Common Sense Living

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Have you noticed that there is a surge in interest in growing your own vegeatlbes, and solar energy, and windmills?

It seems that everywhere I go lately, the conversation at some point turns to these topics. I even found this weird site where the people had built a totally energy efficient home and used all natural materials -  EnergyEfficientHouse.com

Take a look – it opens in a different window. It’s actually pretty nice inside, isn’t it? And they use no outside power. What a dream! Would never work for where I live because it’s too cold. I would still have to rely on outside power to some extent.

So I guess the hot new term is ‘living off the grid.’

I was talking to another friend today about wanting to do some solar, and maybe even a windmill down the road. I told him about the ebook about building solar panels that I told you about a few months ago. He said he had seen something better on You Tube. The site is GreenDIYEnergy.com - (the videos are on the page) but somehow I feel like the first one is more trustworthy. Maybe ‘cuz the guy is dad-like?

What do you think? Which one should I choose?

It looks easy enough that even I could do it. Well – I mean the building part, until it came to the actual installation and wiring. But you get my point, it doesn’t look all that hard.

I really want to do this. The utility bills are never going to go down. That’s a big bunch of money every year.

I’m thinking that some handy guys could make a bunch of money building and hooking up these things for people. I wonder if that would fall under electricians? I wonder if municipalities have even stared to deal with these issues yet. I think we’re really behind in this in the U.S.

Do you know of anyone who has tried solar? Or windmills? How is it going for them?

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How many times have you had to come up with dinner ideas, but you didn’t have much time, or you were tired, or, or, or?

I have one GIGANTIC secret in my arsenal.

If you have fresh fruits and vegetables on hand, you can make great dinners appear like magic.

Like tonight -  I had a chicken breast cooked. I had planned to make chicken wraps. Shred the chicken, put out refried beans, cheese, lettuce, tomato, and finish off with cool, sweet cantaloupe.

At the last minute we decided to have barbequed chicken sandwiches with melted mozeralla instead. I made a kitchen sink salad – green leaf lettuce, tomatoes, brocolli, carrots, green onions and crasiens with a red wine vinaigrette dressing - and we still topped it off with the cool, sweet cantaloupe.

Either way – it’s good eating!

You can even make a cheese omlet, or a spanish omlet with a great salad and some fruit.

Baked sweet potato, or baked potato (OK, micro – baked)  with a salad or fresh green bean, and a piece of chicken, or tuna, or steak – TA DA! Dinner’s ready!

One pan, few dishes, quick & easy – and you’ll feel great after you eat it. Can you beat that?

It’s cheaper than fast food.

And – you’ll save money on sick days, drugs, doctors and such. You’ll have lower blood pressure, your skin will look great, you’ll lose weight, you’ll have more energy, you’ll think more clearly, and you’ll be more productive.

Not to mention that you’ll cut your risk of diabetes, heart disease, cancer and other not so nice diseases.

It really is a good deal – wouldn’t you say?

Make it a point to keep fresh fruits and vegeables on hand and you’ll never be at a loss for a quick dinner.

P.S.  Get tons of great fast, healthy dinner ideas with this

Did you know that the major Pharmaceutical companies have banded together in a group called the Partnership for Prescription Assistance. If you do not have prescription drug coverage at all – no medicare or medicaid, nothing – you can get the TogetherRX Access card that will give you an automatic 25%-40% savings on your prescriptions.

I haven’t found a catch. Of course, I don’t need any prescriptions, so I haven’t been able to actually try using the card. You can get the card easily at http://TogetherRxAccess.com

They also provide listings to public and private medical assistance programs and free health clinics at http://trxaccess.pparx.org

Of course, eating healthy so you don’t need drugs is your best defense

Are you a High Energy Eater Yet?

I just finished a new special report. You see, I’m hearing how many people are in real trouble and looking for ways to save money fast.

This report contains some extreme stuff – and some things you may never have thought about, or even heard about. But if you were to use all of the tips, you seriously could shave hundreds off your monthly expenses fast.

So go grab a copy of this extreme cost cutting report if you need it >>>

I was very conscious of many times where I used more of something than I had to today.

Did I really need to use that much dish soap?

If I feed the cats and dog 5 or six less pieces of food, will they really miss it? I could get a couple more days out of a bag just by cutting that little bit.

Shampoo? Oh that’s a big one! Don’t we all use 2 or 3 times more than we need? And, they say it’s better for your hair if you don’t wash it every day. I have to at least rinse it and wet it down to style it every day. My daughter, who actually started this one, uses the flat iron – and it holds up for another day just fine in the winter. You know, as long as we’re not all sweaty and stuff.

My daughter has always taken her shower at night. Never really changed the childhood ritual. Once we got this dog, I started taking my shower at night too since the first thing one of us has to do in the morning is take the dog out. UGH.

But the benefits are, we have more time in the morning – (especially since neither one of us is a morning person) and the sheets don’t get as dirty since we’re going to bed clean.

My daughter though it was crazy that I’ve been asking for a sweater shaver for Christmas for like 3 years. I finally got one! Now I can save my sweaters. That’s a huge savings.

And yes, we hit the resale shops. I got $190 jeans with the original tags on them for $35. I got a beautiful set of 8 red wine glasses for like $10.

Or are things only beautiful if you pay a lot for them? Where did we get that crazy idea?

Actually, I’ve always loved getting more for way less. Thrill of the hunt you know.

We’ve become such a consumer country – consume, consume, consume…

But now we’re being consumed.

I’m not talking about being cheap – just being reasonable. We waste so much!

It’s time to stop wasting, and shopping, and buying and learn how to live life again. We’ve rediscovered how enjoyable a game of cards is. We’ve always been big library users. Why pay big movie rental fees? I always have more books than I can read.

Coffee? I always liked mine black anyway – and Starbucks plain ol’ coffee is awful. My daughter dumps a bunch of chocolate creamer in her cup in the morning and she’s happy. Heck, if she wanted whipped cream too, that would be fine. It’s still way cheaper. Don’t tell her I said that.

None of these suggestions are painful, and you actually could save a couple hundred bucks a month cutting back on little things.

OK, this suggestion might be painful for some of you – but it’s only painful until you get used to it, really.

Do you really need to buy prepared foods to lose weight? Or could you be eating foods that taste a whole lot better, that’s better for you, and save a ton of money – if you just learned to prepare fresh healthy food yourself? I know – Radical Idea!

Seriously – think about things as you go through your day today. Notice where you use more than you need to. Notice where choosing another option could save you money.

Any ideas? Leave a comment and share your money saving ideas…