Save Money with a Garden?

There are lots of ways people try to save money.

  • Some methods work well for most people.
  • Some work well for a few people.
  • Some don’t really work well for anyone.

One approach to saving money that seems to have folks advocating all of these conclusions is vegetable gardening.

Onions in the garden

What is the truth? Can you save money by growing your own food?

Or is the whole idea a hoax and you will likely end up spending far more than you save? With all the different views out there, each strongly held, how can you know the truth?

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Support Your Local Thrift Store

In our town there is a large new store being built and it is not a new Walmart. It is a Goodwill Thrift Store. Is this a sign of the times? A trend around the country? A rising opportunity for many to get by in difficult times? Or something else?

Increasing Use of Thrift Stores

A few days ago Donna Freedman wrote a post on her Surviving and Thriving blog site about the increased popularity of thrift shops. In her opening paragraph she shared some interesting statistics from the Savers/Value Village.

Donna Freedman Blog Header

It seems that 47%of U.S. residents report shopping at second hand stores. One-third indicate that they do so more now than three years ago.

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An Opportunity to Help Others

While shopping in the thrift stores is a great way to save money for ourselves, there is another idea I would like to focus on. These stores also give us an opportunity to help others out by contributing our unwanted items.

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A Third of Americans Are Delinquent on Their Debts

Would you believe that 35% of Americans are in collections for unpaid debt? According to a massive study just released by the Urban Institute that is the case.

What’s the Scoop About Debt?

Now you do not go into collections until the debt holder gives up and closes the account, reporting it to the credit bureaus and selling it to a collection agency. Ordinarily the debt must be over six months overdue for this to happen.

pile of debts

With two exceptions, states with the highest percentage of people into collections are concentrated in the South where incomes are lowest and the economic crisis proved more painful. Nevada, where the housing crisis was the worst, and Washington, D.C., were the other two.

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Is there a positive side at all to the debt situation? Yes, in fact there is.

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Food Prices Increase!

For more than a year now I have been observing the widespread anticipation of rising food prices among those who claim to be experts on the subject as well as talk among everyday shoppers as they observe trends in the local grocery stores.

No one expects anything but higher food prices in the months ahead. But how well are we prepared?

Higher Prices Are Here Already

Two Gallons of Milk

Have you been to the grocery store lately? Just a few months ago I could run down to a local store and pick up two gallons of milk for $5.00. Not any more. Yesterday my daughter told me the best advertised sale price now for two gallons of milk is $7.00!

…No really good solutions are out there, I suspect, but in general there are two things that can be done.

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When the Unthinkable Happens

Sometimes tragedy slaps us in the face. It leaves us with sorrow, but there are usually some lessons we learn as well. In this post I want to share some lessons associated with a recent personal tragedy. Some problems were anticipated, others not so much.

Facing the Death of a Child

December was a sad time for our family as we lost our youngest child. Brian was 32 years old when he died which is remarkably old considering his many health issues, challenges so severe that he was not expected to live but a short time when we took him in foster care at 17 months. Certainly, no one suspected he would live long enough for us to adopt him a couple of years later.

Fortunately, Brian responded to love and good care from ourselves and a multitude of great doctors, nurses, and other caregivers. He became the joy of our lives as he shared his engaging smile with those he loved. We loved Brian greatly and miss him immensely.

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