When your friend/family/whatever comes along asking for a loan, JUST SAY NO.

Loaning money just complicates your relationship with people, can turn a relationship sour and could be a financial diaster on your part. It’s not worth the hassle. If someone desperately needs the money now, what makes you think they’ll have to means to recover the money later? Are you willing to look the loan recipient in the eye and demand your money back? Are you willing to get the necessary legal documents and hire a lawyer if they default?

If someone you know is in dire straights and you feel the need to help out, never give more than you can afford not to get back. Your first responsibility is to yourself and your own finances. Consider what you give a gift, so if they pay it back that’s great, but if they don’t you aren’t chasing them all over town to recover it. And don’t feel bad about not giving anyone a substantial sum. There are other ways to obtain money besides begging your friends or family for it.

Also remember that what one person thinks of as an emergency is not necessarily an actual emergency. Cell phone getting shut off? Not an emergency. Missing a $500 payment on their oversized, overpriced, SUV lease? Not an emergency. Utilities getting cut off in the middle of winter? Now that’s an emergency.

So when you get that panicked phone call, think hard before you agree to give anyone money. Trying to save someone from drowning only to fall out of the boat yourself isn’t going to help either of you in the long run.

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No, this is not a post about my record breaking constipation.

I’ve been gradually trying reduce the chemicals in my life, and I took the leap to removing as many extra beauty products out of my routine as I could. Two weeks ago (two weeks and 2 days, actually) I decided to see if I could remove commercial shampoo and conditioner from my life.

I was quite hesitant to try it because my hair was so greasy as a teen that it looked like I hadn’t washed it hours after my shower. My hair is also ridiculously unmanageable. It’s half curly and half straight (no, not wavy, half of my hair is stick straight, the other half does spiral curls) and so far nothing has been able to tame it.

I do admit to not going completely cold turkey. Some of the more granola among us choose to just stop all treatments. I’ve been using a weak baking soda wash every other day or so and an occasional cider vinegar or beer rinse.

The results, thus far, have been wonderful. There’s usually a transition period where your hair looks a little gunky because your scalp is still overproducing oil, trying to make up for what gets stripped away when you shampoo. For most people it takes a few weeks to a few months to get past this stage. Mine was over in about three days. I’m not sure if it’s done anything about making my hair more manageable, but since I don’t have to wash my hair everyday anymore, it’s a lot less pouftastic on the second day.

I’m not sure if the savings are significant because I used to use a $.99 bottle of Suave anyway, but I’m using less water and I feel a little better each time I take another baby step towards going greener.

Popularity: 13% [?]

… the Frugal Urbanite’s guide to getting what you want.

How many times have you been standing in line and some obnoxious lady (it’s usually a woman, unfortunately) is just freaking out at the cashier. That, my friends, is NOT how you should handle an issue at the register.

You have the right to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, not the right to $.50 off with a competitor’s coupon. If there’s an issue with a coupon or discount at the register, you need to handle it with poise and grace, not a sense of entitlement.

• Pick Your Battles – Sometimes incorrect prices are programmed into the register or the cashier accidentally skips a coupon. These are the sort of things you should bring up. If you are trying to use an expired coupon, trying to use two coupons that say ‘one per customer’ or otherwise trying to work the system and get caught, accept defeat quietly and don’t try to get the cashier in trouble.
• No One Cares About ‘Last Time’ – Just because the cashier let you use an expired coupon/double coupons/last weeks sale price/etc doesn’t mean you should get away with it again. The cashier could have been just plain wrong, doing you a favor, or just trying to get you to get out of her face. You could also get the previous cashier fired if they purposely gave you a discount you shouldn’t get, so don’t try to work one cashier’s kindness onto another.
• Calm Down – Getting excited won’t help anything and will only make you look like a jerk. If you find yourself yelling or swearing, take a few deep breaths and mentally back up for a second. Chances are you’re getting over-excited about something you don’t need to get excited about.
• Remember Your Manners – The cashier is NOT a drone or machine. He or she is a human being that deserves the same kind of respect that you expect. If you treat the cashier like crap, you are going to get treated like crap. Address them politely, use the magic words and don’t talk down to them.
• Don’t Accuse Anyone – The cashier did not start out the day by planning which customers were going to get screwed over. Don’t accuse the cashier of anything or they will get defensive and you have just added another hurdle to overcome. Use ‘I’ phrases and a polite tone. “Excuse me, Miss, I don’t see where my BOGO coupon was applied.”
• Don’t Lie – Don’t claim you know the manager (even if you do), don’t say the last cashier did it if he or she didn’t, don’t insist that the you do this all the time if you don’t.
• Listen – If the cashier tells you to go to Customer Service, go to Customer Service, because he can’t do anything for you at the register. If the cashier says she’ll have to call a manager, she can’t override her register so don’t keep harping on her while you wait for the manager to answer the page. And if he tells you that the discounts will be applied at the end, don’t worry about it until the end.
• Complain to the Right Person – The cashier is the bottom rung of the ladder and doesn’t have the power to change prices, hire more help, order different products or decide which coupons are accepted. Take those sort of complaints to the Customer Service desk.
• Accept Mistakes Gracefully – If the cashier made an honest mistake, don’t keep bringing it up or acting like you think he or she is purposely messing with your order. If you made the mistake (the store has never accepted competitors coupons) then don’t become a belligerent asshat. It’s not the cashier’s fault that you aren’t aware of store policy.

Popularity: unranked [?]

Not too much this week, since I didn’t get back from New York until Tuesday.

Kitchen and Recipes

How Cheap Can I Eat by Pimp That Snack – Not only is the regular site hilarious, this fellow is challenging himself to eat as cheaply as possible for the month of July.

Kung Pao Chicken by Blog Chef – A recipe for the Americanized Chinese food classic.

Home Life

Sewing Machine Troubleshooting by What the Craft – Sewing machines can be persnickety. Here’s a guide to the basics of troubleshooting a recalcitrant machine.

DIY Vinyl Wall Clings by Instructables – If you’re in an apartment and can’t paint the beige walls, vinyl clings are an option. Instead of buying the expensive ones, you can make your own fairly inexpensively with contact paper.

Clearing DVD Clutter by Apartment Therapy – How to get that mess of DVDs, CDs, etc. organized.

Tech and Internet

Why I’m not Panicking by the Simple Dollar – Don’t listen to the media telling you to freak out about the economy. Caution and moderation are good, freaking out is not.

Bug Me Not – A program to bypass the log-in on sites if you don’t feel like signing up for a ‘free account’ just to read a news article.

Other

First Female 4-Star General Nominee – Lieutenant General Ann E. Dunwoody is on her way. Congratulations!

Popularity: unranked [?]

I keep seeing these commercials on TV (Mr. has G4 on a lot lately) for services that are supposed to keep your computer running ‘super fast’. Ladies and Gents, you can easily do this at home with a little preventative maintenance for free or the price of a can of compressed air.

First off, a hot computer is an unhappy computer, so if you have A/C in one room, try keeping your computer in there. Regularly dust the outside of the case with a dust cloth (no chemicals) and make sure the fans and vents are clear. Overachievers with a desktop can open it up and use a can of compressed air to clean the heat sync.

And while you’re cleaning up the computer, why not take a moment to use that canned air to get the gunk out from inside your keyboard. Then wipe down the underside of your mouse (and clean the ball if you’re not using an optical mouse.) If you want to clean your screen, wipe it down with an anti-static cloth. NEVER USE LIQUIDS ON AN LCD.

Run a good Spyware Removal program at least once a week. I prefer Spybot Search and Destroy, but I don’t use the TeaTimer or the IE protection.

Run a good Anti-Virus program. If you download a lot of files or visit questionable websites (you know the kind I’m talking about), I would suggest real time protection. Otherwise, set your program to do a daily scan. I like AVG Free.

Run your Defragmenter. In WindowsXP, It’s under Start Menu -> All Programs -> Accessories -> System Tools, I’m not sure about Vista. If you do a lot of downloading and deleting, you’ll probably want to run it once a week. Otherwise once a month should do you.

If your computer takes forever to boot up, turn off unnecessary processes that begin at start up. Unless you use a program often, you probably don’t need it to pre-load itself whenever you turn the computer on. You can either Google how to disable programs on startup to do it manually OR download a program like StartUpLite to help you out.

Consider adding more RAM. RAM is one of the cheapest computer upgrades and can make a huge difference in how your computer runs. (Don’t buy RAM from a brick and mortar store. Always use a website like PriceWatch to search out the best deal.)

And most importantly: DON’T BE AN IDIOT ON THE INTERNET! Don’t download files from people you don’t know. Always run downloaded files through the anti-virus. Don’t be fooled by phishing e-mails. And if something odd is going on with your computer, immediately run your anti-virus and spyware removal programs.

Image by Stock.Xchng

Popularity: unranked [?]

… especially not online.

Disclosure: I stand to benefit if you join one of the ad services I mention via the affiliate links.

If you’re a regular visitor (all two of you) you may have noticed the new sidebar ads. Normally, Shopping Ads is very good to me. Instead of being context/content driven like Google Ads, you put in keywords and it displays relevant eBay ads.

However, sometimes it decides that there aren’t enough listings under your keywords or your site isn’t driving enough traffic and substitutes whatever ads it damn well feels like. This is why you keep seeing ads for big screen plasma TVs. I assure you that I instructed it to show listings for coupon clippers, finance books and other money savers, not a @#$%ing gigantic, expensive, overpriced piece of electronic crap.

I’m thinking of switching back to all Google Ads because at least they display fairly intelligent ads (like online education) when they can’t pull from content. On the other hand, Google Ads has netted me nada from this site (I’m not surprised, since you’re all too smart to fall for advertising.) And, on all my other sites, Shopping Ads has been serving up relevant ads that people actually click on and buy from.

Gah!

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This picture from my childhood sums me up pretty well. Except I tend to wear slightly longer skirts now.

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I’m a bleeding heart when it comes to animals, so I wish this article by Money Central was mandatory reading for anyone looking to buy or adopt a pet.

What Your Pet Really Costs You. (The answer for a dog or cat is between $8k-$10k, not including emergency care)

If you’re deep in debt and struggling to make ends meet, you may long for the comfort of some furry companionship, but now isn’t the time to add another pet to your household. Get your finances on track first.

I can’t tell you how many times I see ads on Craigslist and the like asking for free pets or free pet products. If you cannot afford the basic shelter adoption fees (which usually cover some basic vaccines and spay/neuter) then you cannot afford an animal. Period. If you cannot afford food for your pet, it is time to adopt it to someone who can. Period. If you love an animal but don’t take it to the vet because you cannot afford it, you are committing animal cruelty. Period.

And if you do have a pet, make sure that you sock away an emergency fund for them as well. Having to surrender Fido because you can’t afford to have his injuries taken care of is NOT going to be good for either of you.

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I hate summer, I really do. I get heat stroke extremely easily, so I am NOT happy once the temperature starts rising over 85 degrees.

The worst part of summer is probably the electric bill from all the A/C. Right now our utilities are included in rent, but I know that it will be a huge battle of comfort vs. an electric bill the same size as our mortgage once we get a house.

Here’s how I keep cool frugally. Some of these may be more drastic than others, but they work for me.

• Close the window shades during the day. – If you’re handy dandy with the sewing machine (or hem tape) you can even buy some cheap fabric on clearance and make some blackout curtains.
• Get nekkid! – Once your windows are covered, you can walk around your home naked (or as close to as you’re willing to get). This won’t work so well if you have kids or roommates, but I’m sure your boyfriend/fiance/husband/whatever will appreciate it. Just make sure you have a robe handy for knocks on the door.
• Wear natural fabrics – If and when you need to wear clothes, stick to light colored, natural fabrics. Yes, the polyester clothes from the discount store are cheaper, but they’re only going to make you feel hot and sticky because they don’t breathe.
• The oven is verboten – Avoid baking during the summer and if you have to use the oven, only use it at night. I even refuse to cook something that takes more than 15 minutes on the stove top. Look up salad, sandwich or microwave recipes.
• Skip the hot drinks – That coffee you insist on in the morning? Put it on ice rather than heating your insides up. I guzzle ice tea like a woman lost in the desert and it does a lot to help cool me down (just remember to drink water too.)
• Put your glasses in the freezer – Rather than buying ice or overtaxing your ice maker, use your glass itself to cool the drink. Just keep coasters handy for condensation issues.
• Popsicles and slushies – If you’re a juice drinker, try freezing it instead. Heck, you can freeze lots of other drinks into popsicles or slushies too. You don’t need a fancy Popsicle mold, just a paper cup and a stick.
• Water, water, water – Aside from drinking lots of fluid, you can wipe yourself down with a damp washcloth or spritz yourself with a spray bottle. Not only will this get rid of that nasty, sweaty, sticky feeling, but it will cool you down.
• Keep the air moving – Ceiling fans, box fans, floor fans, attic fans, hand fans… just keep the air circulating and the A/C won’t have to do so much work.
• Don’t invite a ton of people inside – Lots of people in a small apartment will heat the place up a lot. If you want a big bash, try having it outside or teaming up with someone with a nice, big house.

Popularity: unranked [?]

When I was in middle school, both boys and girls took Home Economics for half the year and Tech Eduction the other half.

In Home Ec, we learned how to measure things, basic kitchen safety, basic sewing techniques, the basics of balancing a checkbook and lots of other good things. In Tech Ed, we learned to handle common hand and power tools, tool safety, how to plan and build a project… Basically, the things you need to know as an adult.

Then, in high school… there was nothing. Not only was there no funding, but our days were so full of cramming for standardized tests, squeezing in AP classes and writing essays to get into college that we stopped learning anything useful about life.  And a lot of my generation has the same problem.

I know kids graduating from college who don’t know how to cook anything except ramen. They just don’t know enough about the kitchen to even follow a recipe, because things like sautéing, steaming and marid are just things they were never taught about either in school or at home (usually because their parents were too busy trying to make ends meet or mom -or dad- used only processed foods.)

So, what does this have to do with being frugal? Well, if you don’t know how to cook, you can’t serve frugal, healthy meals.

Luckily, the internet is here to help. A simple Google search can net you a ton of text, video and image tutorials on everything from how to boil water to how to prepare a beef wellington. For example, I typed in ‘How to dice an onion?” into Google and got this. It’s THAT EASY to get the information you need.

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