Staying Debt Free

TD Bank Mess--Thousands of Angry Customers

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Thu, 01 Oct 2009 09:20:44 PST

I've experienced some weird things with banks, but this takes the cake. It's not even so much what is happening, but how their public relations people are (not) handling it.

First, I heard at work that any direct deposits going into TD Bank accounts weren't showing up. It wasn't...

Buying books the Insiders Club way

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 05 Sep 2009 13:16:34 PST

I've had the urge to buy books lately--part of putting my life back together and feeling normal after several strange years, I think. I'm starting to buy books that have been on my Amazon wish list for years, books I used to own but sold to raise cash, books that my local libraries...

Guinea Pig With Glasses

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Fri, 15 May 2009 20:09:25 PST

No, not the one on Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PAOplanuumc

Me.

I'm anxiously awaiting a $30 pair of prescription reading glasses from an online optical store. If I were happy with the progressive lenses I got locally (and the attitude of the optician), it never would have occurred to me. But in doing some research online, I stumbled on a blog called Glassy Eyes, which is full of info on how to order cheap but good quality prescription glasses (and contacts) online.

http://glassyeyes.blogspot.com/

Basically, you can guesstimate a frame size that will fit by reading the little numbers printed inside your existing frames. You enter the numbers from your eye doctor's prescription form; generally you don't even have to send in or fax the prescription paper, so you still have it on hand for your next purchase. (Apparently it can get quite addictive buying new styles and colors, once you know you can buy them so cheaply. Sheesh, one place has some frames that only cost a dollar!)

The main problem seems to be finding out your "pupillary distance" which determines where the center of the prescription goes in each lens. Eye doctors often don't write that on the prescription blank, and local opticians often don't want to divulge it to the customer. But there are ways to figure it out yourself, or with a friend, and instructions are available online.

I want a nice large, frumpy frame that will give me a large field of vision; the optician would only show me skinny, fashionable frames. I want to try reading-only rather than reading/intermediate bifocals, which the optician says I need. (And which cost more, of course.) So for $30, I'm willing to experiment.

It looks like it might be a workable alternative for someone who really needs new glasses, doesn't have vision coverage, and can't afford to spend much. I can't wholeheartedly recommend it, since I haven't gotten mine yet. But I'll keep you posted.

Has anyone else tried this?

Stockpiling to save time, not necessarily money

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 28 Mar 2009 18:53:07 PST

All of a sudden, I'm finding myself buying in bulk, in a big way. I'd love to have a year's supply of whatever is practical. Two things spurred me to do this--

1) My mother casually mentioned how her friend buys blueberries in season and freezes a whole year's supply. It reminded...

Paying myself back rather than the cc

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 08:56:26 PST

I've gotten back into that vicious cycle that Carol Keeffe describes so well in her book*--one month you charge some groceries and toothpaste, the next month when you pay the bill it leaves you short to buy the new month's groceries, and you end up using the credit card again and again...

A wild few months

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Mon, 09 Mar 2009 08:27:46 PST

It's been about three months since my last post, and exactly one month since we went to settlement on my mother's "extra" house.

Just before Christmas, my mother got the bad intestinal bug that was going around and because of her age, she was hospitalized for it. Just as she was...

Loosening up the purse strings

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sun, 07 Dec 2008 10:26:53 PST

I might have loosened them a little less if I hadn't made a mistake in Quicken. (For awhile, I thought I had about $500 more available than I actually did!) Grand total was $615. It's a lot to spend the first month of working full-time, but I thought about each purchase and don't regret...

1974--eek!

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Fri, 05 Dec 2008 21:05:33 PST

Just saw a headline about November having the worst monthly jobless figures since 1974. Yikes, in some ways this headline bothered me more than recent talk of another Great Depression. I lived 1974. If that's where we are now and it's going to get worse before it gets better, uh oh.

For...

Something I learned on Sears.com

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 29 Nov 2008 17:33:16 PST

Did you know they carry items like Keebler snack crackers, paper doilies and printer paper?

If you need some small filler items to make your order eligible for free shipping or to use a coupon, try Breakroom Supplies in their search box. You'll find all sorts of things like single...

Whipsawed, but in a good way

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 01 Nov 2008 08:21:18 PST

I hardly know where to begin. A few weeks ago, I was actually in tears because of money worries and now I'm trying to figure out how to divvy up a 45% increase in our cash flow. I just found out that my boss really went to bat for me, and got approval for me to go full-time with benefits!...

I-bonds vs. the stock market

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sun, 12 Oct 2008 12:48:48 PST

Thought this might be a good time to post a link to this chart, being that the stock market has been so choppy lately. Note that the chart is updated to October 1st--and the I-bonds were already ahead before the worst of the stock market's descent. Might be good for anybody else who's...

McDonald's-my best investment this week

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Wed, 08 Oct 2008 05:11:49 PST

No, not McDonald's stock--coupons.

DMom and I sometimes go to McD's for coffee because it's cheaper than some places and we like it just as well. Yesterday there was a sign on the door about Halloween coupons books, so I asked about them.

For $1, you get a coupon folder with...

Asset allocation--any ideas?

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sun, 05 Oct 2008 11:54:23 PST

Hi, and hugs to everyone who left a comment for me last week.

SCFR mentioned how some older folks may be in trouble because they never changed their asset allocation as their situation changed:
http://scfr.savingadvice.com/2008/10/02/still-around_43742/

I think that hits the nail on the head for me, also. When we had two incomes, a higher total income, and cheaper health insurance, it wouldn't have been so painful to see the balance in my IRA drop over $800 in one day. I could have just saved harder for a couple of months and made up the loss. But the way things are right now, it could take me a year or more of scrimping to make it up, if it's possible to do at all.

Maybe it isn't just fear that makes me want to lessen my exposure to stocks, but good common sense. I've heard you shouldn't invest what you can't afford to lose--and right now I don't feel like we can afford to lose ANY of it.

Here's our asset allocation right now,
roughly:

Cash 46%
Bonds 36%
Stocks 17%

Only $6487 is easily accessible, i.e., cash and not in IRAs. Most of the bonds are non-IRA, but it's not like I can count on the values holding up if I needed to sell them. I have a GMAC thing that's lost 2/3 of its original value, although it's still paying me interest.

Honestly, I think I could sleep a lot better at night if I cashed it all in and just paid off our house!

Even if I sold the rest of the stock, it still wouldn't be accessible because it's all in my IRA. But at least I'd know for sure how much I had. I did sell my S&P 500 index fund last week, and I don't regret it. It only went down from where I sold it, and then I read that more S&P 500 companies cut their dividends in Sept. than ever before. That doesn't bode well.

Any thoughts?

Back because I'm scared

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 27 Sep 2008 16:13:22 PST

I feel like I need to huddle around the virtual campfire at Saving Advice again, safe from the cold, cruel world with some people who have their heads on straight.

I'm trying not to be a Nervous Nellie, but all this upheaval in the economy is starting to get to me. It's not just...

One last entry

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Mon, 11 Aug 2008 05:45:42 PST

My own mother had full-blown stroke on June 1, and it's basically changed my life. Several times I've had ideas for entries about how caregiving can affect your finances, or my observations on Medicare. But I just haven't had time to write.

In fact, I haven't had the time to read...

When poor folks have better crap than you

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Wed, 21 May 2008 18:41:46 PST

"It's bad enough trying to keep up with the Jones; when you have trouble keeping up with the guy living on the wrong side of the tracks, it's a source of constant aggravation." -- from an old blog entry by a fellow named Philip Brewer

www.wisebread.com/when-poor-folks-have-better-crap-than-you

There have been a lot of sob stories in the media lately, revolving around high gas and food prices and the mortgage mess. The one people are discussing in the forums happens to be about food stamp recipients. When you're feeling stressed about your own finances, it can be really irritating when you're asked to feel sorry for someone else who's made dumb choices yet still enjoys luxuries you don't have, or has walked out on the kind of responsibility you are fulfilling, or is getting help you aren't getting. I know I've gotten riled up at times.

But Mr. Brewer says something I hope I can remember:

"When people around you make unwise choices the appropriate emotion to feel is compassion, not ire. When you find yourself wishing for better crap the appropriate emotion to feel is gratitude for the crap you've got, not envy for someone else's."

He says it's the Buddhist perspective. All I know is, I'd rather learn to think that way than have my blood pressure spike up!

He also has a good piece on how voluntary frugality and poverty are two different things--even if the poor person and the frugal person are living on the same budget.

www.wisebread.com/voluntary-simplicity-versus-poverty

Resisted temptation and added $70 to savings

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 17 May 2008 10:27:36 PST

There are two special purchases at Aldi that I've been itching to buy--a paper cutter for $20 and a metal detector for $50.

I decided today that if I could dig up the money to pay for them somehow, then I could just as well afford to move the money into savings instead. I've already...

No spend day, yesterday!

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Wed, 14 May 2008 07:24:16 PST

I hardly ever have these. I've been spending way too much on coffee at work, even at 50 cents a cup. Yesterday I drank water instead.

Life has calmed down a little, so I'm trying to get back to some little frugalities. I made macaroni salad over the weekend, and am using it up...

Comprehensive Aldi Price List

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Wed, 07 May 2008 05:23:36 PST

A blogger named Homeschool Dad came across a printed price list in his local Aldi, and posted it online!

I've been trying to keep a price book of Aldi prices, based on my receipts. At one point I even put it up online hoping it would be useful for other people to use as a comparison...

It makes a difference

ecathers1@yahoo.com (StressLess) — Sat, 03 May 2008 05:16:23 PST

Yesterday as fate would have it, I walked into the supermarket behind a mother and adult daughter, and ended up in the checkout lane behind them too.

Before I left home, I looked at the store flyer, made a list, and gathered my coupons and rainchecks together. They grabbed the...