but it will save you tons of money, and you can even make a small profit in the end!
Right now though, we are all about savings. An orchard is a savings as WELL as a great investment for your future. This is an investment that can be as big or as small as you want to make it.
1. Sell the fruits.
2. Use the land under and around the trees for herbs, and sell the herbs. This works especially well when your trees are not producing.
3. Learn to root trees from branches and sell the little trees. These also make great gifts.
Do you have any other ways you make money off of your orchard?
So for the cost of 2 fruit trees, you can have 100! If you take good care of them, and half of those survive and produce fruit, you can have all the fruit trees you need to get your orchard started. Wait until they fruit for the first time. If the fruit is terrible, or it never fruits, give it away or use it for any of the other ways wood can be used. On the other hand, if you have 10 apple trees that produce great fruit, I am sure you have a few neighbors who will take it off your hands for a couple bucks. So starting an orchard this way may take a little longer, but it will save you tons of money, and you can even make a small profit in the end!
Right now though, we are all about savings. An orchard is a savings as WELL as a great investment for your future. This is an investment that can be as big or as small as you want to make it.
1. Sell the fruits.
2. Use the land under and around the trees for herbs, and sell the herbs. This works especially well when your trees are not producing.
3. Learn to root trees from branches and sell the little trees. These also make great gifts.
Do you have any other ways you make money off of your orchard?
Sunday, July 17, 2011
Your allotment
Growing Veggies in a small plot in your yard or patio is a great idea for saving a bit of money. There are people who love it, and people who hate it. Me? I love choosing what I plant and watching it grow. There is nothing better though than going out to your yard and picking tonights pasta sauce or salad. A garden is not only a symbol of frugality, but a symbol of luxury. It also offers the ultimate in security.
During my "fast food days", I realized at one time, peppers were banned at taco bell, and tomatoes became nonexistant at Burger King, Subway, etc. due to food shortages. I LOVE fresh tomatoes, even the grocery store ones. With the worst flooding in years along the Mississippi and the droughts throughout Texas and the surrounding states, I expect our food prices to skyrocket. Many basic staples have nearly doubled in just the last 12 months.
APARTMENT LIVING
Currently, we are in an apartment with only a small 3rd floor balcony. I am only being "allowed" a small shelving unit for my garden. At this point, we have a beautiful view of the water- and if we hit a money problem, we have fish abound right in our own backyard. This provides us with some security we need. Know if you ever get desperate, where some temporary food sources are.
My love for gardening and realizing the need for a secure future has made me exert much of the little space I have to only 2 plants for our immediate needs: tomatoes and peppers. This is partially because our porch is screened, so I get no help from the good insects, and need to pollinate my tomatoes and peppers by hand.
The remainder of our garden is completely dedicated to starting fruit trees from seed. Right now, I have 1 baby mango, a few lemon, a few lime, and a few papaya growing on our porch, all in 1 gallon bags. I grew all of them from $4 worth of fruit I got from the store. I also have 3 avocado seeds in 1, however, I have not had much luck with these guys. If one actually sprouts, I will move it. For newbies, many of these will not grow to be just like their parent plants in flavor, size or shape, and could be terrible. But then again, they could also be superior. I, personally, would rather take 33c and buy a lime and grow the 4-6 seeds in it for a few extra years (especially since I can not plant them outside anyway!) and take my chances that 1 of the 5 will produce an equal or superior lime. I now save the seeds from all the fruits I can.
If you have a brown thumb, but want to try this, go buy a papaya. They have hundreds of seeds, so hundreds of chances to screw up. I planted 3, and 2 have grown with little sun or assistance from me other than a daily watering. They are not a tree, by the way, so do your research on how to grow them. They are actually an herb, much like a banana.
Since I had so much luck with the lemons, limes, papayas, and the mango, I am going to try to get my hands on apple, orange, and peach seeds. I am also going to order a few more seeds from the SEEDMAN.
There is another plant that through years of research seems to be a "must have" no matter where you are. It is nicknamed the "survival tree" because it is extremely useful and is supposedly very easy to care for.
PEOPLE WITH LOTS OF LAND
You guys are the lucky ones. If you have many acres of land, that is you! Although we aren't focusing on people with tons of acreage, but there may be some great ideas to help you make more of your land.
THE "LUCKY ONES"
These are the people with anywhere from 1/4 of an acre to 2 acres. The reason I consider you "lucky" is that these are the people who can grow some of their own food and maybe even a bit of a profit (enough to cover a lot of expenses, including the rest of their food), and never leaving home.
I am hoping to use these "babies" I have planted on our balcony to get a great head start on being one of the "lucky ones" in about a year and a half. I hope to have a great source of EVERYTHING, and KNOW HOW TO USE IT, within the next 10 years.
During my "fast food days", I realized at one time, peppers were banned at taco bell, and tomatoes became nonexistant at Burger King, Subway, etc. due to food shortages. I LOVE fresh tomatoes, even the grocery store ones. With the worst flooding in years along the Mississippi and the droughts throughout Texas and the surrounding states, I expect our food prices to skyrocket. Many basic staples have nearly doubled in just the last 12 months.
APARTMENT LIVING
Currently, we are in an apartment with only a small 3rd floor balcony. I am only being "allowed" a small shelving unit for my garden. At this point, we have a beautiful view of the water- and if we hit a money problem, we have fish abound right in our own backyard. This provides us with some security we need. Know if you ever get desperate, where some temporary food sources are.
My love for gardening and realizing the need for a secure future has made me exert much of the little space I have to only 2 plants for our immediate needs: tomatoes and peppers. This is partially because our porch is screened, so I get no help from the good insects, and need to pollinate my tomatoes and peppers by hand.
The remainder of our garden is completely dedicated to starting fruit trees from seed. Right now, I have 1 baby mango, a few lemon, a few lime, and a few papaya growing on our porch, all in 1 gallon bags. I grew all of them from $4 worth of fruit I got from the store. I also have 3 avocado seeds in 1, however, I have not had much luck with these guys. If one actually sprouts, I will move it. For newbies, many of these will not grow to be just like their parent plants in flavor, size or shape, and could be terrible. But then again, they could also be superior. I, personally, would rather take 33c and buy a lime and grow the 4-6 seeds in it for a few extra years (especially since I can not plant them outside anyway!) and take my chances that 1 of the 5 will produce an equal or superior lime. I now save the seeds from all the fruits I can.
If you have a brown thumb, but want to try this, go buy a papaya. They have hundreds of seeds, so hundreds of chances to screw up. I planted 3, and 2 have grown with little sun or assistance from me other than a daily watering. They are not a tree, by the way, so do your research on how to grow them. They are actually an herb, much like a banana.
Since I had so much luck with the lemons, limes, papayas, and the mango, I am going to try to get my hands on apple, orange, and peach seeds. I am also going to order a few more seeds from the SEEDMAN.
There is another plant that through years of research seems to be a "must have" no matter where you are. It is nicknamed the "survival tree" because it is extremely useful and is supposedly very easy to care for.
PEOPLE WITH LOTS OF LAND
You guys are the lucky ones. If you have many acres of land, that is you! Although we aren't focusing on people with tons of acreage, but there may be some great ideas to help you make more of your land.
THE "LUCKY ONES"
These are the people with anywhere from 1/4 of an acre to 2 acres. The reason I consider you "lucky" is that these are the people who can grow some of their own food and maybe even a bit of a profit (enough to cover a lot of expenses, including the rest of their food), and never leaving home.
I am hoping to use these "babies" I have planted on our balcony to get a great head start on being one of the "lucky ones" in about a year and a half. I hope to have a great source of EVERYTHING, and KNOW HOW TO USE IT, within the next 10 years.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)