There is no shame in renting as opposed to buying and owning. The old stereotypical mindset which says it is cheaper to buy to own over renting is has been proven to be wrong. I am not talking just about buying a home. There are times renting a cars, tools, and other items cost less than buying out right.

When it came to working on my car, if I needed a specialty tool or widget, I would buy it. I would count that tool or widget as part of the cost of doing the repair myself. I didn’t take into consideration the fact I would maybe only using that specialized tool only once. What resulted was having a shed half full of tools I only used once or twice.

My neighbors and friends capitalized on stupidity. When it came time for them to need some specialty tool or widget, they would come by my place and check if I had it. If I didn’t have it they would go down to the local tool rental store.

If you ever watched any of the episodes of Sex in the City on television shows or any of their movies, you would think that women are the only ones who care about shoes. That is not true.

I can tell you from experience men care about their shoes. They may not have the wide variety of colors and styles as women do. Men look more to functionality and comfort, then how shoes look.

Where women seem to go for style then functionality. I don’t of many men who would walk around all day in high heels.

If you saw the shoes I have in my closet you would think I am they are rather simplistic in my fashion sense. I have only three pair of shoes; one pair of tennis shoes, one pair of 12″ high boots, and one pair of Coleman sandals. The tennis shoes I got at the local thrift store for about $3.00 over five years ago. I got the boots at Wal Mart over ten years ago. They were part of an unadvertised clearance sale. The sandals were part of  mid summer sale at Kmart, this last July.

For many school children Summer is ending this week. Malls were packed this weekend with the last minutes back to school. Along with going back to school it means there will be homework. The quality of homework will depend on the environment the homework is done.

Doing homework or any kind of studying on ones bed or in front of the television on the coffee table will only lead to low quality homework. I look the quality of study are will promote the same quality of homework.

If we want our students to do the best, we need to have the best possible area.

I found some great recommendation for the ideal study area at About.com. What impressed me the most it does not take a lot of money to create the ideal study area.

Our cat is not really a kitty. She is at least 10 years old. Our cat’s name is Princess. She carries herself like royalty. There has been other cats and a few dogs that have went running when Princess stood her ground.

Princess has always been in excellent health. Other than vaccine shots and getting fixed so she would not be getting pregnant. Over the last couple months she has been loosing weigh and starting to display some abnormal behaviors.

Princess will from time to time stand on the bed and start whining at my pillow. Other times she will stand in the kitchen and start to whine there also. We have paid more attention to her by petting and talk to her. Still  her behavior stays the same.

It has been a proven scientific fact what we eat can affect our body, emotions and how well we think. Now taking that information and putting on the day to day level does take work. This is especially truth if it involves changes our eating habits.

I was once told that healthier foods cost more and taste bad. Well, that can be true if you are eating broccoli on the plate by its self. Truth be known some smart shopping and creative cooking can make healthy meals equal to or less than cost of the greasy hamburger and fries.

We are told we should eat so much from each of the major food groups. For healthy lifestyle we should eat spinach, yogurt, tomatoes, carrots, blueberries, black beans, walnuts, and oats everyday. Then there is the major disease fighting foods like; broccoli, pumpkin, blueberries, fish, spinach, and tomatoes.

It is just a couple weeks before Boise School District will start their 2011 – 2012 school year. Ms T finished her shopping for her back to school supplies and clothes.

Last year and this year we has Ms T do her own back to school shopping. We gave her a budget and guided her through the process. We see this as a good training to help Ms T to learn some basic lessons in financial planning and shopping.

The first step in keeping with any budget is to Separate wants from needs. It is nice to get the sharpest, and stylish clothes. When you shop with style in mind it is going to cost a lot than if you are shopping for just functionality.

When I was young, and was ready for my first car, I want a 1956 Chevy four door. In reality all I needed was some transportation to and from work. I needed to pay rent, utilities, and other bills. The only way I could afford that 1956 Chevy was if I didn’t pay rent and some of the other bills for a couple of months.

Late July and early August is the best time to go around to yard sales. This is the time to I find the best deals. People are cleaning out their garages for a little extra money. Parents are cleaning out their children’s closet getting ready to by new sets of school cloths.

Last week we stopped by this one yard sale where we were met by a little boy and girl offering to sell us bottled water or soda for $1 each. Their sales pitch was the money they earned would help pay for their back to school clothes. I smiled and thought it was great that such young children were learning the value of a dollar.

Last year was the first year we gave our daughter a budget for her to buy her school supplies and clothes. She amazed us how much she came within budget. So we decided it would be a good practice to do the same this year.

Any Do-It-Yourself project is made or broke in the planning stage. Like an old friend once repeated over and over again, “Proper Planning Prevented Poor Performance”.

Just in planning can be expensive. Going to the library looking through dozens of magazines for the perfect bathroom design. Then going from one hardware store to the next to find the right faucet or right color of paint. Then there is how is it all going to be arranged.

Like so many people have told me, as the project was starting to come together, they started making little changes. A walk outlet over the vanity needed to be moved 12 inches to the left, because it was to close to the sink. There was no place to put the toilet paper holder. The bathroom door was swinging the wrong way. All of these do at to the cost of a remodel real quick.

Are you a renter? Does it seem like your rent is too high? Are others in your apartment complex all complaining about the rent being too high? Or are you a landlord and wondering if you raise your rent, you would be pricing yours property out of the market?

These are all legitimate questions both landlords and rents ask on a regular basis. Sometimes the answer is not so easy to find.

Then there is the questions like, “What percentage of my income should be going to rent, or my mortgage?” Can I really afford a bigger place?

Our children is our future, our hope, as well as a mirror of ourselves. As parents we have this thing in our being to protect them from all possible harm.

According to the CDC, in the United States during 2005, 1,335 children ages 14 years and younger died as occupants in motor vehicle crashes. There was approximately 184,000 were injured as a result of automobile accidents. These are numbers we can reduce.

Over the years the safety of motor vehicles has greatly increase. The development of child safety seats along with the laws requiring younger children sitting in the rear of a motor vehicle, and done greatly in protecting our children.