TinapBeana's Blog: Money Wars!

Well I was debating about getting around to this, then Paul threw the gauntlet down and posting his. I will meet this challenge head on!

In all reality, the goals are pretty much the same for all of America from year to year. 'Lose weight, save money, enjoy time with family and friends'. A bit vague and over-arching, which makes it easy to feel like you aren't making any progress when you are. Or, like you are making progress when you aren't.

Anyways, life in corporate America taught me about 'SMART' goals, and I think there is some merit to the concept.

Simple
Measureable
Agreed Upon
Realistic
Timed

It's the difference between "I'm going to lose weight and exercise in '07" and "I'm going to lose an average of 1 pound per week by May 30th. I will do this by finding creative ways to burn up 1750 calories and consume 1750 fewer calories every week."

In a sense, it's throwing the gauntlet down for yourself.

So, here are mine. Subject, of course, to revision

* I will post a wish-list on the fridge by January 15th. There will be 3 sections: one for me, one for DH, one for the house. I think this will be helpful in keeping tabs on our goals for home improvement, getting ideas for gift-giving times, and maybe (just maybe!) giving DH a little perspective.

* I will get a library card by the end of January. As a side note, I will use said library card.

* Our net-worth will be in the black by the end of '07. I would set this goal sooner, but there is the possibility of my office closing down at the end of February and debt payment is taking a back burner to stashing cash.

* By the end of February, I will come up with a list of 10 things (or more) I know I can do to make at least $500 per month should I actually lose my job. Anyone want to commision a spreadsheet design?  

* I am going to wean myself from cigarettes. I'm not saying I'm going to quit, as I think the finality of it is what causes a lot of folks trouble. Starting 1/1/07 I am allowed 10 smokes per day. On 7/1/07 the number goes down to 5. I am not allowed to 'roll-over' any unused cigarettes to the next day. I have a cigarette case somewhere that will hold 8-10, so I think I'll start carrying that instead of a pack, just to prevent temptation.

I'm sure I've got some more rolling around in my head somewhere, but I think this'll do for a start.

So glad to be back at work today: I can rest!

My holiday schedule included 5 events in 3 days, 3 meals out b/c my kitchen was a distaster area, untold changes of clothes, and DH having to go in to work Christmas Eve morning and night, and 30 min Christmas day.

Oh, and a huge seive-like leak in the drain pipe from the kitchen sink that we discovered Thursday night.

Falalalala
lala
la
la

Good news is A) the leak is a drain pipe and therefore not wasting any water B) the water is leaking right into to the drainway for the sump-pump C) I wasn't hosting this weekend so I didn't have to really worry about it. But, I'm only doing dishes one huge load at a time so as to not have sink after sink of water draining into my basement... Ergo, the kitchen is a mess and the resulting meals out.

Perhaps I should just plant potatoes in a tub and put that under the pipe. When life gives you lemons, you know.

At any rate, the Christmas weekend was most enjoyable and tiring: the two hallmarks of a successful venture. I love being a gift giver, so I had a blast. And I was pretty much within budget tolerance: total was $1,191.00 according to my register, budget was for a grand. I don't feel bad as 1191 is for all expected Christmas expenses, cooking, and gifts, plus 3 unexpected birthday gifts, a baby shower, 2 unplanned co-worker gifts, and a night in a hotel in Chattanooga.

Falalalala
lala
la
la

Anywho, I hope everyone had a Very Merry. Time to stare at my computer screen while I come off a sugar high.

Wooohooo!

First thing I didn't do was pay the $75 for next month's rent of our storage building. I asked DH if we could go ahead & clean it out, so we did Thursday night. Rent for next month was due on Saturday, but no rent for us!

Next thing I did: I didn't take out the $55 I had budgeted for household money for the upcoming week. There's so much holiday time and time off from work I'm hoping we won't need it.

Last thing I didn't do was take advantage of the 3 easy payments offered by my insurance company. Since I bought my car 9/27 and my policy was until 11/11 or so, there was a price difference for some months I had already paid. They offered to break it up into my next 3 bills and I paid it last month. Thing is, I forgot to update this month's register which showed the higher amount, so when the bill came in I had an 'extra' $46.

Apparently all of my fiscal plotting and strategizing has angered the Money Gods. I'm sorry Money Gods!!!

Was late coming into work this morning b/c I stopped to get donut holes for the office. Krispy Kreme was a mad house and I waited 40 minutes! At any rate, the day I'm this late is the day there's a 9am meeting. Figures.

Turns out my boss and his partner will no longer be with the company starting January. Part of the deal was that there would be no other 'personnel changes' for the first 60 days of the year.

Crap!

See, the company I work for got bought in June. I hired on in August knowing full well it might be a temporary sort of thing, but was also told temporary meant till the end of 07. Enough time for me to make myself invaluable when changes began to happen.

Now, changes are happening way ahead of schedule. I'm the new kid on the block, and don't feel NEARLY valuable enough!

CRAP!

Now, this whole 60 day thing may or may not be meaningless. I might be all in a tizzy over nothing and my job might be totally secure. Or not. Who knows, it is as they say a CRAP SHOOT! Emphasis is of course on CRAP!

Geez... Last place I worked got bought and we all got downsize. It might possibly happen here, too. See what I mean by Typhoid Mary? Maybe I should just work in the cigar store. Then again, my dad could wind up selling the place, and I'd be back at square one!

I know, it's not exactly a burning question, but I am still curious.

The way I see it, it's easier to budget monthly when one is paid a certain number of times per month; for instance, I'm paid the 15th and the last day of the month. I can tell you exactly which bills come out of which check, which makes it much easier for me to determine when to siphon money off to savings. In my case, it's the 3rd and 18th.

DH, however, is paid bi-weekly. The dates jump around (not fun) and twice a year he gets 3 paychecks in a month (FUN!). Since the dates aren't consistent, it makes it that much hard to say X bill for next month comes out of the 2nd check this month, etc.

So I'm looking at my budget wondering if it makes more sense to work it monthly or weekly. What did you choose, and why?

As a side note, let me just pause to laugh at the fact that I have watched an old movie where the girl was named Dorcus. HAAAAAAAAAAAHAHHAHAHAHAAAA! And it wasn't supposed to be a joke, that was just her name!!!

OK, sorry...

Anywho, in the dwindling hours of 2006 I'm still waging the war on what to pay off when, and how much to throw at it in 2007. I think I have an established order of what bills in what order, but I wondered if the $550 I had allotted every month was the 'sweet spot' as they say.

And here's where Dorkus strikes again...

I calculated the amount I might throw at debt every month, how much interest it would 'save' me, and the how much interest it would cost me since I wouldn't be earning my 5.25% compound interest in my GYD account. And then I figured out what my 'total cost' would be for each monthly amount.

Dorkus...

Of course the highest amount I calculated had the lowest over all cost involved, but after that, it got interesting. Compound interest does work both ways, after all!

BTW: that total cost column is actually calculated as interest paid PLUS interest lost, as opposed to what it shows in the picture. DOH! Sorry!

Seems like both the blogs and I have been quiet lately. Tis the season, I know...

I've only got 2 more gifts to get (gift certificates, both of 'em!), and am pretty much on budget for the holidays. Technically I'm over budget by about $50, but I don't feel bad since I had to add in 3 birthdays, 3 Christmas presents, and a baby shower gift. And that's for a total of 4 people!

My confession is regarding a purchase. In a way I'm really OK with it, but there's still that voice telling me I shoulda put the money towards debt.

At any rate, lemme give you the reasons why I'm OK with it. One: property taxes for the car & house were $162.62 lower than anticipated. WOO and HOO!!! The as-of-yet unrevealed purchase was $179.99 before tax, so only $17.37 was money I hadn't already planned on spending. Two: even with December being one giant cash drain (2900 in regular expenses, and 2000 for budgeted taxes and the holidays!ack!), there is still money leftover this month. Three: aforementioned purchase was a REALLY GOOD DEAL.

Denial ain't just a river in Egypt, baby

OK, here's what we bought: a 1000 watt home theater system (aka DVD/CD player tuner combo, 5 speaks and a subwoofer). Completely unnecessary, but a great deal nontheless. And, considering our existing stereo, CD player, and DVD player were all crapping out (and our 52" big screen was a freebie), $179.99 for a brand new setup isn't bad... Hey, it could have been worse, the one we *really* wanted was $249.99... Even I looked at that one and said "Boy, THAT'S sexy!"

The coolest part by far, though, is that there's a USB slot on the front of the receiver, so we can plug in our flash drives and play hours of our favorite songs. No more burning CDs and the associated costs therein! See, it was really a frugal decision! HA!!!

On a more serious note (kinda), I'm debating about how I want to tackle debt in the new year. Thanks to my snowballing spreadsheet I know what would make the most sense by the numbers. Thing is, I don't know if that would be the most gratifying way to do it. And more importantly, I don't think it would impress DH as much to do it the 'right' way.

I'll ask him, but I'm pretty sure he'll hop on the wagon more completely when we actually have some bills we don't have to pay anymore, rather than just seeing the existing balances go down. Ah, psychology, strange beast...

And good news: I may have found a buyer for our canoe! Yes, the same canoe we bought in September because DH had wanted one for 20 years, but has since only been used once... A co-worker is interested in it. Keep your fingers crossed, cause that would be an unexpected 400-500 to put towards the cause!

I've tweaked/revamped the Snowballing Spreadhsheet, and can email it to those that are interested. If so, leave a comment including your email address, and I'll mail you a copy of the Excel sheet. I have macros turn on in this sheet so it will update the information based on the order in which you anticipate paying your debt (so you can find out which snowball is bigger!).

I promise, I haven't forgotten!

$28.10 Week Ending 12/07
$31.07 Week Ending 12/14

I've got all my stashed cash just waiting for a Salvation Army bucket, and I haven't seen a one! Guess that's what happens when you don't go shopping all that much! Oh, well, hopefully I'll run into one before Christmas. And, does anyone know if they're out and about between Christmas and New Years? I can't seem to remember...

Today was the day. Property taxes.

I don't know if I've mentioned it here or not, but I've been dreading paying my property taxes. Not the money, that was stashed away and waiting (a small victory in and of itself, might I add).

See, my car tax was billed for the wrong car (registration for my new to me car crossed the tax bill in the mail), and my house tax was billed at the rental rate, not the permanent residence rate. So I knew I was going to have to spend quality time at 2 different accessors offices getting the bills fixed, and then wait at the auditor's office to actually pay the bill. And then wait in line at the DMV to show them my receipt and get the new sticker for my car.

Crap.

My choices were few. Go today, the 15th and a common payday. Go next Friday, the last one before Christmas. Or the one after that, the last Friday of the month and the calendar year.

Crap!

I decided to take my chances with today. I have vacation days the next two Fridays too, so if today didn't work out I could always try again later.

Because I wasted time poking around savingadvice, er, I mean spent valuable time researching financial responsibility this morning, I didn't leave the house until noon.

CRAP!

I came prepared, though. I had a book, my financial figuring sheets, a chocolate bar, and a drink. I was ready for the long haul. And here is where the twilight zone comes in.

I left the house at noon. By 1:30 I had gotten both bills adjusted, paid both bills, been to the DMV and gotten my sticker, and made it to the bank to deposit my paycheck. An my taxes were $162.62 less than I had budgeted!

HOLY CRAP!

Don't ask me what happened. I don't know where all the people are today, although my cynical side thinks they're putting off taxes until they paid for Christmas. I'm REALLY surprised that the bills were lower, and it's a great time of year for it to happen. Woohoo!!

I've decided the house will get a treat for this: curtain rods so I can put up curtains I've had for 2 months. What a splurge, hm?

As many of my frequent readers know, I am a computer geek. Not exactly 'leet haxor' level, mind you, but a geek nontheless.

Combine these techno-tendencies with my frugal nature, and POOF: you get a spreadsheet that let's you analyze snowball scenarios!

What the foo, you say?

Snowball: we all know this one, when you pay off one debt with extra income, then when that debt is gone roll the extra income and the previous debt payment onto the next debt. Payments snowball from one debt to the next.

Scenario: which debt do you pay first? How do you know which order of payment will meet your particular debt goals?

As I don't have any purchased financial software, I decided to create my own. It has space for 7 debts, which is what I'm dealing with when I count my house. You enter the debt name, regular monthly payment, current balance, and your APY divided by 12. Also enter the 'extra' money you anticipate having in an average month to 'throw' at debt. Then decide which order you want to try paying the debts in. It calculates monthly payments for all 7 debts (amortization style), adds up what all the payments are for all the debts, and compares that to what the raw balance is on the debt. By looking at the payment schedule, you can see when you would be debt free in total, and when each debt would be paid off.

See, I am a dork!

At first I included my house when running my snowballs, and am pleased to know I could actually have everything paid off in 6.5 years. WOOHOO!! But, since we are planning on refinancing the house next fall and we don't know how long we're going to stay here, I decided to take it out of my calculations. Anyways, a house is good debt, right?

So what did I find?

Well, there's only a 1 month and $600 difference between my best and worst snowball scenarios. This makes me feel better, because if I chose to not snowball 'by the numbers', I won't actually be loosing too much. For all debt other than the house, we're looking at 2.75 years assuming I keep the same monthly extra amount of $550.

Interstingly, if I only pay $500 extra per month (stashing $1650 over 33 months)it'll only cost $200 more in interst on my best scenario and add 1 month to my timeline. But I digress...

Which scenario was the most expensive? The traditional snowball: paying the lowest balances off first. I didn't expect it to be the best of the bunch, but I didn't figure dead last.

Paying off highest balances, highest interest rates, and highest monthly payments first also weren't number one. This was a surprise!

The best snowball is a bit random, but math is math I supposed.

All this talk about the New Year has me mulling and mulling (and re-mulling!) my fiscal strategy for the beginning of the new year. I'm in a slight pickle, because they've just changed our benefits provider at work and therefore I don't know what will be deducted for coverage. Ah, well, such is life.

So, here is the proposed strategy for 07.

Notes
1. I have a lot marked as savings but no real EF established. In my view, the $400 per month short term savings can all be earmarked in the event of an emergency, plus I will have about a grand in savings at the close of 2006.

2. DH plans on having 6% of his gross deducted for his 401k starting in January. Where I work offers no 401k, but I elected to stash 6% of my gross as well. Since his 401k comes out of his check before it even hits the house account, I don't count it as income and that's why it's not on the sheet. Classic 'hidden money'. I know we should be saving more for retirement, but I think 6% is a number I can get DH to buy into for the time being.

3. I have included medical and car line items fully intending to not use them.

4. I have included household and vacation line items hoping it will help DH adhere to the budget.

5. Not really a note, but I wonder what DH would say if he realized his allowance is our biggest monthly expense? The mortgage is actually only $493, I've rounded on the spreadsheet for ease of use.

6. The 'Long Term / Debt Reduction' amount at the bottom is what is left of our net after you subtract the 7 itemized sections at the top. I'm still determining the best strategy for this amount: I want the most effective personal debt snowball I can manage

7. I know the text is a little small. Click on the image and you should get a slightly larger more legible version.

My DH is a sweet man. Funny, snuggly, and has done the dishes more times in the past 2.5 weeks than I can remember. I love him, but he's a bit out of touch sometimes...

He desparately wanted a space heater to keep in our bedroom (we'd given our old one to my mom and we're wood only heat). I agree it gets chilly up there, but it's perfectly acceptable when I'm wearing pj pants, a longsleeve tshirt, and socks. DH gets cold, but could it be because he's sleeping in just boxers?!? Hmmmm...

Well, I relented Sunday night, secretly because the thought of toasting my buns in front of the heater when getting dressed in the morning was almost too sinful for words! Lowes was closed, as it was 7:12 pm, and we no longer shop at Wal-Mart. Target it is!

We picked out a heater very close to the one we used to have (which was an absolute workhorse). Specifically, we want one that will turn off if it over heats OR if it tips over; that's a must have with 3 cats. We found one, I wrote a check, and off we went.

Next night when I get home from work DH says he's not happy with the heater at all. I agreed: the air in front of that heater was tepid at best, nothing that even came remotely close to warm. I pulled out the receipt and said "We can take it back, but since we wrote a check yesterday we'll get a gift card back not cash."

You could see DH's thought process coming to a screeching halt!

"What do you mean a gift card? We don't need a gift card, we don't really shop at Target! It doens't say on the receipt that we won't get cash!!"

Word to the wise to whatever partner in the relationship doesn't do the routine shopping: believe the parter who DOES do the routine shopping, chances are they'll know what they're talking about!

I explained to DH that we paid with a check, which hasn't cleared the bank, which means if Target gave us cash back they'd be risking our check bouncing and loosing the cash given as the refund. They don't know us from Adam's Off Ox, so they have no way to know that I've got cash burtsing out the seems of my checking account (hehehe, I wish!).

He said it was crazy and stupid and there was no way we were accepting a gift card.

Right.

So, off to Home Depot where we bought a fantastic heater, does just what we want it to do. Then to the Target across the street, armed with our returnable and our receipt. Sure enough, the nice lady behind the counter explained that since we paid by check our refund would have to be as a gift card.

I waited for DH to speak up. I looked over at him: he was staring at the bright red Target border at the top of the walls... Imagine the cartoons where someone is rocking back & forth on their heels, hands behind their back, whistling and looking frantically around: that was my husband.

"That'll be fine" I told the associate.

Well, some of these are revelations. Some are just things that stick out in my mind after our trip to TN this weekend.

1. My car gets better gas mileage on BP/Amoco gas. I'm talking about a very noticeable 4-5 mpg better on the highway, or an extra 48-60 miles out of a tank. That's like having an extra 1.5-2 gallons of gas, worth $3-4!!! I'm very willing to pay an extra 3 cents per gallon to save $3-4 per tank. It's so noticeable I might have to write them and let them know. Same for their competitors: I just can't rationalize buying gas at another station when I look at these numbers.

2. DH and I are like a different couple when we're on a road trip. OK, not necessarily different, but almost an idealized version of our relationship. We laugh and talk and wander around in unfamiliar places together. You'd think we would get snippy with each other after spending endless hours in the car together, but we don't. In fact, it seems we're more prone to get snippy with each other in the first 2 hours we're off work than we are at any point on a roadtrip. It's really quite odd. I told him Sunday that I think it would be pretty neat to take endless roadtrips when we retire.

3. Along those lines, we're discussing taking an actual vacation next year. Our first pick? 2 weeks in Argentina. I know, it's not gonna happen, but it is our first pick! What we are talking about doing, though, is packing our camping gear, driving up to Maine, and then eating our way down the Eastern Seaboard. We could camp out of the back of the car at state parks, treat ourselves to a motel a couple of times, and spend most of our vacation money on food and gas. Better make sure it's BP/Amoco gas!

23 is cold, I don't care where you live! Add 10 mile an hour winds, bringing it down to 10 with the wind chill, and it's downright COLD outside. And yes, my rose is still outside blooming its little head off!

Slept with my mattress pad at almost halfway up last night and woke up warm and toasty. Since it doesn't get much colder than this here, I don't think I'll ever crank the thing onto full.

Ran downstairs and filled a cup full of coffee. As long as I have hot coffee, I barely feel cold no matter what the temp is. Then threw some kindling and an Enviro Log in the woodstove. I know it's cheating, but it lights fast, lasts 3 hours, and puts out some serious heat. FYI, Enviro logs are those 5 lb cheater logs you buy 6 to a pack, but they're made from recycled paper/wax takeout containers. The natural foods store had them on clearance for half off, so a 30 lb box was $9.50. I can't buy a no-name brand of log for that price, so I've been stocking up for just this type of occasion!

I don't have to go to work today: vacation day. Actually, I have every Friday off for the rest of the year, because I had to burn my vacation and floating holidays. I just don't take them that often, plus I like taking as much of December off as possible.

Today's schedule includes making holiday no-bak treats. Last night I made peppermit bark and chocolate dipped cookies. Today will be cream cheese mints, peanut brittle, chocolate dipped candy canes, and possibly tiger butter and peanut butter no-bake cookies.

All the cooking is to get ready for our weekend trip. FIL's side of the family is having their holiday get-together tomorrow in Chattanooga. DH and I are leaving at 7a, driving to TN, and will be staying the night in a hotel tomorrow night. Sunday will be a leisurely drive back home through Atlanta, with a possible stop at some of my favorite restaurants from college. Need a cheap place to eat in Atlanta? Ask a kid who went to college there!

We'll be driving pretty close to Blairsville tomorrow, so Julie I'll wave as I go by! BTW: did any of the snow stick where you are? We didn't get any precipitation, just some serious cold weather.

At any rate, it's time to check the fire again. Hope everyone is having a good day!

This is me flipping off Martha Stewart, Trading Spaces, DIY, and every department store holiday window mock-up that has made me feel my tree is crap for the past several years.

You know what I'm talking about: big beautiful bushy trees with firmly attached needles and no bald spots. And decorations: do I even need to go into detail? Gorgeous sculpted imported from Umbosloveckia where they're hand-wrought by peasant children earning a decent wage to buy mom a new babushka for Christmas. Big, tasteful, beautiful ornaments. The kind that hang on the tree with a silky ribbon, not an el cheapo wire hanger.

Every year I see these trees and yearn for one of my own.

Every year I refuse to put the several hundred dollars into it, and every year I wind up secretly disappointed that I've fallen short of Martha's dream.

Well, pardon my French, but screw Martha Stewart!

When my husband asked when we were going to put up our tree, I silently sighed. Bluh. Another bluh tree... We bought a 6.5 ft pre-lit fakie tree 3 years ago, and it does the job. Not big and beautiful, mind you, and definitely doesn't smell good. And, as an aside, does anyone have a decent way to CLEAN a fakie tree short of vacuuming it? DH had never had a real tree, so I've bought one once (9 ft!) for our first Christmas together when we were dating. Ever since: el fake-o.

So there I was, staring at my piddly li'l 6.5 ft tree and my pile of decorations. Actually, they weren't all my decorations. See, when it came time to clean out the office right before the lay-off, my manager gave me all of my department's Christmas ornaments. So now I have a hodge-podge of my stuff, their stuff, and even some stuff I'm not really sure where it came from.

No way I can pull a Martha-tree off with this. There's more than one shade of red in that pile, for Pete's sake!

So, in a fit of holiday peevishness I decided to put a bunch of junk on my tree. By 'junk' I mean 4 stockings, 2 stuffed figures, plushy country-time ornaments, silver jingle-bells, and a Santa Hat. There's some other stuff on there, too, like my tasteful silver, gold, and frosted globes which clash ever so nicely with the red wooden feaux-berry garland.

Believe it or not, it ain't half bad!

* * *
No, I don't have a 'Battle of the Bulge' ornament on my tree! Appears I've been struck by the photo-upload bandit!
* * *

I started stashing the change and dollar bills from my allowance 10/12. Here's my progress:

----------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS TOTAL
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  $275.02 total as of 11/23
- $ 0.00 reward for 1W1G (holidays hit!)
---------
  $275.02
----------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK
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  $ 30.00 dollar bills
  $ 4.50 quarters
  $ 1.40 dimes
  $ 0.05 nickels
  $ 0.18 pennies
  $ 9.50 house pennies
  $ 21.43 balance hiding in 'Dreamland' account
---------
  $ 67.16 total this week
----------------------------------------------
  $342.18 total as of 11/30

WOW!!! Not bad for less than 2 months worth of stashing! Part of this money is going to be used for Christmas, I'm not sure what the rest will be used for yet. Although, I have been dreaming about a new pair of boots since my last pair died a year ago...

As a reminder, any cash I stash for the month of December will be deposited at random in Salvation Army Santa buckets.

Why is it that a time that should be peaceful, joyous, and magical almost always winds up feeling stressful, annoying, and frustrating? With parties and gatherings and dinners and gifts and decorating, it's amazing some of us enjoy our holiday at all.

So, take a tip from my mom: participate in a cookie party with some friends and get rid of some of your stress!

The idea is simple. Get some friends, family, and/or co-workers to agree to a cookie party. We'll say you get 10 people including yourself to participate (but the number could be anything you decide is manageable). Every attendee picks one type of cookie to provide for the party. No duplicates!

Here's where it gets interesting. Calculate how many cookies you need to make: 1 dozen for every attendee (perhaps 2 if you're adventurous!) PLUS another dozen for the party. Make sure to include yourself in your calculations! So, if there are 10 attendees including yourself, 12x10 = 120+12 = 132 cookies.

Gather/purchase the ingredients needed to make the alloted number of cookies. This is where the cookie party really shines: you save money by buying only a few ingredients in bulk and save time by making the cookies super assembly style. Also, make sure you have materials to package up the cookies by the dozen.

The next step, obviously, is to set aside some time and make/package your cookies.

Fast forward to the day of the party. Don't forget to bring your cookies, a bag, and maybe a beverage! All the attendees swap the cookies they brought and get to taste-test since there is an extra dozen of each floating around.

Ready for the best part? After our imaginary cookie party you walk away with 10 dozen cookies, all different kinds, just ready and waiting to hit your desert tray for any event you might have coming over the holidays. Not to mention the great time you can have at the actual party itself!

I'll freely admit it to everyone here: I'm a lazy saver. It's not my fault, you know, it's because I work with computers.

How's that, you ask? The concept of elegant design. Ask anyone in computers what 'elegant design' means, and they'll give you this wonderful schpiel about something that is beautful and effective and concise. What they're really saying is the best way to do something is the way that gets it done right and fast, taking up the least amount of time and energy. This is the backbone of the techology industry, and being a tech-head it is my backbone too.

When I was a trainer, I actually taught this concept to people. When you're working in customer service, being goaled on how many seconds you're on the phone with a customer (!), you need to get your job right and get it done fast. And pleasantly, otherwise you'll lose points on your Quality Assurance Monitoring form.

Perosnally, though, I don't like the word 'lazy'. Too negative. I prefer the phrase 'time effecient'. So, instead of calling myself a lazy saver, I should say I am a 'time effecient' saver.

I'm not going to try to fool you into thinking my tactics save me the absolute most money. They won't. Saving the most money takes a lot of time and effort, and I send great kudos out to the uber deal finders on this site. I'm just not one of them. You will, however, be able to save a significant amount of money. For example: I shopped tonight and saved over 44% without a single mail-in rebate or newspaper-clipped coupon. Could I have saved more? Oh heck yeah! Would it have taken a considerable amount longer? You betcha!

First things first: save your change! Easiest thing in the world to do: pay cash for stuff and save your change. If you're adventurous, save your dollar bills, too. Over the course of a month I have found I save right around 25% of what's in my pocket by not spending change or ones. It also makes me consider my purchases a little more thoroughly, too. How often would you buy a $1.50 cuppa coffee if it resulted in another $3.50 becoming untouchable?

This next tip only makes since when you realize that I pay cash for everything but bills, and in my wallet I have two sections: my money and house money. My money is my allowance, my pocket money for the week. House money is grocery money for the week and a small weekly slush fund for things like a box of nails, a refill on the grill tank, etc. I will loan the house money during the week from my allowance if a great deal pops up out of the blue, under the condition that the house pays me back the next week. I will not, however, do the reverse; once the allowance is gone, it's gone. This saves me money because if I find a great deal on something in the grocery store (like fryers 49c/lb and sirloins $2.99/lb like they are this week), I can stock up without worrying about running out of 'house money'.

My other 'trick' is to pick my stores and stick with them! In any given week I shop at two grocery stores (Bloom and Publix), two drug stores (CVS and Walgreens), and one natural food store. I'm also particularly lucky because all of these are within 4 miles of my house. I have customer cards for the 3 stores that offer them, and all 3 of them offer me extra coupons based on my spending amount. The more I spend at a particular store, the more I get in coupons. For me, this combined with the price of gas makes it ineffecient to go out of my way for most deals.

The sales papers for 4 of my 5 stores are available online. 2 come out on Sunday, 2 on Wednesday. On Wednesday, I will compare all 4 paperless copies and determine which deals are worthwhile. I will do my shopping whenever it's convenient Wednesday-Saturday.

I keep the same basic grocery list of staples from week to week and add to it based on the sales papers. If there's something on the generic weekly list I don't need, I cross it off with a BIG black marker so I won't glance at the item and pick it up by mistake! I find it helpful to print this generic list en masse so I can grab one and have it with me when I go through the sales. This way, you can include the 'normal' price you're willing to pay for your weekly staples on the list. Also, all of my standard weekly list items come from the same store, so that if there aren't any super specials I just go to one place, I'm in I'm out I'm done! Unless, of course, one of my pet stores has a staple at a great bargain, which I'll know, since my list will tell me what I'm willing to pay as a normal price!

If you're not a coupon clipper (and I'm not), one must also pay attention to other sources of coupons. My favorites, in no particular order, are the Walgreens salespaper, my CVS receipt, aisles of the grocery store, and smack on the package I'm going to buy.

Walgreens coupons requiree no clipping: just note which items require coupons and grab one of their sales papers as you walk in the door. Often, since the coupon isn't clipped, they'll also let you take the paper with you resulting in the possibility of another visit a little later in the week! CVS gives Extra Care bucks for certain purchases and CVS coupons as you spend. In the past week I've been to CVS 3 times (only 2 were planned), spent less than $35, and have gotten $17 worth of coupons on my receipts. When I'm cruising through Publix, I'll grab the coupons they have in their aisles for items I know I buy (cereal, creamer, pudding, organic soup, shampoo), and stash them. They're manufacturers coupons, so I can use them at any of my 5 stores.

And don't forget the coupons on the stuff you're already buying! For instance, Hefty zip bags almost always have a coupon on them where I shop. Not ZipLock, Hefty. I went into the store today intending to buy the ZipLock bags that were advertised on sale. I walked out with the Hefty bags that were on unadvertised special with a coupon on each box. Knowing which brands frequently come pre-couponed makes it easier to save money.

And speaking of unadvertised sales: take a look around the store when you're walking, folks! I'm sure we're all aware that not everything that's on sale is in the sale paper. But, when you're so focused on making budget and sticking to the list, it's really easy to miss some awesome deals out there! This strategy takes some will-power, otherwise you might be tempted to buy every BOGO you see just because it's a good price. We all know better, but it bears repeating that a deal is only a deal if it's something you will actually use. Or be able to give as a gift. Or possibly resell for profit...

I have also been a time efficient saver by shopping with my mom. She's a frugal frugie, too, so we compare who can find the best deal. And sometimes there are offers for a better deal when you spend X amount of money. Your choice: spend more than you need to by yourself, or buddy up with someone and pay for everything on one ticket. Mom and I did this the Saturday before TG and that's how we got our 20 lb turkey for free. Plus, with the buddy system, your customer card will get the credit for the bigger purchase which means you might wind up getting more coupons in the future! Rock On!

What about you: what are your tips for being a 'time effecient' saver?

Well, folks seemed to like the last article link to Violent Acres, which was in fact Part 2 in a series as Fern pointed out. I thought Part 1 was ok but didn't grab me, but the last one and this one did.

Again with the blunt, again with the language. I think for a lot of SavingAdvice.com folks, #2 about investing in what you enjoy might be the most meaningful section in this one.

Five Steps I Took That Helped Me Become Financially Independ...

Warning on the use of vulgar language, so those who are offended don't follow the link.

For those who aren't, this is FUNNY and BLUNT and TRUE!!!

Four Rookie Mistakes People Make that Keep Them Poor

My husband has been taken over by an alien intelligence, I just know it. How else can one explain the weirdo turnaround in his behavior since just before Thanksgiving?

DH did dishes last night while I cooked dinner. This is the 3rd? 4th? time he's done dishes since 11/21. This is abnormal behaviour for my spouse as 11/21 is the first time I remember doing dishes in this house since we moved in 7/21. I'm starting to get creeped out by it. Thankful, but creeped out.

He has cleaned up the area around his chair (nicknamed the 'throne' by baselle!) at least every other day, sometimes more.

We talked about finances after dinner last night (second night in a row!) and DH asked what the interest rate is on my car. I told him, he pondered for a minute, then said we should probably pay off the car after we pay off his Honda Card...

WHOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAA! Hold on a second!

When I mentioned a month ago we should pay off the car after paying off his Honda Card because it would save us over 7k in interest, he literally said "But you can't think of it that way, it's not going to help to think about the amount you're paying in interest." VERBATIM.

Either DH has been taken over by an alien intelligence, he has been possessed by a financially responsible being, or someone on SavingAdvice.com has started sending him threatening emails

Or perhaps I'm starting to wear him down. All the subliminal tapes I'm playing at night while he's asleep might be kicking in!

Granted, his progress in certain areas is a little slower than I'd like. For instance, we're making more than minimum payments on the Honda Card, hospital bill, and money owed his parents. His idea for paying off the Honda Card is to cut the payment to his parents down to the minimum required and throw the extra $50 per month to the Honda Card. All well and good in theory, but it'll take us over a year to pay off just that one card that way...

Another thing he's not catching on to: house money vs my allowance money. I pull out my allowance, grocery money, and a small amount of 'house money' every week. As the budgeter, I control the house cash, and when we go do something, he assumes the house is always paying. For instance we went on our weekly monday-night chinese food pilgrammage, and he wanted to eat my leftovers I was saving for lunch. He was trying to be funny and said "This is house money, which means we're both paying for it so I can eat some of yours too!" And I had to look at him and say "No, actually, this is coming out of my allowance, because the house is out of cash until Friday." The initial response? Blink blink. Then he pulled out his wallet and chipped in from his allowance, which was nice.

The moral of this story is he hates hearing that the house is out of cash. More specifically, he hates when I say the house is out of cash and anyone is around to hear it. I guess he gets embarrased because he assumes anyone who hears it will think we're broke. Apparently I need a euphamism for 'the house is out of cash' that I can use with DH so he'll know what I mean but won't get embarrassed.

"We're driving on empty"
"All our cash is tied up in the market till Friday"
"We're outta checks with no ATM card"
"I wrote the grocery list on the benjamin in my pocket, and don't want to spend it"

Any suggestions?

Dulce de Leche is literally translated as 'sweet from milk'. For those who aren't familiar, dulce de leche is a a smooth, creamy, caramelly gooey instance of pure heaven! I could eat the stuff with a spoon. Oh, who am I kidding: I HAVE eaten the stuff with a spoon!

When I was in Argentina last year, the stuff was EVERYWHERE. Not that I minded, but it was exceptionally noticeable. Take my trip to the WalMart just outside of Cordoba.

PAUSE: This was before I started boycotting Walmart, but even if it wasn't I would have to have gone. It's like a car wreck: I couldn't help but look!

So, in the Cordoban WalMart the signage looks pretty much the same but is in Spanish. It was a bit surreal, as a lot of the signs here have Spanish on them too, so it was like WalMart from home got dropped off on the other side of the world!

First thing you come across is a small appliance and electronics section. After currency conversion a coffee pot was about $50, a microwave close to $300. To put it in perspective, the call center reps I was training were making about $300 per month...

The back of the store is one giant wall of wine, beer, and liquor. Cannisters were sold in sets of three: 'cafe', 'te', 'yerba'. Coffee, tea, and herb. No, not that kind of herb! Yerba is slang for mate, a tea-like drink that is popular in Argentina & Uraguay. 'Bitter is Better' they say... And while I was tempted to have a cannister set with a specific place for 'herb', I had visions of customs not quite seeing the humor.

Anyways, mayonnaise and peanut butter were in the tiny 5 shelf 'import' section of the store, because nobody buys them. Dulce de leche, however, has an entire aisle to itself. Think of the bread/PB/jelly/condiment aisle at your WalMart, and that is how much space was alloted to dulce de leche.

Creamy, caramelly goodness as far as the eyes could see. Talk about some folks who like their dulce de leche!

Anywho, this rambling preface is simply my way of introducing the easiest way I know to make dulce de leche at home. I believe this to be a fairly authentic method since several Argentine friends confirmed this is how their grandma did it. The result is something that tastes like a cross between caramel and a Sugar Daddy lollipop.

1. Get a can of sweetened condensed milk. DO NOT OPEN, but take the label off.

2. Place a pot on the stove, put the unopened can in the pot (probably don't want to use non-stick otherwise it'll get scratched). Add enough water into the pot to cover the can.

3. Bring the water to a boil.

4. Boil the can for 90 minutes on one end. Turn over with tongs, boil for another 90 minutes on the other end. NOTE: you might want to add water periodically during all 3 hours of the boiling process.

FYI, when and if you attempt this you'll probably want to make a couple of cans up at once, as it'll use the same amount of energy as making 1 can. I just opened a can I made last Christmas and it was good, so it'll keep a while.

So, after you've boiled your can/s for 3 hours (1.5 on each end), you have 2 choices. Open a can now when it's molten, or let the can cool on the counter for a few hours. If you open the can when it's hot the dulce de leche is easier to work with but hot enough to burn. If you wait till the can is cooled, the opposite is true. Your choice here.

If you open the can when it's hot, use a mechanical can opener you can submerge in water for cleanup! When opening a hot can, the 'carmel' will spurt up about 6 inches or so out of the can when the pressure is released, so be ready!

If you open the can when it's cool, you'll need to spoon the 'carmel' out, or use a knife to loosen the sides like you would tomato paste.

So, what does one do with homemade dulce de leche?

My sister and I make carmel pie, for one. Take 1 graham cracker crust, fill with 1 can of 'carmel', allow to set in the freezer, top with whipped topping. YUUUUUMMMMMMMMMM!!! She mixes apple pie fillig in her carmel, I mix toffee bits into mine. Get creative and use chocolate, PG, different kinds of crusts, or poor man's mouse (pudding mixed with whipped topping).

I drizzle warm carmel on cookies and sprinkle toasted coconut on top. I make homemade turtles by mixing nuts with the carmel, dropping spoonfuls onto a cookie sheet to set in the freezer, and then toping with chocolate.

Heat it up and drizzle it on ice cream and/or pie.

And my favorite: eat it straight with a spoon!

Just because you're driving a Beemer doesn't mean you can ignore all traffic laws, not to mention common decency!

Today during my 20 minute lunch hour, I went to get a cuppa joe. I was happily sitting at a red-light in the right-most left turn lane listening to NPR, and you Mr. Beemer Butt Munch were on my right in the 'go straight' lane. There was traffic everywhere.

When our light changed, I and the car to my left both began making our left turns when you, MR. BEEMER BUTT MUNCH, gun your engine and make a swinging left turn in front of me from a NON-LEFT TURN LANE!!!

You are a lucky rat bastard that I know how to drive and do it well, otherwise me, you, and the car to my left would have all wound up on the news tonight. Bad news for you, Mr. Beemer Butt Munch, because the county sherrif, a state trooper, and a SLED agent are all loyal cigar store customers!

I know for a fact you saw me. I drive an 'Egg Yolk Yellow' Ford Focus, for cryin' out loud, how could you not see me?!??

Granted, I know this car does not scream "EFFECTIVE DRIVER" or "FINANCIALLY RESPONSIBLE", but beleive it or not that is WHY I DRIVE IT! I drive this car so my property taxes will be lower, my gas bill will be lower, and I can afford a $250 deductible and 100 grand in liability coverage in case I ever happen to run into a MR. BEEMER BUTT MUNCH such as yourself.

I admit, I was sorely tempted by you today, Butt Munch. I had a golden opportunity 5 feet from my front bumper. My car would have been totalled, but I have GAP insurance which would have paid off my loan in full. Your car would have been totalled, but me, the guy to my left, and the 50 other cars at that intersection (NOT TO MENTION THE FREAKIN' TRAFFIC CAMERAS) all would have stated it was your fault.

I could have made your life miserable today, Mr. Beemer Butt Munch, and I chose not to. Next time, why don't you try and do the same?

Don't remember where I stumbled across this concept, but I know it was last summer or fall at some point. I was reading up on environmental conservation, and one of their suggestions for the holidays was giving 'disappearing gifts', or gifts that typically don't come in a lot of packaging and don't wind up cluttering up your house. As soon as I read it I heard the echo of my mother saying "Please, don't give my anything I have to dust!" and I knew I had found my calling!

I don't take the disappearing gift concept too literally: if I find a 'thing' that will be absolutely perfect, I will of course get it. But more often than not, I will purchase the ephemeral. Here's what I mean.

* My parents: gift certificate to their favorite restaurate, a Black Friday deal flash drive for dad and a cert to her favorite stylist for mom
* DH's parents: car rental and gas money so they can make a trip to see family in the middle of December (otherwise they weren't going to go)
* My sister & her DH: a bottle of their favorite tequila and a cert to their favorite sushi restaurant
* DH's sister and her boyfriend: a neato knife block and a cert to the new natural foods store

Lots of things can fall under the heading of a disappearing gift, some more obvious than others.

* gift certificates of all sorts
* food and beverage
* candles
* bird seed
* animal treats (for pet owners, obviously!)
* subscription to a cleaning service/yard service/garbage service, etc
* a weekend getaway at a hotel
* subscription to NetFlix (or similar)

I'm trying to find more and more ways to bring the 'disappearing' concept into the rest of my holiday celebration. I've found Christmas cards made on recycled paper impregnated with wildflower seeds. After the holidays, simply toss the card in your yard and in the spring you have a patch of wildflowers! Don't know if I'll buy some yet, but I like the thought. Wish I could find wrapping paper that did the same!

I don't know, I'm starting to think it really could exist. Maybe it's just my mind picking up on otherwise random coincidences, but it really does seem that the flow of money is smoother now that I'm paying closer attention to the little details. Even the things I have no control over.

I happily let my family host TG at my house (knowing full well the possible hitches), and was rewarded with more leftovers than any human could ever hope for. I also got a free pound of coffee out of the deal!

Friday, I decided to roll up the bulk of the money from my 'Change and Buck Bucket', as it's getting close to time to deposit it all. Everything I save for the first 7 weeks is going towards Christmas (so 1 more week to go!), and everything I save in the month of December is going in some lucky Salvation Army Santa's bucket.

Anyways, I rolled up $52 in change from only 6 weeks of saving, plus I've saved over $100 in ones, not to metion the reimbursement check I tossed in the mix. DH's eyes bugged out and he asked how long I'd been 'stashing cash', and when I told him it was only a month and a half, he got out his own change to roll it! His sister and her boyfriend came over Friday night to play poker, and he started bragging to them how I'd saved all this money in just a month and a half... I lost my $10 buy-in (came from my allowance, so no biggie), but DH came out $15 ahead.

We invited the same folks over for turkey soup last night and afterwards we all were going to go to a local auction (merchandise and bulk food). My cost in the turkey soup, cornbread fritters, butternut squash, and roasted potatoes and onions (TG leftovers) was maybe $5. In return I received 3 kinds of desserts from the SIL and boyfriend, plus a free pineapple!

The auction was great. Not the best I've been to, but still enjoyable. Some of the deals I couldn't participate in due to lack of freezer space were 3lb bags of peas for $2 and 50 lbs of pork loin for $45. Wow! Here's what I did get

$4 for 1 qt of marachino cherry halves(holiday budget)
$3 for 3 Christmas tree candle holders and 30 cinnamon scented candles (holiday budget)
$6 for 2 new long sleeve Ts for DH
$3 for 6 various Avon lotions, salts, and sunscreens (holiday budget)
$1 for 7 snack size bags of SunChips
$5 for a 5lb food service tray of Stouffers salsbury steak (grocery budget and dinner tonight!)
$5 in grab bags (cause you get raffle tickets)
$6 for munchies and beverages for me and DH the 4 hours we were there.

Total spent: $33

At the end of the night, the very last item given away in the raffle was a $20 bill. GUESS WHO WON? Therefore, I actually only spent $13...

Money Karma: what do you think?

I started stashing the change and dollar bills from my allowance 10/12. Here's my progress:

----------------------------------------------
PREVIOUS TOTAL
----------------------------------------------
  $245.49 total as of 11/16
- $  0.00 reward for 1W1G (gah the holidays hit!)
---------
  $245.49
----------------------------------------------
THIS WEEK
----------------------------------------------
  $ 20.00 dollar bills
  $  5.75 quarters
  $  3.10 dimes
  $  0.15 nickels
  $  0.73 pennies
---------
  $ 29.73 total this week
----------------------------------------------
  $275.02 total as of 11/23

I have already written this post once, and my mouse decided to kill it with an inadvertant back-click. ARGH!!!

Long story short, I was all set to not go shopping today. It was a tough choice, because my state has made this a tax-free weekend for all retail shopping, and of course every little bit counts! But I was resisting temptation and was going to order the flash drives I'd found at Office Max online.

But the store no longer had them online. DOH! That's OK, I could go tomorrow, right?

But, then I told DH I couldn't order what I wanted online. He had been watching hunting shows all morning, you see, and was apparently itchin' for a life or death thrill. His eyes lit up and he said "Wanna risk going to the store? Think we could make it?"

I looked at him, and agreed as long as we didn't take my car. No way I'm going to risk totalling my vehicle for a stupid sale. He looked a little depressed at that statement, since my 2 door 5 speed is a blast to drive, but I held firm.

We left the house at 1p, hoping the hardcore shoppers were breaking for lunch. We got back home just before 3, and managed to hit 4 stores! They actually weren't crowded: the traffic in the parking lot around the shopping centers is what took the longest.

$79.99 - $55.00 instant rebate = $24.99 2 gig flash drive from Office Max, present from holiday fund
$79.99 - $55.00 instant rebate = $24.99 2 gig flash drive from Office Max, DH bought himself one w/ his allowance
$49.99 - $30.00 instant rebate = $19.99 1 gig camera card from Office Max, I bought myself one w/ my allowance
$2.49 coin wrappers, also w/ my allowance
$10.99 cat litter (finally) from PetSmart, grocery fund
$29.99 - $6.00 20% off coupon = $23.99 present for inlaws Bed Bath & Beyond, holiday fund
$43.22 - $12.44 sales and clearance items = $30.78 health food store, grocery fund

Total spent: $138.22
Total saved with sales/coupons: $158.44
Total saved on sales tax: $6.92

Everything except the allowance purchases were planned spending, and hey, that's what the allowances are there for!

Technically I should include 5 $9.99 MagLights we asked someone to pick up for DH from Lowes this morning, but I don't know what the regular retail is on these nor have I written the check for them yet. This will complete the gifts for his all-boy set of co-workers, though.

All in all, not an overly traumatizing experience.

I have proof!

DH cleaned up the den. Not just his chair, but the whole den! Even the 14 ft. canoe made it outside!

This is my kitchen in its 'retro' splendor. Notice counter space is a premium, and the big gaping hole where the oven should be (currently houses the microwave).



The next 2 pics show a total of 2 kinds of stuffing, 3 kinds of cranberries, 3 dessert pies, mashed potatoes, sweet potatoes, green bean casserole, roasted potatoes and onions, asparagus pie, cheese biscuits, black olives, deviled eggs, and stuffed celery. The 'table' under the red cloth is a corner desk we got free from a friend about a month ago. The table under the ivory cloth is from the kitchen, a 4 ft round we got free from a previous boss of mine.





And here's the turkey! Rather, turkies



Bird came out 30 min ahead of schedule at 2:30, and we didn't eat until 4 b/c folks were late. Didn't matter, it stayed warm in it's aluminum foil blankie. The turkey was FANTASTIC and DH is a convert: says it's how we'll do every turkey. Even Dad ate some of the skin, which he apparently rarely if ever does.

And, um, here's my 20 POUND TURKEY after 7 people ate dinner and took home leftovers. WHAT THE FOO?!??? Guess they weren't lyin' when they said it was yummy!

OK, are you ready for this?

I'm done, except for a shower. That's right, 45 minutes ahead of schedule! Woohoo!!

Thermometer says the turkey is at 170 at the thigh, so only a little bit more to go. The den is AMAZING; I don't think it's looked this good since we moved int. DH was productive while I did dishes

Table-like areas are all staged in the dining room, and I rolled my buther block island in there for us to carve the turkey on. Seriously, this bird is so big I don't have a platter that'll hold it. My roasting pan barely held it!

I just stuffed the celery, DH added potatoes and onions to the roasting pan about 20 minutes ago, and now it's a waiting game.

If the turkey tastes half as good as it smells, I'll be in hog heaven all weekend log!

Hope everyone is having a very merry!