Thanks for visiting Ultimate Money Blog! If you’re new here, you may want to subscribe to my RSS feed. I’d like to introduce you to my friend Kendra at New Life on a Homestead.  Kendra is an inspiration to me, as she strives to live a frugal and simple life while creating a homestead for her family.  Today she’s sharing her journey to a simpler life on their homestead. Only three years ago, my husband and I were living a dramatically different life. We were renting a noisy apartment in the middle of town, he was working his full time job and I was keeping kids during the day so that I could stay home with our four year old daughter and newborn son. We were very frugal, yes, but in such a mainstream way. We didn’t shop at the mall, but bought our clothes second hand. We didn’t own a new car. Actually, we only had one vehicle which my husband had most of the day. We used coupons for groceries and toiletries. We did what we could to [...]

The other day I received an email from an old coworker who works for the same company I do.  She was asking me if I wanted to purchase Boy Scout popcorn from her son.  The first thing I thought was “Boy Scout popcorn is expensive!” and then I thought about how we don’t own a microwave. I informed her that we didn’t have a microwave, and she said that was okay because they sell prepopped popcorn as well.  It was around $30 for a tub.  Now, I don’t know about you, but every time I have gotten a tub of popcorn it was stale.  I wasn’t about to buy stale popcorn, especially not for $30! She then also mentioned that they are selling magazine subscriptions that are $10 or $20.  I thought that would be more reasonable because I have been wanting to get Real Simple magazine, and if this was an excuse to do so, at least I would be supporting a good cause by purchasing my magazine subscription from the Boy Scouts.  She faxed me over the cost [...]

Borax is a naturally occurring substance that is mined from the Mojave desert and other US States.  While borax is a natural substance, care should be taken when using borax.  It has been known to cause skin irritation in some people.  I use gloves when my skin is going to come into contact with it.  Better to be safe than sorry!  While mining the borax is not the most environmentally friendly option, it’s still greener than using normal toxic cleaners.  I buy borax now to make laundry detergent and clean my house, but there are many more uses for borax than that!  Here are some tips on how to use borax. -Borax can be a natural flea killer. Sprinkle borax on your carpet, let it sit for a couple hours, and then vacuum up! Make sure you vacuum well so you don’t leave any behind. -If you have an ant or roach problem, try mixing powdered sugar or honey with borax and leaving it in the problem area. The pests will be attracted to the sweetness, eat it and die [...]