Family Dollars and Sense

Kids and Summer Fun

The kiddies are out for the summer! There are so many fun activities to do with your kids in the summertime. The best part is that most of these activities are not expensive or free. This can be a great way to save family dollars!

Some outstanding summer activities include:

1.      Go to the local playground for a few hours. This can be a wonderful way for kids to get some exercise and wear themselves out.

2.      Go bicycling. There are an abundance of beautiful bicycle paths across the United States. Even bicycling at your local fairgrounds can be fun.

3.      Spend some time at the local pool. Kids + water. Do I have to say anything else?

4.      Check out the local library. Most libraries offer all sorts of fun programs for kids over the summer. It can be an outstanding way for them to learn and have a good time.

5.      Visit the nearest zoo. The zoo is an excellent place for families to spend quality time.

6.      Go see an afternoon matinee. Prices for afternoon matinees are often much cheaper than at regular showtimes.

7.      Take a nature walk. Summer is a great time to explore the vast outdoors. Just be sure to avoid the poison ivy!

8.      Go camping. Clean fresh air, campfires, and marshmallow roasting await you!

9.      BBQ!! What kid (or adult) doesn’t love a tasty BBQ?!!

10.  Spend time together as a family. It doesn’t matter if it’s fishing or just relaxing, kids will always treasure family memories of summer.

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Starting a Home-Based Business

I’m thinking about starting a home-based business. A home-based business just might be a great way to increase family dollars. With the availability of the internet, there does seem to be various promising opportunities. I have also considered exploring the possibility of an e-Bay store. e-Bay is a lot of work, but I did make $200.00 on my last auction. The beauty of it is that you can pick up items at yard sales for under a dollar and sell them on e-bay for forty or fifty dollars a pop. If anyone has any ideas out there, please leave a comment. Other ideas I have revolve around the possibility of starting an internet cookie business or a reborn doll business. In these tough times, extra family dollars are almost a necessity. I will keep everyone posted on the development of this new business that I am embarking on.

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The Bizarre and eBay

Well, I still don’t quite know what I’m doing wrong with my eBay auctions. I do know one thing. The items I think are going to sell, usually don’t. The items I think would never sell, usually do. For instance, I picked up a baby blanket from a yard sale for a dollar, and it went for forty dollars. I listed some rare antique items, and I didn’t receive one bid. What’s even stranger is it seems that bizarre items appear to get a fair share of bids on eBay. Perhaps what I will do in the next few weeks is dream up something odd to sell on eBay and report about how it does. If it does well, it might be an extremely strange way to increase family dollars, even though it doesn’t make sense.

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I Need eBay Help!!

Okay…I’ve talked about gas prices for awhile, but that’s getting old. I think I would like to revisit the eBay idea.

Everywhere I go, I seem to hear about how much money can be made on eBay. I have heard that people are making a living on eBay. I’m sorry, but I just don’t see how. I’ve been holding eBay auctions for almost two months now. I’ve only made $279.00. I’ve shown 70% profit with a 30% loss.

How can this happen? First, buyers get really upset about shipping costs that they suspect are even slightly elevated. Worse yet, if they think the shipping costs are unreasonable, they will reflect that on the feedback they leave. Also, items have to be started at a lower auction price to attract bids. In today’s economy, people don’t like to spend their money. The seller must pay a basic insertion fee, a portion of the final selling price to eBay, and a portion of the final selling price to Paypal (if Paypal is used).  So, there you’ve got it.

I am not putting eBay down. I would love to use eBay to save family dollars. I am just not sure I am grasping the concept of how to successfully accomplish this. Right now, I’m only using one photo per auction and keeping it basic. I usually pay less than a dollar to list items. I have been selling collectible bears and dolls, handcrafted blankets, antiques, and even electronics. I’ve gotten 100% positive feedback.

If anyone out there knows any tips that can help my eBay situation, please leave a comment. At this point, I am open to any ideas.

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Gas Websites

On the topic of gas prices again, I’ve decided to add one last bit of information. There are wonderful websites on the web that are currently addressing high gas prices.

One excellent website is www.gasbuddy.com . On this website, you can select a location to view today’s high and low gas prices. This can be a real handy tool to save a little bit of money. This website also shows regular gasoline average prices and average gas prices in Canada. It can tell you what gas prices have been historically. In 2002, it states gas was about $1.40 a gallon. Those sure were the good ‘ol days!!!

Another website is www.gaspricewatch.com . It shows a map of the United States. You use your mouse to pinpoint exactly where you want to find the cheapest gas prices and zoom in. The good thing about this site is that you can compare gas prices over a specific region. This can really come in handy. It also shows what gas prices have been over the past 72 hours.

Finally, another decent website is www.fueleconomy.gov . On the website, you can find gas mileage tips and fuel economy information. There is also some information about your MPG and tax incentives.

All in all, I hope these websites will be somewhat helpful. I also hope they will help you save those precious family dollars!

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Plan a Staycation!

Gas prices are high. That’s just a sad fact of life. Are they dropping back down over the summer? Probably not. So, what’s a family to do?!!  Plan a staycation!

What’s a staycation? A staycation is a vacation spent at or near home. This means very little precious family dollars are spent on gas for transportation or for lodging. It can also mean that money budgeted back for to pay for gas for a long trip can be directly spent on staycation activities instead. For instance, let’s say my family was planning a trip to Myrtle Beach. The gas for the entire trip would cost my family about $300. Lodging prices would cost an additional $1300. That doesn’t include the cost of souvenirs, entertainment, or food. Now, let’s take that money and plan a staycation instead. The house can be cleaned up and made to resemble vacation lodging before the staycation begins. Maybe a couple of blow-up airbeds can be put in the living room for the kids as a special treat. With a $1600. budget,  I can plan a seven day staycation and take the family to the local zoo, a local amusement park, the movies, Build-a-Bear Workshop, and the lake. I can also buy the kids a small outdoor pool and treat them out to eat.

Sound like a deal? Ask your kids. My kids have actually asked for a staycation. They know they will get to do a lot more. They have voiced that they don’t like long car trips, the stress of packing and unpacking, and the aggravation of being in an unfamiliar setting and being required to have a “good time.”

There’s a lot of things a family can do on a staycation. Local zoos, amusement parks, or museums are a good start. Camping is also an option. Most kids love swimming, and a new backyard pool can be something they would enjoy all summer long. I know we have an old drive-in that’s not to far away. The kids bring their lawn chairs and blankets and have a great time. The possibilities are endless…

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Why Are Gas Prices So High? What Can I Do About It?

Why are gas prices so high? I have probably asked myself that question about a thousand times over the past year. I can remember that when I was a little girl, a gallon of gas only cost 99 cents to $1.05. Boy, were those the good ol’ days! Now, gas prices have hit $4.00 or more in some places!! What can I do about this? Well, I realize I cannot realistically control the price of gas.

I’ve read a lot of articles, and it seems the price of gas might be so high because of less supply and more demand. The cost of refining in the United States is also enormous, especially due to hurricane damage to oil refineries in the Gulf. The war in Iraq has been cited as a contributing factor as to why gas is so pricey. Several Middle East countries are also not very stable, and China and India currently use a substantial amount of oil. Both of these facts just do not facilitate lower gas prices.

Well, all of this brings me back to the sad reality that I don’t seem to have much control over gas prices. I’ve just got to grin and bear it and try to live with it. To this end, there are a few things any family can do to attempt to spend less money at the pump.

1. Drive a gas efficient car. If you’re in the market to buy a car, buy a car that gets good gas mileage. The days of the SUV slowly seem to be drifting away.

2. Learn to drive slower. It’s a fact that every 5 miles per hour  you go over 60, you actually waste 20 cents more gas!

3. Avoid accelerating quickly and coast as much as possible.

4. The lighter your vehicle is, the better gas mileage you will get. Unload the trunk and take unused luggage racks off your vehicle.

5. Buy the lowest grade gas available. Even though you may think you’re doing your vehicle a favor, the difference between low grade and premium gas is small.

6. Travel less. Find more things to do locally. You will be boosting your local community’s dollars and saving valuable family dollars!!

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My eBay Experience

So, I started thirteen auctions on eBay. How did I do and what did I learn? Well, seven auctions sold, and six auctions didn’t. I did learn some interesting things though.

1. Keep it simple on the insertion fees. You don’t need to make it really fancy to have a successful auction. The more the insertion fee, the less your profit.

2. Start at a price that is low enough to lure bidders, but high enough so that you won’t lose money. Once the first bid is cast, the item is more likely to receive more bids.

3. If you write a catchy title and smart listing, you will be more likely to get a bid.

4. Make sure you are knowledgeable about shipping costs. You don’t want to lose any profit by miscalculating shipping costs.

5. Know that eBay takes a percentage of final value fees. Paypal also takes a small percentage fee so you can obtain your money from buyers.

These are just five basic tips I learned about hosting eBay auctions. I still think eBay is a great way to increase family dollars. As I continue my eBay quest, I will pass on any tips I learn along the way. I have to say that eBay auctions are also fun for the entire family. My kids kept on wanting to know if we got any bids and how high the bids were. By the way, we ended up making about $120.00.

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E-Bay! An Exciting Way to Make $$!!

I have decided to start an adventure..I have started to sell some of our family’s unwanted items on E-bay. What a great way to add to family dollars! For anyone out there, who doesn’t think they can do it, you’re wrong. It’s not as hard as it looks. First, I found some great unwanted items that were hanging out in my still-cluttered attic. Then, I just went for it. The first thing you have to do is get an E-bay account. It only took me a few minutes to sign up, and it was really easy. Paypal took a little bit longer. It’s much easier to have a Paypal account if you’re going to sell or buy items. Paypal does require you to use a primary bank account, and it takes a few days to confirm the account. They put two very small deposits in the account, and the account is confirmed once you enter two amounts at Paypal. When you click on the selling tab, E-bay guides you right through the selling process. I have to admit that my first item took me a couple of hours to list, but the other ones went fairly quickly. What took the most time was taking the digital pictures of my items. It will be fun and interesting to see if my items sell. I believe I will discuss E-bay more in depth in some of my upcoming posts. It is a great way to make some extra money!

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Protect Your Computer! Spring Clean It!

Spring has sprung! Along with thoughts of spring, comes thoughts of spring cleaning. With this in mind, I found myself wondering just how many people actually give their computers a good spring cleaning. A good spring cleaning can allow your computer’s mechanical parts to continue to function with ease. This, in turn, can help save precious family dollars down the road. Heat is the biggest troublemaker where computers are concerned. Vents clogged with dust often can cause a computer to overheat. They can contribute to unplanned computer restarts, error messages, and your computer acting as if it’s “on the blink.” To clean your computer, do the following:

1. Disconnect your computer from the wall.
2. Unscrew the side of the computer that is on the opposite side of the motherboard. Hold a can of compressed air about four to six inches away from the interior of the computer and its components. Carefully blow away any visible dust.
3. Spray some compressed air over the computer’s fan to remove any dust and a little bit more into its drives.
4. Clean the inside and outside of the computer’s casing with a damp cloth. Make sure to steer away from the computer’s components.
5. You can clean your computer monitor screen gently with a damp cloth. NEVER spray anything on the monitor directly.
6. The keyboard can be cleaned with a combination of compressed air and a cloth moistened with rubbing alcohol. (The keyboard is an excellent place to pick up all kinds of germs.)
7. An optical mouse can be cleaned with the same cloth that was moistened with rubbing alcohol. A mechanical mouse will have to be opened and its insides and ball will need to be cleaned before it’s reassembled.

I have to admit that I usually clean my keyboard and my mouse weekly because they both tend to harbor germs. I also have to admit I take my vacuum cleaner attachment suck up the dust on my computer’s fan at least once a month. I only buy the can of compressed air twice a year. Happy spring cleaning!!

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