FYI, it's 7:40a EDT, even though this post says it's way earlier than that. See, I'm not a psychotic weirdo forum-freak (or blogging freak).

Yesterday was allowance day and grocery money day. WooHoo! I didn't feel like I got a whole lot of bang for my buck until I sat down and realized all the non-food items I got.

$ 7.00 - 3 - 12 packs of soda
$ 2.97 - 3 - lrg tubes Aquafresh
$ 3.99 - 1 - 2 pack of toothbrushes
$ 3.99 - 1 - Feline Pine scoopable litter
$ 5.00 - 2 - Ziplock twist'n'lock containers
$ 2.60 - 2 - 22ct boxes Hefty 1qt freezer bags
$ 2.19 - 1 - pk double roll recycled TP

$29.13 - TOTAL W/ 5% TAX

OK, well, that means I spend less than $70 on actual food yesterday, which makes me feel much better... Plus I realized I managed to go all organic except for 5 items, so that makes the $70 even more gratifying for me.

Milk
Bagged baby spinach (I live on the wild side!)
Red potatoes
Sweet onions
Bulk-bin dehydrated veggies
Bulk-bin rice pilaf
Chicken breats
Yogurt *
Bananas
Apples
Chicken broth
Orange juice *
Gatorade *
Frozen green beans *
Frozen corn *
Tomatoes: paste
Tomatoes: diced
Tomatoes: crushed
Canned black beans
Canned pinto beans
Canned kidney beans

As you can see, I like beans and tomatoes. Yuuummmmmmmmm... And Publix just started carrying them in their organic GreenWise brand, so I can still pay a reasonable price. WooHoo!!

The revelation when I shopped was really quite simple: they don't make coupons for almost anything I buy food-wise. All-natural and unprocessed does have a drawback

On the plus side, I've not been sick enough to go to the doctor in over 10 years (everybody knock on wood!), so the money I'm spending on food I'm more than saving on co-pays, deductibles, and prescriptions (which also don't come with coupons).

alright, what's up with the time stamps on the blogs?

it is 11:10a EDT right now, and my last comment said it was written at 8:10a. not in and of itself a big deal, but that means my comments/posts from 7a look like 4a!

even funnier, the forums don't have the funky time stamp issue, so some folks out there might think i'm posting, falling asleep at the computer, and waking up mouse in hand ready to type again.

really, i PROMISE, i'm not a psychotic weirdo forum-freak. well, not always...

Ever have one of those, where you wake up wide awake and feeling good and as soon as you step out the door you know somehow that it's going to be a good, maybe even great, day? That's today!

I woke up before either of my alarms this morning. Even better: I woke up awake. Enjoyed my morning of coffee, reading, and snuggling the cats. Got ready for work, headed out the door, and stopped in my tracks on my porch. We had rain last night, and the whole street looked... good. The sky looked good. My new-to-me yellow Focus 2dr looked great, and there were even birds chirping in my yard. Low, patchy clouds were zooming across the sky like you would see in a movie or commercial, and I could just hear the voice-over guy "At that moment, she knew the world was hers." HAHA, take that, world!

I dunno, it's weird I guess, but today just feels like it'll be fantastic. I got allowance & grocery money on my way in, walked in the office and immediately fixed a problem logo left over from yesterday, and now I'm struggling to reverse-engineer 4 yr old Java code while drinking, well, java. Nothing that seems to fall under the heading of a great day, but that's alright.

THE DAY IS STILL YOUNG!

I've been blindsided by deer!!!

There I was, happily cruising along in my budget software, enjoying the sights of all this month's bills being paid and it's not even the 20th, when I come to a screeching halt at the sight of my balance.

What? I'm $400 down? ACK!!! OMG, WHAT HAPPENED?!?!?!??

I start careening about, grasping for my check book and clutching my mouse like a suicide strap, repeating the mantra "There HAS to be an explaination SOMEWHERE!!!" I pass some familiar looking debt payments, and remember I had overpaid 3 that I didn't intend to. OK, but where's the REST?

I turn the corner in my software, and there it is, standing right in the middle of my register.

Hunting Season.

Aaaaaaaaaaaaarrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrgggggggggggggggghhhhhhhhhh!

DH's visions of deer from the very beginning of the month leapt out of nowhere and smashed a big hole in the side of my budget before I had even made a budget.

"I'll get you, Hunting Season! You just wait and SEE!!!" Trashing my budget like that...

Irony of it all is I don't particularly like venison, not to mention I could have bought 93% lean ground angus at $0.99 per pound and filled way more freezers than Hunting Season will.

Grrrrrrrrrrr.

It was all chilly and rainy yesterday and therefore I declared it a soup day. Got home from work, put soup on, and after a few hours the verdict was in: YUM!!! Best part is I have several quarts worth of soup now that it's fall!

Only problem: today is going to be a high of 77, tomorrow will be 80.

Go figure!

It's 54 and raining here in upstate SC, which to me makes it a perfect SOUP DAY!

What do I have at home? 32 bean dried mix, dehydrated veggies, can of chicken stock, 1 onion, couple of potatoes, pre-cooked rice. Sounds like soup to me!

Oooooh, and DH won't be home until late tonight: he has a Mason's Business meeting. It'll just be me, kitties, soup and SavingAdvice all evening long...

I'm shocked, and amazed, and pleased all at the same time. My frugalness isn't necessarily rubbing off on DH, but it appears he is noticing and listening to an extent. A spouse that notices and listens, how novel. I'm kidding, of course, but it's still nice.

I bring this whole topic up b/c DH & I have talked about money not once but TWICE over the past 3 days. And not just who's going to pay if we go out to dinner, either. Actual, serious discussion. WooHoo!!

Turns out DH wants to have a beefier EF that what I require. Hey, good to know. Granted, he said "That way, the money will be there if we find something we need, or want"... To which I replied "As long as we pay the money back to the account." Puzzled look came from this, but we'll see.

The rest of this conversation was something like this

DH "We make good money, and should be able to buy what we want."

ME "I completely agree we should be able to buy what we really want and need. But, DH, I want to eliminate our debt b/c it is (hold on a sec, math time $350 old debt $300 car $500 house): $1150 of our monthly take home, over %25!!! Imagine what we could do with that money once it's freed up!"

I saw the lights in his eyes. Pictures of sugar plums and a motorcycle dancing in his head.

Last night's conversation was about what to do w/ my old 401k: roll it or take a disbursement. See, my old 401k plan let you take out loans & pay yourself back with interest (cool!) & payments were drafted from your paycheck. Had 1 loan to buy DH's first motorcycle last year, and then when we found the house we sold the motorcycle and paid off the loan (it cost us $100 to have that bike 1 yr, not bad). Then, took a loan on the 401k balance to put the downpayment on the house. Then, got downsized and there's no paycheck for them to take payments out...

Either way, I can either take a full disbursement paying a fee & having the company take out taxes, or I can have them take the loan balance off the top leaving me w/ enough cash to roll into say a Roth IRA. In this scenario, I'm responsible for the taxes myself. DH has been rooting for a disbursement, until i started to describe what benefits a Roth would give us. No eyes rolled or glazed over, he was interested and listened intently. He even said "We could affprd to put half down and finance the rest by the end of this year, but I know you're wanting to avoid the whole debt thing."

Woohoo! Like water rolling gently over a stone, I too can slowly effect even the toughest of obstacles.

I'm so tickled I could snort!

*SNORT*

OK, got that out of my system... Just got the AOK from Grand Yield Direct/Apple Bank: they've decided that I am in fact not a terrorist and therefore am worthy enough to have a no minimum no fee savings account at 5.25% APY. YAY!!!

Now I'm just waiting for my two tiny test deposits to hit my checking account so that I can go ahead and get started on this whole savings game. Translation: I've got a grand earning only 0.5% right now, hurry up!!

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The saying on my signature "Want to make God Laugh? Tell him your plans" has caused a phobia of the P word in my family for ages now. I guess it helps my vocabulary in a way. Please note the lack of the P word in this post
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

I've been mulling over a debt payment 'strategy' to try and get my finances more in order and improve my floundering net worth. It's either increase assets or decrease liabilities when it comes to net worth, so I'm choosing the latter.

I've 'decided' to start hitting it heavy in January, and before everyone gets up in arms let me explain why! The money I 'intend' to put towards debt reduction is 1100 per month. For the next three months I will stash that amount in my current savings, because December will see the holidays, my car taxes, and my first property taxes on the house. ACK! By stashing 3300 over 3 months I will have more than enough to cover all three of those expenses in December, and what remains will hide in savings as a small EF. Sensible, yes? Oh, and for those who've taken a gander at the budget I posted in here, I will also be sending 300/month savings as my monthly 'payments' towards these bills for next year.

My known debts (more on this later) are as follows, highest interest rate to lowest (can't believe I'm actually posting amounts...):

Honda Card $ 2200 (came w/ the marriage)
Car $14900
House $59000 (more below)
Stud. Ln $ 8000
Hospital $ 1100 (DH back surgery last yr)
Inlaws $ 9000 (came w/ the marriage)

By April the Honda Card and hospital will be paid in full, giving me 1200/month to put towards debt. This is also tax season, and my federal income tax return (beefed up by the high interest rate I'm currently paying on the house), goes straight to student loans. Here's where I can't decide what exactly I want to do. If I put the full 1200 towards the student loans they'll be paid of in 6-7 months. If it's towards the car, it will be paid of in 11-12 months. OR, I could split the money up between the car, student loan, and money owed the inlaws.... Hmmmm...

As for the house, we are going to refinance it towards the end of next year. Sister is a loan officer at my credit union and has informed me that, for members, they refinance homes at 5% with no credit check at the appraised value as long as it's been more than 1 yr since purchase. And there's a $50 filing fee. This is good b/c the house will be worth about 20k more than what we owe on it at that point, without any improvements. Refinancing will cut my interest dramatically, and getting 10k in equity will allow us to bring the kitchen from 1969 standards to 1995 standards (plus some roof maintenance). The change in interest rate will be so dramatic that, even with owing 10k more on the note and escrowing property tax and insurance, my monthly payments will be about the same. Which means the $150 I currently set aside each month for property tax and insurance can be put to other uses.

So, there it is, out of my system, my battle 'strategy' in the ongoing Money War.

While reading over some blogs since the forums are quiet (and I've finished my work for the week, which is weird), I noticed that lots of folks were discussing Myers Briggs a few weeks/days ago. I've also commented time or two on what kinds of personalities are most likely to be frugies. Oh, what the heck, I took the test for the who-knows-what time.

Here's me.

What's Your Personality Type?

***You Are An INTJ***

The Scientist

You have a head for ideas - and you are good at improving systems. Logical and strategic, you prefer for everything in your life to be organized. You tend to be a bit skeptical. You're both critical of yourself and of others. Independent and stubborn, you tend to only befriend those who are a lot like you.

You would make an excellent scientist, engineer, or programmer.

* * * * * * *

Great, I manage to take the one online test that was designed by someone who obviously knows exactly who I am.... =P

Earlier this year I read a book "Now Discover Your Strengths" which was really cool. In a nutshell: rather than trying to make up for one's faults, use your strengths to your advantage. What are my strengths? Here's the top 5, in order:

Ideation: People strong in the Ideation theme are fascinated by ideas. They are able to find connections between seemingly disparate phenomena.
Strategic: People strong in the Strategic theme create alternative ways to proceed. Faced with any given scenario, they can quickly spot the relevant patterns and issues.
Maximizer: People strong in the Maximizer theme focus on strengths as a way to stimulate personal and group excellence. They seek to transform something strong into something superb.
Learner: People strong in the Learner theme have a great desire to learn and want to continuously improve. In particular, the process of learning, rather than the outcome, excites them.
Intellection: People strong in the Intellection theme are characterized by their intellectual activity. They are introspective and appreciate intellectual discussions.

Alright, this is just getting darn right creepy....

And the debate about an EF vs paying down high interest debt rages on... For those of you sitting on the fence, or possibly looking for some fresh information and a new perspective, here is some food for thought.

Background: I was a sales and customer service Trainer up until 6/30 of this year when they closed our location and I was laid off. Ugh... For the first time in my life, I applied for unemployment. After my experience with unemployment, (which is something you as a worker NEVER pay for, it's paid for by the company that employs you), I now have a different view on the need and design of my EF, and here's why.

One needs to seriously take a look at one's expenditures and get an idea of what exactly you have to pay each month if you were to be unemployeed. Housing, utilities, minimums on debt. Keep in mind that you will likely want to keep things like internet access and phone service, b/c they make it easier to fidn a job and get interviews, and your gas budget may go up driving around looking for jobs. Other things, like cable TV and your lawn service can probably be cut. Get a number. For me, it's $2100 give or take.

Now, go to

Labor Department and rom there go to your state's Unemployment Office website. Research there, or even call them if you need to. This is important, b/c this could make or break your decision for an EF.

[*] What is the waiting time for benefits to begin?
[*] How are benefits calculated, and is there a maximum benefit amount?
[*] Are taxes taken out automatically or do you have the option to have no taxes removed?
[*] How long do you get benefits, and is there a possibility of extending them under certain circumstances?

Alright. Here in SC there is a 1 week waiting period after you lose your job, then you wait a week and file, and it takes about a week to get the check, so I estimate a 3 wk waiting period. Benefits are calulated at 50% of your earings for the past 5 quarters up to $303 per week pre-tax. Please note that if you make 100k per year, unemployment is likely NOT going to pay you half, or 50k, in benefits. SC gives you the option to have no state or federal taxes removed, and you receive benefits for 13 weeks with the option to extend another 13 weeks if approved for a total of 26 weeks (6 months).

Now, take the max you can get per wk from unemployment, multiply by 4, and that's what you'll get per month. In my case, $1212. DH gives me $1100 per month for household expenses (and keeps $500 for allowance), so his pay and unemployment will actually cover my expenses and then some for 6 months. Cool.

What if he gets laid off at the same time, you say? My 1212 plus his 1212 = $2424, more than enough to pay expenses.

So, here was my revelation: I can get up to 6 months unemployment which, at my current budget, will more than cover all necessary expenses. It takes on average 6 months to find a job, so the need to an EF in case I loose my job is actually quite low. Therefore, I feel secure in diverting most of my extra income directly to debt while stashing away a very small amount ($500-$1000) to cover medical co-pays or car repairs should they happen.

Any thoughts?

I'm such a dork b/c I love the Blog Stats provided for me here at Saving Advice!!! My whole point in a blog is to be able to vent and rant and hopefully get some support, suggestions, and the occasional critizism, and Blog Stats show me I'm not just blogging to myself.

In the past, my blogs elsewhere lingered in their own little corner, sad and lonely, wondering what all the bleeping blogging fuss was about. Communities that appeared active were in fact stagnet, spam piled in by leaps and bounds. My blogging days were soon outnumbered, and I felt the urge to go buy something to make me forget my sorrows...

Luckily, I have found a blog away from home (actually, I am at home right now) and can rant and rave to my heart's content.

Maybe I need more friends IRL...

Gotta love that word 'continuum'. Looks wrong, don't it? =)

At any rate, the more I work on my own budget and (ack!)

Frugal Failings, the more I realized that the definition of a Frugally Fabulous Frugie is neither black nor white. It is in fact, black with white spots and grey swirls (or some other combination.

What is frugal to one is abhorrently wasteful to another, and sheer miserly insanity to a third.

For instance: I do not wash zip top bags and reuse them. I have no dishwasher, and the thoughts of washing them by hand makes my head hurt. Does this make me a bad Frugie? No, just a different one. Maybe I am white with black spots and grey swirls... I do, however, use washable containers for all of my fridge and freezer needs. Sometimes I even use butcher paper and/or aluminum foil, both of which are recyclable in my area.

On the other hand: when I eat a steak and don't finish it, I cut it into strips and add it to my 'steak strip' bag in the freezer. I use these to make stirfry and occasionally chili. This weirds some people out (I guess b/c the fork that touched my mouth touched the steak which I then put in in the freezer).

Are either of these more frugal than the other? Perhaps. I like to think, though, that the great cosmic Frugal Continuum applies to all aspects of one's life, and just because you are abhorrently wasteful in one area doesn't mean you can't partake of some sheer miserly insanity in another It's all about balance, you know.