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Archived Message of “The Frugal Life
News”
Published by The Frugal Life.com
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THE FRUGAL LIFE NEWS
Published Twice Monthly by Randal Watkins
https://www.thefrugallife.com
The Frugal Life
March 29, 2004
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A NOTE FROM RANDAL
Hello Everyone,
Looks like warm weather will soon be here and more beauty will be shining forth. I can’t wait. Spring time brings the most color, that I personally enjoy.
Hope your year 2004 is still on track and you are able to use the many tips and suggestions found on our website, forum and ezines. Being debt free and staying that way has brought Donna and I lots of piece of mind. We hope it does the same for you too.
Thanks again for sharing and subscribing to The Frugal Life News.
Until next time,
Randal
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FRUGAL FINANCES
IT’S GOTTA BE THE MONTHLY PAYMENTS…
Seventy-two (72) month automobile loans!?
No. This isn’t exactly news. You probably know someone unfortunate enough to have one of these auto loans. The news is that, in 2003, one out of three buyers voluntarily chose to take 72 months — six years — to buy a new car!
That’s longer than it takes to earn a bachelor’s degree… longer than it takes to change U.S. presidents… one year shorter than the average U.S. marriage… and about the length of time the average homeowner stays in their home.
How do you SELL someone, who has at least a high school diploma, 72 monthly payments on an asset whose value has declined by 75% by the time they own it, and whose maintenance costs increase every year?
It’s gotta be the monthly payments.
I used the Capital One Auto Finance calculator over at
http://www.edmunds.com
Capital One
and fed it a $25,000 loan for 72 and 48 months. It spat back monthly payments of $402.56 and $567.73, respectively.
“Ok, Mr.& Mrs. Car Buyer, which one of these payments fits your budget best?”
The fact that the “cheaper” payment will leave them $1,730 poorer, or even that the more “expensive” payment has a lower interest rate, is made secondary to the seduction of monthly payments.
On a monthly payment bases, $402.56 looks like a better fit. Not a better financial result. Just a better drain on our monthly income.
When you consider that you can be totally Debt Free in about the same amount of time… new car loan, 30-year mortgage and all… 72-month car loans really take you for a ride.
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Payoff All of your Debts in 5-7 Years using the money you
ALREADY make!
Greg Moore is the author of the Debt Freedom Course, “DebtIntoWealth —
Lessons from My Journey to Debt Freedom”.
For your FREE Lesson 1 of this course and/or to find out why financial guru
and best-selling author, Suze Orman, is advising her millions of followers
to “Pay Everything Off as Fast As Possible!”, CLICK HERE:
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FRUGAL HOME / GARDENING
HOW TO GROW PLANTS FROM CUTTINGS
Free plants? You bet! Many plants will readily grow from stem cuttings, and it’s embarrassingly easy to do.
Here’s How:
1. Select and prepare the preferred medium for the plant you have chosen. See the link on the list below for a list of popular plants and their preferred rooting mediums.
2. If possible, have the planting medium prepared in the pot when you take the cutting. If this isn’t possible, temporarily wrap the cuttings in wet paper towels, then cover in newspaper or a plastic bag.
3. Use a sharp knife to take the cutting, and don’t make the cutting too large. Four leaf nodes (leaf joints) are usually sufficient.
4. Cut the leaves from the portion of the cutting that will be immersed in the medium.
For the rest of the directions go here:
GOT PETS?
Visit Healthy Pet Corner for lots of information, products,
and links for birds, cats, dogs, horses, rabbits, and reptiles.
http://www.healthypetcorner.com
All for Pets
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FRUGAL SIMPLICITY
DRINKING YOURSELF TO THE POOR HOUSE
by Donna Watkins – Editor of A Touch of Nature
http://www.theherbsplace.com/atn.html
Our bodies need water! Our bodies are made up of 70% water and we need to flush out the old and put in the new. Drinking sodas and coffee and iced tea does not do the same thing as water.
When we began living frugally, one thing that went was all the beverages other than water. It was amazing how much money we saved! We took water with us when we went shopping or traveling and it seemed that giving up all those drinks we bought at the grocery store or while driving about added up to enough to provide more travel time.
Water is better for you than any other beverage and if you don’t like the taste, you can pay for a water purifier pretty quickly when you consider these prices:
Diet Snapple 16oz $1.29 = $10.32 per gallon
Lipton Ice Tea 16oz $1.19 = $9.52 per gallon
Gatorade 20oz $1.59 = $10.17 per gallon
Ocean Spray 16oz $1.25 = $10 .00 per gallon
Evian water 9oz for $1.49 = $21.19 per gallon
$21.19 FOR A GALLON OF WATER! ….and from what Consumer Reports says, sometimes our tap water is better than the bottled. Yikes! Is bottled water pure or is it hype? Here’s a link to the online version of NRDC’s petition to the FDA and results of the 4-year study of the bottled water industry, including its bacterial and chemical contamination problems.
If you’d like to read why it’s important to drink water and find a link to an article on “Why I Don’t Drink Sodas,” visit this site:
http://www.theherbsplace.com/water.html
Have a family meeting. Decide together to stop guzzling the money guzzling beverages and find a way to enjoy good-tasting, thirst-quenching water. Your body and pocketbook will thank you!
MAKE YOUR OWN CLEANING, BATH, and BEAUTY PRODUCTS
Here’s a kit with everything you will need to start making your own pampering and cleaning products for pennies with the easy-to-follow recipe guide.
http://www.theherbsplace.com/essentialstarter.html
Make Your Own
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FRUGAL TIPS FROM OUR SUBSCRIBERS
Hi All,
If you are going to purchase anything online, please check the site below before you do. It’s amazing how many people do not know about free coupon codes and this simple form of frugality.
QuickToClick.com – Free Coupon Codes
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WHAT’S GOING ON IN THE FORUM?
Maybe you can help these folks out with a few suggestions? Or post some of
your own questions. LOG-IN TO POST Here’s the link:
https://www.thefrugallife.com/bulletinboard.html
href=”http://www.healthypetcorner.com/HPN/busopform.html”> Life’s Abundance
HOME SPA PARTY PLAN – MAKE BATH & BODY PRODUCTS
Have you noticed how popular bath and pampering products have become? The
HomeSpa Party Plan taps into that craze. Guests at HomeSpa parties will
learn how to make bath salts, personalized perfumes, body spritzers and more
using essential oils, while you make a nice income from Nature’s Sunshine.
http://www.theherbsplace.com/essentialspa.html