Category: Frugal Living Tips

Would you like to lower your heart rate and stress level? How about elevating your mood and wellbeing?

Heart disease is the number one cause of death in Americans. And unchecked stress leads to physical problems such as heart disease. 

The good news is, you can lower your stress and improve your health by taking up a hobby. 

If you’re looking for a stress-free you in the new year, why not shake things up a bit?

Read on for 5 fun and cheap hobbies to try in 2019.  

1. Chess

The origins of chess are over 1,000 years old. But no one knows who invented the game. Most credit the birth of the game to several people. But no matter who invented it, it’s a fun and challenging hobby. 

A portable chess set can be yours for under $20. The return on investment is huge. Chess benefits your memory. Studies show chess improves reading skills.

There’s encouraging, though inconclusive, evidence that challenging activities like chess help fight Alzheimer’s. 

2. Book Club

Gather some friends and create a book club. Reading is another activity that’s good for your brain. Social gatherings are also beneficial for your physical and mental health. 

Serve healthy drinks and snacks and enjoy your friends while discussing the most recent read. A group of anywhere from 5 to 15 people works great, and you can get the books free from your local library.

3. Ballroom Dancing

Ballroom dancing combines a fun work out with socializing. It’s great for your mental and physical health. Learning new steps and keeping in shape keeps you young and energetic. 

There are lots of affordable dance studios. And you won’t even need a dance partner. If starting in a group makes you nervous, take a few private lessons first. Read more on dance lessons at that link.

4. Adult Coloring Books

This is a fun and entertaining hobby that’s also portable and inexpensive. There are so many books to choose from with different themes and gorgeous images.

Coloring is a great stress reliever. Let your mind wander as you turn beautiful patterns into bright, colorful masterpieces. From abstract patterns to animals, coloring is a quiet hobby for the introvert.

Or you could gather with a group of friends and several coloring books and make it a social hobby. 

Use colored pencils, crayons, markers, or even watercolor paints. Be as meticulous or easy going as your heart desires. 

5. Blogging

Blogging is another fun and inexpensive hobby as long as you have access to a computer. There are free blogging sites if you’re new to blogging.

If you enjoy writing and have a lot to say, your own blog is a perfect hobby. Write what you want and share it with others. You never know, your blog could go viral!

Cheap Hobbies: Wrapping Up

There are so many cheap hobbies, it’s hard to choose! But pick one and try it. If you don’t like it, try something else. Don’t sit and watch TV this year. Do something fun and challenging for your brain. 

Whatever you do, have fun! Read more about fun hobbies and crafts here. 

Original man cave ideas are tough to come by, especially if you’re on a budget. But saving money and designing an awesome man cave is possible if you know how to shop and know what to look for.

You don’t want to spend your life savings on a room you’ll use to watch the weekly game–but you also don’t want to build the exact same generic man cave every other has. Part of having a place to yourself is making it yours, after all. 

Maybe this is part of your house redesign or your spouse’s dream.

The good news is you can do it without . Here are 8 cheap man cave ideas that will help finish your set up faster than you thought possible.

1. Do Inventory

The best way to save money on your man cave is to identify what you already own that’s going to go inside of your space. There may be some obvious things, like a TV or a sofa, but think about the little things, too. Maybe even do some spring cleaning of the garage or attic.

Before you worry about any other man cave ideas on a budget, see what you can come up with that would look good in your new space. Maybe you’ll surprise yourself by digging out something useful that will make your friends think your space is awesome.

2. What’s Your Space Like?

One more prep tip, then we’ll dive into some original cheap man cave ideas.

Unless you own a huge house with multiple empty rooms, chances are that you have one location for your man cave available: an empty room, your basement, or an extension room like a metal garage (Victory Buildings has some sweet ones if you’re in the market).

Consider your spacing-what do you have room for and what might not fit? Honestly, this is an overrated tip for saving money. You might buy too much furniture and realize you don’t have room for it, then have to resell it or be stuck with it. 

Don’t take away from your budget by buying unnecessary things.

3. Thrift Stores Are Your Friend

Hey, don’t judge thrift stores. In terms of do it yourself man cave ideas without going broke, they may just be your secret weapon.

Here’s what you should do: make a list of all the thrift stores in your area and hit them all in one fell swoop. You’ll be shocked how much $100 to $200 can buy you and what people give away to thrift stores. 

Seriously–furniture, TVs, movies, carpets. All the big things you need can be bought for pennies on the dollar at these stores. Hit them first.

4. Become A Master Craftsmen

If you want to make the process of building your man cave more fulfilling, considering building some of the elements of it. YouTube is home to hundreds of DIY workshops for building anything from desks to home bars.

You’re sure to find whatever you’re looking for in a video that’s less than twenty minutes long.

5. Discounts!

Search sites like Groupon and Coupons.com for discounts on some of your bigger purchases. You may be able to save 20% or more on items like TVs or couches by waiting an extra weekend or two for new sales.

Every dollar counts, after all.

6. Man Cave-Share

Here’s a funky idea for how to build a man cave on a budget: pool together cash with some of your buddies and build one together. Seriously, why not get the people who are going to use the space to help chip in?

The truth is, the person that owns the house should probably contribute the most. But you’d be surprised how many friends might be willing to chip in $50 for a minifridge if it means they’ll have a place to drink beer on Sundays.

Food for thought. I mean, Airbnb and Uber did it and that worked out, didn’t it?

7. Sports Equipment Decorations

You ready to kill two birds with one stone? Okay, here goes: garage cleanup and man cave art. 

How? Use your old sports equipment to make furniture and decorations for your new pad. Hang picture frames from a hockey stick on the wall or use baseball bats to make something that stands.

You can easily repurpose stuff that has been cluttering the garage by looking at Pinterest or any other site. Just type in “sports decorations”.

8. Save Your Bottles!

Similar to number seven is the advice to repurpose your stuff. Just this time, you’ll be repurposing domestic beer bottles or saving up beer caps.

Seriously, you can make tons of fun man cave art and gadgets out of recycled alcohol vessels. Make a table out of beer caps, lights out of beer bottles, or crush up some cans and make something a little funky.

Even though you’ll lose your $.05 deposit, you’ll save a few bucks by getting thrifty with your leftover beer paraphernalia. At any rate, it’s a good way to set the done for what’s about to happen in the room you’re designing.

Man Cave Ideas, Wrapped-Up

When it comes man cave ideas, the key is to decide on what you can do given the space and budget that you have, then to get creative. Truly, you don’t have to break the bank to build an awesome man cave that your friends will love come over to enjoy on game day.

Some tips we recommend include going to thrift stores, building your own stuff using YouTube tutorials, and making “manly” art with things like beer bottles and old sports equipment. If it’s any consolation, every penny you save can go towards buying a slightly bigger flat screen TV.

For more frugal living and craft tips, check out our website. Good luck with your build.

If you look at most of the reasons that businesses fail in the first few years, you’ll find they often have to do with mismanaged money. If you’re looking to get a commercial loan for dedicated office space for your business, you have to be smart.

More businesses are going office-less, so if you’re going to swim upstream, you need a pretty good reason for it.

Here are four things you need to know before you get a commercial loan.

1. Don’t Bite off More Than You Can Chew

It’s vital when you’re applying for a commercial loan for your business that you’re not committing to something that’s way too large for you. If you’re moving from a home office into a new space, you don’t need to go for 10,000 square feet unless you’ve also got an investor.

In most cases, your move to a new commercial is going to connect to a growth spurt that might not last forever.

Lots of landlords avoid small businesses or new tenants because there are so many small businesses that come and go. However, if you’ve got a proven business model that works, you can show that this space is perfect for you.

Keep things economical at first and stay small until you really need to grow.

Buying into a large space is going to eat up your costs quickly. If you’re also paying for utilities at that space, you’re going to have to consider all the additional costs that come with it. The heat, electricity, and maintenance fees only go up as you take on more space with your business.

Smaller is better for most small businesses. Going too big too fast is a common and often fatal mistake for a small business.

2. Think About Timing

Along with that smaller space issue, you should think about only getting a lease that’s as long as you need it. While you might get a deal on a 10-year lease, a one or two-year lease is more vital to you when you’re first starting out.

If you’re tied to a lease and your business tanks, you’re going to go bankrupt.

It’s no better to grow beyond your control and end up in a place that’s too small. Having a space that’s too small for your business is going to end up leaving you stuck waiting until a lease is up to grow.

This is a terrible feeling as a business owner and will make you feel like you’re wasting your time.

When you’re dealing with a landlord that wants to be a part of your growth, they might bend their own policy to lower their leases from five or ten years down to two. If you can show that you’re a committed business owner with your eyes on the prize, they’ll help you get what you’re looking for.

Businesses of every size are eschewing large offices for workforces that are dispersed and working from home. People with commercial spaces need to be flexible to survive, so keep this in mind when you’re looking for space.

3. Everything in Life is Negotiable

While you might think the landlord has all the power when it comes to leases, you’re not totally powerless. Leases are as negotiable as anything else.

The number on your lease or the condition that the place is in are all up for discussion.

If a landlord wants to rent out a space that clearly needs some repairs, you could offer to do that in order to get a lower rent. If you’re in an industry where it makes sense to be handy around a building, you could convince them that you deserve to pay less in exchange.

Improvement dollars can last much longer than what a landlord gets in rent when a building gets appraised later on.

When you know that there are other, better spaces in a building, you don’t have to pay as much as the tenants in those spaces. You should feel comfortable asking for what you think space is worth.

Most landlords try to add annual increases that go as high as 10% a year, so make sure you negotiate that. It should state clearly in your contract that you’re only willing to pay a certain amount per year. This keeps you able to build your business easily without worrying about outpacing inflation.

Once you have a set price, you can get a better loan.

4. Don’t Take Out More Than Necessary

If you’ve worked hard to keep all the costs down, don’t go and blow all of your work by taking out more than you need. Loans for small businesses should go through a federal program if possible.

This ensures you won’t get taken for a ride on fees and interest.

Above all else, only take out what you need, not what you think you could pay back. When you take out based on how much you assume you could pay, you always inevitably spend more.

When you focus on money to be made versus what the bare minimum number is, you’ll estimate more loosely and end up in debt.

When speaking with a lending institution, having a grounded figure in mind will win them over to believe you know what you’re doing. When you have a figure that reflects how much it really costs to get s space you’re looking for, it shows you’re fiscally responsible.

This will please commercial lenders more than anything. Just ask the experts at Assets America, Inc to find out more.

A Commercial Loan is Easy To Get Into

While a commercial loan agreement is easy to get tangled up into, it’s not quite as easy to get out of. If you’re worried about the financial future of your business, loans might not be the right move.

You need to protect your assets before you promise them to anyone at a future date.

If you’re looking to get this business going with little money at all, check out our guide for more.

When Veterans Day rolls around each year, do you tend to think about all the men who have served our country?

That’s not uncommon. 

With movies like Band of Brothers, it’s easy to forget that each girl in the military has made a difference too. And this might make it difficult for women to consider a career in the military. But that’s a mistake.

Do You Want to Be a Girl in the Military?

Then do it! 

If you need a little more inspiration, we’ve put together this small list of seven women veterans to get you started. 

1. Deborah Sampson 

During the Revolutionary War, women were not permitted to enlist and serve. But that didn’t stop Sampson. 

Disguised as a man, she enlisted in 1778 using the alias Robert Shirtliffe. She served for three years until she developed an illness in 1781. Because the illness left her with brain fever, she needed to be treated.

The physician treating her discovered her secret but didn’t out her. Instead, she was given a private discharge and enough money to return home.

To this day, Sampson is one of a small number of women with military combat experience in the Revolutionary War.

2. Cathay Williams

Williams was the first African American woman to enlist. And because things hadn’t progressed much for women by the Civil War, Williams was also disguised as a man.

Born to an enslaved mother and a free father in Independence, Missouri in 1844, Williams worked as a house slave in Jefferson City, Missouri.

At the age of 17, dressed as a man, she enlisted under the false name William Cathay. Shortly after her enlistment though, she contracted smallpox and was hospitalized. 

After that, she was frequently hospitalized and eventually the post surgeon discovered she was a woman and informed the post commander.

She was honorably discharged. But that didn’t stop her. She signed up with the all-black regiment that would eventually become part of the legendary Buffalo Soldiers.

3. Elsie S. Ott

By WWII, women no longer had to hide their gender to enlist.

Though still not permitted in active combat, they played important roles behind the scenes. This was the case with Ott.

In 1941, Ott signed up for the Army Nurse Corps and was given commission as 2nd Lieutenant. During this time, wounded personnel had to be cared for on site. And this was becoming increasingly problematic. 

With improved aeronautics, the army decided to try evacuating the wounded by plane. Ott was the first nurse to prepare for an evacuation of the injured. She was given just 24 hours notice to supply and prepare the plane for her passengers.

But she did a stellar job and her efforts contributed to the advancement of military medical care. Two months later, she became the first woman to receive the U.S. Air Medal. And nothing makes you feel more confident that having a medal. You can learn more about that here. 

4. Grace Murray Hopper

In 1943, Hopper joined the United States Naval Reserves and was assigned to the Bureau of Ordinance Computation Project. She became the third programmer of the Mark I – the world’s first large-scale computer.

She soon went on to master the Mark II, Mark III and the UNIVAC I. Her work with these now ancient computers allowed her to create a program that translated symbolic math codes into machine language. 

In 1966, Hopper retired from the Naval Reserves, but returned a year later to help standardize the Navy’s computer programs and languages. She was promoted to Captain in 1973 and was appointed special advisor to Commander in 1977.  

At the age of 76, she was promoted to Commodore in 1983 and eventually achieved the rank of rear admiral – one of the few women to do so. 

The military’s Cray XE6 “Hopper” supercomputer is named after her. 

5. Tammy Duckworth 

Senator Duckworth served 23 years in the U.S. Army Reserves, where she trained as a helicopter pilot. But she was no “weekend warrior.” 

In 2004, while working on her doctorate, she was called to active duty. She was sent to Iraq to fly helicopters that same year. When her helicopter was shot down by a grenade, Duckworth sacrificed both of her legs in the accident. A 13-hour surgery saved her right arm, but she has only partial use of it.

As a result of her bravery, she was awarded the Purple Heart in 2004. 

During all of this, she managed to balance work and family too. She continues to fly as a civilian pilot and has even completed several marathons. And she completed that doctorate as well. 

6. Eileen Collins

Like Hopper and Duckworth, Collins took to the sky. WAY up to the sky.

Collins joined the Air Force in 1979, where she served as a flight instructor, aircraft commander and instructor pilot for nine years. From 1986-1989 she served as an assistant professor of mathematics at the Air Force Academy and graduated from the Air Force Test Pilot School in 1990.

While at the Test Pilot School, NASA selected Collins for the astronaut program. Forever on the fast track to success, she became an astronaut in 1991. By 1995, she was the first woman to pilot a space shuttle. And in 1999, she earned the distinction as the first woman shuttle commander. 

7. Bea Arthur

Arthur of The Golden Girls fame once served in the Marine Corps, where she drove military trucks. In fact, she was one of the first members of the Women’s Reserve.

In early 1943, Arthur enlisted under her original name, Bernice Frankel. She was just 21 and, by many accounts, a handful. Marine records noted her as being argumentative and overly aggressive.

Even so, her particular brand of moxie had her promoted from corporal to sergeant to staff sergeant in the course of two years. She was honorably discharged in September or 1945 and headed to the stage. 

She would eventually become a Hollywood icon for strong, outspoken women – which was no easy feat in the 1970s.  

Is Military Life Right for You?

If you feel that in your heart you could be a girl in the military, the best way to find out is to give it a try. 

You may just make a future list of amazing women veterans.

In the meantime, keep checking back with our family life blog to inspire you to “be the best that you can be” at home.

Who among us doesn’t watch shampoo commercials with envy for the models’ lustrous locks? The problem is that having gorgeous hair is those models’ job. They and their employers invest thousands in treatments, trims, products, and styling to get that look.

We can’t promise you’ll be waving your shiny hair around in a meadow, but there’s still hope. There are plenty of ways to get gorgeous hair without blowing your life’s savings on hair care products.

For beautiful hair you can afford, try these tips for great savings.

Tips to Save on Hair Care Products

Most of us can’t afford the highest of high-end hair care like Cuvée Beauty, but it turns out it’s not necessary. Here’s how to save on your favorite hair care products.

1. Cut Back Your Shower Routine

It might sound obvious but one of the best ways to pay less for a hair product is to use less of it. We’re not suggesting that you abandon shampoo and conditioner. However, you should use shampoo as little as possible.

Instead of shampooing every day on autopilot, wait to shampoo until your hair is oily. You’ll probably find yourself shampooing two or three times per week instead of seven.

In fact, shampooing your hair too much will strip the natural oils and dry out your hair. You’ll end up spending even more money buying hydrating products you shouldn’t need in the first place.

2. Experiment With Dosages

Another effective way to cut down on your hair products is to use them in smaller amounts. Most of us squeeze a certain amount of shampoo or conditioner into our hands without thinking about it.

Instead, start paying attention to how much you use. Use less and less each day until you find the point when your results suffer. Use a touch more product than that an voila, you’ve stopped wasting hair product.

3. Coupon, Coupon, and Coupon More

Hair products are a couponer’s heaven. They’re some of the easiest items to find coupons for, and you can score huge savings if you plan well.

On top of your local paper, there are often printable coupons for hair products. With their long shelf lives, it’s easy to stock up on them too. 

4. Go the DIY Route

Making your own laundry detergent and household cleaner has become a popular way to save cash. Did you know you can do the same with your hair products?

There are countless recipes online that let you make your own shampoo. It’s also easy to find recipes for conditioner, hair masks, and other hair products too. If you’re planning to try them, now’s the time to start saving your spent bottles and containers.

We have a word of warning, though. Not all DIY recipes are cheaper than store bought alternatives. Do a careful cost analysis before you spend $20 on ingredients to make a $2 bottle of conditioner.

5. Get Every Last Drop

If you added up how much money you’ve thrown away at the bottom of product bottles, you’d be kicking yourself. Over time, the leftover product you toss out adds up.

Instead, try some simple tactics to get every last drop out of your product bottles. One option is to use the old “add water and shake” trick. A few drops of water can pull make the product accessible without diluting it too much.

It’s even more effective, though, to use a tiny spatula. There are spatulas with the specific purpose of clearing out makeup and hair product bottles.

6. Sample It Up

The best way to save on something is to get it for free. You might be surprised how easy it is to score free hair products if you know where to look.

Free samples are common marketing techniques for hair product manufacturers. In many cases, brands have forms on their website you can fill out to give free samples.

There are also third-party websites with the sole purpose of finding free samples for you. Keep in mind that some of these sites end up sending you a lot of spam, though, so be prepared to delete some emails.

7. Keep Your Styles Simple

We’d all love to hop out of bed with a flowing mane, but that’s not reality. For most of us, styling our hair is the most time-consuming part of our daily routine. Beyond time, though, many styles require a lot of expensive products too.

If your mornings are full of sprays, gels, pins, shine enhancers and more, maybe it’s time for a change. Cruise the web for more natural styles you can try that don’t require so many products.

Keep an eye out for styles that keep heat to a minimum too. Heat tools can damage your hair so you’ll need pricey products or treatments to keep frizz at bay. That’s a recipe for taking more money out of your pocket.

8. Get Organized

Most of our money-saving tips have focused on how to use fewer products and save on them when you buy them. There’s another common reason we waste money though: buying duplicate products because you’ve lost yours.

While this doesn’t happen as much with shampoo and conditioner, it’s the scourge of bobby pins and ponytail holders. You buy a 100-pack and seem to run out after only throwing out a dozen of them. The rest are lost somewhere under furniture or in purses.

Instead, find a way to organize your hair supplies in one reliable place. You’d be surprised how long your hair products will last when you use them until they wear out.

Gorgeous Hair for Less Green

There’s a reason wealthy people always seem to have better hair. The easiest way to make your hair look its best is to dump money into high-end products and stylists.

That isn’t the only way, though. The tips above can help you have all the hair care products you need without blowing your budget.

For more awesome ways to save without compromising your style, check out our frugal living blog.