Newsletter Archive

Organizing Tip

In honor of Presidents' Day, this month's organizing tip is about savings bonds. Franklin Roosevelt purchased the first defense savings bond and stamps and asked the nation to follow his example. Thomas Jefferson's image was featured on the the bonds.

The United States Treasury offers tools to manage and calculate the value of your savings bonds. Treasury Hunt® tells you about savings bonds no longer earning interest so that you can cash or reinvest these bonds. With the Savings Bond Wizard®, you can: manage your savings bonds, print your savings and inventory, find the redemption value of your bonds, and find the interest your bonds have earned.

The Treasury offers three estimation calculators. The Growth Calculator demonstrates how your savings bonds' earnings will grow. The Savings Planner works in reverse of the Growth Calculator. You begin with your savings goal and enter investment amounts, frequency of investments, and expected interest to calculate the expected value of your investment. Use the Tax Advantage Calculator to figure the total expected return on your investment compared to investments subject to current federal, state, and local taxes. Learn more about these tools at TreasuryDirect®.

Since you asked

About oiling your shredder

Use only oil specifically designed for shredders. Shredder oil comes in liquid and aerosol varieties and is available at office supply stores. You can oil the cutting heads directly or spread oil on a sheet of paper before feeding it into the shredder. If you opt to oil the cutting heads directly, move from one side of the opening to the other in one to two seconds. If you use a paper sheet, apply the oil back and forth on the page for even coverage. You do not need to soak the page.

After you oil the shredder, operate the machine in reverse for a few seconds to make sure the oil is dispersed throughout the cutting cylinders. Shred a few sheets to remove excess oil.

Cross-cut shredders need to be oiled more frequently than strip-cut shredders. You should oil your shredder for every 30 minutes of accumulative shredding or once a month for most home users. Alternatively, you may find it easier to remember to oil your shredder every time you change the bag.

Tele-Seminar 

Saturday March 26th from 9 to 11 am CT

Does the idea of an electronic notebook that you can easily update and share with close family members appeal to you? Can you picture yourself comfortably at home in front of your computer as someone talks you through the electronic notebook section-by-section while you sip coffee? Then the tele-seminar is for you. 

A Red Bench to Interview Amy Praskac

Wednesday March 9th