The Thirty Day Rule (Merrick)

I hate to admit it, but I have a pretty short attention span. And I have a tendency to get really really excited about things. These two traits combined means that when I get an idea in my head, I NEED to do it right then. I plan the whole thing out in my head and I spend all day thinking and dreaming about it. And if I act on these impulse ideas, which usually require spending money, I suddenly don't care about them anymore. The lust is gone, and suddenly I've spent money on something that I didn't need and now don't even want.

Thus I have instigated the thirty day rule in my life.

This is sort of a standard tip for saving money, but it really works. When I get the idea, I write it down (usually in my google docs so I can organize it and re-access it easily), and then I wait. Despite the temptation to act on it immediately and buy up the entire local home depot, I continue to wait.

And then a few weeks later I browse back through my Google Docs and am able to weed through the ideas. Miraculously, I don't care about 99% of them anymore. If I am still as excited about an idea as I was originally, I know that it's something that is worth my time and money. And if I'm not, it gets trashed.

This rule has saved me tons of money and time over the years because I'm not just spending and projecting willy nilly. I take time to think through the projects that I want to undertake and try to only do the necessary and important ones. Emphasis on try...

Controlling Your Hobbies (Carole)

A few years back, it was common to see bumper stickers that said , "The One Who Dies With the Most _______ Wins."  The blank was always filled-in with a hobby such things as fabric, boats, cars, power tools, dolls, Beanie Babies, yarn, baseball cards. . . you name it.  In the beginning I found this sentiment pretty amusing, as I had my own stash of hobby items in my spare room too, but the older I get the more I realize how much money can be mindlessly wasted on hobbies -- no matter how fun or even noble they may be.

For instance, when my children were very young, one of my dear friends casually mentioned that she liked to own every book she read.  I had never thought of this before, but suddenly decided this was a FANTASTIC idea, and latched right on to it.  Janssen and Merrick (and everyone who knows me at all) can attest that I have spent the past 20+ years  purchasing hundreds of book -- actually probably more that that.  In fact, very few things make me happier than spending time in a bookstore and walking out with a new book or two.  However, these books have come with a cost -- above and beyond the purchase price.  I have to shelve them, sort them, dust them, move them, alphabetize them, give them away, throw some away, and I've even forgotten about some and purchased duplicate copies by accident more than a few times. . . you name it, I've done it.  It's been a fun hobby (and I've LOVED reading all kinds of wonderful books), but maybe the original good idea just got away from me.  As you can imagine, this has also been a very expensive hobby for me -- truthfully I can hardly walk into Barnes and Noble without spending $40 (at least).

Amusingly enough, I recently spoke to this friend (who I had lost touch with for a few years) and found that she now has a Kindle and has given away nearly all her books.  She said that she'd be surprised if she owns more than 10 books right now!  Wow.  So who's winning?  We both still have hundreds of books, but she gets most of hers online for free (she reads a ton of classics) and never has to care for them in any way!  And she appears to be saving a lot more money on her reading than I am.

I'm sorry to say, I have this same trouble with fabric, yarn and magazines.  I obviously have some serious issues with this subject!

Maybe you too have a hobby that has gotten away from you.  Do you buy the latest gadget or newest thing, JUST BECAUSE?  Is it time to pull the plug?

Here are some ways to curb your reflex hobby spending:

1.  Avoid stores that sell what you crave
2.  Avoid people who encourage you to buy more of this item
3.  Organize what you have so you'll know what you truly need in this area of your life
4.  Take stock of your stash and decide to enjoy what you already have
5.  Ask for this type of item as gifts from others
6.  Walk away

The Burden of Student Loans (Carole)

I ran across this video a few weeks ago on CNN.  Go ahead and watch it, and then I'll comment.



I've mentioned before on this blog, that my husband (and I, although the debts were not for my schooling) came out of graduate school with $60,000 in student loans.  This was back in 1986.  We lived extremely cheaply and only paid for tuition out of our student loans.  We were able to earn enough money during the summers and through my job (as a lowly secretary at the university -- so nothing amazing) to pay for our actual living expenses.  And, I might add, we never went on food stamps.  I'm troubled by this growing trend.  But that is another subject for another post.

It is easy to forget while buried in school and taking out student loans, that the day will come when all that money (with interest) has to be paid back.  Typically your re-payment begins 6 months after graduation.   This date arrives faster than you can imagine.   Most loan repayment amounts are several hundred dollars per month, but if you've got debt for graduate school they are often well over $1,000 per month.  That is a hefty portion of your brand new salary.  Can you really make enough money to live on after your student loan payments??  And most student loans stretch over at least 15 years.  That is a long time to be paying back this money.

Repaying student loans is no different than any other debt repayment.  Set up a debt snowball and pay it off as fast as possible!  But it is best to have a plan before getting into the student loan quagmire.  Here are a few ideas to contemplate:

*  Go to a local college or university.  As a state resident, your tuition is usually about half of what it would be if you are from out-of-state.

*  Become a state resident before you attend the school of your choice.  A friend of ours who was planning to attend the dental school in Las Vegas moved here a year early, got a job and established residency.  He saved himself $15,000/year or $60,000 total.

*  Get a bachelor's degree at a college that will not require you to live away from home or pay high tuition.  Save student loans for graduate degrees, not a basic college education.

* Apply for any and all scholarships possible.  Keep on top of these year to year so you don't lose them.  Many students lose these only because they didn't renew them on time.

*  Are any grants available for your program?  You never have to pay back grant or scholarship money.

* Do everything necessary to be at the top of your class.  Top students are often given research or teaching jobs that pay most or all of your tuition.

*  Choose your school wisely.  Do you really have to have your degree from Harvard??  Think about the debt you will incur (as this fellow in the CNN video  didn't).  Ask a mature adult who is good with money if this seems like too much money for your educatiaon.

* Determine if your chosen career path is worth the tuition money you will spend.  Last fall I heard a caller on the Dave Ramsey Show tell how she and her husband had over $200,000 in student loans for chiropractic school, and now he hadn't been able to find a decent job and they were getting very very frightened for their future.  Dave Ramsey informed her that (despite claims from chiropractic schools) these types of doctors do not make the same amount of money typically that an MD does.  He felt this couple had way too much debt for the earning potential of a chiropractor.  Do your research and make sure it is accurate.  Talk to people who are in your field to find out accurate salaries.

*Consider the location of your school.  Is it an expensive place to live?  Will your school debt be much, much greater because you have to live in New York City or Boston?  The mid-west is typically pretty inexpensive as are parts of the south.

I'm certainly not against education in any way!  In fact we tell our children that a bachelor's degree is a minimum and that a masters degree (at least) in their field will probably be necessary to compete in today's job market.  But don't fool yourself or "blue sky" these kinds of important decisions.  Student loans can add a significant financial burden that will follow you for half of your working life if you're not careful.

Like always, plan ahead and live frugally.  You'll always be glad you did.

Time Well Spent (Carole)

We've all heard the saying, "Time is Money."  When it comes to saving money, nothing could be more true.  This is just a short little post to remind you that -

the faster you're living your life, the more money you're probably spending

Because it takes some time to:
 *  Write up a budget
 *  Plan a menu
 *  Cook your own  meals
 *  Look for and use coupons
 *  Become familiar with the usual prices of things
*   Comparison shop
*   Do your homework on the best brands
*   Shop at more than one grocery store
*   Try a DIY project
*   Home repairs

Are you living your life too fast to be frugal??

It's difficult to remove yourself from the frenzied pace of modern life.  But try to slow it down, think things through, consider your options before you buy something, take a few deep breaths and spend your hard-earned money wisely.  Your savings can be enormous.


Photo courtesy of FreeFoto.com  

The Not So Big House (Carole)

I am a house-lover.  Just ask my girls how many model homes I dragged them to when they were growing up, or how many decorating books and magazines I've purchased over the years. I currently subscribe to several decorating/organizing type magazines and usually read them cover to cover every month.  I have several notebooks filled with idea clippings I've saved over the years, just in case I have a chance to start a new project in my own house.  It delights me to see how many blogs out there are devoted to making the most of one's house.  All these young women, just starting out in life, fixing up their homes and apartments and sharing their fun ideas and successes with the whole cyber universe.  I love to see the colors people use, the furniture arrangements people come up with, and some very clever renovations -- I love it all!  We do not have cable TV in our house, but if we did I'm sure I'd be glued to the home design and decorating shows all day long (hence, we do not have cable).


Out of all the thousands of articles and books I've read about homes over my 26 years of marriage, the one book that has had the most impact on my thoughts is The Not So Big House by Sarah Susanka.  It is one of my favorite reads about making a house a home.  I discovered it soon after it was published back in the late 1990's and have followed its concepts ever since.  I think its ideas fall right into line with a frugal lifestyle!

This book is all about LOVING your house.  But Ms. Susanka approaches this subject from a unique angle -- although there have been many copycats since her book came out.  She is an architect and discovered over the years as she worked with hundreds of clients, that people are most comfortable and content in cozy, small-ish spaces.  She tells of a large and grand home built by some friends of hers.  This mini-mansion was specifically planned with a super-duper LARGE living room and dining room to someday host their daughter's wedding reception.  However, when that festive event finally arrived a few years later, they found that all 100 of the guests gathered in the kitchen to visit and eat and left the grand, showy rooms nearly empty!  I bet you've attended a few parties just like this!  People like to be in rooms that contain your life and that have a warm, welcoming feel to them -- and this includes you functioning in your own home.

The title of this book might lead you to believe that it deals with reducing your carbon footprint (and there is a bit of that), but that's not her real message.  Her message is about making wise choices in your home that will greatly enhance the pleasure, comfort and convenience you find there.  This book (and her subsequent 8 books on related subjects) advocates keeping your square footage to a reasonable amount (4,000 square feet or less) and better using your financial resources  to create lovely areas that add character, personality and storage to your home.  She highly recommends adding architectural details (moulding, railings, stone. . .) to bring charm and real beauty to your rooms, rather than just wanting
big, big, big spaces that end up feeling cool and/or bland.  She recommends noticing the view from one room to the next (lining up doors properly -- if you were building a house, having complimentary color schemes, etc) that entices you to enter another warm and welcoming room and that brings a feeling of harmony throughout your home.

Her ideas are simple but thought-provoking and help you understand how to get the most pleasure for your housing dollar.  I hope you'll seek her books out at the local library and find your own inspiration on how to create the house of your dreams.

Cheaper Cleaning Products: Part 1 (Merrick)

If your bathroom cabinet and under your kitchen sink look anything like mine, you have upwards of twenty different cleaning products in there. One to clean your mirrors, another for your toilets; several to clean your sinks and showers, and a few more for wood, carpet, fabric, etc. Every single one of these cleaners in my cupboards cost several dollars, and many of them are not even being used. What a waste of my money!

I was recently reading an article on cleaning, and it brought up “Organic Cleaning.” Now, I’m not really a “green” kind of person, but when I read this I about died:


The main reason we should be keeping our homes clean is to keep our families healthy, and if we’re forking over big bucks for toxic products that are actually making them unhealthy, then we should be finding healthier and better cleaning products that are also CHEAPER.

These next few posts will cover some cleaning solutions that are much cheaper, much healthier, and still will keep your house as clean as ever.

Cleaning Solution #1: Make Use of Old T-shirts and Towels

When I do kitchen and bathroom cleaning, I use paper towels and/or anti-bacterial wipes. Even though we buy both at Sam’s club in bulk, they are fairly expensive and we go through them pretty quickly. In our house growing up, we always used sponges, which may seem like a better solution because they’re cheap and last a long time. But after a little research, I discovered the disgusting amount of bacteria that builds up on them. So really you’re just spreading germs around rather than getting your house clean. Also, that bacteria can spread to you through a cut.

But enough about that…let’s talk about a cheaper, cleaner, and healthier solution.

Tear up your old t-shirts and towels! They are free (or you can buy really cheap rags at the store), and after cleaning with them, bleach them out in the washer to kill all the bacteria. In your laundry room, have a bucket where you can store the dirty ones so you only have to wash them every few weeks (we don’t want you using up all your saved money just to run the washer and dryer!)

By eliminating, or decreasing your use of paper towels, cleaning wipes, and/or sponges, and using towels or t-shirts instead, you are not only saving money, you’re also getting huge health benefits and helping the environment! What more could a girl ask for??

A One-Car Family (Carole)

I feel almost un-American mentioning the possibility of a normal, red-blooded family only owning one car. But as I've cruised around the internet lately, I'm amazed at how many presumably normal people are not only thinking about it, but actually ditching the second car.

I'm not saying this course is for everyone.  We currently own three cars (hubby's, mine and one with our daughter at college).  But in our former life, with very young children, we were one of those one-car families - for 12 years.  It wasn't that bad.  Really.  My husband and I were both flexible, and I tried to consolidate my errands and only take the car  when I really needed it.  I think a good attitude helps too.  My girls will remember many, many nights going to pick up Dad at his office while they read in the back seats already dressed in their PJs.   We'd often crank up That Thing You Do on the CD player and cruise down to his office on Flamingo Road  and occasionally stop for ice cream cones at McDonalds before picking him up.  If he was running late, we'd dash to the local book store that was open until 11:00 PM and wander around until he was ready to go.  It was actually kind of a cozy time.

Besides special, fun times in the car, however, there is one very compelling reason to own just one car:   Money.  Of course.  Your car, as you know, is the single largest guaranteed negative investment of cash you will ever make --  unless something really bad happens to you.  Almost no car appreciates -- you spend tens of thousands of your hard earned dollars on a beautiful, shiny car and within 5 years any car is nearly worthless.  You can hardly give it away.  Ouch.

In addition:
1.  Think of the tax you paid when you signed those papers.  7.35% is a lot on $20,000 - $60,000.
2.  Interest too, if you have a monthly payment.
3.  Then there's auto insurance every month.
4.  Gasoline.
5.  Maintenance (oil, tires, tune ups, repairs. . .)
6.  State licensing (several hundred dollars in most states).
7.  And remember you actually had to earn at least 25% more than the cost of the car just to pay the federal taxes on your income that paid for that car.  Happily Nevada has no state tax, but if your state does, then add in another 7% or so.

Even a $20,000 car, if kept for 5 years, will cost you approximately $50 per day to own and operate.  That's nearly $20,000 per year.   And that's if you paid cash.  It goes up if you have monthly payments.    Or bought a more expensive car.  Or both.  My goodness, you could have vacationed quite nicely for a couple of months in europe on that!  Or fully funded you 401k for the year.  And an IRA.  And then retire a multi-millionaire at age 50 -- if you started early enough.

Just like when buying a house, cars are big ticket items, so there is a lot of money to be saved by making wise choices.   I don't know about you, but I OFTEN wish I lived in a big city (preferably London :), right downtown so I could easily walk most places.  I'd happily give up my car.  I could rent a pretty nifty auto for the occasional trip out of town for a whole lot less than $20,000 per year.  Also, think how trim my calves would be from all that walking or biking!!   I'd also buy a lot fewer items knowing I had to carry them back to my home.  The benefits and savings just keep on comin'!!  Mostly, I'm writing this post because now that I only have one child at home, and my husband stays in one location all day while at work -- I'm thinking about it again.  What I could do with all that extra cash!  I'm really very tempted.  How about you??

Careful on Any Income (Carole)

When I was 5 years old my grandfather gave me 3 silver dollars.  I carefully put them in a little pink coin purse for safe-keeping.  I was SO proud of these and had absolutely no intention of ever spending them.   I kept them perfectly safe for about 2 weeks (you can see this coming, can't you). . . then lost them (and the pink purse) somewhere deep in the bowels of the Sears' Bargain Basement.   I must have set the purse down while trying on some shoes and, of course, forgot all about it and walked away.  When I realized that I no longer had the purse in my hand, it was too late.  Someone else had decided that they really wanted my pink purse and silver dollars too, and they were lost forever.

It's been more than 40 years since that dark day, but I still remember and regret being so forgetful and foolish!  Maybe you have a similar story from your youth.  Or possibly you squandered a decent sum of money on something foolish that brings you sorrow even today.  Yes?

Well, never fear.  There are those out in the world that make just about any money mistake you've ever made seem paltry by comparison.  As you can guess, most of these famous/infamous folks, in the following list, lost all of their money and had to file bankruptcy, due to mis-management of their huge fortunes.  The most common themes in these bankruptcies are:  drugs, iffy investments, and uncontrolled spending.

Donald Trump
Dorothy Hamill
MC Hammer
Gary Coleman
Toni Braxton
Burt Reynolds
Mickey Rooney
Sheryl Swoopes
Kim Basinger
LaToya Jackson
Zsa Zsa Gabor
Mick Fleetwood
Walt Disney
Leif Garrett
Willie Nelson
Ted Nugent
Larry King
Mike Tyson
Isaac Hayes
Tammy Wynette
Wayne Newton
Don Johnson
Margot Kidder
Meatloaf
Many, many big lottery winners

The take-home message here seems to be that you have to be careful with your money, no matter how many millions you've got.  Seems pretty obvious, but maybe not.

Categories to Cut (Janssen)

This year has been a year of focus for us - we've been working like crazy to pay off our student loans (both my husband and I completed masters degrees last summer) before our baby is born in July.

The interest rate was not particularly good on these loans and we really didn't want to have another required monthly expense when our overall expenses would likely be rising with the addition of a new family member.

Putting so much money toward paying off these loans means, of course, less spending in other categories, and we spent a little time looking over our budget to see where we could cut back.

We mapped out how long it would take us to pay off our loans and decided that we would be willing to entirely eliminate a few categories from our budget for the months that we were paying off our loans. That meant no spending, on either of our parts, until our loans were gone in the following categories:

• Entertainment. We would not go to any movies or concerts or rent movies during this time period. We would use redbox codes or the library to see any movies or watch things online (like Lost, which is available for free from abc.com). We aren't huge movie watchers anyway, so this wasn't a major sacrifice.
• Eating out. I like to cook and it costs nearly half our weekly budget to go out to dinner at an even low-end restaurant. Bart has a number of dinners that he goes to for his job anyway and I don't usually get enough satisfaction from a restaurant meal to justify the cost, so this was pretty low-impact for us.
• Our allowances. I mentioned in an early post that Bart and I both have an allowance of $50 a month. This money is ours to spend as we will, although realistically, since we don't have a clothing budget, this money generally goes to that. We decided to freeze this category until the loans were gone, so no money would be accruing in these accounts during this time period.

Do I want to never go out to dinner again or buy myself a cute pair of shoes? Of course not. But I'm willing to do it for a finite, specified amount of time. These categories are ones I don't miss all that much over the period of a few months.

Of course, the categories you'd be willing to give up for the short-term might be different than mine. You may hate to cook or need a weekly dinner out for mental health and the idea of not going out to dinner for six months is beyond intolerable. But you might be willing to give up your cell phone for a year. Or you might be willing to get rid of cable for six months.

What categories would you be willing to freeze spending on for a few months in order to put that money toward something greater?

I Have Enough (Carole)

Is is possible to feel like you have ENOUGH??  One of David's cousins used to be the CFO for an uber-wealthy Saudi prince.  I believe he saw and heard things the rest of us mere-mortals can't even imagine.  A few years ago, we had dinner at this cousin's house and he mentioned that even on this mega level of income, people do not feel like they have enough.  The prince who has $50 billion is always on the look-out for things to buy that SHOW that he has $10 billion more than the prince who has "only" $40 billion.  What exactly would you buy that would clearly make that point??  I have no idea.

On the other extreme, I  know a gracious woman from Georgia who has chosen to be content.  She is in her early 70's and always looks very put-together.  I commented on one of her outfits one day while walking through an airport with her and she said that she had decided that even though she had always loved buying clothes, she had come to the realization that she had ENOUGH clothes.  She determined she was not going to buy any new clothes for the next few years. Instead, she was going to enjoy what she already owned and re-discover items she'd completely forgotten about.  Here she was a couple of years into this plan, and looking very, very lovely indeed. 

I've thought of my friend often over the past couple of years and wondered if I have areas of my life where I have ENOUGH.  Can I cross those kinds of purchases off my list for a few years??  Maybe forever?  What about you?  Do you finally have enough shoes, sweaters, blouses, scarves, earrings, skirts, jeans, dishes, cars, houses, boats, tools, TVs, CDs, purses, sunglasses, pillows, fabric, whatever??

Saving for Both Short and Long Term Goals (Carole)

Melanie, a faithful FWWL reader, asked about saving for both Long Term and Short Term goals at the same time.  Haven't we all been there?  If you sit down and think of all the things you really should/want to save money for, it will probably be a mighty long list.  Where do you start?   Most people don't have the personal discipline to prioritize their wants and needs, so they just buy everything on credit the moment they want it and soon find themselves in deep financial trouble.

There is a better way and it works every time.

First -- Write your list.  Take a couple of days or weeks to work on it, as it often takes some time for all your past ideas to come to the surface.  Take this time to decide what you REALLY want and need.

Second -- Divide your list into both Long Term and Short Term financial goals.
Long Term Goals might include:
Emergency fund (3 - 6 months of take-home pay saved in cash -- this money is used to cover unexpected car repairs, household repairs, major medical expenses, and possible unemployment),
A down payment on a house,
A new car paid for with cash.
Some of these long term goals aren't that exciting, but they will bring stability and safety to your future financial life.  Definitely worth the effort.

Short Term Goals might include:
A new piece of furniture,
Re-carpeting a room,
A vacation.
Remember financial goals are about both wants AND needs.

Third -- Now comes the hard part.  Prioritize your Long Term Goals.  1, 2, 3. . .  Same with your Short Term Goals.

You will quickly see that you cannot possibly save toward all of these at the same time, unless you have a great deal of extra money sitting around.  My husband refers to this as trying to "ride your horse off in all directions at once."  (He's said this to me many times over the years).  If you try to spread your savings money too thinly, you will make very little progress on anything and will quickly get discouraged.

I suggest that you choose #1 from your Long Term list and #1 from your Short Term list and save for only those two.  Decide how much money each of these goals needs to bring them to fruition.  Then look to see how much money you can reasonably put toward each goal every month.  Make yourself a chart (I LOVE CHARTS!) with completion dates.  Tape the charts up somewhere you'll see them every day, so that you will keep these goals in the front of your mind.  Take it from someone who has saved for dozens and dozens of things over the years -- the first few months of saving pass very, very slowly.  But before you know it, it's been 6 months and your saved $ amounts begin to look pretty substantial.  Those big numbers are highly motivating to keep moving forward!  I've been saving up for a set of custom doors leading from my dining room to my kitchen for quite some time and just passed the $5,000 mark (these are expensive doors) and it feels GOOD.  I'm ordering them soon!

The Short Term Goal will probably max out within only a few months and you can go buy whatever fabulous thing it was you wanted to get -- with cash!  Celebrate not only by making your purchase, but also write across your chart in big red marker "SUCCESS!" and begin wallpapering your bathroom with these as you achieve each one OR fold up the chart and place it in your journal for future motivation.  Then move onto Short Term Goal #2.  You may find that some of your short term goals (possibly items #4 and below) begin to look a lot less interesting as time goes on.  You'll be glad you didn't impulsively buy these items on credit and now 18 months later you're still paying for things that aren't important to you anymore.  Delaying a purchase often causes your rational thinking to take control again or for you to  simply change your mind.  The VISA people hate that.

Your Long Term Goal may take you a few years to accomplish, but you'll get there too!  It may seem like a slow process at times, but there is absolutely no other way to achieve your long term financial goals.  This is where you see the value of keeping your monthly fixed expenses low.  The more expensive your daily life is, the harder it is to save for your future or any extra lovely things.

By following this technique you will join that rare breed of people who save money to protect their futures and pay cash when they buy something substantial!  Let me be the first to say it, "YOU are amazing!"

Monthly Expenses (Janssen)

One way we keep our overall spending down is by being very careful about adding monthly payments to our budget. In some categories, of course, you simply cannot avoid paying every single month (I think we’d mostly agree that running water isn’t really a bill we’re willing to forgo). But in general, I try to avoid committing to paying a bill every single month unless I really have to.

When you have a lot of bills you are required to pay every single month, the income you have at your disposal to pay down debts, build up savings, or fund vacations diminishes.

Worse, I’ve found that once you begin paying something every single month, you start to feel that it’s an absolute necessity, something you could never cut from your life. For me, at this point, it’s almost inconceivable to imagine not having high-speed internet at home or a cell phone.

A few years ago, Bart really wanted to get a smartphone. But not only was the cost for the phone more than I wanted to spend (I have always gone with the free phone because, really, I’m not doing anything more than making a few phone calls and sending some text messages), the cost of the plan would have increased our current cell phone bill three fold. This . . . did not really appeal to me. We finally agreed to stick with our cheap plans and free phones, and in the last two and a half years, I’ve been grateful every month for our relatively low bill.

Netflix is the same way for me – I just don’t want to be committed to paying every single month for it. I don’t want to own so many things that I need a storage unit (and its accompanying monthly fee) to hold it all.

By keeping monthly financial commitments to a minimum, we can better control our spending and increase our ability to save money and pay off our student loans at an accelerated rate. Because I don’t want to have a monthly bill for those loans either.

Re-thinking the Cabin (Carole)

I didn't grow up in an environment where people had second homes.  But when I moved to the mid-west I found that many people (even people with the most modest of means, it seemed) had a lake house.  This was astonishing to me.

But like any red-blooded American woman I began to think, "Wouldn't that be GREAT to have a lake house??"  Or a mountain cabin, or a beach house or a vacation home or whatever this kind of 2nd home is called in your area.  Something I'd never considered before in my life, suddenly became something I really wanted in my future.  It just sounded so relaxing. . .

Luckily I have a wise mother-in-law.  She mentioned to me about 20 years ago that she didn't understand the whole 2nd home idea.  I was shocked.  I knew she had many, many friends who had cabins and lake houses.  How could she think this??  Then she told me why she wasn't interested:

1.  You feel obligated to go to the same place -- EVERY YEAR.  She wanted the freedom to go somewhere new when she had the inclination to get away -- anywhere in the world.

2.  You have to clean it every time you go and again when you leave.  On the other hand,  every vacation destination pays people to not only clean things up when you leave, but they keep it clean every day that you're their guest.

3.  You are always concerned about vandalism (when you're away) and seasonal maintenance.  At your vacation destination, you have none of these concerns.  You waltz in and you waltz out.

4.  Your down payment ALONE on the property (say $20,000) could buy you 50 nights at a hotel charging $400/night.  That's one terrific vacation room!  If your room was only $200/night you'd be able to vacation for 100 days!   And this money doesn't even count your $1000 mortgage payment (and home owners insurance) every month for 15 or 30 years.

I'm not too quick sometimes, but I began to see that her reasons made a whole lot of sense.  I've joined her No Vacation House Club.  Maybe you see a 2nd home as an investment.  That's great.  But I'd personally rather have an investment that didn't require me to clean toilets and kill mice.

To borrow (and alter) my college's motto:  The World is My Vacation House.

Unnecessary Expenses: Part 7 (Merrick)

With the arrival of our first baby only three weeks away, I’ve had a bad case of the “nesting” phase. We were hoping to sell our two bedroom condo before the baby arrived, but with the downturn in the housing market our condo would not sell. Finally, after a year of sitting on the market, Philip and I sat down and talked over our situation. Our mortgage is pretty darn cheap, we had a second bedroom that was very usable for a baby room, and with a few updates and adjustments, we could very easily stay in this house for another few years. We didn’t really NEED a big, new house, we just WANTED one.

And that brings me to another unnecessary expense – new stuff.

With outrageously low housing costs and closeout sales at nearly every other store in town, buying new stuff sounds so appealing. But do you really need it? Are you buying it just because it’s on sale? In some cases, this is a great time to take advantage of all these cheap prices. But in many cases, like ours, you can spruce up your boring house with a few simple and cheap updates.

HGTV’s Design on a Dime show has some great ideas to update your house without breaking the bank:

Revisit what you already own. Refurbishing existing pieces is the best way to do some inexpensive decorating.

Sandpaper, primer and paint can transform just about any piece of furniture. Don't throw something out because you're tired of the color, and don't pass up a good deal on a piece of furniture just because you don't like the finish. You can easily change it.

Check the Classifieds. Peruse your local online classifieds. There are some great deals to be found. Listings in classifieds often have photos attached, so it's easy to find exactly what you're looking for.

Learn to sew. Sewing your own drapery, bedding and pillows will save you a ton of cash in the long run. By sewing your own decorative accents, you have a vast array of fabrics to choose from. Plus, sewing can be a lot of fun.

And here are a few of my own ideas (and things we did to spruce up our place when I was tempted to tear down the place and start fresh):

Sell something you no longer need/use and use that money to buy something new: We sold our bookshelf and our desk that made up the office in the second bedroom, which is now the baby room. With this newly earned money, we felt great about buying a nice new bookshelf and a dresser for the baby clothes.

Inexpensive accessories can make a big difference: Our front room was looking blah and it was driving me crazy. A few cheap but colorful pillows, a mirror hung in an old frame laying around, and some artwork on the walls (done by me) has made our front room look like new. And it all cost under $100.

Rearrange Furniture: Sometimes a little rearranging is all it takes to make a room feel bigger, better, and new.

These are only a few of the many inexpensive options out there that can make a big difference in your home. And you'll probably find (like I did), that once these updates have been made, you'll love your current home and your current furniture so much more. Then you can finally stop daydreaming about a new house and new stuff, which is good...because you and your wallet don't really need it.

Unnecessary Expenses: Part 6 (Merrick)

I grew up in a family where nice clothing was not really a big deal. We all dressed fairly well, and I never felt like my clothes were dorky or cheap looking. But none of us had a problem shopping at Ross, Old Navy, Payless Shoes, and other inexpensive clothing stores.

I would hope we could all agree that shopping solely at Nordstrom or Anthropologie or other high-price stores is an unnecessary expense. Those are luxury-clothing stores, and although they have great stuff and I see nothing wrong with shopping there if you have the money (and really love spending a lot of money on clothes), it is probably not the place to be shopping if you are looking for ways to cut back.

Here are a few things to consider when you’re shopping, and are several of the main reasons I shop at cheap clothing stores:

1. The majority of my clothes are not pieces that I will wear for the rest of my life. They are things that are cute for the season, so quality is less important to me because I won’t be wearing it in a year once it’s out of style.
2. Consider price per wearing – only spend money on something you’ll wear all the time. Otherwise, hit the sale rack. In the words of Victoria Beckham, the most expensive item of clothing is the one you only wear once.
3. When shopping for your kids, remember that they’ll grow out of it in six months (or less!), or put a hole in the knee the first time they wear those new pants, so shopping at cheap stores is definitely the way to go.
4. 5-10 years ago, Payless had a pretty skimpy selection of cute shoes. Old Navy’s clothes were trying to be fashionable, but just weren’t quite there. Now many cheap stores have really stepped it up and are selling really fashionable items for a fraction of other stores prices. So if you haven’t shopped at these cheaper stores in a while because of this reason, try them again and you’ll be surprised by the great selections.
5. If you’re willing to do a little searching, you can find great name brand knock-off’s at cheap stores. Emily of Cupcakes and Cashmere does fun “Crave or Save” posts every once in a while, showing nearly identical clothing items with prices on either end of the spectrum. The Sensibly Styled girls also show similar clothes with varying prices in some of their posts. It’s possible to save a lot of money if you are willing to do a little digging.

So readers, are you high-end-clothing shoppers? Or do you also get a rush by buying a five dollar top and eight dollar shoes? And if you’re cheap clothing shoppers, where do you shop and how do you save?

Unnecessary Expenses: Part 5 (Merrick)

I’ve blogged about it before, but I’ll blog about it again. Eating out is an unnecessary expense.

Unless you’re only eating off the $.99 menu at McDonalds or Wendy’s, chances are you’re dropping a significant amount of money for your meal and a tip every time you go out to eat. It is obviously a luxury to eat out once or twice a week, and if you’re looking for place to cut back, this is a good one. And I don’t know about you, but half the time I go out to eat, I end up ordering something only sub-par and I walk away thinking, “too bad I just spent $15.00 on that meal that I didn’t really LOVE.”

I’ve been reading The $5 Dinner Mom Cookbook, and have recently started integrating her meals into my weekly menus. She breaks down the cost of each item in each meal, including side dishes, and every meal costs less than $5 (and each makes enough for a family of five). After I’ve finished this book, I’ll blog about it a little more in-depth, but for now, suffice it to say that feeding your entire family for $5 is pretty great compared to the $50 or more you would spend taking them all out to eat. That means you could feed your family for one and a half weeks for the same price as one meal at a restaurant!

So although eating out can be fun and a good break for us wives who cook on a nightly basis for their families, it is obviously an unnecessary expense. Huge amounts of money can be saved if you limit your eating out to once or twice a month and instead eat at home, using recipes that can feed the whole family for only a few dollars.

Unnecessary Expenses: Part 4 (Merrick)

One of the ways I save money is by shaving costs off of necessary expenses. Remember, every saved penny adds up, so even if it’s a few dollars here and there, that will add up in the long run. In my opinion, this applies to your utility bills.

When Philip and I first got married, we went the entire winter without turning on the heat. We were poor after using nearly our entire savings on our condo’s down payment, so we cut costs where we could, and utilities was one of those areas. Every night when we came home from work, we’d put on our pajamas that included long socks, sweatshirts, and heavy blankets, and spend the evening keeping warm that way. Although I don’t know the exact amount, it saved us tons of money during that first winter.

We’ve softened since then and realized that there is frugality and then there is insanity. Also, I realize that people with young children probably shouldn’t keep the heater off when it’s 20 degrees outside. But in the winters after our first together, we’ve been careful and haven’t pushed the thermostat up as high as we want to. Just keeping a few degrees lower (or higher during the summer months) has saved us a significant amount of money because it’s shaving a few dollars off our bill every month.

By recognizing the yearly savings that come from small adjustments that we’ve talked about in Unnecessary Expenses Parts 1, 2, and 3, you begin thinking frugally. Suddenly you’ll begin to find all sorts of areas that you can trim your costs, and these will add up to big savings in the long run.

Unnecessary Expenses: Part 3 (Merrick)

After my last post about cable being a luxury and (in most cases) easily replaced with the Internet, a lot of you asked about my thoughts on paying for the Internet.

Well, like our cable bill, our condo HOA fees cover the cost of internet so we’re sort of in a different boat than many of you. However, if our HOA did not cover internet, I would still pay for it.

Although I recognize it as a luxury and that everyone lived perfectly well without it for thousands of years, I think in 2010, having access to the internet is pretty darn necessary. In college, assignments, grades, class lectures, quizzes and much more were all online, so in order to fully participate in the class, you had to have online access. Communication for church activities, assignments, schedules, and meetings are almost always done through email and in order to stay updated you have to have an email account. Similarly, many people who work from home, or run businesses out of their homes, communicate with clients, their co-workers, bosses, and partners via email, web conferencing, and other online networks. These are all reasons that it’s pretty important to have internet access.

In addition to necessity, the internet is also a huge convenience, as far as emailing, googling, paying bills, checking your bank account, and a million other things that could be done without a computer, but are much faster, easier, and cheaper if it saves you a trip to the bank, the doctor, or even just the cost of a postage stamp.

Like I said, I have very little experience with this because our internet comes in a package deal, but here are a few suggestions to reduce the cost of your internet:
- Call your provider and see what your options are – Amber mentioned in a comment that she had to call her cable company and remind them that they did offer a $13 package. Do your research and you’ll probably find that they have very cheap options that they won’t ever bother mentioning during a sales pitch.
- Consider a slower internet option – the faster the internet, the more expensive it will be.
- See if there are providers that offer group rates that you can join with your neighbors.
- Many providers have “bundle” deals. See what you might already be paying for that would suddenly be cheaper if you bundled it in your internet package.
- Also a good reminder, per Leslie, be sure to always read the fine print on the contract to make sure your current awesome rate doesn’t change after 6 months or a year, or that there isn’t a big fee to cancel early.

Finally, if you are not like me (who checks my email every ten minutes) and you feel like you really don’t use the internet that much and it’s not worth paying for, consider using the library, which has free online access. Those who live in a college town, like me, have the option of going on campus and using their free computer labs. Also, many coffee shops and other stores offer free wi-fi to their customers. So if you don’t have internet in your home and don’t want to pay for it, there are other options.

So, readers, is the internet a necessity in your home? And if so, what are you doing to keep that monthly bill budget friendly?

Unnecessary Expenses: Part 2 (Merrick)

In Part 1 of Unnecessary Expenses, I mentioned the girl who told the news how grateful she was that she finally got a job, because she didn’t know how she was going to pay for next month’s cable bill. So let’s start there for Part 2.

First of all, let me just say right now that I don’t have anything against cable. Cable is included as part of our condo HOA cost, so we enjoy watching the news, the travel channel, HGTV, sporting events, etc. Please don’t get me wrong; cable is great, and if you have it I am not going to talk you out of keeping it.

However, if money is tight because of a layoff, poor budgeting in the past, an unexpected emergency expense or disaster, or a myriad of other reasons, I hope it is obvious to you that between paying your grocery bill or your cable bill, the cable bill is the unnecessary expense. Obviously the girl scrounging for money just to pay for TV did not exactly understand that cable is a luxury item and not a necessity.

if you find yourself trying to cut back on expenses because of reason X or reason Y, think about what expenses are really necessary. Think about what you really can live without.

Also, consider the abundant FREE alternative options such as hulu.com, which allows you to watch nearly every TV show episode imaginable for several weeks after it has aired. For sports fans, espn.com lets you watch many games online, gives you real time updates on scores, and posts article after article on sports commentary. For you news watchers, cnn.com provides blog updates, podcasts, video clips of news highlights, and of course tons of articles that will give you all the news that you could ever want.

Bottom line, cable is a luxury. If you can afford it and feel like it’s a good use of your money, then great! Keep paying for it. But if your budget is tight and you are looking for ways to cut back, consider cable a good option because it will save you a significant amount each month, and everything that you wanted to watch is still available by so many other means.

So now I’ll ask you: do you have cable? Is it worth it? If you don’t have cable, what are your alternative options?