With the arrival of the fall and winter seasons comes the fact that we’ll be seeing more black clothing.  I enjoy my black pants and skirts.  They go with so many different sweaters and blouses.  The problem is keeping them at their best.  To save money on your clothing expenses, try these tips to keep your black clothing from fading.

Wear your black clothing more than once.  If you’re wearing your black clothing to church or if you’re working in an office building, then you can probably get away with wearing them several times before laundering.  Sometimes I take a damp washcloth and brush off any dirt or other marks.

Wash them inside out.  This will prevent the fabric from being damaged and from losing it’s color.

Use the gentle cycle.  If possible, wash your black clothing on the gentle cycle or hand wash it.  The more agitation the garment receives in the wash cycle, the more color it loses.

Wash in cold water.  This keeps the color from running and fading.

Use special detergent.  There is detergent available that’s specially formulated for dark clothing.

If your black clothing does fade, try this tip – Wash the black solid garments with black Rit dye.  I have done this with some of my black clothing to help freshen it up and make it look newer.

What tips do you have to keep your black clothing from fading?

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Being able to successfully defuse a money argument is an awesome skill for couples to learn. Money is a number one reason why couples break up so the next time you feel the need to get crazy during a money discussion try some other tactics instead that will defuse not enrage the discussion.

Be proactive: If money is ONLY something you discuss when you’ve got a problem, well, that right there is your problem. Couples who are open about their money style and discuss bills and finances when there’s no problem are better equipped to deal when a problem arises. The …read more

Cars cost families a lot. At first glance it may not seem like much of your budget goes to your car, but the Dept. of Labor’s Bureau of Labor Statistics notes that car ownership costs are the second largest household expense in the U.S and can take up about 17% of the family budget (that’s for one car).

Ditching one car if you have two can be an excellent way to lower household costs. You can save that money you would be spending on depreciation, interest on your loan, taxes and fees, insurance premiums, fuel costs, maintenance, repairs, and more and …read more

Every now and the I find some cool websites and information and I like to pass those on to you.  Here’s some that I found this weekend.  Enjoy!

The Consumerist warns us about the risk we take when we sign up for coffee subscriptions.  There is no possible way I could drink that much coffee.
I have used plastic on my windows before to help keep my heating costs down.  I never thought of using bubble wrap.  This is a pretty neat idea as it is easier to install and uses something that you probably have at home.
My husband makes great eggrolls, …read more

In order to slash your food bills, you’ll need to gather some background info, set a target, and then make sure you follow shopping rules that will help you achieve that target. Here’s how…

Know your food costs: Track food costs for about a month so you get a fair idea of where your money is going. Divide the costs into necessary foods (bread, milk, eggs) and unnecessary food costs (cookies, soda, dips). You should also keep track of how often you eat out and those costs too.
Set a target: Do you want to cut $50, $100, more? Set a target …read more

There are plenty of money traps out there, but some are far more significant that others. Two biggies to watch out for include:
Assuming you’ll always be a two income family and not planning for survival as a one income family:
SO many things can happen to a two income family. Couples break up – yes even when you don’t see it coming, people get sick and can’t work, people get pregnant and make a decision not to work, layoffs occur, and sadly sometimes the worst happens and one of a couple dies. The problem is that too few people plan for …read more

Many of you will be hosting Thanksgiving dinner at your house this year. It doesn’t take long to figure out that this feast can break your food budget.  Here are some tips to help you to spend less and hang on to that money for upcoming Christmas expenses.

Prepare the foods yourself.  Don’t go out to the ham store and order a precooked ham or turkey.  I’ve heard of some people paying $30-40 for a precooked ham.  Yikes!
Shop the pre-Thanksgiving sales.  Some stores offer tremendous weekly specials to lure you in.  Look for buy 1 get 1 free specials on vegetables, …read more

Christmas is not only overly expensive but can be totally stressful too. In fact the issues usually go hand in hand. Really it’s time to end this stressful holiday nonsense and get back to holiday celebrations that actually matter and that are actually fun, don’t you think? Here are some ideas to cut your budget and your stress level this Christmas…

Stay put: Holiday travel is more expensive than traveling at other times of the year and bonus, it’s hyper stressful with long lines, crowds, and layovers due to nasty winter weather. Stay put. Call your family on the holidays to …read more

Sunday I attended a baby shower and they had some really cute pacifier favors and pink confetti decorating the table.  I thought the pacifier favors were so cute (and inexpensive) that I had to share them with you.  These are made using white peppermint lifesavers, mini jelly beans, melted white chocolate, and ribbon. 

Directions:

Unwrap your peppermint lifesavers and set aside.
Precut your ribbon and set aside. (You can use your craft store coupons to save money on ribbon.)  The ribbon should be about four inches long. 
Melt the chocolate.  Put a little dab of melted chocolate in the center of some of the peppermints.  …read more

There are more than 200 known diseases that are transmitted through food. The CDC reports that in the U.S. alone that “Foodborne diseases have been estimated to cause 6 million to 81 million illnesses and up to 9,000 deaths each year.” Many illnesses caused by food are the result of poor food handling which is likely to happen around the holidays when people are cooking new dishes they’re unfamiliar with and especially because they’re cooking large turkeys.

Not only are foodborne illnesses serious from a medical standpoint, but they take time away from your family, and can create costly medical bills. …read more