Tonight I tore out all of the old baseboard and trim. I cut it up into small pieces to use for kindling. I had nowhere to put it or to store it and haul it outside. Then I remembered that I had an old shipping box that I saved for just such an emergency. By saving the box I had a free little storage/haulage container and I also had some free wood that I can use to burn in my fire pit.

I also saved a few pieces of good wood that I pulled out of the framing around the duct work. They might come in handy later on down the road. I also tore down an old shelf, spruced it up and put it outside by my hot tub and made a nice shelf to put my speakers on. No charge. I love saving money. Don't be so quick to throw things out.

If you have made the decision to start saving money don't expect to see results the next day. Choosing to incorporate some of the tips and ideas you read on this blog will help you save money. It just takes time. Next time you are out say no to buying something you don't need, buy no name brands at the grocery store and put a blanket over you and turn the heat down. You will save but it's a long road.

1. Google  yourself and see if anything negative comes up. You can sure bet that most employers will be doing the same. If you have negative related material about you on the internet you might want to start looking into getting it removed. Posting dirty jokes on a chat board isn't going to help your case.

2. Get a professional email address or use the one that came with your ISP. Chunky lover at aol dot com just isn't going to sell anybody. It's funny on the Simpsons but that's a cartoon.

3. If you are interested in a certain field or profession find clubs or organizations related to those and join them or attend seminars and meetings. It's a great way to network, pick up tips on upcoming jobs and learn about educational requirements or changes.

4. Join more than one job search website. Why limit yourself to just one? You might find something interesting on another site. Make sure you sign up for alerts and notifications for new job postings.

5. Make sure you have your resume updated and ready to go. Having to put a resume together at the last minute is counter productive.

The biggest thing to remember is not to give up hope. Nothing is going to come fast. You have to be patient and dig at it.

I want to add some more free weights to my little gym. I started looking at the major stores and could not believe how much they wanted for some of the equipment. Forget it. If I could hunt down some cardio equipment for free I am sure going to try to find some weights for free. I am going to spend the next few days going through the free ad sites and classified ad websites.

The first thing we were talking about was baby announcements. It doesn't seem like much but if you have a big family the postage and mailing can add up. I suggested finding a free webspace page like wordpress, myspace, facebook and making up a birth announcement page complete with information, pictures and comments for your friends and family to fill out. You can always email the link to your friends and family.

If you want, get the traditional mail outs and send them to your immediate family. You can always email everyone else and save a few bucks.

I am a big fan of trying to fix things on my own but sometimes you have to give in to the fact that you are in over your head and hire a professional to do things right. I know nothing about spring plungers so why would I play around with them? I wouldn't. On the same token if I know nothing about plumbing or fixing a dryer then I shouldn't be messing around with them either. There are lots of instructions on how to do things on the internet but you have to ask yoruself if you are in over your head. Don't mess with things you know nothing about, it will end up costing you more in the long run.

If you feel the urge to shop when you don't need anything. Fight it and save your money. There are lots of other things you can do to fight the feeling. You can go for a walk, put on a movie, call a friend on the phone or do anything else. I know too many people that just take off shopping because they have nothing better to do and spend money they don't have to spend. You can save money by simply not spending it.

When you filter becomes dirt and saturated with dirt, dust and things like pet hair it means that you furnace has to work harder to move the air through it. By replacing your old filter or cleaning your filter you are helping your furnace work more efficiently. I have read that you should be replacing your filter once a month. You can buy packs of them at your local hardware store.

There are many types. Disposable and reusable types that you can clean. I will leave it up to you to research which type you want to use but if you want to save money get in the habit of changing that furnace filter.