Hey Vonn! Well, I made $100 at the garage sale. It rained so I made that in the first 3-4 hours. My son helped me immensley so I split the money with him.

I'm back on my debt diet with a vengence now....I've had to leave my job and apply for LTD and SSDI. It's scary but I knew this day would come - and I have deep faith that all will turn out well as long as I keep my head straight and don't spend anything I don't absolutely have to. I have to admit that the lessened stress factor is nice. Now...if I could just get my boss to stop calling me everyday just to "see how I'm doing"!!! Honestly, I don't mind. We're good friends and I'd be hurt if he stopped being my friend just because I don't work there anymore.

Hey Kelly ..

I'm still waiting for SSDI again ... fun fun ... so, I've been going thru some old jewelry (my parent's wedding bands) ... and some rings ... and see what I can get for them ... does anyone know how they figure out this stuff??

OH yeh - my class ring, from 1977 ... uh, I don't wear it ... and I don't have anyone I'd pass it on to - so I'll cash it in .. sound like a plan??

Gold is at an all time high right now - so if you have any 14K or 18K gold you should be able to get a good price for it. Don't let them know you're new at it, though. Some dealers might try to scam you into thinking it's not worth what it really is. I think you should be able to go online and see what the going rate is for gold. I had a few pieces about a year ago that I cashed in and got close to $600 for it all. stuff I never wore just taking up space in my jewelry chest.

I don't have much gold, but what I do have I do think of getting rid of.

I don't wear jewelry and know what.....the fake stuff looks real many times. I have a sailboat pin and some earrings that everyone admires and I know they think they are real gold. (NOT).

I have a few favorites. I will save those for my Granddaughter.

Unless you have someone you want to pass things on to, why keep what you don't need or use.

I am in the elimination phase of my life, but having a hard time. I have paperwork from my mom's and dad's time in a nursing home. I always wanted to write an expose, but never have. I guess it's because I don't really think people care to know. It's a downer also.

So I'm trying to eliminate that stuff. It's very hard.

Now I'm sorry if this sounds negative, but what happens when you get rid of everything (for those of you struggling to get by)???? Do you have a plan?

Has anyone out there ever thought of combining resources and sharing a home and living expenses?

Tootsie

That would be a good idea for some - probably not for me, though. I'm not sure if anyone could stand me for that long!!

I hear you on this, Kelly ... and Tootsie ... I'd probably be in jail ... I've always been pretty independent .. since 18 ... alone ... had a roommate for less than 6 months ... even in college - requested 'my own room' ...

now I share with a couple of parakeets ... and there are days they are threatened to be the next 'chicken mc-nuggets' ...

for me - it wouldn't be saving ... but I've been getting stuff done that interests me with downsizing now ... and, WRITE the expose' on the nursing home .. I'm working on caring for my mom (over 13 years ago now) ...

you have to do what you love .. and life is alot less stressful without all that 'stuff' ...

Resurrecting this thread - as I, for one, need it!!

Any suggestions on how to squeeze more out of my poor little dollars?

Kelly, I have to say that ever since we started using cash only (your suggestion I believe, thank you!) we actually have money left over at the end of the week.

We only use our credit card for large purchases and if we buy on line, and we make sure we have the money in our checking account (and set it aside) before we make the purchase.

We eat a lot less meat and more pasta, rice and soup. When I buy fresh produce I buy as much as we will eat in a few days and when we run out I pick up more on the way by the farm market so that we don't waste any of it.

More ideas anyone?
I am interested in finding more ways to save money and make my dollar stretch. Since we are now out of debt, I want to stay that way and start saving as much money as we can.

This website www.couponmom.com has some good resources. Be careful, though. Some of the tabs require you to sign up for multiple newsletters and/or offers that sort of defeat the purpose of the coupons. There are some good coupons on this site, though.

We don't eat out but for those who do the Restaurants tab offers some online coupons for big discounts. You actually have to go to www.restaurants.com (it's hard to find within the restaurants tab) and you can purchase online gift certificates for restaurants in your area. Example: you can buy a $25 gift certificate for $8 at some restaurants, a $10 certificate for $3, etc. It's a pretty good deal for those who eat out a lot.

Hey Kelly .. thanks for bringing this thread back to life!!

I forgot about it with the move and everything ... I have to get back on track myself .. not spending alot ... just making it work ..

talked with my cousin the other night and she was upset because her company requires direct deposit for their pay ...

she actually uses the cash/envelope method ... after figuring out her budget - she would put enough cash in each envelope for the month or pay period ... and ALWAYS had something left over ..

I know that crown.org has a good budget program - it's a good start to get your budget set up on as to how much should be for each ... and go from there!

don't forget about your entertainment $$ ... gotta keep fun in life!!