Grant Cardone

How folks, even though I don't post as "Prince of Thrift," as much as I used to, I still search for financial information everyday.  Yesterday, I came across a Facebook page for someone named Grant Cardone,   I never heard of him, but he had posted on this fan page that I had found, to ask him anything.  So Iasked what should have been a simple question. Who are you?   I was the first to ask anything. It should have been a simple question to answer, but he ignored it.  He answered dozens of other questions, asked after, even had some mini conversations, but a simple question who is this so called, public figureis ignored.   So I have to wonder, what is he hidding?

- Prince Of Thrift

Party Mix

3 cups Corn Crisp (or Chex™) cereal
3 cups Rice Crisp (or Chex™) cereal
3 cups Wheat Crisp (or Chex™) cereal
1 cup mixed nuts
2 cup bite-size pretzels
6 tablespoons butter or margarine
2 tablespoons Worcestershire sauce
1 1/2 teaspoons seasoned salt
3/4 teaspoon garlic powder
1/2 teaspoon onion powder

Some in Congress says, Don't Make Homemade Soap

There are actually some in Congress that think the real danger out there is those of us who make (or have made homemade soap. That's right folks, the recipe I have posted over the years, now could get my wife and I locked up, or at least heavily fined. 
Here's the skinny:

People who are trying to do good for their families and the planet by living a simple life based on traditional skills are facing yet another assault. Artisanal soap makers say new regulations, proposed by Senator Dianne Feinstein (D-California) and Senator Susan Collins (R-Maine), will put them out of business. The view of Sen. Feinstein and her corporate backers (listed below) is that the Personal Care Products Safety Act (Senate Bill S.1014) will make the world a safer place by scrutinizing “everything from shampoo and hair dye to deodorant and lotion.” She says the Federal Food, Drug, and Cosmetic Act should be more progressive like laws in Europe rather than antiquated US regulations in effect since the 1930s. If the industries that back this law are really so concerned about safety, why don’t they voluntarily make healthy products, like the small time producers already do?
- FDA to Crackdown on Homebased Soap Makers

According to the articles that I have been reading, and listed as my sources below, these companies that support this bill are as follows:

1. Estee Lauder
2. Johnson & Johnson
3. L'Oreeal
4. Procter & Gamble
5. Unilever 
6. Revlon

So why are these companies so scared of homemade soaps?  As the above quoted article stated above, why don't they make their own healthy products.

Federal regulations on cosmetics have not been updated in 75 years, the senators say. Everything You Need To Know To Become A Self-Sufficient Homeowner “From shampoo to lotion, the use of personal care products is widespread, however, there are very few protections in place to ensure their safety,” Feinstein said. “Europe has a robust system, which includes consumer protections like product registration and ingredient reviews.
- Before It's News

Yeah, Yeah Diane, you aren't happy unless you have your hooks into everyone and everything they do.  What is so unsafe with honey as
sources:soap or lavender or any other of the natural items (ie: not man made)?

1. FDA to Crackdown on Homebased Soap Makers  - Health Impact News
2.What Does Diane Feinstein Want to Ban Now? - AgainstCronyCapitalism.0rg
3. Congress to Crack Down on Homemade Soap - Before It's News

---- We would love to hear your thoughts, please leave your comments below.

Homemade Weed Killer

The recipe I found is as follows:

• 1 Gallon Vinegar
• 1 TBSP Dish Soap
• 1 Cup Epsom Salt

Since I have a two-gallon sprayer and knowing that salt is the main reason that the weeds (and anything else) die, I used the following recipe.

• 2 Gallons Vinegar
• 2 TBSP Dish Soap
• 3 Cups Epsom Salt

Continuing Research for our Tiny House

Pat and I have been looking at various plans to build our own tiny house as we talked about the other day on Facebook. We continue watching Tiny House Nation and Tiny House Hunting. Most of the plans we have seen don’t exactly fit what we are looking for so we will probably combine a couple plans to come up with a interior plan that better fits us.
However, we are also looking at the possibility of buying a smaller existing home, However that won’t give us the experience to learn from building up. Even if it is a fixer upper. Though a fixer upper we could learn about building new cabinets to make it more handicapped accessible, as we need. Making upper cabinets into display cabinets.

Of course we are still looking for ways to raise the estimated $30,000. Some could be raised through a yard sale, we after all do have to downsize considerably. Another idea, is from our friend Christian, by selling Kettle Corn. Another idea is using crowd funding. The fundraising would probably include all these ideas.
We have already decided on the name for our new home “petite maison de cygne.”

From Idea to Planning

Recently, my wife and I have been talking about a 500 square foot, tiny house. There are many reasons why this is a great idea.  Not only is it a popular thing currently, as featured on Tiny House Nation™ and Tiny House Hunting™. First, the cost of building smaller is less. Second, utility expenses is less, which means less of a carbon foot print on the environment. Third, and most importantly, is my wife’s handicap.  Because she is handicapped everything has to be lower. Which makes it harder to use the vertical space which is so critical in any tiny home. However, by putting display cases up above, I believe this can be gotten around.  This would allow the nick knacks to be displayed in an area that would go unused. The nick knacks don’t need to be messed with everyday (or even every month) any way, so this seems to be a perfect solution. Thus, bringing dishes down to the lower cabinets where they need to be for a handicapped individual.
Further, to help with utility costs even further, we want to have solar panels so that the all electric house will cost us nothing each month.  In addition we would like to use a rainwater collection system to flush the toilet and water the garden with?
The question now is, how to raise the estimated $30,000.  A friend suggested having a fundraiser. So I posted for ideas on Facebook. One friend suggested to look at Pintrest. According, to one link which gave 100 fundraising ideas, some of the ideas included:

Bake sale
Battle of the Bands
Bazaar
Bingo night
Bowling tournament
Carnival
Casino night
Charity auction
Charity concert
Charity dinner / pot luck
Charity race
Christmas party
Coffee morning
Costume contest
Craft fair
Dance / ball
Easter egg hunt
Easter egg roll
Egg and spoon race
Fashion show
Fete
Golf tournament
Halloween party
Karaoke
Learn a New Skill day
Meet-a-Celeb night
Photography exhibition
Pub quiz
Quiz night
Santa’s grotto
Shopping fair
Singing contest
Skating party
Skills raffle
Sporting match
Street party
Talent show
Themed fundraising party
Treasure hunt
Variety show
Wheelbarrow race
Wine tasting

Another link suggested individuals could use crowd funding. However, I am not sure that is the best idea to raise $30,000. So now I take the question to rest of the world. What do you think?
– Prince of Thrift