Question: What about “green”-conscious families, like mine, who are on
organic/nonprocessed diets with recycled paper/plastic products, and nontoxic
cleaners? They don’t have coupons for this stuff or carry it at warehouses. Do
you have ideas to save money yet live healthy and environmentally-friendly?

Answer: We’ve seen several organic products and some
environmentally friendly cleaning products at our local Costco. When buying
“green,” the principles of establishing a buy price and stocking up still
apply. Know your prices for items you purchase. ...<< MORE >>

Question: In the seven years we’ve been married we have paid off both of our
student loans and paid $40,000 extra principal on mortgage. We have one $7,500
loan left before my husband can drop back to one job — he currently works two.
We plan to pay that loan off in 12 months.

I feel like I need to reduce our expenses more so we can make that
transition. I ran across your book and filled out the household budget
worksheet ...<< MORE >>

Question: I have been paying an extra $560 on my mortgage since July 2007.
Recently I began paying an extra $1,000 each month. We owe $l55,000 on our
house — our original loan was for $l86,000. Our house payment is $l,427. We
have $200,000 in a 401(k) plan (maybe less now).

Should we pay off the house with the money in our 401(k) or keep paying
as much extra as we can? We also pay (depending on interest rates) between $700
and $l,500 per month in interest on a home equity line of credit. I thought
that ...<< MORE >>

Question: How can I shop only once a month if I don’t have the storage space? I
would like to be able to do this, but only have one refrigerator/freezer.

Answer: It’s time to get creative and “invent” storage space.

Some ideas include:

• Put cardboard boxes or
  plastic bins in available spaces. Store canned foods under a bed. Convert
  unused closet space to food storage shelves.
  
• Build mini-shelves under
  your bathroom sinks to store more toilet paper and personal care items.
  
• Stack wooden crates on
  their sides to store canned ...<< MORE >>

Question: I'm a single mom with two sons, 10 and 12. My job pays $15 per hour and
I receive child support, but can't seem to get ahead. I rent an apartment, have
a car payment and I don't think I'll ever be able to start saving money to buy
a home. I'd love to go back to school so I can get a better job, but I don't
think I can do it.

Answer: Single moms are unsung heroes. We know you have a tough job, but you
must stop focusing on what you ...<< MORE >>

• Monday, March 2 daytime
  
• Monday, March 9 evening

Question: In your article about paying for college, you said you helped your kids research and apply for scholarships. Can you give me some advice about doing this?

Answer: It’s great to see a high school senior so motivated. You can do lots of things:

Study hard. There is no magic in this, but great grades really help. In Arizona, a 4.0 GPA can be worth a $40,000 scholarship.
Pump up your SAT score by going to the free Web site Number2.com and practice like like crazy.
Read Ben Kaplan’s books, How To Go To  College Almost For Free and The Scholarship Scouting Report.
Go to FastWeb.com and put in your profile. They will notify you of scholarships fitting your interests and inform you of writing contests you can enter and hopefully win.
Get your parents to help you fill out the Free Application for Federal Student Aid (FAFSA) at fafsa.ed.gov. It qualifies you for lots of scholarships and grants.
Get organized. If you keep track of deadlines, you can apply for and win many scholarships.

Our kids have averaged about $100 per hour for their efforts. With diligence, organization and determination, we bet you can do even better. We've written several articles on paying for college and finding scholarships which are contained in back issues of our newsletter — available for $2 each.