Lump Sum Payment

Well, the lump sum payment for my next six month has hit my bank account. Wow, it looks like a lot of money and the trick is to not spend it all before the six months is up. So I have two plans.

First, I am going to move half of the lump sum payment over to another account, in another bank that I will leave until I truly need it. My goal is to not dip into this account until month five.

Second, I am going to give us the amount I will be getting on unemployment as our living expenses. This is $200 a paycheck less than what we were coming home with previouly but I think we can do it. This will give me an additional few weeks of pay and will ensure when we go on unemployment that we can survive on it. Thus giving us financial peace of mind until March 2010.

I don't know if it will work, but I'm hoping we will be able to make this plan work and will simplify, simplify, simplify...

The American Financial Diet

Well, there you have it. We were on the American financial diet for last 5 months and now we are spending again. It's like the Atkins, Zone or Somers diets where we deprive ourselves of that which makes us happy and then we go full boat the other way. So the economy is starting it's slow and treacherous turn around. It's like the Titanic that continues to move at a slow pace because of the weight of the boat. Our economy is turning at a slow pace because of the weight of our unemployment. But turning it is, we sacrificed for five or six months and that is all we can stand. Tax refunds are coming in and we are spending them. All that we put off purchasing for ourselves, we are now spending to get what we want.

I wonder, do we have the sustenance to get back on the savings diet? Do we have the courage to turn this vessel with wise purchases and not get ourselves back into the same credit mess? Do we have the ability to purchase American products so we can keep Americans employed?

Only time will tell. I pray we have the ability to be thoughtful purchasers, good stewards of the money given to us and givers of hope. Let's get on the financial diet together again and beef up the savings for a rainy day.

Staying in Shape

Since the layoff, I've found that I can easily lay on the couch day in and day out with no regard to time. It's gluttonous how one can easily fall into this pattern. So a group was formed. It's our running group for a few of us who are job hunting. We join together at Lake Harriett and do a lap, maybe two. We commisserate on jobs lost, we encourage for interviewing, we give pointers for resumes, we talk politics and kids and we get moving. These are the best parts of my week, it's free, it's socializing with others and it's keeping us moving in the right direction.

Running is the easiest sport to pick up and it's the most inexpensive. Certainly anyone can make it expensive with the gadgets you can purchase to go along with running. However, you truly need running shoes ($50, bought on sale) and a street, that is all you need. We are blessed in Minnesota to have multiple lakes in the area to run around which gives us a great path and wonderful scenery to admire.

Staying in shape will help you remain confident in yourself and help you project that confidence in your interviewing. The best part is the cost is minimal to start and you will actually save money on medical bills in the future by getting into shape. On a budget or not, this is a great way to exercise. Try it and let us know how it goes for you!

Thoughts from Rick Warren

I read this post by Pastor Rick Warren and thought it was relevent for anyone trying to get out of debt. Enjoy!

Store Brand vs. Name Brand

This seems to be the big debate these days. Do I buy the store brand or the name brand? Is the cost savings worth the risk of bad tasting foods? Well, I'm here to tell you that store brand on almost everything is worth the savings. Currently, in my pantry and refrigerator, 75% of the products are store brand. Certainly things like rice, vegetable broths and beans are easy to put in the store brand category. However, there are many items that most don't even think of store brand for that are quite tasty. We purchase store brand soy milk, sparkling water, frozen vegetables. All taste great. My shocker was when I bought store brand Chex and Krispies for some reason I thought they wouldn't taste right. For a 50% savings on cereal, we have great tasting store brand products.

Now, there were a few things we didn't like. Cola wasn't the same as Coke or Pepsi and the Taco seasoning packets didn't have any flavor. So we have had a couple of not so great experiences with this but in the grand scheme of things, they are minimal. The one thing I would say is don't save on the spices. We get our spices from a local place Pensey's Spices and they are phenomenal. I only buy the small 3.2 oz size so we always have fresh spices and it makes a big difference in the taste of our foods.

My challenge to you is to try one store brand item a week and soon your grocery bill will be reduced by 20 - 30%. Even if you have a crazy allergen free diet like ours! Let me know how it goes...

God Bless.

An Afternoon of Free Fun

This weekend my husband suggested a museum. Not being a museum kind of girl, I thought only if it's free. Amazingly enough the Minnesota Institute of Art is free thanks to the friends of MIA. So this afternoon we spent strolling through the Art Institute and I was pleasantly surprised with my enjoyment of the afternoon.

It was a time to stroll, think and view beauty. The Institute was filled with families, couples and art students. As we strolled through the exhibit room I observed quite a variety of folks. In one room, we encountered a mom and two kids. The two young boys were re drawing a photo while mom was able to view the art. In another room a family was sitting and viewing a photo. The kids were asking mom and dad questions about the photos. In yet another room, a baby was crawling on the floor while mom was looking at art. The museum attracts all walks of life with it's free afternoon of fun.

We will be going back. It's only 5 miles from the house, free admission and free parking. What more could you want. I imagine me blogging from there in the near future. The windows, wood flooring and atmosphere just increase one's creativity. Check out your museums...you may be surprised on the free fun you can have in your city too!

How to save money without sacrifice

I write on another site helium.com. One of the titles they had was How to save money without sacrifice and I thought you might enjoy this posting also. Here is the link to the site

http://www.helium.com/items/1352465-dairy-free-gluten-free-coupons-restaurant-eating-frugal-lifestyle-layoffs

You may have to copy and paste it into your browser to see the post. Hope you enjoy.

Commitment

Commitment according to Webster's dictionary is an agreement or pledge to do something in the future esp an engagement to assume a financial obligation in the future, something pledged and the state or instance of being obligated or emotionally compelled. Commitment, future, agreement, obligation, pledged...all the same words in my book. When you make a commitment to something or someone it's your word. With everything that happens in your life, your word and reputation are the one things you control. What you say and how you do things are solely based on decisions you make. What have you committed to lately?

My commitment is to take one day at a time to work out my finances and somehow in the process enjoy life. Frugality doesn't mean dull or inactive. Commitment doesn't mean dread. What both of these words together mean are good decisions based upon knowledge and prayer. My husband and I have committed to being frugal while I'm laid off. We have committed to finding ways to make life happen while keeping our spending to a bare minimum. We are committed to each other and a plan.

What we have found is laughter and love together in frugality. We have gone square dancing, to movies, to the library. We have found joy in cooking dinner and sharing a meal. We have found love in every aspect of life and laughter everyday. We are moving back to the basics of life, a simplier life that involves getting to know each other on a new level.

Commitment and Frugality together have unleased a new way of living that is truly enjoyable. Try it, you may like it!

Second Week

Well, we did much better in this second week of the pay period. We started the week with $28.00 to last until Friday. One movie and a breakfast out and we are down to $19.00. I think we should be able to end the week with $15.00 left in the bank to put towards credit card debt. Now I know that you think, why do you even bother, what is the point in paying an additional $10 - $15 every two weeks. Well, this is exactly how I got out of my first credit card debt. It's baby steps that grow into children steps that grow into teen steps that grow into adult steps. What that means is this $10-$15 will grow and eventually become $20 - $30, then $40 - $60, then $80 - $120. You see as you pay off, even minimal amounts, of your debt you stop paying interest to the bank which gives every dollar you pay more leverage. It may take awhile for my big debt but by my next paycheck I will have one debt paid off and will start working on the next one. Every time one debt is paid off, there is a sense of relief and excitement that you can do it even on the little salary we make. Try it, you may find financial freedom in the little dollars you add to paying off your debt.

Two Lists

I was just reading this wonderful article on my obsession lately, the recession. It was talking about doing a flip flop in your thinking. Taking the negative of forced furloughs or being laid off and turning the situation into a positive. I have to admit, this was a stretch for me. I mean really, I get laid off and I'm supposed to be happy about it. But then I read the last paragraph. It suggested we make two lists one that lets all our worry come out, shows us our ruminations about this economic situation and gets it off our chest. The second list is a list of all our blessings in life, what we hold most near and dear to our hearts. Go ahead, take a few minutes to do this. I'll wait.

Do you have your two lists? I found that it was really easy to write these lists. I'm worried about paying the bills, never getting work again, being on government subsidies. I'm absolutely thankful for my God, my Husband, the friends I have, the family who supports me no matter what I try, the church I go to, the laughter and joy surrounding me, health to run marathons. Now would I trade anything on my thankful list to take away my worry list. Absolutely NOT! These are the joy in my life, the most important things to me. I can't imagine saying see you Robb, I need to have a job. That is insanity.

So as I go through a little bump in the road, I realize that I am blessed. I have so much more than money could ever buy and I wouldn't trade it for the world. I hope this exercise gives you a moment of pause, something to say thank you for as you are stressing out. A list that you should post where you can see it. When stress hits, a simple thank you prayer for the blessings will get you back on track.

God Bless.

Friday can't come soon enough

So this frugal living is kind of hard right now. We are in forced frugal instead of chosen frugal. You see Christmas did a small number on us and now we are paying the piper. It's too hard for me to go to someone's home for the holiday without a gift and there were a lot of gifts that needed to be brought. We did regift some of the gifts however, there were many we purchased which was definitely difficult.

Trying to pay off these debts before February 19th (possible layoff date) has been challenging in that we are strapped to the maximum. This week we have $17 to last until Friday payday. If we make it to Friday that $17 goes towards paying off a bill. My thought is that we will have about $7 to put towards bills but I do know that whatever the dollar is it will all go towards the credit card bill and we will struggle again in two weeks.

There is a bright spot to this. We had a lovely dinner last night of shrimp, broccoli, baked potato and wine and the entire dinner cost us $9.00 for both of us. We even had enough shrimp left overs that my husband can eat lunch on it today. So I'm learning that even in the frugality of the times, we can have wonderful dinners and show our love for each other.

I'm also finding that taking my lunch everyday isn't that bad. A little planning and a lot of will power creates an atmosphere where taking my lunch everyday is quite uplifting. With the frugality of bringing my lunch, I find my confidence level increasing. I know it sounds wierd but when I eat the lunch I brought and know I'm saving money, it gives me financial confidence which then translates to work confidence. I'm in control of something and it's working all right. That brings confidence.

So even during frugal times, there are lessons to be learned, confidence to be learned and control to establish. In the end, when the dust settles from all this, he who has adjusted their lifestyle and created wealth will thrive!

Bailout Idea

Every where one turns these days there is yet another story on the bail out plan. Another $819 billion has been approved by the House and is going to the Senate floor. This got me to thinking, $819 plus $734 (previous bill) is $1.553 trillion. I can't even fathom the amount of zeros on that number. Then I read that we will need billions more for a full recovery. My mind started thinking, how can this money come directly to the American people. How many American people are there? I googled it, $384,505,000 people in the United States. Could we give the money directly to the American people?

So now here's where it gets tricky because I'm not really great at math and this is a lot of zeros to play around. If everyone in the United States got a check for $100,000 that would be $3 Trillion. So that would be more than we have allotted already. What if it was $50,000? That should be $1.5 Trillion so less that we already have allotted. If we give the money to the people, they could spend it, save it, invest it or pay off debt with it. All of these options will help to stimulate the economy while creating a "feel good" atmosphere.

1) If every single American spent the money our economy would spike and therefore the world economy would spike. If during this spike, companies continued to get lean we would emerge a world leader with lean companies who had money in the bank from the spike in sales.

2) If every single person saved the money, this would be quite an influx of money to our banking system which should open up their ability to lend again. Credit scores would rise because borrowers have the ability to pay back debt, banks would have excess cash reserves to borrow and the American population would feel like they have a safety net to catch them if this happens again.

3) Could you even imagine Wall Street if everyone invested these dollars? They would be going crazy trying to buy all these under valued $10 stocks before their prices rose. The market would rise again as everyone determined their buying strategies. People would be in control of how the money is spent. I wouldn't be investing in Citibank because I don't believe in how they have handled the money thus far however I would invest in Ford because they have a great management team that prepared the organization for a day such as today. I would invest heavily in American stocks because I believe in putting our money back into the society in which we reside. Yet I would still invest some in foreign stocks because in the end we are all connected in one big life circle.

4) I have a lot of debt. There is less than I had before however it is still there. To get an influx of $50,000 would pay off all my credit card debt and my small mortgage. Right now I can only dream of what this would feel like. The freedom to do what I want because my debt load is relieved. I continue to pray for this day and in this blogs fantasy world I can almost taste the victory that would be. For the economy, even if everyone paid off their debt, the disposable income this would provide families would be enough to spark the economy again.

This is all a dream but could you even imagine what our country could do if this amount of money was actually given to the general population instead of business as usual up in Washington. It will be interesting to watch our new President and how he handles this money. The first test will be if there are stringent checks and balances on the spending of our next bailout plan.

God Bless.

Brown Bagging It

The latest in my frugal lifestyle is brown bagging my lunch. Well it's actually a really cute pink and black lunch bag from Target boutique, but still brown bagging non the less. I started doing the math on my spending about 3 months ago, realizing that I needed to understand exactly where my money was going. Lo and behold, I found that I was spending on average $50 per week on lunches alone. If I added in the coffee and breakfasts, which I sometimes purchased, this could easily hit the $60 - 70 range. I almost got sick. That is a lot of money going to food, something I will never get a return on my investment. So for the last month I've been taking my lunch almost everyday and eating most of my breakfasts at home. This has been quite the change in that I go to the grocery store and spend about $100 per week so I wonder if I truly am saving money. However, the grocery bill is for two people for a week and includes dinners so yes, I am saving money. Then we need to actually eat the food that I purchased. This was difficult the first couple weeks but we have it pretty down pat now. I threw away a lot of food at first. I would purchase the groceries and they would go bad before we got to eating them. Now we truly don't go out so that is saving us money.

Now, don't get me wrong, it has been hard to watch my friends go out to lunch while I'm at the microwave heating up last night's dinner. There are moments when I feel left out of the conversations because I don't go to lunch and get the scoop. But then I remember that God doesn't want me gossipping, He doesn't want me spending frivolously and He wants me to have a great life. So missing the gossip and being a good steward of God's money, now that is where I want to be.

The extra cash has gone to paying down my debt. It is working too. I still feel stressed about the pending layoffs but I believe by the time I'd be let go, I will have my two smallest credit cards paid off and the last one on track for a large payoff once I get another job. So I say Bon Appetit my friends, bring the lunch and pay off your debt. It's amazing the freedom you find for yourself in this small act of frugality.

Greed

When President Obama was sworn into office and started his inaugural speech, I believe people cheered when he said that greed got us where we are today, not greed from everyone, but greed. I have to agree and disagree with this statement when I look at my financial records. There was greed when I got divorced, the greed of I deserve to live the lifestyle I had on two incomes on just my own income. That greed led to a mountain of credit card debt that after the denial phase, I am still paying off The worst word in the English language isn't a swear word, it's deserve. When people decide they deserve something that is when greed has comes home to roost. I didn't deserve to live on more than my income, I didn't earn it, I didn't need it and I certainly didn't deserve it, I wanted it. Deserve is another word for wants and we all understand the meaning of want, not something needed but desired.

So in my situation greed came home to roost for about 3 years of unabated spending and the life I deserve. Then reality set in when I couldn't pay for everything I deserved and now am making amends. I certainly earned the frugal lifestyle I'm leading and lucky for me frugal is in style now. So yes President Obama, greed got me into this mess and frugality will get me out of it. I pray the same for our country, that frugality will get us out of it and President Obama is setting the tone right for this path.

God Bless.

401K Loan and why I did it

Every financial advisor on the planet will tell you don't do the 401K loan because you lose the compounding interest on your money. In the end this loan will probably cost me $100,000 in retirement funds instead of the $20,000 I borrowed. However, if your financial advisor has never been swimming in debt, avoiding calls from creditors and unable to get it together they have no idea the freedom that comes from not seeing one big bill a month. It was July 4 years ago when I couldn't make ends meet. It was a time when I knew I needed to get serious about my finances and I tried for a year with no success. It was depressing to see these bills coming in and paying $5 or $10 extra on a $20,000 bill really didn't impact it. My thoughts were I know it will cost me 4 times the amount of the loan in retirement but I'm going to pay a whole lot in interest (29%, because I was late so many times) while I'm working. So the jump start to my financial freedom came with my 401K loan because with this my credit score increased and I was able to renegotiate interest rates on my other credit cards to a manageable 9.99%. Now when I pay my extra $10 or $15 on the card balance, I can actually see it making a difference. My confidence level has grown with every bill paid off and believe it or not that snowball effect really does happen, when one card goes away, it's ten times easier to pay off the next card.

There are some things I learned about a 401K loan that I didn't know when making the decision. First, you can't pay additional $10 - $15 to pay it off sooner, if you want to pay it off sooner you need to save the money and pay the entire balance left at one time. Now I don't know if this is just our plan, but it is something to consider if you are thinking about this process. Second, you must pay back the loan within 90 days of leaving the company whether you are laid off or quit. During this tumultuous time, this is something to truly consider. I have felt trapped at my current job many times during the last 4 years because of the loan and gone home crying out to God to help me to leave.

I know that many financial advisors are cringing at this blog post but for me the loan was the best thing I ever did. First the timing was perfect. I took out the loan and 3 years later the stock market and housing markets have crashed. My loan is paying paying my 401K 9% in interest that my stock is losing right and left. It is the only thing increasing my portfolio right now. I know it took away for 3 years but this last year it has been a blessing. I have paid off most of my loan before my company is going through their layoff process so to be laid off won't affect my loan, I have enough to pay the entire balance within 90 days of my final day. There is a freedom in all of this. I now have the ability to look elsewhere without the "stuck" feeling of debt. God certainly blessed me when I took out this loan and paid back my debtors instead of trying to get out of what I charged. My life has been given back to me through this 401K and the strength to control spending after the loan.

God Bless.

Discretionary Funds Going Fast

Well, the discretionary funds made a wide turn left this weekend when we decided to head out for dinner on Friday night because I let my sugar levels go down and I didn't feel like cooking. It was wrong of me and bad of me to do that but life sometimes happens. So $20 later, with gas another $10 we are down to $60. Then I realized as I was going over my bank statement (which I do daily) that my tithing check from church hadn't cleared yet so that's another $50 taking us down to $10 and we are supposed to go out for my best friends dinner on Wednesday night and somehow get her a gift. I know I shouldn't hit the savings but I am this week. A $75 transfer and we are good to go. I've already told my husband that we have to order the cheap things from the menu and drink water Wednesday night. I'm hoping for the stimulus package to come soon (LOL) but really I'm proud of us that we truly are getting through this paying off credit cards and maintaining a pretty good lifestyle in the process. I'm proud of the frugal lifestyle we are leading, I know it sounds weird but it makes me happy to know that through everything we can manage and laugh some too. I do like that part of this experiment. Frugal doesn't mean frumpy, frugal means smart! And since we are masterpeices of God's creation I would say we are smart, because what He makes is good!

God Bless.

Ebay here I come

Well, as it goes when you start to pay off everything and get a little excited about the prospect of being debt free sometimes one goes overboard. So okay, I went a little overboard with my payments and now I'm a little tight for these two weeks. Everything is paid and we have $290 for two weeks for two people. Grocery's will cost us about $200 ($100/week) leaving a grand total of $90 in discretionary income for the two weeks and that will include gas. So it looks like we will be using the gift certificates that we have recieved over the Christmas holiday for fun and we will be creating our own fun somehow. I think this week I need to plan my menus out completely so I only buy what is needed at the store and I will get two of my Longaberger baskets out to sell on Ebay. Hopefully people will still be buying out there. This will give us some extra discretionary income for the next couple weeks so we can have a little fun (grin). My thing with becoming debt free is that I don't want to be so tied to payments that I can't have some fun. I believe life is partially fun so we need to enjoy it and live it while we pay off our debts. So extra income can come in the form of selling books, dvds, cds, clothes, household goods, and collectibles. This week I'm going with the collectibles on Ebay. Listings will go up tonight when I get home from work. Here's to having fun while becoming debt free.

God Bless.

Article on spending to save

So I was reading this article today on spending money to save, for instance purchasing a bread maker so you don't have to buy $4 loaves of bread or a coffee maker so you can make your own coffee both of which are said to save $1,000 in a year, not including the costs of material to complete the task. My problem is that as American's we tend to work on waves as my husband says. We have a wave where we will make our own coffee and bring it to work for about 3 months and then we miss a day here and there. Soon we are purchasing all our coffee at one of those expensive coffee shops while our coffee maker collects dust in the corner. But if we can make a commitment to this, I know it truly does make a difference. There is something about walking past that shop and into the office with your own coffee that creates a feeling of self pride that you aren't succumbing to the corporate marketeers but then I think those same marketeers keep me employeed...ugh this is a catch 22...but I guess the thing to think about is that coffee shops were designed for treats or for the rich to have their coffee made for them. It is a luxury not a need and right now as we are facing pending layoffs, stock market crashes and the weakening dollar, we need to think about "needs" and "wants" in a more realistic way. Well, happy brewing and bread making to each of you!

God Bless.