Contest -- Wanted: Crazy Gas Stories for WLRN Radio Broadcast

Do you have a crazy gas story to share? How are you cutting back on gas consumption? The top three energy-saving stories will win a signed copy of my new book The Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save, which was just released from DPL Press.

I'll announce the winning entries on WLRN, an NPR station, where I have been invited me to appear on Topical Currents on Wednesday, June 25 from 1-2 p.m. (EST). Hosted by Joseph Cooper, with Richard Ives as the producer, the program includes live phone calls and email questions. We'll also take a behind-the-scenes tour of my new book, which is part memoir and part how-to.

To enter the contest, send me an e-mail by 11:59 p.m. on Tuesday, June 24. I'll announce the winning entries on Topical Currents. I'm looking for creative stories with humor and concrete savings.

Tune in anywhere: Hit the "listen now" button on WLRN's website (http://www.wlrn.org/). If you're in the Miami area turn the station to 91.3 FM on the radio dial.

Leave a comment or send an email (sharonhr@bellsouth.net). Time permitting, I'll mention as many tips as possible, with credit. Thanks & Tune in.

An Invitation: The Frugal Duchess Book Party

Wearing a $20 dress and a lot of attitude, I'll launch my first book: The Frugal Duchess: How to Live Well and Save. The book party will be held at Books & Books on Lincoln Road in Miami Beach.

Please drop by if you're going to be in South Florida on June 12 @ 8 p.m. There will be free food & drinks.

It'll be great to see you there! Thanks.

Here is an excerpt from my book as featured on the Florida Trend website.

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The Best Book I've Ever Read About Making Changes Stick

When I put together a list of books that have meant a lot to me, Small Change* by Susan & Larry Terkel will be on my list of money-saving, life-altering books. The Small Change formula is really excellent and the minor changes suggested --personal, financial, health, professional--are meaningful and practical.

For instance, the authors suggest substituting one glass of water for a soft drink at each meal. Projected savings: 50,000 calories and $500 annually. Another easy change: walk to a further bus stop rather than the stop closest to my home. Projected benefit: I could walk an additional 150 miles in one year with a small adjusment in my route.



Here's the formula recommended in Small Change*

1. Study your daily habits: "Change something in your daily life and you will see the benefits steadily accumulate."--(p. 9) Face it: Our little bad habits cause more grief than the occasional huge error. Here's a menu of petty little things that cost us time and money every day: misplaced keys, the extra serving of junk food, the forgotten lunch, etc.


Consider my kitchen counter tops. When I cook, the kitchen looks like the aftermath of a tropical storm through Miami. My kitchen surfaces become overdone with spices, oils and garnishes. As such, clean-up takes longer, which cuts into my income and I'm less likely to cook the next meal because a) I have to find the kitchen counter tops before I can use the kitchen again and b) cleaning up from the previous meal was such a nightmare, why would I want to cook again? Let's order pizza instead!


This bad habit makes it more likely for me to order an expensive take-out meal or to just zap up an easy-to-fix microwave meal, which is usually more expensive and less healthy.


The small-step solution: I'll put away each ingredient and utensil as I use it. The proposed change is based on my review of a poor daily habit.


2. "Make only one change at a time:" (p. 12) This is such a great piece of advice. I learned the value of focus while deep cleaning my bedroom. When I tackle the entire room, I just waltz around in clutter. I call it the Clutter Shuffle in which I move piles from one location to the next. But when I target one section of the room at a time, that level of focus and attention delivers real results. I deeply clean and put things where they really belong. It's a mindful process, with a big payback. "Self improvement is easiest when taken one step at a time."--(p.14)


By the way, once the change becomes a permanent part of my routine, then it's safe to move on to the next target. The Terkels recommend making a minor change every few weeks. I've tried a one-change-a-month schedule and that seems to work for me.


3. Constantly make small change: It's important to keep moving. Professional athletes, for example, practice and run drills. The same process applies for other professions and crafts. "Instruments tuned on a regular basis are easier to tune," the Terkels state on page 17.

4. Keep the faith and recognize the power in small accumulations. This step requires discipline, delayed-gratification and confidence. When I was in my 20s, I sat down to write a novel and not just any novel: I wanted to write the Great American Novel, an epic piece. I wanted immediate blockbuster success. Years later, one draft of that great effort is in a box and other drafts have been fed to the dust bunnies under my bed.

This past summer, however, I completed writing a small book, which will be published this spring. I wrote it chapter by chapter, with small goals. That step-by-step process worked for me. Likewise, I have started writing a short-story collection. Maybe it could be a novel, but each little story has its own destination. And that small target is enough for me.


"Trust the power of small change, and remember it will add up."--p. 22

5. Have fun: If I enjoy the process, I'll be more likely to stick with the program. Consider my penny hunt. As I purge through the assorted piles in my home, I've made it a point to look for pennies and loose change. A bit of spare change is not going to make me richer, but the Treasure Hunt mentality brings a little joy to my clean-up efforts. It's fun to look under a couch pillow if I think I'm going to find a few silver or copper coins.


Additionally, if I can laugh about myself: the messy piles, the comic cooking or the crazy shopping trips, it becomes easier to let go of bad habits and memories of poor choices. It's just another adventure.

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Sharon Harvey Rosenberg is the author of The Frugal Duchess of South Beach:How to Live Well and Save Money... Anywhere!, which will be published in the Spring of 2008 by DPL Press.
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Previous Posts:
I Found 7 Pennies & One Umbrella Under My Bed: Feng Shui Report
Salad Plate Lessons: Eating Green; Saving Green
Happy 2008! Famous Quotes for the New Year
Finding Hidden Profits in Mistakes: a 10-Step Program


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Airhead vs Workaholic: What I Learned about Money from Writing a Book

After over 25 years of writing about Wall Street, investments and personal finance, I thought I knew a lot about money. After 40 years of writing, I thought I knew a lot about words. And finally, after 49 years of living, I thought I knew a lot about life.

Ha! I've had a crash course on finance, writing and life while writing my book The Frugal Duchess of South Beach: How to Live Well and Save Money Anywhere You Live: which will be out from DPL Press next May. (Pre-orders are available at Amazon.com and Target.com and other outlets.) Fellow bloggers please contact me for a free review copy.

Here's what I learned:

1. Value the 3-Ps: Persistence, Perspiration and Patience. There's a great scene in a recent episode on Ugly Betty when Amanda Tanen, (a wannabe magazine writer) is under deadline pressure to write a magazine feature. Instead of working up a sweat to hammer out copy, she airily waits for inspiration to strike. Bad move: Her debut magazine piece is a disaster.

The Lesson: Writing, investing and living are hard work. The formula translates into about 10 percent inspiration, with the 3-Ps representing the other 90 percent of success. To deliver a manuscript on time, I had to sit down every day and hammer out copy. I made a schedule and stuck to it. Saving, investing and earning money works the same way. It's a daily commitment to follow a budget, track my money and save.

I've also learned to be patient. Writers and investors need patience to outlast difficulties. Sometimes the return in investment takes years to show up.

2. Create an outline: Budgets, investment strategies and chapter outlines provide a frame for dreams. One of my best friends used to preach this mantra: People don't plan to fail, but rather fail to plan. That advice applies to family trips, a stock portfolio or a novel.

The Lesson: An outline or a budget is like a road map. Of course, you can take detours or alternate routes, but it's very liberating to move with a sense of direction and a clear destination.

3. Know yourself. Confession # 1: I am an airhead. I am a dreamer. I am a space cadet. Left to my own devices, I would probably read romance novels and watch the clouds over the ocean from a cast iron chair on my porch. Confession # 2: I'm a workaholic. Left to my own devices, I will work around the clock. My longest work sprint was about 38-40 nonstop-hours ( I lost track) with a short break for my daughter's birthday party. I owed the Miami Herald a cover story on Kosher restaurants in Miami and I was behind schedule. The story came out fine, but I felt like an overcooked hen.

As you can see, the battle between The Inner Airhead vs The Workaholic is not pretty. I could easily shift from periods of total inaction to non-stop typing marathons.

The Lesson: I've learned to rely on schedules, calendars and to-do lists to strike a comfortable balance between work & rest. This planning stage works best when I organize the upcoming day during the night before. I try to apply the same forces of moderation to our family budget.

4. Find the Bottom Line: Successful writing episodes occurred when I kept my hands on the keyboard and my bottom in a chair. It was that simple. That was my bottom line exercise.


The Lesson: Every situation has a bottom line: If I want to go on a cruise for my 50th birthday (OMG! Next July!), I'll have to save X-amount of dollars between now and then. If I want to buy season tickets for me and my boys to see Miami Heat games, I'll have to save. Other savings goals, college tuition bills, retirement and the house of my dreams, also have bottom lines.

5. Network: Through networking, I was able to create and deliver a book. One summer at the Southampton College Writers Conference, my roommate was Donna Jarrell, co-author of Scoot over Skinny, a great anthology about being fat. (It's a great read!) Donna introduced me to her agent Bob Mecoy,( Bob Mecoy Literary Agency) who provided wonderful insights about my book.
Instead of writing a how-to book, Bob suggested that I combine my Miami Herald columns with a narrative. I took his advice on that matter and others. It was a good formula and allowed me to mix finance with stories about my family. My vault of family tales, includes portraits of my unusual grandmothers, hard-working women from the South, who left their husbands and children for assorted reasons.

One grandmother was a classic mixed-race, upper-middle class Southern belle, who became a maid after she left her husband and children. My other grandmother was also a maid, but she was really a pulpit preacher with her own church in Philadelphia. Both my grandmothers had a huge impact on my views of life, marriage and money. I discovered my roots (emotional and historical) while writing The Frugal Duchess of South Beach.

The Lesson: In business and creative circles, networking is valuable. I've learned important lessons in finance, strategic planning and writing by listening to others, including distant whispers from my grandmothers. What's more, networking is a two-way street. It's important to give back in the form of information, recognition and gratitude.
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Previous Posts
Yesterday:
Wait 'Til January & Other Great Last-Minute Shopping Tips
Free Online Typing Drills: 10 Frugal Business & Craft Classes
Frugal & Green Rx for Post-Holiday Cabin Fever

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