Blogging Away Debt

Life After Credit Card Debt – May Update

Hi Everyone! Tricia here with an update.

First things first, we are still credit card debt free. May was an awesome month and I had a renewed zest for stockpiling money away in our savings account. That’s not to say we didn’t purchase a bigger ticket item, because we did. No, it’s not that LCD TV 🙂

Instead of purely talking about our finances, I thought I would briefly talk about two different topics on my mind this month. I suppose you could call them “mini-blogs.”

Big Ticket Item Purchase
Near the beginning of our debt reduction journey, we decided to stop using the freezer that came with our home when we purchased it. We were using way too much electricity and I had a hunch the very old freezer was drawing way too much power. As soon as it was unplugged, our electricity bill went down.

We’ve been without a freezer ever since. Sure, we had the one with our fridge but you can’t fit too much in it. I have been patiently watching the sales and finally…there was a 7.0 cu ft freezer for sale for $170. My price point was met and we now have a freezer. Yay!

I’m anxiously waiting to stock it with fruits and vegetables this summer. But something I didn’t necessarily realize is how much money we can save on dining. Our schedules have been hectic lately and we find ourselves grabbing fast food at least once a week. I can stock the freezer with some frozen foods that we can pull out and pop in the oven or microwave in a pinch. So far it has been working out great. We don’t want to eat those foods too often for health reasons (sodium content being a biggie), but fast food often has a lot of salt as well.

It’s never easy for me to spend that much money on a single item, but I’m very happy with the purchase. I see it paying for itself in less than 6 months.

Coupons
I’ve never been that big into coupons. The coupons I would see in the papers were often for expensive brand name items that we don’t buy. I live in an area where the local grocery stores do not offer double coupons. It was usually cheaper to go with the generic brands.

I started reading Money Saving Mom and started watching how others have made the coupons work for them. I gave it a shot and was surprised at how many coupons you can get online (including those you can find on Facebook (I’ve found some great ones from there). During the month of May, I’ve probably saved at least $50.

It’s addictive, though. The first time I did it I was armed with a stack of coupons. I could feel the adrenaline rush through me as the grocery bill got lower and lower as the cashier processed the coupons. I found myself wanting to find more and more coupons and go back out to the store.

And that is where it can be dangerous. It’s great to save a lot of money, but you don’t want to spend too much and have food go bad or have a cabinet full of food you probably won’t eat. I don’t even want to start thinking back to how many products I have purchased because they were a great deal. Many of them ended up at the last garage sale I had and someone else got an even better deal then I did! LOL.

I am still very much a coupon newbie and I am figuring out the happy balance with my couponing. I need to do it responsibly and figure out how to take less time doing it. I was spending way too much time figuring out what coupons I should print. Anyone have any couponing tips to share?

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That is all for this month. I have had a very exhausting week and I have had very little rest. I am ready for some serious rest and relaxation this weekend and my bed is calling my name right now.

Have a great weekend everyone!

The Rebate with Strings…

by Beks

After months… OK, over a year… of delaying the inevitable, I finally caved and bought a new cell phone. My phone is several years old – which in cell phone years equates to centuries. I would have kept it, but when the reliability of actually being able to make calls sinks under 50%, it’s simply time to move on.

I went into my local Verizon store and pulled out my phone to show the salesman the level of phone I wanted – aka, a cheap one. He looked at me, looked at my phone, and then replied, ‘They don’t make phones like that anymore. Exactly how OLD is that thing?’

He was incredibly helpful and walked me over to the section of phones that don’t require data, internet, or gps plans. He didn’t pressure me to purchase accessories and helped me choose a phone that worked for my um… ‘discriminating’ taste. Some like to call it cheap, but I think ‘discriminating taste’ sounds more refined.

My phone was ‘free’ after a mail-in rebate.

Today, I received my rebate – a Verizon Visa card. Sure I can use the card anywhere Visa is accepted but what happened to the good ol’ days of checks I could cash? Now I have to figure out where in my budget I can use the card and try my best to spend it all at once so I don’t have to keep a record of how much is left on the card. If I only use part, I have to record the amount remaining and charge the exact amount on the next transaction, otherwise the card will be declined.

They make it nearly impossible to complete the rebate submission information correctly and now spending the rebate will be equally as difficult?!?

It’s a good thing I have another 5-7 years before I need a new cell phone.