The Frugal Life provides – The Frugal Life News – 06/10/06

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A Note From Randal
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Hello Everyone,

When you receive this email I will be on my way to Oklahoma to celebrate Father’s Day with my Dad and my son. Donna will be staying here and minding the store, so to speak. Here in Virginia it has been in the 80’s but in the 60’s during the morning time. My parents just called and they said that it is expected to be in the 100’s while I am out there. Should be quite a transition.

Irregardless, it will be nice to visit family and friends despite the heat.

As always, we want to welcome new subscribers and thanks to all of you who have been sharing The Frugal Life News with others!

Frugally yours,
Randal

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Frugal Finances
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Auto Insurance

The easiest way to create additional money to help accelerate debt payoff is to examine each of your recurring required expenses and discover ways to reduce them. Saving $5 or $10 a month on just a few expenses adds up fast!

Automobile insurance premiums are a good example of recurring required expenses that you can reduce with a little bit of effort and some shopping around.

There’s nothing I hate more than reading insurance policies. The terminology and all those little codes are mind numbing and sleep inducing.

No doubt by design.

But, with a little patience, you can get a handle on this stuff and reduce your costs. There is an abundance of auto insurance information on the Web. An hour spent searching and using the free quote services will pay big dividends.

In this article I’ll give you some pointers, but do invest some time finding extra money by reducing your Auto insurance premiums.

The first thing I discovered is that there’s no such thing as “Auto” insurance!

Surprised?

What we call, “Auto Insurance” is really just several different types of insurance bundled together. This is the reason for the various codes and line item charges. Here’s the list:

Bodily Injury Liability It pays the driver of the other car and its passengers in the event of an accident; it covers the passengers in your car as well.

Property Damage Liability This coverage pays for the repair and replacement of the other guy’s property damaged in a car accident.

Personal Injury Protection It pays for medical and funeral costs associated with an accident for you and your family — regardless of fault.

Uninsured and Underinsured Motorists This coverage pays for medical and funeral costs for you and your family should someone without coverage hit you.

Collision and Comprehensive Collision pays for the full cost of your repairs. Comprehensive covers you for vandalism, theft, and natural disasters.

Extras Towing and Rental car coverage in case of a breakdown or accident leaves you without a car.

Since there is a line item charge for each type of coverage, review with your agent:

1. Whether this coverage is mandatory or optional in your state. 2. Whether your coverage under another policy, like a Health Insurance policy, makes similar auto policy coverage redundant. 3. Whether you agree with the dollar amount of coverage. The higher this amount, the higher your premiums. 4. The complete list of discounts that you can take to reduce your premiums. This can include:

Higher Deductibles, Safety Equipment, Anti-theft systems Driver Training, Purchasing for full year, Safe Driving, Good credit, Mature driver, Work at home, New driver, Car pooling, Combining home and auto policies under the same insurer, Long term customer, Type of car…

And, of course, you can cut your premiums in half simply by living with 1 car.

And remember, higher premiums mean more money for the insurance company, so, it’s up to you to be persistent in getting these discounts!

Drive safe!

Greg Moore is the Architect of the Debt Freedom System,
“DebtIntoWealth — Lessons from My Journey to Debt Freedom.“

Free Lesson #1 – Debt Freedom Course

Pay off all of your debt in 5-7 years using the money you already make. 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!”

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Frugal Home Communications
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Frugal How-To Shop
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Came across this website www.yokel.com which helps you find things locally. No more driving store to store on $3/gallon gas only to find they don’t have what you are looking for.

Make Your Own Home, Bath and Beauty Products

Essential oil kits allow you to make your own safe non-chemical home and beauty products. Making your home less toxic for yourself, children and pets.
http://www.theherbsplace.com/essentialkits.html
Make Your Own
Home and Beauty Products

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Frugal Pets
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Herbal Heartworm Program and Prevention

Robin Sockness works with pet owners with an individualized program and has currently worked with over 700 dogs. Herbs are safer and less expensive so it’s a win-win situation for all. Prevention programs available.
http://www.theherbsplace.com/heartworm.html
Herbal Heartworm Program & Prevention

Pet Information, Links and Natural Foods

Healthy Pet Corner provides lots of information and links for dogs, cats, birds, horses, rabbits, and reptiles.
http://www.healthypetcorner.com
Healthy Pet Corner

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Frugal Tips From Our Subscribers
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I’d like to share a few shopping tips.

Most stores have designated areas where you can find their clearance items. At Target, you can find alot of things on clearance on the ends of the aisles, called endcaps, closest the the walls and/or the center of the store. I bought an $80.00 electric razor for less than $10.00. I gave it as a gift.

In Wal-Mart and Sears, they usually have an aisle or two set aside for clearance. Throughout the year I hit the clearance aisles and by December I have all my Christmas shopping done for pennies on the dollar.

Clothing clearance is almost always setback by a wall. I have not paid more than $10.00 for a shirt in over 10 years. My last five pairs of jeans have cost me less than $30.00 in total. One pair I got at Old Navy for $1.95.

I also only buy shoes on clearance. Sears, Dillards and Famous Barr are excellent places to buy name brand shoes on clearance. I have several pairs of GBX and Sketchers and paid less than $30.00 per pair. It pays to keep your eyes open, at Wal-Mart I found a pair of shoes for $8.00 with a Wal-Mart brand that were identical to a pair of GBX’s I had admired previously in a department store, but cost $85.00. I even went back to compare the two and could find no difference except for the brand name. The childrens sizes of the same size had still a different brand name on them.

Well, that’s all for now, I will post more later. Roland

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Frugal Learning
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Singing Success At-Home Study Course

The Singing Success Vocal Training Program, by celebrity vocal coach Brett Manning, is the only vocal training program that guarantees a full octave increase in your vocal range! You’ll learn to sing as easily as you speak, completely eliminating vocal strain, and you will learn to master the techniques of vocal style, including runs, licks and trills. Money-back Guarantee:

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What’s Going On In The Forum
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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
Forum

Questions Needing Answers At The Forum

Decorating Forum
1. Tell us about something you did to decorate your home that saved you some money. There are tons of creative people out there and for those of us who may not be so creative, your talents shared would be much appreciated. Donna

Family Forum
1. Give us some ideas on how to make family life fun without spending money. What do you do to spend time together? We played a lot of board games and did puzzles, but I know there are some really creative things to be done to build family relationships.

One thing we did the whole time our son was growing up was to have Family Night. Every Friday we had popcorn and a movie. Sometimes taped during the week, sometimes borrowed from the library or a friend, and maybe once a year rented from the store. Our son is now 27 and we still have popcorn and a movie on Friday night, even though he’s been gone since he was 19. All our friends know what we do on Friday nights.

It’s fun to make traditions … puts some stability in life … even though I don’t like routine, I enjoy the good feeling of traditions. Donna

Recipe Forum
1. When the weather begins to warm I no longer want to eat hot food. I love raw things and salad but like variety.

Would y’all share your favorite salad recipes with us. I’m sure I’m not the only one who doesn’t want to be in a hot kitchen for the summer.
Thanks! Donna

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Frugal Beauty Care
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Shea Butter is a great moisturizer for the most sensitive skin, and for the most dry skin. I’ve used it with success on very dry skin where nothing else worked, and it’s not irritating. I have friends who use it on their face & eyes with no irritation. But – it can be expensive. Especially the designer scented ones.

I’ve found shea butter (either fragrance free /refined or all natural raw) at web sites selling “soap making supplies” in bulk for as little as $5 or $6 for about 8 to 16 oz (as opposed to $20 or $30 for 4 oz in stores) – there is no fancy packaging, but who cares. Also – you can add essential oil to it to make it fragranced yourself. I’ve also found liquid shea butter for much less than at stores.

I also like flower water – mostly rose – but other nice ones are lavender, chamomile, and there are a variety of them. I spray them on my face as a toner, moisturizer, you can also add them to the bath, use as linen spray or air freshener…they can be expensive also. The same search on-line for “soap making supplies” brings up sites which sell a great variety of flower water at larger quantities for much less than getting it in a store.

Just google or yahoo “soap making supplies” and search through the various sites…you get a lot of great “ingredients” sold in bulk for cheap — and they may be individual items you would use on their own – but are packaged and sold in stores for much higher prices.

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Home Based Business Ideas
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Nature’s Sunshine Products – Herbs and Supplements

Earn an income selling over 500 natural health products, beverages, essential oils, skin care systems, water filters, and more. Websites for $11.95/month.
http://www.theherbsplace.com/busop.html
Nature’s Sunshine
Products

Home Spa Party Plan – Make Bath and 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 learn how to make bath salts, personalized perfumes, body spritzers and more using essential oils, while you make a nice income.
http://www.theherbsplace.com/essentialspa.html
Home Spa Party

Flint River Ranch – Oven Baked Pet Foods

Make additional income providing healthy pet foods and bones to friends, neighbors and family. Pets keep eating, so customers keep buying. If you love animals, this is a very rewarding home-based business. With only $100.00 volume a month you earn 19% on all sales.
http://www.healthypetcorner.com/FRR/busop.html
Flint River Ranch

Life’s Abundance Foods and Supplements

Formulated by Dr. Jane Bicks and Dr. Barry Sears who developed the Zone Diet for Overweight Dogs. Besides dog, cat and horse products, they have a non-toxic line of cleaning products – safe for pets and children. Websites available for $8.50/month.
http://www.healthypetcorner.com/HPN/busopform.html
Healthy Pet
Net

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Copyright, Legal Disclaimer and Reprint Information

© 2006 Randal J. Watkins

Information in The Frugal Life News (TFL) has been derived from sources believed accurate and reliable. In no event shall *The Frugal Life,* Randal Watkins, or the TFL staff be liable for any damages whatsoever resulting from any action arising in connection with the use of information herein.

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