Our family owned horses for several years in my late teens and early twenties, and friends of ours were always asking us to take them riding. Many amateur riders like to boast that they have never fallen off a horse, which must mean they’re good riders, right? Wrong.

Contrary to popular belief, the best riders are those who have fallen the most times. Seasoned horsemen always say that if you have never fallen off a horse, it just means you haven’t ridden enough.

In the years in which we had horses, I probably had at least one or two (if not more) falls a year. No one who spends a good part of their hours on horseback can be 100% alert and in control 100% of the time. Horses get startled, agitated, excited, run away, buck, etc., and riders sometimes just lose their balance and fall. It’s a natural part of the learning process.  No one becomes an advanced rider without ever falling off.

Some falls are inconsequential and you get up without a scratch. Others might leave you a little scratched, a little or seriously bruised, with a concussion, broken bones or unable to walk for several days. I’ve had most types, but, thank the stars, escaped the concussions and broken bones.

Circumstances differ, but one thing remains the same. The longer you wait to get back in the saddle, the harder it gets. The best cure for getting over the fear of falling is to brush yourself off and immediately get back in the saddle. If you don’t get right back on, but instead go straight home to dwell on your close call and bruises, the next time you get in the saddle, if you ever do, it becomes a lot scarier than it would’ve been.

I also believe that falls come when you need them. When you ride horses regularly, you forget about the many dangers of riding. If you haven’t fallen in a while, you tend to get overconfident, too comfortable and careless. Falls often come at this point. After a fall, you are once again acutely aware of the dangers and find yourself more alert and careful … until history repeats itself all over again.

So what does this have to do with personal finance?

Read the rest of this entry »

As an online business owner as well as a regular citizen of a very small city with only one small Post Office, I have had my share of issues with our local Post Office. However, I thought I’d contribute a positive post on USPS today to share some good experiences, info on free USPS services and reasons why I use USPS as my primary carrier to ship orders for my business.

Affordable and Convenient Shipping With USPS

• Affordable Shipping Rates

  I ship all of my customer’s non-rush orders with Priority Mail. Delivery time is 2-3 days (just 2 days from my location to New York City) and the rates are much lower than UPS Ground or 3-Day Select, at least for my small business.

• Online postage at discounted rates w/ free Delivery Confirmation

  Read the rest of this entry »

Last month, my rewards balance for my Amazon.com Credit Card reached 2,500 points, which meant I could redeem a $25 gift certificate. However, I decided to wait a month because I figured I could just redeem $50′s worth of gift certificates this month and save some hassle.

When I logged into my rewards account yesterday, I noticed that I had the option of redeeming $50 in gift certificates or $50 cash (in the form of a check). In the past I just always chose the gift certificate because I shop at Amazon.com so often, but I realized that I could get more out of my rewards program by redeeming my points for cash. Read the rest of this entry »

Hey everyone,

Sorry for my long absence and non-responsiveness to any emails or comments these past months. Back around October 2009, our business, Franga Designs,  started picking up and we’ve had to  focus our time and energy on getting our sewing orders out.

I’ve had a couple of questions about whether or not I’m still doing Pecuniarities. The answer is “Yes” but perhaps not as frequently as before. We will still be posting once in a while when we have some free time and good post ideas, but won’t be maintaining a regular posting schedule as we’d like to focus on developing our business now that the economy seems to be (fingers crossed) bouncing back.

As for the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights, I’m sorry to say that while it was a good idea and we had some great editions with great submissions, and while there was a lot of interest from bloggers wanting to submit posts each week, there was not enough interest in hosting an edition. Now that I don’t have as much time to devote to promoting and maintating it, I’m afraid the Carnival of Pecuniary Delights is on hiatus.

Read the rest of this entry »

In days of old when I was much less informed in financial matters (not that I’m a financial whiz now, but I have improved a little), I used to think credit unions weren’t real “banks” or weren’t as good as banks — sort of like community colleges vs. universities. Well, in a way I was right in that they are not “banks” and they are not as good as banks — they are better than banks.

When we moved to our current hometown, located 40 miles from the closest Bank of America branch, we started researching local banking options of which there are three: 2 banks and 1 credit union. I visited all three websites and compared the account options and noticed that while the 2 banks charged monthly fees for checking accounts, the credit union didn’t. This led to a little research of banks vs. credit unions, and this is basically what I learned:

• Credit unions are not-for-profit organizations (and banks are for-profit organizations)
• Credit unions are “owned” by all of its members (anyone who holds an account and deposits money there)
• All credit union earnings after taxes and expenses are returned to the community by way of low-interest loans, higher dividends, and low-fee or free services
• Funds deposited in credit union accounts are insured by the National Credit Union Share Insurance Fund (NCUSIF), a federal government agency

Read the rest of this entry »

This is a really yummy, inexpensive recipe, easy and quick to prepare requiring only one pot. It’s great for kids, but I eat it all the time.

Ingredients

• Uncooked spaghetti (or other preferred pasta such as macaroni)
• Condensed tomato soup (Campbell’s or similar store brand
• 1 hot dog
• About 1 teaspoon sugar
• Optional: chopped onion (very yummy)

Preparation Directions

1. Slice hot dog into about 15 pieces
2. Cook spaghetti noodles until almost done
3. Pour out the water
4. Add tomato soup (or pasta sauce) into the pot with the noodles
5. (Add a little water to dilute the condensed tomato soup)
6. Stir in sugar
7. Toss hot dogs into the soup/sauce
8. Simmer until noodles are done and sauce is thickened.
9. When preparing for children, be sure to let cool sufficiently beforehand. Pasta is extremely hot right after cooking.

Pasta sauce can also be used in place of tomato soup.

Eat up!

Read the rest of this entry »

I have never had any luck with steel wool. Perhaps all of you who have got it together domestically ask, where is luck required in the use of steel wool? Well, I can use it just fine. It’s the best thing for scrubbing a burnt pan clean. But the problem is after I use it. Once it gets wet, steel wool rusts and not only does it look nasty, but it leaves red stains on the sink and counter.

I’ve tried airing them dry on racks, putting them in the dishwasher, and even polishing with Brasso, but I have never been able to keep my steel wool from rusting. So I stopped buying them several years ago and resorted to scouring with plastic scrubbers, baking soda, and other methods that require excessive effort with less than satisfactory results.

Then yesterday, I forgot the dogs’ dinner on the stove (which was to be chicken and white rice) and ended up with a lump of charcoal stuck to the bottom of a steel pot. Because I am short of time and have a lot to do, I needed a faster way to clear up the mess and came up with the idea of scrubbing with used aluminum foil. I got out a small tin from a pie, scrunched it up and voila! I had an excellent scrubber. It doesn’t even rust.

And so I wanted to share my discovery with other frugalites. Give your aluminum foil a second use. Scrunch it up really well so it doesn’t gouge your cookware. Use it as many times as you think proper and then throw it away. When you finish a casserole or lasagna, how convenient that you can use the cover to clean the pan? And if there should be a proper way to store steel wool and you should happen to know it, you might drop me a note.

Not that I’ll be buying anymore, but just out of curiosity.