There are so many ways to rethink how we use water. For many of us our water is metered and we do pay for how much we use. Some water saving tips may seem too extreme or impractical to tackle – like rerouting our laundry and dish water into our flower gardens. There are other small steps we can take to reduce the amount of water we use every day and may be some day we could work up finding other ways to save water use.

So where do you start – look at how you use water every day. In the bathroom, you could start conserving water by simply turning off the water while you shave or brush your teeth. Check the clock before you get in the shower and when you get out. Can you shorten the time in the shower by shaving with a sink full of water and then showering? If your toilet runs constantly repair any leaks as this is a big waste of water. In the kitchen, you could keep drinking water in a container in the refrigerator instead of letting the faucet run when you want cold water. Scrape rather then rinse your dishes when you load the dishwasher and only run a full load of dishes. In the laundry room, wash only full loads of laundry with the appropriate water level and use cold water.

Next, if you have water sprinklers (and this is my personal favorite) learn how to use the sprinkler system so that you can turn your sprinkler OFF when it is raining, (and watch the weather reports and turn it off the day before it is scheduled to go on) water the garden during the coolest part of the day and set your sprinklers so they are not watering the sidewalk or driveway. And maybe – see if you can avoid USING your sprinkler system. Save the water for vegetables that you eat. Only water your lawn during the driest months of the summer. And instead of hosing off your driveway to clean it sweep it of debris.

You could see a dramatic difference in your water bill just with these ways to lower your water flow in your home. After you have established these practices in your home, you can graduate to even more water saving strategies.

The basics of calculating net worth -   subtract what you OWE from what you OWN.

First, total up your assets.  This includes:  Monetary – cash on hand, checking account, savings, CDs, etc., Property – vehicles, home, household furniture, personal property, etc., and Investments – stocks, bonds, mutual funds, retirement funds, IRA’s collectables etc.

Next, add up your liabilities: Home mortgage, Auto loans, Installment loans, Student loans, Credit card balances, overdue taxes/bills, and Create a total of these liabilities.

Finally, subtract the liabilities total from the asset total and you have your net worth.   Remember this is just a benchmark for you to set goals and be realistic about your finances.   The younger you are the smaller the net worth.  The older you are the more you should be worth.  Look at it as your yearly financial health check up!  Have a great 2011!

The Federal Trade Commission has two tip sheets for holiday buying.

The fact sheets can be found at:     http://www.ftc.gov/opa/2010/11/giftcards.shtm

and

http://www.ftc.gov/bcp/edu/pubs/consumer/alerts/alt082.shtm .

FREE workshop to improve your spending during holiday time.
DECEMBER 4, 2010
10 AM – 12 PM
VerKuilen Building
21885 Dunham Rd.
Clinton Township, MI 48036

Sponsored by Michigan State University Extension and United Way

I did some research and found five simple steps to reduce my spending and have a less stressful Christmas.

• Step one: Make a budget. Write down who you have to buy for and how much you will be spending on each person. Now, I must follow through.

• Step two: Identify your needs and wants. Like Santa I will be checking my list twice for who I need to buy for and who I can pass on this year.

• Step three: Get Creative. This is a hard one for me, I am not so creative but, I did find a good website www.instructables.com. This year I will make a few homemade gifts and hope my family remembers it’s the thought that counts.

• Step four: Join Together. This year I will teach my children the importance of volunteerism. Look for a local soup kitchen or homeless shelter and ask them how you can help.

• Step five: Avoid the holiday hangover. This year I will buy without parent guilt and will not give into the holiday hype! I will not search for the “must have” toy; I will get what my kids need. I will not overdo and I will not stress over the “to do” list.

This year I will go into the New Year feeling grateful and without creating new debt.

This year I am also checking out local farms who may be raising turkeys near me.  IF I want to have a fresh local turkey – I need to order that now. I need to figure out how many people could be coming to dinner and how big the turkey will need to be – you need to allow at least one pound of turkey per person.  You also need to make room in your freezer if you will be buying a frozen turkey – and then allow plenty of time for it to thaw in your refrigerator before the big day.  It may take 2 to 5 days for that turkey to thaw depending on how much it weighs.

If you aren’t sure how long to thaw your turkey or how long to cook it there is the USDA Meat and Poultry Hotline (1-888-674-6854)  as well as the USDA site:  www.fsis.usda.gov.

I don’t know about you but I do love the leftovers.  Again, there are so many recipes for using turkey but my favorite is to have a good homemade loaf of bread sliced thick,, spread some cranberry sauce, add the turkey and a couple of slices of brie cheese, 3-4 slices of a Granny Smith or Golden Delicious apple, and romaine lettuce and YUM!

You should break down your leftover food into smaller containers.  My husband and I buy extra plastic containers and send mashed potatoes, gravy, stuffing and turkey home with our parents, the college kids and anyone else who wants some.  They will have a great meal the next day as well.

And if you are totally exhausted Thanksgiving weekend or are headed out to the mall for the sales events, put your turkey carcass in a large ziplock bag and freeze it if you don’t have time to make a turkey soup.

Oh, the holiday food, I can’t wait!

Years ago, my husband told me if I gave him the idea of what to have for dinner, he would have it started when I arrived home.  It did not take me long to take advantage of that opportunity and before long, I was creating a meal plan every two weeks.  After doing this for over 25 years, I have come to depend on a menu.

One of the first things I did was make a list of all the meals we like to eat and prepare.  Over the years this list has grown with new recipes.  We have also taken off meals we find just don’t hit the spot. This list makes the task of creating the meal very simple.  I just go down the list.  Currently, there are enough meals for an eight week cycle.  Once the menu is completed, I create my grocery list.

Using a menu has greatly de-stressed the task of what to have for dinner.  Most of the battle is figuring out what to have, with a menu the thinking is done for you.  Very rarely is there a night where we are not interested in having what has been planned and going out to eat is usually part of the menu. 

As a family, we decided to go out to eat once every two weeks. We usually did this on a Friday or Saturday night depending on everyone’s schedule.  I also build in special events and holidays.  This helped plan for whatever dish we need to bring or whether we needed to cook that day.

The savings is significant.  I always have a grocery list when I go shopping which keeps me from making unnecessary purchases and eating out is managed by being planned.  It also saves me time.  Grocery shopping is a breeze and time is not wasted on figuring out what to have for dinner.  So give it a try. You will be pleasantly surprised.

For a financial “check up” to be successful, a survey/questionnaire for consumers to answer to help assist their current financial situation was needed. A team of MSU faculty and Extension staff developed the Financial Health Index Survey and piloted the survey in the spring of 2009. Over 500 individuals went to the site and over 100 completed the survey. Based on the results, the survey was modified and launched on MSU Extension’s website. The survey continues to collect data from Michigan families and is analyzed by Dr. Lisa Cook, an Economics Professor with the College of James Madison at Michigan State University.
Next steps in the progress of this project were to develop a Financial Health website to house the survey, and populate this website with local resources. Once an individual completes the survey, they receive a score sheet with recommendations on how to improve their financial health which links the individual to resources within the website which they can access for further help and local resources in their community.
The website will launch this fall. The MImoneyhealth.org website and Financial Health Index Survey have the opportunity to improve the capability of Michigan residents to manage credit and financial resources and make financial decisions.

You can be real creative when it comes to paying off debt. Try one of these methods to get yourself out of debt.

Using the “debt snowball” approach, you order your debts by size and pay off the smallest first, on the theory that quick wins will keep you motivated. You throw as much money as possible at your chosen debt while paying the minimums on the rest. When the targeted debt is gone, you apply the same payment plus the minimum to the next debt, and so on. The amount you apply to your targeted debt grows as you pay off each bill, and you pack together those little victories to make a big dent in your debt.

With the “debt avalanche” method, you pay off your debts by interest rate, tackling the highest rates first. The term was popularized by blogger Flexo at consumerism commentary, although the method has been used for years by financial planners and others. The avalanche is the mathematically superior approach because you will pay less interest and can get out of debt quicker.

A third method, the “debt snowflake,” can supplement the other strategies. When you snowflake, you look for little ways to trim your expenses. Brown-bagging it today? If you were “snowflaking”, you would apply the $10 you’d saved on lunch directly to your debts, either the same day or at the end of the week (hopefully combined with other little snowflakes of savings).