Staying Debt Free

The $660 car repair went on the Firestone cc. If paid within 90 days, no interest and we get a rebate of at least 2%. Better than the 1% would have been on the regular cc.

I was going to pay our homeowner's policy in one payment. But to keep some extra cash on hand for the other bills, I'm going to split it up. I should be able to pay it off over 3 months, which will save most of the installment fees that would be charged if I spread it out over a whole year. But it will still be $9 extra. I think it's worth it, because now I won't have to take money out of our "new car" savings. I know how hard it is to pay that savings account back, so I'd rather just not take anything out.

I put all those transactions into our check register in Quicken, to see how the cash flow works out. Looks OK--the lowest balance I'm left with over the next 6 weeks is over $200. When we get into November and December, there are more paychecks than usual in the month, and some interest checks coming in, so things should be easier. We should be caught up by the end of the year, barring any more emergencies this big. But who knows!

Last night DH mentioned he thought he needed exhaust work done on his car, and that didn't bother me too much. We'll wait a couple of weeks til he has a vacation day, and take it back to Midas, where we'll save somewhat on parts because of their lifetime warranty. Last time it was under $100, which we'll have in our emergency savings account by then. Perfect timing, it seemed.

Now this morning my car wouldn't start. Turns out it's the timing belt and it's going to be almost $600--if all goes well. The computer diagnostics part alone was $80. (I'd shop around if it weren't an emergency. But I can't just drive it to another mechanic.) And DH is going through one of his moody periods, where I'm afraid he might just walk out on his job, or worse.

I feel like I can't even work up a good worry. I feel more like, the heck with it. I give up. I've done the best I can, and if our cc balance has to go up temporarily to cover this round of car repairs, then so be it. At least the timing belt didn't break on the way to the shore or something. At least we have Triple A to tow it in. At least putting it on the cc will earn us some reward points.

As far as DH, his actions are his responsibility, not mine. If he quits his job at a financially dumb time, for a dumb reason, I'll be angry about it but I'll know it's not my fault. I've spoken my piece, and that's about all I can do--short of divorce!

I've run reports on our cash flow and net worth over the past few months, and there has been steady improvement. Every month has been in the black and our net worth is creeping upward--even though at the beginning of each month I couldn't have told you how it was going to happen. Who could have predicted winning $100. Or getting paid at all for answering questions about vacuum cleaners, let alone $40 when I'd expected to be paid $20.

I don't want to go blithely along charging useless stuff, figuring it will get paid for somehow. But I am beginning to feel like as long as I'm doing my part, something will happen to make up the difference somehow, if a problem crops up. At least it seems to be working that way lately. To quote one of my favorite books again, "The money comes in. There is always enough." p. 246 How to get out of debt, stay out of debt and live prosperously" by Mundis.

Opened the mail today, and got quite a surprise. We've won $100 in free groceries! It's "Grocery Cash" from Kraft and my local IGA--they were taking entries for a drawing several months back, something to do with an NCAA championship theme. I kind of forgot about it, so when I first opened the envelope I thought it was some kind of scam. You know, sign this check and suddenly you're automatically enrolled in some program or other. But I kept looking it over, and it seems to be legit.

Oddly enough, I was also mailing some other contest entries today, and wondering if my entries would ever come to anything.

I'm very grateful to get this right now, as I've been worried about our cash flow now through October 15. I'm still going to have to move some money from savings to checking temporarily, then pay it back in November. But this will be a big help to us, and it also gives me the confidence to donate another $25 to hurricane relief.

It may not seem like it from my past few entries, but I have been following Hurricane Katrina's aftermath like everyone else, probably too much. Even without having the cable channels we used to have, I've gotten plenty of news through the regular channels, CSPAN, and radio. The past few days I haven't gotten much else done. It's been so frustrating watching those poor people just waiting for help. And so maddening to hear things like the Red Cross being there early on, but being turned away by FEMA because they wanted to force people to leave, not give them a haven. Ham radio operators, who could have helped with the communication problems, were apparently also turned away. But I digress.

I was the most upset at the point where I felt equally pulled by wanting to help and being afraid for our own financial security. How far are gas and other prices going to go up? How much can I donate so I don't feel cheap and ashamed, and still make sure we'll be able to handle what might be coming up in our own lives.

It made me realize how the traditional advice to save 10% and give 10% makes good sense. It must be a very freeing feeling. You are saving a good amount against disasters in your own life, but you also know you're doing your part to help others. Then if disaster strikes you, you don't need to blame yourself for bad planning or feel guilty accepting help.

10% for saving OR giving is out of the question for us right now, but I did finally decide to donate $25 now and more later, probably once a month for awhile. I know it won't make much of a difference, but it sure makes me feel a whole lot better.

Over in the forums, I'd posted about Microsoft Streets and Trips, software I was curious about trying. It's supposed to calculate the shortest routes to hit several locations you want to cover on the same trip. I thought it might save me on gas by giving me better ideas how to arrange my errands.

Well, I bought it on Ebay. I did notice the fellow said it wasn't in a box, but he did say it was sealed. I figured maybe he just wanted to ship it the cheapest, lightest way since he was offering free shipping. Or that the box was damaged. Anyway, he had quite a bit of feedback, and it was pretty close to perfect. But when the software came, it was clearly labeled "For distribution with a new PC only."

I don't know if it would cause a problem to put it on my computer, but I don't want to take any chances. Recently when I did Windows Update, it went through a process where it was "verifying" all the software on my computer. The way it was worded, I got the impression they were trying to identify any Microsoft products that shouldn't be there. I just don't need the hassle of worrying about it.

Anyway, I checked Ebay's policies, and it was against the rules for him to sell this "OEM" software if it wasn't part of a PC purchase. So I reported the listing. But it looks like I have to go through a separate process to try and get my money back. And their system won't let me do that yet because not enough time has elapsed. They want you to try and settle it between yourselves--but I just don't see the point of communicating with the seller at all. They did something they shouldn't have, and Ebay ought to know about it. I don't want to just return it and get my money back, and have them sell this stuff to someone else.

It's really frustrating to have this software (still sealed) sitting in front of me, and not being able to try it out. But I just ordered a good one directly from Amazon. They've lowered the price, and after the rebate and my 20% discount it will turn out cheaper than the Ebay guy's anyway. All's well that end's well, and I'm sure things will end up fine. It's just going to be a hassle communicating with Ebay over the next few weeks.

I got stuck on C-SPAN and C-SPAN2 this morning, lots of interesting stuff about the economy and especially energy costs. One show that was especially interesting was a news conference by the Consumers Federation of America about how energy prices are affecting consumers; another one featured guys from the Petroleum Institute.

I guess I'd been aware that energy costs had been creeping up over the past few years, but I didn't think about it too much. Just adjust the budget, and go on with life. I didn't bother to look at how much of a jump it's been, from 2000 to now. I didn't realize that our refineries were already working at 95% capacity, so there wasn't any wiggle room built in for disasters like hurricanes. I didn't realize the industry was still recovering from Hurricane Ivan.

In other words, there's been an energy crisis going on from way before Hurricane Katrina, and I seem to have totally missed it.

If you want to see the figures, here's a link to a report from one of the guys who was on from the Consumers Federation: http://www.consumersunion.org/pub/0929%20price%20report.pdf

The graphs really show what's been going on, as far as the % of income people have been paying for energy, and how much it's gone up over the past few years.

The scary thing is, the Consumers Federation people this morning said because of the additional strain of the hurricane, households will have to pay about $600 more over the coming year, in gasoline costs. But gasoline represents only about 1/3 of the products we get out of petroleum. So if you also count increased costs for home heating, airplane fuel, plastics, etc. it will be costing each household about $1800 (3 x $600). Scary stuff, especially for low-income people (who according to those charts are already paying over 20% of their incomes on energy costs.)

(Thanks for the tip on the housing bubble blog. Just what I need, another blog to read! But it looks really interesting. I've subscribed to their feed.)

I think it was in a book by Cheryl Richardson where I read how useful it can be to tackle small annoyances. The idea is, they are small but they stay in the back of your mind, sapping your energy, and wasting your time in little bits every day. So it's more worthwhile to handle them than it might seem. Well, I seem to be in a mode of getting rid of those annoyances. And so far it's saving me money, too.

--I spent $7 at Target a few weeks ago, on what turned out to be a sorry excuse for a lamp. It was all plastic, and you were supposed to attach the shades by pushing them up and then turning. No screws to secure them. DH and I went through the procedure several times, and each time they fell out after a few hours or at most a day. I doubted Target would take it back, since we'd thrown the box away. But they did! $7 back into our pockets.

--I had a Crest spinbrush where a little plastic collar on the base broke. There was nothing for the new brush head to attach to. I called their 800 number, and they're sending a coupon for a whole replacement. About $6 back into our pockets, since I would have bought a replacement regardless. (I feel like I can stretch out dental appointments when I use it, because it keeps my teeth feeling like I just saw the hygienist. Nope, I don't work for Crest.

--We had some Mountain Dew cans that were leaky where the lids attached, 5 cans from 2 different cartons. I called the 800 number, and I already got coupons for 2 12-packs. Worth about $8 because I'll save them for when we need them and they're not on sale.

--Did some research about our DVD player, which seemed to be on the fritz. Found out it just might need a cleaning, which you do with a special cleaning disk. Found one for $12, ran it through twice, and it was playing perfect again. Savings about $20, over having to replace it. And I can use the same disk to clean the CD drives in the computer, too.

--This one is costing money, but not very much. I had a cheap little upright vacuum that I loved, and it stopped working several months ago. I have a canister one, but it's a hassle to get out so I don't vacuum as much as I should. I finally took the upright in to be looked at, for $10. They said the parts were no longer available; the vacuum is designed to be disposable. So I found one that looks even nicer (cordless) on Target's website which is on its way to me. It was $53 with tax, minus $5 from a link on http://www.naughtycodes.com, and I paid for it with some 20% off Target gift cards. And they were offering free shipping.

Oddly enough, on our local Craig's List website, someone was seeking people for a survey about vacuum cleaners. I emailed about it, and did the survey yesterday. They're supposed to mail a check for $20. So, after this serendipity, for about $28 net the vacuum cleaner problem is solved.

Back in the spring, our next-door neighbor died and her children put it up for sale. It finally sold last month for $170,000. (I checked the sale price on http://www.domania.com ) Then there was a flurry of activity for several weeks. Old heater out, new heater and central a/c in. Carpeting out, wood floors refinished. New windows. Paint slapped on a nice natural stone front, I assume because it was the cheapest way to spruce it up. A one-day whirlwind of landscaping, much of which will have to be torn out by the new owner anyway. A tree planted one foot from the house isn't going to be able to stay there long.

They had an open house today, so DH and I walked over. The asking price is now $239,900. I've been involved with some home renovations here and at DMom's house, so I do have a vague idea of how much all those projects probably cost. I can't see it being over $15,000, assuming the "investor" did some of the work himself. DH says maybe more like $30,000. Even at that rate, they are trying to make nearly $40,000 in profit in about 6 weeks. I don't know, it sounds a bit outrageous to me!

I noticed something on Domania.com that made me do some further research. The sale prices on houses in my neighborhood are now about double what the assessed values are for property taxes. Our property valuations were last done in 1993, and are now completely out of whack. What I found out was, here in NJ the valuations can only change when you do something like build an addition, or when all the houses in a town are reassessed. And if the assessed *value* doubles, your town's tax *rate* is supposed to go down, so you still end up paying about the same.

Now I can add one more thing to my (short) list of good things about living in New Jersey. There's the shore, and the fact that we don't have to pump our own gas. Now it looks like even though taxes feel high, the property tax system isn't as horrible as it is in some states. Apparently in other states, when your assessed value doubles, your taxes actually do double, too. I also found out that in some places, a house is revalued whenever it's sold. So when house prices rise, you may end up trapped in your house--when you try to buy another house, you find the taxes will be 2x to 3x what your current taxes are, making a move unaffordable.

The experts keep talking about how more people will end up in foreclosure if they have ARMs and can't handle the payments if rates go up. I can't help but wonder now how many will lose houses because of property taxes zooming up.

Geez, two posts in a day. But this is what I really meant to post about, to begin with.

For the first time since I started recording everything in Quicken again, I was pretty much within my monthly (4-week) budget for Everyday Expenses (groceries, take-out, pet food and gas). Here's what that means in dollars--May was $653, June was $687, July was $676, and August was down to $505, only $1.60 over where I wanted to be. And the month's ending comfortably. There's gas in the car, a fair stockpile of groceries and I was able to pick up some cheesesteaks for an easy dinner tonight.

I'm not even sure exactly how I managed it. Here are my theories--

I'm kind of learning to budget for gas first, then seeing how much I have left to spend on the other things each week. If it means bologna instead of turkey breast, or more cooking and less take-out one week, that's what happens.

I'm reining in my bargain-hunting compulsion a bit, because it actually tends to make me overspend. I'm trying to buy no more than 2 items at a time when I see a good deal, unless the sale specifices something like "must buy 4."

I finally got around to trying two new stores, the Pepperidge Farm outlet and a produce stand. Both had some great deals. For example, I got a 3-lb bag of green peppers for $1.50, which is often what I have to pay for one pound elsewhere. I'm also watching where I buy milk, since we use about 10 gallons a month and the price can really vary from store to store. I haven't bought seltzer water or diet soda all month, and DH has agreed to one family pack box of TastyKakes a week, instead of two boxes.

I think we're eating less meat, and cheaper meat. (I tried some frozen steaks from Aldi, with so-so results.) DH won't eat beans, but he doesn't mind eggs for dinner once in a while. Also BLT's as long as we have something with them like soup, french fries or corn on the cob.

The $6 pizzas I can get on Tuesdays are a big help with the take-out budget.

I am trying to drive a bit less to save on gas. But right now, it's still worthwhile to drive around for bargains, even with gas prices the way they are. I'll keep doing it until it doesn't make financial sense anymore.

I just spent several hundred dollars on a discounted gift card on Ebay this morning. It's over 20% off even after figuring in the shipping. I've been waiting for a long time for a good deal on a Petsmart one, from a seller that looked reputable. I think the price came out so well because the auction ended at an odd time--not many people up to make one last bid!

I'm glad I did it, assuming it's legit. But it still feels really strange to be doing this gift card thing, especially buying one on Ebay and paying for it with a credit card that gives cash back. I think I'm suffering from Future Shock. (Title of a book by Alvin Toffler, for you younger folks.)

I have to keep reminding myself, it's a new world!

(Thanks for the tip on Pinecone. I'll keep watching.)

Jorge, you're right. I read Nickeled and Dimed awhile back, and believe me I'm grateful I'm not working at Wal-Mart and living in a motel!

I've been on a mission to scare up extra cash the past few days. I signed both DH and myself up for Sharebuilder accounts so we'd get two $50 bonuses. I also signed up for the Sony credit card that's offering a $100 gift card after your first purchase. Now I've gotten around to looking into the survey game. I'd be curious to know how other people have made out with it.

There's an article from back in July, in the Frugal Living area of About.com that lists 76 survey sites where you can supposedly make some extra money. This weekend I went back and started going through them one by one. I'm finished now, and wonder if it will pay off or not.

Out of the 76 places listed, I only signed up at 21. Quite a few of the 76 websites had already disappeared since the About.com article was put up. The rest of the sites either weren't taking panelists, or I wasn't sure they were worth bothering with. On a lot of them, the only "incentive" they offered was an entry in a contest. You could go years doing every survey they offered, and never get a thing out of it. Some of them did the contests plus occasional cash--hard to tell if they'd be worthwhile or not. Some award points that you can save up and exchange for cash or gifts, but they don't tell you how much a point is actually worth or how long they take to add up to something. Other ones ran really long online focus groups I wouldn't want to do, or they were looking for special kinds of panelists, like scientists. One place actually seemed proud of how for a 30-minute survey, they might give you a 30-minute phone card--geez, that's worth about 90 whole cents!

So far, I've only heard from one place, and they needed to run a survey very fast, involving a topic I know nothing about. Even if I could have gotten to it right away, it wouldn't have mattered.

I have to wonder how much demand there's going to be from these companies for the opinions of a middle-aged, middle-income lady with no kids in the house. When I finally saw an ad for the elusive Pinecone Research, I noticed they don't even want you to sign up if you're over 24 years old!

The funny thing is, I'm in the midst of a series of surveys right now that is paying $80 in total over about 6 months. I only heard about it by chance, from someone on an email list. It's about the knowledge and attitudes of caregivers--not that DMom needs physical care like a bed patient, but I do drive her around a fair amount, and she needs help with paperwork and so forth. I figured if they thought I qualified, I'd do it. I've probably spent less time in total on that than I did signing up at all these other places, and I've gotten $60 out of it already. (Plus, it's been a good way to vent my frustrations. ) There's got to be a place to find more studies like this, that are actually looking for someone like me. I just wonder where.

Hopefully as in clothes, too, but I mean financially

I don't know if everybody's finances have so many ups and downs, or if we're just going through an unusual period. I've read a lot about money management over the years, and always got the impression that you set up a budget and then things just kind of go along for the next year. But since I've been watching things more carefully over the past couple of months, it seems like prices are changing all the time, and I'm constantly fiddling to keep our cash flow positive.

DH's paychecks will be about $30 less a month Sept-Dec because we keep the traditional health insurance until January 1, and the price has gone up.

Natural gas for the house looks like it will be going up $13 a month. We did the "energy choice" option a few years back, where you could save money by choosing one company to supply the gas and another company to deliver it. Just got a letter from the supplier that they can't afford to offer the low price anymore, and we'll be getting our gas from the delivering gas company. Also, the delivering company's price is going up 4.4%. Together, it adds up to an increase of over 9%.

I've had to face facts and budget more for gas for the cars. Between DH and I, we need an additional $40+ a month for gas as prices stand now. There's only so far we can cut down our driving.

So that's another $83 a month I need to find, in addition to dealing with the $100 a month hit I'm taking on my paycheck by having more withholding taken out. And the $20 a month on higher property taxes. Where is it all supposed to come from? Judging from the past few months, the extra money does come in, whether from Amazon sales, rebate money, surveys, or whatever. I'd worry a little less if it were more predictable, though.

Our checking account doesn't have much of a cushion to begin with. First, I bought a lot of those gift cards at discount. They've all been paid for, and I feel good about doing it. But having so much tied up in the gift cards leaves us shorter of actual cash for the moment. Also, we've been hit with some unexpected repairs.

We already paid $64 for two trips to diagnose the washer problem. The plumbing problem we discovered while trying to figure out the washer came to $80. Now we know the washer definitely needs a part, which will come to $126 installed, next week. That's $370 on emergencies this month--$270 to solve the current problem, and $100 for the minimum balance in the new emergency savings account I opened.

I'm just waiting to see what the new car insurance bill will be, then I'll have a better idea where we stand, at least through December.

I check in with the doctor in about 3 weeks, so the other day I thought I'd better get on the scale. Horrors! Not only did I gain back all I'd lost earlier in the year during my health kick--I even regained some pounds I'd lost last summer!

The only thing I can seem to pin it on is being online less. It's the only lifestyle change I've made over the past couple of months, when the weight went up. All I can figure is, when I'm online I'm upstairs (away from the kitchen), my mind is occupied and my hands are busy. I usually take up something to drink, but 99% of the time it's calorie-free, like black coffee.

With this cheap-o plan I'm on, my online time is cut roughly in half. I'm often roaming around downstairs, bored, thinking of what I could be getting done online, and looking for something else to do. I'm probably nibbling as I go, out of boredom and frustration--although I haven't even been aware of it. Also, I've read the more TV you watch, the more you're apt to have a weight problem. I know I've been watching more TV as a substitute (if you can count watching lots of movies).

This is the last straw. For $2 more a month, I can get back to a "normal" amount of online time. There have been times I've been mad at myself for wasting time online, and I was also trying to go the cheapest route possible for ISP expenses. But I know I'd make up the $2 and more, just from having the time to print out a few more grocery coupons. Not to mention the surveys and focus groups I've seen listed on Craigs List and haven't had the online time to pursue.

In any case, it's worth every penny and every minute if it keeps me from pigging out!

Last week DMom and I were discussing money and budgeting methods, and she pulled out a ledger book from when she and DDad were first married--1952 to 1956! We got a good laugh at some of the prices, believe me.

DMom is Mrs. Moneybags at this point, but as she pointed out, back then it felt like they were living from paycheck to paycheck. And actually that wasn't such a bad thing for them back then. The first few years they were living in an apartment and didn't own a car. So there weren't surprise car and appliance repairs or large car insurance and property tax bills to plan for. They kept track of things as small as 47 cents for an electric socket, but my dad managed to buy a slide projector for $185. That's $185 in 1950's money--equivalent to several month's rent.

What I found really interesting was that although they had a budget, they were always going over. (I think I found one month where they were under!) And yet, over that 4-year period, things worked out just fine overall.

The key seemed to be their systematic savings, along with an artificially low, slightly tight budget. (To paraphrase The Millionaire Next Door, "they created an artificial economic environment of scarcity for themselves.")

DMom said she had a nice cushion of "war bonds" she'd bought during WW2. And I could see in the ledger book they were still buying more savings bonds, $37.50 a month for a $50 bond, through payroll deductions. If they went over budget by $10 each month, they were still $27.50 ahead because of that payroll deduction. When the checking account got too low, or they had something unusual to spend money on, they just cashed in some bonds--as opposed to the modern way of using plastic.

It left me feeling a little better about making mistakes and not managing to stay within a budget all the time. I tend to worry and feel guilty--like if every financial move I make isn't exactly right, we'll end up bankrupt and it will have been my fault. But maybe the important thing is just to make sure we're moving in the right direction even if it's only by $27.50 a month. Once again, remembering to look at the big picture and not letting myself get so riled up.

But not much.

We finally received the annual health insurance packet from DH's job. They've not only switched to a different insurance company again, now they are also offering a high-deductible plan with a health savings account (HSA) starting in January. This is something completely new and different for us, and we can use all the info we can get. I think it's supposed to be a good thing, because you can put pretax money into the health savings account (saving on taxes) and take it with you if you leave the job. But there is practically nothing in the packet to explain it!

Current HMO coverage, $109 per pay x 2.15 pays a month = $234 a month
New equivalent coverage as of next January, $171 per pay x 2.15 pays a month = $368 a month
High deductible/HSA plan, $43 (base - ?) per pay x 2.15 pays a month = $92 a month

So if we stay with the traditional insurance, we'll have $134 a month less in our pockets. And nothing to show for it.

If we go with the new kind of plan, we'll have $142 a month more in our pockets. Part of which, if I understand right, could go into the health savings account and build up if we spend less on medical expenses than we put in. On the down side, it will may affect our car insurance rates if this new kind of policy isn't considered primary in the case of car accident injuries. (It says "subject to co-insurance," and I'm not sure what that means.)

They are supposed to be mailing out more info, and are having meetings about it in November and December. But DH has to pick one or the other and mail this form in within one week, before having any of that extra info. Aggravating. But I'm trying to see the big picture. We can't afford to put out $134 more a month for insurance anyway, so the decision is a no brainer. We'll just have to learn about the new thing as we go along, and deal with it.

Usually every year, DH and I go to the anniversary booksale at a store that's over an hour away from us. It's a pleasant trip, although long, because it gets us out in the country and away from all the congestion around here. The store is a combination bookstore and florist, and some years we've been able to visit with goats out in the yard.

However, we've been visiting local bookstores a lot lately, gas is expensive, and I've already spent a little more than I should have at this point in the month. So I'm reluctant to go right now, even though the sale's going on. I'm glad DH seems to be content to stay closer to home this weekend, too. I didn't want it to turn into an argument. We kind of agreed we'd wait til the fall when the weather is more pleasant anyway. I'll be able to save up a little extra money by then, for the gas and maybe lunch out and a book or two.

So the weekend's revised plans are to turn in some paperbacks for credit at the local store and maybe see the Nipper (RCA dog) display in Moorestown. Artists made a bunch of diffferently-decorated Nippers and they've been placed all over town. It's not really close to home for us, but closer than the far bookstore, and it's something completely different! Here's a link to Nipper pix: http://community.webshots.com/album/370880433eualqi

I opened a new savings account! It's at the local bank where we have our checking account, and pays practically no interest. But I think it will serve its purpose.

We had another little emergency this past week, involving both an applicance repair guy and a plumber. The appliance guy was here first, and always wants to be paid by check right away. Then the plumber was here; this one bills you later, but another plumber we've used wants immediate payment and I don't remember him taking credit cards. It just so happens that our checking balance is on the low side this week, and if we'd had to pay the plumber right away too, it would have been a problem.

There's plenty of money in the ING accounts, but it takes a couple of days for transfers to show up back in our checking account. Besides, all the accounts I have there are for specific purposes, not general emergencies.

Supposedly some of the money sitting in checking is for emergencies, but if there's money for different things in one account, it's always hard for me to really "see" how much is for what. So I've been trying to figure out for awhile where to put emergency money--an extra checking account, a money market, a savings account? But today I felt like I just had to do something even if it wasn't perfect.

I just couldn't stand not having an official emergency fund one more minute!

This account is linked to our checking account and my ATM card, and I'll be able to access it online. So I'll be able to get cash out quickly at an ATM, or do transfers any time I need to. One thing that won't work is using the savings as overdraft protection, where if a check was going to bounce they'd just take it from savings--they want you to apply for a credit line for that. (I said no.) I think what I'll do is, as soon as I know there's an emergency, I'll transfer some money to checking just in case. If it doesn't all get used, it can go right back into savings. (I REALLY don't want to bounce any checks.)

As I went to sleep last night, I heard on the radio that Peter Jennings (TV news anchor in the US) had died of lung cancer. It was only in April he announced the diagnosis, and he's already gone. He always looked rather youthful and healthy to me, and he'd supposedly stopped smoking 20 years ago, only to take it up again in the last few years. Even with all those non-smoking years, it still killed him. The only silver lining I can see about lung cancer is that it usually seems to kill quickly, rather than making you suffer for years on end.

The other day as I was flipping TV channels, and saw a repeat Oprah segment about what happens to your organs if you have unhealthy habits like smoking, drinking too much, or letting yourself get fat. They showed a pink, healthy looking lung of a non-smoker (who was, admittedly, dead from something else). Next to it they showed a gray, black-flecked, dead looking lung of a lifelong smoker.

I grew up around smokers, and although I had one uncle who had lung cancer, it's not what eventually killed him. I keep forgetting that smoking does actually KILL people; you are actually kind of lucky if something else happens to get you first.

My husband smokes. And I'm feeling really guilty that I've promoted his habit by signing him up for Kool coupons that come in the mail. Actually, I'd signed up under both our names. I figured he was going to smoke anyway, I might as well help him save a little money on it.

We both agreed it would be a bad idea to use the coupons for cartons, because we knew it would just encourage him to go through them faster. But it seems to me even the $1 off a pack coupons have upped his consumption. The fault is not completely mine--Kool has been having a lot of Buy One Get One Free packages recently, which just provides even more encouragement to buy and consume more.

I know too well the lure of coupons and other marketing gimmicks, and how it can make you buy more than you intended. If it just just affects your financial life, that's one thing. But this is something that can kill you. They banned TV ads for cigarettes for a good reason, but these coupons and BOGO offers seem to be even more powerful. And it makes me mad, at myself for participating in the marketing scheme, and at the powers that be that allow this kind of marketing to be used for cigarettes in the first place.

I put together a budget report on Quicken for 4-week period that's still based on the calendar month amounts I have budgeted there. It spit out that one week's worth of spending should be $125.29. I spent $145.56, or $20.27 more than I was supposed to.

There are a lot of little things I could have done differently, but mainly it's because I gave in to the lure of a bargain at Walgreen's. I only went to pick up the padded envelopes they had on sale, because I needed some before selling more on Amazon. But while there, I saw 2-packs of the specially marked Cheerios that have the rebate codes on them for free future boxes. They even had $1 coupons on them for Progresso soup! I bought 2 2-packs for $12. Also, I noticed they had a $3 rebate on razor blades I like so I bought a package for $10. They are things I'll need, but I don't need yet. And they were good deals, but not GREAT. Wish I could learn to resist this kind of temptation better!

Hi, back again. I've taken some time off from thinking about money (and other things) so much. I've read lots of books, watched lots of videos, got to a park by a river, and planted some flowers. Our budget situation is still in limbo, but I'm not so tied up in knots about it now. Keeping busy to keep my mind occupied seems to be working, just like you might try to keep busy while waiting for news about a job or medical test results. I just wish I could remember that and start in sooner each time a situation like this comes up, before my mood starts to slip. Thanks for your kind comments last week.

Now about my 13 month year. I'm tired of situations like last weekend. It was the end of July, and I had enough grocery money left in the budget to pick up a few things like bread and milk. I would have succeeded in making it through the end of July on budget, but to keep strictly to it I'd have to wait til August 1, a Monday, to do a normal weekly shopping. But that would have been darned inconvenient because of my work schedule on Mondays.

It felt like a lose-lose situation. If I did a week's worth of shopping on Saturday, I'd have done something wrong because I went over budget for July. But if I didn't, I'd have done something wrong because I messed up my schedule and menus for the coming week.

I'm tired of trying to stretch the same amount of money during 31-day months as 28-day months. I'm tired of having to refigure my gas money because I have to buy it 5 times instead of 4. I'm tired of having to figure out if it's a month I need to go to Petsmart 3 times instead of 2. Then there's our take-out budget. We get pizzas on Tuesdays because they're only $6 that day. What if there are 5 Tuesdays in a month? It's driving me bonkers!

So from now on, I'm going to figure my Everyday Expenses budget for a 4-week "month" no matter what the calendar says. It will always start on a Sunday and end on a Saturday. So my "August" is running from July 31 to August 27. 52 weeks in a year, divided into 4-week segments--and Voila! there are 13 "months." That way I'll be able to do my main shopping on the same day each week, and have the same amount to spend each and every week and "month." I really want more predictability and routine in my financial life, and I think this will help.

The morning after my last entry, I found myself unable to get moving on much, and in no better a mood. I realized it was time to drag out my copy of Feeling Good, The New Mood Therapy, by David Burns. It's about overcoming depression, and has a great chapter called Do Nothingism which usually gets me moving again. I read that and some other sections, and realized I'd moved from my "normal" Mild depression well into Moderate and it was time to do something to stop the slide.

The things I wrote in my last entry are so typical of the negative thinking that can overtake you when you're depressed. I don't even know if it's the money worries that really set me off. It could be a whole combination of things, like DH's own bad moods, not exercising lately, not eating right, daylight hours starting to lessen, the hot oppresive weather, the news, or the blood pressure medicine I'm on that has depression as a known side effect. Anyway, I've learned the thing to do is DO something about it, not overanalyze it. So I'm currently on a regime of Extreme Self Care. I'm grateful most of these are free:

Limiting my exposure to the news, talk shows, and advertising for things I can't buy right now
(The way I'm doing that is reading more and keeping music tapes in my car)
Doing things like ironing and shaving my legs so I can wear clothes that make me feel better
Eating right and taking B vitamins
Listening to music
Comfort foods
Cleaning, putting fresh tablecloths on, fresh cushion covers on the porch chairs
Resting when I need to rest
Going online at the library in addition to at home, just to get out of the house and also save my online time at home
Spending time in bookstores just browsing, getting titles and taking notes

I ought to be exercising more, and I ought to get outside now that the heat wave has broken. I ought to get back to weekly "Artist Dates" like I used to do. There's a book called The Artist's Way by Julia Cameron that suggests these--it's just a kind of date with yourself where you get a change of scenery, do something different. Then there are always bubble baths... DH and I also have to get back to doing some fun things on the weekends. $12 for movie tickets is worth it, if it saves our sanity! When I redo the budget again, I'm going to try and find room for Fun.

I don't like being in limbo. I know how much I have to adjust our budget to make up for the withholding increase, and that's bad enough. But there's no point in overhauling the whole budget again until I find out two more things. In August every year, we find out what's changing with the health insurance we get through DH's job. Usually the deductions go up, often the co-pays go up, sometimes they even switch to a different insurance company for a year and then switch back. Also, at the end of August/early September we'll find out how much our new homeowner's and car insurance policies will cost. I already made some changes that have saved us money on the policies that are about to end. But I'm still waiting to hear what next year's bills are going to be.

It's hard to feel happy and successful about staying within this month's budget when I know it's still probably way higher than what it needs to be from here on. It feels like all my figuring and work and attempts at self-control were almost pointless.

It's frustrating just not knowing what we can afford. While I'm in this limbo period, I'm literally afraid to spend on anything extra at all, whether it's movie tickets or gas and tolls for a trip to the shore. I'd like to clean out our flowerbeds and plant something, but I'm reluctant to spend money on unnecessary things like plants or mulch. So I might as well leave the weeds as "groundcover." I can't face two more months of no fun or extras at all, and having our house and yard continue to look like c**p while the rest of the neighborhood is getting "gentrified". But how much on extras is too much right now? I haven't the vaguest idea.

It seems like the only things I can and should be doing today are things that I don't especially want to do. More errands that have to do with saving or managing money. Kitchen work, like cutting up raw veggies for the week and getting the rest of the meat off a cooked chicken. Coloring my hair at home with Free After Rebate dye.

There are a lot of things I'd like to do online, things that could even make or save us money. But I'm down to just a few hours for the rest of the month, and the library is closed, so I can't even do that today.

I'm determined to find a way to get over this pity-party. Without spending any money. Will report back tomorrow.

This is the first full month on my cheap-o 30 hours a month internet service. I'm down to about 4 1/2 hours, and there are 9 more days in the month, which means I have to be very careful and only stay online about half an hour a day. Thank goodness I can do a little extra surfing at work, on breaks or if I get in early. A month ago I was routinely online about 2 hours a day at home, and it took awhile to adjust downward--so I used up too many minutes early in the month. But I think I'll make it. It's still budgeting, whether it's time or money, which means it doesn't come naturally, for me anyway.

Money-wise, I'm doing better than I was last month at this point. But I'm still down to $55 in my "everyday expenses" category to last 9 more days. It's time to get more pet food, and I wanted to use a bunch of pet food coupons that expire July 31. But if I do a big stocking up to take advantage of the coupons, it won't leave me enough for regular groceries and more gas in the car. As usual, we're stocked up too far ahead on some things, and getting short on money for other things. I don't want to make it any worse. I think today I'll put the extra coupons in the exchange basket at work, so I'm not tempted to use them.

DMom, who for years has given us an annual chunk of money for our IRAs, mentioned she *might* not be able to do it this year because she *might* be getting some work done on her house. We really do refrain from spending any of this; it goes right into our IRAs. So it might not sound like it should affect our budget.

However, what we're doing are traditional IRAs to save on current taxes. I haven't thought of the situation as using a "Mom gift" for living expenses. Since it seemed like something we could count on, long ago I adjusted my withholding lower at work. I'd rather have a smooth income all year long, instead of scrimping and then getting a big tax refund. But that means the tax savings we've been using for living expenses is actually the result of a gift from DMom, even though the money doesn't come directly from her. It's a tax break we wouldn't get on our own, since we couldn't afford to put that much away ourselves.

The result is, if DMom doesn't do it this year and I leave the withholding the same, we'll owe a big chunk on taxes in the spring, maybe even a penalty for not having enough withheld. So I just upped my withholding and now have to figure out where to find another $100 a month to keep our budget in the black.

Now, my mom's "mights" don't often come to fruition. I'll be really surprised if she actually moves ahead with the home improvement projects. Even if she does, she's apt to give us the IRA funds anyway. Although it might be next April 14--I think she likes to keep us guessing. But preparing for the worst seems like the safest course.

I think I'll be shopping more at Target. Yesterday DMom and I stopped there after our lunch out. I figured I try to get as much done there as I could, being I had those discounted gift cards to use. It turned out great. Their prices aren't bad to begin with, and when you're saving another 20% on top... I saved myself extra stops at a dollar store and Petsmart and didn't pay very much more. Worth every extra penny to save trips! I plan on ordering more gift cards as soon as I can.

DMom and I had lunch at Charlie Brown's. She really likes their salad bar so we go there fairly often. It wasn't til yesterday I bothered to ask about their free "handshake card" program. You can get $10 gift certificates two different ways--each time your spending adds up to $200, and on your birthday. Or on the birthdays of the other family members you listed when you signed up. DMom's birthday is in a few weeks, so she should be getting a certificate right away; and DH's is in August, so we should get one for him soon also.

I also joined BJ's Warehouse yesterday because of a 60-day free trial offer. I don't know if it'll be worthwhile, but I'm willing to give it a try. Yes, yet another card to try and cram into my wallet.

First of all, thanks for the recent comments and making me feel better about not chucking everything to start a business.

Things had been looking good, good enough to start spending a little. I'd downgraded our phone service, cable tv, internet service and car insurance, if you remember. Things are selling on Amazon. I got an interest check recently that was higher than I'd expected. After the new bills came in and I plugged the new figures into my spreadsheet, it looked like we'd have a few hundred dollars extra, even after allowing for $200 a month in emergencies like car repairs.

I sent in a nice extra chunk to the Discover card, and started spending a little here and there to kind of spruce things up a little--
$2 for some extra washcloths so we wouldn't run out before laundry day
$7 for a lamp to replace one that stopped working
$24 for a new TV remote (Had to get the exact kind that came with the TV, because the regular universal remotes don't work with TV/VCR combo units. At least I found it slightly used on Ebay, which saved a little.)
Plus the clothes I'd started buying with the discounted gift cards from Galleria

I even figured out we could continue with DVD rentals through the mail, after our trial period ran out.

Now I just got our new property tax bill, which comes to $256 more a year. Not a very big jump, but it just about eats up our overage. Sigh. Well, we'll have enough to cover this first quarter, and I've upped the amount going into the special ING savings account I have set up for the taxes.

What I liked about it--

--The author was obviously born with a gift for communicating, like Bill Clinton, Ronald Reagan or Martin Luther King, Jr. It will be interesting to watch what he's doing in future years.
--He does obviously work hard, and has a lot of courage.
--He and his family have lived very interesting lives, and the book is a page-turner.


What bugs me about it--

--He has never actually held a job. His mother taught him that "only a fool would work himself to death for someone else," and that if you work a 9-5 job, all you will ever be is "Just Over Broke." Instead of suggesting people start side businesses, or start businesses later with money saved from a paycheck, he kind of makes it sound like we are all fools for working regular jobs at all.

--His mother had tried starting many businesses over the years, but they were still living in poverty when the book began. At one point she used the rent money to fund business proposal materials and didn't get the contract. All they were left with in the world was $40. She risked that rent money with several kids at home, knowing they'd probably be evicted, having experienced living in a car with them once already. She ended up applying for public assistance and food stamps. Nowhere in the book is anything said about this whole episode being a mistake, let alone irresponsible. Instead, his mother is held up as a hero.

--He was taught that "hustling" is a good thing. (I actually looked up definitions of hustling, just to make sure I wasn't misinterpreting what he meant. The definitions I found all pretty much have to do with pressuring people, deceiving them, misrepresenting yourself, and making ends meet through questionable means)

--He makes it sound like even though you have no money, you can become a partner in a new business and immediately be able to afford moving to a luxury apartment. This is supposedly what happened with his mother. I don't buy it, and I think it's a bad idea to give people false hopes about such quick results.

--In two little paragraphs at the end of the book, we find out that he actually LOST much of his money in late 2001.

Is is worth a read? Yes. Does it show a good plan to follow if you want to build financial security for the long term? Not exactly. As far as I'm concerned. the book is full of risky ideas I want to avoid! It's back to titles like Get Rich Slowly, for me.

Saturday was kind of money-oriented, but now I've had enough and need a day off!

--Mailed a book that sold on Amazon. DH had gotten it free at work when someone was throwing it away.
--Went to the public library to pick up requests; one of the books was about money, Reallionaire by Farrah Gray.
--Went to the used bookstore to use some of our credit from last week. Many of the books we'd turned in were more freebies DH had brought home, plus some old ones of our own that were too low-priced on Amazon to bother selling there. One item I got was an audio version of "How to get out of debt, stay out of debt and live prosperously." Also found several books on the $1 shelf I can sell on Amazon for much more.
--Listened to the "out of debt" audio in the kitchen while I made banana bread to use up two over-ripe bananas.
--Read the Reallionaire book. It's supposed to be inspirational--a kid from the projects actually became a millionaire as a teenager, after selling a food company he started at age 13. But there's something disturbing about it, which is hard to put my finger on exactly. Maybe will post more about it later. If anyone else has read the book, I'd be interested in your comments.

Today I think I'll get out in the fresh air, do some yard work and forget about everything else.

I thought I'd look at the past week's grocery shopping to see where that extra $10 or so is going every week. My theory was that I'm spending too much on groceries, and DH and I are overweight, so therefore I must be spending too much on junk food. But when I looked through my receipts, that didn't seem to be the main problem--at least for this past week.

Here's some stuff I think I could save on, without too much extra work.

--Buying ground beef in bulk, maybe even at Aldi's, instead of $1 a burger for preformed 80% lean burgers at Pathmark's meat counter. (The cheap frozen ones haven't worked out for us because it's hard to pry just 2 burgers off at a time.)

--Buying Aldi's vegetable soup again for 1/5 the regular price of Campbell's Chunky. (Maybe get Campbell's as a treat when it's on sale and I have a coupon.)

--Buying Aldi or Save A Lot packaged cold cuts instead of Oscar Mayer bologna for $2.89. I need something on hand for when the fresh-sliced deli stuff runs out, but it could be a lot cheaper. I can't imagine the OM bologna is any healthier than the store-brand stuff, especially something like turkey.

In other words, I've got to work on buying cheaper alternatives to basically the same thing. At least that's my lession from this past week.

No more ranting, back to work.

What didn't work in June - the BudgetMap system
It was cumbersome to use, so instead of recording my spending more often than before, I didn't record it at all for days on end.

What I'm trying in July - Keeping a little spiral notebook and a pen in my purse and car
The important thing is to jot everything down right away, every time. I can always move it into Quicken or a spreadsheet later on. I'll also be trying to sell my leftover BudgetMap materials online this month.

What didn't work in June - The food budget
I can't seem to get below $600 a month for groceries, pet food, and take-out. But I'm supposed to be keeping it to $557 to make our budget work. What I've been doing is watching store ads, collecting coupons, and making 2 or 3 market trips a week trying to get the best deals. But maybe looking at all those ads is just making me buy things I wouldn't have otherwise. And it also uses gas. (I was over budget on that, too.)

What I'm trying In July - A radical experiment
I'm not going to look at the food ads. I'm going to make shopping lists based on what we need and want, rather than what the stores are pushing. I'll go to an extra store to get something I can't find elsewhere, but not to save 35 cents on a sale item. I'm really curious to see whether I end up spending more, or less.