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Recycling one ton of newspaper saves 17 trees!

All 50 states are listed across the top of the Lincoln Memorial on the back of the $5 bill.

In This Issue:Vacation Values

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Featured Article:
"Vacation Values"

The Best Pancakes

This recipe from "More with Less" is a great pancake mix. It is more economical to make your own mix stored in a tightly sealed container.

For 2lbs of Pancake Mix

6 cups Flour
1 Tablespoon Salt
6 Tablespoons Baking Powder
6 Tablespoons Sugar
2 cups Powdered Milk

For 4lbs of Pancake Mix

12 Cups Flour
2 Tablespoons Salt
3/4 Cup baking Powder
3/4 Cup Sugar
4 Cups Powdered Milk

Mix well and store in airtight container on cupboard shelf.

Options:
Replace one third white flour with buckwheat flour, whole wheat flour, or oatmeal.Add 1 cup wheat germ to small recipe, 2cup to large recipe

To use mix:

Combine in a bowl:

1 egg (beat with fork)
1 cup water
2 Tablespoons melted fat or oil
1 1/2 cup pancake mix
Fry on hot griddle. Serves 3-4

Soy-Banana Bread(More-with-Less)

Note: Soy flour is expensive as a flour, but not as a source of protein. One slice of this bread has 8 grams of protein. (10 slices per loaf)
makes 1 loaf

Preheat oven to 350
Sift together:
1 cup plus 2 tablespoons soy flour
1 1/3 cup white flour
2 3/4 teaspoons baking powder
1/2 teaspoon soda
3/4 teaspoon salt
1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup dry milk powder

Cut into dry ingredients:
1/4 cup shortening

Add and mix just until moistened:
1 egg, beaten
1/3 cup water
1 cup mashed bananas (2-3)
1/2 cup chopped nuts (optional)

Spread in greased 9x5x3 loaf pan. Bake 50 minutes. Remove loaf from pan to cool. Delicious warm or toasted.~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Share Money Saving Tips, Recipes, and Frugal Living Ideas, Here

If you have food in the refrigerator, clothes on your back, a roof over your head, and a place to sleep, then you are richer than 75 percent of the world! (Saving Money with the Tightwad Twins)

Take The Financial Fitness Quiz

~Save time and money on gas. Instead of driving to the post office, request stamps from your mail carrier. In an envelope addressed to "stamp purchase" include a request for stamps and a check for the cost of the amount of stamps you wish to buy. Your mail carrier will deliver them to your mail box usually the very next day.

Powdered carpet cleaner

2 cups baking soda, 1/2 cup cornstarch, 1 tablespoon ground cloves. Sprinkle over carpet, leave overnight, vacuum.
Note: I have heard that cloves also repel ants.

Orphaned socks make great dusting gloves
We all have that bag or box of socks with no matches. The controversy goes on as to what does actually happen to that other sock. We may never know! But you can put those orphaned socks to work. They make great dusting gloves. Especially good for small knick knacks. Simply pick up items and wipe clean.

Save packaging materials to use in your own packages- Not only can you recycle by using to ship your own packages, you can use these materials for crafts.

Used softener sheets make great dust rags. Use for television and computer screens.

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The biggest mistake people make in life is not making a living at doing what they most enjoy. -Malcolm S. Forbes (1919-1990)

It’s when you find and work your passion in life that you begin to live. Your work naturally becomes your life.

FEATURED ARTICLE

The family vacation is a tradition intended to bring families closer together and one that many of us would just not think of giving up. Quality time for the family reinforces the importance of family values. It's sort of a "time out" from the day to day routine of living and growing. A chance to focus on getting to know better those that are most important to us, our family. Of course, how much importance you place on this event depends on your past experiences.

In today's fast paced society a vacation just isn't a vacation unless its costing you a small fortune to get to, and stay at, some exotic venue that usually offers no excitement without dishing out more money. I suggest we put on the brakes and get back to basics. You surely won't have a better opportunity to do so than on the family vacation.

Let's not forget that the "family" extends beyond our home life. Most of us have family that we rarely get to spend time with either because of distance or time issues. But, one should always make time for family. Right? I knew you would agree! Not trying to make you feel guilty here but, we do have a way of letting life rush us through the years. I call it "non-intentional neglect" and most of us are guilty of it at some point in our lives. So, let's re-invent the family vacation to include some real quality time that reinforces the value of our families.

Would you consider a visit to grandparents, distant uncles, or a friend's home a vacation? When I was growing up, the family vacation usually meant visiting family members who lived some distance away. Coming from a family of limited finances, this tradition was budget friendly yet, was sufficient to satisfy our need to escape the norms of home life.

Of course, as the teen age years approached, it became harder and harder for my mom to convince us that "we would have a good time" visiting the relatives. Some of which we had already spent several vacations visiting and had, I guess, lost their uniqueness to us as teenagers. That said, if any of you can figure out what makes a teenager happy, except socializing with their own peers, then congrats! Let me know your secret. All kidding aside, I believe that they still enjoy the family outings but have a strong resistance to acknowledging that they are actually having fun. In other words, they are having fun and just refuse to admit it! For ideas on keeping kids busy read the articles here /fun-for-kids.html

I was a single parent for many years and just didn't have the money for family vacations requiring hotel stays and admission fees. I guess I followed in my mother's footsteps in hoping that a visit out of town would suffice. And it did. For many years, the family vacation consisted of a visit to a dear friend or family member's home who was willing to put up with four kids for a week. These are truly "beloved friends and family!"

I am fortunate to have a good friend for life who has two children within the same age group as my kids. Since we didn't get to visit often throughout the year, these visits were exciting for both my kids and hers who had become good friends.

So, by all means plan to visit a family member's, or friend's, home for a week. Young children especially enjoy these trips. They make new friends and the family ties are strengthened. This is an excellent way to reinforce family values and the importance of keeping in touch with family members that may live some distance from your home.

Do a little research before you go. Find out if there are any museums, historical sites, low cost attractions, or state parks within driving distance from where you'll be staying and plan to visit. Remember to ask the family member or friend you are visiting if they have any suggestions. Since they live in the area, they will most likely be aware of popular spots. Ask about bowling, roller skating, or special movie nights in the area and plan accordingly. You can even plan some game or craft activities to keep everyone busy and having fun.

For those of you who have worn out your welcome or simply don't have family within a reasonable distance, finding vacation spots that will provide a memorable experience for everyone in the family can be a challenge. Especially on a tight budget. Don't be discouraged, it is not impossible.

Since the goal here is to get the most fun for your money, let's talk about some low cost vacation ideas that could be right for your family.