Living On What You Make

I read this post at fatwallet.com that I thought I would share. How often do we think that making more money would be the answer to all our financial problems?

But if you can't manage your money when you make $40,000 a year, you won't be able to at $400,000 a year. The principles are the same.

This is my favorite part of the post: "Luxuries get sampled and become necessities. And while the pleasures you get from the finer things in life are nice, the pain that you experience if you ever have to give them up becomes huge. It wasn't any one thing, it was a train of connected "upgrades" to our lifestyle. And if you let the upgrade train get away from you, you all of the sudden realize that you're struggling to pay for the ticket."

How true is that? Here is the beginning of the post and there is a link to the rest at the end. Enjoy.

"I didn't always make a lot of money. Nor did I come from a wealthy family. Nope, I started on the bottom rung, worked hard, waited patiently, and finally one day, I woke up, and all of the sudden realized I was finally making some decenet money. Not big shot, second-home, his-and-her-7-series driving money, but better than most of the population, and certainly better than any of my friends or family. Combine that with being married to a fellow college grad with her own professional job, and between the two of us, we pull in around $200k per year. And we're living paycheck to paycheck. Although this is an alternate name I created to hide the personal details from my usual login, I've been a regular FWF contributor for as long as I can remember. I've posted quite a bit here (I'm not one of the "biggies", but I have a good number of posts to my name, all with their fair share of green). I know all the conventional wisdom. I follow the Boglehead philosophy, know about how to allocate money, know all about the wonders of compound interest, and have read all the books. Tobias' Only Financial Guide You'll Ever Need? Check. Random Walk, check. Millionare Next Door, Your Money or Your Life, and even (sigh) Rich Dad Poor Dad, check check and check. How I got to where I am was both sobering and humbling, and I figured I'd tell the story just in case it might help anyone else. No sob story about medical expenses, divorce, or some scam business opportunity. Nope, my wife and I just let ourselves spend too much. No one to blame but us..."

The rest of this post and responses can be read here.

Hard Candy Christmas: Frugal, Wise, Or Am I Just Plain Cheap?

Yesterday at the grocery store I listened to the cashier and the bagger talk about buying Christmas presents. "I've still got to buy presents for my husband's brother and his family. I don't know what I'm going to get them but I'll have to wait until I get my paycheck cashed."

To that the bagger replied, "My mom has put everything on her credit card. She will be fussing about it when the bill comes!" They both laughed and the cashier looked at me and said, "Well, I guess there is no way out, what are you going to do anyway? It's Christmas."

I smiled at her and said (What was I thinking? I should have just poked myself in the eye with a sharp stick!), "My family isn't giving gifts to each other this year that cost over $25. We don't have any little children . We decided that we just don't need anymore stuff. We only buy for our immediate family, not the extended family because they all live out of state and shipping is just too expensive. We would spend more on that than presents. "

She stopped dead in her tracks, mouth slightly open as she stared at me, "No presents over $25? None?" "None. We took a trip to see my daughter at Thanksgiving and we are using the money we would have spent on presents for paying debt and to increase our savings." She narrowed her eyes and grunted, "That doesn't sound like much fun. Don't you think ya'll will miss opening lots of presents on Christmas morning? I would hate that."

I replied that I didn't think that would be a problem as we had other things planned for the day and that just being together would be enough. I took a minute to try to explain how important it was to us to get out of debt and for our children to understand the concept of living a debt free life, not to mention learning to put the idea of having so much "stuff" in it's proper place.

I was met with nothing more than a look of annoyance and a muttered " Well, I guess so, but it sure doesn't sound like Christmas to me." As I walked away I think I heard the word cheap muttered by someone. I left the store feeling a little chastised to say the least. I loaded my groceries and on the drive home questioned our decision to forgo so many presents. Am I wrong? Is a Christmas without lots of presents somehow not Christmas at all? Am I indeed being "cheap"? Should I feel ashamed that I'm not loading the space under my tree with beautifully wrapped, put on the credit card, presents?

By the time I had reached home I had calmed down enough to answer the question with just one word. No.

Why should I be ashamed of living within my means? Who created the idea that spending money you don't have is a virtue? And why did I even have to think twice about it being one? Old habits die hard.

Somewhere along the way we have been made to think that we should identify our self worth with the stuff we possess. I want to change forever the way of thinking that says I need to be ashamed of not being able to afford something. I want to instill in my family the idea that saving for what you want, or just for a rainy day, is a virtue. Now that, that is a gift worth giving.

Saturday Savings and A Couple Of Deals For This Week

I found a couple of good deals currently at my Walgreens. They have Turtles candy on sale this week for 99 cents after instant coupon. There are coupons from the 9/16 Smartsource flier for $1 off 1. So they are free with the coupon. Also Bayer Aspirin, 24 count, is on sale for 99 cent this week, and there are 55 cents off coupons from the 10/7 Valassis flier so the aspirin would be 44 cents. Good deal.

This past week I shopped 4 different stores: Krogers, Ingles, CVS and Walgreens. The Dukes mayo in the picture below came from Ingles. It was on sale for $1.50 and I had .90/1 coupons so it was .60 each. I can't find the ticket but around $4.54 after tax. Everything else in the picture came from Kroger and along with a rotisserie chicken came to $71.06 , down from $134.98 before coupons, for a savings of $63.92.

At CVS I bought one of the blood glucose monitors with the coupon, so I got it for free and got the $20 ECBs. I have more coupons but it says only one per customer on the coupon so I don't feel right about doing it again with the coupon. I got the Advil for 99 cents.

At Walgreens I got John Freida Hair Gloss and Dove conditioner on clearance and with coupons for about 20 cents each. The apricots were.99 cents each and the witch hazel came to $1.69 I think. The caramels were .50. All of it was around $6. I really need to get my receipts before I start posting.

More mayo from Ingles. I got 12 total. Enough to last until the next sale and enough to donate. The Cascadian Farms cereal was on clearance and with a coupon was $1.25. The Post Trail Mix Crunch was on clearance for $1.01 with a $1/1 it was .01. So an additional $6 something at Ingles. All in all a very good shopping week.

Money Making At Home: Finding Your Niche

It is Money Making Monday at Crystal's blog. I've been wanting to write a post for it but just haven't had the time recently to sit down and compose my thoughts.

I have been fortunate to be able to be home with my kids since my son was born two years into our marriage. I did work for a couple of months during a very bad time, but decided then and there I wanted to avoid having to do that again. Leaving my children everyday was heartbreaking to me.

As a result I have done many different things at home for extra income. I have: stuffed envelopes for a friend, arranged flowers for weddings, provided daycare (7 years), did some design work and production of some accessory pieces for my friends quilting business, sold at craft shows and craft malls for about 5 years, that one lead to the home based business that my husband and I have run for the past 10 years.

My bit of advice for people looking for something to do out of their home is very simple.

First: Determine what your strengths and skills are. What do you have someone might need? Do you have a hobby you can turn into a business? Everyone has marketable skills whether they believe it or not.

Second: Make it known to your family and friends, even people you know casually, that you are looking for at home employment. They may know someone who needs someone to do at home work. We have used at home moms in our business. An added bonus is they can give you a reference.

I have a friend who got her part time job through the lady who did reading therapy for her daughter. She works 2 days a week and is paid the rest of the week to take calls for the business on her cell phone. Another friend takes customer service calls at her home and sets up appointments for repair men.

Third: After you evaluate your skills and talents and think about what you might like to do. Start looking for a niche that needs filling.

This is one of the most important things in my opinion to being successful. Find a need and fill it. When we started doing research into marketing our gift product to stores we noticed that though there were similar products they were much less expensive (and not as nice) items and much more expensive items. We decided to fill that gap between the two extremes with our product and I that is what helped us to stay in business long enough to start turning a real profit. Many of my friends who have had successful businesses have found success in doing the same thing.

Just remember, whatever you decide to do, you have to market yourself. You can't just start a business and sit back and wait for the customers. You have to let folks know you are there. Some people I have known in the past that have failed at businesses thought they could stick a sign in their front yard or put one ad in the paper and people would flock to them. It takes time.

I read somewhere that the typical entreprenuer starts and fails at an average of 5 businesses before they find one that is successful for them. So, just remember that whatever you decide to do, you are going to have to give it some time and some real effort to make it work. Motivation and a real desire to keep plugging along at building your business is a major factor in making it a success.

Pic: Backyard of my "office".

Coupon Shopping This Week.

I tried out a couple of new places this week. I did my first CVS purchase. A small one which netted me $1 ECB. So with my one and only ECB I bought the Irish Spring ($.60 after my ECB and my coupon plus $1 ECB back.) and 1 bottle of Bam cleaner (on clearance for $2, so $1 after my coupon) So tax and all was $1.76 out of pocket and net of 1 ECB at CVS.

At Walgreens I had four $1 coupons for Taster's Choice and they had more of the stick packs for $1. So those were free. I had 2 Catalinas for $10 off Walgreens Glucosamine that someone had given me. They had it on sale BYGO. I found a bottle that had 90 tablets for $11.99 so I got 4 bottles for $3.98 (savings of $43.98 before sale or $20.00 from sales price). The Aleve was on sale for $2.99 and I had a $1 coupon. The Gillette was on clearance for $ 1.04 and I had $1 off 2 so I got 1 free. Total at Walgreens was $7.56 after tax.

I learned a few weeks ago that Fred's Pharmacy doubles coupons up to 70 cents on Saturday's only. Today was my first time trying it out. I learned that they will only double the first manufacturer's coupon for an item. So if you have multiples you must make separate transactions. The manager told me they have no problem with that.

They do NOT take Internet coupons. If you look at their online ad you will have to scroll to the back of the ad to find the cleaners, toiletries, etc. While in the store I found they had many items on clearance and regular prices on many items seemed much better than the other stores. For example the Mr. Clean Apple scented cleaner was regular priced at $2, so with my coupon it was $1, the Lysol cleaners were on sale for $1.79 after coupons they were .79. The Lipton Tea was priced at $1, with a coupon it was free. The Band Aids were also free. The Luzianne tea was only 77 cents after my coupon and the Excedrin came to .79 each after coupons. The only thing I didn't have a coupon for was the trash bags. I will definitely be shopping there again.

I'm not going to list everything by price but what you see below after coupons came to $18.72. $13.24 not counting the trash bags. Not bad. Before coupons everything added up to about $41.

I also made a Kroger run that before coupons came out to $42.06. After coupons the total was $20.51. I didn't bother to take pictures of that. I got several great deals though, including 7 boxes of breakfast Hot Pockets for $.66 per package of 4.

If I added right before coupons I spent $164.77. After coupons, and my one little ECB, I paid $48.55 out of pocket. Not bad. Not bad at all.

Pics: Top: CVS

Middle: Walgreens

Bottom: Freds

Building A Nest Egg

I was wondering what to post about this Friday. Haven't I shared every financial tip I know? Then I read a post at Holy Experience about having enough in our lives and I realized I do have something left to share.

Ann's attitude about spending money on things we don't need has been something I have been cultivating in my own life. I have really come to realize that just because something is a great deal doesn't mean you need it in your life. I think maybe this is something that you come to realize as you mature in your management of your finances.

I felt that I was doing a great job of handling our money because I hardly ever shopped for anything in a regular retail store. If I did buy something it was always on clearance.The majority of my shopping was done at yard sales or thrift stores.

I have arrived at a place in my life where I have finally realized that too much stuff is too much stuff. No matter how little you may pay for it.

My tip for the week is what I am doing with the money I am NOT spending. A truly radical thing...I'm actually saving it.

Every time I pass up a "deal" I take the money I would have spent and put it into my nest egg. Since purchasing Crystal's course on supermarket savings I have really increased my couponing. At least half of the difference between what I would have spent without the coupons is added to my nest egg.

Where I found it difficult to cut money from my budget before I have found this a much easier way to put some money aside. In just the last few weeks I have seen a nice little increase in the balance.

I'm not taking anymore money out of our family budget than before, just spending what I have more efficiently AND I feel much better about how I am handling my part of our family finances.

For more tips check out Jessica's blog Life As Mom.

It Works!

My friend Angie has been telling me about her luck with coupon shopping and I have been reading about the deals Crystal gets.

Honestly, I didn't think I could save as much. It just seemed like so much work. When Crystal put her program on sale earlier this week I decided purchase it because she always seemed to have such great tips on her site. It is a well put together program and I would recommend it especially to those just learning to live frugally or just setting up housekeeping. Even an old dog like me learned a few tricks.

It is no secret that I am a die hard tightwad from way back, but coupons are something I just haven't taken the time to use. This week I decided to take the time to clip coupons, check the sales and make a list. I even organized my coupons... kind of.

Well tonight I took the plunge at my local Krogers. And I think I did really well. Everything you see in the picture above was $74.00 and some change. By purchasing items on sale and after my coupons (Kroger doubles 50 cent and lower) I only paid $36.33 tax included!

I got the mustard, 2 bottles of Worchestershire, and 2 cans dog food for free! I was very excited. The bag boy was impressed and the guy behind me said "That's what I'm talking about!" LOL.

Truthfully it wasn't that hard. I'm sure it will get easier as I get more organized and get used to the process. A big thanks to Angie and Crystal both for inspiring me to give it a try!

What Makes You Happy?

I saw in the news that there was one winner of the huge lottery this weekend. They won something like $140,000,000. That is a lot of zeros!

Would you be happy with lots of money? If everything went just as you planned and all your proverbial ducks were in a row, would you be more satisfied with life? I don't think it will conjure any winning lottery tickets for us but according to this article on the CNN money site by Jeanne Sahadi we may be more inclined to have things go well for us if we are happy people to begin with.

Well, that isn't good news for all us gloom and doomers is it now? Actually, according to the article pessimist, or realist, actually perform better in some jobs. But all isn't lost! We can learn to be happier.

We can develop the skills that one needs to think positive and ultimately live a happier more satisfied life. So there is hope yet! I read an article somewhere that said that lottery winners, and others with large expendable incomes, are found not to be any happier after spending their money on the material items they wanted to purchase. The boats, houses, cars and diamonds give a high that only last so long. If there isn't a core of happiness, a foundation of positive outlook there in the beginning, they soon return to their former level of satisfaction with life. One article I read matched census data on earnings with data on self-reported happiness from a national survey. When comparing people with the same income, with ones living in a richer area data showed that the people in the richer area reported being less happy.

The thing that consistently helped to raise the level of overall happiness in life was to use money to create memories. Yep, after taking care of the basic needs and paying our base expenses, spending time creating memorable moments in life went further toward making for a happy life than anything they could buy.

Ok, I know that you can create some really big memories with $140,000,000! Granted. But since the Powerball people aren't passing out checks this year, especially to people who don't buy tickets, I think we had better find some more realistic ways to create some fun memories.

One of the things our family found that created some of the most memorable times and cost the least was camping. We collected sleeping bags and camping equipment from yard sales and thrift stores. We bought our first tent on clearance. Our investment was very small.

We had some relaxing trips, some wild and wooly nights ( never did figure what that animal outside clawing around was) and some downright disastrous experiences (how much water could a sleeping bag hold if a sleeping bag could hold water?). But we bonded during those times and we still love talking about them.

Getting control of our money gives us the time and opportunity to find productive, satisfying ways to spend our days, and to spend time with family and friends. After all, that is why we practice all this frugal stuff in the first place isn't it?.

Pic: Lillies and Purple Coneflower. Townsend, Tn.

Want To Live In A Hobbit Hole?

If you do then check out this home .

Built in Wales, this home is a low impact structure built out of many recycled and natural materials. I think it is adorable and super cool. With all the talk about how to lower our personal imprint on our environment it is easy to overlook the obvious benefits for frugal souls.

In ignoring the multitude of businesses for profit that offer expensive alternatives to our toxic cleaning products or items such as the ridiculously overpriced canvas shopping bags and getting down to the real green life, the business of recycling and reusing items and finding ways to lessen what we use in our everyday lives, one comes to realize living a greener life also means a frugal, simpler life.

Replacing all those incandescent bulbs with compact florescent saves in more ways than one. Turning up the thermostat puts $$ in your pocket and helps lessen the pull on our power grids, taking an ink cartridge to W*algreens to get it refilled makes perfect sense budget and environment wise. Every time you find a way to reuse, recycle or remake and item, you aren't only saving dollars, you are making an impact on our environment. So, every time you make a gallon of laundry detergent or other homemade cleaner, use vinegar and baking soda to clean, or repair that old pair of pants one more time, remember to smile and feel good about your lack of environmental impact all the way to the piggy bank.

As always check out Crystal's site for more Frugal Friday tips.

Teaching Kids about Money: Some Great Videos

(Note: This post was intended for last week Frugal Friday. Since it wasn't put up I'm connecting to it for this week.) Teaching kids about money is a long drawn out process. Some lessons are only learned by experience.

As soon as our children were old enough to understand we taught them how to evaluate their purchases and determine the best buy for their money. Allowing them to make financial decisions for themselves and then discussing those decisions with them, was the best teaching method I know.

We were never parents to purchase every toy that came along that our kids wanted. When the kids were old enough to start asking for expensive items we worked out a plan with them.

We stated the dollar figure we were willing to contribute, then we worked out a list of jobs the child could complete to earn the rest of the money needed. After the money was earned we taught them how to comparison shop and look for sales. We encouraged them to look for second hand items if possible.

I'm proud to say that my children all handle their money very well. They are savers and live within their means. None of my grown children have credit cards and operate on a cash only basis.

I found these great videos on YouTube that teach kids about budgets and money management. They are wonderful. I think they would be great supplements to any lesson on money management. Enjoy.

What In The World Is This Thing ?

Use it up, wear it out, make it do, or do without is our family financial motto. Creativity is a key element to living that motto.

Now to answer the question in my post title. What is this thing? It is a "make do" dehydrator. I have wanted a dehydrator for years but I have never been lucky enough to find one secondhand. I realize that I don't do enough drying to justify buying one full price, so I had to come up with a "make it do" solution to fill the gap.

What I did here was use a frame to a TV tray, a pizza pan (the kind with holes), a clamp on shop light with a 100 watt blub, and a cardboard box. It won't win any design awards but it works like a charm to dry the small amounts of food I've tried in it.

So even though I am repeating myself my frugal tip is: Be Creative. This seems to be a theme this week on Frugal Friday tips. There is almost always some way to get what you need without spending the big bucks.

The True Cost of Things

It is an enlightening experience to realize just how much money passes through our hands during a lifetime. Think back to every job you and or your spouse ever had and estimate your earnings. It is probably an astounding number.

One of my favorite books about money is Your Money or Your Life by Joe Dominguez and Vicki Robin. I highly recommend it . Not necessarily for the financial investment advice but for their philosophy about money. It is basically a guide to changing our relationship with money.

"Money is something we choose to trade our life energy for. Our life energy is our allotment of time here on earth, the hours of precious life available to us....it is limited and irretrievable...our choices about how we use it express the meaning and purpose of our time here on earth."

Looking at money for what it is truly alters the shopping experience. When you realize that you are not trading just money for an item you "must have" or think you "need". You are trading your time, your life, or the life of your spouse for that item.

Usually any problems we have in handling our money come from unexamined spending so I often try to reevaluate how we spend our money. I find that doing that helps to keep our expenses in check and leave the money we have for the things we really need or want. Financial peace, for me, truly comes from understanding our relationship with the money we have.