A New Way I Learned To Save Money on Public Transportation

This post is dedicated to my friend Babs who is responsible for this way I've been saving money lately.

I live without a car. Once in a while I'll rent one, but I use the bus generally to get around. Where I live there's a bus to the nearest city, and if the intercity bus doesn't reach where I want to go, then within the city I can either take another bus (or many) or take the light rail or a combination.

Our buses to the city cost 85 cents. Within the city buses cost $1.70. It used to be you could get a transfer if you pay cash, but then they changed it and you could only get a transfer within 1.5 hours if you used a smart card to pay for your fare. You could fill up your smart card on the buses. With the smart card, for every dollar you put on you get an extra 25 cents added to the amount of money on your card. With a child's smart card, for every dollar you put in, you get 2 dollars. Then when you used the card the fee would come off the card's total, but because you got more than you put in, you still got a discount, half off for the kids and 20 percent off for you. You also get an automatic transfer when using these cards within an hour and a half.

In addition to this, you can also get a daily pass on your card. Either a daily pass for within the city (and intercity to places with cheap bus service like where I live) or more expensive ones for larger locations, such as between different cities and within them, with different fares depending on where you were going, which was generally significantly cheaper than paying for fares each way. The daily pass within the city was only worth it if you took the bus at least 3 separate times (not within 1.5 hours of each other). The intercity pass was always worth it.

Then things got more complicated.

8 Best Ways to Save More Money

Looking for ways to save money on expenses? Here's some suggestions from a reader.

A good income is no indicator of financial well-being. Some people manage to live without denying themselves anything and even save money earning less than $1,000. Others think that $10,000 per month is not enough. The money disappears somewhere by the end of the first week because they spend it on all from restaurants to the best live casino offers. Money management is a science, and these rules will help you study it.

Top 20 Natural Pest Control Remedies

Do you hate bugs in your home? I certainly do. But I'll be honest, I have a hard time calling exterminators because locally there were some really irresponsible exterminators who used dangerous chemicals and ended up killing two small children from it. I prefer to use natural pest control remedies whenever I can; here are some safe and effective natural ways to keep your home and garden free of those little critters.

Safe, non-toxic pest control methods for your home

Pests are a nuisance to everyone, and we all want to get rid of them. Certainly, there are methods that have been tested through the years that we have been battling these unwanted species.

We had some help from our local exterminators Pro Pest Control Sydney who offered some insight into the advantages of using natural pest control methods. They also gave us 20 everyday items that can effectively work as natural pest control remedies.

Updated "About Me" For the Blog

After literally 9 years of not updating my about page on my blog, and people nudging me to update the extremely outdated about me section, I finally did it today. I thought about just linking to it within this post but then this post would be incredibly short, so I just copied it here as well.

For those that are new to my blog, this may help you learn a bit more about me. For those who've been here a while, maybe you'll learn something new?

Hello there and welcome to my about page. It has been far too long since I updated it last (9 years ago!!!!), and it was about time. If you've been reading my blog a while you will probably know about most of these updates already, but for the newbies I wanted to introduce myself and share what this blog is about.

This blog was started 11 years ago when I was in a time of great financial crisis. I had heard about a woman who blogged about her extreme frugality and made money from her blog and I loved writing and felt I had a lot of great ideas to share so took a gamble and started this blog. I was truly penniless then- the 10 dollars to buy the domain name was 10 dollars I didn't have, but I took the risk and I'm so glad I have. 

4 Points To Help You Decide Whether It’s Time To Relocate

I abhor moving. Absolutely detest it. If there were a list of the absolute most horrid things a person might have to do, moving is high up on that list for me. Yes, that much. I'm so happy I own my house so I don't have to move. But sometimes moving is a necessity. Sometimes not just moving houses but locations. Sometimes where you live just isn't right for you anymore. But how do you make the decision? Here are some points from a reader to help you decide.

This planet is huge and full of so many different opportunities. Whether we’re talking about professional life, recreational life, or personal life, Earth can give us so many different options. Plenty of people will want to stay in the same place every single day for the rest of their lives. For whatever reason, the idea of moving around just doesn’t seem attractive at all. That’s fine, of course, but humans are meant to travel around – it’s in our nature.

When you get the itch to move abroad or to a place hundreds of miles away, it can be easy to doubt whether it’s a good idea. The brain likes to play tricks on us, doesn’t it? If you’re in this predicament right now, then perhaps these four thoughts can help you out a little and make the answer a little clearer

Exciting News to Share

You know what that face is?

It's genuine happiness.

A feeling of freedom.

Elation.

I asked Mike 2 years and 8 months ago for a divorce. 

Mike moved out 2 years and 5 months ago.

Paying for Child Care: When Does it Make Sense?

When my kids were little, the obvious choice for me was to stay home with them, not just from an ideological perspective but also from a monetary one- I wouldn't make enough money to make paying child care worthwhile. So instead I worked from home so the kids could be with me. This is something that many parents debate- is it actually worthwhile to pay for childcare? Here are some thoughts on the subject from a reader. Hope you find it as interesting as I did!

Child care services offer parents a lot of freedom and flexibility, but the costs can be substantial. For many parents living on minimum wage or a single income, paying for a full-time child care program is out of reach. Although costs can vary depending on where you live, they take up a large chunk of an average salary almost everywhere. This situation causes many parents to wonder if it makes any financial sense to pay for child care. It often seems more cost-effective for one of the parents to give up their job and stay at home.

So, when does it make sense to pay for child care?

What To Do When You Flop Your Rice

Usually I am good at cooking rice.

Ok, I take that back.

I used to be more or less fine cooking rice, but occasionally I'd burn it because I'd get distracted.

So I started cooking rice in the oven because it doesn't matter as much when you take it out; it's more forgiving that way. 

Cooking rice in the oven is supposed to be simple. And it usually is. 2 cups water for every cup of rice, cover it, bake it for 30-45 minutes or until ready. If you leave it for 15 minutes longer it's not a big deal.

But yesterday I had really, really bad luck with rice. And it sucked because my daughter was hungry and she asked specifically for rice because I hadn't made it in some time and rice is one of her favorite foods (I know, right?). 

I specifically put in two pans of rice. I put the rice in the oven but -TMI warning- I had to use the bathroom badly so I didn't cover it right away, and I wonder if that was the issue here... 

Because half an hour later, the water was all gone but the rice looked and tasted dry and gritty. I added an extra cup of water to it and baked it for longer but it was still dry and gritty. So I added more water. And when the water was absorbed I had pasty rice.

Ugh.

How To Avoid Debt (and What To Do If You Can’t)

Debt avoidance is much better than debt management. Here are some tips from a reader on how to act to prevent getting into debt and the best course of action to follow if taking a loan is inevitable.

Debt is one of the most dangerous financial situations you can find yourself in. There are several causes of debt: unexpected costs, expensive life events (like moving house), or poor money management. Some of these causes are unavoidable, while others can be planned for. Either way, you want to avoid debt at all costs.

If you go into debt, you will find your lifestyle changed. In the short term, debt can lower your credit score, remove your ability for financing, and even cause creditors to bring lawsuits against you.

In the long term, the effects can be even more disastrous. It can take years to pay off debt, which means years of restriction, tight budgeting and poor emotional health from the strain. If a lawsuit is brought against you successfully, the consequences you may face could follow you around for years.

In summary - avoiding debt is paramount.

DIY Carpet Stain Removal Tips

I used to have a carpet in my kids' room and I needed to throw it out because the kids got slime in it and I couldn't get it out. (Slime has since been banned from my house.) Too bad I didn't have these tips that a reader sent me or I might have been able to save the carpet!

Smart tips to keep your carpet looking pristine 

Getting stains on your carpet is inevitable. You may accidentally spill your drink or drop your food. Then, you rush to rinse it off with water but still find a spot on your carpet. Just like that, your carpet is already stained. 

Even without kids or pets, a carpet disaster can happen anytime. When this happens, a DIY solution to remove the stain is usually the first thing that comes to one’s mind.   

The experts from No1 Carpet Cleaning Melbourne, a local carpet cleaning company based in Southern Victoria, share some easy-to-follow carpet stain removal tips that will make your carpet look spotless again.