Thought.

Hmm.

Last night, I asked my husband to pick up tomato soup and bread for dinner. Total spending shouldn’t have been more than $5.

He spent half our grocery budget – mostly on snack items I never buy.

He was excited to have ‘helped’ and I didn’t have the heart to tell him I’m not sure how we’re going to eat the rest of the month unless I can make meals out of Fritos, beef jerky, and Oreo cookies.

I had wheat bread with tomato soup for dinner last night and wheat bread with oranges for lunch today. 26 more days of 50 cent meals.

I can’t be mad. He was willing to take over the shopping without complaint and bought the things he thought I would like. Sure I’ll be eating wheat bread with carrots or oranges for the next 26 days, but that doesn’t change the fact that I’m married to a sweet man… a sweet man who won’t be doing any more grocery shopping alone in the near future.

The deadly season of Easter.

It’s not the peeps that make my heart go pitter patter; it’s the tasty chocolate Cadbury Mini Eggs. I can’t resist them no matter how much they cost financially or physically. Sure the $2.50 price tag isn’t terrible but literally, I can’t fit into my pants after eating them. This is likely because I can eat a bag in less than a week and there are 56 grams of fat and 1,330 calories in each bag of yummy goodness.

I had to go to Target to buy a bag of dog food and couldn’t resist the bright sale sign resting on the heavenly purple bag (why don’t they ever put flax seed on sale?). I took the treasured chocolate eggs to work with my lunch and set my carrying bag on the table to pull out my food for the refrigerator. Distracted, I left the chocolate eggs in my carrying bag on the lunch table. 20 minutes later, I realized my mistake and went back to the lunch room to retrieve my food.

My carrying bag was there… the eggs were not.

My heart was broken (but my hips were thankful).

I’ve been hit by overspending Karma. I knew I shouldn’t have wasted the money (or the calories) and it was taken from me. Sure it seems silly to feel guilty for spending $2.50 when I’m planning on heading overseas – but saving for the trip has renewed my penny pinching ways to an unprecedented level. Since I don’t have the willpower necessary to resist the minefield of temptation, my husband will be doing the shopping for the next four weeks. Sorry Cadbury, our love affair is over.

Alas, I will eventually discover which of my co-workers has ‘sticky’ fingers – I’ll simply look for the one who can no longer fit in his or her pants by Friday.

And I’m kidding about Karma… well… kind of.

Target Stores (along with Henry’s, Trader Joe’s, Kroger, and Whole Foods) offer 5 cents off your bill for each bag used. The program started in November but somehow I missed the giant glowing red signs posted at eye level on each check stand until today.

Obviously I’m a very observant person.

The bags don’t have to be Target brand recycled bags but they cannot be regular plastic bags that you happen to be reusing.

If you know of any stores around you offering the same incentive – let me know!

2.) An elderly woman wearing pants with ‘Naughty’ crocheted across her hind quarters.

While I can’t stop an octogenarian shopping at my local Target store from reliving her youth inappropriately, I can stop car payments. How?

Our tax refund this year is just shy of $6,000.

We will wipe out 60% of our car debt. SIXTY PERCENT!!

YES!!

Californians aren’t necessarily ‘prepared’ when it comes to rain stronger than a light mist. Our local fire station ran out of 700 sandbags in less than 4 hours on Saturday.

Our house is located near the top of a low grade hill with a strong supporting wall so we don’t run the risk of flooding or landslides but my husband had to install rain gutters to keep the water from seeping under our front door.

Yes. Prior to this week, we did not have rain gutters… on a 50 year old house. In fact, more than half our neighbors don’t have rain gutters. If it actually rained in California, maybe we would have considered this sooner. Financial setback – $200. I guess we’ll be eating top ramen for the next three weeks.

My husband has been out in the rain stacking sandbags in the neighbor’s yard downhill from us. Their house has started to flood and the storms aren’t halfway over.

Some things are still funny. The transit company was out in waders measuring the water height on the train tracks. It would have been appropriate had the water been more than… 4 inches.

I still can’t complain. My sister is in Kansas City where the weather hasn’t been above freezing for most of the month. Sorry Liz.

How is the weather fairing around you? Has it set you back in your finances?

Since the lawsuit is still within the statute of limitations, I cannot say exactly what happened but I can say this…

It’s over – for now.

I received a call this afternoon from my attorney. The lawsuit against us has been dropped. Unfortunately, the statute of limitations won’t expire until March but for now, I’m very pleased.

Now if I can just survive the next 12 weeks!

My top four:

1. Replenish savings. Our bank accounts turned to rubble after the job loss and I find myself uncomfortable without a safety net. We do still have cash – but a trip to Taco Bell for two 89 cent burritos may cause an overdraft.

2. Pay off at least $19,000 in debt. We paid down over $17,000 this year and I think we may have a chance at $19,000 if we are able to keep our jobs.

3. Continue to find ways to live below my means. To start the new year off in the right direction, I registered for classes at our nearby community center rather than at a community college. I won’t get college credit (I don’t need it since I already have a degree) but I’ll save around $300 a year without having to give up my love for learning.

4. Take another budget vacation. Tent? Cheap motel? Roadtrip? Become a train hobo? Whatever we decide, it will be an adventure.

Do you have your goals planned for the year?

The truth is…

I didn’t.

I have two simple choices when it comes to reducing my debt. I can sprint or I can marathon.

I am currently sprinting. I’m pushing, giving it my all, and taking no breaks. Unemployment is forcing me to take a hard look at every dollar. There is no dinner with friends, no movies at theaters, no new clothes, no dental insurance, no doctor’s appointments, nothing. There is no waste.

Sure I could even go further. I could eat bread and water and be debt free faster. I could sell my car and bike to my bus stop in the dark and be debt free faster. I could stop wearing make-up, shower once weekly, and leave my electricity off and be debt free faster.

But my weariness would grow at the same sprinting pace and I would burn out before my balances ever read zero.

I can’t sprint forever and once my husband is employed again, I plan on slowing my pace to what is was before his layoff. Every once in a while, I think it’s OK to buy a $6 burger during happy hour at a nice restaurant. Once every few months, I like to buy my husband a bag of his favorite coffee.

This is my marathon. Sure, some folks will be faster and others will be slower but I’m running this debt marathon to finish – not to burn out before I see the finish line.

Are you sprinting or marathoning?

My best advice to the recently unemployed, be ready for a long ride. Prepare your finances immediately and don’t assume a check is coming anytime soon.

Our finances took a hit since we were carrying our mortgage and bills on my paycheck and savings alone but we’ve been able to level out a bit since the checks arrived. Whew!

Looks like I can finally buy some splurge items – and by splurge, I mean an occasional sale priced ground beef instead of a cart full of Ramen alone.

Trouble has started to present itself on the hydration front. There are no water sources on the trails or in the parks.

Unfortunately, I’m limited on how much I can carry. Once I mix in my necessities (granola bar, house keys, and shimmer lip gloss), my hands are full. I’d carry a backpack but I get quickly overheated – and if you’ve ever run with a backpack, you know how awful it feels.

Instead, I hike or run a little, walk back to my house, drink water, and head out again. I figured it was something I’d have to live with. But then, while out on a trail, a girl ran past me with a water bottle belt with tiny little pockets for necessities.

I never dreamed I’d be ogling a glorified fanny pack.

I went to the sports store and found one just like it… for $19.99. It’s not a life changing amount – unless you’re dealing with unemployment. That $19.99 would look better as four meals than an optional piece of sports equipment.

I debated with myself for a good half hour then finally, the accountant in me won the battle and I left empty handed. As I kissed my runners fanny pack goodbye, I promised I’d be back as soon as my husband was gainfully employed.

In the mean time, I will stick close to home or… duct tape a water bottle to my arm.

For the most part, this isn’t a problem. If we run out of food, we invite ourselves over to dinner at our parents…er.. um… I mean, we visit our parents because we love them and the free food is just an added benefit.

This week presented a new problem…

We ran out of toothpaste and mouthwash.

Determined to stay on our budget, I robbed my luggage of two travel size tubes of toothpaste. We’re running low but we have enough to last until Friday when our new budget begins.

I dug through our closets but failed to find any mouthwash – travel size or otherwise. I went into the kitchen to see if I could find anything there. Soap? Comet? Dishwashing liquid? And then I stumbled upon a bottle of vodka.

“Sweetie?” I called to my husband in the living room “Do you think I could use vodka as a mouthwash? They’re both essentially alcohol right? Either way, the results will be positive. It will work or it won’t and I won’t care that we don’t have mouthwash anymore.”

My husband laughed as if I were making a joke.

I wasn’t.

I put the vodka back in the cabinet and figured that regular brushing and flossing will have to do until tomorrow.

But this morning, I searched my hypothesis and…

http://www.ehow.com/how_4524768_use-vodka-as-antibacterial-agent.html

So if you ever run out of mouthwash, you can make your own – and yes, you use vodka.

And just in case my mother reads this, let me clarify – you don’t actually have to drink the vodka.

I asked my husband where I should hide the money and he looked at me quizzically.

‘Hide it? It’s one hundred bucks, not the Hope Diamond honey. Just put it on the desk’ he said.

‘No!’ I screamed. ‘Can you hide it in a DVD?’ I begged.

‘Sure’ he laughed (sadly, I’m used to him laughing at me).

A few minutes later I asked him which DVD he put the money in. ‘From Justin to Kelly – because no one on God’s green earth would steal that film’ he said.

Gee hon… thanks.

It’s funny how my views about money have continued to change over the last year. Last summer, I would have spent that $100 on a date night or a cute pair of shoes. Now, I can stretch that same $100 into two or three weeks of groceries.

At this time in my life, that $100 IS the Hope Diamond.

Perhaps it’s because my husband is blaring Amy Grant’s ‘Tender Tennessee Christmas’ in the other room.

No. I’m not joking.

His happy-go-lucky Pollyanna ‘I love the earth and all holidays’ attitude is for the most part a wonderful thing…

But thoughts of Christmas in October simply make me (and anyone within 50 yards of his subwoofer) suicidal.

I have to give him credit… it is an important reminder that we have to start thinking about Christmas gifts now. Since I’m broke and can’t spend 50 bucks on the last remaining blockbuster gift card in the Vons checkout on December 24th, I’ve got to make my plan of action. I’ve got to start taking left over change from payphones, digging through the neighbor’s garbage for recyclables, or compiling leftover foil for a life sized foil ball. Because if there’s one thing I’ve learned in my 29 years on this earth, it’s the fact that everyone needs a foil ball the size of a Honda.

No?

Hmm. Well, what was the best low (or preferably) no cost gift you ever received?

Last year my siblings and I compiled letters from us to our parents telling them how much we appreciated and loved them and had them printed and bound at Shutterfly.com (Walmart.com also provides the same photo type books we used). But I’m out of ideas! Help!

My husband is attending a bachelor party this weekend and the event required one credit card to book the trip for all five attendees (the bill could not be split). Most of our friends know about our recent credit card payoff (maybe shouting that fact from my roof and breaking into song was a clear sign) and naturally suggested that since we ‘had the room’ on our card (as if it were free), that my husband pay for the entire trip and be reimbursed later.

I’m not going to lie. I am upset.

Perhaps I’d be more trusting if this hadn’t happened before with concert and event tickets and in the end, we were always short. People conveniently ‘forget’ to pay or promise to pay later and then get annoyed when reminded. Plus, the credit card will be kept on file in case there are damages to the room or if alcohol is consumed.

When I asked why someone else couldn’t pony up a credit card, he told me it was because everyone is nearly maxed out but us. Um… isn’t that a good reason NOT to loan these people our credit card?

My husband and I rarely fight but this is a sensitive issue for me and I feel like we are opening ourselves up to a lot of potential debt.

Am I overreacting?

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.

Total Starting Debt: $38,495.86
Total Paid: $16,727.33
Total Remaining: $21,768.53

Breakdown of Remaining Debt –
Truck: $11,934.57
Student Loan: $9,833.96

We’re nearly halfway there. I got an updated payoff date according to our Debt Snowball Calculator on DaveRamsey.com…

December 2010.

We shaved off 4 months so far. Can I get a Woo Hoo?

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.

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.

Financially, the smart thing would have been to keep my family a one dog family but every time I came home and saw my remaining dog mope around the house, I knew I couldn’t leave things the way they were. When he stopped eating and whined constantly, I was reduced to tears on a daily basis.

I spent a week searching shelters but couldn’t seem to find a dog that fit our dynamic. I don’t believe in buying dogs for short term commitments and knew bringing home anything but a perfect fit would be a bad idea. I decided to stop at one more, knowing if I didn’t find the right dog, I’d simply give up.

Then I met Hutch.

I was still in the habit at crying at the sight of dogs and sat on the floor thinking I’d never find another I could love at much as my last. Hutch took one look at me, crawled into my lap, and promptly fell asleep.

Needless to say, he came home with me.

Financially, I made a mistake. A dog is a financial responsibility – even if he is replacing another. Physically and emotionally, I did what my heart (any my other dog) needed.

If you see a redhead jogging down the street with two wagging tailed dogs and a grin the size of Texas… that’s probably me.

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

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.

In short? A lot!

A few benefits of exercising (tip of the iceburg)?
Reduced blood pressure
Reduced feelings of depression and anxiety
Helps to control weight
Helps to build and maintain healthy joints, muscles, and bones
Reduced risk of diabetes

What do these have to do with finances?
Have you had to pay for doctors and medication recently?!? Ouch!! Also, exercise helps you sleep, puts you in a better mood, helps your self confidence, and gives you energy – all very important things in the work world where your paycheck comes from! Plus, people with a BMI of less than 22 get sick less often and miss less work.

I’ve been fortunate to have been physically active and healthy for most of my life. Running a marathon is just another way to push myself and stay active. Sure my sore legged walk makes Frankenstein look like a graceful ballerina but it’s important to encourage you to gain control in your finances AND in your health – they are closely connected.

Tomorrow is Saturday, take a walk with your dog, play with your kids, or ride your bike. Take a break from staring at that checkbook and balancing numbers to get some fresh air.

It’s good for you.

Some free sites to help you out?

www.Mapmyride.com
I use this site to calculate mileage and read elevation changes on my bike rides/runs.

www.Mypyramid.gov
This free site helps to guide you on better eating habits.

I’m warning you… these sites can be ADDICTIVE!!

What is your favorite FREE health related site?

We argued about who should pay for groceries, who should pay for dinner, and who should pay for everything in between. I hated asking him for his half of the rent each month. He was my husband – not my roommate. It finally came to the breaking point when he couldn’t afford rent and we had to clean out our savings and use our credit card to get by. We opened a joint checking account the very next month.

We learned to work beside each other and the arguing stopped.

We made our mistakes – financing nice cars, charging vacations to credit cards, and remodeling our bathroom on credit – but now that we’re working to become debt free, we are partners in the fight. I wish someone had told me early on that working together as a couple was a necessity for a good marriage and good financial health. As I listen to my co-worker talk about his wife ‘owing’ him money for tires on her car, I couldn’t help but think… ‘No wonder he’s on his third marriage.’

So how do we do it? We each get a $3 daily allowance in cash each week. I don’t care what he spends his on, and in return, he doesn’t care what I spend mine on. We usually spend the money on work clothes or a bi-weekly dinner out together. This week, we split the cost of a silly $15 video game we both would enjoy and a $25 set of solar lit pavers for our garden. (And yes I know, $3 may be more or less than you spend, but it works for us)

My husband and I rarely argue about money now that we’ve enacted the $3 daily allowance rule, but we still fight about very serious issues… like the direction of the toilet tissue.

Do you keep your money separate? Or do you have a joint account? And how much do you allow each other to ‘blow’ each day?

There are two types of spending: Capital and Operating

Capital funds are used to buy things (Ex: telephones, cars, desk chairs, radios)
Operating funds are used to pay daily operating costs (Ex: salaries, electric bills, services)

Obama’s funds given to many government organizations in California are for capital expenditures only (I have no idea if it’s the same way for other states. I only know what our agency is dealing with).

You can imagine the hateful letters, calls, and personal visits we receive when fire/safety/teaching staff and public services are cut while a new 21.2 million dollar diamond encrusted ‘Welcome to San Diego’ sign goes up.

Last week, congress approved 10% of the stimulus funds to be redirected to operational costs. This makes somewhat of a difference but many firefighters, police officers, and teachers are still going without jobs. Public transportation has been sliced. The routes around my house are gone – yet new driverless buses are sitting in a bus yard growing a layer of dust.

I’m not saying I know how to spend the money better. I don’t agree with the stimulus plan at all. But for the love of everything – stop screaming at the people who have no choice on how the money is spent.

No, I am not going to reveal my housing costs. Asking a San Diegan to reveal her mortgage payment is like asking a New York housewife to reveal her age. The only thing likely to happen is a giant string of lies.

I’m also not going to reveal our charitable giving amounts. What we decide to give is a very personal decision and it’s not an amount I’m willing to change just to pay more on bills.

Savings: $50
Electricity/Gas: $105
Cell Phones: $100
Cable/Internet/Phone: $100
Grocery: $300
Gas: $260
Laundry: $10
Toiletries: $11
Clothing/House Repairs/Animal Care/Spending Money: $200
Water: $70
Trash: $18

All remaining money is used to pay our mortgage, our credit card, our student loans, and my husband’s truck.

So. Am I normal by the numbers? What does your budget look like?

Um.

I hate to disagree with a professional financial advisor but…

He’s dead wrong (and is obviously invested in Starbucks).

At least when it comes to me anyway.

I don’t buy big items. I bought my dining room set for $75 off Craigslist five years ago. My couches are ten years old. My bed is a hand me down from my sister. How do I spend my money?

According to my online banking… I spend it in tidy $20 increments over… and over… and over again. My money doesn’t flood out, it trickles. The article recommended taking 24 hours to consider every purchase over $100. Good advice, but the last purchase I made over $100 was months ago. It’s not the $100 purchases that are killing me!

I feel like the article should have simply said, ‘Watch where the bulk of your money is going and try to find ways to save from there.’

My goal this month is to watch my ‘trickle’ problem. I’ve gotten to the point that I have to seriously consider every item I purchase AND if I wait long enough, will it go on sale? will the newspaper run a coupon?… or will I forget I even wanted it in the first place?

Is your problem a trickle? Or a flood?

I excitedly went to our local nursery and realized the 15 bucks I budgeted for landscaping each month would allow me to complete my dream backyard sometime in 2037.

Um. Someone forgot to tell me how expensive plants are.

Disappointed, I went to work and lamented to a co-worker about my landscaping situation. She sweetly offered me some cuttings of her plants – several of which were on the list from the landscape architect. While we were talking, another one of my co-workers walked by and joined the conversation. He suggested I contact local garden clubs including water saving cactus clubs. He happened to be moving and offered to bring in several of his plants that matched my list. Let’s just not tell these generous co-workers about my history of plant killing OK?

Inspired, I can home and did some research and thought I’d share it with you.

I found several garden clubs – some of which offer spring plant sales.

Our local college offers a degree program in Ornamental Horticulture. Students grow plants and sell them for less than half of what they retail for at nurseries.

Our local dump (should I be politically correct and call it a ‘Solid Waste Disposal Site’?) offers high quality mulch in several different colors and sizes. If you are willing to load it yourself, you can save a fortune.

And perhaps the most odd place to find plants… our local 99 cent store!

Any ideas I missed? Where do you get your plants?

I made a boo-boo, though. I waited until the last minute to get things ready and I couldn’t find our plastic eggs. They weren’t where they should have been and now I’m starting to wonder if they were sold during one of our garage sales. I had to take a special trip to get some.

I hope everyone has a wonderful day tomorrow!

We went through that feeling of deprivation for a little while. I think the biggest thing for me was home updating. Our home was stuck in the 60s when we bought it and we spent some money (on credit) to spruce up some rooms. We did it cheaply – which I kick myself about now. The cheap stick-on tiles in the kitchen are not holding up at all. We did still spend money we didn’t have at the time.

After we started our debt reduction journey, that spending stopped for a while. I did start to feel a little deprived because not all rooms in our home were updated. Our bathroom has been a biggie. It’s pretty darn u-g-l-y and there is trim missing. I’m glad I only have to see it a few times a day. I feel a bit petty to be talking about our bathroom in such a way. It is functional, after all. Just ugly.

To help combat my feelings about the bathroom, I have been picking up things here and there for the past three years. I had an idea in my mind of what I wanted and thanks to giving the project some time, I now have almost everything we need to work on the bathroom this summer. The best part is that we saved some serious money by doing it that way because almost everything was a deal. From the 99 cent clearance borders to the “mistake color for another person but not for us” discounted paint purchased at the hardware store. We spent about $75 so far. The last thing we need is some trim and we’re ready to go. I haven’t caught that on sale, but I’m hoping to be able to make it to a discount lumber store this summer.

I guess that would be my contribution as to a suggestion on how to combat feeling deprived. If there is a project that you really want done – pick at it here and there over a long time frame. Gather all your materials and shop for the deals. Every time I found a deal for our bathroom I was so happy. I still have to deal with the ugly bathroom for a while, but at least it won’t be for too much longer. If all goes well, it will be a nice summer project

Let’s tally up what was spent on each of us (doesn’t count the cost of breakfast):

Our Son: $6.99 – a Deal or No Deal Case with Candy (here’s what it looks like), pencils and a card

My Husband: $2.99 – chocolate and a card

Me: $1.00 – cards

Grand Total: $10.98

Which one was the best gift? My son would argue that his gift was the best because he loves the case for putting stuff in and he loves the pencils (he’d take pencils as a gift over candy any day). I would say that the best gift was my gift. My husband spent $1.00 to get a set of Thank You cards. He filled them all out, thanking me for different things that I do. They were planted around the house for me to find.

One was under my pillow and I was completely oblivious to it last night, which my husband found funny. I guess I even put my arm under the pillow and knocked it on the floor so he had to re-situate it (once I knew I was on a treasure hunt I later looked under my pillow and found it). Another one was in the cupboard by the glasses so I’d see it when I went to get a glass of water. The last one that I found was pretty clever. I begged my husband for hints and he wouldn’t budge. He just said that I will definitely find it today. Sure enough, I did. He snuck one in with the mail. If you have been reading my blog for a while, you know I like mail.

What was in the cards meant a lot and the fact my husband hid them in places he knew where I’d come across them (showing how well he knows me – or perhaps how predictable I am LOL) made $1.00 go a long way. It’s food for thought when I get something for him next year. I think we should also do something similar to that for our son.

I opened up the envelope and closed my eyes as I pulled the bill out. Wait, I didn’t just close them…they were clenched shut. I was mentally preparing myself. I opened my eyes and witnessed the highest gas bill we have ever had – just shy of $200. Gulp.

Our usage was up and so was the price of the gas. I knew the day would come where our bill would be that high (bound to happen with the way prices are going lately). But I didn’t think it would be so soon. Times like these really light that fire to get that energy efficient home of our dreams. We’ll also inch down the heat some more than it already has been lowered.

Hopefully, upcoming reductions in our electric usage will help counter the increase in our gas bills. There will be more on that later

I tallied up our Christmas spending, and it came to $250. We were $100 over budget. For clarification, that spending does not include any gifts purchased from gift money received. The spending there is the money we spent out of pocket for gifts. Even though we went over, I think we did pretty well. Putting more thought into gifts paid off, especially with our son. We bought him educational toys and he loves them! Mom and dad love playing with them too!

All in all, Christmas was very practical this year and our family is set now with proper winter gear to handle our cold winters. Our son is always set, but mom and dad are now set too. It’s time to get outside more and do some family snowshoeing. We are excited about that. Now we need a nice winter day where we are all off work/school! That is one downfall of having both my husband and I working. All three of us rarely have a day off together now. We are working on that, though.

As for the blown budget, I plan on trying to sell a few more things and spending less money in January to make up for it. It looks like both my husband and I are going to give up soft drinks (again) for health reasons as part of our New Year’s resolutions. That will easily save over $50/month right there. Yes, we like our soda (caffeine!). There are other expenses we are talking about too, but we haven’t made a decision on yet. Cable is one thing on the chopping block as we speak.

My son, though. He is such a sweetheart. He was given an allowance of $10 to get a gift for mom and dad (which were gift cards from a while ago I had been saving). When it was his turn to go into the store with dad, he told me he knew exactly what he was getting. I found out from my husband that what he really wanted to get me was a pair of snow pants, but couldn’t. One, the store didn’t have any. Two, he didn’t have enough money. But the thought means a lot to me.

I’m not sure what he ended up buying. It’s wrapped an under the tree. I know what he got his dad, and I have to say that my son has picked up my tendency to purchase practical gifts. I can’t say any more or I’ll ruin my husband’s surprise

I did end up getting a gift card for my son’s teacher. While I liked the animal “adoption” idea, I was concerned that it wouldn’t make it to us in time. I may still do it as our end of year donation to a charity. I’m still trying to decide who we should support this year. Hopefully sometime soon we will be in a better position financially where we can start giving more and helping more organizations.

We still have a few more people to buy for. So far, we aren’t as far over our budget as I thought we might be. Alas, there are still 10 days before Christmas so I’m going to wait until then before doing the final tally.

Now banks are lowering credit card limits and home equity lines, and even consumers who have credit are reluctant to add to their balances during the economic downturn. That has layaway returning as an increasingly popular alternative.

Via [Detroit News]

I’m on the fence with layaway. Is it better than credit cards or are you still spending money you don’t have? I mean, less the layaway fee (according to the article it is typically $5), I can see layaway as sort of a forced savings account for an item. Then again, you are entering a committment to purchase an item and you may be hit with cancellation fees if you cannot make all of the payments.

What do you think?

For example, our budget includes the following:
- Gifts for family, friends, teachers, etc.
- Cost for lighting displays (estimated – nifty calculator here)

Our budget does not include the following:
- Toys for Tots purchases (they go under donations)
- “Special” food for Christmas Eve & Day (that goes into groceries)
- Spending for any new Christmas decorations for the house (they go under household since they are reused every year)

On the same note, a reader sent me a tip (thank you!) about a thread on the MSN Smart Spending message boards about Christmas shopping in case you would like to read more budgets or add to the conversation there as well.

Smart Money Christmas Thread (hopefully this link will work for a while).

So…how much are you spending for Christmas?

First of all, the gift I am making for my siblings ended up costing a little more than I thought. It’s still not a lot on a per gift basis, but I have a few siblings so it adds up. That added about $20 to the cost.

Next up was the gift for my son’s teacher. We usually get an ornament but I decided to not do that. I started looking at “adopting” a zoo animal in the class’ name. My son thought that was a cool idea so I think we will do that. The minimum to do that is $25. So that’s $20 more than we were planning on spending. BUT, we haven’t chosen a charity yet to give money to at the end of the year, so that gift could count towards that and not technically be a Christmas gift. Hmm…

I always seem to forget too that Santa has to get mom and dad something. Argh. To make matters worse, I was working on a snow fort with my son and my legs were freezing and I said I should ask Santa for snow pants. Kids do not forget. He keeps reminding me to ask Santa for snow pants. So that adds another $50 or so to the total if mom and dad get snow pants. I’ve looked for used so far with no luck. This “could” be considered clothing, though, since my husband and I could really use them since we deal with a lot of snow.

That brings us up to $95 already. What was I thinking? Oh well. I can say one thing, if we didn’t set a budget at all we probably would have spent way more than that already. At least trying to get our spending under that has really made us focus on the gifts and not just buy random things. Our son is only getting a few gifts, but they were well thought out. One thing we know he wants, one thing we know he’ll love, and one thing he will probably like after a while but it will be one of those “toss and keep opening presents” types of gifts at first.

I also didn’t consider stocking stuffers when doing the original budget. I have a habit of forgetting about those. They can add up quickly as I found out one year.

We’ll hopefully finish our shopping this week, so I’ll have to post how we did.

One such thing would be being approached by other relatives to split the cost for a big gift for another relative. Since we live far away, the gift is already determined by the time we are contacted. Same goes with the price. In the past, we haven’t had a say in the gift selection and are only contacted to contribute money.

It’s a very awkward position to be in. If we contribute, we spend a lot more than we wanted to spend and it doesn’t leave anything for getting gifts we may have had in mind. If we don’t contribute, then we get a bad rap because the others have to pay more since we didn’t contribute (it is often worded that we all have to contribute a fair share to make it work).

We haven’t heard about anything happening for Christmas this year. Usually we hear sometime after Thanksgiving. It is tough being a frugal family when others are not as frugal. I know there are a lot of frugal readers out there that may find themselves in a similar situation. How do you handle it? Do you contribute to keep the peace or do you have a good response to decline participation?

Our overall philosophy is that gifts need to be useful and have a good lifespan to them. So many times we have purchased things for our son that were only played with a few times and then forgotten. But there have been successful purchases (mega bloks purchased years ago are still used at least every other day by our son). We will take more time to think through every purchase.

Our tentative budget? $150. I say tentative because other things may pop up. More about that tomorrow. This budget does not include purchases for Toys for Tots or anything like that. It is only for gifts for our family and friends.

It will be tight, but I think it can definitely be done. What about you? Are you scaling back holiday spending this year?

Not too long ago I came across a “budget” carpet extractor that was getting some great reviews. It had a smaller profile than a vacuum cleaner, it was lightweight, it did a good job and it left carpets fairly dry. It was on sale at our local store so I took a deep breath and bought it. It cost $79 and came with some free cleaner.

It didn’t take long before I put it to work. Today I completed the third room, and all I can say that the darn thing is AMAZING. It’s a Bissell QuickSteamer. Now, it doesn’t actually steam the carpet – you just put hot water in it. It has brushes on it, but they do not rotate like the brushes on more expensive models. So it is a budget machine. But that thing worked like a charm.

For really bad spots, they recommend pre-treating. I had to do that in my son’s room because of some marker stains. Everything came up except for a red marker stain that has probably been there for a long time (it was hidden). I got it to turn a light pink color but that’s it. The rest of the floor looks wonderful. I couldn’t believe how black the dirty water was. All that gunk was in our carpet – yuk!

There is still one room left and I’ll probably tackle it early next week. Going forward, that thing is so easy to use that I am marking the calendar to do it every three months (at least) on the high traffic areas to keep our carpet looking great. It is also going to be a wonderful “accident” cleaner-upper for us since we have a child and pets. You just put some solution and hot water in the clean water bottle and you are ready to go!

Since we purchased a small package, the increase only amounted to a few dollars. Percentage-wise, that is a huge increase in price. I can’t help but wonder if this is happening all over or if it’s a local thing. If the prices go up again next year, I may think about taking our own pics next year. I did that when our son was in preschool and he loved posing for the pics in our backyard. They turned out so cute and I even put his name in the corner like with senior pics. But I have it in my head that we need to get the official school photos.

Anyone else feel that way? Have school photo prices increased for you?

Sometimes I think to the future, and I think about how great it will be to have some savings set aside specifically for certain things. I can visualize an account that holds about $15,000 in it that can be used to purchase a car debt-free or used for car repairs. There is no relying on a bank or credit card to give you the funds. You call the shots, because you saved up the money.

*happy sigh*

That thought is almost as nice as my happy thought of relaxing in a hammock on a warm summer day with no bugs.

*another happy sigh*

I’m thinking that once our debt is paid off we’ll find ourselves going into extreme saving mode

After two visits I quit. I’m on my own now. I do have some exercise sheets they gave me and I paid attention during my first visit when the therapist was explaining what was going on with my knees. I’ve also done quite a bit of research on the internet and armed with some fancy medical words that I learned from the therapists, I was able to find out some interesting things.

The bulk of my knee pain is likely due to the fact that I am an office worker who sits all of the time while working. The pain eases up on weekends (no work), but then starts back up on Monday. It also is exaggerated by being overweight.

I’m not sure how to fix the office work thing, but I can work to lose weight again (my weight has been pretty steady for some time now) and I can work on the exercises that they gave me. Hopefully these two things will do the trick. I am very grateful that surgery was never discussed because that leads me to believe that my knee pain can be relieved with some work.

I’m not sure how much this has impacted our grocery bill since I’m still working to finalize June’s spending. Even though we are skipping the really cheap foods, I think we are probably doing better with our grocery spending overall.

For instance, instead of buying french fries and Betty Crocker potato mixes, we are buying bulk potatoes and preparing them from scratch. I have learned how easy it is to make hashbrowns. Sure, the first few times left them burnt or raw, but now they come out just right. And you can prepare potatoes in so many ways! You can mash, roast, bake, twice bake, fry and season to your heart’s content. I’m still experimenting with them.

I am hoping that this change will also help with our overall health and I’ll be able to shed a few more pounds. My knees will thank me for it!

The fact that I couldn’t do something that I loved to do (drive) really bothered me. So I made the appointment for yesterday.

It turns out that my knees are not tracking properly. The movement should be smooth but it is clunky. The doctor said I could attempt to correct the problem myself by working on my inner thigh muscles. I guess they are really weak compared to my outer thigh muscles so it causes my knee to be out of whack. She also said that I can go to physical therapy where they will help me correct it.

For some time now, we have been doing so many things ourselves to try to save some money. Part of me wanted to decline the physical therapy to avoid the cost. I could read up on how to strengthen my muscles and handle it myself. If it didn’t work, I could then seek out a physical therapist. The other part of me said that maybe it is time to get that outside help. We are talking about my knees here. Without them, I can’t walk.

I told the doctor I would go to physical therapy and I start next week. They will evaluate my condition and develop a treatment program. Then I will have a better idea of how much this is going to cost. Right now I’m trying not to think about it too much.

She also prescribed medication for another condition that I have. I haven’t taken medication for it in years since I didn’t want to spend the money on it and it wasn’t bugging me too much. Not the smartest thing I have done. I did fill the prescriptions she gave me and they will cost about $100/month. That’s with my health insurance co-pay.

Just like the physical therapy, I’m trying not to think about the medication cost too much. It will be another expense that will need to be worked in the budget. BUT – that doesn’t mean that I’m not going to search on ways I can lower that cost. Of course, if I find anything I will let you know