Bank Savvy Means Pay Pal Savvy

Well it has been an interesting road to April! Living green and trying to keep the budget on track is not that simple. And keeping all your eggs in one basket is not a good idea.

We made an on-line purchase with our debit /visa card(which is attached to our only bank account). And within minutes someone had cleared our account.

It took 14 days for our bank to re-fund our money. What a nightmare. An emergency cash fund can come in handy when this happens.

Here is what we did to keep our eggs safe for our future:

Open an account just for On-Line Bill Pay: mortgage/bills/deposits. A second account(not attacted) for groceries, gas, entertainment. And a third account for on-line purchases that are tied to pay pal only. Pay pal is safe: you receive an email for all transactions before it can be approved!

Here is the tip: Only have checks for the first account. Only have a debit card for the second account for (groceries, gas and entertainment).

Here is the key to success: Put the amount of money in each that matches your budget. Have an emergency fund on hand that equals the second account balance so you can be prepared. Do not use the debit/visa card for any on-line purchases. When you want to buy something on line, transfer the funds from your second account to your third account for only the amount that you need to purchase the item. Pay pal purchases are not tied to your bank so thieves can not access your money from your bank.

Yes, I know we cannot stop thieves from trying to get into our account completely, but, I learned how important it is to diversify your checking accounts. And bonus you can manage your budget a bit better.

I am looking forward to a more green spring ahead!

Grow your budget wisely each month with a little bit of knowledge from a friend.

Tanja D'lyn :)

Living green means investing in me and you!

Here it is the new year! I will take a closer look at my budget, read more living green ways to save and start investing in me....and ....the kids.......and you can too!

These economic times call for living green investing. So, I will kick off the year and post each week on ways to save, budget, sew cool stuff (re purpose & re gift) post more recipes from the fridge and find ways to invest in our family savings.

Oh....what savings! Yikes! Need one of those. So, I started off reading yesterday's msn.com budget article, that stated that I should be budgeting 40% of my income for: Short term, Long term, Emergency fund and retirement. Yikes!!!!! Don't have those yet either.

Were to start! Well if I did that I would not have enough for the mortgage. Well and there is food, bills and kids.....do not get me started on those costs.

Well, what to do then. Here is a start for now.....week one for me!

I will finnish this month by sticking to the idea that next month, I will have a 10% budget for the above saving ideas. Let's just see how this goes! Oh and now would be a great time for me to live green and think of ways to save on other things. Hmmmm!

So, what do you do if you do not have a budget to budget?

Living Green: Fridge Meal

Ok...Here is one that we used this week:

Taco Nacho Salad Surprise:

Tortia Chips: Toped with Left -over’s or Meat and vegetables!

Top with Your favorite Meat (ground turkey, beef, shredded chicken, pork or beef) We had left over Chili!

Look in Fridge: Lettuce, Tomato, Bell Peppers and onions are our family favorites: any vegetable chopped will do!

Look in Pantry: Beans, corn or diced canned peppers or Black olives.

Serve in a plate or big bowl.

Toppings: Cheese, Salsa or Avocado

This was our Thursday night Fridge Meal.

The boys loved it!

Living Green means saving Green!

So, I was talking to my “mom friends” about living green! Ya we all are jumping right in on that!

It is a little harder than we thought. Here is a few that we started in our house, composting.....recycling ....and creating cleaver recipes from what we have in the refrigerator{Pasta “whatever is in the fridge-a”}!

So, to kick off this living green idea....I am sharing recipes from the fridge. Please, join me and share yours too! We are saving green (money) and living green in our home!

Pasta “whatever is in the fridge-a” }
1-12 oz can of whole tomatoes (or any jar of spaghetti sauce), any vegetable you have in the fridge: left-overs are fine. We had left over broccoli. Add spice: garlic, olive oil, oregano or basil, salt & pepper to taste, meat lovers: add ½ pound burger meat, ground turkey or chicken. Boil noodles of choice: We had penne pasta. The idea is to use what you have and not throw it away! I made a quick salad and had some bread that we warmed up! Wednesday night dinner savings!

Goal: To use all food in the fridge and stop food waste. Let’s share the recipes and save money!