I knew it would catch up with me.

I made a fresh batch of cookies the other night and grabbed my husband’s Charger football oven glove from the drawer to pull the cookie sheet out. As soon as my gloved hand touched the hot metal, I screamed and dropped the cookies on the floor. Upon further examination, I found a rather large hole in the thumb finger of the glove. My hand suffered a nasty burn.

I angrily threw the oven mitt in the trash and used another one from the drawer for the remaining cookies.

Last night, hubby made a yummy dinner and I heard him shuffling through the oven mitt drawer while the baby and I were playing on the living room floor.

‘Hey hon? Where is my Charger mitt?’ he asked.

‘It had a hole in the thumb and I burned myself so I threw it in the trash.’ I called from the living room.

Silence.

I picked up the baby and walked into the kitchen. He was staring at the drawer, deflated.

He looked up at me, ‘I know it had a hole in it. I just didn’t use the thumb part. Things have been kinda tight lately and I didn’t want to spend the money to replace it. And aren’t you always saying we need to make things last longer?’

Sigh. He caught me on that. He should be allowed to have at least one crazy frugal holdout. Plus, I should have known not to throw out a man’s football anything.

Looks like the first thing I’m buying in debt free March is a Chargers oven mitt. Sorry honey.

A few days later, there were more. I caught about 10 or so scouting my pantry. They didn’t congregate. They weren’t crawling in any specific direction, just searching for good snacks.

Since I cleaned our pantry a few months ago and saw the amount of food I was wasting, I hardly buy anything. Grocery shopping is organized and limited to items on my list. There are no snacks. No chips. No cookies. Nothing but canned goods and tightly sealed bags of baking supplies.

In the past, when I caught the scouting ants, I knew I was in for it. I’d have to throw away food and spray pest killer.

Um. Not this time.

Apparently there is so little food in my house, the ants called it a day and moved out this morning. On to greener pastures and fuller pantries I guess.

Who knew living frugal would annoy the ant population?

No, I’m not talking about Christmas spending, I’m talking about the electric/gas/oil costs of cold weather!!

San Diego had its first cold snap this weekend. Each morning, I woke up and checked the thermometer, shivering as I saw it hovering in the low 60’s – INSIDE my house. We’ve been insulating the house one wall at a time as money permits, but a good portion of our home has no insulation in the walls. Normally, hubby and I throw on sweatpants and a few extra blankets on the bed but that’s not an option this year with a newborn in the house. We have central heating but every time I turn it on, I swear I hear ‘cha-ching, cha-ching, cha-ching’ rather than the heat fan.

The upsetting part is, we only need one room heated at night. We close the vents to the other rooms but it’s not effective. I’m terrified to run a space heater while we sleep and we don’t have a fireplace.

How do you keep warm without spending a fortune?

I found a couple homes I liked and contacted the owners. One owner offered her home at a 30% discount since it’s a last minute booking but she wasn’t in the best area of town. Before Dave Ramsey, I probably would have booked the discounted one and never thought to negotiate with the homes I’d rather stay at.

Oh how times have changed.

I went directly to the best place and asked them to beat the price. What could it hurt?

Not only was I able to get the home we wanted deeply discounted, I was able to negotiate the refundable deposit to 75% less.

Hubby worked an extra side job and we have the whole weekend away covered with cash. Can’t wait!

I figured this craziness was genetic. A rare strain inherited from my mother who used to grind her own wheat for fresh bread in the morning. I, on the other hand, take after my dad who could pull out a fork, open a can of cold Chef Boyardee, and call it dinner.

I mean really, NORMAL people don’t bake everything right?

I went to a friend’s house over the weekend. She had invited my husband and me over for hamburgers and fries. I watched in amazement as she carefully molded ground beef into patties, peeled and sliced potatoes, and pulled fresh buns from the oven. We drank homemade Kombucha and devoured fresh cookies after dinner.

She started talking about saving money and how they lived on less because she cooks everything from scratch. I didn’t have the heart to tell her that while, yes, I make dinner at home each night, the closest I’ve come to making cookies from scratch in months is slicing them off a premade roll I bought with a coupon.

Am I the crazy one here? Are all of you out there baking away while I’m buying hamburger buns and crackers instead of making them?

To make matters worse, I’m not sure my clothes will EVER fit the same when I do lose those final 8 pounds. I’ve got curves in places I’ve never had curves before. Someone should have warned me!

When I told my husband about my predicament, he suggested I temporarily wear my maternity clothes.

When he regained consciousness, I informed him that wouldn’t be happening.

I spent some quality time at the thrift store and at discount clothing stores equipped with my coupons and $65 dollars later, I added a few dresses and skirts to my collection. Let’s just hope by the time my coworkers notice I’m rotating the same 6 outfits, I’ll be able to squeeze into my old clothes.

After dinner and dishes were done, gramps and I watched Keeping Up with the Kardashians. OK, so maybe he wasn’t watching. He was chatting about his recent trip to visit our family in Washington state. Hmmm. Great idea for a future cheap vacation?

Before leaving, I robbed grandma of all her garden grown veggies and a loaf of fresh baked zucchini bread. One less trip to the grocery store!

when they have to pee.

Shoppers feel rushed and spend less time wandering stores, thus, add less to their shopping carts.

Somehow, I just can’t see myself hurriedly downing a couple quarts of water so Target would have a less painful hit on my pocketbook BUT, I know it would work. How? This weekend, I ran a couple errands while my husband watched our sleeping baby at home. I’m nursing the little guy so my window of time away is TINY. I found myself power walking (and admittedly, occasionally RUNNING) through the grocery store, the shoe store, and the library. There wasn’t one item purchased that wasn’t on my list because I simply didn’t have the luxury of time to wander. My husband laughed at my new ability to shop quickly and cheaply.

So, if you aren’t trapped by a nursing infant…

try drinking lots of water.

At first, I denied it. There is NO WAY I spend $42 each month on food that goes bad before I have time to eat it. Then, I opened my fridge. I clean it out once a week but thanks to the time spent caring for a tiny infant, I haven’t had time to clean it in 3 weeks.

I stuck the poor little guy in his swing and set out to calculate how much food I wasted this month.

I tossed a few soft apples, a couple grapefruit, a few Tupperware’s of left over dinners, and a half head of lettuce. Not close to $42 but definitely hovering around $20. No biggie right? Except that’s not counting the craziness I threw away in my pantry last month.

I may be closer to that $42 than I thought.

What did Ziploc recommend? Freeze everything. For my leftovers, this is a great idea. I think I’ll try it out this month.

As for the fruit and pantry items, I’ll work on buying a little less.

How close are you to that $42 mark? And be honest! No cheating.

To be honest, I had kinda hoped for a tiny shower held in a janitorial closet involving only the lovely ladies who had specifically asked. By day’s end however, the event, originally scheduled in the smallest conference room, had to be moved to the largest one. The e-mail invitation was forwarded around the office like a fast moving virus.

On top of that, one of my co-workers gave me some items his grandson had outgrown including a swing and a bouncy seat. ‘I wish I would have known earlier! I would have given them to you months ago!’ he said.

For those of us digging our way out of the debt mess we made, it’s easy to slap away the hands seeking to help. I keep thinking, ‘I’m the idiot who got myself into this mess, I need to learn my lesson and get myself out.’ But part of the lesson we need to learn is…

Humility.

Foolish pride has got to go.

My husband and I have made great strides in saving money but we still haven’t met our goal amount to get through my leave and pay the hospital bills. Spending a bunch on baby supplies isn’t an option. Accepting help is a great lesson in humility AND a great reminder that we have some wonderful, wonderful people in our lives.

Don’t slap those helping hands away. Smile…

and say ‘thank you’.

Slightly desperate for couches that don’t smell like dog pee (thanks to the house-sitting incident)… cancel that… DESPERATE for couches that don’t smell like dog pee, I called my husband to ask if he could do the job.

(For those who are wondering why we didn’t get some cheap couches off Craigslist yet, I read a Time Magazine article about bed bugs that gave me cause to think twice about touching other people’s furniture. At least I know this set is bed bug free.)

I called my husband to ask if he’d be willing to do the job – assuming he wouldn’t. Silly me. I forgot who I married.

I told him the story and he said, ‘Does the hot tub work?’

‘No sweetie, it’s old. It just needs to be thrown away.’ I said.

‘But is it broken?’ he asked.

‘I’m pretty sure’

‘Could I fix it?’

‘No. We’re…’

‘But I could try’

‘Um. Let’s just take it to the…’

‘I’ll call our neighbor to help. I’ve always wanted a hot tub.’

‘Honey, I only want the couch set. I don’t want a broken hot tub…’

‘I think I have some concrete in the garage. I could pour a pad over the weekend. Tools! I’ll need to pull out my tools. I’ll borrow the tow trailer from grandpa…’

I could hear him furiously scribbling on his note pad.

I clicked END on my cell phone. My part of this conversation was obviously over.

The best part about my husband, he can fix anything. The worst part about my husband, he can fix anything and he knows it.

All I wanted was a couch that doesn’t smell like pee. Now I’m knee deep in a broken hot tub with a husband happily puttering around with his tool belt envisioning outdoor sports watching and beer drinking while sitting in his hot tub.

Sometimes, that man can really make me laugh.

[[ Thanks Stef. I really appreciate the couches]]

Here’s the funny part…

I attended community college prior to moving on to a private university.

Obviously I’m not the expert but let me tell you why I absolutely agree with Zac (obviously not all community colleges are the same as ours):

1. Our state college and our community college shared more than half of the same instructors – who taught the same classes at both. The difference? I paid $60 while my state friends paid $580.

2. The class sizes were significantly smaller at the community college vs. the state college. All of my teachers knew my name.

3. San Diego State University, our local state college, is notorious for its impossible acceptance standards. BUT, if you attend the local community college for two years, you are guaranteed a spot. While your perfect GPA valedictorian student can’t get in, my average GPA husband is registering for classes.

4. According to Bissonnette, students who transfer from community college to a four year university are more likely to graduate than those who started in university their freshman year.

5. Best of all, my student loans amounted to $15,000 instead of $30,000 and my diploma from my private university looks exactly the same as someone who attended all four years. There isn’t an asterisk on my diploma saying, ‘We only vouch for half her education.’

That’s just my experience… what’s yours?

Did we go to a fancy steakhouse? A nice Italian restaurant? Happy hour at our favorite sushi joint?

We spent a romantic evening at… Taco Bell.

Don’t be jealous OK?

My husband rented a 99 cent movie (a big spend for me since I always linger 3 – 4 months on a waiting list and rent them for free at the library) starring… Jennifer Lopez.

Perhaps he was intoxicated by the scent of food not cooked by either of us – generally, he’s not a fan of chick flicks, especially those starring Jennifer Lopez.

As we enjoyed our cheap Mexican food, we talked about the no dining out policy and how we felt about it.

And by ‘we’ talked, I mean ‘I’ talked.

‘We’ decided to continue ‘our’ policy until October 8th, the day we leave for Italy, as a way to stash as much cash as possible before we leave.

Here we go again!

I might just spend the entire day at my favorite Mexican food shop crying tears of joy into a carne asada burrito.

You should probably know, I did end up violating the ‘no dining out’ policy last weekend again. My sister was in town for the garage sale and she forced me to take her to the Thai food restaurant down the street.

OK, so she didn’t exactly ‘force’ me per se. She may have said, ‘Aren’t you on a no dining out policy?”

Darn this blog and the accountability that comes with it.

“Uh, I think that ended last week” I stuttered and ushered her into the car before she asked questions.

Twice in two months isn’t bad.

I’ve saved so much money from dining at home and eating leftovers that I feel more secure financially – even if only a little bit. It’s like dieting for two months and fitting into your skinny jeans.

I think this may become permanent…

$1781.00

I lost my breath.

But hey, according to the paperwork, if I make minimum payments…I can be paid off in 13 years. It annoys me that this credit card company hopes my debt may outlive my dog.

As I stared at the bill, I was annoyed with myself. Dave Ramsey encourages people to live outside the box rather than have a natural reaction to accrue more debt.

I didn’t think outside the box. I threw in the towel – and quickly at that.

The fact is, there will ALWAYS be a reason to jump back into debt. Car repairs, hospital bills, home repairs… VET BILLS.

I know it’s only a two month hiccup but I can’t help but wonder if I had offered to scrub dog poop, would have let me?

I’m working on changing the way I think. I’m slow – but I’m getting there.

What I really wonder is…

What is the strangest way you have paid a bill?

Have you cleaned your dentist’s home? Have you cooked for your mechanic? Have you babysat for your plumber?

My husband installed an exhaust fan for a 6 pack of beer so trust me – I know you folks are out there.

As she went to purchase a stack of clothing, she pulled out her shiny credit card and tapped it on the counter excitedly while she talked about how cute the clothes were.

The cashier ran the card but couldn’t find a pen for the signature. My friend looked at me and asked, ‘Do you have a pen?’

I pulled out the only pen I had, my Financial Peace University pen from Dave Ramsey.

As she gleefully signed at the bottom, I couldn’t help but laugh as I imagined the Financial Peace pen bursting into flame the second it touched the credit card slip.

Surprisingly, it didn’t.

I miss spending like that. I miss buying what I wanted. But…

I don’t miss the credit card debt.

Thomas Stanley, author of The Millionaire Next Door, must be a fan of mine. His most recent two blogs talk about frugal folks who shop at thrift stores for clothing and come home with remarkable finds.

I mean really, why wouldn’t a NY Times bestselling author read my blog?

Don’t answer that.

My favorite quote stolen from this blog series: “Any idiot can pay full price”

But if you have time (time AFTER you read my blog of course), check out his at http://www.thomasjstanley.com/blog.php.

IT happened on Sunday.

IT meaning… I went out to eat on Sunday.

Before you stoke the fire for burning me at the stake, let me explain. I have a totally good reason…

Actually… I don’t.

I went wine tasting with my husband, my brother, and my sister-in-law. We have friends who work at the local wineries and they let us taste wine for free. Fast forward six hours and I’m sitting at a table with a chopped salad and a thin crust pizza staring back at me.

I can fight off sleep, I can fight off grocery store crowds, and I can fight off impatience to stay out of restaurants.

Apparently, I cannot fight six hours of free Sangiovese, Pinot Gris, and Orange Champagne.

The damage? $25 dollars including tip. No, it won’t break our bank and no, we didn’t go outside our grocery budget but I’ll admit that I’m mad at myself for busting our deal without a fabulous reason – but… it was the best chopped salad and pizza I’ve ever had.

OK, you can go stoke the fire now.

After a ten hour day, staring down the eyes of three more hours of late night work, I’ve been unable to plan any sort of decent meal.

Take on the crazy notion that I can last two months without dining out and I set myself up for disaster…

Or did I?

I heard an advertisement for E-mealz and decided to give it a shot the same day I promised my husband to say no to dining out. If you’ve never heard of E-mealz, let me give you the quick run-down. E-mealz is a weekly menu planning resource with over 28 menu options to choose from – including meals for two, meals for four, points system meal plans, and a gluten free menu (hint hint to my sister Lizzy and her gluten free child). Once a week I log on, download my menu and my shopping list, make a 30 minute trip to the grocery store, and never think about dinner again until I’m in the kitchen for 30 minutes making it each night.

The menus rotate beef, chicken, pork, fish, and vegetarian dishes and *gasp* force me to try new things.

My sister-in-law (who works late into the night) frequently comes home, drops her bags on the floor, and calls ‘What’s on the E-mealz menu tonight?!? Smells so yummy!’ as she pulls up a barstool and serves a plate.

Weird. I never heard her say that when I made turkey wraps for the 15th time in a month.

I used to spend $120 a week on food. With E-mealz, I spend around $55. I’m not trying to sound like a walking advertisement but it’s hard not to share when you’ve found something that makes a chore easy and reduces your grocery budget by 50%. Membership is only $1.25 a week!

I approached the folks at E-meals and asked them if they would be willing to donate a one month subscription to one of my readers. Not only did they agree, they donated a 3 month subscription to give away AND offered 10% off for all BloggingAwayDebt readers.

How can you win it? Leave a comment and let me know you are interested (make sure to type your e-mail address in the ‘Mail’ slot). I’ll throw all the comment names into a hat and draw a winner on Wednesday night (August 18th). The winner’s name will be posted on Thursday, August 19th.

If you don’t win but are interested in using E-mealz and want 10% off, click the link/photo below and type in the code: savemoney

Please make sure to click the link/photo so E-mealz knows where the referrals are coming from.

And, the recipe for chicken puffs? It’s an E-mealz dinner! Wrap cooked chicken and cream cheese in a reduced fat crescent roll. Cook as instructed on the crescent roll directions. It’s AMAZING!!

This cycle has always worked for me… until now.

My washer stained a huge load of clothing. When all you own is three pairs of business slacks and the washer wipes one out, your wardrobe is suddenly reduced by 33%.

I think my washer is out to get me.

My budget is slim this month thanks to Hutch’s aftercare (we’re paying cash for all his aftercare to avoid financing it) and I robbed my clothing budget. Not exactly the best time for my washer to be vengeful.

My husband would have understood if I asked to take some money from our debt payment this month so I could buy new clothes but based on the ratio of income to spending this month, that’s not a good idea. So… I decided to go to Goodwill and shop for clothes.

I have never shopped for clothing at a thrift store. Why? Because thrift store shopping requires a huge dose of patience mixed with equal parts humility.

I have neither.

I won’t lie to you and say it was just like shopping at Macy’s. But the staff was sweet and kind (definitely not Macy’s!) and helped me locate the sections I should start looking in. I found two skirts I can wear to work and a cute Hawaiian skirt for $2.99! My total bill? $12.97.

As weird as it is to say… I’m going to rotate Goodwill into my shopping. Check out my goods!

Have you shopped at a thrift store? What’d you think?

On a side note – Hutch is getting a little better each day. He still sleeps on his back to keep the pressure off his poor tummy but the swelling has gone down drastically in the last 2 days. Whew!

I’m working on that.

Wednesday, we didn’t pick up Hutch until 6:00 p.m. because I worked late and then took time to prepare his bed and mop the floors to keep them as germ free as possible for his wounds. When we arrived home, the neighbors came over and spent an hour visiting Hutch and sharing animal injury horror stories. They left around 8:00 p.m. and I looked at my husband. Both of us were exhausted. I thought about suggesting we run down the street for a carne asada burrito. Instead, I trudged into the kitchen and started making Chicken Puffs. My husband seasoned and cooked asparagus, cut apple slices, and helped piece together the rest of the meal.

Would I have rather had a carne asada burrito or carne asada fries? Yes.
Do I feel slightly better that I’m starting to resemble something like a financially responsible adult? Absolutely.

Two more weeks!

How will we celebrate? Maybe I’ll make more chicken puffs. We’re saving a lot of cash and it’s pretty awesome – plus, I’ve got a nasty vet bill to pay.

Hutch is home! We requested to take him home since staying at the vet is $300 per day. Since I don’t make $300 a day (not even close) it’s a better decision financially to stay home with him. They agreed as long as I keep a close eye on him and I bring him back tomorrow and Friday for laser treatments.

Nice. I can’t afford Botox but my dog is getting lasered. Must be a California thing.

The admin slapped the bill on the counter and…

In big bold letters it read… $11,700.

I’m not joking.

Nearly $12,000 was staring me in the face.

I stopped breathing.

‘On the pet payment plan correct?’ she said while typing.

‘Uh. I don’t have $12,000’ I said while wondering what they do to non-paying pet owners.

She laughed (I wanted to slap her) and said, ‘That’s the full price. You’re paying THIS price while pointing to the very bottom – which read $1,700.

Turns out, the laser treatment is $10,000. And yes, I’m serious.

But because Hutch was the first pet ever treated by laser in their hospital, they only charged me $200 and reduced his total bill by $800.

For the first time in my life, I was in the right place at the right time.

He’s home. He’s healthy – kinda. And I saved $800. I will sleep well tonight.

I’m rolling $1,700 into my debt snowball. It will take less than two months to fix the step backward – but he was worth all sixty days… and then some. I’m sooo glad he’s home.

Whew. Back to life.

Here’s his new photos.

I haven’t had french fries since we went on our no dining out hiatus – or any fried food for that matter. I’m terrified of burning myself so I eat a lot of salad and oven baked chicken.

I was in the living room playing with my nieces and nephews when I smelled the intoxicating goodness of hot oil. I ran to the kitchen and on the stove was a cookie sheet loaded with hot fresh french fries.

Oh how I miss french fries. I don’t eat them much but going 30 days without them… well… I miss ‘em.

Thanks to my sister for dishing up the unhealthiest food known to man.

So how is the hiatus going? Um… good?

I didn’t want to spend any money outside the budget at all, side work money or not, but the nitpicky nerd in me occasionally lightens up.

As my husband and I browsed Target with $40 in cash (part of what he earned from a difficult roofing job), all I could see were cheap plastic games I wasn’t particularly drawn to ‘waste’ money on. Based on the happy look on his face, he wasn’t seeing the visions of plastic hell I was. He saw hours spent hanging out with friends, campfires, handholding, and chorus’ of Kumbaya.

After an hour, he finally picked a game of lawn darts for $14.99 – on sale – and decided to spend the rest on… uh… not sure if I should admit this but, he spent the rest on ‘adult beverages’ to share with his buddies.

We had a really wonderful time camping on the sand, playing lawn darts, taking a sailing trip on a friend’s boat (my first ever), and… I think I caught my husband humming a few bars of Kumbaya as we walked hand in hand down the shoreline.

Our share of the beach front vacation is $12 per night. It’s a deal that can’t be beat!

I went by the closest Target store to grab something to make for dinner only to discover the grocery section was closed for remodeling.

Sure I could have gone by a grocery store but it was nearing 8:30pm and I figured I could scrounge something up at home.

A 15 minute search of my freezer revealed…

Not a darn thing.

My dinner last night? Popcorn. Lunch today? A can of soup.

Let’s hope the next 59 days end better.

Happy Friday!

At the end of each month, I analyze our spending and look for ways we are becoming ‘financially flabby’. I discovered this extra food spending was contributing to some of our annoying financial flat lining (fatty restaurant food doesn’t exactly add to the aesthetic qualities of our physical bodies either).

I know, I know, we had a good month this month – but it could have been better if I had worked a little harder.

So, I proposed a new rule to my husband. No dinners/drinks/food out for the next 60 days. Fortunately for me, he’s game.

This could get interesting.

‘YOUR COMPUTER HAS LOST CONNECTION WITH THE INTERNET’ blared across my screen.

A five minute phone call to my internet provider later, I discovered my wireless router had died. Sure, my router is older than most sixth graders but I had hoped it would hang on until I was debt free – such a selfish router not to consider my finances before dying. But alas, in government terms, the router has ‘reached the end of its useful life’.

So, I did what I do best when it comes to broken things in my home, I kept my mouth shut and hoped no one would notice. In a crunch, I could bike to our local library to write the blog.

Thirty seconds after I made my decision to hide it, my brother shouted, ‘The internet is down! Do you want me to call the cable company? I’ve got a report to write for work.’

Darn.

I dragged my desktop computer halfway into the hallway and the Ethernet cable the other half distance to serve as a makeshift internet station. My brother isn’t necessarily pleased since he usually surfs the internet from the comfort of his room and given the fact that he pays half the bill, I need to fix it.

I am writing this blog from the ‘comfort’ of my makeshift internet station with my body jimmied between the hallway, the office, and the bathroom. I’ve tripped my husband 14 times and I have a nasty bruise on my leg. My brother keeps asking when I’m getting off the computer so he can write his work report. For my sanity and the sanity of those I live with…

Where is the best (code word – CHEAPEST) place to get a router?

Perfect.

She’s debt free other than her mortgage – and even then, she’s paying it aggressively. I’d love to tell you that her husband makes loads of money and that’s how she’s able to be a stay at home mom to four kids and remain debt free but…

He doesn’t.

My sister has found ways to live below her means and actively seeks new methods to spend less. She purchases clothing and toys for the kids at garage sales in nice neighborhoods then resells them when the kids outgrow them (sometimes, she actually MAKES money on this!), doesn’t waste money on cable TV or other ‘necessities’, drives an older yet reliable car, and she cooks fabulous inexpensive meals at home (my home cooked meals are inexpensive but they are far from fabulous).

She’s the annoyingly good at being frugal but not cheap.

Naturally, I spend this time around her basking in her infinite financial wisdom, asking questions, and learning from her example…

…and I am also the queen of England.

Sorry folks, sibling rivalry is alive and well.

So, I do the second best thing, I make my mom ask the questions and I pretend not to listen.

My advice, befriend someone frugal – even if it is your sister. I find that I don’t learn as much from the books or the internet as I do from those who may not have it all figured out, but they do a pretty darn good job.

It creaked. It groaned. It fell. I cried.

We have a couple options:

a. We can leave the fence broken, give away our dogs, and hope nothing larger than a hippo wants in or out of our yard.

b. We can do yet another band-aid fix – i.e. buy more chicken wire, bazooka bubble gum, and a load of hope and prayer.

c. We can construct what I consider a perfectly acceptable but perhaps not aesthetically pleasing Preskool bubbly plastic play gate in a rainbow of colors available at garage sales everywhere.

Or

d. We can build a real fence.

Now is not a good time for this to happen (when is?). My husband started his job on Tuesday and won’t receive a paycheck until next week. Fortunately, those of us who are paid bi-weekly receive three paychecks in one month two times per year. January just happens to be my three paycheck month.

Sniff. Goodbye extra car payment.

We decided to build a new fence with my third check. Over the last three years, we could have paid for a new fence several times over but never seemed to have enough to do anything more than band-aid fix after band-aid fix. My husband is constructing the fence and stringing it with power so we can add lighting in the future. Looking at the perfectly dug trenches in our back yard, it appears as though I am haunted by a 170 pound gopher who looks a lot like my husband.

It’s time to stretch ourselves. I’m tired of continuing to make bad temporary financial decisions.

When my husband and I married, I participated in his family gift exchange as well (turns out, his family of 10 was interested in saving money too). It was a great way to feel a part of the family.

Now that the economy has tanked, everyone wants to do a gift exchange rather than a mass gifting. Aunt May, Grandma Joy, and co-worker Suzie want to exchange gifts this holiday. While it’s easy to bow out of work related exchanges (‘My husband is unemployed’ is always a fabulous and acceptable reason), it’s difficult to get out of extended family exchanges. Family members say “it’s only $20 or $30!” but I can’t afford toothpaste much less a $20 Sham Wow. $20 or $30 multiplied by ten or so exchanges just isn’t happening this year.

I know what you’ll say, “Hey, it’s family. They’ll understand.”

Um. Hello?

It’s family. The very definition of people who are allowed to make fun of you and feel no guilt.

Wait. Maybe that’s just my family.

Whatever.

Since I don’t particularly want to say, “Yes, I bought you the Sham Wow but I can’t afford to buy deodorant until February”, I’m going to hold off on gifts entirely this season.

Whew. I said it. No gifts.

The big question…

How long can we hold on without my husband’s job?

Our initial numbers (without unemployment benefits) put us at 8 weeks. Our reductions to debt paired with our cash in savings and unemployment benefits put us at…

9 months.

Had this happened before we had taken control… had this happened before we made the decision to live below our means and reduce debt… we would have made it through a month, maybe two tops.

But now, we’re looking at 9 safe months. 9 months to find a job before things get hairy. Sure we won’t make progress other than minimums and we certainly won’t eat anything other than Ramen noodles but, we can hold on.

I have four words to say –

Thank. You. Dave. Ramsey.

First, we cut our dental and vision insurance. This is something that can easily be re-instated but the $25 a month can help me now.

Second, I cancelled all my appointments health related or otherwise. None of my appointments were an emergency and I requested that my doctor renew my prescriptions without the annual check-up since the last 6 years have been clear of any problems. These appointments and tests run in the neighborhood of $500.

Third, I called my cable company to cancel our cable, reduce our internet speed, and reduce our phone service. I explained our situation and was surprised when they offered reduced internet costs, reduced phone costs, and added free services and free channels for a 12 month period. I would tell you how much I’m paying – but I’m afraid they’ll figure out they made a huge mistake and ‘correct’ the discount… or fire the guy who gave it to me. I would have cut out the internet and phone entirely but my husband needs internet for school purposes and job searching late at night when he gets home (free internet at the library is closed) and I’m uncomfortable without a home phone for emergencies.

Fourth, I contacted my student loan company for a deferment.

Fifth, my husband and I contacted friends and family and let them know we’d be available for odd jobs. Since unemployment doesn’t start for nearly a month after a job loss, my husband has done everything from pulling weeds to insulating walls. I have been helping a company with paperwork at night after work. We use this money for groceries and for the important bills like electric and water. At no time should you feel you are ‘too good’ for any type of job.

Sixth, we cut off all our subscriptions and memberships. If you’re like us, you may not even remember you have some of them since they are automatically billed to your credit card and you may not look at each item on your online statement. Some examples: gym memberships, club memberships, magazine and newspaper subscriptions (some automatically renew unless you cancel). Savings – $50 a month.

Seventh, we’ve been using more public transportation. It takes twice as long to get somewhere, it’s uncomfortable, and it’s far from fun, but it saves $50-$75 a month.

It’s not a lot, but each item buys us a little more time.

Sure, if I had no debt and had no plans or acquiring new debt, my credit score wouldn’t matter…

Or would it?

I was reading Parade magazine this week and was reminded of a very important reason to keep up those scores – employment. Employers are using credit scores as another way to narrow down candidates. In this rough job market, that’s the last thing you want to worry about.

My current employer ran a credit check on me prior to offering employment. I had been unemployed for 2 months but had managed to pay my bills. Had my credit score fallen, I likely would have been passed over.

Congress is considering blocking this practice but right now, it’s very legal.

Do you think credit checks are a fair way to judge potential employees?

You can read the article at Parade.com/creditscore

Thursday’s post made me realize how silly it was that I didn’t know how, and in these boring months between payoffs, I find myself needing a distraction.

I learned a few things:

1. Bikini tops, though amusing to community pool staff, are not conducive to learning how to swim.
2. It takes an aquaphobic person 17 minutes to be coerced into a 3 ½ foot lap pool.
3. My husband is a very patient man.
4. Swimming, biking, and running on the same day with untrained muscles will cause pain that rivals injuries sustained in a roll over car accident.

As I walk with a limp today, I can’t help but compare this pain to the pain I felt when starting my journey toward a debt free future. It’s painful now and it will continue to be painful in the future. It will never be easy. If it were easy, everyone would be debt free and physically fit.

Pain is a sign of growing, learning, and taking responsibility for the future.

What is my worst financial pain? Not being able to travel. I don’t miss my credit card balance, but I miss the yearly trips that came with it.

What is your worst financial pain? What do you miss the most?

I left to housesit for a co-worker and came home to …

My husband explained that he had discovered mold under the floor and in the walls and decided to replace everything to be safe.

So why… why… why… did I assume that when we intended to insulate the separation closet wall in a 50 year old house, that we would simply be able to insulate the closet wall?

This is our spare bedroom as of today…

A few days ago, my husband asked if he could insulate all four walls. We both agreed that as long as we had one wall down, we should take down the remaining three walls, fix the electrical, and fix the phone line. Total tab so far? $142. I am so very thankful to be married to a talented construction man.

When making decisions like these, it’s hard not to want to put it off until later or take the easy way out. What we constantly have to consider is: Is this going to cost more later if avoided?

My nearly $200 electric bill tells me… I should have done this two years ago.

The good news? Energy improvements, including insulation, are tax deductable. Yes!

Want more info? Go to: energystar.gov/taxcredits

We paid off our credit card last week.

We’re still working on my husband’s truck loan and the student loan but we promised ourselves little rewards for each payoff. It’s a good way to stay motivated when finishing a long stretch before starting yet another long stretch.

Surprisingly, my husband suggested a night out (surprising because I expected him to suggest something more along the lines of a macho flat screen TV or a beefy new grill). We purchased tickets to see Spamalot at the Civic Theater downtown. The tickets were $17 each (we sit in the nosebleed seats) and with dinner, we’ll likely spend a total of $100.

We get a one night break and it’s off to frugality again.

I’m fortunate to be married to a hardworking construction genius who can do the work himself (plus, my husband looks irresistible in safety goggles). We only have to pay for the materials which should run about $100.

Why are we insulating? Our house was built in the 1950’s and no insulation was used on any interior or exterior walls. Our heating and cooling bills are much higher than they need to be. The initial expense of the upgrade will be quickly paid for in lower electric bills plus, it’s better for the environment. And… our new roommates are newlyweds – that’s reason enough in itself.

It always seems like when we have an opportunity to get ahead, the necessities of life burn through the cash. Between tuition costs, new dog vet bills, and the two weddings, we have had to pony up more than $3,000 in the last two months.

These expenses would have buried us in the past, but careful planning and frugal spending have kept our heads above water.

But…

All I have been hearing about for the last week on every news station in San Diego is the Cash for Clunkers program and about angry car dealers who have decided to cut off the program early. Dealers have found themselves swimming in paperwork and unable to get timely reimbursement for the Clunkers (most dealers in this area have been reimbursed for less than 25% according to the reports). The Clunkers program was expected to last until November but quickly ran out of money in the first few days. More money was added to the pot, but it was used faster than expected as well.

And of course…

The local news stations have tied this topic to the heated healthcare reform debate. The ‘failure’ of this program has caused people to worry about governmental competence when it comes to their health.

What do you think?

Then, he casually mentioned that the guests were old high school buddies and this was really important to him.

On the inside, our home is nice. On the outside… well, let’s just say we usually wait until the sun has set and our guests have had a glass or two (preferably three) of Chardonnay. We can’t afford landscaping so our yard is a grouping of well mowed weeds and raked dirt piles.

Before we went on this recovery from debt diet, we had planned to landscape our backyard and remodel our 50 year old kitchen. Take out another loan – it would have been so easy. But now, we’re living within our means and paying off debt. It will likely be another 5 years before we can pay cash.

It’s hard to deal with the pressures of keeping up with our peers. It’s hard to not feel a little embarrassed at our less than presentable yard (though to be fair, his friends had nothing but nice things to say).

Sometimes it’s hard not to feel frustrated but…

It’s not hard to feel relief from the lifting debt. Seeing we’re only about a year away from being debt free is like breathing again.

Our computer was devoured by viruses and is so old it practically runs on original UNIX. When it starts up, it sounds like an 18-wheeler!

My husband and I both received an extra paycheck this month and are contemplating purchasing a desktop computer. My employer generously offered to pay for 25% of the total cost.

I’m struggling with this purchase because it’s several hundred dollars – several hundred dollars that could take a chunk out of our debt. BUT, do I say no to a very generous offer? An offer I may never get again? Do I try to survive without a computer?

We decided to purchase a mid-line computer but the real question is…

what would you have done? Is a computer a ‘want’ or a ‘need’?

We don’t see each other often. Perhaps that’s why our marriage is so great. We don’t have time to fight – heck we’re just so darn excited to see one another we don’t really… um… talk much.

He took a rare three nights off last week and we went running and cycling together every day. We made dinner. We walked the dogs. We watched movies. We remembered what it was like to be married.

I couldn’t help but think about how wonderful it was to have him around – to see him relax, even for just a night or two. He must have been thinking the same thing. He said, ‘I want to work less and live my life more.’ He has decided to work 6 days per week and 2 nights per week – and yes, that’s a cut-back (he was working 6 days and 6 nights).

I can’t agree with him more. As he toils to pay our debt, I can’t help but wonder if our self-inflicted punishment of hard labor is worse than the crime of spending. I wonder if one day, we’ll look back and regret the time we missed when our life was just us. We can cover our bills plus some without the extra work so we’ve decided to slow down.

So… we will pay things off more slowly BUT I have my husband back – and I’ve missed him dearly.

A 7 pm bachelorette dinner time that coincided with a 7 pm baseball game start and the 7 pm Saturday night party crowd shot parking rates and traffic to a premium. Unable to find an overnight parking place, I parked in an hourly rate spot (a spot that makes more per hour than I do). All throughout dinner, I checked my watch thinking, ‘Tick tock goes the meter – and my $50 allowance.’

I ordered the cheapest item on the menu, a $9 greek wrap, and had 2 – $2 beers. I dropped in $20 to cover my meal.

$30 left in my wallet.

We went to a club where I used $6 from my ash tray to have a Corona with the girls. As I sat nursing my beer with ‘Bridesmaid’ bedazzled across the chest of my pink tank top, guy came up to me and asked me to dance, he mentioned it was his 21st birthday… which had me thinking, ‘What is the official definition of a Cougar? And dear Lord… I’m not one right?!?’

A few more hours passed and I realized that I could not afford $35 for the hotel. Parking costs had chewed threw my money. When I pulled out of the garage, the kind and generous parking man gave me a discount from $54 to $30. Maybe he saw the shock register on my face – or maybe it was because I had my car loaded with bridesmaids in the same pink tank tops giving him Colgate smiles while winking flirtatiously.

I survived the weekend on $56.

And… it wasn’t so bad.

My husband did an odd job fixing a sink and earned a crisp one hundred dollar bill. We decided to split the cash and use it this weekend. A ‘fair’ split would have been closer to 80 for him and 20 for me but he smiled and said, ‘Have fun’ while handing me a fifty (And that ladies…. is one of the millions of reasons why I love my man).

So, I’ve got to survive this weekend on $50…
$35 of which goes to a shared hotel with the bride to be.

It’s like going to the Cheesecake Factory and limiting yourself to 25 calories.

Should be interesting.

First off, I’d like to thank you for cashing my husband’s tuition check within 12 hours of receiving it. Who knew that was even possible? Though to be honest, I’m not quite sure why we pay two months in advance and are later reimbursed. It kinda sounds like a man I heard about… what’s his name? Ponzi?

Second, I recently received your request for an additional $150 per semester – as if the two thousand I just paid you was completely insufficient for a whopping six units… and let’s not discuss your $200 parking pass shall we? I was amused at the complete ambiguity as for the reasons why the additional funds were needed from all 30,000 or so students but I was NOT amused when I actually had to pay it. But hey, thanks for allowing me to defer this unexpected payment for three weeks. I guess that’s supposed to help me be happy about paying more and getting less? I have approximately $26 in my checking account. Clearly, I cannot spend $150 when I only have $26. Who do you think I am? The state of California?

Also, I want to thank you for delaying the receipt of my husband’s tuition funds for two months. Perhaps you are trying to help the business students perfect the art of living off ramen noodles and tuna and hone their negotiating skills with creditors?

When we called to check the status on the cash flow, you said the check was ‘in the mail’. 3 weeks have passed. Are the checks being personally delivered by a three legged dog on a skateboard? In short, in response to your request for additional funds…

The check is in the mail.

Sincerely,

The broke wife of a California college student

Well, I didn’t want to take an empty can of sunblock back to the store so I wrote an e-mail to Target. It was friendly and praising of their other products but asked for them to consider dropping or changing this particular product.

I didn’t expect to hear anything…

But I did.

Target wrote me an incredibly friendly e-mail and promised to look into my complaint. Two short days later, I received a full refund and yet another friendly letter in the mail.

I have always been a HUGE Target fan. They donate to local charities, have impressive customer service, and they save my budget every month. Add this surprisingly friendly response and…

Target, you have my lifetime stamp of approval.

A special thanks to Fern who let me know that, yes, it’s OK to complain sometimes.

Here are some things that really stuck out to me this week:

PICKS:
Lose It! by FitNow, Inc.
Unfortunately this iTunes application is limited for use on iPhones or iTouch iPods but the good news is… its’ FREE. This application/program is great at helping you monitor portions and nutritional content of nearly everything you eat. It has a huge reference library of restaurant nutritional information and of everyday items from the grocery store. Users simply enter their height/weight information, the types of nutritional content they want to monitor, and their weight loss goals. While I don’t need to lose weight, this program is valuable to me since I want to monitor my fat, protein, and fiber intake for my marathon training. Diabetics can also benefit since this program monitors carbohydrates and sugars. I am now more aware of what I’m eating and how I can make small changes to my eating habits to make a healthier me.

PANS:
Sun Block by Target
I’m a HUGE fan of Target brand products. I like them just as much, if not more, than the name brands. Plus, the cost savings helps stretch my miniscule budget. Unfortunately, I was less than impressed with their sun block. We took this sun block with us on our beach camping vacation and quickly discovered it was a waste of money. Our first clue should have been its label ‘water resistant’ and not ‘waterproof’ like the other sun block products. It washed off at the slightest sweat and did not hold up at all to a quick dip in the ocean. If you plan on not swimming or sweating, it’s great. I don’t know about you, but when I wear sun block… I’m in the sun. And, the sun is hot. In heat, I sweat… er… ‘glow’. I’m fairly certain that’s normal. Sorry Target, head back to the drawing board.

What are your picks and pans this week?

Camping allowed us the opportunity to cook our own food. We met up with friends before leaving and shopped for food together. We purchased only what we needed and divided the tab by 6. Each meal? Around $2-$3. We didn’t count this as an added expense since we used the money from our grocery budget – and actually spent less than we would have had we cooked for just the two of us at home. We brought a few bottle of wine and jugs of water from home. We did go out to dinner one night – to Carl’s Jr. – and we counted that in the $38 total spent.

Showers were 25 cents for 2 ½ minutes. I was more than willing to pay for warm water but my frugal husband showered in the cold shower by the beach for free. I’m not going to lie, it looked a little odd when he washed off his Irish Spring soap while surfers waited to rinse their boards.

When we booked the campsite 6 months ago, my husband cut some hefty branches off our trees. He stacked them along a shady side of our house for the last few months and we used them to fuel our campfire each night. People asked us why we were storing firewood when we don’t have a fireplace and we got more than one weird expression when we told them it was for our camping trip… in six months. But we saved a fortune by using a little elbow grease and cutting our own firewood. We didn’t have to buy any!

When it came to camping supplies, we didn’t have much. We own a tent and a portable grill but that’s about it. My brothers fiancé’s family is an experienced group of campers. Rather than purchase new items, we borrowed their shade tents, pots, pans, cups, games, and portable tables. One rule about borrowing – make sure you return the items cleaner than when you first received them and if you borrow something that requires any sort of fuel, fill it up before returning it. Also, return the item within a day or two after you come home.

The campsite was over an hour from our home. I wasn’t prepared for an added gas expense and was surprised when I realized… I didn’t have to be! We brought our bikes and traveled solely by ‘pedal power’ after we arrived. The truck stayed parked at the campsite and my car stayed home the entire week. With both of our cars parked, we saved money on gas!

So what did we spend the $38 on?

$18 on a game of golf at a beautiful municipal course.
$10 at Carl’s Jr. (I ordered a kids meal and he had a sandwich).
$10 on a t-shirt from an outlet store.

Sure, camping isn’t my vacation of choice, but I had a great time and spent far less money than I have ever spent on a weeklong vacation by the beach.

Our previous vacation trips were fun but the nasty ‘debt hangover’ when we came home always sucked (excuse my language, but I’m being dreadfully honest).

When we arrived home from beach camping, I flipped on my computer and closed my eyes after typing my password for online banking.

Tick. Tick. Tick.

Why is it when you are broke and running the risk of overdrafts, the bank websites turn to sludge? It’s as if they get a sick satisfaction in making your pain last longer.

The screen finally popped up and… I screamed.

We only spent $38 for the week (I’ll update you later on how we shamelessly saved money in ridiculous ways).

I’m fairly certain we spend more than that when we aren’t on vacation.

Cheers to my first ‘debt hangover’ free vacation!

OK, truth be told? I’m probably wrapped in sun protecting blankets under the pop up tent whining about how the sun is too bright, the showers are too cold, and the sand is too hot.

But I WILL have a margarita.

My husband I are in love with Sam the Cooking Guy (previously on Cox Cable channel 4, but now he has his own show on Discovery Health called ‘Just Cook This with Sam the Cooking Guy’)

Frankly, if I can make this meal (I’m what some call ‘culinary challenged’)… YOU can make it.

Oh, and watch Sam the Cooking Guy. He gives great tips on how to cook fast, easy, and inexpensive meals. So while I’m out, here’s a cheap dinner to enjoy.

Thai Curried Chicken

Ingredients
6 boneless, skinless chicken thighs
One 14 ounce can light coconut milk
2 teaspoons cumin
2 teaspoons curry powder
2 tablespoons Asian chili paste (I used Asian chili sauce and it worked just as well)
Zest of one lime plus the juice (no zester? no worry – just use the juice)
Cilantro, chopped fine for garnish
Cooked rice for serving

Trim chicken of any extra fat. In a large bowl, combine coconut milk, cumin, curry, chili paste, lime zest and juice, mix well.

Reserve about 1/3 of the sauce for after, but add the chicken to the rest. Mix well, cover and marinate—anywhere from 15 minutes to overnight.

Heat bbq or grill pan and cook chicken on both side until cooked though—those cool grill marks are perfect here. While the chicken cooks, simmer the extra sauce in a small pot to thicken.

Slice into strips, serve on top of rice with a little extra sauce and a sprinkle of cilantro.

Serves 6.

Visit his website for more info:

http://health.discovery.com/fansites/sam-zien/sam-zien.html