On Backyard Chicken Guide today:
How to Clean Out Your Chicken Incubator
Category: Uncategorized
How to Teach Your Kids About Money
Frugal Farmer Readers: What Do You Think?
Now that readership has grown so substantially over the last several months, we want to gauge what our readers wants. What would you like to see more of on The Frugal Farmer:
-homesteading/self-sufficiency articles?
-prepper/survivalist articles
-more articles on debt payoff/reaching financial freedom
-more articles on ways to save money
-more e-books (and if so, on what topics)
-other types of articles
You tell us – we want to know! 🙂
The Smart Way to Take Out a Car Loan
There seems to be a lot of chatter these days in the personal finance world on whether or not car loans are good or bad. When we first started on our journey to financial freedom, I was very much “anti-loan”. However, now that we’ve had nearly a year-and-a-half of straight education in the world of money, I’ve found that loans indeed can be a good thing – when done right. Here are some reasons a car loan might not be such a bad idea if you’re in the market to purchase a new or new-to-you automobile.
1. You can find an awesome interest rate. These are definitely the days in which taking out a car loan can be to the buyer’s advantage. Rates these days, for most borrowers, are awesomely low. In doing research for car loans for this article, I found rates as low as zero to two percent. That’s next to nothing! If you’re in the market for a car, make sure to shop around, and for car finance rates, click here. You might be surprised at the minimal amount of interest you’ll pay by simply getting a low rate. As an example, I called a nearby dealership to find out what the lowest rate available was. After I gave them our credit score, they told me I could likely get a rate of 1.65%. This would mean that, on a $10,000, 3-year-term auto loan, I would pay a total of in interest of $256.40, IF I didn’t pay the loan off early.
2. You can invest the money you have saved for the car, and earn more. If I did take out my mythical auto loan for that rate of 1.65%, I’m quite sure that I could find an investment somewhere that would earn my $10,000 more than $256.40 over the course of three years, provided I was willing to do my research on investments. No, I won’t earn that in a typical liquid savings account, but there are still many safer investment alternatives that can earn me a return of higher than 1.65%. Doesn’t it make sense in a case like that to invest the money I’d saved for my car purchase and take out a car loan?
3. You can keep your hard-earned cash on hand for emergencies. After you saved up a nice chunk of change like the amount it takes to pay for a car, the thought of parting with that cash can be a bit overwhelming, especially if it’s means your emergency savings or back up savings fund will then be non-existent. Taking out a low-interest rate car loan is often a better option, as you’ll be able to keep that money in your savings account for any potential financial emergency. In the case of the fiction $10,000 car loan, the interest amount of roughly $7.12 of month, at least to me, is worth paying for the peace of mind of knowing that I’ll still have that nice cushion of cash available should a financial emergency come up.
Only you know what’s best for your particular situation when it comes to buying your next car, but it’s important to look at the whole picture before deciding what the best way is to pay for that car. Best of luck to you in your search!
What do you think: is financing a car always wrong?
A Basic Prepper Food Arsenal
If you’re a big believer in having extra food on hand, “just in case”, we’re with you. Different people have different ideas about how long to stock up for, what to stock, and where to store it. Some are fine with a three-day supply of food and water, others save for a year or even longer. Either way, it’s important to be prepared for at least “minor” emergencies, such as storms that may keep you housebound or without power for a few days. Then the question becomes: what do you store? After a few years now of experimenting with different plans for our food arsensal, we have kind of a “go-to” basics list of things we always like to have on hand.
Our Fave Frugal Window Cleaning Solution
Cleaning the windows is likely one of the most tedious jobs for homeowners everywhere. If you have windows that need cleaning, you can hire a professional, or you can use our favorite frugal window cleaning solution and some elbow grease and get the job done yourself. No harsh chemicals with this solution: just common household items and some hard work.
For the best results, spray the window cleaning solution on the window with a spray bottle that has a mist setting. Then scrub lightly with a window scrubber, following up with a window squeegee. Use the window squeegee in long, horizontal strips, wiping it with a rag in between strips. Make sure to clean up any drips at the bottom of the window so they don’t sit on your wood frames or sills.
We get our windows squeaky clean for dirt cheap, and without spending serious dollars on commercial glass cleaners. Our dirt cheap and super effective “recipe” for our window cleaning solution goes like this:
25% rubbing alcohol
25% white distilled vinegar
50% water
Mix and use. That’s it! For extra sparkly windows, use a microfiber cloth, or use a window scrubber and a window squeegee with an extension pole, bought separately or in a kit.
Zwipes Microfiber Cleaning Cloths (36-Pack) Assorted Colors
Ettore 71140 Professional Brass Backflip Window Cleaning Combo Tool, 14-Inch
Professional-grade clean windows can indeed be achieved at a low price, using the right tools and our favorite frugal window cleaning solution.
*If you have a home that’s larger than one story and requires a ladder for cleaning some of the windows, it’s best to hire a professional to do the job.
Are Unemployed People More Likely to Fall into Bankruptcy Trap?
Even though the headline figures suggest that unemployment in the UK is gradually decreasing, there are still well over two million people still looking for work. Meanwhile, many of those who have found jobs are left with nothing but a part-time role which isn’t sufficient enough to meet their basic costs such as rent/mortgage payments, food and utilities. Read more
How to Have a Fun and Frugal Winter
Winter, at least here in the Midwest, can be quite the myriad of spending habits, at least in our family. With temperatures ranging from the mid-thirties to well below zero, depending on the day (and sometimes even in the same day!), there’s a wide variety of emotions that run along with winter.
There are days when the weather is such that we could easily spend the whole day outside, sledding, ice skating and playing in the snow. Then there are there freezing cold days where we’re perfectly content to stay inside, huddling by the fire drinking hot cocoa. There are also the “other” days in winter here: the days where we are going so stir crazy after several weeks and months of freezing cold temps, that we cast the cares of our frugal budget aside and start perusing the Internet for great deals on waterpark stays or winter vacations to warm, sunny destinations such as Florida. But no matter what your winter habits are, you can find a way to enjoy them frugally, by following a few great tips. Read more
Finding Freebies
Frugal living is almost always associated with cutting back and scaling down. However, thanks to the joy of the internet, savvy savers now have a way to get their hands on (almost) everything they ever needed. From food to furniture, take a look at these fantastic sites that offer all the freebies you could ever want. Read more
Saving Money on Trade Show Booths
Trade shows are a great way to get the word out about your business and to connect with your existing customers and clients. Trade shows can also cost a lot of money in terms of travel, hotel, registration and all of the supplies you need to make everything a success. Research ways to save yourself money and get the most out of your trip if you know that you’ll be attending a trade show soon. Read more