What are Your Top 5 Skills? (Carole)

Early in our marriage, David and I had a lively conversation about the Five Most Valuable Skills each of us possessed.  I don't remember why this topic came up or how come we settled on the number 5.  However, the subject still comes up every once in awhile, and it's interesting to see how some of our answers have changed over the years, but amazingly not too many -- those valuable skills have remained valuable!

Our definition of "valuable" is very loose.  It could mean that you earn money with this skill, it could mean that you save money with this skill, it can mean that this skill brings you pleasure, or that you just find this skill to be extremely useful.  The following lists are not in any particular order.

David's Top 5 Skills List:
1.  Writing an outline
2.  Writing a thesis statement
3.  Typing
4.  Public speaking
5.  Wood working

Carole's Top 5 Skills List:
1.  Playing the piano
2.  Knitting/Crocheting/Sewing
3.  Reading
4.  How to paint a room
5.  Typing

As we raised our children, we tried to keep this idea of Valuable Skills in mind as we signed them up for school courses, extra curricular activities, lessons, sports and also as we passed on the skills we personally had.  What experiences and/or skills might turn out to bless their future lives?  These will be among their most important assets and should not be ignored.

Take a few minutes and think about what you've learned through your life that has turned out to be valuable to you.  I'd love to hear what some of your answers are.

More Holiday Savings (Merrick)

Every Christmas since I’ve been married, I’ve wanted to send out holiday cards. I love receiving them, seeing updated photos, and reading the letters about the family during the past year. But my husband felt weird about sending them out when it was just the two of us.

This year we added a little boy to our family, so I convinced my husband it was finally time to send out cards. But once I sat down and made a list of people to send them to, calculated in the cost of cards (which ranged from $0.30-1.50 per card), envelopes, and postage (on top of all the other Christmas expenses), it was suddenly getting a little pricey.

So, of course, I went looking for a deal.

After a quick search, I discovered that Winkflash.com was giving away 50 free 4x6 prints (with $0.99 shipping) when you sign up. Then while purchasing ink cartridges at Office Max, I found 50 envelopes for 4x6 cards on sale for $5. I asked my friend if she would take a few family shots of us (which she did for free!), and then I put a little holiday pattern and note on the photo in Photoshop. And for a whopping $5.99 (plus postage), I have holiday cards!


This is not the one we're sending out -- I just whipped this one up as an example. Adding a festive border and some verbiage does not matter when ordering your free 50 prints as long as it's 4x6 and saved as one file, able to be uploaded to Winkflash's site just like a normal photo.

So even if you're cutting back this year, you can still send out holiday cards and not have to worry that it's a big expense.

Chasing Interest Rates (Janssen)

Some of our friends told us last week that a new bank just opened in our town, offering 4% interest on checking accounts. Our checking account is currently earning about 1%.

There are several requirements (of course!), including having a monthly bill pay or direct deposit, and using the debit card twelve times a month.

We currently put virtually everything on our credit card in order to maximize our airline rewards, so this would mean making a concerted effort to use the debit card 12 times a month (I can just see myself buying twelve bananas, one at a time).

Basically, we would need to switch over entirely from ING because without having direct deposit and our checking account there, it wouldn't be feasible to make purchases from that account, and if our savings and emergency funds aren't there, we won't be making enough money to make it worth switching.

Normally, I am willing to jump through a lot of hoops to make or save money, but this one seems like a lot of effort and some major changes to our banking system. Especially when it is very probable that in a year or so, their interest rates will drop significantly. I'm kind of at an impasse on this one right. . .

What do you think?

Dave Ramsey Books, CDs, DVDs and Software on Sale for $10

This is a yearly $10 special Dave Ramsey runs.  I purchased a whole bunch of these as gifts last year.

Thought some of you might be interested!

Get a Jump Start on Your 2011 Goals (Carole)

I know it's only November, but the holiday season is about to take over our lives (cooking, decorating, hosting, shopping, crafting. . .) and before we know it, it's New Year's Eve.  So, I'm going to suggest you start thinking about your 2011 goals NOW.  Tape a piece of paper to your bathroom mirror or refrigerator and begin brainstorming on what you'd like to accomplish in 2011.

Recently I ran across a short article by Dr. Adam Fraser, an educator in thought and human performance, based on the research of Dr. Stephanie Burns, who he describes as a "guru in the area of goal achievement."   Here are a few points I thought were worth sharing with you as you begin your plans for the coming year.

First -- 85% of goals set are never achieved.  I think this is good to know.   Sometimes we feel like we're the only ones who can't stick to our plans past the 2nd week of January!

Second -- Having more time to dedicate to a goal has NOTHING to do with whether or not you will achieve it.  This is one of those lies I tell myself every time I begin to lose steam on a goal I've set.

Third -- High self-esteem does not determine if you will achieve a goal.  In fact,  high self-esteem only only affects the SIZE of the goal that is set.   And guess what?   85% of those grandiose goals are never achieved either.  Keep your plans realistic for you.

Fourth -- This is the big Take Home Message.  "Frequent and consistent action" are the key to accomplishing anything.  That's it.  Doesn't that make sense?

Tape that blank paper to the fridge or mirror.  Begin thinking of goals (including financial goals) you would like to accomplish in 2011.  Keep them reasonable and remember to take time to plan the frequent and consistent actions you'll need to accomplish them.

I  like to start working on my new goals a week before Christmas.  Then when New Year's Day arrives, I have nearly 2 weeks of success under my fledgling wings.  It's an exhilarating way to greet January 1!  (I also never stay up until midnight -- or beyond.  I try to go to bed at a reasonable time and get up early and have a fabulous first day of the New Year).

Here are a few of my goals from 2010, and an accounting on how I did.

1.  Join a book club (read books I wouldn't normally read and make new friends).  Accomplished!  And so much fun!!
2.  Read 1/2 of the Old Testament.  Nope.  Hardly cracked the cover.
3.  Arrange for all our insurance and investments to follow the Dave Ramsey guidelines.  35% done.
4.  Dining Room Door saved for and installed.  It's paid for, installed and looks stunning!  This has been a goal for SEVEN years.  I finally got it accomplished this year.  I'm so proud of myself.
5.  Start a financial blog with my girls.  Yes!!
6.  Lose 20 lbs.  50%  accomplished.  Better than nothing.

 What goals did you work on this year?  How did you do?

Grocery Tetris (Janssen)

Last weekend, we had a Halloween party and I took some cornbread. I ended up with four leftover pieces and so I stuck them in the freezer and decided that I would use two in this Stuffed Acorn Squash (it was delicious) and the last two pieces to make the croutons for this Chicken Chili. I was unreasonably thrilled by this plan and when I mentioned it to my husband, his comment was that meal planning is a little bit like Tetris for me - a game to find a way to make everything fit perfectly.

As a complete and utter Tetris addict, I loved this analogy. And I really love using up my food and not letting things I paid good money for go to waste. But I don't have a particularly good system (unless you call opening your drawers and pulling things out at random a good system).

Any great methods for making sure your food doesn't go to waste?

The Rewards of Being Frugal (Carole)

My girls and I have spent nearly a year sharing our fun (and sometimes clever) frugal ideas with all of you in this blog, and maybe it seems that all we care about is saving money.  Not true!  In fact, the main reason we use coupons, pay off debt, look for the best deal or do without, is so that when we REALLY want to spend money on something important or fun -- we can!  All without fear or regret -- or using a credit card.

For instance, last Saturday was my husband's birthday.  At our house, birthdays are a big deal.  For the first 20+ years of our marriage, a "big deal" meant breakfast in bed, a few brightly wrapped presents, Grannie's homemade cherry chocolate cake, and crepe paper streamers and balloons hung from the kitchen light.  But now that the house is paid off and most of our children are raised, we have really beefed up our celebrations!  For the past 5 years, David and I have flown to Los Angeles, rented a snappy convertible, stayed at the super-ritzy Ritz-Carlton, and spent one delightful evening eating filet mignon and watching world-class magic at The Magic Castle in Hollywood.  For my husband who has loved magic since he was a teenager, this is a dream come true!  In fact, after our first trip, he said, "We could do this trip every year for my birthday for the rest of my life and I would be happy."  And maybe we just will.


This trip is not cheap, as you might have guessed (although, we do fly free with our Rapid Rewards points from Southwest Airlines, and I pre-pay our hotel room which saves us $30/night, and Merrick's darling husband gets us the family discount on our rental car through his job), but even with those deals, this trip costs quite a few pretty little pennies.  But because we watch all of our pennies during the rest of the year, we can take this wonderful trip every October and never think twice.

What would be the point of scrimping and saving, just to end up like Ebenezer Scrooge with piles of money, but no happiness?  That's not the goal at all.  One of our beloved religious leaders,  Russell M. Nelson, once said, "Money is a library card to experience."  We remind ourselves of this often.  You only live once.  Don't squander your precious and hard-earned resources so that you can never have the experiences or things that will have made your life worth living.

This is the whole purpose of being frugal.  This is the whole idea behind this blog:  Be that Frugal Wife, so you can have that Wealthy Life.  Whatever that might mean to you.