There’s a song that goes, “From you I receive, to you I give. Together we share, and by this we live.” Community currencies offer a tangible way of doing this.

Local currencies are perfectly legal; in fact, some local government agencies  take part in Minnesota and Maryland. Created by local groups, the currencies can be used for exchanging services and often also for goods.

Community currency has potential for enhancing the sense of community and vitalizing the economy. It looks like quite a lot of work to set up, and not something that can be done overnight, but I find it tremendously exciting. Teenagers could do a variety of things and gain a sense of what it takes to run a successful small business; people on limited incomes could find it endlessly useful; artists and craftspeople could sell more wares, and so on. Unemployment would be lessened, since self-employment would be a much stronger option.

Perhaps the best-known local currency in the United States is Ithaca HOURS, in Ithaca, NY. One Ithaca HOUR is pegged at a value comparable to $10, and while professionals who are used to earning a lot more per hour are permitted to charge more, there is an egalitarian spirit that means that many of them don’t. You always have the choice of taking part HOURS, part regular dollars for the goods or services you sell. The bills are designed carefully, have serial numbers, and are printed on special paper (often hand-made), so that they would be very hard to counterfeit. They come in several denominations.

Since there is no incentive to save the HOURS, they change hands more frequently than the national currency.  Here is a quote from the Ithaca HOURS website at http://www.ithacahours.org/:

Ramsey has sold bagels for HOURS at Ithaca Bakery and bought landscaping, meals, printing, air conditioning consulting, eco-goods, eyeglasses, insulating window shades, and groceries… HOURS are a regular part of his business income. “We count hours like taxable cash income and expense. There’s a separate HOUR account in the computer.”

He adds, “HOURS keep people in our community employed better than dollars that leave the community. Dollars that go to large corporations do not really trickle back down, they concentrate capital, making the rich richer and the poor poorer… What’s better about HOURS is that since you can’t bank them, you have to spend them to benefit, so you don’t get that concentration of capital.”

Barter has been growing in popularity in recent years, and local currency carries the concept further. If you wanted a massage, and had an excess of firewood, with barter you would have to look for a massage therapist who wanted firewood. With HOURS, you could find someone who wanted firewood and find a massage therapist, and they wouldn’t have to be the same person. Most communities with HOURS or similar currencies publish newsletters and member directories, listing what people are offering and what they are looking for.

While researching alternative currencies on the internet, I came across the thinking of a man named Bernard A. Lietaer, who comes from a strong background in international banking. He thinks that “local currencies will be a major tool for social design in the 21st century, if for no other reason than employment.” His research encompasses currencies all over the world, throughout history. He discovered that in ancient Egypt, during the Middle Ages in Europe, in Austria in the 1930s, and in the United States in the 1830s, 1890s, and 1930s, local currencies existed. Seems their time is coming around again!

This article came from: Community Currencies at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Think about goods and skills that you can barter. One woman on an internet forum commented that she had stored fifty pounds of chocolate chips for barter. I couldn’t do that myself – I’d be too tempted to eat my money!

Barter systems are widespread now in Russia, China, Africa, and many other places. This is often direct trading, with no currency, gold, or silver involved. In Russia, many teachers are paid in vodka rather than in rubles. The internet has facilitated the creation of all sorts of barter networks. Some of the trades are huge – even international -  while others are neighborly.

During the depression, barter was widespread. According to Survival Bartering, by Duncan Long, one movie theater sold tickets for 10 cents or 25 cents, but it would also take eggs, corn, or wheat.

Long advises that you work to develop a good reputation in your trades. Be fair, and learn to say a friendly “no” when a trade isn’t right for you. If you let the other person suggest the terms of the swap, you may get a better deal. If the other person wants you to make the first move, suggest something more favorable to you than you expect to get. You may get it or it then becomes the basis for some dickering. If you’ve bought things in Mexican markets, you’ll have the general idea.

If you are better prepared for emergencies than others in your area, they may ask you for something basic that they need. Sometimes you may not be able to spare it, or you may just want to give it to them,  but at other times barter may be a way that makes everyone feel better. If you want to buy some things now for possible barter later, generally select things that are durable, reasonably small, and basic.

This article came from: Barter at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Taking Back Old Computers and Electronics at Best Buy, Costco, and Staples

By F. Tadesse

Costco trade in program

In their effort to become leaders in recycling electronics, Costco has teamed up with Gazelle.com. Gazelle is a leader in the on line electronics reuse and recycling business. What you do is, fill out an online form at the Gazelle website about the electronic equipment you are recycling. Gazelle will give you a quote on your item and if you agree then you can print out an on line free shipping label. They will even send packaging material for shipping your old electronics. As long as the value of your gadget is at least one dollar shipping is free. If they determine your electronics has no resale value, they will recycle it responsibly for free. At this time they recycle laptops, cell phones, LCD monitors, MP3 players, digital cameras, and gaming systems. They don’t recycle faxes, printers and TVs at this time. The recycling service is only available for members only.

Best Buys

Best buys have a well organized page on recycling at their website. They have set the highest standard for recycling responsibly and these standards are posted where it can easily be seen and read by the public. They recycle a wide range of electronics equipment such as T.Vs with sizes up to 32 inches, cell phones, monitors, DVDs, laptops etc… There is a $10 charge for T. Vs, monitors, and laptops but Best Buys will give you $10 gift card to offset that. They take desk top computers with the hard drive removed or they can remove it for you for a fee of $19.99.

For large electronics such as T.Vs larger than 32 inches and refrigerators they have a hauling service. All Best Buys stores have a recycling kiosk by the entrance door where you can drop of ink cartridges, smart phones, CDs, DVDS, batteries, cell phones, and Best Buys gift cards. You can bring in up to 2 items per day per household.

Best Buys have a trade-in program for gently used electronic equipment. The procedure for a trade in is written very clearly step by step at their website. You can either bring in your used electronic gadget to a store location or mail in your stuff. You will receive a Best Buy gift card for your gadget. For in store trade in they only take certain items such as Apple lap tops, iPods, PC laptops, and mobile phones. They take a lot more electronic equipment with their on line trade in programs. For on line transaction you will get a gift card within 14 days.

For T.Vs larger than 32 inches they have a free haul away service if you buy replacement equipment. You can get large T.V’s and refrigerators hauled away for a fee if you didn’t make a purchase.

Staples

Office Technology recycling

Staples web site states that you simply bring in your old office electronics and its accessories to any Staple store for recycling. All brands of office technology regardless whether it was purchased at Staples are accepted. Dell brand office technology is accepted for free. All other brands office technology such as laptops, desktop computers, printers, scanners, faxes etc… have a $10 charge. Staples have the wonderful ink cartridge recycling program where you take in up to 10 empty ink cartridges and get paid $3 for each cartridge per calendar month per customer.

Personal Electronic Recycling

Staples recycles personal used electronics for free through Collective Good, a non-profit that donates used electronics to charity organization. Gadgets such as cell phones, PDAs, pagers, and chargers are recycled for free. Staples also recycles rechargeable batteries in cooperation with Rechargeable Batteries Recycling Corporation.

Conclusion

Which one of these three electronic equipment sellers has the best recycling policy? The answer is very clearly Best Buys. Their website has a well organized, easy to understand and use recycling page. Their commitment to recycling shows and is reflected by the standard they have posted on their page. They recycle a wide range of electronic equipment including bulky ones such as refrigerators and old computers mostly for free. They have an on line and in store trade in program for gently used electronics for which you get a Best Buys gift card.

Costco has a good point in that you can trade in your unwanted electronics for a Costco gift card. But they do not recycle bulky electronics such as TVs and printers. Staples good point is they recycle a much wider range of electronic equipment and it doesn’t have to be bought at a staple store. And it is convenient to recycle with staples because you can take it in to any of their stores.

For a comparison of electronics recycling policies of the big three electronic manufactures Apple, Dell and HP click on hubpages. For more information about how you can make money from recycling your old computers and electronic gadget click here hubpages.

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This article came from: Get Paid for Recycling Old Computers and Electronics at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Hanging by a Shoestring – How to Survive on Next to Nothing

By Jennifer Carpenter

An estimated 47% of American households live paycheck to paycheck or very close. It doesn’t look like statistic will get any better soon; in fact it’s likely to get worse as the unemployment numbers rise. Not having much of a disposable income doesn’t mean you have to feel deprived, it just means you have to learn to survive on less fancy foods, repaired clothing, homemade old-fashioned household and beauty products and simple forms of entertainment. If you can learn how to and commit to doing at least these things, living n a shoestring budget won’t seem so much like deprivation.

Cut Your Food Bill

There are many different ways to save money at the supermarket. My favorites are shopping the sales and buying generic. Shopping the sales takes a bit of time and effort but it can really be worth it in the end, especially if you live in a relatively small area like I do. I keep a close eye on the sales flyers and when I see a good deal on something I normally use, I put it on my list and plan to stop by that store. Thankfully due to the area I live in, I am within a twenty minute drive to all the grocery stores I buy from. While this method takes more time than just shopping at one store, I have experienced huge savings because of it. For my family of five -two adults and three children – I spend from $325 to $375 a month on groceries.

Buying generic brands is another way I save money when food shopping. Many generic or store brands are produced by the same companies that make the name brands. But with store brands you aren’t paying for the “name” and the pretty packaging. Furthermore the majority of the time you can’t really taste much of a difference. I’ll admit some generic products aren’t as good as a name brand (I’m particularly picky about my spaghetti sauce) but by watching for sales, stocking up when on sale and buying mostly generic you have the wiggle room to buy a brand name or two.

Buying in bulk is another way many people, myself included, save some cash. If you live close to a food warehouse like Sam’s Club, BJs or Costco, you can purchase large quantities of foods at a discount. This is especially good for meats that you can buy in big packages and then split up for meals. Bulk buying is also good for dry food like flour, sugar, coffee, and canned goods like tuna fish, vegetables and fruits.

Finally there are coupons. Not a favorite of mine (probably because I buy so my generic) many other people swear by them. Generally my advice is to give them a shot, take advantage of any really good deals and read more from someone else who knows the secret of coupons that I have never picked up. I think the coupon rules must be stricter when I live because I read these stories where people get two or three coupons applied to a product or a purchase and the store in my area just don’t go for that. I hope you have better luck with coupons that I do but I am living proof that you can save lots of money on groceries without using coupons.

Make Clothes Last

There is an old New England expression that I have always found sums up the attitude we need to embrace when living on a budget. “Use it up, Wear it out, Make it do or Do Without” Mending clothes is an activity that seemed to disappear with the onset of mass retail production. While I don’t yet make my family’s clothing, I do patch, hem and darn whatever I can to make what we have last as long as possible. A couple of simple stitches are all that is needed to fix most rips and tears.

At first they won’t look pretty so it’s always a good idea to use thread that matches the fabric’s color as closely as possible. The first couple of times that you stitch something up, it may not last long but as you repair more you will get better. With sewing, like with so many things, practice makes perfect. When a basic article of clothing, like denim jeans, gets to a point where they can’t be repaired or handed down further, keep them on hand for future patches to save even more money.

Make Your Own Cleaners

Making homemade household cleaners and beauty treatments is surprisingly easy and cheap. With the basics of baking soda, vinegar, olive oil and lemon juice you can make a cleaner for about any surface from wood to silver. Baking soda is a good substitute for bleach in scrubbing cleansers for sinks, countertops and appliances. White distilled vinegar works well as an all-purpose antibacterial property to any homemade cleaning solution and olive oil keeps wood looking well-managed and polished.

There are many books and blogs dedicated to providing recipes for DIY cleaners. With the exception of olive oil, the majority of the ingredients you’ll need will be easy to find and easy on the pocketbook. Beauty treatments involve more ingredients but most of them are just as inexpensive. Tea bags, honey, and oatmeal are just three of the materials you would need for homemade beauty products. Oatmeal is good to use during the winter since it protects against dry skin. Honey will gently exfoliate your skin and leave it glowing. Tea bags can be used to reduce puffiness in the eye area.

Not only are homemade products cheaper, they are better for you and the environment. While it may take some time, a little experimenting and a bit of research but in the long run making your own cleaning and beauty products is well worth the trouble.

Enjoy Simpler Entertainment

Nowadays going to the movies costs about $20 or $25 a couple. If you add popcorn, drinks, and candy and you’re looking at close to fifty dollars for one night of entertainment. Renting movies is cheaper but can still put a crimp in your budget when you don’t have any wiggle room already. Clubs are off limits when drinks are 4 and 5 bucks a pop and even a couple of games pool will set you back a ten-spot.

To save money, you’ll need to flash back to a simpler time when playing card and board games were the entertainment of choice. Odds are you have a stack of board games stored away somewhere. Dust them off and prepare for some family bonding. If you don’t happen to have any board games on hand, you can pick up a deck of cards for about a dollar at a discount store. There are websites where you can learn hundreds of different card games to play. If games aren’t your thing, you can borrow books and movies from the local library at no cost to you at all.

Outside there are nature walks, hiking, biking, and picnicking at a local park and, if you’re anything like me and like the pathetically corny, scavenger hunts. Simply write a list or pick a letter and find as many things that fit the category as possible. Above all it is most important to remember that money isn’t everything. As long as there a rook over your head, clothes on your back and food in your stomach you are a success.

Jennifer Carpenter is a work at home mother of three, two teens and a preschooler. She is a writer and Internet marketer who is currently working towards financial freedom through working online. Read more about her incredible journey at http://www.livingmybigdream.com

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This article came from: Hanging by a Shoestring – How to Survive on Next to Nothing at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

It was heavenly, and we have stayed completely out of debt since. No mortgage, credit cards paid off monthly.

We chose to sell our earthbag home in Colorado to become debt-free, and that was not an easy decision to make. I don’t know if we would have sold it if the Byers hadn’t come along. No, that is not a misspelling. While we were dithering about to sell or not to sell, I mentioned to some people we knew, the Byers, that we were considering selling. When they made us an offer a few days later,  their last name seemed like a message from above!

But that’s really beside the point, just a story I like to tell. The point here is that getting out of debt is an absolutely terrific goal.

How could you do it? For most people, it will be the same way the ants ate the elephant… one bite at a time.

But first, do you know how much debt you have? While making a list can be depressing, that list also reflects your current reality. If you are able to use a spreadsheet, that is a good way to keep track, and then you can see your progress.

On that list, organize the items by what the interest rates are. Credit card balances can sometimes have the interest greatly reduced by doing a balance transfer from one company you have a card with to another, but do your homework to be sure that there are no hidden fees.

By the way, pay your credit cards bills on time, or the companies can raise your interest rates.

Then… how are you going to reduce that debt? Certainly in some situations, people really can’t at that time. But let’s assume you have enough income to cover your basic expenses or more.

What you are going to have to do has two parts:

[1] Spend less, maybe a LOT less. Use websites like mine to get ideas for how to live more simply and frugally. Go out to eat rarely. Buy less junk food and fewer coffees out. Cut w-a-y back on holiday giving and make some of those gifts. Stay out of the stores. Buy second hand clothes, or mend things you have, or just make do with what is in your closet now.

Spending less is not easy, because of the psychology of buying. If you are trapped at times in consumerism, you have lots of company. Be kind to yourself, but that doesn’t mean buying that $100 pair of shoes that will increase your debt.

Kelly and I keep track of every purchase in a notebook. We’ve done it for years, and we run totals at the end of the month. We use a little date book for the job. If you do that, you will probably see places you can save more.

[2] Choose one of your bills, let’s say a credit card bill, to pay off. Put as much extra as you can on it each month, or even make an extra payment during the month if you have the money.  It’s a good idea to pay down the one that has the highest interest rate, but it’s also so encouraging to get one really paid off, that you might rather start with your smallest one and see how fast you can get rid of it.

Of course, both of the steps do need you to not  be adding more debt!

Here’s a good book on becoming mortgage free… click on the image to read more about it at Amazon.  It helped us decide to make our change, and while we sometimes miss the house, we love having so much more freedom in our daily lives to do whatever matters to us.

This article came from: Get Out of Debt at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

Here are some tips for cutting your grocery bills. Chances are good that you will increase the nutritional value of your food at the same time.

1. Buy basics, not frills… or get just a few frills. Basics are produce, meat or fish if you eat them, dairy products, dry beans, toilet paper, and a few other miscellaneous items. Most of these are found along the outside walls of most grocery stores. NOT basic are sugar-coated breakfast cereal, chips of all kinds, and… fill in your favorite junk food.

Of course, you or your family members may want some of those high-priced, not-very-nutritional, time-saving items. I don’t suggest going cold turkey all at once. But you could buy less and then run out for a few days before the next shopping day.

One reason that people like junk food is the fats, sugars, and salts. So as an interim measure towards your goal of healthier food, you could make oatmeal with a good bit of sugar added, or brown rice with some olive oil and salt in the pan with it… whatever works to make the healthier, cheaper foods more enticing, with the eventual goal of less sugar, salt and fat.

2. Read labels and then see if you still want to eat the stuff (or put it on your body). This applies to health food stores as well as to general grocery stores. Our world has become a chemical stew, and there are things you can do to reduce your exposure to the known carcinogenics found in many products. This is good for you and for the environment both.

Lunch meats are full of preservatives. I never buy them and don’t miss them at all. Actually, I guess I am lucky as several preservatives and anything in the MSG family make me itch!

Some things that had me squinting at the labels yesterday — even with my bifocals — were jams, tortilla chips, and nuts. I got preservative-free jams and chips but didn’t happen to find unsalted nuts so skipped them. We were almost out of shampoo, and I finally had to settle for one that had a bunch of chemicals in it but at least didn’t have a red or green dye. I hope Kelly will accept the fragrance, and I plan to do more research on good shampoos.

Reading labels does add to your time in the store, so if you have foods you regularly buy, check a few out each time you shop.

3. Take advantage of sales and also watch closely for marked-down items. Shopping the sales and using coupons and in-store cards are well-known methods, but I also find a lot of good deals on items that are being discontinued or are getting close to their pull date. Yesterday’s finds of this sort included cottage cheese, meat, and fish.

Another classic bit of advice for grocery shopping is: don’t shop when you are hungry! I would add, try not to shop when you are tired or stressed, or have cranky kids with you.

Readers, do add your tips in the comments fields.

This article came from: Spending Less in the Grocery Store at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.

She doesn’t say anything about simple living, but you can read that between the lines. Recession is an opportunity as well as a wake-up call. And I like her emphasis on inner attitudes.

– Zana

A Recession Shouldn’t Rule Your Life

5 Tips to Overcome Your Feelings of Insecurity
By Joan Marie Whelan

While our economy may be experiencing a recession, it doesn’t mean that your mind and spirit need to fall into a slump as well. I know it’s difficult sometimes; especially if you’re a worry wart, who constantly tunes into the six o’clock news to get status reports on the state of the Union. Put that aside for a moment. I want you to focus on you. Throw away the external components of the world and take a long look at your life.

What are you doing to make your life more bearable; and beyond that, what are you doing to create happiness in your life? Following are five tips to overcome your feelings of insecurity in these sometimes stressful times:

1. Don’t make mountains out of mole hills. Many times, we become our worst own enemy because we begin to exaggerate our challenges. It’s easy to do when you allow yourself to become overwhelmed to the point of no return. I imagine Chicken Little felt that way when he automatically assumed that the sky was falling. Before you jump to extreme conclusions about your situation, you need to take a step backward and put your mind on rewind for a moment. Relax. Take different perspectives of your present condition. Ask yourself:

• What options do I have at this point?
  What talents, tools, or skills do I have at my disposal?
  What are my goals?
  What goals are achievable?
  What plan of action do I have to achieve these goals?

After you’ve asked yourself these questions, I want you to take out a journal, notebook, or paper pad – whatever you have at your disposal; and begin jotting down ideas and answers to those questions. When you use your intuitive powers, you will be amazed at the resolutions you can come up with on your own. It’s really not rocket science; you just have to use your inner wisdom and god-given abilities to make lemonade out of lemons.

2. Embrace the challenge. How often have you been asked to perform a task that you thought was humanly impossible? Actually, there aren’t too many things we humans can’t do in life. It all depends on the mentality we have, and how we perceive the challenge to be. I know you’ve heard the old adage about the two individuals looking out of the same window: one sees the darkness, the other the stars. What do you see when you look out your proverbial window of life? Do you see darkness cloaking your view, or do you see the light from the stars to light your way?

When faced with challenges, rise to the occasion. That means you’re going to have to put some effort behind your motivation. Anyone can talk the talk, but you have to walk the walk to get anywhere in life. If you are facing a crisis, I want you to use all of your senses – including your intuitive perception. What does this remarkable sense have to do with your ability to embrace challenge? When you are fully in tune with your physical, emotional, psychological, and spiritual nature of life, you can see more clearly, achieve balance, and pave the way through the darkness to achieve a positive outcome.

3. Don’t toss out the baby with the kitchen sink. Do what? How many ideas and plans do you have? Have any of them worked for you in the past? If not, why not? You see, too often we have great ideas but because they didn’t work in the past, we simply give up on them. Don’t do it. Instead of focusing on your failures, I want you to focus on your success. But if I didn’t succeed in the past, why should I try again, you ask? When at first you don’t succeed – try, try again. Remember the story about The Little Engine that Could? Become that motivated engine and redraft your plans and ideas so you can get them right. You may just have to tweak this or that to make it work for you. If you’ve failed in the past, reflect on that failure and use the experience and knowledge you’ve gained from that occurrence to redirect your energy and action.

4. Listen for opportunity. Opportunity constantly knocks in your life, are you listening? I don’t ever get an opportunity, my life is full of misery – you say? Well, if you continue to think that way, I can guarantee that you won’t have any opportunities. By thinking negatively, you are blocking the Universal flow of energy and disrupting the natural pattern of positive vibrational flow.

I wonder if Benjamin Franklin ever thought, ‘No, I can’t tie the key to the kite string because it won’t work.’ Franklin believed in his experiment, and because he felt confident, he was able to prove the theory of the identity of lightning and electricity. You are an incredible being, as unique as each hair on your head. What are you going to do to make a difference in your life and the world? Hone in on your inner wisdom to fully hear and see the rewards that life is offering you. Rest your mind and your soul so you can truly get a birds-eye view on the opportunities that exist in your present pathway. I promise you, opportunities are waiting to be discovered if you only open your mind.

5. Gain clarity in your life by developing your intuitive powers. By now you already know that your intuitive powers are key to overcoming your insecurities and achieving greatness in your life; but you must first fine-tune your intuition so you can gain clarity in your life. Today, there are many ways to empower your intuition and make it work dramatically for you. Some of those ways are through meditation, strategic visioning, and thru the Manifestation Method. In addition, there are a lot of guided meditation CDs that can help you create balance in your life so you can gain insight into what you need to do overcome your anxiety and fears to achieve success.

Joan Marie is an Intuition Master, Business Intuitive Expert, an International Medium, Energy Healer and Past/ Present Life Regression Expert. By utilizing her special gifts, she teaches, inspires and shows people how to take responsibility for where they are today.

Joan Marie the gift also offers FREE audio coaching, FREE articles, workshops, coaching, and other resources to help individuals like you – entrepreneurs, small business owners, home makers, coaches, spiritualists and all those who want to “Create an extraordinary way to live, work and play”

Learn more at http://www.JoanMarieWhelan.com

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This article came from: Positive Thinking Helps in Recession, and I’d Say with Simple Living at Simple Living, Sustainable Living.