Sunday, September 22, 2013

Things Every Goddess Should Know About Baking Soda.

Baking soda is the unsung hero of cleaning, health and beauty. Baking soda is available in large boxes for small amounts of money. (It is also available in small containers in the baking aisle but it tends to be more expensive there.)   Baking soda is a cheap thing to keep in your house and it has a myriad of uses. Do not confuse it with baking powder.

Baking soda and water mixed to make a paste has multiple uses. You can use it on insect bites to stop the itching.  You can use baking soda on your pans to get stuck on food off. With some extra water, it cleans inside the coffee cup or coffee pot. You can wipe grease off your microwave; just rinse thoroughly afterwards. You can use it to scrub crayon off the walls. You can even use it as a teeth whitener.

Baking soda mixed with a little water makes a cheap teeth whitener.  Put a pinch or two of baking soda and add a few drops of water. Mix it together to make a paste. Use it just like toothpaste.  When you are done, rinse your mouth thoroughly. Do this every other night for about two weeks and you will see the difference.

Mix up 1/2 baking soda to 1/2 water and use it as a facial scrub. Rub gently and wash thoroughly. It will cut down the oil and help prevent acne.

Stick a small box of baking soda, slightly open, in your fridge and freezer to deodorize it.

Pour baking soda liberally all over your carpet. The next day, sweep up the worst of it and then vacuum the rest up. It will deodorize your carpet and your vacuum cleaner.

If you have a grease fire in your kitchen, turn off the heat and then put baking soda on it. It will help put out the flames.  Make sure you stand back from the flames and throw the handfuls of baking soda. You don't want to get burned. (Never put water on a grease fire; it will spread the flames.)

Pour baking soda on the bottom of the tray before adding the kitty litter. It will help reduce smells from the litter box.

This is just a small lists of things you can do. Take a few minutes and search the Internet for uses of baking soda. You will be surprised by all the uses out there from putting it in shampoo, to cleaning the toilet to reducing the acidity of your tomato sauce. Of course it is also an ingredient in chocolate chip cookies. For that alone, I love it.

Wednesday, September 18, 2013

The Debt Snowball

Are you trying to figure out how to start paying off your debt?   Looking for a place to start?   Consider the debt snowball.   The basic plan is pretty straight forward.  First make sure you save up either enough money to pay 3 to 6 months worth of bills or a $1000.

Next, make a list of all of your debts.  Be specific and list what you owe to each creditor.   Write it down so you can see it.

Figure out how much extra money you can afford to put on your debt each month. Take that amount of money and put it on your smallest debt. Continue to pay the minimums on your other debts. Never miss a payment!

When you finish paying off your smallest debt, take the money you were sending on that and roll it into the minimum you are already paying on your next smallest debt.  Now apply that full amount to this second smallest debt.  When it is paid off, roll all of that onto your third smallest debt along with the minimum you were already paying there.

It is called a snowball because it gets bigger as it rolls away.  Keep doing this and you can pay down those debts faster than you would think possible.

Many well meaning people will tell you to pay off your highest interest rate first. This is a valid point as it saves you interest charges. However, if you follow the debt snowball, you will keep increasing the amount that is going to pay down principle. This is a wonderful thing for your spirit.  Soon you can say you paid off 1 whole debt, then 2, then 3 loans gone!   Your whole outlook on life is improved by being able to say that.

Give it a try and see what I mean.