Frugality Is A Good Thing

I am a strong proponent of frugality as an approach to a number of endeavors, for a variety of reasons that I will expand upon below and possibly in future posts.

I believe that a frugal person can make a given amount of resources go farther and perform more effectively than a spendthrift, and thereby gain the most utility out of them. It is easier to provide for oneself and ones dependents when living frugally, thus reducing the stress and pressure to engage in less than pleasant activities for money to live off of, and allowing for a greater freedom to seek fulfillment in one's days beyond the simple procurement of wages.

Frugality is also more likely to result in an excess of funds than wanton or unintentional spending, which allows for the benefits of giving, saving, and investing in the future as opposed to immediate and satisfying consumption.

Far be it from me to condemn anyone for their habits, and many people are still living within their means when they spend what seem to be astronomical sums, but for my purposes a lower than average cost of living is more than adequate to meet my needs.

Save Money on utilities by using your Microwave to the Max

Most modern itchens are not only equipped with the essentials, but also a bevy of gadgets, gizmos, and doodads that serve valuable functions and can help streamline kitchen workflow.

They also cost money, take time to clean and use, and usuallly perform functions that can be done by one or two simple devices, albeit not quite as perfectly.

For a great example, one could definitely live without an oven.

Sure, if you are baking bread weekly like a certain someone I know, perhaps an oven is a necessity, but if you just use it as an extra place to stow snacks or stacks of pots and pans, you might be fine with a stripped down kitchen with a good quality microwave oven.  

In fact, due to the speed and efficiency of microwave cooking, you could save over 30 dollars monthly in electricity or heating just by using the microwave oven instead of a full range.

A List of Websites that can help to Pay for the Medical Care of Pets

I spend a lot of time looking at charity cases, and there are an innumerable number of cases related to the costs of pet care.

While a dog, cat, lizard, or other pet might be cheap to buy or adopt, food, toys, and medical care for these animals can be unbelievably high. Even though a dog might only take 20 or 30 dollars a month worth of food, it might come down with a case of cancer that costs 10,000 dollars a month to treat or 15,000 to operate on.

I recently found a list of sites that offer assistance to people with sick pets, listed below. I hope that you find that this list helps someone, and I'd appreciate it if you shared it with others in case they ever have need:

• Best Friend Animal Society http://bestfriends.org/Resources/Pet-Care/General-Pet-Care/Miscellaneous/Financial-Assistance-for-Pet-Owners/
  
• Angels for Animals (Canton Ohio): http://www.angelsforanimals.org/auLocHrs.asp
  
• Brown Dog Foundation http://www.browndogfoundation.org/prequal
  
• Low and no cost spaying and neutering http://fixatfour.com/getyourfix.html
  
• Canine Cancer Awareness http://caninecancerawareness.org/apply-for-financial-assistance
  
• Care Credit http://www.carecredit.com/vetmed/
  
• Cats In Crisis http://www.catsincrisis.org/contact.html
  
• Fairy Dog Parents http://www.fairydogparents.org/apply-online.html
  
• Frankie’s Friends http://www.frankiesfriends.com/programs-2/hope-fund-happy-tails-2/
  
• Gracie’s Mission http://graciesmission.org/Home_Page.html
  
• Paws 4 A Cure http://www.paws4acure.org/application.php
  
• Shakespeare Animal Fund http://shakespeareanimalfund.org/qualify.html
  
• The Dog & Cat Cancer Fund http://www.dccfund.org/treatment/application/
  
• The Magic Bullet Fund http://www.themagicbulletfund.org/Apply.shtml
  
• The Mosby Foundation (No emergencies): http://www.themosbyfoundation.org/what.html
  
• The Pet Fund (advice) http://www.thepetfund.com/financial.htm
  
• Red Rover http//www.redrover.org/node/1198
  
• Extend Credit (financing): http://www.extendcredit.com/petcare-credit.htm
  
• PetChoice.org http://petchoice.org
  /

Energy Efficient Lights are All Right

One of the last places we look to save money is the lighting in our homes, but when you think about it, not only the bulbs but also their long term operating costs can really add up. If you are spending 15 dollars a month on lightbulbs at Home Depot, you can probably cut down your long term replacement costs by spending a little more for LED or Compact Flourescent Lightbulbs, which also run on much less electricity than the conventional incandescent bulbs. These newer technologies allow you to run a single bulb for over a year of conventional use, which more than compensates for the higher cost of the bulbs (up to $20 for a single bulb).
But the real savings comes from the reduction in energy costs. LED bulbs can save you $20 per fixture per year in electricity costs, every year going forward.

Make sure that you get the appropriate type of bulb for your light socket though, you don't want to install a non-dimmable bulb on a dimmable light, and have it burn out prematurely.

Turn Down the Heat, Turn Up the Savings

In frigid winter, there are few feelings better than warmth. A warm bed, a warm bath or shower, and a cup of hot tea are luxuries that we would be loath to part with.
At the same time, we might be paying out the nose to enjoy them.

By being conservative with the temperature settings in our homes, we can reduce drastically the amount of money spent heating them.

I live comfortably at 62 degrees Fahrenheit with socks and a sweater during the winter, and comfortably at 75 degrees Fahrenheit with light pants and a linen shirt during the summer.

I save on air conditioning, heat, and let the environment keep a little more of it's energy rich materials for the next generation.

Win-win-win!

5 Things to Know About Breast Implants: Monitoring is Crucial

5. Monitoring is crucial.

The FDA recommends that women with breast implants:

• promptly report any unusual signs or symptoms to their health care providers, and
• report any serious side effects to MedWatch, FDA’s safety information and adverse event reporting program.

Furthermore, women with silicone implants should get MRI screenings to detect silent ruptures three years after their surgery and every two years after that. 

Insurance may not cover these screenings.

Gretchen Burns, a nurse consultant at FDA’s Center for Devices and Radiological Health (CDRH)  recommends that women with breast implants continue to perform self-examinations and get mammograms to look for early signs of cancer.

“Just because you have implants doesn’t mean you can ignore other breast health recommendations,” she says.

5 Things to Know About Breast Implants: Breast Implants Have Long Term Risks

4. Learn about long-term risks.

Some women with breast implants have experienced connective tissue diseases, lactation difficulties or reproductive problems.

Current evidence does not support an association between breast implants and these conditions.

The FDA has identified a possible association between breast implants and the development of anaplastic large cell lymphoma (ALCL), a rare type of non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma.

Women who have breast implants may have a very small but increased risk of developing ALCL in the fluid or scar tissue surrounding the implant.

Like other lymphomas, ALCL is a cancer of the immune system and not of breast tissue.

This is part of a series of posts about breast implants, beginning here.
For more information please visit
http://www.fda.gov/ForConsumers/ConsumerUpdates/ucm338144.htm