When we think of being self reliant or learning to be self sufficient, one thing we tend to maybe forget is our vehicles. If we can learn how to maintain our own vehicles, we will be able to not only save money, but be able to help ourselves if we ever need it.
Here is a small list of things that would be prudent for everyone to know how to do if they ever drive, or plan on driving.
Check Your Oil
This is the most basic thing to know in my opinion, as well as one of the most important things. My dad made me learn how to check the oil in a car before I was even 14 years old. It is probably the easiest thing you can ever learn to do on your car, other than knowing how to fill the tank with gas. If you can properly check the oil, you can do it frequently and know exactly how your car uses it's oil, as well as when to fill it. More problems could be avoided all the time if everyone knew how to do this, and did it on a regular basis.
Change Your Own Oil
Learning how to change your own oil as well as check it can save you some big bucks! All you'd have to pay for at that point would be the cost of the oil, rather than the labor as well. Not to mention avoiding all the "ad-ons" that every company will try to push on you every time you pay for an oil change.
Changing Filters
Once you know how to change the oil, learning how to change the oil filter as well as the air filter, in your car should be a natural next step. Think of all the money you'll save over a few years just by knowing how to do it yourself.
Changing The Tires
Everyone should know how to change a tire as a basic safety precaution if nothing else. If you are on a long drive, alone, in the middle of no-where and you get a flat... What do you do? If you don't know how to change a tire, this can be a very frightening thing! If you have a cell phone you can call for help, but who knows how long it will take help to come. If you don't have a cell phone... well, you can just imagine.
The point is, if you know how to change a tire, you can pretty quickly put the spare on yourself, and get back on the road to safety.
Know Your Car's Symptoms
Believe it or not, your car shows different symptoms when something is wrong just like a person does. If you can train yourself to know the basics, then you can save a lot of money by catching some problems early on before something big breaks and you have to pay for a large repair.
One you can get to the point where you can do a lot of these things on your own, you will be able to save money on routine tune-ups as well as money and time on bit things. In today's society, our vehicles are our life-lines at times, and in many cases needed for our livelihood. If we could all just know a little more about how to take care of them, then I think we would be far better off.
There is obviously so much more we can all learn how to do on our cars but the above is, what I think, a great place to start.
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 1
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 2: Living on Welfare
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 3: Realizing Your Talents
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 5: Learning New Skills - Maintaining Your Vehicle
Tuesday, May 24, 2011
Thursday, May 19, 2011
Top Free Things: Now Through May 21st
Walgreens:
Activ-On Pain Relief 2 oz Arthritis or Joint & Muscle - Use $7.99 Mail-In Rebate printed at checkout
FREE after Rebate
Tylenol Precise Patches or Cream - Use Tylenol Precise $3/1 Walgreens Coupon HERE Paired with manufacturer coupon: Tylenol Precise $5/1 This Link Walgreens allows you to use a manufacturers coupon AND Store coupon on the same purchase
Free after Coupons
Scotch Magic Tape 3/4x300 or 1/2x450 in - Use Scott Magic Tape $1/1 This Link Buy 1 get 2 free, print off two coupons and you should be able to get
3 Free after Coupons
Nova Max Plus Blood Glucose Monitor - Receive a $10.00 coupon (Register Reward) with purchase of 1.
Free after RR
Rite Aid:
Oral B Cross Action Manual Toothbrush, 1 ct - Use Oral-B Pulsar, CrossAction or Advantage Toothbrushes $1.50/1 or (2) Indicator or Cavity Defense Manual Toothbrushes (05-31-11) PG-5/1 coupon and get a $2 off Up Reward to use later.
Free Plus Overage after Coupon and Up Rewards
Aquafresh Toothpaste, 5.6 - 6.4 oz - Use More than one $1/1 Aquafresh Advanced coupons at This Link-04/03 PAIR with STORE COUPON, Rite Aid, Aquafresh, any (You can only print ONE of these, Rite Aid will let you use this IN ADDITION to another manufacturers coupon for the same purchase!) $1.50/1 (active) This Link-05/01 and get a $5.00 Up Reward at Checkout. (must get $15 worth of qualifying items to get UR)
Free Plus Overage after coupons and Up Rewards
Fresh Market:
Ronzoni Garden Pasta, 12-13.25 oz. - Use Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta, any $1/1 (09-10-11) SS-5/15 coupon
Free after Coupon
Maceys:
Propel Zero Calorie, 24 oz. bottle - Use Propel Zero Calorie, any 20 oz. or 24 oz. single serve bottles $1/2 (05-31-11) SS-2/13 coupon
Free after Coupon
Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta, 12-13.25 oz. - Use Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta, any $1/1 (09-10-11) SS-5/15 coupon PAIRED with in-ad store coupon: .88 each with coupon and purchase of 1
Free after Coupons
Associated Foods:
Ronzoni Garden Pasta, 12-13.25 oz. - Use Ronzoni Garden Delight Pasta, any $1/1 (09-10-11) SS-5/15 coupon
Free after Coupon
Wal-Mart:
Carefree Pantiliners 22 ct - Use Carefree, any 18-22 ct. FREE up to $1.00 or save $1 on any (1) Carefree product (06-30-11) SS-5/8
Free Plus Overage after Coupon
Noxzema Bikini Razors 4 pk - Use Noxzema Spa Shave 4-Blade Shaver 4-pack, Super Smooth Triple Blade Shaver 4-pack or 8-pack, Premium-Pivot Twin Blade 12-pack or Bikini Shaver 3-pack $2/1 (06-30-11) RP-5/1
Free after Coupon
Reach Dental Floss 55 yds - Use Listerine Antiseptic 500mL or larger OR Reach Floss OR Reach Access Flosser, any $3/3 (12-31-11) JohnsonsSS-1/9
Free after Coupon
Similac Ready Made Sensitive Formula, quart - Use Similac Product, any $5/1 (05-31-11) SS-4/3
Free Plus possible Overage after Coupon
Wal-Mart's prices are APPROXIMATE, prices vary by location. To see the full list of all these stores (and more) check out GrocerySmarts.com
Also, remember to be gracious to your fellow shoppers. Go ahead and take advantage of these free items, but only get what your family can actually use in the next little while.
Here are some of my latest posts you might find interesting:
Smith's Shopping Trip 5/13/11
Raising, Molding & Influencing Our Children
We Cut Our Grocery Bill by 56% - Part 1
How I Make My Shopping List
This is my very first video blog attempt! Sorry if it is jumpy, I'll learn better for next time :)
I've had a few people ask me if I could do a video blog of one of my shopping trips from start to finish so that you could all see exactly how I do it. So, this is how I start. I've even done it with my kids awake and first thing in the morning so you can see exactly how I do it... and that if I can do it, you can too!
I've had a few people ask me if I could do a video blog of one of my shopping trips from start to finish so that you could all see exactly how I do it. So, this is how I start. I've even done it with my kids awake and first thing in the morning so you can see exactly how I do it... and that if I can do it, you can too!
Wednesday, May 18, 2011
Clearing the Shelves Using Coupons: A Post at Fabulessly Frugal
OK, so today I was planning on doing a big long post about all the craziness couponing has now become. About how people are starting to take advantage of coupons (and not in a good way) and abuse it to the point where they don't leave anything left on the shelves for other people. I had an entire novel (almost) about it, then I saw this link about ethically using coupons on Facebook this morning! Fabulessly Frugal pretty much says exactly what I was going to, and she says it much better than I probably would have. Please take a moment to read it
This whole thing kind of rings back to my earlier post about weather your frugality is bordering on fraudulent.
So, instead of just trying to re-do something that is pretty much perfect; I decided to try my hand at a video blog today. I will try to have it up sometime tonight, if not tonight, it will be up tomorrow morning.
Tuesday, May 17, 2011
Smith's Sneak Peek: Sale starts 5/18/11
So here are just a few things to look forward to at Smith's Sale starting tomorrow. For the full preview list, click here. Starting 5/18 the list will be found here.
The huggies has a great deal! Here is the deal, buy $15 worth of Huggies Products and get a $3 coupon to use on your next shopping trip to Smith's!
Scenario, get 2 Packages of Huggies Little Movers or Huggies Little Snugglers Jumbo Packs, and use 2 "Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers Diapers, any $2/1 (6-11-11) SS-5/15" coupons. Only $5.50 per package after coupons and Catalinas! Pretty good deal!
| Item - (Sale Price/After $5 off) | Use This Coupon | You Pay |
| Colgate Toothpaste - .88 | Colgate Toothpaste, any 4 oz. or larger .75/1 (5-21-11) FrigoSS-5/1 | .13 |
| Yoplait Yogurt - .44 | Yoplait Yogurt cups, any variety including Original, Light, Thick and Creamy or Whips .40/6 (5-21-11) Mi0SS-3/27 | .38 |
| Huggies Diapers Jumbo Pack - $8.99 | Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers Diapers, any $2/1 (6-11-11) SS-5/15 | $6.99 |
| Below are qualifying items: By 10 items get $5 off at register | ||
| Lean Cuisine Entrees – $2.18/$1.68 | Lean Cuisine, any varieties $1/4 (8-7-11) PurinaSS-5/1 | $1.43 |
| California Pizza Kitchen Pizza and Appetizer (if this variety is included) - $5.49/4.49 | California Pizza Kitchen Pizza and Appetizer, any frozen $1.25/1 (6-30-11) PurinaSS-5/1 | $3.24 |
| El Monterey Mexican snacks - $4.49/3.99 | El Monterey Mexican snacks, any bag of Taquitos, Tamales, Mini Chimis, or Quesadillas $1/1 (5-30-11) RP-3/6 | $2.99 |
| Tony’s Original Crust Pizza - $2.49/1.99 | Tonys Products, any .50/3 (7-1-11) SS-5/15 | $1.83 |
The huggies has a great deal! Here is the deal, buy $15 worth of Huggies Products and get a $3 coupon to use on your next shopping trip to Smith's!
Scenario, get 2 Packages of Huggies Little Movers or Huggies Little Snugglers Jumbo Packs, and use 2 "Huggies Little Snugglers or Little Movers Diapers, any $2/1 (6-11-11) SS-5/15" coupons. Only $5.50 per package after coupons and Catalinas! Pretty good deal!
EXPIRED: .49 Ragu Pasta Sauce!!! Today ONLY!!!
EXPIRED
Today is the day to stock up on your pasta sauce!!! Right now at Smith's their sale is .99 for Ragu Pasta sauce 16-26 oz jars. And today in the Red Plum (RP 5/22) we got a .50/1 coupon for Ragu!!! That makes each jar only .49!!! The BEST deal I've seen on Pasta sauce!
But hurry, today is the last day for Smith's sale! I may just have to go back to Smith's after Justin gets off work. Oh, don't forget to get 10 participating items so you can make sure and get the best price!
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them
Another big part of becoming totally self reliant is being able to care for yourself and your family in an emergency, either a large scale natural disaster like we recently saw in Japan or even on a smaller scale, say a small scale power outage that might last for even a few days. There are many things that can happen, and we may never fully be prepared for something like an earthquake, a flood or anything even worse than that, but we can do the best we can to be as prepared as possible just in case.
When I was younger, my sister, just 19 months my younger, fell in love with The Little House on the Prairie books, she read them all the time, and over and over again. She loved them so much that I figured they had to be a good read, well it was about that time when I really learned and understood that everyone has different tastes, likes and dislikes. I tried to read them, but I couldn't really handle them at all! While I couldn't handle the book itself, I did like the idea behind them; living in a simpler time, no modern conveniences.
One day, my sister and I concocted a plan, and presented it to our mother. For three days we would live like the people then! No cooking unless it was over a fire, and while we didn't have a well to draw water from, we would have to go outside with our buckets and use the outside tap from the house to get all our water, for baths preparing meals and everything. WE would also turn off the heater and use our fireplace for heat. If it was hot we would open windows instead of turning on the air conditioner or swamp cooler. The whole nine yards (my sister and I even wanted to dress the part! So we got out old dresses from the dress up pile). I can't remember exactly how much of our plan my mom went for and agreed to do, but I do remember having to fill buckets with water multiple time, building fires in the fireplace. The point of our little experiment was so that we could really appreciate the modern conveniences that we had. I think it worked at the time.
About three days ago, our air conditioner's circuit board died. I'm not sure exactly what happened to it technically speaking (that is my dad's and my husband's department) but it is gone now, and as a result, the heater won't turn on either. So we have been without heat or cool air for the last few days. It forced us to clean out the windows on the first day so we could open them without getting gunk blown in the house that we really didn't want on our floors (a project that wasn't really due for another couple of weeks). The first couple days wasn't bad at all! It was nice warm weather with a wind, outside the wind was pretty bad and actually did some damage, but for us it was perfect because it kept our house the perfect temperature. Today, however, it got really cold! It's been raining since early this morning and is supposed to rain till Friday when we just get a day break on Saturday then back to rain. The house has gotten really cold already, and I know it will just get colder. I'm not too worried, because we have lots of blankets and warm clothing to keep us warm. We still have power so I can make hot meals. And if worse really comes to worse, we live next door to my Mother, so we can always go over their, even overnight if we had to. I bundled up the babies this morning when I got them dressed, they are now all in their warmest clothes, and will be perfectly comfortable all day! I even made sure and put on warm pants and just a t-shirt to make sure I know how they are doing.
This little experience though has made me think about what would happen if the power went out for a few days. What if we didn't have heat in the middle of winter? What if the AC went out in the hottest month of the year? Would we really be OK?
Then I had an idea! (I just love those light bulb moments)
Once each month, it would be a good idea if you went without something for one week to really see what you would need in an emergency situation to survive! I think my family and I will do this. It's a great idea (if I do say so myself) to really get to the point that we have what we need to be able to be totally self reliant in any situation.
That breaks down to only 12 weeks a year that you go without something. Your list will be different than mine, and you'll want to tailor it to what you think you would benefit from most, but this is the first draft of our list:
This list is subject to change, and we will fine tune it for what we think we need to learn to go without, but if we can do everything on this list, we will be teaching ourselves how to live without those things, we will know we CAN live without them, and we will also know what we need to do to plan and prepare for a disaster if those things were suddenly gone for a while!
Running water we will only be doing for a couple of days, because it is pointless to use up out entire water storage on an experiment. But two days should be plenty to help us know exactly how much water we would use on a daily basis for our family so we can adjust the amount we would need to store.
Diapers: Going without disposable diapers for a week might sound like over-kill, and we are already using cloth diapers, but it is on this list because I think it is a skill that everyone should know, just in case they need it. Also, I couldn't think of anything else to go without yet, so when I do, I will switch it out.
If I can go a week without using my washer and dryer, I can learn how to do laundry by hand. I will be able to keep clothes clean in a situation where it is necessary to do so.
Going without electronics is something that might seem odd, but it will give a great idea of things we could start investing in to have us entertained if we had to go without power for a while. Also, we will learn to rely on other methods of getting out information other than the internet and refresh our memories son how to do it and this it is possible.
I'm excited to start doing this list, and I really feel it will help our family know a lot better how to take care of ourselves should something tragic happen. Let me know if you have any ideas of other things to go without for a while in emergency preparedness preparation? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to leave a comment.
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 1
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 2: Living on Welfare
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 3: Realizing Your Talents
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 5: Learning New Skills - Maintaining Your Vehicle
When I was younger, my sister, just 19 months my younger, fell in love with The Little House on the Prairie books, she read them all the time, and over and over again. She loved them so much that I figured they had to be a good read, well it was about that time when I really learned and understood that everyone has different tastes, likes and dislikes. I tried to read them, but I couldn't really handle them at all! While I couldn't handle the book itself, I did like the idea behind them; living in a simpler time, no modern conveniences.
One day, my sister and I concocted a plan, and presented it to our mother. For three days we would live like the people then! No cooking unless it was over a fire, and while we didn't have a well to draw water from, we would have to go outside with our buckets and use the outside tap from the house to get all our water, for baths preparing meals and everything. WE would also turn off the heater and use our fireplace for heat. If it was hot we would open windows instead of turning on the air conditioner or swamp cooler. The whole nine yards (my sister and I even wanted to dress the part! So we got out old dresses from the dress up pile). I can't remember exactly how much of our plan my mom went for and agreed to do, but I do remember having to fill buckets with water multiple time, building fires in the fireplace. The point of our little experiment was so that we could really appreciate the modern conveniences that we had. I think it worked at the time.
About three days ago, our air conditioner's circuit board died. I'm not sure exactly what happened to it technically speaking (that is my dad's and my husband's department) but it is gone now, and as a result, the heater won't turn on either. So we have been without heat or cool air for the last few days. It forced us to clean out the windows on the first day so we could open them without getting gunk blown in the house that we really didn't want on our floors (a project that wasn't really due for another couple of weeks). The first couple days wasn't bad at all! It was nice warm weather with a wind, outside the wind was pretty bad and actually did some damage, but for us it was perfect because it kept our house the perfect temperature. Today, however, it got really cold! It's been raining since early this morning and is supposed to rain till Friday when we just get a day break on Saturday then back to rain. The house has gotten really cold already, and I know it will just get colder. I'm not too worried, because we have lots of blankets and warm clothing to keep us warm. We still have power so I can make hot meals. And if worse really comes to worse, we live next door to my Mother, so we can always go over their, even overnight if we had to. I bundled up the babies this morning when I got them dressed, they are now all in their warmest clothes, and will be perfectly comfortable all day! I even made sure and put on warm pants and just a t-shirt to make sure I know how they are doing.
This little experience though has made me think about what would happen if the power went out for a few days. What if we didn't have heat in the middle of winter? What if the AC went out in the hottest month of the year? Would we really be OK?
Then I had an idea! (I just love those light bulb moments)
Once each month, it would be a good idea if you went without something for one week to really see what you would need in an emergency situation to survive! I think my family and I will do this. It's a great idea (if I do say so myself) to really get to the point that we have what we need to be able to be totally self reliant in any situation.
That breaks down to only 12 weeks a year that you go without something. Your list will be different than mine, and you'll want to tailor it to what you think you would benefit from most, but this is the first draft of our list:
| Month | Go Without | What We Need/To Improve |
| May | Heat/Air Conditioning | -Clean Fireplace -Wood Stockpile -Warm Sweaters for Kids |
| June | Electronics: Computer, TV, Video Games etc… |
|
| July | Car (except Dad for work ONLY) |
|
| August | Stove/Microwave/Toaster etc. (all Meals cooked over fire) |
|
| September | Washing Machine And Dryer
|
|
| October | Lights |
|
| November | Grocery Shopping |
|
| December | Phones? |
|
| January | Waste Free |
|
| February | Fridge/Freezer (all food we use this week will Come from pantry etc…) |
|
| March | Running Water (just a day or two, excluding the toilet) |
|
| April | Diapers
|
|
This list is subject to change, and we will fine tune it for what we think we need to learn to go without, but if we can do everything on this list, we will be teaching ourselves how to live without those things, we will know we CAN live without them, and we will also know what we need to do to plan and prepare for a disaster if those things were suddenly gone for a while!
Running water we will only be doing for a couple of days, because it is pointless to use up out entire water storage on an experiment. But two days should be plenty to help us know exactly how much water we would use on a daily basis for our family so we can adjust the amount we would need to store.
Diapers: Going without disposable diapers for a week might sound like over-kill, and we are already using cloth diapers, but it is on this list because I think it is a skill that everyone should know, just in case they need it. Also, I couldn't think of anything else to go without yet, so when I do, I will switch it out.
If I can go a week without using my washer and dryer, I can learn how to do laundry by hand. I will be able to keep clothes clean in a situation where it is necessary to do so.
Going without electronics is something that might seem odd, but it will give a great idea of things we could start investing in to have us entertained if we had to go without power for a while. Also, we will learn to rely on other methods of getting out information other than the internet and refresh our memories son how to do it and this it is possible.
I'm excited to start doing this list, and I really feel it will help our family know a lot better how to take care of ourselves should something tragic happen. Let me know if you have any ideas of other things to go without for a while in emergency preparedness preparation? I'd love to hear your thoughts! Feel free to leave a comment.
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 1
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 2: Living on Welfare
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 3: Realizing Your Talents
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 4: Emergencies & Really Being Ready For Them
Discovering Self Reliance - Part 5: Learning New Skills - Maintaining Your Vehicle
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