Save Money with Homemade Cards

Saving money during retirement is always a good idea and one of my goals this year is to NOT buy a single card. Not for birthdays, Mother’s Day, thank you or anything else that comes along. Not even the 2/$1 cards at the dollar store. I still want to give cards, however, so will have to get creative and make my own.

Without further adieu, my first opportunity has arrived! With two grandsons having January birthdays, I obviously need two cards, right? So I made them today.

I have to admit that I used blank cards I got on sale for $4.99 just after Thanksgiving. In preparation for my 2010 card-making extravaganza, I actually bought a couple of boxes that contain 70 cards and envelopes each. I also have to admit that I already had a couple of boxes in a different set of colors that I bought last year, also on sale. So yes – do the math – I have about 280 cards on hand to embellish. This should get me by don’t you think?

I’ve also been saving all types of already-used cards over the past several years, planning to recycle them – and now I am! Finally! And I’m going to use fabric and ribbons and buttons and whatever else I can find. But for these first two, I played it safe.

The one with the deer combines a fabric square (the deer) with the front of a recycled note card. The other uses cute cutouts from an old birthday card (cheating, I know). As they’re both for boys, I used a sharpie to change the hot pink on the word Celebrate, one balloon and the party hat to red. So that’s two down and many, many more to go. Hopefully I’ll get braver and more imaginative as time goes by!

State Board of Equalization Blues

For those of you in California who own a business and must submit sales and use tax to the Board of Equalization (BOE), I have a word of warning. The BOE efile system seems to be having some serious problems this year.

Last year, I chose to file online and don’t recall having any problems at all. This year I was required to file online and it’s taken me multiple attempts over a 3-day period to get it done. I have finally prevailed, but not without a lot of frustration – many “Internet Explorer cannot display the webpage” messages that required re-logging in, pages within the system that refused to open at all, fields that refused to accept data, and the list goes on.

From the way it acted, you’d think that I was one of millions overloading the system but I think not. How many businesses are small enough and simple enough to have all their tax info ready to input on January 1? And how many are choosing to spend time on New Year’s Day taking care of that? So you can see my point about being in an extreme minority when accessing the system during this time.

Not sure if it’s the coding for the split tax (remember – it went up 1% April 1st) causing the problems or what. The bottom line is this – if you must file online, allow plenty of time. DO NOT wait until the last day or so. And if you experience problems, be sure to let them know. They have a nifty link at the bottom of every page that you can click to tell them if you have problems with the site. (Of course, they may remove it after they get all my comments!) Also, once you’re finally finished with the return, there’s an opportunity to take a survey on your experience. Do it. It’s only a few questions long and allows you to give feedback on your experience and suggest improvements.

New Year's Day Thought

"We will open the book. Its pages are blank. We are going to put words on them ourselves. The book is called Opportunity and its first chapter is New Year's Day."

--Edith Lovejoy Pierce

New Year's Eve - Taking Time to Ponder

It's just after noon on New Year's Eve and it's raining. Which is adding wetness to our blanket of snow. Which turns it into a mess. Which reminds me why I'd rather be inside. But this gives me the perfect opportunity to ponder the past 12 months and the coming year.

I'm definitely ready for 2010. Although a lot of good things happened in 2009, I'm happy to move forward. I'm not happy, however, with the quick passage of time! I have so much to do and the years are jetting by with no regard for my wishes. I guess that's just the way it is as we age.

My goals for 2010 are to increase my writing and the resulting income. This is about the most fun I've ever had making money. Except for quilitng, of course. So I'll still be doing that, as well. I mostly need to get organized so I can accomplish tasks more quickly. And how does all that fit into being "retired?"

Hope everyone has a safe and happy New Year's Eve. We're staying home (where we live, what would be our other choice?) and having some traditional prosperity foods for dinner - black-eyed peas, pork and cabbage. I'll be going to bed at the regular time. I'd much rather usher the New Year in bright and early than stay up to see what it looks like at midnight!

Wrapping Up 2009 and Looking Toward 2010

I hope everyone had a Merry Christmas! I enjoyed a few days away with family and friends but am home again now and wrapping up the year. I like to spend the last few days of December looking toward the coming months. While I discontinued making actual resolutions a long time ago, I usually do have a few goals in mind that I’d like to work on. I find creating long term improvement is easier when implemented through small changes. For instance, last year I wanted to make daily stretching a habit so my goal was to stretch 5 days out of 7 each week. Well, it’s a habit now. If I don’t stretch, something is missing from my day. Haven’t decided what my new goal(s) will be but I have a few days to figure it out!

Countdown to Christmas

Christmas Eve is just two days away. I’m actually more ready than I thought I’d be when I last posted to this blog although I am going to end up doing my final shopping on Christmas Eve which has NEVER happened before – EVER!!! How on earth did this happen to me this year?

Thank goodness for the Internet! I’ve actually ordered a couple of gifts this year and had them shipped direct. How slick is that? It cost $4.99 each for the shipping but would have cost me at least that much to ship them myself after paying the $4.99 to have them sent to me. So I saved there for sure. I’m also sending an Amazon gift certificate by email, which is even better than sending a gift direct by mail. But next year, for the sake of my sanity and health, I just have to be better prepared. This last minute stuff drives me crazy!

Rather than kicking myself repeatedly for my failures, I guess I need to focus on my successes of late. Since embarking on my freelance writing journey in late July, I’ve made close to $700. Not a fortune by any stretch but a good use of the time I’ve invested. I’m also developing residual income streams, which is where the real earnings potential lies. In addition, I’ve been keeping up this blog pretty well. Plus, I completed a custom memory quilt in November. So I’m making some money at home with every indication of continuing to do so at an ever-increasing rate into the foreseeable future. I guess that’s not a bad trade off for being a little unprepared for Christmas.

Last Minute Christmas Gift Ideas

Christmas seriously sneaked up on me this year. I guess I could blame it on a late Thanksgiving, which is usually the trigger to get on the ball. Maybe my new freelance writing career is keeping me busy. Maybe I’ve just had a series of life events that have demanded my attention. Maybe it’s age. Whatever the reason, the result is the same. It’s only eight days until Christmas and I’m NOT READY!!!

After some deep breathing, I’ve come up with a plan. Rather than detailing specifics, I’d like to share some general ideas that can be used by most anyone. No rocket science here, just practical tips for avoiding the consequences of too much procrastination.

Gift Cards

Always popular and appropriate for most anyone, the easiest last minute present is a gift card. Available from local merchants, chain stores and online retailers, a suitable gift card can be found for anyone, anywhere. For increased versatility, opt for a VISA gift card.

Admittedly, the drawback of giving gift cards is the expense. While cards can be purchased for a small amount, the value of the card is what the recipient will have to spend. Consider giving a family card to increase the spending power. For instance, for a family of five, $10 each may not buy much. With a $50 gift card, however, the family can choose something nice to be used by all members.

Homemade Candy and Baked Goods

If both money and time are short, consider making some holiday goodies. Many of the ingredients needed are probably already on hand. Think cookies and popcorn balls. Homemade fudge is my personal favorite and seems to be eagerly anticipated by those on my list.

Gift Baskets

Customized baskets or gift packs are appropriate for both young and old. No, I’m not talking about the ones you can buy in most every store this time of year. Consider putting together your own. It’s relatively easy and inexpensive to find an appropriate container and fill it with a variety of small items. Think crayons and coloring pads for small children, specialty tea in a nice cup for a friend or several types of nuts with a nutcracker for an uncle.

Time

Give the gift of time. It doesn’t have to cost anything and the actual event can be scheduled for after the holidays. For instance, for a family with children, give parents a gift of babysitting and the kids a game or craft night. Take an elderly neighbor shopping or a small child to the park. The memories created through the gift of time are free but priceless!

Type 1 Diabetes Hits Close to Home

A few days ago our 8-year-old granddaughter was diagnosed with Type 1 Diabetes, which is also known as juvenile onset diabetes. In retrospect, there were warning signs over the past few weeks but all could be easily attributed to other non-serious causes. Apparently, when the pancreas shuts down, it can fluctuate and may take a while before becoming a crisis. She had reached the crisis stage with a blood sugar level about 8 times higher than normal.

After spending several hours in the emergency room at our local rural hospital, she was taken 45 miles by ambulance to the next larger town to be flown to Sacramento as no hospitals north of there deal with paediatric diabetes. Fortunately it was caught early enough that it appears that the extremely elevated blood sugar levels and resulting ketoacidosis did no lasting damage.

After just a few days, she’s home now and learning to deal with her diabetes. This condition requires frequent finger pokes to check blood sugar levels and insulin injections after each meal and before bed. While this is a life changing condition, it is manageable and a lot of progress has been made in recent years.

Anyway, when starting this blog, I resolved to post 2-3 times a week. Obviously I’m a little behind and now you know why. For more information about juvenile onset diabetes, see the Juvenile Diabetes Research Foundation Internation website.