Frugalhousewife's Personal Finance Blog

The plan for this weekend was to have a yard sale along with some neighbors. The weather is not cooperating so we all decided to switch to another weekend. It was no big deal as that money would have gone into next year's vacatio fund.

Today is the second no spend day for the month. Yesterday would have been put I paid a bill early. I know I will have to run an errand in the next day or two. Otherwise I expect to have a few more no spend days to add to the total.

No much else money wise going on here. I am not spending any which is always good!

Dh's workplace put out the insurance options last week. Most of his coworkers were complaining that the premiums doubled. Thanks to our emergency fund and other savings we decided to increase our deductible. We will have a savings of $60 on the premiums from the current plan. Dh said most people were going with the lowest premium simply because they had no savings at all.

We have each only met the deductible once in about 10 years. Dh went to the allergist and met his deductible on the first visit. I met mine when I was going to the hospital once a week (literally). Otherwise we are fairly healthy. IF something should happen we have money saved up to handle the deductible.

We are going to build up the medical savings first and then add the extra money to paying off the debts. Every little bit helps!

September was a better month financially than I expected. We were able to get the debt well under $7K. I ended up with 17 no spend days, which is 2 more than my goal. Even with the off paychecks we were able to handle the budget with no problems. We also increased the 401K contributions.

I am hopeful that we can pay extra on the loans again this month. I am hesitant to set a new total goal since I am not sure how much extra we can squeeze out of the budget. Other goals are to have 15 no spend days and blog more often. I have gotten a bit lax in the past few weeks.

Look out! You will be seeing a lot more of me this month.

I have updated the debt totals now that both loan payments have cleared. I am excited to be well under $7,000. I am not sure we will be debt free by the middle of 2008, but we should have no problems being out of debt by the end of 2008.

I got a gift card from Netwinner that helped with the grocery budget, which is the area I cut due to the paycheck mixup. I average $25/month through there so that has been helpful.

I have already saved up a little money to add to the debt payments for October. I am expecting a survey check which I hope will come in time to add to that as well.

I also need to total up my no spend days to see how close I am to my September goal of 15.

Yesterday I spoke with a person who took a similar vacation last month to mine. She and her partner stayed at the same resort for the same amount of time that dh and I did. They went on the weekend, and we went during the following week. They spent $1,000, and we spent $250. I do think they had a bigger room than we did, but our room was spacious and larger than a regular hotel room. We took food and snacks with us and fixed meals in the room. They ate at the hotel's restaurant and had room service.

I see no problem with splurging on a nice vacation if you have the money. Every time I see her she talks about how I need to teach her to save money. I figure other than the food and maybe the view of the pool we had the same vacation. I am not sure I would find the food and looking at a pool worth $750. I did not tell her how much I spent so I do not have her opinion. I know that I thoroughly enjoyed our trip and it was within our budget.

Dh found out today that his paycheck should be straightened out on the next pay cycle. It has been off by $150 for two paychecks. Other than being annoying as it throws off my budgeting, I guess I can be patient. My budget is offset though so we could technically miss one paycheck without being behind on any bills. Dh says this happens to other people, and I wonder about those who live paycheck to paycheck. I know this could create serious problems for them.

It just reiterates the need for an EF. Until a few months ago we never never had an actual EF. There was extra money but never really enough if there was an emergency. I am amazed that a few changes in thought and spending have allowed us to set aside money for yearly bills (property taxes, insurance, etc) and have an EF of $1000+. I am glad because these changes have allowed us to handle this paycheck mixup with no real financial problems.

I was very close to a no spend day today but then I caved. Part of my spending was planned as it was for Christmas gifts on sale that had to be bought now or else pay more in a month. While I was ordering I decided to get some stationery supplies for myself.

One of my main hobbies is letter writing. I have friends scattered all over the world, and we keep in touch through letters. Yes, I know we could email for free, but I feel email cannot stand up next to a lovely, handwritten letter. I love getting mail from friends and seeing the colorful stationery and handwritten words. Just as much I enjoy sitting down to handwrite a letter on pretty paper, choosing a fun stamp, and dropping it into the mail on its way to my friend.

Emails tend to be quick notes about the more exciting highlights of life. Letters are more about rambling and sharing those little moments and events that while not earth-shattering are what life is truly about. Even though email is free and letters are costly (paper, envelopes, stamps), I still choose letters. I think personal finance is about choosing which areas are worth the extra money and which areas are for saving.

I have fallen behind on blogging lately. Most of it is due to lack of time but part is due to laziness. Quick update on the debt. We were able to pay extra on both loans. Now I am wishing I had not paid quite as much. Dh's check was messed up for a second time. The payroll department cannot seem to figure out how to fix their mistake so this next check will be short. I have had to juggle the budget a bit, but I think we can handle it.

Some planned expenses ended up being more than expected. My dental visit was $37 instead of $17. I took our younger cat to the vet, which cost $90 rather than the expected $60. It seems the $60 will be for the visit in three weeks. I guess budgets only look perfect on paper.

I am going to get more serious about blogging again since that keeps me focused on saving.

Whew! I have spent most of the morning figuring out the rest of the bills that have to be paid and how much can go toward debt. It actually made my head hurt a bit and I ended up walking away for a few minutes. I came back with a clearer head and got everything squared away.

Here is a quick rundown of financial happenings here since I have posted last. Dh's bonus came to $147 more than expected so with $3 I was able to return all the money to the EF. The electric bill was $120 or about $30 less budgeted. I have about $300 between dh's bonus and saved money to add to the debt. I will update the totals after everything posts to the loans.

Basically I expected to have little or no money to add toward the debt this month. Obviously I am thrilled with have $300 extra. It helps to keep me going especially when I am tempted to buy something I do not really need.

Today will be No Spend Day #6 for this month. I am well on my way toward my goal of 15 NS days. For me that is the key to saving money and paying off this debt. I have been tempted to check out some clothing sales, but I want to inventory my closet and see if I need anything. That will be better than just mindlessly buying clothing because it is on sale.

My next financial focus is going to be on the upcoming holidays (Thanksgiving, Christmas). I hope to estimate how much we will need for the holidays so I know how much more I have to save up. I want to do all cash this year and absolutely no charging or dipping into savings.

I think that covers everything recently. I do want to get back to posting more regularly as that helps keep me motivated and gives me a sense of accountability. Unless some unexpected expense comes up this month things should end on a positive note.

Dh got a bonus at work and it was more than he had expected. Actually it was almost $150 more or almost the amount we had to take out of the EF. Of course taxes had to be taken out (ugh). We should be able to put back the EF money and pay an extra $200 toward the loans. Yeah! Unfortunately they messed up his paycheck so I have to wait until Monday to find out just how much can go toward the debt.

I am thrilled to know that there is extra money this month as I was not expecting any. Sometimes life does not work out but other times it gives you a nice ray of sunshine.

I have already said that I would like to have 15 no spend days this month. Yesterday was a no spend day and today will be as well so I have a good start. I want to get the loan totals under $7K. I also need to put $150 back into the emergency fund. I had to pull that out to cover doctor visits and two car batteries. That will cut back on the extra money going toward the debt. I also want to plan a date night for dh and myself. I think we have been cutting back a bit too much and need to get out of the house at least one evening.

First of all off topic that title makes me think about the time a civic group was doing a pantry raid at people's homes to get food for a needy family. It was announced as a panty raid instead. Amazing the difference one letter makes.

On topic I finally got around to doing an inventory of both the pantry and the freezer. I can truly see what items I need to pick up and what I have on hand to cook with. Both are fairly weel stocked. I hope to make it through the month of September spending about $50 on additional groceries. I vow to "shop" in the pantry and freezer first when planning my meals. We have way too much stuff stockpiled!

I think I ended up with about 12 no spend days for the month. Not quite as many as I wanted but still good. "Murphy" stopped by to visit too often this month. I am going to set a goal of 15 no spend days for September. I should be able to not shop for half of the month.

I seem to be playing catch up quite a bit lately. I was under the weather for a few days but am finally feeling better. I did some unnecessary spending today and stopped by Lowe's to pick up some fall flowers. The selection was not as good as I would have liked but I managed to find some mums. Fortunately these will come back each year so it was a long term gardening investment.

The past week has been more spendy than I like. The batteries in both vehicles quit so we had to purchase two new ones. Dh also had a tire to blow, but it was still under a partial warranty so that was only $40. He is going back to the doctor tomorrow to get more meds for poison (oak, ivy, who knows) and jelly fish stings that are getting worse not better. He is highly allergic to something in the woods, but he refuses to stay out of there.

On a bright note, none of the money has come out of the emergency fund. Although some of it has come from the extra that would have gone toward debt. Hopefully we will still have enough of the extra left to pay on the loans in two weeks. I really want to get the total under $7K.

Dh and I threw a block party yesterday. We had invited around 100 people and about 50 actually came. I did not expect part of the people we invited to come, but we felt it was better to invite them. That way no one could say that we intentionally left them out.

We served hot dogs, chips, and drinks. Dessert was free ice cream, I won it in a contest. The ice cream was the main reason for the party, but we decided to throw in the rest. I think the total was about $80 and everyone had plenty to eat.

Everyone had a great time and decided that we should get together as a neighborhood more often. The cost was minimal as it was. I think with everyone chipping in a little, it could be done again.

Dh and I decided to sneak away for a few days. We had not gotten around to taking a vacation this summer. I went to the visitor's bureau website for our favorite beach town and found a great deal at a really nice resort. It is one we have looked at many times but could never afford. We got a standard room, which was like a regular hotel room only bigger and nicer. The resort had room service and restaurants, but we took our own food and ate in the room. We know someone who stayed at the same place last week but spend over twice what we did. It was a lovely getaway that did not break our budget. I signed up for their email specials so hopefully we can find as good a deal next year.

Today it is back to the real world though. I had gone grocery shopping before we left so the house was well stocked on our return. I am back to working on those debts.

My tip is to separate wants from needs. Often I will see a shiny gadget in the kitchen store and decide I need it. Six months later I find that I have used it at most once. I am more strict now about what I really need!

We made the first payment on the real estate loan we took out last month. Of course, part of it went to interest (almost $30). The large majority of it went toward the principal though. It was nice to see that initial drop. Hopefully it will drop much more next month. We took out a three year loan only to keep the payments very manageable in case something happened. Our goal all along was to pay more each month. We decided on a goal of 18 months to definitely pay it off, but we really want to pay it off in one year.

Well, out of the 10 items I listed on ebay only one sold. A few had watchers so I did relist those. The remainder will go in a local free ad paper. Many of the items were new clothes, but I wear a particularly small size and there are not many takers no matter where I try to sell them.

I have about 10 more items to list (baby things and larger new clothes my aunt gave me). After that I may hang it up with selling on eBay. For me I am not sure it is worth the time I put into it. The fees have gotten higher since the last time I sold. Hopefully this next round of stuff will do better.

The package from FedEx arrived late yesterday, but early enough that my husband decided we could go grocery shopping. We did well with sticking to the list, and I actually spent only $80 rather than the $100 budgeted amount. I should put the extra toward debt. Instead I am going to keep it in case a good sale appears next week.

I have started back with my one big monthly shopping trip to Wal-Mart. I find the more I go in there the more I spend. By going once a month I cut out the impluse spending. I get produce and dairy items from a smaller grocery store with better quality items. Planning four weeks' worth of menus takes time but works out better for me.

I should have about $80 extra in the grocery budget for the month. If so I will use that to stock the pantry and hopefully lower the food bill even further for the next 3 months.

I am expecting a delivery sometime between yesterday and tomorrow. I am stuck at home waiting for it as I need to be here when it is delivered. I was planning to go grocery shopping and run a few errands today. That most likely will get put off until Friday. Today will probably be another no spend day.

I kept meaning to sit down and post but never quite found the time. The good news is that while I was busy, I was not busy shopping! In fact Saturday, Sunday, and Monday were all no spend days.

The temperatures cooled down a bit but are now on the way back up. I have already budgeted a larger amount for next month's electric bill so I am not worried about it. After this week the heat wave is supposed to break and things should get back to normal.

On the spending front though I am going to need a battery for my car. It just died all of a sudden with no warning. I have enough in the car repair fund to cover it though. The dead battery is one of the reasons for some no spend days. I am stuck at home so no temptations to go to the stores and shop.

We did end up with some extra money this month, which will be applied to the debts. Since I am on the subject of extra money, I have decided to teach piano lessons at a local private school one day a week. I have taught piano lessons in the past and enjoyed it. The school does not charge me a space rental so all of the money that I earn is mine. Having all of the students in one place is very convenient. I hope to get at least 10 students. This would be great in regards to paying off debt but would not tie me down too much.

We should be debt free in a year if this works out. I do not want to get ahead of myself, but it is nice to dream about. We are already saving any extra money (surveys, odd jobs, etc) but this will get us to our goal even faster.

I decided to add in the amounts of just how much we owe. I thought it would be nice for me to see it every day as a bit more motivation to get it to zero. I want it to feel real and not just numbers on a bill somewhere.

I have only had my hair professionally colored once and that was because I changing the color completely. Normally I just do minor color changes so I do it myself at home. The total color change cost $70 so I am going to estimate that the minor coloring I am doing would be about $50. I pay about $5 for a box of hair color and do it myself. I have a savings of about $350 a year doing that. I guess I do a decent job as I recently had someone stop me to ask who does my hair color.

I tried doing the acrylic nails for a time, but it ruined my real nails. I do have strong nails normally and most people think they are fake. I do my own manicures and pedicures at home too. I have no idea what it would cost at a salon.

I never looked at either of these things as ways to save money. I think of them instead as things I am able to have only because I am doing them myself. There is nothing wrong with going to the salon. It is just that on my budget it would mean cutting something else. I am content to be my own colorist and manicurist.

I picked a very bad time to start checking my electric meter. I should start off by saying that I live in a part of the country where I am accustomed to high humidity. This might be pushing it though. It has been so hot outside this week that breathing is difficult. Currently we have an older house with only window units which are pretty much running 24/7. At this rate next month's electric bill will be double what I expect it to be this time of year. I guess the bright side is that since I am keeping up with how much electricity we are using I am also budgeting for it. I have estimated what the bill will be and can figure that into the budget.

Today is another no spend day for me. Other than a trip to the bank to make a deposit, I have been home. Dh and I had our budget meeting. We have set a goal to pay off the auto loan by the end of this year. That will most likely involve selling some stock which we have been discussing getting rid of anyway.

I do need to start a fund for vet care though, which may take a bit of money away from debt. Our newest addition will be needing shots soon and will need to be fixed sometime after the first of the year.

I am so looking forward to being out of this hole we have gotten into. Compared to others it is not bad at all, but it is frustrating nevertheless. I guess it is that frustration and desire that keeps me on track. Normal things that I would have just bought without thinking about I now leave in the store. Reading the other blogs really helps. I have gotten so many ideas and also great encouragement to stay on track. I can hardly wait to be debt free!

Today is turning into my third no spend day of the month. Dh has spent the day cleaning out a spare room. I have been a bit lazier. My accomplishment is getting the eBay items listed. Now I wait.

I have never been one who felt the need to spend money. I know that I did it any way to some degree as I do not have a large savings yet. Dh has made a complete turn around during our marriage though. He always paid bills first but then spent every penny that was left over. It is great that he is now really excited about getting out of debt and saving money. We are forming a united front on this which certainly makes things easier.

I did some shopping today with coupons. I picked up kitty treats for my oldest cat. Next up dh and I stopped for ice cream using a birthday coupon I received. We got two Blizzards for the price of one, which was a nice treat for us. It was an unnecessary expense, but too much deprivation leads to excessive spending. I also had a coupon for $5 off my prescription at CVS. Last stop was the grocery store. The cashier seemed a bit miffed at the total after the coupons. I do not know why some people act as if the money is coming right out of their paychecks. I was thrilled with the price though. Part of our ability for me to stay home and still pay off our debts while saving money for house renovations is careful spending.

Last week I challenged myself to find 10 items to sell on eBay. I have found 10 things and have photographed them all. I will get them listed this week. Hopefully I can make $50 to add to the debt payoff. I am sure I can come up with a few more items to clear out. I have sold before, but I like to do it in small groups and not overload myself.

All of my spending today was related to mystery shopping jobs so I will get the money back and then some. It will give some money to add to the debt in about a month. The wait to get paid is frustrating when you want to pay off debt, but that is an easy way for me to bring in some money.

I received a $25 Bass Pro gift card from MyPoints. It was earned I gave that to DH as a little surprise. When we decided to work on paying off the debt, he quit smoking. He had quit before but started back with all the stress of fertility treatments a few years back. Anyway he has been smoke free for two months now. I am proud of him and the budget is thankful as well as his lungs I am sure.

The electric bill arrived in the mail and it was $116, which is $16 more than I hoped. I do have extra money in the budget so I can do this with no problems. That does mean $16 less is going toward the debt though.

I believe it was Ima who had started checking her meter reading. I headed out to the meter myself and wrote down the reading. This month appears to be right on track with last month's use. I am going to adjust the budget for next month to $120. After that it should start to cool down a bit. When I am home alone, I can put off turning on the air until later in the afternoon. Dh has more days off now so that means the air gets run more. He does work out in the heat though so I can understand the desire to be cooler when he is home.

I am definitely going to keep an eye on the meter though and also try to find some ways to decrease the bill. We already use the energy saving light bulbs. I will start shutting the computer down at night to see if that helps any. I already dry clothes outside. I will have to research a bit for more ideas.