What Can You Learn From Ted Williams? (The Guy With the Golden Voice)

What can you learn from Ted William's sudden fame?

Ted Williams shot to fame when his interview went on YouTube. The interview was made at the time when he was homeless and used to ask for donations at a bus stand with a board in his hand and his recorded voice asking for donations. The interview became so famous that lots of job offers landed in his lap. Even NBA has asked him to join. There are a lot of financial lessons one can learn from his sudden shot to fame. This is true that happiness as well as misery is not permanent and it depends upon you to have a determination in life to change your misery into happiness. You need to have a good savings plan so that you can tackle any financial shortcoming.

Frugal lessons worth learning from Ted Williams' story
There are a lot of times in life when you feel confused about the debts you have and how to get out of financial misery. There are a lot of people who have a lot of money and don't know what they can do with it. You can also win sudden lottery and may not know what to purchase first. You must have a clear vision of everything so that you don't get greedy and lose everything in the process. Take a look at the financial lessons you can learn from Ted Williams' story:

1. Clear about what you want

You must be clear about you want from life. There may be times in life when you may get confused about the different things that may land into your lap. If you get confused about the job offers or other financial things you get, you must prioritize the things and choose the ones that match your needs. If you have a lot of job offers, you may try to go for those interviews that solve your purpose and recognizes for your caliber and whet you can do. If you have a lot of debts, you must pay the ones with the largest interest rates first while paying your other debts minimally. This clear vision of yours can really help you reach the goal you've set for yourself. 

2. Put a stop to reckless spending

You may be a millionaire or a pauper. But if you earn $5, you must try to save $3 and spend $2. This is smart financing and if you're smart with money, you can reach anywhere you want. At least, you'll not have debts to pay off. Money doesn't take time to get over and once it's over you need to think of other ways to secure your future. You need to draw a line between "wants" and "needs". If you know the difference between the two, you'll be able to save money. Try to consult your family before purchasing any big thing so that you know if others are ready for it. When you get a check, try to save most of it. Don't spend any money till the time you get the check in your hands. Try to work out a budget and include your kids too in the budget formation so that they can learn to be money responsible. 

3. Get experts advice

This is another way you can manage your finances. If you are confused about the money you want to save and the amount you need to spend, you can seek financial advice from your experts or elders so that you don't fall into debts. Try to put all your problems in front of them so that they can give you the required advice on the ways to manage your money. When Ted Williams was asked about the jobs he would choose, he said that he'll seek help of a therapist and would focus only on few offers. He also wanted to solve his previous financial problems so that he wouldn't make the same mistakes again. 

4. Invest apart from savings

If you have a savings account and want to grow our money more, you can go for investment options so that you can have a safe and secured future. Look for lucrative investments so that you can get better returns. Start small and don't get greedy in the process. You must also lead an honest life and pay your taxes on time. Keep away some money for emergencies so that you don't have to break your investments. Try to seek experts' advice when you're going for investments so that you know which ones suit you the most.  

Apart from the financial tips and lessons given above, you must take things slow in your life. If you have any problems in life, try to tackle it smartly and never get carried away. Manage the money you earn and have so that your future doesn't get into debts.

Author's Bio : RP is a guest writer for various finance related Communities including CDFA, FCB, Debt Consolidation Care etc. She is a PG degree holder in Marketing and Finance and right now working in a reputed bank as a relationship manager. She is well equipped to write articles on debt consolidation , debt settlement, frugality, savings, economies of states etc.

Craigslist Tips to Sell Stuff Fast

I just relisted twelve items on Craigslist to try and sell before we have another garage sale at the end of the month. I have previously listed the same items with not much response, but this time its different. I've already sold my 2GB Ipod Nano for $50 and my seven extra bicycle tires for $2 each, and today I'm meeting with someone for the leaf blower and possibly the chainsaw. I also have tentative plans to sell a bike U-lock on Saturday.

 

I attribute the success of these listings to the fact that I included a picture of the item in all listings. Even if I didn't have a picture of my actual item, I got a picture off Amazon to show the buyer what the item looked like. 

 

The second important thing to do is provide a phone number. If you don't want to reveal your cell phone or home phone, get a free number from Google Voice that you can have forwarded to your cell.

 

The third point that seems to have made a difference this time for me, is to encourage buyers to text you. ALL my contacts have been initiated by text this time because I encouraged people to leave a message or text me and I'll get back to them. With my Google voice number, it forwards the text to my cell phone and google voice account, where I can reply either way. Did you know you can be logged into more than one gmail account at one time? This allows you to work on blogging on one account and if your google voice is linked to another account, you can just click over.

 

The fourth thing that goes without saying, is to price your item appropriately and describe it accurately. If it is scratched or compromised in some manner, just tell people up front rather than wasting everyone's time with a meet that surprises the buyer when they see the condition of the item.

 

If you have some higher priced garage sale stuff, I highly recommend listing on Craigslist and attempting to sell before the sale. Plus you'll get a list of contact numbers or emails to let people know of an upcoming garage sale.

 

Good Luck 

Publix Weekly Ad 1/13-1/19 Exciting Additions

Its been a weird week with the Publix ad, first we get a really early sneak peek on Sunday with the BOGO's HERE, and then nobody seemed to post ALL the matchups or the remainder of the ad - at least no where on the internet I found. Anyway, I had to wait for the morning paper to find out the remainder of the ad! I was pleasantly surprised by some of the other sale items and I'm sure you will be too. So, they're not really organized by any order other than the page of the ad, I've bolded my favorites that have matching coupons in the newspaper inserts from 1/2 and 1/9, or target printables found HERE.

 

Hormel Country Crock Side Dishes, 21-24 oz tub 2 for $5

Kraft Shredded Cheese or chunk, cracker cut or cubes, 4.5 – 9.6 oz pkg 2 for $4

Vita Sliced Smoked Salmon 2 for $6

Perdue Short Cuts Chicken or Turkey Beast 9 oz 2 for $6

Sabrett Beef Franks 16 oz, 2 for $5

Johnsonville Cooked Brats 13.5 – 16 oz, 2 for $6

Perdue Breaded Chicken Breast Chunks, 26 oz, 6.49

12 pk Coke, 12oz cans, B2G1, save up to 4.99 on 3

Dannon Activia Yogurt 4pk, 3 for $6

Publix sour cream $0.75

Jello Snacks, 6 pk, 3 for $6

Organic valley Organic Milk, ½ gal, 2 for $7

Healthy Choice Café Steamers Entrees 8 – 12.3oz, 5 for 410

Oscar Mayer Zip Pack Lunch Meats, 9-10 oz pkg, 2 for $5

Kraft American Cheese Slices, 12 oz, 2 for $4

Kleenex Tissues, 75-200 ct, 4 for $5

Angel Soft Bath Tissue,  reg 24 roll, dble 12 roll, $5.49

Purex Laundry Detergent, 100 oz, $4.99

Doritos 12 oz, 2 for $6

Finish Automatic Dishwasher Detergent, 20 ct box $2.99

Fantastik Cleaner, 26-32 oz, 2 for $4

Garnier Fructis Hair Products 5 – 13 oz, $2.89

 

Organizing Clutter

I haven't come out and publicly listed my resolutions for the year because I guess I figure they're actually lifestyle changes that I need to work on ALL the time, not just because its a new year. Plus it seems like they would be the same as last year -

1. lose weight (15 lbs) and win the battle with the evil scale

2. get all our groceries and household supplies for free using coupons, rolling gift cards and rebates

3. become more minimalist by getting by with less stuff

As the middle of the first month approaches, I've been dieting and have lost 5 lbs so far, unfortunately I continue to battle the weekend habits of drinking beer and eating chicken wings which makes me gain what I lost. So my NET LOSS is only 2 lbs. Its an ugly pattern that probably will always be my monkey, so I'm going to avoid the reality by just weighing myself once a week - forget that daily yo-yo crap. I think I'll pick Fridays to weigh in - should be a good day after biking and walking all week, but before the weekend splurge on wings and beer. Or I could give up wings. But that wouldn't be fun and I want life to be fun so forget it.

 

Anyway, my next resolution to get free groceries is off to a great start since we've only spent $42 in cash and have gotten all our $800 in groceries free, and $60 in gift cards already, so we're well on our way. We did it last year so its not going to be hard to do again.

 

The hardest thing for me to do is to become minimalist. I love the idea and the result (my new kitchen and bathrooms are there already!), but its really hard to organize and get rid of stuff. I just bought another PC last week (like I really needed it?!) so I needed to rearrange my computer station - it just can't handle 5 computers, a couple monitors and a couple printers, plus all the peripherals like speakers, webcams, external drives, itune chargers and other usb stuff. So as luck would have it, there was a cheap computer L shaped desk for sale on craigslist in our neighborhood and I got it. I've already spent hours cleaning off the desk, moving all the units, cleaning, putting up the desk and setting up the new area.

 

However, there is a pile of boxes in the middle of the room with all the papers that were in the file cabinet I had to move. I figured I might be able to just throw away all the paper in the cabinet and fill it up with the stuff from the bookshelf, and move that into the spare room for more stockpile space. So here's my criteria to review and toss

1. Do I need it? (This is the hard question - some things I want. If that's the case it needs to be either beautiful or functional and maybe I'll set it aside to decide later in the process.

2. Is it still relevant? (Easy one, if I don't own the equipment, or I already took the trip, or paid the bill its tossed) 

3. Can I get this information on the internet?

4. Do I need the original? If not scan it and put it on the computer.

5. Keep it if it meets all criteria.

I'm sure there will be stuff I WANT but don't NEED. Like do I need all the race numbers from all my 10K and Marathon runs with my time and place noted on the back? No, but it will be tough to toss them. It just wouldn't be the same to scan it and have it on the computer. Anyway, its my big challenge of the next couple days to get all those boxes emptied and the new area straightened out, then you can see the picture. The picture of the desk above is my current cubby hole corner - which is a mess, at least my box of coupons on the floor there is neat and tidy.

Publix Sneak Peek 1/13-1/19

BOGOs:

Del Monte can vegetables 11-15.25 oz save up to 1.29

Progresso soup 18-19 oz can save up to 2.29

Oscar mayer white turkey stack packs or turkey variety packs or ham and cheese loaf 16 oz save up to 3.99

Tyson chicken nuggets or breast tenders or patties, country fried steak, or steak fingers, breaded, fully cooked 20.5 to 29 oz save up to 6.59

Hellmann's mayo 30 oz save up to 4.93

Starkist chunk light tuna in water 4 pack save up to 3.95

Pompeian extra virgin olive oil 32 oz save up to 11.99

Swiss miss hot cocoa asst varieties 8 or 10 ct box save up to 1.99

Lawry's 30 minute marinade asst varieties 12 oz bottle save up to 2.95

Smuckers preserves or marmalade or spread, jelly, or jam selected varieties 12.75 to 18 oz jar (excluding apple,grape, low sugar grape, and red raspberry) save up to 3.19

Ocean spray juice cocktail or juice drink or no sugar added 100% cranberry juice asst varieties 101 or 101.4 oz bottle save up to 5.39

Progresso 100% natural broth chicken, regular or reduced sodium or beef flavor 32 oz carton save up to 2.59

Welch's essentials juice cocktail blend concord grape, concord grape cranberry, or white grape peach mango 64 oz bottle save up to 3.25

Ocean spray craisins asst varieties dried cranberries or trail mix 6 oz bag save up to 2.25

General mills cheerios cereal asst varieties 10 to 14 oz or frosted cheerios 17.2 oz save up to 3.99

Duncan Hines brownie mix or decadent cake mix asst varieties 16.76 to 21.4 oz save up to 2.59

Ronzoni pasta selected varieties 12 to 16 oz box excluding healthy harvest, lasagna, jumbo shells, manicotti, and garden delight save up to 1.39

Uncle bens whole grain white rice long grain, chicken, sweet tomato, broccoli cheddar, or garden veg 4.4 to 5.5 oz save up to 1.99

Kellogg's cereal asst varieties frosted flakes, apple jacks, corn pops, froot loops, or rice krispies 12 to 16.5 oz save up to 3.99

Planter's cashews halves and pieces or mixed nuts 16 or 17 oz can save up to 6.29

Lays potato chips 10.5 to 11 oz bag excludes kettle cooked, baked, light and natural save up to 3.99

Cheez it crackers or party mix or snack mix 9.75 to 14 oz box save up to 3.29

Nabisco single serve tray packs or variety or munch packs, Oreo cakesters soft snack cakes or Kraft handi snacks asst varieties 12 or 15 ct 9.45 to 25.2 oz pkg save up to 5.99

Pepperidge farm farmhouse bread asst varieties 24 oz loaf save up to 3.89

Kit kat snack size treats or Reeses, almond joy, Hershey's milk choc or cookies and cream jumbo bag save up to 5.99

Thomas English muffins ast varieties 11 to 13 oz pkg save up to 3.69

Nestle coffee mate liquid creamer 32 oz bottle excluding flavored save up to 2.29

Lender's bagels asst varieties in the dairy section save up to 1.79

Red baron pizza asst varieties 14.76 to 22.63 oz excluding pan save up to 5.79

Cool whip 8 oz bowl save up to 1.49

Stouffer French bread pizza asst varieties 2 count save up to 3.15

Super pretzel baked soft pretzel 6 ct save up to 2.99

Jimmy dean d-lights sandwiches or chicken biscuit 4 ct save up to 5.99

Power of fruit all fruit bars asst flavors 6 pk save up to 3.39

Aunt Jemima waffles 10 ct save up to 2.29

No nonsense ten toes socks or everyday comfort asst varieties 6 ct save up to 5.99

Purina cat chow indoor or complete formula or kitten chow nurturing formula 3.5 lb bag save up to 4.99

Kellogg's crunchy nut cereal roasted nut and honey or golden honey nut save up to 3.99

Keebler fudge shoppe jumbo sticks asst varieties save up to 3.49

Arnold sandwich thins asst varieties select or naturals 8 ct save up to 2.99

Lysol neutra air sanitizing spray fresh or morning linen 10 oz save up to 3.59

Complete multi purpose solution12 oz save up to 8.99

Schick disposable razors asst varieties 3 to 12 ct pkg save up to 6.99

10 for $10.00Pasta Roni or rice a roni
Betty Crocker potatoes asst varieties
Pepperidge Farm goldfish crackers or grahams assorted
Publix print paper towels 1 roll
Banquet meals assorted
Hunts pasta sauce
Glaceau vitaminwater or smartwater 20 oz or 1 liter
Crusty white baguette 8 oz loaf
Michelinas entrees assorted 5.5 to 9.5 oz
Betty Crocker hamburger helper or chicken or tuna
Jolly Time microwave popcorn assorted
Large red delicious apples 10 lbs for 10.00

via

Food For Bill

Lots of great sales this week at the grocery store #Publix, so I scrounged through my coupons and came up with a good shop, spending $1.49 and saving $192. Here's the plan I made and it was a little off due to produce prices. I don't usually do such big shops but I had a lot of stacking that required I use my salad fixings for fillers. I always try to follow my rule to keep the count of items over or equal to the count of coupons to avoid manager override - it just avoids unnecessary intervention and explanations. Our favorite cashier was working so she just whipped through my pile of 86 coupons. Is this extreme? Like the tv show? Probably, a bit - but I didn't clear the shelves at the store, and we will be giving away most of the cereal, trail mix, peanut butter and pasta.

 

Actually, we were out motorcycling last weekend and noticed the homeless guy under the bridge on Highway 301, sitting right on the guardrail in his usual spot. We decided to give him a bag of food, so we loaded up a Publix bag of crackers, PB, trail mix, peanuts, gatorade, a flashlight and some BBQ pork. DH brought it to him and asked his name, which is Bill. Well, Bill has been living on the streets for a number of years and hangs in the same spot because thats where people know to find him. He was very appreciative and friendly. So, we're planning on contributing regularly to Bill the man on the street - so tomorrow he'll get another bag of food.

 

I checked our tracking log for last year and we did one shop better than this last year where we saved $197, so this is the second best we've ever done.

 

6-Jan	86		203.95	80.06	124.10	tax	1.49	86	-99.27%
Product	qty	price	subtl	-B1G1	-Q		total	Q#	Q details
bread	1	1.45	1.45				1.45
banana	2	0.31	0.62				0.62
serrano pepper	1	0.14	0.14				0.14
lettuce	1	1.69	1.69				1.69
mushrooms	1	1.50	1.50				1.50
garlic clove	1	0.06	0.06				0.06
romaine	1	1.89	1.89				1.89
eat smart veggies	1	1.67	1.67				1.67
cucumber	1	0.89	0.89				0.89
ramen noodles	3	0.22	0.66				0.66
organic carrots	1	0.99	0.99				0.99
Batter Blaster BOGO	2	3.99	7.98	3.99	4.00		-0.01	4	$1/1 WHFDS+$1/1 MQ print
Planters Trail Mix 6 oz BOGO	8	1.99	15.92	7.96	8.00		-0.04	4	$2/2 TQ
crest prohealth toothpaste 4.2 oz	1	3.45	3.45		3.45	0.24	0.24	1	free
Dayquil + Nyquil	4	1.29	5.16		6.00	0.36	-0.48	2	$3/1 12-26pg
Ronzoni Garden delight Pasta  BOGO	14	1.71	23.94	11.97	14.00		-2.03	14	$1/1 10-3ss
Special K cereal 11.4-14 oz BOGO	8	4.09	32.72	16.36	22.36		-6.00	10	(2)BOGO print+$1/2 MQ 1-2ss+(2)$1/2 TQ
Al Fresco Chckn Sasg RAINCK BOGO	6	5.49	32.94	16.47	12.00		4.47	6	$2/1 print
Egg Beaters BOGO	6	2.79	16.74	8.37	3.30		5.07	6	$0.55/1 peelie
Peter Pan PB BOGO	10	1.99	19.90	9.95	15.00		-5.05	20	$1/1 PQ 12-12rp+$0.50/1 MQ1-2ss
Green Giant Veg	4	1.00	4.00		2.00		2.00	4	$0.50/1 print
reusable publix bag	1	0.99	0.99		0.99		0.00	1	free bag wyb tostitos $10 worth
Scott TP	3	3.89	11.67		9.00	0.82	3.49	6	$2/1 TQ x1/8+ $1/1 MQ print
Ziploc snack bags	2	2.00	4.00		1.00	0.28	3.28	1	$1/2 print
Tostitos chips BOGO	2	4.99	9.98	4.99	1.00		3.99	1	$1/2 peelie
Tostitos salsa	1	3.00	3.00		2.00		1.00	2	$1 dip wyb chips peelie + $1/1 TQ dip wyb 2 chips
$/$$ Publix coupon		0.00	0.00		15.00		-15.00	3	$5/$50 PQ x1/18, $5off$30
$/$$ coupon		0.00	0.00		5.00		-5.00	1	$5/$25 competitor x1/08