Turn Up The Heat

Charles Swindoll in his book Come before Winter tells of the time when Lord Oliver Cromwell was reigning in Britain and the country ran low on silver.

Lord Cromwell sent his men to the cathedrals to see if they could find any of the precious metal. The report he got was that the only silver was in the statues of the saints standing in the corners.

He replied, “Good we’ll melt down the saints and put them into circulation."

A Profitable Hobby

What do people past 70 do for hobbies? This couple enjoys saving money. Some of our friends aren't interested, so we are careful where we talk about it. But it's not in the same catagory as porn. It is upright, wholesome, fun and enables us to help the needy.

We could talk about our no-contract, $1-per-week cell phones (T-Mobile). There are no other fees. Both of us have them. Also in the communication department is our $3-per-month unlimited long-distance calling (Skype). We have a cordless Skype phone from GE. We can keep in contact and encourage others, especially seniors. Charles calls 14 different men who have been largely cast aside.

Then there is travel. We manage the Rapid Rewards points on Southwest Air so we get free trips to Tampa each year. Yes, we are having fun.

If the grocery store files for bankruptcy, it may be Lois' doings. She frequently buys her groceries for half-price by using special offers. The clerks know her and show ways of cutting costs even more. They know that some of the purchases go straight to the needy.

We can buy and sell stocks and other financial products for no cost (Zecco). Others pay brokers large sums for the identical service.

We could talk about eye glasses (Zenni Optical-$8 with frames) and hearing aids (http://stores.ebay.com/HEARING-AIDS). There are tremendous savings to be made.

The Lord shows us the route to savings. They are all legitimate and honest. There is a real sense of accomplishment when we do more with less money.