Let’s all admit. Money is important and a MUST have nowadays.

We need money to buy the basic things that we must have; from food to clothes, rent bills, amortizations, tuition fees, etc. etc. etc.  And the thing is, money is not something that you can get and have as much as you want, it might go in a snap, and you’ll lose everything that you have. So as early, we should know how to use money wisely and SAVE.

How to save money:

1. Before you decide to save money, the first thing that you should do is to condition yourself and have a mindset that you will SAVE. Good discipline is the key to have a proper savings.

2.   Spend Less- This is probably the best way to save money. Buy only the things that are necessary and spare from buying items that you never use in the long run.

3. Spend Wisely-  Buy items that has high quality. It is better to buy something expensive but you can use for a longer time than the cheaper one which has a lower value and no quality at all. Also, make sure that you bu something that has a warranty.

4. Make a budget plan-Have a weekly budget. In case you are working, compute the average money you spent everyday and multiply it by 5 or 6 days (number of days at work), and your food allowance.  Make a separate budget for other fees like electric bill, rent bill, phone bill etc. and make sure you pay it on time.

5.  Open a savings account- This is the best way to save money. Open a bank account in your TRUSTED bank. You can also make it as atime-deposit to make sure that the money that you will use the money that you are saving in a certain time or age.

6. Less gimmicks- Most teens  spend their money on too much nightouts or shopping which lead them to get broke at an early age. hanging out is good once in awhile but too much is not healthy anymore.

7. Have a piggy bank- Piggy bank is old school to some yet it is still effective if you have a strong will to save. Save the change coins that you have for the day and put it in your piggy bank.

8. Spare from vices- Never ever deal yourslef from any vices especially gambling. Money is at stake in gambling and you might lose everything you have in a snap once you try playing it. Gambling is win-lose game. There are more probability in losing than winning.

9. Get a part-time job/sideline- If you really want to save more money then get yourself another job or invest in a small business. Having something where you can get anotehr extra money would help you save more.

10. Spare yourself from debts- Before you get yourself a credit card, assess yourself first if you have enough capability to pay on time, regardless of how big the interest is. Because if you can’t, long lists of debts will follow you wherever you go. Also, pay your bills on time and not let it double or triple.

Making homemade products is the call for all who wants to earn extra money without spending big capital.  Aside from the usual homemade products like Tocino, Longganisa, pastries and personalized accessories, why not sell something that will surely dig by the house’ budget commander… mothers. Why not create a homemade Soaps and Dishwashing Liquid?

Here’s how to make a homemade soap from Ehow:

Things you’ll need:

• Soap Coloring
• Soap Fragrance
• Soap Molds
• Colored Crayons
• Thick Bath Towels
• Coconut Oil
• Distilled Waters
• Non-virgin Olive (not Virgin) Oil
• Vegetable Oils
• Vinegar
• Vinegar
• Fragrant Essential Oils
• Lye
• Rubber Gloves
• Rubber Gloves
• Crisco Shortenings
• Candy Thermometer
• Measuring Cups And Spoons
• Mixing Spoons
• Plastic Bowls
• Rubber Spatulas
• Stainless Steel Stockpots
• Stirring Spoons
• Mitre Boxes
• Safety Goggles
• Safety Goggles
• Rubber spatulas

Procedure:

·         Dissolve 12 oz. lye in 32 oz. softened water in a plastic or glass bowl. If at all possible, do this outside or under an exhaust fan.

·         Add the lye to the water, not vice versa. Pour the lye slowly and in a steady stream, and stir constantly with a plastic spoon.

·         Set the mixture aside to cool. The mixture will heat up considerably due to the lye reacting with fats in the oils. This is called saponification.

·         Melt 24 oz. coconut oil and 38 oz. solid vegetable shortening in a stainless steel pot.

·         Add 25 oz. olive oil (not virgin) and any fragrance oils you want to use.

·         Allow oil to cool

·         -Grease the soap with Crisco

·         When both the oil and lye mixtures have cooled to room temperature, slowly combine them, adding the lye to the oils.

·         Stir slowly and constantly. If you see bubbles, stir more slowly.

·         Drizzle the soap into the pot once in a while. When it keeps its shape momentarily before sinking into the rest of the mix (tracing), it’s time to add whatever extras you want.

·         Stir your botanicals, grains and coloring into a cup of soap taken from the mix.

·         Combine that back into the original mixture.

• Pour the soap into the mold.
• Wrap the mold in a towel and leave it undisturbed for 18 hours. The soap mixture will heat up and then cool down. Avoid uncovering it until it’s cooled.

·         Allow the soap to sit in the uncovered mold for another 12 hours.

• Loosen the sides by wiggling the mold a little.

·         Turn the mold over onto a clean counter.

·         Cut the soap into bars with a knife. Some people use a miter box to make square corners.

·         Allow the bars to cure for three to four weeks before using. Smaller bars cure faster than larger ones.

Additives

·         Mix candle coloring into the oil solution. If it’s wax-based, melt it first in a couple of tablespoons of oil and then add it to the rest of the oil mix.

·         Realize that you can also use crayons for coloring. Experiment with colors. Note that purples are very difficult to keep true.

·         Use 1 tsp. per pound of soap of the following ingredients: cocoa powder for brown, cayenne pepper for pink-peach, liquid chlorophyll for light green, turmeric for yellow, paprika for peach and titanium dioxide for white.

·         Use 1 oz. essential oil to scent a 4-lb. batch of soap.

·         Know that 2 tsp. ground cloves makes a great-smelling soap. Try grated orange or lemon peel or ginger, too.

·         Use rose water instead of regular water for rose soap.

·         Oatmeal makes a great complexion soap. Use 8 oz.

·         Add 4 oz. cornmeal for a gritty texture.

·         Make soap with 1/2 oz. geranium oil for dry skin.

·         Use tea tree oil - 1/2 oz. - for problem skin.

Year 2009 is finally coming to an end. If we sum up the event this year, we can conclude that we experienced a very rough year especially in terms of natural calamity and employment.

A lot of Filipinos lost their jobs, experienced lay-offs and salary deductions. The economy had experienced its lowest point as well this year. And due to this problems, a lot of Filipinos are jumping from an ordinary employee to businessman.

One of the “in” business for all year round are home made products. From processed foods, accessories, soap and dishwashinf liquid and Perfumes.

Want to earn more in 2010? Why not make perfumes! Here’s how.

Prepare:

• Bottles (10ml-100 ml)
• Beaker
• Essential oils
• Fragrance oils
• Deodorize alcohol (TDOH)
• Muscol (MCL)
• Moisturizer (propylene glycol or PPG)
• Distilled water

Here’s the procedure according to the filipinoentrepreneur.com:

• Prepare all the raw materials needed in plastic cups except the alcohol because it evaporates easily. You can prepare it just before starting the mixing. Weigh each needed liquid materials individually in cups but first weigh the cups and adjust the scale to zero so the weigh of the cups will not be included with the materials. (see the measurement above for each materials)

• Then place the small beaker on the weighing scale and adjust the scale to zero. This is for the alcohol I mentioned before. Pour the alcohol until it weighs 70 grams. Then pour the MCL and make sure the plastic cup is empty of the MCL by pouring alcohol from the beaker, scraping it with the stirring rod and transferring it back to the beaker. Mix thoroughly until well dispersed in the alcohol. Take note that water and MCL should not be mixed first because it will harden it.

• Then add the PPG to the mixture and stir again until well blended. Then add the rest of the materials one by one stirring each time you add the materials and make sure it is well dispersed.

• Finally add the distilled water in the mixture then mix thoroughly until it becomes homogeneous. You can then transfer them in containers.

Use colored bottles for presentation. Try to think of a brand name that has some class or a name that sounds edgy and cool. Print the name on a sticker paper and put some enigmatic design to capture attention. A one liner name is better. Think of classic perfume like CK’s “Eternity”, Givenchy “Oblique”, or Chanel “Chanel 5″.

They say that people are “richer” during holidays which explains why taxes revenues and other business establishment receives higher in yuletide season.

If you have a lot to spend this christmas, but think that your money is not enough, they why takethe season as an opportunity to earnmore? Why I tell you how…

Here are some business ventures that you might do to earn more this Christmas:

1. Baked and Sell Fruitcakes- Fruitcake is part of every Filipino “noche buena”. Home made products, especially fruitcakes are in to thrifty mothers out there. Also, fruitcakes can stand the test of time, you can aged it since it contains wine. Fruitcakes can be sold from P200-P500 according to size.

2. Join in Bazzare- Christmas bazzares are in during this season. Why not sell clothes, bags, apparels or those products with fixed price like P20 or P50? Hey! remember that people dig something to give this Christmas, so why not ride with what people look for hmm?

3. Garage sale-If you expect a lot of things to receive this Christmas and think that you might overload on your own stuffs, then why not separate your old stuffs (make sure usable) and sell it?

4. Sell personalized gift items- This is the most convenient, I guess. You don’t have to invest much, creativity and craft skills is enough. All you need to do is be patient to look for craft materials in Divisoria (where products is way cheaper than in malls), you can go look out for materials that can be use apparels (bracelet, necklace, anklets, etc.) to mugs, t-shirts etc. Having a knowledge in computer is also good. You may create and print personalized stickers for your products like mugs, picture frames, t-shirt etc.