With the current financial crisis in full swing, the evening news is littered with bank failings, job losses, and business closures. Sad news, undoubtedly, as these failings only add to the turmoil. Story after story, usually followed up by more tales of foreclosure. As we watch the fallout from years of bad decisions, we see a common theme arise:

If you are at all familiar with Jim Cramer or his show, Mad Money, then you might be a bit confused by that title. No, I'm not saying that I finally understand his methods and that I'll be foolishly getting sucked into day-trading in the near future.

No, no, by "Jim Cramer Finally Makes Sense", I mean that he's finally come down from his decades-long caffeine/sugar high and stopped all that crazy talk - Buy! Sell! Hold! Buy! Sell! Hold! Bear Sterns is fine! At least for a few minutes on the Today Show he was making sense.

His advice sounded strangely familiar...

Cramer, calm and near tears at times, said that he thought all weekend about what he was going to say on Monday morning. His long contemplations resulted in this sobering advice:


If you'll need your money in the next five years, get out of the market.

Wow. Really? This is somewhat sound advice, and I commend Jim for actually saying it... outloud... on national television. But here is why I think he's a big dummy: It's easy to say that NOW! After the market is downward spiraling. After the mortgage meltdown. After the collapse of bank after bank after investment firm. After the foriegn markets have taken a nose-dive. Gee. Really?! You think that money that poeple are counting on for college, large purchases, or retirement might not be there?!

You see, this is what Dave Ramsey has been teaching for years, Jim.

This, could happen at any time. The market, by nature, is volatile. If you need your money in 5 years or less, then it needs to be in a good savings account. If you won't be needing it for 5-10 years +, then you should be invesiting it in good mutual funds as you will be able to handle these swings in the market without flipping your lid.

Jim Cramer: Typically going in twelve directions about which stocks to buy and sell, had to come on the Today Show to tell the nation that he has new advice for these difficult times.

Dave Ramesy: Advice has not changed. Plan still works. Isn't selling stocks - especially at the bottom. In fact, he's still buying at the same pace he always does - slow and steady.

Did mom and dad ever read you that story about the tortoise and the hare....?

The cheapest way to handle Halloween is to leave the porch light off and forget about it. BUT when you have little kids or enjoy the holiday it makes it hard to just ignore Halloween. I find most costumes at the store to be cheaply made and not able to hold up to my kids. Especially since they want to use the costume as dress-up clothes after the holiday. Because of this I always end up making my own costumes. Some years have been expensive, like the Snow White costume that I spent a fortune on fabric to get just the right colors. But other years have cost close to nothing like the Black Cat year. I'm no expert on cheap Halloweens but here are some tips that I have learned along the way.

• Plan ahead- Like most things in life, if you give yourself enough time to think and get good deals you will save money.
  
• Creative Costumes- Be creative and make your kid's (or your own) costumes. Instead of asking "What do you want to be this year?" ask, "Do you want to be a train engineer, a robot or a super hero?". By narrowing the choices down to options you know you can make cheaply or for free you and your child can both be happy about the decision.
  
• Rethink Treats- We all know that we can not give out homemade goodies on Halloween night or at the school parties. I try to be healthier and cheaper by shopping for the little snack packs of animal cracker or similar when they are on sale. I will sometimes find other smaller packaged items on sale to use also.
  
• After Holiday Sales- This good rule of thumb applies to all holidays not just Christmas. Last year I was able to get Halloween knee-hi socks for 90% off at Target. I bought all of them and made a boat load of Baby Legs for my kids to wear this year.
  
• Reuse Candy- This is not as gross as it sounds. If your kids get candy at school or daycare like mine do then you know how it feels to end up with candy no one in your house will eat. Why not turn around and give it out to the kids who come to your door that night? It's still wrapped and untouched so to speak.
  

It has been amazing to watch our little baby change over the last month or so. It seems like over night she goes from sitting there taking the world in quietly to a non-stop explorer who loves to talk. As much as I love the changes the one hard part has been the diaper changes.

I'm sure all parents can relate to our experience as I'm well aware that it is not a unique one. Our baby would lay on the changing table so nicely while I changed her diapers. She would even hold her own legs up for me (to cute!). Now that she is 8 months old I have to wrestle her down, hold her legs up and keep her hands out of the way all while trying to wipe "real" poop and then put a prefold AND a cover on her. Most days I feel like I'm a cowgirl roping my calf because of the way I have to hold her down and she's flopping and fussing the whole time.

What to do? Do I give up on my cloth diapers? "Not I!" Says this bull headed ropin' cowgirl.


Instead of giving up it's time for a different strategy. My daughter has been in a size large for three months already and I have a nice collection of prefolds, fitteds, and velcro covers. Some I've bought but most I've sewn.

The Issues:

1. She unvelcro's her covers all day everyday.
2. She has "real" poop from starting on solids instead of runny baby poo.
3. Moves nonstop while changing her.
4. Mr. NtJS want's to go on a date and at the moment the babysitter's can't get her diapers on her right.
5. Grandma's are not tucking the diapers into the covers correctly at the moment so she leaks and they feel horrible.
   

1. We switched to snap covers. So far they seem to work great. She can not get them off and they fit well. Velcro is easy to use but once your little one figures out how much fun it is to play with they just don't work.
   
2. I purchased a roll of Tiny Tush disposable liners. They are 100% biodegradable and safe to use with septic systems. I've used them for a month and so far I really like they. They make cleaning up a drop in the bucket... or toilet in this case!
3. Our last three issues are being solved with one solution. AIO or Pocket diapers. I've stayed way from them before for us they were more expensive since I was not willing to sew them (go ahead and call me chicken I don't mind). However, we need something that works and our current diapering system was not keeping up to par. I purchased a couple used AIO and Pocket diapers off of Diaper Swappers to try. As expected they worked really well and make thing much easier. I only tried snap diapers for obvious reasons and I liked the pockets better because they were easier to dry. The AIO's take longer to dry then everything else. If I was only going to have style of diaper in my rotation then I think I would have went for AIO, but I have a mix.
   

This week we were included on three carnivals and festivals. Another crazy week here on the NtJS ranch. Fear not ReUse It! fans, that camera we were mulling over is on order, and a new ReUse It! post should be up next week.

We are pleased to welcome all new readers, as well as new carnivals to Not the Jet Set. To find out more about us, click here. We are a personal finance blog focused on frugality, stewardship, and current events, while also telling our story as a family and the personal finance decisions we have made. Thanks for stopping by and be sure to check out our NtJS Cafepress shop!

• Your Finish Rich Plan is plugging air leaks - something I need to address as well.

Letters! We get Letters! We get sacks and sacks of letters! Letterrrrrrrrrrs!

Always an entertaining segment on the Late Show with David Letterman was the CBS Mailbag. They quit doing it years ago, but when I go to get the mail, that theme song starts up in my head. Why? Junk mail. Credit offers. Insurance offers. Free* vacations I somehow won without entering. Catalogs for stores I'd never shopped at. We even started getting these official looking letters informing us that the warranty on one of our cars was about to expire and immediate action was required to continue coverage.

That warranty ran out years ago. I was not fooled by their ruse, but I can see how many would get sucked in. Why do we get all of these letters? Sacks and sacks of letters?


I hadn't opted out. That is, until now.

I'd heard about this many times but just never took the time to do it. The bogus warranty crap pushed me over the edge. But how could those scumbags know that I even owned a car??? The answer is simple.

Pre-screening.

Credit reporting agencies allow businesses to "pre-screen" you before making their offer via mail (oh so personal). I'd like to think that the original intent was somewhat legit, but they pretty much let anyone do it. By pre-screening me, the extended warranty jokers mentioned above could see that I'd had a car loan and what year we'd bought it. Bada-boom, bada-bing. Letter goes out.

Well, now I'm out. Opted out. Ridiculous that it is even something you would have to opt out of, but that's life. Maybe we'll save a couple trees in the process too.

Ready to opt out? Visit the official site, optoutprescreen.com

Have you already done this? How long did it take to notice a difference in your volume of mail?

We're doing a bit of tidying up, so we're moving this off of the mainpage.




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Our blog has been overtaken by the bail out issues lately and this post is also about the bail out. BUT the light at the end of this tunnel is NOT an on coming train!

Dave Ramsey just released . In true Dave style the steps are simple as is the plan he is proposing. Check it out for yourself! If you agree with the plan email it to your Reps and forward it on via email to everyone you know. If you are a blogger... blog it. Let everyone know and make sure to flood your Congressperson's email (today) so that they know how we Americans feel.

I know that some of you are not big Dave fans and that's okay. We are all allowed to our own opinions. But even if you don't like Dave please try to review his plan without bias and do what's right for our Country.

Last week, we were ranting and raving over the government using our tax dollars to bailout dumb corporations (it still hasn't happened yet). The Mrs. and I had differing views on the hows and whys of this funked up economy. And that's ok - it makes for interesting conversation.

One thing that we do agree on here, is that turning things around starts with you.

That's right. You and I hold this country's future in our hands. We can't directly control corporations, unless we happen to sit in the big office with the nice view and have the letters C, E, and O on the door. We can't directly control congress, that is unless when people write your name, they use the prefix Rep. or Sen. What we do have complete control of, is what happens in our own homes. We control the products that come in. We control the money that goes out. When you think about it, we actually do control a lot. And that is what the Patriot Pact is all about.


Mr. and Mrs. have come across the aisle, to jointly sponsor a plan, not for America, but for Americans. A plan to get our own houses in order instead of waiting for Congress to do it. A plan to take back the future of this nation from the lobbyists and special interest groups. A plan for people who are sick of watching things happen, only to wonder, "Why?". A plan that requires no special skills - only the will to do it. My fellow Americans, we give you the Patriot Pact.

The Patriot Pact v0.1

1. I will not buy products solely because they have the lowest price.
2. I will seek out American made products first.
3. I will seek out environmentally friendly products and services first.
   
4. I will shop local first, and national chains second.
5. I will support companies whose morals and values line up with my own.
6. I will live on a budget, avoid debt, and seek to bring peace and simplicity to my finances.
7. I will hold at least one garage sale per year. (It is also acceptable to donate your 'garage sale items' in lieu of holding a sale)
8. I will support charities and non-profit organizations that line up with my morals and values as my income permits. Equal opportunity should be given to both local and national organizations.
9. I will bank with local banks and/or credit unions, instead of mega-banks.
   
10. I will support and/or vote for candidates in touch with the reality of the issues at hand, instead of rhetoric.
    
11. I will only vote when I can make an educated decision about a candidate or issue.
12. I will vote out incumbents who serve their own interests over ours.
13. I will contact my elected officials to inform them of my opinions as needed.
    
14. I will politely encourage friends, family, neighbors and others to consider these points and/or to take the pact as well.