Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 15, 2011

Welcome to this week’s Yakezie Carnival. This week I as your host have chosen the theme of “Growth” and here is why. The original Yakezie Carnival was first hosted on February 28, 2010 and was called the Yakezie Challenge Carnival. This was the first opportunity to highlight articles from the newly formed Yakezie network. At this time, there were 44 members of the group.

October 200

October 2011 Finance Personal Finance 200

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 29, 2011

Stay within budget this holiday season with up-cycled Christmas gifts. Take an afternoon and clean out all your closets, search the corners of your basement and attic for new, nearly new or usable, unwanted items. Leave no stone unturned and do not assume anything is trash. Think outside the gift giving box this season; look at old unused items that may have parts that can be reused for other interesting and unique gifts.

Cycle 199

Cycle Budgeting Budget Christmas 199

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 27, 2011

Every morning, millions of workers across the world commute to their place of employment. Whether by bus, trolley, train or auto, the need to get to work hits everyone hard in a depressed economy. Join us in exploring ways to implement eco-friendly work from home tips, or to become more cost-effective working outside the home. Smart Commute. According to the Bureau of labor Statistics, U.S. fuel prices rose 1.9 percent in August 2011, after a 4.7 percent increase the previous month.

Office 198

Office Fuel Work From Home Saving Money 198

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 4, 2011

This post was written by Marie. . With the advent of the Great Recession, today’s populations are re-learning frugality and expense reduction. Through the harsh reality of real scarcity in our own personal financial situation, we learned those lessons over 40 years ago. We were so poor that we re-used coffee grounds to make more coffee! Out of necessity, my spouse and I integrated multiple strategies to get by on the income we had.

Home and Garden 198

Home and Garden Cars Car Re-use 198

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 2, 2011

Schools are teaching the next generation and this makes them an ideal environment to incorporate sustainable living strategies. Children can both learn about sustainability and see it in action if many of the available projects are implemented. The good thing with implementing eco-friendly initiatives in schools is that they often represent a cost saving as well as helping the planet.

Student 197

Student Gardening Garden Compost 197

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 21, 2011

Outliers : The Story of Success is a non-fiction book written by Malcolm Gladwell. Throughout the book, Gladwell repeatedly mentions the “10,000-Hour Rule”, claiming that the key to success in any field is, to a large extent, a matter of practicing a specific task for a total of around 10,000 hours. That’s why it’s so important to be clear about what you want.

Real Estate 194

Real Estate Goals Motivation Hobby 194

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 13, 2011

*This is a continuation of a series of workouts you can do at home. *. As I mentioned previously, earlier in the year, I wrote a post called Skip the Gym, Sweat at Home that shared one of the workouts that my hubby and I do at home. The article went viral online. It got over 20 thousand stumbles alone. This kind of response got me thinking that there are other people out there like me who value their health and want to do what they can to keep it as optimal as possible and not pay a fortune to

At Home 193

At Home Home Wellness Health 193

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 10, 2011

Guest Post Author Bio: The following is a guest post by Lisa at Car Insurance Comparison, an Australian blog created to help its readers compare car insurance in and around their areas. As the readers of Prairie EcoThrifter know: money, or lack thereof, is driving many people to become more frugal. However, it’s not just lack of money that makes people want to cut back, re-purpose, or live within their means… it’s also a case of wanting to be ecologically responsible.

Green 185

Green Rent Library Green And Frugal 185

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 14, 2011

Alternatives to fossil fuel are becoming more popular not only because of their “green” benefits, but also because of concerns about relying on limited, imported resources to fuel cars – and economies. Biofuel and electricity, including hybrid-electric cars, have emerged as top alternatives to fossil fuel. However, in addition to ecological advantages, they each have drawbacks that will determine the role they play in the global future of energy.

Fuel 184

Fuel Electric Car Gasoline Cars 184

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 18, 2011

What is Geothermal Power? . Geothermal power refers to the process of using steam or heat that is found trapped beneath the Earth’s surface, to manufacture energy. It is a viable form of alternative energy production compared to those that use fossil fuels; it is a sustainable option because the water is returned underground when it has been used.

Plants 183

Plants Fuel Home ReNew 183

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 18, 2011

I know that my last post was all about how I started losing weight again, but I did end up taking a week off. The week of the Financial Blogger Conference was extremely hectic, so I did set Weight Watchers aside for 7 days. That led to me weighing in at 153 on Sunday, October 2nd – that is a gain of about 4 pounds. But that is okay to me. Making a Deal, Hitting the Mark, and Splurging on my Calorie Intake.

September 183

September Chicago Personal Finance Goals 183

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 24, 2011

My husband and I joined Weight Watchers on January 4th, 2011 and knew that we would need to start cooking more at home if we were going to stick to the plan. We each received a set number of food points to use each week. We tried making meal plans for two week periods before going shopping, but that led to some food waste since we are sometimes hit with specific cravings and ignore the plan willy-nilly.

Meals 182

Meals Frozen Yogurt Desserts Raisin Bran 182

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 25, 2011

Can there be such a thing as a perfect world? It is an ideal that many people think is unattainable. Surely, though, it is an ideal worth striving for. What is the worst that can happen if we fail to create the perfect world? The answer is – a better world. What is a perfect world? What does a perfect world look like? You could ask these questions of thousands of people and get lots of different answers.

Goals 181

Goals Gratitude Kids and Family Home 181

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 5, 2011

Sick of spending a small fortune on beauty products when you’re not even sure what’s in them half the time? Have a go at making your own beauty treatments! You can make some quick and easy beauty treats using ingredients that you’ve already got at home. What Kind of Things Can I Use? Here are just a few of the everyday food items that work well in beauty treatments, and their main benefits.

Beauty 181

Beauty Making Homemade Leftovers 181

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 26, 2011

If you’re anything like most people, you’re probably feeling the pinch thanks to rising food prices. There is some good news though – you can bring your food shopping costs down with some careful planning. Here are some tips to help you to save money on your supermarket shopping. Stick to your list. If you’re not organized, it’s much more likely that you’ll be tempted into buying things that you don’t really need.

Saving Money 180

Saving Money Money Saving Shopping 180

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 23, 2011

The smart meter is the “next generation of electric and gas meters.” While it may be new to Britain, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, the Netherlands, Italy and the United States have been perfecting the technology for some time. Learning from their mistakes has been a real advantage and shortened the learning curve here. In fact, the government is so sure that this is a crucial step in national energy savings, that it is currently projecting replacing 46 million traditional metering devices in 2

Family 179

Family Monitors United States Bills 179

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 19, 2011

I confess, I am one of of the 22% of Americans that do not have a cell phone. I am part of a shrinking minority of people who don’t want to be in constant contact with anyone and everyone else. I am a semi Tech NO (someone who deliberately chooses to not use technology like cell phones). Our minority is rapidly becoming oppressed. People look down on us.

Phones 179

Phones At&T Telephones Lighting 179

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 14, 2011

Well for my first post I figured I would share with you my latest discovery a.k.a. addiction… audiobooks. I must admit I have never been a good reader. Novels never really appealed to me. I would find my self either not getting into a story or falling asleep after a couple pages and never getting very far. In fact it is shameful, but I can count the number of books I have read, non academic of course, in my life so far on one hand; that is until now!

Phones 140

Phones Green And Frugal CD Calculators 140

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 27, 2011

Many thanks to 20 and Engaged for including Crystal’s post, “ I Took a Week Off and Loved It ” in the Yakezie Carnival. Also, thanks to The Canadian Finance Blog for choosing my post, “ 8 Ways to Inspire Children to Help Others ” in The Canadian Finance Carnival. Related posts: Prairie Eco-Thrifter has been Featured in Three Carnivals. Prairie Eco-Thrifter has been Featured in Three Carnivals.

Finance 113

Finance Thankful 113

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 13, 2011

Many thanks to Funny About Money for including my post on How to Make Your Own Beauty Products in this week’s Festival of Frugality. . Also, thanks to Faithful with a Few for including Crystal’s post on Losing Weight Again in this week’s Yakezie Carnival. . Prairie Eco-Thrifter has been Featured in Two Carnivals is a post from: Prairie EcoThrifter.com.

Beauty 113

Beauty Money Thankful Frugal 113

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 3, 2011

Thanks to No Debt MBA for including my post How to Give to Charity Without Spending Money in the Best of Money Carnival Top 10. Many thanks to My University Money for including Tony’s post When Buy & Hold Works and When It Doesn’t in the first C arnival of Financial Camaraderie. Thanks to Control Your Cash for including Tony’s post Investor’s Are Playing a Game Where Those With More Experience Have the Upper Hand in this week’s Carnival of Wealth.

Personal Finance 113

Personal Finance Economy Debt Finance 113

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 20, 2011

Many thanks to Personal Investment Management and Financial Planning for including Marie’s post, Seven Retirement Lessons Learned in the Carnival of Financial Planning Edition 206. Also, thanks to My University Money for including Tony’s post, What You Can Learn About Investing from the 4 Hour Work Week in the Carnival of Financial Camaraderie #3.

Money 100

Money Thankful Work 100

Prairie Eco-Thrifter

OCTOBER 6, 2011

This post was written by Tony. . I was recently reading Timothy Ferriss’s book titled “4 Hour Workweek” Here are is the main thing that we can take away from this book. You need to make more efficient use of your time, because you only have 24 hours a day. Cut out all the non-core stuff that takes up your time. 80% of the results are done with 20% of the effort.

Club 180

Club Unemployment Re-use At&T 180