Today’s guest post comes to us from Larry, who shares his tips for saving money on your vehicle!

About Larry:

Larry Mitchell writes for Out of Debt Christian, a daily blog on finances, faith and frugality.

Your vehicle and all associated expenses are one of the biggest costs for a household. Unfortunately, it is also a necessary expense. However, there are ways you can cut costs on cars. You might be surprised to learn you can reduce the cost of a vehicle by up to 90%!

How do you reduce car costs by that much? Take a tip from entrepreneur Chris Hedgecock. He started www.carsforagrand.com, a great Web site that lists thousands of cars available for under $1,000. This may sound like it is too good to be true but it is definitely not. To prove it, he bought a vehicle himself, though his own website and proceeded to take the car cross country. He spent just $900 on the vehicle and a few hundred dollars more for thoughtful maintenance and repairs. His cross country journey was a success, and was chronicled in dozens of TV news stories as he made his way across the nation.

Before you go out and buy a cheap vehicle, though, understand that there are plenty of lemons available that will break down within days of buying it. So, it is important to understand how to avoid this while still maintaining low costs.

Start by understanding the vehicle’s complete history. You can buy a vehicle history report at www.vindetective.com for just $15 to learn any car’s odometer readings, title history, accident reports, ownership history and other useful data. This will help you determine if there may be any hidden problems making the vehicle less of a bargain and more of a burden.

With any older vehicle, you will likely need to spend a few hundred dollars on top of your initial purchase price for routine maintenance. Get the oil changed, purchase new spark plugs and make sure the vehicle is in generally good condition. This will make it last longer and be more reliable.

Do not spend a lot of money on insurance needlessly. Instead of opting for full coverage or collision, choose just the minimum requirements by law. If you get more than this, and your vehicle is in an accident, the odds are that you will have spent more on premium costs than what the car is worth.

Invest a few dollars extra each month on a roadside assistance program in case the vehicle breaks down. With any older vehicle, you will eventually get to a point where some significant repair needs to be made. If this happens, make sure you know how to determine the value of the vehicle versus the amount of repair. If the repair will exceed the value, sell it or donate it and start over.

If you heed these tips, you can have a reliable mode of transportation at very little cost. You will save a lot of money each year on vehicle costs. You may not have the newest, most stylish car on the street, but you will be saving a lot of money. In today’s economy, this is especially important.

Today’s articles come to us from Faylee, who also shared some great guest posts with us back in May!

About Faylee:

Faylee James is a Life Coach/Writer/Speaker from Northeast Tennessee, who has an above average interest in people, cooking and living life to the fullest. Her website Hassie’s Kitchen Table and blog are in honor of her mother who passed away recently. For more recipes, ideas and thoughts, visit her website or blog.

Substituting: Did you know?

What!?, there’s no eggs in the house and you have already started mixing the brownies. Mayonnaise can be used in place of the egg. You will get the same soft wonderful tasting brownie you have always had using 1/4 cup mayonnaise in place of the egg.

The same can be said for exchanging apple sauce for oil in a cake recipe. I have come to like the texture of the apple sauce so much in my cakes, I sometimes use it, even when I have oil.

If you want an exotic flavor in your next yellow cake, add 1/2 cup pumpkin pie mixture plus 1/2 teaspoon pumpkin pie spices, instead of an egg or the oil. The pumpkin flavor and spices are an amazing surprise when biting into the cake. A cream cheese icing works well with these flavors.

Today’s articles come to us from Faylee, who also shared some great guest posts with us back in May!

About Faylee:

Faylee James is a Life Coach/Writer/Speaker from Northeast Tennessee, who has an above average interest in people, cooking and living life to the fullest. Her website Hassie’s Kitchen Table and blog are in honor of her mother who passed away recently. For more recipes, ideas and thoughts, visit her website or blog.

We have all been taught that we can revive celery by placing it in a container of cold water and let it sit in the refrigerator but did you know, you can do that to other vegetables too?

My lettuce had become wilted, but not brown on the edge of the leaves. I tore the wilted leaves from the core of the head [do not use a metal knife as it will darken the leaves] and emerged them in iced water for 10 to 15 minutes. You will want to drain the water and place the lettuce on a towel to dry before quickly placing them in a plastic bag and back in the veggie drawer of your refrigerator. You can also, stand them, with the torn ends in a glass of water in the door of the fridge for a day. The water needs to be about two to three inches deep in the glass. I was pleased to see that the wilted leaves came back to their original crispy fresh state. I have even resurrected other greens using the glass method.

Radishes, spring onions and carrots can be brought back to life for future use with this tip, also. I hate to waste food and I’m not fond of wilted lettuce leaves in salad so this was a delight to discover. Not only did I not waste the food (and money I spent on it), but I also could enjoy it longer in its revived state.

Today’s guest post comes to us from Sharon, who uses Swaptree to barter with people across the US.

About Sharon:

I host a blog, Here’s What I Found. I love to find great deals and share them with my friends and family. I am a mother of 3 small children and live in KY.