Working out the budget of working out

We pay so much to work out. Health club memberships, personal trainers and gym equipment can be so expensive. I am firm believer in exercising, but want to keep an eye on my budget. I think one of the most elegant exercise is running. The only investment you need is a good pair of running shoes. You can run outside 3 out of the 4 seasons. The sidewalk never closes, and there's an endless track. That's what I started doing 6 years ago. I love to run outside, but you do have to watch the weather. So, I started keeping my eyes open for a treadmill to use inside when the weather was less than terrific. Luck would have it that I came upon a health club that was having an auction. I was able to pick up a broken health club quality treadmill for $30. I am very fortunate to have a husband who can fix anything. He fixed a TRUE brand treadmill which now is proudly displayed

in my exercise room. Another great inexpensive exercise is the jump rope. You can pick up a nice one for about $10 on Amazon.com, and it burns between 10-20 calories/minute.

Buy it whole, sell it in pieces

You might say, this is not novel! The chicken industry have been doing this for years. They will sell you chicken breast for $5/pound, and drumsticks for $2/pound. While that's true, we don't apply this idea enough to realize the 80/20 benefit. Let me give you an example of what I just sold on E-bay. I purchased the McDonald's coupon pack where you get 12 coupons.(3)of the following (4)items for free: hamburger, french fries, pie, and milk. I purchased a bunch for $3/pack on e-bay. It turned out that I bought too many, and needed to get rid of them. I decided to split up the pack, and sell (6) hamburgers for $3, etc. So, I made a 100% profit. This is just an example to get you thinking. What else could you buy in whole and split it up to make a profit? Recently, I purchased a used TIVO for $10. The lady no longer had a subscription and the unit was just sitting around. Since I own (3)TIVOs, I bought it to harvest it for parts. However, I could sell parts on ebay for people looking replacement parts.

Be Green by saving on the green

I love the Market economy and the capitalistic society that we live in. It automatically promotes inherently good things by preying on our weakness - greed. The products today are cheaper and better due to competition. Why is there competition? Due to greed of one manufacturer wanting to eat the other one for lunch. The same thing can be said for being Green. Because I want to save money, I inherently do things that are green. For example, I don't buy new cars. In fact, I have been driving my 1997 Jeep forever. What could be more green? I am not contributing to the pollution from making new cars. I also use and wear things until I absolutely can't anymore. Also, I try not to buy things. That's cheaper than recycling.

Get information at a Glance

I love things that are simple. There's an elegance and something so right about simplicity. The thing that was complicating my life was my schedule. Since my appointment book was not always handy, I would forget to write things down, and forget to look at it. I bought a huge desk size calendar that I hang on my kitchen wall. I look at it every morning as I am eating breakfast. I can see my monthly appointments at a glance. Since the calendar is so big, there's room to tape things on the exact date. For example, when I get a dentist appointment for six months later, I simply tape the appointment card on to the right date block on the calendar. This method has worked so well, I have extended it beyond my appointments. On the 1st of each month, I have a reminder to change the air filter on the furnace. Every 3 months, a reminder to schedule an oil change for my car. If you're prone to forgetting, or like being on top of things, consider hanging a big calendar in a heavy traffic spot in your house.

Only keep what you love in your closet

How easy would it be to get dressed in the morning if you had say 20 outfits that you absolutely loved, and fit you well? You would have enough to wear to work for a whole month. But, most of us don't do that. We have a closet jammed full of clothes, but have nothing to wear. We probably wear the 3 same pairs of jeans, and a hand full of tops. Over the years, I have made a concerted effort to whittle down the numbers of items I have in my closet. Nothing is ever wrinkled and I can see all my clothes at a glance. Every spring and fall, I weed out my closet. If I have not worn something for 2 seasons, it goes in the closet in the guest room. If I don't find myself missing it, it gets donated or sold. Your mornings will be infinitely simpler, and you'll always have something to wear

Worst time to buy something is when you need it

If your coffee machine broke today, you would probably go out and buy one right away. You likely would not do any comparison shopping, or look for a deal. The odds of your coffee machine breaking when Kohl's is having the lowest price of the year sale is extremely low. Wouldn't it be great if you had one waiting in the wings that you got on sale when yours broke?

When the weatherman predicts a blizzard, you won't find many good deals on a snow blower. However, you might find a great deal at a spring garage sale. So, it turns out the best time to buy something is when you don't need it. This philosophy isn't to be confused with buying things you don't need. But rather buying a needed item at an "unneeded" time.

If you know that your kids need new shoes every 6 months, think about buying a size larger when you see a good sale. If you know that your lawn mower won't last much longer, start looking on Craigslist to see if you can pick up a good deal. Try and anticipate your needs. And always remember, the best time to buy something is when you don't need it.

I LOVE my Tracfone

I am not a big cell phone user. I frankly don't have that much to say while I am on the "go". It doesn't make sense for me to have a phone plan where I spend $40/month for the privilege of using it once in awhile. That's why I love my Tracfone. I get the lowest "plan" and spend $7/month. That is, I purchase a $20 air card that allows me to use 60 minutes of airtime over a 3 month period. The best thing about the Tracfone service is that there are no additional fees. You don't have to pay taxes, nor do you pay for roaming. Also, there are no cancellation fees, and you never get a bill. Annual cost of a Tracfone is $80. Compare that to the $480 for regular service. You will save a whopping $400 every year.