Did you know that 11% of US households own a recreational vehicle? In fact, it’s estimated that there are more than 9 million households in North America that owns an RV. 

Having a motorhome or a camper trailer can be a great way to travel and save money, but RVs can be expensive, which is why many people don’t look into buying one. However, there are several ways you can reduce the cost of your RV purchase. Read on to find out our 5 tips on how to buy a trailer for less.

1. Work Out Your Budget And Save Money

When it comes to how to buy a travel trailer, you need to work out your budget and get saving money for it, just like any big purchase. Buying a trailer outright will often mean that you save money in the long run. However, if you can’t save money fast enough and want an RV sooner rather than later, then you could look at getting a loan or making monthly payments.

Whether you’re buying the RV outright or making regular payments, you need to work out what you can afford. This figure needs to be realistic, so make sure you calculate your finances correctly. It might help to know the cost of RVs too, so during your budgeting, you might choose to research the costs of RVs that you want.

You might also decide to plan how you can save more money for the purchase or payments. For example, you might look at ways you can reduce your monthly outgoings, like switching electricity suppliers or choosing to eat in more. 

2. Research RVs

If you haven’t already looked at RVs, then you need to do this now. Your budget should help to inform you about what type of trailer you can afford. There are two options available for those looking into how to buy a camping trailer; new and used.

If you have a small budget, then looking at used or pre-owned RVs will be the right option for you. Remember, pre-owned doesn’t necessarily mean old and nearly broken, it just means it will save you more money. Have a look at the best camping trailers for sale now to see if you can find one in your budget.

New RVs will cost much more money. However, they’re often cleaner, have done no miles, and come with all the latest gadgets, so if you have a hefty budget have a look at new trailers.

Price isn’t the only thing to consider when researching trailers.

You also need to think about the practicalities of the RV. For example, look at trailers that have enough space and bedrooms, the right kind of mileage, and ones that offer the kind of living you’ll need. If you only plan to use the trailer for a week or two every couple of months then you won’t need loads of space, whereas, if you want to travel a lot then you might want to find a more spacious trailer.

3. Look Online

Remember, when it comes to how to buy a used travel trailer, RV dealerships aren’t the only place you can look. You can also use the web to find RVs near you. Look on Facebook, Craig’s List, or other local apps where people might be selling RVs.

Many people have bought RVs online before and had no problems. However, there are some horror stories of people buying RVs, so make sure you arrange a viewing of the RV and ask the seller any questions before buying it. 

If there are no camping trailers for sale in your area, why not expand the search and look a little further afield? After all, you could go and pick it up, and bringing the RV back could be your first trip.

4. Negotiate the Price

How to buy a used camping trailer 101 starts with negotiating the price. Many people assume that the price is non-negotiable and as a result, could end up paying more than the RV is worth.

Upon inspecting the RV and asking questions about it, don’t be afraid to negotiate the price. Look for any potential problems with the RV and use them to your advantage in trying to lower the price. For example, if you’re looking at a used RV and it’s done a lot of miles, you might be able to ask for a smaller price tag. 

RV dealerships might not be as flexible as private sellers in regards to price, but there are always options. For example, if you’re buying from a dealership you might ask for the basic RV and get the seller to remove the extras, which could help lower the cost. Alternatively, you could ask about the dealership’s payment plans or ask for money off by trading in a car or RV that you don’t want anymore.

5. Get a Fixer-Upper

Those who are on a really tight budget might look into buying a fixer-upper. These RVs might be much cheaper, but you will need to dedicate time and treat the project with respect. However, the great thing about getting a fixer-upper or creating your own RV is that you can design it exactly how you want it.

You can find many guides online and communities of people who can offer advice on how to transform a van or old RV. Converting a van or upgrading an old RV could cost as little as $1,000 (without the cost of buying the van), however, this depends on the work that needs to be done and the cost of materials used. 

Save Money by Following Our Guide on How to Buy a Trailer for Less

No matter what your budget is, there are plenty of options for getting a camping trailer and living the RV dream. Try implementing some of our tips on how to buy a trailer and see if you can get on the road sooner.

Check out some of our other articles for more tips on how to save money and travel around in your trailer for less.

According to recent statistics, 60 percent of people have never learned to sew. While sewing was once seen as a basic household skill, the rise of cheap, convenient clothing stores has made sewing less and less common. 

So if you are new to sewing, don’t worry—you aren’t alone! Figuring out a sewing machine and all the sewing tips can be overwhelming, but there are a few tools and tricks you can use to get the hang of things.

Here are eleven sewing tips and tricks that will help set you on the right path. 

Top Sewing Tips: Get the Right Machine

If sewing is a new pursuit for you, you don’t necessarily want to get the flashiest, most expensive sewing machine with all the bells and whistles. That will be more difficult to master, and isn’t necessary for the basic projects you’ll be tackling first.

Instead, get a modest machine from a trusted brand. And it doesn’t necessarily have to be brand-new—there are likely stores in your town that sell quality refurbished sewing machines in good condition.

And if you can’t find the right machine at a shop, remember that the internet is full of inexpensive gems. 

Time to Study!

Now that you’ve got your sewing machine, it’s time to read the instruction manual. We know, that’s not the most exciting prospect—but it will ensure you’re well-prepared to get the most out of your machine.

And if you’re more of a visual learner, there are plenty of online tutorial videos out there! Just make sure you’re watching the right one for your make and model.

Start Small

You probably got into sewing because you loved the idea of making your own tops, dresses, purses, pants—the list goes on!

But before you take on any complicated projects that include elastic, zippers, or tricky lines, you need to have a few simpler projects under your belt. Try making a lined handkerchief, or a pillowcase with clean lines.

Once you learn the basics, you’ll be able to master more impressive pieces.

Stock Up on Sewing Pins and Cushions

Here’s a little not-so-secret sewing tip that any seasoned sewer knows: Your best friends as a sewer will be sewing pins and cushion!

These might seem like extraneous accessories but trust us: These nifty little contraptions make life so much easier. 

Imagine you’re in the middle of an intense, multi-step sewing project—do you really want to be hunting around for the right needle? And what about when your needles fall on the floor; how will you be able to find it without a pin?

Fortunately, these devices are cheap and easy to find—you can even make the cushions yourself with your new sewing skills!

Other Important Tools

Besides pins and cushions, there are a few other helping sewing tools you’ll want to have in your arsenal.

These include scissors, a tape measurer, a ruler, bobbins, elastic, zippers, buttons, bias tape, velcro, and chalk pencils.

Know Your Thread Weight

If you were building a house, you’d want to make sure that the nails and screws you were using were meant to hold up a lot of weight. The same is true for sewing projects and thread: Different projects require differently weighted threads. 

So rather than just buying whatever random thread catches your eye, pay attention to the weight, and know what your patterns call for.

What’s That Mean?

Like any hobby with a dedicated following, sewing comes with its own glossary of terms. If you don’t know what they all mean, then sewing becomes a lot harder.

For example, applique describes using a satin stitch to sew one piece of fabric over another. Bias tape is a special sewing tape that helps with edge cuts, and a fat quarter is a particular cut of some sort of fabric.

There are simply too many unique sewing terms to list here—so look for a good book, article, or expert sewing friend to help explain them all!

Take a Class

Want to hone your sewing skills and learn new sewing tips from an expert, and meet other people who have an interest in sewing? 

If so, you should definitely consider taking a sewing class. They’re often taught at community centers, sewing and craft shops, and even community colleges. 

Consider a Kit

Buying all the right patterns, fabric, thread, needles, and other supplies for a particular sewing project can be time-consuming, confusing, and expensive. Fortunately, there’s a solution to this problem: Buy a sewing kit!

A sewing kit comes with all the fabric and other tools you’ll need to complete a pre-patterned sewing project, as well as clear, simple directions on how to do the job. 

If you are looking for an easy sew win that won’t waste fabric, a sewing kit is the way to go! 

Flatten Your Fabrics

Before you tackle any new sewing project, you’re going to need to break out your iron and ironing board.

By ironing your fabrics before using them, you’ll ensure you will get clean, uniform cuts and lines. Plus, you don’t have to worry about fabric wrinkling and getting caught in the machine.

No Pressure

Here’s the thing: No matter how many sewing tips and tricks you learn before starting your first project, you are going to make mistakes. Directions are going to be confusing, and your first few projects probably won’t look like the picture that comes with the pattern.

But that’s okay! Sewing is a difficult skill to learn—and a rewarding one. If you stick with it and practice, you’ll be able to sew the stuff of your dreams someday. 

Time to Stitch!

Now that you’ve got some sewing tips in your arsenal, it’s time to try your very first sewing project! We hope you learn—and that you have fun!

If you found this easy sewing guide helpful, we hope you’ll take the time to check out some other DIY articles on our website. 

Planning to celebrate an upcoming anniversary?

Anniversaries can become a tedious routine as the years go by. When you and your partner lead busy lives, anniversaries can sneak up on you.

Anxious about making a memorable anniversary? We’ve got you covered! Here’s how to celebrate an anniversary that can keep the spark going.

Recreate Your First Date

What better way to remove the years’ accumulated boredom than to relive your first date?

Don’t settle for only eating or spending time at the location of your first date. To recreate the feelings of a first date, try asking each other personal questions. Wearing the same outfits you did during your first date can make the experience more nostalgia-inducing.

The years’ worth of personal developments will be something worth sharing. This is a great and simple way idea for an anniversary date that doesn’t need much preparation.

Do Something New Together

Doing something new would be a great way for you to bond. Try enrolling in a class with your partner about a new or even an old interest.

If you want something more exciting, you could try rock-climbing or skydiving. Whatever it is, your goal would be to recreate the feelings of youth and novelty in your relationship.

Throw a Party With Family and Friends

Celebrating an anniversary can be the perfect excuse to gather up loved ones. Consider hosting a party and inviting your closest friends and family.

Hosting a party can be the ideal anniversary date for extroverted couples. Your friends and family might have been a crucial part of your first years together. This would be a great way to reminisce and share the happiness of your years.

Go on Vacation for Mutual Self-Care

The goal here isn’t the excitement of the trip or the lavishness of the hotel.

If you and your partner are workaholics who have been too busy to consider self-care, this is perfect. Vacations can offer plenty of health benefits.

If you both need a break from work, your anniversary is a great excuse to spend it together. Remember, it doesn’t have to be expensive or adventurous. What matters is you leave the vacation feeling stress-free and reconnected.

Write a Love Letter

There are many gifts you can think of for an anniversary. However, there are also many gifts to avoid. Writing a love letter can be one of the most thoughtful gifts you can give to your partner.

Long-term relationships can be full of unsaid things and lead to fatigue. The years’ worth of routine, disappointments, and even resentments can be too much to sit and talk about.

Writing a love letter to articulate and express your feelings can be a romantic way to renew your love. You can express gratitude for your partner’s commitment. You may also use this as an opportunity to apologize for any shortcomings.

Now You Know How to Celebrate an Anniversary!

Knowing how to celebrate an anniversary can take away its boredom or routine. Do it right, and it can infuse your relationship with the warmth and affection to make it last for years longer.

Maintaining a happy and healthy relationship takes more than remembering an anniversary. Want to know more relationship advice? Check out our other guides for more love and relationship tips!

Americans are sitting more than ever and also eating worse. This deadly combination of inactivity and an unhealthy diet is putting a lot of stress on people’s livelihood. It makes sense that people are encouraged to test out different diets. 

There are a multitude of diets that you can try. Every diet has its own regulations, results and challenges. One of the most popular recent diets is the HCG diet, but how does the HCG diet work? 

This is a diet that results in extreme weight loss, it’s also been around for quite a while. Use this handy guide to learn everything you need to know about the HCG diet.

What Is HCG?

HCG or Human Chorionic Gonadotropin is a hormone the female body produces during pregnancy. It helps the embryo and fetus develop. If there are fertility issues, a doctor may prescribe HCG injections to treat fertility. 

HCG helps maintain the production of hormones like progesterone and estrogen, and it’s most prominent during the first three months of pregnancy. HCG helps promote weight loss in both men and women because it can speed up the metabolism.

Introduced to the body in drops, HCG enhances your metabolism, which makes it a powerful tool for quickly losing a lot of weight. When your metabolism is fast, you’ll find it easier to shed pounds.

How Does the HCG Diet Work?

You may be tired of exercising and eating well without seeing results. Naturally, you may wonder if there is a specialized diet that could give your weight loss a boost. Perhaps you stumbled on the HCG diet and are looking to know more about it. 

The HCG diet has been around for a while, but it was first popular in the 1950s. The biggest supporters of this diet say it can curb your hunger and reset your metabolism, fixing any ‘abnormal eating habits’. 

The way it works is that you take drops of HCG and along with a HCG diet plan, you’ll be shedding weight. Backers say that you can lose up to a pound a day without feeling hungry or fatigued. The HCG diet has three different phases. 

The first phase is gorging for two days while taking the drops. You take 15 drops each serving, 3 times a day. The goal is to eat as much as possible to increase your metabolism. 

The next phase, phase 2, is taking HCG drops while eating a 500 calorie diet. Three times a day you’ll do 15 drops of HCG. You continue this for 27-40 days, depending on the results you’re looking for. 

The last phase is when you start eating a regular amount of food again. Make sure it’s healthy food, no starches or sugars. Weigh yourself often to stay within 2 pounds of your goal weight.

 

 

Benefits of HCG 

There are several benefits to an HCG diet. If you feel like your energy is low and that you’re more sluggish than usual, look at the changes HCG makes in your body. Remember that everybody is different and you may not experience every benefit mentioned.

Improved Metabolism

When you use HCG, it essentially instructs your body to use fat as an energy supply and that speeds up your metabolic rate. Other diets require you to cut back on calories and leave you hungry with a lower metabolism. If you’re always wondering why you have that one friend that can eat anything without gaining weight, it’s probably because they have a fast metabolism. 

 

Increased Energy

Americans are tired. It could be because they’re overworked or it could be their diet. Because of so many diets limiting your calories, it’s easy to feel fatigued.

HCG is great because your body is releasing adipose fat, which turns into energy. Many people who try the HCG diet report an increase in energy within a couple of days.

Preserves Muscles

When you do a diet with a big calorie deficit, you will lose fat, but you’ll also lose valuable muscle. Muscle is more difficult to gain than fat, and if you took a break from the diet, you could end up gaining fat back more easily than muscle. Using HCG will allow you to preserve muscle while losing fat so you can keep your strength. 

Regulates Your Hormones

When you take HCG, your body’s hormones regulate. If you’re a man taking HCG, you might notice that it improves your libido. If you’re a woman, it’ll balance out your estrogen levels and this can lead to healthy weight loss.

HCG Diet Recipes

If you’re ready to commit to this diet, you’ll want to make sure you know the recipes you’ll be able to follow that work under this diet. There are plenty of resources that will list specific recipes that adhere to the 500 calorie limit guidelines.

Generally, it’s two meals a day, and it includes:

• protein
• vegetable
• fruit
• one serving of bread

While it may be tempting to eat unhealthy foods, remember that you want to treat your body with kindness and give it well-balanced meals. Even if the calories are restricted, it’s important to make sure that the meals you eat are nutritious. 

HCG Diet For Weight Loss

There is a lot of pressure to adhere to beauty standards, and finding the right diet and exercise plan can be difficult. As you research different diets, be sure it’s something you’ll be able to maintain, and that works with your lifestyle. After all, your body is a temple and you want to treat it right!

So how does the HCG diet work? It uses drops of HCG along with a diet plan in order to help you lose weight. Consider this as an option for the next time you’re ready to start a new diet. 

If you found this useful, be sure to check out the frugal section of our blog!

Increasingly, people are aware of the benefits a good security system brings. Perhaps most important are outdoor security cameras, as they can help catch suspicious individuals before they are able to breach into more vulnerable areas of a home or facility.

Knowing how to install outdoor security cameras properly is important. Improper installation can lead to blind spots, device failure, or even lawsuits. Join us today as we review proper installation techniques so that you can secure a facility with cameras the right way!

Know the Law

Before you install any surveillance system, be sure to research local law. Find one of several online guides on surveillance law and figure out how the law works in your state. Then, research your specific place of residence to make sure there aren’t more particular laws in place too.

Generally speaking, it is both illegal and unethical to record in locations you can expect nude or underdressed people to be present without those individuals’ express consent. If a person can expect a reasonable degree of privacy (such as in a bathroom or shower facility), recording is almost always prohibited. For outdoor cameras, this usually won’t be a concern but should still be kept in mind.

Also common, but not universal is the requirement a given location clearly post that recording devices are in use in a given area. In some cases, you may also not be permitted to install recording devices in such a way that they are difficult to see.

Once you familiarize yourself with the specifics of applicable law, it’s time to actually start choosing where you’ll be placing your cameras!

Choosing Installation Location

Cameras are commonly installed in sub-par locations and conditions. It is important to remember that if the device cannot pick up a good image, it isn’t of much use to you. A wireless camera installed outside signal range won’t pick up an image at all!

First, make sure to choose a camera of at least moderate quality. It needs to be reliable and pick up a high enough quality image that details, like the features of a suspicious person, can be picked out. 

Then the camera needs to be placed at a good angle. You want to make sure you have as few blind spots as possible. Prioritize key entrances (including windows) and areas in which theft and vandalism (or more serious crimes) are of concern.

Finally, the area must also be well-lit. Good lighting can deter criminals in itself but also ensures that your surveillance system is fully functional at night. While some cameras have visibility in the dark, lighting is both inexpensive and can ensure image quality is at its best.

Remember that bright doesn’t equal good. Your camera’s sensitivity to lighting conditions will depend on the model you buy. As a general rule, you want the lighting to be even and moderate, rather than dark or bright and harsh.

How to Install Outdoor Security Cameras

Once a location is chosen, it is time to install your device! How you need to approach this process will depend on whether you’ve chosen a wireless or wired option.

Wireless cameras are generally quite easy to install. The first step should be installing any appropriate software onto the devices you’ll be using to monitor the camera footage. A purchased device will come with instructions on how to do this and most companies will provide needed software without additional charge.

Then you can install your wireless camera anywhere within range. Remember that its wireless signal needs to reach a given hub so it can “talk” to the rest of your security system. If a camera’s signal isn’t reaching your hub, you either need to move the camera or your hub.

It’s a common misconception that wireless cameras need internet to use. This isn’t the case; wireless WiFi security cameras require certain devices to be installed nearby by you can have a WiFi setup without being connected to the internet.

Wired cameras are similar except now you are going to need to install a series of wires to a hub (often a DVR hub) rather than need to wirelessly connect to a hub. (This is a complicated enough process that we will discuss it in its own section.)

Keep in mind that both types of cameras require power. “Wireless camera” is something of a misnomer. While cable management is much easier for wireless devices, they still need to be plugged into a power source.

Cable Management

Cable management is a blanket term in the tech and security industry for how one manages the many cables electronic devices require. Wireless cameras only require a plug that goes to an outlet, but wired cameras each require a wire to travel their length to a hub.

For outdoor cameras, this may mean dozens or more feet of cable. If you’re choosing a wired option, plan accordingly. You will need to chart a path from the camera to the hub to run a cable, making sure foot and vehicle traffic won’t damage the cable in any way. 

This task can be labor-intensive, requiring you to drill through walls and sometimes even requiring digging. Done wrong, wires may become an eyesore and/or be at risk of becoming damaged from everyday wear. 

Skipping the Headache

If the above sounds complicated, and it can be, consider hiring professionals to help with the installation. Smartsecuritypros.com can help with all your security needs, camera installation included. They can help with placement and installation so that whatever location you need to be secured is kept safe from intruders. 

Knowing how to install outdoor security cameras is hard. Even once you know the basics, there’s making sure your image quality is good and consistent. Hiring security professionals lets you skip that process.

We’ve Got Plenty More!

If you enjoyed reading about how to install outdoor security cameras, why not check out more of our content? We’ve got articles on thrifty living, family life, and plenty more!

There’s also our collection of the many deals we’ve spotted online for those looking to save even more. And as something of a callback, don’t forget that you’re not saving anything if it’s stolen later in a crime! Security is an important and far too frequently ignored part of both a safe home and a safe place of business.