Make $1000 Stuffing Envelopes--Seriously?

You've probably looked at billboards, telephone poles or received emails that promise you can earn "Extra Money Working From Home".  I even had flyers and business cards placed on my windshield. Were you ever intrigued enough to call the number? If you, like many others, did-you probably talked to a very energetic person who tired to convince you to send in a small sum of money to learn about this "amazing" opportunity. If you are tempted and justify the amount by saying "it's only $9.95" STOP. First, real job opportunities do not happen like this. Second, it's illegal in many states to collect money upfront for a job opportunity. They may call it a registration fee or a fee for the start up materials but however they word it, they'll still charging you for this work at home job and you will get next to nothing in return. The reason they charge a small amount is because they hope you won't complain to consumer protection agencies who will investigate and shut them down. Even though it may be a small amount, it's not worth losing your hard earned dollars to a work at home scam. For more information, see the FTC's "Work At Home Schemes" publication.

Gas Prices Messing up Your Spending Plan?

I'm guessing that many people are feeling the pain of the increase in gas prices--I know I am. While I feel that I can't control the price at the pump, I do need to find ways to cut expenses in other areas to make my Spending Plan balance. Here's some ideas that may help:

• Make sure your car is well maintained and your tires are properly inflated--to help with gas consumption
• Combine and plan your driving trips to minimize the miles you have to drive
• According to Consumer Reports, not using your air conditioning and rolling down your windows does NOT save you any money on gas
• Use coupons for groceries, cosmetics and dining out--if the coupon makes sense for your buying habits--getting $1 off of cereal doesn't help if you have to buy 4 boxes of it and you won't use that much cereal in  a month
• Don't feel obligated to get everything on your child's "back to school shopping list". I have enough graph paper to last 10 years--only as scrap paper now since my kids are out of school and never used the "required" amount of graph paper.
• Don't buy bottled water at a convenience store if you can avoid it--if using your own water bottle doesn't work for you, buy water by the case--you can get it down to 13 cents a bottle vs $1.59 at most convenience stores. (Please recycle)
• Buy at bulk stores, again only if it makes sense for you--will you really use that huge jar of mayo which you got a great price--but will go bad before you can consume it?
• When cleaning out your garage or basement, consider have a yard sale to earn some extra cash and check for scrap metal that you can sell instead of dumping in your community's waste facility
• Check the cost of your vitamins which can be costly if you buy them at pharmacies or grocery stores--check for them at the bulk stores

Make the topic of money saving ideas the subject at a family dinner--you'd be surprised what ideas everyone will have. You could even adopt the practice that some local governments/businesses are doing--if an employee (family member) comes up with a viable idea to save money--they get some of the savings--that ought to encourage some creative ideas! For more money savings tips, see the Consumer Federation of America's website.