Welcome to Family Survival

In today’s world, it seems as though surviving from day-to-day, week-to-week and paycheck-to-paycheck is getting tougher every day.  With this blog, and your comments, I hope to offer common-sense suggestions to help make it easier.  Some of these suggestions will be my own, and some will be from other internet sources.  I look forward to your comments and I think this will be a good source for suggestions with financial, health, educational and other issues and problems that face today’s families.

Thanks, and welcome

Vacations on a budget

Summertime is almost upon us and most of us are thinking about vacation.  Unfortunately, there are some of us who are thinking that vacation will be a casualty of the economy.  It doesn’t have to be!

With these simple tips, you and your family can still enjoy a relaxing vacation.

Change your state of mind:  Or, change the way you think about your state.  Every state in the US has attractions, a lot of them are free or low-cost.  Driving a family of four is much cheaper than flying.  With gas prices back down to about the $2.00 mark, driving is more affordable than last year.  Contact your state’s tourism department and ask for their free guides.  They will be happy to send them to you.  If you are close to a neighboring state, call them and get their’s, too.  Most states have their tourism department online.  There are Motel 6 and Super 8 Motels all over the nation where you can get an inexpensive hotel room – hey, all you need is a place to sleep, right?  Some of these even have pools for younger children.  An alternative is to pick a series of day trips and sleep in your own bed to save hotel costs.

Be one with the outdoors:  Camping is a good way to get away from it all.  If you don’t have a camper or a tent, you can rent an RV or camping supplies and find a spot.  National parks and state parks are good places to go and they are not very expensive.  You can also find resort campgrounds that offer a bit more to do for the kids, though they are usually higher than parks.  Build a campfire, tell spooky stories and make s’mores.  The kids will love it and it is an excellent way to spend time as a family.

Procrastinate: If the little birdies have flown the nest and it is just the two of you, you can get some great deals by waiting until the last minute.  It appears that cruise lines are not filling their ships, so they are offering great deals on cruises.  The great thing about this is that they are all-inclusive.  You get travel, meals and room for the same price.  You can choose a port that is within driving range, or, if you have to fly, be flexible.  Airfare is usually the lowest when you can travel on Tuesday or Wednesday.  It is even lower if you travel off peak times and get the less desirable flights.  For example, I looked up a flight from Tulsa to Orlando.  If I’m willing to fly out at 6am and maybe hit 3 stops instead of 2, I can save over $200 each way.  Like my wife says, “I can sleep on the plane.”  Also, look at alternate airports if there are any close by to leave from and fly into.

I will post more tips on this blog, so keep in touch.

5 Tips to Lower Holiday Debt

Now that the holidays are over, those of us who used our credit cards are now seeing the downside to that Santa spirit. The bills have arrived and you now realize just how much you spent. Well, don’t panic, yet! Here’s some sound advice to help you put this Christmas behind you and help you attack Christmas 2009 without relying on credit.

• Line ’em up and move ’em out No, it’s not an episode of Rawhide, but it’s a way to take a look at the big picture and start picking off your debt one-by-one. Get out your credit card statements and line them up. First, priority should be cards that are right at or over their credit limits. Since these will cost you in outrageous fees, we need to get those below the credit limit ASAP. Next priority is the higher interest cards followed by the lower interest cards. Got them lined out? Good. Next step.
• Stop the fees Okay, Like I said above, the first thing is to make sure we don’t get an over-limit fee. If you have any cards right at or over the limit, we need to take care of those first. This can be a vicious circle where you make a payment, the balance dips below the limit, but then you are attacked with interest and the over-limit fee (which seems to apply on the worst possible date) that jumps you back over your limit. You want to make enough of a payment so that you will still be under when they apply interest and fees.
• Pay more to the high-interest cards It is always a good idea to pay more than the minimum, in fact the more over the minimum, the better. But, if you have multiple cards, and most of us do, you need to get the high interest ones down first. To do that, you pay the lower interest cards at about $5 over minimum so that you can pay the higher interest cards more. I suggest at least $50 over minimum, if you can do that. If not, then as much as your finances allow. As you pay down the high interest cards, your minimum payments will lower drastically, allowing more of your payment to go to principal.
• Negotiate lower interest If you have been a good customer, paid bills on time, and stayed below your credit limit, you may be able to negotiate better terms, even in the short term. Call the card company up and remind them how good you’ve been. If you are receiving offers for 0% transfers, tell them so. They may reduce your rates to keep you there.
• When all else fails If you find yourself in quite a pickle where you are in danger of not being able to make at least the minimum payments every month on your card, consider Consumer Credit Counseling. They are almost always able to negotiate 0 interest as long as you are using their services. Of course, this almost always means closing the credit card account, but it will definitely help you stay afloat and pay off your debt.

Once you get your cards paid off, decide on which ones to close. I try to stay with 1 or 2 cards and only use them in emergency situations. Try to choose the ones that have a good balance between credit limit and interest rate. The better your credit score is, the lower the interest you can get.

How to Keep Your Pets Safe During the Holidays

Most of us like to include our pets in our holidays and let them enjoy some of the same things we humans do. Unfortunately, some of us find out the hard way that our pets can’t tolerate all the things we can.

The first thing to remember is that pets tend to get anxious when things aren’t normal – which holidays rarely are. This anxiety can cause your pets to behave in ways you wouldn’t expect. For example, pets may want to inspect the new items guests bring into your house, such as suitcases, food, plants, etc. These items can prove fatal.

Human medications behave very differently in dogs and cats than they do in humans. Medications left where pets can get to them may be ingested. This is true for over-the-counter as well as prescription meds. Even something as ‘safe’ as ibuprofen or acetaminophen can cause irreparable harm to dogs and cats. It doesn’t need to be ingested in quantity, either, one tablet is all it takes.

Holiday treats can cause problems, too. We humans do love our chocolate, but it contains theobromine which can cause heart, kidney and central nervous system problems. Onions and garlic in large amounts can cause red blood cell damage. Sugar substitutes can cause rapid blood sugar decreases and seizures. Grapes and raisins can cause renal failure. Macadamia nuts can cause paralysis. Unbaked bread dough can expand rapidly and cause ethanol poisoning. In short, pet foods for the pets is the safest bet. Keep in mind, though, that any drastic change in diet can cause gastric problems that you may be cleaning up for days afterward.

Plants are another problem, especially with cats. However, if your dogs are as curious as mine, this applies to them as well. Mistletoe and holly are poisonous as are some exposed plant bulbs. Lillies, any part of the plant, are especially bad for cats.

Pets, being pets, are likely to surprise you. Just when you think you’ve covered everything, they eat something they are not supposed to and then what do you do? Don’t wait. Try calling your vet’s emergency number first, or another animal emergency hospital. You can also call the ASPCA national animal poison control center (888-426-4435). They charge a veterinary consultation fee, but free information about toxins is at their web site.

Big 3 Automakers Need Lesson in Frugality

With AIG already swimming in billions of taxpayer dollars, the big 3 American automakers showed up with their hands out to Congress wanting a mere $25B. When I say showed up, I really mean that they flew in in private jets from a fleet of several. According to Good Morning America, the cost for them to fly in from Detroit to DC in $36 million planes was an estimated $20,000 roundtrip as opposed to Northwest Airlines $288 for coach and $837 first-class.

Read more here.

How to Survive Christmas on a Budget

Many people have already started the dreaded annual event – Christmas Shopping! No other two words appearing together strike more fear in our bank accounts than those. ‘Tis the season to overspend, then regret it all year. But, take heart! There is help!

Since the government is finally admitting that we are in a recession, something that millions of Americans already new, it is time to be smart with our Christmas spending. Here is some sound advice.

• Make a budget and spend within it.  Figure out how much you can spend on Christmas without letting vital bills go past due.  Make a list of those on your Christmas list and prioritize those you want to spend more on, i.e. children.
• Leave the credit cards at home.  Credit card companies are raising rates for no reason at all.  Even if you have a perfect payment history with them, you may find your rates doubling or tripling.  This can make differences in payments from tens to hundreds of dollars a month.  So, the less you can put on a credit card, the better off you will be.
• Be smart with electronics.  Instead of buying new, consider purchasing factory refurbished products.  They often have the same warranty as new, but can save you sometimes as much as 50%, but usually around 20-25%.  For example, Dell* has an outlet (see links at the bottom of this article) that sells computers that have been ordered and canceled, or returned for some reason.  They are checked out before they are shipped.  We bought our son a refurbished X-Box* last Christmas and it has not had a problem.  We could not have purchased it new, so this was a good compromise.
• Consider home-made gifts.  Bake some cookies, make some candy, knit a sweater.  Most of us have a talent we can use for someone.  Use your computer to create some ‘coupons’ good for yardwork or housework and give to mom and dad or grandma and grandpa.  They will love it.

Christmas is about giving, but it does not need to be about expensive gifts.  Giving yourself can go a long way.

* I am not endorsing any products in this article.  Dell outlet is at www.dell.com/outlet

For more tips on making extra money, see the Online Business Guide.

Online Business Ideas – Drop Shipping

If you are like a lot of people in today’s economy, you are looking for ways to make extra money and are looking at the internet to help you with that. You know there’s got to be ways to make money because others are doing it, but you don’t know where to start.

Research shows that more people are turning to the internet for product research, product and store comparisons, and purchasing the item they want. Even though, for now at least, fuel prices are coming down, people still tend to use the convenience of the internet for their shopping.

Opening a store, even an online store, typically requires inventory, but most of us don’t have the capital to put up a large inventory. Face it, the reason we are wanting to open a store is to make some money. To help people in this position, companies are offering drop shipping services to entrepreneurs.

Basically, it works like this. You create your on-line store showing the products you want to sell. You can either create your own website and domain name, or for a small fee, the supplier will usually offer this service for you. You will have a professional-looking website for a nominal price. Your customer purchases from you and your order the product from your supplier to be shipped directly to your customer. It costs a little to get started, but nothing like purchasing and holding inventory.

As your store profits more, you can make the decision to stock your big sellers for faster turnaround. You can also open a kiosk at the mall with your inventory, or sell in flea markets.

For information on drop ship selling, please see the Home Online Business Guide.

How to Eat Healthy and Lose Weight

With the holidays upon us, we don’t need to be reminded that all the dinners, goodies and sweet treats are waiting there to undermine our weight-loss efforts. But, if you keep your head about you, you can not only enjoy what the season has to offer, but maintain your current weight and even lose a few pounds.

The first thing to remember is that you didn’t gain a lot of weight in one day, so it stands to reason that you will not lose a lot of weight in one day, which would be downright dangerous. Losing weight the healthy and safe way requires that you eat healthy and exercise througout the week. That, of course, is no secret. However, I will share with you my secret of weight loss success.

Taking the attitude that I did not get overweight overnight, I began to look at how I was eating and what I was eating and when I was eating. I found that I was eating quickly, I was eating prepared and packaged food and I was eating all day up to near bedtime. Add that to the fact that I wasn’t exercising very much and it didn’t take Sherlock Holmes to determine where the problem was. My weight was up, my blood pressure was beginning to concern my doctor, and I had stomach problems.

For the record, I hate diets. They are boring and very hard to stick to. But, I had to do something. First of all, those prepared and packaged foods I was eating contained lots and lots of sodium. Most doctors you consult will tell you that the maximum daily intake of sodium for a healthy adult should be around 2400mg. A 2 ounce bag of Frito Chili Cheese corn chips (which I dearly love) has a whopping 530 milligrams, almost 1/4 of the daily allowance of sodium, not to mention 320 calories that you have to walk about 3 miles to burn off.

So, that was what I started with. I began to watch my sodium intake and eat lower sodium foods. This pretty much cut out the Fritos and other packaged or prepared foods. But, when I work, I simply must have something to munch, so now I munch on baby carrots, celery, and even a bowl of dry low-sodium generic Cheerios or low-sodium popcorn. This has several benefits: my blood pressure is now managed at healthy levels without medication; I lost several pounds very quickly just from water loss (sodium makes your body hold more water); My calorie intake was lower.

Portion control is also a big part of any plan. Some experts tell you that eating six smaller meals is better than eating 3 larger meals. This may be so, at least in the beginning. If you begin to eat smaller meals and your stomach is used to larger meals, then you will get hungry between the traditional breakfast, lunch and supper. Smaller meals or light snacks can fill in and keep you from feeling so hungry, which is a downfall of many a diet. But, you will find that it only takes your stomach a few days to learn not to expect so much and have you feeling full on less.

I exercise during the week and take weekends off. I started out just walking on the treadmill for 30 minutes per day at about 3 miles per hour. Now, I’ve added some weight training to go along with it. This helps your body burn off calories, helps your cholesterol levels (lower bad, raise good), and with the weight training, continues to burn calories after the exercise is complete. If you haven’t exercised in a while, it is a good idea to visit your doctor and get his or her recommendations for beginning again. In any case, it is a good idea to start slowly and gradually work yourself up as your body is able. Generally, I’m at the fitness center about an hour per day, so it is not a huge drain on time.

Now, as I said, I HATE dieting, so I had to find some way to make it more bearable. This goes to the philosophy that I did not gain it all in one day. I picked a day out of the week, mine is Friday, that is my free day. My free day allows me to eat pretty much what I want. The good thing is that by using portion control all week long, my stomach will feel full on much less food, even on my free day. Be flexible, however, so that you can move your free day for the Christmas party, or Thanksgiving dinner, etc.

I find that dieting is easier when I can look forward to a day each week that I can eat yummy stuff without worrying. I didn’t get overweight in one day, and I certainly won’t gain it all back in one day.

If you’ve tried everything and still can’t seem to lose weight, a very good program that uses a slightly different approach to weight loss is Fat Loss 4 Idiots.

Remember, please consult with your physician before beginning any kind of diet or exercise regimen.

AIG Does Not Need Bailout

AIG execs once again appear to be flipping America off as they take our money. Now, to the tune of $343,000, the top execs went to a secret meeting at a luxury resort in Phoenix last week while at the same time begging for another $40 billion in loans. The hotel staff was forbidden to use or say anything that would identify AIG as being there – no logos, no signs, and according to one report, couldn’t even say the name AIG. So, apparently, they were hiding out because they knew they were doing something that the American taxpayers would not approve of.

I, for one, am tired of them taking my hard-earned money and then telling me that they will do what they damn well please with it. Company officials say that they will recoup much of the cost from product sponsors, so they apparently have a solid revenue stream. If they can afford to waste $343,000 on a conference, they can afford to pick themselves up out of debt without any help from the taxpayers. Wanton spending is one way they got themselves into this mess, they need to do what other Americans are doing and cutting back on everything.

Read more at www.myrantsblog.com

Credit Crisis Has a Silver Lining

The current credit crisis has hurt most people in America. From small businesses who rely on ready credit to finance their inventory until it is sold, to individuals watching credit card companies jack up their interest rates for no good reason, most of us are feeling betrayed.

We Americans have gotten into the habit of living beyond our means. We got used to easy credit. You can’t afford it? No problem, just put it on your credit card at only 9% interest. Whoops, we posted your payment a day late, so NOW, you are subject to the default rate of 29%. Want a $300,000 house, but bring in only $50,000 per year? No problem, we have a mortgage just for you.

Then *POP*. There went that bubble. So, where’s that silver lining?

We have a way to go, but those of us caught up in that bubble burst are having to re-prioritize our expenses and find ways to pay off our current debt without taking on any more. Here’s the silver lining part. Once we re-align our finances and work our way back to solvency, which admittedly can take several years, we will be in a much better financial position. We will also have the lessons learned from these years to take into our later years. We will be more wary of credit and use it more wisely. We will be able to spot questionable mortgages and steer towards the more conventional fixed-rate loans that have been proven to ride out the hard times.

We have to work hard to pay down, or pay off the debt we have now to bring our debt ratio down to something much more manageable, but we can do it. We may have to trade that Hawaiian vacation for something closer to home, put off buying that new car for a couple more years, or waiting to pay cash instead of dropping more onto the credit cards, but the payoff will be worth it.

Our silver lining is that once we survive and fight our way back, we will be all the much stronger financially.

Home Online Business Guide

New President – New Economy?

Apparently, Americans were ready for a change.  A new president, Barack Obama, will be sworn in January.  It’s no surprise that the economy was one of the factors driving this election.  President Bush is being blamed, rightly or wrongly, for the current economic crisis and people were afraid of 4 more years of the same thing.  McCain could not shake the Bush Stigma that seemed to be attached to him.

However, if you are expecting a magic bullet to shatter the economic woes of this country, I think you may be heading for  disappointment.  It took time for this country to get into this mess, and it will take some time for us to get out of it.  People are quick to blame a new president for his predecessor’s actions, or to praise when he is actually riding the successes put in motion by the previous guy.

Whoever you voted for, Obama is to be our new president and he needs our support as a nation.  We need to give him time to turn things around.  We need to realize that things may very well get worse before they get better and it may not be Obama’s fault.  I am more conservative than Obama, and I woud be saying the same thing if McCain had won.  I believe that any new president is going to have a tough row to hoe for the next few years.

For better or worse, Barack Obama is the new leader of our great nation.  Let’s give him a chance.