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Featured Budgeting Articles

Budget Conscious; What are the Benefits of Repowering a Utility Golf Cart with a Kohler Engine?
These days, maintaining a fleet of golf carts and utility vehicles is more likely to be a matter of topping up battery cells than checking spark plugs and mixing fuel and oil. The vast majority of golf carts sold in the past decade or so has been ...

How to Throw a Baby Shower on a Budget
So, you want to host a great party, but you have limited funds. Can it be done? The answer is ABSOLUTELY!!! There are numerous ways that you can cut costs when planning a shower. Perhaps the easiest way is to split the hostess duties among several ...

Manufacturers Shift Marketing Budget Away from Print Advertising in 2006
In early Q3, TR Cutler, Inc. conducted the largest North American manufacturer survey about anticipated marketing budgets in 2006. Statistically significant findings indicated that nearly two-thirds (64%) of the manufacturers surveyed anticipate a ...




Organizing on a Tight Budget
 
With all the shows on TV these days dealing with organizing your spaces you may have been inspired to get your own spaces whipped into shape. That's great. You may be intimidated however by the cost of some of the products the Professional Organizers use on these programs to help their clients become clutter free.
I don't blame you. Going out and purchasing all those see though plastic containers, bins and perhaps even furniture can be way out of a lot of people's budgets.
Professional Organizers always proclaim that to get truly organized you need the “correct” containers. But what do you do when you can't afford the “correct”, and often times pricey, containers? You still want to be organized. You still need to be organized.
Is organizing without purchasing these “correct” containers even possible? Absolutely! I'm going to share some wonderful tips with you for organizing on a Tight Budget.
First of all I would like to stress that I believe EVERYONE should be organized. Yes, everyone has their own style, but working within that style I believe everyone would benefit on many different levels by being organized.
With that said, I would like to say that I myself do use and recommend all of those “correct” storage solutions. However, it wasn't always that way. I used to have my own budget troubles, and couldn't afford to purchase anything extra, especially not for the use of organizing my spaces.
So, I had to learn to be creative with my storage solutions. And you can too. Here are some tips for organizing with a tight budget.
1. Don't throw any packaging out without asking yourself if the container could be washed and reused as storage of some sort. That box that contained your order you placed online can certainly be used creatively for your own personal storage needs.
2. You can find containers to use for free in the kitchen. Empty jars, bottles and even boxes can be washed and reused. Empty tub margarine containers are wonderful for storing leftovers, or even used for storing craft items.
3. Wash and save all the pretty jars and containers after you use your face lotions or your make up. A lot of these products come in sturdy and attractive containers that can be reused to keep craft and sewing supplies in. Or perhaps put in a drawer to house small items that are getting all over the place.
4. Save the sturdy larger laundry detergent boxes. “Sweep” them out with a paper towel and use them to store legos and blocks in the children's room. These larger laundry boxes usually have a handle and a lid that does not detach, making it perfect for little kids to lug around and re-close when finished. These boxes will hold up longer than you think too.
5. If you have a cat, be sure to buy the kitty litter in those plastic bins. After you have used the kitty litter be sure to wash the plastic bin, then you have some wonderful storage. These are great in the kid's room as well. They are sturdy enough to be used as a toddler seat at a short table, AND can hold their various collections of toys as well. They also have a handle, and although the lid does detach, it closes very tightly, making it very handy to have.
The trick to organizing with a tight budget is to be creative. Also, be sure that you get over the fact that every cupboard or drawer is filled with miss matched and often times cardboard storage solutions. Don't worry what your storage looks like, just be sure the areas are organized and easy to use.
Over time, as your budget grows you can certainly invest in all the “correct” containers you long to have. But in the mean time you can certainly find other things to use as your storage containers. Things that are free.
Don't use “not having the right organizing supplies” as an excuse to be unorganized. Anyone, with any budget can and should be organized. You can be too.
Copyright 2005 Kerry Flinders

About The Author

The author Kerry Flinders is the owner of Personal Organizing Solutions located in Southern California. Kerry and her company are dedicated to helping others organize their clutter and their lives, eliminating unnecessary stress and helping the client to find more time in their day for the things they love. Kerry is the author of the book “Organizing With NO Budget”. You can find out more about Kerry and Personal Organizing Solutions by visiting their website at http://personalorganizingsolutions.com



Budgeting News


Water Sector Calls for Accurate Budgeting, Local Experts Utilization
AllAfrica.com
By Bilham Kimati, 19 May 2012 ACCURATE budgeting of water projects away from exaggeration of the estimates together with effective utilization of local experts is among strategies proposed to end water blues in Dar es Salaam before end of next year.

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Christian Science Monitor

How to fix flawed Medicare budgeting
Christian Science Monitor
Budgeting for Medicare's hospital insurance program is flawed. Here are two ways to fix it (and one way not to). By Donald Marron, Guest blogger / May 18, 2012 This 2005 file photo shows of trays of printed social security checks waiting to be mailed ...
Fixing Medicare's Double-Counting ProblemForbes

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Budgeting in Times of Uncertainty: Insight From 3 Hospital CFOs
Becker's Hospital Review
In a session moderated by Holly Carnell, JD, associate at McGuireWoods at the Becker's Hospital Review Annual Meeting on May 17 in Chicago, three hospital CFOs shared their insights on the most challenging aspects of budgeting and managing finances ...

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Students learn about budgeting during Reality Town
News Virginian
Created in 1997 by Jane Parker, a middle school business teacher, Reality Town was developed to teach students about budgeting, fiscal responsibility and the importance of education. “I think it's great,” said Marsha Sensabaugh, an economics and ...


Poor Budgeting Crippled Company
AllAfrica.com
By Jan Poolman, 18 May 2012 THE financial mess that TransNamib finds itself in cannot only be attributed to poor control and ignorance of policy guidelines, but started with a number of weaknesses identified during the annual preparation of its budget.

and more »