There are many kinds of hand sanitizer products you can find in the market. The best are those with 60-80% alcohol concentration as they are very effective in sanitizing purposes and killing germs. Or you can also go for the natural oil base sanitizer  with disinfectant properties. Cedarwood, clove,  lavender, lemon, pine,  tea tree and ylang-ylang essential oils  have antiseptic and disinfectant properties. But among these oils,  tea tree oil is the most powerful because it also contains antiviral, anti fungal and antibacterial properties.

Whatever you choose, it is important that the sanitizer has moisturizer to keep your hands and skin from drying.

Now, if you want to make sure of the hand sanitizer you and your family will use, you can choose to make your own hand sanitizer. It will save you money plus, you can personally choose the ingredients to use.

Here are some recipes that you can use in making your own home made hand sanitizer:

Alcohol-based Hand Sanitizer

• 1/4 cup pure aloe vera gel
• 1/4 cup grain alcohol
• 1/4 cup vitamin E
• 10 drops essential oils (depending on your preferences)

All Natural Alcohol Free Hand Sanitizer Gel

• 1 cup pure  aloe vera gel
• 1/2 cup of vitamin E
• 1-2 teaspoons of witch hazel (add until the desired consistency is reached)
• 8 drops of essential oils (depending on your preferences)

The answer is a big NO!

Frugal living means simply making your money go further. It is wisely cutting back on things that you don’t necessarily needed… but doesn’t mean completely living without it. Say you allocate $200 for groceries. You can reduce it to $150 by buying only what you need and few on things you want. If you buy 2 dozens of chocolates… then why not reduce it to 1 dozen.

To be frugal is to cook meals at home, instead of getting takeaway or eating outside. It is about going to  garage sales to buy pre owned clothes and goods, instead of paying full price in a department store. It is about finding discounted items instead of new arrival. It is about doing inexpensive or free things with your children, such as a play at the park, riding your bikes, having a scenic walk around your neighborhood or playing hide and seek in the backyard.

Do not be ashame to reuse and recycle the items you have at home. There is no harm in reusing items as long as it is healthy and sanitary. Recycle items such as old towels, washcloths or shirts as dust clothes, old jeans can make a cute purse, etc. You can get the same benefit out of these items as you would those high priced items on the store shelves for no price at all. And you can take it as an opportunity to have a bonding time or group activity for the family.

Frugal living simply means living smart!

The next question is, How much is enough as an emergency funds? Basically, a three months worth of your salary is good enough. But if you can make a savings of about 4 to 6 months worth of your salary, the better. 3 months is enough period of time for you to be able to set yourself again. Any savings more than that makes you more secure and safe.

It is important that you set this money aside in an account separate from your regular savings account. If you mix it with your regular savings, you might be tempted to use if for things other than an emergency. This way, you can sleep at night knowing you have nothing to worry about.

Life is getting harder and harder nowadays. We must help ourselves to be able to survive during financial crisis. The point is, during financial crisis, more often than not… we find it difficult to make it until the next pay day. The next thing we notice is that we are in front of the door of another loaning company or credit card company.

Just before you go knocking the door… think a little more. Is this is your last option?

Then you have to do a little math. Subtract all your bills from your net income. And you will have some idea on where you stand.

If your bills a little more than your income, then here is something you can do.

1. With your cable program

We all love to have hundreds of channels to choose from, and thousand of movie to watch through pay per view but do we really need them all? Can’t we live without it? Why not go basic? It’s much less than the premium price and you save yourself a number of cash bills over time.

2. Coffee break

How many times a day do you drop over a coffee shop for a coffee break. Twice or trice? Why not bring a home brewed coffee and save yourself a few bucks.

3. aircon

If you use your air con as much as you sleep… well you can start minimizing your bill by setting your air con to run for 3-4 hours then switch to electric fan. For sure you will save some more.

4. lights

You will save more if you use fluorescent light than using chandelier or bulb. See the wattage of both and you’ll know what I mean.

5. Phone service

This would sound familiar. Caller Id, call forwarding, three way conference…all extra services that makes your telephone bill goes up. Why not try eliminate those unneeded services?

6. Appilances

Make sure you unplug appliances when not in use. Just turning it off consume 25% of its normal electricity consumption.

7. Foods

I believe we all know that prices of food at mall is a little bit higher than the price in local market. You can check it out!

8. Credit cards

Having a credit card is not bad, if you known how to use it properly. Don’t use your credit card in buying things that you really don’t need. Make use of it as your emergency weapon.