Clean EVs making money for their owners!!!

The California Clean Vehicle Rebate Project is offering up to $2500.00 in rebates to new owners of plug-in electric vehicles (PEV), plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV) or zero-emissions vehicles (ZEV).

The models that qualify are listed on their website at: http://www.cvrp.energycenter.org or you can call for more information to their toll free# 866-984-2532.

You can send for the application online and the California Center for Sustainable Energy will email you further instructions within 3-4 days.

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The federal government is also forking over as much as $7300.00 tax credit for qualifying purchases, so I’ll check back with you after tax time next year to let you know how that program works as well.

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This means that potentially you have an opportunity to get back as much as $9800.00 of the sales price in rebates and tax credits.

Good luck with your purchases fellow Greenies,
Diane Tegarden
Environmental Journalist (and new Chevy Volt owner!)

Dude, I need a break!

I’m taking a brief hiatus from my Blog Talk radio show and writing for The Examiner.com from January-March 2012 in order to finish my two main writing projects for this year; a novel “Cami Chameleon, Sweet Hitchhiker” and “Budgeting on a Dime” a short e-book about getting control of your personal finances.

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My next radio interview will be with Tammy Gagnon of the “No Longer Silent” Radio Show on Sunday January 22nd at 1pm PST/2pm MST/3pm CST/4pm EST.

The show will be about my experience surviving domestic violence, the call-in number to the show is 347-838-8098.

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Energetically, Diane Tegarden
“How to Escape a Bad Marriage-A Self Help Divorce Book for Women”;
“Light Through Shuttered Window”; “Anti-Vigilante and The Rips in Time” at BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, firewalkerpublications.com

Avoiding the Christmas Crunch- tips 8&9

I know, I know, I know, Christmas is over for another year. But it never hurts to plan ahead, right? RIGHT!

So, here are budgeting tips #8&9 for you:

8.  Send free electronic cards to as many people on your list who have email, it’s much cheaper than Christmas cards and saves loads of time. Some websites with free ecards are: www.jibjab.com, www.myfuncards.com, www.americangreetings.com, www.punchbowl.com.

 9.  Re-gifting is ok; just make sure you write down who gave you the gift on a post-it note, so you don’t give it back to the same person who gave it to you!

Share your big goals for 2012 here!!

I feel inspired to share my big goals for 2012, they are:

- Finish writing, editing and producing “Cami Chameleon” by October 1st.

- Write a short book on finances entitled “Budgeting on a Dime” by 9/15/12.

- Get a literary agent!!

- Have “Anti-Vigilante” made into e-pub format for Barnes and Noble by 4/15/12.

- Start walking 3 days a week.

Please feel free to post your big goals for next year and we can watch our progress together!!!

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

Save money on your electric bill with this organic tip!

Save money on your electric bill by making it easier for your major appliances to do their jobs.

For example:
Help your washer clean your clothes by cleaning out the muck that accumulates in the space between the wash “tub” and the inner wall of your washer.

Do this by turning the water setting to HOT, add half a small box of baking soda and half a bottle of white vinegar and use the highest setting for agitation. (Remember, don’t use any soap or it defeats the purpose.)

Let it go through its regular cycle and the “curds” formed from the soap you regularly use will be washed away, allowing your washer to clean your clothes using less strain on the motor, which means using less power to wash your clothes. Once a month is often enough to keep your washer in tip top shape!

Energetically, Diane Tegarden

12 Ways to Avoid the Christmas Crunch (tips 6&7)

6.  Use gift bags instead of wrapping paper to save on the expense of something that will just end up in the trash.

7.  Put aside at least $10.00 to spend after Christmas for seriously marked down wrapping paper, gift cards and Christmas cards.

12 Ways to Avoid the Christmas Crunch- tips 4 & 5

4.  Before Christmas, have a lottery where all the family’s names are placed in a bowl and each member of the family draws one name to buy a gift for (this reduces the number of gifts you have to buy). Set a dollar limit on the gifts and make everyone stick to the limit!

5.  For friends and co-workers, give gifts of home-made food (jam, cookies, brownies, etc.) in an attractive basket. My specialty is homemade cranberry sauce (killer-good!)

12 Ways to Save at Christmastime (2&3)

2.  Have the kids create short Christmas plays to entertain everyone.

3.  Copy the lyrics to Christmas carols and have a sing-along.

Enjoy!

Avoiding the Christmas Crunch (money matters)

I know, I know, it’s too late to do anything about overspending this Christmas, but maybe, if you plan it out, next Christmas won’t be the final nail in your financial coffers!

For the next few days, I’ll post one suggestion a day:

In lieu of individual family gifts, have a family party where each family brings a food dish, a specialty Christmas food that you enjoy and swap recipes.

Budgeting on a Dime; class announcement

Budgeting on a Dime: A Step-by-Step Approach to Getting a Handle on Your Money

Living Within Your Budget Means Learning To Take Control of Your Personal Finances!

In this class, you will learn how to:

-Complete a Bank Reconciliation
-Budgeting I and II-Find out how much you spend each month, then learn how to cut down expenses to match income.
-Increase Your Income, there are several ways to do this
-Saving Money: coupon tips, rewards points, savings account
-Budgeting Myths, hear what they are…

In this course you will learn the basics of budgeting and receive tools to help you streamline your expenses. The course booklet includes charts and forms to help you organize and clearly view your financial picture.

Location: Five Acres Foster Youth Program, 2055 N. Lincoln Ave., Pasadena, CA. 91104

Dates: September 16, 30, October 14, 28, Nov. 11, 25 & Dec. 9, 23.

Time: 5:30 p.m. – 7:00 p.m.

Facilitator: Diane Tegarden, Author and President of Firewalker Publications, Inc.

Fee: $10.00 for 8 weeks (All Materials Included)

To register please call: 888-979-8884 or email Linda at: sd@shepherddoor2001.org

Energetically, Diane Tegarden
“How to Escape a Bad Marriage-A Self Help Divorce Book for Women”; “Light Through Shuttered Window”; “Anti-Vigilante and The Rips in Time” at BarnesandNoble.com, Amazon.com, firewalkerpublications.com